Okay, so on the “Snark” thing, I don’t really want to snark about anything specific, I am just still sleepy and a tad cranky and I just love the word “Snarky!” Ha-ha!

I love this: Your Permission Slip From The Universe

Randomly, I typed “Fat Acceptance” into google and the only ad on the page: Feminist Therapy Associates

Did you know,I Have An Etsy Shop?

It took me awhile to find him, but this used to be the blogger/founder of Fabulon! J’adore! <3 Thombeau!

A friend told be about Questionable Content and now I am obsessed! You have to read it from the beginning. It’s magical! And this sums up how I felt on Saturday night:

My friend Jery has a fab blog about our local arts scene, theater, movie reviews and so much more. He does a podcast, too! Check it out here

What do you like to read about on Twitter? I’ve been on Twitter for years, but rarely use it. I follow too many people to keep up with, but I do enjoy it now. Before I just sort of ignored it. I enjoy posting things, but would love to know what people are looking for there. Thanks!

Have you heard of Current T.V.? One of my fave channels and a lot of viewer generated content. YAY!

I have had the pleasure of getting to know this amazingly talented artist, Carmen Reid. She was at first a customer at my cafe and now a good friend. She is a freelance graphic designer and enjoys taking on new and funky projects. Need her help? Find her here! I also feature some of her paintings in my cafe.

Looking for some cooking/baking inspiration? You gotta check out my friend Steph’s gluten-free blog

This website lets you create a font using your own handwriting. FUN!

Tie your shoelaces in different and fun ways!

Go on, Ask Me Anything!

So in my last post I mentioned trying to get a great goth outfit together in time for this weekend. My BFF & I are hitting up our local goth club in San Jose for their annual bash. We go about once every 6-9 months and have been for the last two years. The first time we went it had been 11 years since I had been to a goth club. I didn’t know what to expect at this new club and since I was much larger in size than the old days I struggled with finding cute clothes for it.

I threw together some black slacks from my old corporate days (LB’s Madison trousers, how I loved thee) and a cute red tee under a black lace top from Avenue and some comfy black shoes.We had a total blast and that’s what matters, but we were dancing for four hours, y’all! It was hot and we were sweaty as hell. And that outfit? No good for dancing!

The second time we went I managed to find an etsy seller to make me a custom skirt which I LOVE! I paired that with a black Old Navy top and some hand dyed (by none other than Marianne Kirby of TheRotund.com) tights in bright red. I added my own little accents and voila:

It was cute, comfy and I danced my ass off! The only issues I had with this outfit were the ribbon & lace gloves I had made, they kept coming untied, but my lovely BFF was right there to help. Such a sweetheart! But when I posted this outfit on Fatshionista (LJ community) I got a lot of “That’s not goth!” and such and while I had said I knew it wasn’t traditional goth, I thought it more of a Tim Burton/circus goth. Wevs. I love this one!

The time after the above outfit, I wore a similar style top from Torrid, but it had white lace around the neckline and fell off my shoulders so much that I finally stopped caring and just let my bra straps be seen as they were. Ha! I don’t remember if I wore a skirt or pants. I sadly, don’t have a picture, either. Boo!

Now I want a full-on Loli-goth (Gothic Lolita or Victorian style inspired by the lovely and gorgeous Japanese trends) outfit though. But dammit if those aren’t the most expensive of things to get. And well, I did find someone on eBay who does custom ones for like $80 (Not bad at all, trust me!), they are in Asia and thus wouldn’t work for my goth night this weekend. And I never have that kind of money to spend on a damned thing. Ha-ha!

So, I am not trying to figure out a way to create my own version of this. I have some ideas, but I fear I’ll be treading in the non-trad-goth waters and well, part of me doesn’t care but part wants to look like the cool kids, ya know? But without an income I just can’t get the sweet threads I long for. I have minimal sewing skills, but I do have a sewing machine.

