my christmas present from jack

please disregard the jeans under the skirt
ps most of the stuff in this photo is no longer in my closet

I spent this afternoon enjoying one of my Christmas presents from Jack.

I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we hauled a full car load of clothing to The Road Home, right? That cleaning was in preparation for today's visit from Alicia Richmond of Chic on a Shoestring.

Jack made arrangements for Alicia to come to our house today to tell me what clothes to keep, what else to get rid of, and what to put together with what so that I look good.

I was a bit apprehensive. I mean, I know what I like, right, and even if my dad thinks I have lousy knees, you know, what does he know anyway?

But, I had nothing to worry about. It was fun and Alicia was so good at what she does. She quickly figured out what shape my body is and pointed out that I have great legs! I love her!

Okay. Enough words. Let's have some pictures.

These three dresses all look better with my shorter length cardigan instead of the longer one I typically wear.


I would never have thought to pair the cranberry cardigan with my gray shift.

Another brilliant idea--the brown cardigan with my green shift. Add some chunky wood jewelry and I'm set.


And I would have never thought to pair the brown tweed skirt with the blue sweater, but it looked great!


A pink cashmere sweater or a pink fitted shirt works with either the gray pencil skirt or the wool plaid skirt.

I never thought about pairing my taupe suit pants with anything but my taupe jacket, but they look great with the brown cardigan and that print top that showed up in an online order from Kohl's. I didn't order it but it was inadvertently included in my order and Kohl's customer service told me to keep it as their gift.


And then there's the brown tweed skirt with the cream tank and the green sweater I bought at Ann Taylor a couple of years ago. I'd never been able to figure out how many buttons to do up, but I think Alicia got it just right!

Alicia mixed my neutrals with the colors I have in my closet but haven't been able to feel comfortable wearing. She also suggested jewelry and accessory options and gave me a list of items I can purchase to increase the number of outfits without huge expense. She also gave me a great list of style tips. I highly recommend Alicia if you want somebody who can help you wear clothes that feel good and look good and don't cost a fortune.

Sadly, these are some of the items that will no longer be a part of my wardrobe, but they are not my friends. I think there are a couple of things that could be good friends with certain people who have been in my closet before, so hey, if you know who you are, stop over soon and pick them up before they find a new home that isn't your home...

Yes, Jessie, that striped sweater is calling out for you


and Shi, I think the raspberry sweater wants you!