Where did my mojo go?

I just don't know. But I just feel very boring lately.

The internship is fine, and I'm pleased to say I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. We're headed out for a historic walking tour of Coney Island tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to. We even get a ticket for the WonderWheel. When we're not on field trips or at lunch lectures, we do our actual work, which in my case is lots of research and writing. For reasons I won't go into here (not because they're sensitive information or anything, but just because they're not all that compelling), I've been translating a German book on the history of carved coconut cups. Because of course the only book anyone's ever bothered to write on the subject is in a language I can barely read. I'm through the section on the coconut's discovery by and exportation to the West. Did you know that people used to think that coconuts grew at the bottom of the sea and then floated up? Neither did I. Also, they're named after their resemblance to monkeys, which were called "cocos" in some Pacific languages. It's also very good practice for the German reading exam I have to take in August. The translating I mean, not the part about floating coconuts and monkeys. (The German for coconut is kokosnuss, by the way, except instead of two esses, there should be one of those things that looks like a B.) (I also now know the German word for unicorn, cabinet of curiosities, and mermaid!) (I sure hope those show up on the test). :)

When I'm not at work, I'm at home, trying to stay cool and trying to make myself go to bed early enough to not be so cranky in the mornings. So far the early to bed part has been a failure. I don't usually get home until after 6, and then I relax for a while, and then I try to think of something to eat for dinner, and then I surf the net and watch movies, and then I realize I should have gone to bed an hour ago.

I did do some knitting. My scarf is finished! I just need to weave in the ends and do a little blocking. I started a sock for the Summer of Socks on Sunday and ended up ripping it out after I had about 3 inches in because it was wayyy too big. It's Wendyknits' exclusive pattern for the knitalong, and she wasn't kidding when she said it was very stretchy. I ended up going down two sizes from my usual sock size to get one that wasn't huge.

It just really doesn't feel like there's much interesting stuff going on in my life these days. It's just get up, go to work, go home, kill a few hours, go to bed, and repeat. I am looking forward to this weekend, mainly because I'll get to sleep in, but also because I'll be kitty-sitting for a friend who just rescued a pregnant cat and now has a non-pregnant cat and seven kittens. I can't wait to see them!

Also, I think I might go see a movie. And go to the library. And maybe hit the farmer's market down in Union Square. Boy, it's just a thrill a minute around here, isn't it? I guess not every day (or even every week) can be exciting or interesting. I'll try and get some knitting photos up as soon as I get the scarf totally finished. At least you'll have something fun to look at then. And who knows, maybe something interesting will happen at Coney Island tomorrow.

Gosh

Thanks for all the nice comments on my last post everybody. I'm glad the post was meaningful to you all, too. It's a constant battle, learning to live with the hand you've been dealt, and I'm glad to know I'm not alone.

I started my internship on Monday, and while I won't say too much about the particulars, I will say that (1) everyone was very nice, (2) the work I've been assigned is both interesting and well-matched to my skill set, and (3) the place is so well air-conditioned that I need a sweater. If I have to go to work, at least it will be cooler than staying at home. It's been a little difficult to get used to a regular 9 to 5 schedule again, but I'm managing. I'm also taking advantage of a full lunch hour. The past few days I've gone outside to Central Park (it's practically across the street) to eat my sandwich and knit.

Since I've sworn off socks until the Summer of Socks starts on Saturday, I have been working on my Storm Water scarf and on my much delayed Icarus shawl. I took them both with me to a girl's night out party/sleepover this past weekend. It was hosted by a classmate who is an extremely talented seamstress and needleworker. Watching her effortlessly draft and cut out pattern pieces for a blouse, it occurred to me that really knowing how to sew would be an incredibly useful skill to know. I can sew very simple patterns -- I've made pajama pants, for example, but haven't tried anything that requires curves, gathering, and other complicated (to me at least) techniques. But if I could sew well enough to make clothes that I'd be willing to be seen in public with.....

One of the problems with having a non-standard body type (I was going to say with being larger, but it's not a problem solely for plus-sizes) is that you have a fairly limited selection of retail options. Mostly I shop at Lane Bryant, because it's a brick and mortar store where I can try things on (I love the plus size options available online in theory, but I hate to deal with returns if things don't fit the way I need them to), they're relatively affordable, and they're sort of trendy. But I've been let down by them before. Like the time when I really wanted a dress but they weren't making any dresses that season. Or the time that all the business-type pants were only available in capri length. Really, a suit with capri pants? For when you want to look simultaneously businesslike and casual. LB designers, were you high that day?

Anyway, my point was that with limited options to begin with, retail shopping can be even more frustrating than it is normally. If I could sew though, I could have whatever I wanted. It's a really tempting thought, isn't it? That perfect dress I've been imagining could be mine. Of course, there are two enormous downsides to this plan. First, it hinges on me being able to sew well enough to create a garment that I could and would wear. Second, I would have to actually sew it. Being the champion procrastinator that I am, I'm not sure I'd ever get anything done.

Have any of you turned to sewing to create those elusive clothes that only seem to exist in your imagination? Or do you find the costs of skills, materials, and time to be not worth the effort? I'd be interested to know.

And speaking of procrastination, I've got to go work through a chapter of my German comprehension book. Those sentences aren't going to translate themselves.

Putting the Therapy in Wardrobe Therapy

So the post that I had intended for this weekend ends up on Thursday. Sorry about that. First I was melting into the very fabric of my armchair thanks to a heatwave. Then I was enjoying not melting once the wave broke. It did so with one of the most spectacular thunderstorms I have ever seen. There is a lot of litter in my neighborhood, but it usually stays in the corners and the gutters. Tuesday night it went flying through the air, making little tornadoes of cups and chip wrappers. I'm on the second floor, and things were flying up higher than my window. An awning from the beauty parlor down the street broke free of its moorings and went crashing down the street, smacking into several cars on its way. Made me glad I'm not a car owner anymore, as with my luck it would have been my vehicle in the path of destruction. Lightning lit the sky with that eerie blue green glow. It was, as they say, really something.

Now I'm relaxing from the work day, which was spent in the cool air conditioned buildings at school. In this heat, it's nice to have a reason to go into work. :) I've done a deep clean of the bathroom, fighting a losing battle against cat gravel. The bathroom's the only place in the apartment for the box, but the floor is made up of those tiny 1-inch square tiles, and Minnie's a kicker, so there's gravel all over the place. I sweep and vacuum as much as I can, but there's only so much one can do. Now I'm cooling off with some cherry seltzer and biding my time until I'm refreshed enough for a 15 minute sweep through the kitchen, where, like Tuesday's storm, I will gather up all the detritus littering the table and counters. Unlike the storm, however, I'll put it all away or in the trash.

Which brings me to now, which seemed like as good a time as any to bare my chest (metaphorically speaking) and confess why I fizzled out on Wardrobe Therapy, and why I'm really not that upset about it. It wasn't the chaos of finals, although that didn't help. It was a very upsetting revelation: when it came to my wardrobe and grooming, I had largely given up. Oh, I still made sure that things were clean and covered and decent, and I didn't neglect basic issues of hygiene, and I was ever on the lookout for cute shoes and other goodies, but I really wasn't TRYING. I was SETTLING.

