From Esme With Love And Squalor

The above is the title of my friend Esme's blog. She has been blogging since June, but she just told me about it the other day.

Now, here's the deal. Esme's blog is not like mine in that it's not a fashion blog. Her's is just a little bit of everything, but not in an annoying Tumblr sort of way. No gifs polluting yet another place on the internet. Just straight up good writing and an opinion on the most exotic things, opinions you wouldn't be able to find on any other 14 year old girl's blog (like what the best things to do in Sweden are, and an abridged travel guide to the small island Lamu, off the coast of Kenya). She also gives book reviews and tells us what she likes and dislikes.

The one thing that our blogs do have in common is that they are both worth reading.

So check it out, you will NOT regret it. The site is sweet and simple, not flashy, and focuses on the actual content of her words rather than over-Photoshopped candid shots of her friends in bikinis. I don't write whole blog posts about just anyone.

Oliver!

This is a quickie, post, but I've been meaning to do this for a while. I'm finally posting some pictures from my middle school's production of the musical Oliver!.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with either the musical, movie or the original book written by Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist), you can read about it on the IMDb page.

I played the part of Nancy. It was a really fun part. I got to have a British accent. Boyakasha.

All photos taken by Ted Rodriguez.

 That's me, dead. And my friend Esme (who you will hear much more about very soon!), playing the part of Nancy's best friend, Bet, crying over my dead body.

 Me and my darling little friend Naomi, playing the part of the Artful Dodger. This is from the song "I'd Do Anything."

 Also from "I'd Do Anything." See the cute little 6th graders in the back? Those are the member's of Fagin's gang.

 This is at the end of the bar scene when we sang the song "Oom Pah Pah." That was a fun one.

 That's me, singing "As Long As He Needs Me."

Singin' again.

There ya are! If you were confused about what the links where, they're the links to the videos of me and the cast singing the songs that I mentioned. Here are the rest of them (they're on this YouTube page):

Click here!

FITting In At FIT: Day 12

I realize that 12 doesn't come immediately after 10. I apologize for that. Something else that 12 is? The last day of camp. Meaning the twelfth day of FIT classes is the last one. If that was unclear. Sorry, it's late, and I'm so tired. I can explain. Or maybe not right now. So tired. So many things happened in the past 48 hours it's insane. Having trouble making comprehensible and complete sentences.

1st thing that happened: I cut my hair. Looking a bit more like Kelly Framel from The Glamourai than Arizona Muse and Alexa Chung, but the kool (Greek) kat that cut my hair, Lorenzo, said my hair would take about a week to set. For now, I'm rockin' the Glamourai's 'do. Although, please note that her locks are a bit shorter than mine as she used to have a pixie cut. And I don't. Yet... (!!!???) Also, when I wrote "locks" instead of hair, I felt like one of those cheesy and ridiculously fake writers for those teen and tabloid magazines that just use the worst possible synonyms for words to spice up their sentences, when they're really just using cinnamon on teriyaki chicken (that was a spice reference; I don't care to explain it, yet I'm not sure if it made any sense. Chances are, it didn't. I just mentioned "spice" and thought I'd continue with that.)

2nd thing that happened: I got home at 9:30 pm after a full and stressful day of camp, my haircut and my yoga class in the park (with Edith) and worked nonstop until 12:30 on my sewing for my patternmaking class. Half of it ended up being useless today, which I was so pissed about. I felt like I was on Project Runway (which aired tonight, the season premiere of Season 9, at 9 pm Eastern Time, I saw it and have much commentary and little time/energy to do at the moment. There may be a weekly Project Runway analysis in our futures? Just thought of that right now. Let's do it.), because I was running back and forth from a sewing machine, which there weren't enough of in our room, to the table to rip out seams. I was getting so frustrated, like beyond belief. No one finished, of course, except for one girl who was a beast at sewing. Madd jellin', yo.
This is morphing into the:

3rd thing that happened: Today was my last day of FIT classes, as I've mentioned about 3 times already, and it was kinda crazy. I spent most of my morning class working on my denim shoulder bag, which is now awesome and I will show you it later because it'll be in a lot of my pictures soon, once I get my camera and am in France (my overexcitement is butchering my 10 solid years of study of the English language.). I spent the other most of my class (see what's happening???) socializing. Typiqual Untypiqual. New haircut=more social?? Wut?
FIT was an amazing experience this year. I learned so much and met so many incredible people, and made a lot of good friends. I'm sad it's over, but I'm also glad. It was starting to put a serious strain on my mental capabilities and my back. So basically it sped up the aging process tenfold. Hoping I used that word correctly.

4th thing that happened: I went to Edith's house after classes today, and she did some crazy magiq with her make-up and hair styling skillz, and it was awesome. She's gotten really good at this stuff. She took some pictures as we rushed to the subway station so I wouldn't be late for the Project Runway premiere (I sprinted down the block once I got home, with my huge bags flopping everywhere and got into my apartment at 9:01), so I don't know how well they turned out, but you'll see them here soon. I'll elaborate more on what she did when I have the pictures to show you. I've already washed it all out/off because a)my hair was feelin' extra crunchy and b)my eyes felt really dry and tired, and still do. Eye shadow tends to do that. Even the littlest bit. Which sucks, because several people have told me that I have the right eye shape to put eye shadow on because you can see basically the entire lid. I never take advantage of that though. No skillz in that department.

