My Closet Needs Some Attention

 Yesterday, I spent some time switching my clothes around in my closet.  I have a fairly big closet and not a huge wardrobe, so I am able to keep all my clothes in the closet, and then things like undergarments, tshirts, leggings and pants are in my dresser.

I also have a lot of storage items in my closet, and if I found a different place for them I could fit even my dresser back into my closet where it had been for several years.

it is not set up like this anymore

It is currently in front of a window next to my bed and serves as a night stand with a lamp, and a diffuser on it. So I would need to have a table of some sort or a night stand in its place.  I'd love to put a chair by this window.

I'm going to keep my eye out on FB marketplace.

I've started to store sheets in the guest room closet and I think I can move other storage onto the shelves in there as well, and free up some space in my closet.

I also need to sort through my shoes, go through Tim's clothes and shoes. I have lots of time on my hands and I need a good project to keep my mind and hands busy.

Once I get it down I'll be sure to show you!

Have you made the switch in your seasonal clothing yet?

Great Autumn Outfits And What I'd Do To Make Them Work For Me

 I've found some great autumn outfits via Pinterest.  The trouble for me when looking for outfits is that models are usually tall and thin.  I'm not either of those things, but it's not hard to make a change or two to an outfit you see and make them work for you.

Beth from Style At A Certain Age  looks great while walking her dog.

I wouldn't need to adapt this outfit to make it work for me, though in reality, I would probably have a pair of walking shoes on and not boots.

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This outfit also would not need to be changed at all, as long as my boots were a small heel or flat.

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I love this navy cape/sweater and I think the whole outfit is very wearable.

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The only change I'd make to Nikki's outfit, is to do a flat heel or bootie.  Also, I'd probably take this outfit as inspiration and copy it in a different color way.  

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I already have jeans this color and a denim jacket.  I even have some striped tees.  How I would wear this look is with the tee untucked, and maybe a different bag. I'd also wear silver jewelry.

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Here again I already have these clothing items in my closet.  I even have red shoes!

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This outfit is cute, and you can adapt it to any color scheme you want.  You could even do a cute flat shoe (like the ones on Susan in the photo above) and it would be adorable.  The color possibilities in this outfit are endless.  Red vest with this outfit, or a solid shirt with a patterned vest.  Leggings instead of jeans. You get the idea.

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I could definitely wear this outfit!  The only thing I'd change would be the necklace and handbag, and that is just do to personal taste.  This is my favorite color in the top, and if you don't like boots, you could wear flats.

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This outfit is so cute and I like this color combination.  You could dress this down by adding a flat shoe or even a sneaker, and leggings.

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This is the kind of outfit I like for every day.  At home, I wouldn't wear the boots, and if I wore boots with it I couldn't do that size heel with my back, so a flatter heel or a flat heel bootie.

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This outfit is cute, cute, cute.  Very professional, but comfortable.  I could see teachers in this outfit, even with a change of shoe like a pair of Converse.

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This outfit is wearable for dressier occasions or for casual. I'd wear a different heel for me, and when being casual I'd go with a cute sneaker.  If you don't like animal prints you could wear a plaid scarf with this, or a floral one.

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Here are three friends who had tea together yesterday.  We were dressed in fall colors and were comfortable in our own styles.  I had brought a jean jacket with me, but didn't end up wearing it.  I also had dark grey leggings on and my skechers.

Heather (on the left) hosted us and had such an amazing array of food! It was all delightful, and I'm thankful for my time with these dear friends.

I hope this post gives you some inspiration for seasonal clothing that is both comfortable and stylish.  Speaking of stylish, right now I'm wearing leggings, a long sleeve wine colored tee shirt, and my new dark green sweatshirt from Old Navy!  I'm quite comfortable but not sure how stylish I am!

Have a great weekend friends!

Planning My Autumn Wardrobe

A few weeks ago, Rachel and I went to Ross looking for dresses, shoes, and handbags.  We had a successful trip.  She found shoes, I found a burgundy knit dress and a mustard colored cross body bag.

With the purchase of the dress and crossbody purse, I realized that these would be perfect for autumn, as well as now.  That got me thinking about other items in my closet that will work for autumn.

Summer weather lasts into September here in Central Pennsylvania and we've gotten sunburns at the local ag fair rodeo events the last Friday of September.  With that in mind, I tend to buy short sleeved dresses or tops and use sweaters or my jean jacket as needed.  


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As the temperatures drop, I add leggings and boots, scarves, and jackets.


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 I also tend to wear jeans more, and leggings with tunics.



