day three hundred hundred forty-seven.

Day Three Hundred Forty-seven Wednesday 8/11/10

Dress:  White Floral Dress with Fancy Crocheted Back

Purchased From: Mishel's clothing swap 

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010
Price: $FREE

Accessories:  Green flats
Hair and Makeup: During the day two low side buns and barrettes, in the evening the side pinned up and the other side in a bun, usual makeup with tons of green and blue MAC eyeshadows.

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Michael, Sue and Rica liked my dress

I love this dress.  It's so pretty I can just stare at it and it makes me happy. The back is pretty fabulous and fancy too.  I snagged it at the clothing swap and will probably hand it down to my friend Becky next since her friend thought she'd like it.  I told her I'd wear it and give it to her because we all know I don't need any more dresses in my house. 

I got up early today and took the newly fixed Element to get inspected.  Ugh.  Next up on the agenda is a new clutch.  I am such a bad person when it comes to cars.  I have successfully murdered a Toyota Tercel via a thrown engine rod, a Honda Civic via a transmission but then some asshole fell asleep at the wheel and totaled it so that sort of worked in my favor, a BMW 318is via too many issues to list but one of them included a new clutch too and now the Element.  I need a fucking tank. I drive like an asshole, and often.  So I dropped it off and continued to use Rica's car, thanks Rica!  I came home and tore my house apart looking for something I got for Sue's birthday back in June.  Apparently planning ahead is not a good idea for pack rats.  The gift has jumped ship.  I did start on the cleanup of our middle room, the wood stove room.  It was torn apart during third floor bathroom construction, as we needed to run pipes to the basement.  This resulted in me losing a built in bookshelf, no good. All of the things that called the bookshelf home were boxed or bagged and placed on the futon.  It is piled high and looks awful.  I moved most of the books to our bedroom but so many other random things still reside on the futon graveyard.  The floor was also becoming inundated with junk, including the camping gear that needed to work its way to the basement.  I got a good bit done but there are miles to go before it's clean.  I did work some magic with the one piece of the oven that Michael salvaged when he got rid of his garage and two old ovens.  It now calls the top of the cabinets home.  Please ignore the awful wallpaper and cabinet colors.  We'll get to those eventually. 

After two hours of cleanup I still did not find the damn Sue jawn.  Ugh.  I'll track it down someday I'm sure.  Maybe in time for Christmas.  I realized how late it was and got my ass in gear, slapping on some makeup and making a veggie turkey wrap.  I spent the day working and then headed home for a quick hair change and freshening.  I picked up Rica, then picked up the Element- $450 later it's inspected and we got a $992 clutch replacement estimate.  Blargh.  It never ends.  I left the shop and started walking to Sue's, right around the corner, then realized that I had to walk back and get the Element.  After two weeks of not having it I guess I got used to it.  Ha.  I picked up Sue and Rica and we headed to Horizon's for dinner. Nom, nom,nom.  We all split a pitcher of sangria and Sue and I split the bbq seitan app and two entrees- the pan seared tofu and the grilled seitan.  It was delicious but I think we were both under the impression that splitting entrees means you should eat both of your halves in entirety.  We were quite full.  Our plans to head to Govinda's for vegan ice cream were foiled by our inability to stop eating.  After dinner we headed back to Sue's so I could load up her itunes with lullaby renditions of awesome music.  I had no idea this existed, it's really beautiful.  I gave her The Cure, Radiohead, Bjork, Journey, Nirvana, and The Ramones.  Lemon will be the coolest baby ever.  

I came home and snuggled with Michael and now I guess I should do some homework.  Yup, I'll do that. 

day three hundred hundred forty-six.

Day Three Hundred Forty-six Tuesday 8/10/10

Dress:  Brown Multi Colored Daisy Dress

Purchased From: Super Thrift 

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010
Price: $3.95

Accessories:  Brown knee highs, black on black chucks, turquoise bird barrette 
Hair and Makeup: Two mini buns and the rest down and curled a bit, usual makeup with a "gorgeous gold" MAC eyeshadow

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Michael liked my dress, a friend of mine from class liked my shoes

I love this dress.  I'm a sucker for daisies and it's super easy and comfortable. It was again hot as nards today, well four degrees cooler than yesterday's nards, but still hot.  Days like these I wish I didn't have so much hair.  Even pulling it back is gross and sweaty.  Woe is me.  I'm not cutting it or anything, I'm still super into the length and versatility.  I just like to complain.  I found my chucks when I was cleaning the other day so I'm currently crushing on them combined with knee socks.  Speaking of footwear I've been noticing that combat boots are in style for this coming season.  This means I'm officially old because styles that were popular when I was a teenager are once again in style.  Blargh.  I guess that makes me happy and I'll be able to replenish my boot supply to wear for the next several years, after fashion has moved on.  I'll always be a sucker for boots.  I guess I'm hanging out with a tangent right now.  Sorry. 

