Things have gotten out of control here lately. There is a hole in my bathroom wall and ceiling as well as my living room/dining room. Blowers are going night and day with the annoying noise and vibration of a ten lane freeway in our house. Pictures have been pulled off walls, furniture is scattered everywhere and my pug doesn’t know where she should lay her head. All this after we discovered we had a leaky vent on our roof last week during a wicked rainstorm which gave our living/dining room a new water feature smack dab in the middle of the room.
I don’t do well in chaos.
I like things in their place. So I know where they are.
I could never stand living as a person who throws things anywhere and then spends twenty minutes every day just looking for their car keys. That isn’t me.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
That’s me.
So living in a house in full disarray with fans blowing constantly is getting on my nerves. I don’t know how people manage to live in the house while it is being renovated. I would need to move into a hotel.
This has motivated me to get downstairs in my very large office (the entire basement) that needs desperately to be reorganized and spring cleaned. I think it will take me a full month to get through it all. I’ve been holding off on it for far too long. Today I started on the monumental task. In previous years I could rely on a move every couple of years to ensure that the entire house was sorted and purged. We haven’t done that since we got our house ten years ago and it is painfully obvious. I was telling my husband when we went out for a walk today that I was wishing with all my heart that upon our return everything in the house would be new, clean and fresh. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
ahhhh
{sigh}
A gal can dream.
This outfit is my version of a Red Hat Lady, without the hat.
I don’t own a red hat and don’t have any plans on buying one but I do like the bold red leather with the silky purple blouse.
Blouse – TJ Maxx (similar), Red Leather Skirt – Thrifted (sim), Shoes – Nine West (I adore this version), Necklace – handmade (contact me if you want your own)
I’ve created a fresh new look if nothing else.
I’ve selected some purple and red items below…not as outfits, just as selections. My favourites are the red fringed sandals and the red asymmetrical neckline dress.
Have you worn purple and red together?
Used to be that was a big “no-no”. Clashing colours and such.
Do you thrive in chaos?
If you like this red leather skirt you might like this outfit or this one.
Linking up with the lovely Patti over at Visible Monday
Oh, I feel your pain about the house being in chaos, Suzanne. I am a woman who also likes everything in order. Otherwise, my anxiety disorder sprouts madly. I hope it’s all done soon at your place. And, I love your red and purple ensemble. Thanks for sharing with Visible Monday, xo.
Nope, I don’t do good under stress. And as you, like everything in its place. Love the red skirt and purple shirt. I adore this color combo (see Helen Mirren rockin’ it here: http://www.fabulousafter40.com/6-ways-to-color-block/)..
So sorry the house is a mess. Bon courage, it will be back to normal soon.
I love that outfit with Helen Mirren. She is so radiant all the time and has such a wonderful energy.
Hmmm…I tried to comment and it’s not appearing. I hope this doesn’t duplicate. Anyway…love the red and purple look (check out Helen Mirren rockin’ it here: http://www.fabulousafter40.com/6-ways-to-color-block/). I adore this color combo. So sorry the house is a mess, but bon courage…it will be all better soon.
Oh man, what a disaster! I’d have a really hard time with that too. Especially having everything out of order while things are repaired. I hope you two get through it quickly. Gorgeous skirt!
I freakin’ love this colour combination – I remember first wearing it in 1985. I would wear this outfit in a heartbeat – you look stunning, Suzanne!
I did not used to like red and purple together, but now I think it;s a gorgeous combination – and here you prove it. Love your long necklaces – in every outfit lately. I’m not as organized as you are, but living in total chaos is also not my idea of fun. I hope all the work will be done soon, and you’ll get your peace of quiet again. 🙂 xxx
Yeah…I’m a bit obsessed with making and wearing pendant style necklaces lately. I’m going through a phase obviously : )
Oh, I HATE chaos. Absolutely hate it. Can’t stand to have my home turned upside down. I hope that you’re able to get it all put back together soon. Fabulous outfit, and the purple especially looks so great with your hair.
How awful and how gorgeous in one post!
Owning a home and staying put has its down side. I love the thought of the basement room! I’m squeezed into the edges of our dining room. But all the cleaning up will take time. Sometimes life helps us do what we need to do. You will be so happy when it’s all done, and the upstairs AND downstairs are organised. 🙂
Looove purple with red. The walls of our NZ house(not painted by me) were those colours. It was so vibrant and brightened up the typical rainy days.