I'm not sure if I've ever written about this on my blog before (I took a brief look through the archives and didn't see anything obvious), but almost four years ago this month (June 26, 2004, to be exact) I caught/developed/came down with (I don't even know what verb to use) Bell's Palsy. I've never had the most loving relationship with my body and appearance, but I mostly managed. Once half my face was paralyzed, however, things took a definite turn for the worse. Depending on which websites you look at, between 80-95% of Bell's Palsy sufferers regain their lost nerve sensation. I was one of the unlucky 20-5%. While the droopiness has, thank heavens, gone away, half my face is fine, and the other half is set in a sort of neutral expression.

In the first weeks and months after I got sick, I gave myself permission to take it easy. I was sick, in part from the steroids that were treatment for the palsy, and making extra effort with my appearance was just too difficult. It was hard enough to get out of bed and go to work. As time passed, and my hopes of getting all the movement back faded, I got depressed, and that became my reason for not doing all the little things I used to do for myself. Why bother with makeup when half my face was a mask? Why try to look nice when I felt so terrible? In time the depression passed, more or less, but by then the neglect became a habit.

Going through Wardrobe Therapy, when I saw the dresses and skirts that I didn't really wear much because I had stopped shaving my legs regularly except for special occasions, or the jewelry I didn't take time to put on, or the nail polish congealing in its bottles (I used to have a nice pedicure all the time, now I could go months between applications, letting the polish wear away into nothing), or the makeup I didn't wear and the hair products I didn't use -- I realized how much I had been neglecting myself. Oh I was still interested in beauty and fashion, but there was this little voice in my head, telling me it was fine in theory, and for other people, but not for me, because why bother? I mean, it's not like I was a fashion plate before, but this is one case where the before was definitely better than the after.

So what changed? Well, I became interested in Wardrobe Therapy after following one of Dr. Wende's posts on Apartment Therapy. I started following in the middle of the last round, and decided to participate when she ran it again for the spring. Though I have yet to follow through on an entire Apartment Therapy cure, I was impressed by the structure of the program and liked the way Wende had translated it to clothing. I also got interested in Fat Acceptance / Heath at Every Size through reading the very excellent Kate Harding's blog. Sorting through my clothes was easy, but as I (slowly) worked my way through the WT program and read more and more about the way that society conditions us to undervalue ourselves, I started to realize how messed up my attitudes towards my appearance were. The Bell's Palsy sucks. It really does (though I realize there are far, FAR worse things that could have happened to me). But like my size, it does not define me. It does not make me a good person or a bad person, and it should not stop me from doing the things I enjoy doing or treating myself with love and respect.

I don't want to give up on myself. I've had some pretty emotional moments these past few weeks as I started to put the pieces back together. I've made some strides. My toenails are painted a bright purple. I'm making an effort to put on makeup and do something more with my hair than just brush it before I head out the door. I'm going through my (newly organized) jewelry box instead of just grabbing for my old standby jewelry. And I'm doing these things not so that they'll "distract" from the fat or the palsy. I know they won't. I'm doing them because I like doing these things and because I like how I feel and how I look when I do them.

I haven't been the most dutiful participant, blog-wise, during this round of WT. I regret this a little, especially since the other participants are so interesting and inspiring (and they post so much more often than I!). But I do feel as though I've gotten so much out of the program. Yes, my wardrobe isn't quite so bulging as it was before, and I've bought (or have planned to buy) things that I love and that flatter me, and I finally got rid of all that "make do" clothing. But what's more important for me is that it's helped push me back to being myself again. And that's more important than a clean closet any day.

If you're still with me, I apologize for the novel-length post. I just needed to get this off my chest. I'm actually a little embarrassed now that I've written this, but I'm going to post it anyway. Now I'm off to tidy up the kitchen. Then I think it's time for knitting and a podcast or two before bed. Thanks for reading. I promise it will be shorter next time.

Monsters!

There are monsters on my socks!

I finished these on Saturday and am pretty happy with them. It's too hot to wear them now, but fall will come back eventually. I'm off socks for a few weeks now until the Summer of Socks starts. The Storm Water scarf is making good progress (it looks like it's going to be pretty long), and is serving as my mindless knitting project of the moment. The scarf has also gotten me excited about lace knitting again, and I've even put in several rows on my Icarus shawl, which I hope to finish this summer. (We'll see).

In WT news, I went through my jewelry, which is the only big group of accessories I have at the moment (there are scarves and winter accessories, but I'll leave them for another season). In the interest of not having to link all the photos, I've created a set in my flickr photostream, with my comments. You can see it here. Since I tend to wear the same few pieces every day, I've been making a conscious effort to wear different pieces this week. It's a little difficult right now, since my summer job is very casual and much of my jewelry is kind of dressy. When my internship starts in about a week I'll be wearing my office clothes again, and I'm hoping I'll be able to work more pieces in.

I am also reminded that I like silver jewelry better than gold, but that I own much more gold-toned stuff than silver. This is in part because much of my jewelry has been "borrowed" from my mother or has been handed down from my grandma, and they both prefer/preferred gold. My mom has tons of jewelry, mostly of the costume variety, but also the "good stuff." Since she doesn't wear lots of her older pieces anymore, but since I like the vintage look, I've ended up with lots of her things. I like to refer to it as "stolen" since it usually ended up in my jewelry box permanently after I had asked my mom if I could wear a piece "just this one time." She doesn't really mind, though, since as I said they're mostly things she doesn't wear anymore. Looking at lots of the things that were hers, I realize that my mom was pretty stylish back in the day. She got married at 35, which was much later than most of her relatives and friends, and so, as she puts it, she had longer to spend her money on shoes and clothes. I love to look at pictures of her from the 60s and early 70s -- I'm still waiting for pictures of her in her wig collection to surface. :)

The jewelry that I've gotten from my grandma is kind of a roundabout story. My maternal grandmother loved costume jewelry and had a ton of it. For reasons that I won't get into here, she stopped wearing a bunch of it and it was just sitting in her apartment. Her move into an assisted living facility (a few years before she passed away) coincided with my own big move to the East Coast for grad school. Since she needed to pare down her belongings and I needed household goods, I was gifted with all sorts of things, from her rocking chair to her dishes to cookbooks, to some of the jewelry she didn't have a use for. I got a few more pieces after her death. My mom and grandma's jewelry isn't just pretty, and I don't just like it because of my own scholarly interest in jewelry -- it's a reminder of who they are (or were) and who they used to be. There are parts of their lives in those pins and necklaces, and owning them is, for me, a way of keeping all that close to me. And it doesn't hurt that much of it is pretty darn gorgeous!

All the jewelry is currently stored in a series of jewelry boxes, new and vintage. I need to come up with something better, though, since it's getting a little crowded in there. I should whip up some little bags for things the next time I get out the sewing machine, since enamelled and rhinestone jewelry is very vulnerable to scratches and losing stones if it gets all jumbled together. There's one more thing for the summer project list....

