Saturday was kind of a mixed bag. I didn’t get photos of the outfit I was wearing earlier in the day, but I started off frustrated because my hair was not cooperating (just went poofy and frizzy instead of curly with volume) and my bracelet kept catching on my lace top. I met up with Amanda to go to Zara up in the Domain, and aside from feeling rather out of place (as she said: “I feel like someone’s going to walk up to me and say ‘What’s your tax bracket?! You don’t belong here!’”), I did find some cute stuff. For very inexpensively, I might add!

However, about halfway through, I realized I’d lost one of my brand new studded nOir rings that I’d bought on Gilt. I was kind of upset anyways, because I ordered an eight (I’ve never worn larger than a 7.5 before), and they were VERY small. I can fit one of them on my ring finger with some effort, but they fit better on my pinkie. Poochie said she ordered size 7 and they barely fit her size 5.5 pinkie. However, Ashe got the same rings and said they fit her fine. What gives, nOir?! Ugh. Anyways, they fit ok on my pinkie, although a tiny bit loose, and so I figured I’d keep them rather than return them, because I liked them so much. One apparently fell off somewhere – I think it was probably in the car, as I realized it shortly after entering Forever 21…I just haven’t dug around in the car to see if I can find it, quite yet. Our car is a bit like the one in Wristcutters, so it very well might be futile.

After realizing that, I found some cute things, and then I went back to the car and it wouldn’t start. I promptly freaked out, only to realize it was just a loose connection around the battery. Whew. Crisis averted. I then swung back by the apartment to pick up Matt while Amanda got Lennon from his rugby game, and we went to Taco Bueno for lunch. We then reconvened for  the 10:15 show of Alice in Wonderland – we got there at 9ish, and there was already a line! You can see our outfits above – I’m not 100% for sure where Amanda got her things at (wait, actually, the dress is from BX and the shoes are from SoLa). My rundown looks like: diy bleach-striped Target tank, vest from TJ Maxx, I think the capris are Tripp, got in a clothing swap, Fluevog shoes, and I believe the hat is from Fantasies in Leather on Etsy.

Face closeup:

Jewelry closeup:

nOir studded ring & rabbit ring is from F21. It gave me giggles because it looked like the bunny was wearing a studded collar. Hardcore bunny.

SO. Movie thoughts:

I really liked it. I know it’s probably not cool to like something so hyped, but I thought it was pretty awesome. The visuals were ,of course, absolutely stunning. I agree with Retro Chick in thinking they probably toned things down for the chillins. I do love that the story was basically a young lady coming in to her own – I felt like that Alice would be a great role model for little girls! The pacing was fine by me, there were some funny parts, and there were also some neat things thrown in for those geeks who watch for them (i.e., me – anyone else catch that the Mad Hatter was a redheaded, kilt-wearing, Scottish-accented man trying to incite rebellion against a tyrannical queen? Or was that just me?).

Not the most comprehensive review ever (this is why I’m not a film critic) but in short: go see it, if you get the chance.

Oh and…

This is Arthur. He hangs out right outside our door waiting for us to give him bread scraps (you can see the edge of our door in this photo, that’s how close he gets), and he is a very large duck. I had to explain to the neighbor that the things on his face aren’t tumors (apparently her adult daughter won’t go anywhere near him, because she thinks he has tumors on his face. which makes no sense either way…), but just a marking that that breed (species?) of duck has. I know this because we had ducks when I was a little kid. I don’t remember any of them wagging their tails though, and Arthur does. It is HIGHLY entertaining.

That is all.

The following post was sparked by reading about the BME internship contest (you can vote for the finalists here), which was linked to in Gala Darling’s latest Carousel. Actually, a combination of reading about the internship contest and a comment that was left on the post, from Sunny:

Oh man, I wish I knew about that BME contest when it started, that’s seriously been my dream job for years, I gave it up when I went into college though because everyone kept telling me you can’t go to school for anthropology and take it into body mods around the world!

1st thought: How sad that someone would be so discouraging to her, because that sounds like a very plausible idea to me!

2nd thought: What a cool job that would be!

See, I’ve always thought that if I ever went back to college, it would most likely be for a degree in a “useless” area (read: area that would probably result in a career in academia). Something like anthropology, dead languages, or religious studies – along those lines. This isn’t a new thing. I distinctly remember my mom finding one of Jaye’s opening lines in Wonderfalls particularly humorous:

Gretchen: Did you end up over-educated and unemployable like you said in the yearbook?

