All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

Here’s several of the outfits I wore on board, all Chicos. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Welcome back Melody! Love seeing photos! Any more? The water photo...looks like you had good weather! I'm a bit surprised there were many kids onboard with the school year...but I wonder if homeschooling is giving more freedom that parents are taking advantage of...

 

You do a great job coordinating your jewelry and your outfits Laurie. My fave earrings are hoops...I'll wear hoops with everything. I just like them...sometimes I think other shapes look odd (maybe because I'm so used to seeing hoops LOL) so even though I have a few other earrings, I haven't worn them!

 

Margaret, I remember that dark dress with the gold neck accent. That looks so nice on you. Which dress would you replace? The black one or the brown?

 

Bummer about the shorts from Target...but it's great that you recognize that they weren't working. I think indecision about that has been a problem for me in the past and then I miss a return window. 

 

Hah! You just posted Melody...nice outfits. Long sleeves huh? Is that for air conditioning or was the weather a bit cooler? I can't quite recall what I was wearing for our late November cruise but I do recall being a lot colder than I thought I would be in early March... Looks like the Galveston water didn't look too bad...it was almost always churned up and brownish when we went down to Galveston when we lived in Houston. Usually isn't the prettiest water along the gulf...

 

Kat...not helpful on the hats! LOL. Highs in the 20s will definitely be hat weather for me in theory. Good thought on a headband under a hat though. When we lived in North Carolina there were so many cold days and as I recall the hats I got there did well...I'm just concerned over the holes in the knit not being as good as a solid, but I have both and should just plan on bringing a variety since I won't know what I will really use. We get free checked baggage so I don't need to be skimpy on such things...one of my hats I did buy in Alaska but it hasn't been cold enough to wear EVER so I'll take that one for sure too.

 

BTW...looks like we might be headed in your direction next September. We're going to travel to celebrate our July anniversary later in the year...the big 25 years! We're headed to Glacier National Park but a possible plan is to fly into SLC and then rent a van/class B RV to drive up there. Prices on Delta are very good right now. I've found a van I'd love to rent but it's in Park City...but they do offer SLC pick up and drop off. DH has been on top of when we can make reservations for Glacier...the plan is to use the van as a sort of home base for some car camping but then to backpack and camp overnight for one or two nights in the backcountry. The thought is to do that a couple times over the course of 10 days to break it up and hopefully have some more comfortable sleeping in a van to offset the okay but usually less comfortable camping sleeping. We have good sleeping pads but still...

[Anita Latte]

Also...that's a good heads up on the Lands End sale M. I got those slippers also but I think I might pick up the cocoa and snowflakes ones. Also need to refresh my lounging/pajamas for the holidays.

[awhfy]

Here’s my favorite picture of the cruise 

[MJC]

We are having a shocking temperature change... 50s just yesterday, going down to 28 the next three nights. Cozy is on my mind.

 

More from Lands End:

 

https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-sweater-fleece-cowl-neck-tunic-pullover/id_347660?attributes=44967,48500

 

I like this in Camel:

 

https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-sweater-fleece-long-shirt-jacket/id_358779?attributes=41817,44967

 

Rich Red/Camel Houndstooth:

 

https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-sweater-fleece-blazer/id_347654?attributes=619,44967

 

 

[Anita Latte]

I’m so glad you posted about Lands Wnd Margaret! I took advantage of the sale to get some things for the holidays…new slippers, waffle jogger loungers, a mixed lounge shirt. I also got winter gloves and mittens. We have fleece gloves but they don’t have screen thumbs or forefinger…also picked up winter insulated mittens and silk liners. May not keep all of that but might. Great sale for getting those things now.

[laurspag]

Slippers...I need those.  I live in them in the house for three seasons a year!  I need to take a look at Land's End.  

 

Melody, I am curious if the weather was cool?  I've been on two cruises in the winter and a few in the fall.  Going to the Caribbean, it felt good and hot...90 degrees, essentially.

 

Margaret, I was wondering too with your long sleeved dresses as well.  I think the only cruise I've been on where it was cool was the Pacific  oastal cruise.  The weather was low 60s and cold.

 

Margaret, I love all your pictures.  Can you remind me of your itinerary and what ship  you were on?  I re all you sailed from Galveston, right?

