jesse.anne.o

Bob, Anti-Bob

2012-01-27T19:12:00.001-08:00

At least once every year (and by once I mean 6+ times per year), I am convinced I need a bob again. Logically I know that every single time I've bobbed my hair the enchantment lasts a week. Then it starts growing in like Moncchichi hair and I have to get it cut every 4 minutes so it doesn't grow out weird and start getting flippies. Within the first month I get pissed off that you can't do very much with a bob. (Never mind that I almost eternally have a ponytail. That is failure on my part but I could have more than a ponytail.)

Additionally, it's really hard to grow in a bob without some awkward as heck hairstyles.

And for all of these reasons, I will not have a bob. Won't.

Needless to say, I love them on everyone else.

Bob, circa 2006

(basic) black & blue

2012-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

All of my favorite clothing articles are black cotton with silver studs on them. I haven't decided if this is kickback to my hair metal days or if this is truly my life's aesthetic calling. Is my mind is hard-wired to love this combination, its place in trending be damned? Nature? Nurture? My mother did dress me in tiny rocker baby clothes, adorned with Rolling Stones lips logos and the like.

Speaking of the way-past past, the other day I felt compelled to wear a bracelet-chained-to-ring combo. (Not the Rachel Bolan nosering-chained-to-earring though; that was never my thing.) If I find one secondhand, I'm on it.

sweater/sweatshop
skirt/vintage, tailored
tights/maggie's organics
shoes/cri de coeur hearts of darkness, splendor

Outfit scorecard (animals, people, world): The skirt's secondhand, the tights are organic and carry decent labor practices. The shoes are a vegan brand and have a "sweat-shop free" claim to their China manufacturing. The sweater is sweatshop. I bought it on a day I was underdressed for the weather and it's about 2 years old now, and in heavy rotation. All vegan, of course.

overnight stowaway

2012-01-25T19:20:00.001-08:00

Rescue kitty, a photo by jesse.anne.o. on Flickr.

We interrupt self-involved posts about clothing to show you this guy. This little peanut was rescued by my old neighbors. It looks like he was owned and dumped by the cemetery. He's with me overnight so I can bring him to the rescue shelter tomorrow morning.

All he wants is to sit in someone's lap and give little tiny headbutts. He'll be up for adoption soon and hopefully he ends up with some wonderful people.

What's that bunny saying? Makeup and Animal Testing Labeling

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

What’s that bunny mean?

Have you ever been in a store or watched an ad where someone deliberately tries to gloss over things or make them confusing to get you to do what they want (buy something)? Sure you have. And this is basically what happened to “no animal testing” messaging over time. How the hell are you supposed to know what vague text claiming no animal testing really means? Or if the bunny logo on the bottle means anything? I’m here to walk you through it.

If you want the cheat sheet, here we go:

Leaping Bunny (logo above) – best, most rigorous process for the companies (no ingredients or finished product tested on animals; must open entire product chain for independent audit; must promise to stop animal testing after a certain date when they sign on)

Cruelty-Free bunny (logo above) – okay, it’s a promise from the company (no ingredients or finished product tested on animals; company gives its word but no proof is required)

“no animal testing” text (no logo) – be careful, this (and other logos that are not the above) can mean anything as these misc logos and text claims are not regulated or checked up on by anyone (check the Leaping Bunny list of the company name, check the company’s website for their policy on animal testing and if you need help, let me know)

If you want to know the whole bunny debacle, put your seatbelt on.

Let’s get into how necessary animal testing is first. In the US there is no law requiring that cosmetics, personal care products or household products be tested on animals – there are either effective non-animal tests available for companies to use or there are a host of current ingredients that already have an MSDS available from years ago for companies to use. So between being able to test without using animals and using ingredients already proven safe, companies don’t need to test cosmetics, personal care products or household goods on animals. Period. No requirement. The FDA doesn’t require it. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission doesn’t require it. No one requires it.

In fact, the European Union has outright banned animal testing on finished products or ingredients of cosmetics/household goods AND the marketing of items that have been guilty of such testing in their markets as of 2009, with further research into whether certain toxicity tests will remain valid by 2013. {see here}

The tests are pretty sick and usually don’t tell you how toxic something would realistically be to humans anyway, since the tests on animals are so extreme or the amounts of product forced on the animal in the test is usually something that a human would have to make a conscious effort to eat or stick in their eye for an extended period of time on a dare. If you do a little online research you can find some gruesome examples on your own; I figured you'd already be against it and I'd spare us all the downer for today.

Okay, now that we have covered why animal testing for cosmetics, personal care and household products is ridiculous, which you probably already knew, we can cover the two main bunny logos and what they mean.

Leaping Bunny looks like this:

This Leaping Bunny makes companies submit their entire product process chain for independent audit in terms of the ingredients and finished product not being testing on animals. This bunny asks for more than the Cruelty-Free bunny below. What if a company wants to sign up but they’ve done animal testing in the past? Leaping Bunny asks for a “fixed date” – which means this company won’t test any finished products or ingredients on animals or contract anyone else to do so after a specific date in time. After this date, all new ingredients or products must NOT be tested on animals both by the company and its ingredients suppliers.

A “fixed date” agreement is better than a “rolling date” – which is what some shady companies use to say they don’t test on animals. A “rolling date” is not a date per se, but a time period, like “5 years”. Using that example, they won’t use an animal-tested ingredient released in 2012 from 2012 through 2016 but in 2017, they are allowed to use that ingredient and still try to claim “no animal testing”. It enables companies to use basically any ingredient tested on animals, as long as they wait long enough to use it. This does nothing to prohibit animals from being used in tests. It does, however, give them a way to falsely advertise that they don’t test on animals. When you want to buy something not tested on animals, this is probably not what you’re looking for, right? As the Connect Four commercial used to say, “Pretty sneaky, sis”!

So, Leaping Bunny means no ingredients or finished product tested on animals with a set fixed date when all of this starts happening. Companies are subject to audit at Leaping Bunny’s discretion.

Cruelty-Free bunny looks like this:

The companies who carry this logo have signed documents with PETA stating basically the same things that Leaping Bunny up there asks for – no ingredients or finished product tested on animals. No labs contracted by their ingredients supplier or their own company to do animal testing. But there is no opening their supply chain to independent audit. This agreement is a matter of trust and PETA notes that they hope the bad press a company would get if they signed up for this bunny and still did testing would deter any company thinking of doing that from even trying. (I am poking around as to whether this bunny means there’s a fixed date or not – something else to consider.)

Strangely, companies can be on the Leaping Bunny or Cruelty-Free shopping lists and chose not to license the logo to put on their bottles. So if you have favorite brands you use and it doesn’t have a Leaping Bunny logo, you might want to try checking their list online. If you decide that the Cruelty-Free standards are enough for you to trust the company isn’t tested on animals, you can check their list as well.

This leaves the variations of the “no animal testing” text claim. This can be anything from “no animal testing”, which might mean they are using that sneaky 5 year rolling rule above. It could mean the ingredients are tested on animals but not the finished product. It could mean the company contracts labs to do the testing. It could also mean any of the things in the Cruelty-Free standards. Because there is no general oversight or regulation of using such words as “no animal testing” or “cruelty-free”, we’ll never know exactly what they mean and the best we’ll get is a company policy that hopefully says the things we want to hear (no ingredients or finished product tested on animals by them or contracted parties and a fixed date!). But most of the times you don’t get that. “Finished product not tested on animals” most likely means the ingredients are. “Cruelty-free” can mean anything. “100% Natural” can mean anything. (I’m always amazed by how many products I find that say “no animal ingredients” and they have lanolin, beeswax, honey or even more obviously animal-derived things in them. Seriously. Where do they draw the line in removing that claim? Beef tongue?)

If you are using products that make these claims, check to see if they’re on the Leaping Bunny list. Check to see if they have a no animal testing policy stating what that means on their website. And if they don’t, now’s a good time to put their customer service department to work!

So there you have it. The good, the bad and the hideously ugly.

If you have any questions, pop on down to ye ol’ comments and I will do my best to answer them.

You do it yourself

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Is it bad that I have a whole list of DIY projects I want to do but I really secretly want someone else to come over on a Sunday afternoon and have coffee with me at my dining room table while completing all of my DIYs while I look on and ooh and ahhh and then I get to keep all of them? My dream: YDIYD. (you do it yourself, dude)

Once I am in the crafty swing of things I dig it. But before I actually start craftin' I have horrible flashbacks to when my friend S and I used a tutorial to make men's button downs into cap-sleeved lady button downs. With nary an iota of success among us. Okay, among moi. Capsized cap-sleeve project. Miserable little esteem killer.

Segue: Look at this cute FIV+ kitten who was rescued by Design*Sponge and found a home the same day! Doin' good kitten deeds! Kitten miracles! FIV+ cats can live a nice long life inside in a low-stress environment. Lucky little dude.

urban renewal dress (deadstock, not sure if made in usa) maggie's organics tights vintage shoes via etsy

Outfit scorecard (animals, people, world): Overall this outfit was pretty decent. The Urban Renewal dress didn't indicate where it was made (they are usually within the US), which I didn't realize until after I'd ordered, but it is deadstock. Maggie's organics has decent labor practices & uses organic cotton. The shoes are vintage (reuse) via Etsy and tagged vegan, which always makes me more likely to buy the item.

Winter Glasses

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

New-ish glasses. While I annoyed you with questions over what kind of glasses I should get (clear acrylic? teal?), I never told you what I ended up with. For inquiring minds: I got the clear.

Don't let the Brooklyn Museum lobby fool you - we saw all of 10 minutes of Hide/Seek before the museum closed. Hide/Seek, indeed.

There is nothing particularly sustainable about my eyeglasses aside from them allowing me to lay off my contacts. My corneas are thankful for them. Maybe one day I'll invest in those wood frame glasses.

New Reading Material: Sunjo Over the Moon

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

My friend S has started a blog. Finally! After all of my harassment. (Consistent harassment pays off; let that be a lesson to you.)

You will want to read this:
Sunjo Over the Moon

S always impresses me with her vintage collection (she was the first and only person I saw with a collection of Vested Gentress dresses) as well as the modern brands she gives her attention (I learned about Prairie Underground from her first). She is an all-around good person, one of my favorite shopping companions (with 2 cute dogs!) and one of the limited number of folks I've let in on my favorite Brooklyn thrift store.

Welcome to the blog-o-sphere, Sunjo Over the Moon!

There she rose

2012-01-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- work
- get eyebrows threaded (truthfully relaxing)
- make horrible, offensive-looking face at camera

I rosed myself because I look like the meanest bastard on earth in this picture. Like I would sell off your baby brother for candy money. Like I would pretend I was throwing up next to you on the subway so you'd get out of your seat to avoid being puked on and then I'd steal your seat. (Okay, I saw some guy do this.)

It just reminds me of Hard Liquor, Soft Holes. (Safe for work.) Except he dresses better.

shirt/park slope beacon's closet skirt/american apparel tights/maggie's organics vintage pleather loafers/etsy

Overall, a fairly sustainable labor-friendly outfit. I'm unsure when I started wearing black tights and brown shoes but - that's how she goes, I guess. (All vegan, of course.)

Go Go Lunch

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

I brownbag lunch pretty much every day. Mostly to eat better and save money. But also to avoid buying lunch out with all its relevant wrap/container/box/bag waste.

I started by doing an Americanized bento every day because "cute" food was the only motivating incentive. All of those got posted on the Vegan Bento and Vegetarian Bento flickr pools.

Lately I've just been shoving leftovers into a container but this lunch looked slightly better than some past leftover lunches so I figured I'd throw it into bento pools and share it here so I can talk about some of my favorite to-go containers.

Happy Tiffin stainless steel leak-proof lunch bowl
Plastic double-tier bento via Ebay
Dollar store hankie for apple-wrapping
Plastic store-bought snack container for dressing

How my apple travels to work

(usually has a layer of paper towel under it,
which I use to dry off the apple when I wash it
but it helps act as a buffer, too)

For sandwiches and snacks I use these guys:

picture from Wrapped in Mercy

Having to-go containers that I liked and that worked for me was an important part of getting in the habit of bringing lunch regularly. For a while I was using double-tier bentos on a daily basis. Sometimes I put a lot of carb or protein rich stuff in the bigger portion and only brought one. Other days I loaded up two. But I couldn't do anything that would leak because the bentos are not sealed tight, even with that little band. Too bad - they're so cute otherwise and a good size to tuck into bags.

That's when I got the Happy Tiffin leak-proof lunch bowl (in two sizes) so that has expanded my lunch horizons. I can fit them in my regular bag if I really want to although the larger one is a stretch. But they're really handy.