Jaye: Yep. Went to Brown, got a philosophy degree, now I work here.

(She works in a Niagra Falls souvenir shop.)

There are lots of reasons I’ll probably never go back – the cost, mainly, the fact that I’m so curious I’d love to study all of those things (and more – which isn’t really feasible), and that with the educational system the way it is, let’s face it, a lot of people end up teaching who have absolutely no business doing so, even in colleges/universities. But the main reason I haven’t seriously considered it is because, let’s face it: I’d never make it. I would have to be constantly monitoring my appearance and speech to be taken seriously within academia. And we all know I have serious issues with people restricting what I do with my body.

Which is why a career in anthropology studying body modification in various cultures sounds so appealing – I’d get to do all kinds of reading and talking about something I find interesting, plus (and I might be wrong), I’d think that would be one academic specialty where it would be perfectly okay to show up looking like a tattooed, fairy-haired weirdo.

It’s all kind of a moot point anyways, because even if I did go back to college/university, I don’t know if I could pick one thing to study! I’ve always been interested in so many things and reading a list of the things I wanted to be “when I grow up” shows as much – writer/artist, marine biologist, something with linguistics, Egyptologist, business owner, indie fashion designer.

And while I’m getting better at handling so many passions & understanding that I don’t necessarily have to pick just one thing to do for the rest of my life (cue ominous music), I still get frustrated sometimes. Like reading entrepreneur or lifestyle design books and they harp on about how the path to happiness is finding your One True Passion and figuring out how to make money from it. Uh-huh. How in the world do I pick just one passion?! If I could make a living by being professionally curious, I’d be totally set.

I always thought that this was a Michelle-thing, and that other people didn’t have this issue. What a relief to realize that no, not everyone is like that. I’m getting much better at juggling my passions myself – I have this site and the Valkyries project as creative outlets, Matt & I are working on a project together where I’ll get to flex my business-y muscles, Style Therapy is a bit of both creativity & business, and of course there’s always reading on the side. Among the titles currently on my Amazon wishlist: DIY U: Edupunk, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education (I can’t wait for this to be released!), How to Make Webcomics, and Teach Yourself Icelandic.

Anyways, apparently The Renaissance Soul and Refuse to Choose are great books on the matter. I’ve got The Renaissance Soul on hold at the local library, but it is taking forever! for it to get to me. I  ordered it out of impatience, now I’m waiting on it to arrive – & I’ve never seen a bad thing from Barbara Sher so I might go ahead and order Refuse to Choose too. Stay tuned for reviews!

And as always, I’d love to hear what you think – are you a one true passion person or a too many passions to count person?

• Jealousy’s a Green Eyed Bitch.
• SXSW is coming up and I am sooo excited! Tolly over at Austin Eavesdropper has some tips for you: How to Dominate SXSW & part two is here.
• How to embrace your true beauty – what a sweet article!
• Making Your Travel Dream A Reality: Part 1 & part 2.
• Memo: quit beating yourself up already!
• Found via Life Without Pants: Justin Timberlake and the Art of Presenting Well. Hilarious!
• And another one from the lovely Ashe Mischief, this time at IFB: Stop getting low-balled as a blogger. She hit it out of the park with this one – SUCH a well-written & needed post.

Oh, by the way, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and now have a formspring! So..yeah. Anyways, I’m going to be very very busy this week, working on Matt & I’s project (no need for suspense, I don’t imagine it’s something that will interest too many of my readers), working in general, and gearing up for SXSW! Because of all that, I might not be replying to comments or emails as fast as normal. Just a heads up, lovelies! I hope you are all starting your week off right.

Project Beyond the Runway

Edited by Fashion Pulse Daily

Reading through the links this week, I realized that fashion week or no fashion week, fashion will most certainly go on! A winter snowstorm couldn’t even slow down New York Fashion Week, and the links below are testament to the wonderful style that exists beyond the runway, such as Ode to Awe’s jewelry discovery, how to look chic while lounging by Cafe Fashionista, and tips for vintage shoe shopping by Wicked Whimsy. Don’t get me wrong, I love being ‘in the know’ on runway looks and trends, but how you interpret them and work them into your personal style is so much more important than remembering which designers showed one-shoulder looks this season!

