Fabulous Finds

Darling daughter has an incredible gift for finding things...
she recently found me a couple of fabulous finds.

On Instagram she is known as thingfinder and she has an Etsy shop thethingfinders.

She works hard at finding things...
regularly frequenting the shops and antique dealers in town.
Her knowledge of jewelry, antiques and collectibles is vast...
I am in awe of her skills.

She knows a bargain and here are two of her latest finds
which she sold to me for a song.

Vintage leather Fossil bag in mint condition.

Cross Body bags are the only bags for me now

as I am not supposed to carry heavy handbags anymore.

"Doctor's orders"

A leather wallet, also in mint condition,

please look closer...

Kate Spade

gold lettering

immaculate even stitching

soft supple leather

polka dots

luxurious 

a quality piece in every way

lots of compartments 

plenty of room for money and cards

looks great with pearls

 a classic watch

or a silk scarf...

These two leather pieces will be so useful.

There is ample room in my closet now as I recently consigned all my big bags.

I took a bag of clothes that "I fell out of love with" to the charity shop.

There's a piece of vintage Navajo turquoise en route to my house from a dealer in the States.

I plan to wear it with my thrifted crisp white shirt and faded blue jean jacket 

for Spring and Summer.

Can hardly wait for it to arrive!

Garance has a list of her favourite things in this gem of a book.

I hope you plan to read it if you have not yet done so...

she is a breath of fresh air.

Have you happened upon any Fabulous Finds?

OOTD dinner out with the family

This past weekend we took our family our for dinner to celebrate our son's 35th birthday.
The grand children were on their best behaviour and the food was delicious...it was nice to go out.

I wore my grey pearls and vintage Nine West embellished cardigan over a black tank top and velvet pants.

The sweater was a recent purchase from VV Boutique, a large thrift shop in Victoria.

Velvet pants and my ancient Amalfi patent leather shoes.

My idea of one notch up from casual.

Comfy to wear with the children yet dressy enough to go out for dinner.

My meal was tasty and rich.

 I savoured the garlic whipped mound of mashed potatoes!

Sometimes one just MUST splurge.

The next week will involve some healthy lunches.

A simple wrap spread with a couple of tablespoons of hummus and loaded with fresh veggies.

I love this kind of lunch...

the softness of the wrap and the crispy crunch of the veggies

and the bonus is that the hummus is full of protein.

One of the benefits of blogging are the comments and the emails received behind the scenes.

Thank you for your kind words of support and taking time to relate your personal stories.

There is a large community of women out there 

who care for each other 

and 

are not afraid of sharing.

I am grateful and humbled.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

A Smashing time...

Frozen shoulder has made life a bit frustrating for the Hostess of The Humble Bungalow...
my range of motion is limited and so typing and knitting have been virtually curtailed.

I have been meaning to sit down and write a post but I have had a series of appointments and a few mishaps that have kept me hopping.

Someone decided to take their anger out on my windshield.

It was a smashing day all around...

it reminds me of that song

"if I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning I'd hammer in the evening..."

I met friends for lunch and parked in an open lot close by the restaurant and when I returned I was actually gobsmacked by what I saw...

and I still wonder 

WHY?

It seems to me to be a senseless act of vandalism.

But let's move on shall we?

I did want to brighten your day by showing you some of the beautiful orchids from The Victoria Orchid Society Show.

I am still enjoying The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton...

it has been a godsend having a novel to take my mind off of my troubles and to give me something to focus on as I wait in the medical offices.

I really wish I could be knitting...

at least I can still play bridge 

  Meg

(whom I adore)

is the 94 year old bridge player 

who continues to inspire me

 had fabulous cards this week...we were "on fire" 

we bid and made a small slam!

I am so grateful for the small joys and simple things in life.

Have yourself a fabulous weekend!

Be Well and Be Kind.

From Here to Infinity...scarf tie and a "frozen" shoulder.

I have received a few emails asking about how I wear my scarves...
it sounds like some of you are feeling like you want to embrace the habit and others are just plain frustrated.
All scarves are not created equal...there are stiff ones, soft silky ones, woolly bulky ones and then there are those easy infinity scarves.

Infinity scarves put simply are the easiest scarves to wear.
They require very little fuss are a quick way to add a splash of colour to your basic outfit.

They also make great gifts, and as a scarf lover I welcome them into my wardrobe.

Here is a quick and easy way to tie a longer infinity scarf...it is the way that I wear mine.

Place the scarf around your neck.

I am using the bed as it is easier to show the technique.

Pull at the ends so the bulk of the scarf drapes a bit.