Do you brown bag it? If you do, what do you use to bring your lunches in?

Zoetropes (I have an answer for everything)

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

For all of the daily focus I put on having the will-power to spend consciously, in alignment with my values, my most successful phases seem to come out of nowhere. For the past few weeks I’ve come up with reasons to not buy just about everything I think of and pretty much the only purchase I made was on a pair of Everyday Apparel shoes that have been on my wish list for months. And it’s not because of committing to a shopping ban. Or a tidy list of do you really need this?-type questions. It’s an inexplicable mental smackdown.

“You don’t need another dress.”

“Look for a picture of those boots on someone on flickr first before you buy them to see how bulky they look in real life.” (They looked bulky.)

“It’s too hard to buy clothes online and know that they fit well and aren’t going to cost me a litter of kittens in tailoring.” (Often true for things I’ve had the benefit of trying on in a fitting room anyway much less sight unseen.)

When this happens, I don’t know from whence it comes. It’s usually when my life is really busy. But it feels like I’m more in my element; more in control of my values, choices and my dollars. It doesn’t always last although it happens more frequently these days. I wish I could bottle it.

Do I think it’s the result of asking myself all those do you really need this?-type questions in the past? A result of trying many a failed “shopping ban”? The result of making myself list every item I purchased from a store without decent labor practices as “sweatshop” on my outfit pictures? Of writing blog posts about what sustainable and cruelty-free style means to me? I think so. I think all of those things add up to an unconscious voice that sometimes gets its day to boss me around. (For a good cause.)

So for all of those times that I shopped in a way that disappointed me and where I took the trouble to deconstruct why and how I let happen – thanks for doing it, Past Jesse. It’s given me the groundwork to escape mountains of advertising messages and social constructs that expect me to consume for a few minutes. It’s given me a little bit of room to breathe. And that kind of feels like freedom.

Dolphins & Squirrels

2012-01-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are interested in the animal-type stuff on this blog:

Just passing on the word that my friend E is in Japan, cataloging the dolphin round ups and capture/killing. You are probably familiar with this practice thanks to The Cove, which I am still too much of a baby to watch. (I know what goes on in it and and I know I'm opposed to it - I don't need to see a bloody sea to be convinced.)

picture from Ocean on Fire

You can find his blog Ocean on Fire here, documenting that the round ups are still going on. And you can find the info on dolphins here, at the Sea Shepherd site.

To make this less of a bummer post, look at this squirrel I saw eating out of a spoon!

Better Luck Tomorrow

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

This picture is from a mere two weeks ago. Between then and now, winter properly arrived. There will be no pulling off ankle socks and bare legs now.

all/sweatshop

I guess sometimes the 'all sweatshop items' thing just happens with an outfit. I try to remember there are other things I can do to make sure my wardrobe is more sustainable and fair to the world, even if I made a few sweatshop labor mistakes.

1) Take care of what I have - being careful with the dress, socks and shoes will help them last longer and most likely deter me from buying another dress, socks or shoes in the future. (I haven't quite figured out if it will deter me from replacing these items or if I will keep a consistent volume in my closet - replacing any dress with any other style dress, or a shirt, etc.) I have been thinking about sustainability and clothes for a while and even so, it hasn't been until recently my response to a tiny hole in a sock has been to sew it vs. throw it in the textiles recycling pile.

2) Taking some comfort in the fact that while none of the items likely had great labor practices, none of them consist of animal hair or hide - so I purchased aligned with my strongest value.

3) There's the opportunity to do better next time. That is why I label things "sweatshop" instead of the actual retailer - to remind myself that this was something I was hoping to avoid. (That and I was tired of advertising retailers I wasn't proud of.) So, better luck tomorrow, Future Jesse.

Kicking out something, alright

2012-01-05T20:17:00.001-08:00

It's already the 5th and I'm just now getting around to posting what I wore for New Year's Eve. We ended up going to three different parties - from Queens to Brooklyn.

dress/Buffalo Exchange (Chelsea)
tights/American Apparel
bag/vintage
shoes/my friend Suzanne!
(who doesn't have a blog but should)
NYE light-up headband/sweatshop

I am pretty sure that when I said my resolution for 2012 was to kick out the jams, I didn't mean "be really congested and sick the first week and lay around watching episodes of Trailer Park Boys". But you take what life gives you. You make lemonades out of lemons. You get what you get and you don't get upset.

Anyway, in the near future I hope to have a few things for you -- an overview of "no animal testing" logos and what they mean and how vegans keep warm in the winter.

And with that I leave you with Bubbles explaining why he loves flea markets (warning of f-bombs):

2012, watch out.

2011-12-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a retrospective on my 2011, blog-style. I expect to kick out the jams in 2012. That's my only goal.

2011. Year in blog-review.

I also completed my "official" 2011 goal of training for and running a 5k. I took the Couch to 5k program from a 9 week program and made it into a 5 week program (bad idea) and gave myself runner's knee in the process (painful) but I did it.

The same cannot be said for Spanish language class -- that is a goal that will have to rollover to 2012. Eche las mermeladas?

HH2U!

2011-12-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays from Emmy
and her new Santa Mouse!

In true cat lady fashion, I left my petsitter (and friend) a bag of toys to open for the cats on Christmas morning. So far, they've enjoyed them all.

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays, have a great New Year's Eve and best wishes for a spectacular 2012! (grammar nerd link)

10 Dresses to Go

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Dressembers 20th and 21st. Ten days of dresses to go. I'm surprised I've had no repeats. I have more dresses than I thought. Who knew I was so rich in dresses?

I wore this to:
- work
- food co-op shopping

dress/beacon's closet
tights/maggie's organics
pleather loafers/vintage via etsy

I wore this to:
- work
- watch first episode of Sons of Anarchy
- hope I don't start watching Sons of Anarchy forever

dress/sweatshop from London 6+ years ago?
tights/maggie's organics
purple shoes/sweatshop (new & falling apart)

I am pretty sick of wearing tights and leggings, although they afford for large meals without much discomfort.

~~But now I'm afraid that when I need to put pants back on again I won't be able to thanks to my 7 cookie a day diet and the denial that dresses and tights affords me currently.~~ F that. I sound like a Cathy comic. Cookies on demand, without apology.

Developing My Gift Matrix

2011-12-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

I know everyone is posting like crazy about holiday shopping and gift guides now. This isn’t a gift guide. It's my gift matrix. Since I typically consume by specific standards (wistful on the reduced consumerism front, hopeful focus on fair-trade and reuse items, vegan, etc.), I have a very specific plan of attack when I'm buying for others. And hopefully you’ll share how you match your holiday giving with your own values, too.

So, this is how I roll.

1. Do we have to? It sounds a little Scrooge McDuck but it isn’t. I pared down my list of gift recipients based on who wanted to exchange gifts. This gave some of my friends an out to say they were hard up for cash and agreeing not to exchange gifts would alleviate some of that gift-giving pressure. If that’s helpful, I’m happy to skip exchanging and just stick with the holiday well-wishing instead.

photo by Jeff Kern

2. What do you need? While I fully support the idea of the “Buy Handmade” pledge primarily for labor practice reasons**, I don’t always think it’s the smartest way to shop. I’ve found that at times it’s hard to get something useful or wanted and handmade. And – unfortunately – sometimes the longevity of some handmade items just isn’t there. It’s great (wonderful, in fact) when it is but I’ve had some disappointing issues with inadvertent obsolescence due to subpar materials or handiwork. (This was more in the textiles area - clothing, bags, etc.)

Past Example: I knew my cousin needed tools for his trade class. Nothing I could get him off Etsy was going to be useful for him, but I knew a gift card to a hardware store would be well-used, and it would save him from having to spend his own money on tools. So, if there is something I know the person can use, I try to get specs and get them that very thing. Or I get them a gift card so they can. Are they places I’d normally shop? No. But I know they are going to be spending their money there anyway and if there are no smaller business alternatives in their area I deem it useful and let go of it not fitting perfectly within my ideals.

3. What do you want?

Do they have something on their “want” list that I’d be happy to get them? As long as it doesn’t cross my biggest shopping no-no’s (animal ingredients, tested on animals), I will go with it. (Later down the line I consider labor practices, local businesses and manufacturers, etc.) So, I’m not signing you up for Omaha Steaks or donating a heifer in your name but I will buy you a CD. (Also why would I doing something like livestock international when I could do Feed More International and feed people without harming animals?)

4. If they don’t have anything to list for needs or wants…

If people won't come up with a need or a want and we're still exchanging gifts, I try to opt for one of two things -- donations or the gifts of a service and/or shared experience. (These are always planned; I wouldn't get anyone a donation as a holiday gift without discussion about the gift exchange first.)

For a few years, my mother and I exchanged donations to charities of our choosing. A few years later we decided to gift each other a shared experience – we realized that the thing we found most valuable was spending time together and giving each other a spa gift card for the express purpose of booking our appointments together was a perfect fit and what we’ve been doing for years now. (Services usually help support an industry and pay people a decent wage without creating "stuff". You would know best which service businesses you feel best supporting.)

If I have people I can’t ask about their needs or wants and I would like to get them a gift, I approach it the similarly. First, can I get them something that’s a service? Can I get them a gift card at a mani/pedi place or a massage place (etc) that pays for a service but doesn’t put “stuff” into their hands if not used?

Or can I get something comestible they can eat, drink, share with others if they don’t like it? For one Yankee swap this year I got a pound of coffee and 4 vintage mugs. (They were stoneware and had a funny little mouse drawing on it with the word "Mousehole" painted on the back. I couldn't leave them at the store.) I took a chance on the mugs but they seemed to have gone to a good home - the recipients told me they liked them and had just moved so they needed mugs. And it wasn’t new “stuff’ so I didn’t feel too horribly if they were not very well received – people can usually figure out how to donate/repurpose mugs. (Although I totally hemmed and hawed about whether this was a mistake; my boyfriend can vouch for that.)

Equal Exchange coffee - I actually

bought Intelligentsia, which has some farmer

relationship but it's not quite the same

Since I’m vegan I can no longer just go pick up a box of Godiva or whatnot, I usually end up getting dark chocolate items or vegan truffles. (I should be better and look for fair trade but I don't always remember. But I should.) This year I got a bunch of Rescue Chocolate (vegan, delicious and a portion of the $ goes towards animal nonprofits) and Hurraw lip balm (vegan, organic, fair trade ingredients and generally useful in the winter) to gift.

That brings me to general personal care items. I know people are picky about what they use…I am, too. But sometimes I go out on a limb and get general winter-centric personal care items for folks if I think they’re a good quality and they might get used. Again, since I’m vegan there’s no animal by-products or testing involved with the things I choose (no beeswax, no lanolin, no milk derivatives, etc.). This year I ended up gifting some Smith's Rosebud balm/salve (the no lanolin versions) and some vegan hand lotion for people.

photo by littlenutbrownhare

5. My downfall:

All said and done I totally broke down and bought $50 worth of cat toys that my cats will certainly play with but do not need. I was at the pet store, standing in front of the rescue kitty cages trying to pick out cat toy gifts for our local animal control facility and apparently lost my marbles so our cats got a tidy haul in addition to what I bought for the animal shelter. (The shelter also has some crates coming their way - this was just the little stuff.)

That's it! You're at the end of my gift matrix! My successes, my mistakes! The how and why of my holiday shopping. Your turn?

**I'm also aware that the materials that people use are often produced under poor labor standards and with an ecological impact as well, so "handmade" isn't as awesome as we sometimes think it is, although more and more handmade folks are using recycled materials or trying to chose their materials based on ecological footprint. But I have also seen greenwashing on Etsy in the past. Buying handmade is a good idea but I don't see it as a panacea.

Cookie Monster & Bonus Cuteness

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- volunteer at a cat/dog/bunny adoption event in Manhattan
- attend a holiday vegan cookie swap (holy stuffed piehole, Batman!)
- holiday shop

My faaavorite cookies at the swap:
1) Oreos-inside-chocolate chip cookies (Oreos are "accidentally vegan")
2) homemade peppermint patties
3) rocky road clusters (vegan tiny marshmallows, pretzels, peanuts, in dark chocolate)

Yesterday I found out that my blessed angel coworker who makes cookies for our entire agency added a vegan cookie version this year (gingerbread?) and someone grabbed a few for me before they were all gone. Holy f'n mmmmm.

