Why am I crazy?

 

I have successfully accomplished necklace layering! (As long as I use precise necklaces from my stash, and check several times in the mirror.) I really love the way layered necklaces look, but I have nervousness about whether or not I am managing to get it "right". By which I mean, I'm managing to look awesome, not like a drunken sailor wearing ALL the necklaces in the world. I also decided that I would make my May insane and/or set myself up for failure. I signed up for storyaday.org, which is obviously a website where your goal is to write (in May) a story a day. This isn't as random as it sounds; I actually write in my spare time, just not enough. This could be great, and I could finally write ends for all the half-finished stories I have cluttering up my netbook...OR IT COULD GO NOWHERE AND I WILL BE A SAD SAD PANDA. If you have any interest in cheering me on/slapping me until I write, my blog there is http://storyaday.org/oubliette/.

Cardigan and top - Simply Be, Pants - Denim 24/7, Shoes - Target, Socks - Sock Dreams.

FBFF Outfit Planning

1. How do you go about picking your outfit for the day?
 I am actually that annoying person who picks out their outfit the night before. There are the occasions that I completely change what I had decided on, but in general, I see what the weather will be like, figure out whether I want to shave, and what sort of mood I'm in. (These are all very important factors!)
 
2. Do you try stuff on and then take pics to see how it looks, like Cher in Clueless?
 Uh, no. I often learn what outfits look great in person but horrible in photos, thanks to this blog!
 
3. And are you consistent in your planning or lack thereof, or is your planning limited to special events?
Unless there's a big crisis, I am. Then all bets are off, and I'm probably out in my jammies. I'm also obsessive about packing for trips. I make long lists of what all I should take, down to how many pairs of panties and how many bras.

4. Do you have a way of keeping track of which outfits you wore when?
 Other than my blog? Nope.

5. How do you come up with new clothing combinations?
With my brain? Seriously, it's just what I think the night before for everyday, and a planned list for vacations. So I'm only partially annoying, not completely organized down to a T annoying!

FBFF is at ModlyChic - go see everyone else's answers!

Because I can

I don't know if it's impending Spring or my growing pile of colorful jeans, but I'm really into color blocking lately. AKA dressing in big chunks of color, and yes, for me, black is an important color. See, when you're super pale like me, every color but white (and cream) is bright! I've noticed that once you slip a pair of bright jeans into your wardrobe, you just can't go back to an all-black-pants diet.

My Nana had another small stroke, so I'm self-consoling here at work by listening to Holy Musical, B@tman. It just might be my favorite Starkids musical yet, even more than Starship. Superheros acting like assholes...in song? Sign me up for a bunch of that. This song is NSFW, unless you're wearing headphones, and gets dark really quick. But it's utterly funny, just like the whole musical.

Pinterest is slowly consuming my life

Top - Target, Shirt - Lands End, Pants - Denim 24/7, Socks - Sock Dreams, Shoes - Target, Necklace - Send the Trend

So, I am mildly addicted to Pinterest. Kidding! I am completely addicted to it! It's my crack, along with Spotify. By the end of the day, I'll have hit 3,500 pins and probably 6,000 likes. NO, THAT DOESN'T SEEM EXCESSIVE TO ME AT ALL. I learn so many things on there!

http://www.tastefullyoffensive.com

 

tumblr.com

Also, I'm debating whether my style icon should be Jane Russell, Helen Mirren, or Helena Bonham Carter (full on crazy style). Things to learn, things to decide, BBC shows to obsess over....it has everything! Plus, almost everyone you know and follow on blogger is there already. Blogger is the gateway drug...but I don't care. Cammila posted about Pinterest today, too. It is the ouroboros. Now here's a pretty picture.

Jane Russell, tumblr.com

Stupid weather.

Yay. Winter made a reappearance. I dug my faux fur back out of the closet, which leads to covetous petting (you don't really get scolded for wearing "fur" in the mountains) and found my mittens. I'm just joyful because I remembered my headphones today. Has anyone heard Venus Hum? I just got introduced to them - very lovely spare electronica. I have a particular fondness for sweater tunics; Simply Be does some very nice ones, like this and this. I also really like the slim cut of the color jeans. It doesn't look like anything special at all, but it fits so smoothly down your legs and ankles without binding, even once you keep washing it (the true test!). These green jeans are brand new, only washed once to get rid of excess color, but I'm loving every color that comes just as much as the last. I've ordered 5 colors and have received three so far (the regular green and wine are back-ordered). I didn't bother with the camel color, because really? Who wants camel as a special color? It's not even a pretty camel.

Sweater and Jeans - Simply Be, Shoes - American Eagle, Necklace - pressie several years ago.

Old closeup of my shoes.

Day After

Top - Avenue, Pants - Simply Be, Socks - Sock Dreams, Shoes - Dexter, Cardigan - Target?

