Oh, yeah...that's why I don't like jeans anymore...

So, my curves are conspiring against me. I had to send back a pair of jeans that I ordered because my waist is ridiculously smaller than my hips.  I'm excessively hourglassed...with no real butt. I would love to have some junk in my trunk, but I've got a mountain butt, a hillbilly butt.  I've got more than 10 inches difference between my natural waist and my hips! This makes buying jeans that fit a major hassle. In order for them to fit my hips, they always end up too loose around the waist. Unless I get jeggings, which tend to be way too constricting around my tummy and run low! Jeggings, you are not equal to jean leggings! Not unless we're combining all the bad features of both into one item. I know this, but I keep getting sucked in by fashion spreads with jeans/jeggings, and wanting to emulate the basic idea. I'm just going to have to give up on jeans again for awhile, and go back to my leggings and skirts. They're more flattering AND more comfortable.

Jeggings - Source of Wisdom. Bleah.
Top - Avenue, I think? Or OneStopPlus.Com. I recut the top and removed the tag.
Adorable Shoes - Dexter, and I got a another (blue) pair today

Yesterday really sucked. (In epilepsy related news)

This post's outfit is from Friday, because I never got around to posting it. I don't have pictures of yesterday's because as soon as I came home I put on jammies. And also because I had "overly medicated face". BECAUSE I HAD A FREAKING SEIZURE YESTERDAY. I had gone almost two years without a seizure, then I had one sitting at my desk at work. I came to, and I was standing up, totally confused, wearing one shoe backwards, and that sinking feeling came over me that I always get after a seizure, the one that makes me cry.

My last seizure was in August 2009, and if I hadn't had this seizure today, my neurologist would have started weaning me off one of my medications after my appointment next month. This is for a pill that I've been on since 2000, but it's no longer my main anticonvulsant, AND it's the drug is not particularly female-friendly in the long run. I take 6 prescription medications daily.

See, Gracey, visible bra strap!

On the plus side, I finally have sneakers that fit (and they're red)! I'm ready to wear them to Zumba and not have my feet hurt! I got a pair of jeans in too, but I was too exhausted to try them on. (My balance is fairly wonky afterwards, both because of the seizure and the extra medication I have to take.) And please, send good thoughts my way tomorrow, because I have a phone interview in the afternoon for a FULL-TIME position with BENEFITS. That is seriously my holy grail, the benefits part. Well, that and the fact that I wouldn't be working weekends for the first time EVER. If I do well in the phone interview, I'll get to move up to the next stage of face to fave interviews.

Shirt - Avenue from a thrift store
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - those godawful Crocs that are totally uncomfy and I just need to throw out
Necklace - all me, baby!

Erin, Plain and Simple

We had a horrible surprise rainstorm (AGAIN) yesterday, so I wore comfy, warm clothes to work that wouldn't be bothered by a bit of rain. And apparently, this morning, my closet heard comfy and warm as being equal to being very boring and OH MY GOD WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ANY PANTS THAT FIT PROPERLY, WOMAN? I have a load of old jeans to donate, and I have a couple of pairs of jeggings for thin days and a couple of pairs of jeans that I THOUGHT fit. But, as it slowly turned out, either I lost weight or they loosened up. They do seem baggy, but they seem more baggy than when I got them. So I have ordered a smaller pair from Avenue, because their petite pants fit me (sadly there were none at the store when I went this week) and a pair of actual sneakers. As I've discovered, doing Zumba in pathetic excuses for sneakers leads to sore feet. But I haven't had actual sneakers in almost a decade! And I require wide shoes, and ones that aren't made out of hard crap (ie the ones I found at Target that hurt my feet when I tried them on). I am trying hair oil out, specifically nTrance, since I won some. This was my first day, and I think I underestimated the amount I could use. But my hair did feel softer. I will continue reporting on the hair oil front.

Wiggle skirt

 

I had a little wiggle in my walk today...This pencil skirt is from Fashion to Figure, and I made my (non-plus-size) sister so very jealous with it! It makes my (flat) butt look awesome, and my curvy hips even better. It's definitely a va-va-voom skirt.

Plus, I got the prettiest interview dress at Avenue today. (Now I just need to score an interview. Keep your fingers crossed for me!) And I got 2 pretty leather purses at TJ Maxx for $23, one red (of course) and one black.

Shirt - Fashion to Figure

Skirt - Fashion to Figure

You like to be so close, I like to be alone

Saturday.

  Yay, tiny red boat shoes! I got these at Payless, because they were A) cute, B) red, and C) preppy. And I find preppies to be really amusing. Seriously amusing. Have you read True Prep? A humor book about being a good Preppie. Maybe it's because I spent my formative years here in the mountains, surrounded by rednecks, hippies, jocks, and geeks. I don't think I met a "True Prep" until I went to university. They do sort of suck in person, but the Platonic Ideal of Prep is very funny.

