day three hundred hundred sixty-two.

Day Three Hundred Sixty-two Thursday  8/26/10

Dress: Pink Lace Vintage Grandma Dress

Purchased From:  Country Gift and Thrift Shoppe 

Year or Era Purchased: Summer 2010

Price: $4

Accessories:  Black flats
Hair and Makeup: Down and curled a bit with pinned back bangs

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Michael liked the dress

This dress is from one of my favorite thrift stores ever.  I used to shop there in high school and they even sell "plain clothes" so you know I went through a phase of wearing Amish girl dresses and combat boots.  They have the cutest stuff here, both clothing and household goods and man oh man, they are wicked cheap compared to Philly thrift prices.  They're wicked cheap compared to any thrift prices really.  I don't really want to share this secret place but I guess I shouldn't be greedy.  It's here, so happy thrifting if you wander there!  The dress itself is lovely, though got a little itchy as the day went on since it's lace.  Thursday was a pretty good day.  I spent the day working and then headed to school to pick up my portfolio.  My professor told me I had the most organized portfolio of the whole class, that I got an A and that she looked forward to hearing me read my work someday.  That was pretty cool.  I headed over Chic Petique to buy cat litter and food for the little foster lady and then to Yappy Hour, in Liberties walk.  I saw a cute wiener dog and drank a little sangria and hung out for a bit with my friends Chad and Lindsay.  I then headed to the liquor store and bought a bottle of red wine, Arrogant Frog Pinot Noir- maybe the best wine name ever.  I then drove into center city to pick up mr. flat bike tire husband man from work.  We came home and I made us veggie meatloaf with tater tots and homemade cheese sauce and tri-color beans sauteed with almonds and sesame seeds.  We ate and drank red wine and watched The Informant.  I'd say Thursday was a pretty amazing day.  

day two hundred ninety-one.

Day Two Hundred Ninety-one Wednesday  6/16/10 

Dress: Green Vintage Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift 

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $5.00
Accessories: black flats, blue cotton belt

Hair and Makeup: Double buns, usual makeup with some red lips. 

Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Uhhh. Yeah, I don't think any but don't quote me on that. 

Oh Wednesday you were so long, too long.  The day was sightly cooler than our average temperatures as of late so  I took the opportunity to wear some polyester.  This dress is hot and too big so I  belted it a bit and sucked it up.  I spent the day working, came home and made us dinner rice, fried tofu with red curry sauce, kale chips and salads.  After dinner I went back to work on the third draft of my story.  I kept working all night, until after 4a.m. to be exact.  Ugh. I finally went to bed and realized I smelled awful so I got up and took a shower.  I think around 5a.m. I finally fell asleep but I got it done.  Stay tuned for cranky stories of Thursday in the next blog. 

day two hundred sixty-three.

what's with those alien eyeballs? oh red eye corrector, that's what. 

Day Two Hundred Sixty-three Tuesday 5/18/10 

Dress: Pink and White Vintage Day Dress

Purchased From:  Thrift Fair

Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2010
Price: $3.95
Accessories: Black tights, hunter wellies in green, blue fabric belt, black long sleeve undershirt, pink dog house earrings and later in the day a cream colored knit hat.

Hair and Makeup: Double buns with bangs pinned back because they are working my nerves, usual makeup with some purply shadow from the Alice Urban Decay palette

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Michael liked my dress, Jody liked my earrings, a stranger commented on my boots

My morning was great despite the icky weather.  I threw on this outfit and pinned my hair into two buns and left my face blank for a bit so I could take Michael to the El and go hangout at Milkcrate Cafe for some coffee and reading. I read half of my assignment the night before and left half for the morning.  I saw my friend Jody there and we talked a bit and then got into our work. I like hanging out at coffee shops and doing homework.  I especially like hanging out at Milkcrate because it lacks any bit of pretentiousness that most coffee shops ooze.  

I came home and ate and threw on some makeup and then embarked on a crazy whirlwind late-for-everything type of day.  I left the house sort of on time but mostly late and then stopped to see my friend Sue and her little almost two week old lady, Lemon.  Mistake.  When I get to talking with Sue time just slips away.  Oops! I spent the day frantically working and late for everything and stuck in traffic and without parking.  Ugh. 

I managed to get all of my jobs done and get to class at 6:01.  It was really, really close though.  Class was great and most of the chest pounding tear inducing feelings from the night before faded quickly.  We spent most of the class discussing the writing process and then a mere 15 minutes discussing one paragraph of 90 pages of a reading assignment.  Aaahhh college. Now I remember why I was able to get away with never doing the readings.  Oh well, at least I actually liked this book.  

