Pose-ition

I think I'm going a little weird in the midst of this limbo-ish season in my life. With no job, living in a new town, I don't get a lot of personal interaction, except with Joe. Pretty soon I might start talking to my camera. Instead, today I just tried out some new poses. This one's pretty normal:

This looks like I've just spotted the bat signal:

Again, pretty normal:

My Urban Outfitters model pose/face.

Fun with Christmas decorations:

Yeah, I think I'm losing it. 

Car Ride Theory

Nordstrom BP cardigan, Gap Outlet top, Buffalo Exchange jeans, Report boots

In case you're wondering, that's a snowman stocking hanging from the lamp, not a plastic bag

When going on a two hour (each way) car ride stuffed into the back middle non-seat, then walking around Seattle, there are two essentials that come into play when deciding what to wear. One: comfy. Two: CUTE. Cute is more important, so I made it capital letters. 

It also means jeans are the smartest option, so in order to up the distinct factor of my outfit, I grabbed my big furry boots. I wanted a bold color to keep me out of the black and gray winter palette rut, so bright pink cardigan. Add a semi-metallic Gap Outlet shirt I haven't worn in years, and the end result is everything I wanted, and more. Cause I really liked the shirt, and while it hasn't gotten much use, I think this will be the year I finally realize it goes with everything.

Oh, and here I look kind of like I'm wearing the Santa hat on my bookshelf. It was accidental.

Yes my bookcase leans. I'll fix it someday.

From the scrap pile

Today I went with decidedly un-geeky. I love this skirt, because I can throw a t-shirt and cardigan with it and be comfy, or go with a nicer top and heels for a fancy day. Not that I ever have anything fancy to go to, I just like to be fancy sometimes. The truth is, today I went to church, hung out with Joe and a friend and watched TLC's Hoarders rip-off, went home, watched some stuff on my computer, fell asleep on the couch with Joe, watched The Amazing Race, and took pictures. Not so fancy. You know, that's a cool word. Fancy. Fancy fancy fancy. Ok I'm done now.

I had this weird inspiration epiphany yesterday, and decided my new life's purpose is to make woven necklaces out of cut-up fabric. This braided piece is sort of an experimental prototype. I cut a vintage scarf into three pieces and braided them. The hard part was fashioning a type of closure, but I managed. Not polished enough to sell, but I think it's a good first try. I'm getting a small starter sewing machine for Christmas, so that should make everything a lot easier. For now, any sewing  have to do will be by hand. So, in other words, crooked and makeshift. 

Danannananananana

Lately, I'm reverting to the geek look more and more. But the style pendulum has been known to swing wildly from day to day, so don't expect it to be an every day thing. I'm glad I'm starting to figure out how to bring these Doc Martens back into my wardrobe again, they are so shiny and waxed and scratched and worn. My life has taken on the strange insecurity and semi-aimlessness of high school again lately, so it just feels right. The glasses come with that, too, though I still find myself hesitant to wear them. Not because I don't like them, but because I've discovered that it's infinitely harder to get a good picture when I'm wearing them. I have really deep set eyes, giving me a haggard air of tiredness in even the best of circumstances. When compounding that with the low light of my apartment and adding another layer on top with the glasses, there's always something off in every picture. Oh well, I'm not so vain as to obsess about it. Just adds a wrinkle to my photo sessions.

If you look closely, you can see Joe is making another appearance in the blog. He is all bundled up in protest of my minimal heat-turning-on policy, since I have to pay for electric at my place. He doesn't where he lives, so sometime we hole up there when it's especially cold out. 

I have to point out how skinny my legs look here. When I wear skirts and tights, I often get comments on my flickr from guys (luckily, very few are actually creepy, most are pretty innocuous) saying thing to the effect of "you got nice legs" and "you should wear skirts all the time," and blah blah blah. I think it's because I take pictures from a lower angle a lot, and it create some sort of long, shapely-legged illusion. Well, sorry to burst your bubble flickr creepers, but this is what I really look like. I have chicken legs, and I'm proud of it.

