Mid January Blahs

When the only thing to look forward to this time of year is the auto show you know you're in a slump. Oh sure, there's our annual Burns Night supper, but otherwise this time of year is a bit uninspiring. My outfits are reflecting this state of whateverness as evidenced by my wearing a brocade skirt with my husband's fleece sweatshirt. He doesn't wear it, so no sense letting a perfectly good item of clothing go to waste. The fabric defies photography but this close-up is a better sense of the colour.

 There's even a matching vest/waistcoat.

Anyway, everything feels a bit much post-holidays, so I went with the fleece. 

Outfit Particulars:

Vintage skirt-Goodwill

Vintage tote bag-Goodwill

Boots-K Mart

Blue nylons-Target

Sweatshirt-Mr. ETB's

Copper pendant necklace-can't remember

Fragrance-Incognito

Poorly named as you will be anything but incognito wearing this very potent fragrance. That said, I rather like it. 

 Again, I've turned to black on top, but this time I've worn a bright, colorful silky pleated skirt by DaRue of California. They do make lovely pleated skirts (I own three).

Pale legs alert. I am wearing tan tights-clearly not helping!

Outfit Particulars:

Skirt-Goodwill

Top-K Mart

Necklace-Goodwill

Boots-Goodwill

Belt-Goodwill

Fragrance-Bijan

I have both the older and newer versions. Most of the time I wear a combination of both. I also have a stash of vintage minis I'm working my way through. I am seriously allergic to this one (I suspect it is the narcissus) but that hasn't stopped me wearing it. Like the ad says, "I can quit anything...except Bijan." God, I love this fragrance. Over-the-top in the best possible way.

 Here, I'm back to lack-of-imagination dressing again. 80's does 50's jacket, 70's knit skirt, Liberty scarf. Just. Not. Feeling it.

Fragrance-Shulton Friendship Garden. Pleasant in a very youthful way. It seems more appropriate for a tween than a woman my age. Basically, carnation and aldehydes-both in quantity. I like that in L'Air du Temps, but here it doesn't pack the same punch. Maybe my bottle lost something over the years.

I recently purchased this massive, vintage sewing basket for $3.99 I am pleased as can be, though I've been accumulating several of these baskets which would be fine if I ever did any sewing. Sigh. They're good for holding gloves and hankies too.

 We've been enjoying dining away from home now that Danny is cleared of food allergy concerns. This is a "Clown Sundae" from Petrow's. I don't know why it is called that...it didn't taste funny. It did have both chocolate and vanilla ice cream, marshmallow cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry on top. Delicious. The Chicagoan in me sees nothing strange in going out for ice cream in sub-zero weather.

We ordered some vegetables to keep it healthy. Don't onions have some sort of antioxidant property? Those looked better than they were, so I only had one. Now I'm going to be lacking in antioxidants...but not vitamin C...

 I have a few pounds of sweet, Meyer lemons and I thought about using them for marmalade, but they really are too mild to use in place of lemons.

And let's be honest, the only marmalade I like is Seville orange. See, I'm wearing my duffel coat and holding marmalade. Please take care of this blogger. Anyway, I'm probably going to help Danny make a batch of orange marmalade for the fair, but with Moros instead of Sevilles (we can't get them).

I did bake some lemon bars with a few of the Meyer lemons. Not sour enough for my taste, but everyone else loved them.

I spotted this on Yahoo's mail sidebar. I'm confident that's not Fast Eddie??

Running this time of year is a drag. Ice, snow, sub-zero tempos. I can't even manage a short sprint around the block without worrying about breaking a hip. Until about March, I'll be indoors doing my best impersonation of a hamster on a wheel. I did 12 miles today and it was so fucking boring. We've had so much ice this year, it really is treacherous stepping outdoors. Cardio is cardio, but my brain needs a bit of exercise too. I've been reading Winship's translation of the Journey of Coronado with Danny, which is more interesting than I expected it to be. Explorers, political intrigue, 16th Century gossip-all the things that make for a good read. Anyway, between history and chemistry we have a rather full semester.

 I'm finding my faux furs are warmer than the real thing. This 70's coat is so heavy, I have sore shoulders after a day of wearing it.

Outfit Particulars:
wide pleated chiffon trousers-Goodwill
Beaded silk coat-New Life Thrift
90's wool scarf-can't remember where I bought it
Boots- K Mart
Vintage bag-Antique mall
Fragrance-Incanto Heaven, Ferragamo

I blind-bought a gigantic bottle of it and don't love it. I'm trying to tolerate it, but it depends on the day. It is better in cold weather than hot. There's a whiff of disinfectant about it, but overall it just isn't very interesting.

I'll leave you with a peek at my new handbag. There's a cord top plug in your phone and use the working handset-isn't that fun?

• I hope your January has been more interesting than mine. I'm sure I'll feel more myself once I get past the cabin fever of being trapped at home in bad weather.