saved by the butt

I've been on a bit of a Karen Carpenter funk for the last week. I was able to finally watch Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. I was intrigued for two reasons, Karen Carpenter and a cast that literally consisted of Barbies. It was a very interesting juxtaposition. Needless to say, my favorite song by The Carpenters right now is "Let Me Be the One" and I've had a lot of Karen exposure. The more I see her, the more I see a beautiful person, an awesome drummer, and an amazing singer - all in one, yeah, she was a real freak of nature to be that talented. I've been watching a lot of her drum solos, she always looked really happy when drumming.

R.I.P. Karen Carpenter

I wonder what she saw when she looked in the mirror. Probably not satisfaction. It's sad when you can look like her and not be happy with how you look.

When I was in high school, I would gain an amount of chub each summer. One summer, I decided to regulate my diet (2 meals a day, far apart) and exercise every other day to keep the chub from coming. I even justified the need to be skinny because of my height (62 inches). It worked fine except for one little predicament: I lost my butt. At 17, I was pissed and worried about losing my figure.

It's easy to get into a cycle of wanting the abstract notion of "less weight" and to never be satisfied with the results. In my mindset, skinny is not the complete ideal. Sexy is. And a butt takes precedence over boobs any day. I wanted to look in the mirror and see curves. A pancake butt is not sexy. Jeans do not push me down, I break them in. I like living in a culture that appreciates that.

Remember, it's easier to assess the practicality of concrete goals, and if you don't have a butt (hip measurement) that's at least 10 inches bigger than your waist, eat a pie. Curves are important.

What do you think?

I don't think I've ever said this out loud, but my favorite models of all time are:

Amanda Moore


and Omahyra Mota


Nothing makes me smile like an edgy, androgynous, badass.

You know, when I was in 7th grade (12 years ago), my favorite sailor scout out of Sailor Moon was...yep, you guessed it: Sailor Uranus.

Death of a small-time Salesman

One of the things that really sucks about being in middle school is coming to the realization that having money is fun and that you're too young to do anything. I remember getting involved with eBay back in 1999.

Yes. That would put me at about age 13. They didn't require a credit card to gain membership, all you had to do was sign up and all I had to do was alter my birthday to 1981. You did need a credit card to sell things and after my dad repeatedly denied me the use of his credit card, I just resorted to the credit card of my eldest sister. My ability to sell on eBay opened up monetary doors for me. I didn't have to wait until my birthday, Christmas, or New Years for money from my relatives, I could make my own money. I was able to sell a set of video tapes for $50, just in the nick of time before VHS tapes pretty much lost all of their value and it became hard to sell them at $0.50 each. I was able to raise about $200 selling my figure collection to get money for college. Money came in all forms, it was nice when it was immediate, through Paypal, but it was also nice receiving checks, money orders, and cash through the mail.

I'm glad I started selling then and that I have some kind of history now because this modern eBay definitely makes it hard to make an honest buck these days. Paypal is basically the only option for payment both ways, receiving and sending. Paypal hold your money for a certain number of days forcing new sellers to front the money to send packages. I don't know who they're catering to, but it's not the little guy, that's for sure. Maybe it's because I've lived in Austin for so long that I appreciate local business. It's kind of depressing going through eBay and not even seeing crude home photos of junk that people don't want anymore. I know a lot of the new regulations had to do with bad seller practices and is seems that sellers are being punished with the new feedback policy and Paypal money holds, consequently, buyers are now instigating bad practices as well, but a business wouldn't dare punish the buyer. What happened?

nice on the hanger

So, not too long ago, I was in San Antonio and for reasons being, my sister kept me out late, somehow I ended up in Target. Lately I've become a regular lurker on Tavi Gevinson's blog. I recall her talking about a line Rodarte did for Target and, upon first sight, the stuff described the awesomeness that is someone raiding a vintage shop and making clothes out of whatever they find ala Pretty in Pink style.


I thought the idea behind this dress was based off a vintage bathrobe. Now, I tried on a size 9 which is about three sizes too big, but looking at the model, trying it on in my size (if they had it in stock) would not have made a difference.

I screamed at the Leopard Lace dress. I figured that it could substitute for my little black dress, I love how the pattern looked on me, the dress I tried was about 4 sizes too big, but I got an idea. Once I got back to Austin, I found the dress in my size.

Here's a picture I took of my phone taking a picture of me with my phone. I liked the dress. I LOVE bows ('nother post), but for some reason, I just wasn't feeling this. Maybe it was because it was quite the exercise to get this dress on and zipped up by myself. Maybe because the dress has curves cut into in that are not in MY right places. Either way, I had to put it back. And I WAS disappointed. I wanted to love it so bad. Maybe I'd get it on sale, but at full price, it really just wasn't one of those "have-to-have-it" moments. This is definitely one victory for self control.

Portland Efficiency

I just got back from Portland, OR not too long ago. Being a Texan, I was relatively unprepared for the weather the first day; however, I adapted very quickly the next day dressing in layers. If it wasn't for my need to dress in layers, I would've just worn the same thing everyday. Since I don't look very different.
This was a general look for the past 4 days. It's like wearing a bloody uniform. I suppose that's just the case in the cold. Luckily, Frederick and I happened to be in Portland when it was considerably colder in Texas. Gotta love Portland.

New Years Resolutions: I Won't Do

1. I refuse to buy pens this year.
2. I will not buy anymore t-shirts.
3. I will not buy a purse this year unless it is a staple piece.

Before I construe statement 3 to my failure, I will define that staple piece is a black and/or brown purse of good quality that carries high evening and everyday appeal. I know that this purse already exists and it is a Betsey Johnson purse with bow detailing. Knowing this, I should really just block every other purse out of my mind. Accept no substitutions.

4. I will not go out and buy new underwear just because I've put off doing my laundry for months.