I'm not doing anything today (I know - lame!) but I did have a fun time Saturday night before Sandy rolled in to ruin it all. I'm safe and I hope your loved ones are too - I'm sending good thoughts!

Ken there is showing off his ASSets. Get it? I know you do.

I was a steam punk/Victorian girl which practically nobody got

Psy? Psy NOT!

Bob Ross & Dr. Horrible for the win!

I did, by the way, call Dr. Horrible by his title the entire party because for the life of me I could not remember his name. Oh and my big accomplishment? Using liquid latex to pull off this makeup:


P.S. - Taking off liquid latex is both easy and painful. My skin was not happy with me :-/. Consider yourself warned!

What are dressing up as for Halloween?

I'm not sure it would be possible for me to wear any more green than I am right here but damn if I don't want to try. It might be my new favorite color!

I am terribly packer. I can't seem to go anywhere without bringing everything I own. Or, alternatively, packing light and realizing half way through that I've managed to forget everything important. This time I'm determined to make sure things end differently.

Another Trip, Same Tiny Suitcase

On a friend's recommendation I've scrolled through both of What a Nerd Would Wear's packing posts. She does this whole '8 pieces 8 outfits' thing which is really great in theory and even more applicable if you're traveling when it's cold. I like the theory but let's be real here, Hong Kong is not gonna be cold. If I'm lucky things will be in the low 70's and if I'm not we're talking 80's - easily.

I'm not really complaining, more just pontificating on the subject of how I want to bring very little, still look cute, and leave plenty of room in my suitcase to bring stuff back.

This is my project for the weekend guys - wish me luck!

I'm in a glitter mood I tell ya! I may never stop ;)

fake lashes =/= perfection

I may have to start pulling out the tights soon but I'm so excited to start utilizing all of my wardrobe again.

Thanks for braving the cold Natasha! I promise - it was all in the name of art ;).


Wanna be your own mime for Halloween? Well MissChievous has a great video tutorial all about it!

I'm slowly but surely 1) filling holes I see in my closet and, 2) picking up some items on my wish list. Not everything's definite - trying on is a must - but since most of them were pretty cheap I thought I'd share :).

1. Fall/Winter Flats (that have some good support):


2. Peplum

a.


b.


3. Kelly Green


4. Structured Crossbody Bag
I picked this up at Eastern Market (so no link - sorry!),  but it'll make its full debut once it's spiffy-ed up.



5. Sparkly Dress/Chevron



That's it! I'll update you via review posts once things start coming in, but I've got my fingers crossed that at least a few of these work out.

Can I at least get points for trying?

You probably won't believe me, but sometimes more information is not your friend. Case in point? My relationship to my body.

Now I've worked long and hard to be happy with my size. There have been some bumps along the road, good days and bad days, because that's life. And yet, in spite of my general acceptance of my form and how I look, I'm still haunted by a phrase thrown out by a VH-1 shock jocky when I was young.

Front butt.

Yeah that's right, front butt. It was accompanied by what seemed to me then to be the worst images of a woman possible. One's just walking around living their life, but when talked about with such disgust by these hosts and followed by serious faces of disgust, I have to admit it stuck with me. Maybe I was already starting to worry about what I felt was a serious lack in the butt department anyway, but armed with this new found knowledge that my abdomen area could/should never be larger than my perceived lack of butt? It was a bad day in the life of Dana.

To combat this new fear that I was turning into the horrid 'fat fear' pictures as plastered on VH-1 I turned to my friendly chub-rub preventative, Spanx. Not only did they keep away the feared rash of death, if you bought the ones with control top my front butt did not look so bad. I've tried a few brands (and let me tell you, I actually don't like the tried and true Spanx all that much) but I can tell you I've always got my eye on how that abdomen area is looking. In every mirror, in any skirt, dress, or pants - that's usually where my eye tends to go first, to make sure I'm not just 'letting it all hang out'.

I've been thinking about this lately as I give in to my fashion wants and indulge in things like higher wasted pants. As I go out in pencil skirts but then have small panic attacks in the middle of the day about where the cut of the fabric, or the wrinkle lines from sitting all day are pointing. It's not fun, let me tell you, and I'm working on getting back to that point where I'm happy in pretty much anything.

