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Current Obsessions #4

25 Apr

01) SmashBooking

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I’ve embarked on a SmashBook project that is a little more involved that the average throw-it-all-in-so-it-sticks sort of thing. I’m making an old-timey (read: Middle Ages) Book of Hours, which traditionally would be a book of prayers recited at different times of the day. For example, my book has a section called “Lamplight”, which is a throwback to vespers, a time when the lamps were lit and prayers were recited among monks in Medieval times. I’ve got fun stuff, though, like songs and recipes and journal entries and lots of summery pictures all smashed up in my trusty travel-ish themed journal. It’s been great fun so far, and I recommend Smashing, whether you decide to do it name brand or just on your own. (There are some great homemade SmashBook inspirations if you do a search on Google.)

02) Joe Pug‘s The Great Despiser

Came out this week and is incredible!

03) Justin Townes Earle‘s Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now

Came out… last week? Maybe? And is also incredible!

04) This Etsy shop makes the best quality handmade garments I’ve ever seen.

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05) the sermons of Webster Kitchell

I’ve been reading God’s Dog, which is the first in a collection of sermons that Reverend Kitchell wrote about his conversations with Coyote, the demi-god that rules the mythology of the American Southwest. The sermons are entertaining and thought provoking and I highly recommend them for everyone, but especially for Unitarians and people who kind of… blend their religions to help them make sense of the world. (To give you a feeling for what I’m into right now, I’m also reading Monday Night Class, Transcendental Meditation and the Jefferson Bible. It’s an odd, heavy, lovely load I’m self-imposing.)

06) Chocolate Frosting Shots

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I can’t wait to make these!

Happy Anniversary.

25 Apr

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I’ve been with a great guy for a long time. On May 10th it will have been nine years of togetherness, four years of marriage.

I jumped on Polyvore and played around with some colors and whatnot. This is fancier than the outfit I’ll wear to our fabulous fondue dinner that will celebrate us in all our permutations: friends, lovers and companions extraordinaire. We may be going through rough times right now, but nothing can stop us. We’ve packed too much life in already to be gotten down by anything trivial like sickness or hardship.

Happy Anniversary, baby. It’s been a heck of  a ride so far.

(Note: I actually own the scarab ring from JewelMint and I highly recommend it. So cute.)

(Oh! Also note: I’m home from the hospital! So don’t send mail there! Okay, I think we’re updated to the fullest extent now…)

Outfit: If I didn’t own boots, I wouldn’t need feet.

6 Jan

Let’s talk boots. Sweet, sweet, knee high, faux leather, affordable boots. They’re everywhere right now and a few months ago I was desperate for a good boot. And now I have two pairs.

TWO PAIRS. I swear I wanted to write poems and sing songs when the second pair showed up at my house. The FedEx guy and I are very close.

Tips for boots: Get some skirts and find some skinny jeans. That’s all most people need to rock a good boot.

Tips for one-leggers (or no-leggers?) who want boots: Try, try, try. You may need to DIY (I rolled up a bandanna and stuffed it into the front of this boot to fill out the shin), you may need to send a million pairs back to Zappos, but don’t give up. I’ll do a whole boot post soon, chronicling my experience finding boots.

The outfit:

Nooworks dress from Modcloth // plaid shirt from Target
cardigan from Nordstrom Rack // boots from PacSun
faux bois sunglasses from Swell // socks from Sock Dreams
song credit from the title of this blog: Joe Pug’s Nation of Heat
book on the coffee table: Rabbit, Run by John Updike

I unintentionally under-accessorized today and ended up being glad. There’s definitely enough going on with the bright aqua plaid and the red and black diamonds.

Here’s to give you an idea of how the boots end up fitting, shown on both homegrown leg and my favorite accessory:

And an idea of how badly this outfit coordinates (though I definitely wore it out in public today without a care in the world):

Happy weekend, everybody. Go get dressed. It might end up being more fun than you think.

My first outfit post (aka What’s with the leg?)

12 Dec

(Update, December 30th: Wow – views of this post got a little crazy in the last few days. Thanks to everyone who shared this on Facebook and brought people here!)

I’ve been wanting to do an outfit post for a long, long time. The subtitle on this blog was once “Make. Do. And style for every body.” Each time I put together an outfit that makes me especially proud, I think, “I’d really like to photograph this. But it’s going to be a whole thing.”

Today, we’re diving straight into “The Whole Thing”.

About five and a half years ago, part of my cancer treatment (FYI – I had cancer) included the amputation of my left leg above the knee.

It’s been a long road back to the person I used to be, and to be honest? It’s never going to happen. I’m different now. I identify with the person I am and most days it isn’t a struggle to be normal.

So when we talk outfits, we’re going to be talking about what it’s like to modify fashion to meet the needs of someone with… uh, after market parts. If you don’t need the advice? Feel free to ride right past it. Have questions? You can always leave them in the comments. I get stopped at the grocery store all the time by strangers who want to chat me up about the leg. I’ve heard it all.

Onto the outfit:

I just got this skirt last week from ModCloth (and geez, I can’t throw a stone in my house without hitting something that came from ModCloth) and so far I’m digging it, though the waistband is probably going to need a little work in the future because it’s not very thick/stand-uppy. (Dig?) The shirt came from Sugarhigh and Lovestoned and you should run right over and get yourself one because it’s the greatest, as I already explained.

top: Sugarhigh + Lovestoned / shoes and cardigan: Nordstrom Rack / tights: We Love Colors
necklace and skirt: ModCloth / bracelet: Mudd

p.s. Sorry about the photo quality, but you know? I was thinking that I shouldn’t let my crummy camera photos hold me back from doing what I want. There are always excuses, but not anymore!

Cocktail Attire.

27 Nov

There’s nothing like the words “cocktail attire” to strike fear into my heart.

A quick orientation to my style:
*jeans wearing through in various places
*calf-length skirts
*a band t-shirt of some sort
*inappropriate footwear for whatever season I’m in
*If you’re lucky, I’ve brushed my hair

A quick orientation to what I aspire toward:

Yep. Right down to the harmonica (which I am learning to play, FYI).

So… you can see how dressing up and going to a fancy dinner party with my husband and other corporate new hires might be a little… um… challenging. (Poor guy. He keeps saying, “We don’t have to go.” But what kind of warrior poet would I be if I backed down from something as simple as wearing a dress and sipping a cocktail?)

I’ve searched far and wide, made several returns and am waiting on the final result, but I think I found something that won’t make me crazy.

The dress, tights and shoes are all going to be a reality, the rest is just speculation. The dress is just funky enough to be worn for more casual occasions and the diamonds remind me of the Southwest, which I love, same for the copper.

No jeans in sight. You’re welcome, husband of mine.

Photo from here. Polyvore here. Shoes and dress from ModCloth.

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