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Cinco de Mayo

The plan was to go out for Mexican Cuisine as soon as I finished my shift this evening.

LB managed to rustle up some amigos to join us for dinner.

My idea of a good time is to go to my favorite Mexican restaurant La Nopalera.  There are several locations in town and I’ve been to almost all of them.  We met at the La Nopalera in the Oakleaf Town Center.  This location is notoriously crowded and there is ALWAYS a wait.  And unlike their website, they have NO music.  Fortunately we managed to secure a table [within the three hour wait period] and enjoy several baskets of chips accompanied by queso, salsa and guacamole.

chips, crisps, mexican

Now for the real 411… I wanted to wear my Lauren Conrad red/orange crochet dress to work today, but it was forecast to be too chilly tonight for this particular dress.  Instead I was unprepared and ended up wearing an orange blouse and skinny jeans.  Today I am shopping for Cinco de Mayo outfits so I will have something appropriate as a back up plan.  Below are my better late than never outfit ideas that I am sure will work just as well next year and throughout the summer

Venus / Shein  / LOFT / Payless

The Mint Julep Boutique / World Market / Venus / ASOS

Amazon / Similar  / SAKS / Venus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May the Fourth

Just like any other day of the month thus far, May 4th started with getting ready for the day and heading out the door to work.  It has been beautiful spring weather and today was no exception.  My cameraman followed me to my car and sent me on my way

Here I go…

Since giving him the task of photographing my outfit ideas, LB follows me around like the Paparazzi.

I love it.

There are six programmed radio stations in my car and most of them would likely be considered “oldies”.

Nevermind that last statement… I googled “oldies” and the result was music from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.  Most of My oldies are from the ’80s.

While I’m driving to and from work, I will typically switch stations multiple times, in search of a song I like. This morning I managed to hear “Maneater” by Hall and Oates THREE times. What’s more fascinating than that is the fact that I listened to it each of those three times.

I cannot help but include this in my post today.  I’m sorry… I just can’t help it

“I wouldn’t if I were you
I know what she can do
She’s deadly man
And she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there
But a beast is in the heart”

Why do I like this song? I have no explanation. However it reached number one on the Billboard chart in December, 1982, and continued there for four weeks, more than any of Hall & Oates five other number-one hits.  I hope you enjoyed watching one of my favorite duos.

AND…

 

Happy Anniversary

Our sweet friends Laurie and Wayne celebrated their 20 year wedding anniversary this year on May 1st.

To enjoy this momentous occasion [i.e. party on], we and another couple (Debbie and Ray) joined them for a dining experience at

III Forks Best Prime Steakhouse

Our waiter, Brandon was very attentive and did a wonderful job as our server and also as our photographer

It was unlike our typical casual restaurant; very classy and quite an elaborate dining experience.  The beef croustades appetizer was AMAZING and even more amazing was the price… free.  Dinner was À la carte and sides served family style.  We each ordered a different entree and enjoyed a taste of fish, rib-eye, ravioli, fried Brussels sprouts, potatoes Au gratin (with another name that I can’t remember), snow peas… and of course the blue cheese and bacon stuffed olives.  Leave it to me to bring the place down a notch

At the end of the meal, Wayne and Laurie were presented with 2 slices of cake (Pecan and Chocolate) topped with lit candles.

We each enjoyed a few bites, which was over the top delicious, then left feeling completely satisfied.

It was a memorable experience and I’ll give it

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

 

 

 

 

 

I almost forgot… Here is what I wore:

You can find my dress HERE.

Nine West Womens Kalner Slingback Dress Sandals 6

And my shoes in taupe HERE.

 

Saturday at LOFT Outlet

I’m not sure what caused the influx of emails from LOFT, but my inbox is inundated!  With all of the sales and other bloggers recently posting about this company, I knew it was only a matter of time until I made my way to the store itself.  The only location I am aware of is at the St. John’s Town Center, which did not happen to be on the path of my Saturday travels.  Since I didn’t intend on venturing to the town center to shop LOFT, I found the LOFT outlet on my way out Saturday.

It was the red clearance signs that caught my attention first so I headed in that direction

followed by my conspicuous camera man who doesn’t miss a moment of my shopping experience.

I picked up a pair of navy shorts that were marked down to $19.99 but then noticed the “shorts buy one, get one free” sign.  The BOGO shorts were $44.99 and $36.99.

After finding a couple of different sizes I thought might work, I headed for the “Wardrobing Room”.

With several colors to choose from, I finally decided to buy these.  The total cost came to $47.91 (with tax) and I thought that wasn’t too bad for a couple of well-made items.  I’m sure I’ll put them to good use.

LOFT Riviera Shorts with 4" Inseam

The same 4″ shorts can be found online in solid colors, but I did not see any of the same printed shorts that were in the outlet.

My camera man loves me

 

 

About Blogging

Since starting my wordpress blog on March 10th I have learned so much about setting up a blog.


I have been a follower of several fashion blogs for several years.  It was J’s Everyday Fashion that hooked me.  J would find a fashionable outfit, and style a look-a-like from items in her own closet.  She gave me a good amount of styling info.  Then I stumbled onto Grace + Beauty which led me to Jolynn Shane and others.  I arrogantly expected that I could produce the same type of blog with great ease.

Not so much.

I’ve come a long way in one month (learned at lot), but have a long way to go.
That said, if I can help others have an easier time with this process, I am happy to do so.

