Part 2 Scarves Up Close

The shawls that Dawn handknit for me are so pretty!  One is a rich plum color (that washed out in the photo), the other has subtle color gradations of my favorite blues and purples.  I love their intricate patterns!

Each one of these designs is so different--aren't they fun? Hard to believe that this is just a small part of my scarf collection in my first 2 postings of The Scarf Diaries.

The Scarf Diaries, Part 2

This J. Crew scarf was a 60th birthday present from Lisa and her family. There are golden threads which make up 3 narrow stripes in the off-white areas between the camel-colored stripes. The label says "92% wool 8% metallic" which might be why it feels a little scratchy. It's very versatile with these neutral colors and I really liked this combination.

Worn with Macy's Charter Club open-front cashmere cardigan, on sale several years ago, and black pants from Kohl's

A beautiful shawl hand-knit by Dawn for me possibly 2 years ago (already!). I like to wear it with this Danish silver pin.

Worn with Macy's Charter Club cashmere turtleneck, on sale several years ago, and gray pants from Kohl's

 

This infinity scarf was an impulse purchase from H & M in Westfarms just before our trip to Africa. I was looking for something stylish yet inexpensive to bring on vacation just in case I lost or damaged it. Fortunately the scarf made it home in great condition and I have worn it a lot. I think it cost $11. Here's another photo that shows why hangers work best for me!    ;-)

 

Worn with J. Jill knit black open-front cardigan bought for Africa trip, black underlayer, and gray pants from Kohl's

This is the second African scarf I fell in love with--the leopard print and the coral/pink feathers (which I thought looked like protea flowers) make a very striking design.

Worn with J. Crew cashmere V-neck boyfriend sweater, this color on super-sale last year, and dark denim jeans for a dress-down day

Another beautiful shawl hand-knit by Dawn for me, my 2014 Christmas present! The yarn is very soft and it drapes beautifully. I like the way the pin by Cathleen McLain adds a little something extra to the overall look. Cathleen is a local Hartford artist who makes the most original jewelry by hand that is also reasonably priced--not real gold/silver or with expensive gemstones--but her pieces are unique.

Worn with Chico's turtleneck and Coldwater Creek knit skirt, both several years old

Part 1 Scarves Up Close

Following Malima's excellent suggestion, here's a photo showing all five scarves from my previous post. You can see that the African scarf on the left has such an interesting design and unusual colors. I've flipped back the African scarf on the far right so we can see the greens and teals that are in the center part against the darker blue and black at the ends. I'll have to work on the composition of the scarves I group together so they each show well. In this photo I feel that the scarf from India that I bought in Paris (third from the left) practically blends into the scarves on either side but I'm too lazy to try again!

The Scarf Diaries, Part 1

I don't usually make New Year resolutions, but this year I decided to try to wear each of my many lovely scarves at least once since my 6-month job was starting January 2. I love my scarves but tend to wear the same ones over and over, so this challenge gives me an opportunity to be more creative in planning my work outfits using things I already own. 

Here's a scarf from a street peddler in Venice, Italy when Mark, Ross, Malima and I vacationed there in October 2012. I had my eye on this one for a couple of days and just before we left for home  prices were marked down, 2 scarves for 15 Euros instead of 10 Euros each.  I loved its large floral design and the purple combined with shiny silver threads the very first time I saw it. Even though it was made in China, I'll always remember we bought it in Italy from a cart near our Venetian apartment.

Worn with gray cashmere cardigan from Nordstrom (10-15 years old) and plain black pants from Kohl's

Here's a jewel-tone faux pashmina I bought in A. C. Moore's in November 2014 for $4.99. I ran in there to buy some craft supplies and its paisley design caught my eye as I rushed past the display. Again, made in China of some unknown material but it is soft and drapes well.

Worn with black open cardigan from J. Jill ( bought for our Africa trip) and plain gray pants from Kohl's

This scarf came from a Diwali store in Paris, located on Rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter that I bought when Mark and I visited Dawn in July 2010. Diwali sells scarves of all sizes that are made in India. This one is very lightweight and silky with a paisley design.

I've tried taking selfies or having Mark photograph me, but it's much easier for me to take photos of my outfits on a hangar. Since I tend to change into comfy clothes as soon as I get home, I can quickly hang up my clothes and snap a photo with my phone.

Worn with boucle jacket from Coldwater Creek (possibly 5 years old), turquoise turtleneck from Chico's (same age as jacket), plain black pants from Kohl's, and necklace/earring set that was a gift from Lisa and family, Christmas 2014

A good example of why I don't like my selfies! The scarf is from a large African craft store next to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. They sold scarves that were printed in South Africa although the original plain scarves were imported from elsewhere (probably China).  The store had a special deal, 3 scarves for 600 Rand, the equivalent of $20 each--otherwise they were 300 Rand each. I found 2 scarves I wanted immediately but had such a hard time picking the third! This one was my first choice as I had seen a lovely South African woman wearing the exact design when we were eating at a restaurant in the mall near our hotel.  I liked it so much I even asked her where she bought it, and she was nice enough to tell me--although as a tourist I had no idea how to find the store. She even explained that it was printed in South Africa which made me want it more. And then here it was, far from the downtown business area where the girl had found hers! Unfortunately, as you can see from the color of the sweater, it didn't photograph well.

