Lost and Found

My New Year's Day was spend with these dogs.  Please note that
I'm still a style blogger so I coordinated the dogs to the sweater and
the sweater to the couch.  

2015 was a hard year for me.  It was a year of loss.  My beloved pug died after 16 years of being my daily companion.  I adopted another dog, Toro, and he was a bad fit for me and Widget.  And, as I mentioned in my previous post, I got divorced.  It was a hard, hard year.  On top of the big losses, I had myriad little ones.  All the little things I haven’t been able to find since my move.  Treasured Christmas ornaments that didn’t seem to make it into my boxes.  Things that were fairly distributed to my ex-husband, but the absence of those things still stings.  Such is life. 

In spite of the losses, large and small, I feel like I am starting 2016 richer.  I found a home.  I’ve worked very hard and made it mine.  I have two dogs who love me and each other. 

This evening I finally sorted through my jewelry chest.  It was heavily jostled in the move, and everything was tangled and out of place.  I knew it would be an ordeal- and it was- and that’s why I had put it off for the nearly 10 months.  I’ve been wearing the same half-dozen or so pairs of earrings for nearly a year. That had to end!  I found so many treasures buried in the clutter of those drawers.  I found trinkets from my travels, family mementos, and things that touched my eye or my heart for various reasons.  I also found a lot of junk.  I found things I don’t like.  There were gifts I’ll never wear again.  Things that were cheap, unsentimental impulse purchases.  The things that didn’t bring me joy had to go.  I sorted through and dumped handfuls of beaded confection into a gallon Ziploc bag.  When I was done, all I could see were the things I love. 

I lost a lot in 2015, but I found so much more.  I found strength that I didn’t know I had, love and support I didn’t feel I deserved, and I found the will to let go of the parts of my life that don’t bring me joy. 

Life is good for me and Ursa today.  Ursa's life would be even better
if I would just share my waffles. 

I am going to post more this year.  My life is good, and I want to share it. You can expect to hear some about loss, but much more about finding my place. 

Happy New Year. 

Ka-Boom

This is my super hero skirt.  It is emblazoned with classic comic phrases like "blam," "buzz," "kaboom," and "ouch"  My sidekick, as usual, is Widget.  With those ears, you can call him Batdog.

 

Shirt, Chicos, thrifted; skirt, Xhiliration, Target; shoes, Relativity, Younkers; headband (worn as necklace), Urban Outfitters, The Final Cut.

 

I added nearly-neon pink lipstick.  I'm not wild about the matte lipstick trend that seems to be a thing right now.  It tends to feel dry, and it's too unforgiving of my shaking hands.

 

I work in a library.  What's your super power?

Rosy

Some days are easy, some days are hard, but any day I get to snuggle my dog is rosy.  Widget was insistent on the snuggling today.

 

Sweater, Gee, thrifted; lace tee, Eyeshadow, Younkers; cami, Oscar de la Renta, Sam's Club; pants, George, Walmart; shoes, Merona, Target; glasses, Zenni Optical; dogwood blossom earrings, thrifted.

 

I picked rosy pink for my clothes and makeup.  The Widget accessory picked himself.

 

Widget was so insistent that he should be included in today's outfit photos, but he was less wild about being carried around.

So Very Proud

I am so proud to be an American today.  I know many countries reached marriage equality before us, but we made it.  It is a good day to be an American, and it's a great day to go to the Augusta Pride Festival. 

 

Bull Terrier Dress*, CowCow Clothing, Amazon; shoes, Mossimo, Target; earrings, Claire's; Bull Terrier, Recycla-Bull Terrier Rescue.** 

 


There are two parts of this ensemble that I'd like to point out: 

1. The dog.  Meet Toro.  He is my newest dog addition.  He is an English bull terrier.  He is a year old.  He is a sweetie pie.  He was a complete and total celebrity at the Pride Parade because of his rainbow collar and fur.  He looked like My Little Pony's dog friend.  I used non-toxic hair chalk and washed it out afterwards.  He's fine.  Don't worry about Toro.
2. The dress.  Soon after I got Toro (originally named Abel), I saw this dress and knew it had to be mine.  It was only $16.99 on Amazon.  If you have or love bull terriers, you should get one too. 

I let Toro do the heavy lifting for the Pride celebration while I focused on coordinating with him.  No one appreciates coordinating like the folks at Pride, right?  

*This post contains affiliate links for an awesome Bull Terrier dress from Amazon.  If you make a purchase through those links, I will receive a small commission.

**This is a joke.  Dogs are not accessories or fashion statements.  Dogs are a part of the family.    

The Great Pumpkin

Hey.  Long time no see.  Ok, I still don't see you, but you see me!  Creepy.  Like Halloween.  Which inspired this great pumpkin outfit.

 

Peplum top, ebay; pleather skirt, Target; tights, Target; shoes, Younkers; earrings, Claire's; glasses, Costco.

 

There have been a number of changes in my life in the past weeks, including the addition of a new puppy, Widget.  My buddy and frequent photo-bomber, Gadget, passed away unexpectedly.  I'll memorialize him here sometime soon because that's what I do.  In the meantime, welcome Widget.  He is already filling Gadget's role as photo-bomber.

 

I have another Halloween-inspired outfit for tomorrow, and I'm still figuring out my costume for Friday.  I'll be back before you can say "boo."

