Loose and flowy

 

I finally got myself one of the tank tops that's super loose and multi-length at the bottom. It's from Jessica London, the same place my long raspberry colored skirt is from. I was a little afraid it would make me look pregnant, but it just flows nicely. I actually got it a size larger than I usually wear, so when it inevitably shrinks a bit in the wash, it'll still fit over my bust. The nice thing is that I bet it'll work as a swimsuit cover-up too! Plus, it's a nice black(blank) slate to pile on plenty of silver chains.

Top - Jessica London
Shrug - Torrid
Pants - Denim 24/7
unseen shoes - red plaid crocs

Munchkins on the loose

Sunny with a chance of dog butt

Any second now, my niece and nephew will come pounding up the stairs, needing to be entertained. Wait, scratch that. All munchkins really want is for someone to pay attention to them constantly, just in case they need you. That sounds horrible, but I love the munchkins, especially when they say "Hey, guess what, Auntie..." The dog (Trixie) has also decided that she needs a lot more attention in the morning when we're taking pictures. She's not my dog, and I don't want to be a blogger who always has a pet in the picture. But...she's in all the good ones!

Top - Fashion Bug
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - Mossimo

Scarf it up, baby. Scarf it up.

I promise I have feet

It makes perfect sense that I'm wearing scarves more now that it's hitting up in the mid 80's every day than I did in winter, doesn't it? Ohhh, wait. Never mind. It's just that I recently got several light scarves (summer weight, you might say), and I like having something cozy around my neck in the chilly office. (Yes, I know that doesn't apply to today's scarf.) Plus, scarves are a possibility for July's Everybody, Everywear. Today's scarf helped point out that I had a waist by breaking up the line of my shirt.

Top - Avenue
Scarf - Avenue
Skirt - Jessica London
unseen shoes - Dexter

My shoes are enthralling...

My shoes are enthralling...

 particularly if you are a tiny stupid beagle. Our dog (my little mama's dog) is from the vet school, and they "taught" the brain right out of her. They also taught her to be afraid of small spaces, so she can't live in a doghouse because it makes her scared. After more than a year, she almost knows her name and is mostly not scared of us (excepting Mama, who she unabashedly loves). She spent almost the whole time we were taking pictures sniffing my feet and licking them.

So, I had been trying Aveeno's Positively Ageless kit. I like the moisturizers, but I don't really find anything amazing about them. And the cleanser I went on and gave to my sister. I have very sensitive skin, and it was an exfoliating cleanser that they wanted you to use morning and night! Admittedly, it was mild, but still, after a week of that my face was raw. So I got an Aveeno face soap bar (which I use on my whole body since it's nice and gentle), and I use whichever moisturizer I choose in the morning.


Cardigan - Avenue
Top - Avenue
Scarf - Send the Trend
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - One Stop Plus

STATEMENT necklace

Because this necklace deserves capital letters. It looks heavy, but it's not, and it looks scratchy, but it's not. It's just a piece of awesomely sparkly bling. It is easily the sparkliest thing I own.

Lesley Crystal Necklace

 I kept the rest of my outfit super simply, all black except the sandals (which are dark) so the necklace could be the focal point. I got this from Send the Trend when they had their $15 dollar day, along with a few other things (essentially a half off day, since everything on the site is $30).

Cardigan - Jaclyn Smith
Top - Avenue
Pants - White Stag
Sandals - One Stop Plus

june 24 FBFF

1.      Since you began blogging do you notice a change in the types of things you gravitate towards while shopping?

 I'm more likely to NOT buy something boring, just because it fits. I'm more likely to buy something if it fits well and strikes a chord with me.

2.      Do you find, as a fashion blogger, that you dress differently from your family and friends? Do they comment on that?

My sister is extremely stylish (she got me into fashion blogs, has one but rarely blogs) and is always well put together. She's the one who gets comments from people! Although the women at work do compliment me on my collection of cool flats.

3.      What’s the weirdest fashion that you secretly like, even if you aren’t bold enough to wear it?

 I LOVE caftans and dashikis. I am uber white, and I need to figure out at home to how to pull it off with the necessary elan.

4.      Looking at current trends – what would you like to try but need to build up the courage to do?

I want to get a nice (re: well made) "bandage" style dress. Then I'll let my curves loose and watch people drool!

5.      Toot someone’s horn – what fashion blogger out there inspires you with her bold fashion choices?

 I love Gracey, and Erin, and Reiko. All three of them rock my world in different ways.

Happy Happy Smile Smile

This is what my smiles look like in my head.

