You know how it feels when you have things planned out to perfection in your head and then suddenly everything just sort of falls apart? Yeah…THAT! I thought I would have so much time after work to pretty myself up some and well, no! I closed the cafe at 2, headed across the street for a trim and then my wonderful and lovely friend let me borrow a vest for my outfit of awesome. By the time I got home? I had like 30 minutes to shower and get ready. Ack!

My Avenue tights of such high expectations ended up not even going past my thighs (I got a size E for fuck’s sake!) and so that sort of threw me off, too. Luckily my Avenue boots worked out okay. I say okay because they did fit and look great, but because the ankles were so very loose the entire boot ended up scrunched down around my ankles. My husband said they looked fine this way, but they left my ankles sore from the added pressure I guess. I am considering having the ankles taken in somewhere and maybe adjusting the top lacing bit. Oh, yeah…I bought these boots in black. And they fit my 19″ calves! It took a bit of patience and my husband was kind enough to work out the lacing in the back once they were on so that they looked nice (I seriously cannot do it when they’re on and sort of need them completely loosened to zip up the side zipper). In the end I’m glad I bought them, but they’re not my dream boots of radical awesomeness.

So yeah, my outfit didn’t turn out as planned. Also because the vest I had dyed didn’t take the black dye completely. It will require another dye job. *sigh* It’s a lot of work dying stuff, I had no idea. C’est la vie! I made the best of it and while I didn’t have time for the cute eye liner I wanted to do I did dig out my fave glittery eye shadows! Ha! We headed to Oakland for dinner and the Big Moves show.

Dinner was weird. I mean, the food was great (a bit pricey for my taste though) but the bar was closed (transferring their license apparently) and then we had to wait for them to process our bill forever! It wasn’t packed or anything either. In fact it was down right dead. So we ended up being a bit late for the show. We still made it in time to see the show start, but I of course had wanted to mingle and chat with fats. Again, oh well. I did run into two fab ladies that I knew. And the show was good. Not great? No. You see, my two BFFs and I had attended the Go Big or Go Home show a couple months ago and the Fat Fly Girls basically performed numbers from that show, plus one new one (unless I’m wrong). But the belly dancers were lovely and Vicadonia was fabulous as always. I did enjoy it, but the set up was a bit weird because we were sitting at tables instead of auditorium style. Also a lot of the dancing was on the floor level and not on stage so it could be hard to see at times. It was nice to expose my other friends to fat positive things. And the chocolate was Killer! Ha!

After the show half of my group headed home as they had work in the morning. The rest of us hit up a local tea shop to chill out, chat and sip teas! It was nice talking to these two wonderful ladies whom I had grown up with. Yep, we’ve known each other for over twenty years which seems crazy, but they’re rad! Definitely need to do that more often! Before we left, they took this pic of my outfit (pay no attention to my cheesey smile):

As it was cold and wet I did have to wear my Avenue Trench/Raincoat (from 3 years ago, sorry) but the t-shirt was Avenue $9.96! (The t-shirt was dove grey with black and silver glittery beading on it.) The vest was borrowed, but from Torrid and the skirt was a tube dress from Target clearance last year for $4! The clutch is actually Avenue, too. The the necklace says FAT in Fame-like lettering that I got on Etsy for $10! Sorry, it doesn’t show the boots on me.

And this lovely lady was in the display window of the antique shop we took my pic in front of.
Just thought she was cool:

All in all it was good fun. Plan or no, I enjoyed spending time with my fave peeps and seeing a big fat show to celebrate my birthday instead of a party! Ha!

Today actually is my birthday. I don’t like to have a fuss made over me because of it and so I don’t have that on my Facebook at all. I was surprised that my business neighbor bought me a gorgeous balloon bouquet of blue stars and rainbow-heart butterflies (how did he know me so well?) and a card and a happy birthday banner…my customers keep asking who’s birthday or how long ago my birthday was. Ha! When I say it’s mine, today, they just look confused. I just hate fake or obligatory greetings/offerings/etc. I feel like the people who should know do and that is that. I am so very grateful for all that I have and wouldn’t change it for anything. Please don’t take offense, it’s not a big deal for me anyway.

I’m not yet sure I’ll be celebrating it today at all. Saturday was the true celebration. I may have some wine or something. I may go to karaoke and get faced…I don’t know. Today feels weird to me for other reasons, too. Just not feeling like my bubbly self. Woke up too early from a night of fitful sleeping. Woke up the puppy by going to the bathroom at 5am and thus my husband got up to walk him and seemed fairly grumpy by the time I saw him after my shower. A friend asked if he had anything planned for me tonight and I was taken aback by that. Not sure why. I guess because, well, I love my husband and think the world of him, but I also think he’s going through something internally right now and isn’t ready to come out of his shell. In other words: No. I doubt he’s planning a thing and that’s fine. Ha-ha!