Home again, again

Well dudes, I hate to break it to you, but the Thanksgiving outfit is lost to posterity. I didn't get any pictures. In the midst of all the morning confusion over whether I would be able to make it to my familys' houses in the new-fallen snow (turned out okay, the freeway was clear) and the evening antics among friends I don't get to see too often anymore, I had no energy or desire to break out the camera when Joe and I finally got home. Rest assured, though, it was cute.

On the plus side, I made a bit of extra effort today even though I just hung around the apartment. I did not go shopping, no way. This skirt was a no-brainer because it never wrinkles, necessary for a day lounging around, getting stuff done at home. The weather has finally risen to more normal November temps, so I didn't have to spend the whole time tucked under my flannel sheets and down comforter. Though I did spend several hours doing just that, making my way through the monstrously long but absorbing book The Passage, which is due back to the library next week. I am past the halfway mark, but I still have about four hundred pages left.

I was able to remove the insulating blankets/pillows/scarves/sweatshirts/pants I had stuffed under windows last week to help keep in some of the heat. Here's what it looked like:

I've prepared for the next cold snap, whenever it may come, by putting my heated mattress pad on my bed. I cranked it up to four last night for about an hour and then turned it off. Sooo toasty and lovely. Anyone who is considering an electric blanket, let me help you out and recommend a heated mattress pad instead. The warmth coming up from underneath is so much nicer and cozier. I feel like I get warmer a lot faster than with an electric blanket, and I only have to turn it on for a bit and then I'm good for the rest of the night.

I ventured out to the grocery store for a few things and made my mom's awesome potato soup recipe for dinner. There's nothing I love more in cold weather, and I can always eat some even if nothing else sounds good. My dirty laundry pile is about halfway diminished, and my sheets will be fresh and clean tonight. The few Christmas decorations I have are up, except for my ornaments. Joe and I want to get a mini tree for my apartment, so I hope I can make good use of them soon. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Christmas is now less than a month away, so I guess I better get working on my shopping.

Eh...maybe later. I'm watching Seinfeld.

Black Out

Conundrum: not wanting to wear jeans, but it's freezing out. Solution: leggings and socks and shorts and snow boots. Outcome: still cold when outside. It's supposed to get about fifteen or twenty degrees warmer by the morning, so my Thanksgiving outfit should be much simpler than this one. On the plus side, I had an excuse to bust out these ridiculous snow boots I got a few years ago. There are some things you can only get away with in the winter. Yay!

Also, my scarf has pockets. Your argument is invalid.

Not Today

Well, it's freaking cold here and I'm wearing a very unspectacular outfit of jeans and an old college sweatshirt. So for your amusement, here's some random stuff I found on my computer. First, a dorky picture of me from almost five years ago:

And a couple lolcats from when I first discovered I Can Haz Cheezburger a couple of years ago:

Aaaaand did anyone else have a crapload of little icons on their myspace page back in the day? I did, actually I still do since my myspace page still exists, I just never check it or use it. Here's a few of my favorites:

I hope you have enjoyed this little foray into my past. I think it only reinforces my reputation, because am nothing if not dignified. Did I say dignified? I meant easily amused.

Like a hedgehog doin' karate

Fendi glasses, hand-me-down J Crew scarf, hand-me-down sweater, Target tunic, thrifted jeans, old Doc Martens

The pose, the scarf, the Doc Martens from high school--I felt so very Hipster Musings when I saw this picture. I've been eying these shoes in my closet lately, but every time I try them on they look so clunky. Something about this nerd-preppy outfit made them look oh so right.

It's been so crazily cold the past few days, apparently it was -17 degrees at one point this morning. That does not happen around here. Ever. So I've been holed up in my bed with my laptop, with every unnecessary light turned off to  help defray the cost of the heater that's been pumping all day, despite the fact that I keep turning it down and is set at about 60 now. 

