Refashioning a Maxi Dress

There were a couple things wrong with this Old Navy dress, which I bought a year or so ago.  First, it had somehow acquired two small holes right below the knee.  Second, it was gray, which is a color that washes me out. 

With the recent dying success of Suze and others, I figured I'd give it a shot.  Plus, it gave me a chance to play with my new sewing machine more with simple projects before I take on something more complicated.

First, I chopped off the bottom, holey part of the dress.

The cutest part of the dress was the flower section at the bottom, so I sewed a chunk of that to the bottom of the short dress.  The length now came to just below my knee.

Next was the scary part.  I followed the directions on the RIT dye box, adding some salt (It said to use a cup, but I just poured some in.  I'm sure it was less than a cup.) and a little bit of detergent.  I put the wet garment in--very important to make sure the whole thing is wet.  I noticed a streak of lighter dye when I took it out that must've been a dry patch.  It was very subtle, though, and it seemed to disappear after it dried.

The color is not a vibrant orange, but I wasn't really expecting it to be since I started with gray fabric.  Also, I'm not sure if I left it in the washer long enough.  Looks pretty good, though!  I think I'm going to like it a lot better than the gray.

And, inspired by Bekah and her merrymaking, I was able to quickly fashion a turban out of the holey part of the fabric.  Bonus!

Let's Get Physical

Memorial Day weekend 2010 - hiking while on a camping trip in the U.P.

1. Do you keep some kind of fitness routine? Why? I should, but I do not.  Why?  Because I'm lazy and busy.  So when I'm not busy, I want to be lazy.
2. Has working out, maybe training for a marathon or something of that nature, helped with your own perception of body image?  Sure.  When I used to go to the gym, take a Zumba class, or play volleyball or tennis, I always felt better about myself afterward.
3. When you are hitting the gym or just going out for a long walk what do you wear? Is it about functionality or fashion? Functionality mostly.  When I go for walks, I'm usually in a T-shirt and hoodie and some pants.  Since my walks are not high-intensity or anything, I just wear sneakers instead of like, hardcore cross trainers or whatever.  Sometimes I'll spice it up with a hat or a scarf it's chilly out.  When I used to go to the Y, it was functionality all the way.  Shorts or capris and a baggy T-shirt.
4. Do you feel there is a cultural perception of what you ‘should’ be doing for your own physical fitness?  I don't know.  Not really.  I live in Wisconsin, so I guess I "should" be eating cheese and brats and drinking beer.  
5. Dream big...what would be your ultimate fitness goal. It's been my goal since high school to achieve my goal weight of 150 lb. I guess the number is kind of arbitrary if I've had it in mind for this long and haven't gotten within 10 lb. of it. But, you said to dream big, so there ya go.

Fascinating Royal Hats

It's very easy for me to get caught up in the hype of things. I was open to watching the Super Bowl this year since the Packers were in it even though I don't like football. I am a big Harry Potter and Twilight fan, but I get strange urges to go to the opening nights in costumes and hang out with the crazy hardcore fans. So it's really no surprise that I'm getting a little excited about the Royal Wedding tomorrow.

I haven't been following it much, but I used to think Prince William was a hottie, and Kate Middleton is gorgeous and has great style. That's about where my interest ends. Oh, and my love of British accents. One of my coworkers is taking off work tomorrow to watch the big event. I'm not going that far, but I will DVR it.

Anyway, some of the things I find fascinating about British style are their hats, or fascinators (see what I did there...yeah...). Some of these fascinators that Kate Middleton has worn do kind of border on ridiculous, but that just adds to the whimsy of it all.

Source

You can check out E! Online's photo gallery for more Crazy Hats worn by royals.

Since I do enjoy the occasional hat, I figured I'd have some brief, goofy fun and try some on in the store. I knew Boston Store typically has a good variety of old lady/British hats, so I stopped there.



A lady saw me trying on the first one, and she had the best quote. She was like, "That's really cute. If I wore that, I'd look like a woodpecker." I was amused. It was kind of woodpecker-esque.

