(Un)happy Trails

(Un)happy Trails by tiffanyrose

Husby calls this unhappy trails because he doesn't want me to go on my trip. I'll be away for 8 days: 5 days on business and 3 days to visit my dad. Seeing my dad will be the best part!

See y'all in about a week ...

A Little Dorky

Have you ever looked at your blog photos once downloaded to view on the computer and get a completely different picture than how you thought you looked in an outfit?

This is one such instance.

If my hair would actually cooperate, and not fall down even with 82 bobby pins in it (are they still called bobby pins?) or cause a headache due to the weight of the hair, I'd put up a messy bun. And if I wore them, I could see wearing some serious looking black frame glasses with this.

Because the whole thing is just a little off.

Kind of like my day that started with a little work crisis when I checked my BlackBerry after getting out of bed. While the little crisis turned out to be way more complicated to resolve, a second problem developed along with an unexpected must-do urgent tasking thrown in and all of these conflicting with a meeting I had to attend.

That was the first hour of the workday. And that's how my day that was expected to be uneventful became a series of "oh [insert appropriate expression for aggravation or panic]" uttered.

The whole time, not feeling quite right since I dashed out the door without the usual two cups of tea.

At the end of the day, it was all fine. The only thing I'm bitterly disappointed about is I won't be able to take Friday off to spend with husby. Bitter. Disappointment. Since I'll be on a plane first thing Sunday morning and I won't be back home until next Sunday night. And my vacation hours earned continue to accumulate in the Bermuda Triangle (as opposed to for a vacation in Bermuda).

:(

Polyvore Post

Does anyone have this cardigan pic saved without the model (and with the critter showing)?

Much To Husby's Delight, I'm Certain

Below what is what appears on the upper left of the monitor when I click on any item on the JC site just now. Literally. No picture. No graphics. Nothing else. Just these words in black and white. Weird.


48% Merino Wool 33% Super Kid Mohair 19% Nylon Exclusive of Decoration

Shocking Pink on a Grey Day

It hailed multiple times over the weekend. Hailed. And not just a quick sprinkle. In SoCal in late March. Can you believe it?

Now we're not talking about golf ball size hail but it was pretty darned wet and cold. And still cold today.

So why am I not taking the opportunity to wear one of my beloved coats?

It's because I was so proud of myself for coming up with this pairing: the tweed and khaki motorcycle jacket with the glow-in-the-dark, in-your-face neon azalea bright pink double-serge wool pencil skirt.

Though I knew the extra thick gauge cambridge turtleneck sweater wouldn't tuck smoothly under, I did one of those "I don't care, I'm gonna wear it anyway" things in my head.

All day long, I'd shock myself everytime I caught my reflection in the many panes of glass around the office. Wow, it's bright.

Things like this become a brain game for me to solve. I'll likely wear the skirt again soon to come up with a different solution.

Do you have this skirt and have you figured out how to wear it?

Printed Hair-Calf Mary Janes

5'2" wearing 00

Can't think of a whole lot to say about this either.  I only wore the outfit to show off the shoes. Sparked by the Top 10 JC Shoes discussion on JCA a couple weeks back.

Oops, I didn't show the heels but they are of a height I thought would wound me. I must finally be trained after decades of wearing heels because they were just fine. Not that I can run up and down the stairs in them or anything. But at the end of the day, I did not hobble to the car and rip them off my feet. And I should have done a coffee maker/handbag dust bag photo shoot because they really are beauties (maybe I will over the weekend).

In case anybody is interested, that is the Minnie pant in wool herringbone. I like them a lot.

I'll try to start packing this weekend for a weeklong trip starting the week after next. At least I hope so. Better that than packing at 2 a.m. the morning I have to be at the airport by 0630 so I start my business trip severely disadvantaged from being up all night.

This weekend, I'm looking forward to sleeping in (it's the simple things in life). What do you look forward to on weekends?

Cat Got My Tongue

With not much to say about this outfit and while trying to come up with a title for the post and polyvore set, I decided the saying was perfect. Isn't it so very clever of me to combine my lack of words and the leopard print, though I've never been fond of idioms incorporating the body (let's play it by ear, why don't you eye ball it ... yuck!).

Then I thought I'd serve the educational purpose of blogs by looking into where that figure of speech came from. Umm ... no. Even yuckier. The only thing I want to pass on is, contrary to some theories on the origin, the saying isn't that old (well, it's all relative), as it wasn't found in print until 1881. That is an important fact since it counters the yuckiest of the explanation for where that phrase came.

So, back to the not much to say. This is the dream sweater dress (was it Ema who said sometimes the JC namer of things must go on vacation?), leopard print scarf (yep, you coulda guessed) and Emmett high-heel ankle boots.

