day three hundred hundred sixty-three.

Day Three Hundred Sixty-three Friday  8/27/10

Dress: Green and Blue Floral Vintage Fancypants Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010

Price: $FREE!

Accessories:  Feather hair clip,  green flats, blue rose ring
Hair and Makeup: Big puff with a feather hair clip (from Art Star), teased bangs, the rest curled, tons of black eye makeup and usual makeup 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Michael liked the outfit, Jody liked the hair clip, one of my clients asked where I was going and said I looked adorable.  I told her nowhere in particular, I just felt like being fancy. 

Sometimes a girls just got to get fancified for no good reason, because it's Friday, because this dress begs to be combined with this feather hair clip, because it's the third to the last blog in the year of dresses, because I got an A in my second summer class, because, because, because. It felt silly to walk around all day like this and walk dogs.  I got a lot of weird looks but I'm used to that so I just laughed.  I spent my day working and then came home and freshened up before heading to Kraftwork for dinner and drinks with friends Spano, Jody, Sean and Marie.  Stupidly I hadn't eaten anything all day because it took way longer to get fancy than I'd expected and because the box of nutri grain cereal bars in the cabinet was an empty box.  D'oh.  So yeah, I got a little drunky on Friday.  I had a flight of okay beers (the Victory Baltic Porter was the yummiest, the rest were blah) and then a wicked yummy goblet of Russian River Consecration Wild Ale.  That one, in retrospect, is probably the one that knocked me on my ass since it's a ten percenter.  I also enjoyed a goat cheese and summer veg flatbread pizza. Delicious! 

After Kraftwork we headed home to pick up Steve and then went to Kung Fu Necktie for a show.  Our friend's band, Live Not on Evil, was playing.  There I switched to Powers and ginger ale and continued on my drunken merry way.  The show was really good, but really short and so after we headed to the M Room for a few drinks for a night cap.  I think it was something like 10:30 at this point.  Steve and I decided to get specials (a pbr and shot of whiskey) and then we did more shots of Powers.  This is where the night gets hazy.  I apparently punched my friend Chad in the back of his neck, breaking my awesome rose ring and somehow I got a ton of bruises and a huge gash on my leg.  I also remember hanging out with a cat on Girard Ave, he was super sweet and let me hold him.  Once home I apparently made sandwiches, burned myself on the toaster oven, took my sandwich to bed but passed out before I could eat it and then woke up startled and put my hand in my sandwich.  Good times.  I guess maybe getting fancy wasn't the best idea after all!

day three hundred hundred sixty-one.

 

Day Three Hundred Sixty-one Wednesday  8/25/10

Dress:  Green Cotton Pinup inspired Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010

Price: $5

Accessories:  Brown knee socks, bird/swirl pattern boots, leopard print cardigan
Hair and Makeup: Two buns and bangs twisted and pulled back, usual makeup with green eyeshadow, yellow and clear sunglasses

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Some dude asked (from a moving van) if I needed any help "walking those dogs" when I was walking two large dogs.  

This dress is actually longer than knee length, but I wanted to wear boots since the weather was so delicious so I pinned it up on both sides to change the length and shape of it a bit.  I dig the boob area of this dress quite a bit, it's flattering for the larger chested ladies.  Man alive it was awesome to wear knee highs, boots and a cardigan.  I wish it could always be seventy-something degrees.  

Wednesday was a pretty good day.  I spent the morning dorking out on the computer, got ready and headed out to work.  After work I hung out with Sue and Lemon and we took a trip to Whole Foods.  My friend Kristin had mentioned she'd eaten an avocado, bacon and tomato sandwich the night before so I was craving one something fierce, veggie though, of course.  Sue and I had a nice shopping time and Lemon dug the sites and sounds of a bustling Whole Foods, cute.  I came home and made avocado, veggie turkey and bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches on 12 seed sourdough.  DELICIOUS! Michael and I watched Louie and then I watched Whip It.  Cute, but it was more of a coming of age story with some derby peppered in.  

Oh and this little lady (NOT the fat one, he's mine) needs a home so if you're interested leave me a comment! I'll make a serious flyer for her very soon.  She's wicked sweet! 

day three hundred hundred fifty-nine.