The 2nd that happened is the reason why I didn't blog yesterday, and the 4th thing that happened is the reason why this one is so late. But to make up for it, here's what my hair looks like and what I wore the last day of camp.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MY HAIR LOOKS BETTER IN PERSON BECAUSE IT LOOKS LESS FLUFFY. IT'S THE STUPID CAMERA. OH QUICKLY BEFORE I CONTINUE, THE SELLER AT AMAZON RESPONDED AND EXPEDITED MY CAMERA. IT SHOULD BE HERE ON MONDAY. SHE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO FIND THE MOST EXPENSIVE SHIPPING ($45), BUT IT'S WORTH IT, RIGHT? (L'OREAL: BECAUSE YOU'RE WORTH IT.) 

 Cutout top: Upson Downes for Urban Outfitters
Shorts: American Rag via Macy's
Belt: Urban Outfitters
Watch: Ben
Shoes: Christian Siriano via Payless

Whaddya think? I dig it. It takes some getting used to, though. It grows on you. Please write any thoughts in the comments--I want to hear your feedback! Any and all comments are appreciated. Getting the email notification from Blogger always makes me really happy.

I like using the "Boost Color" effect on iPhoto because it makes me look tanner than I am. Also, I thought my inspiration would come back when I got my hair cut, but it didn't really. I think that if half my wardrobe weren't in the wash, it would've, but I was slightly limited. That's partly why I didn't take a picture yesterday: I was so uninspired that the outfit wasn't worth posting. And I don't want to waste anyone's time. Just joshin' ya, I waste time all the time. People should stop worrying about wasting natural resources, like oil. Time is the one we gotta watch out for.

There ya are, folkities. I have much more to say, as per usual, but I can't because it's already tomorrow and my eyes are closing as I type. I've heard read people type that all the time, but this is for cereal. Which is what I had for dinner: Multi-grain Cheerios/Kellogg's Granola/Cap'n Crunch. Now I'm just digressing unnecessarily.

FITting In At FIT: Day 10

I have to be quick today, because I have a lot of work to do to finish my patternmaking class project. And I have to go in early to my sewing class tomorrow because I lost a project somehow. Yeah.


In sewing class, we continued work on our shorts. Mine are coming along well. We lost like, half an hour of our class because we had to go down to the computer lab to fill out stupid online surveys, which meant our break wasn't until 11:17, which was kind of annoying. I then went to lunch with a few friends, mostly the same people from yesterday (I don't remember if I mentioned that, and I'm too lazy to check), minus Ashley.


I got to my second class early, and just began working. I worked and worked and worked and worked and then had to go do the online survey for that class (this time the lab was in a different building because I was in A building instead of C, like I am in my morning class), and then came back immediately after and kept working.
And I'm going to continue working in a few minutes. I really want to show you all my sketch, but I don't know if have time. It may show up later on in this post, I don't know yet.


I had my mom take my pictures again today in the morning before camp, but this time inside the apartment, but not by the front door, but by the bathroom door.

 Dress: my grandma's
Vest: Chico's Platinum via Savers (yes, I wore it again today, gotta problem?)
Belt and Boots: Urban Outfitters

 Let's all take a moment to LOL at my hair in all of these pictures.

Oh hay.


Another mid-post update: 
I have officially ordered my camera, a

Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera

It's beautiful, I'm so excited. The only issue is, it may not be here in time, since we leave so soon. We sent the seller an email saying we'd pay for expedited shipping. I REALLY hope she does it. If I have a decent camera and a new haircut in Paris, the sky's the limit. Wow, I just got a physical reaction to how overwhelmed I am. It was like that feeling where a cloud is creeping up your chest and into your jaw. Anyone familiar with this? Please let me know if you are, I need to confirm that I do not need to be checked into St. Mungo's. 

Second update: 

After ordering my camera, I was unlazified, so I scanned my sketch, finally. Here it is: 

Just subtract the sleeves, and add a short black, slip-like skirt underneath the pleated maxi-skirt, and there's what I'm making. This was originally scanned upside down, and iPhoto wouldn't accept the file type, so thank you Photoshop. 

I REALLY have to go now, this took much longer than I wanted it to. 

Must go eat and work and sleep bai

FITting In At FIT: Day 9

This week, the real work begins. Sewing class wasn't too hard or anything. Just a bit more technical than usual. It shouldn't be overwhelmingly difficult. You know what is going to be overwhelmingly difficult? Patternmaking class. I may have told you that I began to drape the front of my shirt on Thursday, and it was going really well. I thought I totally knew what I was doing, and this project wouldn't be as hard as I thought.

I thought wrong. I started draping the back today and got a little confused but not very much so. I then transferred the muslin to pattern paper, and had a few alterations to make, but in the end it was okay. Then I got to the issue of the skirt. I was unable to find the original muslin skirt that I made a week or two ago, so I figured I'd hold off on that until tomorrow (I needed it for the under-skirt part of my design--it's a bit confusing.) Instead, I went to my teacher and asked her how to do the circular skirt for the pleated chiffon fabric I selected, and she said not to do a circular skirt with the pleated fabric because the pleats would go sideways. It makes sense, but it's annoying because circular skirts are the easiest.

