10 on the 10th: Xmas Edition

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.
For December, Marsha poses many questions on the subject of Christmas.

1. Would you rather give up Christmas trees or Christmas cookies?

I'm Team Cookie - there's no way you can pry the cookies out of my grasp!

I don't think I've ever had a tree since I moved in with Severo (23 years). I do desultory decorating in the entryway.

2. Would you rather get one amazing holiday gift or 10 OK holiday gifts?

One amazing pair of Fluevogs, please!

The Fluevog Derby Swirl in Plaid. On my Wish List!

3. Would you rather wash your hair with pumpkin pie innards or with Christmas cookie icing?

Pass on both!

4. Would you rather surprise your people with their gifts or let them pick out their own gifts and then buy them for them?

I would be much happier with a wish list. I don't like to shop.

5. Would you rather eat only desserts the entire holiday you celebrate or only the main course?

I want to eat it all!

spoonflower link

6. Would you rather watch “A Christmas Story” or “Elf” all day long…day of your choosing?

No thanks. Give me the Yule Log!

 

7. Would you rather have a nose like Rudolph’s or ears like an elf?

Elf ears. A light-up nose would be very distracting.

8. Would you rather listen to “All I Want for Christmas” or “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” for an entire week?

This question reminds me of the time I worked at Strawberry, a boutique fast fashion chain in NYC. My branch was in the financial district. The year, 1977. An 8-track provided the store music and between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had to listen to Disco renditions of Holiday favorites. On repeat. Ad nauseam.

What is the Hippopotamus song? I don't think I want to know.

9. Would you rather have a “Ho, Ho, Ho” Santa laugh or an evil Grinch cackle?

I'm a crone. I'll opt for Cackle.

10. Would you rather wear red and green or silver and gold for the entire holiday season?

Since the metallics are usually synthetics and itchy, Red and Green I will tolerate. But I'm forever Team All the Colors!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray)

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with

Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Art Fair Outfits

The Superfine Art Fair in Seattle was a good excuse for a road trip!
Here, however, I'll review what I wore...

It seems I relied on the kindness of strangers for my outfit shots.
I guess I forgot that sometimes I'm a fashion blogger. 

in @gottfried_megan's IG story

The Opening night I wore my favorite tunic. I always feel great in this.
In 2019, I stitched this together in transit for my brother's wedding! So glad I did! 

Paired with green space-dyed Fabletics leggings.

photo by Katie's daughter

Day 2, Katie stopped by. Katie lives in Birmingham, Alabama. I've been in Feng Shui cohorts with her for the past couple of years. This was our first meeting IRL.

I wore my vintage 90's shirt that I found on Poshmark and leopard leggings from Fabletics.
The gap in the art grid was a fake sale. I thought maybe viewers were intimidated by the full grid, and I removed a piece.

in @superfineartfair's IG story

Day 3, the Noon - 9pm marathon day.
I wore the antique kimono fabric tunic, which is another favorite.
I added sleeves to this a few years after first sewing it. Best move ever.
I don't remember which leggings I wore (because I'm actually writing this post in November).

I don't remember who took this... maybe my art booth neighbor?

Day 4: the African wax cloth tunic, purchased in Providence, RI way back in the '80s.

The cotton fabric is super soft now. Same leggings as Day 1.

And the art?

This was the only instance the Scrappy Squares were seen as a complete set the way they were intended to be hung.

I made a sale! The grid was broken for real this time.

Which one sold?

Shelbee!

art blog post about making this

Shelbee had the honor of being featured in a Style Imitating Art challenge by Shelbee herself!

For the fair, I dressed in all my favorite colorful tunics/tops to help me feel good in my skin and radiate confidence.

And then I managed to leave them all hanging in the closet where I was staying! Idiot test failure! (Idiot tests are what musicians do after a gig to make sure they don't leave any gear behind).

It took me 46 miles to realize my error.

Fortunately, my Seattle friends quickly sent them back to me. Favorite garment crisis averted.