That said, I'm committing to kale salad with tomatoes, tofu and tahini dressing for lunch for the week. With apples as snacks. My body has probably forgotten what to do with green foods at this point.

beanie/brooklyn thrift
dress/sweatshop (dress proof here)
skirt/sweatshop
leggings/swap
boots/hearts of darkness - cri de coeur (rebel)

This is one of the little buddies who was up for adoption this past weekend! Unfortunately this kitty is still at the shelter. Can you believe it?! Due to the economy (and more and more people having to give up their pets), adoptions have slowed for a lot of shelters and rescue groups so if you don't have pets and are thinking about adopting a cat, dog or bunny (or adding on to your current family), now is a great time!

Adult cats make great pets - you already know the personality you're getting and they have a much harder chance of getting out of the shelter because people fixate on kittens (who just become adult cats in a few months anyway).

DIY: A Swan of a Different Color

2011-12-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of my goals has been to try to bring back the DIY in my life. Back in the day, I used to draw and "craft" (hate that as a verb) and zine all the live-long day. Now I don't do any of it. And honestly - it blows.

After seeing this key necklace tutorial, I decided I wanted to try something similar with a ring holder. You know, the ring holders that you always see at the resale shops - the omnipresent ring holders?

So this:

picture from etsy seller soulterrain

Turned into this:

I was invited to a vegan ladies holiday brunch hosted by my friend, S, that included a gift swap. The parameters for the swap were (quite thoughtfully) handmade or vintage. (Okay, seriously? My favorite swap idea ever.) I was bringing a pair of vintage drinking glasses anyway but this ended up being part of the gift.

via Citizen Rosebud - animal-friendly vintage line (Sacremento, CA)

2011-12-19T14:00:00.001-08:00

Here is some vegan fashion news for my fellow vegans.

Look at this cool idea: Citizen Rosebud has opened Citizen Vegan, a line of vegan-friendly vintage items, at Never Felt Better. Never Felt Better is a vegan goods store in Sacremento, CA. If you're in the area, Citizen Rosebud urges you to "check out her rack".

Please file this under "Ideas I Wish Were Mine". How jazzed would I be if I could vintage shop somewhere without having to check the tag every time I picked up a sweater or silk-seeming shirt?

This reminds me - I would seriously like to get on top of organizing a vegan-friendly clothes/accessories swap in NYC.

Picture stolen
from Citizen Rosebud post
(linked above)

Oh, the Owsla

2011-12-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

19 days into Dressember. I am starting to feel it. Firstly, contrary to popular belief, I am tired of taking photos of myself every single gd day. I feel like a kid some overbearing mom pushed into kid-modeling some days. Now you will understand why I'm sometimes posting dark iphone photos. They are fast and easy. ("Mom, are we dooooone yet?")

Secondly, it is getting dang cold. Thank Frith for legwarmers. (I have Watership Down on my mind today.)

But! Dressember has forced me to wear those bastard child dresses I'd been ignoring. Now that I remember why I don't wear them, I either have to purge them or start wearing them in different ways. (This was my master plan for "doing" Dressember all along.)

Without further self-referential wordy harping about my closet, here are two dresses.

I wore this to:
- work
- attend a photo studio fundraiser for a makeup artist with stage 4 cancer
- eat dinner at Gobo

dress/vanilla and lace
shoes/neuaura
tights/sweatshop

I love the design of this Vanilla and Lace dress. I love everything in her store. Unfortunately the shoulders are slightly wide on me so the extra material in the shoulders slides forward and makes the front of the dress tent up front at the collar. Also it collects lint like a piece of scotch tape. And one of the back seams is kind of crooked. However, for $60 and this being a totally handmade super cute dress, I still think it's a deal. I will likely just have my tailor fix the shoulders and probably take up the hem and put it into regular rotation. I will order from her again and I will probably do exact measurements/custom order next time - just being honest about the dress I currently have.

I wore this to:
- work
- go to a community group meeting
- ignore my stringy hem
- alter the hell out of this dark photo so you can see anything

dress/beacon's closet park slope
tights/american apparel
shoes/neuaura

In the spirit of giving

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- go to work
- eat 3 desserts in one day

I don't turn down vegan desserts unless they look like they're "healthy" - the ones that look and taste like rocky dirt or have a lot of whole grains in them. But when they're cupcake, brownie and coconut/jam kind of desserts, I don't turn them down. No matter how many I encounter in one day.

Maybe I am in a sugar-crash induced depression this week - I can't shake feeling bad about everything we can't help immediately. I feel miserable for farm animals who are in our factory farming systems as I type - battery hens, calves, pigs, baby chicks. I feel bad for homeless dogs, cats, bunnies and other companion animals who are lacking human companions to care for them. I feel bad for outdoor cats who don't have regular shelter and food because they're not part of a managed TNR colony. I feel bad for the kids who don't have a stable home life. Or parents who are too afraid to leave their abusive spouses. And their kids. And their pets. I feel bad for my grandparents and their health issues. I feel bad for everything that suffers.

It is probably survivor's guilt. I look at my little dudes...

and think how lucky they are to have a safe place to sleep at night and that I, given how many paths I could have taken in life, ended up here - safe and sound.

What is the "next right thing" I can do to help them? Feeling bad isn't going to help them. What helps is thinking about what I already have done (rescuing animals, going vegan...but the direct human help - humans are a little trickier to help directly) and thinking of what else I can do. I have some ideas.

In the meantime, this year I'll be giving to the following for the holidays:
- Farm Sanctuary
- Alley Cat Allies
- local animal control
- Safe Horizons
- NY Public Library (because books were such a big part of my childhood stability)

Oh, yeah. Here is the dress.

dress/urban renewal
tights & oxfords/sweatshop

Dressember the 12th

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:

- work

- forget a belt

Please don't expect a Dressember the 13th. I left my apartment at 6:15am to do field work until 5pm so I did not wear a dress. I am lucky I managed non-pajamas at 6:15am.

This is actually a dress, not a skirt and a dress. I've dubbed either part of the dress dresskirt and dresshirt, but as a whole, it is a dress.

dress/sweatshop
shoes/vintage
tights/maggie's organics

My friend Maya on vegan makeup for the holidays

2011-12-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

My friend Maya is awesome in so many ways. Ever since she told me her plans for a post on vegan makeup for the holidays, I've been anxiously awaiting it. And ever since I've been hitting her up for vegan makeup answers. ("What black eyeliner are you using now?" "Do you know of a vegan powder blush that's decent?") While it's true that I go through phases where I don't use makeup at all, there are periods when I do with Baby Jane gusto.

So here it is - "Great Makeup for the Holidays, Minus the Cruelty" by Maya, via Huffington Post.

I've been pretty loyal to Urban Decay over the years, particularly since they are fantastic about labeling what's vegan. I use the 24/7 black eyeliner, Lush Lash mascara, lipstick and their Baked Bronzer. I also have their Ink for Eyes, which I used before their liquid liner became vegan.

But! Knowing that everything Maya listed is vegan, it makes me a little more confident to branch out. Those OCD lip tars sound kind of rulin', don't they?

Dressember Round Up

2011-12-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a whole slew of past-due Dressembers. I'm now officially done with 1/3 of Dressember. What I'm realizing was that pushing myself to wear bow ties when none of my dresses have collars was kind of short-sighted. And that I hate most of my sweater dresses because they leave little to the imagination. So when it gets colder expect to see a lot of sweater dresses with skirts.

In real-life news, mostly I've been working and, at times, still trying to put the apartment together. Which seems like an uphill battle, as if we are the first two people to have to scale such an insurmountable task. I won't be inviting you over for tea until June 2012 at this rate.

I wore this to:

- do a 2 hour presentation

- work

dress/sweatshop

shoes/neuaura

tights/american apparel

I wore this to:

-attend an 8 hour work training session

dress/beacons closet (reuse)

cardigan & tights/american apparel

shoes/neuaura

I wore this to:

-move furniture

- get to farmer's market late

- get to vegan book swap late

- ran into Kate of it's the truth & it don't make a noise

- see Wizard of Oz on big screen in Jersey City

- eat dark chocolate covered frozen banana (vegan!)

- requisite "there's always money in the banana stand" jokes

dress/resale shop

tights/american apparel

shoes/hearts of darkness by cri de coeur (lure)

I wore this to:

- hit up secret thrift store for DIY project materials

-move furniture

dress & tights & socks/american apparel

skirt & shoes/sweatshop

I wore it similarly here and here is the whole dress.

Dressember the 7th

2011-12-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- work
- hair appointment

Urban Renewal is one of those (sub)brands that I feel aight about purchasing. (Unlike most other retail chain brands.) Typically the material is deadstock, salvaged or reworked from something else and put together in the US of A so I imagine real live adults with legit jobs are making stuff. I guess I stopped checking where things are made in the product details because I ended up with two dresses that, while made from deadstock materials, didn't mention where they were made recently.

This one was made in the US, I believe. It has a collar but it gets lost in the...busyness.

dress/urban renewal (salvaged fabric, made in usa)
tights/sweatshop
shoes/vivienne westwood for melissa

Dressember the 6th

2011-12-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- work
- attend Architects for Animals

dress/Buffalo Exchange, Seattle
shoes & leggings/sweatshop
cardigan/American Apparel
brooch/handmade, comics fest

My boyfriend made a side comment to me about whether the things I wear with leggings are actually dresses or tunics. I assure you that, for better or worse, I wear all of these as dresses sans leggings when the weather is right.

Here's the same dress, summer-style. Note: it is passing the fingertip test.

Dressember the 5th

2011-12-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- attend 6 hours worth of work planning meetings
- feel brain cells get lazy after 4 hours of meetings

Since I knew I had meetings both inside and outside my agency this day, I wore something longer than normal and that was comfortable to sit in all day. I guess I plan to wear oxfords every day with every dress, forever? Oxfords 4ever!

dress, leggings/sweatshop
shoes/neuaura

Delinquency (comments)

2011-12-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all who've commented asking questions,

I've finally gotten my act together and commented back. Sorry I'm a lazy blogger.

Will this distract you from my sloth?

Yep?
Okay, great.

Dressember the 4th

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- take a bike safety class at 718 Cyclery
- bike to a holiday market at Cut (Soapwalla!)
- eat Thanksgiving leftovers (vegan) sandwich @ 'snice
- bike to By Brooklyn to pick up holiday gift order
- bike to DeKalb markets (eat brussels & chestnut rice ball...really)
- bike home

In case you didn't notice, I biked a lot both weekend days. And on busy roads. I get that this is something people do all the time. But I'm not everyone. Lazy people are allowed to celebrate when they are like semi-athletic people for a change. So. Huzzah, lazy-self!

(No Violets were harmed in the making of these pictures.)

dress, leggings, socks & shoes/sweatshop

Dressember the 3rd

2011-12-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:

- bike to Williamsburg

- Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Fest

- see just a few minutes of Phoebe Gloeckner

- bike back home in the cold (perpetually underdressed for weather)

- lunch @ Urban Rustic (club!)
- best dinner of not-dogs loaded w/hummus, fried onion, veganaise, ketchup, black olives

Bummed to miss all of Phoebe Gloeckner's talk, especially since she was discussing her ongoing project (dioramas, women murdered, Juarez). But I got 4 comics and a t-shirt that reminded me of a Pushead illustration.

(I assure you I also had vegetables for dinner.)

dress & pin/vintage

tights/american apparel

shoes & shirt/sweatshop

Dressember the 2nd

2011-12-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:

- work holiday party

dress/vintage

shoes & tights/sweatshop

The great thing about this dress is how many wears I get out of it. I've worn it to weddings, holiday parties, New Year's Eve, whatevs kind of fancy cold weather events. It invariably gets me Jackie O (or Jackie Kennedy) comments and I find myself reaching for it more than I ever thought I would.

Buying stuff to like enough for it to become a staple is always tricky. The best laid plans to target good quality items that won't be dated and that I'll like to wear forever are often foiled. Sometimes it's the fit. Other times its how I feel in it. Or knowing how to wear it. For whatever reason, items I feel lucky to have in my closet are few.

So I consider this dress one of my greenest buys - it was already reused and for a dress-up dress, it gets a lot of airtime. If I didn't have this go-to in my closet, I'd have to be shopping a lot more often since fancy dress events (just like work) are one of those required dress code instances.

Shockingly, Anna Wintour also endorses reuse when she says, “I think it's always fun to have something new, but it doesn't mean that everything you already have in your closet has to be thrown out, you know? Recycle. It’s totally okay — I even recommend it.” (Although, in all seriousness, I don't make a habit of considering Wintour's thoughts all that much.)

Dressember the 1st

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wore this to:
- work
- role play interviewing someone in a work training
- have my green moving boxes picked up
- slog through the end of Eating the Dinosaur

I know I've been missing 'round these parts lately.

