Baby, It's Cold Outside

So that's a song played at Christmas time, but it's actually just winter themed and not holiday specific. It's been covered so many times, and here's my version:
The female voice starts, "I really can't stay."
"Baby, it's cold outside," the guy counters.
"I've got to go away."
"Ok, I understand and respect your decision, send a text when you're home, so I know you've arrived safely," is what the dude says. So, they go their separate ways for the night and he couldn't have been more courteous about it.
So, here's the "before" picture of a 70s, polyester dress. I had a hard time capturing the color. It's a color I would've loved as a kid, like a sea green. Maybe it's mint.

 As you may have guessed, this post is a refash and I used that title because I realize that I probably should've taken more off this dress (the sleeves, for one). So, you're looking at me like, "Why don't you shorten that?" and I'm like, "Baby it's cold outside." Maybe I will do that, but for now it's long and with sleeves.
So, I returned home on Thursday and was prepared to get back to work on Friday. I was up drinking coffee and I was going to wear this finished dress. Then it started snowing. So, then school was canceled.

 This picture is around two months old, my hair looked short. Look at that big pointy collar and those strap things. The sleeves were kinda pooffy, and they used to have elasticized sleeves. So, I did some stuff.

I got rid of those things in front and I cut that big pointy thing right down the middle. Then I pinned 'em outward so I can make a big, pointy collar.

I cut those things down the center on the back of the dress. I probably had a plan, but in the end I just sewed them back together so that they were tighter and kept the the dress from falling off.

I took in the sleeves a bit! Big shoulders have always been my nemesis. I de-pooffed them at the top, letting them bell out a little at the elbow. As you see in the before pics, the dress didn't have a waist and was basically a potato sack. Gonna have to belt this.
Here it is:

Most of the time, if I buy a 70s dress; I want a 70s dress. I didn't really update the dress. I just made it cuter.

There's a blurry pose, there's the back.

 

There's me taking a bow, and here's the "before and after."

 

The British are coming!

It's a refashion. The refashion resembles a military-esque, red garment. A Redcoat? Get it? The red coats worn by the British during the Revolutionary War? Thanks, Paul Revere.
I may appear to be in good spirits, but I assure you that I am scared, sad, and weak. Were I last left off, I was awaiting cardiac surgery for my father. The team opted not to do surgery as it is just too risky. He is now home with a steady stream of antibiotics coursing through his bloodstream. Now, there's a man in good spirits. Last Sunday, he gave us a dire warning which included the words "it may not be a very long life." Those words have been circling my mind, filling me with dread since I heard it.
Let's break from the story here for the "before" picture.

 So, it's some kind of long, red vest? It appealed to me as soon as I saw it, and after much deciding, I bought it from the Goodwill at full price.

 Look what's happening up in that shoulder area.

See? The arm holes were not sewed in place properly and excess material just flopped out. Also, I'll admit to having wide hips, but this dress seems to accentuate them up to 11.
I return to my regular scheduled program:
There comes a time for a child to grow up and for the roles of caregiver to switch so that the child can take care of the parent. My mom told us that my sister and I needed to be strong for her. I sobbed and said that I'm never strong and that I still need my dad.
 Luckily for me, there he was. I sat next to him on the couch and he held me in his arms, kissing the top of my head. Instead of being brave I was weak, and the dad that I should be tough for was once again being tough for me. He reassured us that he had hope, that his doctors had hope and that we should too. I just wanted him to hold me forever and never leave my side.
So, that's pretty sad. Let's see some steps to my little outfit, ok?

I lowered the neckline a bit. 

Then I did that "taking up the shoulders" trick that I use because I'm short. Sometimes, it actually works. What I did to this garment is very reminiscent of what I did with this costume (click the link, it's fabulous). 

So, a couple steps seem to be missing from my pics. I used one of those clip dealies that take in the back of a dress to nip the waist a bit. Then, I used a black fabric marker to color in the fake pocket areas. The after:

It's like a sleeveless coat thing. Layered over tight black clothes.

What occasion is this even for? Can I wear it to work? I mean should I?

Little jacket refash

This is another refashion that I've been sitting on for a while for various reasons:
1.Once completed, I wasn't sure what to wear it with.
2. The weather turned warm and I didn't want to wear any jacket type things.
3. Got lazy and didn't want to go to the trouble of setting up my tripod and modeling.
Check out the item that I started with in all it's ridiculousness:

I picked it up at Savers for the strangely low price of $2.99. (They're a pricey thrift store.) It looked like a satiny, wind breaker type thing.For that flattering, extra pouffy look.  I really liked the print. My goal was to make a little jacket thing; a "bolero" is the word I think I'm looking for.

