ive just gotten back from the doctor, on the windiest, rainiest day of winter weve had yet, after having had my warts frozen off plus a random spot on my thumb that the doc thought was the wart. before that i went to another doctor. i ate too much today, but im insatiably hungry and im hard-up trying to find anything else that makes me as happy as eating, so theeeeeeere.

now with my fingers stinging and sore, im having a bit of a hard time typing and im imagining ill also have difficulties sewing or knitting, so over the next couple days, hopefully just a day until i get sensation back into my fingers, ill be surrendering my life away in favor of days in bed, sleeping in, wrapped up in my heating blanket (who comforts me when im sad and soothes my back) drinking too much coffee and watching terrible television.

truthfully, if anybody bothered to call me or ask me out or wanted to talk, id forget about my pain and be out of bed, bright eyed and bushy tailed in a moment. but life's been more than a little depressing around here, and no matter how much id like to nip this bad mood in the bud and get to workin, theres an undeniable appeal to just lurking around the house, wrapped in a blanket, feeling lonesome and allowing myself, for once in the last 3 years, to just not..do..anything.

luckily for me, im only seventeen going-on eighteen, and its easy for me to compartmentalize my mood swings and anxieties under the banner of "waaah i hate my life nobody loves me!" to other people and be able to talk openly and freely about how i feel, knowing that folks will just assume im having a moment of self-doubt or there are problems at home and that its all normal, and thats fine with me.

so whatever, annnnnd i hate my life, and my boyfriend's mean to me, and i dont wanna get fat but i cant stop eating, and im bored and i have no friends.

my day off..

..Went pretty alright, though i still have a sore back. i wont be complaining about it right now, since bryan snapped me into a different point of view with his comment left on "Breakin'". today i made a vegan apple cake that tastes very good, i hemmed a dress by hand, i worked on my sewing machine briefly but managed to break yet another ceramic thing-ive been incredibly clumsy, and this week its been especially bad. during these pictures, i actually threw three things off of a shelf by putting my camera in a bad place, then tripped on one and shattered its feet. so sad! i feel terrible about it. i dont know if i believe people can be just clumsy by nature, but i think part of my problem is that i drink alot of coffee which makes me jumpy and so i tend to knock things over with exaggerated hand gestures, and also my hair is so big it can sometimes obstruct my view and make it so i cant see all around me. im breaking all of my things, though!

the day after thanksgiving, my cousins, brother, mother and i all headed down to the atascadero thrift shops. i found two really pretty dresses-the white one here



and a 60s red and orange shift thats super glamorous and nice. i also found a fire king bowl-with-a-handle that im using as my own personal cereal bowl from now on, it holds the perfect amount! at another charity shop, i bought a petticoat that i didnt check the label of when i bought it, but later i saw it was actually very old, from a company called Mar-Lo of Hollywood or California or something like that. what a nice surprise! also, a skirt and i think one more thing but i dont remember what..

this weekend i also bought a really nice lipstick, which i dont usually wear but i thought, since im going to be eighteen soon, i ought to invest in some big-girl makeup.



today i stole some persimmons and fed them to a horse across the street, who craves them all day, im told!

breakin'

over the last 3 or 4 months, ive been dealing with a ever-present backache that just wont quit and leaves me bored and angry when it disables me from being able to sew (bending over to iron, taking clothes on and off, cutting fabric on the ground). in the last 4 or 5 days its really gotten a whole lot more painful, though, and the timing couldnt be worse as ive got a stack of clothes in need of repair that just keeps growing and growing. also, ive been wanting to dive into the pile of work to get done so that i can have a whole new coupla outfits come schooltime in january, but alas, ive been forced to cut WAY back on the amount of time i spend sewing and the pace ive always worked at has slowed down from no funny stuff, serious sewing all day every second, to a relaxing, "sewing is a hobby i picked up" type work.

but today ive decided instead of laying on the couch, hating every second of my life and feeling like a failure because im not making the most of my time, im going to give myself a bit of a sick day and do the stuff i dont usually allow time for like mabye a nap, a better blog post, some hand sewing (hopefully!), quality time with my cat and any other lazy stuff and funny business that i dont get around to too often. mabye ill bake some cookies, too. not that i need any since im carrying around some extra blubber from thanksgiving, but its so much fun and i will want to stand up at some point today. i cant think of any reason better for getting up off my bum than to go make cookies...word.