I hope you all had excellent Halloweens. I was in Austin, Tx for work and forgot about Halloween. So much so that when I started hearing weird mumbled microphone noises from the parking lots adjacent to our hotel, I just assumed the strip club nearby had a really lousy announcer for their dancers. It wasn't until a little later that I figured out there was a pop-up haunted house set up in one of the other parking lots.

I also hope you had a thankful Thanksgiving. This year we visited friends of my boyfriend's family. This was my first and probably only participation in a reenactment of Noah's Ark, complete with DIY alligator mask and biblical passages orated. (We all made our own masks with the provided craft supplies. Someone else orated.) It was probably the most interesting Thanksgiving I've had, and I have a lot of drunken relatives in my family to endure on holidays so that's saying something.

cardigan & shoes/sweatshop
tights/maggie's organics
dress/resale from blogger

Dressember the 1st

Sadistic Dressember Goals

2011-12-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm a sadist but I thought having some additional goals for Dressember might spice it up a bit. You know, besides wearing a dress for 31 days. These goals read like a laundry list of closet orphans and DIY projects. (Because that's what they are.)

Henceforth, for the month of Dressember, I challenge myself to:

1) Wear lace collar I bought 50 billion years ago (still unworn)
2) DIY a bleached black t-shirt dress
3) Wear gray Hearts of Darkness Charisma boots
4) Make myself find a space in my new apartment where I can take outfit pictures
5) Purge the dresses I just do. not. wear.

6) Wear embroidered bow tie & black tie

{picture from With Care's shop}

7) Figure out how to layer dresses so they can be worn more than 1 way

#6 is selfish. I told myself I couldn't buy any more of With Care's ties until I wore the ones I'd just purchased. But look how cute they are! Handmade. In the North America.

Dressember

2011-11-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

I am going to tackle Dressember again this year.

Let's hope for unmitigated success (contrary to Dressember 2010, which was all "waaaaaahhhhhhnt waaaah").

Ethical Fashion Bloggers - November DIY Round-Up

2011-11-23T13:02:00.001-08:00

I recently joined the Ethical Fashion Bloggers Network, which you would never know because I haven't had time to write an intro to the group nor participate in any of the outfit posts yet. But I am pleased as punch to have found a style blogger network focused on ethical fashion, as most of the communities and link lists I was involved with in the past were less and less relevant to my interests over time.

With that, behold the first EFB DIY Round-Up! In which I did not participate but plan to in the future.

(collage via EFB)

Penguin Potluck

2011-11-21T11:00:00.001-08:00

While 90% of my belongings and 100% of my cats are at the new apartment, I've barely unpacked. I had to return to work sooner than I thought and it is taking longer to unpack than I thought! So my life is still in complete disarray, I have no idea where my camera is and I can't access 70% of my clothes.

We were able to knock out some (vegan) cream cheese & olive penguins to bring as an appetizer for a vegan pre-Thanksgiving potluck, though! (I was afraid to commit to baking, in case we couldn't find half our kitchen equipment.)

Hopefully I'll be back around by next week. The ol' blog is looking a little lonely these days.

white roses mean what?

2011-11-07T20:18:00.001-08:00

white roses mean what?, a photo by jesse.anne.o. on Flickr.

The only point of note from today's outfit.

White roses, according to my sources, mean unity, weddings or remembrance. And purity. Turns out white roses are pretty versatile.

"Hey, I'm going to marry you."
"U-N-I-T-yyyy that spells unity."
"Hey, I am going to remember you."
"Thanks for being my 110% pure friend!"

(My sources were, as per usual, the innernettes.)

Movin' on up

2011-11-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

I feel like I just got back from my 9 day work trip, scrambling to catch up on office work and now I'm moving from the apartment I have lived in for 7 years to my boyfriend's apartment in a matter of 10 days. No rest for the wicked. (Seriously - as an extracurricular my coworker and I were trapping kittens out of our hotel dumpster until 3am the night before our departure and driving them to the humane society 5 hours later, 4 hours before our flights.)

This picture is from warmer days.

shirt/bklyn comics & graphics fest
skirt/american apparel
shoes/sweatshop
bag/wfmu fundraiser tote

I will really miss my neighborhood. The tofu scramble/tofurkey/daiya bagel at Roots Community Cafe. The 6/15 Garden. The boys. (George & Harry have a new feeder.) Green-wood Cemetery. The cardinal family in my yard. My neighbor's cat, Oreo, and the last 2 cats out of 16 that I fixed on my own block. And just running into people I've met over the years on an almost daily basis, hearing what they're up to. I've been here for 7 years and have been a fairly active community member in a few different ways so it's hard to leave.

I won't miss the 2-3 train commute to work or the 10 minute walk to the subway. On ice. Downhill. Or how my apartment is so crooked all my furniture is propped up on wood - or VHS tapes - to keep it level. Or the half hour commute to spend time with my boyfriend. Or the extra half mile to the food co-op.

If you hear even more radio silence from me in the coming two weeks, I'll be packing and moving and unpacking and setting up the new place.

Deep in the heart

2011-10-25T20:44:00.001-07:00

deep in the heart, a photo by jesse.anne.o. on Flickr.

I'm in Austin for a work trip, sans camera. I wore my new vintage man-made-material loafers. They were perfect for both the security line and comfort.

And yes, I wore them with skeleton socks.

Rainy Days

2011-10-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or do rainy days make you wish you could be home, reading, surrounded by your cats? I'm pretty sure they're all curled up together right now.

Technically I have a foster cat in my office as well so maybe I just really want to be home?

Vegan Week at LovingEco (aka Online Shopping, Silly)

2011-10-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

LovingEco is an eco-friendly boutique-style deal site (sort of like a green Gilt). This week is Vegan Week (awww yeah!), curated by Mandi of Chic Vegan. They have icons next to each product that indicate whether it was made in the US, vegan, cruelty-free, organic, fair trade, recycled, energy efficient, etc. I enjoy this. With most online shopping sites I'm scanning 8 point font in the "details" section of a product to get that info, if the site lists it it all.

A few of my favorite vegan brands are listed -- Vaute Couture, Hurraw and Neuaura with the proceeds of most of the brand boutique's sales going to Farm Sanctuary, one of my top 3 favorite non-profits. Vaute and Neuaura have limited items (tank, mostly sandals) but Hurraw has a pretty good selection of flavors.

I have this flavor. It's aces.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not getting any kickbacks for this post. I'm just trying to be the Pied Piper of vegan brands I like so they'll stay in business.

Strike that. Who knew the Pied Piper was so dang awful?

You ain't missing much

2011-10-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'm unsure what about this fall has thrown me into a total funk but you're not missing much in the way of outfit pictures, that's for sure. My big project lately has been purging my apartment of unnecessary objects, which includes a lot of grunt work so I've looked like this:

...pretty much all the time. Like a pissed hobo who wears her socks and jeans like a '90s hardcore dude. You're welcome.

I've also developed a week-long hankering for not-dogs with chipotle hummus, ketchup, mustard and pickles. My assumption is that this will pass or those of you who reside in NYC will have to do an intervention.

The up-side?

- I've started reading Fargo Rock City
- I'm up to Significant Others in the Tales of the City series
- I got rid of 8 boxes of stuff at a charity stoop sale
- I got rid of my old tv at electronics recycling
- I got awesome new running shoes (even though I'm injured and can't run now):Look at those magnificently embarrassing colors. They were out of the black/purple version when I went to get my running gait analyzed and buy new shoes so I figured if I couldn't get those, I should go for the gold (amongst other colors). They are so bright they make my feet feel faster and when I ran in them they made me think of Bill Murray in Meatballs.

I saw this!

2011-10-10T16:24:00.001-07:00

A downy woodpecker!

photo from ibm4381

They are pretty tiny - like 7" or so. Tiniest woodpecker!

And no, my cats didn't help me notice the bird this time. This one was all me.

Wearing socks sucks.

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- meet my friend's tiny 6 pound, 1 week old baby!
- meet up with the guy who will help take care of my feral cats
- went to a clothing swap
- dinner @ Quantum Leap
- looked at interior design books @ St. Marks Books
- called Safe Slope to walk me home from the subway

I won't complain about it getting colder because we're all adults here. But really I won't complain because everyone else beat me to it.

dress/sweatshop
cardigan/american aparel
scarf/bklyn thrift
shoes/vintage, etsy

My swap goal was to get rid of more than I took, which was a success. I got rid of 3 dresses, 1 shirtdress tunic, 2 shirts, 1 pair of shoes and 2 bags and only returned with two shirts. Success!

You aren't crazy.

2011-10-04T12:32:00.001-07:00

I just saw this, A Message to Women from a Man, on a list serv and it's the kind of item to pass on.

I haven't consciously noticed me calling myself "crazy" but I could see how it would be hurtful for women everywhere to continue referring to ourselves as "insane". Let's face it -- the great majority of us do not have the vapors.

If anything my mantra is "I'm really f'n busy, please step off as I get sh!t done" than implying I'm irrational or don't know what I'm doing. (Usually I know what I'm doing and I have some thoughts about what you should be doing, too. But I try to be nice about not sharing those.)

It will be interesting to see if what I think I do is true in the coming days, as I watch for tell-tale signs that I might be taking myself down a notch inadvertently.

Two things.

2011-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Two things about ModCloth inventory:

1) I had the vintage version of this apron, which looked exactly the same so this is basically a re-pro of a specific item. Except I used mine to force feed neonatal kittens both KMR and meds so it was stained pink with amoxycillin and I got rid of it. (If you've ever tried to force feed sick kittens, you know how much makes it in their stomachs.)

2) Lisa Hanawalt has a paint-by-numbers kit.

Bandwagon

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- go to Vegan Drinks

jacket/kids' thrift
pins/mostly vintage
dress/Beacon's Closet resale
shoes/sweatshop

I've been noticing a hive-mind towards reliving our hair metal youth lately. Or maybe people are just getting into it for the first time and I'm one of the rare ones who'd like to relive my hair metal youth. Denim vests abound these days and I am no exception. Mine was from 50% at the Bklyn thrift store so $3.50 isn't a bad price to pay for nostalgia.

I will not, however, relive stretch pants as pants. Even if they're Lip Service Axl Rose daggar leggings. (Okay, maybe that would be the one exception.)

Thanks, 1990s

2011-09-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

It's funny because I hated ravers and never ever planned to dress like a raver but when my mother unearthed this one, I am inexplicably rave-like. (The other glaringly obvious item in the photo was my '80 Buick Regal that I decided to paint with Hello Kitty and Wonder Woman semi-facsimiles. Unfinished was the Sea Monkeys side of the car. And "I Hate Valentine's Day" was the name of my old zine.) I am going to pin this one on skater culture of the '90s.

I looked like this and drove around like this for years.

I wore almost no black. Almost.

2011-09-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- attend Ranjit's opening (produce scans - not only a great concept but beautiful)
- hit up the food co-op, my home away from home

I am woefully behind my 5k training schedule despite skipping ahead a week on the Couch to 5k schedule. My 5k goal is to make it through the course before they start the "family fun run" (aka families with strollers). Because I can't imagine anything more humiliating than family units propelling strollers catching up to me and totally hosing my speed. I mean, I can...but this is the most realistically likely humiliating fate to befall me.

The good news? The race is on the Coney Island boardwalk. So even if a Bugaboo trailing Cheerios steamrolls me, I'll have the lovely ocean in my sights.

shirt/resale
skirt/Bklyn thrift
shoes/sweatshop
tie/With Care

Back, Back to School

2011-09-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Best backpack. Now I have Grease 2's "Back to School" song in my head.

I spy with my little eye

2011-09-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to brag that I saw an American Redstart on my fire escape. And correctly identified it in my Sibley's. Two firsts.

Granted, I saw it because one of my cats tipped me off by plastering her face against the window screen in amazement. But still. It counts.

photo by Jeremy Myer

Otherwise I have a cardinal family who live in my backyard, along with a bunch of pigeons, mourning doves and the occasional miserable bird of prey. I used to have a yellow-bellied sapsucker (no, really) in my yard every year but I haven't seen it around. I suspect it passed because I saw a similar "expired" bird on the sidewalk a block away earlier this year.

My $80 - September

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

The chilly weather caught me unawares - and in a t-shirt - last week, which prompted this impulse buy. I am shining it on since I secretly love fleece items when they're not shaped like sweatshirts. I feel like I still get to feel lazy but since it's covert fleece, I feel like I don't look lazy. (Don't tell me if I do. And don't imagine me in this with beret. Because that's not going to happen.)