She suggested that I make a pencil skirt with a flared bottom--so that's what I did. But that sounds a lot easier than it is, because this skirt is a maxi skirt. Which means I needed a really long piece of pattern paper. And I cut it out too short the first time. And the second time, it was just barely long enough, not long enough for even a quarter inch seam allowance. I'd prefer a half inch seam allowance. I'll just have to add it in on the muslin pattern. * Sigh *

I got most of that paper pattern done, but I'm still a little worried I won't finish in time because some people have already started working in their fabrics. That puts me in a bit of a pickle, I must say.

Anywhoozles (yowza, I haven't said that in a long time) here's what I wore today.

A few notes on today's photographs:
1. This was the first time I was able to wear long pants to FIT, because it was the first time it was not over 90 degrees.
2. I took these pictures in the morning before camp in the hallway of my apartment building because I went to lunch with people other than my sister today (I know, right??), and I didn't want to make them take pictures for me.
3. These were taken by my mom.

 T-shirt: hand-me-down
Denim vest: Chico's Platinum via Savers (it used to be a lot bigger and longer but I cut it and brought the seams in a bit last night)
Pants: Forever 21
Belt: unknown. Macy's?
Necklace: Urban Outfitters
Sandals: Montego Bay Club via Payless

My attempt at showing you my beautiful necklace--this camera sux at close up shots. It's so annoying. I'm working on getting that camera, but right now they're up to $400. I'm waiting until they go down a bit, but I haven't got much time because we leave for France very soon.

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM FOR A SPECIAL HAIR UPDATE: 
It has been confirmed that I am cutting my hair Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. That's even sooner than I anticipated!! I'm so freaking stoked!!

That's all for tonight. See you back here tomorrow at the same time for another episode of "FITting In At FIT!"

Time To Chop It All Off

That's right folks--I'm cutting my hair. I haven't changed my hairstyle in about 2 or 3 years, and I am literally writhing in discomfort because of my hair. There's too much of it and I can't take it anymore. It's all coming off on Friday. Well, not all  of it. Just a lot. I'm cutting it up to my chin, and I'll probably get some more layers so that it doesn't get super curly and poof out. If you're having some trouble visualizing it, here's what I want it to end up looking like: 

 Alexa Chung, one of the most effortlessly beautiful women on the face of the earth. 

 Ms. Chung and I both have the same face shape, so that's why I think this'll work. Also, look at her adorable little peace sign necklace. What a cutie. 

 Arizona Muse. What can I say about this woman. I love her. She is beautiful. This is what I wrote to Edith on a Facebook comment on this picture of Arizona: "She's just wonderful. And she had a child. Like, what?? You're one of the faces of Prada's Spring 2011 collection AND you're a loving mother? Where did you come from and how can I be you???"

Look at her and try and tell me she's not gorgeous. And we also have similar face shapes. So that's awesome. 

This is how it might look if I don't get some layers. That's a lil too much volume for me. But once again, Charlize Theron is another woman with an oval-shaped face, like me. Did you know that she was born in South Africa? I found that out while Googling her hair the other day. The internet is a curious place.

Prepare yourself--the next four days are the last times you will see me with my current hair length. I slowly phased out my bangs, and now the next change comes. 

Edith has promised to show me how to do this really cool thing with the ends of my hair after my haircut on Friday. Well, the thing is that I've wanted ombre'd hair ever since the Man Repeller got hers done, but I am NOT dying the tips of my hair blond. That's just not happening. But while I was in Manasquan with Edith last weekend, she mentioned that she thought I'd look good with dark red or auburn highlights. But I don't know if my mom would be down with that. I haven't asked her, of course, but why ask a question when you already know the answer? I'll bring it up at some point, but not quite yet. I'd like to get the tips of my hair dyed dark red, which is what Edith's going to show me how to do with blush and foundation. That one is temporary of course, but nonetheless it is still awesome. 

Speaking of Edith, she told me she got a new make up book and she wants to take some pictures of me on Friday, after my haircut. There will be some high quality photographios on this here Bloggy McBloggster soon after that. Get pumped!!! 

Enjoy the sweltering heat on this wonderful July Sunday. 

Workin' At The Car Wash, Yeah!

It was not as hot as I thought it would be today. But I was just so tired the entire day. I would've been totally content with just laying down. And of course, the second I got out of the shower after getting out of the pool, my sister tells me that we're washing the cars. So I get to get dirty again. 

Washing cars is a lot more disgusting than I remember it being. We used to wash them all the time when we were little, and it was a great experience. Today, it was just the worst thing. Our car was repulsive, and I was getting very agitated by everything. And my sister kept spraying me with water and getting the side of the car wet, so that I had to wipe down the same window three times. I was so annoyed. I actually had to go inside. 

After that, I got dressed. Barely. I wore the shortest shorts I own, and a tied up top. And a very extensive arm party. 

For those of you who are unfortunate enough to not have come across an arm party before, they are just what they sound like: parties on your arm. Basically, you just wear a sh*t ton of jewelry on your arms (and sometimes hands), and it's awesome. I was like, the queen of arm parties when I was 8 years old. Even when I was 10. I was so on top of the trends. 