Day Three Hundred Fifty-nine Monday 8/23/10

Dress:  White with Black and Red circle Vintage Dress 

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010

Price: $2.50 (color of the week half off)

Accessories:  Red knee socks, black flats and then later I changed into my Hunter Wellies, one white butterfly barrette
Hair and Makeup: Down and curled and those bitches fell out quick, usual makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Michael liked the dress/whole ensemble, a few other compliments I think. I can't remember. 

I love this dress! Imagine my excitement when I picked it up off the rack and saw that the tag color matched that of the half-off color of the week at Circle Thrift.  I was even more excited when I tried it on and it fit quite nicely.  I guess I should stop buying dresses at this point but they're like my crack.  I need to organize and bag a boatload of clothing.  My friend Rica just told me about a giant clothing swap in the Naval Yard in October so I'm going to have to get my stuff in order for maximum swappage.  This one sounds amazing with Buffalo Exchange and Urban Outfitters participating.  I can't wait! 

Monday was stupid humid.  I curled my hair and even used hair spray but it was nasty and ratty within an hour.  Good thing I took my pic for the day pretty early on! I didn't realize they were calling for rain so I wore flats but came home mid-day to change into my wellies and work on school work a bit.   I spent the day working, did some work on my final project for school and then headed to class.  Ugh, another day where we didn't do what she had planned.  It was supposed to be a final workshop but we were only to bring an excerpt of our story and all of us would read it and then discuss.  This didn't make much sense to me as reading aloud and only an excerpt does not a workshop make, but, at least it was going to be something.  Wrong! She let three people read their entire piece and then we were out of time.  I so didn't get any constructive criticism out of this class and I discovered in my last class that I kind of thrive on it and it's a huge freaking help.  We were also told that we had no actual class Tuesday or Thursday- that we could just drop off the final portfolio on Tuesday and pick it up Thursday.  So I totally got robbed of an entire week of class since she had cancelled the previous Thursday class.  I am such a nerd, but seriously, that's like two weeks of a regular semester.  I left school annoyed, came home and said Bye to Michael as he and some boys were watching motorcycle something or other- isle of man is that something? Yeah, let's go with that, at 700.  That left me to make myself some pasta with mushroom alfredo sauce and watch dvr'd episodes of Jersey Shore and Top Chef before spending the next four hours putting my final portfolio together.  I guess it was a pretty good night actually. 

day three hundred hundred thirty-four.

Day Three Hundred Thirty-four Thursday 7/29/10

Dress:  Red Vintage Striped Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE

Accessories:  new hat, some black boots, brown belt

Hair and Makeup:  Low pigtails and a hat, usual makeup and I think I had some 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Hmm, I think I got a compliment on the dress, definitely the hat from my friend Gert.  

I got this dress at the clothing swap and it fell below my knees.  It looked matronly and ugly so I decided to chop it off and make it fall mid-thigh.  That didn't work out too well since the cut was wicked choppy and it looked like something out of the Flintstones.  Since Michael taught me to use my sewing machine I pulled out that bad boy and hemmed the bottom.  Unfortunately, when I originally chopped at the dress like a cavewoman I didn't allow extra fabric for a hem so it ended up insanely short.  I rocked it anyway, despite the fact that I then ruined the dress a bit more by severing the hemline when I tried to rid the dress of the excess fabric that reached over the hemline. Woe is me.  I safety pinned that bitch.  I bought this hat on Wednesday at Target, on clearance for $7.48. I was shopping for camping supplies and decided it was a must-have based on the advice from my friend Rica to wear a hat when canoeing.  

