All things EARTH...

[mousey]

Laurie, what fun! So many pictures!

 

Can I give my 2 cents? I am really partial to your purple dress. I would swap that for the short brown one since you're already bringing the brown formal, and there isn't any other purple so far. JMO. Can't wait to see the coral outfit, love the whole shebang! With your brown formal I like the strappy gold sandals on the lower right, I don't know why. I think maybe they complement the necklace best? I like the bronze sandals with the teal a lot, it's not something I would think of out of the blue either but I think it's a stunning color combo. With the ivory dress I think I like the bronze sandals with the chunky necklace on the bottom. I like the flower necklace too but I think it requires a more delicate shoe, like in the second photo? IDK, maybe I just like the punch of color all bronze gives. I love me some color!

 

Except for my formals and a couple of the dresses, I haven't thought about accessorizing yet. Usually with t-shirts I just wear earrings. I was up most of the night last night for no good reason (which hasn't happened in a long time) and I wanted to play with my clothes but didn't want to wake DH. So I just satisfied myself with getting my travel toiletries in order and cleaning my bathroom. I'm really annoyed that Princess has switched to a shampoo/conditioner combo in a shower dispenser, instead of little bottles of real shampoo. Now that's something additional I'll have to pack that's a real pain to travel with.

 

Here's something that makes me feel old... I keep my travel toiletries in my original cosmetic case, one of those square boxes with a handle that came with my first set of grown-up luggage! It went all over Europe with me in the old days, full of now-banned liquids and scissors and tiny swiss army knives. :) I bet I'm the only one here who has one of those laying around, and actually used it.

 

Just realized that our May birthday (yes, we have the same birthday, but he's a year older) is just within the window that we'll get a cake on board. How fun!

 

I must confess that I too used a "train case" (that's what we used to call them). When I was 18 and I got my first job, I bought myself a set of luggage because one of my BFFs and I were doing a road trip from Miami up the East coast and then down the West coast and across the state back to Miami. I still have it!:D It's in our garage and it's where we hide an extra key to the house should we ever lose it.;) I don't travel with it anymore because it's not big enough for me to use as a carry-on.

 

Laurie,

 

I'm loving that animal print swimsuit...I love animal prints!

Edited March 13, 2014 by mousey

[MJC]

Laurie,

 

I'm loving that animal print swimsuit...I love animal prints!

 

Me too!

[MJC]

Laurie, I've been thinking of you all day with the weather being so bad up there. A colleague's sister in Syracuse said everyone was being sent home early today.

 

It was 65 and sunny on Tuesday. Today we had flurries and gale force winds with wind chills in the single digits. My car doors were frozen shut this morning. Going up to 58 on Saturday, then in the low 30s by Monday. It's really quite crazy.

 

Supposed to be in the 30s when we leave next week, so I'll probably have to bring a heavy jacket for travel. :(

 

Is anyone besides me waiting with baited breath for Anita's news????

[laurspag]

I am waiting for Anita's news too!!! I've been so curious.

 

Our weather has been interesting, to say the least. We have over a foot of snow and now we have those bitter winds. It is going to be warmer for us tomorrow at about 40 degrees. It's been a frustrating winter.

 

Many places closed up early but I work in a bank. We have to get special permission to close. We sent some people home a few hours early but the rest of us stayed the whole day.

 

. This is during a short break we got about half way through.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[mousey]

OMG! I cannot believe that picture of the deep snow! I'm a born and raised in FL girl and I now have lived in CA since 1972. The only time I'm in snow like that, I'm either skiing or visiting the DH's family back in upstate New York. Even on my trip to Alaska...I didn't see know that deep!:eek: I wish I could send some of our CA sunshine your way. Don't worry I wouldn't send the drought though;).

 

Hang tough my snowbuddies!:D

 

I too am excitedly awaiting Anita's news!:D

[Anita Latte]

So. Just to refresh everyone's memory...

 

We own a house in Texas. Right before the economy started to go south...DH made a major career change with a new employer that was located 60 miles away from that house. He commuted 120 miles daily for over 2 years. This was a major blessing as we later found out that his former employer made a mandatory 30 hour work. Which means that, likely, everyone was still working 45-50 hours a week, but only getting paid for 30.

 

When he first got the new job we were right in the middle of refurbishing the kitchen...and many other projects. There was no way we could even try to rent the house, let alone sell it. After one year...the house projects still weren't done, but also, DH's new employer had a contract-wide meeting and announced that the layoffs would begin in two months' time. So even if the house was ready...the idea that we would try to move in the face of a potential lay off seemed ridiculous.