ill probably spend alot of this time on the computer, also, peeking around my favorite blogs and seeking out newer ones im unfamiliar with. does anybody have any suggestions?



ill be back later today.

photo from Erika's etsy listing! somebody bought a dress with me in it, cool.

through jensie's lensies

jens took some pretty rad photos this weekend up at the pharm.

back in the saddle

thanksgiving weekend was pretty awesome at the farm. we only got home an hour or so ago, and im really tired and would rather be playing with my cat right now!

one thing that i was hoping for and looking forward to was me and my cousin's matching coats. theyre these cute vintage little plaid wool guys, i love mine. im just drawn to christmas colors anyway, so im always wierded out when people stop and tell me that i look "super festive" or something. sonja's is orange and green, and she appliqued a little granny square ontop of a hole, so in some ways theyre different. i just thought it would be cool to have matching coats. in the middle is my aunt victoria, and while we were up at the farm we went sifting and searching through the closets and the attic, looking for vintage dresses once owned by her namesake, an older aunt vic.



ill post about Hearst Castle and all the rest tomorrow.

hollahollahollaholla

SO!
im sorry for being so noticeably absent from the blog lately, mostly this has been because ive been busy getting this college stuff finished, but also i just completed highschool (if i didnt already say that) and ive been pretty much in pjs, sewing all day, or havent remembered to take any pictures while dressed and out!

one other exciting thing thats just happened has been that my new friend, Erika, had asked me to model for her etsy shop and we just got around to it. she had a bunch of really gorgeous things that i loved, one of my favorites being this cute cute blue dress. its really pleasant to have a friend who enjoys thrifting and garage saling and handmade stuff as much as i do, and i have none already, so shes sort of my hero.

you can find her Etsy store under the name of "xhereliesbootsx", or www.hereliesboots.com



haha i brushed my hair for these pictures!



this all went on sometime last week. This weekend has been irregularly active for me-today i went to the swapmeet with my extended family and had lunch + dinner at our home, Saturday i saw some friends who i dont get together with and went to some really good yard sales, and friday i went into a bigger city with bryan to buy electronic thingies. that sounds like a really boring weekend, but for somebody with no friends like me, having chores and errads to run and things to finish makes a weekend more busy and gets me out of the house.

..a million posts to come from all the fantastic second-hand things ive found this weekend!

the hive was jivin'

today my beehive was that of legend



i believe it had something to do with the dryness in the air, or perhaps it was because i havent washed it in a few days, but it reached out and touched the stars.

suprise supplies

today i was assigned an art class, and after school my mother and i went to the best thrift shop for patterns, scraps, yarns, buttons and the like. i picked up a couple wonderful things that will help me to make a good project, and that ill like to take apart afterward and use for my own purposes.

it was really hard to stay on task. there was a pretty blanket i had my eyes on, and i knew that sifting through the racks would yield many good things. i did get one thing for myself, rather a set of things-a vintage set of separated-section metal trays, painted a pretty red.

keep in mind these bits will be a part of a collage-y thing once completed, but here.



funny old sockies



an embroidered woodland clock. im thinking that afterward i could attach a clock piece to this, insert it into a generic clock frame (im not sure what thats actually called) and put it to very good use.



a wig



a spool of old curling ribbon. "Rippl Tie"..

..and a few more, less photogenic, items like a handful of small candles, a wooden plaque, bells, some patterns and an old crochet book with some really great pictures and ideas within.

other books, pamphlets and miscellaneous reading material that ive been glad to have found lately are my 1973-74 Seventeen magazines that my mom picked up for me at a book sale at the library. the articles are sensational, as are the advertisements and fashion spreads. exciting!



everything else
-bryan and i spent the night at his brother's house on halloween, went to bed early and didnt do anything particularly spooky, but had a nice time.
-jens and i are really into informercials for the Redi, Set, Go! cooker, we like watching the program on youtube alot.
-ive put together a few more dresses, but havent yet worked up the courage to modify this glorious austrian-made fifties dress i found in a garage at an estate sale a few weeks back.
-ive been assigned my last classes today!
-i missed the swap meet on sunday, which is fine, but im currently experiencing pretty intense estate sale and thrift store withdrawls and i cant wait to get to some as soon as i can. i might ask to go by myself this weekend sometime.
-i became ill this time last week, which caused me to lose my voice in a funny way and put me on ear-infection patrol, but its now fading off into a silly headcold with sneezing and a little sore throat.