 I finally convinced my sister to watch a bit of Team Starkid last night ("To Be a Man" from Holy Musical B@tman!) and I had a seizure. I'm never going to get her to watch it all now. Apparently this one was big and freaky enough for my family to actually call 911 (although they ended up calling back and canceling before the ambulance got there...ah the joys of country life).* Evidently, if your daughter stops breathing twice during her seizure, instead of just her lips turning blue, it's too creepifying. For me, it was precisely the same as always: black out, wake up to comforting family letting me know that I had a seizure. I get no real clues, it's just BAM. There's a reason I can't take a bath alone in the house (and not just because I had a seizure in the bathtub once). So, woo-hoo. This weekend is definitely going to be a restful one.

*My family knows what to do when I have a seizure, so they don't call 911 because there isn't really any reason. I have pills to take, and it's quicker to recuperate at home instead of the hospital. But I generally don't stop breathing. When people stop breathing during a seizure, or vomit during one; then you have to call 911. Also, never put anything in a seizing person's mouth.

Big hurrr

I was sick yesterday, so today is definitely a cozy sweater day. My hair is getting rambunctious, isn't it? If you're one of those people who are always trying to get more volume in your hair, don't be jealous of those of use with tons. It's not all it's cracked up to be. It looks nice here, but there's a distinct possibility of me having big crazy-lady hair by the end of the day. And not in an awesomely afro kind of way. In a big-country-girl-with-a-shit-ton-of-hair-spray kind of way. Or alternately, one of those Vogue models with the crazy hair that you look at in the magazine and you wonder what the hell the stylist was going for and why the model is posing with 2 deer and a pretend Sasquatch while wearing a $2,000 mini-dress. I can tell it's going to be a free-flow kind of day. Want to share your own hair issues?

Spikes, not Carrots

Sweater - Target, Pants - Denim 24/7, Boots- Viva La Diva, Jewelry - Send the Trend.

When I bought this necklace/earring set, I thought they were awesome coppery spikes. Apparently, to most people, they look like carrots. Go figure. I love it, because it doesn't actually fasten like a necklace, it's really just a long strand, so I have to knot it like a bolo tie or something. It lets me control just where I want it to fall.

My new favorite artist obsession has to be Birdy. I found her off the Hunger Games soundtrack. She's a 15 year old Brit with an amazing voice. Very gorgeous voice in a "Virgin Suicides" teen body, her new self-titled album of stripped back covers is utterly beautiful.

Joss Whedon is my master

I saw Cabin in the Woods this weekend, the new Joss Whedon film...it's fantastic. Go see it, you'll be glad you did. (I actually went on a very lovely date, which made it even better.) As usual, Joss uses several of his favorite actors; Fran Kranz from Dollhouse is one of the main cast, as is Amy Acker. Tom Lenk (aka Andrew off of Buffy) pops up in a bit part, which was great! It's best to go into it not knowing anything. I'm taking a stand and saying that Fran Kranz is my favorite new actor. I loved him in Dollhouse, and he was great in this. I'm definitely going to have to watch all his other stuff I can find. Has anyone else seen Cabin in the Woods yet?

Completely awesome poster.

Top - Avenue, Pants - Simply Be, Socks - Sock Dreams, Shoes - Dexter.

Tiny color-blocker

Who rocks the colors? Ellie-belle, that's who.

 So my niece totally kicks my butt in fearless color blocking. True, I wouldn't mix red, pink, green, and blue, even in my mind, but there's also no way that I could look that cute. Also, her little trick of pulling the top of her cardigan through the top buttonhole? Super-cute. Ellie loves to layer, in part because she tends to think that if she can't decide between a skirt and jeans, she'll just wear them both. Everything she's wearing was thrifted. Kid's clothes are the easiest stuff to find at thrift stores. Even the little combat boots were thrifted!

My new color jeans have started to come from Simply Be (today - 4/13/12 - use the code 3602 until midnight to get 40% off any size purchase). I need to break them in some, but I love this color. So springy and non-regular-jeans! I also got my April Birchbox yesterday and here are my quick thoughts on what I've used so far:

• the MicrodermaMitt, made of silk, was nicely exfoliating without turning me into a sad little red-spotted ouchie like most scrubs do
• the Yu-Be cream, from Japan, is okay but has a really STRONG camphor smell for a minute
• Taylor Swift's perfume smells nice, but I prefer last month's sample by far (Ageless)
• the Marula oil - okay, but definitely not going to buy it at that price when the One Love Skin Savior Balm is so much better and cheaper.

Tiny skulls and Adorable family

Portrait of the artist on a grey bender.

 My grandmother is in the hospital again, after another stroke. The weather is crazy; suddenly sweater weather again instead of being all nice and warm. I have a giant zit right in between my eyes due to stress. But my niece was so cute this morning in her little combat boots, and so eager to be in my "fashion pictures". I even roped my sister in as well. I got Jen to pose with us before she put on her usual high heels, so for once I'm the taller sister! I'm a half inch taller in real life, but Jen usually wears 2-3 inch heels. I'm trying to concentrate on the good things in life, like the fact that tomorrow is Friday.