<3
S

I get this catalog from a company called “Solutions” you may have even read some posts about it or their products on this blog before (before it was a dedicated Fat Acceptance blog, that is).I discovered something called a “bra liner” and the catalog carried Pambra’s version and seemed to have some good reviews. Well, being the “bargain huntress” that I am, I just couldn’t bring myself to pay retail for them. But I knew I needed something!!! You see, I believe I have Hidradenitis. Though I have not been diagnosed with it, it often gets misdiagnosed anyway, after finding others on Fatshionista and later someone started a LiveJournal Community specifically for those with it, I soon realized that that was exactly what I had. I had assumed I simply had “sensitive skin” or heat rashes. When it gets hotter it gets worse, too. UGH! And that means painful bumps along my bra line. Terrible stuff, let me tell ya!

So I headed to eBay, my fave place for open market bargaining! I bought a 3-pack of bra liners and couldn’t wait for relief! When they arrived I tried them and while they were a bit awkward at first, I did like using them. Only, after running them through the washer & dryer? They became misshapen and unusable unless I wanted to hand wash, dry flat or even possibly have to iron them. UGH! No thanks! So, when I saw another blogger giving rave reviews over the Pambra’s liners I was quick to comment with my dissatisfaction. I was contacted by Pambra that same day (and my comment quickly disappeared). Turns out, I had purchased an impostor! They offered to send me one bran and one tummy liner to try out.

Bra liner                        Tummy Liner Illustration

I received them and you know what? They were 10 times better than the impostors. Ha-ha! Go figure. But I can assure you, personally, that I gave it the old washer & dryer test (I iron no clothes!) and they came out perfectly fine! I have worn the bra liner a few times and still enjoy it. It takes a bit of coordination to get it on at first, but then it stays put all day! Nice! I only tried the tummy liner once because the weather has gotten colder and colder lately and I haven’t needed it, but it fit nicely in place (read how to measure on the site as I didn’t and had to remeasure) and I didn’t think about it much while wearing it. Cotton and comfy!

My lesson in this? Sometimes, it’s just better to pay retail up-front than end up with impostor products that simply don’t do the job of the original! Hard lesson, learned! This bargain huntress thinks the Pambra’s Bra Liners are perfect!

*I was not paid to review these products, though I was given a free sample (1 of each).
The above is an absolutely, 100% honest review.

Tough economic times call for creativity and using all resources possible! How does this relate to fatshion? How doesn’t it?! Ha-ha! Yesterday I decided to finally dye the vest I bought two weeks ago at Avenue to complete what I’m dubbing “The Ultimate Outfit” (though it won’t be complete without the right knee-high boots, but that search is still in progress). You see, I found the right style vest at the right price, but the color? Meh. The vest was $6.96, how could I pass it up?! So I bought a bottle of RIT black dye and gave it a go! (I have never dyed any garment before, other than tie-dying which is different all together since you’re going for more color/designs/etc.)

The vest’s original camel-khaki color:

As I was about to dye this vest I went to my dresser for a shirt I wouldn’t care if it got stained. I first chose this top I got at Torrid a couple of years ago and looked at it and though, “Why don’t I wear this? I love this shirt!” Then I realized that it had a stain. Boo! So I grabbed two identical shirts from the same drawer and they, too were stained. Y’all! I don’t have to tell you about staining t-shirts on the frontal-chestal area, do I? I believe it’s a fairly common thing with everyone, but especially those of us gifted with larger boobages (I am using all sorts of made-up words today). Anyhoo, I decided I needed to save these shirts from their previously considered destiny: Cut into rags for cleaning! Oh Noes!!!

I headed out to my current sewing station (I’ve been making aprons like crazy for an upcoming craft show) and laid out my supplies and planned my next course of action. Dye? Appliques? Iron-on transfers? Check, check and check! I turned on the iron and filled my bucket with hot-hot water, a cup of salt (my vest was a cotton-linen blend and the bottle said this would help) and the bottle of dye. I first soaked the vest itself in hot water and then lowered in into the bucket-o-blackness. Doing this caused a mini-splash onto my aqua t-shirt and I realized, “Hey! I should just dye this, too, probably won’t see the stain anymore!” And whipped it off my person and into the bucket it went, too!
Supplies:

So much stirring!