[MJC]

Laurie, we leave from Fort Lauderdale. The itinerary is Princess Cays, sea day, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, sea day, sea day. I am looking forward to a beach day at PC and have already scoped out which part of the beach we'll go to. We have plans to do a deep water catamaran snorkel in St Thomas, and will stay on board at St Kitts (though I may do a little wandering at the port shops). Most excursions there are a bus or train ride away and we're just not interested in that or in the bubble tours being offered. We are too independent by a mile to be trapped on a bus.  😀 

 

We have always been so itinerary driven in our travels, but this time we are more focused on relaxing on our balcony, enjoying the adult pool, and just being away from home. It will be nice to have sea days and just enjoy all the ship has to offer that we usually miss. Plus we love the Grand class ships. They are designed to spread people out and have lots of lovely nooks and out of the way spots for relaxing.

 

 

[awhfy]

Laurie it was very hot & very humid at all of our ports. It was mid 80s in Galveston (& 24 when we got home). I wear long sleeves inside due to ac blasting away

 

Margaret, that sounds like a perfect cruise. My favorite jewelry store, Colours, is in the port area (beside Effy) on St Kitts. I got my Diamond by the inch choker there about 5 years ago for the best price I’ve seen. I also love the batik prints available there (made on island). We also like the excursion to Nevis (ferry not bus). Melody 

[laurspag]

Melody, that makes sense.  I know they are fond of air conditioning.  I have found that when I am inside, I am constantly moving so it really doesn't bother me much.  The main time it did was when I was watching shows.  The theater is always extra cold. I am wondering if I might be chilly at dinner, since it won't be as crowded?  But a glass of wine with my meal will take care of that, lol.  🙂  

 

I don't really think wearing a mask will bother me at all, because I have to wear one at work still.  In most public spaces, they are strongly recommended here in New York.  I just got back from Wegmans, and I would say that about two-thirds of the shoppers wore them.   My gym has a lot of people that are a bit anti-mask, along with the owner.  We are some of the only people who wear them at this stage.

 

I do wish to share that there is a reason why we are still extra cautious.  My husband hasn't been feeling well for a while now, and they are still trying to figure out what the issue is.  We would rather take extra precautions right now to make sure he doesn't catch anything until we get all this figured out.  It seemed like the various doctors have passed off a lot of his complaints since he is 59, and not as young as he used to be.  But his blood work is showing that something is wrong, as well as his weight loss.  

 

He is excited to cruise, and we are not planning anything strenuous.  Our Cococay day will be relaxing, and we aren't huge fans of Nassau.  He is hoping that we can use the hot tub that day and the game room.  I understand that you have to bring your own games right now, so for packing reasons, we are bringing a deck of cards and probably Uno.  

 

Are you all doing your Christmas shopping early?  I have been paring down and simplifying for a few years now.   I would rather put more effort into the experience than in presents, and the family agrees.  We love having an extra special meal and watching our favorite Christmas movies.  It used to be all about the entertaining, but without taking time off from work, it was always so exhausting.  The bank is open until 3:00 on Christmas Eve, and then I would have to go to work the following day.

 

I have a daughter who is a huge hockey fan, so I get her the 10 ticket package for Syracuse Crunch.  My other daughter can be harder to figure out, but since her and my grandson love going to the zoo and money is tight for her, I am getting her a a one year membership to Rosamond Gifford Zoo, and they can go as often as they want!  Both of these things are very reasonably priced and it just seems to be a good idea to give experiences, you know?

 

I have no idea what my husband wants.  We have discussed that maybe we can get each something really small, and then take the same approach - an experience of some sort.  We have not gone to a movie since December of 2019!  Move Tavern has those neat recliners, and you can order dinner and drinks...it's small, but maybe we will do a few things like that instead.

[slidergirl]

Anita - sorry for the snark about the hats.  I couldn't help it.  In 2002, at the Winter Olympics, I was probably the only person who didn't wear the beanie they gave us, despite being outdoors.  And, when I worked at the ski area 2007-2010, I rarely wore a hat, despite being outdoors on the snow all days.  If I did wear a hat, was our corporate baseball hat because it was a sunny day.   Go for a slouchy beanie for a "now" fashion, or the basic beanie for a generic look.  

 

Melody - nice looks!  

 

 I sit here every night for a little while, thinking of what I'm going to take with me for my month in Europe.  So many different locations (barge, countryside, city. concert, etc.).  Outside of my obsession with tie dye, I'm a pretty neutral palette girl.  I usually don't curate any "style" when I travel because I usually wear what I wear at home.  Trying to fit what I need to take for a month into my rolling carryon is going to be a challenge!!

[awhfy]

Here’s another favorite photo. Melody

[PurpleHays]

On 11/4/2021 at 11:41 PM, slidergirl said:

A Outside of my obsession with tie dye, I'm a pretty neutral palette girl.  

I'm not sure my husband owns a t-shirt that's *not* tie dyed.

 

On 11/4/2021 at 8:50 PM, laurspag said:

Are you all doing your Christmas shopping early? 

