Showing posts with label stylish casual looks for women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stylish casual looks for women. Show all posts

Monday, August 22, 2016

Surprise Party




Our weather has started to turn cooler, and the rain has fallen for a few days. So it is beginning to feel a little like autumn in the mountains. 

On Saturday, we joined my extended family members and friends to surprise the 60th birthday party for my cousin's sweet husband.



Mr. Mickey and I always make a fun day out of every such event, so we drove up early in the day to share a light lunch at "Eat Crow" and then spent the day shopping and visiting with friends in Blowing Rock.


One of the other Eat Crow patrons drove up in a white Lamborghini. He and Mr. Mickey became fast friends.


The surprise birthday dinner party was held on the patio at Joy Bistro in Boone, North Carolina. The food and service were excellent! We highly recommend it.


Rhonda and I were the only cousins rocking the heels!


Larry is also a car lover who owns a Classic Pontiac Trans Am, so this extraordinary birthday cake made him very happy.



In keeping with the Ralph Lauren jacket's distressed softer color, I wore a cream-colored tank and khaki pants with similar colored heels and a woven straw clutch. Unfortunately, all the items are more than a year old.



I hope that the looks and tips I share inspire you to build a wardrobe that can be mixed and matched and enjoyed for years to come.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Details Make the Difference

On Saturday, we visited the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia.



I don't know how other bloggers do their photoshoots, but I just get dressed, and we go somewhere and have fun. We take a small, not so great camera and shoot a few photos while we are there. It isn't a very planned or well-choreographed event. We are just having fun and sharing the pictures with you. Sometimes I wear old clothes, and sometimes I wear something new. If I can remember where I bought the item, I share the source with you.


Laughter always fills our time together. Mr. Mickey has a great sense of humor, and I must admit it has begun to rub off on me after dating for more than ten years.



Count yourself lucky that you won't be hearing me sing!



Do you buy scarves and then never wear them because you don't know how to tie them? I have lots of scarves, but I always tend to wear them in the same few ways, so I made a real effort to try something new today. 

First, I tried the trick of tying the scarf in a small loop on one end and pulling the other end through to form a lovely drape and a long free-flowing end. That lasted about two minutes because it kept slipping forward to look like I was wearing a noose. Not an attractive look!




I generally wear a large square silk scarf by folding it diagonally from corner to corner. Next, I drape the triangle over my shoulders and put my jacket on over it to hold it in place. That's sort of boring, but it gives me the straight lines and pattern break I need, plus it never moves.




Next, I folded the square scarf in a triangle again. This time, I put the point in front, wrapped the ends around my neck, and brought them back to the front. I tied a tiny knot at the very ends and then opened the triangle to drape the top part of the triangle over the tie so that it was now between the folds and not visible. Lastly, I moved the point to the side and slipped it under my jacket to create a cowl effect.





On to the next detail. The top is from Chico's Zenergy collection. I like the silver dots on a white background, but you can see that the top is too billowy to wear with a jacket. I prefer the look of a slim fitting sleek top under a jacket. It makes me look thinner and less messy.

They are jeggings from Chico's. This look would have been much better with a pair of ankle pants, but I didn't want to take the time to go back and change. Ankle pants are a couple of inches shorter so that they barely touch the top of most of my short boots. I tried turning these up, but the line of the light blue of the denim's underside made my legs look too short. I gave up and stuffed them in the boots to keep the look long and lean.


The wine-colored bag was from Saks Off 5th. The boots are by Gianni Bini from Dillard's last year. They are suede in the back with a smooth leather front and buckle details.




The faux leather jacket was purchased from Stein Mart two years ago. The scarf is by Versace via Saks Off 5th.



Here you can see the tips put into action. Scarf tied into a cowl for warmth and an added pattern. Top tucked in at the back for a slimmer fit. Jeans tucked into boots to keep them from bunching up on the tops of my boots. 



