I still do this. Here's my triangle dress.

It's been over a week since I posted, so I better hurry and crank out a new post. You see, last week the annual WAW Wrestling anniversary was celebrated. Last year, I agonized over whether I should attend or not, and of course I did attend and all was enjoyable. I was surprised to be invited to the 16th Annual Awards show, as I haven't actively been involved in quite some time, so I'm assuming my Hall of Fame status puts me on the VIP list to all events.
Once again, I could not stay away and showed up for both the awards ceremony (where I sidled in on the presentation of this year's HOF inductee), and the wrestling show. I knew I wanted to make an appearance, but without an official booking, I went with a "fuck it, we'll do it live!" plan. I don't have any official pictures from the event, but I wore this:

This dress is available in my Etsy shop. That picture, by the way was taken in late August and my face was sweating and my hair was full of humidity. I looked much more awesome last Saturday with my metallic gold leggings (the dress has a side slit) and satin gloves (it's a fancy event). Much to my dismay, none of my ex-boyfriends, (whom I'd planned on sidling in on) showed up! Several good people offered me a spot for their match, but I wasn't sure.
To end this long story...I decided to sit out for the evening, figuring I should save my rare appearances for ones where I had a good reason to be there. I wanted my presence to make sense. Then at the last minute, one of the guys in the main event asked me if I would walk out with one of his opponents...

That one. (circa 2010)

Acting as a manager to that former client makes the least sense. We've been "frenemies" at best, since my great WAW fallout of 2012. I agreed to accompany this scoundrel to the ring for the sheer ridiculousness of it. It was fun as hell and it always feels good to take a name off your shit list. 

Am I still typing? This post seems to have derailed, quite a bit. Anyway, when I catch up with people that I don't see often, I'm sometimes asked if I still do this blog. Yes, I still do it.

I've pretty much exclusively stuck to dress refashions, because that's what I like. Of course, they're not always fun to look at. It's cold out this time of year, and I find it most practical to have clothes I can wear to school, as opposed to the wrestling ring. 

Look at this big dress. There's too much of it; the length and sleeves are too long. Why were the bodices of the 80s so huge?!

But (and I know...sentences shouldn't start with "but", however; I think it's allowed on a personal blog) do you see the print? No? Well, it's composed of triangles. It's an adorable triangle print. I got to work on making this fit. 

I'll walk you through, but I didn't feel like taking photos, k? I took in the sides a bit. I took up the sleeves to elbow length. Then I chopped some off the bottom and hemmed it to the knee.

The waist was just too low. Here's how I fixed that:

This picture isn't as telling as I had hoped. So...I turned the dress inside out, and then folded the top part of the dress into the bottom. Then I pinned off that section you see there. Then I sewed it. Look, I'm pretty sure what I'm saying makes no damn sense, but if you're looking to learn sewing techniques; this is not the blog for you. Because I don't know what I'm doing, ok!

To my absolute surprise...this actually worked. My new waistline was a little shoddy, but the dress fit and I always end up wearing belts. Without further ado...

Ta da. Once again, I'll agree that; yes, I'm rarely smiling in these photos, and yes; I'm terribly sorry! I set up my camera on a tripod and set the timer. In those awkward seconds before the click, any attempt at posing usually looks kinda strained/weird. Despite my satisfaction with the triangle dress, I somehow managed to look annoyed in a majority of these pictures.

Oh man, look how mad I am. Those red shoes are my favorite addition to so many outfits. Like many a dress in my closet, this is a dark blue and I'm not sure how many colors actually work with it. Sadly, I really can't wear those shoes to school and not end up with footache. I'm in the market for slightly more comfortable red shoes.

None of my necklaces seemed to match very well either. I try to put together the best representation of my look for these blog pics, so you people think I'm good at outfits.

Blog post complete, I'm out.

