I guess I am more of a go-getter than I thought? In my last post, I threw around the idea of learning how to sew. I circled around the idea with uncertainty, as I have for a long time now. That was, until, I decided to just dive right into it!
My mom owns a sewing machine and I was a very attentive student, learning how it all worked, and decided to sew pockets onto a dress I already owned as my first project. The result: AN AWESOME DRESS RE-DESIGN!
I chose the checkered fabric because I had a shirt that matched it. And guess what? I didn’t have as much trouble with sewing as I thought I would. Who would’ve thought?!!!
When I went for an evening walk the next day after sewing these bad boys onto my dress, I walked through the park like John Travolta walking down the streets of New York City in the beginning of Saturday Night Fever – Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees playing in my head. It gave me that little boost of confidence: “…why yes, I made and sewed these pockets myself! Check out these seams…”
I really liked this dress before, but now I’m in love with it!!! ❤️
Once I realized I could sew pockets, the dormant sewing beast within broke out of its cage. I decided to take the leap and order a fabric for my first skirt! I should be getting the fabric in the mail in a few weeks.
And that’s my sewing progress so far!! See ya next time!
I’ve recently started going back to my old stomping grounds once a week now, enjoying a Saturday chill session on the patio of my favorite Starbucks. It’s pretty empty these days with the pandemic, so I feel safe to do so. Along with my laptop, I brought my mom’s sewing book from 1969, which was such a gem to flip through.
Now, I always have this GRAND IDEA that I will make my own A-line skirts. The way I visualize it in my head looks fantastic. However, when I read/watch actual instructions, I’m left totally confused at everything I was just told.
Then I got online to look for retro fabrics and nearly spit out my iced mocha across my laptop screen seeing how expensive the fabric alone was. What the heck!!!!
This has happened countless times. I get the idea that I’ll try sewing a skirt, I get frustrated, and then that’s where Etsy conveniently walks through the door to save the day. Which leads me to this lovely handmade skirt I purchased recently on Etsy!
I stop to admire my beautiful new skirt and realize, hey…the seller was able to sew it herself! I can too…right? A question which feels like I’m standing near a canyon shouting it, only hearing a rolling echo which fades with no response.
I still won’t write off the idea of trying to make a skirt. Anytime someone asks me if I make my own clothes (which is a lot), I smile and inwardly recoil into a shame spiral, while painfully forming the words, “I don’t, actually.” I’ve only done minor, sew-free modifications. And then I daydream of a kitschy 70’s fabric being sewn together into the perfect A-line skirt, looking fashionably out-of-date and fabulous, like a Brady Bunch set relic, specially made by moi.
The girl on the cover of Simplicity smiles, taunting me while speaking with her eyes, “Sewing is so easy and fun!” Anyone can do it, right?! Right? Right!
I gaze into the horizon, my eyes squinting and staring at nothing in particular. Truth is, it’s a match. Me vs. a sewing machine. Could I manage such a match? Will I get knocked down by the sewing machine, slump into the ropes, wipe the sweat from my brow and then determinedly get back on my feet, already swinging?
Who knows. Maybe eventually I’ll give it a try. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed how dramatic I made this post intentionally for laughs! 😃
The tie has RETURNED. I just love the dichotomy between a tie and a dress, two things coming from seemingly separate worlds, brought together into an unexpected co-existence. Yet, it WORKS! 😃 (What can I say, I am fashionably optimistic!)
Add hot pink daisies to the mix, and you have an eye-catching blend of masculine and feminine pieces. 🌸 I love to incorporate patterns, styles and accessories into my outfits that are slightly confusing and even odd. ❤️
Recently, I was very pleased to have finally bought a copy of Local H’s 1996 album, As Good As Dead. Now, this album and I go waaaaay back, long before I listened to it (I’d only heard the hit “Bound for the Floor”, a.k.a “the copacetic song”). How did the album and I go so far back, you ask??
I was nine years old when the album hit the store shelves, and I distinctly remember seeing it when I took trips to The Wherehouse with my sister and brother as a kid. The cover gave me the creeps, yet I was intrigued. Why did the boy have quarters for eyes, I wondered?!? It always made me give it a second or third glance when perusing the aisles as a kid. The album cover always stuck with me.
After listening to it in its entirety, I was really surprised by this album in a good way! I didn’t have any expectations of it since I’d never listened to their music before, aside from one song. I just took it as it was, in a “finally, twenty-four years later, let’s see what this album’s all about” kind of way.
I loved the gritty grunge sound, and also that the album kept me on my toes. The songs vary from mellow to hard-rocking, so I never felt like I could get comfortable, which is a good thing in my opinion (it challenged me as a listener). It captured the true feel of 90’s grunge: some songs were bitterly anger-driven and loud, while others were more quietly introspective and withdrawn.
