Monday, January 9, 2012

40th Anniversary Fluevogs - 162.4

I stand befuddled in my closet daily staring at my clothes and deciding what to wear so that I can blog about it. You would think I would come up with better ideas, but like every woman on the planet, I have nothing to wear. These are my Fluevog 40th anniversary reissue Truth Pilgrims. They are so comfortable. They fit my feet perfectly, give the right kind of support and don't hurt my back. If I ever meet Mr. Fluevog again I will kiss him directly on the mouth for making these shoes.
I had some extra time yesterday morning so I did my nails. I try to do my nails once a week and theme my outfits around my colour choice. I didn't have enough time to do a full on manicure, so I couldn't do the dark colour I really wanted to do, so I thought I would go with a "different" colour, so I chose this Barbie pink. I had planned to wear mostly black and white this week as I don't have much in the way of Barbie pink. In my morning haze, however that was completely forgotten.


I had decided on the Fluevogs, the grey tights, the white t-shirt and grey cardigan, but couldn't decide on a skirt. This olive plaid skirt caught my attention and I hadn't worn it in some time, so I grabbed it. Was running late as is usual on a Monday morning, so the hair got thrown in to a ponytail, and there you have it. Happy Monday everyone!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Afghan Sweater 163.4 Yay! Down from yesterday!

I had a bad night and morning and needed something comforting, so here it is:
My socks match my sweater, but no one could see because of my boots. It has the same effect as wearing sexy lingerie. No one knows you're wearing it but you and it gives you a confident awesome feeling.
I think The Photographer is getting better, but I think I need to smile and perhaps take the photo at the beginning of the day as opposed to at the end when I'm tuckered right the heck out. (yes those are wedding photos behind me)
Here are the socks:
The boots are my first Fluevogs. John Fluevog is so excellent that he deserves a post of his own. Same with these boots. I hope I can do it justice. Here is the Fluevog website.
My husband HATES the sweater/vest/afghan with a belt. He has no idea about what's in style, so I often don't take what he has to say in to consideration. My whole life I have taken risks when it comes to dressing. I dress for me and not for others and mostly always have and I am always happier when I dress for me. It's like I'm my own Barbie doll. I was having a bummer morning, and this sweater reminds me of the Afghans that my mother (the genius with anything involving needle and thread) used to crochet. I needed to have a "blankie" today, so I wore it.
Here are the boots:
The boots honestly do deserve a post of their own. To be brief, I have been a fan of Fluevogs since I discovered cool things around grade 10 which was in 1987. These are second generation Swordfish boots that I saved up for a year to buy and are the first pair of Fluevogs I ever owned. I bought them in 1990. They have been everywhere. I took them with me on my mission (thanks for the advice, Yra!), I wore them to my first trip to Hawaii, they have gone through rain and sleet and hail and sun and snow. Every gig I went to in every club in the early grunge years and many many times dancing were experienced while wearing these boots. I even wore them to the Calgary Stampede this year. Usually worn with jeans, I wear them with any kind of pant and they work for me. They are the only 'cowboy' boot that I wear on a regular basis.
June 1991 - This is what I wore for my mission farewell


I let my hair dry naturally today, so I wore my hoops to go with the '90's hair. (just kidding). The "base" of the outfit is a plain old ivory turtleneck and my black trousers that I've had since 2002 and are so faded that they are almost grey. I've had to fix the hem on these pants 3 times. They are super comfortable and cut in a way that I've been able to wear them at least once a week through Thick and Thin. I would really hate to see them go, but I DESPERATELY need a new pair of black pants. I seriously hate shopping and hate spending money even more. If it can't be done in 20 minutes, I'm not interested. So investing the time to find another pair of perfect black pants is seriously daunting and something I'd prefer not to do. I also only like shopping with someone I really really trust so that they can run interference with the irritating salespeople. I don't have anyone really like that here in Utah, so I end up going by myself which I don't mind too much other than having to deal with the irritating sales people. Having been an irritating salesperson for my first career I understand that they are just doing their job, and I can appreciate it, but I'm shy and I already don't want to be there, so I'm grumpy and not interested in becoming best friends with the bored clerks in Banana Republic or wherever I am. Because they're pants, I really do need to try things on and I hate the return process hassle with online shopping, and I need to be able to see the product up close, so I actually have to go out and SHOP. One day I'll have all my chores done and the boys' father will be busy doing something fun with them so I don't feel the guilt of leaving them abandoned to do something so selfish like shopping and I will find the perfect pants, but not until I lose 13 pounds.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Black and White 164.6 - up from yesterday, JOY!

I'm a simple person, I have simple tastes, I like simple, clean lines. I like Japanese and Scandanavian interior design. I don't like things to be cluttered or busy or too fancy and swirly. I don't like things that have too much going on.
Since I like to start with shoes, today's are black and gold stilletos. Instead of leather, these shoes are HAIR. Cool, no? (to each his own, I suppose). They are splattered with gold paint and have gold heels. Since the shoes have a lot going on, the rest of the outfit is pretty plain.
Take a look:


Black hose, black pencil skirt that doesn't fit and needs desperately to be altered but I don't have the time nor the desire to do so, White long-sleeved t-shirt (one of many, many white shirts I own) and black cardigan. In my hair I have a black and white Laura Ashley scarf that my Mother-in-law bought for me when I was first married.