Linking up with...

Shelbee's On the Edge

May I? 10 on the 10th

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.
Link to Marsha's answers for this month.

1. Can you whistle?

Yes! One of those ear-piercing NYC Taxi hailing whistles!
My pal Shawn (a native of NYC) taught me in 9th grade.

2. Can you touch your toes flat to the ground?

Yes, I just tried. I had to bend my knees a teeny tiny bit.

[Ha! can't post the video because Blogger thinks it's obscene!]

3. Can you remember all of your teachers from Kindergarten to graduation?

No. 1st through 4th grade are lost to the mists of time.
I only remember my Kindergarten teacher because there's a photo:

4. Can you ride a motorcycle?

Conceivably yes, as a passenger, but I'd rather not.
My cousins were very much into motorbikes as young teens. I only rode with them a couple of times.

5. Can you groom a dog?

Maybe, again, I'd rather not. I can groom a cat!

6. Can you remember the first vacation you ever went on?

Do family trips to summer lodgings count? The first house I remember (I was five?) I later randomly revisited when I was fourteen with friends that lived on the farm. It was an eerie experience!

7. Can you create things from scratch (knit, paint, weld, etc.)?

Oh, yes! Perhaps my most ambitious thing is the shoes I made!

8. Can you wire an outlet?

Maybe? There's a YouTube for that!

9. Can you remember your first job?

Unforgettable! I delivered pizza for Skip Perry's Pizza in Goleta, CA. I got to know the greater Santa Barbara area really well. Delivering to UCSB students was the worst.

"Ham, Pepperoni, Bell Pepper Pizza" Lithograph, 1975

10. Can you upholster a chair?
I upholstered a chair and an ottoman once with canvas that I silkscreened.
[Can't find photos]

Lately, I've been visibly mending the couch. Some parts are surviving Mr Lou the Antimender better than others
(that is carpeting on arm on left which Lou has turned into a yeti).

Linking up with...

Marsha's 10 by 10

Shelbee's On the Edge
Rena's Fine Whatever

10 on the 10th: Would I Rather...

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.
Marsha's answers for this month here.

1. Would you rather wear clothes made of feathers or clothes made of flower petals?

Both!

That time I sketched outfits inspired by flowers, 2011
This is Saint John's Wort, not Clematis.

2. Would you rather listen to birds chirping or frogs croaking?

Birds!

3. Would you rather vacation on a remote yet tropical beach or near a thriving city?

Both? Nah, I'll go remote.

Big Island, Hawaii, 2005

4. Would you rather have Peeps in your Easter/holiday basket or jellybeans?

Jordan Almonds, please. Or Reese's. I'll always say "yes" to Reese's.

artwork made from Reese's bags

5. Would you rather spend a day planting seeds or a day at the beach?

Seeds! Check out my back yard super bloom!

6. Would you rather grow green grass or grass of a color of your choosing?

Forget the grass. Lawns are a waste of water in SoCal.

I choose native plants to attract butterflies, birds, and bees.

7. Would you rather wear sandals with socks or sandals with hosiery?

Sandals with socks!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray)

8. Would you rather have flowers for fingers or flowers for toes?

I'm a Sunday's child: "Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes..."

9. Would you rather do the chicken dance or the bunny hop?

I have good memories of chicken dancing at family weddings, I'll go with that.

Or maybe the hora:

10. Would you rather be a caterpillar or a tadpole?

This caterpillar matches my crazy hat sketch:

photo by Ryszard on Flickr

Linking up with... 

Marsha
Shelbee's On the Edge

Pockets, Pockets, Pockets

 Shelbee and Nancy had a Good Buy/ Goodbye theme of "Combat Pants" this past month and I totally missed the boat.

Because she said COMBAT PANTS! There are CARGO pants and there are Safari tops with lots of Cargo Pockets and Cargo Pockets on Combat Pants, and, well, it's all about the pockets! Is it just Fashion copy writers rebranding Cargo things Combat things? Because everything old becomes "new" with a different name? OK, OK, I'll stop being BOMBastic (haha).

