here we go a thriftin

nice work dress with a front ruffle which garnered the following conversation:

• my mom: wait whats wrong with it?  
• me: nothing
• mom: why did someone get rid of that?  
• me: cos i wanted it.  and they knew
• mom: um.

sparkle walls

is your apartment/house/parent's basement sad and boring?  do you like shiny sparkly things? [everyone does]  do you like to support artisans in a fair-trade manner?  welp.  check out novica and then check out what i bought!!

monsoon shower wallhanging by meena

tree dress #2

almost a year ago i made a dress in a tree print.  welp ive made another.  from a now sold out line of lemon grove prints from fabric.com.  i bought a pattern from the joann's "cheap" section. 

pretty easy peasy and umm had i drawn on the darts and waist tucks like the pattern recommended [with the tracing kit i don have..] it would have been ridiculously easy. 

now i dont generally like that large of pics of me.  and its grainy cos i forgot to change the speed.  but the dress looks pretty damn good.  i *actually* followed the package measurements and it fits like a slightly odd glove.  i need to either make the back darts bigger or do something with the very back neckline.  but look!  zipper and all!  [basting works!!]  and the trees ...line up in weird duplicate pairs.  oops. 

click to enlarge but theyre generally the same.

i might have to make another.  but with the oversized collar.  that would actually fix the weird yoke gaping problem and um..with a not so obviously vertical pattern.  while its not really obvious the trees on the top front are diagonal.  thats cos the side pleats use so much fabric but the bottom grain is supposed to be normal [vertical].  bahh. 

liz's laundry

this first pic is inspired by jeannie of gracefully 50.  she posted a rock & roll outfit back in march and i'm finally getting around to emulating it.  she could pretty much be my fashion momma. 

• jacket: from my actual momma
• top: tj maxx
• skirt: thrifted

• top: tj maxx [or marshalls?]
• dress: ny&co - dyed by me
• leggings: charlotte russe
• number of times i thought this was a really weird outfit: 42

and this outfit makes me glad for camera self timers.  in the awkwardly placed full-length mirror this morning i thought ummm it looks ok?  but...  then i took a pic.  and holy whorange batman.  i know its the pantone color blah blah blah.  i am very slowly [picture a glacier] warming to orange.  so i switched tops.  

• sweater: thrifted
• skirt: kohls
• tights: target
• purple tank: uniqlo heattech
• jacket: thrifted

linking up to patti's visible monday!

epic taco salad

mmm cheese

wednesday i had people over for a somewhat impromptu and very disorganized taco night.  the cookbook suggested "stir fried chicken tortilla rollups" but really i knew they meant ginormous chicken burritos.  basically the chicken part was sauteed red peppers and zucchini, pre-roasted and chopped chicken, and medium-hot salsa - let simmer while frantically chopping 14 other things and serve.  i forgot to mix up some taco seasoning [the premade kind is too salty] but it was surprisingly good without. 

consignment adventures

something that i never found on long island [but im sure exists] were consignment stores.  there was....one in cedar rapids growing up but it opened when i was a junior or senior in high school.  here in portland however, there are quite the plethora of place to buy other people's used shit.  and i looove it. 

i did a light spring closet cleaning and came up with two massive grocery bags [those are not the fold-up-and-put-in-your-purse size] of clothes and purses and an oversized goodwill bag of shoesies. 

since i needed motivation i made a consignment appointment at material objects and took my stuff in.  20 minutes later the nice ladies had picked out what they thought would sell and put the rest back in one bag for me.  and its considerably lighter as there are a couple bulky purses and only a couple actual clothing items. 

im still thinking about just dumping the stuff at goodwill, but there may be some other items in there worth taking elsewhere.  a couple months ago i dropped off some rather expensive [still with tags on] dresses that i had bought from sample sales or for occasions, and consigned them at second time around.  their schtick is only upper-end retail so they were brand name dresses.  as the woman was pricing stuff i had a peek around and there was a rather wide selection of mall-type brands - ann taylor, gap, etc, but whatever.  3/5 of my dresses have sold already with a total of 5 minutes of effort on my part.  i could have made bank on ebay or the like, but too lazy.  and frankly there is too much content out there and without doing things like ***OMG HUGE SALE*** ***DISCOUNTS!@@@@!!***  which i absolutely abhor and makes want to punch people in the face.... its hard to get noticed. 

a couple other places right in downtown are encore which sells mostly 60's-80's stuff [overpriced] but has really awesome jewelry and find.  i am 90% sure i took a bag of stuff there but looking on google i honestly cant remember going in there. 

and yes i feel a little bad about not donating my clothes to help the beneficiaries of goodwill/salvation army, but i take really good care of my clothes.  and im poor.  so selling them seems to be the way to go. 

sewing like mad

well not really, but ive completed [!] two projects in the last two nights.