I came home from class and found that Michael had bought me congrats on going back to school flowers.  What a sweetheart.  They're really beautiful.  I'm smitten.  I then whipped up some mac n' cheese, bbq seitan and cucumber carrot slaw for dinner and we ate while watching Lost.  It was fucking good- Lost I mean. 

day one hundred thirty-seven and day one hundred thirty-eight.

someday that ugly wallpaper will be red paint.

Day One Hundred Thirty-seven 1/12/2010

Dress: Black and White Flower Print Dress

Purchased From:  Circle Thrift 

Year or Era Purchased:  Winter 2009
Price: $5
Accessories: Black underslip, black cardigan, pink hat during the day, bluish green tights, black leg warmers, black ballet flats
Hair and Makeup:  Pulled back into a low bun, usual makeup
Comments/Compliments/Complaints: 

Our internet was down for a day.  Sorry for the lack of update.  Yesterday was jam packed so I was sort of relieved that I didn't have to update when I sat down at my computer and realized no internets.  I woke up as usual and took Michael to the el, came home and got ready and had some coffee before heading out to work, do a new client consultation and then head into center city to meet up with Michael, his Mom, sister and her boyfriend for drinks a a bite the rooftop bar of The Continental.  I didn't have any alcohol as my guts are still slightly pickled from Saturday night.  I did have the tofu tempura and mushroom flatbread.  The tofu was divine.  I've never been to Continental as it seems a little too bourgeois for me since I'm not super classy.  It's actually really awesome and the upstairs has an outdoor and indoor seating area.  The indoor area has an awesome retro fire place.  It was the perfect place to relax before heading back out into the cold for our walk to the Academy of Music to see Wicked, our Christmas present.  It was really great and I loved the story but most of all I loved the costumes.  I wanted so many of them, especially the black and white costumes, my god! 

The dress I wore was purchased last week at Circle Thrift.  It's not the best fitting, with some button puckering but I wanted to look sort of nice since we had plans.  Last night I totally woke up at 3:30AM and peed out of my bum (pickled guts, no more blackberry brandy ever again!) so perhaps it would've been better off trying that dress today.  

I don't know what that dumb face is?

Day One Hundred Thirty-eight 1/13/2010

Dress: Orange and Printed Vintage Dress

Purchased From:  donated from my mom's friend.  

Year or Era Purchased:  Fall 2009
Price: Free
Accessories: Gray sweater, black under blouse, black tights, blue leg warmers, black on black chucks
Hair and Makeup:  Double mini-buns and braids, usual makeup with extra black eye shadow 
Comments/Compliments/Complaints: I was referred to in the following manner while in the room"oh isn't she pretty" 

This dress was provided to me from my Mom's friend and came from that friend's Mom who used to work in a factory (I think I'm remembering this correctly) that manufactured this and other types of this style dress.  It's sort of dorky and weird and bright but I like it.  I paired with a grey cardigan to tone it down a bit but since I wore my coat all day the crazy pattern part was the only visible section.  Since I woke up in the middle of the night I slept in and Michael braved the cold and road his bike to work.  I spent the rest of the day working and stopped at the grocery store before heading home for a big night in on the couch.  I did make a yummy dinner of pierogies, veggie kielbasa, vegetarian baked beans, a cheese pie and a small salad.  Not the healthiest but I certainly controlled my portions pretty well today in hopes that my belly has finally settled.   I pray for no more middle of the night belly innard punching feelings and tomorrow I hope to get my butt back to the gym for the first time this week! Boring.  Goodnights. 

day one hundred thirty-one.

Me and my kitty Easter.  I made her eyes funny with the red eye corrector.

Day One Hundred Thirty-one 1/6/2010
Dress: Pastel Floral House Dress 
Purchased From:  Port Richmond Super Thrift 

Year or Era Purchased:  Winter 2009
Price: $2.05
Accessories: Green Knit Handkerchief by old fashioned goodness, brown tights, cream leg warmers, black boots, pink knit hat, black cardigan
Hair and Makeup:  still dirty with two mini braids into big braids, usual makeup 
Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  none 


I think I might give this "dress" to my Mom-Mom once it's washed.  I like the pockets and the comfort but had this not been $2 I never would have purchased it.  I tried it on with jeans but it made me feel kind of terrible so I opted for layers on my legs.  I was warm today so it was much, much better.   It was pretty boring- work, gym, home, dinner and we watched the movie Let the Right One In.  It was good.  Creepy little Swedish vampire and non-vampire children are pretty rad.  I think I'm going to a gun range tomorrow to shoot guns with my brother so hopefully I'll have something way more entertaining to write about it.  Until then.  

day one hundred thirty.