As expected, there was a fabulous round-up of links in the forum as well, all worthy of your eyeballs!

Links à la Mode : February 25th

39th and Broadway – A Side of the Industry Unknown by Most: Life as a Corporate Fashion Designer
British Style Bloggers – Cherish forever what makes you unique, ‘cos you’re a yawn once it’s gone
Cafe Fashionista - A step-by-step guide to looking luxurious even when lounging
Clutch22 -Up close and personal with Vivienne Tam as she expands her fashion+tech innovations to a new category
CMYKaboom – Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB) ‘Tweet Up in the Tents’ event
Debutante Clothing - Vintage Jewelry: Q&A with Lucite line Circa Sixty Three
Fabulous Finds Gal – Moonstuck at the opera with photographer Bersa
Fashion Pulse Daily – Sonia Rykiel Pour H&M; the debut and the review
Holier Than Now – New Take on Florals (5 Under $50)
Idiosyncratic Style - A Girl’s Guide to Maternity Style
Independent Fashion Bloggers : Evolving Influence Recap : Part One
Individual Chic: – Would you have wanted a Computer Engineer Barbie when you were smaller? Or would you love one now?
Night Watch – 10 Questions with Model Clara Zapffe
Ode to Awe - Denmark based Alidra Alic’s Alice-inspired jewelry
Oranges and Apples – Rules for advertising and sponsorship on blogs
Retro Chick – The Ethics of Blogging
Smiles Go with Everything -10 Tips for Shopping on Ebay: How to find great deals on awesome duds.
The Coveted – Visits Nine West HQ for a sneak peak of AW10 shoe collections!
The Style PA – Gives Henry Holland a grilling ahead of his House of Holland show.
The Sunday Best – Do men get better service when they shop?
Wicked Whimsy -What to look for when buying vintage shoes
Workchic – Fall 2010 NY Fashion week collections: recreated runway to the office outfits

HOKAY. So here we have: T-shirt from Rock N Swap & then dyed unevenly (more on that in a second), H&M hacked up skirt, JUMP booties, Tarina Tarantino bracelet is from BX, secondhand necklace, no idea where I got the teensy pentacle necklace, heart ring is off eBay, Hyde belt.

Jewelry detail:

And as you’ve probably noticed, I went and changed up my hurr:

It’s SFX Sonic Green mixed with a bit of Splat blue. The dark chunk on the right side of the photo is SFX Deep Purple, but it is currently being disagreeable and choosing to just show up as almost black in most lights/photos. It took me a few days to get used to it (I stuck with the purple so long, for me! I think anything would have been a bit of a shock), but I’ve decided I like it. I was originally attempting platinum with chunks of turquoise but my hair (and the remnants of the purple dye) had other ideas in mind, SO.

Anyways, this is what I wore to see Amanda play at a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club!

I am continually amazed by the great photos I get with this camera under most conditions. Unfortunately, zoomed in from 20-30 feet away using the flash at night is apparently not one of those conditions. Who knew! If you want to see more photos, check out Amanda’s website.

She’s really good! Totally undersells herself. She’s only been playing three months and has already mastered one Dixie Chicks song, at least. (Psst. Amanda. I vote for “Earl Had to Die” next time!) This is all mysterious magic to me, the person for whom reading music notes is like trying to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Worse, actually, I think I have a better handle on the Egyptian!

Back to the dyeing. Yeah, so, in my infinite wisdom I decided that, instead of trying to find a plug for our kitchen sink and putting the clothes in that one at a time, I’d just tump them all in the bathtub, since I’ve decided I kind of like the unevenly dyed look. And tote some boiling water in from the kitchen, since the water’s supposed to be super hot. Well, that part resulted in a burn, and while the clothes turned out okay (I’m sure you’ll see the rest of them soon), the bathtub…hmm.

I have dubbed it the Zombie Bathtub. Which of course, prompted a debate between Matt and I about how a zombie bathtub would spread its zombification. The odd stripes on the bottom are from masking tape – I had put some on the shirt to attempt leaving some spots totally white. I was unaware that when the masking tape hit the super hot dye-bath it would be all “EFF THIS NOISE” and immediately sink to the bottom of the tub. Thanks a lot, masking tape, you fail at life.

