day three hundred two.

Day Three Hundred Two Sunday  6/27/10 

Dress:  Black Strapless Dress (that may or may not be a skirt?)

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $Free
Accessories:  White and black polka dot cardigan, black flats, hippopotamus tattoo 

Hair and Makeup: Wet from swimming so pulled up into a bun, some black eyeliner and a little blush

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: A few compliments on the dress, some weren't sure if it was a bathing suit or dress, everyone was impressed that it was free

This is my pool attire and it was free. It might actually be a skirt but I rocked it as a dress/cover up.  I like it a lot and I like it even ore since it was free.  I woke up pretty late and headed back down to the party areas of the night before for cleanup.  Again, Michael was already in the pool.  Fish boy.  I cleaned a bit and then Rica and I headed to the grocery store for bloody maria mixers and bagels.  We came back and I made two pitchers of bloody marias and a pitcher of cucumber water.  I'm all about pitchers these days.  About half an hour later we were all in the pool, loving life.  I kind of want a pool.  Eventually we succumbed to the fact that we are city dwellers and finished cleaning up and left, but not before heading into West Chester for a veggie turkey Capriotti's hoagie.  Michael and I came home and I did several hours of homework before settling into the couch for some hoagie and tv time.  Good Sunday. 

day three hundred one.

Day Three Hundred and One Saturday  6/26/10 

Dress:  Pinkish Purple Dress

Purchased From:  Thrift Fair

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010
Price: $4.95
Accessories:  Pink flower wedges, beige hair bow

Hair and Makeup: Bangs pulled back into a hair bow, usual makeup with bright purple eyeshadow

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: My Mom liked the dress and told me I do have Alice in Wonderland hair, I think I got a few overall you look cute or dress or shoe compliments at Rica's birthday party

Saturday was crazy hectic but fun.  It was Rica's third annual 30th birthday pool party and I had a lot to do. I woke up and headed to the grocery store to get stuff to make potato salad and a cake for my father's day since I didn't get out to see my Dad on actual Father's Day.  I cooked, baked and readied a ton of stuff for Rica's big day.  Somehow we didn't leave the city until after 3 and I had a cat job to do before we left.  We also still had to go to the liquor store, beer store, Wegman's for an ice cream cake and my parent's house for a visit.  Yeesh.  The liquor store in Exton proved to me the funniest of our stops.  I was met with a overly confident hardcore gum chewing choad.  My goodness.  He must have been an Applebee's employee at some point in his life. He just gave off that vibe.  He was trying so hard to impress with me with his tequila knowledge.  It was hilarious.  He was beyond confused when I explained to him that I was making my margarita mix from scratch and then even more confused when I said they'd be of the strawberry basil variety.  No fucking joke he said to me, "You mean like oregano."  Wow! Finally we finished our traveling and made it to the party around 7.  I immediately started in on making several pitchers of margaritas and one pitcher of Basil Gin Lemonade.  All were delicious.  Michael almost immediately jumped in the pool.  I swear that man is part fish. Eventually I changed out of my party dress (yay for Super Thrift/Thrift Fair opening again!) and into my swimsuit for a dip in the hot tub.  It was a lovely day celebrating the lovely Rica and seeing friends, the margaritas didn't hurt either. 

day three hundred.

Day THREE HUNDRED! Friday  6/25/10 

Dress:  Orange Sheath Dress

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:  Black belt, black flats and then later black boots

Hair and Makeup: Up in a bun for some of the day and then bangs pinned back and the rest down for the remainder of the day. Usual makeup with a little orange frosted HIP eyeshadow from Loreal. 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: My waxer complimented my dress and my pain tolerance.

