Two Posts in One - Friday Finds Plus!

Okay...it's not Friday (it's Saturday)...but sometimes this working girl is a day late and a dollar short...

This Friday Finds is inspired by Carol Orbeck and Summer of Color 2013...

Summer of Color challenge this week was hot pink and orange...what could I do that wasn't flowers????

Well back to Carol...in my last post...she said she had to know where I got the one charm in this photo that says gratitude...

Aha!  This has been one of the best finds EVAH!  This is a long necklace (that can double up into a shorter version) with these charms already already included.  I bought this as part of a fund-raiser for The Arc of Summit and Portage Counties out of one of those jewelry-party catalogs.  I wear it all the time.  Not only does it encourage me each day...but just like I can hear Arthur coming when he wears his tags on his collar...people know I'm coming (smile).

Now for Summer of Color 2013...I'm kind of conservative.  I have this orange-ish topper, with three-quarter length sleeves that I wear over a hip-length tank...but the jersey tank is white! (boring)  So I thought I would pair it up with a hot pink one I have.

The topper has this nice lace detail on the shoulder...

And here is the detail on the tank...

Add my Friday Find necklace, a silver Omega choker, and a pair of earrings...AND a pair of white capris...

This might actually work...

I must admit, the color is much bolder than these photos...I toned it down for you to see the detail.

Next week?  Who knows...it might be purple and aqua...

Happy Summer!!!

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

It was time.  It had to be done.  I needed to make room in my heart (and my drawers) .  But breaking up is hard to do...and I had put it off for so long...

But I was neither doing them OR myself any favors by prolonging the agony...



I had so much affection for clothes that I would never wear again.  Acknowledging at age 55, I doubted that I would wear straight skirts above my knee with black opaque hose and black clunky shoes and those matching little sweater sets from the late '90s. Think Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail or refresh your memory here:

 [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96gRJxIGa5A]

But what's with my attachment to these dyed, woven, fibers made to keep me from having to wear fig leaves?



Oh for the days of fitting into sizes 8 and below!  Was that what was bothering me about this?



Well...I think for the most part I had accepted that awhile back.  Then I realized they were attached to moments in my life...I wore this on my trip to San Diego...or I remember wearing this when I first met so-and-so...oh, this was the sweater I had on when I dared to re-enter college to finish my degree after a 30-year break.

These weren't clothes...this wasn't about a size...these were attached to memories.



Like these stone-washed straight-legged jeans and ribbed turtleneck that I wore when Lydia and I went to see Rascal Flatts sitting in the second row in a small high school auditorium for 10 bucks...a benefit for people with disabilities...and my daughter was thrilled that I took her picture with Joe Don.



Wow...then there was this skirt and sweater...a chill ran down my spine...



I bought those at Casual Corner...

I also had this on when I learned at 9:00 a.m. on September 11, 2001, that our country was under attack...



And used the skirt as a drape  for this still I made commemorating the 10th anniverary...  Saying goodbye to this would be like throwing away a Bible, something sacred, a part of my self, a poignant moment of history...It was a symbol of loss, of unity, and a country's resilience...and the preciousness and fragility of life and freedom.  No, this would remain...

So these goodbyes were far from what I expected...they were remembrances of  days of my life...of God's faithfulness...and God's mercies.  Gratitude changes everything.

With gratitude,