Once upon a time

I decided to tell my stories of anger, sadness, and poor choices. The Following is a tale of woe from the past--and the pain that resurfaced as the winter storm rages on...

Although clearly "Frozen" inspired, this story will take you back to a time when the sun was shining so damn hard that we were all covered in sweat. The summer of 2013, when I went back and forth between feelings of raged sadness to joy and happiness. Regular readers will recall the traumatic experiences I had around then, but what I haven't talked much about was the time I spent with Mike. Now, the time has come.

Do you want to do some cosplay? My plan for the snow day was to come up with a DIY Frozen inspired outfit: an evil Elsa...but I didn't have anything that looked the part. (You can barely see my little side braid.)  So, I'm a winter-themed, super villain.

Mike was more commonly known to myself and others as "Falcon", his wrestling moniker. Up until very recently, I counted him as a friend. We rarely saw each other. He lives with another woman and has little reason to be in my neighborhood. We didn't chat often, as it wouldn't be appropriate. But, every now and then we would keep in touch via text message and it was always pleasant. Since our split in '13, he has actually stopped by to visit a few times. The last time we chatted was after New Years. As he bid me goodnight, the last message he sent was, "keep in touch." I planned to.

He is an ex. He is the man who dumped me on my ass before my father got sick, which happened to be the week before school started. That break up took a lot out of me, practically everything. However, Falcon always had my back; even as he was ripping my heart out. 

Readers: I know what you're thinking, and I hear ya. "You were friends with your ex? Again? You learned nothing from the previous experience, and now you're basically going through the same thing again?!"

To respond; yeah, pretty much...but I accept kindness from whomever offers it and it felt better to forgive than to hate. I mean technically speaking, he broke up with me--he is allowed to do that, there are no rules against that (it's just strongly frowned upon.) Everyone wants to have people in their lives that care about them, that they can feel safe with. I don't know why I had that bond with him, but I did. 

Spring, 2013. Not the most flattering pic, but whatevs.

So, when I hit him up some time last week, I wasn't surprised that I didn't immediately hear back. He works long overnight hours and I'm not his girlfriend. A few days later, my curiosity got the best of me and I texted again. I had heard rumors of his possible involvement in a scandal, but for once, I didn't know anything about it. I just wanted to check in. When this reaching out when unanswered, I was concerned. About what, I'm not sure, but I figured, "hey, maybe I can find some clues on his rarely used Facebook!"

And then I saw it. Near his default photo (one I had actually taken myself!) was the message "Add Michael as a Friend." So, if Facebook is suggesting I add him as a friend, that can only mean that we are not friends. I had been unfriended. The realization stunned me and I stared at the screen in horror. Why? What have I done to deserve this?!

Now let's be real and stop pretending that being unfriended is not something that adults are allowed to care about. I'm not talking about an old coworker with whom you rarely spoke; I'm talking about an actual IRL friend that you liked. That person I cared about went to a list of "friends," found my name and picture, and then removed me from that list. Casual acquaintances can be Facebook friends; being purposely excluded from someone's online world sends a clear message. Friendship=over. 

"You're as cold as ice..."

 Falcon joined WAW around the 2008-09 years, but it took me a while before getting to know him. He was serious about wrestling and very good at it. His home was in the Massachusetts North Shore area, a bit if a distance from the WAW headquarters in Manchester, NH. He didn't make a habit of hanging out with the regular crew and at shows, he was all business. 

Around 2011, (and my timeline might not be perfect) our wrestling paths crossed when my character Moody Starr began managing his tag team, The Firebirds. At some point, Falcon took an extended leave after undergoing surgery on an injured shoulder. Interestingly, it was during that time when we got to know each other. 

We never should have happened. It was doomed from the start and I knew it. But from that first time he contacted me; my fate was sealed. 

To be continued.

The Button Print Shirt-Dress!

