I'm QUALITY, baby!

I love super loose flowy tank tops like this, although I always have that slight fear when I put them on that people will think I'm pregnant. But the comfort level helps me get past that. People, I have made a decision. I am worth non-crappy clothes. SO. I unsubscribed from the sale emails for OneStopPlus.com and Avenue.com. This doesn't mean I won't go into an Avenue and buy stuff now and then, but only after I try it on and decide it fits well and is worth the money. I am going to spend my hard earned dough at SimplyBe.com because their clothes have always fit me, and are made well (and maybe a little because they're British).

Has anyone else decided to stop buying stuff just because it's cheap and almost good enough (major issue for me) and decided to only buy the good stuff? (Mind you, my good stuff isn't super fancy, it's just regular people good stuff.)

Top - Simply Be (Glamourosa), Jacket - Gap, Pants - Lands End, Shoes - Dexter, Earrings - Fashion to Figure.

The joys of short sleeve sweaters

I don't like the early morning. It's not really this dark outside when I leave for work, but this is the way it photographs. If we don't use the flash, it's not as focused (Not that I'm blaming anyone, DAD). Unlike Gracey, I've never thought short sleeve sweaters were silly. But then again, my mom loves them and has a kajillion of them. So maybe you have to grow up with them to fully accept them. They keep your trunk warm, without making you overwarm. This one has the two-fold benefit of being a short sleeve (practically no-sleeve) sweater that's also a tunic sweater. I wanted to be put together because I'm going to a wake tonight. (And all merriment ceases as everyone is forced to face their own mortality.) It's not for a close friend, but for a woman in my church that I knew, so I do need to go.

Sweater - Simply Be, Pants - Lands End, Shoes - Dexter, Bracelet - JewelMint.

Sepia...

Top - Simply Be, Leggings - Walmart.

What do you do when the best pictures are the darkest ones? Take them up to sepia tone! Seriously, you got this or pictures of me with a shiny shiny face. And I don't feel the need to slap some powder on just to make you happy/look like a human being not covered in lard. I also feel the need to lay down a few truths on you, plus-size children.

TRUTH 1: Simply Be has the best quality plus-size clothes (sizes 10-28) of anywhere I've shopped.
TRUTH 2: They're consequently more expensive than One Stop Plus and Avenue.
TRUTH 3: I deserve some nice stuff, dammit, so I just need to buy less stuff and buy it from Simply Be.
(SAD) TRUTH 4: I still can't find a pair of jeans to fit, not even from Simply Be. I'm too cheap at the moment to order bespoke jeans online.

Does anyone else have some truths to lay down?

Poor Little Mama!

Before the incident

Yesterday morning, after we got to work, my little mama went to shut the (sliding) van door after getting out her bag...and shut the door on her hand. There was blood, there was horror, and there was a little mama saying she would be fine once we (I)  bandaged her up. Now, my mama is my mama. She's in her sixties AND OUGHT TO KNOW WHEN TO GO TO THE DOCTOR AND WHEN SHE IS FINE. So I bandaged her up (4 cuts on 2 fingers, one pretty deep), all the while asking if she was sure we didn't need to go to the doctor.  Guess where we went 7 hours later? To the doctor's office in our home town, where we waited. She had eventually realized she would need a tetanus shot, and that one cut might "need a stitch or two". Turns out, after all that time, stitches aren't really an option anymore. She got her shot, a round of antibiotic pills, and two fingers bandaged up like two puffy marshmallows. Moral of the story: Your parents want to go to the doctor about as much as children do. So you'll just have to make them, by invoking how stubborn and annoying it is when THEIR parents do the same thing.

Today

Bad news makes me frowny

Rain forced pictures inside this morning, and the Today Show was on in the background. Now, I don't know about you, but I have a hard time looking happy when I hear them talking about some perv who was arrested for having tons of kiddie porn.

This shirt is new and fantastic. It's Joe Browns, from Simply Be and even though it's simple, it's great. It's just a really well made shirt. The seams are perfection, the material is super soft and comfy, the 3/4 length sleeves aren't randomly at my wrist bones...and yes, it's now sold out and off the site. But, based on everything I've bought from Simply Be, Joe Browns and Angel Ribbons are QUALITY. And actually well sized, so don't leave yourself wiggle room, buy according to their sizing charts, not your "usual" size. (Except the jeans, I haven't found a pair of jeans to fit my body type, extreme hourglass, at Simply Be yet.)

Top - Joe Browns, Pants - Avenue, Shoes - old and thrifted.

Fore!

I look a little foreshortened in this picture. It was shot down a slope by a taller person...so I look a little munchkiny. In reality, my legs are so, so long...as long as the legs of a 10 year old child, at least. I love this top, but I need the straps taken up a bit. Remember, designers! Just because a woman is plus size, does not mean that she is tall. Or that she randomly has a great expanse of room between her shoulders and where her breasts start. It's a little over a hands-length for me between my shoulders and my bra. Not double that. I have it pinned today, but I really need to make my little mama sew it up for me. (Bad things happen when I try to sew.) This is a better look at the top.