 

And the housing market was beginning to go way down anyway...

 

And it continued to go down...

 

And the next year, we couldn't take the daily 120 mile across the Houston metro any longer...and we were finalizing our house projects and determined to try to sell the house. The likelihood that we would sell it for above the mortgages on the house was very, very slim. Let alone a Realtor commission, if we listed with one. DH had to convince me that leasing the house was the thing to do...

 

We put an ad on Craigslist.

 

And the most wonderful family answered the ad. They had moved to Texas for a new job...they had the job...they literally had packed up their moving truck and driven it from Virginia to Texas and now needed to find a place to live. Could we be out by the end of the week?

 

It just so happened that we could...because most of our stuff was in storage already, so we could easily empty the house...BUT...there were many unfinished baseboards, etc...the projects weren't complete. No problem, they enjoyed house projects...they had their own tools, they would use our supplies.

 

And they have lived in our house since July 2010. And they finished all the projects. And they took excellent care of the house. And they informed us in January that they would not be renewing the lease in July. And they urged us to go ahead and list the house and sell it, because they were wanting to buy also...a nice ranch for themselves because their daughter was now graduated and moving out.

 

And it took a long time to get the house to the point that it would be ready to market. There was still exterior work to be done...BUT...time was passing...the market had changed in Texas. Our particular community was HOT. The interior was great...the exterior pressure washed...and we finally hit the market on March 12.

 

We had a showing at 9:30 am that day. As well as 4 other showings.

 

The tools available now for this business are fabulous. There is a website where Realtors request showings for property. Ours is set up to text the tenants with the request and they can approve the showing request. This website also has allowance for the Realtors to leave feedback following the showing. And I can log on and see all this information from Georgia.

 

So this whole housing situation has been very stressful for me. And I didn't realize how much stress I was under regarding this whole situation...not only the process of selling the house...but also just the fact that I am responsible for this house...and I don't live in the same state any longer...I have very little control over the situation and in the event of issues with the house (there have been several), I have to rely on tradesmen and the tenants to deal with it...and I can't ever SEE it for myself...so anyway...when I checked my email in the afternoon, I had a website generated email that tells me the feedback from a showing...and I absolutely burst into tears when I read the words..."Making Offer."

 

We received the offer that night...and it is a strong offer.

 

There were still two showings for the house that day!

 

Yesterday we accepted an offer on the house.

 

There is still more to deal with. We need to the house to appraise. The buyers need a bit of help with closing costs so they offered well above the list price. Our list price was very aggressive, so this isn't a surprise. In theory, the house should appraise based on the MOST recent activity. It all just depends on what the appraiser looks at. And we will have to do some repair work to the exterior...hopefully, the buyer won't ask for too much, but I already know of a couple things that are likely...

 

But that's the deal!

 

I think I've sold the house in Texas!!!!!!!!

 

And not only will we have sold the house...we will have sold it at a price that should not only pay off the loans but also pay the Realtor commission...AND, potentially pay some, if not all, of the capital gains taxes that we will have to pay because the house turned into an investment property.

 

I'm so grateful.

 

The repair work will be negotiated within 10 days. If all goes well...and the findings of the buyer do not put them off the sale...I don't think it will...then we will definitely be feeling so celebratory on our cruise!! We should have gotten through this part of the process by my birthday even! What a present for me!

 

The anticipated closing date is April 18. Truly, it will be a GOOD Friday in our household.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Anita Latte

[mousey]

Anita, I'm so freak'n happy for you!:D Wow, what great news!

 

It was truly worth waiting for!:D Please keep us posted as to how everything goes. I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed and praying that all goes well for you.

 

I hope your cruise and birthday are awesome!

 

You made my day!:D

[cruzisme]

Wishing you well on the house sale,Anita!

Our place will be going on the market soon too.

Right now we are enjoying our time in another continent-- will tell you more after our return!

[laurspag]

Anita, that is wonderful news! I'm not sure I've mentioned it, but I'm Vice President of lending at the bank I work at. I can really, really understand how hard this must have been for you!! More later...

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[MJC]

Oh, Anita, what happy news! What a huge load off your shoulders this must be, and what a happy outcome! How lovely to celebrate your birthday unencumbered with all this!

[MJC]

Here are some of my accessory choices for my cruise.

