Luciano Padovan, Halo Shoes, and Sensibility on the Side

Dear Luciano Padovan:
Thank you for creating these amazing shoes. Thank you for designing them to be perfectly black and strappy ... with hot pink soles.

Dear Halo shoes of Portland:
Thank you for buying these for your store and marking them down so that I could afford them.
Dear Universe:
Thank you for reminding me that with certain things, it's ok to be sensible but that with shoes, it's ok not to be.

Amen.

Hair Update :: Pigtails!

For SO many years I've had short hair and loved it. And then one day not too long ago, I decided that I'd try something different and start growing it out. Just like that.

Today marks almost 2 months since my decision to start growing it out. I'm sort of thrilled that I can put my hair in pigtails! I love it.

My hair is still in an awkward state but it's gotten less awkward than just a few weeks ago when I was asking myself what I had gotten myself into. And then soon after, I learned that I can sweep the upper half up with a comby clippy thingy and I like that very much, but not as much as my new pigtails. :)

In terms of whose hair I'm aspiring to, it would say the way Kate Winslet is wearing hers lately in the photo below. So beautiful, I think.

Who knows. Maybe I'll not have the endurance to grow it out as long as hers but that's where I'm aiming. It'll take a year or more I'm sure. Lots of discoveries along the way which I'll keep you updated on. Cause I know you want to be updated on things like that. :)

Oh, this happy life filled with discoveries, complications, tangles, curls, intrigue, friendship, love, and changes.

Always unexpected changes.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: 1 Outfit, 2 Events

So I have a couple of major events to attend in the next couple of days: Art Walk Studio with Book Signing and Painting Demo tomorrow night in Studio CRESCENDOh (which I hope you'll attend), and a holiday get-together with some friends. Rather than figuring out two different outfits, I decided I'd put together one killer outfit and use it for both events. Totally different crowds so I don't think anyone will notice.

So it's my trusty dress that is used as an overcoat, whcih I've been doing a lot of lately, with a super easy dress by James Perse underneath.

And to go with the dress are super high knee high socks and my trusty black boots.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Freudian Slip

Tonight's gonna be fun. I'm going to a pre-Halloween costume party with The Mister and a very fun crowd of friends. For my costume, I integrated The Dress by embroidering the word "Freudian" on one of the lapels.

Underneath The Dress I will be wearing a hand-dyed slip that was recently given to me by the lovely Sherry Mattia-Welch of Glamarella Junk. And so this year, I will be a Freudian Slip.

I've been a Freudian Slip before but this year, The Mister will actually be Sigmund Freud (with a beard, cigar, 3-piece suit, and all), which makes the costume truly completely. Keep up with my Instagrams tonight and I'll try and capture a few fun shots from the party.


Sherry does a great job scouting vintage slips that she dyes to perfection. So lovely. This is actually my third dyed slip from Sherry. they are perfect over jeans, as an under dress, as just a sun dress. Check out all of her offerings here.


Here's the most important part to all of this:

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Zoofari & Crocheted Bear Ears

Tonight is Zoofari. One of the best events that I get to attend all year, given that one of the things that The Mister oversees for The City of Santa Ana (along with all the parks, rec centers, and the library) is the beautiful Santa Ana Zoo. Zoofari is the annual black-tie gala where guests are invited to dress in black-tie with a twist ... in honor of the animals. So tonight, I'll be taking my dress to the event but it will likely be used late at night, when the heat dies down, as a jacket that I wear over this dress. 

For some reason, I had the darnest time getting a head-to-toe shot of the dress with my favorite pair of red shoes on ... but you can sort of see one of the shoes peeking out in the shot below.

Oh, and of course, my twist to the black tie will be my crocheted bear ears ... one of the many projects that will found in my new book, Crochet Love :: 25+ Zakka-Inspired Projects ... coming out in 2013. Super fun.

I'll try and snap some shots of the fun scenes from Zoofari tonight on my Instagram ... keep up with my Instagrams here.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Heart

It was a hot night last night.
Which is why my dress became a jacket that I hardly used because it was so hot ...

Under the jacket was an outfit that came together in honor of Heart ... one of my favorite bands who we got to see in concert last night.

A simple black skirt, a brown cami, a black vest, and hot shoes.

So many wonderful songs ... but my favorite one of all-time by Heart is ... Dog and Butterfly.
It was a special moment when they sang it last night ... got me a little weepy to hear it up close and personal.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Hot Shoes by Kors

There's nothing like a pair of smokin' hot shoes to lift my spirits up.
This pair is by Michael Kors ... so simple yet so dramatic.

Today I am wearing them with my dress ... it's really all I need to make the outfit become  extraordinary.

And here I am in a blurry shot below, trying to squeeze into the tight frame to get the entire dress and shoes in one shot. Almost. Notice the mountain of yarn in this photo and the last ... on my office chair. Oh, this tangled (and sometimes blurry) life.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Sheryl Crow ... 50 and Smokin' Hot

Did you know that Sheryl Crow is 50 years old? I don't know why I didn't realize that ... after all, Gerardo and I have been HUGE fans of Sheryl since way back when. It was about 25 years ago when we went to our first Sheryl Crow concert together at The Whiskey. She was just starting to explode onto the scene and her parents were in the audience cheering her on. So sweet.