Going through my clothes, jewelry, and makeup, I've noticed that there are lots of things I used to do or wear that I don't really take the time for any longer. I've got some thoughts about why this is, and also about why Wardrobe Therapy has been far more difficult for me than I anticipated, but that has to wait for the weekend. It's been a long day and I'm looking forward to some knitting and relaxing before bed.

More stuff about me

Knelly tagged me for this meme, and since I don't feel up to a whole post right now, this will have to do. Besides, reflection is good for you, right?

1. What was I doing ten years ago? It was the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college. I was working at the mall earning some money before heading off to a summer study abroad program in England. We stayed at Brasenose College in Oxford, I took a class on Chaucer, saw six Shakespeare plays (two at the Globe, four at the RSC in Stratford), and had one of the best times of my life. That was the first summer I got drunk (sorry mom) thanks to the lower drinking age in the UK. It's where I developed my love of hard cider. It was the only time I've ever really been out of the country as an adult.

2. Five (non-work) things on my to-do list today:
Buy an extension cord and a new mop (didn't get around to it)
Pay some bills
Take out the trash (did that)
Knit
Finish my netflix dvds so I can mail them tomorrow

3. Snacks I enjoy: popcorn, Pirate Booty (and Trader Joe's knockoff booty), almonds, oranges

4. Things I would do if I were a billionare: Buy a snazzy apartment in New York, hire a maid to keep it clean for me. Take care of my family. Travel. Travel some more. Buy yarn and shoes with wild abandon. (Qiviut and Jimmy Choo, here I (hypothetically) come!)

5. Places I have lived: Beaverton, Oregon; El Paso, Katy, Austin, and El Lago, Texas; Wilmington, Delaware; New Haven, Connecticut; and The Bronx.

6. Jobs I have held: Hamburger cooker at McDonald's, line server at the world's most awful BBQ restaurant (far worse than the McDonald's job. FAR WORSE), customer service rep at the mall, secretary, tour guide, substitute teacher, intern, assistant curator, exhibitions assistant, library assistant, and let's not forget -- grad student.

7. Other people to tag: if you're reading this and you'd like to participate, please go right ahead.

While I was out

Sorry for the little blog break. I've been busy trying to enjoy myself -- knitting, shopping, cooking, watching dvds, etc. It's kind of nice to have jobs that stop at 5 p.m. and then I don't have to think about them until the next morning. It makes a pleasant change from the school semester, in which I freak out about classwork 24/7.

So what have I been up to? Well, I'm a half a sock away from finishing the pair of "monsters on a sock," and my lace scarf is currently 2 feet long. I got lots of compliments on both at the last knitting group I went to. That's right, I finally joined a knitting group here in New York. It only took me 9 months. Its a meetup group called "Sit n' Knit" and I went to one meeting at a bar (I can have one beer before the knitting gets impaired) and one meeting at The Point, which is a local knitting cafe. I had a really good time, and while it was different than the old New Haven group (and really made me miss you guys), I'm looking forward to going to another meeting.

I've also been watching the first season of the Flight of the Conchords on DVD. Hilarious! I have a soft spot for comedy/parody songs, and I love them! They're New Zealand's fourth most popular folk pop parodists. Here's a little video to show you what they're all about. "Ladies of the World."

And I haven't forgotten Wardrobe Therapy. I've been wearing the new maryjanes, which only get more comfortable with each wearing, and I bought a new pair of sandals, just in time for the warm weather.



Aren't they cute?

Also, in an effort to catch up on the weeks I missed due to finals, I sorted through my collection of makeup. I own tons of makeup for someone who doesn't really wear much. I think I keep buying things in the hope that they'll be the magic potion, but of course they aren't, and so after a few weeks or days I stop using them and toss them into the medicine cabinet and forget about them. I'll talk more about the makeup stuff later, but I wanted to show you two pictures. The first is my nailpolish collection. I used to keep my nails (finger- and toe-) painted all the time, and I had tons of colors to pick from. Back in college, I was the go-to roommate for all your nailpolish needs. The end of high school/beginning of college was when crazy colors came around again, and I took full advantage. My mom's only nailpolish rule at home was no black. I obeyed, but usually bought the darkest blues, purples, and greens I could find instead. Drove her crazy, but technically allowable. This is the collection after the purge I made prior to the move. I decided that I needed to get rid of ten more colors -- mostly colors I didn't like and stuff that had gotten gloppy. As you can see, I still have plenty of options.

I also undertook a purge of the lipgloss/stick/liner/balm collection. I had forty-seven different containers of lip stuff, and then I found a few more hiding in the corners of my purse and back pack. This is the before picture. It's a little embarassing. This was harder to pare down, largely because I'm still hopeful that some of those products might work out. I did get rid of some unfortunate colors, and a few lipsticks. I've been leaning more towards glosses and sheers rather than traditional lipsticks. I did keep the red though. You never know when that might come in handy. Though I had tons of stuff, most of it was the same few colors, proving that while I may be a spendthrift, at least I'm a consistent one.

More WT to come this week (accessories, yay!). Also pictures of the socks as soon as they're finished.

Lolcats: Is there anything they can't fix?

When I saw this, I laughed and laughed.


more cat pictures

Happy Friday!

Break Out Your Tiny Violins

Now I know that any of you reading this who have full-year regular jobs aren't really going to sympathize with me, because complaining about summer vacation to people who don't get one is kind of not cool, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I want my vacation, darn it! One of the things that was kind of alluring about the prospect of going back to school was getting back on the academic calendar, complete with summer vacation. It is nice not to have to worry about classes and papers, although I should get to worrying about that German translation exam, but shouldn't summer vacation involve a little relaxation? I've got 2 jobs in two different departments at school, which takes up about 4 days a week right now and will take up the whole week as we gear up for a big move. Then I've got a "regular hours" internship that starts in mid June. While that's going on I'll be working at the jobs on nights and weekends. The things we do to pay our rent!! That takes me up to August, when I have to take the German exam, and, if I don't pass it, 3 weeks of refresher German, all the while working at the internship for the first half of the month and the other jobs once the internship stops. Do you see anything missing in my vacation description there? Oh yeah. Vacation.

I know I shouldn't complain. I chose this, and I have to take the good and the bad. But man, I've been dangling the promise of summer like a carrot on a stick to keep me going all semester, and now I'm just a little bummed that my summer won't involve nearly as much lying around as I'd like.

And that's more than enough whining for today.

In other news, I'm going to do the leftover portion of my wardrobe therapy this weekend, since getting my bridesmaid dresses and saris stored properly will involve a reorganization of the closet that I just can't deal with during the week. I'll try to get some pictures for you, cause the Indian outfits are really pretty.

Also, here are my new shoes. I was out in Connecticut this weekend, and didn't have to twist my friend's arm too hard to get her to make a trip to M@rshalls. They have really great shoe sections, if you have one near you. I found the mary janes of my dreams. Here they are:



But wait, there's more! They were on clearance, for super cheap, and they also came in brown. So I bought them both.