I was going to go to Seattle with my mom and grandma to see the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum tomorrow, but icy streets and high winds mean we're postponing until we get a better weather day. So, bummer. But at least I've got power and Costco manicotti and a giant book to read. Which I have yet to crack today, and it's after ten. Oh internet, you are a black hole. On the bright side, I've watched two episodes of Fringe, last week's Saturday Night Live, and a season two episode of Parks and Recreation. I am about to sell my very first item from my etsy store, and I've moved up from New User to Style Council on Chictopia. And this is my second blog post today. 

Here's what I'm going to do now. Except in bed. 

I've just started playing with the effects in Picnik, and it turns out my favorite so far is "60s." Don't I look so vintage reading my book? Also, used it and some others to finally make a header. Love it! For now.

Going home again

Sometimes, on the weekend, I spend the night at my parents' house in my hometown, about 45 minutes away from where I live now. Joe and I go back every weekend to go to church and hang out with friends, and so when we need to stay overnight I sleep in my old bedroom. We moved into this house when I was two, and I lived there into my early twenties (and off and on when between roommates since then), so it's very familiar and yet strange, since it's so empty now, but still has remnants of the way it used to look. The carpet is the same old weird striped berber I never liked, though my mom insisted it was nice and never let me change it. The walls are the sage green I picked out in high school. An old cork board hangs on the wall. But now I sleep on a cot, next to a drying rack, a part of a computer desk, and my mom's hope chest. 

My outfit was put together for going to see a band a few of my friends started play a show at a local venue. I've been wanting more plain-colored miniskirts, and I have also been loving the idea of fuller miniskirts, so I improvised. I'm wearing a blue knee-length halter sundress that has been hiked up, the halter top folded over and tied around my waist. I love the bright blue for this time of year, and it was so flowy and light. I couldn't stop fussing with it, sort of the way as a little girl I would twirl around in my poufy dresses. 

Here's a shot where I set the camera too close to a full-length mirror and half the flash got blocked. It's weird how the shadow goes down the exact middle of my body.

And, just in case you were curious, this was my sleeping situation for the night. My grandma made me the purple blanket when I was little, and my friend is a stuffed dog named Pudgy. In the morning, when my brother was playing music that was keeping me awake, I lay on my side and stuck Pudgy on my head to cover the exposed ear. It worked pretty well to muffle the sound.

Isn't bed just a fancy word for giving up?

American Eagle white tee, Goodwill cardigan, Charlotte Russe top, Value Village jeans, vintage boots

My friend Nick (check out his music blog #1 Hits From Another Planet) and I went to see Harry Potter on Friday evening, so I knew I had to dress in layers. We planned to get to the theater about an hour ahead of time, and this particular theater doesn't have room inside to wait. So we were going to be standing out in the cold for a good long time. I thought my outfit turned out a little piratey-looking, which caused me a bit of psychic dissonance when going to see a wizard-themed film, but I had my coat on most of the time so it was okay.

While I loved the movie, the one major shortcoming I felt while watching was that the sense of great dread and danger that so pervades the book version of The Deathly Hallows seemed much less potent. And, as anyone else who has seen it will probably remember, I saw a lot more than I expected of Emma Watson (side-boob? Seriously) and Daniel Radcliffe. I don't think the hallucinated naked make-out was appropriate. Aside from that, though, the movie was well-paced and gripping. I never once felt the urge to check the time or wonder when it would be over--in fact, I could have kept on watching long after it ended. 

But, of course, it did end. And as the audience was pouring out of the theater, we began to hear exclamations that it had snowed. Sure enough, when we got outside there was a good three to four inches on the ground, and still coming down hard. It was sort of magical and appropriate that the first snow of the winter came during Harry Potter. We were excited and a bit giddy, but also freezing as we sprinted back to my apartment, which was only about a block away. We were covered in snow by the time we got there, and Nick left quickly in case the weather might keep getting worse. I called Joe, who was in bed and had no idea it was snowing out. I went straight over to his place and we went out to take a walk.

Joe ended up teaming up with some other random passers-by to help push two cars and a bus that had gotten stuck. We snapped some photos, which was tricky in the dark. It was fun running around in the snow while it was still fresh and powdery. By the Saturday the sidewalks had all turned into a layer of ice several inches thick, patterned with the indentations of many footprints.