I had to start work early on Friday.  Early to me is eleven.  I am spoiled.  I threw on one of the first dresses I saw and ran out to work because of course, I was running behind and didn't want to actually be late.  I worked a bit and then came home to walk the houseguest puppy.  I then ran out to my waxing appointment as I'm delving back into Brazilian waxing for the summer and maybe for life.  I went to a new place near my house and got waxed by a lady who really gets in there and does the job.  It's slightly awkward and uncomfortable but the results are great. She reminds me of the stories I've heard of crazy old Russian lady waxers instead of the hoity-toity I'm used to at my old waxing residence, Body Restorations, in Center City.   The experience was slightly surreal and I was complimented on both my pain tolerance and flexibility.  Somehow I don't feel violated at all though.  After the wax, which sort of feels like someone repeatedly punched your vagina, I continued working and then delivered my houseguest pup back home.  Sad.  I suppressed my sadness with a visit to the newly renovated Thrift Fair.  It's been over two weeks since they closed their doors for renovations, of which I see none.  Perplexing. I did manage to buy a few awesome dresses- happy to see that hasn't changed. 

I came home and succumbed to my tired eyes, giving into the couch for a bit.  Michael and Steve convinced me, ok asked me, to go to Kraftwork for beers and dinner.  I got a sour cherry, goat cheese, walnut and arugula salad with flat bread accompanied with two 11% dark, lovely beers.  Needless to say I was a bit drunky upon our exit.  Maybe I was feeling a little violated after all. 

day two hundred ninety-nine.

Day Two Hundred Ninety-nine Thursday  6/24/10 

Dress:  Pink Stripe and Polka Dot Sun Dress

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:  Pink and Navy blue striped socks, black flats, a pink cardigan at times

Hair and Makeup: Two mini buns with the rest down and curled a bit, usual makeup 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: A guy in my class said nice polka dots, Michael loved the whole outfit, uhhhh crap, I can't remember.  A lot of people stared at my boobs too.  They were out so ya know...

Thursday was crazy.  It was wicked hot and I worked a lot.  I started my day by making pasta salad for dinner as I knew I had class and wouldn't feel like making it later in the day.  It was beyond hot so I opted for another Molly dress, one that would help keep the heat at bay.  I quite enjoyed the dress and paired it with fun striped socks.  

About half way through the day the skies turned black and fell to the ground.  Wind whipped through the trees leaving large chunks of branches and leaves all over the city streets.  Trees crashed to the ground, blocking traffic and wreaking havoc. I was driving across town on Pine Street when it all happened.  I watched as pedestrians ran for cover, the faces full of shock and anger.  Once guy stood on the corner of 15th and Pine and just let the rain soak him.  He was already wet and running would simply get him to his destination faster, not drier.   The storm continued and I attempted to walk two dogs, they were having none of it and we barely made it a block.  Luckily my last job involved cats and no outdoor activity.  I ran home to walk my houseguest, Wally, and then hurriedly got myself to school- two minutes late as I got caught in traffic.  Ugh.  Class was fun and we studied memoir and creative journalism.  The last forty minutes were spent interviewing another classmate regarding an insignificant life event for the purpose of writing a memoir piece based on it.  We were to draw out the memory of our partner.  Our professor then turned the tables on us and proclaimed we were to write a memoir/creative journalism piece based on the story told to us, not our own, and we were to write in first person.  Hrmpf.  I suppose that's creative journalism but it's certainly not memoir.   Now I get to write a piece pretending to be an eighteen year old male Burger King employee.  Talk about polar opposites.  

I got home and made smart dogs and overcooked corn and served it with the pasta salad. Somehow I checked the corn before it was done and then not again until it was overcooked. Did you know corn gets tough when you overcook it. Yeah, great. 

day two hundred ninety-eight.

Day Two Hundred Ninety-eight Wednesday  6/23/10 

Dress:  Red Strapless Sun Dress

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $Free
Accessories:  Red wedge sneakers that I attempted to wear dogwalking- HA! That didn't last and I switched to black flats after an hour. 

Hair and Makeup: Big high bun twist thing, usual makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: 

I really thought that since these wedge heels seen above were sneaker inspired that I could get away with wearing them walking all day.  Nope. And probably not because of the heel part but more because I've worn them twice before in over a year and they're not broken in yet so they were a little blister inducing.  Oh well, I was smart and carried a spare pair of flats with me.  This dress was from my Molly haul and man I regretted cheating on her dresses with a Rainbow dress the previous day as I woke up with a rash all over my body- no doubt from the shitty detergent Rainbow uses on their garments.  I usually wash my stuff before wearing it but I was so excited about the newspaper print that my usual logic flew out the window and turned into a bird.  I have super sensitive skin and can't use any fun products or smelly stuff if it will be in contact with my skin.  I'm delicate damn you!  Once the dress (yes, I slept in that stupid newspaper dress) was off of my body the rash stopped spreading and started to clear up.  GROSS! 

