Navy Blue Archives - Page 19 of 60

Start with Art: Adding Accessories to a Wardrobe – Poem by Bunya no Asayasu by Hokusai

October 19, 2020 She Chooses LOTS of Accessories! She has her inspiration:

And her clothes are all chosen (as well as 1 scarf!):

So she heads into the kids rooms with a handful of garbage bags, and duly loads ALL of their clothes into the bags.... It's what they wanted, and she's so happy that they're going to be away from civilization for a few months that she's NOT going to quibble about odd wardrobe requests....

And then, she walks into her bedroom. She needs to pick up some shoes, and whatever other accessories she might want for the next few months. Her first inclination is just to grab her loafers and a pair of slippers and call it a day, but then she pauses, to take the time to think about this with herself and her ... View the Post

Start with Art: Revisiting Church Tower in Zeeland by Piet Mondrian

October 12, 2020 It Didn't Take Long...

When she was initially invited to the cathedral for a long weekend of leading tours, she carefully chose her color palette...

and she packed a very pretty travel capsule wardrobe. She has a bit of a crush on the Choir Director, and is happy for a chance to spend a few days hanging about...

Well... it was wonderful. The tours were among the best that she's ever given - the participants were all VERY interested in what she was teaching them, and there weren't an excessive number of "know-it-all" guests...

And dinner with the Choir Director was... magical. Amazing. Better than she could have hoped...

So when the members of the Congregational Committee asked if she ... View the Post

Start with Art – Revisiting Poem by Bunya no Asayasu by Hokusai

October 8, 2020 It Was the Kids' Idea... Remember this heroine, and her gang of friends that were going to the lake house?

The children asked for a "Meeting of the Commune" after dinner. Nobody quite knew when they became a commune, but if it entertains the kids, right?

The bottom line? Let's stay here until at least the end of 2020.

The adults can all take turns going into town for essentials, and to mail their ballots; The internet service is more than adequate for all of the kids to do their school work here; Everybody will be able to spend a LOT of time outdoors, which they can't do in town; The kids have volunteered to help cover the windows in their rooms with the clear plastic stuff that helps keep cold ... View the Post

Start with Art: Revisiting Foxes by Becky Kelley

October 7, 2020 The Sculpture Bienniale is OUTDOORS... And it's expected to rain the entire week. So guess who gets to go?

Yep, the heroine that we've seen before, visiting a small museum before a client's show, and then at a multi-artist show, looking for new clients...

She's a fan of a bright, bright color palette!

She knows, without doubt, that someone is going to be wading through the mud in 7 inch heels (probably in some animal print!) and will SNAP them off, about 15 seconds after they arrive. And they will make a BIG spectacle of the whole process...

Not for her; she understands that you can stand out in a crowd, be your own person etc etc without dressing inappropriately for the weather and the resulting ... View the Post

Revisiting Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

October 5, 2020

The last time she went to Paris, it all turned out to be... very interesting!

At the end of the 2nd day she was there, she walked up to the woman who had been following her, and asked WHAT was going on?

Well... the woman was looking for another photographer to join the group of official government staff who were documenting all of the most obscure and hidden sculptures and monuments in Paris, and wanted to know if she wanted to be considered...

Uhhh... okay!

She still doesn't know what her new boss saw in her and her photography techniques, that caused her to want to hire her. She frankly doesn't care!

So now, ever other weekend, she takes the train to Paris. She's able to sleep on the train, so she ... View the Post

October 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

October 2, 2020

This month, I'm concentrating again on more casual, warm clothes. This year, we need to stay home much of the time, and if we're smart we're going to try to avoid running the heat 24/7... With computers running all day, and people around our home, we should be able to stay warm without consuming tons and tons of fuel, right?

Another year, we're going to be REALLY REALLY dressy...

I have to say this: if you're in love with that really plush, fluffy, poodle-fabric that's so common now in jackets and tops, please don't launder these garments very often, and when you do, use a fiber-catcher of some sort. Those garments feel like wearing a cloud, but that fabric sheds tiny micro-fibers that pollute water, gather in ... View the Post

Start with Art: Church Tower in Zeeland by Piet Mondrian

September 30, 2020 Can You do the Tours?

