Life is short. BUY THE SHOES. It’s no secret that I love shoes. I have a relationship with my shoes, to the point where they cheer me up when I’m having a bad day and can just as easily bring me to the depths of despair. They listen to my woes, coddle my feet when they need coddling, and occasionally attack my tootsies with a torrent of blisters not known this side up of purgatory. But I always forgive them, so deep is our love for each other.
A week of leisure means I have a chance to catch up on a lot of things that get pushed to the bottom of the pile when life gets crazy. This week I’ve been catching up on blogging, on some sewing projects for myself and for my niece (who generally always gets a mini-version of anything I make for myself. Yeah, I’ll pay for that one when she’s 16…), and enjoying a lot of great (bad) tv.
I have to say, life has been absolute madness lately. It seems as if there’s no time to stop and enjoy what’s around me, because I’m always running from one place to the next. And the problem with being constantly on the go, is that stopping somehow feels wrong. In academia (aka, the world in which I dwell), you constantly have your eye on the next paper, the next project, the next deadline to meet…and as such, I have done a whole lot of working and not nearly enough lounging…
I love trying unique color combinations. Although mint and red is certainly not groundbreaking, there’s something very eye catching about it that seems to catch people off guard. I always manage to garner looks (well, more than usual) as I go skipping down the street in a sweet confection of minty-red goodness. I can’t tell if it’s the poofy skirt, the polka dot heels, or if people are just trying to work out whether I’m a few months late for Christmas and a few bulbs shy of a Christmas tree…
I always seem to have quite the adventure when I embark on a dressmaking project and this latest was no exception. This one in particular combined two of my favorite things: sewing and shark biology. Though the impetus is usually different, in general my dresses go from some sort of idea that’s been tickling at the back of my head for awhile until the perfect opportunity arises… Warning: Photo heavy post ahead!
Because it was so popular last month, I’ve decided to continue sharing my current Lust List (you can see last month’s list here). Whether I’m standing in line to get my coffee, unwinding at the end of the day, or trying to coax my eyelids open in the morning, there are always beautiful things to peruse. I suppose that’s the wonderment (and the curse, according to my Visa card) that is the internet…
We all have our style comfort zones. Although I like to experiment now and again, I tend to gravitate towards the things that work for me. My body type really suits the fit and flare silhouette – I have a proportionally tiny waist in comparison to my larger bust and then those blessed flared skirts cover all kinds of business (especially the squishy areas we all tend to be most insecure about). So most of the time I stick with that which is comfortable.
Surprisingly, I am a huge fan of the outdoors. I only say surprisingly because you’d take one look at me and assume that the thought of leaving my heels behind for a weekend would be a tantamount to a death sentence. Now, although I agree that the wonders of a mattress and a hot shower cannot be denied, I’ve always been a huge fan of camping and diving and boating and everything in between. I don’t always get back to it as often as I’d like, but every time I do it seems to center me.
One of the best interests I ever followed through on was learning how to sew. It’s empowering to be able to make your own clothes and to make the clothes you buy fit perfectly. I tend to make a beeline for the $10 pile in an op shop that are full of beauties that need a zip replaced or torn seams repaired – they no longer seem disposable, but full of opportunities to make like new again. It also changes the way you view your body – it’s no longer about changing yourself to fit the clothes, but changing the CLOTHES you fit…