Happy Halloween!

For work yesterday, I wore something VAGUELY Halloween-ish.  I love the idea of these black and red striped tights, but the fit is sort of wonky.  You can barely see the shimmer, but I'm also wearing my dead Dorothy shoes, aka black sequined flats.

My REAL news is that starting tomorrow, I'll be doing WNFIN!  (imagines blank stares on faces)  Okay, so you know about NaNoWriMo?  This is the Non-Fiction version!  I'm writing it in a separate (private) blog, but I'll probably post word counts on here.

Suprise compliments

It's surprising what a pair of leggings and a cowl-neck sweater can do (with a t-shirt underneath.  I get hot, and sometimes I just have to rip it off.).  I got a compliment on my sweater (which I do love) from a co-worker.  He's a nice enough guy, but he's NEVER mentioned a single thing I've worn.  And then out of the blue, he tells me that he likes this "big neck" sweater.  And my sis complimented me as well!  This is fabulous, seeing as how the sweater is super comfy and has POCKETS.  It's from Roaman's, the leggings are bootcut ones from Athletic Works, and the necklace...is DIVINE.  It's vintage that I bought at a flea market.  I was going to sell it on the shop, because I just don't wear gold.  But it was too pretty to give away!  I do have a weakness for cameos.

All mine.  Not yours.

 But these are two beautiful vintage items you CAN buy in the shop:

Here

And here.

Honestly, I like this outfit...it was just cold...

Sad mouth says "BRRR"

This is a new belt!  It cleverly LOOKS like an obi belt, without requiring my fumble fingered hands to actually TIE a bow.  (Me tying a bow ends up in something vaguely resembling a toddler's knot, with tears of frustration replacing drool.)  I got it at Target, and unfortunately they don't show their belts online.  So uh, it has a couple inches of elastic band in the back, and it secures by means of a little post going through the belt holes.  Clear, right?  No.  It's actually sized kinda big, especially for Target stuff.  I'm wearing a size L.

I haven't posted in OVER a week.  A hideous stomach bug came along and smacked the life out of me for several days.  I didn't even READ for a whole day and a half!  In librarian terms, that equals a year...

Dress - Dialogue
Leggings - Faded Glory
Belt - Target (house brand)
Crocs

Blurry faces lead to kisses

Ehh, the belt went all sideways...

I have a simple question, and it's the same one that Chelsea posed Tuesday.  Do you wear brown and black together, or do you think that's verboten?  Obviously, I have no problem with it!  I have no real problem with navy and black, even though navy is not one of my favorite blues.   Brown and navy?  Okay, there we have some issues....

Cardigan - stolen from sister's closet
Dress - JMS
Leggings - Faded Glory
Crocs

Do you have a favorite Halloween candy?  I'm not talking about a regular, everyday sort of candy here.  I'm talking something that you don't find in the stores (or eat) except around Halloween.  Mine is this cheap peanut butter and taffy candy called Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses.  This is NOT the same as the little stick candy Mary Jane.  Obviously, it's much better: it's a KISS!  And it's $2 a bag!  I may eat a bag a week...

Fall dressing!

Are you not full of envy?

On Sunday, I went with a very fall-color inspired outfit.  I also wore some new shoes, my Avenue Annie Buttoned Shooties.  Another pair of high heels for me!  I felt very tall and in control.  Until my feet started aching from the first day of being up in Barbie doll position.  Jen has declared "shooties" to be one of the dumbest words ever.  But really, a combo of shoe-booties isn't really any more ridiculous than jeggings for jean-leggings.  I need to stretch out the tops of the shoes (so they aren't so tight) with some tennis balls shoved down in the shoes.  This means I need to buy tennis balls...

I usually don't work this particular rust color of red, but what with the pattern on the skirt and the variable temperatures of the day, it worked pretty well!  I want it to get cold and stay cold!  We kept having huge variations here every week, from the high 70's to the mid-50's.

Top - Simply Southwest
Skirt - Bila
Shoes - Avenue

RED is an awesome movie...

When tired and posing, I apparently try to look thru the ceiling.

This is yesterday's outfit.  Yesterday was also the day I saw RED, which is fantastic!  Finish reading my post, then go see it.  It will amuse you greatly if you have a sense of humor (particularly if it's sort of dark).  The movie is very different from the graphic novel, but Warren Ellis (who wrote the graphic novel) seems to approve of it on his blog.

Tunic - B'Leev
Pants -  Athletic Works
Crocs

You startled me!