I always feel so awkard smiling in photos. ALWAYS. My dad managed to catch this picture of me not grimacing or smiling like a crazy person (my two photo smile options), so it's going right up as my icon. I got a few sets of sandals in that I had ordered and like I should have known, the two wedges are going back and the flat pair is staying. I just can't get it through my head that I can't walk comfortably at all in any sort of heels. My feet are not made that way. I put on makeup today after seeing a picture of a silent film star on Tumblr. When I do my makeup, I pay attention to my eyes and occasionally slap on some lip gloss. Full-service eyes require eye-liner, mascara, and eye-shadow (a shimmery pale gray today). I even got a close-up, since my eyes regularly appear dark in the full photos. As you can see, they're actually a kind of blue-gray. With little white lights in the center of the pupils. And dark shadows under my eyes (shown here at their best and lightest), that I've had since I was a kid. 

I want to be reinspired

This shirt is a little clingy, so some of my jiggly tummy shows, but I'm past the point of caring. The neckline is just too pretty, and I am too lazy/unwilling to wear shapewear for anything less dressy than a wedding or being on stage. I love the color and the draping too much to relegate it to winter clothes when my office is so cold and the only times I'm outside are to go to and from the car. I take my lunch, there are four flights of stairs to walk up and down if I wanted to exercise, and I'm so photosensitive anyway that I prefer the indoors. Plus, I have a bit of a bug phobia (since Jen and her friend endlessly tormented me with cicada shells when I was a wee munchkin. Or maybe it was one time, but I was crying up against a tree and I still remember the horror.)

Top - Avenue
Pants - Denim 24/7
Crocs - Lily

Dragons are everywhere

 

I've got several new books on my kindle (from Lendle), and I'm finishing up rereading The Hunger Games. Summer tv is starting. I'm settling in at work, and I'm starting to be actual friends with some girls at work, not just work friends. I make (for me) a very nice amount of money. Everything is going...really well. Also, I had a salad with sprouts today. I love sprouts!

Tunic - Fashion to Figure
Pants - Lands End
Crocs - Lily LJ plaid

Those 20 minutes were a scorcher

You can't tell so much by this photo, but I got a sunburn on my face and chest yesterday. We went up with my nana (and assorted family) to put flowers on her father's grave. I'm a pale person naturally, but all the medications I'm on have made me even more photosensitive. We were only out there for maybe 15-20 minutes, but I got fairly pink. Not only did I burn, but I also burned the shape of my necklace onto my chest! My dad enjoyed his Father's Day gift (first season of Justified). Of course, he's going to go MAD over his birthday present (July 14th), which is a pair of concert tickets for the two of us to see Gillian Welch. Shh, don't tell him.

Dress - Avenue

Is this figure impossible?

Jen is scurrying about in the back fixing dinner. Yes, she is that tan, and I am that white.

So. I got in packages yesterday from Avenue and Simply Be. I got some good stuff and some that's going back, including two pairs of pants. See, I have an issue with pants. Or rather, my waist has an issue with pants. I have an hourglass figure. Think about Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, etc. Any pre-1960's movie-star bombshell. Big chest, small waist, big hips. Now, to get a pair of pants that fit my hips AND my waist, you would think I was asking for pants made of gold! "But, Erin, you wear pants that fit all the time." I know. And when I buy them new, they are two kinds from two companies: Denim 24/7 ponte knit bootcut pants and Avenue elastic waist poly-blend dress pants (dude, that has to be the grossest description of nice pants). Neither have pockets (not that I especially need them), and they have elastic waists. Non-elastic waists never fit. Or rather, they are way too big, and I don't feel like belting up five inches of material at my waist. I had ordered (from Avenue and Simply Be) some linen pants with elastic waists to try. But since they were not part of my ONLY PANTS THAT WILL FIT list, the hips fit, but the waists were huge. And I know I'm not the only person built like this! My sister is tiny (size 8 or so), but built on the exact same lines as me. Lots of curvy women have this same figure, but apparently plus size companies are still making (almost) all their pants for the mythical square shaped woman. This is one curvy round peg who is pissed off at the square hole.

Cardigan Shrug - Avenue
Tank - Avenue
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - faux Crocs, thrifted

I'm a curmudgeon and you can't take that away from me

You can't tell, but I had on a lavender camisole under my white top. Just to mix it up a bit, ya know? I am overly glad that tomorrow is Friday. And yes, I know that everyone who's been working regular schedule full-time for their adult life is used to being tired on Friday. But it's new for me, okay? I finally don't have to work on Saturdays, and I have to get used to the fact that I'll always be tired on Saturdays now. In related me-being-behind-the-times news, I finished this season of House last night. Dude, what is with every show I watch ending the season on a horrible cliffhanger? Can't some of them have a happy surprise, like "wow, we all got raises and new cars!" or "turns out that we won and the bad guys lost FOREVER!"...eh, shows nowadays. Get off my lawn, you horrible kids.