 

Dresses:

 

 

 

 

 

I'll wear this dress for the Ultimate Deck Party, and I'm trying to decide between the necklace on the left, which I like better, or the one on the right, which is a bit more fun:

 

[MJC]

Here are my long-sleeved tops. I don't know why I chose long necklaces for all three, I didn't realize I had done it until I saw the photos! I usually wear small gold hoops with these.

 

 

 

 

 

This necklace also looks nice with one of my favorite tanks if I want to dress it up with the gold sweater for MDR lunch or dinner:

 

 

[Joby]

Always glad to hear good news, Anita!

[laurspag]

Anita, first I want to congratulate you again! I've been able to see first hand all the ups and downs in the world of real estate. You stuck things out and it paid off for you. I am so happy for you and your family!

 

Margaret, I love your necklace choices. They are all great for the style of dresses and tops you have picked. When you you have a boat neck, or certain high necklines, it is good to bypass a necklace and go for a stronger earring such as with your shorter formal dress. Those accessories are great for that dress.

 

With your other necklines, they are crew neck, for lack of a better description. Does that make sense? They aren't a V-neck or scoop neck, anyway. Those usually benefit from longer necklaces or mid length necklaces like you've paired with them. I love the choice for the red dress, but I agree about the other necklace being a lot of fun. Since an extra necklace won't take up much space, it's easy to bring both and then just according to your mood.

 

I love, love, love accessories. Your choices are fantastic, Margaret. You are going to have a great cruise! How many days now?

 

My mind is really wandering when it comes to my daytime wear. I know I will figure it out. Right now though, I know which shorts, skirts and skorts I want to bring. I'm out of focus with the tops.

[MJC]

I found my favorite t-shirt, stuffed in the back of a drawer, so I can take it on my trip. :)

 

Realized today that I only packed one sweater, so thinking about that....

 

I'm disappointed that our flight times changed and we will get into Houston an hour later, meaning it will be around 3pm before we can get anywhere fun. If we're super tired we may end up just checking into the hotel for a nap. Kinda screws up our lunch plans.

 

The best news is I hit my weight goal for the cruise, last Wednesday! I've already decided that my next one is to lose 5 lbs. before my birthday in May, which is also when we'll have a wedding to go to. So, while I'm going to have fun on my cruise, I'm going to try not to go completely crazy. Which actually doesn't make me feel so good anyway these days (way to much fun last night :eek:).

[laurspag]

Margaret, I'm glad you found your favorite shirt! it's funny that happened, because I was just thinking about how I have certain things that I take on almost every single cruise. I have this pair of brown shorts, a coral skirt...and since I've gotten my red cocktail dress, I've brought it on every cruise. We definitely have our favorites. I was thinking about how I didn't plan to bring my green skirt this time, and it feels a bit weird. It's only missed one cruise since 2008. :-)

 

Isn't it wonderful when you meet a weight loss goal? I really need to get to work. With the weather and having so many colds this winter, I just haven't been up to much exercise.

 

When it comes to cruising, I find myself more active than ever, so I do good as far as burning off the calories. I don't go too overboard with food, but there are days. It's just enjoyable for me to enjoy a Blue Moon when we play trivia. :D

[laurspag]

My daughter says that Eddie Bauer Outlet has there short sleeved V-neck t-shirts on sale for $9.99. I have a few vacation days this week and on Wednesday, I'm going to the mall with my other daughter while she is home from Albany for the week. I'm definitely going to go over and see what they have. I recall a warm purple heathered shirt the last I looked. I got an orange heather one about a month ago, and it's nice. I find that I tend to wear casual, but nicer shirts on sea days. These will be for warmer weather in general, but would also be nice for port days.

[Anita Latte]

Margaret, I love all your necklaces that you have! I like the necklace that you like better with the red dress. Maybe the other is more "fun" but I really like that pendant on the other one...something about it reminds me of the Blackhawk logo, which is the neighborhood where I lived from 8th grade through high school graduation. You are taking such a variety of tops! I haven't spent quite as much time thinking about these things yet as I'm waiting for more actual weather reports to determine how kind of tops I'll be taking.

 

Like I said...I'm having difficulties wrapping my head around the idea of being warm....and I know that ya'll have been even colder...but the funny thing about that is that you likely live in housing that is meant to be in the cold...our houses are built to deal with heat more than cold, so we are affected more by the cold...for instance, my house has double hung, SINGLE pane divided light windows...in wood...with poor weatherstripping...and I was sitting there waiting for DH to come out so we could deal with some paperwork and my car said 42 degrees at 1 pm. And I know you are colder...but I just can't see to get warm down here!!