Sad songs say so much

A short time ago, the blog, Jezebel featured a post titled, "Which Sad Songs Do You Listen yo When You're Sad?" The author and the commenters listed and shared the songs that they considered sad.
I was underwhelmed. None of the songs mentioned were mine, and many of them weren't even close to mine! "Don't Let Me Get Me" by Pink? "Wonderwall" by Oasis? No thank you!

So, I obviously had to make my own list. I think the Seasonal Affective Disorder ("SAD" lol) is kicking in, because I've been more miserable than usual lately.
Interestingly enough, the song for which my post's title came from, "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" by Elton John is not on my list. It's such a positive little tune, it doesn't make me sad. But, HOW RIGHTEOUS ARE THESE LYRICS!
If someone else is suffering enough to write it down
When every single word makes sense
Then it's easier to have those songs around
The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you
and it feels so good to hurt so bad
And suffer just enough to sing the blues

Nevertheless, my list:
1. Of Monsters and Men- Little Talks

 There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back
Well tell her that I miss our little talks
Soon it will be over and buried with our past
We used to play outside when we were young
And full of life and full of love.
I've been told that these lyrics are about elderly people and dementia. It makes me sad because the comforting male voice reminds me of how my ex, John spoke to me when we were friends.

2. Carly Simon- Comin' Around Again
(honorable mention: That's the Way I Always Heard it Should Be)

I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again
So don't mind if I fall apart
There's more room in a broken heart
The opening chords are just so sadly beautiful. This woman just speaks to me and I guess the simple use of the term "broken heart" seems fitting in describing my own mindset.


3. Amy Winehouse- Back to Black

You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black 
When things started getting dark for me, I remember identifying with Amy Winehouse, for whatever reason

4. Michael Penn- No Myth

 

Why yes, this singer is the brother of Sean Penn. I can't put my finger on what I find sad about this haunting melody. I like the mention of Heathcliff, the brooding soul from Wuthering Heights.

5. .38 Special- Caught Up in You

 You made me realize the love I'd missed
So hot, love I couldn't quite resist
When it's right, the light just comes shining through
Dude, what? Those guys that did "Hold on Loosely" in the 70s? You'd be right to question my inclusion of this happy-in-love song. Well, sometimes happy tunes remind you of a happy time that you'll never experience again, and thus; sad song.
In the sad Summer of 2013, right around my birthday...I was driving around with my then bf, Falcon. It was a shit year, but when I was with him I felt good. It was a hopeful feeling I had on that Summer day. I remember comparing .38 Special to Foreigner and Falcon said that there was no comparison because "every time you hear Foreigner, it feels like the first time," and I thought that was adorable. Only a week or two later, he was gone. "Caught Up In You" instantly brings me back to when I felt that joy that wasn't meant to be.

6. Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson- Candy

 

 Candy, Candy, Candy I can't let you go
All my life you're haunting me
I loved you so
Life is crazy
Candy baby
I've totally mentioned this song on this blog before. The line that says "I can't let you go" speaks to the part of me that can never let go of the past.

7. The Killers- When You Were Young

 

And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you used to live
When you were young
I find a lot of The Killers' songs to be somewhat melancholy. This one reminds me of my advancing age and the sadness of missing days of youth.

8. The White Stripes-Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground

I didn't feel so bad till the sun went down
then I come home
no one to wrap my arms around
Oh, god...the pain of loneliness and missing those lost loves. That video is perfect.

 9. Kansas-Dust in the Wind

  Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It's cool, I'm only including this song ironically. I know that I've hummed this song before in a joking sense, probably like Will Ferrell sang it in Old School. It's still pretty damned sad though. Like, when I reminisce about my days in WAW. Nothing lasts forever, indeed.

10. Tori Amos-Winter

Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change, my dear
I've mentioned and probably posted this song before. It's about my unwillingness/inability to grow. Things changed but I couldn't change with them, and now I'm left with nothing. I never wanted John to be out of my life, but like everything I held dear, things change.  

Well, I'm now sufficiently depressed! With the exception of number 1, these are all old or older songs, as if they get sadder with age.
I guess 10 is enough, but should I feel like adding more, I'll share some Foo Fighters, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, Beck,  Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper, etc.
Ooh, maybe "Somebody That I Used to Know!" by Gotye. Remember that one? That was a tear jerker.