Me and Eno at Mike and Jody's

Day One Hundred Thirty 1/5/2010
Dress: Purple Old Lady Nightgown Dress 
Purchased From:  Port Richmond Super Thrift 

Year or Era Purchased:  Winter 2009
Price: $2.95
Accessories: jeans, black snow boots, blue cardigan, 
Hair and Makeup:  still dirty but braided, usual makeup 
Comments/Compliments/Complaints:  Sherry and Jody commented on my dress




I am exhausted and feel pretty gross in my belly because of this: 

Today's dress was purchased on Sunday in the pajama/lingerie section of the Port Richmond Super Thrift.  Never underestimate this section of your local thrift store.  It was cold as crap today so I wore it with jeans and a cardigan.  Turns out, not warm enough.  Probably also because I tried to pair it with a winter coat I snagged at the swap meet.  Guess what?! Yeah, it's not super warm and the sleeves are too short.  Guess who didn't have arm warmers or long gloves today? Yep, me.  And my socks kept doing that thing where they got swallowed up by boots whenever I walked so they were all bunched under my feet.  And then to top it all off I slammed my hand in a client's door.  So dumb.  I hated a lot of today.  I am not ready for this cold and working outside all day.  No good. 


It was better when I got home after a stop at the store to see about winter coats- nope, just bathing suits.  Oh great, just what I need.  Fuckers.  Seriously.  It just got super duper cold. Stop the insanity! Why can't I buy a scarf or winter coat in January? Why can I buy shorts or a bathing suit?  Do not want! 


After work Michael and I went to my brother's house to give Christmas gifts finally and then headed to Spano and Jody's for some deep fried cheese curds since Jody recently returned from Wisconsin.  That's the fatty goodness pictured above. I'm going to take my cheese curd baby to bed now before I throw it all up on my keyboard. Goodnight. 

day sixty-three.

Day Sixty-three 10/30/2009
Dress: Pink Grandma Dress
Purchased From: Super Thrift
Year or Era Purchased: Spring 2007?
Price: $3-5
Accessories: pink on pink striped socks, black mary janes, black lace short sleeved blouse
Hair and Makeup: down and wavy with a black lace headband, black eye makeup and pink lipstick
Comments/Compliments/Complaints: I think I got 6 or 7 compliments on my socks.
Day: 


I slept in until 9:30 today even though the cats were protesting the fact that they didn't have any food.  Flea set up shop on my back and slept there for at least fifteen minutes.  The joke was on him though because we were out of food.  Oops. I finally dragged myself out of bed and drank coffee while I washed massive amounts of dishes.  I wrote some yelp reviews because I'm addicted to them right now and then I got dressed in my ridiculous outfit.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved every ounce of its ridiculousness, just know I was aware of it.  The dress has actually never been worn.  It was one of those weird thrift store purchases that I never quite understood and it's so not flattering.  It had sleeves, long sheer pink sleeves that cuffed at the wrists, but I cut them off because they drove me a little crazy.  I added the lace blouse because the top of the dress is really not so flattering.  Pink on pink striped socks definitely saved this mess of a dress.  I also dug into the back of my closet for my old chunky mary janes that have holes in the toes. I forgot how much i love those cheap shoes.  I think they were under $10 and I wore the crap out of them back in the day. Since it was the day before Halloween I didn't get too many weird looks today but I did get a lot of unexpected compliments on my socks, some even from strangers.  Awesome. 


I worked for a few hours today and then went home and immediately started in on my costume.  Kristin came over and brought her sewing machine and I made my dress for tomorrow. Yay! It was my first dress! It looks like a costume but it is supposed to so that's okay.  It's also made of felt and fleece so it's not exactly the prettiest of most flattering fabric but it looks just right for the part.  After a few hours of work we went over to Mike and Jody's for dinner (Jody made polenta, pasta with spano's sauce and sauteed peppers and mushrooms and I made vegetarian chicken parm)  and a viewing of Trick 'r Treat.  My god that movie is great.  It is rare these days to get a good horror/halloween movie but this one was fabulous.  I highly recommend it!  We hung out for a bit and then I came home and charged through another two hours of costume time.  It would've been quicker but we ran out of thread on the bobbin and Michael had to figure it out for me.  He eventually did and I got my sleeves/armwarmers done.  Yay! He also had to help me with some gluing that actually required liquid nails.  Oh dear this damn costume is complicated!!! I am off to bed now with many hours of work to do tomorrow to prepare for the 10th annual bonfire Mike and Jess Halloween party.  I am so very excited!

day four.

