Dinner At The Club

Since our usual Friday night dinner group of friends are traveling this month, Mr. Mickey and I had a quiet dinner at the Blackthorn Club.

There is no snow, and it wasn't that cold, so I was able to wear my suede cut out booties by Louise et Cie from Nordstrom. (She is the wife of Vince Camuto, who started Nine West.)

The long thin ribbed cardigan sweater is from T.J.Maxx.

The black and white jeweled sweater is from Chico's. 

The straight leg pants are from Stein Mart.

Mr. Mickey is famous for bringing me flowers. This night's occasion was that we have been dating for seven years and eleven months. He also brought a card and candy.

My coat is from Geiger of Austria.

As always, we enjoyed our evening sitting by the fire at the club, laughing and talking until they were ready to close. 

Sapphire Blue

One of my favorite colors is sapphire blue.

Today we attended a memorial service, so I wore a black skirt from Chico's So Slimming Ponte collection from last fall with a thin black long sleeve V neck tee I found at TJMaxx last year. The blue boiled wool jacket is from the Chico's outlet in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. The heels are by Nine West.

The beaded clutch is old. I found it at Stein Mart, and the mink scarf was a gift from Mr. Mickey a few years ago.

Santa Makes His Rounds

Santa Mickey completed all of his "performances" during the past few days.

Last evening we first visited the beautiful home of our dear friends and neighbors, Don and Millie.

Then on to our next stop...

Our favorite Sunday afternoon hangout is Carrabba's in Johnson City, so we stopped in for a quick visit with the very busy Proprietor, Colin Baker. 

These children will never forget the night Santa came to their table at Carrabba's. They were so thrilled!

Then back to Mr. Mickey's home for a few shots of my outfit for an evening as Mrs. Claus. I wore a red wool jacket and long sleeve tee from Talbots last year with old straight leg black pants from Stein Mart and old Madden Girl short boots from Belk.

The beautiful bracelet was a gift from my sweet friend, Millie.

Behind me is Mr. Mickey's study area. All those trophies and medals are from winning tennis tournaments and competing as an Army Sharpshooter.

Our last stop of several this evening was with our sweet friends at our favorite restaurant in town, Gourmet and Company. We are pictured with proud new Papa, Chef Jacob Berry.

Mr. Mickey and I hope that your Christmas is filled with joy.

Annual Progressive Dinner

Our holiday season always begins with the annual Progressive Dinner in Jonesborough, Tennessee's oldest town.

Temperatures dipped into the twenties last evening, so I wore red and black layers, knowing that we would be spending a bit of time outside as we visited each house on the tour.

The tour begins at the Chester Inn Museum.

At each stop along the guided bus tour, there is live music, one course of the meal, and a self-guided tour of each historic home.

This reclaimed barn wood table in a foyer was a work of art.

Old houses often have original hardware that proves hazardous for my high heels, such as this grate with huge holes. I experienced free-falling for a moment in this 1920's house before I realized where I was standing!

The main course was served at Jonesborough’s new McKinney Cultural Arts Center at the historic Booker T. Washington School.

The highlight of the evening is always singing along with The Jonesborough Novelty Band.

A train traveled under this tree!

I am wearing a Geiger boiled wool jacket, a Talbot's long sleeve tee, a necklace from Coldwater Creek, a red scarf, and black wide-leg pants from Stein Mart, with black short boots from Belk. All the items are a couple of years old... (the beauty of basics!)

Mr. Mickey's Place

Some of you asked for a peek into Mr. Mickey's new home.

Last evening we attended our neighborhood pot luck Christmas dinner at our clubhouse, so we snapped a few pictures in his foyer before leaving.

The sculptures on the wall behind me are by J. Cotter.

Not many bachelor pads have a crystal chandelier. This one has hung in several of Mr. Mickey's dining rooms over the years.

There are so many pieces of special art, he has not yet found a place for many of them, but he is still working on it. The bust behind me to the left is a sculpture of Mickey done many years ago. The artist now lives at the end of the block. Small world indeed!

It was 75 degrees here last evening, so I was actually sorry I wore the sweater. The necklace, sweater, and tank are from Chico's last year. The gray slacks were from Stein Mart last year. The Vince Camuto flats are from Nordstrom.

Eight years ago, Mr. Mickey and I met at a Christmas party in our old neighborhood. It was the party that changed my life.

For that first party, I took bacon-wrapped chestnuts, which I almost burned. I had second thoughts about even going to the party after that! For this party, I took something much more simple, southern cornbread and roasted Brussels sprouts. Mr. Mickey made his world-famous deviled eggs, of which none were left. 