Jen, Ellie, and me.

Skirt and Shoes - Simply Be, Sweater - Avenue, Skull Pendant - Send the Trend, Bracelet - one of my Mom's.

Shoes of delight

surprise! photo!

These shoes seem to ridiculously delight people, just because they have a bow on the toes. Do you have any piece of clothing that cause paroxysms of joy in other people? I personally have a deep love of these bright jeans. I went on and ordered several more pairs in different colors a few weeks ago, although half of them were back-ordered of course. I've never thought of myself as a bright pants person, but every time I put these on I feel happy, so I knew I had to order more, especially since they (a) fit and (b) were only $48 (although I had a clearance code that made them even cheaper). Plus, bright pants are a trend that I actually find cool! Most of the time, I look at the trends and just scrunch up my face in disgust. There is no way I'm wearing loads of orange or teal or (heaven forbid) white pants. [White pants look great, but I'm pretty sure every stain in the world would immediately jump on me if I wore them. I get nervous enough wearing a printed dress that's got a white background.]

Cardigan and Pants - Simply Be, Tank Top - thrifted, Shoes - Dexter, Necklace - JewelMint.

Graaaaaay

Embrace messy hair. It takes less time.

 Today ended up a shades of gray day. I almost threw on a bright necklace, but decided to go with the monochromatic scheme. Gray is one of my favorite colors, from silver to dark-almost-black-gray. I just finished being the answerer of all questions regarding our campus library (since I worked there until I got my current job a year ago). So, I am the AAQ of all questions about ILL! Sigh. That was so dorky, and yet so amusing to me. I'm also dealing with crappy headphones, since I forgot to bring my good ones back to the office. I literally can not work without music. I just end up grumpy and headachy, while also listening in on people's conversations involuntarily.

Sweater - Avenue, Pants - Denim 24/7, Socks - Sock Dreams,  Shoes - Target, Necklace - Self-made.

Easter - in which I talk about my faith

      Easter can be be either a hard time for Christians or a joyous time. Hardline Christians - Jesus had to die for your sins, you horrible waste of a person. Easy-going Christians - understandably, can have a bit of a harder time with the blood parts of Easter than with the happy birth of Christmas. I'm a very, very, very liberal Christian. Do you believe in a higher power? And do you try to follow their teachings? Then I believe you are going to heaven, no matter what you call that higher power (Buddha, Allah, Yaweh, Science).
      I had a old friend from college commit suicide this past week. I don't know why, or even how. We hadn't been in touch, other than the occasionally Facebook hello, for years. But I cried for probably 15 minutes straight when I heard about it. And it wasn't because I thought his suicide was going to doom him to hell, or even purgatory (not a Baptist concept). I cried because it made me sad that he wasn't on this Earth anymore. I'm sure he's in heaven, because he was one of the nicest, sweetest, most caring boys I ever knew. And I'm sad that he reached a point that he didn't see any other alternative than suicide. I've cried several times this week.
       I had been putting off reading anything specifically religious this week, but I went on and bought this translation of Julian of Norwich's The Revelation of Divine Love (my review of the book in general). She wrote back in the 14th century, but I find her work to be the truest expression of my view of God the mother/father that I can find. And reading it soothes me. Because Julian believed in a God of love, who loved us all like a mother/father, and who lets us make mistakes so that we can learn from them. And that's what I believe too.

Me with my niece

"But all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." - Julian of Norwich

It's a Johnny Cash week

Sweater - Lane Bryant, Pants - Denim 24/7, Shoes - Target, Necklaces - self-strung.

There are boobs all over this picture. Seriously, I look at this and all I can see are boobs. Definitely wearing a camisole next time. The sexy Uhura sweater doesn't need to be this sexy. I added on my OKCupid profile that I'm epileptic. Let's see how quickly my messages slow down to a crawl. Plus, my parents are becoming convinced that my tiredness is due to overmedication. This might be a possibility. Yay, let's all talk about my incurable disease! [Kermit flail of not-happiness]

Definitely a week for my boy, Johnny Cash, and the American Recordings. A personal 56 song Spotify playlist is the way to go.

Crazy old lady

Tuesday

I have another jacket just like this one, only in purple. They let me embrace my inner crazy old lady style: all floofy jackets that are vaguely boho/Stevie Nicks. I like to cuddle up in jackets like this, particularly when I'm tired, to give compensate for the personality that I'm lacking on a weary day. I personally am looking forward to my cane waving days of shouting "get off my lawn", mainly because it will make my actual personality more palatable. After my car wreck a few years ago, I actually did have a cane to wave for a few months, and I found it surprisingly fun. (The waving part, not the having to use it part. That part sucked.)

Jacket - Target (on sale), Shirt - Walmart, Pants - Denim 24/7, Shoes - Target.

And why not add some Johnny to make any day good? This is the Johnny Cash Project's video for Ain't No Grave.