Ok, I'm not actually wearing any hearts (I would *love* an anatomical heart brooch but haven't come across one). But red lace for Valentine's Day seems quite holiday themed, and I read some medieval romances today in celebration (The Lais of Marie de France, which I highly recommend), so I couldn't resist my title. I'm happily single, but I still fancy the idea of a day set aside for love, so I celebrate in non-consumer ways: this blog post really resonated with me.

Health issues have kept me from photographing my outfits for awhile, but hopefully I can get back in the habit. I find it so educational! Today was strange weather: it was 39/4 C around sunrise and is now 89/32 C as I type this around sunset. So I dressed in medium weight cotton and just threw my red wool coat over everything when I left this morning, leaving it in the car on subsequent errands as the day progressed.

I knew I wanted to wear red this morning, and no wool (due to the forecast), so I decided to reprise my Christmas Eve outfit. I've been experimenting with dresses & skirts over trousers lately: last time I posted this dress, it was over wide legged trousers. Now it's over dark grey ponte skinnies (really, they're probably too skinny to be worn alone), which I think is a more traditional look. I enjoy it just as much, especially with a cardigan over top! I got this cardigan at a secondhand shop in northern California in 2008, so it has nice memories for me of mists and the coast highway and my first encounter with the Pacific Ocean, as well as being one of the oldest things in my closet. I remember loving the lace panels, which I still do, all these years later!

I wore flats, not these sandals, while running errands, but my doctor has told me to wear sturdy shoes inside instead of stockinged feet, so my Birkenstocks have become my new house shoes. Hence their appearance here, as I was too tired to go get my other shoes and switch out.

I opted for gold jewelry, including my burgundy ring that used to be my mother's, as a contrast to all of the grey, and I finally found my owl brooch, so of course I had to wear him today! I'm also wearing a new, darker lipstick; I've been wanting a slightly more dramatic option for awhile (I usually alternate between 2 medium pinks), but my few attempts to buy a drugstore burgundy were way too dark for me. I found this one recommended for 'soft summers,' and I'm very happy with it. I attempted to photograph it, but my camera was very confused by the lighting today, so the colours in all of the shots are a bit off. The close up ones are a bit washed out (so the lipstick looks a bit lighter than it is) & the full outfit ones are a bit dark. Sorry about that! Excuse the frazzled look in the close up: it's been a long day. Comments & suggestions welcome as always. Do the proportions work here? I've never worn tunics, or dresses as anything but dresses, so I'm still playing with layering options and looks.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm off to see who else is wearing red or pink or both, as Angie so wisely suggested.