Worn with J. Crew cashmere V-neck boyfriend sweater and dark navy jeans for a dress-down day

This was the third scarf I bought for the 600 Rand deal.  I had such a hard time finding that last scarf and yet I have worn this one the most of the 3 I ended up buying!  Because it is so colorful, it goes with many different things.  The weave is pretty loose on this one so it ends up getting pulled threads which usually can be pulled back into the weave. It's very soft, surprisingly warm, and drapes well.

Worn with J. Crew cashmere V-neck boyfriend cardigan and plain black pants from Kohl's

Over the years I have accumulated a small collection of J. Crew cashmere sweaters. I try to buy them on sale and during Connecticut's annual tax-free week in August. I like the quality and there can be good deals, especially on some of the more colorful ones. I feel the styles are pretty classic so I can keep wearing them for years. I wash them by hand to cut down on dry cleaning expenses. To cut down on hand washing, I wear a machine washable layer under them, often an Italian microfiber top by Adea. These are pricey, but I wait for sales, and they hold up really well. Now I have one in white, one in off-white, and one in black. I buy them to fit closely so I wouldn't use them without something over them, but they are perfect for layering. That way I don't have to wash my sweaters every time I wear one, I just wash the underlayer!

Vineyards and Table Mountain

We started our last full day in Cape Town with a trip to Table Mountain so that we could ride the cable car to the top, hoping the clouds would clear by the time we reached the summit.

We had a great view on our way up the mountain.

The floor of the cable car rotated but I found a nice perch near the center that was stationary.

 

Unfortunately the summit was cold and enveloped in clouds.

 

As our cable car started down the mountain, we passed another one going up.

 

Our drive continued on to South Africa's fabled Stellenbosch wine area with a stop at the Waterford Estate vineyard for a wine and chocolate tasting.

Delicious!

 

 

Our next stop was at a vineyard in the lovely town of Franschoek for lunch.

 

Look what I found down a flight of stairs on my way to the Ladies Room!

 

This gourmet restaurant specializes in serving locally grown natural foods, and our lunch was both beautiful to see and tasty to eat.

 

The sun finally came out after lunch, just in time for us to enjoy this view across the valley. Franschoek is surrounded by mountains yet they don't make you feel hemmed in--more like you're in a gigantic bowl. This has to be one of the loveliest places on Earth, and it was a fitting conclusion to our last day in Cape Town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

One of the special highlights for our group of orchid lovers was a visit to Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden with a tour by its current director.

He was so knowledgeable, energetic and funny as he led us through the gardens.

Our first stop was to see a yellow Bird of Paradise that has been named for Nelson Mandela.

At this time of year, the "pincushion" Proteas were in full bloom and they come in so many beautiful colors.

The King Protea plants were just starting to bloom and I think they're my favorite.

 

A sugar bird found a nice perch!

 

One of the newer parts of this garden is their Tree Canopy Walkway called the Boomslang, which is Afrikaans for tree snake. Unfortunately by the time we started walking on it, the showers and wind we had earlier turned into rain and we hustled along the walkway. It must be a really beautiful walk in nice weather.

 

 

The cable car to the top of Table Mountain was closed for the day due to the inclement weather so our next stop was the South African Museum. We enjoyed their large collection of taxidermied African animals displayed in glass cases. Then we were off to a restaurant at the V & A Waterfront for a late lunch. We certainly never got bored on this trip!

 

 



Cape Town

After 2 nights in Livingstone, our group flew to Johannesburg to go through Customs and Immigration before boarding another plane for the trip to Cape Town. It was time for dinner when we arrived at The Table Bay Hotel, which was in a great location on the Victoria and Albert (V & A) Waterfront. A huge shopping mall was next to our hotel, and we didn't even have to go outside to visit it. By this time most of our group had head colds and we saw several of them in the mall's pharmacy. Fortunately Mark and I weren't very sick but we were able to stock up on throat lozenges there.

Early the next morning, we boarded our bus for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope and Simon's Town.

We stopped at various scenic points along the way. Unfortunately, the 3 days we were in Cape Town had very changeable weather with periods of rain.

At Camps Bay our group boarded a boat for a trip to Seal Island, which is basically a huge rocky island filled with seals. The weather was quite stormy and seas were rough, but it was only a 45-minute ride to the island.

The road to the Cape of Good Hope follows along the mountains and it's quite a steep drop to the sea.

 

We took the funicular to the top of Cape Point and decided to walk down the pathway. That's the Cape of Good Hope behind Mark. Neither of these "points" is actually the southernmost point of Africa! That distinction belongs to Cape Alguhas which is farther east.

Next we drove to Simon's Point to eat lunch and see the penguins--quite a

combination, palm trees and penguins!

 

The penguins were so much fun to watch! Tourists stay on a wooden walkway that passes right through the areas where the penguins live. This is a colony of African penguins, Speniscus demerus, that are popularly called jackass penguins because their call sounds just like a donkey braying. Then we boarded our bus for the long drive back to the hotel. Here's what we saw along the way:

More zebras! Can you see the one closer to the rocks? Such good camouflage!