 

I have no idea what my husband wants.  We have discussed that maybe we can get each something really small, and then take the same approach - an experience of some sort.  We have not gone to a movie since December of 2019!  Move Tavern has those neat recliners, and you can order dinner and drinks...it's small, but maybe we will do a few things like that instead.

I've done some. My older daughter is getting a Mom-made robe, the younger will probably get some expensive baking equipment. Hubby is getting Joe Bonamassa tickets. Granddaughter is getting a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey for her birthday/Christmas. Still need to find out what my grandson wants.

 

The last movie we went to was 1917 and we saw it on Valentine's Day 2020--right before the world shut down.

[awhfy]

Christmas gifts. Normally I’m done in September. Not this year. Oldest daughter moves into her new house on 8 Dec, I’ll get them a Lowes gift card. Daughter that went on cruise, I’m getting her a tiered marble stand for entertaining. I may get oldest that too instead of gift card. Son is getting a huge crockpot   The grands will get cash. Les & I are getting a cruise in April. Now on to Thanksgiving & pies…Melody

[MJC]

Laurie, I started my shopping last week, since most has to be shipped and I want to get as much done before our cruise as I can. Neither of us has any idea what to get each other, but we are leaning toward something to do also, like a Broadway show or a movie at the fancy theater with food and recliners. I think that would be a nice thing to do on an otherwise boring winter afternoon.

 

This week I will be two days in the city, so I am going to lay my clothes on the bed and pick what to pack. Then I can put aside the shoes I want, and after that I can focus on all the non-clothes packing. Our paperwork is mostly in order. Our suitcases need dusting! The cat sitter is lined up. Don't you love seeing the checkmarks on the list?!

 

We decided to stay an extra day in FLL, so we will disembark and head to our hotel for lunch and a swim instead of rushing off to the airport and getting home after dark. We'll have a relaxing evening and then depart on Monday at 11am. So much more mellow.

 

 

 

 

[awhfy]

Laurie & Margaret must be packing for their day after Thanksgiving cruises, can’t wait to see pictures. Hope you both have fabulous times. Our April cruise just had a substantial drop in price, we’ll enjoy it even more. Oldest daughter & I did a lot of Christmas shopping yesterday, I’m 95% done, now to wrap & forget what I bought!!  Best Buy of day was an 8qt crockpot for $29, with $10 off & $5 of & then 30% off. They almost had to pay me to take it out of the store (Kohls). Always fun shopping with daughters!!  Melody

[MJC]

Well, I've finalized some of my outfits, so here's some pictures!

 

Embarkation, teal pants and floral top. This is also my travel day outfit.

 

We are expecting low 80's for our first day in Fort Lauderdale, so this is for hanging around the hotel. Comfy black top and tech shorts:

 

Swimwear for the week. The b&w suit is for the pools, the brown and gold one and coverup for the beach, and the rash guard and briefs and cap for our snorkel excursion.

 

 

I'm taking two sets of workout clothes and I hope to do Zumba several times. These are easy to wash in the sink:

 

[MJC]

Formal nights - I decided on the brown and the black. I can't wear the 4" heels I originally bought to go with the brown dress, so the sandals are new. I saw the red peau de sois pumps in Manhattan and knew that pop of red was just what I wanted for that black dress. With red lipstick and my good jewelry, I'm much more excited about this outfit:

 

[MJC]

Dinner outfits - I have two silky tops to pair with my black ankle pants:

 

 

and I chose two dresses for the other nights. The sleeveless one is on the border between teal and denim, calf-length with slits on the sides. I chose them both for comfort:

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't decided on daywear yet. I want to bring some things from the lake before I choose, but generally I am going for T's, shorts, and flip flops on board, when I'm not in a bathing suit!

[awhfy]

Margaret, fabulous choices. I love the pop of red

[laurspag]

Margaret, I love your clothing choices.  I agree with Melody on the red shoes - great idea.  

 

I pretty much have everything figured out.  Normally, I am finished with picking well in advance, and then I might make some small changes as time goes on.  It has been different this time for a number of reasons: my weight gain, my husband's weight loss, and an order of shorts that I have been waiting for that just doesn't seem to want to arrive.

 

With my husband, I mentioned previously that he has been sick.  We still do not have a diagnosis but he is scheduled for more tests.  He has been insistent that his shorts should be fine as well as other clothes.  I didn't agree, but he is pretty fussy so it would be hard for me to just order randomly and hope he tries things on and actually takes them.  So he will be wearing baggy shorts, lol.  The nice thing is that his tshirts fit okay, and he had a few button down shirts that used to be too small and he stuck them in the back of the closet.  They are an oyster white summery shirt and another very similar color.  I also found another one that I think was too small as well.  