Sunday.

 This is such a lovely draped top from Avenue. Since I live in the absolute nothingness, I'm an hour from an Avenue store....and I'm going tomorrow! Watch out sale racks, here I come! I took mirror pictures since I was home alone, after a lovely lunch out of Mexican (cheesy rice and enchiladas), then a new ice cream store (rocky road with caramel sauce and reese's pieces added). Mmm, it was nap city after that.

My mirror is so dirty.

Saturday:
Top - Avenue
Pants - White Stag
Cardigan - Jaclyn Smith
Shoes - Dexter

Sunday -

Top - Avenue
Pants - White Stag
Unseen shoes - Mossimo

There was sun and daffodils and hot chocolate and dumplings!

I had such a good day. Not only did it not rain on and off ALL DAY LONG like it has for the last 4 billion weeks, but the sun was out and shining and happy! I could take my pictures outside at work (Thank you, Angela!) as students walked by, wondering what I was doing. I had a delicious lunch of (Chinese) fried dumplings; and then later on hot chocolate from our new cafe in the bottom of the library. Not to mention that I looked awesome! I love this tunic. It's my very favorite item from Fashion to Figure, even though it has these virulent yellow bits. Like all items of clothing that I truly love, it is no longer in stock. BUT. I got, in the mail today a package containing among other things, a skirt from Fashion to Figure. A skirt that is skin-tight, ruched, makes me look like I have an actual butt, and hits me at the knee. It is the sexiest secretary pencil skirt in existence. I need to plan an outfit around this. And shave.

Tunic - Fashion to Figure
Leggings - Avenue
Black sequin flats - Mossimo

Are you sure this is a holiday?

I decided to wear my green for St. Patrick's Day as light jade jewelry after I looked in my closet. I have 3 green shirts, 2 of which I like, all of which are would leave me too cold. Aren't my little red boat shoes just the cutest things you've ever seen? I thought so. And YAY it's finally warm enough to start taking photos outside again! I'm a complete weenie when it comes to the cold. I don't fully bare my legs (no tights, no hose, etc) unless it's in the eighties. Usually only when I'm at the beach, in fact. I'm just an indoor sort of person, and all INDOORS is kept at subzero temperatures nowadays. [Also, I'm very lazy/bad about shaving my legs.]

This is the most awkward shirt angle. No, I'm not pregnant.

Sweater - Avenue
Pants - Denim 24/7
Adorable shoes - Dexter

It's a big square...but pretty!

This top is from Fashion to Figure (I know, I'm totally addicted), and it's simple perfection.  Take 2 big squares of silk, stitch together somewhat, and add tiny holes a couple inches in for a string belt. BOOM. Fancy, yet simple shirt. I'm thinking of getting my mom or sister to sew me a few more in different fabrics. (Even straight hems defy me.) The big hair is part time rush and part to satisfy my mom, who loves it when my hair is big and wavy. I usually do it like this on Sundays, since I don't have anything I need to do, except go to church. Don't get me wrong, I like it too, it's just that with a little moving about and incautious bending and hair flipping, big and wavy can move way too easily to giant and crazy-homeless-girl.

TURBAN!

Dude. I managed to tie a turban on my big head all by myself. Is it not the most awesome thing ever? And aren't I the whitest person you've ever seen wearing a turban? I do have one question though: Is there some magic way to keep the flipping thing ON YOUR HEAD all day? Admittedly, I am using a scarf, and I started with damp hair. But it kept slipping back, and needing to be readjusted throughout the day. I do have a giant head, bestowed upon me by my father, who has a head like a pumpkin.

Half-way through the day, I switched to the red scarf

I went for a gypsy-style look today; all black except the red scarf and silver jewelry. I should have worn more jewelry, really piled it on for a more "gypsy" look, but the red scarf is brand new and a little fragile. After yesterday's pick-a-thon with the shirt, I'm feeling a little overprotective.

Head scarf - thrifted
Red scarf - ebay
Sweater dress - JMS
Leggings - Faded Glory
Crocs

The spaces in between

This is one of the brand new shirts from Fashion to Figure! I didn't think this one would fit OR be attractive on me, but it was on sale (and easily returnable) so I got it anyway. And look: it's oh-so-very-pretty! It comes with a camisole lining attached, so you're nicely covered by the tank, but your arms are free in the pretty, loose knit.  Edit to say I'm officially pissed off at one of the wooden counters at work, because it picked a freaking HOLE in my brand-new shirt! Re-edit to say: okay, the shirt is really pretty, but it's picked twice big time (at least) in one day. Maybe this shirt is better for cautious people. Or maybe it needs a tighter knit.

vintage cameo necklace from a flea market

lovely dangly earrings

My hair was being a little difficult, so it got the Veronica Lake treatment again. See, I have super thick hair, but my natural part is waaay over onto the left side. So I have lots and lots of hair on one side, and just a regular amount on the other. And sometimes the regular side of hair decides that it doesn't want to have any volume whatsoever, while the super-full side has enough for an 80's metal band.  But parting it somewhere else on my head looks strange; at least to me. Hence the Veronica Lake look.