I spent my day working and then came home and made amazing seitan and smoked tofu fajitas with chipotle ranch broccoli slaw and avocado crema- it's my current favorite dinner.    I predict I'll make it a lot in the next few months. 

day two hundred ninety-seven.

Day Two Hundred Ninety-seven Tuesday  6/22/10 

Dress:  Grey Newspaper Print Dress

Purchased From:  Rainbow

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $12.00
Accessories:  Black and grey striped socks, black flats, giant sunglasses

Hair and Makeup: Braids braided into two more side braids, usual makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Michael loved the outfit, one of my client's kids asked if I was wearing a newspaper, several whistles and comments from men in cars.  Funny story about that- once I was driving parallel to a car full of boys and they started making comments and asking for my number or something.  I turned and asked if that tactic ever works and the kid said no in a melancholy tone and stopped commenting.  It was funny. 

Sooo I love this dress- love, love, love it.  I was pretty happy with the entire ensemble and the weather was hot, but not as hot as they predicted so that worked out nicely for me since I was stoked on these socks. I spent the day working, hot but not stroking out from the heat.  After work I went to school and we discussed and then headed to the grocery store to get the rest of my dinner components.  I came home and made us yummy veggie lemon chicken, horseradish mashed potatoes, green beans in lemon butter with almonds and a lovely baguette.  Numnumnumnumnum...like this: 

 

day two hundred ninety-six.

Oscar and Marley not feeling the camera

Day Two Hundred Ninety-six Monday  6/21/10 HAPPY SUMMER.

Dress: Blue H&M Dress

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY!

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $Free
Accessories:  Black flats, ribcage necklace, giant black sunglasses

Hair and Makeup: Up in a pinned up ponytail that fell and got on my nerves so then down

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  

It was super hot so I didn't put tooooo much effort into my outfit.  I wanted to wear as little as possible.  This is another of the 17 dresses from Ms. Molly Delaney and it was easy to wear.  I also had to bike to my Kelly and Rica's since I was borrowing Rica's car for the day so I wanted something that wouldn't flash the whole world, or well, the whole of Fishtown.  It may have been the biking or just the walking in this insane heat but I totally had pit stains by mid-day.  Yummy.  I spent the day working and then headed to class.  It was amazing and I got awesome feedback on the third draft of my story.  I was wicked nervous since it involved a man's perspective and dialogue- two things I'm not familiar with and have been scared to write for most of my life.  People said the nicest things.  My professor said he feared I'd get a big head from his comments.  Ha.  Please.  I get super happy and feel great until I sit down to write the next piece of it and then -boom- terror strikes all over again and I'm filled with doubt.  

After class I went to Whole Foods and did some much needed grocery shopping.  I knew Michael was still in Downingtown as it was "Go Skate Day" and our friends were throwing a contest/fundraiser for the Downingtown Skate Park.  Read their  DSP Blog and stay up to date.  I bought myself ingredients to make an amazing sandwich among lots of other yummy foods for dinners this week.  I came home, dropped off my groceries, returned Rica's car, rode my bike home and made an amazing sandwich.  I spent the rest of the night doing homework until Michael came home and fell asleep next me.   Such a good day, I could barely tell it was a Monday. 

day two hundred ninety-five.

Day Two Hundred Ninety-five Sunday  6/20/10 

Dress: Blue Star Print Dress

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY!