My favorites were: “Bound For the Floor”, “Eddie Vedder”, “O.K.”, and “Manifest Destiny Pt. 2” ✨💜 Special shoutout to the killer guitar riff in “I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are”. Overall, I really love this album! Definitely a 90’s gem I’m happy to own. I’m so thankful that I can revisit these albums from my childhood and experience them as an adult.
How about you? Do you have an album you’ve been playing lately? I’ve been listening to this and also, some Smashing Pumpkins. 💖
I know I know, Hello Kitty (Halloween edition) is on my shoulder, but I’m actually going to bring up Barbie later in this post! 💕 So stay TUNED!
I just couldn’t pass up the photo op, since the stuffed toy and I match.
It’s only July, but once I came upon this stuffed toy, it gave me a little itch for Halloween and thinking of what I’ll wear this year for the holiday! Halloween Hello Kitty has been in my life since many years ago when I used to work at a law firm, and during Halloween month, I’d place her next to the candy bowl I used to put on my receptionist’s desk.
I’m loving my new, ruffly scarf (well, it’s new to me, but it actually belonged to my mom and she gave me a lot of stuff she used to wear. Bring mE ALL THE OLD STUFF PLEEEEEASE). I figure, it’s never too soon to bring out the scarves, no? So long as it’s a thin scarf, since it’s summer and all. It certainly jazzed up my outfit in a visually intriguing way!
Now, onto Barbie!!! 💖
Not sure who remembers, but Barbie had her own comic book back in the day. They ran from (I believe) 1990 – 1996, give or take. I have around 8 comic books from when I was a kid, and now I added a few more to my collection, thanks to eBay! Being in my thirties, I’ve noticed I’ve become more appreciative of the things I enjoyed during my childhood years. In fact, it’s my own little secret to happiness: what did I love doing as a kid? What did I love to wear? No reason I can’t still enjoy it! Reading Barbie comics was one of those things I loved to do.
These are from 1990 and 1991. I can’t get over how cute these comic books are! The colors, the innocent dialogue, the FASHION, and even better, the BIG HAIR. Aaaahhh! 😍 Barbie will forever be one of my favorite fashion icons. 💕
Cheers to childhood treasures! See ya next time!! 💜 ✨
I’ll just start off by saying this is one of my FAVORITE OUTFITS I’ve EVER put together (accessories included)!!! ❤️
Why? Because it’s SO RANDOM. Let’s take a closer look:
I have a My Little Pony necklace on and I’m sporting my new, custom-made Gene Simmons purse. I’m living it, breathing it, and loving it right now.
My Little Pony and Gene Simmons. ❤️ It’s such a random pairing, and I love bringing together things from opposite ends of the spectrum that seem to not make sense as a pair, tying it all together with a bow like a happy little outfit family. And it goes to show, that opposites can indeed work well together.
After taking these photos, a little while later I went to get my drive-thru Starbucks iced mocha and go for a walk. On these solo walks I’ve had plenty of time to think about life, and my mind wandered back to what my ultimate “favorite outfit ever AND best day ever” has been and the good memories attached to it.
It’d be this little red number (I call it theKiss the Go-GoatDress ), which I wore on September 13th, 2019 (Friday the 13th in fact, forever immortalized into a “Best Day Ever” for me:
The day I saw Ghost play live in concert in Bakersfield. ❤️ Seeing that I won’t be attending any concerts this year (due to COVID-19), I’ve been daydreaming about this last concert I went to.
I’ll always smile back on that concert and it still gives me the warm, fuzzy feelings. It was the first concert I ever went to by myself, so it was truly special and felt magical, along with the red dress I modified myself to get those groovy bell sleeves. I wrote this in my journal at the time:
✨ “There’s something magical about the moment the curtains part, you see your favorite band onstage and the lights and music take over your senses, surrounded by a sea of people who feel the same exhilaration you’re feeling. I sat there in my red dress, my eyes locked on the stage, completely enamored. I’ve seen them perform three times now, but there was something extra magical about that concert. Maybe because I was 100 miles away from home by myself seeing them play live, or that they were performing their two new songs for the first time live, or that it was the first concert kicking off the start of their tour. I think it was all of it combined that made it so magical.” ✨
These are the things I thought of as I took my walk, sipping my iced mocha with My Little Pony around my neck and Gene Simmons hanging off my shoulder. I looked around at the empty, silent street in both directions. The beginning of a new summer shimmered in the early evening air. I nonchalantly kicked a pebble on the sidewalk with a dopey grin on my face, remembering that epic September evening, Friday the 13th, 2019.
Perhaps it’s the sudden spike of COVID-19 cases skyrocketing in Fresno, or realizing it’s almost half way through the year already that’s making me reflect on happier things, like my best day ever, and the joys of a favorite outfit.