I was discouraged from attending these arm parties by my family, who did not appreciate them. But I was invited again by the Man Repeller, the newly crowned queen of arm parties. Check some of hers out: 

See how good she is? I'm jealous. For my arm party, I literally took every piece of arm/hand jewelry that I own and put it on. There was some strategy involved, don't get me wrong. But I'm so serious; this is all of it. It being all of my arm jewelry. No joke. 

Here's how I survived the heat, and how I counteracted all of my efforts by making my arms sweat profusely (just kidding that's gross they were only a little sweaty): 

(Photos taken by Rachel at my grandma's house)

 Shirt and belt: Urban Outfitters
Shorts: H&M
Brogues: Giorgio Brutini
You can see the beginnings of my arm party.

 Remember, these are the shortest shorts I own. Also, PLEASE ignore the face I'm making. Rachel insisted that I stand right in the sun, but alas, I couldn't see.

 Ma arm partay!!!
Left hand, meaning the hand that's on the left, not my left hand, from top to bottom, then left to right (rings):
Bangle: my great grandma's
Blue beaded bracelet: National Museum of the American Indian
Blue watch: Flik Flak
Pink bracelet: a birthday present from Edith
Multi-colored watch: Metropolitan Museum of Art (last year's birthday present from my aunt and uncle)
On my ring finger: button ring from Venice Beach
On my middle finger: opal ring from who knows where

Right hand, from top to bottom, then left to right again for the rings:
Purple plastic bracelets: birthday present from my sister (how is that possible she never gives me birthday presents)
Pearl bracelets: gift from my aunt Pam
Braided bracelet (you can't see it because it's in between the two pearl bracelets, but trust me, it's there): a graduation gift from my grandma
Yellow watch: Ben
Black watch: it has Mickey Mouse on it...I'm a little confused as to wear it came from.
On my middle finger: (bottom ring) my great grandma's; (top ring) mitten ring from Venice Beach.
Also on my middle finger, even though it wasn't supposed to be there: a small metal flower ring that got hidden underneath my great grandma's ring. I thought I lost it, but then I found it under there. The only way I can wear that one is if I wear another one over it to make sure it doesn't fall off, which is why the mitten ring is sharing a finger with it. It's so big; it probably just plopped itself down right on top of the flower ring without noticing. I'm sure it apologizes. Accidents happen.

I'm trying to figure out what's in the bottom of this picture but I can't. It's really disconcerting. 

After we left my grandma's house, we went to dinner with my mom's boyfriend and his brother and daughter for his birthday. I ate too much. Typiqual. My mom ordered a "mega sundae," which is essentially a ginormous, warm chocolate chip cookie smothered in whipped cream, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. If calories had a place to live, it would be in that dessert. 

Hopefully this "summer scorcher," as the news channels are oh so cleverly deeming it, goes away soon. There's no pool at our house. 

The Devil Wears Prada

Not only is "The Devil Wears Prada" one of my favorite movies of all time, and I could watch it a billion times and never get bored, and I can quote it, easily, and speak the lines along with the actors, it is what I watched last night at Marcelo's house. That's partly why I didn't post--I came straight from FIT and went to his house, so I couldn't blog because I didn't have my computer.


I've seen this movie at least 12 times, but I never connected to it as much as I did last night. I guess it might be because I'm finally doing real things towards my dream, like going to an arts school and learning how to sew and make patterns, but there were a few monologues in there that made me realize, "This is why I want to be a fashion designer. This is exactly it." I can never explain it well myself, because it really does sound like a shallow career choice for some people.


Here are two video clips from the movie that caused me to have small epiphanies.
The first one is Meryl Streep (Miranda Priestley)'s monologue about Anne Hathaway (Andy)'s cerulean blue sweater, during the run through. It's before Andy's transformation.





[This is what Meryl Streep says in her monologue; the other stuff isn't as important. This is also here in case you don't want to watch the video, which you should because her delivery is superb, and the effect is a lot stronger, at least for me.]


"This... stuff'? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff."


And this one was done by Nigel (played by Stanley Tucci), when Andy comes to him complaining about Miranda. 


A Shining Beacon of Hope Scene from The Devil Wears Prada Movie (2006) | MOVIECLIPS


Sorry I couldn't get the actual video; Hulu was able to give me the code, but this website couldn't. Remember, I don't know what I'm doing. 


Here is what Nigel said, though the video shows the rest of the conversation as well. It gives a little bit of context, so you should watch it. The delivery is also excellent in this clip. 


"Andy, be serious. You are not trying. You are whining. What is it that you want me to say to you, huh? Do you want me to say, "Poor you. Miranda's picking on you. Poor you. Poor Andy"? Hmm? Wake up, six. She's just doing her job. Don't you know that you are working at the place that published some of the greatest artists of the century? Halston, Lagerfeld, de la Renta. And what they did, what they created was greater than art because you live your life in it. Well, not you, obviously, but some people. You think this is just a magazine, hmm? This is not just a magazine. This is a shining beacon of hope for... oh, I don't know... let's say a young boy growing up in Rhode Island with six brothers pretending to go to soccer practice when he was really going to sewing class and reading Runway under the covers at night with a flashlight. You have no idea how many legends have walked these halls. And what's worse, you don't care. Because this place, where so many people would die to work you only deign to work. And you want to know why she doesn't kiss you on the forehead and give you a gold star on your homework at the end of the day. Wake up, sweetheart."