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $Free
Accessories:  Black flats

Hair and Makeup: Down, then up, then down, then up again. usual makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Michael liked the dress 

Sunday morning started with an attempted motorcycle ride.  We woke early and I got ready.  Michael neglected to tell me we had plans to meet our friend Jared in Valley Forge at 10a.m.  I'm not totally sure how this was supposed to happen since I woke up after 9.  Whatevs.  Around 9:45 I realized my hand me down leather jacket was no where to be found. I was going to wear my jean jacket instead, but then I got it in my head that my gloves were in my jacket pocket and then thoughts of that girl on the sidewalk from Friday night ran around inside my head and I convinced myself that no jacket and no gloves would indeed equal me splayed on a sidewalk.  Twenty minutes later I remembered that my gloves were in my helmet.  Ugh.  Oh well, we were already super late.  We decided to nix the ride and go tubing earlier than planned.  Kristin and Rica came over and we blew up our tubes and headed to Washington's Crossing.  We parked Kristin's car, loaded up the element and drove a few miles up the Delaware River.  We found a good launch point and tubed for an hour or so drinking bloody Marias.  It was lovely.   Afterwards we went to It's Nutts for pizza and hot fudge sundaes.  It was such a lovely relaxing day.  I predict a lot of tubing this summer! We came home and I spent the rest of the night doing homework, taking a bath and relaxing. It was such a lovely Sunday.  I ended the night watching True Blood and eating bagel paninis.  Top that.

day two hundred ninety-four.

 

Day Two Hundred Ninety-four Saturday  6/19/10 

Dress: Grey and White Sundress

Purchased From:  Rainbow

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $10.00
Accessories: Kurt Halsey bird necklace, red flats, white flower clips 

Hair and Makeup: Down and scrunched for some of the day and in a bun for the rest- it was hot! 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Molly liked my necklace and commented that a dress was a smart choice for a hot day and then remembered that I always wear dresses these days :) 

Today was awesome.  I woke up and though tired, I did not feel like complete ass.  I had brunch plans with my friend Molly and her friend Kelly.  We attempted Honey's but the wait was 45 minutes so we went to North Third.  They're brunch is pretty damn tasty so it was a-ok.  Molly had hand-me-down dresses for me, like seventeen of them!!!! Thanks Molly! So she lugged them from Manhattan and we met up for brunch so she could bestow them upon me.  They all fit! Well one of them is a teensy bit tight and will require me to get my fat gut back to the gym asap but don't you worry, I will work it out.  Brunch was fun and yummy to boot.  After brunch we went over to Art Star so Molly could get her very own Kurt Halsey bird necklace- everyone should have them really, they rule.  We all did some shopping and I got a new feather barrette for my hair.  It's fancy.  

I went home and got ready to go to the Circle Thrift Clothing swap.  It ruled!  Still on a high from my new Molly dresses  I wanted more, more, more.  I scored eleven dresses, two t-shirts that I may convert into dresses-one a Johnny Cash well worn shirt and the other a crazy eagle shirt.  I also scored a new bracelet and a cute plaid jacket.   If you've never been to a clothing swap let me break it down for you. 

1.  Get a big open space of sorts or clear some room in your living room

2. Invite a bunch of your friends

3. Tell them to bring clothing (at least 5 articles) they no longer want but that's still in pretty good condition. 

4.  Organize- in this case they had clothing racks and tables you could use different sections of floor

      a.  Organize the clothing by style and if you're doing unisex, gender

5. When people show up have them (or designate people to do this job) separate the clothing pieces into the proper    

piles of clothing- i.e. shirts go with shirts, dresses are hung, sweaters go with sweaters, pants with pants, etc. 

6. Be sure to have several full length mirrors handy.  I'd also suggest wearing or bringing a slip or wearing something form fitting so that trying on clothing is easy if you're modest.  

Here are some pictures of the clothing swap I attended today.  This one was $3 to enter and required 5 articles of clothing.  It was separated by gender and clothing style.  

I made out like a bandit!!!  Most of the dresses I got are vintage and one is absolutely divine!  I am so excited to wear it and the feather barrette I bought will match it perfectly.  After the swap I went to target for some house stuff and then came home and dedicated hours to catching up on blogs. 

Now it's time to go work on a poem that must employ like eight hundred different fucking styles.  This is going to be hard as balls. I will reward myself with beers and food from Kraftwork.  

day two hundred ninety-three.

daytime with a scarf and Emily and Mia

 nighttime. all boobs. 

