Fat Promotion and My Excuses.

There seems to be a little bit of a war happening. Of course, this is the internet, when is someone not arguing with another person? When that stops, I think we've found the end of the internet. However, this one hits me harder than most stupid "controversies".

I have since April, been on a "Bradessy". The ever continuing struggle to find my perfect fitting bra. I'm still working on it, and it's a struggle, let me tell you. Thanks to the great community support (hyuk, hyuk) from /r/abrathatfits I'm well on my way.

So, I have spent a serious time online looking at pictures of boobs, bras and breasts. More than your typical hormone pumped teen. It's a little embarrassing. I'm over it.

As I am shopping for bras I tend to see a lot of lingerie, which is awesome, because um...wow? Sexy smalls for the bedroom? I'm on board. Pretty frilly, frothy things to wear? Yay! No more beige, black and white bras! Matching sets? oh. em. gee. I've been delivered from Cacique and into the paradise of Freya, Panache and Elomi.

When I found this article from Bust Magazine, I was immediately intrigued. Thrilled, even. I tend to get bothered when I shop for clothes online, and the models tend to not be actually plus-sized. If I am going to buy a dress it would be nice to see it on a model who's body is closer to mine. Putting a size 10 in a baggy sweater is not fitting the bill. This article discusses how Chrystal Bougon owner of Curvy Girl Lingerie  addresses this very concern. I also love that the article stresses that all women are "real", not just plus-size and curvy women. She puts out a call for women "with rolls, bumps, lumps, scars, stretch marks, surgery scars and natural breasts that have nursed babies". No where does it specifically say she wants bigger ladies. It just so happens that bigger ladies have answered the call and the Bust article choose to have some lovely, cheerful women who are larger ladies. Brave, and inspiring and seriously refreshing!

Then this article comes out on the Daily Fail, about a woman who made some comments in response on Facebook. While the article speaks mainly about how Facebook banned her, because of her comments and then reinstated her access, the main impact of the article is the individual's attitude and response to the Bust Article. Maria Kang was accused of "fat shaming" because of her opinion that campaigns such as Chyrstal's are promoting obesity and taking pride in being overweight. Kang made some pretty controversial statements, including a photo of her posing with her three sons, all under the age of 5  under the heading "What's Your Excuse?". 

With that line of thinking, I need to have to explain away my weight and size, because there HAS to be a reason, right? Because no one chooses to be fat, right? It's a completely abnormal abomination! I mean, since I was a little girl and well into my teens I was taught correctly by the media that to be normal and to fit in to society I should be thin. Or at least try to be thin! My God, what kind of person am I for not following the correct societal procedures that have been set before me?

My excuse? I have no excuses because I don't need any. I don't need to excuse myself to you, or anyone else about my size, shape or weight. I don't promote anything on my Blog except a fun and quirky sense of fashion and taking JOY in life, no matter what someone looks like. Can we stop assuming that every larger person is lazy and just sits around and eats? Is it completely necessary to attempt to promote a fitness-centric lifestyle by shaming people into it? What good does that do, exactly?

It creates hurt feelings, anger and resentment. If this woman is so dedicated to getting people into the gym why does it have to be in such a manner? If she truly cared about me and my health, she would get off her narcissistic high horse and create a true dialogue about health and fitness. This woman only accomplishes self serving goals while under the guise of promoting fitness. And that is not right. 

I am inundated every day with images and pictures of the ideal created by the industrial beauty machine. No one looks like me. Or any of the women in my family. Or the women I work with. Or my friends. Or my neighbor. Or anyone. We've gotten so wrapped up in a fantasy ideal of what is supposed to be and not be we've lost sight of each other. It's gotten too easy to sit there and call out someone for being fat. I could just as easily start shaming Maria Kang for being a bad mother. I can make all kinds of assumptions about her lifestyle, and assume she doesn't care for her children, because she obviously cares more about exercise. I mean, she's using her children for shameless self-promotion! What other conclusion could I make? Or I could also attack her body. Look, she's got no tits. She's almost flat chested, has no curves - she's ugly because she looks like a boy in a wig! Only dogs want bones, not real men. 

