Nature Time

I mentioned a crazy thunder and lightening storm the other night... It was really awesome. The sky was truly this orange just before it arrived. It was amazing thunder and lightening crashing all around. For some reason I really love any extreme weather. Hot and dry, monsoon rains, insane wind, big snow storms: I find it very exciting. I know it gets tiresome after a while, but I'm usually into it long after other people are annoyed. I just love how we're at the mercy of nature.

This little (big!) dude was hanging out on our tree yesterday. I find it strangely satisfying when bugs like our yard, like, yes, this is the place to be.

Barely

I often read local fashion blog Style Symmetry; she's got great style and has a nice assortment of posts (outfits, photos, interviews, news etc.) and I really like this feature she's been doing where readers send in photos of themselves with no makeup on. It's kind of neat, because I imagine many people are like me in not wanting to take photos for an outfit post unless you're kind of made up, or at least looking good. It's nice to see people au natural.

So here's me:

Yes, I know, where are my eyelashes and eyebrows? The magic of being a redhead! It's a little freaky and albino-y, but oh well. I once dumped a hairdresser after he repeatedly encouraged me to have my eyelashes and brows dyed. I'd rather put on makeup every day than change the way I look permanently.

New Drawers

What's a good sign that you need new underwear? How about when you go to hang up the laundry on the clothes line and you are too ashamed to put some of your undies out because they are too ratty for the neighbors to see? Yeah, that happened. I just love some of the old ones and it's hard to part, but the time has come. So I bought a bunch of new ones today, as well as two bras, though nothing matching because as I mentioned before, I'm bad with that. Too cheap to shell out for the sets. But it's great to purge once and a while. Now I can't wait to do laundry to show off all my cute new panties - polka dots, florals, bright pink...

These aren't the ones I bought, just a few cute ones from Polyvore.

cool blue

Too hot to write, just some cool blue ladies from my files to chill you out.

his 'n' hers

Karl's been killing it with the nature shirts at Value Villages lately, and due to his reluctance to try things on I sometimes luck out. I like the wolves!

Also, wolves in music videos are good, obviously.

Elevator lady, lady levitate me...

What a great Sunday. Hot hot hot, breakfast at the place Karl and I met, reading in the shady back yard, Strongbow, Dire Straits, dinner from the garden. You can't beat that with a stick!

Over exposed, but fitting, as the news is forecasting a "potentially deadly" heatwave. Gotta love the hyperbole. I truly love/hate it when the news names weather events - "Heatwave Massacre '09"?

I'd like to introduce you to MAC "Pink Nouveau". It's even more matte then I thought at first, which I LOVE. It's trendy, like Mary told me, so I've just got to wear the shit out of it this summer. I have to say, wearing lipstick is surprisingly easy. I thought it would be all high-maintenance.

New swimsuit, from the thrift store. But it really does seem brand new and unworn. It's like two layers, black holey over nude. I've been wearing it since around one o'clock. By the way, I hate doing household chores when it's hot. Nothing like a sink full of scalding water when it's 25 degrees out!

I've been tired...

Yes, I'm as tired as I look. It's been a long week. I think some chocolate-zucchini cake will help take the edge off. And some Cops. Guilty pleasures!

Anyway, I love this clutch I got at the thrift store. I've never done clutches before; they're a little high-maintenance. But I couldn't resist the floral with leather trim, and the fold-over style. It has a wrist strap, which is helpful.

Mary helped me buy lipsticks today after work, and I'm so happy with them!! Pictures soon.

Crazy big thunder and lightening and rain storm tonight. I love it.

places named after numbers

Yes, the Jessica-Simpson-on-a-KFC-bender jeans return. We went out for awesome burgers at Vera's Burgers tonight - sometimes you have to put the high-waisted jeans to use.

Kind of nice to have one day that's cool enough to wear jeans. Just one though.

Adorn Recommends

Cat modification!!! No, it's not revenge for her scratching me, we just always cut Morgan's tail off blunt. You know, people with fancy little dogs and exotic cats do all kind of purty grooming, but with a DSH your options are pretty limited. I'll credit Karl with coming up with this idea.

Before

Don't worry, it doesn't hurt.

There, so much better.

I like to think that it gives her a distinctive, jaunty look. All the other neighborhood cats are probably jealous, right?