Alignment with values? Vegan - check. Sweatshop free - supposedly. Longevity of use ("eco") - somewhat seasonal but we'll see. I've forced myself to wear it on every jacket-requiring day to get used to it so I'll wear it more.

Capes + bags prove problematic. Especially since I always carry a bag large enough to fit 2 days' worth of camping necessities in it. I think my best bet is either a wristlet (yeah, right) or a skinny tote bag (alright) so I don't look like a humpback.

So much for mining my wishlist for September.

What's that? I have $10 left because that cape is only $70? Nah, brah. I already spent $10 at the Bkyn thrift on a kids' size denim jacket (to make into a vest), a kids' size blazer (to wear as an adult), pants (to be tailored to straight leg), a knit cap and a bandana.

I have $@## awesome neighbors

2011-09-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Part of why I haven't been around this blog very much is because of sexual assaults. I know I've spoken here about (now 8) sexual assaults/rapes, a great majority of which have happened within 10 blocks from my apartment, on streets I walk on regularly and at the same times I regularly walk them.

I am lucky enough to have proactive, non-victim-blaming feminist neighbors who see this as a community issue (not a woman's issue) and get involved. After one meeting with about 8 friends and neighbors, a community safety group was formed. Two programs (a safe escort and safe place program) were decided upon and to raise awareness both for the incidents and new programs, a one-time rally was organized.

Within 2 weeks we had a roster of speakers who focused on community safety lined up and a number of local city officials who wanted to join in.

And 300-500 people showed up. For each other.

photo from this PS Patch article

I can't tell you how insanely proud I am of the people I worked with. So many people - of varied genders - busted their ass on this and so many community members showed up for each other. Which is so awe-inspiring and humbling I can't even stand it.

My favorite sign

photo from here

Anyway, that's where most of my spare time went lately. And I know I always hem and haw about community outreach and knowing your neighbors and getting involved but -- I don't think there's any better example than this. What is more fundamentally inspiring than people who want to keep each other free from harm?

While it was covered by channels 2, 4, 11, 12, etc. below is the coverage from two local blogs:
FIPS
PS Patch

The Little Engine That Could

2011-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Because I spent all weekend in a skull sweatshirt and OTBP canvas combat boots, here's a reminder (to myself) that I don't have to be reduced to sweatshirts and jeans for the duration of cool temperatures.

I crash Brooklyn Bliss

2011-09-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm guest-posting today at Brooklyn Bliss while Corrie's on vacation in Miami! (Thanks again for asking me, Corrie!)

If you haven't yet checked out Brooklyn Bliss, now would be a good time. She's got outfit pictures (outside, even!), food and a cute dog over there.

Okay, not her yorkiepoo, but a yorkiepoo, nonetheless!

photo by Tegan Barr

Seriously, why are you still here?

Falling Leaf Unease

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- wear a cardigan for the first time this season
- wear wrinkled pants
- go to a community group planning meeting

I am feeling my annual unease about fall. More specifically about all signs pointing to the necessity of clothes shopping now that fall and winter are coming. (Retail ads. Blogs.) It's not as if I have thrown out all fall and winter wear from last year. Or I have never layered or wore sweaters or boots before. There have been a few seasons I've been short some items I never replaced from the prior season so yeah, I might think to buy something because of an approaching season. But I just feel so marketed-to when it seems like I am expected to reinvent my entire wardrobes come spring and fall.

Anyway, it was the first day I wore a cardigan in a long time and it's a 4 year old cardigan.

cardigan & bag/sweatshop
pants/Buffalo Exchange
shoes/Westwood for Melissa

I figured I'd also show you my glasses since I rarely face the camera (a combination of me always looking super serious and also to avoid blinking photos). I am possibly getting new glasses soon and I'm torn between aqua and clear acrylic.

Frankie Say Relax!

2011-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- plan, strategically

dress/beacon's
rain shoes/westwood for melissa
whistle necklace/bklyn charm

Last night I missed the one FNO event I actually wanted to go to (at Mooshoes) because I was still at work at 10pm. I usually come in late to "make up for it" but lately I've been working at home late at night, answering emails from my Blackberry in the morning and all around being burned out. Stick a fork in me - I'm (over) done. I really and truly love my job but August and September have been a blur.

If I get through this last part of the gauntlet today (presenting 2 workshops) and work for 4 hours over the weekend, I should be in decent enough shape to not want to shoot myself when I walk in Monday morning.

I have well over 25 vacation days to use but can never seem to find meeting-less or project-less days to take them. I made it a point to schedule days the week after next so lay your Frankie Say Relax! ideas on me.

R-A-T-T-F-I-N-K

2011-09-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- bike to Pier 6
- take ferry to Gov's Island
- watch bf do some stuff with New Gallery Band of York
- take ferry back from Gov's Island
- survey retail vendors for participation in Safe Slope*

all sweatshop including the mall teen Misfits shirt

Last weekend was alright. In addition to the above I got to:

- see my friend M and sell clothes at Beacon's ($70 credit there, partially chipped away by the purchase of a plaid button down)

- see The Incredibles on a lawn on Roosevelt Island (took the tram back)

- see my friend S and go to favorite-Brooklyn-thrift-which-shall-remain-nameless and vegetarian dim sum

- work (okay, that was a bummer but at least I was working from home)

I never thought I'd say this but I would live on Roosevelt Island if I could. I love it there. Strangely peaceful. Weirdly hermetic. Lighthouse-having. And every cat I saw was eartipped already.

Which is a sea change; I previously thought people who lived there were strange creatures for wanting to be on some tiny island with just a few stores and a tram. Now I just think they're lucky.

**********************************

* Safe Slope is a community group I'm involved with that formed as a response to the sexual assaults in our neighborhood. It includes some of the awesome women I worked with to post the rape incident awareness fliers. (I haven't posted it but there were 2 more attacks in the last 2 weeks.) This also explains my blogging absence since my very limited spare time has been split between work-work, Safe Slope work, food co-op animal welfare committee work and what I listed above. I have been reading More Tales of the City on the subway to decompress.

So if you're in South Broooklyn, come like our page. Some cool things are happening, including a Take Back Our Streets rally next week, a Safe Walk program and Safe Space store program. And people have been posting some good news (free self defense classes!) on our page as well.

Brass Tacks: My $80 (Feb - August 2011)

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Back in February, I tried to start documenting my clothes shopping budget (which is $80/month) to keep myself honest about how much I was spending and if I was spending aligned with my values (vegan, labor, environment). With half a year under my belt, let's see how I did.

In February I bought: vintage shoes from Secretlake on Etsy, a dress and a skirt (sweatshop) (reused & sweatshop. vegan.)

In March and April I bought: a jacket, a sweatshirt (both reused) and a tiny shrew (art) (reused. vegan.)

In May I bought: a With Care pin and bow-tie, a dress from The Clothes Horse (reused) and an American Apparel skirt (jerky company, minimally made in the US) (handmade. vegan. reused/labor.)

In late May I listed a bunch of items I wanted, and chose to spend my June money on a pair of Melissa Anglomania Ultragrrl shoes. (vegan. labor. eco.)

In June I also stole Grace's goal of saving an extra $100 per month. Through creative definitions, I am on target. ($100 paid to teach a workshop and $500 from a secured credit card I canceled and had the deposit refunded.) I will need to find another $100 between now and December to make this goal for 2011. I had planned to take the $$ for clothes I sold at Beacon's Closet but I just couldn't do it. The credit was a better deal and I know I'll use it. Also. I mean, come on. Mentally it's like FREE CLOTHES so I can't let go of that. I know that is horrible brain math but I don't care.

In July I got stuck in the rain twice in one day with canvas shoes on and ended up buying 2 pairs of pleather oxfords at the shoe store next to my office so I'd have dry shoes (and also because they would be good for bike-riding). They were an impulse buy and while vegan, I'd have preferred to shop around for a brand with better labor practices. (vegan. sweatshop.)

I also broke down and took money out of savings to buy a sweatshop skirt and sweatshop shorts because they'd be easy to bike in and I was sick of not having appropriate clothes. I think that was +$40 spent. (vegan. sweatshop.)

In August I bought: a Vanilla & Lace dress (handmade. vegan. labor.)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how I spent my money. There are a few sweatshop items that I'm not proud of but given how inundated we are with sweatshop labor items, it's not a tragic failure. Lotta room for improvement though.

For future months -- I find myself poking through my wishlist again. I have an entire list to look for while thrift shopping, a tailoring list and then an entire retail list as well. The retail wishlist includes good brands like Vaute Couture and Everday Apparel. Now I just have to keep my eye on the prize.

I shopped at the "Say Yes to Dress" place.

2011-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- attend Kleinfeld's sale
- vet appt
- sundaes @ Soft Serve Fruit Co. (hot peanut butter sauce = vegan!)

My beloved friend, CL, is getting married and wanted to know if i would help her shop for a wedding dress at (the infamous) Kleinfeld's (infamous) sale.

You bet your bippy I jumped at the chance to help her shop for a wedding dress at Kleinfeld's, of tv's Say Yes to the Dress fame. (Yes, Randy was there.) When I showed up looking like I came straight from the Warped Tour she said, "Great, you have tattoos showing, that will scare some of these women away from you so you can get to more dresses." She was also awaiting her rollerderby friend, responsible for good defense.

I'm sure I was a sight to see, all 5'2" of me elbow-deep in white and cream satin streaming down from the clothing rack above me (the long dresses were hung at about 6' up).

shirt/urban renewal
cutoff shorts (old, orig sweatshop)
sweatshop shoes

She ended up not getting any of the dresses we found for her to try on at the sale but I'm happy to report that she scored her dream dress at her official appointment there a week later.

Lipstick for a Hurricane

2011-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- lock James Hettfield to my internal apartment stairs
- lock my cats and me in the back half of my apartment
- take in anything from my fire escape
- make pesto pasta salad
- try to get cats to stay away from the windows
- fill buckets with water
- sit on the internet
- watch Netflix

Whenever there are impending disaster conditions, I notice how much I've internalized certain points from Lord of the Flies. Specifically how important sight is and therefore how important eyeglasess are. On the surface, I like multiple pairs of glasses because a girl likes some options when giving her eyes a rest from contacts. But when Survivor-like images roll into my brain, I realize that I always plan to pack no less than 3 pairs of eyeglasses if I have to jam so as not to end up like Piggy.

Lord of the Flies has also given me an irrational love of the name Simon.

cult shirt from 09 Terminal 5 show
american apparel skirt
sweatshop bandana and shoes

Eventually I switched to flip flops and just kept rainboots by the door if I had to run out.

Also, I seriously love The Cult.

Going Ape

2011-08-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

It's been quiet on the blog-front lately only because it's been anything but quiet on every other front in my life. Thankfully I recently bought a hand-crank (monkey) flashlight in case my power goes out because Irene's on her way. And I just picked up Ape House from the library. It'll be a simian weekend.

Thankfully I'm a few blocks away from a low-grade flood zone. Harry and George (my feral cat colony buddies) are on the edge of a flood line. And they live outside so they are double-plus unlucky and I'm crossing my fingers they can ride this out. All I can do is put out food and hope since I don't know where they shelter and I live 5 blocks away from them.

I originally planned to work from home this weekend because I'm really behind but there's a possibility I might be volunteering at some of the evacuation shelter sites (in an animal capacity) if I'm needed. So...I'm just waiting to hear.
Don't worry, I'll bring the monkey flashlight if I end up having to do that.

Witty Bitty Goals

2011-08-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

I can't recall what I did in this outfit so I'll skip the "I wore this to" bit today. I do recall the guy at my local coffee shop asking me if I was dressed up for a reason. Yes! I was out of clean laundry so I was wearing non-black items. Thank you for noticing.

skirt/american apparel
shirt/brooklyn thrift
necklace/brooklyn charm
flats/sweatshop retail

As I mentioned earlier, I've been feeling all "whatever, world!"about clothes lately. Not only am I drawn to posting about goats and cats instead of clothes recently, but I'm also feeling a surge of wanting to be kick ass and realizing I'm just so pitifully out of shape.

One day I want to run with the big girls who can bike their bikes all over town! (I'm mostly thinking of Bitch Cakes and Cutie Julie.) So I've been trying to ride my bike more. I'm seeing some improvements (I bike my groceries home now) but it's still challenging when there's an incline and my thighs are like, "Step off, b!tch!"

And I want to be in decent enough shape to complete the Run for the Turtles! 5k I'm doing in October with my friends S and J. I just completed week 1 of Couch to 5k. Hopefully I'll make it to week 7 (out of 9) before the 5k so I don't have my butt handed to me.

I call these my She-Hulk goals. Do you have She-Hulk goals?