My Little Pony and Gene make any day better, too. ❤️
I brought my new-and-improved tripod with me to the park. Boooooooooooooooooom…
It was such a lovely day! I decided, let me pack up my purse with my new mini-tripod, get something to drink to bring along, and gooooooo…
I’ve been wanting new backdrops for my outfit photos, so I was hopeful I’d find somewhere at the park to set the tripod on and snap away. It was a little tricky at first; any time I thought I found the right cement table for it, there would be a couple nearby romantically gazing at each other and deep in their own private conversation, in which I didn’t want to disturb the lovey-dovey ambiance with my posing in front of a timed-camera nearby. So on I went, in search of the right spot.
And I found it!
Off ahead, I spotted a patch of trees, like a little tree island. All the tables nearby were empty, so I could easily set up my little tripod and get some outfit photos.
I wore my Ghost, Opus Eponymous album shirt with a bright, fun skirt. Definitely comfortable for wandering on a long walk!
Not a bad photo after getting chased by a bee (I think it thought my hair clips were real).
I love, love, love this skirt so much; I’d provide a link to where you could buy it, but it’s currently unavailable on Amazon now. Boo!
After my time at the park, I took yet another short drive out of the city and into the flat lands. Winds were coming in strong by that time and it turned the landscape dusty, which made for some great snapshots. I pulled off to the side of the road and got out!
This was definitely the best trip out here because two really interesting things happened: 1) I mentioned in my last post that I saw a raven perched on a fence, and I saw yet again a raven perched on a fence in the same area as I did last time!!! Maybe it hangs out there a lot? It seemed to be enjoying the sunset.
Annnnnnd… 2) I saw a COYOTE, literally two seconds after seeing the raven! It was wandering alongside a vineyard as I drove past it. It was really cute; I live in the city, so seeing a coyote is pretty dang exciting for me.
I started thinking: what do us three have in common? The raven, the coyote, and little ol’ me?
Technically, we were all doing the same thing in a way. I’d previously been wandering around a big park. The coyote was wandering around a vineyard. The raven was admiring the sunset – something I was doing when I pulled off to take pictures.
So what did I learn from this?
Yeah, you thought I was going to drop something all heavy and philosophical didn’t you. Truth is, I can’t really come up with a profound meaning behind it, but somehow I FELT like there was some kind of profound meaning behind it. I can only describe it as, a strong sense of connectedness… 💜
Here’s to raven and coyote sightings – preferably coyote sightings from a distance, as I don’t want to become a coyote’s new chew toy.
WELCOME BACK to another exciting tale of me going for walks and eating interesting things!!! In today’s post, they are macarons. Y’all probably know how much I love macarons, so this was a golden moment. LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL THEY ARE…
What a tasty treat to accompany my coffee as I went for a late afternoon walk. ☕️💕 When I ordered a frappucino through the Rare Earth Coffee drive thru, I decided to LIVE ON THE EDGE and when the barista asked through the crackle of the speakers, “Is there a particular macaron flavor you’d like for each?” My reply was, “Surprise me…!” Boy did I luck out because these were top notch… I ate ’em while I walked. 😎🔥
Dusty pink and white outfit with fun puffy hair clips:
It got up to 107 degrees recently in good ol’ Fresno, California. 💕 Most residents absolutely loathe this characteristic of summer here in Central California, but I’m that weirdo who doesn’t mind triple digits. I don’t go walking when it gets deep into the 100’s though (excessive heat warnings and such), but this day it was a lovely 99 degrees. Noice!! 👍🏼
Fun fact: during my walk, I saw some vultures flying overhead.
Red, black and white outfit topped off with ladybug hair clips:
I definitely am a bird watcher. I remember the first time I saw a raven when I was visiting Southern California last year, and I was in awe of the strange sound it was making (at that point, I didn’t know what kind of bird it was). I was walking into a coffee shop when I saw it, so eventually I sat down, mocha frappucino in hand, and googled it – indeed, it was a raven, and I’ve seen a few since where I live (now that I can differentiate them from crows!!!)
So I took a drive out of the city to the countryside after my walk and was lucky enough to spot a raven sitting alone on a wire fence along the freeway as I drove by. ❤️ Made me smile!! I love all birds, however, I’m particularly drawn to the raven so I was extra happy about seeing one.
I also stopped and took a photo of distant rain clouds in the mountains:
Hooray for a Saturday full of macaron tasting, frappucino sipping, bird watching, exercising and admiring nature. Quite a day!!! 🌸 Do you have a favorite bird? Let me know in the comments!
I finally fulfilled my dream of taking myself on a picnic. In this time of practicing social distancing, what a better way to practice it than by going on a solo picnic?! But honestly, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, way before the Corona days.
