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All Things EARTH... part 2


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So Grand Cayman was Caribbean night at dinner. This is a lot of fun. The waiters, bar tenders and so forth all wear their tropical shirts, and the guests are encouraged to do the same. I planned this out ahead of time, so that I was wearing my one tropical feel dress.

 

I apologize in advance for so many pictures. We love the lifestyle photography, and those were done by our favorite photographer on board. But I also want you to be able to see the dress as a whole.

 

http://image.ibb.co/iQpmMn/Scan950002.jpg

 

http://image.ibb.co/njLbMn/Scan0108.jpg

 

http://image.ibb.co/jssO1n/Scan0134.jpg

 

My husband says he's sorry for looking dazed and confused in this one, lol. But it was a good picture of the dress!

 

http://image.ibb.co/mTpTj7/Scan0087.jpg

 

http://image.ibb.co/gCCTZ7/Scan0075.jpg

 

The colors in the dress are really great colors, and I like that earth colors don't always have to look fall like. Light colors aren't my best, but this is really nice.

 

http://image.ibb.co/jffZP7/Scan0089.jpg

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The next day is Costa Maya. We didn't know what to do, so we decided to simply wander around the port area. My husband had a bit of a cold, and I felt that the timing for a low key port worked out well. We watch the dolphin swim, got some lunch, wandered into the stores and visited a mini chocolate museum.

 

Every time I cruise, I choose to wear one of my late sister's necklaces. I build an outfit around it - which is so interesting because she was not an earth, nor did she wear earth colors. After she passed away, no one was really interested in her costume jewelry, but there were these three great necklaces.

 

I don't have the best picture, but i will post it along with an up close shot of the necklace.

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I have some things to do, so I will post more tomorrow.

 

Anita, I do miss sewing sometimes. It's just that the few stores even sort of close by have mostly craft items, not really sewing fabric. I wouldn't mind making a few things here and there.

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Margaret, you have posted some great links to pretty spring and summer dresses. I wish our weather matched that! It's snowing right now. Yuck.

 

Like most everyone else, I like that second dress quite a bit. I think it has a universal appeal because it is flattering on so many shapes.

 

One thing for me is that I like fitted things, but they aren't the best for my figure, unless they fit really well. That can be hard for an inverted triangle, who is also short waisted! I often look for things that follow my shape loosely so that I don't get the tenting effect that I hate so much. I call it semi fitted, but I'm not always sure if people understand what i mean by that.

 

With the green dress from the first night, it came with a belt and that looked really bad on me. A wide belt and short waisted don't go together well. I was good with the dress fit, but when I lost more weight last year, it had a loose shape to it and it just didn't seem to do much. I took it in and I like it a lot, but I wouldn't mind tweaking it a bit. I think the same goes for the yellow print dress I wore. That one there did the tent thing, which Is why I posted a few different views of it. The underdress is a solid buttery yellow knit, and that was taken in to hug the body a little more. The advantage to that is it stays put, which means a lot with a shorter dress. I didn't want to raise my airms and have the whole dress go up!

 

I am still looking for tops. I think the navy and rust print top is really nice. Margaret, you mentioned you liked that top, and the first thing I thought of when I bought it was you. I kept thinking that would be a great shirt for you.

 

I wore a few knit tops that were okay. The colors and fabrics were great, but the length was hard for me to figure out. One was that rust shirt in one of the last pictures.

 

So let's see...the next day is Cozumel. Boy, I love Nachi Cocum. We were the 2nd people there, and they were waiting for the cashier to show up, so they told us to just go ahead and pick out our chairs. I did quite a bit of reading, plus we splashed around in the water quite a bit. They also have very good margaritas! And that grilled grouper...yum.

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This was our second formal night. I love this dress also, but not as much as the teal one! One interesting note was that I was having trouble finding a necklace that I wanted to wear with this dress. I settled on a set that looks layered, but you can add or delete necklaces to create the look you wanted. I though that was fine, until I was getting dressed.

 

I realize that they were not staying put, and because they were individual, they were getting twisted together and just not behaving at all. I chose the one I liked the most and wore it individually.