{The fundraiser is for a non-profit that partners with city zoos, one being the very zoo I used to docent for, and we all know how I feel about zoos, so I am not actively fundraising for it.}

George says good morning

2011-08-19T13:12:00.001-07:00

George says good morning, a photo by jesse.anne.o. on Flickr.

This is George, saying good morning. I feed 2 feral cats on someone else's front porch every single morning (long story) and sometimes they're there to greet me. Notice he won't come anywhere near my side of the railing?

The benefits of managing a feral cat colony (after you've already fixed them) are that you have to make arrangements to have them fed every day even if you're traveling, develop attachments and worry about cats who will never let you near them and talk to more folks from your neighborhood than you ever thought you would on their behalf (figuring out the least annoying place you can feed them, figuring out how to keep them off your neighbor's stuff, etc.).

Oh wait. Those were all the challenges.

Okay, the benefits are really:

- that I know George and Harry have food in their tummies and fresh water every day (especially those 90 degree days or the days it's snowing)

- that someone is watching out for them if they get sick or injured

- despite them not being good candidates for living in a home and being adopted, they matter to someone

- they are not making noise (mating, fighting over mating) or stinking up the place (male spraying) any longer because they're fixed

- baby factories are closed -- no more kittens (especially now since all the females are gone, hopefully I didn't jinx myself and a pregnant momma doesn't show up tomorrow!)

Harry and George are my last two feral cat colony members -- seven years ago I fixed 16 cats on this street and they are the only two who remain on this street.

So, I just thought I'd share a part of what I do every single morning!

Bike Concessions

2011-08-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Outfit concessions I've made so I can feel okay about riding my bike. Oxfords with skirts. Longer skirts.

I wore this to:
- ride my bike to/from the food co-op

- work
- have another short girl ask me about my James Hettfield (she oogled him!)
- try out a set of Basil panniers Ms. Julie gave me

I hope you didn't misread the title as "bike confessions" or you'll be sorely disappointed. Well, I can throw in one totally wuss moment, I guess. When riding to a Bay Ridge movie theatre (Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- f yeah!), I had to get off and walk because of the "hill". I kept getting stuck at lights or behind cars and having to start again on an incline. My dumb thighs couldn't handle it. The good news is that I am no longer short of breath when riding on the *cough* PPW bike lane and it's invisible-to-the-naked-eye incline at 6th Street.

Slow and steady wins the race, right? Hey, you're looking at someone who failed gym class repeatedly, okay? My health scorecard has officially gone from severely tragic wasteoid to significantly dire. That's progress, blog-readers.

This is my second "long-to-me" bike-okay skirt, purchased specifically with bike-riding in mind. (This was the shameful sweatshop labor purchase I mentioned last month.) We hates it, my precious. It's too big and I hate the color. However, it makes biking a modest endeavor. Although I have to admit, the hotter it's been, the less concerned I've been about skirt upwinds.

One day I'll take a picture outside of my apartment and you might actually get to see me with James.

The Best Nation Tote Bag

2011-08-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- ? (who can recall at this point?)

shirt/sweatshop retail but 5 years old!
pants/Wbrg Buffalo Exchange resale
tote/wfmu terre t fundraiser
shoes/sweatshop
ribbon belt/??

These pants and a black shirt have become my uniform of late. I'm lazy and I like uniforms. I can't help it. Lately I've been all GTD (or Getting Sh!t Done, as I like to call it) and have been "over" clothes. This happens every once in a while and when it does, I try to embrace it. Because it sho don't last long!

I actually love David Allen and GTD so much that I started up a conversation with a random dude who was reading the first GTD book on the subway. "Hey, I love that book. It's so awesome and I use the concepts all the time. Really." Thankfully he was willing to talk about GTD and not leave me hanging like a major dweeb.

The red tote above was actually Terre T's fundraiser for last year. This year the donation premium was an apron. I would show you but I don't have it yet.

*Post title references the panhandling joke. "What's the best nation? A DOUGH-nation!"

The Goats and Sheep of Farm Sanctuary

2011-08-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

When I sat down to try to write about some of the animals at Farm Sanctuary, I realized that posting about all of the animals at once would result in a novel. So I decided to just write one post per week so as not to overwhelm, well, ME. But also you. So, when all is said and done we'll have posts about goats, sheep, pigs, cows and fowl.

It was easy to recognize the goat barn

Sweetest goats on earth

Look at this little buddy!
I think this is Jack (his story is here)

The goats were a little confusing for me -- first of all, some have giant horns. I was paranoid one of them would accidentally impale me. But they just loitered around, checking everyone out. So very curious - they wanted to know what was in your hand, what your camera was doing, what your bracelet was, if they could eat your hem. Please, please, can they eat your hem? And they liked to be scratched right behind their horns. It was like being in a room of really charming 5 year-old kids, but better. (Pun unintentional.)

I was also confused because while I could figure out why other animals at Farm Sanctuary were there (they escaped either the milk, meat or wool industry), why were the goats there? Because of the goat dairy industry? Turns out yes. But not only that.

Buying cow dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) usually supports the meat industry because the ladies need to stay pregnant/nursing to keep on makin’ milk to sell. So the babies don't get the milk. The babies typically go to the meat industry (i.e. veal, etc) -- and apparently that happens with goats too -- these two little goats here (Tobias and Buster!) were supposed to be sent to a plant to meet a very bad ending. (Homophone unintentional.)

Some goats were discarded by pet owners. Some goats escaped live markets. (My ‘hood has live markets.) And totally bizarre and weird -- some goats are deliberately kept at racetracks to keep the horses calm but don't really get adequate care (or, in Gloria's case, any care). That was a new one for me!

He is so tiny!

Considering their original trajectory, these are some freakin' lucky goats. It’s weird to think that a number of these dudes could have been trucked to a live market/butcher in my neighborhood to be handed out to residents or restaurants.

The craziest moment I had at Farm Sanctuary.

The shelter director was letting the sheep out to pasture so we could spend time with them. She pulled back the gate...and the sheep started to mill around...and all of a sudden dozens of sheep started spilling out of the barn, running up the hill to pasture. Never in a million years would I have thought that sheep take joy in racing up a hill. I thought they'd slowly meander out since they seemed so sweet and mellow.

So the happy dudes all run up the hill! Except this goat...

...who stopped to try to climb the fence to eat from the nearby apple tree, with a little assistance from some humans. (Some of the more submissive goats who were being bullied in the goat barn lived with the sheep.)

Dusk in the sheep pasture.
It was surreal and beautiful.

We were trying to figure out where to pet the sheep since some were soliciting pets and were told to pet them on their chests or backs, and to really get your fingers in their wool since even their short wool was so thick that they wouldn't feel it if you just pet their surface. (Strangely not everything likes to be pet where or how a cat would? That was a big learning curve for me.) So I burrowed my hand in my sheep's chest and actually felt his little body and gave him a good massage.

What sweethearts. And so lucky to be saved from being merely meat or wool. Go sheep!

Harajuku Columbine, the visual

2011-08-08T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is what I got constantly mocked for by my coworker while at Farm Sanctuary. Originally it was just that skeleton Mercy for Animals shirt, a pair of denim cutoffs and some blue fake-Keds. Then it started raining so I added the raincoat and boots. I kept protesting, "But it's a FARM. I'm allowed to wear a raincoat and rainboots." It wasn't until I let them take this picture that I got the full effect.

I'll admit. It's a little special.

However, a bunch of people did ask me where I got my boots so the collective effect couldn't have been that bad.

Harajuku Columbine visits Farm Sanctuary

2011-08-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all. I hope you had a great weekend. Thanks to the generosity of my employer, I got to spend the weekend at Farm Sanctuary's Hoe Down, petting cows, calves, goats, pigs and barn cats and squatting among some very cute and curious cutie turkeys. (And avoiding contra dancing.) Did you know that cows and goats like to be scratched on the forehead?

Farm Sanctuary is (positively) overwhelming. It's shocking how friendly and loving all of these rescued farm animals are, even when they've been badly mistreated by people in the past. Not to get all gooey but Farm Sanctuary is one of the most loving places I've ever visited and I wish that everyone I knew got a chance to go there. I am not moved to "happy tears" that often, since I'm both Italian and a New Yorker, but this place gave me "happy tears" like 50 million times. I do plan to update more on Farm Sanctuary this week since it's such a special place that so few people get to see.

My colleague mocked my Saturday outfit by deeming it "Harajuku Columbine", and it was pretty accurate. There's a picture somewhere on my camera and I shall show you. Oh yes, I shall show you.

And this is was my welcome home from Oona and her tiny mittens!

Devil with the blue dress on

2011-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

photo from Vanilla and Lace

If you read any of the words I ever include on this here blog, you know I struggle with avoiding products made as a result of sweatshop labor and harming animals. Therefore I was very happy to find that Vanilla and Lace put her dresses up for sale!

I've ordered the above dress and I'm really happy to be supporting a fair trade business (as far as labor goes) and a woman-owned business, too.

ESP Requests to Jeffrey Campbell Answered. Sorta.

2011-07-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

This just in: Jeffrey Campbell answers my ESP requests and does a vegan line. Unfortunately I hate all of the flats.

ESP requests to Jeffrey Campbell to be more specific in future. Lesson learned.

Field Trip: Brooklyn Charm

2011-07-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

I will never be a jewelry designer. It is really hard work, even when you're just stringing trinkets together. If you want to see someone born to be a jewelry designer, look here. Not at me.

How do I know of my shortcomings? A little field trip to Brooklyn Charm. It sounds like such a great idea. Come in! Pick up some trinkets! Pick out a chain! Yay, you made a necklace! In reality I walked around the store clutching a tiny tray of every trinket I liked. So. Many. Trinkets.

Big skulls, little skulls, harmonicas, monocles, flowers, crystals, silver feathers, tiny brass coffee cups, compasses, whistles, patina-encrusted hearts, teeny scissors, little fists, little hands. Which all sounds fine. But then I had to figure out how to pair them together and get them to sit on a necklace without looking like a messy keychain.

500 years later, this is what I came up with.

{Had the vintage Ford key. Got the skull & necklace}

{I liked this one best in the store but least at home -
a cornicello and a harmonica! Necklace for Italian hobo?}

{coffee mug, feather and compass}

{whistle, hand and rose}

I had them all put together so I could use the same chain (savings = $21!) for all the clusters of charms. (Thankfully I had a LivingSocial thinger so my final tab was significantly reduced.)

I am sufficiently humbled by this experience and look forward to hearing about your successful or equally challenging jewelry-making endeavors.

Required Reading: The Waves' Sustainable Style Series

2011-07-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to link Waves' series on sustainable style. I'm really excited that she's doing it and have enjoyed reading the posts up so far. Granted, I've also summoned all of the green guilt that comes with thinking about the black hole of resources we're using for copious amounts of clothing. So - I'm enjoying and despairing.

I replied to this post, where the topic of leather vs. pleather comes up with regards to environmental footprint so I'm including my comment here, since it's something that often comes up when people discuss vegans using synthetics vs something "natural"/leather.

************************************

{the rebel}

{specifies it's made of PU}

I'm late to respond because I had to root around a little! The last time I looked into this I recall there being a LOT of gray area, and it seems that's still the case, for a few reasons.

Pleather/vegan leather isn't all created the same. The only common denominator is that it doesn't involve animal products (which yes, takes that part of the footprint out of it; the leather industry does subsidize the meat industry so it's partially responsible for there being a meat industry or the cost for meat would be incredibly prohibitive so leather is responsible for the emissions/used resources just as much as the meat industry).

Because of there being different pleather options, versions of pleather have different base ingredients which inform their process and footprint, while leather only has a few processes that are used to prep it for manufacturing.

The differences that can affect environmental standing are (but not limited to!):

- source materials: petroleum/PVC/polyeurethane aka PU vs. recycled plastic products vs. the heard-of-but-rarely-seen bioplastics; supposedly PVC is the worst environmentally

- re sturdiness and longevity: there is a huge huge spectrum (the Mother Jones article I'm including at the end of my comment cites length of usage as a huge deciding factor with regards to what has a lighter footprint- and some of the vegan brands have gotten quite good at producing sturdy and repairable products)

Most pleather/vegan leather items don't specify what the item is made of. E.g. Matt & Nat uses recycled plastic water bottles for their bags' lining but it doesn't say what the actual bag is made of, even in the FAQs which ask if the bag is environmentally friendly. Same with Melie Bianco - no citing of the material used. Cri de Coeur does specify on each item.

