What are the tools you use to blog?
I’ll list them, it’s easier and I’m lazy!

• a fantastic desktop computer bought initially to play World of Warcraft so it’s got a fabulously oversized screen, lots of memory, fast, etc. It’s perfect for gaming which means it’s overkill for blogging!
• WordPress where I host my blog
• I used to use Picnik to process my photos (just cropping, color correction, zap a pimple or two and altering the size of the photo). But since it’s closing in April I’m not sure what I will use. Probably I’ll just go back to Paint.Net as I know how to use that program. Maybe one day I will invest in Photoshop.
• A tripod with a Nikon Coolpix S6000 point and shoot camera. I love it in general but I do not love it for outfit photos. Kinda a pain to use for that.
• My iPhone 4S complete with photo apps like Hipstagram and Instamatic (usually the 2 I use). I love iPhotography! There are amazing apps out there that do incredible things. And having my iPhone with me all the time means that I get photos. Usually anyway.

What technology item is on your wish-list?
iPad. I could do so much more with an iPad. I avoid using my iPhone as I hate composing more than a few paragraphs. I hate formatting photos and posts. I have a laptop that I never use (I should just sell the damn thing) as it is a 17 inch and the battery is shot. It’s a pain to take anywhere. But an iPad – oh I could do so very much with an iPad. Nevermind lusting just for general lusting.

Through the barrage of posts, tweets, pics, poses, messages, etc…how do you avoid becoming a slave to the constant infiltration of information?
I check my email, my Facebook and Twitter when *I* feel like it. Usually it’s every couple of hours or when I’m bored. If I have other stuff to do I do that instead. The internet can wait. It’s not going anywhere. And if you check out either my Twitter feed or this blog’s Facebook page you will see I don’t update much. That’s how I like to keep it.

To learn more about Friend Friday or check out the other blogs participating visit Modly Chic

Yes, I am wearing my glasses for the wedding.

I don’t do contacts as up until the last few years I couldn’t – I wore bifocals until I was 18. And then astigmatism in both eyes caused further issues with having contacts. I thinks it’s just been within the last 4 (5? 6?) years or so that I was even eligible to have contacts. And by now I am skeeved out of touching my eye and I’m used to the glasses. I just wanted to minimize the “dating” of the photos even though they will date themselves. Fashions change after all and nothing is “timeless” (bleg…I hate that line of thinking in regards to weddings. I like seeing the passing of time!).

Anyhow I wanted to see what they looked like in photos and it seems to be just fine! On my face is another story. I have to wear Coke bottle lens and it takes me several days to get used to them, all while getting migraines doing it. I’m not sure I will do that to myself in Vegas. Maybe just for the ceremony and photos…

Anyhow aside from the glasses everything is done! No really! Brad bought his attire this last weekend, we paid off the last bits and pieces and everything about my attire is sorted and laying in a box. Heck the shower his aunt wants to give us has been cemented with a date and time. Now to finish that registry…not quite there…yet…

Er…I just realized I only spoke about the wedding. Damn it. I promise not to do it so much! SWEAR!

Blue long sleeve button down oxford: Avenue (December 2011)
Black crochet see-thru short sleeve sweater: Lane Bryant (February 2012)
Thin black slim leg dress slacks: Avenue (December 2011)
Raindrop necklace: Evans UK (Feb 2011)
Art Deco crystal dangle earrings: Forever 21 (September 2011)
Black bow wedges: Payless (February 2012)

These are two of my very favorite things right now: the striped tee and the black dolman sleeve bolero. I love this outfit and love is an understatement!

This bolero is made out of t-shirt material and is beyond fantastic. I suspect I will be wearing it a bunch come spring/summer. It is just fabulous.

And I’ve been online shopping. I received several things in the mail today from Sealed with a Kiss Designs (a white eyelet skirt and a Veronica Maxi dress in Navy  - I tell ya I buy way too much from them!) as well as more vintage postage from Pack & Post on Etsy (she is amazing BTW! Great selection, great price, fast shipper and fun packaging…but I’ll show y’all on my Week in Photos next Monday). And I spent a chunk of this afternoon cruising around Sock Dreams. Yup, online shopping for socks! I wanted to get some fun green ones for my fiance for the wedding but I didn’t stop there and got myself some interesting things as well. Maybe I’ll show them here, maybe I won’t!

And I have got to get some sunglasses. My light eyes and the bright sun are an issue together! I can barely see and I keep squinting in photos. Not pretty!

Alright I’m off to nurse this headache…and watch Glee!