Another thing that was great about watching it this time is that I recognized all of the names that I never knew before. Names like Cavalli (Roberto Cavalli), Manolo Blahnik, Lagerfeld. Those are just a few. 


I have to go watch those clips again. 

FITting In At FIT: Day 8

I would like to start by apologizing for the post that my idiotic sister put up while I was away from my computer for about a minute. I'm going to delete, but for those of you that were unfortunate enough to read it, I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not the one who should be apologizing. Like, who does that? My stupid sister, that is exactly who.

ANYWAY. Yesterday, I was going to wear the crop top I attempted to make out of my mom's old yellow silk shirt, but seeing as I don't have a proper sewing table, I had to cut the shirt on the floor and my line was not straight. I tried as best as I could to turn it into a hi-low crop top, but it's REALLY short now. Like, I'm-not-comfortable-walking-around-in-this-because-it's-short-in-the-front-and-in-the-back-plus-if-I-pull-the-neckline-up-it's-no-longer-a-shirt-and-more-of-a-loose-bandeau-and-if-I-pull-it-down-there's-basically-no-point-in-wearing-any-shirt-at-all short. So I didn't wear that. But I did wear my quest shorts, typiqually enough.

My 8th day at FIT was highly successful, I must say. I completely finished my peasant blouse, and it turned out pretty nicely. I'll put up a picture once it's been graded and I'm allowed to wear it. We're starting on our shorts on Monday. So stoked, guys! Cotton shorts that aren't actually made of cotton because I didn't bother to ask FTW.

In my patternmaking class, I learned how to make a strapless, empire waist top with shirring at the bust. And then--and here's the best part--I started draping the dress that I designed in muslin!! Well, now it's a shirt and a skirt, because the skirt is going to end up looking like the one I wanted from Urban Outfitters, and why make one into the skirt of a dress and a separate skirt when I can just do it once and have both, sort of? <--Rhetorical question

After classes, I went to the fabric store and got all my fabrics that I need for my shirt/skirt. I found the fabric for the top and the under-skirt easily, but then, when I asked for the pleated fabric, the guy said the entire roll was sold. 


I was devastated. It was so perfect. My dreams were crushed.

JUST KIDDING THAT'S ABSURD. I was just mildly annoyed. Well, a little bit more than mildly annoyed, but I digress.

Bak 2 da stori: After spending 20 minutes looking for a different fabric to use, someone else who works at the store told me that the whole roll was not sold, only 30 yards, so there were like 25 left on the roll to sell. I said I only needed 3 and I got it! Everything's all set. I am so ready.

And here's what I wore in that sweltering heat of yesterday, which has just gotten worse today:

 Shirt and shorts: Urban Outfitters
Scarf: it tumbled out of Edith's locker in 7th grade, and I was like, "Oh, I've always wanted one of those!" and she was like, "You want it?" So now it's mine.
Mocassins: Minnetonka via Zappos
Watch: Ben
Earrings (you can see them better later): my mom's, go figure

 Just for fun. The Man Repeller likes to add in the blooper pictures, so I figured I should.
(You can see that I'm wearing earrings. This was a big week for earrings--I usually only wear small diamond studs. Wutz hapning????!!!!)

 Surprisingly enough, the scarf was not unbearable. It didn't make me really hot or anything. A side note about the earrings: they're like three silver pear-shaped things layered over each other, but they get smaller. Like a smaller pear over a bigger pear over the biggest pear.

The editing job I did here makes me look a little dead, but don't worry about it.

I'll be back later to discuss the movie I watched last night, and other things of that nature. I'm about to hop into my grandparent's pool because it's the hottest day of the year right now.

FITting In At FIT: Day 7

I've almost completed the first piece of my new collection, which will be comprised entirely of peasant blouses. And circular skirts.

JAYKAY I'D DIE FROM THE BOHEMIANINITY OF IT. IT WOULD BE LIKE A BAND OF NOMADIC HIPPIES JUMPED OUT OF MY SEWING MACHINE AND STRANGLED ME WITH THEIR BEADED NECKLACES, TICKLED ME TO DEATH WITH THEIR FEATHERS, AND FORCED ME TO SNEEZE MY BRAIN OUT OF MY EARS BY RUBBING THEIR EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF FLOWERS NEAR MY NOSE.

Just a few of the many reasons why the above statement will never happen.

But for real, I'm almost done with my peasant blouse that I'm making in my sewing class. I screwed up a few small details, but for the most part it's good. I'm still learning, am I right? Yes, I am.
Moving on.

My teacher accepted my sketch, which I was worried about because I had selected a fabric that she said not  to use, which was chiffon. I won't give away any details, but the fabric is, once again, perfect, and I needed to at least see if she'd let me use it. The only thing she changed is the sleeves. We're not allowed to have sleeves. How bogus is that? Am I expected to just make sleeveless garments the rest of my life? I SURE AS HELL HOPE NOT.

On an entirely different subject, we went back to yoga in the park today, and there was no tornado. That's always a good sign. Just one word of advice: never do an hour-long yoga class with a full bladder. Just don't do it.

