The Mustard Museum

Dress: Colorblock Rib Knit Dress by Hutch (size 1x) via Nuuly (it's $20 off if you join now instead of the typical $10)

Tights: We Love Colors

Shoes: Fluevog, Bellevues: Mary Fields 

Earring: etXarte

Necklace: former Etsy shop

Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 41-39-53

The colors on this were so unexpected...& weird? together...that I nearly didn't select this dress from Nuuly...but I always love this brand, a sweater dress is a good winter item, & I adore unusual color combinations. The vertical stripes on the bottom & the color blocking up top were well done. The fit & length were spot on...while I love a to the floor maxi, this just above ankle length allows the shoes to shine a bit more.

And check out the shoes...these Fluevogs were a perfect match for the dress, as were the tights. I'd rent this dress again just for the shoes. The second time I wore this outfit, I had to wear some burgundy Clarks because it had snowed out & Fluevogs are not practical in bad weather. Blah. 

Most often, jewelry with color wins out...but since I didn't have a good match on any of the colors in the dress...I chose this heart locket for the way the shape complimented the v-neckline. 

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in 1999; Bang Bang, Turn On, Bing, Devilish, & Ambitious eyeshadow by UD; Bite Beauty lip liner in 30; Keepsake & Locket lipstick from Sugarpill Cosmetics; & OPI nail polish in Queen of West Web-erly. 

New necklaces from Gayle at Green Goddess Vintage Jewelry...she always throws in matching earrings...so sweet & thoughtful.

I think I got this short poem from Kate? A velvet nightdress from Anthropologie. And making pierogi...sauerkraut shiitake & potato with Hooks 5 year cheddar. 

Breakfast on a snowy morning with my boyfriend at Original House of Pancakes was yummy...I hadn't been there in years. I had waaaay too much food...a spinach omelette with mushroom sauce, 3 buttermilk pancakes, hash browns with cheese, coffee, & fresh squeezed orange juice. 

After breakfast...we headed over to The National Mustard Museum...where André promptly won himself a mustard by tossing rings. 

He also bought some from the only mustard vending machine in the world. It was actually a really fun quirky museum. After we were done looking through it...we sampled all the mustards we desired on pretzels with the nice lady who was working there. Then we visited Chris Farley at Resurrection Cemetery. And sweet André shoveled my driveway when we got home. I made us ribeye steak for dinner with sides of roasted cauliflower & miso butter onions. 

 

Vinyl & Blue Moon

Dress: Faye Maxi Dress by Rue Stiic (size XXL) via Nuuly

Tights: Snag

Shoes: Franco Sarto, thrifted

Earring: etXarte

Necklace & Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 41-39-53

This was one of those dresses I tried on & immediately thought...there is no way I'm wearing this...I wasn't loving the mermaid silhouette on my body & the neckline was bra showingly low. After walking around for a bit with it on though, I decided...why not? And ended up really liking it a lot. I tend to gravitate toward fit & flare dresses & it was good to go outside my comfort zone. This was my first dress from this Australian brand & it was well made & the fabric felt good against my skin. There was a hook at the neckline to keep it closed, & with a plunging black bra...it hardly peeked out. The waist & sleeve ends were smocked & there was a pointless zipper on the side that bunched out a bit. I wore a 2-inch heel & it was a perfect length...it was a bit longer in back & would have dragged on the ground without a small heel. 

That flared mermaid bit on the bottom turned out to be my favorite part of this dress...the dots appeared to cascade there & I liked that effect. 

Black & white dotty shoes (a Savers find) with this dress made me happy.

My make-up with this outfit included...NYX eyeliner in Jet Black; Sin City, Showgirl, & Pink Pearl eyeshadow from Too Faced; Urban Decay lipliner in Ozone; Licorice lipstick by Urban Decay; Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Luxe; & OPI nail polish in Every Month Is Oktoberfest. 

I first wore this dress to hang out with Kate at her place, eat Miko Poke, & listen to records. We were on a 70s roll for a bit...I had no idea how amazing this Stevie Wonder vinyl was...I need it.

For our last spin...Kate put on Dolly & took us into the 80s...with chocolate. 

The second time I wore this outfit was while André was visiting. We drove to Milwaukee so he could watch Manchester City play in a bar with other fans. First, breakfast. It was alright. I had a mimosa while André cheered on his team. 

For dinner...I cooked up a Polish feast...I had made & froze the pierogis & golabki earlier in the week. It was good, but there was not enough tomato sauce for the cabbage rolls. Dessert...Blue Moon ice cream which is (I think) a midwestern thing...it tastes like the milk left over after eating Fruity Pebbles. Unless you have fond memories of it as a kid, you probably won't enjoy it as an adult. 

