Here Kitty Kitty!

Stripes or Kitties! This Reversible Cotton Windbreaker Lets You Have it All

Last Friday, I had one of the most time managed and productive days in all of Bella history. I got up early, slurped my coffee, ate some breakfast (a habit I'm trying to form) and got to work. Now work entailed dolling up, setting up a sheet and some lights, the camera and tripod, and then prancing about in front, playing supermodel in my vast horde of vintage goodies. Over 400 pictures were taken in all, including two outdoor outfits posts, and a big pile of clothing to sell in the shop. 

The Prada Pope, and Chocolate Hope

Holy Moly! Chocolate that Tastes Heavenly. Oh, and the Pope Quits His Day Job.

A few weeks ago I was introduced to this incredible line of chocolates, made by fancy pants chocolatiers from Ohio. Chocolatiers are people who work with chocolate like a painter works with paint- it is an art, and the medium just happens to be "the food of the gods." Natch, I was at my local neighborhood fancy-pants-chocolate-store in Ballard, enticingly called Chocolat Vitale, craving a proper cup of hot chocolate when the angel who runs the joint, took the liberty in sharing generous chunks of glorious chocolates, and that's when I encountered a big bar of heaven.

There is too much to describe my friends, but let's just say, it blew my mind. As in I can not hold a thought in my head when I am biting into this confection. Milk chocolate that is not too sweet, with the boon of being ethically sourced, encases a pocket of delicious caramel. Adding insult to injury, they've sprinkled it with sea salt and toasted coconut, so the mouth encounters sweet/salt, smooth/textures, and explodes with heavenly ecstasy. I'm now obsessed with this bar of wonder. And having put a few under my belt, I'm now praying for some semblance of self control, so as to be able to keep wearing pants in my size.

 

This chocolate bar is mind blowingly incredible. Try at your own risk! 

Bissinger's Chocolate Rainforest Bars (Coconut Caramel w/ Red Hawaiian Sea Salt)

Brick House

She's a Brick House. Oh so mighty, mighty.

I don't normally wear tiny little dresses and short coats- but when I tried on my new striped dress from StripedShirt.com, I felt so frisky, that I did it. This outfit is a triple strike of stripes: the dress, the cardi, and the scarf. I was so fired up from my stripe overload, it seemed natural to pair it with hot-house tomato red tights and my fierce fire-engine red IZOD fake leather biker jacket. 

I won't be coy: my curves were HANGING all over the place! But I felt ok about it. While I haven't dressed like this in YEARS, once I put together the outfit I wondered why I hadn't done so sooner. I didn't feel an ounce of frumpy, middle-aged or matronly. I feel flirty and mobile: so much so that I walked nearly 3 miles in this brick house of an outfit and was super comfortable wearing it.

 

Outfit Post: Better Red Than Dead

Something about that survey stuck in my craw- and I've been wearing red lipstick ever since. Taking it to a whole other level, is this outfit of red on red on red. On red. It's as if I'm on fire. Hoping clearly to heat up my day- baby it's cold outside!

Outfit Post: Miz Mooz, Ox-blood Boots

Fall colors are steeped in drama. Case in point the au currant color of Oxblood, aka Merlot,  Bordeaux, or Burgundy. This wine-soaked hue is seeped in drama, and looks so good against the plainer Fall colors of greys and browns. My recent boot bonanza, a pre-loved pair of oxblood Miz Mooz boots, looked so good around town, strolling over a cascade of burgundy, red and yellow leaves and a gorgeous grey stony sidewalk.

Tah-dah on Tuesday

"Fashion is forever." -Judith "The Style Crone" Boyd

What a treat to go with my morning coffee: "Ari Seth Cohen posted on your timeline" and a link: advancedstyle.blogspot.com/2012/10/bloggers-over-40.html

Oh yeah. Along with my morning cuppa, I get to see these lovelies over at Ari's blog, Advanced Style. Style mavens such as the Style Crone, and the Forest City Fashionista standing arm and arm with AS regulars, Val + Jean of the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas and fierce fashion goddess and artist, Debra Rappaport. Stunning, each and every one of them. Then I see that Ari has generously mentioned my +40 Blog Roll, and already some wonderful ladies have added THEIR +40 blogs to the list in the comments! What a great way to start a Tuesday!