Last night, Gerardo and I had a complete and total blast watching Sheryl in concert again. And what a thrill it was to be able to meet and visit with her before the show. She was so nice. A class act all the way.

So why do I bring up Sheryl's age? Well ... because for the longest time I just assumed that she was younger than me. The way she looks, her vitality, the way she dresses, her whole package ... this shot below isn't the best one because it's a bit blurry but the way she sings, the way she tells her stories ... she is mesmerizing.

She's been through a lot too. Breast cancer. Relationship challenges. Single motherhood. And now some additional health challenges which I believe she'll power through. The way she talks about all of these things ... it's so easy ... so real ... she doesn't hide or mask her stories. They are there.

I'll be daring and end by posting this final photo below ...
Sheryl Crow.
50 years old and smokin' hot.

I posted this photo earlier today on my Instagram and it caused a bit of a stir ... causing some digs about Sheryl. Mainly about how it's easy to be this fit if you've never birthed a child and if you have money to invest in personal training.

Blah, blah, blah.

Similar digs are said about Jennifer Hudson. I've heard it. "Oh if I had money and an endorsement contract, I'd lose weight too." Um ... on the count of three, let's think of celebrities who have been given endorsement deals by Jenny Craig and such and have not come close to what Jennifer Hudson has done. Ready? One, two, three.

Ok ... more ...

On the count of three, think of a woman who hasn't given birth, and who has money but still hasn't gotten fit. Ready? One, two, three.

Now, on the count of three, think of a woman with a moderate income who has given birth but who has gotten fit. Ready? One, two, three.

The thing is, there are always examples that prove the digs right, and also examples that prove the digs downright wrong.

I remember after I had my babies in my social worker days, I spent something like 200 bucks to buy a Nordic Trak machine and worked my tail off on that machine for weeks on end to lose the pregnancy weight. It was a lot of money to spend back then for me. And I remember a colleague who said to me "Well, if I had access to a machine like that, I'd be able to lose weight too."

The gall.

It made me so mad. Because it's not that I had access to a machine that she could never have access to. She could have sacrificed things she was spending money on to buy a Nordic Trak or a treadmill or a gym membership or a flippin' jump rope for Pete's sake. It was really her discounting the discipline, hard work, the grit that it took for me to coordinate putting my newborn in an automated swing, settting my toddler up with a Barney video, while I got my soft, pudgy body onto the thing that I decided to invest in for 30 minutes every day, to lose my pregnancy weight. It was so hard.

One of the first things I have people do in my Crafting Fitness class is to identify who their fitness role model is. And people come up with all sorts of people. It's one of my favorite parts of the class because fitness role models come in differnet sizes, shapes, ages, professions, and walks of life. Role models give us hope. They inspire us. They motivate us. I've had several over the years. Some celebrities, some friends, some strangers who don't realize I am in awe of them at the gym. And the thing is, who motivates me is different from who motivates you ... as it should be.

I guess this is a long way of sayinng that in this season of my life, Sheryl has become my new fitness role model. She gives me hope that I can not only succeed in successfully fighting for fitness in my 40s, but well into my 50s and beyond. And regardless of what kinds of comforts or advantages we may assume she has, I also know she has discomforts and disadvantages that only she knows about.

But I know this. She's 50 and looks better than many 20-somethings and 30-somethings. And if she can do it, I know others can do it too.

So ... what about you? Who's your fitness role model? Who gives you hope, inspires you, motivates you, and challenges you to aim for optimum fitness in your season of life?

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Vintage Pin for Sheryl Crow

Tonight, I'll be going to the Sheryl Crow concert with Gerardo. I'm so excited. And so I thought I'd try to dress up my dress with my favorite vintage brooch.

Here's a closer look at how the brooch looks. It's my favorite.

I love Sheryl. Her music, her lyrics, her soulfulness ... and her strength to survive so much that she's gone through. It'll be a great time for sure.

A note about my dress ... it has been in my seamstress' studio on a few occasions during the last few weeks as she has had to take it in here and there ... so that on the road to fitness, the dress doesn't completely look like a tent on me. (Thanks Sandra.)

Also ... in this blazing hot southern Californis, I've learned just how heavy and hot this dress is ... causing me on the hottest days to turn to my shorts and tee instead.

No matter.

We are on track. And so far, we are holding steady at $1550 raised to bring clean water to the world. Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Terri Neggers

Today,  I'm wearing a unique piece of handmade necklace with my dress. (I'm also wearing my trusty Anthropologie tunic over the dress.) The necklace was made by Terry Neggers whose art you can buy here, and whose blog you can visit here.

Here's a closer look ... a piece made with unexpected vintage parts ... all rusty and full of ingrigue.

Many thanks to Terri for stretching outside of her mixed media comfort zone to make this fabulous piece of artwear to support water.org.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.