The ballooning, shiny material is corralled at the waist and elbows with elastic sections. The buttons at the top only go about halfway to the bottom, making this a pull over.
"Ooh, what happens next?!" you may be wondering. And I assure you that I did take photos of the process. You can pry them out of my cold, dead phone.
My previous phone is, what they call "bricked." It has died, taking with it the pictures of this process and more. So without any further ado; the after pics!

Doesn't it look pretty good? It came out pretty much just as I was expecting. Since this is a roomy, shapeless garment, I concluded that it should be balanced with tight clothes. I've got some very snug little pants on with a long black tank top.

I wanted to give a closer peek at how cute the print is. Tiny white flowers on an aqua background. Or popcorn, maybe.

If anyone wants to know how I made this thing, I can break it down for you. First, I removed those elastic-y things from the sleeves and waist. Then, I cut down the middle, removing the button placket (placket is a funny word). I hemmed the raw edges of the bottom and sleeves.

I pretty much did the same thing with the front sides. Like the other sections I had plenty of excess material to give it two nice thick folds. It sewed up quite nicely.

Does this cropped jacket make my thighs look wide? I kid. It was too warm and humid to wear this out after I took these pictures. I can't wait to actually wear it.

Belt buckle transplants and a really awesome dress

I really like belts and currently own several tons of them. In fact, one of my nifty little belt/scarf closet hangers just broke from the weight. When it comes to this particular item, I'm mostly talking about the waist-cinching style. Those thick elastic ones that don't hold your pants up, but do help to create an hourglass figure and draw attention to your best feature. Well, my fave feature. So, look at this slightly tacky but necessary for my wardrobe belt:

Ooh, it's a large, blue bird...birds again?! Yeah birds. I got that at Savers awhile back for $2. Anyway the white belt may have worked ok: it didn't look terrible. It was a little dingy, though. No prob, I'll just remove the belt buckle and put it on a more practical belt. Here's one:

There they are, side by side. That black belt had an interesting...texture? It also had a dated knot glued to the belt buckle that I could do without. So, I removed both belt buckles from their elastic belts. Then I gave that black one the bird (te he).

That works!Yea, black with blue bird belt. And then...

I have this green belt with an ugly, 80s, snakeskin looking, double circle buckle. Another transplant. I easily separated those round things from the belt. Now, to find a better buckle.
I just happened to have a spare one; the outdated knot piece that I removed from that black belt. Luckily, the fabric knot was held on with glue, which I ripped right off. This left the hook hardware that I needed. Unfortunately, it didn't match so well with the other end which it would hook into. Easy solution: glue something on it. I have many buttons. I would glue a button on.

As you see, it's a brown buckle and not black and I like black. I think that button was just the best flat and fitting one, and rather than being picky about color, I fired up the glue gun. Wait. I got more.

Look at that cool fancy, old-timey buckle. And yes, all of these "before" pics were taken at night, so they look bad. I don't care much for the quality of the "before" shots. I find that buckle quite striking and I love how it attaches together at the center. The belt itself is kinda lame. It's like a regular elastic piece covered in some saggy, scrunched up casing.
I could either amputate the whole piece from the fancy buckle or rip it open, exposing the unseen elastic underneath.

Or I could do that. I just stretched the aqua material. I removed one side of the buckle and pulled the casing part until it was tight around the elastic part. I cut off the excess, sewed the raw edge and then resewed the buckle back on. That was one easy refashion.
Want to see these pieces at work? I'm not really asking, my vain self already got some outfit pics. I will now take the opportunity to show off an incredible thrift store dress find.

Look at that. Do you know what that is? Well, it's a 40s inspired, black and white, polka dot dress from the clothing label called Stop Staring. It fits perfectly! No alterations needed. I just Googled image searched and didn't see any pics of my dress. It's a really cool label featuring beautiful clothing that costs an arm and an ass. ( I wanted to make it an alliteration.) Really; click the link and get a look at them highfalutin' rich folk prices. Or look at me!

Thrift purists may scoff at the standard $6 price for dresses, but as I twirl around in this, I'm reminded that you can sometimes find something well worth 5 bucks and some change (with the Goodwill discount card.)
Here's the green belt:

I turned the floor standing fan on, as it was a warm afternoon. Got a little windblown effect going. The fancy buckle aqua belt didn't match polka dot dress. So I threw on something from my closet.

Oh, this old thing? I just pull this disco dress out, slap on some makeup, and pose in front of a fan with it. Then I hang it back up.
Thanks for looking and not leaving snarky comments!

