Happy Holiday, whichever the holiday you celebrate! And even if you aren't celebrating, I hope your days are happy anyways!

Christmas is coming and my vacation is imminent (eminent? I think "imminent" is correct, my vacation isn't high and lofty, but rather about to occur). So. I won't be around these here internet parts until mid-January. I will miss reading all your awesome blogs and will try to catch up when I get back!

What are your plans for the holiday break, if you have one?

The husband and I are going to visit family and friends-that-are-like-family, take a short road trip to visit my old alma mater, and then go on a CRUISE! I am so excited. I will put together a "what I packed for my cruise" or some such post afterwards, because I'm honestly not sure what I'm bringing. I've never been on a cruise before! I am bringing a bathing suit. And, umm, clothes? Yes. That sounds right. Clothing.

And just so this isn't a words-only post, because who likes those? Here are some outfits I've worn over the past few weeks. There's also a bonus picture of my adorable husband holding a CHRISTMAS SHARK*!

Leggings as pants? Yes please!

Details:
scarf: crocheted by my friend Nat
white enamel leaf pin: from clothing swap
Sweater: Evans 22/24
Lace inset leggings: Asos curve, 22
Boots: miz mooz button-ups, size 10
at-the-last-minute-I-chickened-out-on-the-whole-leggings-as-pants-thing-and-put-on-a-black-slip-underneath: evans, came with my Beth Ditto polka dotted dress.

What I wore to the Urban Craft Uprising (which was Awesome!)


Details:
Dress: Cuddlebunny.etsy.com (I shorted the sleeves to cap sleeves)
Boots: Target Kaden, size 11
Glasses: eyebuydirect.com
sweatyness: brought on by combo of polyester dress in crowded expo hall.

I really liked this pic of me that my husband took:


And, as promised, CHRISTMAS SHARK!*


*There's actually nothing Christmasy about it, it's just a stuffed shark we found at Ikea.

71 followers on blogger?!

Oh my! My follower numbers jumped by quite a bit this week!

Welcome, all you dear new followers!

The big reveal

Remember when I asked everyone to move their bookmarks for my blog? It was because I wanted to launch something new at wearelargepeople.com!

When I started this blog a year ago, I already had the (rather faint) idea that I wanted to start my own business as a fashion consultant. I'm so happy that, today, I am launching this new part of my life and that I get to share it with all of you! Won't you come look around?



A little bit more about it:

I want to create a safe space where you can explore new looks in a supportive and caring environment. I especially enjoy working with women who are plus-sized, as well as women with special concerns or style needs (allergies/sensitive skin, nursing mothers, etc.).

I don't work on commission, so we can shop at Old Navy or Nordstrom's - wherever the best pieces are for your style and budget - it makes no difference to me!

I am local to the Puget Sound/Seattle area and would love to work with you in person - but I also have packages that are online-only, so we can still work together no matter where you are!

Why don't you contact me and we can get started?

If you or a friend or family member may be interested, get in touch with me! I'm offering 10% off bookings made through my blog through January 15, 2011.

I'm so excited!

Work Holiday Party, and I looked awesome.

On Friday night we had our work holiday party. It was at the Pacific Science Center, and it was AWESOME.

They had a photo booth.



I made a huge tulle veil and paired it with a dress that had a tulle overlayer (I got at eShakti on clearance).



What you can't see is that it was really short! Also not visible - the fishnets that ripped in multiple places by the end of the night. Cheaply madeDelicate avenue fishnets + drunk Rebecca = needing a new pair of fishnets.

It was so cool to be at a museum that is normally for kids, but be able to see all the exhibits and do all the activities without any kids around. They even had a planetarium and a laser show!



I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how adorable and hot my husband was last night in his suit and black tie. Cute, cute man.


REMINDER: If you haven't already, please make sure you have moved your bookmarks to wearelargepeople.blogspot.com. If you follow me via blogger/Google friendconnect you should be fine. Thanks!

Housekeeping - What bookmark/rss URL do you have for me?