~ Countess Rebekah Calthorpe Bryanton of Port Washingtonshire
(via the Royal Name Generator - I definitely Refreshed a bunch of times to get a decent one, heh)

The Caffeine Coquette: Top 5 Spring Trends

It's that time of the week again. Please do click on over to The Caffeine Coquette and check out my post on the top five spring trends and easy tips on how to wear them.

America's Next Top Model All Star Cycle

It has just been announced that for Cycle 17 of America's Next Top Model, Tyra will be inviting back memorable girls from past cycles to compete. As someone who has loved every cycle but sometimes questioned the winners, I CANNOT WAIT! This announcement got me thinking...if I were to create an all star cast, who would be included? As much as I'd want to pick my favorites from every cycle, there would need to be some drama, too. It was really hard narrowing it down to 14...but here's who I would choose:

Mercedes - A lot of people thought she was robbed when Yoanna won (I was a Yoanna fan), and no one was angrier than Janice Dickinson about it, so I think she should have another go.

Kahlen - She definitely gave Naima a run for her money. Their final runway show was one of the fiercest.

Melrose - Yes, she had an older look, but she knew what she was doing. Now she's probably like 30, though, eh?

Brittany - This girl was a total brat, but I loved her look.  From her bad weave to her hissy fit after go-sees, Brittany was always whining about something.

Jenah - I don't know if she'd do it, but she was my favorite from Cycle 9. Oh no, I just realized that Tyra will not be able to resist bringing Heather back. Dangit.

Anya - This girl with her crazy accent and European-type beauty is the definition of high fashion.  Anya or Katarzyna should've won Cycle 10. Sorry, Whitney!

Katarzyna - One of the many girls Tyra didn't think had enough personality.  Still, Anya or Katarzyna should've won Cycle 10. Sorry, Whitney!

Analeigh - !!!!!!!!!!! Nuff said.

Sheena - We need an Asian winner one of these years, and I think either Sheena or Jennifer (below) could do it.

Jennifer - Although she was in the shorty cycle, she was very talented and had potential.

Angelea - She was hilarious and surprisingly good.

Alexandra - A plus size girl who took really good pictures.

Jane - !! Love her.

Ondrei - Sabreen reminded me of this one. She went home early this cycle due to a family tragedy, so she deserves another shot.  She's beautiful and showed a lot of potential.

Those are the girls I would like to see. My predictions of who Tyra will really bring back are Toccara (which I would be fine with), Jade (for the drama), Heather (overrated in my opinion), Naduah (Tyra has said she went home too early), Tahlia (has a good story but wasn't a great model, I don't think), and maybe Isis (transgender model).

Can't wait!

Rain and Wind

It started off as just a light drizzle...

Top: Forever 21; Cardigan: Charlotte Russe; Cords: Gap; Shoes: Payless; Bracelet: Refashioned Old Navy

Then the rain picked up...

And the wind caught me off guard...

Yup, time to wrap it up...

By the way, it was cropped pants day for Wear*It Wednesday, so I took these regular length (meaning too short for me) skinny cords and cuffed 'em.  Maybe I should've gone a little shorter, but I ended up being beltless by the end of the day, so that didn't help matters.  Anyway, check out how everyone else styled their cropped pants today/yesterday.

How We All Wore the Tucker for Target Dress

While having a huge case of the Mondays, I compiled a list of the ways bloggers have worn this Tucker for Target dress with some help from Elizabeth's pinterest board.  Why?  Because I saw it on the sale rack at Target a week or so ago, snatched it up myself, and wore it today.  And it's just one of those things that tons of bloggers have, so it's fun to see how everyone else styled it.  Lemme know if I missed anyone that you know of.

I'll get mine out of the way and then move on to the list. 

Dress and Tights: Target; Shoes: Payless; Cardigan: Old Navy; Bracelet: Refashioned Old Navy; Belt: Forever 21; Sunglasses: Hanson.net

(Click on each image to check out each lady's blog post.)