OOTD...

Our dear friends from France gave me a lovely scarf for Christmas.
It is made by a company called Letol in France and I love it!

Keeping cozy wearing it
INSIDE the Humble Bungalow!
The gusty winds and freezing temperatures sneak into our home
via the single paned windows...
BRR!

In my wardrobe basic colours of black and grey 

with a smattering of green...

which just happens to be my favourite colour!

 OOTD

Grey cashmere cardigan Jones of NY

(formerly Mom's)

Tribal denim jeans

Cupio Star Tee shirt

Letol scarf

Clarks Chelsea Boots

a wee bit of a departure from my usual plain Tees...

but hey I felt like I needed to add a bit of fun and whimsy

I don't always want to be serious and conservative!

Thank you for popping by...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Sometimes things go sideways....

The new knitting project went sideways
the finished product was not up to my standards.

Basically the "simple knitted socks" were an EPIC FAIL!

I have learned a LOT of new techniques
polished my knitting skills
but I would never wear them.

So.......
I ripped them out.

We move on...
learn from our mistakes
and I am now embarking on a lovely new project.

A pretty scarf which is a free pattern
 Lacy Baktus by Strikkelise

This project is simple...

lacy and beautiful.

I do not like waste...

Speaking of waste,

 I ruined a pair of jeans by putting them in the dryer at the cottage.

Who would have thought that 20 minutes in a dryer on low 

would shrink a pair of jeans?

I am obviously not in sync with the appliances at the cottage!

Shrank SO MUCH 

that they cling 

painfully to my thighs and calves.

Not comfy at all!

I had to go out and buy another pair...

in Sidney on my way home!

Tribal

made in Canada

 just a tad under $100

I will donate my other jeans...

I have been wearing my father rings...

my Mom gave them to me.

What to do with a mans wedding band and a diamond ring?

I asked our family jeweller Paul de Goutiere to design a pendant

 he hit it out of the ballpark...

He suggested that it should be strung on a simple black silk strand...

it looks more modern and contemporary.

I have been wearing it a lot with my black and grey wardrobe....

no idea that it would come in so handy as an accessory.

I am also trying to focus on healthy eating and drinking lots of water

 avocado's rank right up there on the healthy scale!

Mashed avocado and a cup of tea...

How is you weekend going?

I am off to a fashion show with a friend tomorrow

then serving up a roast beef dinner for the Super Bowl.

What are you up to?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

NYDJ

Since many of you have shown interest in my thoughts on a smallish wardrobe

I am continuing on the theme with jeans today...

Many office workers will wear jeans on Casual Fridays 

so I thought today would be a good day to share this post..

Retirement 

changed my focus on dressing 

to a much more relaxed and casual style.

This lifestyle revolves around activities and pursuits that I enjoy

time is spent with family and friends...

nothing too fussy or fancy

for

live theatre

bridge

french lessons

walks

the gym

home keeping

lunches

fundraisers

grocery shopping

cooking

(image from the archives)

Clothes that are well made, fit and flatter are worth their weight in gold...

Jeans are a basic in my wardrobe and I have tried many different brands over the years. In the past I have worn Levis, GAP, French Connection, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, g21 from Walmart.
The cost of all of these jeans has been modest, well under $80...some sourced at the thrift shop for under $10.

I really like the brand NYDJ they are made in the USA which makes them "guilt free" fashion.
The jeans wear well and last a long time so I use the CPW (cost per wearing) factor to justify the expense. NYDJ rarely go on sale here in town, and the prices are around $150 - $200 which definitely puts them in the category that I consider  "investment clothes." I save up for these jeans and because my wardrobe is small they play a big role in my casual retirement dressing.

Writing down and tracking every clothing purchase with the brand details has become a habit since I lost 30 pounds and had to rebuild my wardrobe.
The notes in my book have shown me which clothes wear better than others and I am able to avoid costly mistakes in the future.

I wash the jeans on the gentle cycle, turned inside out and then hang them to dry.
The styles are flattering, look smart and are slimming.

NYDJ are also available in Petite lengths which I love, because I feel jeans that have been hemmed never look quite the same as those fresh from the factory.

