Say a Little Prayer for New Orleans

this weekend, ok?

I have friends currently packing up their car for evacuation to shelter East in Mississippi. Let's hope they'll be able to come home real soon.

Hey Gustav! This isn't the way we wanted to commemorate the anniversary of Katrina, so go way out to sea and don't bother anyone this time, ok!

Blogger Loki at HumidCity will be posting a live audio blog as he and his wife evacuate. They've been through this before too during Katrina. So, as I await updates from my friends I will also be checking in with Loki for his web updates.

I wish both couples good luck. Join me please.

Hmmm...

Merrell's Petunia for $72

They are on sale at The Walking Company, in fact, all of their Merrell styles are on sale!! I love the Merrells that I already own, these are similar to the other pair I'm replacing, the possible offending strap is lower than on the Clarks I returned, and I love me some rubber wedge heels!
Miz Mooz Jacky for $62

This shoe in Red has been unavailable at Infinity Shoes for over a month but you can still get it at Nordstroms for $62 and at endless.com for $79. What's up, Endless, you want to SELL shoes, right?

I also may have just discovered a new comfort shoe company that I like, Rogue Shoes from Lake Oswego, OR. Has anyone tried them?
Rogue Cameron in Brown
They are $99 at endless.com and $115 at onlineshoes.com.

Rogue Arleta in Apple
They are $110 at endless.com and $110 at onlineshoes.com.

Update:
More about Rogue Shoes. I've seen them offered at a few outdoor outfitter shops which is always a good thing to find out about "comfort" shoes. Some of their styles are available here, here, here, and here.
Rogue Alexis in Apple

But the best thing about this Alexis style available at Duluth Trading ($100) is it seems they come with three interchangeable arch supports so you can choose the one that works best for you! And with the shoe's natural cork footbed, the rest of the shoe will eventually conform to the shape of your foot too. Sounds good to me!

My aesthetic, but not my price

This is what "BEAUTIFUL" is.

Photo from belinka.Linda Loudermilk Permafrost dress for $460.

Franken-Dress

I just saw this on Oh Happy Day and realized how easy this would be to make. Which is interesting because it's a Built by Wendy design and I would use her own pattern, Simplicity 3835 to make the dress. Use pattern view C for the top, but lower the curve of the front and back necklines and add to the length and width of the sleeve pattern piece. Cut out and sew two large rectangles together for the skirt, add inseam pockets to the sides, and hem. Gather this portion to match the width of the bodice and attach the two together. Create a long rectangular sash and voila!

Simplicity 3835

Now I just wish Wendy would create patterns for her pieces like this, this, and this!

The Replacements

Well, I really tried to like them but the Clark Rheas had to go back. The band across the top of my foot caused pain after being on less than 10 minutes. I tried to wear them at home to break them in. The longer they stayed on the more painful they felt. It was like a vise pressing in and down on my foot. The strap did not allow for how tall my foot was at that point and its elastic didn’t have enough give.

So…that means that I again have $70 to spend on a pair of shoes!

By the way, the Born Luisas are still incredible!!

Talk About Inspiring!

Hurrah for irene_alder and her wardrobe re-mix photos on Flickr. Especially this one! And this, this, and this.

I am so happy that I am getting back to my vintage-y roots and with Irene, Johanni, and Becktress around, I won't stray again. Now I just have to make more skirts to go with my petticoats.

Is my math really right?

At least by my calculations, I only have three more classes to take to graduate. Two History and one Art History class for a total of 9 credits.

I am having a hard time believing that my goal is so close; only one (or two) more semester(s)!

Going back to school as adult began in summer of 2003 and may be done by summer of 2009. Wow.

It's been such a big part of my life for so long. At times, it's been the reason I used for not fully living my life sometimes: such as the reason why I wasn't dating, wasn't sewing, wasn't calling my family or friends, the reason I couldn't go out and most of all, the reason why I had no money. To no longer have that as a shield means I'll have to step up on everything and put myself out there.

Ugggh...I'm scared.

Bottle safe

Well, I didn't get an order into Sigg before they sold out of the styles I wanted. However, my sister read my post and offered to pick me up the same bottle that she had just bought herself, the Better Bottle by Camelbak. I went to the site to check it out and found that it is also BPA free.

So since I received it on July 4, I've been using it everyday and everything is fine. You can fill it up from water fountains nearly to the top and it truly does not leak. I can open up the valve and flip it over and...nothing, no spills. It does have an ingenious design in that you have to bite the valve in order to drink. With your bite, the slit in it opens up and the water siphons up. With this bottle you don't have to raise it above your chest to drink and never have to throw your head back, so perfectly safe for riding a bike or driving a vehicle of any kind.

However, keep yourself hydrated because if you wait until exhaustion your jaw might not have enough power to get the amount of water you want in one go. If you're wondering what the valve looks like after constant biting...mine's a month old and there is not a scratch on it.

A Wedding for $2,000

After mentioning the $1,000 wedding, I must give credit to the $2,000 wedding. Not only did this couple plan and produce their wedding under budget, they also bought a house, and moved to a new state within DAYS of the event.

Oh, and if they aren't just the cutest couple with an adorable bloodhound, they are also teachers. Read how they met here.

Yeah, too darn cute, right?

Congratulations, Matt and Sara!


*Read about their rings. I had no idea this was available, but how cool is that?

First Day Out

I wore the petticoat with the Target dress today. Luckily, it's just short enough for this dress too. Well, the tulle and net layers got caught up on each other so I kept having to smooth out the layers. Also, when I walked the net gathered up between my legs, luckily the material is very fine and not that scratchy.

I wonder if adding a layer of fabric on the bottom between my legs and the tulle would help? Maybe adding more tulle layers would help too, as it might weigh everything down?

I still would like to add more layers just for more "poof" factor and perhaps adding a ruffled band all around the bottom would add some needed width. But first I need to make sure that the layers don't keep getting hung up on one another. Reaching up under your skirt to pull down your petticoat is not very ladylike.

My Trashy Blue Petticoat - McCall's 5681

A year ago, I bought an authentic net petticoat to wear with my retro-inspired dresses. Though in love with it, I found it was too noticeable under this white cotton dress. You could clearly see the ridges of the piping. So for this and other thin fabric dresses, I decided to make a more low-key petticoat. There's not a lot of variety out there for petticoat patterns (surprised?) unless you are attempting a historic costume or a wedding dress.



After looking around, I chose McCall's 5681, a costume pattern for a 50's poodle skirt. This one was constructed with tulle or net half-circles attached to a fabric yoke. The pattern calls for one layer of net despite suggesting felt, corduroy, and denim for the real skirt. One layer was not sufficient for my cotton dress so it definitely wouldn't have made a difference to a skirt made of thicker fabric. I ended up using one layer each of tulle and net, but think I will probably add additional layers later. The edges of the tulle should be finished with ribbon or lace but do you know how hard it is to find blue trim? So, I'll add it when I find it.

Pre-petticoat of any kind


With red mega-petticoat: what you can't see is how crinoline, bell-shaped, stiff it looks and how crunchy it sounds. You can make out the tulle rows from under the thin cotton fabric easily.


With blue petticoat-lite: much better, though I may add one or two more layers of the thicker tulle. Do you see how scandalously sheer that tulle skirt is? Wow!

An artistic shot