I got two pairs for less than half the regular price of one! I felt very clever, especially since I had budgeted for more expensive footwear. They're pretty comfortable, although after wearing, they're rubbing a bit near the buckle. I'm hoping time, some stretching (with big thick socks), and maybe some moleskin will help.

Also, I cast on another pair of socks. I needed to get back on the horse after the very frustrating experience with my mom's socks. I also wanted to try the magic loop method. And then I discovered Lime n' Violet's Snakes on a Sock pattern, which I thought would be perfect for my Cherry Tree Hill Monsters in the Closet yarn. I'm calling them Monsters on a Sock, or maybe Snakes in the Closet. I haven't decided.



They're a little loud, but I like 'em. And boy, the magic loop goes fast. This photo is from yesterday, and I'm already nearly ready to start the toe decreases now. This has been a thoroughly non-frustrating project, which is just what I needed. And since the magic loop is far more portable than the double pointed needles I usually use, I think I'll take them to work tomorrow. Maybe I can finish one sock by the weekend.

Mmmm, Leftovers: WT Week 7

Okay, I still need to do weeks 5 and 6, but in the service of not falling further behind, here are this week's tasks. A link to Dr. Wende's list is here.

So (my rephrased versions of) the tasks are
1. To take stock of leftover items, which in my case are computer bags and backpacks, saris and other fancy dress items, bridesmaid dresses, etc.
2. To dispose of, mend, and store said items as necessary.
3. Make a master shopping list. That one's getting easier.

Here's my working list.

• new black mary jane type shoes
• new sandals
• new sneakers
• new undergarments
• a denim skirt
• 2-3 new v-neck plain t-shirts (and one old shirt needs to leave for each one that comes in)
• another pair of pants, either jeans or something khaki-esque
• a big bag for toting around all the stuff that I seem to think is essential
• a lightweight raincoat/trench coat

I've actually started to make some headway on the list. This weekend I bought almost exactly the mary janes I had in mind (and then some -- I got such a deal, and I'll post pictures later this week). I've identified the kind of sneaker I want, and today I think I saw the sandals I'd like. I wanted to go try them on, but my toenails need painting, and I didn't want to expose my chipped blue polish to the entire store (and the extraordinarily dapper salesman). Which is silly, I know. But I'll go back once I'm repainted.

4. The fourth task is a tricky one:

Name one positive thing you intend to do for your image/self-image/look and one negative thing you vow NOT to keep doing

I always find this kind of thing a little difficult. But here goes. Positive: I'm going to try not to leave the house without a little makeup. I tend to rush out of the house without it if I'm running behind (which I usually am), but I feel more pulled together with it, so there you go. Negative: this is actually related to something I've been working on, but not blogging about. Fat Acceptance/Health at Every Size. (You can read more about it at Kate Harding's excellent blog here). I am working very hard to become happier with my body at its current size, but I find that I have been holding very tenaciously to what Kate calls the "Fantasy of Being Thin."(excellent essay here). I'm not quite ready to let that fantasy go yet, but I'm also coming to realize that there's no reason to put my life on hold until I reach a certain pant size. So my negative thing that I am going to not keep doing is making excuses for not treating myself well because I am not thin. No "I shouldn't buy nice clothes/nice shoes/get a nice hair cut/manicure/pedicure/have any fun/feel good about myself until I lose a few pounds." I deserve to have these things or do these things now. Sometimes I get into this rut where I think "oh I'm so fat, it doesn't matter what I do to my appearance, so I won't even try." I don't expect that I'll be able to stop this 100%, but I hope that the next time I find myself using my size as an excuse for not living it up, I'll reject that negative thinking.

The Movie Meme

I got this from Wife, Mom, Knitter. It sounded like fun.

Here are the rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie (or get them out of your capacious memory).
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Bold it when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.

Since I love me some movie trivia, here we go:

1. Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while. The Princess Bride (guessed by CostumeChick)

2. A: We're going to catch those crooks red-handed.
B: What color are their hands now?
The Great Muppet Caper, guessed by Mella DP

3. A: Those people are trying to kill us!
B: [shouts] I know, Dad!
A: This is a new experience for me.
B: It happens to me all the time.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (SCB and Wife,Mom, Knitter got this one)

4. Your Honor, ladies and gentleman of the audience, I don't think it's fair to call my clients frauds. Sure, the blackout was a big problem for everybody. I was trapped in an elevator for two hours and I had to make the whole time. But I don't blame them. Because one time, I turned into a dog and they helped me. Thank you.

5. A: Now that was when people KNEW how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance... nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real. It was...
B: A movie! That's your problem! You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.
Sleepless in Seattle, guessed by Mella DP

6. A: Don't call me stupid.
B: Oh, right! To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people! I've known sheep that could outwit you. I've worn dresses with higher IQs. But you think you're an intellectual, don't you, ape?
A: Apes don't read philosophy.
B: Yes they do, xxxx. They just don't understand it. Now let me correct you on a couple of things, OK? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every man for himself." And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, xxxx. I looked them up.
A Fish Called Wanda, guessed by Colleen

7. Think big, think positive, never show any sign of weakness. Always go for the throat. Buy low, sell high. Fear? That's the other guy's problem. Nothing you have ever experienced will prepare you for the absolute carnage you are about to witness. Super Bowl, World Series - they don't know what pressure is. In this building, it's either kill or be killed. You make no friends in the pits and you take no prisoners. One minute you're up half a million in soybeans and the next, boom, your kids don't go to college and they've repossessed your Bentley. Are you with me?
Trading Places, guessed by Colleen (I figure that's what you meant by Trading Spaces, since that's what I call this half the time, too)

8. My colors are "blush" and "bashful." Steel Magnolias (Wife, Mom, Knitter strikes again!)

9. A: Are you married?
B: I'm divorced.
A: Would you like to talk about that?
B: There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him.
A: So what you're saying is that even though you are an almost-paralyzed, multiphobic personality who is in a constant state of panic, your wife did not leave you, you left her because she loves Neil Diamond?

10. I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. The Shawshank Redemption (guessed by Wife, Mom, Knitter and Knelly) (As an aside, I have never seen this movie in its entirety in one sitting. But I will stop and watch it and cry like a baby whenever it comes on tv. Which is like every other week.)

Happy guessing!

First the knitting

Okay, I've slept, showered, gone to work and banged the heck out of my shins on a library shelving cart. I've been shopping, knitting, and I even watched a little television.
Now for the blogging. So on Tuesday evening I (finally) finished up my mom's socks.

Aren't they pretty? They're actually a pretty appropriate present for my mom -- I labored pretty hard on them, and didn't give up, and while I may have sworn under my breath a little, I kept on going. I think she'd be proud. I just hope she likes them. The pattern and I did not get along. I'm not sure why things went wrong, but almost everything that could go wrong did. Still, they're finished, and I think they're going to fit. So all's well that ends well.

Now I've cast on with my seasilk to make a Storm Water Scarf. Here's the yarn I'm using. In keeping with Wardrobe Therapy principles, its in one of my joyous colors. :)


I also wound up this yarn, from Cherry Tree Hill, its called Monsters in the Closet (what a great name! that's why I bought it!) and I have a very special pattern in mind for it. I'm hoping to cast on this weekend.