 But you know what? That's childish, cruel and lacks any kind of constructive criticism. I don't know anything about her and her life, so how can I sit back and judge someone? We live in a culture where it is suddenly become okay to humiliate people into doing what "we" think is proper. Where when we are confronted with seeing a thicker waist, or a bit of back fat or...heaven forbid - belly rolls we're offended. We can attack people who are different because they don't fit. Literally. This needs to stop. 

My anecdotal truth is that I have struggled my whole life with my size, which has been the same since high school. It has taken me years to accept my body and be happy with myself and love myself. I will not let this self serving bitch, wrapped up in her security blanket of negativity bring down years of working towards the ultimate goal of loving myself. *I* am the only person who is allowed to judge myself. Trust me, I'm competent enough to decide weather I need to go to the gym, or not have that last cookie. I don't need anyone else to tell me what *I* need to do. If I suddenly decide I need to get a gym membership, it's a decision that I will make, thanks, and it's a decision I won't be shamed into. 


-GG

Finally Fall

I have been so super psyched that it's finally fall, and the weather has been really quite nice, here in south east PA! It's been a great October so far, with a few events and my vacation to boot!

Earlier this month my friend I went to a fun little street fair in a beautiful 300 year old village rich with history and culture. I ended up making a few purchases: homemade dip mixes and horseradish mustard  (made by a really super cool local guy who also does insane hot sauces), a pair of gorgeous turquoise earrings and a quirky pair of windmill earrings.

I also decided to get a hair cut:

I'm a much happier person with bangs, to be honest. I think it gives my face something....else...Anyway, I also decided to get the rest of my hair cut all the same length around too, because layers were getting raggedy on me and I was tired of it. I feel I have a more modern look.











Last Friday was a faaaaabulous gallery opening at The Grounds for Sculpture! It was a fantastic evening! I fell completely in love with the new installations by Edwina Sandys, William Knight and Katie Murken. I also got to meet J. Seward Johnson, an artist and founder of the grounds, so it was pretty magical. He told us a silly story about meeting a German couple on the Queen Mary II. I think he was a little tipsy.

Katie Murken

Katie Murken 

Edwina Sandys

And of course:

Dress: Bettie Paige Clothing via ModCloth
Sweater: Target
Stockings: Torrid
Purse: Target, two years ago

The outfit of the evening! It was also a cocktail hour, so I felt this dress was appropriate. The color and the print make it so vibrant and eye catching. I got tons of compliments and my friend Becky said people were turning their heads with appreciative glances. A success! My hair looks a little effed up because I didn't have time to refresh it before leaving.

The accessories:
Shoes: Seychelles Footwear
Necklace: Forever21
Lipstick: Flower
Quotation Earrings: ModCloth










There you have it! The month is almost done, but I'm not!


-GG

Overdue.

So, since I haven't posted anything for a while, I figured I might as well throw an outfit on the wall. It's from a while ago:

Orange Bow Blouse :: Mod Cloth
Cardigan :: Target
Rock Steady Skirt :: Mod Cloth
Brouges :: DSW
Elephant Pin :: Vintage, circa 30's or 40's

So, not the best picture, it was taken the morning after an event I had to do for work. Ed and I were the youngest people attending, which was okay, but it did make for a dull time since we really had no one to talk to. To make us feel better, we went out for a drink afterwards and stayed out pretty late. That's my excuse for having train wreck hair and I am sticking to it. 

Anyway, the outfit. I like this because it's a bit of a departure from my usual jewel-tone color palette and I like how the brown, navy and orange all kinda go together. The base of the outfit is from Mod Cloth, probably the first place I tend to shop. I was worried the skirt wouldn't fit, but it did, like a dream. It's cut in a circle, so it swings when I walk and is just so damn cute. The blouse is also from Mod Cloth, an item I had literally fantasized about for weeks before buying it. I bought it way too big though - I bought a 4x when I really should have a 3x or even a 2x. Oops. When I buy straight sized clothes, I overcompensate for my overly large boobs and forget about not having to do that with Plus-Sizes. Derp. It's okay though, it works the way I want it too. The shoes we've seen before, no real comment except that they can also be found on Mod Cloth, tehehe. The broach was an awesome find! I got it from an antiques flea market I've been obsessing about recently for ten bucks! It adds a certain panache to my outfits.Here's closer picture of it:

If it's from the 40's, I am going to assume it was made after the
popularity of "Dumbo"

Anyway, my current lustiness:

Let the whining commence

I am so crushing on this dress, it's getting to the point of embarrassing. Pocket Rocket instantly became one of my favorite Blogs since I found her. I was so super excited that she got to design a dress along with two other gorgeous UK Bloggers for SimplyBe (note: whyunohavestoreinUSA?Fix nao plz). Hers is my favorite. The yellow and pink is too delightful to pass up, and the quirky and cute print is subtle enough to get away with at work. Just bummed I ended up missing a 40% off code because I'm broke. Oops. Lesson learned.

Till next time!

-GG

Soundtrack:

Vintage Finds of the Pyrex Kind

Wait, whut?

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly. Pyrex. Vintage Pyrex to be exact. It's kinda my new thing, which pretty much happened out of nowhere.

It started when I felt that I needed new mixing bowls and I wanted vintage mixing bowls to give my kitchen a special touch. I recalled from my distant childhood seeing sets of bowls with handles and printed flowers. That's pretty much it. I set about finding the these bowls, first at the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market. Um, yeah, fucking awesome place, lots of cool vintage and handmade items but no vintage cookware (I was totally cool with that as I scored a ton of awesome shit).

So, I decided I should try the local antique mall. For those who don't know, an antique mall is usually a large space divided up into stalls or separate areas. Vendors rent these spaces out and carefully tag their items with a code so when you go to pay at a central register, they get paid. I really like the place I go to, it's stuffed full of awesome vintage and antique items and the prices are fairly decent.

I scoured the place, and found exactly what I was looking for:

Pretty much EXACTLY what I had in mind. I was STOKED. I browsed around and found this:

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is awesome.

Pink, 1950's divided casserole dish. So very cute, right?

At this point I was happy. I found the bowl I was looking for, and a really terribly adorable casserole dish that was cool for just being a piece of cookware older then me. I also discovered what this stuff actually was - "pyrex". It gave me some pause as I knew I had some random, yet rather ugly, piece of pyrex in my kitchen. Who knew it came in colors?

A few days later a co-worker, knowing my recent proclivities, brought in this really nifty article for me to read. The piece detailed a local couple who transformed their boring kitchen into a 50's style diner kitchen, complete with Juke Box, teal blue booth and kitchen accessories. Whilst finding the right accouterments for their kitchen, they started collecting vintage Pyrex. The article pretty much ends with how the guy got into collecting cookware and basically how awesome pyrex is.

Whut?

This stuff is collectible?

The article mentioned a website, called Pyrex Love, which was my next stop. Pretty much it's an online compendium of everything pyrex and related to pyrex. Extremely useful for collecting.

From there, I was off and running:

Meet (from left to right): Butterprint refrigerator dish, Friendship round cinderella casserole dish, and Butterfly Gold small cinderella mixing bowl.

Two things: YES, I use most of my pyrex for it's intended uses. No, I don't nuke it in the microwave. Also, I discovered my red guy had a lid, after some research on Pyrex Love. First ebay pyrex purchase, and I was SO nervous it would break. It arrived in perfect shape. (The home made mac and cheese was also delicious!)

From what I understand, the refrigerator sets are not terribly rare, just terribly popular. Probably for the age, kitsch factor, colors and dead usefulness. This set was missing one little red box, I picked it up for 25 bucks, quite a steal.

One of my more recent finds, from the antique store, the Daisy mixing bowl set. It's in really good shape and has already gotten lots of use.

PLATES?!? Yep, they match the little tea cups pictured with the refrigerator box set. I love these. They are so sturdy and extremely pretty. I got mine a little faded, but I don't care.

Above is probably my best piece. I wish I could brag that I found it in the "wild", but it was really on ebay. It's called Balloons, and is a limited edition promotional set called a chip n dip. You see, people in the 50's were more civilized, and seemed to have eaten their chips and dips from actual bowls and not just shoved a mass of chips and dips into their craws as we do today. Anyway, I just have the chip bowl. The dip bowl is hard to find and forget about the bracket to put it all together.


This isn't even the start of what I have. I have acquired more since there pictures were taken (all from my Instafeed, lawl) and I keep getting more. What is it that draws me to this? I couldn't tell you. I love to cook, so having quirky conversational cookware is pretty ballin to me. It's also a no-brainier as I have developed a fascination with all things vintage. I love the idea of a different time, where you brought casseroles to a new neighbor in a pretty dish to welcome them to the neighborhood. Or served up something delicious at a BBQ in a beautiful bowl. The presentation was just as good as the food itself. Perhaps it's that attention to detail and craftsmanship we lack in today's world. Go to Wal-Mart and browse the cookware department. You'll see the same sturdy names from yesteryear - Pyrex and Anchor-Hocking, but the designs are boring and plain. A one size fits all approach to individuality. For someone who embraces her uniqueness and je ne sais quoi, the crap on those shelves is not worth it. It's worth noting that some of my bowls, dishes and bakewear is nearly older than me and my fiancee - combined. That these items have held up over the years speaks volumes about the quality. I have a set of dishes from Target that's pretty much chipped to hell and that was bought only seven years ago.

So, where do I find this stuff? It's tough to find anything good out in the "wild". Thrift stores are usually my first place to stop. There is one large thrift store near me that sometimes has some good finds, like the large yellow mixing bowl from the primary set and red and blue fridge boxes (I bought the blue one, it looked so sad). I see more Corning items and Glassbake than anything. I have also seen the ubiquitous fruit pattern from FireKing countless times. I am still waiting for that ultimate score. I can't help but think the guy from the kitchen article above is picking everything over in the area, haha.

I get frustrated from scouring thrift stores and then go to the Antique Mall to get my fix. I'm not lying, it really is like a fix. The prices there are good, sometimes better than Ebay, and ALWAYS better than smaller boutique like antique stores. I have just recently tried flea markets, one nice one my mother dragged me to as a kid was called "Golden Nugget" in the Lambertville area in New Joisey. They have an outdoor area filled with wonders and an inside building area filled with wonders. One stall like area is JUST PYREX. Well, mostly. She's got Jadeite, Corning, and some other random items. But her prices are astronomical. She knows how much she can charge and has had issues competing with Etsy. I don't buy Pyrex from Etsy. It's overpriced for the idiot hipsters who don't know how to use Ebay. I tend to use Ebay with great sucess and get some amazing deals on there. I've never had a mishap in shipping and never felt I was overpaying.

All in all, Pyrex is pretty much my new thing. It's a fun and fairly cheap collectible. Just...where the hell am I going to put all this stuff!?!

Cheers,
-GG

Beaster Outfit.

Hullo! It's been months, since I have last posted. I truly haven't forgotten about my blog, nor have I been too busy to write a post. I have just simply been incredibly lazy. C'est la vie.

Anyway, I wore a pretty banging outfit for Easter and I felt it needed to be shared. I decided to serve up some vintage realness.

My fiancee took the picture, said I needed to smile and not look cranky
Head to Toe: hat, vintage; sweater, Target; sweater guard, vintage; dress, Forever 21
tights, Target; shoes, Naya Shoes; bag, Coach Poppy Collection,
stupid hair band I left on my wrist, Wal-Mart.

I don't usually devote whole posts to an outfit, but I felt so darn cute, I couldn't help it. I also felt extremely proud for being able to match up that peachy-salmon-pink color of the dress with a cardigan. Speaking of the dress, it was pretty insane it came from Forever 21. It's really well constructed, LINED, and the pleats are sewn in. Ed's nephew's girlfriend demanded to see the tag before she believed me. Only issue: it's dry clean only. Which is pretty ridiculous for a 30 dollar dress, but hey, one last thing I need to haul the laundromat right? Anyway, I really like the blue of cardigan and the pink of the dress together. I used the grey tights as a nice base to kind of tone down the other bright colors. The shoes are a great color and pretty much go with anything in my closet! They are also SO comfortable. I can wear them all day at work and then some.

TREATS!!

Can't have Easter without some treats! Ed got me a pink chocolate bunny and two bars of Dairy Milk. That stuff is pretty much crack in chocolate form. So. Damn. Good.

  

Two more instragramy pictures. I thought they came out kinda cool :) Anyway, I have some ideas for blog posts and a few things I want to write about, so hopefully I can get the motivation! Ha!

Huggles and Kissles
-GG


P.S. Did you know that a group of unicorns is called a "Blessing". I HAD NO IDEA.

Hello, lover

So, last week this happened:

HOLY FUCK.

What exactly is that thing, you say? Well, that would be an onlay filling, which I have conveniently rocked a wiki. It's like a cross between a crown and a filling, except there's no root canal and it's porcelain and doesn't cover the whole tooth like a cap. That's why it looks all jacked up on the right hand side, as it just fills in what the dentist drilled out. So, the logical question is, "Why, is it out of your mouth and in your hand?". Because it fucking fell out of my tooth. I was eating lunch at work, admittedly, a fruit strip (um yeah, they are THAT GOOD) that was a little chewy. And it just...fell...out of my mouth. I had the typical panic attack that accompanies anything like that this that happens to me, calmed down and made a call to the dentist. I have a new dentist (as IF I was going back to the hack who put the damn thing in, in the first place) who saw me on Monday, popped the sucker back in while I was comfortably relaxing in a big cushy chair whilst watching Alton Brown. WIN.

So, to make myself feel better I decided to go to DSW for some late night shoe shopping! I had a lot fun trying on shoes and taking pictures, for what is really my first shopping trip that I am blogging about!
Without further adieu:

Okay, I need to work on taking selfies.

Getting better?

...I gave up and just took the damn shoe off.

 I saw these pretty quickly and made a bee line. I believe they were Steve Madden or Madden Girl and can be found here, interestingly enough, by a different company. Anyway, I loved the colors and the print. I have a pair of flats from Target in a similar style and I love them, as this type of print is pretty versatile. However, HOLY CRAP these are high. Like, four inches high. I almost DIED wearing these shoes, no lie. I tripped around the aisle getting a feel for these bad boys and felt they were comfortable, but just too high for me. I am already about 5'5", so I was close to six feet tall in these, which was just too weird for me. As a clumsy person, I need my center of gravity to be MUCH lower. But very tempting and fairly comfortable.

Yeehaw?

Look, I am getting used to this picture thing, okay?

 Okay, a secret: I have ALWAYS wanted a pair of cowboy boots. I looooove the look and feel and decided to try a pair on! Yay......Okay, so, not so great, but that could just be the pair I tried. I liked the pretty blue paired with the brownish color of the rest of the boot and the pattern. But they felt exactly how they should have - fake. The material was this strange puffy fake leather stuff that just felt weird. I was expecting something stiffer and hardier. I think I am going to hold out for real cowboy boots.

lol, they blend into my tights.

Yep, that would be me in my tatty green coat.

Oh, these shoes! I have a bad weakness for flats and patent leather. And recently for the color blue. Even though they made me look kind of like an elf with my tights, I pretty much loved them. They were tight, but I like to buy my flats tight as they tend to stretch out for me. I couldn't remember who made them in the slightest. But they were on clearance and seriously wanting to come home with me. 

this mirror was awesome for pics

Oh, I loved these shoes sooo much. Again, I can't remember who they were from - an expensive department store brand -  but I do remember loving them. I love wedges, as they are comfy and easy to wear for work, so these caught my eye. The leopard print was just too good as well. I don't usually go for animal prints, but the black wedge heel really toned the print down in a classy way. Unfortunately, I couldn't justify the $80.00 (clearance!) price tag, no matter how much I loved them.

Not bad, I think.

I wouldn't mind looking down at these

I look confused,ha.

I have been trying to explore more shoe options and one of them was the idea of boots. Especially ankle style boots. Scary because I feel I have thick calves and I worry that boots like these would make my legs look stumpy. I was pleasantly surprised in the end. At first I thought these were too tough looking and very grungy, which isn't me in the slightest. Turns out that paired with a skirt, boots can be quite cute! I was really happy to see the laces had military style eyelets, which helps customize the fit. Hooray, my big calves fit! The soles felt nice and cushy too. For being on clearance for 20 bucks, I could over look the fact that the materials were not real leather. You know, saving cows and whatnot. I didn't get them, but I will be back for these. If they are still there - it was meant to be!

Gold and purple, oh, myyyyy!

Okay, last pair and only one picture. A DSW employee started to straighten up the clearance are I was playing around in, casting glances in my direction. An overly polite way of saying, "Stop taking self photos, you're scaring the customers." Anyway, these are Jessica Simpson, another overpriced brand I don't like to wear. I thought these were cute, but big! You can see the space between the back of my heel and the shoe. I liked the two tone color scheme, and the fuzzy suede upper of the shoe, but I could tell these would get real uncomfortable real quick. Plus, gold really isn't my thing, but it looked so cute I was willing to give them a try. 

So, in the end, what did I end up buying? (durrrr, we all know I don't leave the shoe store without buying something, ha!)

I got these! Actually, these pretty brogues were half the onus of going to DSW, aside from making myself feel better. I saw them on ModCloth, and went out hoping I would find sometime similar and ended up finding the same damn show. I LOVE them to pieces. They are comfortable, breathe and move well and weren't too expensive. My only complaint is that the creases from walking show up, badly. It's minor and can be justified that it gives the pair character.

Oh and my reward for that hard shopping: a salad from Saladworks!

It was really good.

Until next time!

-GG

December 2012

Sort of a moot point since I am making this post two days after December and 2012 ended. Oh well, I was busy on New Years Eve.

Well, so what is so important about December 2012? To me? This past month has been a bit of a turning point in my life. It signified an end and a beginning.

To start, I went on this insane <i>BEST FUCKING CHRISTMAS EVER</i> bender where I was determined to make the holiday season worth it. I shopped till I literally dropped. My wallet hemorrhaged cash like the Crazy 88 spurting copious amounts of blood in Kill Bill. I bought ornaments and stockings, baked a cake, did holiday-like-things, and sang Christmas carols in the shower.

Why go through all this nonsense? Last Christmas really sucked. Ed lost his job the month before, so any real cheer we had was gone with it. It was a lean Christmas, to say the least, and pretty miserable. Hence, my manic desire to make this one a good time.

Was it any different? Truthfully, not really. We did the same things and saw the same people, with one exception- My Mom. Since she moved this summer to upstate Pennsy, which is about 6 hours away, I haven't seen her. Visiting was pretty much out of the question since my corporate overlords put a moratorium on time off during Christmas. At least we were able to get presents for people. Regardless of all the cheeriness, there was still a pall over the entire season, hanging over our heads.

This coming year will place us right back where we were, almost at the same time as last year. Ed got word sometime last month that he will be losing his job. Again. That kind of put a damper on things, yet made me strive to have a good time.

One thing that was great? Our Anniversary. We had it low key, got some food and looked at Christmas lights, with some yummy warm drinks, went home spent some time with friends and drank a bottle of wine. Now, that was awesome. That is what it's all about.

Okay, before I get all sentimental and have the realization that Christmas is all about family, friends, love, warm feelings, peace on earth and Jesus, let's get one thing clear here - that's not my point. My point is that it doesn't have to have a holiday to have the <i> BEST FUCKING WHATEVER</i>. Sometimes those good times just happen and they don't. Holidays don't come with a mandate that they must be good. Honestly, I've had more good "off days" than actual holidays. I got so damn stressed out about Christmas, I lost sight of the fact that just because it's Christmas doesn't mean it HAS to be good.

So, I did have a pretty damn good Christmas, when all was said and done. However, I spent so much time forcing a good holiday, I stopped having fun at times. But I realized that I needed to let things happen, and not force it, but let things flow in a zen-like state. But I am thankful it's over and 2013 is here. Cheers, to a New Year, here's hoping 2013 will bring some goodness.

Dinner. I love tacos.Tijuana Flats.

My anniversary present!

Me and Ed at Christmas.

Note: The bracelet and pug necklace are from Cheap Frills, and I looooove them. Best Christmas Presents evar. 

Christmas Outfit Above: Black Blouse with velvet hearts and pussy bow: Forever21. Red cardi: Target. Corset belt: Torrid (from yeeears ago). Skirt, with velvet fans: Bettie Page.

Note on that skirt: OH MY GOD. I love that skirt. I waited a really long time to get it, and it really is gorgeous.