Of Things Symphonic

A few times during the year, Michael and I venture up to Kansas City to enjoy The Kansas City Symphony. For all the years we have been together (since 1970), classical music has been one of our shared loves. Now with the beautiful Kaufmann Center For the Art, our visual love of art and architecture is also nourished. 

The evening's concert was music by Vaughn Williams and Sir Edward Elgar, two of our favorite British composers. 

I donned one of my LBDs for the occasion and added a few  accessories that suited my mood. For this Saturday night,  I used gray and silver with a small flash of rhinestone.

It's cold at the moment in the Midwest, so a coat is essential. I paired my red Via Spiga with this look.

As usual, I have collected pieces from everywhere. Here's the low down. I do this with bullets. It easier for me to organize everything and I hope it is easier for you to follow.

• My LBD is new or secondhand new. It was a score from Goodwill. I call these pieces my GW Courteur. You can't see the detail because it's black but there are triangular panels going down the front. 
• The statement necklace is Isadora by Stella and Dot and sourced on Ebay.
• The purse is Coach. I'm on the online Coach Outlet sale group. I'm not sure how I got there. They say you have to sign up in a store now. I just know that I've gotten some great deals.
• Bracelet-Kohls
• rhinestone earrings-TJ Maxx
• Grey suede shoes-Ralph Lauren-Tuesday Morning, of all places  
• As previously said, my coat is Via Spiga that I found on Ebay. I got one last year for my youngest daughter (I got so tired of seeing her in this old blue coat) and liked it so much that I got a red one.

  So as you can see, I hardly ever go to a regular department store or mall. There's just no fun in that.


I still like to get behind the camera. 

Still Life in Black and Grey #1

 Bells and Whistles
  
Bells and Whistles is my choices of polish and  perfume for the look. I won't have this all the time, but occasionally I will sneak it in. 

 The Bell for today is Zoya's Imogen, a PixieDust. Zoya is the great enabler. Get on their mailing list, and they give you some deals you can't refuse. I won't wear black only on my nails. But give me some black with flash, that's a different story. Imogen, with it's holo glitter,  is like a galaxy on your nails. I will tell you that I did first put a base coat of pure black on (Zoya's Willa). Be forewarned, if you try PixieDusts or any glitter based polish, they are the dickens to get off. 

In my still life, I have two other bottles of polish shown and I have worn them also with this ensemble. They are shown on a different blog found here.

The Whistle for today is  Eric Buterbaugh's Florals Sultry-Rose. I do not own this this gloriously simple beautiful bottle.  I am a big believer of small samples and purchase my perfumes from Perfume Court. I can experiment with different scents and especially enjoy Perfume Court's theme sets. Does anyone else do this, or am I just a tad weird?

 Once upon a time I said, " I will raise a Rose but not wear a Rose". Eric Buterbaugh put a stop to that nonsense. This perfume is deep and mysterious. The top notes are Rose, Passionfruit and Pepper. Check out the links for the middle and bottom notes. This one is glorious. The creator is llias Ermenidis who created it for himself but gave it it Eric as a tribute to his flower artistry.   

Of Things Architectural 

OK, now it time for the art teacher (retired) to take over. I love I have to talk about The Kauffman Center. This structure has put Kansas City on the map. Designed by Moshe Sadfie, it is just  gorgeous and at night, I can't tell you how beautiful it is. It's an hour drive each way, but it is so worth it! So goes the life of livin' in the country and goin' to the city!

The exterior of the Kauffman Center of the Arts, designed by Moshe Sadfie

Helzburg Hall, the performance hall of the symphony.

 This is the interior of the smaller performance space, The Murial Kauffman Hall. And I will have to admit, I enjoy being in this space rather than the larger Helzburg Hall. It seems like a jewel box to me and there's not a bad seat in the house. The performances always seem close and personal. This is the home of the Kansas City Ballet and The Lyric Opera. Rachelle and I just recently saw the ballet's The Three Musketeers performance.


That's it for today. Take care, Terri

I'm linking up with Patti's Visible Monday HERE,  Catherine's
#iwillwearwhatilike HERE, Cherie's Shoe and Tell HERE



Photography by Rachelle Gardner-Roe of StudioRMG

It Was A Windy Day In Joplin

We certainly didn't need wind machines on this day. Mother Nature did just fine. January 9th in Joplin probably wasn't the most cooperative day to take a few photos.  But earlier, I made a deal with my Grandson; if he would take some pictures of me I would return the favor and take some shots of him. A deal was struck and Grandmother and Grandson braved the elements (along with my girls, Sophia and Millie) to pursue some photographs. 

Today's post features "Candied Yam", my Tri-Becca velvet hat. Tri-Becca Design is the creative efforts of Rebecca Lawrence. Rebecca lives, works and creates in Kansas City, Missouri. I met her through The Kansas City Fiber Guild and immediately knew I needed one of her hats. As a lover of orange and vintage pins, this chapeau quickly found its way to my head. 

