New Book Blog!

I'm a former librarian, with a BA in English with a concentration in English with an Interdisciplinary Concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies and a Masters in Library Science. But I don't talk about books much here. Maybe because I started it as an OOTD blog. Anyway, I decided that I want to write about books more, so BOOM! New blog: time is always time. Go there to read author reviews, book reviews, and to find out what the blog title means.

Vestalicous

I wanted to buy a vest online this weekend, but resisted. Good thing, too, since I had totally forgotten about this one in my closet. (That tells you how much I wear vests.) I painted my nails last night a pretty sparkly purple, but they chipped overnight (which I fixed) and again this morning. I am completely incapable of keeping nail polish on my nails. Particularly the dark vivid colors I like. When I can reconcile myself to spending the money, and have some fancy reason for it, I might try the new gel manicures.

Gracey, are you proud of me? My necklace has several little orange beads in it! It was a lovely late Christmas present (from Mexico) from Mia.

Vest - I cut the tag out, so I don't have a clue!, Shirt - Lands End, Pants Denim 24/7, Necklace - pressie from Mia!, Shoes - Dexter, Hair - newly short.

Half Gone

Sooo...I got about half my hair cut off and slightly layered.  Despite my eyes being closed, I am not, in fact, dead.

It was a combined effort over two days by my little mama (the cutting) and my sister (the layering). I think it looks rather leonine, which is fitting since my star sign is a Leo! I got bored of my hair being so long. See, I'm essentially lazy, particularly with my hair. Looking back at my blog pics for the last month it had just been scraped back every day into a bun or a braid of some sort. And the braids were lovely, but my face really does look the best with my hair down. So I took the plunge and got it whacked off again!

Even if I start hating it, my hair grows very fast. Compare my hair last January to December!

January 2011

December 2011

Birchbox!

I've decided this cardigan is my equivalent of a puffer vest.

 So, Birchbox is fancy beauty samply company. You pay $10 a month and they send you 4-5 samples of fancy schmancy stuff. I read about it the Wall Street Journal while looking up other stuff, and I was intrigued.  (A better article is the NY Times one.) $10? I spend that much every month on beauty stuff, and definitely not fancy stuff. The company is woman run, and considering I just got my first box, I thought I would show it to you. When you sign up, you fill out a beauty profile so they know what kind of samples to send you.

The inside of my Birchbox!

Pretty, huh? I got a mini Larabar in Cherry Pie, that pretty nail polish (Zoya brand in Kristen, a bluish gray), a teeny-tiny lip gloss in the brightest pink ever (Jouer in Birchbox Pink, which is supposed to go on sheer for one coat, but I didn't try it yet), a Juicy Couture perfume sample (alright, but not exactly my taste) AND my favorite haul, the one I would have happily paid all $10 for VMV Re-Everything Eye Serum. A full size bottle of this serum is $80 for 30ml and I got 12ml along with everything else for $10?! Craziness and fantastic.

Every month has a theme and January's theme was new beginnings...not truly expressed so well in my box, but I do love it. Also, if you buy any item from any of stuff sent out January (not just what was sent to you in your box), you get free shipping. If you buy over $50, you get free shipping. Any other way, it's a whopping $5 flat fee.

So go on, if you like getting little fancy samples in your mail for the price of a nice lunch every month, sign up. Trust me, you're nice and you deserve a treat! Click on the link below to sign up (and give me some points)!

http://www.birchbox.com?raf=h5whx

3 apples high and poorly conformed

Look! Non-shiny today!

I am such a munchkin!  Much like Tia, I am only 3 apples high. Unlike Tia, who appears to have nice normal length legs and arms, I am...oddly conformed. After my dad called me a dwarf one too many times, I seriously tried to explain to him that I wasn't a dwarf, I just had short legs and short arms (and a large head, which is totally his fault), but my torso was totally a normal length. My dad looked at me and said "Darling, that IS a dwarf!" (Technically Achondroplasia dwarfism) And he was totally right. I'm a 5 foot 4 inch dwarf. Sort of. In a non-offensive way.

Simply Be has their Spring/Summer line up online, and I'm full of fierce clothing desire. It's all marked up, so really I should be hitting the sale area for winter bargains. But, you know, spring in England isn't really that warm, so there are plenty of cardigans and such in the line! Too tempting!

Cardigan - Simply Be (sold out), Shirt - Avenue (sold out), Cords - Simply Be, Shoes - Simply Be, Jewelry - present.

Monday is my least favorite of all days

Sunday is never, never long enough. All day I will be tired and horribly surprised that I have a whole week ahead of me. (Except not really because I get Lee-Jackson Day off. Yay, Civil War generals!?) Also, my face has gotten so dry that I have patches on my cheeks that I had to exfoliate with a sister-homemade Buffy bar (except replace shea butter with lard + ground rice. seriously.) And the patches are only just starting to go away after a few days, even with using Vitamin E oil on my face every day as well. I have very sensitive, very dry skin, and winter really does a number on it. I think I'll have to start taking Vitamin E capsules again. I'm still shiny, but I'm not wearing makeup until these patches go away.

Cardigan - thrifted, Short-sleeved sweater - Target, Pants - Lands End, Shoes - Earth Spirit, Jewelry - Handmade.

Sudden cold appearance

I don't always boogie, but when I do I look serious about it.

Bleah. I was struck down in the middle of the day by sickness. A great many bugs are making the rounds in my office. I think I have a bad cold/sinus issues. After the fever hit (and stayed), I decided to go home. Totally not fair when today gave me good pictures, but nothing good to talk about.

My little helper was pretty excited.

Sweater - JMS, Corduroys - Simply Be, Boots - Avenue.

Sweaters = T-Shirts

My brilliance makes me smile.

Gracey, I thought of the perfect reason for short sleeve sweaters for you! Warning: I am a dork. I was seriously so excited when I thought of it in the shower that I may have squeaked a little in joy. THEY ARE WINTER T-SHIRTS! I love layering, but even layering the average t-shirt under a cardigan can leave you chilly in the winter. BUT! If you layer a short sleeve sweater under a loose, button-less cardigan (my favorite kind)...you have instant warmth without super-puffy layers! I also have new indigo blue corduroys from Simply Be, which is equally exciting considering the fact that we took a nose-dive straight into coldness as soon as January started.

Sweater - Target, Cords - Simply Be, Boots - Viva La Diva.

Boldly Going Into the New Year

Some people cure shiny faces with powder. I appear to revel in them.

It's a little like an old Star Trek uniform, isn't it? One of Uhura's miniskirted ones, not TNG style. Don't worry, it is a tunic sweater, not a dress from Whores R Us. It was a lovely Christmas pressie from my parents, and my jewelry was from an aunt (a copper tree of life set!) This is at work, so you see the edge of my lovely cubicle (which is slowly being covered in randomness, like the star you see "for general awesomeness"). Normally, I would have chucked the belt that came with the sweater, but I decided to let Tia be my style icon, and belt up high under my bosom. I'm liking it! Also, if you are one of my male readers, that send me the occasional email about how happy you are to find a pretty plus size blogger? I very much appreciate you, and only worry that you will stalk and kill me a little bit!

Sweater - Lane Bryant, Pants - Denim 24/7 ponte pants, Boots - Viva La Diva.