NYDJ

Boyfriend, straight leg and skinny

The skinny and the straight legged jeans are over 2 years old and the boyfriends were purchased last year on a trip to Vancouver.

Stay tuned for another post on clothing items 

in my basic wardrobe.

Do you wear jeans?

How many pairs do you have in your closet?

At one time I think darling daughter had over 20 pairs...

the most that I have ever had at one time would be  4 or 5 pair.

What brand(s) of jeans do you like and how do you feel about the cost?

Hope you have a lovely weekend 

thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Dinner in the dining room of The Humble Bungalow...

We are fortunate to have a decent sized dining room in The Humble Bungalow.

In the home where I grew up, we had a sardine can sized dining room where guests were squeezed in around a table, and once you were seated you had to stay until the meal was over.

The white fairy lights are plugged in for special occasions

opting for simple white Sophie Conran china 

and

French Bee glasses.

There is plenty of crystal and Royal Albert china tucked away in the buffet.

Those pieces come out for bigger gatherings like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Fragrant freesias from Thorn and Thistle Flower Merchants,

my favourite spot in town for fresh flowers and plants. 

We gathered together with darling daughter and her husband to watch their honeymoon video.

For starters

a plate of cheese, crackers, fig jam and olives were served.

Beef tenderloin cooked on a bed of mushrooms 

in a black bean Asian fusion sauce. 

Recipe is in Susan Mendelson's cookbook page 135 

 Mama Now Cooks like This!

(I cannot find her recipe online and for copyright reasons I cannot print the page so I hope you can find a copy of the book in your local bookseller or library)

Served with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes.

The garlic mashed potatoes are from The Barefoot Contessa's Paris cookbook 

(recipe here)

Mixed fruit and berry crumble which we topped with coconut ice cream.

I used Ina Gartens's basic recipe from her Paris cookbook 

substituting apples for the plums.

(recipe here)

Late Evening Tea Time

decaf Yorkshire Blend and a scented candle.

Time to reflect on the day

count my blessings 

then write in my journal.

It was a lovely evening...

Today

Mother and I walked the Esplanade this afternoon 

then we went for a coffee.

Our usual cafe was closed for holidays.

The blue skies and sunny weather were a tonic 

I am feeling a bit unsettled and persnickety.

I seem to have developed 

a headache

after purging our filing cabinet 

which took me several hours...

and 

has left me with a stack of shredding

that I need to attend to in the morning.

(UGH!)

We

also need the dishwasher motor to be replaced

we could opt for the whole new machine but I do not think that very green or eco friendly so we will replace the broken bits and hope for the best.

I plan to wake up with a fresh attitude

brew my cafe creme

sit and reflect on the good things.

Then

put on a crisp white shirt, pearls and my NYDJ boyfriend jeans

and seize the day!

Do you ever have a day where you just feel like someone has hijacked your life?

Don't be shy...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Christmas snippets...

Long time no blog posts...
It has been a busy time here this Christmas in The Humble Bungalow!
We have been totally immersed in the festivities...
lots of food, family and fun.

Gifts from afar...

unexpected and so welcome.

Dressed up

painted my nails

put on some vintage bling.

Went out to an annual Christmas Eve Open House at the home of dear friends.

The National Lampoon Christmas Vacation Moose Cups were on hand 

to sip single malt scotch from if that is your preferred tipple.

(Mr. HB likes it)

I polished the silver and dusted off the crystal goblets.

Christmas Crackers were on the table as they always are...

the only time we ever had a Christmas without the crackers was when we went to Palm Springs 

 we could find none despite scouring the town...

I was convinced that Jurgenson's would have some....

sadly not.

Simple setting with our Sophie Conran china.

Adults only for dinner as the grandchildren would be with us on Boxing Day.

The turkey was delicious...lots of veggies accompanied the "bird."

I was spoiled with lovely gifts.

Pearls and cashmere.

An Espresso maker and two new Emma Bridgewater bowls to replace the one that chipped.

Thank you Santa!

We met friends for lunch at The Bard and Banker.

Wine

Salad...

the first of many.

Statue of Emily Carr 

on site at The Victoria Fairmont Empress Hotel.

My walking partner and I met up for lunch downtown followed by some shopping.

R convinced me to invest in a new pair of jeans...

