Wednesday, April 28, 2010

guess what I did, kids?

So I was bored. Guess what I did?

Cut my hair.

And not just a trim. I grabbed one of my pairs of sewing scissors and went to town on my head. And the results?

My bangs are nice and thick and no longer sideways, and I cut in all sorts of layers that make my hair look thick and curly.

I should get bored more often.

Pictures will be up tomorrow, but yea and verily, it's 11:46 pm and I haz the tummyache. But I look a bit like this lovely lady.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Continuing Adventures of the Case Against Pants

When it comes to fashion, I still dislike pants. True story. I've only worn pants three times so far in 2010. My goal in 2011 is to NEVER WEAR PANTS.

"But why," you ask, "do you hate pants?"

Well...

#1: They don't always flatter me. I am a hair under 5'0" but was blessed with curves. Lots of them. I have a proportionate hourglass figure with some extra squish on it...and abnormally short legs. They're nice, sturdy, shapely legs, but mega-short. Wearing pants just makes me look...well, stumpy.

#2: I don't find pants comfortable anymore. I'm really not sure why. All I know is that unless there is an elastic waistband and a considerable amount of stretch (or flannel, flannel is good too...) I am distinctly uncomfortable.

#3: I am a girly-girl. Aside from second grade, when I became a tomboy because my BFF Samantha said she wouldn't be friends with me other wise, I have been a girly-girl. Frills, lace, bows...the whole nine yards. And I feel my girliest in skirts.

#4: I have to dress up for work. And let's face it, it's easier to throw on a dress and call it a day than stare at a pair of basic slacks and think all right, let's get this going...

#5: Dresses are easier to sew than pants.

So that's why, when P and I were moving into our apartment, I tossed a megaload of crap. Jeans with holes in the heels, khakis that I wore day in and day out in high school, knit tops that were faded and pilled and had a tendency to slide up my tummy squish. All the stuff that I wore to death in college, but I really shouldn't wear as a young grown up.

All in all, it was rather cathartic.

However, that left me in a predicament. What shall I wear to work? Pretty much everything that's still in my closet is still ancient (you buy a lot less when you stopped growing at the age of twelve) and is splattered with the remnants of a life as a theater kid. You know...diluted paint. Wood glue. Glitter. Snags from getting caught in the flies. (Don't laugh...it happens.) Am I really supposed to wear that to my new big girl job?

Luckily, my parents offered to help me get some new pieces of clothing. HALLELUJAH.

And, oh wait, it gets better.

My mother has become a fan of getting me things from Modcloth.

That's right, the Holy Grail of all things adorable and retrochic. I am now the proud owner of four Modcloth dresses.


How This Dress Got Its Groove Back (which I wore for my rehearsal dinner)

The Soda Fountain Dress in cola (because I have to wear black for trunk shows)

The Tea Rose Rendezvous Dress (so comfy!)

The Indie Darling dress (which is currently awaiting me at my parents' house)

I'm going to have to face it, I'm addicted to lo...um, Modcloth.

Now I just need to sit down and figure out how to match up my outfits and figure out what else to get and what else to get rid of. So...maybe I'll start doing fashion entries? Maybe? Yeah...that'll be fun.

I also have plans to sew up plenty of things to augment my wardrobe. The only thing is I have about a hundred unfinished projects. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I spent about three years going "ooh! I wanna MAKE THAT!". So I would buy up the supplies, perhaps get started, and then move on.

It's ridiculous.

So I'm trying to sew through my stash in hopes of putting together some redeemable outfits. Some of them, however, are just awful. You know how I was going to make New Look 6722 in yellow knit? Yeah. Yeah, that was a travesty. Just awful. Thank the pattern gods that that bad boy has been discontinued.

(I'll discuss it further when I've figured out how in blue blazes I can salvage the remaining fabric, but let's face it- there's only so much you can do with a highlighter-yellow knit.)

Oh, well.

I hope you enjoy my further fashion endeavors! Now I'm going to give Simplicity 2622 a try!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Dress...for a Hockey Game?!

I might have mentioned this earlier, but I hate pants. I've worn them maybe three times so far this year. I don't like how they fit my short, curvy frame, and I don't like how restricted they feel. So dresses it is.

Well, tonight I am going to my VERY FIRST hockey game. Kat and Rose have been promising to take me for like two years, and now I finally get to go! And yet I have nothing to wear. I don't have a dress that I feel is just right, and I definitely don't have a tee and jeans I can just toss on.

Luckily, the last time I was at my parents' house I picked up about a dozen or so of my unfinished projects. One of them includes two yards' worth of a yellow ribbed knit that I bought from Walmart's dollar-a-yard table.

I texted Kat to ask her if yellow was a Preds' color. She responded by saying "Yes...you're making a dress, aren't you?"

What can I say? My best friend knows me well.

I originally planned to use New Look 6722 for it, but I wasn't sure.

I wasted a heck of a lot of time looking at other potential dresses, and whadaya know? This dress from Modcloth (it's not available now; I had saved the image) caught my eye.

So it looks like...if all goes as planned before 5:30pm when I have to leave for Kat's apartment, I'll be rocking a little yellow wrap dress for my first Preds game!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

OH MAH GAH!

Dear sweet goodness, everybody, it's been a month and a half (thereabouts) since I wrote my last blog! And STUFF HAS HAPPENED.

Like, I got married.

And we moved into a new apartment the week of the wedding. Yeah, I said it. We moved on Wednesday...the wedding was on Saturday. Were we crazy? YES.

And I am still working steadily at Bridal Warehouse, the shop where I purchased my wedding gown.

And I have been writing up a STORM. Without rehearsals to go to, I spend my evenings in a state of vegetative boredom. Hence, I have been planning about twenty new novels and scads of short stories.

But...

I haven't been blogging.

I just don't know if I'm that interesting anymore. I mean...no reports on rehearsals or audition freakouts. No "here's-an-interesting-thing-I-heard-in-class." No obsessive wedding planning posts. And while P and I are QUITE happy being married, there are no babies in the works (and won't be for a while), so this shan't become a pregnancy/mommy blog for another two years or so.

(unless there is a surprise. But I doubt it.)

In short, I am now boring.

Oh, well.

I guess there are still other things to write about. Like being a newlywed...a very young newlywed. It's weird, but I still feel like a little kid even though I'm a twentysomething wife.

And my kitchen adventures. Like the time I substituted hard lemonade for lemon juice, and it ROCKED.

And our apartment. Although....don't expect any super amazing home decor ideas. Our design scheme is best described as "poor newlywed who takes all the free stuff they can get."

And my continuing adventures to update my wardrobe, which will become even more complicated since, you know...that whole "no money" thing.

And my writing. I have so many novels. SO, SO MANY. And so many heroines. Apple...Beatrice...Anna...Caroline...Ginevra...I love them. And I want you to love them. I might have to start posting excerpts so you can tell me what you think of them.

(Especially since I really want to get Beatrice and the Cat published.)

Also, in the realm of writing, I need to confess something. I've mentioned it before...but I'm going to declare it proudly. I am a fanfiction author. And I love it.

I know, I know, it's like the dorkiest thing ever. I've been doing it since middle school, though, and it's such a great stress reliever and a brilliant writing exercise. Besides, I'm famous in Singapore for it. I'll explain that later, but yeah. I love it...and despite all the times I've tried to retire, it's proven to be impossible.

And of course, when I get my pro pics, there's going to be a whole series of recaps about the wedding.

So maybe I won't be a stick deep in the mud.

And I like blogging. And that's always a good reason to do it.