Saturday Afternoon

Readers often ask me what I wear on a casual day when I am just staying home or running out for errands.

On this windy, rainy day, I wore red slim leg pants with an animal print sheer tunic from Chico's and a nude foundation tank from Carlisle. Even though the tank is technically a foundation item, it is so pretty it can be seen peeking out from beneath a sheer blouse. The Kenneth Cole Reaction sandals in gold are from T.J.Maxx.

The old Post Office and Custom House in Bristol, Tennessee, is one of my favorite local buildings. It was constructed in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture and opened in 1901. It is now a private office belonging to friends Joe and Cindy Gregory, who began restoring it to its full glory in 1999.

Seasonal Closet Shock

It happens every spring. When the weather gets warm, and it comes time to get dressed for any casual event, I experience the dreaded... Closet Shock!

Now that the weather is warm, Mr. Mickey and I have brought back the Wednesday date night tradition.

On this date night, we visited a new, very casual restaurant in Johnson City. The Local Kitchen and Wine Bar reminds me of the 1980s, from the wine and liquor bottles used as the ceiling to the pennies inlaid in the floors.

Our dear friend Tony Seaton's beautiful daughter, Shelley, works there, for now, so she was our main reason for visiting. Shelley will soon be leaving for culinary school, and we wish her every success and happiness as she begins this new chapter of her life.

A Weekend Away

We celebrated eight wonderful happy years of dating by staying at The Martha for the weekend.

Mr. Mickey promptly picked me up on Friday afternoon for the drive up to Abingdon, Virginia. My travel attire was a simple red comfort top from Covered Perfectly under a cropped red on red Ruby Rd. Jeweled sweater from Dillard's last year. The jeans are from Chico's last fall, and DVF shoes were from Nordstrom last year.   

Later in the evening, after we dressed for dinner, we took a few photos in the beautiful hotel's foyer.

I wore a black lace front Travelers sweater jacket over a black tank top and black crepe evening slacks, all from Chico's. I found the T-strap black leather and suede high heels at T.J.Maxx last year. The Kenneth Cole Reaction bag is also from T.J.Maxx. 

Each table in the restaurant had some sort of what-not (as my grandmother used to call them). This one was on our table, so I teased Mr. Mickey that he had won The People's Choice Award. Here he is giving his acceptance speech. Thankfully there were very few people dining at this late hour, so we didn't disturb anyone with our shenanigans.

During our stay at the hotel, we met two amazing sixty-year-old women whom we visited on several occasions during the weekend.  That's Audrey above. She is the President of a building supply company and has also served as the only female President of their national trade organization. Mr. Mickey and I were both captivated by her bubbly personality and boundless energy. We had breakfast with Audrey and her handsome husband, Allen, on Saturday. They both were so delightful and interesting! We hope to spend many more happy hours in their company.

Below is Katie. She was a music teacher before she retired. Here she is singing "When I Fall In Love" to us at our table. She should be on the Voice of America's Got Talent. She has a lovely voice and a wonderful outgoing personality to go along with it. 

You already know Mr. Mickey loves to share an occasional bread pudding after dinner. This one is banana bread, and it was so good. 

During the day on Saturday, we spent some time shopping and reading in the library and attempting to play a game of checkers. I was too sleepy to be much of a challenge, so we ended up reading until we both started to fall asleep in front of the fire. We ended the afternoon by having a couple's massage in the Spa.  

I wore a metallic cardigan sweater over my shoulders. The long necklace includes matte beads in silver and gold and can easily be converted to a shorter necklace. The black knit top has a high-low hem, and I wore it with khaki zipper ankle pants. All items are from Chico's. The block heel sandals were found at T.J.Maxx last week.

After we dressed for dinner at Rain Restaurant in downtown Abingdon, we snapped a few more pictures in the lobby. 

On Saturday night, I wore a cobalt blue silk jacket from Dillard's with the same tank, pants, and shoes I wore the night before. Traveling light means packing things that can be worn in different combinations. This is one of the great jackets I bought at Dillard's awesome sale a couple of weeks ago.

There is a park on the hotel's grounds, so I couldn't resist sitting in the warm sunshine while the valet attendant was going for our car. 

Spring Is In The Air

We had dinner with friends this spring-like Sunday evening.

It was wonderful to wear only a lightweight navy linen jacket from Appleseed's with a white tank top and khaki zip ankle pants from Chico's. The sunglasses are by Kenneth Cole Reaction from T.J. Maxx. I found the Anne Klein Sport sandals at T.J.Maxx. The bag is by Coach from their outlet in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

Friday Date Night

This is one of my favorite and most comfortable ways to dress.

This is an example of column dressing.

Wear one dark color from head to toe. Add a sweater or jacket in the correct length for your height.

Add one bold accessory and a colorful bag that does not match your shoes.

Column dressing gives you a long, lean look, and it takes the eye away from the middle.

The sweater is from Chico's last year. The V neck long sleeve tee and the clutch are from T.J.Maxx. The pants are from Ross. The shoes are from Nordstrom. All these items are old, and the colors I used are black, red, and ecru. If black is too draining of a color for you to wear near your face, any dark color will serve the purpose.

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. 

Saturday Was A Two Outfit Day!

Some days are so full of activities I need different looks.

During the early part of this beautiful warm day, I wore this great Covered Perfectly open collar tunic to brunch with a low slung Chico's belt and old side zip pants from Talbots.

We were thrilled to have temperatures above 65 degrees today!

In the afternoon, we visited Abingdon, Virginia, to have a late lunch and do some shopping.

I have a confession to make. I may have an addiction to Michael Kors bags! I bought another one just like this in black yesterday at T.J.Maxx.

The shoes are by DVF last year from Nordstrom.

In the evening, we attended the 50th-anniversary party for exceptional friends. I knew it would be much cooler later, so I wore this wool jacket from Talbots last year with a red Chico's tank underneath. The gold cuff is also from Chico's.

It was such great fun to visit with Susan (Easterly) Coleman and Tim Coleman of Easterly-Coleman on Court in Abingdon, Virginia. They are so friendly and helpful each time we enter their store. This is one of two stores they own in the region. They are a fabulous source for unique items, furniture, and design services.

Thank you for reading my blog and for joining me on this journey through mid-life and beyond.

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.

Oh So Slimming!

I wore a So Slimming ™ collection Ponte skirt from Chico's to dinner last night. 

This turquoise silk jacket I bought at Stein Mart earlier this year had never been worn. Now that cooler weather has arrived, I paired it with a black tank also from Chico's. 

The Ponte Collection™  dress from Chico's is great fitting and very comfortable. I tried it last week but didn't buy it because I felt it was too short for me. Now that I see these pictures, I realize that I could wear the shorter dress with opaque hose and a bright jacket and still look appropriate. 

Earlier this year, I promised myself not to buy anything else black, but as a base with a brighter color near the face, it can still work with my softer coloring. I love how comfortable all the pieces are in the Ponte Collection, so I will be at Chico's again later today.

Some of you have written to ask why I so rarely wear a skirt or dress. My calves and ankles are thick and too short compared to the rest of my body, so I am usually more comfortable in pants. I can never wear tall boots for that same reason. All my boots are the short version.

We all have our little tips and guidelines that we follow to look and feel our best. In sharing some of mine, I hope you will be inspired to try new combinations of the things already in your closet and perhaps make your next shopping trip less stressful. 

I found these T-Strap heels by BGBGeneration at T.J.Maxx last month. I am wearing nude Calvin Klein hosiery.

Since the rain was pouring down this evening, we shot these photos in my living room. That is not what I had planned, but sometimes you have to go with the flow (pun intended).