I was thinking of wearing this Torrid top with a Victorian collar, but it’s a t-shirt ish material and so would the skirt I wear with it. Is it okay to double up on the jersey knit? For dancing? I’m hesitant. The tights? They rock! They’re so comfortable that I will probably wear them again and again until they die.

Also, if you know of a gorgeously bright red stay-put lipstick, please let me know! And a great red lipstick for someone of my complexion would be nice. Two separate needs actually. I’m clueless about makeup though, so I am in your hands.

So I turn to you brilliant lovelies, please, give me your suggestions and pics and thoughts and let me know what you think I could/should do for my upcoming goth night. I can’t wait!  =0)

Listening to the Fatcast: Two Whole Cakes has been such a comfort and a little therapeutic for me lately. It really is like listening to two BFFs chit chat about all things fat. I love it! In one episode they mention early fat shopping buys and experiences and the discuss something I hadn’t thought of but just now found myself shopping and realized that I do it, too. The whole “I’ll Never Find This Again” syndrome.

You see, plus size clothing options are already pretty dang limited. I get that with the internet we have a much larger selection than ever before, but there’s issues with that, too. Sizing is all crazy, no matter what store/brand you still have to try on or check measurements and then HOPE those measurements were true…UGH! Exhausting and not so fun actually.

Marianne and Lesley mention having things simply because they thought they would never find anything like it again, even if it didn’t fit right or comfortable. Story of my life! Or the ever popular, looked great in the store, not so much at home. Or it fits fine, but wears awful: Chafing, bunching, riding up…NO THANKS!

So, a month or so ago my husband says to me, “Do you think you might have a clothing addiction?” he seemed serious, but I could tell he didn’t want to freak me out. Well, I was sort of offended. It stuck with me awhile. I explained to him that day that women must dress for occasion and don’t have the luxury of simply changing a shirt to complete a look for an event, etc. He only half bought that.

Now? Now I think that I don’t have an addiction, but I do have a case of the “I’ll Never Find This Again-itis!” Things I have bought over the last several years in hopes of finding what could be my own unique style. Alas, this just isn’t what’s accumulated in my closet, dressers & big basket of WHOA! (Or possibly Woe.)

As I do every so often, I shall purge and see what I can sell/donate/reconstruct/etc. I have no idea what the results will be, but I have a lot of trying on and prioritizing to do. Hopefully this will give more space to my well loved clothes and get rid of things I’ve only worn once.

And yet…I get a dollar in my pocket (so to speak) and what do I do but go on eBay and search for Mexican embroidered peasant tops in my size. DAMN! But I do love them and I only have one and I cherish it so! It’s from LB years ago. I paid close to $50 for it and it still fits. Though it seems shorter than I recall, but I still wear it with pride when The weather warms and I’m feeling a little more confident in my arm showings.

Do you have a closet of I’ll Never Find This Again? Tell me about it! =0)

This outfit was what I wore on my day off this week. I went to get coffee and grocery shopping and then saw a movie. I was out & about! And…Publicly FAT!

Still getting used to my new camera, but I found my little gorilla tripod and it turned out okay.

Headband: Ross $3.99 (I have four!)
Dress/Top: Ross, can’t remember the brand, but it was $12.99
Crops/Capris: Avenue Chinos
Pearls: Shane Co. $100 a few years ago, love them!
Glasses: JC Penny, Yo!

I must admit, it was a bit of a challenge for me to go out like this (read: sleeveless!) for all of my various errands and fun. Somehow though, I felt very powerful. People looked at me and I didn’t cringe. I saw a fellow fats at the mall where I saw the movie and we smiled at each other. She was wearing a tank top! So at least my sleeveless-ness wasn’t a solo effort! Ha-ha! In fact, when I did notice people looking at me, I smiled and looked them in the eye. This can be very uncomfortable for a lot of people, but I figure it’s gotta be harder for me than them, right?! I’m the one being appraised here. Again, powerful stuff, my lovelies!

