Good Buy/ Goodbye: Mini Skirts

I had a sketch/ journal session with the theme Sketch Favorite Things.
I chose mini skirts, since I knew that was the theme for Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book this month:

this was for a free workshop series...
it went on with multiple sessions every day for a week...
I got distracted and only did this one Zoom-along

I sent Shelbee this selfie wearing the SUNO knit mini:

I acquired this back in heyday of my Fashion Blogging days (2013?)
SUNO was an interesting design house, not sure if they're still in business...
Their IG's latest post is from 2016 and the bio link goes nowhere.

I also tried looking up the designer, Max Osterweis, and his IG went silent in 2017.

I bought this from LYST, (which had an affiliate program back in the day) and it was reasonably priced for a "designer" item. I love the knit pattern! This is a keeper, even if I don't wear it that much these days.

Aditionally,

In my mini skirt selfie search, I found this photo of the red "butt cover" 

Haha, the back patio, unedited! Now you know!
Photo from January 2023

Jean sent me this along with what she calls armlets, upcycled from a cashmere sweater.

I've been known to throw this on if I have errands in wintertime and my top and sweater are too short.

Keeper, despite the large moth holes (they add character).

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

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

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

This month it's ten eleven "Would you rather" questions

1. Would you rather eat deep fried Twinkies or butter?

My question is, is it possible to deep fry butter?

I asked ChatGPT:

Yes — but you can’t just toss a stick of butter into hot oil unless you want a greasy fireworks show.

People do deep fry butter (famously at state fairs), but they do it by:

1. Freezing the butter first – usually cut into small chunks or rolled into balls.

2. Coating it very well – dipped in batter or wrapped in dough/breadcrumbs so the hot oil doesn’t melt it instantly.

3. Frying quickly – just long enough to crisp the outside before the inside turns molten.

The result is basically a warm, melty butter center inside a crunchy shell.

And here's a recipe!
You're welcome.

2. Would you rather eat a hot dog cooked or uncooked?
Hot dogs were one of my specialties when I babysat my siblings.
Even I would not stoop to serving hot dogs raw, no matter how much the sibs annoyed me.

I would rather not eat a hot dog at all.

3. Would you rather dig for gold or dig for gemstones?
I'll go digging for random facts any time!

4. Would you rather plant your feet in the sand or in the snow?

Sand!

Rena's and my red toes in the sand, from 2017

5. Would you rather read a book with no chapters delineated or a book with no chapters at all?

What's the difference? I don't care, as long as it's well written.

6. Would you rather wear flip flops with tights or high heels with tube socks?

The toe thong on flip flops bothers me, I'll go with the heels.

stolen from nectarinedreams.com

7. Would you rather wear the twins Polly and Esther or their evil cousin, Latex, for a posh evening of your choice?

If you squeezed me into Latex, I'd look like Divine (Pink Flamingos), but without boobs.

Modern polyester is almost tolerable.

8. Would you rather watch a really bad movie with your bestie or a really good movie by yourself?
I'm all for streaming solo. I can watch whatever I want with no judgement.

9. Would you rather color in the lines or outside?

10. Would you rather drink warm root beer or cold “hot” chocolate?
Cold hot chocolate is the same as chocolate milk, right?

Bonus: Would you rather have taco chips or celery string stuck in your teeth?

Since I despise celery, I'll go with chips, despite the pain factor. Yes, been there, done that.

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

Goodbye 15 years of Comments

 I had to quit Discus, my comment plugin.

They started running ads at the end of my posts - they were awful.
Like this:

There might have been a way to customize what ads were shown, but I have better things to do.

Now I need to figure out how to get a widget for "read similar" because that was broken as well.

Ah, technology.

10 on the 10th: Dogs

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

Her prompt for this edition was very simple: dogs

I was surprised to discover that I've sketched more than ten dogs...

I know there are more... but a baker's dozen is plenty!

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

AI Fooled Me

 I got duped by AI.

It was an AI generated image with a sponsored post on Instagram.
I got angry, took a screenshot, then fired off an emotional response.

screenshot from Facebook, with original caption

What got me all riled up? Fast fashion and the situation in Ghana, where the bulk of used clothing "donations" are shipped:

photo credit Haptic and Hue - listen to her podcast on this!

My post has since been amended:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray)

I was set straight by an old blogging friend, Stephanie Chow.

Despite falling for the fake post, my intentions are still good, and I'm leaving the post published.

The message? Buy second hand! Mend! Keep your garments out of the waste cycle!

SpyGirl, at your service.

Good Buy/ Goodbye Summer Sandals

It's halfway through the June and time for another episode of Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book. The theme this month is Sandals.

I have many pairs of sandals that I love dearly. My most favorite pair has to be the Fluevog Sandals that I purchased in 1992. They were the second pair of Fluevogs that I bought.

Here they are, freshly back from the cobbler in 2017
These have been rejuvenated by cobblers twice!

I got these signed by John Fluevog himself when he came to the Venice Fluevog shop during his book tour.

December 2019

John has since released an updated version of these, and I wonder if I had a small part in that happening...

When I started sketching Fluevogs as part of an A-Z blogging challenge in 2017, little did I know I was starting a series that is still ongoing! I now offer my sketches on Redbubble products and on Spoonflower home goods, fabric, and wallpaper.

These sandals were the second item that I sketched, and I got myself a dress to go with my sandals!

2017

Obviously by now, you have figured out this was a Good Buy!

And they cost under $100 in 1992. A Good Investment too!