Oh, but the reason I'm writing this post and why I'm thinking about ignorance? I did not need a new word/phrase to replace front butt but thanks to xoJane I have one anyway - FUPA. Fat Upper Pussy Area. REALLY WORLD?! Did I really need yet another thing to worry about? Not only did I think my stomach was too large but now I have to worry about the stuff specifically above my vagina? What the f*ck world. I did not need to have another neurosis. The one I have is enough, especially as I recognize that it's mild form of a really f*cked up problem.

So yeah - apparently we should all be concerned about our front butts and our FUPAS. If you're looking for me I'm gonna be over there in the lingerie aisle, desperately searching for the prettiest girdle I can find.

xoJane

P.S. - that is not my FUPA. You know, in case you were wondering. I'm not so brave as to plaster mine all over the internet.

Is anyone surprised that this is Jangsara inspired? No? Good.

The implied 'if it kills me' is very applicable here. Also, I promise these jeans are in fact different than my other GAP jeans. They might not look it, but they are. I pinky promise.

It's the unspoken rule - you come to my house, I play with your face.

'Pin-up' Liner and Ombre Lip




Green and glitter




The glitter look was an accident I did on myself this past New Years but I think it works equally well on Natasha - especially with the mauve/nude lip. And you all know I have warm happy thoughts about liner so after her last visit I was ready to give it another go.

Hope you're all having an awesome Friday - who's ready for the weekend?!

I know blogs are wonderful things full of inspiration and joy but damn. I don't live this life or have this budget but I want. Really want.



Both of these lusts are from Atlantic-Pacific, a blog that makes me want to live in Zara even though I know nothing would fit me there.

So this Fall/Winter I'm thinking of picking up some nicer all weather boots. Water proof and warm for the snow which everyone predicts DC will have. I'm a little bit damned by my 'large' calves but I've started looking around. 

The Coconuts might be too narrow for my calves but I like the rustic feel, but even though the Two Lips have a better chance of fitting I don't like the darker brown as much. I don't like 'nit picking' my way out of a purchase but I want to make sure the ones I end up buying I can keep for years.

All Images from Google

I don't think I've said anything about this before but OMYFREAKINGGOD I'm going to Hong Kong. Seriously. Hong Kong. In just under a month. How did that happen?!

 I'm visiting a friend from college and can't wait to eat, shop, and generally just play tourist the entire nine days I'm halfway across the world. Check the countdown in the corner friends - I CANNOT WAIT.

If you have any ideas about what I simply must do or be considered the worst traveler in the world, let me know. The budget's limited and I may be spending few days in the middle there somewhere else, but you never know!

I know, I know, more Spring than Fall but I love these pieces and couldn't resist!

I mentioned in one of my previous Dragon*Con posts that I just don't know how the professionals do it. I know they're inspired by the love for the character they're portraying and by the knowledge of how much other people will enjoy the finish product, but making a costume is hard people. Hard, time consuming, and the part I'm going to talk about here, expensive.

Him? Who knows how much he spent to look that cool.

Rainbow Bright last year was pretty cheap if I remember correctly. The pants were pre-done and ordered from India (thank you Ebay) & the shirt an Old Navy oldie (also thanks to Ebay). Besides some ribbon, glue, and $1 foam headbands, it didn't sent me back much. But as my friends and I discuss what we're going to do next year I realized....I had not faced the facts and mentally accepted just how much I'd spent this year. And I don't think I can make a budget for next year without knowing that number.

In the spirit of helping other people on their own costuming adventures I figured I'd share the tally here. I can't speak for my fellow Rangers, but my Dragon*Con costume expenses went like so...




Costume (dress) - $44.94
Petticoat - $7.99
Corset - $12.28
Fabric/Acrylic Paint & Brushes - $20.00
Rhinestones - $4.75
Headband - $2.99
Helmet - $10.64
Boots - $20.99
White Laces - $4.59
Fan - $3.20
Gloves - $7.40
Decorative Extras - $2.50

Total Cost: $142.27


Motherf*cker.


Maybe I should have allowed myself the peace of glorious ignorance [face palm].