Things I'm enjoying lately

1) Big Beach Bums is next weekend! I've been enjoying the anticipation - we're heading out early and I'm so excited to meet everyone, especially Claire, who has been super kind to help me with my travel plans and is just all around awesome.

2) Bubble tea. It was a staple of my bay area existence but there aren't any places in my neighborhood here that have it.



3) This hilarious interaction with a advertising banner for a travel company, next door to the place where we got bubble tea. Especially poignant given #1!



4) Nilla wafers with peanut butter = favorite snack forever. Plus, I recently got a new huge yellow mug on sale and it's perfect for the large amounts of tea i like to drink in one sitting. Also, books.

I'm a favorite thing!

How sweet is Rachele from The Nearsighted Owl for featuring me?

Very sweet. If you haven't seen her awesome blog already, go check her out!

OOTD: to Target and beyond!

This is the face of a person that went to Target and found an awesome shirt on clearance.



This is also the face of a person who really loved her outfit that day.



I went to my first estate sale a few weekends ago and scored this awesome yellow cardigan. I felt a kindred spirit to the lady whose belongings were being sold - she had 100 cardigans, all of them my size, none of them wool. She must have been allergic to wool like me!



Outfit details:
dress: asos curve, 2010
cardigan: estate sale, vintage, AWESOME
petticoat: made by me (here's a tutorial)
lace necklace: whiteowl.etsy.com

Have any of you been to an estate sale before? What did you think? I felt torn because it is sad to rummage through the remnants of someone's life... but also glad that these garments and items were getting new life and being repurposed...

OOTD: For 6 hours on planes

Folks, I had been awake since ~3am when these were taken, and had slept in my french braids after drinking, oh, about 14 margaritas for cinco de mayo. Then, I got on planes to make my way home from Austin. And I think I looked awesome even with the lack of sleep and questionable hygiene!

(I used to have an animated gif here but the site I used for it is causing a broken link so I took it down)



Outfit details:
Dress: fatshionista LJ swap
Belt: Target, men's section. It's braided elastic and super comfy!
Brown cardigan: Target merona xl, from 2005 or so. They don't make em like they used to.
Scarf: AA circle scarf
shoes: toms. I'm hopeless trendy.
tattoo: almost done!

Also, check out the awesome new-to-me bag I got at the farmer's market last weekend. It's vintage, but never used! I desperately needed a new laptop/carry all bag since my H&M one was disintegrating and leaving a trail of chartreuse-colored vinyl flakes everywhere I went.



When I travel, I love wearing dresses because they are lots more comfy than pants for me, and I feel like I look nice while wearing something comfier than sweatpants. I feel like I'm fooling everyone that thinks I dressed up and am SOOOO uncomfortable, because really I'm super comfy.

Also, being dressed up is extra armor for me, because flying whilst fat can be trying since I don't fit into the seats very well and am always prepared to be met with unkindness from fellow passengers or flight crew. When I feel like I look nice, it's easier for me to feel good about myself even if other people don't dig me.

What do you all like to wear when you travel?

Mother's day gift FAIL, courtesy of B&N

Soc Images has a great post on mother's day gifting today, noting that the mother's day "gift guide" from Barnes & Noble lists a diet book as the top suggestion for a gift for mom.

From the article:

Weight-loss related items are, generally, problematic gift ideas. They put the recipient into the position of having to acknowledge in front of anyone watching them open the gift that their weight is considered unacceptable, and that the person giving the gift agrees with that. Even if a person wants to lose weight and is actively trying to do so, they may not wish to have their weight brought up unexpectedly and opened up for public discussion.

I couldn't agree more. My mom was on diets often when I was growing up, but I still can't imagine a diet book being an appropriate gift for her. Aren't there so many other things that make up her life and personality than this one aspect? I think so - my mom is a great lady with many other interests and hobbies and a rich inner life, she's so much more than her desire to diet.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on this? Will you be getting your mom a gift for mother's day?