Vintage Chic

I have recently discovered Etsy and am going CRAAAAZZZYYY over it! I can't get enough! It is like a dream-a treasure trove-a buying nightmare! Peruse at your own peril! You will NEVER have enough! Anyway...here are some awesome things that I would actually wear. Enjoy. BTW-one of the dresses is for Drewy!

Barbies

Yesterday and today I was looking at collectible Barbies online. There were so many I liked but two really stood out-Black Label Basics #6 (2009), Collection 001 and The Duchess of Diamonds (2001) from the Royal Jewels Collection. It was really neat to look up the old ones that I had grown up with. I think that all little girls love Barbie at first because she is like a princess, is accessible, and wears clothes that we want. When we get older Barbie becomes someone we want to be or look like. All of us have been influenced by Barbie, whether we know it or not. She has changed our culture if not us individually. Who doesn't want to wear fairy tale gowns and look like the epitome of beauty in America? It is hard to give up Barbie, even when we suspect she is bad for us. When you look at a Barbie do you feel worse about yourself or tell yourself that you will look like her if you just try harder? It is a sad thing ladies. The Barbie of our childhoods seemed so beautiful and innocent, it was even something for my Gram and I to talk about as I got older, but now it is too late to throw away that damning image for good. Our mirrors tell a very different story than Barbie's perfect one. Even if you think she is a stupid franchise you must admit her power.

Names

I love making up names, hoping someday to use them in a book. Here are some I made up today:

Lenora Wilkie

Sallie Mae Clemmons

Arista Blackwell

Corrine Lomax

Theresa Napier

Farrah Nighthawk

Blanche Armand

Felicia Baumgartner

Violet Williams

Samantha Reynolds

Karen Moppet

Bonnie Clark

Wilhelmina Simmons

Pamela O’Malley

Billie Henderson

Carmen Coleman

Connie Jordan

Henrietta Baker

Allie Anderson

Mary Taylor

Lana Rodriguez

Sandra Hughes

Kim Woods

Holly Alvarez

Tanya Marshall

June Gibson

Edna Jenkins

Zinnia Green

Iris Powell

Sarah Russell

Velma Bell

Paula McDonald

Diana Harrison

Gina Sullivan

Laura Gomez

Nettie Hall

Ronda Young

Callie Ross

Velvet West

Julie Foster

Jamie Gray

Jenny Butler

Kelly Ruiz

Loretta Hamilton

Eliza McGee

Donna Wells

Anne Kennedy

Catherine Perry

Patricia Wood

Emily Evans

Molly Griffin

Polly Phillips

Cindy James

Amanda Turner

Melinda Nelson

Maria Sanchez

Angela Owens

Monica Walker

Dolores Moore

Ivey Ward

Hannah Martin

Columbine Garcia

Danielle Johnson

Brenda Foster

Selena Ramos

Destiny Torres

Dolly Carter

Lottie Cox

Loraine Bailey

Jessica Scott

Deena King

Frances Miller

Penny Jones

Shannon Brown

Amelia Brooks

Amy Campbell

Helen Howard

Yolanda Watson

Glenda Cruz

May Fletcher

Daisy Mendoza

Ellen Stewart

Barbara Lopez

Darleen Lee

Nina White

Juanita Perez

Becky Jackson

Honora Thomas

Some names that I like for kids are: Joseph Patrick, Arista, Alice, Aurora, John David, John Daniel, Henry, Scout, Eliza, Zinnia, Dolores, Sugaree, Santee, Adelaide, Stella, and some others that I forget.

Tired

I am very tired right now but feel compelled to post anyway. I have a headache (which is rare for me) and I just can't keep my eyes open. This is made worse because I am at work. In an attempt to stay aware of the world around me I will post.

Last night I finished my Dressing Your Truth Beauty Profiling Kit. I must say that the personality profile was right on. I am a Type 4 (bold and striking) with a strong secondary Type 1 (bright and animated). The kit really helped me know more about myself and cleared up some identity confusion I had been struggling with. There was a slight problem though...

You are supposed to dress like your dominate type and I just do not like the T4 clothes AT ALL! They are all about bold, contrasting colors, large blocky prints, harsh lines, structured boxes, no frills, primary colors, and what I like to call "80s power" jewelry. I HATE that stuff and it only reminds me of the board room. It is too formal for me, and too old. The other 3 types have beautiful fabrics and colors, the T4 stuff is glossy and even brassy. It just screams "ugly" to me. They make the point that if I wear non-bold clothing people will be surprised and taken aback by my blunt nature, and I get that, but how can I bring myself to wear business clothes everyday?