 

I have to tell you - this was the most casual formal night I ever saw. Considering I was on a cruise in September, I found this odd because there were so many people dressed up on that cruise. I think it just depends on so many different things. Still, we had fun with it.

 

Melody, don't you have one like this from your RCI cruise?

 

http://image.ibb.co/iMwyNS/Scan.jpg

 

The photographer kept asking me to move my left shoulder forward more. I was tired of the photos with that awkward pose where my shoulders come out and the whole trunk of my body looks strange. I do wish I had relaxed my arm more, but I think it is a good picture overall.

 

http://image.ibb.co/iVpJNS/Scan95.jpg

 

This is another good photo of the dress. It's warmer than it appears here.

 

http://image.ibb.co/nGGGMn/Scan93.jpg

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The next day was our last day and a sea day. I have to say this went way to quickly! We like using the game room and wandering quite a bit, and we worked on a jigsaw puzzle. We weren't close to finishing it, and I realized that we have some puzzles at home I want to get out.

 

I also finished up my book. My Nook is an important part of my vacations. I read "The Lying Game" by Ruth Ware. I have enjoyed all of her books so far. Have any of you read this?

 

Since there is no formal photography the last night, we did find someone to take our picture. I will post that next. It's a nice dress - I've worn it before. Because of the straight shape, I took it in myself but I am thinking of doing the same as I mentioned with the others - creating a shape that follows my silhouette more?

 

Oh, and the day outfit is of our favorite shirt that a bunch of us have.

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I looks like you had a wonderful vacation Laurie!

 

I'll have to look up the helmet dive idea. I've never heard of such a thing. The blowing out of the ears is a big deal with the diving. I went to Hawaii with my parents the summer after my Freshman year in college. Dad and I went scuba diving. I had a separate instruction in the deep pool at the resort. We had to go through the whole sinking down and blowing out your ears process. The pressure is unbelievable until you do. It's like having a cold or stuffed up sinuses on an airplane. SO uncomfortable. Rough business there, but it sounds like you overcame and enjoyed yourself.

 

 

Nachi is always a relaxing wonderful day. Your pictures bring back happy memories of my own.

 

 

I think Margaret said it well...you look so fit and happy in the photos. I also like the darker shirt. I know what you mean about feeling too dark though...I think we've talked about this before and how it can feel unseasonable to be dressing in Earth colors all the time. It's a challenge to find our tones in other season appropriate colors.

 

 

In my experience, the formal nights on the Caribbean vacations have really gotten less and less formal. The TA we took was overall the most formal ship that I've been on. Every evening. I think you might really enjoy that aspect of a TA. I like the ivory dress. It's attractive on you. The teal one is stunning though.

 

 

I'm expecting the Alaska trip to be quite casual in the evenings as well. Especially since Celebrity has renamed their formal night. I think it's Elegant Chic or something like that?

 

 

Melody...your family always looks like they are having such a good time in your photos!

 

 

I've been reading my Vogue Sewing book. It must have been published in the 80s because the photos are all 80s fashion. The text is timeless though. It compares a seamstress with a sculpture artist...taking a flat piece of fabric and working it into a 3 dimensional garment. I really appreciate how the text talks about how a woman with good fashion sense knows her figure well enough to know what flatters her shape and how to manipulate her clothing through choices of fabric and color and style to highlight her best features.

 

 

Here is one little take away for everyone. It mentions how shiny fabrics, because of the way that they reflect light, increase the size appearance of whatever it covers. And how more matte and textured fabrics reduce the size appearance of what they cover because of the way that they absorb light. It is a Vogue book, so there is quite a bit about general fashion.

 

 

There is also a sort of chart that highlights different body descriptions (short waist, long waist, thin arms, heavy arms, large bust, small bust, etc etc) and matches that against all the different styles of clothing parts and highlights what is most flattering and what to avoid. The clothing parts are all the different types of sleeves, necklines, waist placement, etc.

 

 

 

Yesterday, DH and I were running errands and I picked up a 3 tiered metal push cart thing the I am going to turn into my portable sewing room. It'll be a great place to store my machines on the top and all/most of my supplies so that I can wheel the cart out of the closet and to wherever I'll be sewing. Our apartment building has a community room with a nice large table that I may decide to use. I assembled the cart today and will organize it tomorrow. I need to get DH to help get all my measurements...there are so many to do!

