the saga of the ginger and the skirt

like a responsible unemployed bored-out-of-my-mind attempting-to-eat-healthy human, i made a grocery list and went to the store at 2pm.  $80 later, i had the fixins for 3 dinners, some veggie sides, breakfast, kitty kibble, some snacks, and cookies.  these cookies.  ginger molasses crackly topped crunchy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside bliss. 

no seriously.  everyone who tries these cookies says OH MY GOD THESE ARE FRIKKIN AMAZING! 

so i busted out the ginger i made back in december and lo and behold, 30 days spent in an apartment above 78 degrees and IT MOLDED!  greenblack [probably] toxic fuzz eveeerywhere.  fuck.  so i got the emergency ginger out of the fridge [who has emergency ginger??] and peeled it.  ummm well it was about 2 weeks old and had a funny blueish tint.  so i stomped back to the grocery store at 7pm. 

bean, sausage, and kale soup

after pinning this:

Source: curryandcomfort.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

i thought... waaait i think i have a recipe very similar to that.  and lo and behold, i do.  so i made it.  and i successfully reduced the recipe from 6 servings to 2.  no wonky amounts like 1.3 cans of beans or 5 sausages. 

2nd to last

so i bought this lovely bundle of polyester for i think...$1.99[?] during my last thrift store excursion.  this is the second to last piece.. and the last one is seriously hurting my brain.  it may just become a scarf.  anywho, the top was sheer 3/4 length sleeves with sheer pleats on top over a nasty stained white one-piece thing attached to a weird-length skirt. 

super close up pleats

while finishing [ack!] the last netflix streaming season of torchwood [which reinforced my fear of children], i picked apart pretty much every seam in that lovely dress.  then i took the skirt in about 2" on each side to make a-very-nearly-hoochie-short strapless dress and ..well frankly there wasnt enough fabric to add elastic at the top.  def need that extra 2".

since id ripped the sleeves off, i ended up keeping the neckline of the original dress, cutting straight flaps down the front and back, then sewing it onto the strapless thing.  voila! 

the seamless pledge

i, liz, being of sound mind and empty checking account, am taking the seamless pledge until i find a full-time engineering job.

i will not buy new clothes [even at target/tjmaxx] except undies
i will continue to thift-and-sew ...but not until have worked through my inventory stockpile a bit more
i will probably not buy vintage as i cannot afford that ish
i will continue to attempt sewing with patterns.  i will also find more pattern-ready tissue paper for making my own [successful?] patterns
i will join the flickr group and post regularly

since my job prospects are on most uncertain terms...this pledge may last longer than i hope.  but lets just say it started january 1st and i cheated once.  but really...i didnt yet know what i was planning to do.  so estimated duration... january-march? 

sewing catch up

excessively tight-waisted big-hipped wool skirt from the last thrift-store trip.  cropped, sides taken in, zipper removed and resewn, peplum added.  it is green.  i swear.  not brown. 

danaah!  i know my hair looks all kinds of wack.  im ok with it.  but after i took these pics i rehemmed the lining of the skirt.  no longer sticking out just slightly.

what i want to buy

pretty much everything desigual.  ever.  but theyre having a big sale on ideeli and i am still a penniless former student.  so here is my future i-have-a-well-paying-job shopping list:

• desigual dasha coat
• $180 [from $359]
• poly/cotton/wool outer
• patchwork with topstitching and embroidery

• desigual electro macy coat
• $180 [from $364]
• poly/cotton/wool outer
• patchwork stripes with lurex thread and contrast cuffs

foods that look oddly similar in color

brussels sprouts with bacon

eggplant zucchini saute [with asian dressing] over israeli couscous. 

that was first meal yesterday.  it shouldnt really be called breakfast as it was around 11.  but it was the literal fast-breaking since i hadnt had anything to eat [besides coffee] since the night before. 

5 cheese pasta bake

and relatively healthy to boot!

only relatively..cos there are still 5 varieties of cheese in this bitch.

simple sewing with gaudy prints

thrifted 90's dress.  weird mid-calf length [people call it midi.. but i call it fixable] and size large.  but really really big large.

my fix: took in an inch on each side, increased two of the back darts, and pinned the straps for a semi-princess top.  i may sew the straps eventually, but for the probable two wears that this dress will get, blingy pins are fine.  [one is a spider, the other is a skull]

the ravioli experience

aka: im not as smart as i look and that ole learning curve is steep

liz's laundry

first two outfits were for an interview and a networking event.  love business casual but it seems a bit odd to wear around my apartment and/or to the grocery/thrift store.  cos those are pretty much the only places i go.  except for the 3rd outfit when we went to an overly posh modern composition recital in boston that the sis played for.  gotta dress like we belong in beacon hill...