I hope you enjoyed being included in the thought process that I often go through to put together a successful look. I will try this look again tomorrow to see how I put these tips to use with different items.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Weekend Retreat

Mr. Mickey and I enjoy leaving the city on Friday morning and driving away for a weekend retreat.




When we started dating almost ten years ago, getting away for weekend trips to the mountains or a larger city or even the beach was one of the things we heartily agreed was important to each of us.




We thoroughly enjoy exploring cities, trying new restaurants, searching for the best gourmet chocolate, admiring small southern towns' architecture, and driving down winding country roads just to see where they lead.




This past Friday, we stopped in Brevard, North Carolina, on our way to our weekend getaway. We walked around the small downtown area and read the menus posted in a few restaurants' windows before wandering down an alley to the Square Root. It was a delightful out of the way place that we enjoyed very much. I had a black bean burger with sweet potato chips, which were quite good. Mr. Mickey enjoyed a salad with plank grilled salmon. Across the alley was Downtown Chocolates, so we were careful to save some room for chocolates afterward.





The town of Brevard is straight south from us and at a lower elevation, so their weather has remained quite a bit warmer than ours.





Since this was a restful weekend retreat with nothing special planned, I brought just a few pieces of clothing that I mixed and matched for easy packing and dressing.





I wore this elegant grey cashmere open cardigan from J.Jill a couple of times over the weekend. Shown above with Chico's jeans, a grey tank from Saks Off 5th, and flat Halogen shoes from Nordstrom.

On the cool, rainy Saturday night out to dinner at the fabulous Orchard Restaurant in Cashiers, North Carolina, I layered the cardigan over another thin grey sweater from Chico's and a cascading vest from Covered Perfectly worn as a scarf. The boots are from Saks Off 5th.

These fabulous black jeans are by French Dressing. They fit very well without being uncomfortable, and they maintain that fit all day. The color stays jet black when you wash them.



I will be sharing more looks from my minimal weekend wardrobe tomorrow.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Daily Favorite

We all have our favorite looks to throw on and go out the door on a day to day basis. My first choice in colder weather is a blazer over a tank and jeans with short booties.


I added a black and white polka dot Ralph Lauren silk-like scarf from Stein Mart. One of my favorite ways to wear a scarf is draped around my neck with a jacket holding it in place. This allows me to add interest and pretty details to my look without adding any bulk to my bust or middle. This works great unless I am wearing a scarf for warmth. In which case, I try to make the tie low at the throat instead of over my bust.




The pop of red from the Tahari bag keeps the look from being too drab. I enjoy carrying a bag that is an accent color. The bag is old from T.J.Maxx.



The tank and jeans are from Chico's. The jacket is from Express. The short black high-heeled boots are a couple of years old by Nine West.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The Conservatory Tour

Sitting in a garden is one of the great pleasures of summer.


The ultimate garden in our area is at the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. We spent the weekend there for Mr. Mickey's birthday.










We toured some of the grounds, the Conservatory, and the garden shop before our check-in time at the Inn.
























I won't bore you with all of the pictures I took in the orchid house. I got carried away because they are my favorite flowers. The variety and fragrances were stunning!


One of the barns we passed along the way to the Inn at Biltmore, where we stayed for the weekend.



During the early part of the day, I wore a white mesh jacket over a white tank top and ankle jeans from Chico's. The shoes are old by Jessica Simpson via T.J.Maxx.

More photos from our fabulous stay at the Inn will be published tomorrow.

Monday, June 8, 2015

The Celebration Continues

In celebration of Mr. Mickey's birthday, we stayed at the Inn on Biltmore Estate for the weekend. We enjoyed a light lunch at the Bistro at Antler Hill Village on Friday, the day of our arrival.
























The entry of the Winery at the Biltmore Estate.










During the early part of the day, I wore a mesh moto-style jacket over a white tank top and ankle jeans from Chico's. The shoes are old by Jessica Simpson, and the bag is by Calvin Klein, both via T.J.Maxx.

More garden tours later. There are too many pictures to share them all in one post!