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Month: July 2016
Old Lady Fashion
In my mind I’m only 20 but my body says different. So many fashions have come and gone. I knew I should have hung on to some of my clothes but they wouldn’t fit me now anyways. With short, spiky, grey hair I need some colour in my wardrobe. Love, love colour.
I‘m no fashion guru but I do know good taste. I prove it to myself every time I go shopping. The most expensive outfit in the store and I’m on it. Just to be clear I never buy anything full price unless I need to. I wait for sales. I do find myself liking things with patterns but too much pattern to me is old ladyish.
Where I live it can get cool even in the summer. It can get very hot too. Also, I’m no longer working so not on the tread mill any longer. There are two seasons for clothing winter and summer. Me? I like summer best. For the tween times, fall and spring, you can transition by wearing less layers. A given is underwear, slips and bras.
Down to Earth Fashion Advise
- Every woman should be ready for any occasion but there is an age at which trendy doesn’t work, so stick to what is chic and stylish.
- Have fun with your accessories. Buy that kitchy thing but make sure you’re going to use it and it doesn’t sit and gather dust. I like kitchy earrings.
- Longer looser tops hide that middle bulge.
- A-line skirts hide heavy thighs, longer skirts and pants hide those knees.
- Vertical stripes are slimming.
- Heavy on top? Use a plain blouse and patterned skirt.
- Heavy on bottom? Use a plain bottom, patterned top.
- To be really stylish wear all one colour pants/skirt and top and add a textured or different coloured jacket or sweater.
- Larger women the big bold patterns are flattering but stay away from tiny patterns.
- Mix and match using colour schemes. Neutrals with your favorite colours.
Here are two lists for wardrobe choices to keep you going.
Summer Clothes
Easy and breezy
2 pairs of shorts
2 pairs of capris
2 pairs jeans
2 pairs dress pants
5 tank tops
3 t shirts
1 summer sweater
2 big blouses to go over tank tops as needed
2 summer dresses can have skirts if preferred
2 jackets one for casual and one for good
2 pairs of sandals
2 pairs of flip flops (we use to call them thongs but that has a new meaning now)
1 pair dressy shoes
1 pair of runners
Sun hat or cap
Earrings, rings, no one wears watches any more.
Sunglasses – these are a must as they protect your eyes from damage
Depending on your life style you can increase or decrease the need for some of the outfits. I find not working I am a more casual dresser. In fact I’m wearing all the summer stuff I’ve had but never had time to wear. Yah!
Winter Clothes
Layered and warm
3 pairs jeans
2 pairs leggings
3 sweaters
4 blouses
2 pair dress pants
2 dresses one for good, one more casual
1 skirts
2 pairs boots one tall, one short
1 lighter jacket
1 winter jacket
1 pair runners
1 pair dress shoes
7 pairs socks can’t go around with cold feet.
If needed 2 pairs gloves, 2 hats, 2 scarves and warm pajamas.
Again depending on your lifestyle you can add that ski outfit or revert back to summer as needed for travel. I have a trunk I keep my winter clothes in and switch out, usually around October, to winter.
Makeup
To help uplift your colour use brighter makeup, when the occasion arises. Here is a web site with some great tips for makeup over 60.
Take a trip over to Senior Planet. http://seniorplanet.org/makeup-for-older-women-the-best-online-video-tutorials/
I hope you found this article helpful. Thanks for stopping by.
Blackberry Slump
Blackberry Time
Every year about this time, here in southern British Columbia, the push is on to pick blackberries. Blackberries are a perennial and a relative of the raspberry. This plant grows wild along side our roads and in sunnier parts along the edges of fields and forests. They also bramble meaning they have a long vine that travels up fences and over other vegetation with very sharp thorns.
Make sure you cover yourself well if going picking. I saw one woman with a neat idea for a hands free bucket for picking berries. She had an old belt and had cut the top off a milk jug leaving the handle which she looped through the belt. This allows for hands free picking.