For warmth and comfort and a little bit of style, it was the cat's pajamas.

A Little Behind

Not only is our time zone in California behind most of the country, it seems our seasons (if you can call them seasons) in SoCal are late.

Our summers start in August. And I often feel silly for wanting to wear cozy sweaters with a snowflake motif during the Christmas holiday season when the temps call for a tee and a light cardi. So now you may better understand why just as most of you are making sprightly sets for spring on Polyvore, I'm still stuck on heavier woolen things.

You JC veterans will recognize the dream Houndstooth button-bow cardi and I have a trusty tissue turtleneck under it (with my thin wool thermal top, a winter staple, under that!). The skirt is the now-classic double-serge wool pencil skirt.

a better view of the heels

And think I'm behind again but I've finally discovered booties this season. Love, love, love them for style, comfort and warmth. These are the Bellamy leather ankle boots. Just as I'm surprised at how comfortable the Clifton booties have been with their 3.5" heels, these feel the same with the same heel height and they too are lined in leather (so important for shoes to properly break in). I love the clean, sleek shape and the neutral, slightly warm grey color. Come to think of it, these might be the only shoes I have in grey.

Sheesh ... I know I've been looking for grey for years!

It's the Little Things

Meet Sunny. I picked him up one day on impulse. Thought he'd make a fun little impromptu gifty for husby. Little did I know how perfect that was. Unbeknownst to me, husby was feeling blue that day and Sunny added the needed cheer and has been a favorite desk buddy ever since.

It's not always a major thing that makes a big difference. (How's that for a segue?) I was drawn to this Spindrift sweatshirt for its bold stripes and striking blue color. And when it went a little wacko on Polyvore, took it for a sign I must have it. As many have found, it's a heavy tee not a sweatshirt. Still, I love the bold stripes I love the striking blue color. I love the sensuously thick slub knit. But! I don't love the price (it's $52 with the recent 20% off sale). And here's the kicker (and the reason it's being kicked back) ... one of the stripes doesn't match up.

From my perspective, a $50+ tee better be perfect. Though the misalignment is slight and probably no one else would notice, these little things bug me.

I may try again with the hope of getting one more carefully constructed. And now I have a small confession to make (seems I'm baring my soul a lot lately) ... enabled by you, you and you, I cheated on a long-time relationship! {gasp!}


And I've committed big time: Final Sale. 

What little things bug you? What do you think about my pick ups? And did you get any goodies recently from KS?

Come Fly with Me

5'2" wearing regular 00

Don't ask. I don't know what I was doing but do you think I should fire my stylist?

And would you believe I was bold enough to go out and about wearing this colorful getup?

You can't see it all that well and it's bunched up from pulling on the jacket too quickly (gotta fire that stylist) but that is one of my very favorite old-school cashmere critter sweaters (I'm pleading with this one too to not wear out). See here for a better view of the intarsia crest design.

Speaking of old school ... yes, that is the Lexington jacket. I was either going through my rebellion with corporate wear or it was during my time with technology incompatible for online shopping (topic for upcoming post, maybe) but I missed the Lexington the first time around. With the help of the aftermarket community, this cheerful, new old stock beauty made its way to me. Yay!

I'm now going to publicly declare my weakness for multiples (hangs head in shame, hides). Let's just say I have several pairs of the Café capri in wool. I "qualify" for wearing petites but I am wearing the regular. Love the length. It's not capri as intended, but I think it's perfect as I don't find myself thinking if only it could be [insert desired measurement] longer or shorter. Though they're unlined, the wool is very soft so maybe it's better to skip the cold clammy feel of a lot of the lining material used these days. I love the fit I love the colors. Thus. Multiples.

I declared my love for the Clifton booties on this post. Had not expect to like them so much when I ordered the black ones (uh oh, multiples again). Ended up throwing out my rule of anything above a 3.25" heel better be breathtakingly gorgeous femme fatale shoes because I'll be suffering for vanity. The heels are 3.5" and the online description of "all beautifully balanced on a slender stacked wood heel" is true! I have worn them for 12 hours straight, I've run in them (short distance) and I don't recall thinking about them except how good they let me strut. I think the beautiful balance is part of the reason, the other is the leather lining. (I don't understand leather uppers with man-made lining.) Had to get the dark nutmeg too, with justification of need for neutral shoes in a lighter color.

Because these bad boy 3.5" heels make me feel like I can fly in and kick butt. In a good way. :)

Some Enchanted Evening

On the weekends, husby and I usually sit out back to have coffee or tea in the mornings. We changed it up and decided to also sit out one evening, splitting a bottle of beer (I know, we're wild!) while watching the sunset.

I'm pretty sure that bright spot to the left of the moon is Venus.