@jsk I hope you can come too!

Aren't we lucky to have a community like this!

One thing we are all very mindful of is to mingle with everyone and bring newbies into the fold. I think that's really important for events like this.

Echoing @jsk, I too can confirm! Tulipmania was my first GTG, and it was a bit like a homecoming because I already felt such a kinship with this forum. I’m looking forward to Sotafest and getting to know everyone better.

I’m hoping DH will join me on this trip—perhaps we can get the DHs together for coffee or lunch. And I'm optimistic about everyone in the "optimistic" column. Come on....you know you want to!

And as always, many thanks to the co-chairs, coco chairs, rococo chairs, and everyone else involved in the planning!

@rubyclaire, I had visions (maybe it was nightmares) of all of us showing up with matching scarves like some sort of Mary Kay throwback. 😂

I love y'all but I've already done the sorority theme dressing thing :)

Bbstx I have a white denim skirt from NYDJ and it is very well made and forgiving of non-teenaged bodies.

The Free People printed sweater showed up today and I absolutely adore it— the colors, the fit, the softness and the funky style. It is actually designed to be worn inside out so the muted colors are seen but it can be turned to display the same pattern about 10x more vividly. It basically goes with everything I own that is not blue! And I am going to bore you with proof😎

Green Lilysilk skirt and Macy’s fancy dress arrive tomorrow but this is the original top and silk satin skirt I was thinking of wearing— with the sweater

I had just showered after a nine hole game with golf coach so hair is crazy and no makeup 😳I’ve had this skirt since 2015! The top is a new one from WHBM.

Ooh here it is with the evening purse!!!

Skirt and top with no sweater, for reference. Also have two other nude shoes and two gold pair.

Alone with skirt, no top. I like it better with the top, yes?

With green side zip Brooks Bros slacks. I also have these slacks in stone and tan, also chinos in stone and a tan/ gold khaki, also off white and yellow jeans— and the sweater looks great with all of them but i will spare you the photos 🙄

With a Free People denim skirt (showing up here in a more neon looking yellow when it actually is a softer hue)

And with new EF corduroy skirt— and I will bet it also looks great with my green corduroy skirt in the fall closet. Not to mention brown, cream, and gold corduroy pants. Basically I could wear this sweater with something different every day for weeks! LOVE it! I don’t even care what it looks like with the green skirt. 🤷‍♀️ BUT— if it looks as good as ot does with the light brown one I think the longer length would make the ensemble dressy enough for a quirky cocktail attire wedding in a nature museum.

About 50 clothes hangers have been released from active duty. Items bagged and off to donation. 😄

I purged some very nice, dressy pairs of cowboy boots this week … a teen relative by marriage was visiting and they fit her perfectly. She was so excited (so was I). They took up a lot of room in my closet, so it’s nice having that space. And her big smile and twirling around in them made me so glad I didn’t sell them like I’d planned.

My next purge project will be our small utility room. I have a junk drawer in there that I cringe even opening. Ugh. I’m going to clean it and the cabinets in there. I need to order some organizing storage trays today.

This thread being active is helping to keep me motivated*. Thanks, 3katz and everyone. :)

*So is watching Dateline episodes. If they ever filmed my house, I‘d want the voiceover to say it was one of the cleanest, most organized homes they’d ever seen. “All of her hangers match!”

”The murder weapon was obvious, there was one hanger missing from her exquisitely organized closets.”

I got "site cannot be reached." I bet @Sueb20 broke it with a an overloaded shopping cart.

I got the same message as Mtn and thought maybe my DH somehow blocked it on my iPad.

I loooove the first bunch. I only use paper plates for holiday dinner leftovers (sending food home with people). I’d like to impress everyone with these.

Thanks for sharing, Ruby!

Eta: Link works now. 💸💸

Oh, so pretty! The only thing I use paper plates for is dessert on Thanksgiving. By dessert time, I'm exhausted and do not want to wash/rinse anymore dishes. Plus the dishwasher is full. And nobody cares!

However, I have so many plates leftover from Tulipmania I don't think I need for this year. But definitely bookmarking for the future. Thank you!

Thank you for all the comments. I didnt get a chance to take another picture yesterday and today is foggy and the room is in shadow, so another bad lighting day. However , I will confess RE the wading bird wallpaper the comments about its colors being off for the floor/room echoed my exact concern.

The problem is I want whimsy.

I could use the Charleston Mist, it would look very nice, I would be done, but I wouldnt be ”in love” This is one of those ”do I need great, or good enough“ quandaries.

