Ok people, let's talk strapless. Or: A PLEA TO DESIGNERS EVERYWHERE

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, EVERYONE GET OVER IT.

Thanks for letting me have that little rant. Now I feel like we can truly begin.

This all started this morning when, groggy as a pirate the night after a wedding (aren't I punny? pirates would drink grog...Ok, sorry) I clambered onto my email and saw the email from VoguePatterns proclaiming that the NEW PATTERNS WERE HERE. YAY! I'm kind of a (not so) secret pattern hoarder, so I decided to check things out. Well, surprise, surprise...I was more or less disappointed. Here's a selection.

Wow. Look at all those sheath dresses. YAWN.

And then, the kicker. I saw it hovering around the bottom...some sort of delicious floral-on-white. Nothing gets my attention like pink and red on white. Here's what it was on:

                                                   

STRAPLESS! Why??? Why has everything got to be strapless? Who came up with this idea? It's terrible!

In my expertise, there is a tiny boob-range of women who can wear strapless gowns. If you are flat chested, you are not in it. Also, if you have any chest to speak of, you are not in it. That leaves...oh, about 1.8% of women who look good in a strapless. So WHY IN THE WORLD do we see this stupid design EVERYWHERE? 

(how does this last one even stay up?! what if you have to stretch!?)

I get that there's a certain charm to showing off your beautiful shoulders and collarbones. However, the majority of women (even the ones who can make these bizarre things stay up) still spend more time hiking the bodice up and/or looking like the saggy boobed grannies of yore. These types of clothes always drag down your bust. Is that the charm--the almost falling off part? Can someone help me here?

There are other ways to show off that chest without needing to resort to almost baring it. Busty ladies, why not try something like this? (Image from igigi.com...one of my fave designers)

And that goes for the rest of you too! Let's all shed the strapless like the dead weight it is, and bring back the boatneck, the cowl neck, the sweetheart neckline with long sleeves! Let's throw out the saggy boobage and celebrate cap sleeves!

Who's with me?!

And by the way, Vogue Patterns...THANKS FOR NOTHING!

In which I become a Level One Quilting Jedi, and bemoan making clothing for others

So, this weekend, I made my first foray into QUILTING. I know, you can barely stand the sheer adventurousness of the whole thing--but seriously, I became a Level One Quilting Jedi this weekend, thanks to the help of Regina over at The Queen Bee's Buzz. Quilting is actually something I enjoy possibly just as much as garment sewing, and this is because (like garments) a quilt is just the final result of a bunch of tiny, puzzle-like pieces. I dug everything about it, from the methodical cutting of squares, to the precise sewing, to the ironing. It was a very huge ordeal for me, however, to get the whole thing laid out, as I tended to get caught up in the layout obsessively from the get-go. Here's the final result, not yet sewn together:

I really can't wait to get a border and a backing on it. I'm thinking a thin black border and then a wider....? one. Any suggestions? 

In other news, I am dying to make myself a spring/summer dress out of this old vintage sheet I've got. It's  perfect fabric for such a thing because it's light, airy, pre-washed, and already broken in. However, I've already promised to make the SO a vest, and my mom and friend a dress. Why oh why can't I just be a selfish seamstress? As soon as I make something, I want to give it away!!!

Lame. Well, on top of everything else, the machine's tension is on the fritz, so I may have to get it looked at. It's not been serviced in fourteen or so years, so I'm thinking it's about time....

Well, I guess that nips my sewing in the bud, at least for a little while. Lame.

What I did this weekend...

Was make some Marie Antoinette-inspired pumps with my mom. A regular 80's pump and some trim, earrings, and glue, and you've got a new shoe! Enjoy the preview. Check them all out in my shop tomorrow.

I like to cook how I dress..blending the basics.

I feel like a lot of college kids (and even some adults) don't understand the basic rules of cooking for one, or cooking to save money. They see cooking as something you do for someone you want to see naked someday, or maybe just because you feel really fancy. Flambe, cheesecake, some sort of stir fry with gold flakes in it...whatever. It's a one time deal, generally involves a giant mess, and leaves everyone feeling exhausted. And, it's so complicated that usually the cook wants nothing to do with the kitchen for the next three months.
It doesn't have to be that way. A few tips I follow are:

1. Find a good source of fresh, cheap produce. In my area, we have a ton of farms and even a PriceRite, which to me is wonderful. Produce should be the BULK of your shopping, not easy mac and Twizzlers.

