February 4, 2022
After I showed you this neckerchief last Monday, the 31st, more than a few of you asked me to expand upon it’s lovely colors…
I have just the heroine for this color palette!
Mature Plant Salvage
Nobody really understands what her landscaping company does, until they really need her help!
Like the University that added a number of classroom/research buildings to their campus ALL AT ONCE, and now have a bare eyesore of land, interspersed with lovely structures…
“It will be beautiful in 100 years, when everything grows up around it and softens the edges…”
Well, that’s NOT what she sees! She sees places to put trees that she saved from a condo development site on the north side. Corners of buildings where 10 foot tall lilac bushes will thrive. Alcoves that beg for the fully-grown peonies that had to come out of the local park when the sidewalks were widened…
merino wool blend sweater blazer – Nordstrom; earrings – Shashi; pale guava cashmere sweater – J.Crew; scarf – The Met Store; watch – Olivia Burton; wool skirt – J.Crew; briefcase – Coach; pumps – Stuart Weitzman
So she’s going to present her plans to the Board of Regents tomorrow. And she’s going to stay there for a couple more days afterward, to answer questions, and look at the site in person…
Hoop earrings – Kate Spade; pearl earrings – Latelita; striped sweater – Anorak; sweet blush sweater – J.Crew; butterfly bracelet – Kendra Scott; pink scarf – Saachi Style; down vest – Lands’ End; cardigan – Intermix; scarf – Ferragamo; cropped pants – L.L.Bean; floral skirt – Vanessa Bruno; flower pendant – Lisa Says Gah; powder pink bag – Elleme; loafers – Driver Club USA; ballet flats – Geox; ivory corduroy pants – J.Crew
She already has the plants – her grandparents farm has turned out to be the ideal place to re-plant trees and shrubs until she finds them the perfect new home.
Her staff are experts at moving and bedding mature plants – they have the machines, the tools and the knowledge!
Yes, she costs somewhat more than another landscaping firm, who would just install some sod and some randomly chosen shrubs. But she’s worth it…
Remember that old cathedral out on the far west side? The one that only opened FIVE YEARS AGO, and already looks as if it’s been there for ages?
She did that.
love,
Janice
p.s. Seven years ago, I shared with you an episode of handling SERIOUS temptation…
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I am smitten with this wardrobe and even though I don’t wear black, I can see myself in this. I’m thinking my neutral navy might work even though there isn’t any in the scarf. Or maybe a dark green to bring out the green in the scarf? I would be thrilled if you could expand this collection. The skirt is so lovely. Although I wear a size 4 ( it’s only available in size 4 and 8!) I’m 4’11. The skirt is half my entire length. Yes I could have it hemmed but I’ve yet to find a good tailor and I truly hate to hem things. Maybe because I’ve had to do it all my life? The skirt’s print is beautiful and I’d love to see a wardrobe based on it. The soft aqua and lavender as well as the peach, pink and gold would make a pretty wardrobe. Maybe there’s a scarf out there that echoes the print in the scarf.
Once again, Janice, you have brought a beautiful grouping of clothes into a cohesive well thought out wardrobe. Thank you!
Consider taking enough off the skirt so you have a matching infinity scarf! I’ve done that a couple of times with skirts that are far too long. In general I only look good in skirts above the knee. For one skirt the fabric was floaty and so I just needed to hem it once. For a brown velvet skirt from the 70’s I turned it into a mini and then put a beautiful floral silk on the other side to make the scarf.
Jerib this would be fine with navy. Blush pinks are a favourite accent of mine and they go beautifully with navy, grey or brown into burgundy. Black too, but this capsule could bend into so many different neutral base colours. Janice did a series based on a chocolate box with pink tones that was amazing and I distinctly remember one pink and navy capsule for a heroine cruising off Italy I think it was.
Spacenonchi you are brilliant!
hmm I thought I posted a comment, so if this ends up being a dup, sorry. Short and sweet – this is just beautiful.
Love the story. Wish I still wore black.
Sandy B
Beautiful outfits! Do people still wear watches? I need to replace batteries in mine and wonder if it’s worth it. Or has everyone switched to apple watches?
I still wear watches. I have a collection of swatch watches. Currently wearing a recent Peanuts watch the kids at school just love!
Yes! I wear a watch that was my Dad’s!
Yes, I wear watches for different purposes. They are also popular as statement jewellery for young people. My only bugbear with watches is that the straps are often too big for my small wrists even with the links removed.
Through VF, Janice introduced me to floral watches with the beautiful Olivia Burton collection. It’s a bit out of my price range for an everyday watch as I would only wear it occasionaly. However, my son bought me a floral watch from another brand. This has got me into jewellery made with decorative paper under a resin dome.
Beth T, I am into paper jewelry lately too! I am wearing two paper bead bracelets today, one from a magazine page with a floral print. I am looking at making pendants and earrings made from paper next.
I make my own paper beads from magazines/catalogs and seal them with Diamond Glaze, which works well as a substitute for resin for many purposes.
I love how I can customize my beads to coordinate with my outfits. Today’s paper bead bracelet set was made specifically to go with my blush pink rabbit sweater but works with many other items as well.
i have a small collection of watches. love them. (the newest addition is motion-driven, so if i wont need to replace the battery on it! of course, i dont wear it every day – what about my other watches – so i do need to reset the time if i skip wearing it for more than 1 day). something to consider?
dont have perpetual motion watches, but i do know there are devices out there to keep it going. He Spoke Style youtube channel has a video from 2019 called Do You Really Need A Watch Winder? Yes Or No?