30 minutes of stirring followed by many-several changes of water (have to keep agitating and then mild detergent and more water changes until the garments rinse clear) and finally my vest and t-shirt were ready to lay flat to dry. (I must note here that I chose not to use rubber gloves for two reasons: my husband had mysteriously thrown mine away and the dye was washing off my hands just fine at first, until? Well, see the pics!) After that I tackled the two remaining shirts. One got a neat-o iron-on transfer that covered the little stain it had perfectly, I think. And the other got some embroidered appliques ironed-onto it. Now I haven’t worn any of these yet, but I think they’ll look fairly if not entirely cute with these little upgrades. And the “Ultimate Outfit?” Well, I’ll just have to leave you in suspense for a bit, my dears. That will be for another day/week. =0)

Two tops saved (the black swirlyness at the right is what I ironed-on):

The “Corpse Hands” as my husband has dubbed them after the dying:

What creative or resourceful way have you saved something from the garbage or rag bin? Tell me about it! =0)

Just got this to support breast cancer research?!

I guess, but I dig it, man. I know it’s not for everyone, but check it out:

http://www.sabrered.com/

Use Code L2010 10% off!

Reading this article about the best toys of the 80’s and discovering that all were meant for boys was somewhat shocking for me. You see, I was a tom boy. I had friends of both genders, but preferred boys and their toys over the girly toy or activity du jour any day! I fondly remember playing with transformers and watching Pee Wee’s Big Adventure at my friend Nathaniel’s house after school. When it got to the scene with the trucker telling the story of “Large Marge” we would pause it at the scary face and run into his room and laugh and scream! It was the best, y’all, I can assure you!

But dude! The 80’s were full of fab toys! I cannot say enough about my love of the Speak ‘N Spell! I loved that thing! I remember struggling with the word ANGEL and when I finally got it and the robot voice said, “Correct” I was elated! I felt as though I had climbed a damned mountain! And while I enjoyed more boy oriented activities and toys, I did have quite a few Barbies. Some were passed down from my great grandma, until my brother ripped all of their heads off (the old ones wouldn’t just pop back on). My fave Barbie? It’s a tie: Astronaut Barbie, who also moonlighted as a figure skater (you could pop blades right into her moon boots and of course she came with a tu-tu) & Miko Barbie who looked Hawaiian or Polynesian and was just soooooo beautiful! She had freckles (like me!) and long black hair, like way longer than any blond Barbie, you guys! Ha-ha! I dreamed of her glamorous life!  I never quite got the hang of my pogo ball and then my uncle broke it anyway. And She-Ra! One of my grandmas got me the horse for the enemy lady, but I just pretended that She-Ra saved and re-trained the horse to be good. Ha-ha!

I mention all of this because I was talking with a friend about various things from our childhood and when I explained that I used to be a bit athletic she asked what sports I liked. Well, in 6th grade I was on the Jr. U.S.T.A. (Tennis, yo) and loved Volleyball, but Basketball was my fave at the time. I would play basketball at every recess & lunch hour with my two friends Iesha & Mabel (oh how I miss them and wonder where they are).

But then? Well, then boys took over my entire life! That and getting bullied. I had never been bullied other than the jerk kids on my street making fun of me from time to time (for being poor, redheaded, weird, etc). I had my first taste of getting bullied on that basketball court in 6th grade. It was indirect. The boy I mega-crazy-crushed-on came up to me and said, “Kelly says you’re a bitch” flatly. I looked right at him and said, “I am a bitch, so what?!” It was an out of body experience, for sure! He just stared at me like I suddenly turned into a bright blue monster. Then he walked away, presumably to re-tell what I had just said. Ugh! 7th grade was a nightmare of drama, bullies by the dozen (more like 20-30) and boys-boys-boys! I gave up any and all sports.

This past weekend, while perusing our local Target, my husband and I happened upon the ball aisle. (Not to be confused with any type of male hygiene aisle.) I tried out a few different balls and was curious about how a basketball would feel in my 32 year old hands. After a couple I noticed that they didn’t seem as springy-bouncy-taught as I had remembered. Then tried a couple more. My husband ended up buying me one which was aqua-green-black and a 28.5 incher instead of the pro 29.5 size. It’s so cool looking! I haven’t been on a court since early 7th grade and well, I’m a bit nervous! But I want to just shoot hoops. Nothing wrong with that, right? So why am I so worried? He wanted to go to the park that same day, but I had so much to do at home I just couldn’t do it. Now I’m thinking it was nerves.

Maybe this coming Sunday I will give it a go! I say maybe only because I have a lot of sewing to do and I’m on a deadline, but I want to and it would only be like 30 minutes, so why not? But again, nerves! Ah! I don’t know. It just seems so weird. I feel so old yet so young simultaneously. Hard to describe. Just like when I go to the goth club with my BFF. I don’t feel like I fit in, but at the same time I do.

Have you been wanting to take up something you used to love? What do you miss about growing up? What makes you nervous about diving into? Tell me all about it! =0)