Easy Being Green

Thank you for all the tremendously kind comments, messages, and well-wishings during this time of being less able to accomplish as much as I'd prefer. I know many of us experience this, when work and self-care (and / or other-care, and / or second-shift-for-the-sick tasks) must necessarily take up larger parts of the pie, and I appreciate not being alone in the particular frustration!

green scarf: a gift from my mother, Lupita's (Harlingen, TX)
sort-of polka dot dress: Connected Apparel, Ross
shoes: Fidji, worn here

So, shoulder pads: I didn't immediately yank them out of this dress, and what an odd sensation after all these years. I kept touching, poking, and squeezing them all day with a sort of affection mixed with unsureness, and never managed to resolve my ambivalence. Reminiscent of puberty.

Have you been noticing more new garments with shoulder pads lately? With either new or not-new stuff, are you taking them out or leaving them at the moment? Might they be starting to look less weird again? Thoughts on whether they work here? 

shoulder pad factor: 5.5 (they were way huger in the 80's)
blotchy rash factor: 4.5 (down from 8.75, yay!)

See, not so glum as all that, just weary!

I am sneaking in at the bottom of Patti's Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday, where I understand our gracious hostess and a lot of y'all are also being green-ish.

Upcoming, I'm excited too for Judith the Style Crone's Hat Attack, and Gracey's Literary Stylings at Fashion for Giants - fingers crossed that I may yet master this "shorter posts" business so I can get around a bit more. I miss you guys!

Body of Water

Oh my god, I've forgotten how to work this thing. Been sick and all totally grotty crud rashes and killer fatigue seriously tiresome serious seriousness jaundice poking prodding blah blah blah let's talk about outfits. I'm sailing in under the wire for Gracey's inaugural Literary Stylings gathering at Fashion for Giants. 

Back in May* I put this get-up together independently of the then-imminent Style Imitating Art round-up using the book Flotsam by David Wiesner as inspiration, but it would have been a perfect fit. At the time I had to finish up with the Travelling Yellow Skirt and things hit the fan so I wasn't able to jump in, but with Gracey's Literary Stylings I get a second chance! 

My friend Pat of Project Minima is stupendously amazing at Style Imitating Art, and her response to the Flotsam challenge was no exception, even including her blog post title. She has been much on my mind as she continues through her own time of high tides. 

fish milagros necklace with orange glass beads: a gift from my mother and father, Rio Bravo Gallery (Port Isabel, TX), shown in very last photo here

After taking a picture of this necklace while away visiting my parents, I almost immediately regretted leaving it in the shop. I kept thinking about it when I got home, so I called the place - of course it had sold. To my parents, who had gone back to get it and intended to save it for my birthday, but couldn't stand to wait any longer. Very, very dear treasures!

grey plaid scarf and flower pin: a gift from my mother, Dillard's, worn together with same skirt here
grey patterned blouse: Good Times Barcelona, etsy, worn here
silk recycled sari skirt: Alchemy Eco-Fashions, The Circle Game (local shop), worn with same scarf and flower here
big charcoal striped-hem cardigan: Nurture, Dillard's, worn here
old red shoes of legend: Kenneth Cole Reaction, Winners, worn here

Since I always have multiple favourites, my other book for Literary Stylings is one I've been reading for two months since meeting the author and hearing her read from it: Ocean by Sue Goyette. I usually read very quickly, and though poetry can be slower, this is the first book I've ever had to keep putting down because I find it so moving and hilarious I can't bear to continue. It's too much, in all the most awesome ways possible, and as a physical object is so beautifully designed and constructed. For a bit of what I mean, there are reviews with excerpts here and here. 

The Fish Quill Poetry Boat recently paddled though town as well - the highly-accomplished poet-athletes of the Grand River have launched a unique annual reading tour which reaches their audiences by canoe. Due to the quality of the Fish Quill performance-stops over the years, I ordered the anthology through their crowdfunding campaign right away, but now I want the exceptionally cool poster by illustrator Ian Turner too.

Just in case I didn't have enough links today, advance warning that I will also be showing up over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday! *ETA AND Bella's Shoe Shine at The Citizen Rosebud. Hope things have been going swimmingly with y'all. 

* These are my last "before" photos, taken May 17 prior to my carcass malfunction. I've photographed 6 more outfits in the meantime and think I may now be on the mend. Since my posting timeline is way off I look okay here but my blog-self will appear really tired and poofy for a while yet.