Now for the part of the post you've all been waiting for...da picz!! Unfortunately for you, these didn't turn out too well in my favor. (See what I did there?...Me neither.) The thing is, whenever I wear this romper, it makes me look a lot wider in circumference than I am. That's never a good thing. They're also just all around unattractive. Try not to let that distract you.
But, I can tell you one good thing that came out of this outfit: I realized that I'm learning how to wear my clothing in more interesting ways. Continue reading for more info-->

Yes, photos taken by Rachel, as per yooj.

 Romper: Urban Outfitters
Tied up top: New York & Company
Watch: Ben's birthday present
Necklace: Urban Outfitters (Hanukah present from Edith)
Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless
Sunglasses: Venice Beach

 See what I did here? I wore a tied up shirt over the romper. I usually just where it with a cardigan, like I did here, and every other time I've worn it. But this morning, I was having a lot of trouble deciding what to wear, and I had just the romper on and Rachel goes, "Del, you look fine." And then it hit me--fashion and dressing well aren't about looking "fine," they're about looking how you want to and doing something different. I realized today that I have a very specific style that's not quite like anyone else's. Sure, we all draw inspiration from one another, but everyone's style is always a little bit different, once they've developed it. Some people spend their whole lives wearing clothes that aren't really them. I don't know if it's just me, but I can tell when someone isn't dressing like themselves, even if I've never met them and I just see them on the street. It's insane. That would be under the "REALIZED" section on Grouchy Rabbit--props to Ben Korman for introducing me to this grumpy bunny.

Out of focus. My camera has autofocus. Great job, Rach. Keep @ it!!!!!1

I'm off to make a crop top to wear tomorrow, because it's supposed to be record temperatures tomorrow, and I refuse to wear a shirt tucked into my quest shorts. It just can't happen.

You may hear from me again tomorrow, if I survive the heat.

FITting In At FIT: Day 6

Today was a great day.

In my first class, we started working on our peasant blouses, and mine is turning out really well. I could sell that sh*t, no joke. But I won't because I want to wear it. Even though I have been reduced to carrying my cash around in coin form.

In my second class, I did a lot of sketching (I wasn't supposed to, but there was a lot of waiting. I got a head start on my homework and it made swatch-shopping a billion times easier), and I have an idea for an incredible dress. I really hope my teacher lets me do it. If not I'll do it later. And a skirt version of the dress as well, because it's gonna look a lot like this one from Urban that I've been coveting for a few weeks now but is too expensive for my anorexic wallet.

I discussed Harry Potter with some people at my table, and I learned how to make a circular skirt, as well as how to transfer a muslin pattern to pattern paper. I'm gonna be churning out a full 35-piece collection by the time these courses are over.

I'll try and scan my sketches at some point soon, so you can see how awesome they're going to be.

After class, I went to the discount fabric store I discovered yesterday on 25th and 7th (which is right down the street from the Goodwill store I found on 25th between 6th and 7th!! I have been looking for one for ages and I am so freaking pumped to go there) and got 4 free swatches of fabric!! It was a really cramped store, but their selection was great. I found the perfect fabric for the dress I want to make--but it'll decide whether or not my professor will let me make the dress. See, she wants us to use cotton and stuff, but this is like, pleated chiffon. It's beautiful. It's not really chiffon, but it's just perfect and it's pre-pleated and I'm in love.

THEN, and here comes the best part, while I was on 19th street walking up 6th to meet my mom at Sports Authority, a woman stopped me on the street and asked to take my picture. I knew exactly what she was: a street style photographer. I was so pleased that I smiled involuntarily, then asked whether I should smile and was told I should look at the lens as though I wanted to look through the lens. So I stared into the double lens of her beautiful film camera, one unlike I'd ever seen before (well, my friend Ben may have brought one in in 6th grade, but let's pretend this is my first time for the sake of the story) and she took two pictures. She was going to hurry along, but I asked her a few questions first. I think she was used to people being bothered or in a hurry when she took their picture, but I was so flattered and very intrigued. I asked her about what she does and if she'd seen the Bill Cunningham movie, and she said she'd cried five times and was able to quote him. I got her card, and I plan to contact her in the future. Her name is Amy Touchette, and you can check out her website here.

And now, for the outfit that got my picture taken by a street style photographer:

All photos taken by Rachel.

 Blouse: Liz Claiborne via Squan Dry Goods
Shorts: American Rag
Shoes: Urban Outfitters
Bracelet: a birthday present from Edith
Lone earring (which it turns out you can't see in any of these pictures): I found it. Somewhere... Don't ask q's.

 I was trying to show you my one-earring'd-ness, because it was inspired by Andie from Pretty in Pink (4th picture down). And you can see how well that turned out.

There I am!

I'd just like to point out that I am up to 15 followers! Keep telling your friends about this blog, and join my Facebook page, and all that jazz.
[Please note that I tried to write a jazz pun in this space but it did not work. This text is written here as a reminder of the humor that was lost at 9:17 pm on July 19th, 2011. RIP.]

FITting In At FIT: Day 5

Remember how a while ago, while I was in Vegas, I said I felt like Liz from the blog "Late Afternoon?". Well, that was in this post, if you forgot.