All I’ve got to say is that I damn well better get a lot of wear out of the clothes I dyed, since not only did I get a burn but I’m going to have to scrub and bleach the bathtub after I just cleaned the whole bathroom a week ago! I’m sure I’ll be able to get it out, but just a PSA for other adventurous crafters: bathtub dyeing = bad idea.

Pull the plug, lady!

I’m sure you’re all waiting with bated breath to hear the results of the internet diet & my thoughts on it after finishing! I ended up just doing one hour a day; thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes at night. I was originally going to do two hours a day, but figured I might as well do as little as possible. Without further ado…

The good:

• Once I had a time limit established, it was really, really easy to stay under that time and still get done everything I needed done. A large part of this might be due to my personal situation (I know a lot of other people get more email/comments and are subscribed to more blogs than I am), but with 30 minutes I managed to check my email, check job listings, read comments/delete spam, read a blog entry or three, and even tweet a couple of times.
• I found it a lot easier to stick to my morning routine of doing yoga before anything else. I’m not sure why, maybe because I knew I’d be closing the laptop after 30 minutes, and then I’d end up doing the yoga anyways.
• I generally found myself less stressed out throughout the week.
• Lots more time for reading.
• And for some reason, I slept much better than usual!

The bad:

There wasn’t any bad, actually! Except coming back to a large backlog of blog posts in my Google Reader. And missing my Twitter buddies.

Thoughts & reactions:

I think the weirdest thing for me was realizing how not-bad it is to only check email twice a day. I had this vision of my email inbox overflowing, with me frantically trying to keep up, and in reality? Not so much. I don’t know if it’s because checking your email every ten minutes gives the illusion of receiving many more messages than there actually are, or what, but there you have it.

The main thing I decided is that I need to cut down my intake of internet-based media, pure and simple. I’ve already cleaned up my reader by some 30%, and I’m unsubscribing from email lists left and right. I think a large part of the reason I’ve been feeling very stale and in somewhat of a rut lately is that most of the things I read or look at are internet based – this isn’t bad in and of itself, but for my brain to have a large reservoir of inspiration to draw from, more variety is needed.

The problem is, as I noted last time, the totally frickin’ addictive nature of the internet. My eventual goal is to try and get everything internet related that needs done in two or three days a week. All the internet-based writing, blog maintenance, email reading/replying, that good stuff. The rest of the time, I’ll be keeping it down to two hours a day. And I’m going to keep only checking my email 2-3 times a day, as well as stay off the computer for an hour or two before bed since it seems to have made me sleep so much better.

Oh, and as far as the direction of the site? I decided I’d just write what I wanted to, and make up new categories all willy-nilly as needed. Which means there is a strong possibility of non-fashion/style related posts in the future, just a heads up!

Another short one this week! Still getting caught up after the end of the internet diet and all.

• How to be miserable as an artist.
• 100 ways you can start loving yourself right now. (Note that turning off technology was on there. I’m totally ahead of the curve!)
• Simon Doonan’s tribute to McQueen is one of the best I’ve read yet.

How awesome is THIS?! (found via Fashion Pirates)

• 6 Steps for Totally Nailing a Job Interview.
• The ethics of blogging – definitely a good read!
• Also, I have to add, we got a Swiffer this weekend, and it is AWESOME. Need to keep a broom around for particles too big for it to pick up, and I think we’ll of course keep the mop & mop bucket for heavy duty cleaning, but I am amazed by this thing. It picks up approximately 536% more cat hair than a broom, which of course makes me happy. I’m convinced that cat hair is made up of microscopic ninjas, it somehow finds a way to hide everywhere.

Like I said – a short one this week, but hopefully the Lady Gaga + Star Trek mashup makes up for it! Have a freakin’ fabulous week!

Sure, these aren’t anything revolutionary – but they are awesome.

These are apparently exclusive to Need Supply Co. – they come in black leather and gray suede. Personally, I like the black leather more.

Audi is to blame for my discovery of these freaking amazing boots. I don’t know if I should weep for my wallet or celebrate for my wardrobe.

I like these, although in a weird way. They’re almost one of those ugly-pretty (or pretty-ugly) shoes – they’ve got an odd sort of awkwardness. I’m kind of surprised that someone did buckled wedges after they were so HUGE last year; I would have thought they’d be “out” this year. Whatever, who cares as long as I can get my hands on some of these!