 

But seeing some of your lighter weight but still long sleeved shirts...I'm thinking about this as well. I picked up a very nice patterned 3/4 sleeved shirt a while back...I think I'll definitely bring it and look through my wardrobe for more transitional clothing. I was talking with a woman that went on a cruise 2 weeks ago to the Southern Caribbean and she said the water was still a bit cool but the weather was mid 70s to low 80s...and while that sounds nice in theory...I think I've become a cold wimp and actually wouldn't mind feeling a little overheated...like I would WELCOME feeling a bit overwarm...OMG.

 

And yay for finding favorite clothing...isn't that enough to make you crazy? There was something like for me a while back...and I couldn't remember if I had decided to finally give it away or if I had held on to it...and now I can't even remember what that was! But I remember the feeling...and you are searching for it...then finally, it's like you STUMBLE across it.

 

I'm sorry for your flight changing too...ugh. Dressing in layers in fairly important in Houston area. If it is muggy outside, they will have the air conditioning going, even if it isn't that warm...and so the layers are more important for indoor places for this reason. I recall layering up to go inside and then having to shed layers to deal with the outside. I haven't looked at the forecast...maybe I'll take a quick look.

 

You know that you will be in Kelly's neck of the woods? I'd have to refresh my memory on your travel plans...

 

And a BIG huge congratulations on hitting your weight goal!! That is so wonderful and I'm so very happy for you. The only thing that I will say regarding all of that is to enjoy what you want to enjoy on the cruise...and do not add guilty feelings to your chosen indulgences...that is just adding unnecessary stress and increasing the potential negative on those indulgences, if you KWIM.

 

This is all so very exciting! I'm excited for all of us and our travel plans!

[MollyFlyer]

Happy St Patrick's Day, everyone -- since green tends to work well for us, this is a good holiday to celebrate. And congrats on the sale, Anita!

[Anita Latte]

So I was inspired to take some photos today...because I discovered that my new laptop actually has a card reader! Yay! So the ease that I used to have for sharing pictures is reborn! And I have to share...

 

It's kind of funny that we have called this dress Margaret's red dress...because it isn't really red. We have made the decision to skip formal night for our cruise. There are multiple reasons for this...not the least of which is the fact that my DS who LOVES to dress up doesn't currently own a suit...and he would be really sad to be the only male in the family without one on formal night. We are going to dine in one of the specialty restaurants instead. The men will wear ties (not suits) and Mom and I will dress up, but not in formal gowns. I'm going to wear Margaret's Dress!! And I have to show you how incredibly AWESOME my shoes look with this dress:

 

 

I'm thinking that I would wear this long necklace...especially with the high neckline:

 

 

And I'm thinking these earrings. There are little coin like circles in the necklace that these earrings pick up on:

 

 

I'm very excited for this little ensemble.

[Anita Latte]

This is another dress that I'm taking. I picked this up at Goodwill. The bodice area is more fitted and the skirt is a little flared and looser. I love the warm browns and golds in this dress. These are my bronze wedge sandals:

 

 

I have to try on the dress to see how this necklace hit the neckline, but I love the kind of tone on tone effect of this jewelry with the dress. I could wear either the oval or the square earrings with this:

 

 

Here is that shirt that I mentioned earlier today. The sleeves actually have a gold buckle on them to raise them up to the upper forearm. I really love the pattern of this shirt AND the fact that it is a looser fitting shirt with that elastic detail at the bottom. The shirt is VERY lightweight, so it should be comfortable, even in warmer weather.

 

 

Here's a close up of the pattern of the shirt:

 

 

I have several earrings that work with this shirt...but not too many necklaces. It's more of a casual shirt anyway, so I think that I'll probably NOT wear a necklace with it and just pick out the earrings that strike my fancy. My plan is to just wear this shirt with shorts. Nothing fancy.

[MJC]

So I was inspired to take some photos today...because I discovered that my new laptop actually has a card reader! Yay! So the ease that I used to have for sharing pictures is reborn! And I have to share...

 

It's kind of funny that we have called this dress Margaret's red dress...because it isn't really red. We have made the decision to skip formal night for our cruise. There are multiple reasons for this...not the least of which is the fact that my DS who LOVES to dress up doesn't currently own a suit...and he would be really sad to be the only male in the family without one on formal night. We are going to dine in one of the specialty restaurants instead. The men will wear ties (not suits) and Mom and I will dress up, but not in formal gowns. I'm going to wear Margaret's Dress!! And I have to show you how incredibly AWESOME my shoes look with this dress:

 

 

I'm thinking that I would wear this long necklace...especially with the high neckline:

 

 

And I'm thinking these earrings. There are little coin like circles in the necklace that these earrings pick up on:

 

 

I'm very excited for this little ensemble.