Okay, that's part one of the post-school update. Up next, wardrobe therapy catch-up. Since I'm now 2 weeks behind, I'm going to skip week 5 for the moment, do week 6 (or at least part of it) tomorrow, and then try to catch up with weeks 5 and 7 next week. I've been working on making a list of things I need to buy to fill in a few holes. I'm also still struggling with letting go of a few shoes that I had intended to purge in shoe week. I delayed in tossing them, and then I had second thoughts. Because I love those green sneakers so much. I think I need to buy replacements for them, and then I won't feel so bad about tossing them. I'm thinking about something like this. Aren't they cute and summery? Or what about these? Adorable! I might see what I can find this weekend.
Hmmm... this turned into kind of a WT post after all. :)

I'm back!

And I'm done!
The paper was turned in at 10:30 this morning. Barring any horrendous grading tragedies, I am now finished with the coursework for my Ph.D. (yay!)
While I thought that my term papers would never end, it just doesn't seem possible that this is it, class-wise. I've got one more language exam to pass this summer, and then it's on to the qualifying exams. (eek!)
But for today, I'm just going to relax. After I turned in the paper, I ran some errands, had some lunch, and then bought some celebratory yarn. I had been thinking about buying some Socks that Rock, because I'd never tried any, but then I decided I had too much unused sock yarn. So I went with the Handmaiden Sea Silk instead. I'll do pictures tomorrow. But it's gorgeous (and in a really great colorway for me, too!). I'm going to make a lacy scarf with it. It will be my reward for finishing the semester and my mom's socks, which, by the way, I am scheduled to bind off tomorrow and mail Wednesday.
Now I'm going to knit, listen to some podcasts, and relax (and then sleep!). I'm so happy summer is here. I'm going to try my best to catch up on blogreading/commenting/wardrobe therapy-ing. I feel bad that I dropped everything for the last few weeks, but such, unfortunately, is life. But thank you all for your comments and encouragement. It was so nice to know that you were rooting me on!

Three down

One to go! It was originally due Friday, but I got an extension until Monday. I hated to ask for it, but I think it was necessary -- I'm running on empty and couldn't have turned in anything I'd be proud of by Friday. This is one of the two papers that I'm really excited about, and I very much want to do a good job. It just took me forever to find my angle on this one. But I've got it now, and I think it's not too bad. Assuming I can get it all down on the screen.

I just have to keep telling myself the end is in sight.

Thanks for your supportive comments. They're really appreciated right now.

I'll be back on Monday. :) See you on the other side!

Still alive

One paper handed in, one almost done, and two more to go. I don't know if I'll get much posting done until after everything's in on Friday. Now back to writing what are probably my last term papers EVER!!!

p.s. the socks are growing slowly during the periodic "sanity breaks" I'm taking while writing. The ends are in sight!!

More Week 4, and ... Socks!

First of all...
Look at that!



See? Socks. Two socklike objects!! Okay, so one has only the whisper of a cuff, and there's still plenty of yarn left, and I really can't give my mom socks of two different lengths. Fine. Be picky. But the fact remains that there are now two socks that could in theory go on one's feet. And the end is in sight. In fact, I'm going to say it out loud (and probably curse myself into not meeting this deadline, but hey, it's late and I'm feeling bold so here goes): I will mail the finished socks to my mom for Mother's Day!!

And now on to Wardrobe Therapy.
Week four was about shoes, socks, and purses. The shoes were done, the socks above are all you're going to get on that for now (with the exception of my hand knit socks and my punk socks, my sock collection is functional and boring, and that's okay), and here come the purses.

I've grouped them by type.



The large cary-alls. This doesn't count the plethora of canvas bags I use to tote around school stuff that doesn't fit into these, but those are boring, and also too full of notebooks and file folders at the moment. The one in heavy rotation right now is a canvas tote from the Strand. It seems fitting to carry books around in it. I have really come to appreciate big bags now that I'm in the city and carless. All the junk that might once have rattled around my car is now in these bags.
The green messenger bag in back I have had since high school. The zippers are broken, but the clasps are still functional, and I keep using it because I've never found anything else that worked quite as well. I'll happily replace it when I find something else that can do the job for schlepping things to and from school and libraries.
I love the black wool bag in back. It was very good in fall/winter when I was working and wanted something more professional looking than the messenger bag. Still in good shape, although I need to mend a tear in the lining before it gets bigger. This one's worth repairing, unlike...
The black bag in front. This was a Christmas gift from my parents. I was really excited about it because I thought it might be a good alternative to the green messenger bag. It was, until the handles started to crack right where they're sewn to the bag. I'm afraid they'll break while I'm out, so I don't use this one anymore. I hate to toss something that's so new, but this is really non-functional, and I can't think of a repair that won't be more trouble than its worth. Sadly, gone.
The gray bag in the bottom left is my computer bag. It would be perfect, except it needs a bit of shoulder strap padding, because when its full it can be heavy. Still, I don't tote my laptop around unless I'm in the middle of a paper or on a research trip, which doesn't happen too often (except for right now). But there's lots of writing in my future, so I should try to find an alternative. There's plenty of time to find something though, and this works pretty well, so it isn't a priority just yet.
Also, please note the cat. She would not get off the bed while I took these photos. There are cats and paws in the background of half these shots.

"Everyday" bags



Clockwise, starting at the top left:
A vintage straw purse "borrowed" from my mom. A bit flimsy for serious use, but fun in the summer.
My favorite purse. Pink tweed and brown leather. A little small for all the necessities I seem to need these days, but good for dressier occasions.
Teal suede purse. This is the one I have been using, though I guess its time to change it out for spring. Roomy with straps that go over my shoulders in a fun color that isn't black but still goes with a lot. A definite keeper.
White "macrame" purse. Good for summer. It's getting a little dingy, so I'll see what a wash will do to it. If the results aren't pretty, its no big deal.
Teal felted purse. I really like this one. It's tiny, but is good to stick inside a bigger tote so all the essentials are in one place.
Striped wristlet. I thought this would be useful for when I go out, but then I realized this isn't really a "going out" style. Also? My going out clothes tend to have no pockets and this won't fit a cell phone, so it isn't really very useful. I should toss it, but its little and doesn't take up much room.
Needlepoint bag. This was my grandma's. I don't think she made it, though. I think I'm going to repurpose it as a knitting bag. It's roomy enough. I just can't see myself carrying it anywhere. But it would make good project storage.
Denim bag. For a $10 clearance purchase, it's done a good job. But it's a bit dated, and the straps aren't comfortably long enough to go over my shoulder. I loved the big pockets in the front. They were perfect for keys and my phone. I need to remember to look for that in future purchases, because this one's hitting the road.