There is also a question of scale. Someone mentioned liking the birds because of the larger scale. The room has zero large walls. One wall is the door and the stall shower. There is a roughly 4 inch wide stripe of wall outside the shower. There is the window wall you see in the photo. The wall the toilet is on, is a half wall that becomes the ceiling eave, then there is the sink wall, which will have a mirror and has an existing built in shelf which is painted. All this to say, with a large scale, I am concerned there will be no whole images.

I think I am going to look more. In other words, back down the rabbit hole.😄

Love both of your rings and lucky daughter to get the other one! They are all beautiful!

Love them both!

I wound up with a wrap for our 20th. I tried on several curved bands and wraps and this was my favorite. That infinity style like Mtn has also works well with 3 stone rings.

I think it is beautiful! And as long as you are comfortable with some patina, then go for it.

What Pal just said. That is one reason I’ve held off. Do not want to choose wrong and have that look.

@chinacatpeekin, that is great news! I'm a few months away from buying counters as the architect just started the as-builts, so that timing will work well for me. Thank you so much for letting me know.

My granddon ”helped” me with my garden this year. He dropped the sunflowers in the soil—-more than one, I suspect. He is 4.5 years old and clearly counting and spatial awareness are developing skills. We both can’t wait for a flower or two!

I have some slim (maybe not quite skinny) jeans that I still wear. I, however, cannot bring myself to continue wearing jegging/leggings. My current plan is to buy straight jeans and stick with them forever. I’m calling them ”classic.” 🙂

Well, first off, my skinny clothes may well be someone else's fat clothes. So I don't like to shame them, or me!

As soon as I put on something too big, I fold it up and put in the donation tote I keep. Within 36 hours it is usually on its was to a new life.

If I really like it, I reorder it or find it NWT. I don't want to tell you how many pairs of Madewell Harlow linen pants I have bought over the last few years.

Altering almost never makes sense, I don't have that many garments that 1)I love, 2) are worth it and 3)would look right once altered enough to fit right. Plus I don't like my local alterations lady, I think she was mean to me. 🥲

I will say that, though everyone tells you to get rid of things that are too small, I regret taking that practical, dour advice. I have a few things I loved, that were quite expensive, and that I have not been able to replace. Whatever happens (and ok, my track record is not so good ....), if I love something I will keep it.

Yes, skinny jeans are outdated. Barrel jeans are in. Most people look bad in them, the physically blessed among us look .....ok. Sorry, I don't think anyone looks their best in them. So yeah, skinny are fine in my book.

Well now I’m wondering about bb’s deleted comment! I figure it was something like ”60?? I thought for sure you were only 35!”

About to run out the door for a lunch date with a friend who has just returned from Europe with msny stories to tell! After that I am taking Mother to the movies and then picking up Andrew for an overnight. He is going to church with us tomorrow to have his backpack blessed by our priest at the morning service. That’s an annual bit our church does the Sunday before school starts. He’s nervous svout kindergarten and we thought this might help.

Missed that cute tank Sue— love the cokors, esp for you! I think it also looks great as a vest.

Wrapping up the day of gardening, UPS returns, a trip to Hobby Lobby for my mother (don’t ask), laundry and a chat with our left side neighbor about our shared landscape project to hide the viciously ugly utility boxes (ATT, Comcast, CGEMC and one other) that live on the property line between us. Very casual and cool maxi skirt of loosely woven printed cotton in green roses on a cream background with a cream colored tee (one of those silky supima cotton ones from Garnet Hill).

I remind people that "plays well with others" is part and parcel of being in any sort of group. Frankly, I think that is a meaningful part of the value of MJ.

Yes, this. Exactly. I think because there are so many rules, and because some in my group are relatively new to the game, the seasoned players have to call out mistakes and violations. That's fine--it's part of the learning process. And we all want to be following the rules. But it takes a special kind of nuance to correct another person in a group setting. It's what makes good managers in the workplace, good managers. We have some good MJ managers, and some not-so-good MJ managers. :-)

I don't know how to play but this sounds like a good reason to learn! 😄

Yes… newbies welcome. email me for details?

I adore your vision for the kitchen remodel. Beautiful, warm and seems just perfect for your home.

I have also read that it is prone to breakage, especially during installation, in the hands of inexperienced installers---which is why the manufacturer will only honor the 25 year comprehensive warranty if they've certified the installer. All of which adds to the cost.

^^^naturally🤨