On to the day then.  It's my friend Sue's birthday and because of school and work I was unable to see her.  Boo. We managed an hour long conversation and will have dinner tomorrow night but still.   I had to start my day early, doing homework.  I had to complete a dialogue piece that was assigned yesterday.  Again, my professor is all about assigning stuff on a Monday when the syllabus says everything will be due on a Monday, with a weekend to work on it.  Ugh.  I feel like I'm regressing severely in this class from last class.  I love my professor as a person but I'm having a lot of trouble advancing as a writer.  We have conferences on Thursday so I'll have to discuss it with her, among other things. 

After finishing, late, I started work and worked all day. I ate a peach only since I was running so late and thought I'd pass out if I didn't get food before class so I stopped at Essene for some hot bar food.  They're really disappointing me as of late.  The food is bleh and the prices are redunkulous.  Five dollars for four mushrooms, four small pieces of seitan, a quarter cup of rice and  one piece of broccoli.  I'm over it.  I got to class early and ate in the classroom while I did my reading.  Class was okay. I got annoyed but I won't go into it.  After class I came home and made pierogies, veggie kielbasa, beans and sliced tomato for dinner. It was yum.   

Again I have to end this with sad doggie news. I found out today that one of my clients, Henry the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, passed away suddenly of a heart attack.  I've been walking him for something like four or five years now and am heartbroken to hear this.  He recently started coughing, a symptom of heart disease.  Penn misdiagnosed him with allergies or a lung issue.  This saddens me so much because his owner was proactive and extremely mindful of her animals, giving them the best possible care.  You will be missed greatly HenHen.  

day three hundred hundred thirty-eight.

Day Three Hundred Thirty-eight Monday 8/2/10

Dress:  White and Red Floral Sundress

Purchased From:  Conway

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010
Price: $8.99

Accessories:  Black flats
Hair and Makeup:  Brushed, usual makeup 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: One of my clients complimented my dress

I like the dress better on the hanger.  It fits sort of weird and the ruching is not so much flattering.  My boobs are a bit unfortunate in it at certain angles and it doesn't offer up much support.  Oh well. I put very minimal effort into anything beauty related on Monday because  I was exhausted and had a full plate.

I woke up early and started my homework.  I knew I had an insanely busy day that included homework, work, picking up a dog who is staying here, midterm, school, and eventually home.  I had to rewrite Cinderella, which I found extremely boring and uninspiring.  I suppose it's my own fault.  Now I know what all of those stupid reality show contestants mean when they say it's hard to show themselves in challenges. Ugh, did I just commiserate with reality show contestants?  I find that in this particular class we have a lot of small writing assignments and I'm having trouble fitting my style and voice into the assignments.  I need to fix that asap.  I made my Cinderella story a figment of my main character's imagination, as she is a patient in a mental institution.  I did not do it very well.  It's supposed to have a twist type ending, though I sincerely don't love those so I'm not sure what business I have employing them.  See what I mean, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Stupid Cinderella.  I pumped that story out in two hours, started work and worked all day, got to school at 5 to take the midterm I missed on Thursday then went to class.  Phew. That's a lot of running around in one day.  By the time I came home I was exhausted.  I made sandwiches for dinner and Michael and I watched True Blood, which was a great way to end the busy 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 hundred thirty-one.

Ipacac loves the new bathtub.  

Day Three Hundred Thirty-one Monday 7/26/10

Dress:  Black Dress with White and Green Flowers

Purchased From:  Super Thrift/Thrift Fair

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010
Price: $3.95

Accessories:  green flats, black belt

Hair and Makeup:  Down, usual makeup with some green shadow

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Some ladies in an elevator commented on my green shoes matching the green in my dress but they sort of said it to each other like I wasn't there "oh looks her shoes match the green in her dress" so it was the tiniest bit condescending or maybe I just assumed it since I was a poor chick in an elevator with rich ladies.  