Today I felt like her again. I liked this one piece of advice she gave. It was more like me taking a tip from her. It was in this post, and she said: "My uniform has become a varied version of this look. The formula goes something like this: loose bottoms + tied up top + 1 statement piece = out the door." You should check out the pictures of her in this other post as well; it's the same concept.

The reason I brought this up is because I bought this great skirt for $20 at Urban a while ago, and I've worn it a few times, but I've always never gotten pictures, or I did and they turned out too horribly for use. If I were to attempt to pinpoint its color it would be poppy, but sometimes it looks more orange, and others it looks more pink. I also have a shirt that I got at Urban a few years ago--it's just a loose, blue t-shirt (I have another in teal, it was a 2 for $24 deal), but it got stretched out a bit when my cousin borrowed it. So while I was in Manasquan and I wore it on the beach, I decided to tie it up because there was so much excess fabric and it was just too hot for that. 

I was inspired in part by myself, who I guess was inspired by Liz. So this look was inspired by Liz. 

All pictures taken by my sister Rachel. 

 Shirt and Skirt: Urban Outfitters
Socks: New York & Company
Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless

Notice a change of scenery? Well I hope you like it, because I have a feeling it'll be in my pictures for the next few days at least. It's just some odd sculpture thing outside of E Building on the FIT campus. I saw it when I was walking to the subway with Rachel after class, and I was like, "Quick, Rach, could you just take some pictures?" She was reluctant at first, but eventually gave in.

A few things I should apologize for: 

1. my facial expression 

2. the slight blurriness of this photo. Rachel is taking an intermediate traditional darkroom class at FIT yet she can't keep the camera still. Looking at my feet (my photo feet) while I type this is giving me a headache. 

If you haven't noticed yet, I've been wearing my bangs clipped back a lot recently. That's because I'm growing out my bangs. I've had them for 2 years, and they're just such a hassle, especially in the summer. I'm also going to cut my hair short. Soon. Like, before we leave for France, which is in early August. 

I must go for dinner now, I'm starving. VEGGIE BURGERS FTW

Squan Dry Goods

The title of this post probably makes you think of a beach novelties sort of place, right? Like the store Shell City in the Spongebob Squarepants movie, with dried starfish and clams dressed up with googly eyes pasted on them. But Squan Dry Goods is actually an incredible consignment store, in the New Jersey shore town of Manasquan, where my friend Edith has a summer house. My family went there for a night, after we'd stopped for a night at a bed-and-breakfast in a different New Jersey beach town called Belmar. 

When we went to Edith's beach house last summer, she took us to a bunch of different stores in her town, but Dry Goods was my favorite. You can get things extremely cheap--it's actually completely skewed my pricing abilities. Now something that costs $16 is expensive. Maybe it's because I have no money. Maybe. 

I got a lot of cute things there last year, but I had money to spend last year. So naturally, the first thing we did when we got to Manasquan was go straight to Squan Dry Goods. I tried on and saw tons of awesome things, but the only thing I bought was something I saw on the rack of clothes that people had tried on and didn't want. It's like a really soft chambray sleeveless button up shirt. That sounds weird, now that I read the description, but trust me, it's pretty. And I hope you trust my judgement when it comes to clothes, or else you wouldn't read this blog, am I right? 

Edith and I went back today, and I got a loose, silky-ish grey racerback tanktop. It's a little sheer when you hold it up but when it's on, it isn't really. 

The best part was that the first shirt was $5 and the second was $6. No tax. You can't even buy anything at Urban Outfitters for $11. 

Sorry that I didn't blog the last two days, but we were just chilling with our friends and I actually bonded with my sister by watching "A Very Potter Musical." The first act, mind you. That thing is long. Anyway, I hope you understand. I always feel bad when I don't blog, but I shouldn't really. That's not to say I shouldn't care if I don't blog, but I shouldn't feel obligated to if I haven't got the time and it's stressing me out, or something. 

Quick story: this morning my mom and I got up early to do yoga on the beach, because Edith's mom said there was a class there (their house is literally right on the beach, maybe 10 feet away), but there wasn't anyone there. So my mom decided to lead us in a class. Just us two. And it was pretty good, I must say. Now my mom wants to become a yoga instructor, in addition to her personal training certification she has. Later that day we went kayaking, meaning me, Edith and her dad. It was fun and quite pleasant, but now my arms are tired. They'll be sore tomorrow. HOORAY 4 KAYAKZ!!!

I'll be back tomorrow with my usual FIT stuff, don't fear! Right now I'm super tired--I actually slept in the car on the ride back, which I never do. I'm not a napper. 

Toodleydoodles! (Note to self: never say that again)

Harry Potter...The Boy Who Lived...Come To Die.

Wow that was one of the many incredibly scripted lines from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," which I SAW AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT (JULY 14TH) AND IT WAS SO GREAT. I mean, I could go on for hours criticizing everything that they did wrong and what they could've done to make it better, but I won't bore you all with that.

I apologize for not posting yesterday and also for not taking pictures of my outfit that I wore on my 4th day at FIT. It was so hectic--we had so much prep work to do for the premiere. Me and my friend mich had to get our wands (really just me), and then identify them (mine is a 10 3/4 inch holly wand with a unicorn hair core), and get into our costumes, and of course converse for hours about everything Harry Potter, and then we had to get to the theatre (my mom and sister and her friend came as well), and then we got our HP 3D glasses and were so pumped and AHHHHH I'm so overwhelmed I can't even type.