Top - Faded Glory
Cami - Avenue
Pants - White Stag
Crocs - black Lily

itty-bitty friday kicked my butt

Today was long. And I'm not done yet. I'm home for dinner before going to church for choir, and since I won't be back until after 9, I figured I should post now so I can go right to bed when I get home. I'm working on a particularly long and uninteresting task at work, and I'll still be working on it tomorrow. I read a couple of short story anthologies (over the last few days) that were really pretty bad, when I was expecting them to be good. And so I'm back re-reading one from a favorite series, until I get some lendles in. So...bleah.

Shirt - Avenue
Pants - Avenue
Crocs - black Lily

Self-made jewelry

raspberry delight

On our deck, in the morning, with a super cute high ponytail.

It's confession time. My legs...are tiny little stumps, not the beautiful long legs I have in my dreams. My little mama, who is three inches shorter than me has legs the same length. I have a long torso (with short little arms), so I manage to top out at 5'4", but my legs are woefully short. That's why you can only see the tip of a shoe poking out in this picture. The skirt (which I love, and is the most color popping skirt I own) is even up around my natural waist, a good 2 inches above where I choose to wear pants. My one true issue with my body is that all my appendages (legs, arms, fingers) are so short and stubby, not long and lengthy. I could deal with being short-waisted so well if I had long fingers that let me mess around on the piano better (it's not fancy playing, it's just messing around). But alas, it's my cross to bear. Even though I can't reach both ends of the metaphorical cross at the same time.

Shirt - Avenue
Skirt - Jessica London
unseen shoes - Mossimo

A thrifted chunk of beauty

This necklace was a pressie from my little mama, who found it in a Goodwill! I decided to treat myself today when I went shopping for my dad's Father's Day present, and I got myself a new wallet (since the old one was fraying apart at the seams) and a semi-nice ($30 skullcandy) pair of headphones (my old ones were falling apart and only one side had sound.  Yep, I'm pretty fancy...

So does everyone with a Kindle know about Lendle? It's a site where you sign up, and you can lend your kindle e-books to people and borrow other people's. You get $0.50 for every lend and when you reach $10, they email you an Amazon gift card. The lending is done through Amazon (just like when you lend an e-book to a friend), and it's completely awesome! I've lent 6 and borrowed 12 so far.

Top - Jessica London
Pants - Lands End
Shoes - Dexter

Wordless Sunday (because I am lazy)

Dress - Cato Woman
Shoes - Madden Girl

Overflowing laundry

I do like this outfit, but I don't know that I would have chosen to wear it yesterday if I had been suffering from college syndrome. [College syndrome = all your favorite clothes being dirty and overflowing your laundry basket, mocking you every time you walk near it.] This was one of 2 pairs of pants I had clean in my closet, and I truly, truly, didn't feel like shaving so I could wear a skirt or dress. Plus, I had no idea whether they would have fixed the AC in the office and then overcompensated, making it into a freezer, or whether they would have not even got around to it. Luckily, it was fixed but not on super-max ice-cube level.  
For your edification (and extreme interest, I'm sure), here's a picture of my hair in the evening. This is what my hair looks like up in spin pins after a long day. A little frizzy to be sure, but it was around 90, and I couldn't work up the effort to use hairspray and other smoothing products. So this is what my hair looks like with only my constant friend, Softee Indian Hemp, because in a former life my hair was black.

2 piece outfit - Avenue
Shoes - Dexter
Necklace - JewelMint

I was smited!

Do you know what I get for whining about it being cold in my office? First, Wendy's has stopped making the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty. My whole lunchtime was ruined by this! Instead they have some stupid "Wild Berry" Frosty, like anyone would want that more than coffee toffee. Grr. Then! Then! The air conditioning unit at work goes out around 3. Not the one for the whole building, mind you, just the one for my floor. If I had my Frosty, I would have been fine...

But at least my necklace is awesome, even if my hair went all poofy and had to be subdued. The top of it fits almost like a choker, then the long chain dangles down to nuts and a bolt. It's begging me to thwack someone in the face with it...

Blazer - thrifted
Tank - Avenue
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - Mossimo
JewelMint Renegade Necklace

Start of the Starter Kit and spin pins

I bought those Goody spin pins that other Erin in Texas has used. My hair is still a little short for them, so I have a very messy bun, with bits escaping everywhere. But I still give them a pretty good thumbs up. It's getting hot here, although my office is still chilly. I've stored some cardigans there, and I even have an office-mate who wraps a blanket around herself! I won an Aveeno Positively Ageless Starter Kit from Bren and I started using it yesterday. (It also came with an baby eczema kit that went straight over to Jen's for my little 5 1/2 year old niece Ellie-belle who suffers from it, just like her daddy.) I have always liked Aveeno in the past since it's so useful for super-sensitive skin like mine. We'll see how this kit works and if it keeps my combination (mild acne and super dry and sensitive) skin happy and healthy looking. If so, I might switch on over to the big bottles! Does anyone else use this stuff (Aveeno Positively Ageless)?