Raspberry striped shark bite hem tee: Lane Bryant (February 2012)
Skinny/Slim leg dark wash jeans: Lane Bryant (March 2011)
Black bolero with dolman sleeves: Marshall’s (February 2012)
Black & white striped thigh/knee high socks folded down and scrunched: American Apparel (September 2008)
Brown lace-up Riding boots: Avenue (Oct 2010)
Newsboy black wool hat: Dunno (2004, I think?)
Swallow silver necklace: Thrifted (June 2011)

• My Downton Abbey series 2 Blu-Ray came! YAY!! Of course I immediately watched the Christmas special – the only one not shown yet in the States (it did premiere last night though so now it’s a waiting game until new episodes appear).
• My red roses for Valentine’s Day! I love getting flowers.
• We went out to dinner at Mt Fuji Inn. It’s this garish 1960s Japanese restaurant. It still *looks* like the 60s too. My fiance’s family has been going there so long they even went to the funeral for owner when she passed away some time ago. I don’t like it much only because it has all the heavy and fried Japanese foods that I don’t like. I much prefer sushi, it’s cleaner tasting. But it’s nice to go every once and awhile. Afterwards we made it a full Japanese night and went and saw “The Secret World of Arrietty”. I loved it! Not a shock as it is a Studio Ghibli movie!
• An aquarium spotted at a restaurant. Lots of pretty fish!
• Chocolate cheddar cheese from Trader Joe’s. It’s the featured flavor of the month. Um. I’m not sure I like it. It’s different.
• Brad. Isn’t he so cute?!
• A reuben from Jason’s Deli. I love reubens! Created here in Omaha afterall!

1. The love of my life is my iPhone. Ok, maybe it’s Brad, my fiance. Whatever!

2. Falling in love is awesome. It creates butterflies that never seem to go away. It creates happiness that seems unending. It makes things, life, better.

3. Marriage is work. Period. But it creates great moments of joy!

4. The longest relationship I’ve ever had was 7 years – my ex-husband. My husband-to-be is fast catching up! YAY!

5. The key to a good relationship is communication and the ability to overlook little things.

6. I feel loved when someone thinks of me specifically for what it is they need me for. I’m also a “spend time with me” person.

7. My favorite quote about love is“You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” – Sam Keen

To learn more about Fill In The Blank Friday or check out the other blogs participating visit The Little Things We Do

Anyway on to the outfit. I wore this out to Valentine’s dinner. Last night. The 15th. Yup. I hate fighting the crowds on Valentine’s Day or the day before so we go out to eat the day after. So.much.better!! We actually went to the Cheesecake Factory and normally on Wednesday (if there isn’t a holiday the day before) we would have waited 15 or 20 minutes or so. Last night? We didn’t wait at all. That’s what I’m talking about! Everyone has already gone out to eat and the place, while not deserted entirely, is definitely emptier than normal.

I’m disappointed with this one. Too similar to the last time I wore this cardigan. Don’t get me wrong I actually love this outfit on the whole but it’s too close of a repeat, and a fairly recent outfit repeat at that. Oh well. I do promise to try something different with this though. Any suggestions out there? I’m willing!

Black slit neck shaped tee: Just My Size (fall 2009)
Blue asymmetrical t-shirt cardigan: Avenue (December 2011)
Skinny/Slim leg dark wash jeans: Lane Bryant (March 2011)
Gladiator type heels: Torrid (August 2009)
Long triangular dangly chain choker: Charming Charlies (January 2012)
Chain dangling earrings: Charming Charlie (July 2011)

I tried to smile! But I get the squnity eye thing! And notice the slit in the neckline of the black shirt? The cut on this is fabulous and definitely highlights my assets!

Gosh do I love these shoes…I just wish they were a tad bigger so I could wear them when my feet/ankles weren’t swollen! Eh.

Since I posted my rant yesterday morning I’ve been reading all the comments, Facebook messages and emails sent my way. And I’m left completely speechless! You guys are so awesome! I don’t know how else to say thank you, but thank you very much. I was feeling positively rotten when that posted and now it’s definitely nowhere near that.

I won’t address all the individual comments just because there were too many (and some were definitely private) but I read every single one sent my way and every single one made my night.

Like I said I blog as my creative outlet. This isn’t for a career, free stuff or money (I’ve actually turned down a few offers for ads, though no freebie items have ever come my way). I just enjoy doing this. Thank you for making me feel so much better.

With my sincerest thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Now Omaha is a fantastic little town but I am not that cheerleader. Talk to Megan (Princess Lasertron) or Sarah (Fash Flood) for that. I like living here but I still miss living in Colorado 16 years after my family moved to Nebraska – longer than I ever lived in CO. And we definitely are NOT “in the dark” where fashion is concerned. But refer back to the fact I’m plus size. Megan doesn’t even make dresses in my size. Nevermind the average joe on the street looking at you funny for some fashion get-ups (in a sea of work out clothes & sweatpants this happens). And I, personally, don’t live in the fashion realm. I don’t have anything to do with any of that. It’s not my career at all. Sure it’s amazing but again, not for me career-wise. I just have a passing interest in it. My clothes reflect that. I wear what I wear for my life. However boring and normal in the middle of the Midwest it is.