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

Though I won't go so far as wishing that all your Christmases be white.  

Happy Valentine's Day

Terminator 3 was playing in the cardio cinema this morning, and it reminded me of this photo of Gadget when the flash made him look like the terminator. And it's Valentine's Day. That's why this happened.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Merry Christmas!

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope,
The spirit of Christmas which is peace,
The heart of Christmas which is love.
~Ada V. Hendricks

May the hope, peace, and love of the Christmas season stay with you throughout the year to come.

Merry Christmas!

Pack Rat: Put a Bird on It

Sorry, citizens of Portland, but when I think of Portland I think of the Portlandia sketch "Put a Bird On It."


I know.  I'm sorry.  All the people I know in the real world who are in and from Portland are pretty terrific, but my mind is a little poisoned by television.  Who would have thought that could happen.

Because of my mind poisoning, I've developed a little theme for my visit to Portland.  I'm putting a bird on it, and by "it" I mean me.  I am bringing bird jewelry and accessories to accent my Portland wardrobe.  Make sure to check back to spot them all.

• Bird jewelry and accessories
• Three dresses: two leopard print, two shirt dresses (It's a riddle.)
• One pair of boots
• One pair of flats
• Skinny jeans
• Four sweaters
• A turtleneck
• Tights
• eShakti trench coat
• A scarf

I ended up tossing my idea of leopard and polka dots.  Too much work.  I kept the leopard and lost the dots.  Once again I feel like I'm over packed, but I am planning on layering layering layering against the cold in Portland.

This is what I'm wearing for the trip there (along with my first birds).

 

This wasn't what I was planning on wearing on the plane, but I found this sweater on clearance at Target yesterday and it look so much like Gadget.  It even has a pouty face like Gadget.  I threw the sweater over one of my two shirt dresses for the trip, added some boots, birds, and tights, and I am ready to go.

 

Sweater, Target; shirt dress, thrifted; tights, Target; boots, Rack Room Shoes; earrings, purchased on the Las Vegas trip; bracelet, ebay.

Gadget pouting (for comparison with the sweater).

Ok, those birds weren't hard to find.  Check back next week for some that might be a little harder to spot.  

Going to the Dogs

Warning: this post is about dogs.  Come back another day for fashion.

I take a lot of pictures of my dogs.  A whole lot.  I take more photos of my dogs than I do of myself, and I take a lot of photos of myself.  Since most of my blog readers are not my Facebook friends, you may not realize the depth of my dog-related neurosis pathology devotion.  Yes, I am that Facebook friend, but instead of posting pictures of children, I post dog photos way too much.

Our cast of characters (from left): Gadget, my mom's dog Dixie, and Wonton

Gadget and Dixie have developed an adorable bond since my mom moved to Georgia, but they have very different temperaments.  Gadget is forever exploring new things.  He will climb high and crawl low to investigate.

Kisses- because they love each other.

Gadget loves sitting on our deck railing.

That's a very threatening laundry basket.

Pumping iron: how Gadget keeps his figure.

Wonton has slowly and grudgingly decided that she likes Gadget too.  She even plays with him occasionally.  That's saying a lot for a 14-year-old dog. These days most of Wonton's action shots are inaction shots, but, again, she is 14.

As the weather has gotten cooler, the cuddling has become more intense.

She suffers many sartorial indignities at my hands.

Wonton has even warmed to Dixie a little bit.

These days Wonton's favorite person is Stephen.
(Yes, that is a giant plate of bacon that he's sharing.)

And that is pizza crust.

Gadget says he's carry-on size.

As you may have guessed, I have not been around the past few days.  I've been in the Dominican Republic.  I'll share my vacation photos soon, but for now feast your eyes on these puppies.

Thanks to my mom for watching our dogs and house while we're out of town.  I know they're in good hands with you!

Debbie Downer: Doggie Dumping

Someone dumped a dog again near where I work.  I get so angry with the cowardly assholes who leave their dog somewhere rather than surrendering it to an organization that could help.  When I first pulled into the parking lot I thought she was dead.  She wasn't dead, but she was neglected.  She had a bare, raw strip around her neck where a collar had rubbed when she was tied out.  She was lame with a sore on one foot.  She had recently had a litter of puppies.  In spite of this, when I stopped my car and talked to her she got up and wagged.  She had a hard time walking, but she hobbled over and smiled at me.  I lured her out of the traffic area with string cheese from my lunch.  She liked the cheese.   Then my coworker pulled up in his truck, and I realized I was crying.  It was embarrassing.

How could anyone throw this smile away?

It seems obvious that the dog had been dumped.  She was too lame to have escaped.  She could hardly walk, not to mention run away.  As soon as I stopped the cheese and petting she dragged herself back to the front of the parking lot where I had first spotted her.  I think she was going back to where she had last seen her people- where her people had thrown her away.  In spite of the neglect and abandonment she was still waiting expectantly for them to come back.

Someone had already called animal control when I got there, and they came to collect her.  The animal control officer was kind.  He lifted her gently into the pen even though it is standard to use a noose pole to keep the officer out of harms way.  Hopefully things will work out for her, but no matter what happens she is better off than she was loose near a highway.

I'll probably always be the kind of person who cries over abused and neglected dogs.  It sucks, but it beats the alternative.  I hope I never become desensitized to the suffering of others- humans or creatures.  I would rather hurt when others are in pain than feel nothing at all.