Even the Fashionesta

Find a dress for my role as Mother of the Bride. .

The Bride’s Requirments:
Colors : red and ivory
Bride in a long dress, bridesmaids in short frocks
5pm Outdoor ceremony – in Miami Beach – in August
Indoor reception, sit down dinner

My Requirements:
Knee length skirt (did the mini skirt thing in my youth)
No spaghetti straps or low cut necks
No pale pastels, no sofa cover size flowers and no sequins or bugle beads
The Mother of the Bride really should not wear black. We are thrilled about the groom, black might send the wrong message

No more than 3 numbers to the left of the decimal point of the price

Prior to my arrival the Head Fashionesta at Nordstrom pulled 4 outfits.
I tried them all on. She rejected them all. . One thing I love about the Fashionestas at Nordstrom, they won’t sell you something just for the sake of their commissions.

We commenced to walk the store. Twice. From top to bottom. And bottom to top.

2 hours later: Big Sigh. Well, I’ll keep my eyes open, hopefully I’ll find something when the things come in for our big Anniversary Sale next month. "

Stay tuned.

Fleas for Fun & Profit

We had a mild winter, a short spring and then summer arrived with a vengeance. We are now experiencing 90 % humidity a 105 heat index and fleas. They appear to have an immunity to Advantage and FrontLine so it was time to lock up the cats and bring out the flea bombs.

Sunday morning appeared to be the optimum since My Beloved had a golf game. My Beloved is Fragile Flower, who is allergic to everything, including residual flea bomb scent.

I locked the cats on the upstairs balcony, turned off the Air Conditioner, sprung the bombs and fled the house. The plan was to hole up at Waldo’s Coffee House and linger over a latte and their Whi-Fi.

On the way I spotted a garage sale sign (I don’t normally go garage sailing on Sundays). Of course I had to check it out. It was a bust but on the way back I passed another, newly opened sale.

It yielded 4 textbooks, 2 other books with decent prices and ranks, 3 vintage calculators (very ebayable) and a Melissa & Doug wooden floor puzzle.

$200 in book inventory + E-bay stock! Wish that fleas were always so profitable!

I Love LA

A golfing connection won my beloved a weekend in LA (airfare and hotel accommodations for two). And very nice accommodations they are too – a suite in the Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA.

We were delighted with this little windfall since Daughter #1 lives here and we have yet to visit (plans were derailed by her sister’s engagement) . My Beloved had the added delight of playing Pacific golf and took off at O dark thirty for a course in Newport Beach. Daughter #1 made plans for us to tour the Hollywood Cemetery. I have a fondness for graveyards.

Daughter #1 works for American Apparel as a web site designer – some people speak in tongues, she speaks in HTML code. Interesting place, American Apparel. Large, sprawling factory in the Warehouse District, gritty, scruffy and bursting with energy. They pride themselves their “Made in America” clothes and the fact they pay their workers above minimum wage (and provide benefits).

Perfect fit for Daughter #1 who has no tolerance for anything artificial or pretentious.
She can wear what she wants, the company has a social conscience and she has health insurance (the latter a great relief to her mother).

Daughter #1also shares a classic, Hollywood stucco duplex with 2 roommates. Funky, diverse neighborhood on the cusp of Little Ethiopia. Public transportation, shops within walking distance, sidewalks, small gardens and a sense of neighborhood.

It’s rather an odd feeling to realize one’s children are all grown up and making their way in the world in a successful manner. I rather like it!