OOTD: lace undershirt makes "too booby" dress a reality

I really love surplice cut dresses like this one from old navy, but too often they are way booby without wearing a camisole underneath. And while that works, I just feel like it looks unelegant and spend all day hating the triangle of fabric poking out of the top of the dress.

triangle!


So I paired this lace t-shirt that I got at Ross (as part of a true dowd-fest of a dress that looked like a mother of the bride outfit, complete with perma-accordion-pleat-drop-waist) with the dress and voila! Super classy!

super closeup myspace angle!


And still so comfy! I love cotton jersey dresses. I don't know if I could ever own too many. So comfy. So effortless.

Outfit details:
dress: old navy, earlier this year (no longer on site). It used to have ties at the shoulders, but I cut them off so I could wear it with a cardigan without the bows showing through like weird bumps)
shirt: ross
shoes: diba, size 11, bought at dsw many years ago. I love the grey canvas/tweedy fabric of them, the wooden stacked wedge heel that you can't really see, and the fact that they are peeptoes! I don't love the blisters. Oh well.
necklace: gift from husband on wedding day

$10/wk shopping restriction for July - Update

Hello friends,

So, how am I doing on my $10/week july shopping restriction you may ask?

It depends.

I bought an awesome vintage leather handbag at a garage sale for $3 this weekend, and then I just placed an order at the fabulous Asos sale that came to $28 including shipping! So I've got $9 left (and one week of July left).

But, before any of those purchases, I was doing really well and hadn't bought any clothing, shoes, or accessories all month. But then, I was in new york city with my husband last week, and he wanted some new shoes, and I had just spent the morning at the wonderful Redress and not found a THING despite wanting to go there for MONTHS, and so I was sad, because I had been planning to spend my $40 there, so then we went into a shoe store, and I had been wanting some Tom's shoes, and they had some in a really awesome teal color.... so I bought them. And they were more than my remaining $9 (they were more than $40 if you must know). And then I came home and put 6 pairs of shoes into the donate pile.

Whew, that was long-winded. I'm not really that sorry. I'm just kind of sorry. Blog-sorry.

Anyways, here's what I nabbed:

NYC: sweaty

AFter spending the weekend in Vermont, we went down to new york city for a night prior to our flight back to seattle via JFK airport.

First off, I gotta say that I have much respect for folks that live in new york city. I was and am totally overwhelmed every time I go there. It's so dirty and loud and hot and sticky and people look awesome and stylish and composed while I'm sweating and breathing heavy and generally feeling unstylish and bumpkiny.

But all that aside, here are some pictures!

We took Amtrak down into Penn Station. It was fun!


I read nearly all of this awesome book I bought recently while I was on the train (it was very context appropriate!)

We ate at an awesome restaurant that served only mac n cheese, any way you wanted it. It was amazing. There's not a picture of that, but it was amazing.

We stayed at the Ace Hotel


They had flowers for sale in their lobby:

(I gotta say I don't get why there's such a plethora of flower stalls on the streets in new york city.)

Some cool street art in Brooklyn:


I was sad this mural by our hotel wasn't in better shape, but I still enjoyed it!




ha :) (in the lobby of the Ace)


Sadly, no outfit shots from NYC - we were too busy sweating to death and feeling inferior. Or at least I was! But it was still a good time! Even when we couldn't really get a cab to JFK, and finally a cab driver agreed to take us but it was his first week and he didn't know how to get there! Good thing for google maps on my phone.

"Champ" and Burlington, VT

I promise I don't spend inordinate amounts of time cavorting all over the continental US with my husband, taking copious "whimsy filter" shots with my phone and eating delicious foods whilst being incredibly stylish. I know this blog makes it seem that way. Well, not the stylish bit. I'm always stylish.

Anyways.

Here are some shots of our ferry ride across Lake Champlaign and subsequent weekend in Burlington, VT.

Gratuitous train shot (I love trains)


Gift shop with "maple products" and ice cream! (also, I had a delicious peanut butter sandwich there)




Gratuitous "me eating ice cream" shot, but this time it's worth double points because I'm wearing a muumuu BECAUSE THAT'S ALL FATTIES DO IS EAT WHILE WEARING SHAPELESS CLOTHING


My adorable husband on the ferry:


Once we arrived in Burlington, it was off to the Magic Hat Brewery!


Then to the Ben & Jerry's factory (it was founded in Burlington!)


More ice-cream-related fun (you know fat people and their ice cream):


Burlington is an adorable town - it was kind of like if Oregon was on the east coast, that's what it would be like - crunchy and liberal and artsy. We enjoyed it alot (even though it was like 90 degrees there. That wasn't super fun).

Public art at the empire state plaza

I really dig public art. Recently I was in upstate ny and got to see some awesome art in the Empire State Plaza (basically the capital building and environs in Albany NY).

I really enjoy happening upon art when I don't expect it, and also having it be a part of the day rather than having to go to a specific museum to see it.











Here I am interacting with the art (or, umm, just standing in front of it...)

(outfit details: flowy sleeveless shirt from Old Navy years ago, tank top underneath Old Navy, ivory cardigan from Target, jean cutoffs that I cut off myself from Avenue jeans, and canvas skimmers from avenue recently).

The empire state plaza was a cool spot. It was built during the 60s and 70s during Gov. Rockefeller's time in office and most of the art was commissioned/acquired during that period. As you can see, most of it is large, colorful, kind of abstract, etc.

Here were some of the buildings in the plaza:
The Egg!


that's right.