Basically, I forced my mom to drive us to a theatre we'd never been to before because I insisted that we go the 12:01 showing and NOT the 12:11. We just had to.

But because of that, we got good seats, third row, and Mich and I were practically the only ones dressed up in full Hogwarts uniforms. Check us out:

On me: 

Sweater: New York & Company

Shirt: my mom's 

Tie: Mich's dad

Skirt: IDK bro. 

On Mich: 

Everything is from her dad or sister

(Except for) Her robes: Madam Malkin's 

Who wore it best?

 Rachel and her friend Julie bawling over the end of an era.

 Blooper shot. Keep in mind these were taken after we watched the movie.

So yeah. Also, these two random guys came up to Mich and I and asked if they could take a picture with us. It was so cool.

I'm about to go watch "A Very Potter Musical" with my sister so gtgbye!!!

FITting In At FIT: Day 3

Where to start.
Well, I have to be quick today because I'm on a very tight schedule.

Classes were good today.

I have an outfit to show you, but I'd just like you to know that I'd already changed out of it twice before getting back into it when I got home at 9:30 so my mom could take pictures. This was all after we'd gone to the gym, then to 15th and 10th to do yoga in the park, where it started hailing/tornado-ing 10 minutes in, and my mom, sister and I ran barefoot across the street to wait it out, and then after some bipolar-ness ensued (courtesy of my mom and sister, my view did not waver), I went back in to the park to continue my yoga class by myself (my sister and mom went to a bathroom, then came back after the good part) with maybe two dozen other hard core yogis and our awesome instructor named Justin, and while doing triangle pose, we saw a double rainbow, and Justin helped me do a headstand on a grassy, slippery incline and without a wall, and my hair was insane but it was awesome. I had a great time. That's possibly the longest sentence I've ever written but at least I got it all out right?

So now you know why my hair looks crazy in these pictures.
And you can't even see the frizz from here.

 Nice backdrop, eh?

Shirt: my mom's, you must recognize it by now
Shortalls (overall shorts, if you will): London London via Saver's
Socks: Urban Outfitters
Platform wedges: DV by Dolce Vita via Zappo's
Necklace: you can't see it, but it's a Spongebob necklace. It was a present from my cousin Emma. She gives the best gifts.

Gettin' mah creep on.
Also please see the hair. Cute, huh?

The reason I'm on a tight schedule is because I finished the last Harry Potter book last night, which means I've got to watch the 7th movie tonight, and not tomorrow, because we won't be home in time tomorrow, because we're meeting Mich so we can HP it up together and such. I need to eat now bye

FITting In At FIT: Day 2

The good thing about this whole camp series thing is that I don't have to worry about coming up with punny good titles.

Day 2: pretty good stuff.

In my sewing class (morning), we started practicing straight stitching on the industrial machines, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Those things move like lightning. It's scary. I actually jumped a little one time and closed my eyes. Did I think it was going to eat me, and that closing my eyes would help? Maybe. Was closing my eyes while trying to handle a very fast-moving needle? Not at all.

We also practiced using the reverse switch, which is also a little scary, because that's one less hand to guide the fabric with, which equals more possibility that the line won't end up straight, which was the point of the whole exercise. I got the hang of it pretty quickly though.

Next we worked on seams and seam finishes. We just had to sew together 6 panels (which means 5 seams) with 1 inch seam allowance, and then do a different seam finish on each one. Our teacher showed us how to do them, it's not like I just knew or anything. I even got to use an overlock machine, which is the thing they use to make all the seams inside our clothing have those crazy stitches on the ends, the little triangle-square pattern. Lucky for me, my sewing machine at home has that as a stitch, so I don't have to worry about a)getting one and b)chopping my fingers off with the built in blade that is supposed to cut of excess fabric but could easily catch an extremity.

My second class was quite similar to yesterday's class, because we worked on the basic shirt back to go with our front. It took less time than it did yesterday, so we got to move on (after pinning them together and putting them on our dress forms and seeing how well they fit, all thanks  to our trusty darts). We were informed about our next project, which is a halter top. I'm pretty excited. I also am now in possession of four yards of my own muslin.

And to this 2nd day of camp, I wore this:
(I feel like I'm making a lot of blog excuses lately, but today the quality of these pictures is owed to the fact that literally no one could take my picture today. I usually think selfies in da mirror are despicable, but if the Man Repeller can get away with it, I figured I can give it a shot. I'd give you the link to when she did it, but I can't find it.)

 Dress: Urban Outfitters
Blazer: Hamlet's Vintage (I wore it here as well)
Sandals: Montego Bay Club
Necklace: an Italian street vendor
Earrings: hand-me-downs from my mom

 I tried to show you my necklace a little closer up, but I guess it didn't work. This is one of my two owl necklaces, which may seem like a lot of nocturnal bird related neckwear, but I like owls. Actually, all of my friends say I look like an owl when I open my eyes really wide, which happens when I get mad or when I want something (that last one was discovered yesterday by my sister, so I can't really attest to it). And we've also decided that my Patronus would be an owl.

There's my shoes. Wait they're's  THREE???? JK, they're's only one. Think about it for a moment.

That's all for now, folks.
Toddly doodly doo!