WEAR it Wednesday!

Today marks the launch of a new feature on the Facebook page for Fifty, not Frumpy.

My project for today is this ikat pattern cardigan. I bought it on sale at Chico's last fall. I have never worn it because it is too lightweight for cool weather, and it really needs to be worn with a tank top so that the arms aren't too snug. Now that I have tried it on with warm weather pants and sandals, I think I might wear it often. (I shot this image into an antique mirror hanging in my laundry room.)

We all have things in our closets that we rarely wear, if ever. I am on a mission to wear all those things in my closet or donate them to someone who can use and enjoy them. I had this in mind when I started "Wear It Wednesday." 

THE BROTHER BOYS

Yesterday's weather was a bit warmer during the day. 

My daytime outfit included a pair of khaki ankle jeans and an almond color tank from Chico's with a lightweight turquoise sweater from Dillard's a couple of years ago. The necklace is from Chico's last year. The sandals are from T.J.Maxx earlier this year. The handbag is from Stein Mart last year. 

For our evening out with friends, I switched to a warmer sweater and a different necklace both from Chico's. The bag is from Stein Mart a few years ago.

We joined two other couples at The Down Home to listen to the Brother Boys and Ed Snodderly.

The Down Home was founded in 1976 and has become a mecca for music lovers in Upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The primary emphasis is on quality music, and the performance atmosphere promotes listening rather than socializing. I was last there in 1977 so this was a fun revisit to one of my college time occasional hangouts. 

Ed Snodderly is a legend both here and abroad. He just returned from a tour of Europe to reunite with his friends the Brother Boys. 

Oldies But Goodies

Mother nature continues to taunt us with a warm spring day followed by a very cool cloudy day. 

I hope to convey several messages with this blog. One of which is you don't have to have a lot of money to look nice. I constantly shop in stores such as T.J.Maxx, Ross, and on the site Dalitka.

I get so many compliments on this hand-painted handmade silk kimono each time I wear it. 

Mr. Mickey loves vintage too! His favorite car will be twenty years old very soon. If you take care of your treasures and choose classic styles they will serve you well for many years whether it be a car or a lovely classic style of spring coat.

Philanthropy

I am very proud to be a Leadership member of The Women's Fund of East Tennessee, which serves as a catalyst to transform the lives of low-income women and girls in East Tennessee. This week we held our luncheon celebration at the Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville, TN, to award grants to the programs we earlier voted to support in our communities.

When you invest in a woman, you invest in a family, a community, and ultimately a region. By helping women and girls, we create stronger communities for all of us. I encourage you to join a Women's Fund near you to make a difference for your community.

It was quite cool during the early morning hours, so I wore this fabulous spring coat, which was a gift from Dalitika.

As the weather began to warm up, I removed the spring coat. The blue travelers style tank and pants and the jacket and necklace are all from Chico's last year.

The shoes are from T.J.Maxx earlier this season. The bag is from Coach.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the day was spending time with my dear friend Carol Transou and her delightful husband Bedford. They were so gracious to invite me to ride down to Knoxville with them. The event also allowed me the opportunity to visit with Bonnie Sampson, another very special lady who is also a founder of our group. 

After the luncheon, we drove through the neighborhood to enjoy looking at the spring flowers and lovely old homes. 

The Symphony Season Finale

The final performance of the season for the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra was last evening.

As is our tradition for symphony performances, we had an early dinner at our favorite restaurant in town, Gourmet and Company. We were about to leave when one of the beautiful twenty-something servers gave me the ultimate compliment. "Miss Susan, I love your style. I would wear any of your looks in a heartbeat." Thank you, Cori! You made my day.

Symphony performances are held at the Mary B. Martin Auditorium at Seeger Chapel on Milligan College's campus. We have often wished we could share a picture with you, but it is always too dark when we arrive. At last, we were able to capture a few images for you.

This evening, the guest performer was John Pizzarelli who performed jazz greats with his group and the orchestra.

I wore a sweater and pants from Chico's last year. The black top is from Covered Perfectly. The shoes are from T.J.Maxx earlier this year.

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.

Vote For Lisa!

Mr. Mickey and I are proud to be on the steering committee to elect Lisa Niddifer Rice as Criminal Court Judge.

Last evening we attended a meet and greet fundraiser at the law offices of one of our dearest friends, Tony Seaton.

 Isn't this a great banner?

I wore black pants from Chico's with a three-quarter sleeve jacket from Dillard's in red with black buttons over a black tank. The sandals are from T.J.Maxx.

Johnson City Area Arts Council Event

One of our favorite annual fundraisers to attend is the 4x4 sponsored by the Johnson City Area Arts Council.

The theme for this event was the 50th Anniversary of the British Invasion. (Do you remember when the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show? Yes, that was 50 years ago!)

The event was held at the beautiful Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City.

I was so happy to see my friend Lisa Nidiffer Rice whose campaign for Criminal Court Judge I am proud to be working on.

When you purchase a ticket for this event, you receive a four-inch by four-inch masterpiece created by a local artist. (Thus, the name 4x4.)  As you sign in for the evening and get your name tag on a ribbon, you also draw a number corresponding to one of the masterpieces. If you would like to trade your masterpiece for another one, you are given a tiny battery-powered light to attach to your tag, which tells everyone you are willing to trade your masterpiece for theirs. It encourages many conversations.

In keeping with the 60's British Invasion theme for the evening, local music legends Lynda Laws and Jason Lloyd, also known as Ivy Road, performed music from that era.

My sweet friend Elanor Bacon Crouch planned and executed the theme and decorations for the event, and Sharon Squibb is one of our talented local artists whose work can be seen to the left between Elanor and me.

I am wearing one of the jackets and the evening sandals I found at my recent Dillard's winter clearance haul. The jacket is a vivid green with hematite gray buttons. Since it is still rather cool in the evenings here, I wore a thin black V-neck tee under the jacket and my old faithful Chico's travelers pants. Wearing the tee with the sleeves pushed up for the event allowed me not to carry or keep up with a wrap for the evening.

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.