April 15, 2020
In Search of Flowers…
They might go stay at the farmhouse indefinitely. At first, they thought that staying in town would be better – less “cut off” from civilization and other human life.
But now they realize that they’re not seeing anybody anyway, so being closer to nature might be the better option!
She’s longing for flowers; she’s been thumbing through art books for weeks…
THIS is what she wants in her life – the colors, and the freshness…
So they pull on their boots, and their rain coats, and toss a few garments into a bag; if they decide to move up for a long while, they will return home and pack a LOT of things…
Scarf – The Met Store; amethyst stud earrings – Michael Krainer; lavender top – Lands’ End; raincoat – L.L.Bean; crossbody bag – Longchamp; suitcase – Tumi; denim pants – L.L.Bean; watch – Shinola; amethyst bracelet – Kadek Hendra; boots – Hunter
Warning – if you’re looking at rubber boots, be absolutely CERTAIN that the boot shaft is NOT too tall for your legs. These boots, digging into the back of your knees, are torture. At a normal height, they’re genius!
They had been discussing this possibility for a few weeks, so she made certain that she had everything in hand that she wanted to pack. Yes, maybe a new garment (or 2) made its way into her bag…
lavender sweatshirt cardigan – Lands’ End; earrings – Buana; bracelet – Kendra Scott; “Iridescent Watery Purple” nail polish – Anna Sui; linen cotton sweater – Lands’ End; sunglasses – Rebecca Minkoff; white and striped tees – Lands’ End; floral dress – Lands’ End: denim skirt – J.Crew; chino crop pants – Lands’ End; navy water shoes – Lands’ End; navy ballet flats – Trotters
I could be tempted by the nail polish just because the color is named “Iridescent Watery Purple!” Talk about truth in advertising…
Because they’re going to be there together, she thinks that packing a dress and a skirt makes good sense. One of the things she’s learned, now that they’re spending ALL of their time together, is that she was a genius when she chose her spouse!
Everything spread out on the bed to be packed – she already feels as if she’s looking at flowers:
It’s not terribly important that she have an infinite array of outfits – it’s more that she wants to be able to put on something clean after hiking. She will cheerfully plunge into undergrowth or strange, boggy places if she sees a flower that catches her eye!
I can sympathize with this heroine; if I could, I would spend about 8 hours sitting in the Luxembourg Gardens, right now…
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, I was lucky enough to spot some lovely Chic Sightings in dots! I love dots….
p.p.s. My dear friend at Image Diary Scarves is having a banging big sale for Mother’s Day! From today through the 10th of May, use the code MOMDAY2020 for 40% off of all Silk Story Scarves… Get thee to Wolf and Badger to shop!
p.p.p.s. The lovely divider between outfits today was found at clipart.email. Such lovely things there, and free!
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Change the purple for pink, and this would be perfect! Add a little yellow as well, maybe. This is what I’m wanting right now. Pinks and yellows just scream spring top me!
Wow – such a stunning painting and I love the lavender and navy wardrobe, though I wonder where the acid yellow might fit in.
This painting reminds me of one of my favourite paintings of a bearded iris called “The Journey Never Ends” by Simon Bull. Look it up on the internet – it looks like clouds with deep blues and purples and a fire of red and yellow in the middle. A painting to loose yourself in.
Simon Bull is an English artist now living in the US. His website is bullart.com but there is also a Pinterest board – Simon Bull Paintings – which has all his paintings. Some are soft, many are exuberant. You might have fun using them as inspiration for your travel wardrobes.
Sorry to be a critic, I usually love your stories, but this heroine should just suck it up and stay put! Most states are asking people not to travel, especially to rural locations, which have hospitals much less able to deal with imported cases of Covid 19 than urban hospitals. In Michigan, travel to second homes is explicitly forbidden. If she’s determined to go anyway, she needs to take everything with her, not plan to go back and forth for Pete’s sake!
Of course you’re right…
hugs,
Janice
I like stories that take me someplace I can’t go right now. I find daydreaming helps me and keeps me a bit more sane. The colors and clothes are so beautiful. I’d even go for pretending this is over and off to Paris we go or Ireland!! Some day (hopefully soon) this will happen and we’ll all be prepared!!