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Thanks Anita. We spent many years separated by our oldest daughter & son’s military assignments so time together is even more special. We try to get together at least once a month or more now.

 

 

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Laurie,What I found interesting is your daytime outfits that had printed tops were the most flattering even though you say you don't like prints.

Anita, Our Alaska cruise was the most casual cruise we were ever on even on formal night very few people dressed up .I agree that formal night especially the second was is getting very casual .We leave for Cuba in a few weeks and I am only taking casual clothes since we will be in Key West till 7pm then Havana till 8 pm.

Melody , I wish my daughter lived closer but we keep in touch a lot and make the most of our time together .

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Well our cruise drought is over. We booked a Celebrity Eclipse cruise fromVancouver to Hawaii for Sep 2019! Going to combine it with a 2 week stay (1 week on Kuwai, 1 week on Oahu) after to celebrate our 50th anniversary. We were able to get early deployment rates, C2 for C3 rate, military rate, beverage package, gratuities & OBC for less than we paid two years ago. Pretty happy

 

 

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Sally, this was our favorite cruise ever, (except for last 3 cold days at sea) so we’re reversing the direction this time. Already planning things [emoji849], 521 days... Melody

 

 

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Nice plan Melody! Seems very worthy of 50th celebration to do that favorite cruise, but fixing what you would about it. It's a long time in the future, but I kind of love those plans. It's fun to watch that count down...the challenge is to not wish time to pass more quickly while still looking forward to that future event.

 

I've been thinking that DH and I should discuss if there is another cruise that we would want to take so that if there's a good deal for booking while on board in Alaska, we had something in mind. I haven't looked yet though...

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Nachi is always a relaxing wonderful day. Your pictures bring back happy memories of my own.

 

 

Nachi! <3 Love the pic of you on the beach. When we were there, behind you is where the coast guard? army? was practicing helicopter landings. DH was very excited. Fortunately the noise only lasted about 1/2 hour.

 

 

I think Margaret said it well...you look so fit and happy in the photos. I also like the darker shirt. I know what you mean about feeling too dark though...I think we've talked about this before and how it can feel unseasonable to be dressing in Earth colors all the time. It's a challenge to find our tones in other season appropriate colors.

 

I don't have as big an issue with darker colors in the summer because of living in NYC. There are still people wearing black even in the hottest weather, and, as Anita has mentioned before, darker colors hide dirt (and sweat) better.

 

 

In my experience, the formal nights on the Caribbean vacations have really gotten less and less formal. The TA we took was overall the most formal ship that I've been on. Every evening. I think you might really enjoy that aspect of a TA.

 

There are always threads where people ask about formal nights, and the answer should always be "it depends" because there is such variation between lines, and even within a line based on itinerary. This is especially debated a lot on the Princess boards because people always say they are getting more casual, but our experience is that there are always many people dressed to the nines (albeit mixed with folks who abstain from MDR those nights and wear shorts etc to the theater).

 

 

I'm expecting the Alaska trip to be quite casual in the evenings as well. Especially since Celebrity has renamed their formal night. I think it's Elegant Chic or something like that?

 

We noticed this even back in the 90s. I think it is especially true now because of luggage restrictions combined with the need for bulkier clothing for Alaska.

 

 

Melody, that sounds like a wonderful celebration cruise. Hawaii is a really long haul for us, so I don't foresee it in our future any time soon.

 

I finally reached out to our probable safari planner, and we have a date to talk tomorrow. :) We had planned to go the lake this weekend but miss kitty is sick so our weekend is up in the air. We're hoping she doesn't have to stay overnight at the vet. DH was supposed to leave for Australia tomorrow but his trip has been postponed until next week. I think the universe is telling me to stop planning anything and go with the flow.

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I'm always thinking of all these things I want to reply to, and then I get mad when I forget! So if it sounds like I am hopping around, it's because I'm trying not to forget anything.

 

Cuba...I mentioned it to my husband, thinking he would not want to go there. I was surprised when he said it sounds like a nice idea. RCI h as a lot of short cruises that stop in Havana, so I was thinking that might be something I aim for in the early spring, if the price works with my budget.