Day Two Hundred Ninety-three Friday  6/18/10 

Dress: Blue H&M Dickies Style Button Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift (when it was next to Rocket Cat)

Year or Era Purchased: 2006-2007ish
Price: $4.00
Accessories: daytime: silver flats, black studded vegan bracelet, black and white striped scarf  nighttime: purpley flower wedges, black studded cuff

Hair and Makeup: Curled a bit, usual makeup with some mauve lips.  I'm all about the lipstick this week. 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Let's see- Kristin called me busty, Cheryl said "I see you brought your boobs to dinner" or something like that, Michael said I love that dress.  Also some weird drunk barfly at Dirty Franks said "enchante" when we showed up.  Ha.  

Friday ruled.  It was soooo much better than crankydress tired, hungry Thursday.  I woke up and weighed myself, as I do everyday.  I realize this is dumb but whatevs.  I was down quite a bit from lack of water, actually.  I ate my usual amount of calories as I scarfed a veggie turkey sandwich around midnight and ate red (minus the dye and the red part) velvet cake with cream cheese icing but I did not drink my usual 60-90 ounces of water.  I don't so much do this on purpose but I genuinely love water.  If I'm not drinking alcohol or coffee I'm drinking water.  Occasionally I'll have an iced tea or a lemonade but my all time favorite is ice water with lemons. My friend Katy taught me that the best way to drink it is from a giant ball jar- those suckers are a good 30 ounces. and I always have at least one, if not two with dinner/nighttime stuffs.  I also generally carry some sort of travel cup with me all day, also generally a 26 to 32 ounce ratio.  So anyway I guess that packs on the water weight because the scale was serenading me with sweet, sweet digital nothings.  And all of that is the long version as to why I chose this dress- it hasn't fit me in a long time but I love it so much I've been holding onto it with hopes of the day it would.  It still doesn't totally fit because I can't button it over my boobs but whatevs, those ladies are here to stay apparently.  In order to rock this dress during the day and not look like a total slutbag I wore a scarf over the boob area, masking the cleavage.  When I came home the ladies came out because it was way too damn hot for a scarf!  

After work I did a little shopping- Payless, Rainbow and Kmart because I am a high class motherfucker.  (sorry mom.) I got two pairs of shoes, one shown above and the other a $5 pair of airwalk grey mary janes, four dresses at rainbow, a cute glass pitcher with a red lid, and a new curling iron since the handle broke on mine.  I purchased all of these goods for around $76.  Awesome. 

We had plans to meet up with friends and go eat dinner at Lolita, a byot (tequila) as they have margarita mixers you can purchase by the pitcher and then they mix the tequila in tableside.  Genius!  The trolley from West Philly was running late so that meant our friend, Cheryl, was running late so we jumped half a block over to McGillan's and had a beer.  Cheryl arrived just as we were finishing, perfect.  We sat and ordered a pitcher of blood orange margarita mix and it was perfection! It was perfectly tart, not horribly sweet and just super refreshing.  We ordered chips and guac for the table, also amazing and fresh.  The best thing about Lolita is that you can sub tofu or portobello mushrooms for the meat or seafood products in several of their dishes. Thanks!  Michael and I split two meals- one being the wild mushroom and cheese enchiladas with tofu and one some hearts of palm and tofu goodness.  The enchiladas ruled it all. We'll definitely be going back!  I am anxious to try a few of their appetizers/salads as well as their desserts.  

After dinner we walked over to Dirty Frank's for an after dinner drink.  It was interesting.  The regulars were all outside smoking and were excited to see so many women appear.  We stayed for a beer and some conversation and then left.  Upon leaving Michael and I walked by a woman splayed face first on the sidewalk, a crowd around her, and a man in a wife beater over her, his motorcycle parked next to them.  We weren't sure of the circumstances exactly but deduced there was some sort of incident involving the motorcycle as Michael noticed the headlight was out, maybe cracked, I can't remember.  I implore anyone reading this that may operate or ride on a motorcycle to please, please, please always, always, always wear a fucking helmet.    I don't know for sure that this was the case here, well there were no helmets to be seen so that's a fact but, she may have been walking and he hit her, she may have been drunk and fell off, etc. etc.  Still it was a frightening and disturbing sight.  We heard sirens coming as we walked towards the el and tried to block the image from our minds.  Once  home it was bath time.  I love that freaking bathtub!