Maybe I am not understanding their guidelines but all of the T4 models do not draw my attention favorably. I think of them as garish, boring, business-women who harass their husbands and ice up the office. They showed some stay-at-home moms in the same styles and they looked like they were wearing cheap office minions' garb. Seriously, who in the world can wear those clothes and be happy? Power suits have their place, but really...

Go to www.dressingyourtruth.com and see if you agree with me about the T4 clothes.

Beautiful Breeds

My favorite cat breeds (and the ones I think are the most beautiful) in order are:

1. Ragdoll

2. Ocicat

3. Somali

4. Turkish Van

5. Norwegian Forest

6. Chartreux

7. Abyssinian

My favorite dog breeds:

1. Pit Bull

2. Miniature Dachshund

3. Shibu Inu

4. Samoyed

5. Greyhound

6. Border Collie

7. American Eskimo

Favorite horse breeds:

1. Andalusian/Lusitano

2. Friesian

3. Quarter

4. Arabian

5. Oldenburg

6. American Warmblood

7. Shagya

As far as dogs and horses are concerned, mixed-breeds can actually be better than a pure-blood.

My Beauty Profile Starting Quiz Results

When You're GETTING BY or LOST with Shopping, your shopping experiences feel long and unsuccessful. You spend time trying on lots of clothes, but only a few items seem to work. You often bring home items you end up disliking. You leave a store or dressing room feeling bad about yourself or discouraged about your body. You might get to the point of avoiding shopping altogether until you absolutely have to to. When You’re LOST or GETTING BY with your hairstyle, you tend to feel frustrated with your hair. You either spend lots of time styling and drastically changing your hair every season. Or you opt for a practical, no-nonsense solution (ponytail, anyone?) that hasn’t changed for years. Either way, you don’t feel satisfied or enthused about your hairstyle. You may feel you can’t speak up when you’re not getting what you want from your stylist. You have bad hair days and you feel like your current hairstyle is just a transition to a future hairstyle that’s really you. When You're LOST or GETTING BY with your personal style, you tend to feel frustrated by or fed up with the constant change in trends. You might feel like you've figured otut what's in style when the rules change again. You might copy some trends, but they never look as good or feel as comfortable on you as you would like them to. You feel like you can't or don't want to keep up with the constant change in styles. When You're GETTING BY or LOST with your weight and body, you tend to believe you are too fat, and that you'd be more beautiful if you could just lose weight. You don't feel completely comfortable in your body. You may feel guilty about eating certain foods or feel like you need to limit your food choices. When you look in the mirror, you notice flaws first, or focus your attention on features you wish you could change. When you're LOST or GETTING BY with self acceptance, you tend to dwell on what you believe are your flaws—both outer and inner. You don't always like what you see in the mirror. You sometimes feel jealous or intimidated by other women's talents and beauty. You tend to compare your perceived flaws to other people's strengths and judge yourself as inadequate. You wish you were different from who you are. When you're LOST or GETTING BY in the experience of fashion vanity, you tend to feel guilty for spending money on your appearance. You think that taking care of your appearance is too expensive, and other needs always seem to come up that require the money you would spend on yourself. If you do spend money or energy on your beauty, you worry about appearing vain to other women or making someone else feel jealous. When You're LOST or GETTING BY with your wardrobe, you tend to experience that nothing-to-wear feeling often. Your closet is full of clothes you rarely wear or items that don't always go together easily. You hang on to clothes that don't fit anymore because you want to fit into them again someday—and you feel like you can't buy new items until you lose weight. It takes too much time to put together a great outfit. And even then, you feel like you're usually missing an essential wardrobe item that would really bring things together.

Favorite Books (not childrens' illustrated)

I am sure I am forgetting some but these are the ones I remember.
The Shell Seekers
The Drama of the Gifted Child
Black Unicorn Series
The Little White Horse
Gone with the Wind
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Hobbit
The Bipolar Child
Anne of Green Gables Series
Black Beauty
National Velvet
The Island of the Blue Dolphins
Agatha Christie (all)
The Little Mermaid
Briar Rose
Charlotte's Web
The Wind in the Willows
The Moonstone
The Westing Game
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fear Street Series
Little House on the Prairie Series
Redwall Series
Conan the Barbarian Series
Beloved