Hi All! My online name is "Charlene" which is the name of one of my 2 Maine Coon cats. I had to put her to sleep last November (6 days after her 14th birthday) due to cancer. I still have my male, "Earl", who just turned 14 this month. He's just the most loving little thing! Enough about my kitties...
I was married to a wonderful man for 20 years but he died from leukemia 3 years ago. Since then I've been sorting out my life and trying to figure out who I am now. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to find that kind of love again but I have! Yay! I met him online and we are now living together. We are very happy. Time will tell if we get married.
I've been an RN for 23 years, mostly in Labor & Delivery. When I moved in with my BF it entailed 3 hours away to a new city and finding a job. It took me 6 months to find a job but I did and I am really enjoying it so far. I'm in Perioperative Services now. My co-workers are a great group of people.
I'm 5'6" and about 155 lbs (still trying to lose). Until last year I'd always been very large busted. I treated myself to a reduction and it's been the best thing I ever did for myself! Soooooo nice to be able to wear clothes I would never have considered before. I used to be an hourglass figure but since menopause I have gotten thicker in the middle. I'm not really sure of my shape right now but I'll read here and figure it out!
I have very little style since most of my adult life I've worn scrubs or nursing uniforms. My new job does not require a standard uniform or scrubs. We are supposed to wear "business casual with a white lab coat." This has proven very difficult for me! Most of my clothes are either too dressy (to wear with comfortable nursing shoes since I stand/walk for 10 hours daily) or way too casual (jeans). So far at work I've worn navy uniform/scrub pants and just added a nice coordinating top. I only work 3 days per week and I think I've changed up the shirts enough that nobody has commented. Maybe they're just too nice to do so. I've had extensive foot and ankle surgery and so absolutely must wear Dansko, Allegria, or sneakers for support. Even with jeans I typically wear Dansko, sneakers, or sandals.
In the hot and humid NC summer I mostly wear dresses or shorts. I am a homebody and have no need for an extensive wardrobe. I usually go through my closet yearly and purge items. Even though I have a lot of clothes I find myself wearing the same ones over and over. I think I tend to look frumpy and want to change that. Due to my own personal summer I don't care much for layering; I just get too hot. So I need help looking put together without multiple layers of clothing. I've enjoyed reading about the smart casual capsule but need to figure out how to apply that to myself.
I found this site by accident surfing the web and thank heavens for that! I've been lurking and reading for a few days and already am addicted. If I should ever win the lottery I will have a consultation with Angie! That would be a dream. In the meantime I will continue reading here and learning about style.