Oh!  Hello there, darlings!  I was just cuddling up in my lovely cowl neck sweater.  Amazingly, it is NOT from Avenue.  (But I bought it from the same site.)  The sweater is from Roaman's, the jeans are of course from Avenue, and I wore my Crocs since it's rainy.

I absolutely love those two huge pockets on the front of the sweater!  So very handy.  For some reason, until I pulled this sweater out, I thought the sleeves were 3/4 length.  I must have gotten it confused.  Instead my short little arms stayed warm all day.  You can just see the tips of my fingers poking out!  I also got a lovely compliment from a patron, who told me I had beautiful hair.  And it was just when I was feeling all sweaty and frazzled after rushing around.  I'm such a dork I actually blushed when the lady said it to me!

"Um, thank you."  BLUSH

Organize this, buddy!

Hahaha!  Who I am kidding?  I don't need any help.  I don't work today, so I am an organizing fiend!  I organized two, count them, two whole things today already!!!  (For me, this is akin to say....200)  I lust after organization.  I am Miss Organization at work.  At home...my room is very much like a trash heap (if you substituted clothes and books and such for garbage.  I'm not a freak, you guys).  My jewelry making corner has slowing been growing and growing and growing out of control.  I was looking at issues of Real Simple, the magazine of beautiful highly priced organization porn, when I saw one of those wire rack cubby things.  And I thought, "Didn't I have one of those when I lived in Kansas?"  So today I went downstairs where all the stuff I still haven't unpacked lives and I FOUND it!  So after a sweaty, curse-filled re-assembly, I was able to put all my little bead/findings boxes away WITHOUT them overflowing the cubby!

Ta-da! Room for more!

And then I tackled my belts.  Even though I've only recently started wearing belts as accessories, I had a huge jumble of them.  24 to be precise.  This included belts that didn't fit, were falling apart, etc.

Could you find something in this mess?  Thought not.

Once again, I thought I had something that would help.  In this case, I was wrong.  So I raided my father's closet, and stole his long unused belt hanger.  I put aside 8 belts for Goodwill, leaving me only 15.  (I know, it's completely too many for how little I wear belts.  But I already have them!  It's not like it's costing me money to keep them.)

I even put them in order of shortest to longest!  I totally deserve a gold star.  The scarf/ribbon type belts went in the very center and my two thick belts that have no real buckles got draped over.  Want to see what a belt hanger looks like up close?

Woo Hoo!  I can find stuff in 2 more areas now!  And Jen's updating the store later today, so check in and have a look see!

I bought all these lovely sweaters from OneStopPlus that came in last week,  but it's been WARM the last few days!  It's cooler in the library at work, of course.   But still, it's the principle of the thing.  It's supposed to be Fall, you know!  I bought a few 3/4 length tops, and they work well.  I've always like 3/4 length better than long sleeve when I'm actually going to be doing anything.  But then, I'm picky about sleeves, anyway.  I like love flutter sleeves, elbow length, 3/4 length, even full length.  BUT.  I hate cap sleeves, and where conventional t-shirt sleeves hit.  Unless you are (a) a model or (b) very fit, they hit women's arms at an extremely unflattering angle.

Top - Snap Tab Thermal Tunic Top (Avenue)
Jeans -  Zip Pocket Slim Boyfriend Jeans (Avenue)
Knockoff crocs 
Self-made jewelry

Cheerful

10-8-10 (aka Friday)

Yay!  Another Avenue outfit!  (You can count on me saying this for weeks, so get used to it, chickies.)  What I really want to talk about is my hair.  A while ago (August 10) I got my hair cut in a salon.  And because it seemed like it would fix some of my problems (super-thick hair = often frizzy), I got it layered even more than the little bitty layers my sister had cut in.  The layers were supposed to thin out my hair some so it wasn't so overly full.  Unlike other salon experiences, this did not make me cry.  But as time went on, I noticed something.  All those curls and super waves that had popped back into my hair when I cut it so short up by my chin?  Those were gradually disappearing.  And that frizz?  NOT disappearing.  How it was possible for my hair to be both (for me) rather flat but also poufy and frizzy was a mystery.  Particularly since I was using more products to style than I ever had before.    So I got my mom to cut a little (she'll generally do anything to my hair I want, after dire warnings that if I don't like it, it's my own fault).  I asked her to cut the back where it was about an inch or so longer than the rest of the unlayered hair.  Essentially, I'm growing the layers out.  My hair might get poufy again, but damnit! my hair will be curly and all the same length!  Instead of all these crazy wild layers fly in my face and make me insane.   

