Drive-By Truckers // Kate Park // Fire Tattoo

Dress: Macha Mushroom Midi Dress by Louche (size M) via Nuuly

Socks: Sock Dreams

Shoes: Fluevog, Unity: Aimee

Earring: etXarte

Necklaces: Green Goddess Vintage

Bracelet & Belt: Vintage

Stats: 5'7" 38-32-42

Despite this dress being too big on me...I wore it a bunch...I mean, mushrooms! It's a nice heavy corduroy fabric with pockets in a cute prairie style. I loved it & received endless compliments...it turns out, everyone loves a mushroom frock. 

I am still working on building a belt collection...as much as I adore this vintage metal belt...I would have preferred something tighter that gave this outfit more of a shape. 

I rather liked this sock/shoe combination I came up with...

I also had the right jewelry...it's not obvious here, but...my brown polka dot bracelet had ever so slightly pink dots that matched the ones in the dress. I have some mushroom jewelry favorited on Etsy...I really should have at least one piece. 

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Bourbon, Half-Baked & Hustle eyeshadow by UD, Nutmeg lipliner from NYX, UD lipliner in Roach, Gothica lipstick from Kat von D, Bite Beauty lipstick in Nori, & OPI nail polish in Tulsa Tootsie Roll-a. 

I first wore this outfit to make dinner (Cinnamon & Chile-Rubbed Braised Beef Brisket, served with Spiced Sweet Potato Roasted Fries)...then head over to The Barrymore to see Drive-By Truckers.

They had an actually decent Moscow Mule (canned & made in Madison by Plainspoke) AND real butter on their popcorn...yay! And merch...lots of vinyl...I picked up 4. Clearly, I can't get enough of how sexy I am...sitting in the front row. 

Margo Cilker opened the show...she was good, but I didn't like her as much as I wanted to...which is too bad because she's playing at The Shitty Barn this summer. Then...Drive-By Truckers...who were fabulous, but I wish I would have brought my fancy earplugs. 

Pilates in my Constantly Varied Gear deep sea leggings that I found at Goodwill for a few dollars. I also wore this outfit to work, thrifting, & bellydance class. 

I was especially excited by the cassette tape LuLaRoe dress...it will be perfect to wear to The Sylvee in the summer (they have a wall mural made of tapes). 

I found this vintage 80s paisley E.D. Michaels dress for $5...I would have worn that in middle school. More thrift store try-ons...I really wanted that orange silk Banana Republic dress, but it was a size 2...I had to at least try. Leopard summer robe. If you pay attention to my blog...you might recognize those shoes...they are too small on me, but after seeing them just sitting there unloved for 1/2 a dozen visits...I bought them. They are currently in my closet being stretched...we'll see.

And finally...I wore this dress last Sunday to meet Kate at a park by her house...where we walked & played. 

Swinging on swings...digging in the sand...tetter-tottering.

I like spending time with my girlie! Afterwards...I bopped into Goodwill where all I got was this burgundy velvet Betsey Johnson swing dress. Then...I came home & prepped dinner before heading over to Red Clover for a tattoo appointment. 

Which is near Vinny's, so I tried on a few things...I was sad that vintage dress/jacket was too big on me...it was sparkly...I did get the wool jacket though. Fire! 

Mar added color to my old fire tattoo that they applied white to the last time I was in...now it is brighter & looks like it belongs with my fire woman. It was the most painful of any tattoo I have gotten...it's been 4 days & it *still* hurts. Mar said cover-up tattoos are often more painful...this is a cover-up on a cover-up, plus 2 sessions in 3 weeks of added ink. Ouch! They also very kindly added a few lines that scarring took away from my devil girl tattoo & touched up my blueberries & a bit of leaf outline. Then I came home & made dinner I had prepped...Oven Braised Beef with Harissa & a Shaved Fennel with Olives Salad. 

 

Grown-Up Book Fair // Lymphatic Massage // Thrifting

Dress: Peppi-Winter Plaid Dress by Louche (size L) via Nuuly

Belt: Vintage via eBay 

Tights: Snag

Boots: Fluevog, East End: Woodland

Purse: gift from David

Earring: etXarte

Necklace: former Etsy shop

Bracelets: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 38-32-42

Little House on the Prairie chic...loved it. Stunning saturated navy & green plaid pattern in a nice heavy winter appropriate fabric...lots of material, so wearing a cardigan over it wasn't possible or necessary. However, even with the smocked top, this dress was huge on me. Part of it is my fault (I'm a fairly reliable medium these days), but this dress also runs at least one size too big (all the reviews state that, but it was brand new when I closeted it). Deep pockets & a back button closure. I got endless compliments while wearing this. 

I wanted to make this work as an outfit, so I immediately purchased a belt on eBay to bring it together. I searched for '80s vintage blue buckle belt'...this is pretty much exactly what I had in mind...it adds to the Vivienne Westwood vibes. Unfortunately, this belt skews more blue than green...it looked navy in the photos...but close enough. I desperately need a belt collection now. So much catching up to do! 

Even though my skills for building this look were fairly good given what I had to work with...what really put it over the top were these Fluevog boots I had just gotten during their after holiday sale. 

Aren't they gorgeous?! They were the oldest pair on my wishlist & there were only 2 left in my size. 

And to carry the yellow through elsewhere...a small pop of yellow in my bracelets. 

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Sabbath; Dragon, Heroine, & Lucky eyeshadow by UD; NYX lipliner in Pumpkin; Toast lipstick from Bite Beauty; Heat lipstick by UD; & OPI nail polish in A Woman's Prague-ative. 

I first wore this ensemble to attend the sold out Grown-Up Book Fair at The Sylvee. I waited too long to buy tickets to the first one last year...so I immediately grabbed one when they went on sale. This bag policy gets me EVERY time. 

They did a great job of recreating the feeling of the Scholastic Book Fairs of our youth. 

I colored & made a button out of 'I Like Big Books'...which I displayed on the tote of swag they handed out at the door. 

My favorite Wisconsin coffee...Wonderstate...I had to get the I Read Banned Books bag.

Nightmare Before Christmas tarot deck...Hot Lunch serving hot lunch...And look! It's Lindsay's book, Madison Chefs. Used books & specialty cocktails. I'm glad I went, but probably wouldn't go again unless someone really wanted to go with me. I also wore this dress to work & a final time to get a lymphatic massage from Courtney. She thought my outfit was spectacular & immediately commented on the Vivienne Westwood vibe I was putting out there. Courtney is doing wonders for me...my body has let go of so much fluid...especially my thighs. It is normal to have swelling up to a year after surgery...but everything was just so tight. At first it was painful when she pushed on those areas...but fast forward to the 2 weeks around the time of these photos (2-ish weeks ago)...I lost 17 pounds of what I'm guessing was water weight...& it shows. My thighs are back to normal...saggy skin instead of full of water. After massage...I stopped into Goodwill on my drive home. I discovered several cardigans, 4 dresses...including a never worn Effie's Heart...brown boots, & a button-up shirt covered in oranges that I'll probably never wear...but, oranges.