Evening purses:


I made the bronze bag in the back to go with the bronze flowered evening sandals from the shoe post. This is a great little pattern and is perfect for whipping up in an afternoon or so. I know it's a little matchy-matchy with the shoes, but I kind of like it. Besides, when you're wearing a blue, pink, and purple sari with metallic embroidery, subtle accessories help.
The black mesh bag next to it is a genuine vintage Whiting and Davis, I'm guessing from the 1950s-60s. Bought at Buffalo Exchange in Austin in the summer of 1999. I wouldn't have thought I remembered that. It goes with a lot, it's surprisingly roomy, and it's a little piece of decorative arts history.
Silver vintage purse. Another one "borrowed" from my mom. I'll have to ask her where she got it/wore it. Really useful for super fancy occasions, and in great shape.
Black burnout velvet clutch. I'm pretty sure that I bought this to take to the homecoming dance my sophomore year of high school. My date (my first boyfriend --neither of us could drive so my parents drove us) was a total doll who sadly moved away not much later. It's not exactly my style anymore, but this is a hard one to get rid of. I think I need to hold on to it just a bit longer.

I just realized I didn't take into account my big knitting bag, or the two knitted purses in progress, or my old backpack. And I know I didn't weed much out, but I did get rid of a bunch of old purses before I moved to New York. Oh well.
Looking at these, I realize I need a new "big bag" solution for when I need to carry a ton of stuff around. I'd also like a new spring bag. Ideally it could fit inside the big bag so I could just pull it out and have all my essentials when I don't want to carry the big one around. I hate having to do the purse swap all the time. Something crucial always gets left behind. Like kleenex, mints, etc. The multiple purse swaps are also why there are a million tubes of lip balm rolling around the place. I found 4 while cleaning out all the bags.

Now, for the final section of week 4: The questions (my answers in italics)

• What's my Status Symbol? That is, what do you expect people to value and respect about you as a human being? I would like to be recognized and appreciated for my intelligence, my consideration for others, and my sense of humor. That sounds very cheesy, doesn't it?


• How does my wardrobe relate to my status symbol? Does the way you dress help people recognize your status symbol? Undermine it? Play into one part of a stereotype but not another? Attire always says something, though it may say it quietly or it may hop on a table and sing the score of A Chorus Line. When I had a job, I tried to dress professionally and appropriately, while still retaining a bit of my individuality. In an art museum, there was lots to choose from, style-wise, and I think I did okay. Now, I'm not exactly certain how I should be dressing. The graduate student/art-field/New York overlaps are confusing me. In theory, lots of black should work, but that's just not me. I just want to look appropriate. Like I belong. And then I want to stand out from the crowd, but in a small, good way.


• Do I want some aspect of my attire to be a conversation starter? If so, what? No and nothing are valid answers here -- it's in wonderfully good taste for every aspect of your outfit to contribute to a vague general impression that you look healthy, happy, and appropriate. My purses are my life or let's talk socks! are also valid answers, as is I've worn the same necklace every day since I was 16, and that's what I'm about. I don't mind if people notice something I'm wearing, as long as it's in a good way. Between shoes, purses, and jewelry, I've got some really cool stuff, and I like it when people notice. But my love for pink sparkly shoes notwithstanding, I'm generally happier being a conversation starter in more subtle ways.

Okay, so now that we're into week 5, I've finally finished off week 4. Some of my donation items have already left the building, but there's still a stack waiting for my next trip to Goodwill (having to schlepp it on the subway means small loads). Purses have been cleaned out, and the detritus sorted and tossed where appropriate (adios, lint covered lipgloss and smooshed gum). Now it's on to week 5 -- underwear and overwear. I probably won't get around to much before next weekend, since I have a paper due this week. But the next time I do my laundry there will be some serious sock evaluations. And somewhere in there, I'm going to finish those darn socks!

Shoes!

So it's week 2 of week 4 of Wardrobe Therapy. This week's tasks are here. Purses and socks will come in a day or so, but since I didn't feel like working on my Consumer Culture essay this evening, I decided to go ahead and sort and photograph my shoes.

I'm going to level with you. Lots of women in all shapes and sizes love shoes, that's a no-brainer. But shoes are really important for the fat fashionistas out there. I'm including myself in that group. As a fat woman who is interested in fashion, I spend a lot of time being frustrated at the lack of options available in my sizes. Those cute clothes in magazines? Not an option for me. But shoes? Purses? Jewelry? Those come in my size. Accessories are the one arena where I can have the same kind of fashion that skinny women can. They're the place where I can fit in with the rest of the fashionable world. I own lots of shoes, and I think one of the reasons is that when I need a shopping fix I can always find a pair of shoes I like. Finding clothing I like can be a lot harder.

So shoes. Here are all the shoes currently in my apartment. Not counting my fuzzy slippers, it's 34 pairs.

There's also a cat in the corner. She was intrigued by all the shoe-related commotion.

To make things easier, I'm separating by shoe type.

The sneakers

• Running/walking shoes -- in good condition, useful, they're keepers.
• Green suede sneakers -- I love them, but they're dirty and worn and the insides are shot. They were on sale when I bought them, and they've gotten a good run, so I don't feel bad about tossing them. They're out! I'm going to add another pair to my shopping list.
• Tan/pink/blue suede sneakers -- they're a bit dirty (that's what six months on NYC streets will do to a pair of shoes), but in good shape. I'm going to try cleaning them.

Casual summer shoes

(back row)

• Beaded flipflops with a sturdy sole. Stalwart staples.
• Keds flats. Bought at the end of last summer. I'm looking forward to wearing these.
• Flats with rhinestone skulls on the straps that you can't really see in this photo. I am happily wearing these into the ground.

(front row)

• 2 pairs of black slides that I bought in emergency shopping trips. They're both uncomfortable and both going.
• Cheap-o flipflops. They're handy, though I don't really wear them out here in the city. Staying.

"Everyday" flat shoes

(back row)

• Short boots. They're ok, and will stay until I find something better. But I'll worry about that next fall.
• Slingback flats. I really like these and need to wear them more than I do. Surprisingly versatile.
• Leopard print flats. This is probably their last season. I should try to replace with something a bit more sturdy -- these are really insubstantial.

(front row)

• Black mary janes. These are worn out, and I'd love to toss them, but then I wouldn't have a pair of black flats. They'll go once replacements are found.
• My trusty loafers. I wear them all the time. They're holding up well, considering.
• My fancy loafers. I spent a good amount of money on these and wore them through. I'm going to see if the holes in the soles can be patched. Then I can wear them again. If they're unsalvageable, well, I guess I'll just have to buy something new!

Dressy/"business" shoes. I have a good number of these because I used to wear them when I had a real job. Now that I'm a student, they stay mostly in the closet. I don't want to get rid of them, because I'll need them again once I'm back on the job market. But maybe I'll get to wear some of them at my internship this summer.

(back row)

• Black loafers with white top stitching. Stalwart staples. A little boring, but very useful.
• Black mary jane type shoes with pink piping. What looks like pink butterflies are actually cutouts on the toe area. I love these shoes, and since I wear lots of pink, they actually do get worn pretty often. Both of these are Aerosoles. So they're pretty comfy.