I've already related about my hat, but there are some other things in this photo that I am very fond of.  And here they are....................

• My bag is a vintage Rodo (Ebay). Rodo of Italy has been creating beautiful purses since 1956. If I do many of these "my style" post, Rodos will pop up quite a few times. 
• The jacket is from last year's clearance sale from a little boutique "What To Wear" in Butler, Missouri. It was on 90% clearance and I do love big lapels.
•  The scarf I am wearing is a wonderful mix of cheetah print and lace. You will see more of it below. It was a thrift-shop score and I so love those senior days at Goodwill!
• The shoes are brown and black heeled loafers from Tods (Ebay again). I enjoy wearing brown and black together.
• My slacks are 100% lined silk (again Ebay) Charter Club. I believe that is a Macy's brand. For years, I wore them with a fuller leg. This Fall, I decided I wanted a slimmer look. I pretty much ripped them apart and refashioned them. A sewing machine has been an important part of my life since I have been ten. 
• The gloves came from Marshalls. Marshalls and T.J. Maxx are two stores I occasionally visit.

We first started out in the yard because that was where the girls went. I looked down at my feet (which I found to be covered in snow) and decided it was time to head for the concrete. I'm holding Sophia. And I have to comment on Sophia's attire. It is a gold coat with a leopard fur collar and also line in the same material. Sometimes we just sort of match!

Fashion is fun for me when I can put together things from everywhere. It's like a game and has always been one of my hobbies. Below is just a few things that I used for this look.  I threw in some Tortoiseshell because I love it with brown tones and am always on the lookout for new pieces. 

Oh and that pin. I just love this pin! The burgundy crushed velvet-Love!

I made good on my word and Harrison had a great time demonstrating his skateboard skills for me. Here's a collage of my photographer, Grandson, and skateboard enthusiast. Plus, I can tell you this kid is very fashion savvy and gives his Mom and I fashion critiques quite regularly!

One more thing, I wanted to give the link to Tri-Becca Designs. So that's it. 

Except, I would enjoy any comments. This is only my second "My Style" post and I would love some feedback. 

Take care, Terri

I'm linking up with Patti's Visible Monday HERE,  Catherine's
#iwillwearwhatilike HERE, Cherie's Shoe and Tell HERE and Shopping My Closet HERE.

Scents And Tips

 Hi Everyone, 

This is a quick post to introduce a new page that I am putting up today on MeadowTree (see above tabs).

This is a dedication to two of my passions: Perfumes and Nail Polish. I call them my Bells and Whistles. For me, these two things have to be present in my life to complete my style. 

My love of fragrance began long before I discovered nail polish (which has only been the last three years). Back in the day, I would even mix my own Potpourris. Although I gave that up long ago, I still have an ongoing love for fragrances, especially perfumes.

I starting nail polish about a month after I retired. A whole new world opened up which has had me rather occupied these last three years. The story on that one can be found HERE. I wrote the piece a little over two years ago. But, it explains all.  

Rather that start anew, I am publishing the links to pages I am continuously working on at the Kaleidoscope. 

To The Perfumes We Go

And The Nail Polish

The List On Kaleidoscope

Go Straight To My Google Doc

With Links To My Pinteret

Polish Boards

That's it. I have a whole new post planned for tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about it. 

Take care, Terri

Hats Off To The Alpacas

Hello Everyone, 

This post has some firsts. It's the first time I have published on the Journal this year. It is the first time I have ever done a fashion shoot. It's the first time I have not been in back of the camera and in front. Face it, I am usually shooting Poodles or my nail designs. And it is the first time that I have made a contribution to the Style Crone's Hat Attack. 

I have a few hats and have worn them since High School. Most of you all know that I am in my mid 60's so I have been wearing hats for a few decades. Today I am wearing my favorite hat that I have ever owned.

Why is this my favorite? Well, it is 100% Kentuckian Alpaca and made in the USA. As you can see in these photos, I am pretty familiar with Alpacas (But, Herbie, our llama is stealing the scene from the 'Paca Boys).

Now getting back to the hat. It is an Australian Outback hat created by River Hill Ranch. I purchased it at a wool show about two years ago and have worn and worn it. It is the personification of my Wool Woman personality. 

So, since this is a fashion entry I will mention the other stuff. The purse is Nanette Lepore. The scarf was a present from my eldest this Christmas and I couldn't believe how it perfectly matched the gloves. My jeans are Madewell Skinnies. They never fail to look less than great. The jacket is a thrift find. It is Union Made so you know how old it has to be. 

The photographer is my hubby, Michael and the shots were just on our driveway of our farm (Meadowtree) that we have lived on for thirty five years. 

That's it for this post. Have a great 2016. Terri