I can't hear me. The Big Interview.

I painted my eyebrows white, well, very light blue, before I went out in the morning, and in this photo, taken when I got home, you can't even tell. So what happened to my makeup? Was it sucked into my body?! 

It's a pancake type from MAC, which means it's not tested on animals, a plus, unless you count myself. At least it washes off very easily, the part that your body hasn't lapped up already. 

My Big Interview was recorded a while ago for a podcast that went live a few days ago. The show is MaturePreneurial, hosted by Elaine Benoit. If you ask how it went, I would say it was kind of like snapdragons growing out of rocks, like these, which I photographed recently. I felt nervous but I pushed through it - I won't go so far as to say I bloomed madly, but I conquered another fear, and that's worth celebrating.

I arrived at the sound recording booth early, having decided to use the pro studios at Vancouver Public Library's Innovation Lab. A Skype interview. The facilities are free with a library card - computer, mic, mixer. The tech promised to set me up, but when I couldn't hear my own voice through the headphones, only the interviewer's, the tech said, "It's supposed to be like that." ?! NOT.

As a result, I was not only nervous but also flustered from the outset and didn't have a chance to review my notes. But I survived. Maybe it was better not to hear what I was saying. Heh. At least I could hear Elaine.

When the interview was over, I noticed something weird. My pant legs had been hiked as high as they would go, and when you're wearing palazzo pants, which I was, that's pretty high. Yes, I had subconsciously been raising my pant legs throughout the interview, a nervous tick I suppose. Hahaha! Thank goodness I wasn't wearing a dress! - there was a tinted window in the booth where anyone could look in.

So if you want to know more about me, have a listen HERE. Elaine has interviewed lots of interesting people, including Lyn Slater, who gave a detailed account of how her social media presence was born. The mysterious rising pants are in the bio photo there. A big thank you to Elaine for having me on her show!

That's a Desigual T-shirt that Shelley of blog Forest City Fashionista gave me, with "RAINBOW" splashed across the front in sequins, and butterflies, so I farked it. Shelley suspected I would. Nobody tells me happy words and gits away with it! Heh.

I added the phrase "Existential Angst" to balance things out a bit and wore it the first time with my tuxedo pants and a jacket I got from Sylvia of blog 40 Plus Style during the clothing swap at the big blogger meetup a couple of years ago. This outfit made me think of Tom Waits. And I'm wearing a couple of rings that O made me, also available in his Etsy store here.

And I'm wearing BROWN. Whaaa?! It was nippy and this dress is a stretchy wool blend. If I hadn't had the striped tights, I wouldn't have put it on. And I'm wearing my watch choker. It's easy to tell time because it's broken and time stands still. Of course you see my magic loupe too, also available in O's shop here, a handmade piece. He even shaves the lens to a custom size.

I don't know what I'm doing in that pose down there.

And one more outfit for the road. My huuuuge pants that will definitely fall down without my unisuspender or that chain belt I'm wearing. They are so cottony soft, double ply, by the Vancouver label Babs. And on top is my silk Donna Karan pyjama shirt. 

On my feet are my Velveteen Rabbit D&G shoes.

Ahhhh, summer is here. I like it. Not too hot, not too cold. For now. 

That's all for this week. I had a whole post written and scrapped it at the last minute. I took time to write it too. That often happens when I think too much. Sigh. 

In my last post I wrote how I just got a cart. Pffft. I keep forgetting to take it out, or don't take it out on purpose thinking, oh, I'm not going to buy anything this morning, and then what?! All-natural peanut butter, $3 off per jar?!! Heh. Must. take. cart. And fan.

I'll link up to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb.

I hope youse guys are in your groove, making the most of each day. As always, thanks for dropping by!!

Simple minded

The resting bitch face. Get used to it because, like it or not, it appears to have hijacked my neutral face. Feck this aging shite! Do you recognize the beast I'm wearing? Bwa-ha-ha. That's the twin of the coat I spied through the shop window the other day when I broke my oath to quit thrifting (seen also in previous post). Clearly I couldn't split up the family. This one is a rich burgundy colour, which reminds me: the photo quality is shite too. Can I blame that on aging? I went into a metal-head store today, The Rock Shop on Granville St., to check out their full lineup of Manic Panic hair colour. Although my bitch face made me feel welcome, peering scientifically into their showcase with my magic loupe cancelled that out. I didn't buy anything...yet. You bet your ass I'm linking up to Patti at NOT DEAD YET!!! Style for her Visible Monday party. We're gonna bust this grin wide open. Yeah.

my journal sketch of this outfit. i want that mole-rat-dog-cat.

And if you love Desigual dresses you might want to look away, considering what I've done in my latest DIY.

BEFORE

AFTER

I call this "Teacup." I turned one dress upside-down and sewed it to a right-side-up dress at the hem, chopped off the top and sleeves of the bottom dress so my feet could fit through, and put in a back slit so I can walk, which is helpful. Then I serged the raw edges and reinforced the top of the slit with that square bit you see above. The upper dress remains in original condition but I threw on the hacked-off top of the bottom dress for this photo just because. I didn't finish the bottom edge of the top because I like the raw quality.

It's taken me decades to be able to attempt something like this; what I mean is, to feel free to make mistakes, even to make garbage. It's such a relief!! My best work in upcycling and other creative pursuits comes from this approach. Letting go. It doesn't always work and sometimes I really end up with garbage, but I'm very satisfied with this project and the teacup shape. I haven't worn this piece out yet; I just wanted to show you. I'll probably style it a bit differently on top and throw on some jewels. Of course, this approach wouldn't work if I wanted to sew something tailored from scratch. Maybe that will be the next goal.

The dresses are courtesy of:

ARIANE!!

Style Sud-Est

Remember, Ariane, when you sent me these way back? I'm not the quickest to post, and it took me until now to figure out how to style them, but I eventually get there. Thanks so much for providing me with these colourful dresses bursting with inspiration. 

And finally,

Tonight is the Academy Awards show. Here's what happened last time I watched an awards show, as sketched in my journal.

Instead of watching, I am putting together this post. But since we do have more chips and the show lasts forrrever, I might tune in later. 

Does fear of perfectionism make you verklempt? all tied up in knots? unable to dig in and get messy? I hope not, but, man, it's sure hard to shut up that pesky inner critic. 

Have a great week, everyone.