Day Four 9/1/2009 RABBIT RABBIT!

Dress: Pink and White Splatter Pattern Grandma Dress

Purchased From: Circle Thrift

Year or Era Purchased: Sometime around 2008?

Price: $4 or $5?

Accessories: Lock and childhood heart shaped locket on a long chain.

Hair and Makeup: lots of bobby pins in 1/2 and a ponytail, blush, mascara and hot pink lipstick called "fantasia"

Comments/Compliments/Complaints: Blog related comments

Day: After my last blog I tried to take a claritin only to realize in horror that my vanity only held an empty box. Why didn't I throw it away when I took the last one? What is wrong with me? Luckily there is a twenty-four hour CVS in our neighborhood. I must have looked like a freak as I bought claritin, cooling relief anti-itch spray (mosquito bites) and Advanced Cortaid (eczema) I was a ball of itchiness. It sucked. With my sprays and lotions and pills I came home and applied them before slipping off into a blissful itch free sleep. I slept so well with the windows open and the cool air pouring in. Unfortunately Flea the cat woke us up around 6:30 as his claws were stuck in the screen of one of the open windows. I can only assume he was shaking them at a pigeon. I hope that pigeon laughed at him when he got stuck. Michael removed his claws and we fell back into the hardest deepest sleep and apparently slept right through the alarm. It was worth it.

Today was so much better than yesterday, even though I still wasn't totally in love with today's dress it was just a better day in general and I tried not to let my attitude fall. I think hot pink lipstick might help with that. Today's dress is one of my many grandma style dresses. I really have an affinity for this type of dress. It's got to be that I lived through the grunge era and I just can't give up my youth. Luckily this particular dress came with a belt so it improves the shape a bit. It's also a pretty forgiving style so that's probably another reason I enjoy it. I think that's why I like dresses so much in general. Jeans will not forgive you on a bloaty day but dresses will hide your bloat and make you feel pretty. I am not opposed to wearing a dress with jeans and I suppose I forgot to mention that I will absolutely be wearing jeans sometimes with dresses. I personally think it looks awesome and the forgiving dress will hide a muffin top on a bad day. I should probably also clear up a few more rules of this blog. I pretty much plan to wear the dress of the day all day. If for some reason I can't do this I will be sure to wear it for a large portion of the day. I will say that there are few occasions that I find inappropriate for dresses, even if I can't think of any right now. I have helped people move, camped, gardened, walked dogs, etc. in dresses. Anyway back to today's dress. It's another pink one. You'll probably see a lot of pink dresses in the coming weeks. I'm thinking of changing my hair and the current options are back to platinum or some shade of red. Should I go with red I want to get the pink dresses out of the way. I am not totally positive but I am pretty sure this pink dress is from Circle Thrift on Frankford Ave in Fishtown. I can't be sure from when but I bet it was about $4 or $5 because that's what they charge for their dresses. Score! I like to go in there and peruse their dress rack because I can buy five friggin' dresses there and not feel bad at all. They usually have a pretty good selection and for a little while I kept scoring H&M stuff from one season prior in my size. So thanks to whoever cleans out their closet seasonally. I totally reap the benefits.

I keep getting side tracked. I had some red wine and a chocolate ice cream cone so forgive my craziness. After walking dogs today I bailed on the gym. It was just too nice outside to go. I promise to go tomorrow! Instead I made burritos out of last nights leftover fajita and rice dinner but used jalapeno cheddar tortillas. We watched the season finale of Weeds and then I went to hang out at Kelly and Rica's house where there is always an abundance of red wine, dogs and conversation. Rica and I then ventured to Barnes and Noble and to Scoop De Ville. We got ice cream cones and sat in Rittenhouse Park. It really was a lovely evening. Now I'll await my lovely skateboarding husband while watching the remake of Last House on the Left and perusing my newly purchased books. Loving life so much more than last night I must say.

Before I go I should also mention that for the first time since probably my childhood I wore a slip under my dress. It was a bit static clingy so I threw a cute pink slip under the dress and voila. This slip has only been worn as a skirt in the past. Be proud Mom, be proud.