This dress is too big so I used the belt from 239 to cinch it up a bit.  I did purposefully match my green shoes to the green in the dress because I love green and I love those shoes.  I contemplated my green belt, but thought that would be too much.  Monday was a beautiful day weather wise so I made sure to enjoy it.  I worked, went to school, came home and made macaroni and cheese, smart dogs and sauteed broccoli rabe. Michael continued to work on his sail and I watched another episode of Jersey Shore.  I'm addicted. 

day three hundred hundred twenty-eight.

Day Three Hundred Twenty-eight  Friday  7/23/10

Dress:  Floral and Black Kimono style dress

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: FREE
Accessories:  black flats

Hair and Makeup:  Pulled back into a low bun, usual makeup

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Michael, and I think a few more people but I can't remember. Sorry. 

I love this dress.  Molly gave it to me with instructions to wash it since it was starched into an uncomfortable hardness  Once the starch was removed it became a very comfortable and quite adorable dress.  I wore it a bit off the shoulders since the boobage area was a little short fabric wise.  I'm not sure if this was the actual intent of the dress but I liked it this way.  It was beyond hot on Friday so I was happy to wear something so flowy.  

I spent my day working and then stupidly thought it would be best to grill because of the heat.  Nope.  It sucked ass to grill and made me sweat like a glass of ice water in the sun.  I put the marinated seitan, corn on the cob, and asparagus on the grill and headed into the house to cool off.  When I went to check the grill goodies I found that our tank of propane had finally kicked. Blargh.  I ran to the store and exchanged it and got back to business.  I also threw a baguette on the grill to warm it and served the food with some lime herb butter, tzatziki sauce.  It was all quite yummy.  I made myself a strawberry margarita with homemade strawberry simple syrup and fresh pureed strawberries. It was the best possible accompaniment to a grilled dinner on a hot summer night.  I wish I'd taken pictures. Oh well.  I spent the rest of the night hanging out with the two Steves and Michael.  We ate, drank and watched episodes of Louie while Michael worked on building a sail for our upcoming canoeing trip.  

day three hundred twenty-six.

Day Three Hundred Twenty-six  Wednesday  7/21/10

Dress:  Blackish Greyish Charcoal Sheath Dress with embroidered flowers

Purchased From:  MOLLY DELANEY

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:  blue hair barrette, black flats

Hair and Makeup:  Pulled back into a bun and also down, depending on the heat and my mood, usual makeup with lots of fun blue eyeshadow

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  A few dress compliments- Michael and my mom.  I think someone yelled something at me from a car. 

Wednesday was again horribly hot.  I knew I had to wear next to nothing to get through the day walking dogs for hours on end.  Unfortunately my dress collection is dwindling and my summer dress selections are becoming nil.  Luckily I still had this dress, another Molly dress. At first glance it looks so plain and uninviting but when I put it on I instantly felt good.  There's a good example of the "always try it on" rule that I like to preach.  Sure, I had to suck my tummy in all day but it was worth it.   I got through the hot work day and stopped at Whole Foods to pick up some dinner treats.  I then picked up Michael and his bicycle and we drove to the burbs for dinner with my parents.  My mom made a super yummy dinner of mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, a special mushroom wine gravy for us, amazing vinegar cucumbers, sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes fresh from the garden.  I brought riblets for Michael and I, a baguette and some brownies for dessert.  We had a really nice dinner and then hung out for a while.  I tortured their two youngest cats with love and then we headed home, with tons of stuff from Mom as usual and corn and watermelon from Dad.  We can never go home with an empty car when visiting my parents, that's just how it is. 

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 and nine.

Day Three Hundred Eight Sunday  7/4/10 

Dress:  Pink and Brown Floral Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift Clothing Swap

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $FREE
Accessories:  Black flats, big sunglasses

Hair and Makeup: Down and wavy, usual makeup with some pink frosty eyeshadow

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Kevin said my dress looked like a 70's couch, Laura commented on how long my hair is and uh, I think that was it, I can't remember. 

It was pretty hot but this dress is kind of flowy so I went with it.  Sunday was fun.  We slept in, had a nice breakfast of omelets and did some other stuff I can't remember.  Around four we headed out to the burbs to our friend, Mike's Mom's house for her annual fourth of July party that always involves massive amounts of vegetarian tamales and tables of food.  Amazing. We hung out for a while, drank beers, played cornhole and washers and then headed home around 10:30.  We then got stuck in a massive traffic jam because I brilliantly decided to get off at the Girard exit and take Girard back to Fishtown.  Poor decision.  We sat on the hilly exit for over half an hour because traffic was way worse there than on 76.  I always choose the wrong line at the grocery store and the wrong traffic pattern.  Finally wet got home close to Midnight.  Fail.