a 5 minute fix for a year long issue [lots of rants herein]

i'm not going to get into bra politics and normative image portrayal or any of the feminist reasoning behind not wearing bras.  i hear you.  i admit ive bought into the ideal that i should wear a bra so my boobies look "right".  i know "the man" has beaten me into submission, and the media has warped my sense of what is normal.  i also know this - i buy cheap bras.  a $12 bra from target does baaasically the exact same thing a $60 bra from victoria's secret does.  just without the angel "fashion" [sexual exploitation] show and all that shite. 

MOVING ON.

i suffer from constant-bra-strap-falling syndrome.  it plagues ladies you know, and ladies you dont.  and maybe even some cross dressing gentlemen you dont know.  but i finally have bested it.  not with the weird bra strap converters you can buy at h&m or old navy.  those are a nice idea but generally... not very functional.  and not with the straight-jacket-esque racer-back hooks already built-into my bras.  the straps are just not friggin long enough and i feel like my bra is about to put me in a stranglehold from behind.  but with the power of scissors and sewing! 

no, i just like the alliteration.  the "holy shit that implement for thread ripping out is sharp as shit and now im bleeding" name that i refer to these items as, is a bit cumbersome.  but i picked out the stitches holding down my bra straps at the back, and moved each side about 3/4" toward the hooks.

a quick sewy sew and a lot of back stitching later, and voila!  bra straps that stay on my shoulders all day. 

and yes, i didn't change the thread color.  i have "nude" [wtf color is that really] bras, green, blue, and turquoise bras.  but theyre all fixed now in white thread.  cos really if youre investigating if the thread color of my bra is consistent all the way through, you probably have some serious other issues to contend with. 

just make sure you havent twisted the bra strap when you reattach it.  its harder to pick out your own slightly non-uniform stitches and backstitches than it is factory [slave sweatshop] stitching. 

guhh.  lots of rants about all the anger.

cross country skiing and allergy adventures

long ago and far away [high school] i was diagnosed with cold urticaria.  believe me when i say, DO NOT GOOGLE IMAGE THAT SHIT.  basically, i break out in hives if its too cold.  fortunately, multiple allergy pills [every goddamn day] help quell the breakouts and allow me to survive in maine.  polar vortex, record snowfall, and all.  buuuuuuut a friend came to town and we went cross country skiing.  an outdoor pasttime i had been interested in for awhile, but had just never tried.  we ventured out on a gorgeously sunny, clear, 10 degree day, and with windchill it was probably well below that. 

pickled kitty

i feel i should start this post by mentioning two things: my apartment is 515 square feet.  also please note one of the labels of this post is "tmi".

the space issue makes for difficulty storing things i accumulated over 3 years of living in a house.  so when i get out my ginormous pot to process jars of delicious snacks, i have to move a bunch of baking tins and a cupcake tree.  frank finds this process fascinating and i feared my cupcake holder might meet its inevitable doom.

frank sniffed for awhile and then settled down next to it instead of testing his favorite part of physics - gravity.

roasted beets!

some beets.  waiting for their big debut.  recipe found on the shiska in the kitchen!

a moral dilemma of pharma greed

disclaimers:  stealing is wrong.  i am definitely not at risk of pregnancy.  children are the spawn of satan and pharmaceutical companies

read on if you dare.

assorted sundry things

i saw sunday morning mimosa on st pats!  perhaps not sundry.. more like frikkin awesome!  the best part was probably the little mermaid song and a re-imagining of suddenly seymour [suddenly vinnie] from little shop of horrors!

umm apparently the world is ending in 2 months.  good thing i will be done with spring semester by then!

lastly, who needs a lapdesk when you've got a cat?  not nearly as cute as this site, but much more functional. 

in other news, i seem to have developed a rather bad allergy to red wine.  as the daughter of a doctor and an occasional cybercondriac, i googled "red wine + congestion" and found i have the unusual facial flush [aka asian glow] and severe nasal congestion described on more than a few seemingly legitimate sites.  i have been pretty much unable to breathe for the past 4 hours after consuming less than a full glass of shiraz [i was both driving and dining with extended family].  if i experienced this horribly drippy feeling every time i drank even an isty bit.. i would be a sad teetotaler all the way with no booze cake! 

also, the face burning feeling is not so great.  fortunately i dont get it from white wine or beer or gin or..anything else.  and this definitely isnt a 1-time occurrence.  the last few times it happened i thought OH GOD IM GETTING SICK RIGHT BEFORE _______ [insert important event here-finals, christmas, hosting a party].  but i dont really get sick.  so its decided.  no more red wine.  even if its psychosomatic and i am feeding off the internet self-diagnosis frenzy. 

i dont even really like red.  but at least now i sort of have an excuse. 

liz's laundry

today is "rock the red pump" day!


burgundy is close enough right?  i wore my red-ish pumps to my TA class. fortunately.. that was the only place i had to go cos ..i am getting some serious bottom-of-foot blisters.  especially on my left foot right between the ball of my foot and my big toe.  eeeesh.  good thing its pretty much flipflop weather!

• silk scarf: unknown
• ancient blazer: kohls
• dress: fred flare
• jeggings: uniqlo
• red pumps: kenneth cole

• [same as the day after] blazer: kohls
• whale piano tee: threadless
• pleather skirt: charlotte russe
• tights later switched for warmer leggings: target

• tee: target
• dress: h&m
• skinny jeans: gap

this dress has caused me pause in the past.  when i bought it [h&m clearance of course] i noticed the loops for the self-tie were at under-butt length.  well thats fucking weird.  not to mention unflattering.  so i of course, ignored them and tied it at natural waist.  but the other day i thought hmm.. if i utilized the beltloops but tied it empire-waist style would it look ok?  minus my massive static issue all day [under wool coat] it was floofy and awesome!

dark and tights

• oversized sweater: savers thrift store
• shorts: glassons nz
• tights: target
• newly resoled boots: clarks

• floral tunicdress: forever 21
• black tee: old navy
• black leggings: charlotte russe [$6 sale!]
• scarf: amazon

• shirt: ann taylor
• necklaces: ny&co and claire's
• khaki/denim pants: gap

• leather coat: worthingtons?
• dress: old navy
• tights: mandee/target

prepare for [probably] tmi:

i layered tights!  and by dragging these "shapewear" bikeshorts type thingers out of my shorts/summer leggings drawer the tights didnt roll down all day!  i originally bought the bikeshorts [a size too big so they arent suffocating and much cheaper at the outlet] to wear under short skirts and dresses so they arent whore-y short and my bum doesnt touch unwanted places like..bar stools, traincar seats, etc.  i can simultaneously prevent the dreaded chub rub which i have only ever experienced to a point of pain in..honduras of all places!  but that is a story for another time. 

i also wore a pair of bikeshorts under the shorts in the first outfit [you can see the lace just peeking out] as i had a vague memory of the shorts stretching out.  fortunately i had that insight at 10am as i wore the outfit at school from 12-8:30 and um... well frankly the shorts were more than halfway down my ass when i got home.  also, thank god for long sweaters.