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The main thing in all these photos is that they look pulled together without being fussy or unwearable.  I like to dress comfortably, and be dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Here are some autumn outfits I like - 


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I'd wear this all through winter as well!


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I wouldn't wear ripped jeans, and my booties would be a low heel, but this is just inspiration.  Sometimes all you need from and inspiration photo is the colors, or a style of jacket, or a patterned scarf, to get your wheels turning for using what you already have in your closet and what you may need to purchase.

I tend to wear classic styling so my clothes work year after year.  I just change up accessories, or a sweater color.  I may buy new earrings to wear with something, and I usually make sure that I can wear them with several outfits!

For example - 

My fun, new earrings -

I've worn them with solid black, mustard yellow with white polka dots, and my black and white stripe.  I can also wear them with my pink dress.

All these colors have not only worked for summer, but will also work great in the autumn.  Just picture my jean jacket over my stripes or mustard yellow, picture a pink sweater over my black dress...the earrings still work.

For shoes I can wear my knee high black boots, my black booties, my skechers.  I'm going to find some brown boots this year, I think.  That will mix up the look of a few outfits.

Do you like to plan your wardrobes for the changing seasons? (other than winter outerwear)  Do you try to do a capsule wardrobe, so you can mix and match your clothes?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Also I wanted to say that most of these pins are of bloggers I follow - Beth Djalali of Style At A Certain Age and Nikki of Midlife Chic.  Beth recently lost her husband to liver cancer.

I've learned alot about how to find out what works for me, what my style is, fit, color, accessories from both of these ladies.

Pinterest Inspiration Success!

Back in August I did a post about finding clothing style inspiration on Pinterest.  The first photo I linked was this one - 

You can find that post here.

I really liked the look of this black and white checked shirt with the pink cardigan and the pearls.  I have a pink cardi, deeper pink that this one though, so I began to search out a checked shirt.  It wasn't easy to find, and in the end I found a larger check than this one is, but I really like it.

I met my friend Jen for breakfast today so I wore the black and white checked shirt, pink cardi, and pearls, with black leggings and my black booties.

Here's a few photos I took in my van while I was waiting for my friend to arrive.

I did not get a full length photo.  I really like this shirt because it is long and covers the bum and the belly area.  That's a win win in my book!

  I really like the way my outfit turned out.  I actually like the bigger check better than the inspiration photo, and I like the deeper shade of pink of my cardigan than the one in the inspiration photo.

What do you think?  Do you look up clothes on Pinterest?  Have you been inspired by something you've seen on there and had success copying it?

You can find more inspiration on my Fashion Over 40 board.

More Clothes Talk

I've spent sometime this weekend pinning more clothing that I like.  Do you ever look at clothes on Pinterest?  I put fashion over 40 into the search bar and up come all kinds of interesting stuff!

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Here's the link to my fashion pinterest  board if you want to see more.  As a disclaimer I want to say that I might not have pinned each pin because I like the whole outfit.  I may have just liked the way something was put together with accessories, or the color of something.

Do you have fashion boards on pinterest?  Will you share the links with us?  I'd love to see what your pinning! 

Clothes: What I've Bought Lately And What I Am Looking To Purchase For Fall

You've seen the dress I wore to my nephew's wedding, but here is the photo again.  Its from Old Navy, and I bought it online.  

I'd been looking at several stores locally and just couldn't find something I really liked.  My main problem with clothes right now is fit.  I am a smaller size in the chest/torso than in the hips/stomach area.  If I get good fit on top, it's too tight on the bottom and vice versa.  Sigh...

Less than a week before we left for California I had not found anything, and figured I would wear a favorite navy ruffled tank that has a small white print on it, and a navy pencil skirt.  

A few years ago I found a cute 'swing' dress at Vanity Fair and really loved the styling and comfort.  I thought if I could find a few I would be set for my trip.

We had been at Old Navy and I couldn't find anything in store, but I looked on line and found the dress I wore to the wedding, and several more.  A sleeveless green swing dress and a short sleeved berry color were purchased along with the dress for the wedding. They were on sale and then there was a code for 40% more off the original price!  I paid for quick shipping and paid just under $80.  

I loved them so much, that I decided to buy a few more dresses after I got home.  I chose colors and a pattern that will work now but also in the fall/winter if I add leggings, a sweater and boots.  This time they were even less expensive and I had a new code for 35% off if I spent a certain amount.  So I chose three dresses, the grey, the black and the black geo pattern, didn't need quick shipping so I got free shipping and paid $52 and some change!  Win!

You can see the other dresses here, here, here, here, and here.  The dress I wore to the wedding is here.

