What is Going on with the Blog?

Hello everyone! It has been a very long few months and I feel that I owe all of you an explanation. From the middle of spring I started experiencing cold like symptoms that at the time I attributed to allergies. I went along, taking my antihistamines every day and using the ones with decongestants when I needed as I began to have congestion and a cough. I muddled through May and June, but by mid July I began to think I had a sinus infection as I was not showing any signs of improvement.

Over the course of the next four and a half months I would have numerous conversations via my online medical app with my primary care doctor. I would also end up in the urgent care on two different occasions, and have two ER visits. I would end up sleeping (and I use that word lightly, because I hardly slept) on the couch since my cough was so incessant I could not lay down. I had three rounds of different antibiotics, two orally and one delivered via my neti pot. I had three rounds of oral steroids, the last which titrated down over the course of a month. I also ended up on two different inhalers and two psych meds to trick my brain into thinking I didn’t have to cough.

The turning point came when I woke up one morning mid October, and took my blood oxygen level (which I had been doing since my daughter gave me a pulse ox meter). A good reading will be in the mid to upper 90’s. Mine was 85. I had been losing my appetite over the last month or so, and that morning I started vomiting. I called my husband on the home phone from my spot on the couch and said, “I think it is time. I need to go to the hospital.” Over the course of those months, I had gotten tested for Covid two different times. I had no fever, ever, but the cough was so bad, I would have been negligent if I didn’t get checked. The test came back negative both times.

We got to the ER at about 7AM and the place was almost deserted; a God thing, since hospital ER’s have been full and overflowing with 7 to 10 hour waits to be seen. As soon as I told them I couldn’t breath, they got me right into a room and did an EKG to make sure I wasn’t having a heart attack. I was attached to oxygen and they started organizing testing and plans for care.

I ended up being admitted to a program with that hospital, called Acute Care at Home. Basically, you go home but the hospital provides all the equipment to monitor your care via on line applications and Blue Tooth connections. I also came home on oxygen, so I had to take an ambulance ride to get home. I never realized how bumpy they are. I stayed admitted to that program for five days. Over the course of that time I was in regular contact with nurses and two different doctors, one who was the hospitalist with the program, and another who was a general practitioner who helped with the in home acute care program. Both of them were completely attentive and proactive about restoring my health. In fact, the hospitalist pulled some strings to get me in with a pulmonologist right away.

The end result of this intensive care was that I started to improve. A week later I was able to sleep in my own bed. My cough was minor and I only needed oxygen for about four days. The combination of care and medication brought me back to a level of health where I could sleep, eat and interact with my family. It was a long four months. I am still struggling with sinus issues, including the loss of smell and taste. I have better days and worse days depending on the weather and the allergens around. I am using a neti pot, a sinus steroid nose spray and an inhaler for the asthma like symptoms. But, I am much improved and feel like life is back to being more normal.

I have been struggling to get back to the blog, but it seems my creative mind has suffered as well. I am sure there are connections to long term illness, depression and seasonal affective disorder that are coming into play. I have been regularly posting on Instagram, so for those of you who have an account you can follow me there. I do hope to get this blog up and running again and plan on working back to at least two posts a week about mid January.

For those of you who are new to my blog, I apologize for not showing up sooner. For those who have been regular subscribers, I want to thank you for continuing to support me. I hope to start giving all of you content on fashion and faith that will not only inspire you, but encourage you. Encouragement is my main goal. We all need to be encouraged!

Thanks again for following along and for all your support and prayers. Look for new content coming soon!

Hugs!

Stylin’ Granny Mama

Pantone Spring 2017 - Hazelnut

The next color in our review of the Pantone Spring 2017 color palette is a soft, nutty shade called Hazelnut. To see all of the Pantone Spring shades for this year click here. Many of the shades from this spring line up are pastels. Pastels are softer, subdued colors. Often, we feel that unless we are a blonde, tanned sun goddess we can't wear pastels. However, remember, you can where whatever you want. A lighter color does not have to dominate your outfit. Try wearing a pastel colored tee under a dark washed denim jacket, or with a bright colorful scarf. This still allows you to wear the lighter color, making you look the vision of spring, but brings the darker, brighter colors closer to your face. 

For this look, I wore my chocolate brown skirt, a printed 3/4 length sleeve tee that boasts a number of like minded colors, including Hazelnut. I added my open weave cardigan. Since perforations are a spring trend I thought an open weave knit is a good compromise. 

Here's a closer look at the sweater and tee. The necklace actually does more justice to the Hazelnut color than anything else I have on. However, I think the outfit overall give the perfect mix of Ferrero Rocher....chocolate and hazelnuts!

I decided to go with a blush colored bag to keep the look softer with the darker brown of the ankle boots and brown hose. 

I think this outfit is a perfect transitional work outfit. It still bears the dark colors we often gravitate towards in the winter, but speaks of spring's emergence in the hazelnut sweater, jewelry and blush colored bag. Not only that, but the boots, hose and light weight layers provide coverage against the still chilly, often rainy days of spring. 

Would this be a color you would wear? How would you style an outfit around a lighter color like this? I'd love to hear your comments below. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a shopping link, I get a few cents. If you make a purchase through one of my links I get a little commission. All opinions are my own. 

Tuesday linking up with Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish. Rena of It's All Fine...Whatever..., Thursday linking up with Nicole of High Latitude Style. Friday linking up with JoLynne Shane in the Fashion Friday Link up and Laurie of Vanity and Me.