Alight

Horse play with me

Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I pay almost no attention to menswear, in much the same way that I feel guilty when I'm reading more fiction than non-fiction. I feel I have to balance things out. Stumbling across this lookbook for CAMO's Spring 2010 line encouraged me to balance big time. Is it just me, or is this stuff hot?

I don't know if it's the photography, the clothes, the fact that the models are faceless but I'm digging it and I really hope that the guys of Vancouver will be catching on.

I guess there's a little Lawrence of Arabia, a little colonial India, a little preppy nautical, a little gangsta. Good combo, I think.

more

Plans for money I don't have

Ever since I saw a huge, beautiful turquoise ring at the flea market last month, I'm kind of obsessed with the idea. I love turquoise and silver Navajo jewelry, but in a way I feel like who do I think I am wearing it? I don't know why... I guess I do have one kind of big turquoise ring, but it belonged to my Grandmommy and I'm a little nervous that something might happen to it. Maybe I'll just suck it up and see if it's still at the flea market next weekend. I should try to get it for less than the person is asking, right? I'm pretty bad at bargaining - does anyone have any tips?

Also, I guess I can admit that I really like the idea of a bolo tie. It's not a bad idea, if you try not to think of the 80's references, and just imagine the ones below, wore kind of like a necklace, say with a casual dress or a blouse with a high collar.

Creepy Peepers

I got these vintage Krizia glasses last weekend, and I think I love them. They are really good quality, and they fit, but holy crow, they are a strong perscription! I can barely make my eyes focus wearing them, and I had them on to take these pictures half an hour ago and I still feel woozy. I'm going to investigate how expensive it is to have the lenses changed to regular sunglasses lenses. I really like the way they look clear, but I can't just get them changed to no perscription and wear them that way can I? Too pretentious right??

Vienna

Karl and I had been pondering the idea of a European honeymoon for a couple of years, and what finally got my butt in gear to start planning it was a book on Wien Werkstatte, an arts and crafts movement in Vienna around the turn of the century. It was all so exciting I decided I just had to see it in person. The images above are some textile designs and some pieces by my favorite artist from that period, Kolomon Moser. I was totally giddy when we saw them up close and personal, and so thankful that Karl supports my need to do stuff like that.

The picture to the right is Karl on a big funny bench in the Museumsquartier. Can you see the graffiti of a beer can going "pschhhh" beside him? Some thing are so appropriately the same in every language.

These are just a few of my very favorite pictures we took in Vienna. We both LOVED it there!

Big (Hair) Love

TV's so bad this time of year, so I downloaded a couple of seasons of Big Love. I know, I'm slow to catch on to these things, but anyway, of course it's great. And of course Chloe's character is the best part, and I'm strangely attracted to the way she dresses. So Mormon, yet so... modern. I doubt my ability to wear a maxi-skirt, but maybe there are other elements. Maybe I'll work on the hair.

Which reminds me, when the FLDS compound was raided last year and it was all over the news, I was so fascinated by the way all the women dressed and the way they did their HAIR!!! That frontal puff deal is crazy town! And the one-size-fits-all ultra modest dress? But mark my words, the french braid is on it's way.

And all this modesty reminds me how bored I am with nudity. Aren't you? On the cover of a local paper yesterday there was a feature and a big picture of these bar servers doing some topless calendar for charity. Yawn. I'm so over boobs. And having to pay for a calendar to see mediocre boobs seems questionable at best. Then later in the day I saw pictures from some big charity party featuring "naked" body painted models. Isn't that so 2001? Get over it. I'm just not interested in looking twice at something so unsexy. I feel totally desensitized to seeing it all. What do you think? Am I over-reacting? Am I turning into a prude? Time to get on the bus to Bountiful?

Bountiful

I love these colours together - the skirt is dark purple and the top is like a burnt orange (with cute little pheasants in the print). Such a typical East Van back porch view, don't you think? I just had to get out of the sun.

Yessss, ripen ripen ripen! I can't wait to gorge myself on tomatoes!!!

Inside the zucchini-dome.

There's nothing better on a hot day than a fresh cucumber and tomato salad. So excited!

Ha ha, showing you my good arm, aka not the one with the huge ugly bug bites on it. I don't know what got me, but I look like I've got the pox. I wore long sleeves for a couple of days, but I couldn't do it today. But it's not nearly as bad as when I gave blood one August and got a hematoma (ew, if you don't know) and had to wear long sleeves for like, a week. Got the floral bustier and skirt this weekend at Value Village.