rose_griffes

I had a FANTASTIC and AMAZING first trip of the summer, and now I get to spend the rest of it carefully budgeting. ;-P Took my mother to France for a while, and it was beautiful and fun and awesome. So many pictures to sort through, and other things to catch up on around my home, so I probably won't miss traveling for at least a little while. Except for the food; I started missing French food as soon as we were served lunch on the airplane ride home. *sigh*

Speaking of things I did while stuck in an airplane, I watched the first four episodes of the BBC's The Musketeers, and now I must find the rest of season one and watch. Feel free to share any ideas for how to accomplish this, if you're so inclined and informed.

Links! Most of you probably know that J.K. Rowling wrote a sharp-tongued Rita Skeeter 'report', but I figured I'd link it anyway. Really fun and a quick read.

A Short History of US White Women's Measurements Used for Patternmaking, or, why nothing seems to fit...

This DIY pool noodle pom shooter looks like a fun thing to make and use with kids or without 'em

I tried this bleach and lace patterning on an old tee-shirt and was pleased with the results. I'd definitely not do a first try on a clothing item you treasure, though.

Speaking of tee-shirts, here's a clear post on how to alter a boxy tee-shirt. And a post on making a very large tee (or other stretchy fabric shirt) into a skirt. The shirt's front placket became the skirt's back walking slit--nifty!

And... that's about it for now, I think. Maybe I'll do a half-hearted attempt to catch up on your posts, but I'd say your best bet is to leave a comment with link(s) to anything you really want me to read.

Have some completely random links, so I can clear them out of my bookmarks.

The Atlantic magazine had an interesting article on The Invisible Borders That Define American Culture. My favorite map at the link is the fifth one down: a breakdown of where people say "soda" versus "pop" and "coke." (I grew up saying pop, switched to calling it soda, and have noticed a lot of people around me calling it coke.)

Author Sarah Rees Brennan discusses the glorious Miss Marple.

She also talks about adaptations in reference to the whole Sherlock/Elementary brouhaha. (Personally I can't wait for Elementary, but I also have a huge fondness for male/female detective buddies of all sorts. Bonus LUCY LIU!)

Johnny Lee Miller will play the role of Sherlock in Elementary. Here's a moment from a previous stint on an American tv: Eli Stone, episode 1.01 (George Michael, y'all). Bwah, that is awesome.

Fempop magazine: Why Do People Hate Black Widow? (I hadn't read about George R. R. Martin's comments before this article. Yet another example of someone not watching the same version of The Avengers as me. It seems to be happening a lot.)

The costumes and characters of The Avengers: Black Widow and Hawkeye. This blogger has a whole series about the costumes and characters in The Avengers.

Hm, I haven't done a good clothing rant in a while, have I? And that's about all I feel like talking about--at least in a public post. So here goes!

I just received a clothing order from Lands' End. (Yes, the apostrophe is wrong--it's been wrong since they started their business and a publisher messed it up on some of their earliest printed material.) I've been ordering clothes from them since... hm, maybe while I was still in college? They had swimwear that didn't have those high-cut legs back when that was all anyone else had, so it's been a very long time. I've grown--gained weight, I should say--since then. But the size I order for trousers and skirts is still the same number. And today I found that I can't keep any of the shirts I ordered because they're too big.

UGH, I hate vanity sizing. Lands' End isn't even the worst offender. With some brands I actually wear a smaller size than when I was in college. How is that even possible when my waist is two inches bigger?! It makes me wonder if I'll eventually have to buy sizes in the negative numbers while weighing even more. I know I'm slender for an American woman*, but THIS IS RIDICULOUS. (I don't think size inflation is a problem in Europe, but I could be wrong.)

Not really ranty, but remember those adorable Clark's ankle boots that I loved? They've already been imitated by Old Navy. Three and a half inch heels and faux suede? I'm glad I ordered the Clark's boots**, even though they cost a whole lot more. I can't wait for cooler weather so I can wear them.

Scratch that. I just can't wait for cooler weather. IT'S TOO HOT.

On to non-ranty clothing stuff. Possibly my next sewing project: making a knock-off of this sweater. No need for boiled wool, though. I'd just use a grey tee-shirt and slice it up the front, then use more grey jersey fabric for the detailing. Oh, and add in some darts to make it more fitted.

I'm also thinking about this gorgeous stenciled skirt. Wouldn't something like that be lovely with a black skirt and red flowers? I'd probably just use acrylic paints with fabric medium mixed in, rather than buying the fabric ink recommended in that post. I already own the paints and fabric medium, so I just need to choose the right skirt.

I do have some sewing and craft projects I've finished recently, but 1) I'm too lazy to post them here right now and 2) I'm considering starting a separate blog for sewing and craft stuff anyway. Livejournal really isn't the cool hang-out for the sewing crowd. Heh.

*The NHLBI says I'm in the average range, for whatever that's worth.

**The ankle boots are cheaper with Amazon.com than anywhere else I've found, at least in black suede.

I finally gave up on the idea of writing Peter Bishop fic and started watching Fringe again. Sorry, Peter! More on Fringe after I have a few more episodes to talk about.

In the meantime, before my camera died I took some pictures of outfits that fit under my personal Me-modified-May challenge. The idea was for me to wear something at least three times a week that I had either made or modified from its state when I purchased it. If I can revive the camera (or if I buy a new one soon enough) I may make another post. In the meantime, here's what I've chronicled so far:
( blue dress #1 )

( weekend shorts )

( red skirt )

( paisley print skirt )

( cowboy boots! )

( blue dress #2 )

Way easier to buy stuff at the thrift store and alter them than to sew something from nothing. Well... at least most of the time. Maybe I'll get some sewing done this summer.