That would be the tours of the cathedral, that are a part of the upcoming anniversary celebration... Since she's both an architect and an architectural historian, the tours would be simple for her - delightful, in fact...

And frankly, she's been looking for a good opportunity to spend a weekend there, because she has a MAD crush on the Choir Director...

They're both single. They're close in age, and have a LOT in common. This is going to be her opportunity to get know this amazing person better, and see if there's anything there...

Thus, her travel capsule wardrobe is a festival of feminine touches!

One day the tour will be the crypts, so warm pants are essential. One ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Sapphire Skies by Fierce Lynx Designs

September 18, 2020 Cool Weather = Clear Skies! "Hey - what are you doing this weekend? You know the temperature is supposed to drop a ton, and the skies are supposed to be crystal clear..."

well, she was going to do laundry, and read, and nap...

"I'm going to drive up to the observatory Friday evening - if you come with, you can watch for meteor showers while I'm photographing that dying star I found..."

i.e. you can sit out where it's cold, and keep your head on a swivel watching for something - anything - happening in the skies...

"I want to publish anything that we can find about this "stray" meteor shower that we thought we saw; you are going to co-author this with me, aren't you?"

they've been published ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Ophelia Among the Flowers by Odilon Redon

September 17, 2020

One last visit to this most wonderful of paintings (unless someone reminds me to look at it again next Spring!), to add some accessories to our Shakespeare expert's travel wardrobe:

To refresh our collective memories, this is the wardrobe on which she settled:

Of course she already has some accessories - but not nearly enough!

She's pretty methodical about choosing more accessories - she works her way through a handful of representative outfits from her wardrobe, and adds accessories that feel right for that outfit, as well as maybe some other outfits from her travel plan.

First up, she really REALLY wants to wear pink earrings, and she realizes that she's long overdue for getting her sunglasses ... View the Post

Start with Art: Expanding on a Wardrobe based on Ophelia Among the Flowers by Odilon Redon

September 14, 2020 Well, THIS is Interesting.... She went to Cambridge, met with the lead actors, sat with them through a read-through of the entirety of Hamlet. It was great fun - she loved the people and the setting and their whole approach.

She thought it was finished when she got back in her car and left Cambridge...

Remember, this is the painting that she's using as her inspiration:

When she packed for her initial visit, it wasn't too tough; wear 1 3-piece outfit, pack 2 more 3-piece outfits that go with each other, as well as what you wear while traveling. In theory, you could have as many as 36 outfits...

WELL... The director has an ill family member, and now must quarantine. And now our heroine has been invited ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ophelia Among the Flowers by Odilon Redon

September 9, 2020

FULL Academic Professional Mode

Dear Heroine,

This might seems like a very forward email, but since you are such an expert on Hamlet, I thought that I would ask for your assistance in preparing our community theater for OUR upcoming production of Shakespeare's greatest play...

oh great heavens...

If you could come up to Cambridge for the weekend, we would be delighted to offer you the finest accommodations, and excellent dining. In return, we would like for you to sit through a read-through of the play with us and give us your advice and insights.

oh great grief, this could be SO MUCH FUN...

Please note that all of our meetings are being held outdoors, as will our performance. COVID ... View the Post

September 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

August 31, 2020

Yes, these are indeed a day early - I'm going to try this Monday, Wednesday and Friday posting schedule for a while to see if I can regain my strength and energy. If anything is going to be energizing AND exhausting at the same time, it's these posts!

Yes, more sweatshirts. I'm determined that I'm going to write about how many of us are dressing. Everybody that I talk to regularly agrees that they're NOT going back to their office this fall - almost certainly not until Spring of 2021. So we're working from home, and we're staying warm in the cooler weather, and trying to keep our utility bills down...

And a nice sweatshirt is a wonderful thing!

Also, I'm smitten with corduroy pants - so everybody's getting cords ... View the Post