These dresses are great for casual wear but can be dressed up, as well.  And like I mentioned they will easily transition for fall and winter, too.

They are the kind of dress that will work for me even if I lose some more weight.  They are really forgiving.


One of the items I'm looking to add to my wardrobe for fall is a cropped denim jacket.  I really like this look with my black swing dress (which is fuller through the hips).  I already have the boots, etc.

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I'd also like to find a pair of brown boots this year.  I have black boots, black ankle boots and black uggs.  

I'm thinking of something like these or an ankle boot similar to these.

And then maybe a few new cardigans.

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Have you purchased any new clothes lately?  Thinking about what you may need for fall?  Let's chat in the comments!

Teen Capsule Wardrobe

Over the weekend Sarah and I went through her closet sorting through what fit, what was her style and colors, and what she wanted to keep.

You see, Sarah is the youngest of our four girls and over the years she has been the recipient of hand me downs.  Sometimes, she's been thrilled because she liked a sisters' style, other times she felt she had to take them when she really didn't care for an item.  She found that sometimes even though she liked a sisters' style, it wasn't her style, and so she had a lot of clothes in her closet that she hated and never wore.  By sorting through she passed two bags to friends, and some became rags.

On Monday, Sarah and I went out to do a bit of clothes shopping for her.  We are using a capsule wardrobe as a guideline, but not a hard and fast rule. 

She has decided on Navy Blue and Black as her neutrals and she has decided that she prefers muted colors over bright ones.  

We found her a dress that has black in it but also has some pinks in the pattern  It is very pretty on her.

She also found a casual shirt that she is loving to lounge in.

So now we only need to find, shirts - probably in navy and black, and a few muted colors.  She needs shorts, leggings, cropped pants, and a few dresses or skirts.

Have I mentioned she is particular and opininated? (smile)  We may have to go to the mall (gasp!) to find more options, or order online.

I'll post again on this topic as we complete her wardrobe.

Capsule Wardrobe

My friend Sherry has been talking about building a capsule wardrobe off and on for a few years.  This has intrigued me, because while I am on my weight loss journey, I have tended to do something similar.  I've called it my 'basic uniform.'  

Black or Navy as a neutral, and some color in a tshirt, blouse, or sweater.  This has worked pretty well for me and kept me from buying a lot of clothes while I am changing sizes.  

Yesterday, I read Sherry's lastest blog post, and she shared a link to a blog that has helped her to build her wardrobe - it's called The Vivienne Files.  She shares not only the basics of building a capsule wardrobe (it's amazing!), but she shares how to find color combinations based on art work!  Its the same principle in home decor - to find inspiration in art or a beautiful scarf and pull the colors from it to use in your home.  In this case it is to use to find the color combos to wear!  Genius!

I spent quite a bit of time there yesterday, and last night Lindsay was over and she, Rachel, Sarah, and I talked about it.  Then we started looking at Lindsay's colour board on Pinterest - mine is here.  And yes, we've spelled them the British way, cause we are nerdy like that.

Search color palate on pinterest and you get delicious photos of art, nature, etc, and the colors shown on a card from the photos.  Here is an example or three.

This is a great way to be inspired in combining colors, and as you can see there is always a neutral color but also you can use your neutrals and just add the colors that appeal to you.

I'm excited about this and am interested in what you think!  

What Colors Are You Drawn To?

We all have a favorite color.  One we love to wear or use in our house.  We love it because it energizes us, or helps us to relax.

I love red.  I wear it, use it in my home decor, paint my doors with it.  It is a bold color and one full of energy.  It's not a color I would paint my bedroom walls, but many people use it in dining rooms, and we have it in our basement, a space designed for activity.

I also love yellow.  Not banana yellow or primary yellow, but soft yellows, ones the shade of sunshine and also yellows with a tinge of aged gold in them.  Yellow quickly warms a room, invites you in.

  
I am drawn to many colors that I don't use as focal colors in my home - teal, blue, grey.  I use them as accent colors though.

I love jewels tone colors and white and not surprisingly those are the colors that look the best on me.

I love blue and white together, but never use it in my home.  I just sigh over the pages of Victoria magazine when they do their blue and white features, and I adore Dotsie's header over at Podso.    

I tried blue and white out one summer in my living room and it just wasnt' me, though I wear blue and white.  Who knows what the deal is?  I have brought in some navy blue over the last year or so, maybe its just that I haven't hit on the right shade of blue for the house?  Hmmm.  I'll have to give that some thought. 

  I do love this navy and white together!

So what about you?  Favorite colors or colors your drawn to, but maybe don't use in your home?  I'd love to hear all about it!