(middle)

• Tan woven fabric pumps with woodgrain heels. Boring. I bought them for my high school graduation. I still have them, because they're pretty classic, but I don't wear them, because my shoes are one of the few areas where I try to be less boring. I'm giving them another chance before I toss.
• Beige slingbacks with black trim. Very classic, in a slightly sexy way, so they don't bore me the way the woven shoes do. A little uncomfortable, but I'm not ready to let go.
• More Aerosoles. Brown mary janes with wingtip detailing and slight wedge heels. I just bought them this fall and love them. Good with jeans or dressier outfits. Just a little funky, in a good way.

(bottom)

• Tan suede loafers with little suede rosettes on the front. They have little curved-in heels (I don't know what to call them). Very comfortable, very cute. They're staying.
• Brown leather slingbacks. Useful. Could use a little padding. I saw these insoles just for heels the other day -- I might have to try some here.
• Maroon metallic leather mary janes with the curvy heels. I love these shoes. They're one of my favorite pairs of shoes. Despite the odd color, I find them pretty wearable with black, grey, and even the right shade of brown trousers, and also with jeans.

Finally, the fancy shoes. My favorite category, though of course the least worn.

(top row)

• horrible shoes I bought to coordinate with a sari for a wedding. They turned dark and the fabric got crunchy on me. I never really liked them (emergency purchase rears its ugly head), so feel no guilt about tossing.
• The purple glittery shoes. They were $8.00, I was a senior in college. I thought it would be funny to wear them with my graduation gown. It was. I did. I never wore them again. I'd save them, but they're hideously clunky. Maybe some kid can play dress up with them. Donated!
• The pink ruffly satin platform shoes. I bought these after seeing them in a fashion magazine back in college. Like the Birthday Shoes, they appealed to my inner Dolly Parton/Miss Piggy fan. I wore them to a few college dances. The heels are really chunky, which is good because they're also really high. I'm saving them, just in case. (I'm not sure in case of what, but we'll see.)
• Uncomfortable but cute brown sandals with sparkly flowers. Also bought to be worn with a sari at a wedding. They're cute, and I have this idea that I might wear them again, and also they're cute, so they're staying.
• Silvery blue satin sandals. Bought to match a bridesmaid dress. They weren't dyed to match, but they went with the dress perfectly. I can't quite get rid of them yet.

(bottom row)

• Embroidered satin flats. Remember when these were all the rage a few years ago? So do I. They're getting a little ratty, so I think I'll give them one more season before I toss, because I think I'm really going to want my flats this summer.
• My classic black evening pumps. With just a little bit of rhinestone. Perfect.
• Black velvet shoes with just a tiny heel. Cheap and they look it. An emergency purchase that's in the outbox as I type.
• The rare emergency purchase that actually worked. Strappy black sandals that don't cut my feet.
• Hot pink thong sandals with floral heel/base. Oh these shoes. Right after I got my masters, I was living at home, looking for a real job while substitute teaching. I was so miserable. I was so jealous of my other friends who had jobs and lives while I was staying with my parents. I saw these shoes at the mall. They weren't really that expensive, but even so, I shouldn't have bought them. I should have saved my money. But something about them just called to me. This sounds so dumb, but they were kind of a promise to myself, that even though my life was crappy, I would get these shoes and wear them and somehow that would help. So I bought them, and I wore them ( I was in Texas at the time. Flip-flop/thong type shoes are practically state-mandated wear there), and I started to find my way again. And eventually I got the job that changed my life. And now here I am. I don't attribute that to these shoes or anything, but more than any other pair except maybe the pink satin platforms, these shoes are important to me in some weird way. They're milestone shoes. They're also kind of kick-ass, stylewise.

There was also a pair of Mock Doc Martins in the group photo , which I used to wear in the snow, but the soles cracked and now my feet get wet in them and so they're gone, too. When I was putting all the shoes back in the closet, I tried to rearrange things so that I would have easier access to the pairs I might want to wear this spring/summer. I just wish it would warm up a bit so I could get started on them.

So that's the shoes. That was maybe more about me and my footwear than you needed to know, wasn't it?

Next time: Progress photos of my evil socks. Purses (this would be a much bigger category if I hadn't purged before I moved). The answers to the status symbol questions.

Now I need to get back to my reading and my essay. We're covering Janice Radway's Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature this week. It's fun stuff, and I want to make sure it gets its due attention. I've got 2 1/2 weeks of school left, so things are more hectic than ever. But when classes are over, I'm done with the coursework for my degree! It's scary and exciting at the same time. At the moment, scary is winning. :)

(This Song's Just) Six Words Long

So a little while ago, The Mad Knitter tagged me for this meme.

Here's the NPR story that describes the concept and gives examples of six-word memoirs from writers and non-writers alike.

Here are the guidelines, should you choose to participate in this yourself:

Write your own six word memoir. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere. Tag five more blogs with links.

Here's mine:

No, I meant to do that.

My writing professors often said that being brief is harder than writing something long. They were right.

Since I am (as usual) behind on these, I won't tag anyone. But please feel free to write your own.

Edited to add: super bonus cool points to anyone who knows where the title comes from!

Therapy!

Wardrobe therapy, retail therapy, knitting therapy -- this post has it all!

First off: knitting therapy

I had some paypal credit sitting around, and my parents gave me an eb*y gift card for my birthday (who knew they even had those?), so I decided to spend it this evening while I was listening to podcasts. Lime and Violet were waxing poetic about Malabrigo, so I bought two skeins in a purple color (I don't see it on their website, it might have been an older colorway), and then I bought a copy of More Big Girl Knits -- I really liked the first book, and am very excited about getting the new one. I'll post pictures when they get here.

Also, I knit a sweater!!!

But it's a little small. Luckily I know somebody it will fit:

The doll is by the Robert Tonner Company, the skirt is by me, and the sweater is the Textures and Ribs Turtleneck pattern by Daniel Bingham . It used size 1 needles and less than a skein of the Tioga Yarns Three Ply Fingering Wool that I got back at S&B in New Haven. I think Claire found it at a thrift store. The wrapper looks ancient -- I have no idea how old this yarn is.

Also in knitting news, I'm on sock two of my Mom's socks (finally). I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, or the sock, as the case might be.

In more retail news, I went shopping today, and bought a new pair of jeans to replace a pair that was getting worn out. I also got a new black 3/4 sleeve t-shirt to replace one that was getting all pilled and faded. The old garments aren't nice enough to donate, so I'm going to put them in the trash.

This brings me to the final portion of this blog post, Wardrobe Therapy. I'm still chugging along here. I didn't have time to get this done until the weekend, and the piling was a big task. I decided not to take pictures of the pants and shorts, but got rid of the ones that were too worn. I'm going to need at least another pair of shorts this summer, I'm ok for jeans since I bought the new pair today, I have nice "work pants" in grey, black, brown, and khaki, and then casual pants in green and khaki. I'd like to get another pair of khaki casual pants, since I'll get more wear out of those for school. My work pants are still in good shape from when I had the office job, but there's no sense in buying more of them right now since I don't have to wear them much.
Skirts:

These are my summer weight skirts. The white printed skirt is a superstar, it has enough colors in it that I can wear it with black tops or any other color that's in it. The others are stalwart staples.