I used a "photographer" today, my first born son. He didn't do such a hot job. My second born son insisted on being in the photo. He's adorable, so I let him. My first born warned him: "This is going on the internet, you know." Second born answered, "I don't care". There you have it; the difference between Jose and Hose B. Jose tells me he doesn't want me posting any more pictures of him on Facebook, Hose B. could care less. (more on why another time)
My jewelry is simple, pearl earrings, because the sweater is so fancy with the embellishments on the shoulders and the aforementioned shoes. I also went without hoops because my ears hurt from wearing cheap $5.00 earrings two days in a row.
About Hoop earrings and pierced ears: I got my ears pierced when I was 5. The rule was that I had to wait until I was 6, but my best friend had her 6th birthday in August and mine isn't until December, and she didn't want to have her ears pierced all by herself, so her mum convinced my mum to let me have my ears pierced at the same time. At the time we lived in a cul-de-sac. My best friend lived on one side, we lived at the top, and on the other side lived a family of boys - the Browns. Mrs. Brown was a beautician, so she pierced our ears at our houses with an ice cube. No gun for us! We were hard core! My best friend and her mum came over to our house and Mrs. Brown did hers first since she was the one who was technically six, and then did mine. I don't remember anything other than my best friend was so terrified and I held her hand and next thing we knew, she had these pretty gold balls sparkling in her ears. I was next. I remember the right earring going in fine, and then I remember waking up on the couch in my bathrobe. Apparently, when Mrs. Brown did my left ear, I promptly threw up all over her and passed out cold. So, so sorry Mrs. Brown! I had no idea that would happen. I felt so grown up and cool getting my ears pierced and it looked so easy when my friend had hers done, I had no idea that would happen! Afterwards, my friend said to me "and I was the one that was scared!" When I was 13, I had a second hole put in my left ear. I went with my Nana and my little sister to the Bay to have it done. My little sister was 6 and getting her first set of holes. My little sister's birthday is in November, so my Nana was taking us both for our birthdays. Little sis went first. As I was getting in the chair to have my ear done, my little sister melted into the floor, fainting. One minute she was standing there like everything was peachy, and the next she was a blob on the floor. Little sis had a history of fainting, and since I had fainted when I was six, I assured everyone that this was normal and she would be fine, and I picked her up off the floor and helped her sit down. So they pierced my second hole, and all the blood flew out of my head. I said, "oh, I'm going to go too", and promptly put my head between my knees. We were both fine after that, but I feel terrible still for my poor Nana having to deal with her two fainting granddaughters in the jewelry department at the Bay!
Once I was able to wear regular earrings after my initial piercing, my Aunt Shelley gave me some tiny gold hoops. The kind that connect in to each other so that they can spin around in your ear. They were supposed to be good for newly pierced ears because you could move them through the holes and there was less chance of infection. They were very pretty and delicate, and I loved being able to sit in class and stare out the window and spin my hoops in my ears. I wore those hoops consantly
When I got to Junior high school (grade eight), I got my first pair of big hoops. They were white plastic and about 3 inches in diameter. I loved them and wore them with everything. White goes with everthing, right? About grade ten was when the obsession began. I got a pair of silver hoops, also about 3 inches in diameter. I loved them so much I got another pair, then another. I kept getting bigger and bigger hoops. The goal was to find a pair of hoops that would touch my shoulders. When I was in grade twelve, I achieved that goal - a big ol' pair of 4 inch silver hoops. I would wear the big hoops in my two main holes, and a tiny hoop or a cubic zirconia stud in the second hole on my left ear. I worked at a clothing store in the mall and wore my hoops every day. I had gold ones, silver ones, white, turquoise, houndstooth, you name it. If they were hoops, I wore them. Customers would come to my store when I wasn't working and would ask for me, but they could never remember my name. They would say, "I was here yesterday and this girl was helping me with some jeans. You know, the one with the hoops." After that I was known as "Hoops" amongst all the mall personell. Weirdly, I also played basketball, but I was no good, the "Hoops" nickname had nothing to do with my prowess at basketball.
One time, my boyfriend was nuzzling my neck and it tickled, so I pulled away. When I did so, he started screaming in pain and holding his face. Turns out that when I pulled away, my hoop got stuck in his nostril. The hoop was stretched out in to a U shape instead of a C shape. I felt terrible and never wore those earrings around him again.
I served an LDS mission when I was 21, and as a representative for the Church, one must dress conservatively, so I had to give up the huge hoops. As a going away gift, my Grama gave me a pair of beautiful 24 carat gold hoops that were only 1 inch in diameter, so I could wear them on my mission. Sadly, I lost one of them on the airplane from Vancouver to Salt Lake City, UT. I was devastated. When I got home, I realized that I had a lone gold hoop from another set of earrings that was also 1 inch in diameter. To this day I wear them as a set and no one can tell that I'm wearing two different earrings.
After my mission, I kind of got out of the habit of wearing hoops. They just sat in my jewelry box while I wore tiny delicate studs. This was the post-grunge era, so the wearing of accessories kind of flew out the window. As I got older, I still loved hoops, and have a pair that are 1/4 inch in diameter that I would wear, but I was too self-conscious to go back to my bigger hoops.
Over the last year or so, I have quit caring what other people think of how I look, and quit trying to fit in so much, and I've gone back to wearing hoops. It is glorious and wonderful. I only wear hoops that are 2 inches in diameter or smaller, and I don't wear them every day. I still have the 4 inchers in my jewelery box. I guess I'm saving them for Halloween.