I had a million things to do on Thursday since our canoe trip was to begin at 6:30 am on Friday.  I had to work, go to Whole Foods for more food supplies, Essene for vegetarian marshmallows, get tequila, go to school and take a midterm, pack, etc., etc.  I was actually on time and starting my day right.  I did my first job, letting out a slew of dogs at my friend Kelly's house.  I finished and attempted to continue working only to be smashed into by a Silverado while crossing Frankford Ave with a full green light.  That put a real wrench in my plans for the day.  I remember seeing him from the corner of my eye and my first thought was I don't have time for this, I have too much to do today. That's probably not the best thought to have right before a car accident.  I need to rethink this invincibility feeling I've got going on.  The dickhead didn't have his license or information on him and when I yelled at him something mean like "What's wrong with you, why wouldn't you stop at a fucking red light?" He said the sun was in his eyes and he thought he had a green.  His story changed after the cop arrived when he  straight lied and said he had a green light.  Ass.  He didn't have his info when the cop arrived but his cop wife showed up with it shortly after and spoke to the cop on the scene. Shady, shady.  I was still listed as the first person, the car hit, on the accident report and luckily my friend Gert saw the whole thing since she was exiting her grooming salon to throw out some garbage.  Had I known the asshat was going to lie I could have collected at least five other witnesses.  Ugh.  

We had to wait hours for the whole thing to be resolved and for the Element to be towed to the shop.  The accident occurred at 12:50 and I didn't leave the scene until 3.  Dumb. Michael drove me around to the jobs I didn't cancel and then we went to Whole Foods.  I had to nix the rest of my errands and my head started to pound like crazy.  I didn't go to class and missed my midterm.  Dumb.  I used to the time to get rid of my headache and then pack for canoeing.  We didn't get to our friend Orsborn's house until close to midnight and our wake up time was 6 am.  No good.  Michael broke his Iphone screen as soon as we got there and we were all tired and cranky.  I'd barely eaten so we stopped at Wawa and I had a disgusting bagel sandwich, quite possibly the worst I've ever eaten. We finally fell asleep in the hottest fucking apartment on the most uncomfortable, so not for two people, couch and got a good three hours of sleep.  Stupid day. 

day three hundred hundred thirty-two.

Day Three Hundred Thirty-two Tuesday 7/27/10

Dress:  Blue and White Flowered Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $5.00

Accessories:  black flats, white cardigan sometimes

Hair and Makeup:  Down, usual makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Michael said something about the dress but I can't remember

This dress is clearly homemade, based on the fact that it's tagless and I can see the at home construction when it's inside out.  It's the tiniest bit too tight in the armpit area and it's really not flattering due to its sack like construction.  Still, I kind of like something about it.  

I spent the day working, going to school, writing an on the spot suspension of disbelief piece that I hated and lamented on for hours, and then I came home and made dinner. We had mac and cheese again, this time with some smoked veggie sausages from Light Life, the smart dog people.  They're new, as clearly marked on their package.  In the take it or leave it contest of life I choose to leave them from here on out.  I also made a big salad and Michael, Orsy and I ate dinner.  Pictured above is the sail Michael's been working on.  He made it all from scratch with bamboo, twine and fabric.  I kind of love him.  A lot. 

day three hundred twenty-four.

Day Three Hundred Twenty-four Monday  7/19/10

Dress:  Turquoise and Floral weird ribbon dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:  Blue plastic hair barrettes, black flats

Hair and Makeup:  Down and with barrettes, usual makeup with some blue eyeshadows

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Someone told me I look nice in this color 

I still didn't feel one hundred percent on Monday.  Luckily my night and morning cat job was cancelled so I didn't have to rush out of the house.  I put a negative amount of energy into dressing, hair and makeup because I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It was stupid hot so I opted for this dress that I don't love at all.  It's not flattering in the slightest and the side ties are weird and kept coming untied all day. This dress will definitely go into my donate pile- good thing I have another clothing swap coming up soon! I also hate this picture but I put zero effort into it as well so whatevs- what I do love are the weird extra floating heads that were created when I attempted to retouch erase a large part of my kitchen background.  Creepy.  Thats me making tacos and apparently being mad about it.   It was a boring day.  I worked, went to school and got a crapload of homework- why can't my professor give us writing assignments over the weekend and not on a Monday night?  Blargh.  We had one tiny little reading assignment to complete in four days and then wham! Monday night she hits us with a reading assignment, a writing assignment and to top it all off I was one of the two people chosen to run the class discussion on the reading assignment so I had to prepare for that too.  Ugh.  I came home and made tacos and ate them like they were my last meal.  I did my reading assignment, which was amazing- Tobias Wolff's Bullet in the Brain.  It's super short and there's a short film of it as well that's kind of amazing.  He's the same guy that wrote This Boy's Life.  I've seen the movie but never read the book.  Guess it's on my to read list now. 