2. Keep the staples on hand. These are:

• onions
• garlic
• potatoes
• a few plum tomatoes
• a cucumber
• a head of lettuce
• green beans OR asparagus
• lemons OR lemon juice
• olive oil
• butter
• eggs
• ground meats/shaved meats/salami
• citrus fruits AND a non citrus fruit
• two avocados
• bread
• pasta
• rice
• cheese of some sort
• salt and other basic spices, dried (oregano, thyme, basil, sage, rosemary)
• For breakfast, keep milk, OJ, tea, instant coffee, a bag of oats or instant oatmeal, and/or a box of cereal along with some dried fruits and jam

I also recommend keeping some chicken drumsticks and a pork loin in the freezer. These things are pretty easy to just whip up and cook, with minimal effort. If you want to be really lazy, keep a frozen pizza in there. But I kind of frown upon this, as pizza that is from the frozen section is usually pumped full of nasties and sodium.

3. Make basic dishes, and LOTS OF THEM, then mix and match. Chili and rice, for example, like the recipe I am going to show next. Or, put the chili on some chopped lettuce. Or, make a salad. Or.... (ok, see? my list above already has a lot of basic meals.)

The cool thing about being a college kid is generally, you don't have a family to worry about feeding. But even if you do, try making a giant pot of something and using it creatively throughout the week. Then, you stretch the dollars that went into that dish even further. Save the fancy stuff for the weekends or special occasions. You'll find that at least that way, cooking will actually save you a TON of money. I spend, currently, about $70 per two weeks of foodies, sometimes a little more if I have to replenish the salad items. I try to eat something green every day.

Here's a basic dish to get you started.

Randomly Herbed Turkey Chili and Brown Rice Bonanza

Ingredients
1 package ground turkey
some grape tomatoes or 1 plum tomato
1 package chili seasoning
1 can red beans, undrained
some random herbs
salt
butter
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
brown rice


1. So. Mince the garlic and chop the onion, and toss them in some butter. Saute until clear or browning. It doesn't really matter which. As the kids say, "Lol"

2. Add the turkey and some salt and random spices. I can't even remember what went into mine. Definitely thyme, rosemary, and sage, but I seem to remember some Herbamare?

3. Cook until turkey is fully browned. No pink stuff! You don't want food poisoning, do you?! Meanwhile, cook your rice. I use a rice cooker, which is a great invention and a super friend to all exasperatingly messy chef like myself.

4. Add some grape tomatoes or slices of regular tomato, whatever. These are just what I had on hand. Stir them in well and mash them up a little. Let those things stew for about five minutes.

5. Add your can of red beans, juice and all. Heat all the way through.

6. Now, I know it is in bad taste to deny you, my loyal readers, frozen pizza, and then turn around and be all WELL NOW YOU ADD SOME PRE-MADE CHILI MIX--but the fact of the matter is that this stuff is like magic powder for meat and bean combos. Also it costs like 65 cents and is good to keep around for flavoring things of all sorts.

7. Mix well, heat through again, and serve on rice or by itself or on a salad or in a sandwich or with a baguette or on pasta or...

A Shameless Plug

Some of you may not know this, but I am a shop-o-holic. Oh, you did know? Then know this: I also am a sell-o-holic, and have an online Etsy store, where I sell many of my vintage finds. Please visit it:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lxp3478

I have a lot of great things in there right now, including...

a purple plaid wool skirt

a leather shift dress

a woolen pleated grey skirt

AND RED POLKA DOT PANTS!

Now, I realize my taste is sometimes "too much" for the average consumer, but I guarantee you that if I could squeeze my giant rear into those pants, I would be sashaying down every street, lane, and boulevard in them, night and day. But, that's just me. A lot of the things in my shop I buy because they are UNIQUE, and that's just what I like to think other people want to be.

Give it a look! Let me know what you think!