First!!! Two outfits from this past week. 😃
Unicorn necklace made by the talented Tracy over at The Tote Trove!
I’m really into hair pom-poms lately. They’re just so funnnnn. 💜 Tee heeee…
So!!!!!! One of my favorite stores ever, World Market, has for awhile been temporarily closed like so many other places due to COVID-19. That’s my go-to place for foreign treats, and I’ve missed it!
It made me think about trying an international snack box. However, I didn’t want to commit to a subscription service to try some (just something I could treat myself to every so often, not monthly). Much to my happy surprise, I found snack boxes you could purchase individually for a great price on Amazon! I picked from the Amazon’s Choice snack boxes because they had great reviews. 👍🏽
I decided on the Turkish snack box for my first one (you can find it here on Amazon). I was really excited because I have always wanted to try Turkish sweets/snacks. I’ve tried a few so far, and they’re delicious! You get a lot in the box, so it’ll last a long time.
I took one of the snacks with me for my picnic (the brownie) as a dessert. 💕 Picnic time!!!
Amaaaaazing cherry brownie!!! 💕🍒
So yes, it was a grand ol’ time, and I went for a walk afterwards. I haven’t been on a picnic in forever!! Good times. ❤️
And here we have some new digital art! I created this after being inspired by my stargazing adventures in my backyard last week, using my Sky Guide app to locate things in space. I’ve always been interested in the Andromeda galaxy, so I named this one Visions of Andromeda. ⭐️💜
Now, join me on my walk!
This walk was different. There was something missing, and that was: my friend Sarah. She moved to South Carolina on Saturday; my walks are continuing, only solo now. It’s funny because I was always used to going for walks by myself, but during the quarantine, Sarah and I became walking buddies and we had a blast (even dancing around and skipping on our walks). 💜
So now I’m adjusting to solo walks again. That’s okay though, because I got back into it pretty quick!! I’ve always been blessed with the unfailing ability to entertain myself quite easily. Evidence: I played somewhat of a game in which I took photos of other solo things in nature along my route:
You have a street light, a twig and a rock. Fun fact, when I was a kid, I used to take photos of street lights and would name them. If you really look at street lights, most of them look different from each other. As a kid, I felt like they each had their own personalities, so I’d name them accordingly.
I liked this because it looked like a headstone. It has something to do with the street lights, however! Pretty cool. 💚
So in a nutshell, I remembered how much I love solo walks and how intrigued I am with everything. And hey, you’re never alone when you’re GETTING HARASSED BY BEES.
(Must bee my beehive hairdo.) 🐝
You got the walk – now for the cake!! I made my very first cake from scratch! I’m happy with how it turned out (even though the consistency was a bit thicker than cakes normally are…oh well!).
I got all fancy and drew little white roses around it. I’ve mastered my signature sugar cookies, but I wanted to try a cake. Not too bad for a first-timer! 👍🏽
I mentioned in my last post that I’d been watching episodes of The Brady Bunch. I love the storyline and the wholesome nature of the show, however, another thing I love most about the show is the fashion!
I spotted this granny square vest on the episode My Fair Opponent (1972). Marcia gives the not-so-popular girl at school, Molly Webber, a makeover which included this adorable vest I instantly fell in love with.
And what did I do?? I hopped on Etsy, of course. A simple search brought many a granny square vest up in the results, and I found a very similar one like hers – who would have guessed I’d be so lucky?!?!
Can I get a heck yes for granny square vests please… and while we are on a 70’s roll here, I’ll gradually ease into the other goodies from this past week…
I was beyond happy to get the two CD’s I’ve wanted for some time now in the mail; it’s always nice to have some new tunes to play in the car while I drive! Another bonus from this past week are these new daisy hair clips I made. 🌸 They look ultra late 60’s/early 70’s.
Hotter Than Hell by KISS (1974). 💜 Definitely my favorite album of theirs, next to their debut album! I love the gritty-sounding production on this one.
This is my second Ace Frehley album!!!! I wrote awhile back in another blog post how much I loved his 1978 solo album. Fast forward forty-years later, and I love Spaceman (2018) just as much! Yet again, I’m enamored by the gritty, cosmic, rockin’ straight-shooter of an album this one is. My favorite line (because it makes me giggle) from my favorite song off this album (Bronx Boy):
Bronx boy, Just trying to exist, I never played with toys, Don’t give me bullshit.
Maybe it’s just my sunny, rose-tinted-California-perspective that draws me to his rough-around-the-edges, no-nonsense approach??? I’ve never been to the Bronx, but he paints his childhood as a street kid (before he got famous in KISS) quite well through his no-fluff lyrics!
And as I loop this blog post around full circle, my new albums are definitely not as wholesome as The Brady Bunch and granny square vests. But what do they all have in common, in one way or another? The seventies, that’s what!