This is gorgeous! I’d never use the yellow in my wardrobe but instead would substitute some of that teal. Lovely choices. I’ve never seen this particular O’Keefe painting either and I love it.
I see no yellow in the wardrobe. I also would have interjected some of that lovely teal. Perhaps our heroine can add these colors later to expand her wardrobe.
I think it’s likely we will see the yellow once she gets an extended wardrobe when she moves there more permanently ;)
Oh, I think that’s very probable…
hugs,
Janice
Isn’t the yellow represented by the gold in the jewellery
I would probably go for teal as an accent too and what about that lovely pink? Just so happens that I bought, before lockdown, a summer skirt from Marks & Spencer, with a ditsy abstract floral pattern of lilac, pink and flashes of teal on a white background. I’m experimenting with my tops and cardigans to create a mini capsule.
I love everything (except the white shirt…coffee spots,and white is a little harsh for me). Those earrings!!!! We’re having a cold start after a little false spring but the daffodils are bravely soldiering on in my front garden.
Thanks for the shoutout, lovely! Hope to see some of y’all over at ImageDiary.com ?
The scarves are really lovely! And I love That they have stories that go with them. I wonder if you would ever consider listing the colors. I don’t really trust my screen to be honest with me, especially navy vs black…
Adore the painting, but very disappointed in the clothing color scheme. Don’t really see navy in the painting, and the clothing shown did not reflect the lovely vivid colors in the art…aqua, acid yellow, spring pink. The clothing shown looks very chilly.
Add in dove grey, change the yellow to gold and you have the colours for my Lenten wardrobe. Very elegant and sophisticated, although I did a full break with my Easter-Pentecost wardrobe colours. Maybe because I don’t need so many work suitable clothes while I’m working at home.
Those colors! I love them. Although, if I were poking around in boggy spots, I’d be sure to pack some of those amazing lightweight microfiber hiking pants that dry out in a flash. Buy them just a touch loose and you can layer a pair of long johns underneath. Some brands are making them in styles cute enough to double as sight seeing pants in the city if you’re combining hiking and city life on a trip. We did two weeks in the Swiss alps with only small backpacks– if you choose nice neutral long sleeve T-style long john tops, you can dress them up for dinner with a scarf or necklace. I packed 2 scarves, 2 necklaces and a tiny box of earrings…tiny bag of minimal makeup. I could look “dressed.” Also, the button up outdoor shirts come in some pretty colors and you can dress those up or hike in them. I have one in a beautiful mostly pink-purple plaid with shots of teal, read and coral in the plaid…so yes! I layer that over T shirts in those colors. LOVE them.
Gotta proof read before I hit send. I meant to say day packs because those are smaller than backpacks. And I was referring to a red T-shirt, not read!!! LOL.
I am a new follower of your blog and find it fascinating. I am a lover of scarves and am finding lots of ways to build a wardrobe around them. I have generally worn my scarf with one particular outfit, but I see how it’s possible to do so much more. The beautiful scarves Dr. Birx wears on the daily WH briefing are beautiful and researching them brought me to your site.
Looking forward each of your posts, Sherry B
Sherry B, Janice’s blog is a wonderful place to find wardrobes that are inspired by beautiful scarves. You might also look at Mai Tai’s Picture Book blog for the inspiration.
Oh another favourite capsule! Last year the Hermes scarf in the lavender tones really pulled me in. I fell for a new accent colour then. Perfect with my summer navy, grey& white neutrals and the other favourite accents in pinks and aquas. The jewelry is stunningly beautiful in this capsule. It goes together so well.
I’m thankful for these little mental escapes. The heroine and the painting reminds me of the irises I used to grow in our home garden before the apartment. I collected a lot of really beautiful irises and the smell is wonderful.
Hi Janice:
I find purple/lavender to be one of those Catch-22 colors for me. I have very little of it in my closet because I do not have many things that match with it. Perhaps starting with lavender…
Beautiful. Newly I’ve dicovered Your Blog and browse through all posts… It’s so tempting to have one of those beautiful wardrobes, although it’s so hard to decide… what colors to choose of course. After analysing my existing wardrobe I think i’m closest to this palette. Would it be possible to see a similiar wardrobe with more use of creme and yellow ( pale or bright) combined with shades of lilac and less navy?