 

Right now, we are still figuring out what to do this fall. It won't be anything big - a driving trip that will be for probably 3 nights. Lake Placid is still right up there, but we will see. We have Boston in June, so I'm excited about that. When we are able to plan more time, I would like to go to Boston for a longer span, like 5 days. Starting next year, that may be easier to do as my husband will get one more week of vacation time. I look forward to that.

 

I didn't mention it previously, but we booked another cruise onboard. The trip we looked at had OBC of $200.00, but they let you use that towards your deposit, so it was a good idea to do. We picked up a flyer and talked about it, then on the last sea day we stopped by to book it. After I got back home, my TA contacted me and as it worked out, I was able to change from a balcony room to a junior suite for a total of $200.00 more, so I did.

 

This one is going to be different....Canada/New England in August! We can drive to the port from home the day of if we want. These are usually expensive cruises, but the price was really good. We won't have to deal with airfare at all as well, and if we drive there the same day, we save hotel costs as well.

 

A friend of mine suggested that if we are really set on going a day early, drive part of the way there and stay at a cheaper hotel so it's only an hour or so away in the morning. We have plenty of time to figure it out though. I think after all the travel woes to get to our recent cruise, the idea of driving to a port sounded good to my husband. :D

 

Nachi is always so peaceful and enjoyable to me. I'm surprised how I can just be watching the water, and then realize how much time I spent doing nothing. That is a big deal for me. I don't have an off switch most of the time. I wake up frequently through the night and so forth. The reason I love cruises is that the planning is so much fun for me, and then when I'm onboard, I can forget about work and worries or whatever. I truly enjoy myself and have fun.

 

I have read all sorts of threads about attire, formal nights, etc. I have seen one theme that is very strong: Alaska is the most casual cruise you can take. It sounds like the people who dress formally wear short cocktail dresses at the most. Since I have never gone to Alaska, I can't confirm that but it definitely seems to be what everyone says. Also, the shorter the cruise, the more casual it is.

 

My theory is that I will just do my own thing. Why not, right? ;) I do feel that if we go on a short cruise of 3 or 4 nights, I will go with a shorter cocktail dress. But I want it to have a formal feel to it. It seems like a happy medium between wanting to dress formal, and still fitting in to a more casual setting.

 

Melody, Hawaii, like Alaska, is on my bucket list. Needlessly to say, I'm over here drooling.

 

Anita, what cruise line are you on again for your Alaska cruise?

 

I have a question for you all: have any of you found a swimsuit brand that holds up very well to the hot tubs without fading? For the past two cruises, I have use the lighter peach one from Athleta. I planned that for my September cruise, because I figured if fading was an issue then it wouldn't be so noticeable. After I returned, it did seem like it was faded, but evenly. This cruise, I wore that same swimsuit twice. It's kind of pink looking these days. the color washed out evenly, so I can still throw it on for the hot tub, but I was kind of disappointed in it. Fortunately, I got it when they had their semi annual clearance sale.

 

Sally, it is hard for me to wear prints. What I am learning is that it is a lot like anything I wear - I need to like it, and be really sure I like it, before I buy it. I am trying to be more open minded when I shop, and given things a try. I'm getting to the point where I know the minute I put something on how I feel about it. I think that is what I loved about the dresses I brought with me on this cruise. I really wanted to wear every last one. I have two I want to adjust a little more, but I loved wearing them all.

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Aw Margaret...sorry kitty is ill. I hope it isn't anything major. I'm in that go with the flow mode. Taking each day as it comes. DH and I have discussed plans for various aspects of life and we're getting things sorted, financial goals, etc., but after dealing with those long term thoughts, I'm really focusing on the day to day. Taking life day to day, and not trying to plan too much.

 

I have come to realize that in some aspects of life...meal planning, for instance...I can really stress myself out trying to plan...and then having something with which to judge myself...how well did I follow a plan? When really, I'm quite a good cook and I can pretty much just deal with whatever looks good in the store and whatever I have on hand to figure out food. I don't need to have an elaborate plan...I just need to do the cooking each day...and not fret about it.