Jewelry shot!

Do you have a bad hair period that made you crazy?  A hairstyle that SHOULD have worked for your hair, but didn't?

Shirt - The Chic Tunic Top - Avenue
Jeans - Petite Boyfriend Jeans - Avenue
Shoes - Crocs
Bracelet - Maurice's
Earrings - Craft fair
Necklace - upcycled from bits and pieces

Avenue, I love you.

So, you know how for a while I was raving about Torrid.  Forget it.  I have seen the light, children!  And that light is Avenue.com.  Are the clothes cheaper?  (Yes, if you shop the sale tab like I do.)  Are they better made?  HELL YEAH!  Are they grown-up, while also managing to be awesome?  YES!  (I apologize for getting all you ladies under a size 14 excited.  No clothes for you.)

I got another package in the mail.  The jeans are from the first package last week, and the sweater is from the second.


Sweater - Avenue
Jeans - Avenue
Soul - Avenue

Jewelry - Necklace and bracelet self-made, earrings bought at the local Arts & Craft Fair

Last of the poor jeans (10-2-10 and 10-3-10)

I don't really like these jeans.  But they were pretty much all I had.  I had those jeggings that I got from Torrid, but they almost immediately started to pill and rub apart on the inside thighs.  And truly, I only washed them when they were dirty!  But I couldn't find any jeans to fit me in stores.  When I tried anything on, it didn't fit.  As in, way too small and they ended up making me feel FAAAAAT.  This is not a feeling I like, obviously.  So I made due with these jeans, which I don't really like, along with the one other pair I had which I liked even less (they cut into my tummy when I sat down).

But what's this?  A smile on my face?  And cute jeans?  Plus-size ladies, I am here to recommend Avenue jeans.  I have two styles of them now, the Boyfriend Jeans (here, in petite) and the Zip Pocket Slim Boyfriend Jeans.  They are comfy, they are the right length for my short little legs, and they are CHEAP!  I got them off my new favorite website (that I visit like it's dispensing crack) OneStopPlus.  They have sizes 12-44 (I KNOW, seriously?).  Some of the stuff is a little matronly, but just check out the stuff from Avenue.  It's awesome.

Top Pic (10-2)
Sweater - Faded Gory
Crocs

Bottom Pic  (10-3)
Sweater Dress - JMS
Jeans - Avenue Petite Boyfriend Jeans
Crocs

Headless (10-1-10)

This picture was VERY blurry because I moved my face just as the picture was taken.  Just take it for granted that my head is there like usual, mkay?  This dress (George) and the leggings (Faded Glory) are both getting a black dye today to refresh them.  I know, I know, it would probably work better if I used one of those special laundry washes to keep my blacks nice and dark, but I use a free and clear one to keep my skin happy instead.  We all have priorities.

 

 These are just two neat little charms I bought and strung together.  Bronze jewelry is slowly taking over my life.  It won't take over the Etsy store anytime soon, though.  I went crazy with a big coupon at Michael's this past week and bought enough supplies to last me for a few months, and bronze was not a heavy part of the haul.

Catching up

I haven't posted my outfits for the last few days.  But I have a totally good reason!  See, I bashed my right hand into a doorjamb last Tuesday and it hurt.  And it kept hurting.  And my pinky felt sort of numb when it didn't feel sore.  So this Tuesday, I finally went to the doctor to see if it was broken.  It turns out that I just strained the tendons in my hand around the 5th metacarpal.  What this means is: my hand is sore, but I have to exercise it.

Sucks, huh?

This is my outfit from Tuesday.  I went for the mildly affluent street urchin look.  Short pants, OTK socks, lovely purple shirt (this is a 3/4 length sleeve on me, by the way.  Short arms, I curse you!).  I'm getting more into bronze jewelry.  This necklace is a piece from Maurice's that I restyled.  It was about twice as long, with one length of chain leading down to this lovely tangle of chains.  So I simply took off the single piece of chain with my pliers and fastened the rest together.  And that still left it long enough to go over my head without a clasp!

Obviously I am very serious in this photo.  This was Wednesday.  It's actually fall here in the mountains now, so I need to switch over my wardrobe next week when I have time off.  I dug out this mock turtleneck and snuggled down into it's warmth all day.  Once again, the necklace is from Maurice's, but this time I didn't change a thing.

No info about what I'm wearing since I'm so behind.  Sorry, people, I didn't jot down what I wore each day!