Top and Cardigan- Simply Be, Pants - Denim 24/7, Shoes - Mossimo, Necklace - Self-made.

New shoes!

This is the face of boredom.

(It was raining outside, hence the odd little photo on the stairway landing.)  My brogues came in from Simply Be!  Looking at wikipedia, what I have are technically monk brogues. They are fantastic! They have plenty of room in the toebox (a miracle for my wide feet!) and are thoroughly adorable. I might have to put in a thin insole. We'll see at the end of the day.

I can wear cute little socks with these and keep my feet warm this fall and winter. (If you're curious, I wear a 8W. Of course, in some brands, I have to go up to a 8WW, but in these cute little Viva La Diva brogues, a 8W affords me plenty of room.) They are faux leather, with a heel of less than 1/2 inch, and made in China. And yes, the buckle is adjustable.

Top and Pants - Avenue, Shoes - Viva La Diva (from Simply Be), Necklace - handmade, Bracelet - JewelMint.

I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Weekend Bonanza!

Yep. I wore this cardigan on Friday and then again on Saturday. But I got so very cold on Friday, that I decided to wear it over it a nice warm turtleneck when I went up to see my Nana. It kept me much warmer this time, happily. I'm still unhappy with all the jeans I currently own, but I haven't taken all my measurements and bitten the bullet to buy the bespoke jeans yet (lots of alliteration there).

On Sunday, I hadn't really planned well, so I tore through a few outfits before settling on this one. I wore my black faux fur wrap/shawl out of the photo, which I have never had anyone say anything bad about. As a matter of fact, I get compliments every time I wear it, and questions about whether it's real.  Looking at my shoes, I realized that I have lots of sandals now and dainty dress shoes; but not that many shoes that cover my entire feet (like these clogs). I'm going to have to get on that. Particularly shoes that I can wear socks with.

Saturday : Turtleneck - stolen from my dad a long time ago, Cardigan - Avenue, Jeans - Avenue, Shoes - Crocs, Jewelry - self-made.


Sunday : Top and Pants- Avenue, Shoes - thrifted several years ago.

It got really cold

Doesn't it look like I'd be toasty warm in this? NOT IF IT GETS REALLY COLD OUTSIDE ALL OF A FREAKING SUDDEN. Tearful sob, and slight face-palm for not just keeping a jacket in the car. Seriously, it has not gotten warm at all today. Usually here in the mountains, it's a bit chilly in the morning, and then it warms up by afternoon. But not today! Ok. Let's look at my new pretty purse. BTW, I believe this is the only proper shade of brown for leather bags. It took me forever to find it in a store (TJ Maxx, of course, for $25) because apparently handbag designers prefer shades that I would categorize as "ugly" and "wrong".

My shoes are very cute little suede-like moccasins (that really need to be stretched, particularly the left foot), but I am full of joy that it hasn't rained today, allowing me to wear them. Also, I went to Books-A-Million during lunch for a sale, so that was fun, too.

Cardigan, Shirt, and Jeans - Avenue, Shoes - Payless, Purse - TJ Maxx.

Photos lie

I am not pretty in pink today, whatever this photo may say. This first photo gives you an idea of what I look like today. But my pretty new cardigan is red.

See? Red.

Except it doesn't quite match the color of the catalog picture either. It's actually a heathered red. It's very pretty and I do like it. I just can't seem to get an accurate photo of it. It's very light material, t-shirt material, which makes it a great layering piece. Plus, it's so utterly girly that it's just fun to wear.

After my complete jean disasters over the last year, I have found an online company that does custom-made jeans (http://www.makeyourownjeans.com) which I am thinking of using. Ponder it, children...bespoke jeans for around $50!  They make red jeans, too, Gracey! I could be super happy like you! Theoretically, they would fit both my waist and my hips. Has anyone used them/heard anything about them?

Confuzzled

quoi?

Apparently this morning I was a mixture of confused and puzzled. This = confuzzled. But! My hair is getting long again. I have wacky Helena Bonham Carter hair today (all haphazardly piled up on my head, even though that requires either 5 million bobby pins or a claw clip...guess which one I went for?) and my new Simply Be waterfall khaki cardigan! My black one is so super comfy that I knew I had to get another, and luckily, I both like the khaki color and it's trendy for the fall. Speaking of which; it's actually turning into Fall here in the mountains!!! I'm a wee bit excited.

hair. i have it.

Top - Avenue, Pants - White Stag, Cardigan - Glamorsa, Shoes - Dexter, Jewelry - Self-made.

EBEW: Colored Shorts (Sorry, no pants)

bitch face.

