Pattern mixing an experiment

I like to experiment with pattern mixing. Many other bloggers have tutorials on how to do it. 
A summary of what to do is:
1. mix a stripe with a floral
2. keep the colors in the prints the same or very close
3. choose different scales in the print combinations

two patterns plus color

three patterns plus color

small pattern

another curvy pattern

Hopefully I followed the guidelines and here is what I came up with. Do you like it??
 I'm linking up with visible Monday on Not Dead Yet Style.

Veritgo and Stripes

Yea! I've got vertigo! Some kind of virus going around and around and around. Yes it is what you get but it is different than being dizzy. Dizziness I learned is when you feel faint. Vertigo is when you get the sensation that the room is moving when it is not. (NO alcohol was involved.)
The big hint that it was viral is that I also got a cold sore on my lip two days before the vertigo.
So anyways I got this striped T-shirt not knowing I was going to get Vertigo and it is perfect in that it looks like vertigo because of the stripes placement.
Another comment I have to make is that a big busted girl like myself can wear stripes.... at least I think these are much better than an true horizontal would be. 

Black and blue and keeping warm

 I like the colors black and dark denim blue together. We had the opportunity to travel up to northen NY. It was very cold even for them. I wanted to stay warm so  I put a camisole underneath a blue t-shirt zipped up the vest and wound my neck with a scarf. I tucked my pants into my boots. I only have brown snow boots, black would have probably looked better but....I just wanted to be warm. 

My outer wear was more black and colorful gloves. I have a new felt fedora and like the color blocking on it.
I wore a little bead earring.   

Earth shoes and tapestry print jacket

Tapestry printed jacket in muted shades caught my eye last week at a new consignment store in my area. I paid around $21.00 for it.  Horay I didn't have to drive too far away they are very well organized at the store and they only sell more upscale brands. It saves you hours of digging through all the junk at Salvation Army. The prices were really reasonable. I will be visiting Not Dead Yet Style  . I like the cut of the jacket it gives me a waistline and the sleeves weren't too long. I think I am a jacket person I seem to always buy them. I also recently got a pair of 'Earth' shoes. Remember them from the 1970's the heel is lower than the front of the shoe. They were comfortable back then and they are now as well. 

 Have a wonderful Martin Luther King Day.

My casual is dressy to others and too casual for some

What is your casual? When I get casually dressed invariably one of my neighbors will see me walking the dogs and ask, "Where are you going you are always so dressed up?" I find this confusing because compared to many other bloggers I am way TOO casual. So What is your casual?? 

I know some people dress up for their blog photos then get into their 'gear'(sweats-yoga pants etc) that they wear around the house and to the store. I just don't want to do that unless I'm getting sweaty. I like to get dressed in the morning and then not think about it all day. I bought my clothes to wear them not just have them hang in my closet. 
When I was a kid my mother would always tell me when I got home from school, " Get into your play clothes"! That use to stick with me, but I was always embarrassed if I ran into people at the grocery store and I was wearing my sweats etc.

Here is a photo of a typical casual outfit for me. I love color so I'm combining my turquoise button down shirt with a Kelly green button down sweater. I added my jewelry for the spice. These are my favorite jeans. They are a tad loose but that way I don't get any negative crotch creases if you know what I mean...
My hair is a little wonky because I am growing it out to a bob. No makeup just the normal me. 
 So do you get casual and stay that way all day or do you dress up and down during the day depending on what you are doing? Are you more dressy or more casual?

Animal Prints and inspiration from another

J's Everyday Fashion  inspired me with the colors she chose and the addition of the animal print shoes. I thought wait a minute I have animal print shoes a sweater that color and a jacket that green. I also have pants the color of her jacket. So I swapped out the pants color for the jacket color in my outfit. I added animal print hat, shoes and purse.
(Isn't J a beautiful young woman. Yes I don't think I would wear my version in public because of fit issues,my pants and sweater are too tight but I'm having fun with it;)

snake skin purse from Nigeria

Calf skin with animal print

The the animal in the print so it is animal print!

So I was inspired to come up with my own combination. I love the hat because I had a dog that looked like the one in the print. Did I ever mention that I lived in Nigeria? Well that is another story maybe I'll do a post on it someday.

undertones in neutrals/another jacket look 30/30 challenge

 Undertones are so important so even though neutrals should all go together they don't.
 In my closet and in the lighting of my bedroom these two items looked like I could wear them together:the jacket and the pants.They are both brown fabric. But in the lighting of the flash do you see how the two browns don't go together?
The jacket and scarf are both browns with golden undertones. The pants are a brown with a pinky beige undertone.

I think design wise the pants and the jacket work well together but the colors were so off I had to change into a warm brown pair of pants I own.
If you want to read more about undertones of color I suggest you look at Maria Killiam design website really good information.

Expectations and dissapointments:one can lead to the other

Do people in your life disappoint your? Or are your expectations leading to your disappointments?
I had this discussion with my mother. She was feeling disappointed about many things and well I thought she was this disappointed because she has lots of expectations. 
I reflected on my own expectations and discovered that I don't have many at all of the people in my family or my friends. Maybe this is why I end up doing things mostly by myself. Maybe this is why I am happier than my mother. Or maybe this is why I have no outfit pictures. I couldn't get anyone in my family to take any outfit pictures for me the past two days. Is it expecting too much for my family to take my outfit pictures for me daily or every other day? Maybe I need a remote for my camera or a new camera that comes with a remote. I have tried the timer thingy on my camera but it is way too frustrating to use anymore. Oh well I will solve this problem but I was wondering if other people have trouble with their expectations and resultant disappointment?

I digress from my 30-30 challenge to feature another sewing project

vogue 8713

arm blingage

top stitching

side front drape

Vogue 8713

I thought it would be fun to make up something quick using Linen in various colors. I love this vest am not sure it is a very flattering style on me but it is my attempt to create something different than I would usually wear. 
This pattern went together so smoothly I am thinking of making the other version of it on the pattern. I am thinking of wearing this over jeans and a t-shirt in the summer.. 
I top stitched using the 'feather-stitch'. At first I matched the color of the thread in places to the fabric but that didn't show up, then  Idid the brown top stitching on the gold fabric and the gold top stitching on the brown fabric in the back. (you get the idea)