Mostly just the "after" pics because zzz... I had this lovely Liz Claiborne dress:

I loved this dress from the moment I laid eyes on it. I knew it was worth the 5 bucks. It looked easy to work with and it had a button print.! I blogged about it last June, so I'll save myself the trouble of writing about it again.
In fact, I'll spare you my process as well. Here's pretty much what I did:

In that post I linked up there, I mentioned how fitting this dress seemed to be despite its larger size. It didn't have the long bodice like all my other 70s/80s dresses. I think I know why:

HA! That's a close up of the picture I took while working on it at night time. See anything? Of course not. What this picture meant to say is; the seam does not look uniform. It's as if it's been cut and re-sewn. Somebody got to this before me and did me a solid by fixing some length! Of course the shoulder area was big, so I folded it over like so:

I did cinch the waist by using the technique of wrapping those straps (seen in the before picture) around my back and then tying in front. But, I couldn't waste the opportunity to use my new belt, one of the cutest ever made. Behold:

 

Button belt! It's one of those waist cinching elastic belts I'm into and the clasp is a giant button! Let's see this shirt dress! And if the hem looks odd, that's because this slippery fabric was hard to fold.

Even with the picture size blown up, it's hard to appreciate the print. Here:

Look at the little white and red buttons! That's what they look like!
Once again:

I actually wore this once and realized it was still too big and had to take in the sides some more. As always, it's not a revolutionary refash. I love it, though.

Easy purple dress refashion

As a resident of New Hampshire who was also born here, there's one thing about this time of year that really grinds my gears. People that get all self righteous and complain about those who complain about the weather. Like, you come indoors shivering out a phrase like, "Oh my god, it's so cold that my nipples could cut glass!" only to get a lecture from Hard-ass McHardcore New Englander about how the first rule of living in climates with cold weather is to never talk abut the cold weather.
No, I'm not surprised that it's cold, but I reserve the right to say that it kinda sucks when the temps drop so damn low. I need a turtleneck.

I don't know what appealed to me first, but I was super excited to find this dress. It was a nice thick cotton, all comfy and cozy...but I just couldn't do the turtleneck. It was double layered. To quote the late comedian Mitch Hedberg, it's like being strangled by a very weak person.

It was a size medium, and I bought it at Outfitters for $2.00, still with its original tags. I thought it would fit somewhat loosely, but it fit it didn't and I was concerned it wouldn't do my wide hips any favors.

Look at the cute tag that was attached to it!

So, let's cut to the cutting. I carefully tried making the turtleneck less stifling, but it wasn't doing it for me. I seam ripper-ed the whole thing off, and then finally said, "Eff this, I'm making a v neck."
The sleeves bothered me too for some reason. I don't what I have against long sleeves and I had no business hemming them because the purpose of this garment was warmth. I gave each a quick trim and rolled them a bit.
I don't remember why I didn't keep the length, but I took off a few inches. I had more than enough to make this perfect, matching sash:

The end result:

I'm trying my best to look natural with my eyes open and not looking down.

I took these pictures on the day that I actually wore this dress because I was on school vacation and not running out the door in hopes of being on time for work. Yesterday, I set up my camera to capture two other dresses and forgetting that I already had this purple number done, I took a few more shots of it.

Does that picture look weird to you? Most of yesterday's session looks bizarre. I'm short as shit, but I feel like I kinda resemble a little person in this one. I'm going to blame the angle of my tripod. It was different.
Thanks for looking and thank you for ignoring the stupid looking hemline! Because knits are hard!

Love it or List it: continued!

I don't know how I spaced on that last post (well, besides being flakier than Toaster Strudels), but I neglected two of the dresses I meant to include.

That one! Isn't it a lovely Summer dress? It's only a little big, just a few darts and it would be a good fit. It was $2.

It's got an awesome aqua color and...what do you call that around the edges? Piping! I don't why they call it that. I love it and can see myself badass-ing it up a bit with some jewelry and a different belt. However, (this picture taken at night) doesn't do it justice. It's so lovely that someone might possibly buy it. I'm thinking that maybe I should list it and if it hasn't sold by April/May, I keep. That's a thought.
This next dress is probably an easier choice:

That one isn't so great. I should probably just hem it up keep it for myself, because I don't see it being a hot item.