 

Colorful Leopard On A Colorful Cougar

Dress: Painted Leopard Macademia Mallory Dress by Leota (size 1x) via Gwynnie Bee

Tights: We Love Colors

Shoes: Franco Sarto, thrifted 

Earring: etXarte

Necklace: Green Goddess Vintage

Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 43-41-57

Once upon a time I wouldn't have worn this dress because it had a cowl neck & I greatly disliked them...I think because my chest was so big & it just added to it? Unsure. However, I'm happy to report that while a cowl neck might still not be my favorite, I didn't mind it & the colors on this dress were marvelous...& give me all the leopard print, please. This was a new style of Leota dress for me & the fit was fantastic, like it always is. 

Leopard print shoes that I rarely wear because the background is quite light...but ideal for this dress with its creme background. And of course of all the colors in the dress, I chose to bring out the orange.

Am I a cougar? I think I'm too old for that, but André likes to tease me...also, he's only 6 years younger than me...which I don't think is that much of an age difference once you get in your 40s/50s. 

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Voodoo; Oud, Blazing, Blood Moon, & Cashmere eyeshadow by Huda Beauty; NYX lipliner in Pumpkin; Heat lipstick from UD; & OPI nail polish in Deutsch You Want Me Baby?

I wore this dress on the second full day André was in Madison visiting me. We began our day out with brunch at The Old Fashioned. We shared my favorite cheese curds in town with garlic dipping sauce...& I enjoyed my standard, Wisconsin Benedict (with a brat patty & mustard creme sauce)...I was obviously hungry (or distracted by my company) as I didn't remember to take photos until after digging in. 

After brunch, we walked over to our beautiful capitol building...where I took the only selfies of us of the entire trip. 

We wandered around State Street...perusing books at Paul's & ducking into a candy shop when it started pouring rain. I bought the dogs stuffed animals to rip apart at St. Vinny's on Willy St. after picking up salmon at "the good coop" next door. Then looking through vintage magazine's at Rick's Olde Gold...searching for pipe ads for André.

That evening, Kate & Jason joined us for dinner & got to meet my boyfriend & eat delicious food. 

 

The Milk Carton Kids // Friday Night Fish Fry

Dress: Green Plaid Collar Dress by Smak Parlour (size 0x) via Gwynnie Bee

Cardigan: MAK, gifted

Tights: Snag

Shoes: Dr. Martens, thrifted 

Earring: etXarte

Necklace: former Etsy shop

Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 43-41-57

Putting out the cute schoolgirl vibe in this plaid dress with a Peter Pan collar. I adored this green & black plaid print...the fit & length were great, but I would have liked the dress more without the collar. I nearly wore black knee highs, but felt that was overkill. 

The cropped green cardigan wasn't really the right shade of green, but I didn't want to wear another sweater I had to tie to make fit.

Freshly dyed hair...

My make-up with this outfit included...NYX eyeliner in Jet Black; Damaged, Toxic, & Dope eyeshadow by Urban Decay; NYX lipliner in Pumpkin; UD lipliner in Bang; NYX lipstick in 507; Toast lipstick from Bite Beauty; & OPI nail polish in Rising Star. 

I made Golabki while listening to Polish tunes...this has always been a favorite & reminds me of both of my grandmas..."I don't want her, you can have her, she's too fat for me." My hairdresser, Sigrid, told me about a lash growth product her co-worker loves, so I took a photo at the beauty supply so I'd remember to ask her if this is the right one...& I still haven't done it. We've been looking for years for the right address numbers to put on the house...& David found this guy in the Ukraine...talk about terrible timing. He sent us this photo of the sign he made us, perhaps we'll get it someday. It looks fabulous. 

I first wore this outfit to see Milk Carton Kids at Stoughton Opera House...front row. Kaia Kater opened.

Kaia was great...but Milk Carton Kids blew me away...they were amazing. Not only were they musically talented, but they had such a wonderful rapport & obviously have been friends for a long time...also, funny chitchat & stories between songs. The next night, The Small Glories were playing at the opera house, but I decided not to go because my boyfriend was flying in to visit me & even though shows let out there by 10, it was cutting it close & too much excitement in one evening for me to handle. 

