navy Archives

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 ... 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 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

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

A Final, Personal Evaluation of a Full Year Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

August 18, 2020

One last look at this seemingly massive wardrobe. It's funny how gigantic this seems when I'm trying to squeeze everything onto a page! In reality, most of the world would be thrilled to have this much clothing, but I suspect many of us have a lot more than this!

Bring out the magnifying glasses, everyone!

As I sorted through this mass of goodies, my thinking was "what would I take with me if I got to go to ____ for a year?"

My blank is probably going to be filled in by Ireland, or Paris, as I'm sure you're shocked to hear. But I think that many of us might be able to test-drive this kind of possibility. Maybe it's just a chance to live someplace where COVID-19 restrictions aren't quite as erratic and ... View the Post

A Navy and Camel Winter Weekly Timeless Wardrobe – Adding Accessories

August 11, 2020

Ah, winter... My favorite season, with my favorite clothes!

Let's look back - our mythical heroine has chosen this Weekly Timeless Wardrobe as her starting point:

And she's very smitten with camel, right now. So she's going to supplement her 13-piece wardrobe with these additional seven pieces - they give her a refreshed color palette, and a lot of new options:

Our heroine is thus starting her winter with these 20 garments (and, of course all of the other garments from the 3 other seasons!):

So let's assemble, for our heroine, a half-dozen representative outfits from this wardrobe, and add some accessories to each outfit!

First up - WARMTH! I can vouch for the waterproof, comfortable warmth of ... View the Post

Accessories for an Autumn Weekly Timeless Wardrobe + Burgundy Accents!

August 10, 2020

Ah, Autumn clothes! Is there a more fun season for beautiful clothes?

Let's do some building around this Autumn Weekly Timeless Wardrobe core:

Just for the sheer fun of it, I found some burgundy (ish?) garments to add to this 7-piece Accents and Extras!

Now, our Autumn 20-piece wardrobe is together - it looks VERY fall-ish, doesn't it?

Let's start enjoying accessories!

When you're wearing burgundy, garnets seems like the most obvious stone to look for in jewelry. Garnets don't have to be insanely expensive (although there are some eye-wateringly dear pieces out there, of course!).

And a couple of timeless navy leather accessories...

This cotton scarf is small - a neckerchief, I believe ... View the Post