Then you have brands like Melissa, who specify they are using PVC (okay, not vegan leather per se, yet a good vegan-friendly substitute) but are doing it in a 99% closed-loop way. Where okay, it's now melflex and it can be broken down to be recycled and it's 99% closed loop...but still PVC. Just that the toxins are being handled in-house closed-loop and the workers supposedly treated well so I'm assuming the process isn't so toxic that it's a health risk to them/that they're exposed to it. (I just found a flip flop brand named Ipanema that uses melflex, too - I thought it was a proprietary material via Melissa but I guess not.)

Places like Patagonia will note if something's vegan and will outline recycled content but it doesn't really get into manufacturing process, either.

So - I don't know if that's an accurate enough answer but some people say YES, synthetics are better environmentally, in comparison given all of the variables and some say no, better to buy leather because it lasts longer. Over the years the better vegan/pleather brands have gotten much better about making quality merchandise so I tend to lean on them more. I find myself buying Cri de Coeur/Hearts of Darkness over Payless. I've learned to look for shoes that can be reheeled and bags that are sturdy enough to carry a heavy load and can be repaired.

So, obviously I support buying the better-made synthetic products that will last for a while. It reduces the animal suffering involved and likely it's at least a smidge better (or maybe no less bad) than leather itself, all things considered!

_____________________
* Mother Jones http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/01/fake-leather-really-more-eco-friendly-real

* The Vegan Collection's comparison of petroleum-based pleather vs leather environmental footprint: http://www.thevegancollection.com/about-us

* I decided to spare you the dozen "about us"/FAQ pages I visited for varied vegan companies (Olsen Haus, Cri de Coeur, Matt & Nat, Melissa, Melie Bianco, Patagonia, etc.)

Prada BFD

2011-07-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, YES, that is a gd cookie press. E.Elizabeth of With Care is officially the smartest person I know. 50 gold stars! If I ever make cookies with it, you get the first batch and I promise to use the Calder-lookin' cookie plate that remains an enigma and is absent from any manufacturer literature.

I wore this to:
- go to a meeting at our uptown location
- stop in Housing Works on the way back because they were having a pants sale
- the only pants I liked were Prada
- paid $65 for pants
- wish pants were a boring brand name so I could have paid $35 for them instead

odette necklace
skirt/swap
shirt/american apparel
shoes/sweatshop

I made this cheese!

2011-07-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

When we last spoke about cashew cheese, you left your heroine (me) befuddled by recipes that called for rejuvelac and nutbags. Despite Allisun's encouragement in the comments, I did what any lazy person would do. Poked around on the innernettes. (I also didn't realize Allisun pointed me in the direction of a cashew cheese recipe sans rejuvelac, as well. Guh.)

Eventually (lacto-fermented cashew cheese recipes behind me at this point) I found this simple recipe at Chocolate and Zucchini. And friends, I made this.

It's delicious. Does it taste like dairy cheese? I highly doubt it, but that's a good thing. (Please see: my aversion to milk from lactating animals.)

My goal was to get something similar to the delicious but obscenely expensive Dr. Cow cashew cheese. This recipe yielded a spreadable cheese (like my ol' favorite, port wine cheese) -- it's more of a crackers pairing kind of cheese. Or toast, if you're me. But it did taste like the expensive Dr. Cow version.

For the $5 worth of cashews I used, it produced considerably more cheese than Dr. Cow sells per package. Like 4x more. (And $5 is a bargain for their 2.5 oz nut cheese. Can you believe I have spent upwards of $5 on less than 3 oz. of cheese? While kittens are starving! BOUGIE.)

Pros: easy. no lacto-fermenting. simple ingredients. more cheese for your buck vs Dr. Cow. delicious.

Cons: not a hard cheese. still a little expensive? need to refrigerate for a few hours.

Summary: I will make this again. Crackers beware.

Christmas in July

2011-07-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- go feed my feral cats in 103 degree weather
- get an iced coffee in 103 degree weather
- stop by a stoop sale in 103 degree weather
- find out Amy Winehouse died while @ a stoop sale in 103 degree weather
- park my a$$ indoors all day

When it is 103 degrees, I will resort to wearing shorts I normally reserve for the confines of my own apartment and take to bandanas like an auto mechanic.

When the stoop sale guy looked up from his phone and exclaimed, "Amy Winehouse died!" my response was, unbelievably, "Was it an OD?" Who would even put a question mark on that? It's sad but not surprising news.

Look what I got at the stoop sale!
Do you know what it is?

shirt/stoop sale
bandana, shorts & flip flops/sweatshop

Bad Chi

2011-07-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember that I have a mild Monchhichi obsession. I only own one Monchhichi though - a keychain verision. The bulk of my obsession is in googling Monchhichi pictures online.

Sometimes this brings on an onslaught of adorable. And other times it brings on an onslaught of WTF. (See, it's the perfect mix.)

Guess which ones these are?

And apparently there are a lot of Chinese People's Liberation Army Monchhichis?

For the record, I maintain that the Beichhichi racoon is the cutest, and not at all weird.

Road Rage

2011-07-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- go to a wedding in the Catskills
- be in the rental car for 7 hours instead of 2
- gaze upon a truck trailer that had recently been on fire
- know what 9 miles of backed up traffic looks like
- eat & dance
- sing Skid Row songs around a campfire
- stay awake while J drove back to Brooklyn

dress - vintage
black bag - vintage
owl clutch/shoes - sweatshop

The rest stop on the way back to Brooklyn consisted only of 1 open McDonald's and a closed group of other crap places to patronize. There was a need for (black) coffee so that broke my 9+ year ban on buying anything from the Golden Barfbags. While there we experienced two teenage boys marveling at their gluttonous McD order and I'm 99.9% sure they weren't even stoned. Does not compute.

I went with the black bag, in case anyone asks.

!Rejuvelac!

2011-07-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- get sucked into reading Tales of the City
- work

I haven't picked up any of the sequels yet so do not spoil the plot for me if you've read them. Except if it's to confirm that Michael Tolliver and Jon the gyno get back together. Also, it took outside help to figure out what "MT" and "est" were, despite them being mentioned so liberally.

bklyn thrift shirt

american apparel skirt
sweatshop cardigan & shoes

A note on side projects:

A few of the comments on the nut milk pos t made me consider making cashew cheese. Until I ran into a bunch of recipes that cited sprouted wheatberries, rejuvelac and nutbags. I need a minute to desensitize myself to the word nutbag, etc. Maybe in two weeks I'll be all, "Guys, remember when I didn't sprout wheatberries and drink rejuvelac every day? I was so sheltered. Now I only sleep 2 hours each night and bench press 700 lbs every day."

I cheated!

2011-07-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've been away for the past 10 days or so but had a few outfit pictures laying around before I left so I scheduled them for when I was gone! I'm a LIAR. (Actually, I'm always behind so this whole blog is like a time-lapse of my life no matter what I do.)

Now I am "behind" on blog-reading, responding-to-your-comments and your-blog-commenting. And taking pictures of clothes. I say "behind"because it tickles me to assume I have a schedule to answer to for this kind of thing.

I offer you some pictures of Nova Scotia while I catch up. I will have no outfit pictures for you since I dressed like a hobo while away. At one point I had on a skirt, leggings, leg warmers and socks. And not in a Comme des Garcon or Dries way, either.

I'm not excited to be back in NYC where it's 98 degrees, disgustingly sticky and I have loads o' work responsibility.

However, all I thought about while I was away were MY CATS MY CATS MY CATS. I have the best catsitter(s) in the world who adore my cats, are extremely responsible and make sure each and every one gets special attention. (It looks like they had a pretty good time, too - I found stashes of organic catnip all over my apartment.) But nothing beats being around my tiny buddies!

Mutual Admiration

2011-07-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- go to the food co-op
- eat miso eggplant, veggie gyoza and some vegetable rolls @ ten

I love miso eggplant. And I hope it loves me. Mutual admiration.

dress/beacon's closet
shoes/sweatshop retail

P.S. -

I was fortunate enough to win the blue version of this dress from Ellenitza's ebay auctions. I have no qualms about owning two of these dresses because a) I really like the dress and b) it fits into my goal of not buying any more black dresses!

Do You Have Blind Faith in My Tattoos?

2011-07-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:

- work

- break down and shop at a sweatshop retail chain after work to get shorts and a skirt that are appropriate to bike in

- be significantly unproud of buying from them (which is not a real word but it's the best word to describe the feeling; please don't use it unless you want to sound like you're in kindergarten)

shirt/sweatshop retail
pin, skirt/vintage, thrift
shoes/melissa westwood ultragrrl

I think this was also the day that a dude on the street told me he really liked my ankle tattoo (the rest of them were covered by a cardigan). He said something like, "I really like that tattoo down there on your ankle." It's pretty amazing that so many guys can love my tattoos, you know, without ever actually seeing them.

BLIND FAITH. They trust my taste, obviously.

License to Drive

2011-07-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- look like someone who dressed to match License to Drive's color scheme

And I got a herrcut! I was so peeved about my summer buns not fitting under a bike helmet that I ordered my hairdresser to keep cutting (please) and cutting (please). Resolution! My hair is now wrestled into submission with just two barrettes.

shirt/american apparel (my post)
skirt/beacon's closet, tailored
necklace/thrifted keychain & chain by the yard
shoes/sweatshop retail

I just couldn't turn this Florida keychain down,
so I made it into a necklace.
I don't dig the macabre: the seahorse isn't real.

P.S. -

Helmets are !@#!# imperative. Please do not show me pictures of lollygagging SoHo bike-ridesses with their hair flowing in the wind (or under their Mary Poppins hats) as proof that helmets aren't necessary. This is the proof that helmets are necessary.

I made this milk

2011-06-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you might consider me a hippie but I don't. Yeah, I know I talked about natural deodorant, reusable containers, avoiding plastic, how infrequently I wash my hair...and jeans. And even reusable menstrual products. And I'm testing out two other natural deodorants these days. BUT EVEN SO. There are far hippie-er than I. I just like to try out things that might, you know, make a the world a better place.

However, I recently tread into territory that I never thought I'd tread. Territory I thought was only reserved for extreme hippies.

NUT MILK. Seriously. And it was pretty awesome.

Ever since I got my brawny Vitamix, I've been considering going to the dark side. I already drink soy milk and sometimes almond milk. How hard could this be? My friend S's husband gave me a zine on making nut milk {Making Milk Out of Nuts & Seeds - it's online, too!}. It looked downright charming. (If you think "nut milk" sounds gross, please know I'm totally skeeved by "cow's milk". I am also not into "dog's milk", "goat's milk", "cat's milk" or excretions from any lactating animal. "Nut milk" is a way more sane alternative in my mind.)

First up - almond milk. Turns out almond milk takes a little effort. (aka "not for me!") Even with my bruiser Vitamix, it still needed to be strained and I didn't have the equipment to get the job done or, frankly, the will to do it so I ended up with some chalky almond milk.

Next up - cashew milk. I love cashews. They're like creamy delicious deluxe nuts. (Not as deliciously fatty as macadamia nuts but still.) And they don't need to be strained. Bingo! It is so easy. Easy Bake Oven easy. Easier. 1 cup cashews, 3 cups water and a dash of agave = creamy cashew milk. It tastes a little like soy milk but slightly cashew-ish.

I've been making cashew milk for my coffee for the past two weeks and picking up a bag of raw cashews at the co-op is way easier than dragging home a carton of soy milk. Also I get to be like, "Oh do you want milk for your coffee? Yeah, I MADE THAT MILK."

Okay that sounds weird. But it's still like magic to me. Who knew I'd be making my own milk, guys?

* Thank you to flickr user t-dubisme for the picture of almond milk! It's not cashew milk, but it's at least a nut milk.

** The only downside to this is that the cashew nuts are sourced in India or Vietnam. The soy milk I normally buy, Edensoy, is the only US made soymilk (supposedly the soybeans are grown in the Midwest). So while the weight of my product is much less, it's being shipped farther and isn't made in the US. One alternative will be trying to find raw organic cashews sourced from within the US.

Dang you, Buffalo Exchange

2011-06-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

I wish I didn't just discover that there's a Buffalo Exchange just 10 blocks from work with late hours. On the upside, maybe I'll finally find a pair of pants I like?

"Everyone knows what this one is! Squash!"*

2011-06-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- okay this was a long time ago so I can't remember

shirt/american apparel
skirt/vintage, gift from S
shoes/sweatshop retail
pin/vintage

Also, did you NYC folks get in on local strawberry season?
It's the best. Tiny, sweet and tart.
Take that, California!

I've been avoiding the left coast berries ~~due to cooties~~ in an effort to focus on local produce offerings. So I almost rolled out the red carpet when I saw our right coast berries. If by "rolled out the red carpet" I mean "willing to pay $5 per tiny carton" then yes, I did that.