Thridt Hoard: more big-ass art

Last week, there was a a 50% off all clothes, accessories, shoes, bedding, etc. at Savers. Despite using my day off to check out two Savers locations, it was not a successful haul. A few dresses (not yet photographed), a nice looking afghan (left on my parents' washer) and this awesome bag:

It's a red vinyl bag with a card from a Mexican game called Loteria! El Diablito! You know I listed that thing right away: El Diablito bag Stuff like that is totally my bag.
I managed to find something worth paying full Savers price on

 I love these vintage sewing baskets by Wilson Wil-hold or whatever. (By the way, pardon my lame pics, I lose sunlight insanely early.) That one looks like an actual basket. And it's got the trays in it!

I just tossed a few buttons in, I'm going to destash and fill this thing. It's just really hard parting with buttons that I totally might need someday!
Hey, you ever regretted a cheap thrift purchase because now you're burdened with something you don't know what to do with? I was doing a quick Goodwill run after dropping off some clothes for donation and I spotted this old timey clock radio:

I added a vintage photo filter to make it look cool. It's got those rolling numbers, wood grain, and I like it. Also, it was $2. It was right next to this one:

This one set me back another $2. I didn't feel like plugging them in and fooling around with them, as I was low on time. So, I gambled $4. Here's what I got; the Zenith bedside alarm clock/radio can definitely tell time! But, the "circle of sound" mentioned on it has gone silent. No radio. The cute, little box thing by Juliette has a working FM radio; aaand no clock.
Maybe I can sell them for for $4 each. I will double my investment!
Last Thursday, having not made any big money scores, I made a stop at Outfitters on my way home from work. 50% off housewares, hell yeah. Here's where I hit gold.

Look at that sweet little bathroom cabinet. White metal, with the punched detail, and two little plastic doors... I think it cost me $2.50 because of the sale! I listed it on Friday night, then sobbed myself to sleep after spending a Friday night describing an old bathroom fixture. I sold it Saturday for $50. Pardon me, whilst I roll around in dolla bills.
Also at Outfitters...it didn't take me long to spot this big-ass wall hanging. How could I miss it?

Oh. My. God. It's awesome. It's a large, 70s, orange-and-brown, mod, swirl design on canvas. How big is it? 4' 8" long and 2' 10" tall.
It's in great shape and it's signed. Sadly, the "signature" is just an unintelligible scribble and the year '77. So, I can't exactly look up the artiste. I've see some of these mod looking things listed for a proverbial shit-ton, but I have no idea if mine is valuable or not. For all I know, it's crap. I'm sure I can sell it on "cool factor," but damn it, how much?
I appreciate any tips.
Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot.

November Rain thrift hoard

I don't know why that old Guns N' Roses song that goes "and it's hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain" was circling my head recently, but it seemed appropriate. Saturday nights are always hard for me, and last week was no exception. It was a rainy night and I hadn't left the apartment all day. At one point, I just got in my car thinking I should find food or something. The rainy streets of my downtown neighborhood seemed hushed by the weather. I thought about the many bars and restaurants in walking distance to my home and how much I missed having places to go and reasons to go to these places. I'm a reclusive stranger in my own hometown. I was thinking that I could write about how I was feeling. I wanted to say that you can't escape loneliness. There's nowhere for me to be.
Are you depressed yet?
I apologize for the sad share, you just wanted to look at some pictures, right? Anyway, I realized that it was the day after Halloween (which passed by me as I sat costume-less at home). That meant that the vintage clothing Goodwill was selling at inflated prices as Halloween costumes would surely be marked down. I remembered yet another song; take it away, Petula Clark: when you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go...away from downtown and to the thrifts.
Here are a few things I picked up recently, then I'll show you some dresses.

I haven't listed these yet, I'm just showing off the raw footage. There's an incredible unicorn velvet painting.