Blackberry Slump
INGREDIENTS
Dumplings:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup whole milk
Berries:
- 4 cups fresh or frozen (defrosted and drained) blackberries
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your berries and how sweet you would like your slump to be)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/3 cup water
- Whipping cream or vanilla ice cream for topping
METHOD
1. Make the dumplings: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour. Using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your clean hands, cut the butter into the flour until the flour resembles a coarse meal.
Add the milk all at once and stir until the flour is just moistened. Handling the dough as little as possible, form into a ball. Set aside.
2. Heat berries with sugar, cinnamon, lemon, water until boiling: In a 2-qt saucepan, add the berries, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water. Heat until boiling, stirring a few times so that the berries are well coated with the sauce.
3. Add chunks of dumpling dough: Once the berry mixture is boiling, tear off spoonful chunks from the dough ball and drop onto the fruit around the edges of the pot. You should have enough dough for 6 dumplings.
4. Cover and simmer: Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes, without peeking at the dumplings.
Place dumplings in serving bowls and top with berries. Serve with cream or ice cream. Serve hot or chilled.
** You can also interchange berries. Strawberries, blueberries.
Want to know more about blackberries?
Secret Garden
Moving can be a chore but this new place is amazing. Not so much the house but the garden. I love watching what will come up and bloom next. So I’m calling this piece the secret garden.
When I arrived the rhododendron was in full bloom.
It was wonderful to step outside to take a break and gaze on this beauty. Alas all her blooming is over for this year.
Next was the garden at the side and the front of the house.
Purple Hydrangea, Lily and Yucca Plant
Even the weeds look amazing. They are probably not weeds but have tiny flowers.
The best part is the other side of the yard. This is a special place. Huge cedar trees hundreds of years old stand on the property beside a creek. Open the gate and you enter into another world. We live on a busy street so it’s like this amazing calming yard.
There is a little get away down at the bottom of the steps beside the creek. We are really enjoying this area.
Hidden way in the back of the yard behind the cedars and the creek is this beauty.
Mountain Ash
Word to the wise. If you are going to plant ground cover don’t plant ivy around trees. Ivy can kill trees that they climb. They can weaken them as their roots burrow into their trunks and sap the life out of them.
Cedar wrapped in Ivy
On a final note. You never know what you will find in a garden that keeps it’s secrets till spring.
Here are some Hostas in bloom.
Enjoy your day and thanks for visiting.
Renters Window Treatment
Being a renter can be limiting but there are always ways around adding some practical solutions and personalizing your space.
Found this beautiful shower curtain. Perfect! I wanted to do a window treatment I had seen on Pinterest. I had two long windows in a hallway that faced a busy street.
- Cleaned the windows and dried them.
- Measured windows 3 x to make sure of size.
- Ironed the shower curtain and cut to size. Left a 1/4 ” around the edge
- Made the corn starch mixture. See below for recipe.
- Liberally applied corn starch mixture to window and applied material piece.
- Smoothed out fabric and applied cornstarch mixture again over material.
- Used plastic card (ie: credit card, rewards card.) to smooth out bubbles.
- Allowed to dry 1 day.
- Trimmed edges with razor
Chose a shower curtain that had a large pattern and had a nature theme. The material is translucent to let light in and is a sturdy fabric. Shower curtain cost $10 cad
2 tablespoons cornstarch with about an equal amount of cold water, then mixing that in about a cup and a half of boiling water from the kettle.
Added material right side facing in.
Applied with cornstarch mixture with a large pastry brush on the window. Added fabric, smoothed with card, applied cornstarch mixture over top and smoothed off excess mixture with card. Used a damp cloth to clean up excess. Let fabric dry for about a day. Trimmed the edges with razor and straight edge.
Easy to remove just spray warm water over until it loosens then remove. Use hot soapy water to remove residue. The material can also be removed, cleaned and then reapplied.
Easy Peasy.
Great solution for renters.