Having said that, I think I have mostly worn purple and orange lately…hmmm. xo Jazzy Jack
Disarray is unnerving. Sorry for the rough patch. Hope all settles down soon.
Oh no! I am so sorry for all the chaos in your life right now. Not fun at all. I don’t handle mess and disorder very well, either. I hope you get everything fixed and settled soon! You are looking gorgeous and chic in your red hat lady color combo! I love your skirt!
Oh man, that would be a mite overwhelming, for sure! House problems like that are no fun at all! Hope it gets resolved quickly! I do love red and purple together…
Love purple and red together, especially on you. I think I saw on IG that you were having “leakage” problems. Hope everything gets sorted soon. I am NOT a chaos person, but my sister is. We drive each other crazy!
I feel your pain. We planned to take our time doing up our home before we moved in but sold our last house in an hour and lived in utter chaos for a year, single planks instead of floors, no doors, boarded up windows and those awful dehumidifiers. It wasn’t great. Hope your problems are sorted really soon.
I love jewel colours together, amethyst & ruby, turquoise & coral, sapphire & jade. Your skirt and tee combo is gorgeous! xxx
That red skirt looks fabulous with purple. Funny thing, really, I nearly bought a similar leather red skirt last week in a second hand shop here but decided against it at the last minute…
And now I see how you’ve styled it….GAH! I need to go back! I’m not a wearer of purple but I would love to combine it with other colours. I’m with you on the mess-front, I do not thrive in chaos but in order.
Hang in there! Irmin
Ah…I had a bit of non-buyer’s regret yesterday when I left a great vintage handbag behind.
No-I don’t do well in chaos. I would be going crazy too. I hope you get back to normal soon! Yes-I love red and purple together! It is such a rich and striking combination. I love the texture in your outfit. Have a good week, despite the chaos!
I despise chaos as well! We woke one morning to find a huge section of the family room ceiling had dropped to the floor because of a leak in the guest bathroom.. I thought the fan and dehumidifier noise would drive me over the edge! It did not last forever, but the event did precipitate a 5 year renovation of the entire house which began with a simple, but oh so powerful, ” well, if we have to fix the family room floor, why don’t we also…” Watch out for that!
Yikes! That is kind of what we thought might happen when we saw the stain and then the “water fountain” coming out of our ceiling. Luckily the repair guy said in the meantime to just drill holes in the ceiling to allow the water to escape, which we did.
The fan and dehumidifier noises are awful. It is funny how noise pollution gets on my nerves so quickly.
Just getting to the other side of this will be huge. We’ve wanted to reno our bathrooms forever but keep putting it off because we know how disruptive having workers and renovations in the house can be. This only reenforced that sentiment and now I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to convince my husband we should still reno the bathrooms.
I like the color combo- here at least. And like you, I really don’t thrive well in chaos. Hope things get better on that front soon!
Hole in the ceiling sounds serious. I can totally relate to your situation. I just came back from my hometown where we keep an apartment and when we arrived we discovered that there’s a patch of water stain on the ceiling in the powder room, a sign that there’s a leak in the pipe work from the unit above us. As I am typing here, the ceiling is being repaired and I am glad I am not there to witness it. I would stress out and aged 3 years in 2 days.
Anyway, I love the leather skirt and if I ever in your neck of woods, you have to take me shopping!
I guess that would be a concern when you aren’t in an apartment most of the year. Good thing you caught it in time!
I hear you- our house is so cluttered right now and home renos are taking their time so my husband and I are both a little loopy with the mess- decluttering a different space and taking control of that small area is a good way to cope though- I might have to do more of that… good luck!
Oh, noooo! I hope everything is ready in a fast way, all fixed and you can also dedicated yourself to the monumental task of organizing things and cleaning – it’s not a joke, I am good organizer, but I am very slow. You said you would need 1 month, I admire you and am about to invite you to help me with 2 rooms that I don’t even know where to start 🙂 I am sooo slow, I recognize it, but at the end things are good. I don’t like chaos. I feel much better in a clean and organized place. On a fashion note, I loved your skirt and top – and shoes, of course! I like red or burgundy with blue. I really think you look trendy (it’s positive!) and beautiful!
DenisesPlanet.com
LOL! It has taken me years to want to tackle my basement…contact me again in another 25 when I’ll be ready and willing to help you out with yours ; )
I love this outfit. I just bought a bright blue blouse. Perfect with the necklace you gave me last August. But this purple blue withe red, so nice. Gosh imagine yourself in this outfit in my living room. People might sit on you haha.
What amazes me is how you always have the matching shoes. Brilliant.
