Rose Bowl Float

Dress: Pink Peacock Paradise Mesh Rose Faux Wrap Dress by Leota (size 4L) via Gwynnie Bee

Skirt: Vintage silk sari skirt by Enwraptured Vintage 

Sandals: Croft & Barrow, thrifted 

Earring & Necklace: Wendy Baker

Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 55-50-64

When this dress first appeared on Gwynnie Bee, I thought it was so pretty...not so much on me...waaaay too short in front & the fit was off all over. I added a skirt, but really...I shouldn't have bothered. Why wear clothes that don't make you feel pretty?! David said I looked like a Rose Bowl Float because of all the layers. 

Nope.

At least I really liked my make-up on this day...

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Viper; Lime Crime eyeshadow in Twonicorn, Rose Burst, & Ten; Big Bang lipstick & lip liner by UD; Blood Orange lipstick from Bite Beauty; & Colors by Llarowe nail polish in Bow Chika Wow Wow.

Poor Rye is always climbing over to my office chair...save me from Violet! She is constantly licking him. Isn't this railroad track pretty with all the painted rocks?? It was posted on a neighborhood Facebook page I'm on & I snapped a photo so I'd remember where it was & perhaps use it to take outfit photos. I liked my make-up & tried to take a picture, but I suck at selfies...so here is the inside of my nose...

Angie & Freddie came over to visit us! He ate dinner, along with some raspberries I got from my favorite raspberry farmer...then he & David played peek-a-boo & practiced their silly walks around the yard. 

Sean Hayes going live with his pianist. And...I decided to join Eloquii Unlimited (run by GB) since the first month is free. Why not? Dressing up once or twice a week to go nowhere is just about the only fun I have left. 

 

Summer Casual...Lots of Garage Sale Finds

 Top: Ralph Lauren, thrifted

Skirt: Enwrapture Vintage Sari

Sandals: Born, thrifted

Earring: Vintage 80s

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 55-50-64

I wore this outfit a dozen times this summer...into fall. Each time it was washed...I planned on moving this top to my sleep ware pile...but I kept reaching for it on casual occasions...farmers' markets, garage sales, & driving back to Madison from visiting Brian a few weeks ago. It was comfy & easy to throw on...I could bend over to look at things without having to worry I was flashing anyone, no teggings required. I had David snap a few quick photos with the iPhone just to document it. The bottom of the top started rolling up...annoying...so it had to go. 

I had to get this Kat von D eyeshadow palette as soon as it came out...look at those rich gorgeous shades! I've only used it once so far, but I know it will be enjoyed a lot this autumn & winter...also, I had a gift card to use that Sephora gave me when I got lipstick all over myself earlier this year. Kat von D & Urban Decay make my favorite eyeshadows...they are extremely pigmented, blend nicely, & stay on forever. 

I can't believe I forgot to post this lovely make-up Angie brought back for me from England...sparkly! 

Some fashion related garage sale finds...this woman had so many pretty purses. 

Hibiscus! I fell in love with the enormous ones at Olbrich Gardens...& look...here they are for sale at market...if only I didn't kill everything...I would get the deep burgundy flowers. The girlie in her Shitty Barn t-shirt for market & brunch. 

More garage sale treasures...

I was terrible at taking pictures of my garage sale loot this year, but I got many marvelous things...

Elephants, pigs, & dogs are my animals. 

Thanksgiving

 Dress: Wrap Dress in Crimson Cherry by Taylor Dresses (size 24) via Gwynnie Bee (use my link to get your first month free & help me earn GB credit)

Tights: We Love Colors

Shoes: Nine West, thrifted

Earring: etXarte

Pin & Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo, Kate, & Me

Stats: 5'7" 55-50-64

I wore this dress to Thanksgiving with doggies. I am head over heels for this color combination...pink, burgundy, & black...yes! It was under $40 to buy & I was the first person to get it...however, the fit was not great. The waistband was positioned too low for me as I prefer empire waists; the length was too short, so when I sat in a chair & leaned back...my panties were on display; that pin I'm wearing was necessary as there was so much fabric on top that it just drooped otherwise; & there was a pointless heavy zipper up the back. However, the worst offender were the pockets. Pockets do not belong on wrap or even faux wrap dresses...these were just all wrong on me as they lumped out on either side of my hips. Also, where the dogs jumped up on me...the dress pilled horribly. I cannot have a dress in my life that pills so easily...I have never had a dress pill that quickly...& dogs jump up on me in a regular way because...dog love!! 