Shirt - Fashion to Figure
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - a pair of Crocs that I don't really like, but it was supposed to rain today and I have no rain boots.

Pigtails!

You can see a bit of my silver hairs that are turning into a silver streak!

My hair is finally long enough for two little pigtails! (And yes, I just realized that's the exact same excited sentence I've read on friends blogs talking about their toddlers.) Do you see my lip? No, it's not a cold sore. I suffered some child abuse. Meaning my sweet little niece accidentally smacked her giant head right into mine, making me bite the crap out the my lip on Tuesday. And it's still swollen and bruised on the inside. I knew I would be shifting stuff all around the back rooms at work, so I wore something that would be comfy, but still pretty. AND I got another package from Fashion to Figure! Every piece fit, and you'll see one tomorrow.

 

Shirt - White Stag

Blouse - Fashion to Figure

Pants - Land's End
Jewelry- Self-made

30 day photo challenge - DAY 30, Last Day

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

Papa and Nana in 2003

 I miss my grandfather so much. It's taken me almost a week to work up to this last one. I'm creating this post while crying, so it's taking about twice as long as normal.

Papa and Killian in 2004

 Papa loved kids, which makes sense for a man that had seven. My dad's dad died before I was born, but I had my papa always. He was here on earth with me for almost 26 years.

Papa and Ellie in 2005.

 Papa died June 27, 2007. I love you so much and I miss you.

Puddles the size of lakes

I look so professional!

It has rained all day so far, which meant that I wanted to sleep all day. What is it about hearing rain that makes us want to sleep? I look fairly well put together, but really I just wanted to stay warm and not drag anything through the puddles.

 I usually look skeptical like this, unless I'm cuddling someone. There are some awfully cute babies at my church that can make me look fairly dopey.  (Nope, no kids for me ever. I hear you have to KEEP them. Like, forever.) The sweater is from Roaman's, the pants are fairly new (Denim 24/7) and proving very aggravating to photo. I swear, they're simply black with white pinstripes, but they photograph all wonky. The shoes are an old pair of Xhilaration heels, so I could get through the puddles.

And now, it's time for our regularly scheduled cute time. Or, as I like to call it, "my niece is cuter than everyone else". The little doofus looooves my room, and loves to get on my bed. I didn't even catch her smile at it's widest point!

Ellie-belle

Red is my new black

Friday's outfit.

My dad was totally right when he said that red was my new black. I tend to rely on blacks and greys, with blues and purples popping up as my "colors", but over the last few months, I've been reaching for red more than just about any other color. That said...I don't really have anything else to say about this outfit. Also, I can't really explain that face, except to say I was tired. So let me tell you about a few of my new favorite curvy bloggers (as in, new to me):

Gracey of Fashion for Giants is just the cheeriest blogger I know! Plus, she has legs that I would KILL for. She does a post every few days or so featuring an outfit from another blogger recreated for tall women, (like this one) with links for all the tall jeans, long shirts, etc, that she uses.

Lilli of Frocks & Frou Frou is in Australia, so she'll drive everyone in the US crazy wearing sundresses while we're all freezing. Happily plus size, a vintage style dresser without being completely committed to it, she has a gorgeous feminine style that makes me happy to see.

Allison of CurvyGirlChic is totally adorable! Not to mention, very popular, both online and in print! Her style is fairly trendy (in a good way, not a hideous shiny leopard jumpsuit sort of way) and she's a total fashionista! Her photos are gorgeous and make you want to kill someone if it would help you live in her blue sky California.

Kimono Top!

The lighting was off, so POOF: instant vintage!

This tunic top makes me feel all perky! Yes...like that. Seriously, I've been wanting some sort of kimono top for ages now, but I didn't want all the fabric wrapped around my hips OR to have it too short up by my tummy. This is perfect. Slightly kimono-style sleeves, a pretty pattern (without any orange or teal) and it flows gently over my hips. It's gorgeous AND it makes my boobs look even more fantastic than they really are. Total win.

I am a harsh ballerina. Or possibly a startled deer.

Tunic - Fashion to Figure
Bandeau - um...off Amazon?
Pants - Land's End, thrifted
Shoes - Crocs