now that halloween's passed, i can get excited about thanksgiving and christmas and my birthday, which i like. if only it got cold here.

two dresses

one recently completed


this was a calf legth eighties disaster with giant sleeves. i changed the buttons from gold plastic to wood, re-attached the bottom horizontal stripe bit after taking a whole lot off, shortened the sleeves and a few more things for a better fit.

this one is still in the makes


ive been talking about it alot, but today might be the day i complete it. sleeves and buttons are what i have left to do on this one.

today has been long and terrible, but the worst is yet to come. the not bad parts were when bryan and i want to the cafe, then the airpark. i organized my tights and stockigs into a white vintage suitcase i bought at the swapmeet. working on my dress has helped make today better,too.

it might rain soon!

things that excite me about graduating so soon..

-junior college, taking interesting classes in sewing and fashion, if i can, and learning new things!
-getting to spend the entire day sewing and mending until i begin these classes.
-actually having somewhere(other than cafe primo and my house)to wear pretty clothing where people will see me. this isnt as vain as it sounds, im not interested in being on display at school so much as id like to get use out of the pretty clothes i have so many of!
-thinking about my someday etsy and all that goes along with having a mini-business, which for me would include selling, sorting, hunting for, mending and making decisions about what to keep and what not to.
-free time to paint my room, which i just havent had the time for and ive sort of lost my steam for such a giant undertaking, but not completely. it would make me happier.
-riding my bike, going on more walks, being overall a more content, relaxed person with not as much to worry about.

...and a couple-a others!

this week has been slightly more relaxed than not, but im still dealing with the same anxieties about schoolwork, current projects, people, robbers, intruders and serial killers and ghosts that i usually do. what has made it better, i think, is that at the end of every day this week, ive had the time to spend a few hours either by myself sewing, with bryan out and about, with my family, or baking.

i started a smock-i plan to wear it as a dress-from a pattern i bought at the swapmeet a few months ago this last week, when bryan was over and drawing a picture. the pattern, like so many that i buy, was ultra massive, which has taken up half of the overall time spent on it just taking it in all over, but im close to being finished. all i need to do now is adjust the pockets and re-attach them, hem the sleeves and the skirt and then comes buttons + buttonholes. i complained about it being the same color as a surgeon's scrubs and looking a little bit like one because the sleeves were so boxy, but im making the adjustments i need to to make it wearable.



this is my very messy closet/sewing sofa area. im holding up some unclear sewing instructions.

i baked some truly delish vegan nanna + peanut/almond butter + walnut cookies this week that i ate for breakfast on some days and through the day until they were gone. i shared a few with bryan and he liked them too. baking is something i love because its unlike sewing in that there arent very many mistakes i can make as long as i follow the recipe, and i dont ever need to take out part of it, adjust, then put it back together. its just step by step, unlike sewing where, at my skill level, everything needs to be done and redone and done again many times before its complete. it makes me feel good to make treats that i can eat and that my family likes too. i sometimes put the two together like theyre alike somehow, but i enjoy them in very different ways.

whether it be for room color inspiration or for fabric and trim and button combination ideas, ive been enjoying collecting ideas from my mom's gardening books and other old books. mostly because i like light greens so much and they use aot of them in combinations with red or black or gold.



cool dishware in a vintage shop in blue, yellow, greens and brown.



yesterday at the swapmeet (for the first time in a while) yielded a ton of pretty things. like ive said before, halloween at any second-hand shop or swap meet is the best time to find cool vintage things that people regard as junky or costumey. in one such stand selling mainly costumes i found a glittery squaredancing blouse with dancers stencilled on the collar, a mod blue dress, 2 paisley peasant dresses (one which isnt as great as the other because its fabric is just so wierd) and a pinafore!

all with their own post soon.

this week is going to be busy with bryan's birthday, halloween and any plans to take a trip this weekend, plus lots of baking vegan treats for both bryans birthday and halloween. since we cant eat candy, i think cupcakes would be a good option for us. im excited and glad to have things to do, and bryan's birthday will be fun! i found him something really cool on etsy but it probably wont get here on time, but thats not so bad. oh, and carving pumpkins! mabye we'll do that tomorrow.