Cross over in front of neck

Cross over again

loop the lower circular opening back over the head 

shift the scarf around 

(until you have achieved the desired effect)

the feature twist could be off to one side

or centre it in the middle

You may even prefer it to rest atop the shoulder...

it is a simple tie that you can adapt to other scarves too.

If you have a large silk square you can tie two ends together to form an infinity scarf and proceed as above.

I hope that this answers your questions and that you'll have fun wearing your Infinity scarves and perhaps you'll have fun wearing some of the other options and learning new techniques on how to tie them.

Hermes has scarf tying cards and there are many many great tutorials on You Tube.

You can spend hours learning new ways to tie this simple accessory.

The important thing is to have fun.

Throw one on and forget it.

Be confident...

Before you know it

you will be giving lessons to your friends!

The view of Cedar Hill Golf Course yesterday afternoon...

so blue and no filter was used...just my IPhone camera!

I have been sidelined with a shoulder issue.

"Frozen shoulder" is the diagnosis and I am in a lot of pain and my range of motion is not great.

Physiotherapy, massage therapy and a series of X-Ray guided cortisone shots sound like they are in my future.

I am waiting for referrals to go between the medical specialists and am trying to be "patient!"

I am not good with pain and am not used to being "a patient."

So if my posts are sporadic you will know why...

You can see snippets of my days on my Instagram page...

click on the hydrangeas on the sidebar for the link.

I am currently reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.

It is an engaging story...full of layers and lots of detail.

Many people had difficulty trying to get through the book and from what I gather it is not to every one's taste.

I am on page 150 and so far have not felt like it is a slog.

Will let you know what I think when I finish the book...it is 822 pages so it might take me awhile!

Be Well and Be Kind.

Shopping...3 easy pieces.

Inspiration comes in many forms.

The power of suggestion speaks loudly to me when it comes from a reliable source...
it could be a woman of a certain age wearing an exceptional outfit
it could be a magazine ad
a snippet from a movie
a post from a fashion savvy blogger.

Both of these books are interesting and fun...
quite different, yet totally relevant.

There is a lot of information on fashion and beauty are packed between the covers.
Isn't it nice to know that you are never too old to learn a few new tricks?

Alyson Walsh and Garance Dore's latest books were instrumental in inspiring me to wander the aisles of the shops. Their ideas spoke to me and I wanted to find something a bit different, something that was authentic and items that reflected my personal style.

I keep my eye out for quality Vintage clothing.
It must be in good condition and I prefer some details that make it "different" from what the retailers are currently showing.
Finding a bargain (as well as meeting my initial criteria) makes it a Win Win.

The wool cardigan in a charcoal grey with 3/4 sleeves fills a void in my closet.

There were no wool cardigans left after a moth infestation.

Vintage Nine West sweater has weight and body that hangs well

 it functions as a "jacket" with jeans and trousers.

The details on this are dressy and I like how it looks with a plain white or black tank top underneath.

I wore it with my grey pearls one day and the natural ones on another occasion.

I received compliments both times.

This cozy Novelti wool jacket looks smart with pants and is the perfect length with my charcoal and black dressy skirt.

The neck is what attracted me to it in the first place and the price point was so reasonable.

(the price of a few lattes at Starbucks!)

Black and white are the core of my winter wardrobe

with a healthy smattering of grey pieces added into the mix.

Here in the change room you can see my shopping "uniform."

Skinny NYDJ

Clark boots

(they remind me of Beatle boots from my youth!)

Barbour black vest

long sleeved Tee shirt

(I often wonder if I am on target with my rolled up skinny jeans)

I really doubt that anyone is looking at me anymore...

I love wearing a crisp white man's shirt.

I used to have a perfect vintage Max Mara white shirt that I wore

I loved that shirt so much, too much

and have been pining over it's demise for far too long...

a tomato stain was the undoing...

with a white shirt 

or 

any other men's shirt 

I love to flip up the collar 

and 

layer on the pearls.

This white shirt is by Eddie Bauer.

The weight is heavy enough that it looks crisp and hangs nicely without clinging.

          I am looking forward to wearing this as a shirt on it's own and in the summer layered over a                                                                 white tee with white Gap jeans.

The Rose Diptyque candle is finished...

and instead of recycling the glass container in the Blue Box

I copied what the clerk at Nordstrom's did  and I repurposed it...

so jam and yogurt jars 

move over

you are not the only jars I am recycling these days!

My wardrobe has increased by 3 easy pieces.

None of them were expensive or investment pieces.

The process of looking was done at leisure and was enjoyable.

I Love "the thrill of the hunt."

All pieces go with most, if not all, of my current garments.

They are versatile

fit well

make me feel good when I put them on.

I am happy with less, content to buy vintage, love the search and I save money in the process.

~ Win Win Win ~

Hope your week is off to a great start...

until next time...

Be Well and Be Kind.