Greetje
Oh and I hate chaos. I am like you, there is a place for everything.
Sadly those shoes aren’t more than 10 minute shoes. I love them so much. I’m on the hunt for a practical pair of blood red shoes that are still cute. I have a feeling the quest could last the rest of my life.
I detest chaos. Gives my anxiety. Hope things are back to normal soon. The purple looks terrific on you! In fact, you just look great in strong colors!
I shy away from pastels or neutrals. Jewel tones are my all time favourite.
One of my favorite color combos! Stunning! xxx
http://www.stylentonic.com
I have worn purple and red together before and I like it! Nice contrast in the textures with the leather skirt and silky blouse. I can’t imagine what it would be like living in your house right now. Even though my small apartment always has piles of stuff everywhere, I’m used to it, and I can still get on with my regular routine, but when there are holes in walls and additional noise that would drive me nuts. I hope everything gets back to the status quo soon. Perhaps in the meantime you might want to try some Bach Flower Rescue remedy, for you and Zoe!
I’ve never heard of that Back Flower Rescue. I’m ready to try anything though : )
I don’t know that I thrive in chaos exactly, but I can tolerate it. Our house is pretty untidy at the best of times, but having leaks and holes in your ceiling and walls would be unpleasant for anyone so I sympathise.
I love red and purple as a colour combination and wear it myself, so your outfit gets a big thumbs up from me!
Hope you get everything fixed and sorted soon. xxxx
There is a guy on the roof right now…fingers crossed it is all looked after by the end of the week.
A chaos-loving girl I’m not, at least not in my living environment! I just want to say, hang in there. Grab some graham wafer crackers and dark chocolate and head for the nearest soft corner with dog. And husband too. And wait. But this is, as you say, a good excuse to tackle that downstairs. I won’t say “silver lining” because you’d smack me one and I’d deserve it.
I like purple and red as a combo, and you may feel jangled but look awesomely put together.
I’ll hide out in any corner with the pug and some cookies to escape the sound of the blowing fan and dehumidifier that is gnawing on my brain.
This look is divine! The red with purple is perfect!
Alena & http://garmentsspeech.blogspot.com/
I saw that photo on instagram and my heart went out to you. I definitely feel your pain (with the OCD), I like a house in perfect order, I know, my poor children as they were growing up. Good luck with the spring cleaning, but it feels so good after its all organized, right?
Quite loving your rendition of the red hat club, it’s a fun modern, edgy twist, now we just need to meet for tea.
Agreed!
hi Suzanne!
I love red and purple together. Thanks for the inspiration!
♥renae
renaesrepertoire.com
Each year, my friends & I run the Tinkerbell 1/2 marathon at Disneyland and each year a large group of red hat ladies cheer us on at the start. It is always so fun to see them. I have a dress that’s red and purple and I love the color combo but don’t wear these colors as outfits because I just don’t own much in purple.
As for chaos, can’t say I thrive in it but I am a very chaotic person in general. It drives my husband nuts.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
That must be a blast to have them cheering you on : )
I find it interesting that you describe yourself as chaotic. I pictured you as calm and organized.
Now that skirt (especially with the wonderful way it looks on you) is worthy to build an organization around. We could all be the Red Leather Skirt Ladies. I like it. You are beautiful, of course, and I’m glad to see another option for the neglected purple pieces hanging around my closet. With RED, of course.
Red Hats here rarely tip and are more demanding than their elderly cuteness can ameliorate.
You could not stand my house. I’m one of those sad women that can’t find anything if it isn’t with a pile of other related objects. I’m only finicky about my person, beyond that, I’m cluttery. In my next life, I’ll be like you.
Now that skirt (especially with the wonderful way it looks on you) is worthy to build an organization around. We could all be the Red Leather Skirt Ladies. I like it. You are beautiful, of course, and I’m glad to see another option for the neglected purple pieces hanging around my closet. With RED, of course.
Red Hats here rarely tip and are more demanding than their elderly cuteness can ameliorate.
You could not stand my house. I’m one of those sad women that can’t find anything if it isn’t with a pile of other related objects. I’m only finicky about my person, beyond that, I’m cluttery. In my next life, I’ll be like you.
Gorgeous color pairing! I love the tightness of the skirt juxtaposed with the looseness of the top. The skirt is amazing, by the way!
– Anna
http://www.melodicthriftychic.com
I’m like you: I need order around me. Chaos stresses me out.
And I am a huge fan of red and purple! Love your look.