To begin, here is what I’ve learned:
First of all, wordpress.com is BY FAR easier to manage than wordpress.org.  HOWEVER, if you hope to have a blog like the ones aforementioned, you’ll need to utilize wordpress.org and first find a host (I use Blue Host), then install wordpress from that host site

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Secondly, there are SO MANY themes you can choose from  if you have a self-hosted blog (wordpress.org).  Choose wisely and KNOW that yours will not look the same without modifications.  I have a Genesis theme that I have yet to customize to the point that it looks like the theme I purchased

If you know nothing about CSS (and such), you will need help.  I have spent many hours searching YouTube for help.  It can be found, but it takes time.  This research time will cut into the time you may have spent writing/posting.  If you have a full-time job and spend time commuting like I do, don’t be disappointed when your blog is not all that you expected in a short amount of time.
Next, your photos may seem to lose clarity when you “Add Media” into your post.  In the editing stage, make sure you select “Media File”.  Mine was default set to “None”.  It changed many of my photos when I corrected this.

Which brings me to my “Site Icon” which is set in “Site Identity” when you customize your “Active Theme”.    That was a run-on sentence, but forgive me.  This is the Icon I created on the PicMonkey website

It may not mean all that much; you see this icon in the tab when you visit a website.  I wanted mine to look “clean”.  It took learning PicMonkey to make that happen.  If you are as OCD as I am you’ll understand why this matters.  I’ll be happy to answer any questions.

Now… my post with the most views is dated March 31 and was regarding what I thought to be a super-fail.  Here it is:

As he walked through the kitchen in an early morning funk, LB announced sleepily “well baby, it’s the last day of fall”.  I looked at him and replied, “I don’t even know what you just said.”

Well baby… its the last day of March!

Today I jumped in with my eyes closed and for the first time I posted to Jo Lynne Shane’s [famous] Fashion Friday.

I attached my 50 Shades of Red post because I thought it was a pretty good ‘over 40 fashion blog’ post for someone who doesn’t really know what she’s doing in the world of BLOG.  Only I cut my head off.  How sad is that?  My LB exclaimed “OH NO” when I showed him.  I felt like a failure.

Apparently I’m resilient.

Today I helped [at least] 2 people.  One little old fella (and I say that because he did) who couldn’t figure out a problem.  And one lady who just wanted someone to care, and attempt to fix her problem.  And I Will fix her problem.  I don’t feel like a failure.

As a side note, I looked pretty today.  This is what I wore:

There’s more and I’ll continue my blogging quest and Happily help anyone who has questions.

Let me know yours

Casual Friday

TGIF and I am NOT KIDDING!

Its a beautiful day and I have spring fever.  Today would have been the perfect day to play hookie.  I was completely unmotivated by anything in my closet this morning.  Patience was not a virtue for me as I stood in my closet with a blank stare at the sea of fabric hanging from the racks.  With no desire to put an outfit together, I grabbed this yellow shirt from NY & Co and the light blue skinny jeans that I rarely wear.  And voilà… casual Friday outfit

There are 452 emails (exaggeration) from LOFT in my inbox.  Truth be told, I have NEVER purchased an item from LOFT.  However I did tag an item from their website once and I cannot help but admire their sales persistence.  Currently there is Free Shipping on $125 and 40% off when using code: OHGOODIE.

I’m looking at the website right now.  This little skirt is TOO CUTE and

Image of Boho Shift Skirt

would look great with an Old Navy Everywhere Relaxed V-Neck tee and these little shoes product photoOr maybe these little shorts

Thumbnail Image of Color Swatch 0544 Image of Marigold Tie Waist Shortspaired with one of the same Old Navy V-Neck Tees in slate, pine or navy.  Buy them all… they are only $6.  Or pair them with this Cold Shoulder top they are pictured with here

Primary Image of Cold Shoulder TopI might need that outfit.

Me and my orange obsession cannot help but LOVE this Sunflower Lace Shell

which would pair nicely with denim blue or white.

I suppose I’m going to need to visit LOFT and try some of these items out for myself.  Sounds like a good shopping trip idea for Saturday!

Retail Therapy

One of my weaknesses is shopping.

This is a known fact to anyone has spent time with me (or read my blog).

Retail therapy is what some call it and rightly so.  I find that it is an escape and a form of entertainment. It doesn’t always involve a purchase. Most of the time it involves filling up a shopping cart then closing the webpage. Occasionally I will find myself searching for something like a new pair of sandals in a specific color, with straps across the toes (not between) and a heel no higher than 2 ¼ inches.  That is what I ENJOY!

This type of expedition may take weeks.  Currently I am stalking these little sandals:

They meet all the criteria.  And would look nice with this outfit…

I love planning and styling outfits.  It isn’t always easy to put the whole outfit together.  This is what I wore today:

I purchased this top a few years ago on a shopping spree night from Venus.com.  Never worn until today.  I love the top and tried styling it with white pants.  It is so sheer that I could see my belt loops under the top.  I didn’t like seeing my belt loops.  Or my pants pockets or buttons for that matter.  But wearing it with this little scuba skirt was an entirely different story.  Nice and smooth.

For anyone interested… in the background is the 2015 Anniversary Edition Race Red Ford Mustang that has been part of my family since last January (2016).  I drove that to work today.  It matches my top.

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