 

With the shorts for me, it was going to dictate which tops I brought.  I finally just decided to bring the 5 pair of shorts I have that do fit and 7 tops to go with them.  If they shorts happen to come in on time, I can always throw them in the suitcase.

 

You all saw my dress choices already, so I may try and get photos of the day time outfits today.  I plan to pretty much pack almost everything, except for the dresses and my husband's suit.  This way, they won't get wrinkled.  Yes, his suit will likely be too big also.

 

We are excited.  It is hard when you have scary thoughts in the back of your mind over what his mystery illness could be, but seeing that they have been trying to figure it out for a while, it weighs on us.  We are thinking positive, and looking forward to everything.

 

We sail from Tampa, where sailaway is expected to be in the upper 70s.  Nassau is showing upper 70s as well.  I'm hoping my choices are appropriate for the weather.  You never know if this will be cooler 70s or warmer 70s, if you know what I mean.

[laurspag]

So, my husband tried some things on.  I think we made out very well in that he has just the right amount of things.

 

Shorts are a bit baggy, but not big.  Shorts always fit him like that, lol.  His polos still look great, just a little looser.  He wanted those for the casual nights.  He is bringing along some tshirts that he has been wearing so I know those are fine.  Then I had him try on a few shirts that were a medium slim fit that still had tags on them because he said they were too small, and he never brought them back.  They are now perfect.

 

We did not try on his suit, but it is his only one and I think it will fit looser but not be bad because the pants were a bit to the tight side at one point.

 

So...I packed.  The only thing not in the suitcase are my husband's extra pair of sneakers, toiletry bags, and his suit and my formal dress. I feel so much better, knowing that we need to be at the airport at 4:30 AM the day after Thanksgiving.   

 

So, here are some pictures. First, are the evening cooler outfits, just in case.  There is something about the nighttime sea air that is chilly when onboard.  I always bring one of my sister's necklaces with me.  It goes so well with that shirt.  With the animal print top, I probably would not add jewelry, but I do have my Alex and Ani bracelets packed.  

 

Then for my daytime outfits.  I keep these kind of simple.  I goofed up in that I forgot to show my jewelry with each, but I do plan on bringing a few basic earrings and bracelets to add if I want.

 

 

I am trying to decide which will be my boarding outfit?  I know it isn't a big deal, but that sets the tone of the vacation for me, so I always like to wear my favorite.  I am thinking it will be the turqoise print.  I have had the shirt a while, but I love it.  It is much earthier that it first appears.  Here is an upclose of fabric and jewelry for it:

 

 

With the solid turquoise, I haven't decided but a solid color shirt usually screams at me for jewelry, lol.  I was thinking it would be fun to wear these earrings and/or this bracelet.

 

 

I have a few extra shirts in the mix.  One is a shirt I really like a lot.  I was trying to decide between earrings or a bracelet, since the jewelry itself doesn't go together.  I am thinking the earrings, because they mirror the print of the shirt.

 

 

Here is the other spare shirt, with a fun necklace I have had a while.  For the life of me, I couldn't get the brown to photograph right.

 

 

I have considered that I might want to change my clothes upon arriving in Florida, since I am going from 38 degrees to about 75-79.  I am packing a lightweight tshirt dress and another of my sister's necklaces.

 

Then here is a few jewelry items that I can throw on with a few of the other things, if I want to.

 

 

I did not take any new pictures of my evening outfits, since you have seen them all previously.   I apologize for the bad quality of some of the photos.  I didn't realize until seeing them posted.  I find that the color was truer with the flash, but it does wonky things when bouncing off the fabric.

[awhfy]

Laurie, great choices on clothes. Hope you both have a fabulous time
 

when they do your husband’s tests insist on a colonoscopy (even if it’s not really time for one). That’s how we found Les’s colon cancer at the very early stages, his only symptom was loss of weight & feeling kind of lethargic. 
 

Margaret, have a fantastic cruise! 

[laurspag]

So now the high in Tampa is 70 for spillway.  I may wear my cropped ivory jeans if it feels cool.

 

Melody, he had an endoscopy and colonoscopy.  They are scheduling a CT scan.

[awhfy]

11 hours ago, laurspag said:

So now the high in Tampa is 70 for spillway.  I may wear my cropped ivory jeans if it feels cool.

 

Melody, he had an endoscopy and colonoscopy.  They are scheduling a CT scan.

We’ll pray for a good outcome. Ask for a Pet scan if the CT doesn’t show anything.   Relax & have a great Thanksgiving & a fabulous cruise