My New Favorite: The Annette Dress

So, as you might have guessed.  I intend to do just about everything I said I was not doing with this blog.  Because the point, really, is just to have something to do and some outlet to share what I’m interested in.  And one thing I love is having a New Favorite Anything.  I’m a solid consumer who likes stuff: new stuff, new old stuff, fun stuff, stylish stuff, weird stuff, etc.

My New Favorite right now is a dress.  I love dresses more than any other item of clothing.  Maybe because I suck at separates and casual wear.  Dresses are easy.  Dresses flatter figures.  Dresses make statements.  Though I think the “day dress” and casual dress have seen a resurgence in the last few years, I still know many people who only put on a dress or skirt if its date night or someone is getting married.  I can bemoan the casualization of societal clothing standards another time, but I also like that wearing almost nothing but dresses (at least all week) gives me just that little bit of extra appearance of effort (though I find dresses much lower effort than coordinating several pieces).

Thus, more of my discretionary budget goes to dresses than anything else, since dresses make me happy.  This latest New Favorite made me so happy I wore it twice in one week!  To work on Tuesday, then out to a concert on Friday night.  It’s by FridayOn My Mind, a UK company.  I purchased it on sale from Weekend Doll.  I’d never ordered from that store before, and think I just happened upon them via a link on another blog.  Most of the items there tend toward a more 50’s repro, but the “Annette” dress caught my eye, and the photo of the Catherine Deneuve-esque styled model sold it.  I was quite pleased with the ease of the Paypal transaction and the quick service.  I loved the very British confirmation email I received when my order was “dispatched”.

I am a total sucker for a Peter Pan collar, an easy silhouette, and a geometric print.  I also really dig the color combination.  I’ve been drawn to orange lately, despite how terrible it looks on me, and was into the reddish version here.  I don’t know how faithfully those colors are rendered on digital media, but it’s definitely orange enough that this doesn’t look like something you’d just wear on Fourth of July.

Discovered in this process that there is nowhere really good for taking outfit photos in my house.

The fit is really nice and as easy as I hoped. I'd like a little more nip in at the waist but that's to be expected with this cut. I normally run 16ish in dresses, which can be a wide range depending on the company, but the XL here was just fine.  The only slightly odd bits were a bit of a tightness through the chest (thought I'm not terribly busty for my size) and some sagging 'round the top of the back:

But overall it's a winner.  And I love dresses with pockets!

I am clearly uncomfortable smiling or looking at the camera.

Also doing this I learned that I know nothing about taking blogworthy outfit photos, despite my husband being a pretty good photographer.  I'm just using my regular digital camera here and trying to make do with the crappy lighting in my house at night, but I think the dress comes through anyway.  I'd appreciate any tips on outfit photos from some of you who have a little more experience.

And one more thing--if you're not a dress girl, this comes in a completely adorable top as well!

The Myth of Free Time

I often say that I don’t have enough time to do things.  Work out, grade essays, play videogames the way I used to, finish projects, etc.  This is sort of a lie. I can only speak for myself, but there are a lot of myths I perpetuate when it comes to that lack of free time I often cite as the factor that holds me back from being a more productive person.  And apparently I’m not the only one.  I was reading this interview with a woman who came to pretty similar conclusions as I did. As it is put here, there is a “one-upmanship of timelessness” wherein we all want to believe we have no time, when in fact, we have much more than we admit to ourselves.  When I reflect on this I discover a few of my own myths.

Myth: I have too much work I need to do.

Truth: I do have a crapload of work to do.  Every week when I get to work I write a mile-long To Do list and as I drive home each evening I’m drafting another mental one.  And then I promptly ignore them both.  Being versed in the fine art of procrastination, I am constantly adjusting my definition of “NEED to do”.  Anything without an immediately impending deadline gets shelved.  And you know what?  I’ve always gotten away with this.  I don’t do things late, or shoddily, just as last minute as possible.

I have been dragging this particular stack of grading back and forth for a couple weeks now, because, you know, grades aren't due yet.

Myth: I never have time for myself.

Proof I've got free time.

Truth: I’m on level 430-something of Candy Crush.  I don’t “Crush it” for anyone else’s benefit, so clearly I have some time to myself.  The evil nature of constant entertainment devices like smartphones is that they make us think we’re utilizing only our spare seconds between more important things, when they, like television and social media, are exactly what we are making time for.  It’s not just the phone.  I somehow manage to play Kongregate through my lunch hours, read a book every week or so (I almost always finish on time for book club), and start those myriad craft projects.  This time must exist somewhere, it just doesn’t look like the chunked hours it did five years ago.

Another solution, effortlessly incorporate your children into your hobbies.

Myth: I need to lose weight but I don’t have time.

Truth: I’m just lazy.  I have a Jazzercise membership (don’t laugh, it’s awesome) and a Pinterest board full of 30-day-challenges.  I make a lot of excuses about class times not working with my small window for cooking to feed both my husband and toddler and how the babysitter at my Jazzercise sucks and I would work out at home but there’s no room and anyway my Fitbit says I burned a lot of calories today just existing.  Well not a lot.  Some.  But, I’ll just eat less.

Myth: My kid takes all my time and has to be my first priority.

Truth: Before you shoot me for calling this a myth, let me make it clear that my kid is my top priority in a sort of general sense.  And he does take most of my time when he’s awake, being at an age where he must be constantly monitored as he occupies that developmental stage between mobility plus curiosity and some ability to recognize personal safety concerns.  It is my understanding this stage will last well into his 20's.