{*Title courtesy of Dr. Steve Brule, your green grocer.}

Mermaid Parade

2011-06-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:

- head to my friend's apartment to put on more makeup and rummage through her props for anything mermaid-worthy

- go to the Mermaid Parade

- chant "mermaids-mermaids-mermaids!" every time the subway doors opened or risk getting water-gunned by my friend

Yes, the Mermaid Parade was last week but I'm a horrible blogger who didn't even take a picture of my final outfit once I added some props and more makeup. And I didn't even bring my real camera to the parade so all you get are crappy iphone pictures. (And this was the same day as the blogger meet-up in McCarren Park but hello? Priorities.)

shirt/street fair silk screen booth
skirt/american apparel
{^links to my post on american apparel}
shoes/sweatshop
headband/sweatshop via chicago!

I don't know if you can see the ridiculous amount of eye makeup I had on here? I guess "ridiculous amount" is relative. One woman told me she would wear eye makeup like this every day. Cue the Mimi flashback.

You can kind of see my mermaid tattoos, which proved apropos for the day. But thankfully not that many people commented on the coincidence.

And now. For the mermaids.

There were more. But the Mermaid Parade was the slowest moving parade in all of the world so we only made it this far before we took a break for some Nathan's fries and lemonade.

Bike-riding Hates My Closet

2011-06-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Since getting James Hettfield, I've been inclined to ride more. I bike-rode my stuff to the Park Slope Beacon's Closet in my little baskets. I saw people I knew on the way and I yelled to them and they yelled back and I felt like Fonzie.

But it hasn't been all ayyyyyy!, all the time. Turns out I can't hop on James in just any ol' thing I'm wearing without "selling my business", as someone else put it. Turns out that my short skirts are not as tootie-ensconcing as one might wish. Now that I'm riding around sans tights, you notice that kind of thing. (Scanning bike-lady blogs I see mostly: short skirts with tights, longer skirt, shorts-I-don't-own or pants-like things. Or bike shorts under short skirts, which sounds so dang warm for the summer.)

I am stuck. Do I go for longer dresses and skirts, even though I don't like them as much? And have to buy a bunch of new skirts? In the meantime, I've been changing into cut-off jeans and feeling like the biggest schlub on earth.

Buns? Yeah, you can't fit a helmet over them. Goodbye, standard summer hair. I am stuck with a low pony. No choice.

And let's not mention the bruises. From walking James and the pedal smacking my leg. Or from learning how to carry him up and down my tiny horror-film hallway.

Bike ladies. You make it look so easy.

Rainbow City

2011-06-25T00:58:00.001-07:00

rainbow city, a photo by jesse.anne.o. on Flickr.

Who knew Rainbow City and edamame dumplings were so close to my office?

Never cut your bangs

2011-06-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe you can cut your bangs. But I will never cut my bangs again.

When I cut my bangs, I usually keep trimming to even them out and end up with really short kindergarten bangs. Most of the times it takes a few weeks to grow out and no one remembers so whatevs. However. This time it backfired.

Because then this happened:

* media team enters my office*

"Can you do an interview for Good Morning America today? Like now? The camera people will come to your office."

"Right now?" *rolls eyes upward at forehead* "Uhm. Okay?"

Thankfully they only used a four second clip of me. But that four second clip is me modeling my new Lego people bangs. Hopefully I learn my lesson this time.

See my baskets? Let me show you.

2011-06-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- stop by Adeline Adeline to pick up my bike baskets! (below)
- work
- go to the allergist for allergy tests (where I didn't react to *anything*?)
- work
- stop by food co-op
- rip off blythe hill's outfit, which uses the same AA dress

dress/american apparel
shoes/vw, melissa shoes
leggings/sweatshop retail
scarf/vintage via beacon's closet

Last weekend I got a new bike! The same day that cutie Julie got her new bike! And we got the same bike! (Except mine is a three speed.) But otherwise, lady Linus, cream, same frame. Julie's is a Dutchi 1 and mine is a Dutchi 3. Also, hers has a classy proper lady name (Kate Middleton!) and my bike is named...James Hettfield.

The weekend after I got James Hettfield, I (escourted) rode my bike on Brooklyn streets to the Governor's Island ferry, on the island and then back home again. When I realized that I'd actually successfully made the trip past the food co-op, I realized it was already time for baskets. So, soon, I'll be having my maiden voyage home from the food co-op, James Hettfield laden with groceries (mostly cat food) and we'll see how it goes! Despite these being baby steps and everyone else knowing how to ride a bike better, faster and more efficiently than me, I am still pretty proud of myself. And I'm allowed to be.

Also, look at these freakin' baskets. Gah!

I wore this to be disappointed.

2011-06-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- attend the Safety Committee Mtg in my neighborhood

dress/gift
belt/off other sweatshop retail dress
shoes/sweatshop retail

As mentioned previously, there have been a number of sexual assaults in my neighborhood as of late. The day I wore this, I attending a community board committee meeting, which was attended by police from our local precinct. I am not going into much detail here, but it was an incredibly disappointing meeting, which resulted in me feeling less safe in my neighborhood. I wasn't anticipating that.

I think the idea of police and their intentions and ability, as a general concept, is fairly reassuring most times. However, when you're faced with the very individuals who are attached to your neighborhood and you don't see transparency or genuine intent to protect that would build faith or trust -- it's a little disheartening. Instead of having good answers, sometimes there was just denial.

What is positive, however, is the response from the community to protect each other. So, at least we have that.

My @#%#$!$ Plate

2011-06-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- get excited about the USDA's new "food pyramid", MyPlate
- work

It remedies my previous peeve! Finally, "meats" is not right smack in the middle of it and "protein" is. It's beyond frustrating to know you have a clean bill of health after not eating meat for 20 years but yet seeing it on that dang pyramid as a recommendation. Even when research is popping up all over to avoid it for the sake of your body and the environment. So, finally! Thank you, USDA, for letting me choose my own protein.

And fruits and vegetables make up half the plate. PCRM looked at what the plate says, and where all the USDA money goes...and it's not to fruits and vegetables. Things that make you go hmmm. Or things that make you go It figures and we've been pointing that out for-ever.

shirt/swap
belt/pineapple mint vintage present
skirt/beacon's closet, tailored
flats/sweatshop retail
ray bans/found

What I Wore to Talk About Rape

2011-06-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- distribute rape incident awareness/safety tip flyers in my neighborhood

t-shirt & skirt/american apparel
^links to my post on am.app.
shoes/sweatshop retail
necklace/craftyfolk {etsy}

There have been a number of rapes or attempted rapes in my neighborhood in the past few months. The way the police have handled the situations has been less than satisfactory (see link above). And the police officers' effort to alert us about the situations was just simply not good enough. Their temporary vehicle-station was in my neighborhood for 2 days before I got wind of why they might be there, even though they considered this point to be a place for news to be disseminated. They've now been here well over a week and still, not one cop has spoken to me about why they're there - the sexual assaults and rapes.

I felt like something else should be done. I ended up getting together with 2 other neighborhood women to create a rape incident awareness/safety tips flyer and post them en masse from one subway stop to another. Women walked up to us as we were hanging flyers and said the flyers were the first time they'd heard of the incidents (the cops had been stationed in our neighborhood 4 days at that point) or thanked us for hanging them. I think we have 90 flyers up to-date.

Community outreach is so important. If you are in a position to raise awareness about things that help others, please go for it!

Most of the women I speak with state that they're not victim-blaming but wondering...were they on their cell phones? Texting someone while walking home? Wearing headphones? My mind wanders to how well the 16th St victim would have been able to fight off her attacker and flee in heels vs the running shoes she was wearing. (This is the #1 reason I stopped wearing heels last year: limited mobility can really screw me in the long run. What heels give me just isn't worth it for what I get back with flats.) Of course, you can't let things like this dictate what you can and cannot do. But we all make value judgments somewhere, when we hear of these incidences, as to how we best feel protected.

We all pick our own weapons. My mother tried to push pepper spray on me. But I'm short and small and any weapon I have can quickly be turned against me. For me, I'm most comfortable with things I'll have on me anyway (keys) and the fight/scream/flee trio in addition to being very aware of my surroundings.

Beware and be armed, ladies. Whatever that means for you!

Tempeh Deli Salad

2011-06-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

picture from Re-Nest

I'm not usually one for raw tempeh but I wanted to try this recipe for Tempeh Deli Salad from Re-Nest. I might use less tempeh next time though. 16oz is a lot of freakin' tempeh.

Oh, and next time I'll be sauteing the tempeh. Apparently I'm still not one for raw tempeh, although I gave it the ol' college try.

Possum Glasses

2011-06-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

They're cats, right? Not possums, like the listing says?

Picture is the seller's from the listing, above!

I won't divulge what my original search term was.

Wanted: Adult Tricycle

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:

- work

- think about how I'll never be an adult if every time I have a few thousand bucks saved, I just want to get a giant Homeward Bound back tattoo (true/false?)

- think about how I want an adult tricycle, which is also a lot of money (although substantially less than a full backpiece)

shirt & shoes/sweatshop retail
skirt/American Apparel
bow/With Care

If I had an adult tricycle, I'd start an adult tricycle gang.

A Bit on Personal Monies (+outfit)

2011-06-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wore this to:
- work
- do not recall (but not a la Reagan; I really do not recall)
{Phil Hartman as Ronald Reagan on SNL}
{I love Phil Hartman. I've been re-watching old NewsRadio episodes.}

shirt/resale via Beacon's Closet
skirt/American Apparel
tights/Maggie's Organics
shoes/sweatshop retail
pin/resale via Beacon's Closet?

This shirt sat, unworn, in my closet for about 2 years. I adore button-downs but have struggled to find a way to wear them with a rack that doesn't make me feel dowdy (shirt too big) or like I'm busting out (shirt too small). Partly I just felt either dowdy/busting out in *any* button-down so, once I started blogging and realized that a) I like the structured look of button-downs and b) I never wear button-downs, I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone. It worked! Behold the slow ladder-climb from jersey to cotton button-downs. Success - it means "having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be." {George Sheehan}

Enough about the ladies. Switching gears.

If you know me in real life, you know I have an obsessive personality and what my brain picks to obsess about is random (Planet of the Apes, cats, even number of drinking glasses in a set, shopping, money situation, repetitive foods - i.e. I ate puffed rice for breakfast every day for two years). Luckily I'm aware of this and thusly can reduce it if I find it's detrimental and can ramp it up to use it to my advantage, if it works as a positive. When I was in debt, I obsessed to pay off my debt like a mo-fo. "If you want to win anything - a race, yourself, your life - you have to go a little berserk" {George Sheehan}

Over at Money Smart Fashion, Grace talks about how she's a little uninspired because her money goals are now more "set it and forget it" and challenges herself to come up with a new, more engaging goal. Same here. I am covered on everything from a 6-month emergency fund, 10% in 401k, Roth IRA -- all the way to savings sub-accounts for everything you could think of (cats' vetting, hair appts, clothing, donations, vacation, accountant, housewares, etc.) All automatic. I am on it.

All this automation means I'm less motivated. No longer focused on money. My savings is just my savings. A certain amount (usually) makes in into its little savings account home monthly. No more, sometimes less. So I'm stealing Grace's goal of saving an extra $100/month.

How do you deal with your money? Are you a slacker? A tiger?

Art as a Burned Down House

2011-06-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

This was from a while ago but I still wanted to share.

In my neighborhood, a grocery store (Associated) burned down to the ground. Everything. The apartments above were gutted, the small art gallery and house next door was blown out.

The owners of the gallery happened to live next door in the house that was burned and, after their home was deemed uninhabitable, hosted an ad hoc art show in their former house, entitled Associated. A lot of it was pretty sad.

These miniature escape ladders hidden around the house broke my heart. This was so small I could fit just my pinky finger through each rung.

A once-used bathroom, with swimmers dancing around the sink. When you turned the corner it was a jarring juxtaposition of a room so obviously uninhabited with a tiny sink of "life" (the projection of the swimmers moved).

A closet full of travel cases, holding mini-worlds (including running water streams). These were really charming.

There were a lot of leftover "found objects", which felt weird but it was clear they were left on purpose. And it also felt strange to be touring the house unaided, not knowing which of the other visitors might have lived there. When we talked about the installations, I felt like I kept guarding what I said, unlike a studio exhibit.

Good on them for making something sometimes pretty, sometimes sad out of what they had left.

* I only had my iphone with me so the pictures are subpar. My humble apologies.
**I tagged this museum instead of gallery to condense my tags.