I didn't take any photos the night André arrived, so I'll post that outfit photo at a later date...since I wore it for other things as well. He brought treats...bagels from New York & something I'd never heard of before, rainbow cookies...which were quite tasty & made a lovely breakfast with our coffee. After our morning meal, we perused a thrift shop & an antique store...I kind of fell in love with this painting. 

After a bit of browsing vintage bits & bobs...we went to Culver's so André could try a ButterBurger. I had a few bites of his, but I was saving my hunger for fish fry. We went to The Esquire Club for Friday night fish fry...because it's the most Wisconsin thing there is. And of course, I had a brandy old-fashioned. But why? Why didn't I take any photos of him or selfies of us?! Too twitterpated I guess. 

 

Sal's on Livingston // The Mytilenean Debate

Dress: Wrapped in Velvet Maxi Dress by Hutch (size 1x) via Nuuly

Tights: Snag

Shoes: Fluevog, Bellevues: Laura Evans

Earring: Kerala Rose

Necklace: Colleen Toland

Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 43-41-57

This dress was stunning & I felt beautiful in it. If my size were stable, I would have purchased it. Velvet, dark, mysterious, & sexy...in love. This was a wrap dress & it had a hook & eye closure to keep the neckline in place. I was especially fond of the slit...that began several inches above the knee from an area that looked like a miniskirt...not sure how to describe that (see first photo). The entire dress was perfection. 

It was a bit icy out for heels, but David held my arm as I walked so I didn't fall. 

I bought these Fluevogs with the intention of painting the brown part black, but that obviously hasn't happened. Will it ever?

Black jewelry to heighten the dark & stormy-ness of the dress...this is my first wearing of both this necklace & bracelet. 

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Delinquent; Gold Standard, Electron, & Violet Void eyeshadow by Pat McGrath; MAC lipliner in Grape; UD lipliner in Bang; Flashback lipstick from UD; Ciate lipstick in Fortune; & OPI nail polish. 

I wore this outfit to go out to dinner with David at Sal's on Livingston to check out their new menu...it was like going to an entirely new restaurant...exciting! They did such an amazing job, I hardly cried at all over missing my favorite kimchi wings. We ordered way too much food to share, but we didn't regret any of it. This is their best menu yet, & it has always been fantastic. David started with a Fireside Old Fashioned (Buffalo Trace, Doundrins maple liqueur, cinnamon Demerara syrup, Angostura bitters, orange bitters) & I began the evening with the only familiar thing on the entire menu, Cranapple Cobbler (Noteworthy bourbon, apple cider, cinnamon clove spiced cranberry sauce, lemon juice, simple syrup), which we tried for the first time the last time we dined here. Delightful. Our waitress said it was going away soon, & the next day I looked online...& it had already disappeared. I just adore the Dark Horse logo done in the Dead Kennedy's style...if I wore t-shirts, I might have to get one. 

The first plate that came to the table...French Onion Fondue (house focaccia, gruyere)...followed by Beef Tartare (truffle caper vinaigrette, horseradish snow, fried shallot, Sartori SarVecchio, house flatbread). David chose a Moody Blue as his second beverage (Plantation 3-Star rum, St. Elizabeth allspice dram, blueberry syrup, pineapple juice, lime juice, coconut cream).

My second cocktail: Dreaming of Summer (State Line London dry gin, Chinola passion fruit liqueur, lime juice, grapefruit Fresca). This was the only drink I wouldn't order again...because it was only really good, & not as amazing as all the rest. Weekend Speciality Pie: Gochujang BBQ pork, kimchi, bok choy, sweet chili slaw cheddar, red onion...this was ridiculously good. That was followed by...Ribeye "Au Poivre" (duxelle wontons, peppercorn cognac cream, potato mousseline).

If we HAD to pick a favorite dish, this would have been it...Jalapeño Popper Duck (duck, jalapeño popper polenta cake, jicama slaw, sweet & sour). My final cocktail was a Moody Blue, because I enjoyed David's so much...cocktail envy. David finished the evening with a Winter in Pearadise (Wollersheim Salvatore's single barrel brandy, Doundrins honey liqueur, ginger pear syrup, lemon juice, simple syrup). And the reason everything is so red...all these CDs & red lights on the ceiling. 

After dinner, we headed over to the Overture for opening night of The Mytilenian Debate by Quan Berry. This marimba guy is always out. I miss wearing lace stockings...it's basically the only leg wear I wore in the 80s. And we ran into Lindsay, who was there reviewing the play.

The stage. Such a wonderfully well written play with fantastic casting & acting. We are lucky this play was making its world debut here...we immediately bought tickets to see it again. A leg shot for my boyfriend.