I'm in love with this luggage set. I'm not sure it will sell in that no-fun color, but I happen to like the slate gray hue. It only cost $4 for the whole set.

Plastic jars for desk organizing. I love that stuff, with the primary colors and whatnot.
Here are some of the dresses I got on the cheap from the half off Halloween racks. Remember when I was talking about inescapable loneliness up there? In a slightly ironic turn of events, as I parked my car at Goodwill that night, I found that I wasn't alone. I really don't have time to go down this rabbit hole, but some faces from the past where walking in just as I was about to get out of my car; not friendly faces... I just can't go there. I constantly see them at the thrift stores (we used to go together) and end up avoiding them. I hate it.

But this dress should cheer up the mood a bit. It's a bright, flowery Lanz Original. As I submerged it into my sink for a delicate hand washing, I found something in the pocket.

A sweet old matchbook! There it is after I let it dry.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this pink satin jacket isn't actually from the Korean War era. It's probably 80s, but with such nice embroidery.

Those two aren't exactly fun, just cheap. The left one is a deep maroon, polyester maxi dress that's about 20 feet long. The other is a "Free People" dress with a nice print that I'll just wear myself.

I keep embiggening the pics to try and show detail. No thrift haul would be complete for me, if I don't bring home something to refashion. Look at the triangle print, it's so cute. 

Finally, this dress doesn't look so special, but it is because it's by Vera Neumann. It's got a ladybug tag and everything. It's hard to get a nice picture of a size 12 swing dress on a small dress form.
I'm out. Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot.

Taking on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl

" Who's that giiiirl? Who's that girl? It's Jess!" theme song from TV's The New Girl

The manic pixie dream girl is the term used to describe a female character in a movie, TV show, or book who is just so quirky, adventurous, wild, and beautiful! The character exists for the purpose of helping the male protagonist (who is a cynical, buttoned up, depressed bore) learn to love and live freely!

 "I brake for birds! I rock a lot of polka dots! I have touched glitter in the past 24 hours! I spent my entire day talking to children! And I find it fundamentally strange that you're not a dessert person; that's just weird and it freaks me out! And I'm sorry I don't talk like Murphy Brown! And I hate your pantsuit. I wish it had ribbons on it or something to make it slightly cuter!" — Zooey Deschanel as Jess on The New Girl
Although this description reeeally doesn't describe any actual women, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that absolutely doesn't describe me. Let's sing that theme song...
"Who's that giiirl? Who's that girl? It's Moody!"

 

Do ya see what I did there? LOLZ, look at the contradiction. hur hur. Well, I can't be a wacky, offbeat, Ramona freakin' Flowers in this dress:

Before

That dress is basically a long, black sack and I have no idea why I have it. I think maybe a thrift store two-for-one? I decided this boring-ass thing might be a good backdrop for this white collar I removed from another dress:

Pinned it right on there. It's not the standard Peter Pan collar worn by Zooey and others of their ilk. Hey, while I'm going wild and quirky I might as well eschew my standard midi length and cut this bitch above the knee!
                                                         Picture unavailable
Damn it, I thought I took a picture of that groundbreaking moment where I chopped some length off this dress. Either way, I'm pretty sure I took off to much. Because when I went to hem it, I couldn't fold up the raw edge and had to use that lace seam binding crap that I always have for "projects." I neglected my photography too, because I'm all crazy and living in the moment! I got a goddamn micro mini. I don't normally do those.
So, now I have to wear it with leggings. I did a proper photo shoot with some tights, though. They had to be black because those were the only ones flattering.

I added that little sash bow thing, instead of the black one that went with it because that obviously matched too much. The collar and the polka dot bow are pretty cute but I needed to push it into "totes adorbz" territory.

I added that cute-as-kitties bike brooch. Bicycles are a thing, I heard. Well, I've seen this:

Also rounding out outfit: Vintage, old lady carpet bag; green mary jane shoes; a jaunty beret.

