Special Day

Hello!  I needed a quick anniversary card so I found this digi in my stash already pre-colored and I decided to use it to make a CAS card.  The digi is super old, but I think I got it from MyGrafico.   Because I previously colored it, all I had to do was cut the paper so that the image was in the left hand corner, add a sentiment, a bow, and a butterfly and wa-la:  I have a pretty anniversary card.

My sentiment is retired Stampin Up!, the butterfly is a sequin from my stash, and the ribbon is organza.   I love to use organza ribbon in paper crafting, because you can see through it.  I can put the ribbon wherever I want and not worry about something getting covered up.

Have a great day!  Amy

Fashion Over Fifty: Say it isn't So!

Hello!  Have you heard the news?  Capris are out of style!  Say it isn't so!  I love capris.  But sadly, it is true.  According to the fashion gods we are no longer suppose to wear capris anymore.  Pants should no longer stop in the middle of the leg.  They must either be above the knee (such as Bermuda Shorts) or at the ankle (ankle pants).  I am devastated.  As a fifty something woman, I love capris.  They are my alternative to wearing shorts, and keep me cool and comfy in the summer. What am I to do?   Have you noticed you can't even find capris in the stores anymore?  Everything is ankle pants.  So ladies, if you love your capris as much as I do, hang on to them and take good care of them, because you can't replace them!

Now I've seen this before where the fashion gods have tried to take something away from us and we all screamed 'Heck No!'  Remember shoulder pads?  I think we all cried like babies when we were told not to wear them anymore.  "Whyyyyyyyy?  They make us look tall and skinny and give us good posture!" So it took about another year or two before everyone obeyed the fashion gods and gave them up.  Now we laugh when we see eighties movies with women wearing shoulder pads big enough to make them look like line backers.  Hmmm, maybe the fashion gods were right about that one.

Sadly, I think it will be the same with capris.  I think women will continue to wear them for the next season or two, and then they will be no more.  Now, the positive side to taking away our capris is that the fashion gods are giving us a replacement:  CULOTTES.  Remember those?  I have yet to try a pair on, so I'm on the fence about them.  I fear only a 110 lb, long legged woman is the only woman who would look good in those.  I mean, they are so WIDE….do we really want to look wider than we already are?

In the meantime, here is my alternative:  capris that flare at the calf rather than hug it.   These capris are super old and a little loose on me, so they give the illusion that they are more like culottes than capris.

 If your stubborn like me and are not quite yet ready to give up your capris, then these are the type you should wear:  flowy, drapey, and loose at the calf:  not tight.  I actually own two tight-at-the calf capris that I still wear to work just to keep cool.  But hey.  It's work, and I wear a uniform, so who cares?  I will wear those two pair till I wear them out.

My sheer pink jeweled t-shirt and my belt are my only new items I'm wearing.  Everything else is old.  I bought this blush blouse at Express (sold out, but HERE is something similar)  this year because I thought it was so pretty, but it is so sheer I really struggled with what to wear with it.  If you put something underneath the shirt, the bulk of the tank really shows and you see all the straps of both your bra and the tank;  and if you put a jacket or sweater over the shirt, you cover up the pretty jewels.  It's a very hard shirt to style,  I probably shouldn't have bought it.  But I loved the color and the jewels, so it won me over.  The only way I could think to solve my see-through dilemma without covering up the jewels was to wear another sheer sleeveless blouse over the top.  I like it, but I don't love it and I'm open for more suggestions.

 The basic body of the t shirt is a sheer, soft knit, but the neckline is an even sheerer mesh type of material.

 We couldn't get a really good photo of the back of the shirt, but it opens halfway up the back.

 Because the shirt was already accessorized with jewels, I didn't wear a necklace but wore chandelier earrings and gold bracelets instead.

 Nude sandals with gold accents were my chosen footwear.  I wanted to keep the entire outfit clean, fresh, cool, and neutral looking, and it must have worked because when I walked down my staircase on  this very hot day my husband remarked "Well, don't you look cool and comfortable!'  Exactly the look I was going for!

 My vintage looking floral belt from Forever 21.