Kate wanted to walk around Cherokee Marsh & then to Angie & Toby's for Thanksgiving. I offered to transport her wine, but she's a stubborn girlie...self! It rained steadily most of the day, so she was soaked. This cranberry relish spread on a cracker with cream cheese is consistently my favorite thing Angie makes every year. I don't know why I am so enamored with it...I am not particularly a cranberry lover. 

Mmmmm...wine. I like sparkling wine. elly & Josh showed up & made Corn Flake Milk White Russians that they had in NYC. Extremely tasty. They also brought the best Rice Crispy Treats I've ever had...brown butter & sea salt...YUM!

Doggieeeeeees!!!!! Angie & Toby have 2 dogs (1 not pictured) & a foster, plus they were watching 2 friend's dogs...5 doggies! I could just watch dogs play all day long...so cute! The Thanksgiving feast was delicious...Angie is a wonderful cook & baker. David had bought a new game for us to play since we are tired of Cards Against Humanity...however, this was not the fun game the store clerk claimed it would be. Angie described it best when she said it would be good for a church function. 

I fell madly in love with their foster, Val...so of course I immediately encouraged terrible behavior. Look at how much I am enjoying being naughty in the second photo David took...I was letting her lick a little whipped cream off my fingers. You'd rather see that then a plate full of pie covered with whipped cream, right?

This outfit did not deserve its own post as I barely put any thought into it & didn't like a thing about it. I wore it twice...first to meet our dog trainer, then again to work with our trainer on walking our new dog. This is a GB house brand top that I thought I would try since the pattern is so fun...but there was no shape to it. 

My Thanksgiving make-up included...Stila eyeliner in Deep Burgundy, Kat Von D eyeshadows in Rewind & Harpsichord, Nars lipstick in Majella, & Colors by Llarowe nail polish in P51. 

Friday Fish Fry

 Dress: Printed Tunic Dress in Marsala by Taylor Dresses (size 24) via Gwynnie Bee (use my link to get your first month free & help me earn GB credit)

Skirt: Enwrapture Vintage Sari Skirt

Socks: Sock Dreams

Shoes: Born

Earring: etXarte

Pin & Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 55-50-64

I wore this outfit to work, run errands, have lunch with Super Boo, & dinner with friends. This georgette tunic dress had no stretch, so it didn't fit me as a dress(well, it did...but it was super short & tight)...so I do what I usually do & threw it on with a sari skirt. The autumnal colors in this are marvelous & it has looked fabulous on all the ladies in The Girls of GB. It is lined & has this odd pussy bow attached that I chose to tie like a scarf & add a vintage pin to in place of a necklace. Check out Kelly of Big Curvy Love, she is a size smaller than me & wore this as a dress in the same size I am wearing...it looks adorable on her. 

Indian buffet for lunch with David, & fish fry in a church basement with David & friends at night...neither of which are very picturesque. 

Carrot cake! Angie had made carrot cake for a co-workers birthday & we couldn't say no to a leftover slice...SO delicious! Carrot cake is my favorite...especially with extra cream cheese frosting. 

My make-up this day included...Sephora eyeliner in Brown, Too Faced eyeshadow in Candied Violet & Créme Brûlée, Mon Ennui eyeshadow in Rustette, & Bite Beauty lipstick in Toast. 

Adult Swim: Monster Mashup

 Dress: Cascade Wrap Dress in Abstract Plaid by Karen Kane (size 3x) via Gwynnie Bee (use my link to get your first month free & help me earn GB credit)
Skirt: Enwrapture Vintage Sari
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Nine West, thrifted
Earring: etXarte
Necklace: Kathy Barrick
Bracelet: Vintage
Photography: Super Boo, Kate, & Me
Stats: 5'7" 55-50-64

I wore this ensemble to have dinner & drinks with Kate on Devil's Night..then to play at the Children's Museum during an adult only event. The colors in this dress were gorgeous, but sadly...did not quite make a dress on me...if only KK made one size larger...however, most of her garments do fit me in a 3x. Otherwise, this dress was completely lovely in every way...if you are a bit smaller than me...you will fall madly in love with this dress. I do like how I managed to get a wear out of it with one of my many sari skirts...but I was especially pleased that I happened to have a shade of olive lipstick that complimented my outfit that I completely forgot I had.