It's Greek to Me!

The town of Weaverville, North Carolina, is just a short pleasant drive across the mountains from Johnson City.

 

 

Mr. Mickey and I especially enjoy the Stoney Knob Cafe, one of several excellent restaurants there. They offer a menu of American, Greek, and European cuisine.

 

They serve the most awesome focaccia bread and olive oil dip before dinner. Supreme olive oil is poured over fresh herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta. We could make a meal from just that and a glass of wine. It really is over the top good!

I haven't worn these Vince Camuto shoes very much this year, so I wanted to style an outfit around them for our Saturday date night before summer slips away from us.

 

Weaverville is a surprising little town with sidewalk cafes, art galleries, gift shops, excellent pottery galleries, and the Well-Bred Bakery & Cafe, where we stopped in to pick up a fresh-baked loaf of wheat bread.

We have already picked out the next restaurant we will visit in Weaverville. We have heard great things about The Glass Onion, and their menu looked really interesting.

Voted one of the top 200 Salons in America, Aabani Salon is also located here in Weaverville.

There was still plenty of time after our meal to take the ten-minute drive into downtown Asheville. We had an after-dinner Scotch and water at a sidewalk cafe where we sat for more than an hour watching all the people passing by. We also really enjoyed visiting with two lovely women sitting at the table next to us. We make new friends wherever we go!

The lightweight jacket and matching tank are both from Chico's. The side zip ankle pants are from Talbots. The clutch and Oscar de la Renta sunglasses are from Stein Mart. The awesome coral cuff was a gift from my sweet friend Lois.

Navy on Sale!

One of the last colors to leave the rack in most of the stores I shop in is navy blue. I often hear women say, "I don't know what to wear with navy" or "I would rather wear black."

 

Last night Mr. Mickey took me to dinner at our favorite restaurant in town, Gourmet and Company. Chef Jacob is so very talented and an all-around great person. His family owns a farm, so in the summer, he brings in fresh produce growing in the fields that morning. Last night he came out to visit with us and sent us on our way with fresh blackberries and blueberries from his farm. Yummy! 

My jacket is from Chico's summer sale. The tank top is also from Chico's. The navy side zip Hollywood fit pants are from the summer sale at Talbots.

 

These are my new favorite sunglasses by Oscar de la Renta via Stein Mart. The shape and color fit my face shape, and the color is dark but not black. Perfect! The clutch bag, necklace, ring, and silver bangle bracelet are also from Stein Mart.

The blush color Bandolino shoes are so old I don't remember where I bought them. The ankle strap doesn't show here, but they do have an above the ankle small strap. When in doubt, always wear nude shoes. Navy blue also looks good with oxblood, cognac, bronze, or any neutral color shoe. Nude is considered the color closest to your skin color, so whenever I find a pale pair of shoes that fit well, I buy them, knowing I will wear them often.

 

Chilly Date Night

Spring continues to tease us. The temperatures dipped into the forties last evening, and the wind was fierce, which means I looked for something warm for Friday date night with friends.

Because of the high winds, we moved the photo session into my foyer this evening.

All the elements are repeats, but I'll recap them for you. The wool double-breasted jacket with three-quarter sleeves is from Talbots last fall. The three quarter sleeve jacket is a great choice for cooler spring weather. This time I paired it with black wider leg pants and Ros Hommerson low heeled pumps. I was sad to get an email from Ros Hommerson announcing that they are going out of business. All of their inventory is half price now. 

When I wear wider leg pants, I always wear them with a lower-heeled shoe for safety reasons and the fact that it seems to be a much better balance.

Under the jacket is a black tank top from Stein Mart, and I carried a black leather clutch with gold trim. My earrings are gold and black, and the bangle is the same red as the jacket with gold trim. I rarely wear gold jewelry because of my skin tone and gray hair. 

 

The odd little "room" to the right of this image is the entryway to the downstairs.

Navy and Nude

On this Wednesday date night, I wore a navy knit dress and nude shoes.

Spring has finally arrived here in East Tennessee!

Nude shoes are often the most logical choice to wear with a dress, but they look especially fresh and modern with navy.  These BCBGeneration nude pumps were found at  T.J.Maxx.

The copper, silver, and gold woven clutch is many years old. The pearl, silver, and gold earrings are also several years old. The silver and gold necklace is a recent purchase from Stein Mart. I am also wearing my favorite pantyhose by Hanes. 

The navy knit dress was recently found on a sale rack at Stein Mart.