This used to be my playground

Settle in, folks. I've got a whole ramble to do before eventually getting to the dress.
It starts back in 1998. I'm just messin' with you, I won't go back that far. A couple weeks ago, I received word that WAW, the small, low budget wrestling promotion I once considered my pride and joy would be disbanded. The shows took place in a local gym which we rented out on Saturdays. The gym owner was in financial trouble and would most likely be losing her building, leaving WAW homeless.

"artistic" photo of the ring apron

There are times in recent years where I cursed vengeance upon those in this group. I dreamed about riding into the gym on horseback, and slaying the current regime placing their heads on each ring post to take back my throne. (I have an active imagination and I'm obsessed with Game of Thrones.) But, news of WAW's demise was not good news for me.

another artsy-ass pic which shows me in WAW's corner

In the week that followed, the most beautiful thing happened. My former WAWers, past and current members took to social media to share our love and memories and shit. Using the tags #wawmemories, and #farewelltothedojo or #savethedojo, we shared our highlights and stories from olden days. We changed our Facebook profile pictures to photos of ourselves in costumes or in the ring.
It was announced that there would be a show on the upcoming Saturday, possibly the last. Of course I would attend.
Here's where I talk about my outfit. For most of my career in WAW I played Ms. Moody Starr, company president. My look was usually a cross business lady and dominatrix. I thought I should give a nod to my executive era with something a little like that.
Here's the dress;

I feel like I'm doing this wrong. That dress already looks pretty decent and my bewbs are on full display and that wasn't intentional. I just put this on over my pants to grab the quick "before" picture. It's a pinstriped thing I got for $5 at Savers. It's by Ann Taylor. I'm not sure if that's a fancy name or not.
This isn't a refashion. My end result is basically the same dress with a bunch of accessories. I did some altering.

I took it in from the back. That's what it looked like pinned before I sewed. This made the low cut top fit a little strange. So, I made it lower because I planned on layering.

I just folded down a little of the material on each side in the front like that. It worked. My next step was choosing all the cool crap to go with it. I still have all my costumes in one of those hated plastic bins.
It was decided that I would act as the manager to two of my former clients, one of them being a former boyfriend. We had worked together in 2008-2009 and had a successful "stable" (group of wrestlers banding together like a team, ex.WWE's Degeneration X) called "The Dynasty." Our colors were for the most part black and silver, sometimes gold.

On the left, a sparkly silver gown for a special event; on the right a publicity shot from the Dynasty era. Not shown are my metallic silver leggings that I used to wear under short dresses. Sadly, they had lost a lot of their shine. I wore those, my patent high heel boots, my silver sequin bra, a silver accented belt, and a faux fur boa thing. A bit of an overkill? Too much?

Yes

It looks a little over the top, which is good for wrestling shows, I think.

The necklace is just a black chain with one of those big pins attached. No need to be flashy. Bring on the narcissistic photo shoot!

The leggings used to fit better.

I will probably come back to this, but to wrap it up, the show went well, JOHN showed up and performed, and there might be more life in WAW. 

Storytelling: rising action

 Note: this post was originally written on February 9th, but I put it on hold until I could add a little extra. Sorry, this post had been shelved so long.

Another week, another snow day (two actually). Being home gives me time to reflect and remember and put what I think are really deep thoughts on the Internet. Sometimes I avoid it and blogging gets lost in with my other daily activities.

 Continued from here...
 ...and again here.
Where I last left this hanging, it was the beginning of 2013. I had left WAW behind in the previous month, but couldn't shake the pain. My relationship with Mike/Falcon had started as casual but was starting to look like an actual relationship, and for that I was grateful. I managed to get on the bad side of the WAW girlfriends, who asserted their power over me -the former Queen Bee- through their boyfriends, essentially ending any involvement with the promotion for the time. Falcon was a great source of pride to me. Falcon, the WAW Champion, well liked by all and respected for his talent; he was with me. 
One of the few highlights of my life was the visits from my "not really boyfriend." Usually Wednesday, one of his nights off from work, was our date night. I would leave school and rush home to meet him and it felt amazing. We had a weekly ritual, one that was perfect for a school night.