Kate as a sweet dragon...& a snarly dragon...

New autumn cocktails at Heritage Tavern!! We began with a Cranberry Ginger Crusta (Ansac cognac, creole shrub, cranberry juniper jam, lemon, angostura) & a Heritage Apple Dram (Wathen's bourbon, Hum, all spice dram, apple syrup, lemon, sparkling cider). Tacos from the Happy Hour menu...pork for me, market veggies for the girlie...O!M!G! why have I never had these before?! Because tacos sound boring. $5 for 2 crispy pork soft tacos that are one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth! They may have been even better than my beloved deviled eggs that were delivered to our table next. 

Oh, the autumn cocktails...they were a delight! For our second round we had Rosemary's Pear (Deaths Door vodka, Sapins, spiced pear liqueur, pear purèe, lemon, spiced pear bitters, rosemary, grated nutmeg) & Autumn's Harvest (brown butter & roasted squash washed Rittenhouse rye, Snap, Tuaca, Heritage maple syrup, lemon oil). I'm not sure I could pick a favorite...I would have them all again. Why haven't I had them all again?!

We finished our meal by sharing Roasted Squash Thai Coconut Soup with ginger butter poached lobster & Wild Mushroom Gnocchi. Every single bite & sip were amazing...as is perpetually the case at Heritage Tavern (we had a mediocre brunch there once, otherwise...perfection every time). 

Then we crossed the street to The Children's Museum for their Halloween Adult Swim...& hurried up to the roof while it was still dusk. Sunflowers, wild rambling gardens, 2-headed metal birds, & a menacing dragon! 

Wicked happened to be playing in Madison & there were a team of lovely ladies with quizzes (are you a Galinda or an Elphaba?) & make-up...despite having seen Wicked twice, I could not remember the words/melody to a song Elphaba sang (I wanted to sing For Good)...if you sang a song of your character, you could have your make-up done by their make-up artist...they also had glitter & green make-up set up so you could do your own...I wanted my make-up done...so the ever so nice girl sang the song while I stumbled along...then got my make-up done! Kate running on the hamster wheel...& touching a human brain. 

Frankenmuppets!! This was SO much fun!!! There were hundreds of stuffed animals that we could mutilate to make our very own creature. This was an especially splendid evening spent with my precious girlie...thank you, Kate <3

My make-up this day included...NYX Golden Olive eyeliner, Urban Decay eyeshadows in Beat Down & Chains, NYX Wicked Lippie in Trickery, & MAC nail polish in Chroma Green Garter. 

Pie Palooza

 Dress (worn as a top): Tulip Hem Scoop Neck Dress by tbagslosangeles (size 3x) via Gwynnie Bee (use my link to get your first month free & help me earn GB credit)

Skirt: Enwrapture Vintage Silk Sari

Sandals: Born, thrifted

Necklace & Bracelet: Wendy Baker

Earring: etXarte

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 55-50-64

I wore this ensemble to Pie Palooza. I'm a big fan of tbagslosangeles dresses, however, this doesn't quite qualify as a dress on me...although it does make an excellent top. The fabric feels lovely & soft, the uneven hem is fun, & the cut out back is sexy. On the negative side...the sleeves are hugely long & the bottom is so tight that there is no way I could wear this as a dress even if it were long enough. Kate really liked it on me as a top, so if it came up for sale for ~$20, I'd probably buy it. 

Pie! All of the pie! We look forward to Pie Palooza every year. Pies of the sweet & savory varieties are donated by local restaurants with the proceeds going to REAP (a nonprofit that promotes locally grown food & small farmers). 

Can't look up...too busy eating pie! That Dark Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from Batch was my favorite pie this year. Below, the Spaghetti Pie was the opposite of yummy. 

After pie, we all went to a shoe garage sale that I had gotten lucky at during their spring sale...but none of us found anything. I had to take a photo of Angie's splash dyed tights from We Love Colors...because I LOVE them. 

Savers 50% off haul. I don't actually think we went on this day...but I've forgotten & this is the day I took the picture. 

I *do* remember making tomato soup! We made gallons of it to freeze so we can enjoy it all winter. 45 pounds of farmers' market tomatoes. 

I'm bringing sexy back. 

My make-up this day included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Zero on my top lid, NYX eyeliner in Acid Green on my lower lid, Acidberry eyeshadow by Sugarpill, MUFE orange eyeshadow, & MAC's Korean Candy lipstick.