Vintage shoes are wonderful. You can get a unique shoe that not everyone else will have, usually for a fraction of the price that you’d pay today for shoes of similar quality. However, there are some things you need to watch out for when buying vintage shoes. These include:

• All leather construction. This means the shoes were higher quality to begin with and it generally makes them easier to repair.
• Remember that shoes can be stretched in width, but not in length. If they’re a little narrow, that can probably be fixed. If they’re too short – put ‘em back, ladies!
• Make sure the heel hasn’t been worn down to the metal spike inside. And this is an extra note even for new shoes: don’t walk on them if they’ve born worn down that far! That damages the shoe. Just go in and get your heels re-covered. (I think they’re called heel taps, but I felt stupid saying “get taps put on your heels”.)
• Examine the stitching and the buckles/holes on straps. Loose stitching can be easily fixed, but stretched out or torn holes can’t, really. A missing buckle might be hard to fix too, especially if the strap is an odd size or the buckle a specially made one.
• Look around the seams – the glue might have caused discoloration that’s hard to disguise. I know this from personal experience!
• Look for actual scratches or gouges in the leather – they can’t be disguised as easily as scuffs.
• If the shoe has any suede, examine it carefully – suede is generally more delicate and harder to repair than leather.

That about does it! Because of the varying sizing with older shoes, and the issues noted above (which can be easily disguised by unethical online sellers), I definitely recommend keeping your vintage shoe shopping to in-person. Every once in a while, though, something so awesome comes up that it can’t be passed on – and I get that! So just shop with caution! And goooood luck!

So, as I mentioned on Monday, all of this week I’ve been trying an experiment. I’ve restricted my internet access to 1-2 hours a day. That probably doesn’t sound huge, but I spend a lot of time online and it’s a drastic change for me!

Why?

The obvious question is what prompted me to go on an “internet diet”. Quite frankly, I’m feeling a little crazy crowded in my brain space, and I’m pretty sure that most of that comes from being near-constantly connected, in one way or another, to the internet and the vast amount of people on it. That can be a great thing, don’t get me wrong – I love all of my internet friends, I love talking to them and hearing their thoughts, I love that I can ask a completely random-ass question and immediately get a response. (People who answered my Picard vs. Data question: I’m looking at you!) I love having so many different viewpoints, and hearing about things as they happen.

But at the same time, I just feel surrounded by noise. I want some peace and quiet!

The Goals

Right after “why?” comes “what are you trying to accomplish?”.

Well…

• Peace and quiet! Like I said. No more noise.
• I want more time for non-internet-y things. It’s a tremendous time suck, and even if I really want to do something else, we’ve all experienced that phenomenon that consists of “Just 15 more minutes!” and then suddenly you look at your computer clock and it’s fifteen ’til midnight. Or, you know, much later. I just discovered the wonder that’s the local public library (it has FOUR FLOORS, y’all. this is a huge deal for me!) and have a stack of books to read through, I’d like to get back to meditating more, I have things to write and draw, and I have a stack of DIY projects waiting to be done. If nothing else, it’s supposed to be nice-ish outside next week, and I’d enjoy walking around and checking out some of the local parks.
• I want to think about the direction of things. Some personal things as well, but a large thing I want to think about is where Wicked Whimsy is going as a website. I love writing about style and fashion, and it’s a huge part of my life, but sometimes I feel like it gives a very one-sided view of me. Style and fashion aren’t all I care about; sometimes I want to think or write about business, personal issues (like inspiration or lack thereof), spirituality…any number of topics. And obviously, I don’t always stick to just fashion or style topics as is! So I don’t know if I want to go even more “off topic” in some posts, or set up a new domain/site for other thoughts. Thoughts from you, as a reader or a fellow blogger, are appreciated!

This post was written ahead of time; I wrote all of the posts for this week and scheduled them before starting the diet. I’ll do a recap post sometime next week with my thoughts on how it worked and any follow-up I’ll be doing – I’m thinking about continuing it for thirty days, to try and make all of these things a habit. To get better at making time for non-internet things. I think it’s interesting that it’s possible, but sometimes I wonder if it’s such a good thing to be plugged in all the time! (Anyone else ever read Feed?)

Thoughts or comments? I’d love to hear them!