Beautiful! Thank you for looking at Tiffany scarves. (Monday flew by and I didn’t comment.) This one is striking. I would wear it often. Unfortunately, though your selections are beautifully coordinated, I am not a pastel or black kind of woman. For me, the scarf and its darker pink tones would be a starting point.
I love your second scarf, gorgeous! I could consider wearing black if I owned that.
Thank you for your hard work finding these beautiful solutions to our wardrobes. I have learned so much from your posts and look at my closet and art in a new light. Thank you for opening my eyes. I may take a trip to the museum today…
Hi Janice! You had me at Hello with this scarf. I love the soft pink/peach and, for me, it would be a good contrast with black.
Kudos to your heroine to recycle plants…and to know in which corner of plot of land to plant them. Wonderful Husband and I are awaiting seeds to ‘start’ some plants indoors during the winter.
Quality over quantity works well in landscaping, too! Thank you for today’s wonderful heroine and beautiful wardrobe (gold star for including a sweater blazer!)
I love this heroine. I hope she will have lots of stories for you to tell. XO
Beautiful scarves, beautiful capsule. I’d love to see it expanded a bit too. This heroine could ‘grow’ on me, though methinks she needs a sturdy pair of boots for trudging round wasteland.
Perhaps someone like her could work their magic on a housing estate near me who are still waiting for the landscaping several years after the houses were built. Developers have a knack for selling a dream on papetlr, then sloping off once they’ve sold the houses and made a profit.
I’m just delighting in the fact that the spring bulbs we planted, in a bare garden bed last autumn, are pushing up through the ground.
That’s me in the look-back. Take me to a vintage shop, charity shop or collectables fair and I make a bee-line for the costume jewellery. I have a short list of pieces I’m actively looking for, but if something pop’s out, I’ll consider it if it’s in my price range. You have to set a limit and not be deviated, though if it’s nearly your birthday or a special occasion us coming up….
Off topic but I could use some help with outfits for a 3-day skiing vacation with my family. I don’t ski but will try tubing. Other activities include visiting with family, dinner out, exploring the town, enjoying the hot tub/pool and playing with the grandchildren in the snow. Thank you for your consideration!
Hi Karen! We had a vacation last year in February that involved tubing :) Goes without saying- be sure you pack a swimsuit and snow pants. (I prefer pants over bib overalls as it’s less fussy for bathroom breaks.) Also pack waterproof boots that come up over your ankle so no snow gets in. Here’s the rest of my free unwanted advice list:
1 pair wool socks
1 heavier weight sweater
1 turtleneck
1 long sleeved tee
1 short-sleeved tee
1 pair of nice pants or a skirt or a dress if you’re planning a fancy occasion
1-2 pair leggings or leggings or long underwear
1pair jeans or ‘knit’ pants
1 ‘cover -up’ skirt or dress (in case you are going to/from the hot tub in a hotel)
Socks!!
1 pair walkable shoes
1 pair fancier shoes
This is a very no frills capsule. We’re talking snow and grandkids here.
I think this can provide enough mix and match for 3 days – layers are key! If you are packing/flying to this destination you -should- be able to pack all this in a carry on bag since you will be wearing some of these clothes on the plane anyway.
I am speaking as one who grew up and still lives along the Great Lakes, and has a 4ft pile of snow at the end of the driveway from the last 3 days. There are other folks in our blog (incl Janice) Who Know Snow so they can give you ideas too.
Have fun!
Definitely not unwanted – this is NOT an area of my expertise! I haven’t been skiing in 40 years…
hugs,
Janice
Another lovely wardrobe, if not for me, personally. But I have learned about mature plant salvage, and that there are people who actually do this! Such encouraging and inspiring work.
The black + warm pink/peach is a beautiful combination, and I like the use of the print scarves as bridge pieces in the outfits that put those garments together. I find that any kind of light pink with black can easily look too stark without a print item that ties the colors together. Making scarves the bridge piece makes a lot of sense, and is how I often/usually do it myself, but if she were looking to expand her capsule, a garment with that color combination would be a great addition.
I love that our heroine has two pairs of metallic shoes! Such a nice change from the standard black that would be an easy default in this wardrobe. The striped sweater is a really fun piece. My favorite outfit is the blush sweater + floral skirt + scarf + metallic flats combination…it’s feminine without being girly and would look amazing on a heroine with an overall “light” look in terms of hair and skin…especially one with silver-white hair that bookends the silver ballet flats.
Wow! I love everything about this post! I am also getting away from black, but this is so gently beautiful… yes, please keep this heroine coming and expand her wardrobe. What a treat!
I see you found a lined wool skirt! I think it’s lovely, and I might be tempted if I had the least bit of use for it here in the tropics.
I love the green in the scarf, which would suit me better than pink/peach. I realize it might not be easy to find a lot of items in that color.
Love everything about this!
Hello everyone, I love the wardrobe but I am particularly fond of the Ferragamo scarf and the sweet blush sweater. In response to the people who still wear watches; I too wear watches and have a somewhat unusual collection that I’m looking to sell. If anyone’s interested leave a comment and I’ll find someway to get in touch with you. I also have a huge collection of jewelry that I just don’t wear anymore, mostly semi precious stones. That also needs to go. As I’ve gotten older I find I rely on three or four pieces on a regular basis.
Thinking a pair of heathered black overalls from Dovetail workwear and a pair of Dryshod boots would be just the things to slip over those beautiful clothes when she visits the worksite before or after some client meetings. Lovely, thank you.
This is an add on for Karen’s vacation list. A lightweight long robe and warm slippers are essential in the evening after a long day of outdoor fun. It can be easy to take a chill in a hotel and go home with a cold.