Top - Avenue, thrifted
Sunglasses - Avenue
Pants - White Stag
Crocs - Black Lily

bright!

It's another all-Avenue day (excepting some Mossimo shoes and a cami from Wal-mart). And yes, in the real world, I would rather wear this with jeans. BUT, I have yet to find jeans that fit my hips without horribly gaping at the waist. But for corporate-land, they get the black pant treatment. My boss is pretty firm about her dislike of jeans and leggings in the workplace. And it's still too cold on our floor for me to wear skirts. But I'm trying to resolve my personal taste with these pretty/somewhat dressy tee shirts, and my cute flat collection.

Don't forget, I'm selling a purse in this post! The red one has been sold, but the black/blue/white one is still for sale.

Introductions the whole way round

My little mama was sad that I didn't wear a blazer yesterday. Yesterday was the all staff meeting day for the entire building, where my boss would introduce me (and my co-worker that started the same day) to everyone. But I've got my period, and all I wanted was to be comfy-cozy in a pretty outfit. So I wore the pink Special Tee, and a new blue cardigan (that's supposed to be 3/4 sleeves but comes down to just above my wrists). We even went low-key for dinner with pizza and cookies from the oven.

Top - Avenue
Cardigan - Avenue
Pants - Denim 24/7
Shoes - Mossimo

Weeping Angels vs The Silence tee!

Sadly, my hair isn't quite long enough to stay in a single french braid all day. I had strands coming loose, so I had to take it down half-way through the day. But this picture is a great illustration of how thick my hair is (and what a good job my little mama does braiding my troublesome hair).

This shirt of awesomeness says:

The Greatest Intimidation Fight

*The 1st Stare Down Contest*

"Blink"

You forget

"Blink"

You die

 Most Exciting

Weeping Angel

"Champion"

Not on Cable

VS.

The Silence

"Challenger"

Saturday 23rd Apr 

Direct From the Ringside At the Matrix of the Early Universe, Somewhere

The Fight May Last a Lifetime

***The Doctor Will Be Watching With You***

My dad loves this shirt, but the little mama greatly prefers my blue Who shirt. She says The Silence are too ugly to wear.  I saw my Nana today, had some delicious gas-station cappuccino, (my tastes are plebian. so what?), and we're planning on watching "The King's Speech" tonight.

Top - TeeFury
Pants - White Stag

Blue lips, blue veins, blue, the color of our planet from far, far away

 Yay for Friday! I got a new Doctor Who TeeFury shirt in the mail that I'll be debuting tomorrow. (Weeping Angels versus the Silence!) I am somewhat struck down by mucus this week, though. The pollen is high, and my nose and eyes are not happy at all. I sneezed most of Wednesday, Thursday, and today at work, so I'm extra glad it's a weekend. I can't take Dayquil or any cold medicines like that due to my epilepsy (they have a small chances of interacting with my medications), and I'm already taking an allergy pill.

BUT. Isn't this a pretty shirt? I have it in pink as well. I got some new stuff in the mail from Avenue that I'm pleased with. And because I'm a dork who loves puns, guess what these are called on the inside tag (seriously)? Special Tees. I may have snorted with laughter when I saw that.

Shirt - Avenue
Pants - White Stag
Black Lily Crocs
Jewelry - self-made

arms out wide

I had a gift certificate to eShakti when I ordered this top, and it was on sale. But it is large in the shoulders. Seriously, just because I'm plus size doesn't mean I'm built like a line-backer. I actually have narrow shoulders, so it's often a hassle to keep my bra straps from showing. This top dipped down low enough that I needed to use a cami tank as well. But the sleeves are so gorgeous that I can deal with all the flaws. You can't see it in the picture, but they have detailed white-on-white embroidery as well.

Top - eShakti
Tank - Avenue
Pants - Avenue
Shoes - Mossimo

Don't forget, I'm selling a purse in this post! The red one has been claimed, but the black/blue/white one is still for sale.

watercolor french braids

My mom calls these Queen Anne braids (which when I look up online is some super-fancy braided bun updo thing). I just refer to them as my "double" french braids. My hair is still short enough in the front to fall into my face and irritate me. And my boss now would not be cool with my little head wraps or turbans.

I got some more pretty watercolor-ish shirts similar to this today. They're my dressy t-shirts for work; just slap on a cardigan in the icy office and I'm set. Plus, they look great with flats like these, and my 5,000 pairs of black pants.

Top - Avenue
Pants - Lands End
Shoes - Mossimo

Don't forget, I'm selling a purse in this post! The red one has been claimed, but the black/blue/white one is still for sale.