Yesterday while chatting with my good friend, Lu (she’s 85 and fabulous), we saw this gorgeous butterfly fly right into the cafe and was desperately trying to get out but was caught up on the window and finally rested awhile and I snapped a pic. Later we decided we had to intervene, so I sort of gently scooped it from the window and you know, when I took it outside it didn’t want to leave my hand! I thought I’d have to name him! Ha-ha! But eventually I placed him on a marigold and he took off into the clear blue sky!

From outside the window:

Just lovely! I’ve always loved butterflies and have two tattoos of them. They are amazing creatures.
And if you’re into them, I highly recommend the book “Dangerous world of butterflies” Oh so good!

Have a great weekend! I will be giving it my all. It is a choice, after all,  and I have chosen to make it so!
Cheers!

The shutter bug, that is! I’m gaga for photography now!

Okay, so it all started years and years ago (how dare you ask how many, even in your own head!). What started at first as a fun way to capture summer memories soon turned into a tried and true hobby. With disposable cameras and playing with light and shadow I was able to sell a couple of pictures of a nearby landscape to a mortuary company for their brochures. I thought, “This is IT! I’m a photographer!” but then that was it. I wasn’t selling any more and stopped even taking pics for awhile.

Planning our honeymoon meant buying a digital camera (with lots of memory) with all of the bells and whistles because I had no idea (and still don’t) if I’d ever go to Europe again. I got a Sony Cyber Shot and loved the hell out of it. I’d still be using it if it hadn’t completely died on me a couple months ago. It took quality video (w/sound) and great pics! We even blew up a pic from another vacation in Maui and it looks gorgeous!

Now I have a new baby. I’ve only had it a couple weeks, but it’s lovely! I got the Olympus Fe-47! She’s candy-apple red and comes with art filters and more! I haven’t had time to play with all of those features, but I know we’ll be together for a long time, so I’m not worries. She’s got 14 mega pixels, VGA video and 5X optical zoom! REAL ZOOM! WOW! And I got her for only $89! Oh yeah, you forgot I’m the bargain huntress! Ha! I got it on Amazon with an 8gig SD card. Super easy to use and light as a…small cell phone? It’s light!

So I was thinking that with summer here I should share not only my inspiration for taking said pics, but the tools of the trade (as they say) that I will be using to accomplish the task at hand. I don’t have an actual theme or specific project in mind yet, I figure inspiration will grab me when it’s ready, but here’s what I’ll be taking along for the ride (links at end of post):

My camera, my case, my tripod, my photo printer and I gotta ave one of these little clutch photo albums (will buy one soon, for sure!). I should be all set to take any shot I like, anywhere I like! WOOT! And all of these items are relatively inexpensive. And if you’re savvy, very cheap, even! Try eBay, y’all! And Amazon! Research & read up on the stuff you want and decide for yourself if they’re right for you or if they miss the mark. You’ll be surprised what just ten minutes of research can find ya!

What are you hobby’s tools? I wanna know! Thanks guys & happy snapping!

Olympus Fe-47: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-FE-47-Digital-2-7-inch-Red/dp/B0031RGEOA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277141999&sr=8-3

Paperchase Happy Noodle media case (I bought mine at Borders): http://www.paperchase.co.uk/p/469332/media-case-happy-noodle-design.html

Gorilla tripod: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=tripod+gorilla&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=21052615&ref=pd_sl_76eq158fju_b&msclkid=ced3152e3d76714995da70f2b71bb60d&mscbg=0

Polaroid PoGo Instant mobile Printer: http://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-CZA-10011B-Instant-Mobile-Printer/dp/B0019UGCLG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277142120&sr=8-1

Photo clutch: http://www.amazon.com/Tapestry-Inch-Photo-Clutch-Album/dp/B003SDY016/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1UOA77SRXEUJB&colid=2QTOHNHT3NX70