 There's my decidedly non-pixie smile. The old-timey bicycle brooch refused to be photographed properly. I wonder if I'll ever have the nerve to wear this thing?

Thrift Hoard: Holy Grails

I feel like there certain items that most thrift store lovers/vintage sellers tend to covet. These are things that I find on a Goodwill shelf that I can't believe are still sitting there, because everyone loves those things.
For instance; globes, Pyrex, old luggage, and typewriters:

You see that on the bottom shelf and you're like, "hey, what's that thing? An old, plastic cassette tape holder?" Then you pop the lid...

 Well, kiss my grits! Look at the color of that typewriter!

Already listed here because it's one of those thing that kicks you in the ass and you want to clean all the grime and get that thang staged and photographed. The Smith Corona Giah Super G: one kickass typewriter.
The word "ubiquitous" is not one that I use nearly enough. I did use it to describe these popcorn bowls, because I feel like I see them on blogs and sale sites quite often. Of course, this was the first time I've seen them in the wild.

Hello there, Mr heavy glass popcorn bowl. Don't you look retro, mod, unchipped, and fresh! Your yellow sticker is half off this week! Oh, and you have your four kids with you?!

Here they are amongst several other glass popcorn bowl sets on Etsy.
I didn't actually know that this old poster book was any great find. I like the pictures and all, but meh... Also, I almost never get out my phone and try to research value in the store. I try to shop as efficiently as possible. If it's cheap and it's something I think is great, I'll bring it home and list it.

Posters of Mucha, published in 1975. Prints from Art Nouveau artist, Alfonse Mucha. I checked to see if any others were for sale on Etsy. There were; and they were in the $50 range. Aww yeah.

Posters of Mucha on Etsy.
I found these next items a few weeks back. Look, I'm sure about cultural significance or racial insensitivity of these wall plaques. They just seemed really interesting from an art point of view and in pretty good shape.

Yes, they're listed.
The last thing I'm showing you is definitely not a hot item from most.

A 70s latch hook rug? Laaame. There are millions of those old things for sale. But, this one is nautical themed! You know how I roll! Put an anchor on it, I'll buy the hell out it!
Question is...will you?
Honestly, this whole post was not meant to be a big sales pitch. I really just like thrift shares. Since you're reading my blog, feel free to ask for deal on any items you like, I'm a little flexible.
Linking up at Sir Thrift A Lot.

Let me show you this necklace

This thing rocks me like a hurricane:

Look, I don't have time to explain my 80s, German rock band song references. I just wanted to do a quick blog post. Here's a close up of my pendant:

 

I bought it over the summer, but I haven't worn it until now because when I picked it up at Savers for about three bucks, it wasn't a necklace, it was a brooch.

...and the jackass who put it together put the pin-back on the wrong end. See how it's at the top? That's where I superglued it after yanking it off the bottom. Who the f wore it like that? It would look like this:

I rotated a picture for ya. Does that look right to you? Anyway, this is a piece with some weight so it's something one would pin to a heavy sweater or blazer or something. It's October, so great, I'll stick it to a nice thick sweater. Except no. It's quite warm and pretty humid. That's fine, this would make a nice necklace. I'll just hang it from a long, fake-ass gold chain.

I found a gold chain.I had to use little pliers to remove this baroque looking Marie Antoinette pendant from it. That's pretty cool, huh? Is it, I'm really not sure. I believe I dropped a quarter for it at a yard sale. Also, it's a watch:

I'll keep you in the jewelry pile.

I like longer chains when I'm wearing a high cut top or something that could use an embellishment. 

Aww yeah, we got an "outfit of the day" post going here! OOTD! (and a convincing fake smile).

 And there's my facial expression that shows "suspicion" and possibly "disapproval." Take a moment to look at my 70s polyester skirt in orange and brown, typical colors of that era. I'm really into vintage midi length skirts. This one was old, so the elastic at the waist was all decrepit and nonfunctional. I perfomred the beginner's task of replacing it myself. Now, let's wrap it up with a little filter added photo collage.