 

Laurie...do you mean August 2019? for the New England/Canada cruise? Driving to the port is so nice. We drove to Galveston back when we lived in Houston. And we drove to Jacksonville from Atlanta area. I'm trying to recall, but I think that one was a 5 hour drive give or take? We left very early in morning, treating it like a normal work day, just to be sure that there wasn't anything that would hold us up on the drive there...leaving the day of embarkation. We had no problems. It worked out fine.

 

I think it is important to do your own thing. And I'm all for the who cares attitude Laurie.

 

I'm seeing the same information about Alaska. I'm glad for it. We are taking quite a bit of stuff with us on this trip. I'm getting more and more focused on some actuals with that to really see what all we are taking and how we are going to deal with it all. Point being that stream lining the wardrobe is a high priority.

 

For our two nights in the public use cabin...it's a one mile "hike" to the cabin from the parking lot. We don't HAVE to bring backpacks but I think that it will just make life so much easier to do so. Packing those backpacking backpacks for air travel is my current research. I believe that we will get some heavy duty duffle bags. Everyone will have one duffle for all their stuff, wardrobe and gear...if possible. We got the Delta Amex so we can each check a bag for free... I'm going to spend some time this weekend tackling that issue.

 

Oh. We're sailing on Celebrity. The Millennium. That's an M-class ship. We've been on the Summit and the Constellation. I enjoy the fact that we'll be on a new to us ship for the cruise. There is a lot of updates to the ship that I haven't seen. For Mom and Dad, Alaska will be their third sailing on Millennium in less than one year. They took her from Vancouver to Japan. Now, they are on her presently, doing a short Japan itinerary followed by the reposition back to Vancouver. I think they will still be in Canada for Mom's bday on May 15? And then back for the Alaska itinerary. What's funny is that they will be in three different classes of cabins for each sailing. They love aqua, which they had before. I guess the price dropped so much, they were able to upgrade to a suite for the first time ever for the present sailing. And they are in a lowly OV like us for the Alaska cruise! So funny.

 

I sort of ruined one of my Athleta swim suits in the Thellosotherapy pool on Connie. That pool caused more streaky kind of fading out on the suit...not attractive at all...so I have saved that suit to continue to use in that pool, which is on the M-class ships of Celebrity in the solarium area. I consider that to be the suit I use for such things now.

 

I've been reading a book that is all about why we like the things we like and what influences our taste. For example, it is shown that the more we know about a piece of art, the more we like it. And the more we have exposure to it, the more we like it. Things like that. It's difficult to describe how there's a whole book on this subject, but it brings up all sorts of topics of taste and influences. Like how you can separate, when you are shopping, if you are responding more to the store and the environment (especially if you are traveling) and the people you are with, rather than to the items you could purchase. So you get something you think you like a lot, only to realize that it was all context based...and not really about the thing itself.

 

I don't know why but I still have a hard time knowing my own mind about such things. It's good Laurie that you are getting to understand your own taste in clothing and what you really respond to. I'm in that continuing process of dealing with our stuff. Going from almost 4000 sq ft to 1315 sq ft is quite the process. I got to a certain point and took a bit of a break through all the holidays and birthdays in the family. Now that Spring Break has passed, I've been invigorated with the Spring cleaning bug to move forward with the process. There's a great Goodwill close to DS' school with a covered drive through donation area...I'm hitting it up often.

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I was swimming twice a week in a chlorinated pool and then going in the hot tub . I wear Chlorine resistant suits and they last so much longer . I buy mine at Lands End when they are on sale .I did the Canada Cruise years ago and it was one of my favorite cruises .In fact I am leaning toward taking a repositioning cruise that goes from Quebec to Fort Lauderdale next year .The Empress of the seas has some interesting Cuba cruises that hit more than just Havana .We booked a private tour in Havana with Fertours in an old car . I love driving to the port . Tampa is an hour from our house so we just meander up there and if We cruise out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami there is a bus that takes us there and back for a reasonable price.

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A friend of mine suggested that if we are really set on going a day early, drive part of the way there and stay at a cheaper hotel so it's only an hour or so away in the morning. We have plenty of time to figure it out though. I think after all the travel woes to get to our recent cruise, the idea of driving to a port sounded good to my husband. :D

 

This is really good advice. Not only will the hotel be cheaper, but you won't get killed on parking fees for your car.

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