This part of the plaza has that "imposing dystopic future as seen in a 1970s scifi film" look to it:

(funny story - my husband's prom was held in that building)

We visited more places than just this plaza, but I really liked these pics so I wanted to make this a post of it's own! Upcoming: a sneak peek into being fat in and around Burlington, VT and NYC! (caution, there's lots of sweaty pictures involved).

DIY project, inspired by something I saw in Real Simple

I make a habit of picking up Real Simple every once and awhile when I'm traveling. It's kind of a guilty pleasure. I won't buy a subscription. I just like buying one every once and awhile.

A few months ago, they ran a feature on different kinds of organization styles depending on your personality. One of the ideas for jewelry/dresser storage inspired me to revamp my crowded dresser nee bedside table.

I didn't take pictures during the process, so this isn't technically a tutorial, but it was so easy!

Supplies:
- Frame with back. No need for glass. I got mine at Ikea.
- Foam board (I had some laying around that was about 1/4" thick)
- A piece of colorful paper or fabric
- Scotch tape
- Straight pins to hang your jewelry on

Step One:
- Take the glass and backing out of your frame. Use the glass as a template to cut a piece of foamboard.

Step Two:
- Once you have your foamboard, lay it down on the decorative paper or fabric and cut yourself a piece that is about 1" larger on all sides. This will give you room to wrap the paper/fabric around the foamboard

Step Three:
- Wrap the paper/fabric around the foamboard. You can secure with tape on the back.

Step Four:
- Put your prettified foam-board in the frame (without the glass), then put in the frame backing and secure/close up the back (mine had those little metal tabs to bend back into place).

Step Five:
- Use pins with plastic balls on the end, or straight pins, or old earrings, etc. to hang your necklaces and things on the board! Be sure to push them in at an angle for added strength, and don't hang anything too heavy on them!



How it fits into the overall decor:


Super easy! Let me know if you decide to make one too!

Muumuu Mondays: OOTD: my favorite thrift store dress ever

I've posted OOTDs with this dress before, but I recently acquired a belt from Target that I've had my eye on for awhile. It smells of rich leather. I love it!

The dress:


Closeups of the belt:



Details:
Dress: Value Village, $3!!!
Petticoat: made by me
Belt: Target 2xl
Shoes: target size 11

This dress is my traveling dress staple. It's 100% cotton, so it's cool and breathable. The sleeves keep me warm on the plane, but not too warm (and also keep me from having to wear a cardigan, since I just have to take it off during the security checkpoint). The only downside is that I have to remove the belt to go through security, and then the dress is so shapeless (since it's essentially a muumuu) that I always get a pat-down by the female security attendant. It's weird, but whatever. The dress is worth it.

Update: $10/wk shopping restriction for July

I haven't bought anything yet! So, that means I get to keep the $10 from the first week... at the end of the month, if I keep this up, I'll have $40 to spend.

I did head over to Value Village to see if I could find a cute dress or shirt for a few bucks, but nothing caught my fancy.

Also, rather than buying a new black dress for an upcoming memorial service, I added some brown lace detailing around the hemline of a plain black dress I already owned. And it looks AWESOME. I will post pictures and a how-to soon! I love how this project is helping me be more creative with what I already have.

Lacey t-shirt of clearance rack awesomeness

Back in May procured this awesome lace-printed t-shirt from the Target clearance rack for $9.



I think it's awesome.



I also paired it with my Jibri skirt and pearls for what turned into the best dinner out of my life so far. We went to Quinn's.





I think it'll be a versatile wardrobe staple that can be dressy or not!

I made another skirt

I found this quilting cotton on the bargain table, so I snapped some up and made another skirt using Gertie's fabulous pattern since the first one I made turned out so well.





I widened the waistband on this one. I also messed up a ton of times, forgot to allow for ease in the waistband, forgot to do seam allowance for the zipper in the waistband, and ended up having to put a "patch" in the back to make it bigger so it would fit me. Anyways, trials and tribulations. Oh, I also forgot to allow for the 3" seam at the bottom, so I just left it unfinished since I made the finished edge the bottom anyways.

It was frustrating.



Looking at these pics (well, not that last one anyways), I think I may have some room to hem it and just have the skirt be a little shorter than the first one. But, overall, I'm pleased with it! And, the invisible zipper went in much easier this time too, which means that I at least learned SOMETHING from the last time. Even if that something wasn't ease, measuring properly, or allowing for seam/hem allowances.

$10/wk Shopping Restriction for July?

Via: T Minus, T Plus: $10 Shopping Restriction

I think I'm going to try this! $10/wk to spend on clothes/shoes/accessories for July?

I don't know if I can do it.

I really love buying things.

I need a black dress.

One of my fave boutiques is having a sale for july.

Or can I?

Shorts!

I thought I'd commemorate this real beginning of summer (to me, July was always the beginning of summer) by wearing some shorts! It's been awhile.

Back when I was like 12 years old, I wore shorts. Since then, I pretty much swore them off. They would bunch between my thighs when I walked, giving me headless-fatty-with-thigh-wedgie-at-amusement-park look. I told myself I was too old to wear shorts.

But then I thought I'd try them again, and I found these at Ross for $10, so what the heck?





Details:
Shorts: Liz Claiborne, Ross, size 22, $10
Shirt: Old Navy trapeze shirt from 2006? size xl
Cardigan: Target Cherokee, gosh, 2005? Old.
Flip-Flops: Reef, size 11
Purse: H&M, but totally fell apart the other day. I was so bummed, I had only had it for 2 weeks. Avoid that purse.

The verdict: Comfy! But they still did the slight bunching thing. I would have to walk a little funny every 10th step or so to shake them out straight again. They will definitely be coming with me when I visit hot and sticky places, or when it climbs up past 90 degrees this summer, if it does!