 Look, it's Miss Cranky Face! I...dunno. I looked my (medium) hardest to find red pants, but I couldn't find any that fit both my hips and my waist. And silly me, I like my pants to fit me everywhere. Without a huge amount of tailoring. I totally agree with Sal's post yesterday about loving your body, and realizing that it's the clothes that are the issue. I've lived that way for years! Also, I tend to assume that people who argue with me are always wrong. See any connection? BUT. That doesn't mean that I can't viciously hate clothing companies for not being able to make a pair of pants that will #$#$@#$ fit me. Also, any color I got on my vacation has immediately disappeared and I am once again the color of copy paper. This is not my best EBEW submission, but it's as good as it was going to get today. I have a closet full of fall clothes, and no fall yet.

happy face.

Tank - Jessica London, Shorts - Avenue, Shoes - Dexter, Necklace - JewelMint.

Being an adult is not cool

Not being on vacation is not fun. I got to work and suddenly had to go on a field trip. Or the adult equivalent thereof. True, this was a surprise because I forgot about it, but still. I was consoled by my cute hitched-up skirt. This outfit was picked out by my sister as a birthday present this year.

Down in Florida, I went to an Avenue store and got this cute little necklace that I had been admiring online on sale. (I also got the bright pants I'm going to wear tomorrow for EBEW.) I got several cute things in Florida, but I'm most proud of the fact that I DIDN'T get a sunburn!

Shirt and Skirt - TJ Maxx, Necklace - Avenue, Shoes - Dexter.

I'm at the beach and you're not.

(Unless you are.)  Are you an adorable, tiny, inexplicably cranky-faced munchkin who's being buried in the sand? No? Good. My blog is much too adult for my niece to be reading anyway.  I'm in Destin, Florida with my family, and it is GORGEOUS. It was rainy the first few days, but now it's perfect.

Booty shot (for Tia, whose booty is fantastic, unlike mine)

I'm even going to give you a bonus shot of my nephew, who has decided that he's going to grow his hair out. This means that his hair has hit Beatles levels and will soon take over the entire house. (Seriously, look how big this kid's head is. He's 7! He got stuck though, both my sister and my brother-in-law have big heads.)

You can see the surf behind him. They have this complex system of colored flags for when you can go in the water (red = NO, and then there's purple and blue and yellow and green). Today was a "moderate" surf day, with warnings of marine life. In the ocean! But comparatively, the surf was like a super mild day out on the Outer Banks, which is where we've spent a lot of summers.
 

FBFF - Falling for Fall

September 2 - Fall trends. Name your five favorite fall trends and how you plan to wear them this season. Sadly, this post has turned into "how Erin spent her hard earned money". So these trends better live up to their hype! Cause I'm wearing them anyway, kiddos.

• Cardigans

Oh my lord, how DON'T I plan to wear cardigans? I am a layering fool, and cardigans are my crack. I have a black cardigan from Simply Be that I've been wearing all summer in my frigid air conditioned office, so I went on and bought a khaki one for the fall.

• Cloaks (and other drama filled outer wear)

 I already have a few cloaks and pashminas (even a faux fur one!), but I got a full hooded black one from SendTheTrend.com.

• Girly Girl

Like my girl, Jessie, I do like the occasional bow, so I'm going to wear some frou frou items this winter that will also keep me warm.

• Androgny

BUT. I also like to be hardcore! (Stop laughing, Jen.) I've been on the lookout for a pair of oxfords that would fit and not make my wide feet look fat. And looking at the Simply Be website, I realized that what I actually wanted were brogues! These are on the way, and I will be devastated if they don't fit. For at least an hour.

 

• RED! 

You know I love it. And it's totally a fall color. Even Harper's Bazaar says it's a fall "in" color. Plus, I bought this red cardigan that's totally girly. So that hits 3 trends at once!

Naked Face

NAKED FACE!

I feel more put together when I wear makeup. And less shiny. But I'm lazy. I wear makeup to emphasize my eyes, which are obscured a bit by my glasses (which you almost never see on here, because I haven't gotten around to buying a new pair that have the anti-glare coating, so my current glasses shine like the sun). Also, my eyes are in reality more of a blue gray, rather than the slate gray they appear.

The magic photo-illusion pants! Regular striped pants that look like complete craziness in all photos. And my new Dexter flats! With big girly bows on them, and super comfy insides. By the way, I'm going to Destin, Florida tomorrow, SO YOU'LL GET VACATION PICS OUT THE BUTT NEXT WEEK. Cause we have wifi in the condo, and I have the cutest niece and nephew. 

Top - Fashion Bug, Pants - Denim 24/7, Shoes - Dexter, Earrings - Fashion to Figure.

Flowers in my hair

Yay! My hair is finally long enough again to use my flower hair ties! It's girly-girl time!

  I promise, these pants are a dark heathered grey, not faded black like they look. But my necklace is even more awesome than it looks.

 I love this industrial style bolt necklace from JewelMint.com. CERTAIN adults in the family do not, but it is such a pleasing length. I can play with it all day long!

Have I mentioned how much I love Dexter boat shoes? I just bought another pair of their dress shoes at Payless (along with some American Eagle moccasins), but their boat shoes make me happy.

Top - JMS, Pants - Denim 24/7, Shoes - Dexter, Necklace - JewelMint.