A print that I made in 1999 of our group that went on safari in Tanzania, Fall 1998

I DO have a safari shirt, with very cool details:

(which can't be seen in this photo)

The brand is Saint Germain, it's made of washed silk, has velcro for shoulder pads, and all that screams 1988 to me.

I bought this secondhand in Providence, RI.

It's cool, but not my thing.

It's now on Poshmark and can be yours!

Linking up with...

Shelbee on the Edge

10 on the 10th: Telephone!

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

 Marsha's answers for this month

1. What kind of phone did you have when you were a kid…landline or cell phone?

A toy one!

Christmas, 1958

2. Do you remember party lines?

My mom said, "Don't play with the phone! Six other families are using it!"

I attribute my dislike of making telephone calls to this edict.

My sister doesn't have this issue, she was born post party line.

3. What was your first cell phone?

Severo got it for me. It was a flip phone, I don't remember what model.

4. Do you still have a landline?

I'm still paying for one and no phones are connected to it.

5. Do you screen your phone calls?

Always.

6. What is the longest amount of time you’ve spent on the phone?

That was probably during my midlife crisis when I was having a torrid affair with a guy in Indiana. We would "talk" for hours. I was staying at my parents at the time. Sorry Mom and Dad.

7. What is your current phone?

iPhone 11 Pro. Love it.

8. Do you use your smartphone only as a phone?

Ya gotta be kidding!
It's my camera!

9. When you were a kid, did you play “Telephone”?

Yep.

10. Does your significant other have a special ringtone?

Nope. Sorry, Sev.

Linking up with...

Marsha in the Middle
Shelbee's On the Edge

Mend March 2023

 I made a mending linkup in 2021 and I thought I'd do it again.

IG prompts from @visiblemend

I'll elaborate later.
Want to get this going now.

My posts are all from IG

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with...

The Best Knit Dress

I adore this Uniqlo heavyweight 100% cotton jersey dress.

I purchased it sometime in 2017.

first published sighting: 11/9/17

I counted 20 IG posts with it, and I've worn it many more times than photographed.

It is my perennial go-to for air travel.

In this photo, I'm all packed and ready to leave Houston, October 2019.

A favorite combo is with a Uniqlo flannel shirt:

1/16/18

Disaster struck while shopping at Smart & Final - Severo dislodged a glass jar of Sesame Oil onto the floor, it shattered, and I was in the line of fire. Major oil stains happened, which I was unable to wash out.

Fortunately I learned some good mending tricks from Kate of @visiblemend on IG. I disguised the stains with embroidery! 

yes, mending while flying

All in all, a very Good Buy!

This post is part of the Good Buy, Goodbye series hosted by Shelbee On the Edge and Nancy's Fashion Style. Check out their blogs to see everyone's submissions.

Linking up with...

Shelbee's Your Own Twist

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness on the Edge

10 on the 10th February: Love | Hate

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.
Marsha got very strident with her questions this month!

1. Tell us about a color you love to wear. 

My favorite colors are Cadmium Orange and Chartreuse.

Now, tell us about a color you wouldn’t wear for a million dollars!

I will wear any color for a million dollars, since there is no duration indicated.

2. Share a food you loved when you were a kid, but now you wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole! 

Freihofer's Chocolate Chip Cookies (source)

Did they change the formulation? Or did my taste buds mature? Both!

3. Is there something you loved to wear once upon a time, but now you wouldn’t wear it to your worst enemy’s wedding? 

Bikini Bathing Suits

4. Spill the tea! What is the flower you want your significant other to buy you? 

Stargazer Lilies! (source)

What flower had better never grace your doorstep?

Corpse Flower! (source)

5. When you were a kid, was there a food you absolutely detested, but now you just can’t get enough of it?

Not detested, but I was not too fond of Orange Marmalade.
Now I adore it! And make it!