 And if you forgot what culottes look like, here are some examples from Pinterest.  Everything old is new again.

So what about you?  Have you tried culottes yet?  Or, would you rather leave them in the past?  I'll have to go to the store and try on a pair before I make my final decision.

Have a Happy Fourth of July and Have a great day!  Amy

Spring Vacation - The Last Day: Louisville, Kentucky

Hello!  Today I have my very last post of our Spring Vacation to share.  For those of you who may have missed these posts, my husband and I basically took a road trip waaaaaaaaay back in April and I have been sharing our journey on my blog ever since.  We visited three states in the course of one week:  Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky.  Today's post is all about our stop in Louisville, Kentucky. We decided to visit Louisville because quite often on previous trips we would have to drive pass Louisville and we saw the cute, little, vintage bridge leading into the city and thought 'geez, that looks pretty, someday we'll have to check it out'.  Well, someday finally came, and we spent the day exploring sweet Louisville.

Louisville is a beautiful city that really works hard to retain it's vintage charm.  The downtown is filled with beautiful old buildings that are absolutely gorgeous.

 I always love brick paved streets….don't you?

 This statue is huge and my husband found it quite humorous and filled my day with one silly joke after another about it.  Ah, men never really grow up, do they?  Oh well, he provided lots of entertainment for us and we always had a landmark that was easily identified when we got lost.

 Our first stop was the famous Louisville Slugger Museum.  Everyone always stops and takes their picture by this huge bat.

 For only a dollar my husband got to be a kid again and play baseball.

 In addition to batting cages and a store, there is a museum inside that you can tour and learn all about how the bats are made and the history of baseball.

 Louisville really works hard to preserve it's history.  Even if buildings can no longer be salvaged, they still keep the front facade of the building, and build an entirely new building behind it.

 This limousine was covered in those little red gems that people usually put in the bottom of clear vases.  Can you imagine applying that many gems to a limo?  I wonder how much time that took?

 This is the children's museum.  I love the colors.

 I love the tower on the right side of this historic building.

 There is a lot of modern architecture in Louisville too, such as their Fine Arts Building.

 A beautiful town square filled with fountains.

Of course everyone knows Louisville is famous for their Kentucky Derby, but I found it interesting that they had horse statues like this dotting the downtown.  Where I come from, we have cows made of metal that are decorated in different designs.  This is the first time I've seen this idea with horses, and I must say, I like the horses better!

 I come from a family that has a lot of musicians, so I was really fascinated with Louisville's Fourth Street Live!  They basically took a street and put a stage in the middle of it, and covered it so that bands could perform no matter what the weather.  Yet, it is still outside!  Surrounding the stage are lots of restaurants and bars, so you can enjoy your meal, and a show at the same time.  It's a great way to bring more traffic downtown and to let new musicians show their talent.  I love it!

 The entrance to Fourth Street Live.  The beams are covered with glass to keep rain out.

 The back of the stage:

 Because they don't have to worry about rain, the lights and sound speakers can be left up all summer long;  yet light still comes through the covered area:

 There is an upper food court with a bridge above the stage and a large monitor.  On the day we were there it was Good Friday so there were not any concerts, but I can only imagine this place flooded with people when there is a concert.

 I loved the old fire escape above and these gorgeous old buildings below.

 Another painted, decorated horse:

 More beautiful old buildings.  I think the first one use to be the Stockyard, and the one below that is the City Hall Annex.

 You know I can't visit any town without taking a picture of at least one gorgeous church!  I love old churches.  And the picture of me in the photo next to the church was taken in a second lovely downtown courtyard.  They sure have lots of beautiful courtyards in Louisville to enjoy a lunch outside.

 I loved the free doors on this red brick building.

 Here's another horse for you:

 Every town we visited on this trip was situated on a river and had a beautiful river walk.

 This however I had never seen before.  I don't know what these large cylinders were for, but I thought it so interesting that they filled them with forsythia.  The blooms made something very ugly into something very beautiful.

Well I hope you enjoyed hearing about my Spring Vacation.  I have another Staycation coming up in August so I will have more travel posts to share then.

Have a great day!  Amy