So when I decided to go through my stats and found that I was linked on a talking-shit blog making fun of me it hurt. For the most part the ones talking about me were nice but a few were not. Nowhere near it. Clown shoes were mentioned. Yes I wear a 12/13. Deal with it. I am sure that I am also a foot taller than the ones criticizing my shoe size. It’s called biology (my mother is 5’8″ and my father is 6’6″ – I have a brother who is 6’7″). Yes I am overweight, but even when my BMI was *exactly* what it was supposed to be for my frame and height I wore plus size clothing. It’s how I’m built. Yes, I need to lose weight. But I am in excellent health (seriously my doctors are floored with my numbers including my cholesterol levels and my blood pressure) and this is who I am right now. Part of the reason I started blogging my outfits was to give me courage and convictions about being myself. I have to live with me, no one else does. I have to be happy with who I am.

So you don’t think I dress cute? Move along, don’t stay. You think I’m a “fat pig”? Move along. The only reason you would say something like that is to make yourself feel better. You just want to sit there and make fun of me? MOVE ALONG. Don’t you have something better to do? That truly shows your character now doesn’t it? Remember the old dating adage: “if someone is nice to you but not nice to the waiter they are not a nice person”. It applies to you as well. Mean girls never change and this reflects on you, not me. I’m not saying you have to like me or my style (or lack thereof) or anything else but making fun of me crosses the line. Go and haunt somewhere else. The internet is a big place I’m sure you’ll find somewhere where people can tear you down for your own imperfections.

(ETA: Interestingly enough a local columnist/author wrote an article today about Melissa McCarthy and why she is fabulous – it highlights some things I mentioned here. Great read!)

With that aside this is Everybody Everywear day – Pink and Red. My troubles started with my red boots. It was snowing and cold yesterday (incidentally if I look cold in the photos it’s because I really really was and I haven’t perfected the “blogger not looking cold” look!). I was going to wear the boots regardless. And because it was cold I couldn’t wear certain pink or red pieces – they weren’t warm enough. That messed up my color scheme. I didn’t have a vibrant enough pink to go with the red sweater & boots. In the end I made do. I feel like this outfit is lacking though and I just can’t put my finger on it. I’ll stew about it a bit I guess.

Happy Valentine’s Day BTW!!

Plain Black long-line tank: Target (July 2011)
Red Paisley Victoria Dress (worn as a shirt): SWAK Designs (March 2011)
Red grandpa cardigan with pockets: Thrifted (December 2011)
Skinny/Slim leg dark wash jeans: Lane Bryant (March 2011)
Red Dr Martens boots – Holt: 6PM (December 2011)
Pink floral gem necklace: Torrid (April 2011)
Large cut-out metal disk earrings: Payless (August 2011)

• I have great taste! I can walk into any old store and pick out one of the most expensive items in the entire place. Take this green purse for example. Michael Kors. $200 at TJ Maxx. For my local store that is on the top end. I love it though! Absolutely love it! (ETA: I did not buy it though I wish I could have!)
• I bought a waterproof digital camera on Groupon a couple of weeks ago for $35 bucks (12 MP). It’s cute. I am planning on using it on vacation and/or around the pool (lake) this summer. Perfect for that. It can even be put on a tripod.
• Family brunch. Lots of people, lots of food, babies to fawn over, dogs to eat scraps off the floor and everyone asking about the wedding (Brad and me that is). Good time was had by all.
• A Hello Kitty microwave?! How bizarre! How did this even get made?
• Oui Bit of Red – on my fingers this very second! I love this color and for Valentine’s Day the perfect color except perhaps “I’m With Brad” for me!
• One pair of my tabi socks. I have several other pairs. I only get irritated that I have to buy men’s tabi as the kawaii ones are all female and too small!
• I have decided on a tattoo. For a very long time I have wanted a tattoo that reminded me to be myself, be me and no one else. I have picked things in the past and just sat on them waiting to decide. Ultimately I talk myself out of it. But this chimera has the same name as my last (maiden) name. I am planning on taking my fiance’s name when we get married and this would be an amazing way to incorporate the name I have had for 31 years (almost) into who I am.
• Walking Dead! I am a *HUGE* fan! I am still trying to figure out how we can include our promises to shoot the other if they get bitten in a zombie attack into our vows. We’ve been promising each other this for years and I really want it in the vows but I’m not sure how to work it in. Anyone out there have any ideas??

Changing topics entirely…last night I went to the vigil for my co-worker’s father. Cancer. And quick too. Months. I feel for my co-worker. His father was an interesting man for sure. But it has made me think about life. And love. And just getting more out of life than I put in. There is still so much I want to see. So much left for me to experience. I think it’s time to get on some of that. ASAP.

For now though let’s talk about this necklace shall we? I mean come on. How cool is this thing? I actually wore it home from the store I was that much in love with it. This entire outfit is indeed planned around the necklace…I wanted to draw attention to it. How did I do?

Green hanky hem gathered tee: Evans UK (April 2011)
Khaki asymmetrical military jacket: Lane Bryant (August 2011)
Skinny/Slim leg dark wash jeans: Lane Bryant (March 2011)
Brown lace-up Riding boots: Avenue (Oct 2010)
Long triangular dangly chain choker: Charming Charlies (January 2012)
Brown elastic headband: Ulta (summer 2011)