Hello lovelies,

I just wanted to check which URL y'all have bookmarked for me.

Very soon, my blog url will revert to:
wearelargepeople.blogspot.com

That's because something new and exciting is going to happen at wearelargepeople.com.

So, if you have wearelargepeople.com bookmarked/feed readered/etc., please change it to wearelargepeople.blogspot.com!

If you follow me via Blogger/Google Friend Connect, you shouldn't have to make any changes.

Thanks all!

An outfit, plus some very exciting news

The other day it was sunny! Sunny, dear readers. The sun was out.

I squinted at it with glee.



GLEE,* I say.


Outfit details:
Dress: etsy, then DIY'd. It's one of my faves - look at that cute pattern!? The seafoam color?! yes, it is a good dress.
Cardigan: Target xxl
sweater clips: gift from husband
scarf: H&M
squinty happy face: all me

Also, I have some upcoming exciting news. Well, exciting for me. And maybe for you? Maybe not. Anyways, soon my darlings. Also, aren't I mean, to allude to exciting news in the title and then not deliver? Such are my ways.

ETA: It's not a baby.


*not the tv show

Update on the now-passed No Buy November

So I totally forgot to update you all on how I fared during No-Buy November!

I will admit to two things: I shopped on cyber monday (11/29) because there were such great deals and it was nearly the end of the month, right? I nabbed these with a pretty great discount, and they are as cute in person, if not cuter. I'm still waiting on my packages to come in from across the pond (Evans and Simply Be, I'm looking at you), so I can show you all what I ordered (well, some of what I ordered. Some of it is unbloggable unmentionables... that I just mentioned).

Also, a few of the target clearance items you saw last week were, erm, actually purchased in November also. I actually made my husband buy them so I would technically keep my 'No buy' going... until I realized that I was only lying to myself. We have a shared bank account. It's like I bought them.

So I'm coming clean.

Here are the offenders:

Lace cardigan:


Grey heels and pink t-shirt:


There, now I feel better.

10 days, no dresses - week two hiatus

Hello friends* - Monkey has pulled her back, and I'm home sick with something or other, so we're going to put week two of our challenge on hiatus.

But don't fear! I have pants pictures for all of you. And non pants pictures.


The "jeans and t-shirt" uniform... that I don't really ever wear. Also, glasses off means that I'm pensive.

Outfit details:
grey skinnies: you've seen many times, torrid source of wisdom size 24
t-shirt: years ago, urban outfitters men's xl
old lady boat shoes: avenue


*internet friends are totally friends

Angsty poetry, coming right up!

Recently my macbook crashed and burned beyond all recognition. From the flames of offgassing plastic I was able to salvage most of my data, including all of my writing from college (I was an English major). I took a creative writing class, and also wrote poetry somewhat often. It was almost all angsty. I was not a cheerful flower.

I give you... "The Memory of Suffering" (heavy, right?)

Where does he go
When the tears are spent
on his dirty pillowcase?
He is too tired to sleep,
too sore from sobbing,
too restless to lay still.

His hands stopped shaking hours ago.
The only sounds:
the window air conditioner, grunting and shuddering at irregular intervals;
the repetitive clicking of the ceiling fan.
He is shivering.




He is not shivering.
The air conditioner is not shuddering.
The ceiling fan still clicks.

His tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth.
He licks his lips and they taste salty underneath the dryness.
His face feels tight and clumsy.
His jaw hangs slack.
The ceiling has no new patterns to offer.

10 Days, No Dresses - Day Five

A quick one today as I'm about to head to a friend's b'day party. I managed to wear yet another target clearance rack purchase without even meaning to. Srsly guys, I don't own that much stuff from Target, I just seem to be wearing all of it consecutively this week.



Outfit details:
Yellow button down: target clearance, $10
Cardigan: target maternity xxl, also clearance!
Jeans: Torrid SOW, featured the other day, because I only have 2 pairs of jeans.
Shoes: Also... Target. Jeez.
Sweater clips: husband



Up close of my one visible eye (need haircut) and sweater clips:



Thanks all!