It's a polyester piece that fits pretty well. I just have to take up the length and belt the waist, maybe figure out some alternative for that neck bow.
I promise to post one of my completed refashions by tomorrow, as I have several lined up.

Love it or list it: obsession with dresses

You ever watch that home improvement channel, HGTV? I'd rather not, but it's sometimes on in the background at my parents' house while my sister and I are looking at our electronic devices. This is why I'm vaguely aware that there is a show called "Love It or List It," about deciding to keep or sell a house. Being a person of the "poor" income bracket, I don't particularly care for these HGTV shows where jerks think they need damn granite counters and stainless steel appliances. (every. single. show.)
 Anyway...When I buy a new article of clothing, I'm sometimes faced with a challenge of deciding on keeping it (which usually means altering it to fit) or trying to get some money by putting up for sale on Etsy. Do I love it or list it in the shop?

Well obviously this one's a keeper. It fits well and it's retrotastically adorable. (I just threw it on to pose for these blog pictures, btw. I don't fancy up for quick pics). A few close ups:

Well, those pictures are useless. What I'm trying to express is that those cute straps don't fit well and show off my back moles (which I edited out). I'm also trying to show the cute print which is either leaves or acorns.
Pros: comfortable, awesome color and print, fits pretty well!. Cons: I never go backless (due to above mentioned problem), those straps are actually kinda loose, and I feel like I might actually be able to make a buck on that dress.
Details: made by designer Lanz Originals and is in great condition.

Next on the chopping block is this lovely 80s number, fuchsia and fitted.
Pros: nice magenta color, looks sexy. Cons:

...those big shoulders. Even without the padding, like all garments of this era the shoulders are big. Also, the dress might be a little snug in the hips/butt region. I give zero fucks because like that popular song the children sing at recess, I'm all abut that bass, no treble. To my understanding that means I'm appreciative of my large ass. (Eye roll) But, the school school department isn't!
Details: made by 80s designer, Nina something and in good condition, just not worth much in resale value.
Another turquoise-y color? Yes...

I love this dress and it's not like it's way huge. It bears a resemblance to this dress:

That bright pink dress is one that I already decided on and chose to list here in my shop because I really don't do that color. I've had that gorgeous frock on sale since last Spring. That brings me to a point I'd like to make: selling clothing on Etsy has been nearly impossible for me. Seriously, it takes forever for an article of clothing to get purchased. If my clothing was easier to sell, deciding whether to sell it or not would be much easier. It's some economic principle phrase I've heard/misheard: I have to decide whether I would get more value out of selling it or out of using it.
Back to the aqua-ish blue dress. Pros: awesome color, retro-40s look, non pouffy sleeves!
Cons: although I love a good "roomy" top, like so many of the dresses I find, the bodice is too long.

The width is easy enough to fix, but taking out the middle is so haaard! I might ruin it. I'm also having a love/hate relationship with those buttons. Not sure if lame or kitschy...
Details: random, no-name label; fun gold buttons with designs that look like family crests.
I started this post a few days ago, then ran out of time. I was planning on including this:

 It's by Christian Dior, for all you fancy-asses out there. Picture sucks; but it's an interesting, high waist, midi skirt (the kind I love). I chose to list it up because it's kinda long on me.
How about some coming attractions?

The last time I posted about my indecision with my dresses, it was over the summer and I showed you this button print dress. I finally decided to make it small. I finished and then wore it, but never did get around to photographing it.
Hey, anyone check the weather out there? It's so cold that if you go outside and cry about it, your tears will freeze to your cheeks. How about a nice cotton turtleneck?

Nope. Just couldn't do it. I don't want all that on my neck! It was too thick and it was strangling me. It's a v neck, now. Finished and worn, pics mot yet acquired.

I also finished this one! I made the sleeves elbow length with a little flaring and then shortened it a little. So..."after" shots should be up some time in the new year.
Edit: I published this prematurely. So there is a part two: Love It or List It continued.
I've decided to link up this post at Sir Thrift A Lot. Most bloggers don't kink clothing related posts on Thriftasaurus, but I guess I will.