yet another 90's eddie bauer dress that i cut apart and added a ruffle ala this pin:

Source: lynnnchicago.com via Liz on Pinterest

from gcb [good christian bitches] which is a hilarious show on abc.  the desperate religious petty housewives of dallas.  based on the book of the same name.

its a bit short cos i ...wasnt paying attention and i cut off too much

and i made another petticoat!  here is the crappiest tutorial ever:

liz's laundry

• faux desigual dress: mexicali blues [maine store]
• old blazer: kohls
• leggings: charlotte russe

fraaaaank

yes i know i havent blogged in awhile and now a post dump.  errr that sounds wrong.  but im leaving it.  and now for your viewing enjoyment some shots of prince frankerton on his [my] royal pillow

claws of doom

look at those ears

NO MOAR PIX

but there are always more kitty pics...

thrift edits

apparently im really into ruffles.  whether or not i'll actually wear this is another matter.  not exactly corporate office or grocery store wear...  but i think its pretty obvious here that i cut the bottom off and stuck it on at the neck.  explanation complete.

so this before pic isnt quite accurate as i added the bottom dip-dye as well.  and it looks a wee bit diseased.  i cant guarantee that its better in real life.  and im thinking i might just overdye the bright green black.  but it was a weird dolman sleeved jumpsuit-style dress.  i really liked the snaps so i bought it..and then debated for almost a month before hacking off the sleeves and skirt.

aaand 90s skirt cropped for normal wear.  fin

linking up to erica's recycled fashion finds

miscellanea

random things that didnt make it into other posts at the time. 

curry chicken and rice pilaf with dried cranberries and almonds

back cove on the morning of my first day of temping

secret kitchen hipster

ill admit it.  last night i cooked a meal that included brussels sprouts, bacon, kale, and short ribs.  and i took pics of it.  i didn't use my iphone and instagram to immediately post them online and i wasnt wearing my skinny jeans, chuck taylor sneaks, ironic flannel over an animal print tee, and oversized glasses while listening to some unknown unsigned unpopular band on vinyl or a cassette tape. 

so no need to fear.  im only slowly converting to a food hipster.  not in my everyday life.

its ok to be jealous.  you can come for dinner and i'll make more roasted sprouts with thinly sliced [cos i froze it a week ago and awesome knives from momma] bacon

kale chips

on a plate

giant size.  and thats parm not bugs.

and my god.  shortribs.  in a semi-galbi style.  but i was impatient and simmered them on the stove for an hour instead of in the crockpot for 6 hours.  so no the fat didnt melt away and the sinew right around the bone was a little tough.  and yes it was messy as shit to eat.  and half of it was fat and bone.  but my god was it delicious.  a little soy, some sesame oil, vinegar, kecap manis, and some sriracha. 

liz's laundry

• sweater: thrifted
• dress: thrifted and edited
• skirt: nz street fair
• leggings: uniqlo
• necklace: local shop in portland

so i originally put on the weird heavy silk-esque dress that i removed the sleeves from.  without a sweater ..obviously not weather appropriate.  with the sweater...it seemed like i had a day trip from the institution.  so i traded a skirt and kept the sweater.  it sort of matched.

and for this next series [click to enlarge the hilarity] i cannot take outfit shots in the morning.  i look: crazy-eye perturbed, straight up pissed off, sleepily indifferent, or smirky mcsmirky pants. 

 

• sweater and tank top: gap
• skirt: thrifted
• scarf: target
• leggings: charlotte russe

 

• overly bright slightly floral top: thrifted
• slightly too-short dress: target
• leggings: charlotte russe

linking up to EBEW

chocolate overload engage!

i forgot to take a picture of my ticket.  and then the girl at the door took it.  but i attended the chocolate lover's fling on the 1st of april.  and urf.  good thing it was a fundraiser for a really good cause cos i was rather ill and more than a bit cracked out afterwards.

advice for life:  do not eat that much chocolate ever again.

some cellphone shots:

mini choco cupcake with salted caramel buttercream frosting.  good cake texture... disappointing frosting. 

liz's laundry

• sweater and black lace dress: thrifted
• skirt under dress: h&m
• leggings: charlotte russe
• necklace: a&e
• slightly pained/exhausted look: post-chocolate lover's fling over indulging

the outfit on the left is what i was going to wear.. then i changed into the outfit on the right

• pink sweater and floral skirt: thrifted
• black skirt and leggings: h&m
• vest: gap
• dress: macys
• necklace: vintage from grammie

• dress: thrifted
• tights: target
• belt: h&m
• almost falling off my chair due to satin fabric: priceless..

• top and tights: target
• dress: thrifted

• sweater: thrifted
• scarf and leggings: h&m
• skirt: esprit

• easter dress: target [2 years ago?]

• top: forever 21
• tank and necklace: target
• shorts: glassons
• leggings: charlotte russe