10 Days, No Dresses - Day Four

Here's my effort for day four of our challenge, in which I am not allowed to wear dresses, and Monkey is not allowed to wear trousers. Go see what Monkey has on today, it's awesome!

I should really call this "10 days, 10 reasons why the Target clearance rack is awesome" because today I have, not one, but TWO <$8 target clearance item in my outfit.




I had just gotten home from the dentist - no cavities! Which is only like the second time in my life that that has been the case, so I'm not being smug.

I must admit, I didn't wear these heels all day.



I wanted to. I really like them. But I can't walk in them. It became apparent during my halting progress down the hallway of our building to take these pictures that it was not going to happen. Even my dog was scared of me with these on - they are about a 4" heel, so I'm a little over 6 feet tall with them on! I'm not saying that 6 foot tall women are scary at all - you are all awesome. But my dog was not used to the extra height and regarded me with suspicion.


"shoes, I think we need to talk about our relationship... it's not working..."

Outfit details:
Pink ruffly tee: target, clearance, size 2, $8
Jeans: Torrid Source Of Wisdom skinnies, size 24
Cardigan: Target xxl, years old
4" platform heels of doom: Target, clearance, $6
Glasses: eyebuydirect.com, no longer on their site, but they were only $8

Here's a lovely shot of my double chin, which my mom has named "shortcake". This used to bother me but I've sort of embraced it.

It also shows how day two of sponge rollers looks, which is pretty awesome.


myspace angle! Shortcake, where are you?

10 Days, No Dresses - Day Three

GUYS! I wore a not-dress today. AND TIGHTS. And I put my hair in sponge rollers last night. And I'm wearing super cute shoes! All for you, dear readers.



Well, and for me.



This skirt was a Target clearance rack steal - only $6. The shirt is Ross ($10), the tights are Avenue clearance, and ripped the first time I wore them. I am still going to wear them though, I love the pattern, and the rip is in the crotch, so... no one is seeing it there.



Take it off, baby.



Outfit details:
Cardigan: Old Navy, 1X
Shirt: Ross 2x
Skirt: Target 4
Tights: Avenue EE
Shoes: Faryl Robin, size 11

10 Days, No Dresses challenge - Day Two

So, dear readers, today I didn't put on anything but work-from-home gear. I had a big project to do and ended up not leaving the house at all.

I'll make it up to you, I promise. Perhaps by sharing some old poetry I found when I cleaned off my old laptop's failing hard drive.

Would that interest you? It's pretty angsty. I'd like to think I'm a happier person now...

10 Days, No Dresses - Day One

For realsies, I wore jeans today.



Also, it was so overcast today the streetlights came on at 2pm, so these pictures are courtesy of our apartment building hallway. What a lovely exit sign!



Outfit details:
necklace: gift from husband, it's a copper book-shaped locket
scarf that I'm holding in my hand: H&M
jeans: Torrid source of wisdom skinnies, dark wash, size 4
jersey asymmetrical trapezey top: Asos Curve, clearance, size UK22
lace cardigan: Target xxl, clearance, $8!!
awesome cognac brown peep toe heels of awesome: Frye, size 11, I've had them for years but hardly ever wear them because I hardly ever wear heels. But they are so cute!

Folks, this challenge is going to be HARD. I can already tell. I liked my outfit today, but all day I kept thinking "I bet I'd be more comfortable in a dress". When I got home, I couldn't wait to change into my PJs!

10 Days, No Dresses challenge

If you've stopped by this here blog before, you may notice that I employ dresses quite liberally in my wardrobe. You may even be able to say, truthfully, that I wear a dress nearly every day.

So, Monkey and I decided to do a challenge that would push us both in the direction of the neglected pieces in our wardrobes! For me, this is pants and skirts (trousers to you Brits. I do wear underwear.). For Monkey, it's dresses - go see her first day post, she's adorbs.