Since the camera is (temporarily?) dead, you'll just have to imagine the knee-length princess-seamed linen dress in coral. (It was originally the color of concrete and came to about mid-calf; I dyed it and cut off the hem.)

I'm thinking about starting a livejournal community that takes some of the ideas from both Wardrobe Refashion and The Great American Apparel Diet. Both are sites that encourage people to purchase less new clothing. Participants pledge to go without new clothing purchases for a specified amount of time. Both allow people to post about how they're accomplishing this.

I'll post here when I've had time to plan it a bit more. Current goal(ish): have a community ready within a week, so if anyone else wants to join up then, we can aim for a start date of September 1st. (People would be able to sign up at any time, and for any chosen amount of time. I don't have any desire to be strict about this, but starting at the beginning of a month seems easier. Also, theoretically we in the US should have most of the back-to-school shopping done.)

( a few more thoughts )

Name thoughts: clothes_horse. Okay, that name probably works only for me, because of a funny family story about the term. clothes_fast, because we're fasting (abstaining) from buying new clothes. clothes_diet or wardrobe_diet. Hm...

Any thoughts, anyone else? Comments are hidden, so if you're feeling shy, no one else will know that you commented.

Yay, baby brother is home safely from Russia! Baby brother is really, absolutely old enough to take care of himself. This was his second time in Russia. He lived in Syria--twice. But he's still my baby brother and I'm glad he's home and that the worst thing that happened was he had a cold on the plane ride and now his ears are a bit stopped up.

So. We've had lots of "unpopular" fashion and fannish opinions (which, in my opinion, are simply cranky opinions, not necessarily unpopular ones) lately. I decided to do five upbeat opinions instead. Just 'cause I'm annoying that way obnoxiously cheerful at times different. Possibly these are unpopular opinions but I really don't care. *g*

( Rose's Five Fab Fashions )

( Five fannish loves--spoilers for BSG and the new Trek movie. They're not surprising opinions, if you've read my journal before. )

Someday I'll do five cranky fandom and fashion opinions. Maybe by the time I get around to it, Crocs will be gone and I'll have one less thing to rant about. Heh.

Baby brother is coming for a visit but he got lost so he's late. So, quickly. Tell me which sneakers to buy!

[Poll #1243563]

The sneakers are meant to replace my *favorite* turquoise sneakers, which are so worn out.

*sobs*

And these are the same style, though obviously not the same color. I couldn't find any the same color. Plus, these are discontinued, so if I'm going to buy them, I have to do it soon, before they're out.

Went to the Big City last night to see a play--it was a very interactive (cheer, boo and hiss, throw popcorn) silly pop-culture parody. Lots of fun! I gave a ride to a friend of a friend and I think I scared her (and maybe even scarred her, heh) with my driving. I think I'm a great driver, but apparently this is the minority opinion. (Hey, I've only been pulled over for speeding twice, in many, many years of driving.) Anyway... oh, and I bought a comic book at a store near the theater. Asterix, which is always fun but makes me wish I knew more Latin. I guess I can google the phrases that seem important.

Work last week was annoying, but Friday went surprisingly well after the earlier madness. I was surprised.

The weather here has been gorgeous lately--blue skies, perfect temperatures, light winds. (I'll qualify the 'light winds' with 'for here,' which means if you're not used to perpetually windy days, you'd think it was blowing a gale.) I may go out and take some wildflower photos in a bit, depending on how sunny it is after my grocery story run. Oh, and I didn't lose power earlier this week when we had storms pass through, so yay! (One Two of my friends at work did, twice, but only for a few seconds, just enough to require resetting all alarm clocks, etc.)

To-do list for today:
- go buy groceries (just finished the list, am double-checking ingredients after I post this)
- iron some clothes (because I'm tired of wearing the same no-iron-needed shirts, MUST HAVE CUTE CLOTHES!)
- vacuum, do load of laundry
- watch BSG (duh. Oh, it finished downloading now, yay!)
- exercise
- figure out what fics to rec for the remainder of the month for crack_van
- call my sister, who called me last night when I was out

I think I can officially count this as a post NOT about TV shows! Heh.

eta: You can totally tell in this post that my natural writing tendencies include rampant abuse of parentheses. Heh. Do I need a beta-reader for my everyday posts?!

I like shopping for clothes, except when I hate it.
( rants about fashion and fit, cut for girliness and such )

And now for something completely different: a Buffy-verse fic rec. The Last Tin Soldier by liz_marcs. Set post-Angel (dealing with the mess after the series finale), it's fascinating and sad. Rated PG; Xander, Spike, later appearances by the Scooby Gang... So far six parts out of eight have been posted--it should be finished soon. (Individual chapters are looong; they're linked to the next chapter at the bottom.)

Harry Potter-verse fic rec: The Little Ones by furiosity. Spoilers through book seven--set at the train station at the beginning of the new school year. PG, about 2000 words; Ginny, Neville, Luna.

BSG/What Not To Wear
Kara/Leoben, Stacy London, Clinton Kelly, OC's
PG--fake swearing, kissing, bad wardrobes
not beta'd b/c I was too embarrassed to ask
plus I'm not posting this anywhere else except possibly awfulbgfic

Sorry. My muse made me do it.

( shut up, muse )