These are the heavier weight skirts. The raspberry suede skirt would be a superstar, but the hem fell out and I haven't gotten around to fixing that. The others are a black suiting trumpet skirt and some wool blend plaids. They're ok. I like the green and black skirts the best. I think the flare is a good shape for me. The real problem with all these skirts, and with the dresses you'll see later, is that I don't wear them. I almost always wear pants. It's partly laziness, part self-consciousness. I'm going to try to wear them a bit more often this summer, though. It is cooler.

Here are my blazers and jackets. Nothing too exciting. The velvet and cordouroy blazers are superstars. I wear them alot, especially with jeans. I hate the black blazer and want one with buttons, not a zipper, but I'll hold onto it until I find one to replace it. The mauve jeans-style jacket used to be a favorite, but I don't wear it much anymore. I'll give it a go and see if it gets used this spring.

This is my favorite cardigan for spring. I wear it with tanks or camisoles underneath. It's one of the trendier things I own.

These are my two suits and my more work-appropriate dress. The pink suit is a jacket and dress. It's a little Jackie O, and has gotten lots of wear. My mom helped me pick out the purple suit for my first grad school interviews back in 2000. If I was doing this over again, I would have bought something more classic, like a black pantsuit. It's also another zip jacket, which I plan to avoid in the future. The green shirtdress hasn't been worn yet, mostly because I don't wear dresses much. I'll have to give it a shot soon though, before it gets too worn.

These are the lighter weight dresses. Lots of empire waists, v-necks, asymmetrical hems, etc. The black dress on the end is the dress I mentioned as my favorite outfit ever a few weeks ago. I put aside it and a few other dresses that are a little too small, in the hopes that I can fit into them again.

Whew! That covers most of the major clothing pieces. This next week is for accessories. The shoes will take me a while.

It's been sort of interesting going through all this clothing at once. I've made lots of shopping mistakes, and I have tons of plain basics. I tend to make iffy choices on trendier things, so I often stick to the safe choices (probably the reason I had about a million t-shirts). In addition to instituting a "one item enters, one item leaves" policy, I think I need to stop my impulse shopping. I often get tired/frustrated and end up buying things that never get worn. I also need to stop letting my mom talk me into things. She has a good eye for color, but doesn't really have a handle on the styles and cuts I like. It's really hit or miss with things she picks out for me. I also want to make more of an effort to wear skirts and dresses. Considering that I never wear them, I have plenty of them. I think I'm always hoping that I will find the skirt that will make me love wearing skirts, if that makes any sense.

Ok, now that I've driven all my readers off with this really long post, I think it's time to hit the hay. I'll be dreaming of new yarn tonight!!

Birthday shoes!

Yesterday was my birthday! It was a big one (begins with 3, ends with 0). I had a lovely time, including drinks at the St. Regis King Cole's Bar, Thai food, and a window shopping trip at Bloomies. Which is where I saw these:

They're over-the-top in every way, but I love them. I wish I had the kind of life that called for shoes like this, but I really can't imagine exactly what kind of life that would be.

edited to add: no, I didn't buy them, though I was tempted. They do come in black -- would that make them a bit more sensible?

Wardrobe Therapy: It's the tops!

If you're going to sort through all the shirts you own, it helps to have some entertaining background noise. Try this:



That's some beard Bing's got, huh?

Anyway, sorting through the shirts was boring, but enlightening. The photos are not great, so my apologies. I hope to have an easier time with this week's assignment (pants, skirts, dresses), mostly because I have fewer of them.

Here's what I learned: (definitions of the terms here)

1. T-shirts (long, 3/4, and short sleeves)
Most of these are stalwart staples or velveteen rabbits (depending on their age), which I should work on replacing. I got rid of a few torture devices, mostly shirts that are too tight, especially around the sleeves. There were also a few mysteries of the lost shopping trip, mostly due to color. Why I ever wanted a tan t-shirt is a mystery to me.
I didn't count my stash of regular t-shirts from places, bands, etc. If they were in good shape I kept them. I mostly wear them around the house anyway. Sentimental journeys were my shirts from my college's football championships. I might add them in with the regular shirts so they can get worn for workouts, etc.
What I learned: I need some fresh shirts in any sleeve length. V-necks are best. I need to be careful about the fit on short sleeves, and I need to make sure they're all the right length (not too short).



2. Tank tops / camisoles
I don't have too many of these and could stand to buy some more for layering. Most of them are stalwart staples, with two velveteen rabbits (the off-white and black camisoles) that should be replaced asap. Two worn looking tops are not quite torture devices, but I'm letting them go because I don't really wear them. The green
top in the middle is a mystery that could be a superstar. I wouldn't know because I've never had the nerve to wear it. If it doesn't get worn a few times this summer. It's out.
What I learned: not much, except that these are basic pieces and I need to make sure they're in good shape. I also have to find an outfit that I can use that green top in.



3. Sweaters (that go by themselves, not over other pieces)
Torture devices: turtlenecks (I need to stop buying them, although I love the color of the pink one.
Mysteries: some hand-me downs from my mom's friend. Not my style, won't wear them, they're leaving.
Same time-next year / velveteen rabbits - a cowl neck (better than a turtleneck on me. I'm not sure why) that's getting a little pilled, all my sweater sets are getting a bit mangy looking, although the cardigans are in better shape than the shells.
Stalwart staples: I've got a few nice long-sleeved sweaters that I need to keep an eye on for rabbitiness. I have a bunch of 3/4 sleeve sweaters with interesting neckline details that I love. They're a bunch of different ages, so some are in need of retirement. But I bought several this fall that are in good shape, and in good colors, so I feel good here.
Superstars -- the purple long sleeved v-neck ribbed sweater. Good color, good fit, in good shape.
What I learned: It's time to let go of the turtleneck. Free clothes are not necessarily worth taking. Almost all the sweaters were in good colors for me.

4. Button-down shirts/knit shirts/others
Superstars: I have a silk t-shirt and a few fancy tops in this category. What do they have in common? V-necks, empire waists, wrap-style detailing.
Stalwart staples: 3/4 sleeve button downs (fine since I don't wear them with blazers, usually. long sleeve button downs, in cute colors, but need a basic white one that doens't make me look like a waiter (to quote Dr. Wende)
velveteen rabbits: a few cotton tops that are good for summer. I'll have to see how much I actually wear them before I decide if they get to stay after the end of the season, though, since they're a few years old and are not really classic pieces -- I don't know if they'll still be good a year from now. Also a few knit tops that need replacement, like my classic white shell that goes with my suit (which I never wear, but that's a story for next week).
Mysteries: more of the free shirts, which are going, and a few others that are staying for now, but need to prove their worth, since they are cute in theory but haven't seen much wear.
Torture devices: why did I want a peach flowered polo shirt? It washes me out and is too tight, so bye!




Whew! That was a lot of shirts. I've made a nice little pile for Goodwill, and I'm putting together a list of things to buy when next I get to do a little retail therapy. I've been a bit behind this week on WT, and haven't been doing a very good job on commenting on other blogs, either. But hopefully I can get back on track this week.