6. Share a book you love, reread, or tell others about.

River-Horse, by William Least Heat-Moon is a good one.

It's about journeying from the Atlantic across the US to the Pacific by BOAT!

Now, let’s hear about a book you wish had never been written!

I don't hate any books that much. Writers gotta write.
Never able to finish Moby-Dick or Ulysses though.
In addition, I don't like William Least Heat-Moon's other books (like Blue Highways) because he's unnecessarily verbose. Somehow, he got it right in River-Horse.

7. Tell us about something your significant other does that makes you go, “Awww…”

He writes the most heart-felt cards for my birthday, Christmas, and our anniversary. 

But, what does he/she/they do that drives you up a wall? 

His driving scares the beJesus out of me.

8. Time to spill the tea again! What piece of clothing do you love and cherish? 

I've Marie Kondoed my closet and I love it all. 

What piece of clothing will never ever be in your wardrobe again?

Beige Chinos.
They were the uniform at my first job delivering pizza for Skip Perry's Pizza in Goleta, CA.
Not flattering.

 

9. Share the holiday you would celebrate often, even every day if you could!

(Shrugs) Too much of a good thing is too much.

Which holiday would you never celebrate again if you had the choice?

I don't like Halloween. 

10. Tell us about the modern technological device you’d fight your sister for. 

I love my iPhone

But, which device would you toss out the window happily?

The low-end FitBit I bought that doesn't recharge, instead requires batteries.

Linking up with...

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness on the Edge
Marsha in the Middle

What was Your First Selfie?

Inspired by this IG post...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr Justine Larbalestier (@drjustinefancypants)

It's time to take a trip down SpyGirl memory lane!

My first post for this blog was a selfie, sort of:

Link to post

I started SpyGirl as a place to post fake visual journal entries for International Fake Journal Month. 

I sketched what I was wearing every day from 3/25 through 4/28/10 in a small Moleskine blank book. I created the fake persona SpyGirl for this fake journal and she has taken me through many blogging adventures!

I crawled through my early posts to find my first documented full figure outfit selfie:

June 14, 2011 link 
I also sketched the outfit.

Well, it took me a while to photograph myself, right? Haha.

That corner of my back patio is now totally overgrown by a Rose Geranium. [gotta do some trimming]

I'm curious -- what was YOUR first "Fashion" selfie? Did you crop your head out? Is it just part of your body (Remember Arm Parties)? Is it an awkward mirror pose? Is it your first blog post? Let's share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with...

Shelbee's On the Edge

Shelbee's Your Own Twist

10 on the 10th on the 14th

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

I officially join next month and my February post will be on the 10th.

1. Would you rather make resolutions, select a word of the year, or make bucket lists?

Hello word of the year!

2. Would you rather make memories on vacations or save for a big occasion?

I'd rather make memories every day!

3. Would you rather buy all the things on sale or shop your closet?

Gotta shop my closet. I already have A LOT!

4. Would you rather shed weight through fad dieting and do it quickly or eat differently and lose      slowly?

Slow and steady. But don't take away The Sugar. I'd rather be plump.

5. Would you rather undergo some type of facial treatment or update a room in your home?

First, I must get the rooms tidy.

6. Would you rather watch Paul Hollywood or RuPaul?

RuPaul 4eva

7. Would you rather have to wear the same color all year long or not wear that color at all?

The color is beige. It can be banished. I won't miss it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

8. Would you rather wear a designer look or a designer knockoff?

Just give me the Fluevogs. Support independent designers and small businesses. Avoid Fast Fashion.

9. Would you rather be overdressed or underdressed at an occasion?

As long as I'm dressed...

2016

10. Would you rather have only neutral clothing or extremely colorful clothing?
Give me ALL the colors (except beige, haha).

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses

Linking up with

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness on the Edge

Marsha's 10 on the 10th

Rena's Fine-Whatever