• blazer: kohls
• sweater dress: calvin klein [tj maxx]
• leggings: charlotte russe

• purple blazer: thrifted
• top: tj maxx
• skirt: gap
• tights: target

• dress: tj maxx
• scarf and skirt: h&m
• scarf/sweater clip: thrifted

• ponte pants and scarf: target
• top: thrifted
• tank: h&m

• coat: traded with the mums [no idea where she got it]
• blue top: f21
• tank: h&m
• skinny jeans: gap

thrift 'n' sew

welp, the first three items i will be keeping as-is.  no sewing.  i thought about removing the shoulder pads from both blazers... and about 20 seconds later decided the linings were basically 100% intact and any attempt to deconstruct would surely result in disaster.

the left one is most certainly purple.  not burgundy/wine like the pic shows.  and the right one is a nice forest green.  or is it jungle green?  i could never remember which crayon was which.

and an oversized sequin top from coldwater creek.  the ultimate in not-my-generation wear.  but it has sequins.  subtle yet sparkly.  to be worn with leggings.

banana whoopie pies and chicken marsala

banana chocolate chip to be exact

all 32 halves lined up thanks to slight ocd

mmm cream cheese filling

turns out you need an ID to buy marsala.  even though its cooking wine and no desperate teenager would even know what it is.  but i digress.  i had my NY ID.  and they reluctantly accepted it.  i always got questioned about my iowa ID...but thats understandable.  panko breaded chicken with green beans.  i added a bit too much tomato paste to the marsala sauce as i was halving an existing recipe.  and a tiny bit too much cornstarch.  but otherwise quite tasty.  and healthy.  if not a tiiiny bit boring. 

linking up to 33 shades of green and iblog4me's tasty tuesdays

dress to tunic

remember this dress refashion?  almost a year ago.  aaaand im finally getting to the second one.  most people would have trashed it long ago.  but remember, im a horder-in-training.

again, awkwardly too short for a maxi dress, inconvenient ruching

so i chopped that shit off.  and used the sleeves from a shirt bought this savers trip to make a belt

advice for life

...just in case you are a lazy launderer [moron] like me:

DO NOT WASH A SWEATERDRESS WITH TOWELS

downtown thrifting

google maps says portland has 4 thrift stores on congress street.  ...i found 3.  the 4th i think may have been replaced by a ski shop.  regardless... it was 30 degrees and blustery.  last dry day before the snow that started at 5am and has just begun to let up.  thus... i wore jeans, a leather jacket, and flipflops.  even the homeless people were giving me weird looks.  back off.  i hate wearing shoes.

rather gaudy sweater clips.  i hope to wear them soon

and who doesnt need a silver-tone kitty brooch?  complete with weird hangy crystal thing. 

silk shirt crop

according to the blog archive, i bought this shirt in october.  and i didnt get a decent pic of it then cos i was already considering re-donating it.  welp clearly i didnt and tonight finally got around to refashioning it into something wearable.  [i bought it cos its green silk and im a sucker.]  and yes two projects in one night cos im unemployed and going out of my effing mind.

step one: lay shirt out flat and take blurry picture

step two: cut off sleeves and bottom.  find similar shirt and trace neckline badly.  cut anyway.

step three: use towel and stove as makeshift ironing board to press bottom and sleeve hems, make crappy crappy bias tape for neckline and struggle for an inordinate amount of time.

fin

a finished project?!

ye gods. 

i purchased a badly fitted dress at a thrift store in november.  wore the top half as shirt in december.  and now in january, i have completed the bottom half as a zip up skirt with a back tie! 

and really..it took me 20 minutes when it came down to it.  so lazy

a little bum tie [thought about sewing on more black fabric to make it a bow but... naw] and it obviously can be turned so the tie is on the side or in the front.  and at waist or hip.  cos im pretty much rectangularly shaped

and a nice neat zipper!

liz's laundry

• jacket: thrifted
• scarf: h&m
• dress: dkny outlet
• jeggings: uniqlo

• sweatshirt: zara
• tank: ny&co
• skirt: target
• scarf: h&m
• leggings: charlotte russe

the second pic is my everybody, everywear entry for black and white.  yes i know it has lavender and burgundy.  it turns out its rather difficult to dress in all b&w without going to an office.  or really having somewhere to go besides the car wash... in my defense im also apparently coming down with something.  im sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my apartment is 80 degrees on a regular basis..except the one day the heat broke and it was 60.  awesome...

linking up to: