Spring Green

With Memorial Day behind me, summer’s official start only three weeks away and a heat wave overwhelming the Mid-Atlantic for the past few days, I was more than ready to break out some warm-weather attire for my lengthy commute from Baltimore County, Maryland, to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. via car, subway train and on foot.  The humidity has been intense all week, so I opted to forgo long pants and instead chose a vintage pair of white shorts by M.T.C. that flare at the knees much like an A-line skirt. A simple T-shirt by Style & Co. from Macy’s in a sage and cream leopard print added subtle pizazz, which I enhanced with a studded skinny belt from Target and some gorgeous stiletto heels by Guess.  I spiffed up my outfit even more with a necklace, bracelet and earrings of freshwater pearls in lustrous green, brown and cream from my favorite of all jewelry stores, Fire & Ice, of Baltimore.

These pearls, from Fire & Ice Jewelers of Baltimore, are among
my most treasured possessions

I was hesitant to go barelegged when I’d spent ten hours on Memorial Day wrestling with invasive vines and brambles on my two acre property, pulling the long (and stubborn) tendrils of Virginia creeper, wild grape and runaway wisteria away from the trunks of my gigantic oak trees and from the tall eaves of my historic farmhouse. By the end of the day Monday I’d filled ten 55-gallon construction-size garbage bags with vines – and my arms and legs were covered with cuts and scratches from the thorny climbers. I was also sporting a few blistered patches on my skin from some poison ivy that I had hoped to avoid.

In the end, I decided that my beat-up arms and legs were a symbol of a gardening day well-spent, so I chose not to hide them. Besides, with all those trailing vines gone, gone, gone, my yard looks fabulous. I elected to wear my scratches as a "badge of honor" to celebrate the green of spring!

Cheers,

Lynell