 

I remember taking that picture on my phone to capture the happiness. On the left, macaroni and cheese from a place that makes specialty mac and cheese, a bottle of Coke because he loves Coke, and a DVD of the first season of the best show ever: Game of Thrones.
After going to Mr. Mac's once, he wanted to go back often and I happily obliged because it's freaking delicious. We ate this awesome dinner on my couch as we watched an episode of our show before the best part of the night; getting in bed with him.
Falcon worked the overnight shift, and it wasn't exactly nearby. So, while I had him on Wednesdays, Fridays I spent alone, as with the rest of my days. My depression wasn't a quiet one. I had frequent crying fits and I scared myself worrying about what was going to happen to me. I didn't think what I had with this man was serious enough to make him suffer with me, nor did I want to grow too attached so someone who was supposed to be just a fling. Before Falcon grew weary of my mental state, I thought I should give him an out.
It would have been best if I made him leave then, but kicking the habit was easier said than done. I remember telling him to go; telling him that I needed someone who could love me, but that person wasn't him. I told him we couldn't see each other, while proverbially clinging to his presence.
On an early April evening, I sipped a cocktail alone, lamenting my Saturday night sadness. I chatted on Facebook messenger with John and remember some of the conversation. I said, "I had to let the champ (Falcon) go.  He doesn't like me enough. Someone loved me once, so someone can love me again." John asked me where he was and I said that he was "enjoying the wrestling show we built for him." We shared LOLs and John said, "good for you," in regards to my strength in dropping my partner. I told him Falcon was currently texting me to check in and saying he was going to stop by after the show. I drunkenly said that I would send him away and tell him to go ride the boat with Ben Affleck (it's a reference to this old educational show set in Falcon's hometown).
John said that I shouldn't! He said that if Falcon wanted to be there for me, I should let him help me. John approved of Falcon and said I should let him in. (Was this foreshadowing? Yes.) So, I opened the door, and my stupid heart.
It was good that I did, because I was going to need him. Maybe John had known that ahead of time, because soon after that night; this happened. My closest confidant and former boyfriend hurt me like no one else ever had. John was gone, taking his support, the belief I had in myself, and all my happy memories with him. So, whether holding onto Falcon was right or not, it was necessary for my survival.
So, what was I getting myself into? Who is Falcon, or Michael?

It is important to remember that in the dark parts of my mind, I reminded myself this man was no good for any woman; but he sure did a good job in making me forget it. I felt I was able to be my absolute true self around him, and be honest in all my horrible thoughts and feelings. I felt comfortable enough to make a literary comparison of him. I was reminded of:

Title character from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni

Not sure if my reference is too pretentious, but surely I am not the only one who took fine arts/humanities courses in college and remembers this famous opera. Here's a synopsis from it, the way I recall: Don Giovanni is an infamous womanizer making one conquest after another. He creates all sorts of chaos in the lives of those he hurt. One of these woman, Donna Elvira, says she no longer hates him and urges him to change his ways. Giovanni is like, "nope, I'm a narcissist, I'll never get my comeuppance!" Then, the ground opens up and he gets dragged into the fiery pits of hell.
I am in no way saying that Falcon is on a highway to hell nor am I proclaiming him "evil." I'm using the limited knowledge I have to make sense of him; to understand.I'm pretty sure what makes him tick is not pure evil.
What Falcon and Mozart's anti-hero have in common is their desire to seduce any woman in their path. For Falcon, this was not hard to do. Once he cast that spell on me, I was drawn in like a magnet. I thought he was amazing and he thought he was amazing too. He had a hubris about him, flaunting conventional love/sex rules because he knew he could.
Unlike Don Giovanni, Falcon doesn't just "love" 'em and leave 'em. In my case, he really made the effort to show his affection and in his way, loyalty. During the spring and summer of 2013, we talked everyday and he drove the distance to be with me whenever possible. While the world outside my home was a frightening city of tears, I was more than happy to welcome Falcon into my apartment where he helped me feel safe and cared for. During this time, we formed a close bond and a series of routines all of which lulled me into a feeling of safety and trust.
He loved my crafty side and encouraged me to create, which I often did just for him.

Shirt I made using the freezer paper stencil technique. This is sort of based on the art piece.

He was so good to me, that it was easy to forget what I knew to be true about him. I just wanted to enjoy the moments I had with him and not worry too much about what could wrong. The best part of that summer was getting the chance to do many of the things I didn't do the year before. Like, enjoy life. The memories are still so clear. We drove up north in NH on a beautiful day and played in the shallow rocky swimming areas of the Saco river, before walking the streets of the little town. We went to Hampton Beach and strolled the boardwalk of tacky shops and jumped into the freezing-ass ocean waves. I spent the day in his hometown; we attended his sister's high school graduation and took a quick walk on a beach. While driving through Gloucester, I thought it was so beautiful.
Also, we went rollerskating. There are so few roller skating rinks left, but we are lucky enough to have one pretty close. I was pretty damn good on wheels, as a child, and Falcon was mostly good at any kind of physical activity (eye roll).

Here's an incredible skate-holding bag featuring the name of said skating place. I did not buy that bag, as the thrift store wanted $25.

I had so much fun doing things like that with him. Sometimes, I lay in bed and I remember being wrapped in his arms and long to have that feeling again.
Up next; the conclusion.