2025

Here are other posts that include these sandals:

March 29, 2013 - Foot Fetish Friday: Fluevog

April 2, 2017 - Vintage Vogs: Clog Sandal #ifjm2017

May 27, 2017 - The 70s Called - They Want Their Fluevog Clog Sandal

June 26, 2017 - The Fluevog Sandal Clog Has Risen

August 1, 2017 - Is It Wrong To Match Your Shoes To Your Dress?

May 4, 2021 - #thevintagefashionchallenge Day 4: Yellow

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

10 on the 10th: June Loves

 10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

Her prompt for this edition:

Instead of just answering some questions or such, let’s try photos of ten things we really like or even love.

I'm all for the love! And not just things!

1. Must be Severo!

2. Mr Lou

3. Morning ritual: Earl Grey loose tea, Hi-Lo souvenir mug, bakelite handled spoon

4. Celebrating my birthday with Ube Macapuno cake

5. Fluevog shoes, making repeats, embroidering them
Bonus: will be creating and exhibiting a total of 50!
The show will be in Pacifica, CA (near SF) in September

6. Road trips, then making art
This is 1-10, West Texas and will soon be available in a flash sale for $100

7. Textile Arts LA group
I'm curating a TALA group show for a pop-up art fair in Torrance July 11-13!

8. Music! In this case, Nada Surf in 2024

and in 2011

9. Fragrant flowers! Check my IG to see what happened when I took this photo...

10. Russel Wright dishes.
Some pieces are from my childhood, though Mom is still holding on to one forest green serving bowl.

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 

Let's Get Poetic

 I'm writing haiku again and thought I'd turn it into a linkup party.

Here's today's a recent effort:

I've been thinking about an old project that went nowhere fizzled out, the Haiku To My Closet.

My 2019 SpyGirl post included a call for poetry link-up and it's time to revive both!

Composing haiku are kind of addictive - they're a structure of 3 lines with 5/7/5 syllables.
I recently did TWO art collaborations with haiku included in the presentations.

They're traditionally about nature, I just follow the 5/7/5 format.

You will find me walking around muttering to myself and counting down syllables on my fingers.

For now, I'm keeping this link-up open until Labor Day (9/1/25), it may extend longer.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

Marsha In the Middle

10 on the 10th: May Questions

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle. 

This month, she has questions!

1. Would you rather live in a tiny house in the country or on a boat on a river or lake?

I'd like to try the boat on a lake concept. Waking up to a horizon of water would be glorious!

Piseco Lake, NY available!

2. Would you rather be a character in a Shakespeare play or a Stephen King movie adaptation?

Shakespeare for sure.

3. Would you rather your kitchen was full of all black appliances or all pink appliances?

Pink! There are lots of shades of pink and it doesn't necessarily have to be Barbie pink.

Look what I found!

source

4. Would you rather be allergic to cake or chips?

Would it be a mild reaction or near death?

5. Would you rather have a five minute conversation with your past self or your future self?

Past self! This girl especially... it would take more than five minutes though!

1978

6. Would you rather be rich or famous?

Rich in friends, rich in memories

7. Would you rather drive a brand new big, big truck or a slightly used small car?

I will drive my 2009 Prius until it stops working (230,000+ miles and counting). Then I'll get another.

8. Would you rather live with your parents or your kids?

Since I'm a cat mom, I'll go with the cat kid (who's an old cat man)

9. Would you rather have an ugly tattoo where everyone could see it or a beautiful one that no one could see?

I'll put a temporary one wherever. Nothing permanent. 

10. Would you rather eat a peanut butter and Spam sandwich or a strawberry jelly and lettuce sandwich?

I think with enough tweaking of condiments, you could get an Indonesian vibe going on your PBnSpamwich.

Or this! (Google can be a wonderful thing)

5 star rating! You know you're curious...

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

MendMarch 2025

MendMarch, the brainchild of Kate Sekules, is one of my favorite Instagram challenges.
Kate comes up with daily prompts

@visiblemend

and the cohort of menders post their interpretations.

Here are the links to mine!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with
Shelbee on the Edge

PSA for the Blogging from A-Z Challenge 2025

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is held every April. The challenge is to blog through the alphabet every Monday through Saturday. The “A” theme is blogged on April 1st, “B” April 2nd, etc.

I created this undated badge because I started to dislike the graphics they provided
Feel free to steal it, if you want

I've been doing it since 2015. At first, I did it on more than one blog! Insanity!

I find it a great structure for writing content on a regular basis (a problem I seem to have on ALL my blogs!)

I want to solicit some fellow style fashionistas to join in!

Look how lonely I am right now on the Official Master List, the only blogger doing "Fashion" posts.

Maybe I'll do a second series again this year... not sure yet.

Revive the "Haikus to my Closet" that I attempted in 2019? (Yikes. That long ago?)

I've recently been writing haikus for an art collab and have been enjoying it. (Find them on IG)

Hey, as long as it's entertaining, right?

More about the challenge can be found on the official Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog.

It's a lot of fun! Give it a try! Please?

Past A-Zs

SpyGirl A-Z posts:
2015 Scarves (only did one here on SpyGirl!)

These are the posts on my Pattern blog. They're sketches and patterns of Fluevog shoes:
2017
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024

I'm doing Fluevogs again this year.

Random other A-Zs:
2015 Southwest artwork

2016 Tartans A-Z plaids for US states and Canadian provinces

2017 #dailytruck A-Z or, coping with my commute

2018 #dailytruck A-Z 

2019 #dailytruck A-Z 

2020 #dailytruck A-Z

2020 Stitching the World, A-Z embroidery project