What I mean to say here is that sometimes the kid comes second in the short-term.  I think this is to his benefit in some cases.  For instance, I have no guilt about going on vacation with my husband and without Henry, or ignoring his pleas for (noncritical) attention to try to have a conversation with my husband.  I think all too often men and women let their marriages fall second to their roles as parents, which ultimately undermines the family in general.  Furthermore, I think we generally do kids a disservice by constantly putting them first, which is no reflection of the world and may contribute to our general culture of narcissism.

Sorry, Henry, your dad was here first.

Myth: I should be doing things more like (insert pinterest role model, blogger, or amazing friend who seems to have it all figured out).

Truth: In my overthinking, like many women, I feel caught between the guilt of not living up to mom/wife/teacher/homemaker standards set by women who seem to have it all together---and feeling slightly embarrassed by the ensuing “I’m Not A Supermom” manifesto backlash.  I think most of us can admit that we know we could do better, but we also know that no one’s really doing as well as their public persona makes it seem.  Do I really feel the need to do science and craft projects with my 22-month-old every waking moment of his life?  No.  But could I learn a little something about meal planning or a neat way to build bookshelves from someone else?  Why not?  It doesn't hurt to try to emulate what you like in others, as long as you keep a realistic sense of your own life.

The chore chart I made when H was a newborn.  It's still on my fridge, unregarded, long after some of the tasks have become obselete.

In the end I think I waste a lot of time thinking about what I SHOULD be doing with my time (or avoiding what I think I should be doing).  I have to admit to myself that I don’t really have to make time, I already apply it where I want and need to, more or less.  I am trying to learn instead to as: Am I happy?  Are my loved ones happy?  Am I doing a good job at work?  Is my home dirty enough to be a safety hazard?  Time manages itself, one way or another.

This is not the blog you’re looking for.

I really have no business writing a blog because I am not good at much of anything (hence the title “I Suck At This”).  Let me tell you a little about this blog.

This is not a Model Wife and Mom Blog

I am married, but it’s my second try.  

My husband captured this image of wedding-day joy.

I have a kid, and he’s my first try.  

Stoked to have microwave pancakes for breakfast again.

I'm sure those nuggets are organic.

Wife and mom are the two most important roles in my life but I’m not especially good at either of them.  I love my husband, but am not exactly so proficient at wifely-ness that all his friends are envious.  As for Henry, his face is always dirty and I have no shame in feeding him drive-through chicken nuggets.

This is not a Vintage Fashion or Lifestyle Blog 

I love clothes and shoes, mostly vintage and repro/retro with an emphasis on the early-to mid-60’s, but there are plenty of girls much more stylish than I am who have that covered.  I’m pretty proud of my style, but I’m not daily en pointe—I get lazy on the weekends and I can’t accessorize worth a damn.

I'm like the Imelda Marcos of cheap shoes.

This is not a Beauty Blog

I have one make-up look and three or four hairstyles.  It is very rare that both my eyes have the same eyeliner shape.  I need a bump-it to make my daily beehive.  I get up at 5:00 to use my In-styler and make my hair look exactly the same as every other day.  I have never successfully applied false eyelashes.

Why I Instyle this mess daily.

This is not a Craft Blog

I am mildly proficient at any number of crafty pursuits, but only mildly.  Any garment I make is lucky to survive a first washing.  I frequently start new knitting projects and abandon them around one-third complete.  I refuse to throw away a half-finished cross stitch I started in 2002, which has now moved to four different houses with me, untouched.

Unfinished knitting projects from my living room bin alone. L to R: baby socks for coworker, sweater for me, tennis vest for Henry from last Easter, I have no idea.

  

This is not a Cooking/Baking Blog

I’d say I have about a 70% success rate for cooking dinner.  I frequently decide to modify recipes with disastrous results.  I love to bake anything that is a fusion of multiple desserts (the cake-batter flavored cookie dough truffle being my favorite) but am on a half-hearted diet hiatus.  Nothing I make is pretty enough to take photos of.  Notable highlights from my kitchen include Chicken and Salt Potatoes and Birthday Cupcake Soup.

This is not an Education Blog

I am a middle-school English Teacher, and actually like it.  However, I don’t refer to myself as “an educator” or have any bumper stickers/coffee mugs touting the fact.  I, like many teachers in my area, am experiencing Serious Burn-out affecting my motivation.

This used to have a frame, but I broke it.  

This is not a Geek Blog

Half-hearted titular Star Wars reference notwithstanding, I am not really a card-carrying geek.  I used to think of myself as such sinceI enjoy videogames, appreciate some amount of sci-fi and fantasy literature, and made good grades in school.  But in my fairly recent incarnation as a grown-up, I find I am not the committed, trivia-spouting, capital G Geek I once imagined.  I found it pretty easy to stop playing WOW when I married outside the tribe and had bigger problems than collecting Harpy Feathers.

Though once every month or so I do still operate as the Dragonborn.  I happen to be a high-ranking member of the Thieves Guild, they need me.  And those virtual smithing skills aren't going to level themselves up.

This is also not a Book Review/Product Review/DIY Tutorial/Personal Opinion Rant/Fiction Writing/or Anything Else Blog.  I don’t think I’m qualified as someone who Knows What She’s Talking About.  So what the hell kind of blog is it?  A little bit of all of the above, and a bunch of I’m Not Sure Yet.  Like many people, I’m only a little good at a lot of things, and amusingly bad at everything else.  I just wanted a blog to represent the Non Pinterestworthy Masses. 

In case you’re still with me, here are a few things I AM really good at:

• procrastination
• sarcasm and self-effacement
• overanalyzing stuff
• having feelings and opinons
• sentence diagramming
• ambitious craft project concepts
• being kinda funny

If any of that appeals to anyone with too much time on the internet, I hope to see you again, presuming I make it as far as a second post.