Out in the world! 07-26-22

Not much to talk about when all I do is mask up to go to the grocery, Starbuck's, or guild meeting.  Or unmasked to walk the loop with KoKo twice a day.   Fortunately I have friend Carol to tempt me out to lunch once in a while.  We went on Friday to Toast in Brea.  I have talked about this place before and this is the third time we went there.  Could not pass up the fabulous eggs benedict served with chipped French fries and/or arugula with Myer lemon drizzle.  Some day we will taste something else.  Maybe.  

This location is quite large and was at least one other restaurant.  It is cavernous and very noisy.  I find the decor strange - sort of things set out for a garage sale.  The items don't have anything in common and they are not artfully arranged.  

It was quite full on Friday morning and next to our table was an extended group of young ladies, plus one young man and an adult man.  This lady seemed to be in charge of all these young women, perhaps it was a graduation party.  I was fascinated by the clothing they were wearing.  Surely this gal was wearing palazzos from the 70s.

Unlike when I was in my early twenties and ladies mostly wore the same type of clothing, these gals were all over the place.  Jeans (faded and torn, of course), short shorts and spaghetti straps, full slacks and sleeveless top.  Note also loooong hair. 

And then there were short dresses and long, tiered dresses.  Sandals, heels, tennis shoes (or whatever they are called these days). 

They seemed like nice young ladies and they had a great time taking pictures in groups and singles.  When I stood up and hooked my long necklace on the chair back the beads when flying.  Everyone hustled to find them all and put them in a take out container for me to carefully take home.  I do have them all and will need to find someone to do the repair since my hands can no longer to that sort of thing.  

Carol needed to go to a shop in the Brea Mall so we continued our adventures and I will write about them tomorrow.  I hope I can get on line then.  

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Thursday Treasures 05-14-20

Well, this isn't really a treasure, but it is something I have in the back of a closet somewhere.  They are left over from my first marriage which ended in 1969!   I have no idea why I still have them.  Packrat-itis? 

These are stretchers for drying trousers.  Insert one in each leg of the trousers and expand them with the little clips on top and bottom to flatten the legs with a crease down the front and back.  Let them dry, remove the stretchers, and there is a crease and no ironing required.  

I admire people who clean out their house every year, or even every other year.  But it doesn't seem to be something I can accomplish in any year.  I suppose the pandemic would have been a good time to start, but I haven't done it.  Seem to find lots of other more interesting things to do.  Or read a book!  

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Continuing the Guo Pei exhibit at Bower's Museum 06-08-19

Layers and layers and layers....  of silk, precisely pleated.  

Applique and quilting. 

Bamboo basketry with gold applique and embroidery.

Shades of the 1950's.

Recognizing Mary Quant. 

Wedding or birthday cake colors.

Metallic plaques, very tightly fitted. 

3-D triangles like a backpack. 

You saw the shoes in yesterday's post. 

Some more possibilities for normal wear. 

Quo Pei does design for celebrities - clothes for special events.  

Elvis is ready for liftoff. 

"Elvis" from the front. 

And a repeat of my favorite.  How conventional I am!

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Bower's Museum visit 06-06-19

Yesterday, Wednesday, a friend and I visited the Gua Pai exhibit at Bower's Museum in Santa Ana, CA.  The clothing by the Chinese couturier is mostly not for wearing.  She considers it her art expression and it is spectacular.  I took a lot of pictures, but am still struggling to get them from my phone into my laptop.  I'm working on that.  

This comparatively simple gown is my favorite.  My friend pointed out how 1950's it is and that is probably why I like it.  Yep, guilty as charged, I would have worn this to my high school prom and any other special event I could.  

I had hoped to post about 20 images taken at the exhibit, but it has taken me hours to just get this one to show.  Maybe tomorrow I will have better luck.  Meanwhile you can visit the Bower's website for additional images.  The exhibit lasts until July 14 - I highly recommend it for the style, embroidery, fabrics, etc.  

I believe this is the correct URL to reach the website:

https://www.bowers.org/index.php/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/448-guo-pei-couture-beyond#collection

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Wordless Wednesday 08-02-17

 

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Therapy clothes 03-18-11

I don't know how to draw a line between wanting to look gorgeous and wanting to have coordinated clothing.  I do have a thing about being clothing coordinated, but no inclination to worry about being gorgeous at my age!   My major concern about what to wear in the therapy pool was that I be covered adequately, secondly I always desire to have things go together. 

 
So, I am clothed in blue and white - just like my kitchen!  The colors were chosen from what was available.  I had the blue tank top, found the blue/white pj bottoms (which I cut off and did not hem) at Ross and the 'shower shoes' at CVS.  I will have bathing suit to wear - soon, I hope.
 
Therapy went well today.  The therapist cranked up the difficulty and I had a hard time with a few of the exercises.  Especially the designed to strength my 'abs', which don't have much to say for themselves.  Tonight I am a little stiff in my upper arms and, of course, my abs.  I did have to take a nap in the afternoon.  Three sessions next week.

Swimsuits for therapy 02-24-11

I've looked at the suits on Land's End.com - how depressing!   And how exposed! 

This one seems to do a lot for this gal - maybe it will do a lot for me.  Ya' think? 

Well, maybe not. 

 

I imagine this is more appropriate.  But will it adequately cover my bulges and bumps?  Or when I lift my arms (if that is necessary) will my boobs leap out? 

I think something like this would be a better choice - armholes where the spot and handle are and a coupla' extra holes for my legs to come out.   Very stylish, eh? 

Gifts 12-20-10

I've explained in the past that I don't "do" Christmas. But I enjoy giving gifts at other times of the year and this is an excellent time of the year to find really different items that someone might enjoy. Today I was 'surfing' the Internet and found a few interesting sites.

The first is Fred Flare.com. They offer serious and not so serious and downright ridiculous gift items. DO check it out, but don't miss the special tea infuser good for an early Beatles fan:

http://www.fredflare.com/customer/product.php?productid=6043&cat=316&bf=cto

Another site I found interesting is wearpact.com. which features underwear for a cause. I was intrigued by the innuendo in the wording of this ad. It is very current - notice the "on your junk" phrase - or was that in common usage before the TSA crackdown?

Nice print on organic cotton. You can see the ladies undies at: http://wearpact.com/shop/category/fit/women/ A little pricey, but imagine how great you would feel in your special undies thinking about lighting a light for a family in Haiti. The website offers an explanation of their "green" policies including a request for suggestions on what to do with the underwear when it wears out - other than putting it in the trash.

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Inventive, anyway. 07-08-08

Someone sent this to me over the weekend and it made me laugh. In fact, everytime I think about it, I laugh again. There are people in this world who still live by the Depression era motto: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

The caption below came with it.

Check out this summer top. No sewing, just a few cuts! It is was taken in front of the Gardendale, Alabama, Wal-Mart while she was going to the Flea market. Look at it closely. Now I ask you...Who sits and looks at a pair of men's briefs and says hmmmm..."I can make a nice summer top from these?" On the other hand...$9 for a three-pack is a good price! Hope she got the tri-color variety pack!