day three hundred twenty-three.

this is what a hangover looks like

Day Three Hundred Twenty-two Sunday  7/18/10

Dress:  Grey and Black Vintage Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:  giant black sunglasses, green flats

Hair and Makeup:  Pulled back into a bun, no makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  none regarding my outfit, several regarding my pride

Ass, complete ass.  That's how I felt.  I had to rush out of the house to go work with the mother, no the grandmother, of all hangovers.  I hate this dress because it's huge, unflattering, itchy and hot.  It was free though.  I thought about trying to rework it and hem it and take it in and then I thought, nah, it's not worth the effort.  So I just threw on this sack of a dress knowing I'd take it right back off later in the day. 

Dear Vodka and Grain Alcohol, 

We are so over.  

No Love, Abby

I did my jobs, tried desperately not to throw up at any of my client's houses and came home and got right back into bed.  I attempted to eat a bagel but only got maybe a quarter of it into my system before giving up.   My bed and I were very close friends on Sunday.  I had to go back out later in the day to do more cat jobs- dumb.  Somehow I got through it and then came home and settled into our pillow top mattress with Michael's laptop and watched and slept through many episodes of Law and Order Criminal Intent on Netflix instant play.  God bless Netflix.  Finally my stomach stopped flippity-flopping and I got really, really hungry.  I ate a wrap of veggie turkey and lots of greens and some other random stuff along with some leftover mac n' cheese.  More bed, more Law and Order, more water.  Later I had another wrap and watched some True Blood.  Sunday was such a waste.  

day three hundred eighteen.

Day Three Hundred Eighteen Tuesday 7/13/10

Dress:  

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:   Green Hunter Wellies

Hair and Makeup:  Pulled into a low bun, bangs down with a headband, usual makeup with green eyeshadows blended together. 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  A stranger complimented my wellies

So this dress was below the knee and I wasn't feeling it. I chopped off a good bit of the bottom and instantly liked it better.  It was a shitty, hot day and this fabric is thick and weird so I was still feeling a little gross. I spent my day working, headed to school early to do my reading and then went to class.  It was another good class but I miss my group from last semester.  A few people in the class certainly like to tell stories about themselves that have no actual relevance to the topics at hand.  Oh bother.  Over sharers man, they are not my favorite people.  I came home and met up with Michael and our friend Sean at Kraftwork.   I had a flight of three stouts and one witbier, a beet salad that was tasty but lacking sustenance and some herbed flatbread.  Michael and Sean were working on Sean's website for his new bar and restaurant- Station Taproom.  You should go and eat and drink there.  We watched a bit of the all star game and then came home and continued watching it.  Michael fell asleep and I gave up in the seventh inning because it was taking way too long and I was way too tired. 

day three hundred fifteen.

Day Three Hundred Fifteen Saturday  7/10/10

Dress:  Black Pocketed Shirt Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift 

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $2.50
Accessories:  Green Hunter Wellies, black and grey striped socks, rib cage necklace, blue flower hair clip

Hair and Makeup: Two braided pigtails that I eventually twisted into two buns because I felt so silly, usual makeup with a whole bunch of extra eye makeup 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  My friend Bryana liked my necklace, she didn't actually say so but she touched it so I'm assuming she liked it.  

I woke up a little hurty on Saturday since I spent Friday night climbing up and down a ladder and I am out of shape at the moment.  Oops.   I got this dress at Circle Thrift and it happened to be the 50% off color of the week so it was $2.50.  It's pockets make me love it.  It's plain and a little big so without the pockets I would probably throw it into my donate pile.  

I did a cat job and then came home and made lunch for Michael and.  We then headed to his garage to pick up his baby, his Corrado.  He's moving out of his garage at the end of the month and getting his baby back on the road.  It took quite some time so I went and did another cat job while he worked on Junior, the car is named after Uncle Junior from the Sopranos since his actual character name is Corrado.  We came home and hung out around the house and finally went out to get some dinner around 11:30.  Most kitchens were closed but El Camino Real was open so we settled into a table.  I got a seitan taco salad and a strawberry margarita.  It was a lovely day.  

Later in the night I took some hipstamatic pictures of the kitties and read in bed: