Quick Post-Move Update

Hey everybody, I'm back and all moved in!

I was going to post something yesterday, but had to take a trip to the emergency room. About a week ago, I had a weird fluttering in my chest and some chest pressure. I called the 24 hour nurse and she didn't seem too concerned, but had me book a follow up appointment with my "primary care provider" that I was assigned to when I was put on this insurance. I tried to book an appointment with the doctor given to me, but she wasn't taking new patients.... So I was given a different doctor, who couldn't see me until the end of the following week.  My chest discomfort continued, and finally yesterday, after it had been coming and going for  a week, I called the tele-nurse again, who suggested I go to the ER.  I went in, and had an EKG, which was fine. There's nothing medically wrong with my heart or lungs, so it's probably anxiety.  Not surprising at all, since the amount of stress I've been under in the past year has been a lot to handle. The ER doctor was very nice (and even called me today to see how I was doint) and suggested I keep my follow up doctor's appointment for this Friday.  All I can say is that I hope my crappy insurance covers at least some of this mess... I'm still waiting to hear about the ultrasound I had about a month ago.

All that being said, I officially moved into my new place on Sunday, and it's great. My room is huge, easily twice the size of my room at the last place, and came with a desk that I can do sewing on! No more using a chair as a table!  I already sewed up a quick 1950s crop top from Simplicity 1462, which I am planning on writing a review of soon! It's great to be sewing again and having a space for all of my things!

The neighborhood I'm now in is on the complete opposite side of town and has a really different feel. It's more residential, with less stores around, but there's a Safeway and Walgreens within moderate walking distance, and the buses that run through are nice buslines with limited crazies.

I killed two birds with one stone on Sunday and went back after moving to clean my old room so I could just get out of there. I was sad to say bye to the cats, and I hope my old roommate gets her shit together and takes care of them, but I have a feeling they are going to get dumped at the humane society. I wish I could take care of them, but I can't, and I didn't bring my own cat or get new ones for that reason.  My new housemate has two doofy dogs who are really fun, but it makes me worry about the other cats. I'm sure if they do wind up at the humane society, they will get adopted soon, and maybe Sam the cat will finally get help losing weight.

Reading is FUNdamental

click for GREAT midcentury school library posters

A blog that I read frequently, Chronically Vintage, posted this great reading questionnaire/survey, and I thought it'd be fun to fill it out. 

 

 Do you snack while you read? If so, what is your favorite reading snack?

I typically read while I am on my break at work, so eating and reading frequently coincide.  I don't necessarily have a favorite snack reserved for reading, and I'm pretty fifty/fifty when it comes to snacking- sometimes I want sweet, sometimes I want salty. 

What is your favorite drink while reading?

Coffee! In my head, I always have visions of fall and winter days, with a warm beverage and a book. I've never pulled that off before though. It's good on paper.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I will mark books with sticky note page markers if it's something for a research project. Otherwise, I'd have no reason to. It doesn't horrify me at all though. Some of my favorite things about antique books is finding something that someone wrote in the pages a hundred years ago.



How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

It depends on what I'm doing or where I am. I typically used whatever piece of paper is around, but will also dog-ear.



Fiction, non-fiction, or both?

Both. I love researching new topics, and am a fan of biographies, but also like good fiction. Fiction is a little harder for me to get into though. If I'm not hooked right away, I will give up. I don't have time to force myself through books, though when I was younger, I would never think of not finishing a book I started.

Are you the kind of person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

I stop where ever. It's not a big deal.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

Who does this.  Who. Does. This.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

Yeah, I'll google it. I think one of the biggest uses I have for my phone is as a mobile dictionary! Ha!



What are you currently reading?

 

  

And If I Perish by Evelyn M Monahan, the story of nurses on the front lines in World War II and 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook by Emmanuelle Dirix

What is the last book you bought?

I work at a bookstore where one of our best benefits (aside from the health insurance I'll be getting at the beginning of October finally!) is the ability to rent books from the entire company's stock. If they are used, you can rent them for up to three months! I used to spend way more money than I had on books, but now that I can rent them, I find myself taking risks with what I read, because if it's bad, I can always check it back in.  I don't even remember the last book I bought... I typically only buy them if they are used or if I accidentally wreck it and can't check it back in (oops). 

OH wait, the last book I bought was a Sitcom screenwriting book from amazon (double oops)


Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

I always read more than one at a time. I am a chronic and terrible multitasker.



Do you have a favourite time/place to read?

Like I mentioned earlier, I typically read at lunch at work, or on the bus.


Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?

Either or. I tend to read more non-fiction than fiction, so that limits series.


Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

It depends. I always recommend David Sedaris.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author's last name, etc.) 

I have two bookshelves (I've purged a great many books over the years. With the amount of moving I've done in the past five years, it really is not logistically feasible to hang on to as many books as I had.) and keep them separated. History books go on one, where they're done by subject or era. My other case holds my fiction and crafting books.

I've been meaning to start doing a semi-regular "what I'm reading" post, but I haven't ever gotten around to it.  I'm hoping after my move (this Sunday!) I'm able to get back into the swing of things.

La Viuda Negro: A .Gif Illustrated Tale

After discovering a black widow in some of the stuff I stored in the spooky garage a few days ago, I had to haul everything out onto the driveway and sort through it to see just how many friends it had in there.  Armed with spider specific Raid, plastic goggles (blowback is a problem, ok), a broom that isn't mine and a pair of heavy duty gloves from the Uhaul store, I steeled myself and hauled my webby shit out into the drive way.  It took me two boxes to find my target.

      Now, I've been told by several people that we don't have black widows here. Well, I don't know what to tell you, but them there spiders are black widows. There were a lot of regular brown/black/gross house spiders that everyone has everywhere on the face of the earth (and probably Mars, I don't know. I'm not a science guy) that happen to blend in perfectly with the dried up pine needles that have somehow made it into the garage so I don’t know what is spider and what is weirdly moving pine needle in there too, but these were stand-outs.   Maybe it’s a thing like opossums where they didn’t used to live here but settlers from elsewhere brought them over as  a food source or something.  Whatever it is, they’re here, they’re in my shit and Portlanders better get used to it. 

 Normally, I don’t kill spiders, I escort them off the premises. They’re oogly and terrible, but I feel like if I kill them, their bereaved friends and family will seek revenge. But when they’re oogly and notoriously poisonous… nope. 

Worst part-WORST PART:

They chose my tub of costumes to be on/in/around/near. 

    I didn’t have very much stuff in the garage, but I did have my tubs of fabric and the costumes I’ve made. I went through the fabric one before I even found the first spider several days ago, but it was closer to the front of the garage and I went through it semi-frequently.  The costume tub is a different story. The damn thing was on the outside of the tub with it’s actual 10,000 babies, and I am not risking it. I’d have to douse it in Raid spray, so either way, the contents was going to get ruined.  While the costumes are not entirely irreplaceable like the family heirlooms the ants built a nest in earlier this year, a lot of hours went into them all, and I’m very sad to have to get rid of them.

    The junk guys come tomorrow morning early to truck stuff away, which is the last big thing in the move aside from finishing up packing. I only have a few things left, and it’s mostly the left-over stuff that you leave until the last minute anyway. I’m very excited to finally be out of this shithole! I hope it goes smoothly now that the landlord situation has been resolved (I HOPE). I think the next hurdle is going to be dealing with how the house is going to be cleaned. My roommate is refusing to clean it herself, and instead has insisted on hiring someone. I'm not interested in paying for that at all, but it has been made clear that there will be no negotiation.

 

 I've decided to let it slide, since I no longer wish to have to deal with her after I leave, so if that means cutting her a check to get her to go away, now that I am (sort of ) able to financially do that, so be it.  I've been cleaning as I pack, and because she insisted on using clay cat litter, there is a fine layer of gray dust everywhere. I scrubbed the cabinets, fridge  and back door where the litter box was located, and it's almost impossible to get it all off.  And this is with me trying to clean the house regularly! This is why you don't have animals in a house that doesn't allow pets.

HBO's The Pacific (2010)

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   While nosing around hbowar fandom tumblrs very serious academic websites, I discovered HBO’s The Pacific, which was billed as a follow up to Band of Brothers.   I found some highly legal streaming links and decided to go at it. While the Pacific Theater was where my grandfather served in the war (however, he didn’t enlist until 1946 after the war was technically over and served in occupied Japan), I admittedly am much less familiar with  the Pacific Theater of that war than I am with the European, because of my childhood interest in the Holocaust*, and am always eager to learn something new about history.  

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        About half way through my viewing (which took way longer than my recent viewing of  Band of Brothers, though admittedly I’ve seen Band of Brothers before), I took a gander at some user-created reviews over at IMDB, just to see. I always like reading people wank on things that I’m enjoying, because it’s usually for hilarious and ridiculous reasons that people are mad.  I’d say the number one complaint given was that it wasn’t like Band of Brothers. Well, no shit. The war in Asia wasn’t like the war in Europe.  I think the fact that the two miniseries were so different in style and character development is a wonderful representation of the two sides of one war. 

  Band of Brothers focuses on one specific company, with main point of view episodes featuring a handful of officers and enlisted me. The character development is beautiful and emotional, as is the scenery. You really become emotionally attached to the characters right from the get-go. The viewer gets to share in the joy of Dutch towns being liberated, and the pain of soldiers looking into the eyes of the man they’re about to shoot. 

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        Where Band of Brothers is deeply emotional, The Pacific is visceral.   When Band of Brothers focuses on individual characters, The Pacific lacks the same level of character development, which is something that user-reviews pointed out and complained about.  I felt that the lack of character development was a good thing. The main character of this miniseries is not Eugene Sledge, or Robert Leckie, but the war itself.  The terrain, the mud, the endless death.   Throughout the entire series, I couldn’t help but think of how awful the stench must have been- something I never registered while watching Band of Brothers. It’s more than safe to say that the elements were just as much of a formidable enemy as the Japanese troops were. I felt like the lack of character development was actually a good story telling tool- you don’t become familiar with the characters dying around you and it gives you a sense of what the Marines must have felt like, not bothering to learn each other’s stories because he’s most likely not going to make it. (I’ve read similar stories from pilots. After a while, they stopped making friends, because the mission survival rate was 1:2).

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 The combat scenes in Band of Brothers were stressful and violent, but they were in no way as stressful and violent, and frankly disturbing as the combat scenes in the Pacific.  The violence is relentless- and not always physically manifesting in storming  a shore or shooting a gun. Carnage is high.  Watching the Pacific is frankly exhausting, but still riveting, if you can stand the level of violence shown on screen.  Violence in film and television rarely bothers me, but there were times that it was hard to watch.  Good. It’s a film about teenagers firing flame throwers blindly into cliff-side bunker windows and stealing gold teeth from enemy corpses- it should be hard to watch. 

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What people loved about Band of Brothers will not be found in the Pacific. There are some solid and interesting characters (Sweet kid Eugene Sledge turned damaged veteran and Snafu, who was fucking nuts, but weirdly endearing at the same time. In fact, these two really saved the series, character-wise.), but because they’re not fleshed out was thoroughly, it’s hard to stay focused on them.  There were a few emotional moments (Sledge encountering a Japanese citizen dying in her home is especially moving), along with some deep, dark M*A*S*H-Hawkeye-mental-breakdown-style-realness.  All in all, I felt it was a  good companion to the beloved Band of Brother purely because it didn't perfectly match.

*Side note- In hindsight, I feel nothing sums up my childhood better than writing the line “my childhood interest in the Holocaust”. Jesus.

Operation: Flying Out of the Cuckoo's Nest is gung-ho under way, but of course is hitting bumps.

This next week and a half is packed to the gills with busy nonsense. There has been some still unresolved problems regarding my intent to vacate notice and a lack of communication between myself, my roommate and the leasing company (specifically the leasing company not returning calls and not giving me solid information), which is extremely frustrating.

In short, my roommate refused to sign the addendum to the lease that would release me from it with the excuse that there was a spelling error. Then she put in her own 30 days notice, ten days after I had put in mine (she had also not bothered to acknowledge the addendum for over a week). I called the landlord to find out what was going on, and was told that by her refusing to sign the addendum and putting in her own 30 days notice, it voided my 30 days and that my vacate date had been lumped in with hers (two weeks after my original date of the 3rd) and that I would also be responsible for damages, security deposit, ect.

I moved in originally several months after she had, and never paid a security deposit at all. So, if we were to get any thing back (we won't) I shouldn't be getting anything back.

I'm very confused as to how this has happened, and how it is legal. The leasing company won't really give me any information, and has been very difficult to get a hold of. This shouldn't be surprising, given how they handled the winter issue of us having no heat, but it's very frustrating. I shouldn't have to be paying for rent after my intent to vacate date.  If it truly was due to a spelling error that my roommate wouldn't sign the addendum, then why not correct the clerical error and resend the new one for her to sign?

I have too much other shit going on in my life right now to fight it. I'm scrambling to get everything fixed in the house that has been broken and ignored by my rommmate.  Regardless of when they have decided my vacated date was (August 3rd in my intent to vacate letter), I am leaving at the end of this month. My roommate has claimed she isn't going to clean the place herself and will hire a cleaning service, but I'm not confident in that. I'm worried it's not going to get done and that I will be charged out the ass. I am going to do as much as I can while I'm still here, but I can't deep clean with all her shit still in the house.

I'm still mostly concerned about how my intent to vacate notice was somehow null and void, then moved to a later date, even though I never signed anything to validate the later date. I am not getting any answers from the leasing agent and was basically told  that because she wouldn't sign the addendum (due to a spelling error), there was nothing I could do.  This doesn't seem legal to me at all. I have not signed anything except my own addendum to the lease that has apparently been nullified.

Great Googly Moogly

I had to take three showers today.

First was the usual, run of the mill, not be disgusting shower. 

Since I'm moving in less than two weeks and am up to here with my roommate's craziness, I was planning on getting a jumpstart on packing so I will be READY when the day comes.  When I first moved in, I made sure to save all my boxes so I could use them to repack. They've been stored in the dark, spooky garage for the past two years, and I've expected them to have some spider activity because it's a spooky garage. I have been unable to get the street side garage door to open, which put a damper in my plans to access the garage from the street to give myself a wide berth to flee if any spider activity does happen. Also, then I can just pull my junk into the street and smash any spiders out in the open.  I also can't get to the inside of the door, because it's blocked by boxes. I decided to just start pulling boxes out through the crowded backyard enterance, go through them in the backyard, and be able to access my saved boxes that way. I made pretty good progress, pulling out four or five boxes, plus a big tub of fabric, inspected all boxes for spiders and threw away or put into a donate pile a fair amount of stuff. It's hot as hell today, and I decided to take a quick second shower to not be sweaty.

Then, as I was putting a few of my blankets into the wash in the garage, I noticed one more box kind of out in the open in the garage that I for some reason decided to haul out and go through.

I inspected the outside of the box for spiders, and it was safe, so I hauled it into the back yard to see what it was. The top flaps were pretty tight, so I used the handle of the broom to lift open the flaps, just in case. Lo and behold. there was a spider. But not just any spider. A black widow and her zillions of babies.

Mother.
Fucker.

I  left the box where it was and went to the hardware store (but not before immediately changing all my clothes. I knew I had nothing on me, but goddamn it, oogly boogly spiders were everywhere in my head) and bought a roach/spider/wasp spray to try and eliminate the offender. I no longer cared about what was in the box (It was some books, and some other stuff, I'm not sure. I didn't inspect further). When I returned, a wind had picked up, so everytime I tried to spray, I was hit with the blowback.  The spider was right where I left it, but when I opened the flap with the broom handle to get it, it shabba-do'd right on out of there and down the outside of the box where I couldn't see it. I sprayed the shit out of the tiny baby spiders before finally kicking the box on its side to find the adult. It was no where. I stood back like, what the hell do I do now, when suddenly it appeared, trying to make a break for the wall of the garage. I sprayed the shit out of it, but it kept going. Finally it stopped, and I sprayed it until it was white with goo, hoping that it was finally  done for. After about ten seconds, it reanimated and busted ass up to the side of the garage. The spray was not "killing on contact" like it promised, so I smashed at it with the broom. And it disappeared.  Gone. Not in the broom, anywhere.

I hightailed it back into the house and had to take a third hosing, to wash off the bug killer and the imaginary giant spiders I assumed were now crawling all over me.


I'm certainly hoping that that spider is dead. I mean it was drenched in poison. And  also all of it's babies.  But tomorrow, I have  a locksmith coming to open the garage door street-side for me so I can have access to my things and quadruple-check everything for the rest of the spiders' family.  It is safe to say I am not looking forward to it.

Also now, I'm super paranoid about them being in my room and bed. I know they're not. I know. But still. I've only dealt with them in super-rural areas with lots of woodpiles. I mean, it makes sense that they'd live in that garage. It's very dark, and this is the first time in almost two years anyone has moved anything around in there. I'm mainly concerned about the couch that's in there. That would be a perfect place for them to hide. UGHHH.

Kabletown Guys Notice You, Your Hair Grows Back... Everything Grows Back!

I promise this time it's not premature, like the last time I made complete doof of myself and thought that being told I had a job actually meant it. This time it's the real deal; I have finally achieved level: adult and landed the full time position I've been gunning for for almost two years.

A full time position at a company that is the best company I have ever worked for, solely based on the fact that they have a set schedule. I will be eligible for health and dental insurance. I will be able to pay rent like an adult. I will be able to have spending money. I will be able to have a savings again.  I am finally able to live as a fully functional adult- something that has evaded me so far my entire adult life. I will not have to rely on anyone else to survive. I will be able to repay my debts. Most of all, I am able to go to the dentist.

This month has definitely been a catalyst month for good things in my life. I'm moving out of my hellhole houseshare ( and not a day too soon. The ant problem has EXPLODED in the last few days. The shower has pretty much stopped working and the bathroom light/fan has also stopped working. Because I'm no longer on the lease, I can't do anything about it and my roommate has made no actions to do anything, though she continues to be delusional and difficult, telling me that my stress and financial issues have caused her health to decline and that she's lost friends because she's been so worried about my well-being. UMMMMMM?????) at the end of the month, I've registered to take online courses at the community college, and now being able to pay my bills without worrying is capping everything off.

 

Size Musings

 

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Because of the intense heatwave happening right now and the fact that 97% of the clothing that I own is really only appropriate for late October through Pearl Harbor Day, I had to take a small chunk of money and go buy a couple new summer items. I went to three different Goodwills, because you never know, and was only able to find one shirt that was kind of okay, but I bought anyway because I have a habit of settling for "kind of okay". I know shopping at 'fast fashion' stores like Forever21 and H&M is generally looked down on in aspects of the community, when you are broke  and fat, sometimes you just don't have a choice. Thrift stores are a crapshoot (with some of my local ones reselling what appear to be deadstock or clearance  Target dumps for more than they would have retailed for at Target), and when you have ten bucks to spend, need clothes on your body and Forever21 can get you a cardigan for ten bucks, then that's what you have to do.  Like I said, the thrift stores were all but a bust, but was lucky to find two dresses at Forever21 and H&M. I noticed that H&M had a few basics that were sized up to XL, which must be a new thing, because I've never seen it before at that store. This was very exciting, since their plus size line is so janky, but I was disappointed to see that they stopped carrying size 10 shoes, and only go up to 9.5 on the tag! Whyyyyyyy, these wide square feet need that extra .5! 

I rarely shop at H&M for a number of reasons. For fast fashion, they're rather pricey. The quality is not great (even for fast fashion. I've had things from Forever21 last longer than almost anything I've had from H&M), and their sizing is stupid. Their weak attempt to offer plus sizes is frustrating. They are signigicantly more expensive than straight sizes, and I think it's off-putting that they typically only go to a  large in the straight sizes (same with Forever21 pre Forever21+). Of my local stores, only one location carries the plus size range, and it usually consists of one or two racks tucked away in a corner that is not marked or advertised (though, I went in today and I couldn't find it at all, so I'm not sure what is going on with it). Usually in  stores like Forever21 or H&M, I only really will purchase accessories, since that's all I can fit in, and even with the plus sized options, the sizing is extremely inconsistent.

That being said, I'm very excited that more (non-footwear) sizing options have been added to their line-up.  I tried on two different XL dresses just to see because I am at the top end of whatever is considered XL spread over different companies, and I have to say one fit great, and the other was a little big in the bodice.  They were both jersey (the only ones I could find with an XL option were knits), which isn't my favorite fabric due to the cling-factor, but I'm glad that other people who are my size are slowly but surely getting more options.

Inconsistant sizing across the fashion industry has got to be one of the biggest pains in my ass of all time. I wish there was a standardized,  regulated sizing chart across the board. I do not understand how one person can physically fit into anything from a medium to a 3x, all of which I have in my closet.

Also, please introduce the idea of petite plus sizing because I am not 6 feet tall and do not have long arms, thanks.

Ananas over Bastogne

Current Obsessions: World War II and pineapples. Why? I have no godly idea. I'd say the pineapple thing started when I bought that pineapple print cardigan last month, and the WWII thing resurfaces every once in a while (as with most of my historical interests, they come and go, but always return). Earlier today, I found myself quasi-legally streaming Band of Brothers while scouring the internet for pineapple print things, and for like two seconds I had thoughts of 'what the hell is wrong with me' cross my mind, but whatevs, whatevs. Statistically, at least one other person in the world has the same browser history as me, right?

A blog I occasionally follow has a great wishlist feature where she picks a theme and finds items along that fit, sort of like a scavenger hunt. I love this idea! So much that I pretty much ganked it...  I've wanted to do a theme wishlist/finds series for a while, and her posts inspired me to knuckle down and do it. Aaaand since I was already searching for pineapple junk, what the hell- let's make that the first theme. Check out Scathingly Brilliant's original wishlist posts! Her style is lots of fun.

1. Black Pineapple Print Button Top- New Look 

2. Crossbody Bag- ASOS

3. Acrylic Pineapples Forever Necklace- Bottica

4. Pineapple Basket- ZaraHome

5. Perfect Pina Coladas Dress- Modcloth

6. Pineapple Watch- ASOS

7. Pina Colada Shorts-Beginning Boutique

8. Knit Tie Headwrap- Mintandarrows

9. Nikos Koulis Earrings- Matches Fashion

10. 1940s Bes Ben Pineapple Hat- Indianapolis Museum of Art

11. Gian Paolo Barbieri, Vogue Italia, 1969

I didn't include these in the collage since they weren't 100% pineapple, but these Carmen Miranda wedges by Miss L Fire are EVERYTHING

 

I recently learned about Miss L Fire and their great 1940s inspired footwear. I thought they were only available in Europe, but it turns out Modcloth carries them? And they're currently on sale at half off???? Why am I poor???????????? I may consider breaking my 'no open toed shoes' rule for these babies. 

 

In weather related news, it's supposed to be in the high 90s this coming weekend. 

Nope.

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Due to a wide variety of reasons, I was unable to got to school right after I graduated high school. To date, that has been one of my biggest regrets, but I am signing up to take classes this fall! Physically attending classes is not an option with my current working/living situations, but Portland Community College offers a lot of different online courses, which is something I am able to do!

Admissions for fall term finally opened up, and I am going in to take placement tests next Tuesday. I am very excited, as I've been wanting to be able to go back for years, but it has not worked out until now. I'll only be taking one class to ease myself back in (it's been almost ten years since I was in school), but there are a number of interesting classes that have online components. I really want to take something I'm interested in to start off, as opposed to something like math or whatever. Or, I could always repeat my high school experience and take band exclusively. Haha!


I'm going to be very busy through the end of the month, with a moving date somewhere in the last weeks of Juy and all the preparations that go into that. Most of all, I have to figure out how to open the garage door to access all my stuff. I don't know where the key for the outside lock is, and inside is a host of the biggest, oogliest spiders known to man. I was hoping to just open the door from the outside to give myself plenty of room to spread stuff out and be in open space if the spiders were to descend on me at any point, but no such luck.

Dress Days of Summer

Well, I'm afraid it's officially summer here. Anyone who knows me knows my idea climate is 55 and overcast, but unfortunately to achieve that, I'd have to live in a meth-ridden hell hole,  so I've had to come to terms with the fact that the rest of the Earth has seasons, and at least one of those seasons is going to have temperatures over 70. Today, and for the next several days, it's hovering around the 90 degree mark- 35 degrees above my personal weather nirvana.

Anyone who knows me also knows that my finest pleasure in life, aside from mainlining Biscoff spread and $1.99 brownie cups from Fred Meyer, is perfecting the art of layering. Having grown up in the aforementioned meth-ridden hell hole, which wasn't always meth-ridden, but has always been precipitating every day solid from October to May, I learned the art of a fine layering system to stave off dampness.

But this 90 degree weather is no joke. The first year I lived here it was 107 for several days in a row. I was working at a job that required me to wear long sleeves and had ovens, and I was miserable. Then I'd come home to my upstairs apartment that had no air conditioning and would join the cat as she lay on the tile in the dark bathroom to wait for the rain to return.  The dedicated layering lifestyle is not for the weak.

The easiest way I've been able to cope this time around has been a sleeveless dress and a top- a two layer system that meets my requirements that still gives some airflow. My only problem is that I have two dresses- that's it. And they look almost identical. And both are black. And one is velvet, possibly, next to wool, the least warm weather friendly fabric.  I have concluded I need more dresses to fill out my weak wardrobe, especially since they can be worn into fall and through mild winters (LAYERING WINS AGAIN). Of course, I'm still broke as a... skunk (or whatever woodland animal rhymes with "broke"), but I've done a bit of internet window shopping.



Myrtlewood is a brand I discovered through Modcloth. They make a really nice selection of vintage inspired dresses, tops and skirts, and most items go up through a 4X! YAY! The only drawback is they are price-ay...

myrtlewood by foxboro featuring sleeveless tops

A brand that is pretty popular in some aspects of the plus size community is Asos. It can be hit or miss for me- it's very trend driven, and a lot of the things that are popular are very shapeless and dowdy in my opinion, though I've seen them on some people with the right styling and they look great on them.

asos by foxboro featuring calf length dresses

Even more Modcloth. This website has really stepped up to the plate when it comes to acknowledging that people of all sizes exist and want to spend money.

modcloth by foxboro featuring a sheer blouse

 

A day late and a dollar short, this 4th of July color theme was not intended.  Everything pictured is available in plus size. I'm excited to say that we are making progress when it comes to selection for plus sizes, but it's not even close to being 100% there. I only hope that more companies realize the cash cow waiting for them when they decide to get off their asses and produce clothing for the rest of the population.

Click on pictures for product information!