(long overdue I might add)

so I now have some new NYD jeans that fit and flatter.

It often takes a friend to persuade you to spend some money on yourself.

The Riviera yogurt glass jars have been re purposed as spice jars.

Tops were sourced online at the company's website and I wasted no time in getting the spice drawer organized.

There will be a lot more tidying up around here in January 

but for now we are readying the Humble Bungalow for house guests...

I will be away from the blog for a few more days

but will be on Instagram every day at least once if not twice.

Happy New Year

Cheers!

Rather a busy weekend...

This past weekend was full of activity but it was a pleasant balance of work and play...

A little bit of shopping

(these did not come home with me)

I wore my pearl pendant...

a 60th birthday gift from my kids.

(They are grown adults now but they'll always be my "babies!")

J'adore Pearls!

A little time was spent in the garden 

dead heading hydrangeas and harvesting our first Liberty apples.

Mr. HB took me out for lunch to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel.

I had a huge salad...a Weight Watchers friendly choice.

Delicious and so very healthy.

My weight is up a couple of pounds over my "goal weight" but I am working at getting it back down.

I weeded my closet...donated a bag to the charity shop.

Then I took the remaining summer clothes downstairs to the guest room closet.

My dressy clothes are made up mostly of black and grey shades.

I ordered some new long sleeved tees from Lands' End.

They had a 30% off sale this weekend which ends today ~ Monday.

One white, a bright purple blue and a raspberry.

Last Spring in Paris I had my colours done.

Turns out that I am a Winter...

(who knew?)

Slowly embracing colour and they all go with my black basics and my Hermes scarves!

I made Jamie Oliver's Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Tomatoes.

Jamie at Home Cookbook.

Delicious and an easy one pan dinner.

This was the scene that I saw when I walked along the seafront this week...

I'm exploring a new hobby.

Mah Jongg.

The lessons start this week.

Want to keep my brain cells vibrant and stimulated...

learning something new is always exciting.

Hope that your week is off to a flying start!

Retail therapy ~ a date with darling daughter, my favourite fashion advisor.

Life is handing us out some stressful days...
the kind of days where tension manifests itself in painful knots in the upper back and shoulders.

Pepper our elder cat is still not well despite the meds and it looks like surgery is imminent.
More tests, X-rays, blood work, urinalysis the list goes on...
There have been tears shed and sleep has become sporadic and restless.
And somehow a ray of sunshine appears on the horizon...and it's our darling daughter!
She knew I needed her support and so she accompanied me to the vet visit.
Daughters are so lovely...I am so very grateful to have her in my life.

After our appointment we went home and got Pepper settled and went out for a healthy lunch at Pure Vanilla in Oak Bay. The day was sunny and warm so we opted to sit outside on the patio.

I had mentioned to my daughter how I had been toying with the idea of a new pair of jeans so we popped over the the mall and checked out what the Gap had and I tried on a few pair but nothing had that Wow Factor.
As we were cruising the mall we detoured into Banana Republic where I spied a cute pair of petite sized jeans...
I tried them on, and well, the rest is history!

I want to tuck my cream silk blouse into the waist so I bought the 30 inch size in petite.

The jeans can be rolled up slightly or worn straight...depends on my mood and the footwear that I choose.

Thinking the red ballet flats will be a great pairing with these and the Breton striped Tee will be "Oh So French!"

Banana Republic "touch of cashmere" sweater

heavily reduced

 longer in the back

cozy like a warm hug.

I said Yes.

It looks much better on than it does hanging here.

Chester loves bags!

Pepper watched with amusement in her eyes...

Darling daughter shared some of her secret weapons with me...

thank you sweetheart!

The lip balm is AMAZING!

It smells like roses and moisturizes like none other...

The apricot cuticle cream is going to be a mainstay in my arsenal of tricks.

As a gardener I tend to have ragged cuticles despite wearing gloves the hands take a beating.

The pot of cream will be at my bedside and I plan to rub it into my nails every night before bedtime.

I replaced my brown leather watch strap with a new black one and it is like having a new watch.

Well I must get on with my day...I need to keep busy.

so more cleaning is in order

as we await news from the vet as to Pepper's fate.

Hope your week is ticking along nicely.