 

Anita! OMG yes, yes, and yes!

[mousey]

Anita,

 

I love all your choices! What great taste you have! Love it!:D

 

The DS is home for spring break and so I'm not going to be posting much until he leaves...but I'll still be checking in...don't want to miss any of the great stuff on this thread!;)

 

I'm loving every second of my DS's being home! Even doing his two suitcases full of dirty laundry! LOL!:D

[Anita Latte]

Thanks!! I'm excited. See...this is just another great thing about buying anything within a certain palette...you get whatever it is home (even if it's a friend's dress) and you have things that not only WORK but also look EXCELLENT!

 

Here is one of my new suits. This one piece is in that color called Cargo from Athleta. This is the skirt that I said looked so awesome with this swimsuit. This is another Goodwill find. Now I had talked about shortening the under skirt on this...the skirt has two layers...the overlayer is very sheer...and the underlayer is lightweight and flowy and more opaque. I think the waist band is the kind that isn't as flattering on my body type...the waistless kind of body type that is...the straight body type...BUT...for this time around...I have to say that I don't care:

 

 

These are the brown separates that I also bought. The shorts and the regular bottoms with the tankini in the same style as the one-piece:

 

 

Here is a little cotton dress that I think might work well as an over the swimsuit kind of dress. I wouldn't mind wearing it as a normal sundress too...it goes well with those bronze wedge sandals, BUT I'm having some bra issues with this dress...and I'm not sure if I'm going to solve that issue before the trip...so I may just wear this little number to Nochi Cocum with one of my swim suits underneath:

 

 

For me, this isn't really a COVER-UP. When I think of cover up, I think of something to put on when I need to cover myself from the sun...and this is what I have that suits that purpose. I took it on the last cruise...I didn't wear it, I brought it in my tote to wear when I needed it:

 

 

And lastly...if I really wanted to bring all the swimwear I could, I could also bring this little number that Mom gave to me. It isn't my favorite for water sport because the straps are the kind that leave a big huge open back...no cross strap in the back to help the straps stay on your shoulders...so for me...this is a wear in the spa or lounge around the pool kind of suit...NOT active swimming:

 

 

So that's my plan for all swimwear related clothing.

 

How annoying...I rotated the photos, but they are still showing sideways for me.

[Anita Latte]

OK. So the way that I really dress...

 

I wear the same thing all the time. Like the EXACT same thing. New underwear, but the same shirt and bottoms. IDK...it's just me! It's my lifestyle...my lack of interaction with people in general. In colder weather...I just throw on a different overlayer to hide the fact that I keep wearing the same thing for when I have to pick DS up from school and be seen for 5 minutes or so by other people in the world.

 

SO. I was thinking about how people use accessories to change up their looks and make the SAME thing look different...or at least different enough for the amount of notice that the average person pays to your clothing. Now I just loved that scarf that I found when looking for ideas for Laurie's pale golden dress...and so I bought it! It was on sale and then I had promo code...it was so inexpensive. Here it is with a shirt that I posted earlier as being a likely Key West day shirt because of the flutter sleeves to cover my shoulders:

 

 

Here is that same shirt with two very different scarves. I posted this shirt before with that new scarf of mine with the blues...it's on the right...with simple bronze hoops. I've shown this coral/plum/cargo colored scarf before...and those are the same earrings that go with Margaret's dress on the left side:

 

 

This shirt is much more avocado and murky in color than the other shirt. This shirt is a very lightweight rayon knit. The sleeves are 3/4 length again...and the elastic keeps the fullness from getting annoying:

 

 

And here are all those scarves, plus one more...in the lower left corner is a purple/cargo colored scarf with hoops with little coins that flash purple-ish and greenish. I don't love the pale scarf as much with this shirt, but I do like it when it's worn together with the pale shorts:

 

 

I didn't picture that purple scarf with the other shirt...but basically, I think it goes with that one as well. My trip will be 6 full days with 2 travel days on either end. So I doubt that I would wear either of these shirts 4 times during my trip. I definitely plan on wearing them more than once though...but that's just me...and the way that I really dress. I can pick between the short or longer sleeves depending on the weather.

 

These are those new Koppen shorts that I picked up at Goodwill a while back. I love all the pockets! The color is more like the color that Laurie called oyster-like...so not perfect...but it works well with my shirts: