Friday, March 29, 2013

One Day, Two OOTD's

 
I seem to be posting once a week these days, mostly because I don't get out of the house much. Which means I work at home and nothing interesting is happening over here. Get up, walk the dog, feed the cats, have breakfast, work, go out for milk or something like that, maybe visit my friend at her shop, have lunch... If my life is not exciting, my outfits are even less interesting.
 
But it doesn't mean that I'm not getting any ideas. Here is a sweet outfit from the blog Pink Peonies that I've discovered not so long ago.
 

So I dressed in something similar that I already had in my wardrobe.


This is what I wore to get the car from the workshop. They had to put in a new (reconditioned) engine which set us back for about US$ 1750-ish. It really hurts but it's much cheaper than getting another car. Plus the husband needs to get to work on Tuesday when the holidays are over. Is it true that in US you can get a car for this kind of cash? Not here.


Anyway, having replaced the gears a year and a half ago and the engine, we have a new car. That's my consolation story, and I mean it. Here's to another million years of service!

I thought of taking my hot-pink clutch with me, but it was too small for everything plus the cheque-book.


My comfy Zara slippers came back from winter storage.


Later that same day (yesterday that is) we drove to Ashdod for a stroll along the beach. I wore my denim dress for the first time. It looks quite "ample" on top. There is a side zipper but I can put it on without opening it.


Decided to take my trench with me, just in case. And I was so glad I did - it was really breezy and nice. The kind of weather we all love but it lasts no more than a couple of weeks. Israel doesn't have Spring and Autumn, it's either Summer or Winter. But those couple of weeks are really nice.


The dress has two pairs of hancuffs on it, top and bottom. With an inscription "Love forever". Really cheesy, I know, but luckily small enough. And I can take them off if I want.


The Passover holidays will be over early next week, the husband goes back to work on Tuesday and the Kid returns to school on Wednesday. Life will go back to normal (what is that?)

Have a great weekend, everyone.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

This and That. And Pink.

 
This past week I "fell out of circulation". I discovered "Breaking Bad", watched 4 seasons up to last night and started season 5. I'd have watched it all today but my family rebelled and voted for other things to do and watch. It got so bad that I had dreams "Breaking Bad"-style last night. But I know that I'm not going to rest until I get my fix. Tonight, after the family goes to sleep... Viewing drugs, anyone?
 
Fashion-wise, this week has been good, but I didn't take any pictures. Well, almost. I happened to visit "Forever 21" store in Tel Aviv and bought these pretty flats. I've seen similar flats on the internet, I think they were Ann Taylor, but for NIS 67  (about 18 US$) I couldn't say no.
 
Here they are in action (pardon my chicken-white feet).

This was the outfit - jeans, stripes, pink blazer and leopard bag. And my Zara bugs necklace. I went to H&M in search of a neon pink necklace but didn't find anything that I liked. So blue and yellow bugs stayed on.


In other news, the other day I posted photos of the cats I'm taking care of. And here are the rest of them. These guys stay permanently outside. I go and feed them twice a day. Their code-names are - from the top - Loudmouth, Fatso, Squeaky and Intelligent. Loudmouth is the youngest and the noisiest, Fatso is like velvet to the touch, Squeaky is extremely cheeky and Intelligent is the oldest, he's older than my Kid - about 14 or so.

Went for a nail-filing hike with Boomer last night. The sunset was really weird and it was crazy windy. Not the best photo in the world but you can see the top of Boomer's head at the bottom. I find it kinda cute.


Next week is Passover, the school is out and the hubby will be home as well.  No plans yet. First we have to get the car back from the garage. The old dear's engine had died and we've been "horseless" for most of the week already. We don't know how much it'll set us back for, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

My friend the shop owner went to Turkey and brought back a shipment of really nice stuff. I've already got my grabby little fingers on two dresses and I'm waiting for a pair of black and white stripey jeans in my size. I'll try to get off my butt and take some pictures. Till then.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Hot Day

 
 
 
It's only mid-March, and the temperatures hit 33 yesterday. Which is 91.4 Fahrenheit. I went out of the house wearing this. Luckily (or is it?) it was so dry that I didn't sweat. Normally it's humid here and you're just swimming in synthetic clothing. So I was grateful for that.
 
It's supposed to stay crazy hot till the end of the week. Next week it might rain. Go figure this climate!
 
Anyway, Iphone pictures turned out blurry this time. Must be my fault.
 

Nobody tried to grab my necklace which was nice. People admired it at a distance. Thanks everyone for not invading my personal space!!!


Popped into H&M for a quick photo-op.




And my peplum family just got bigger. I got this top from H&M conscious collection. It's made of organic cotton. You see two of them in the fitting room. I always take a couple of sizes with me, especially now that I don't know if I really sized down or not. The smaller size fit better. Yay!


And I found an unexpected treat at the Moretti store. This bag was surprisingly and relatively inexpensive. It has a strap but I might just wear it as a clutch, we'll see.


I also drooled over some shoes, beige and gold pointy toed flats and cream and black heels. Will wait for just before Passover, they usually have a holiday sale then. Might get them both.

And now back to work. Pregnant Gloria, Jay and the other members of the Family are waiting for me to translate them into Russian.

Monday, March 11, 2013

The Animal News

 
Sorry fashion lovers and OOTD colleagues, but this is a pet post. More than that, those cats are not mine. But the iguana is, and he's been climbing into the most unusual spaces.
 
This is how Norman spent half of today, hugging his sun-lamp. It doesn't get too hot (the lamp is mostly for UVA\UVB rays) but must have been pleasant for him.
 

And here is Norman on the unguided tour of the kitchen. Photographing against the light was not the best idea but the only possible solution. His dewlap (beard) is out because he is trying to scare me away.


I have my animals to take care of. As if that was not enough, I agreed to help out my neighbor who had to go away for a couple of months. She has a big apartment next door (or rather, next balcony over). And she takes care of cats. There are about five or six street cats that she feeds and three that sleep in the house, two of which go out during the day. Complicated enough? Anyway, feeding, watering and cleaning the litterbox is my job now. Twice a day, like clockwork. If I'm two minutes late, there is a delegation waiting at the front door.

So today I'd like to introduce you to three adorable guys that spend the night at the penthouse.

This is Ivan, he looks like a Brit. He's a dude. Beautiful blue eyes. He could use a shower but I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing. He is old and wise, I love him like my own and worry about him. He has a bum leg (broken and operated on). Sometimes if I don't see him for a while I go looking for him. But he is very independent.


This young man has the most amazing turquoise eyes I've ever seen. He is very affectionate and sweet. He shows up every evening and leaves in the morning. I have no idea where he spends the days.


And this guy never leaves the house. There is something wrong with his right eye, I don't think it can see. The other eye is fine. He is big and strong. It took him about two weeks to warm up to me and now he is just a love bubble.


So you've met my furry friends.

And now for something completely different. Look what I found in my Mom's closet! Like I said on Instagram, the eighties called, they want their jacket back. It's perfect for the spring weather we're having right now. A t-shirt and this jacket is just right.


These were the news from the Ville. I've hardly left the house in the last four days, working and doing stuff at home. And feeding cats. Don't laugh, it's almost a full time job. No, it's better than working with humans - the cats appreciate you and what you're doing. Or they would just invade my house.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Navy Yellow Day

Went out of the house with a bang that is my yellow pants. I feel extremely visible when I wear them. They've already premiered on the blog here and I wore them with brown and leopard. Today I paired yellow with navy which looks like black on all the photos but the last two.
 

Here I'm imitating an ageing bodybuilder's pose. I wanted to show the peplum and didn't know what to do with my left arm. I am such a skillful photographer \ model! Anyway, I bought this top in October and this is the first wearing. I got it before I slimmed down, luckily I sized down. Call it intuition. Or hope.


People were staring at my HRH Collection necklace. Was it too much adding a brooch? The jacket was asking for something. I think it's looks OK. No bracelets today though - that would be over the top.


Walked around in these "Spanish booties" all day. It was not too bad until I came home and took them off. Had to do some foot stretching exercises.


Last week I finally got myself an Iphone 4. I didn't want iphone 5 for a dumbest reason, it's bigger. I don't want a huge phone and this little guy is just the right size. Anyway, I'm still learning how to use it, including the camera. I've had my Samsung Galaxy for the last year and a half, and I could preset the camera so that photo size would be around 100 Kb. I don't think I can do it with the iphone. And the size matters because I don't want to overload my blog. Last time it happened Blogger locked me out for a very long time. What I've been doing is transferring the pics to the computer and then emailing them to myself in smaller size. And I'm going to do it until I figure out another way (if I ever do...).

Anyway, the photos didn't look like much on the iphone but after seeing them on bigger screen I'm happy. With the colors saturation, sharpness, contrast. This is me playing around in the H&M fitting room. Here you can see that the top and the blazer are navy and not black.



I tried on a stripey blazer and a dress but didn't get either of them. The dress felt too nylony and synthetic which is a death sentence in our Israeli heat. And the blazer was perfect but how many of them do I need? I was being reasonable. (See me running to get that blazer next week... Better not.)
So I went to a supermarket instead and loaded up on granola and such.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

New Finds

 
I wish I had something new and interesting to report. Well, pardon me for using such a cliche, but I guess no news is good news. Except some shopping haul news which are almost never bad.
 
So I'll get right down to it.
 
As usual, Zara didn't disappoint. This black top was not on sale but the regular price was not deadly. It has snakeskin-like pattern but you have to really squint to see it in this photo. It looks perfect with skinny jeans and heels. They also had it in white but I didn't love it as much as the black version. Haven't worn it yet, maybe tomorrow.
 

And this off-white bag\clutch was on sale for about 16 bucks. It had a couple of smudges but I decided to risk it anyway. Came home, cleaned the bag with a regular wet wipe and the smudges disappeared. Score!


I really love the black and white trend. I might get myself a stripey jeans or\and a shirt. But I'll be looking at H&M rather than Zara. Put that on my list.

But the jewel of all good finds was waiting for me yesterday at the secondhand store. I went there just to have a look and found a classic coat. I've been looking for a coat like this for ages. It's old but new, I don't think it was worn much if at all. The lady at the store said that the coat "comes from a very good home".

 
These are the labels. I tried to look it up and found a "Jonelle cashmere jumper" from the 70s. I guess this coat is from the 70s too. And where can you find a coat made in England for a mere 50 dollars? It's not exactly a thrift-shop price but I'll have it forever. Just have to go buy some non-stinky mothballs.

 
 
Now I'm praying for a cold spell so that I can wear my coat. But in Israel in March that would be a real miracle. Oh well, better luck next year. I'm happy anyway!