(via pudgy hands of doom, deviantart)

So, I own 3 pairs of jeans that are fit for actual wearing (and one pair for painting/getting dirty). I own a handful of skirts as well, but I hardly ever wear them. I'm not sure why - I think I just like dresses more, they are more comfortable, they require less constant-adjusting-throughout-the-day-anytime-I-sit-or-stand. I'm a busy and important person*. I don't have time for adjusting my clothing constantly to maintain my preferred state of Awesome.

But, I did just get 2 pairs of skinny jeans from Torrid, and they are comfy, and I have a few cute tops, and I want to get out of the rut of "dress, cardigan, boots, scarf = rebecca".

So, this week M-F, and next week M-F, I'll be wearing jeans or skirts exclusively. I'm also going to try to wear heels more often too, since they are also neglected.

Stay tuned for Day One's outfit - which I am wearing now, but haven't taken any pictures of just yet. Can you even handle the excitement?

*actual importance may vary

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am eating turkey and other accoutrements, most likely in my pajamas. Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers, in the US and other places that aren't celebrating today. I hope you are all having wonderful days full of friends and foods that you enjoy, with absolutely no food policing or shaming or trying to be "good".


(me making stuffing, Thanksgiving 2009)

I know it's corny, but I'm very thankful to all of you! Thanks so much for reading my blog!

OOTD: Evans clearance tank and skinnies

I have really been enjoying my Source of Wisdom skinnies that I got from Torrid a few weeks ago. The other day (actually about 2 weeks ago when it was still sunny here), I wore this easy outfit:



I even got an outside picture of it!

Outfit details:
Grey and blush striped tank: Evans size 22, bought on clearance
Grey skinnies: SOW, size 24, torrid
Cardigan: Target Merona, xxl
Snood: simplybe.com

I'm squinting because the sun is bright! Yay bright sun. I miss you.

Sponge rollers: better than a curling iron if you are clumsy like me

Making my hair curly is a difficult and long road. It requires lots of product and drying with a diffuser to even look a little wavy, and even a curling iron can't really make it curly. Plus, I burn myself and make my arms tired every time I try to use one!

But, of course, I can't just accept the fact that my hair is straight and be happy with it, I have to try to change it. In this way, I discovered sponge rollers.


(via google images)

Sponge rollers are much better than searingly hot metal. They are soft, like teddy bears. They are forgiving. One can sleep on them - which is what I do. I roll my hair up at night, spritzing a little water on each section before rolling it. I put a scarf over it when I'm done to keep the rollers from falling out while I sleep.

This particular time, when I took them out in the morning, my hair was curled WAY tighter than I expected. I went with it!



The side view shows how awesome the curls were. Also, you can see how my winter paleness allows my veins to be easily visible beneath my skin. Kinda gross chin/neck vein!



I almost feel a little like a 50s housewife when I put rollers in my hair - it's such an old beauty trick! I think sponge rollers have been around for decades. My husband makes fun of me when I have rollers in too :) - but I really like the look. Also, my hair still looks great the next day, and I can pin it up easily with the then-looser curls.

Have any of you rediscovered a beauty trick that's been used for many years and found it to work great for you?

What's in my bag?

Monkey challenged me to a "what's in my bag?" post - I thought it would be fun! She did one as well, it's up over there and you should check it out! All I will say is it's very owl-tastic :)

Another fun thing is that when I opened the shades in our bedroom to get more light for the pictures I saw that it's SNOWING outside!!! This is the first time I've seen snow in many, many years. I'm so excited!!!!!! Can you tell?

My bag:


I got it at a garage sale for $3 about 4 months ago, and I've carried it ever since. I used to change my purses quite a bit, but this one is just about perfect for me so I've kept carrying it. It's a wonderful leather with leather patchwork on the front (some of the patches are actually hairy and that's weird and gross to me, but I try not to think about them).


I subscribe to the "many little bags" theory of purse organization, mainly because I don't want little things getting lost in the bottom of my purse. Clockwise from left: marimekko purse, H&M zipper pouch, "loop" wallet. Within these are painkillers, pepto bismol (a wonder drug!), lip balm, hand sanitizer, lens wipes, lady products, etc.


And here's everything together, clockwise from left:
Top row: marimekko purse,h&m zipper pouch, moleskine and pen, tissues, sunglasses in case (don't need to carry those anymore for a few months)
second row: checkbook, wallet
third row: box of business cards for my blog/etsy store (you'd be amazed how often it comes up in conversation and then I can just give a card!), cell phone, badge for work.

Like Monkey, I usually also have a book but I don't really like the one I'm reading right now so I'm not carrying it around.

What do you carry in your bag every day?

108 - Indoor photos are hard to take

With the daylight savings time change, mixed with the latitude of Seattle... well, folks, it's been difficult to get photos of my outfits during the daylight hours. I'm just too shy to ask a coworker to take a picture of me I guess!

So, I tried to make a home photo studio area using a thrifted sheet that I keep meaning to turn into a dress, and all the lamps we have in the room, plus the tripod.

The result: mediocre at best.



At least my outfit was super cute!

but it wasn't shiny like the pictures made it look:


And the only way I could keep my eyes from becoming huge flashes of light was from not looking at the camera, which, frankly, makes me look a little too wistful.



Outfit details:
Lace shirt: Ross, part of a dress combo
Dress: thrifted Avenue skirt turned into a dress
Boots: Target
Headband: etsy, ages ago, forget which seller
Curly hair: courtesy of sponge rollers worn overnight!

How do you awesome photo takers take indoor pictures that turn out so great? Glasses-wearers, how do you keep your glasses from reflecting the flash?

Happy 107th post!

Around these parts, we don't celebrate the 100th post like normal bloggers. NO.... We celebrate post # 107.

(This is mainly because I didn't realize that post 100 was actually post #100)

How do we celebrate post #107?

With a scarf on my head!



Outfit details:
Jeans: Torrid "Source of wisdom" skinnies, size 24. These are my new favorite pants. I like them enough to actually wear pants every once and awhile now!
Shirt: I actually forget!
Cardigan: Alloy XXXL
Scarf: from a clothing swap
Glasses: zennioptical.com

5 pieces that define my style

Stephanie over at Buttons, Bows & Brogues recently did a piece where she showed 5 pieces that make up her style. I am shamelessly copying this notion, because I think it's a neat idea!

1) Dresses with petticoats underneath



2) Glasses (I actually need them, these are all prescription glasses)



3) Boots



4) Scarves



5) Brooches/sweater clips


What about you? Could you boil down your style to 5 things?

No Buy November

I am accepting Monkey's challenge to not buy anything clothing-related for the month of November.

(I am making an exception for a coat and a bathing suit, because I've been looking for both of these for a few months now.) But, other than that, I will not be buying clothing or shoes for the whole month of November.

I think I can do it. I can be strong. Will you join us?

OOTD: Portland for the weekend

Two weekends ago Bob and I went to Portland to visit my Dad and little brother, who were in town for business. It was so great to see them!

We were able to find a pet friendly hotel, so we took Waffles with us.


I recently received this dress from Old Navy and it was so comfy I wore it in the car on the way down:




Isn't it awesome? I love the red and the print on the fabric. It's a cotton/poly jersey that's thicker than ON dresses normally are. I also got it in black - that's how much I loved it.

Outfit details:
Dress: Old Navy size 2x
Boots: Target Kaden size 11
Kneesocks: american apparel, "over the knee" socks
Wool coat: Target, a few years ago.

We ate at this awesome biscuit place that had a line out the door. Here's my dad and me in line:

(he ALWAYS blinks in pictures, it's impossible to get a not-blinking shot of him)

Then we hit up the Columbia river gorge area:

(me and my little bro at Multnomah falls)

And we also stopped at a fish hatchery:

chubby love!

There was a random bear statue there:


He was smaller than I thought he'd be. Maybe he was just a baby bear. Which is super sad. Sorry for the downer, y'all.