Makeover Quote #11

...our ultimate goal: to be highly selective in your clothing choices; to choose only those clothes and accessories that balance or are in harmony with Your Body's Design Pattern.

By balance and harmony we mean capturing a visually pleasing relationship between you and your clothes so that your total presentation looks stable and in proportion, and that your clothes are "in tune with" the design elements found in your facial features and body.

--from The Triumph of Individual Style by Carla Mason Mathis and Helen Villa Connor

Do You Want to FOoooOF?

I want to write a book review for a book called "Flatter Your Figure" by Jan Larkey, but I don't remember exactly how to write one. Or maybe I wanted to write a book "report" instead of a review, but I'm not sure what the difference is....

Well, whatever. I am going to tell you a little about the book, and what I think of it. How's that?

Here's the book:




This is actually a sort of workbook, with lots of drawings, where you are led to measure and evaluate each part of your body and decide if you are long-waisted or short-waisted, or long-legged or short-legged, or round-shouldered or square-shouldered, etc. This is "FOoooOF-ing," as the author calls it, or "Figuring Out Our Figures."

Then you decide if you have a Major figure problem (which needs camouflaging) or a Minor figure problem (which needs the attention drawn away from) or No figure problem (which may be an asset that needs accentuating.) You look these things up on a little chart where you find a number to use in the rest of the book, where the author has several pages of illustrations of over 200 style elements (collars, necklines, sleeve lengths, shoulder lines, hemlines, etc), each one coded by number. Using your number, you can soon find out which styles are flattering for you and which ones are anathema.

Things I liked:

1) She differentiated between "figure" problems and "fit" problems, which simply means that if you can't find something to fit you, it may not be your problem, it may be the fault of the clothing manufacturer. With this in mind, people probably had fewer "figure problems" when they had all their clothing custom made by a tailor!

2) She also pointed out that you may have neither of those problems, you may have a "mother/other" problem, where you have been criticized enough on your clothing choices and your body that you perceive a problem when there really is none.

Things I didn't like:

1) In spite of the emphasis on accepting your body for what it is, the whole book was still written from the perspective of problems, and how to solve them. Why is it that our bodies are full of problems? Who decided these body shapes are a problem?

2) While there were explanations of, say, why line is so important (vertical=slimming, horizontal=widening) the explanations didn't go far enough. I was left asking "Why?"

3) Some of the discussions of problems and solutions were dated. That is, the author promoted broad shoulders and narrow hips as a universal ideal, when, in fact, that was the style Look of the Eighties.

4) Some of the style options that my little code number told me were flattering, are not flattering on me.

My conclusion is that this book is a good first step if you know nothing about style and you need help defining your shape. My first reading of the book I felt I had hit gold. And then the shine faded because I felt the book didn't go far enough to answer my questions about how to dress well.

Friday Fashion

Today I want to do something new and feature some cute clothes that have caught my eye lately. If I can't actually buy stuff, I can pretend, right?

1. I love this motorcycle sweater jacket from Banana Republic:

I like the slightly asymmetrical zipper, the wide collar, and the odd twist of a motorcycle jacket made of merino. (Or else the odd twist of a merino wool sweater made to look like a motorcycle jacket.) I could see myself wearing this around the house, as well as out running errands, with jeans and boots.

2. For a dressy occasion, I'd love to try this Boucle sheath from Talbots. Not that I know what "boucle" is but I'd like to try it.




















3. I also like this faux wrap dress. Although I don't know why I look at, and long for, dresses, when right now I have very few occasions which call for a dressy dress. Howsomenever, I STILL wish for a quintessential Little Black Dress.



















If the neckline turned out to be a little low, I would wear a cute camisole underneath, either in silver gray, for sophistication, or in red or bright pink, for a "pop" of color.

4. This long-sleeved v-neck tee looks soft and durable and very useful:


















5. This shoulder-gathered tee also catches my eye, but I'd have to try it on to find out if it camouflaged or accentuated my already fairly hefty shoulders. I don't want to look like a football player!


















6. And these Fidji shoes would be so cute for spring and summer:














7. Speaking of shoes, I love the look of these booties for knocking around in:















8. And finally, I want a pair of dark gray pants, probably fairly skinny and fitted, either denim, or corduroy, or even some sort of heavy knit. (But not double knit, heavens, no.) I have no picture because I haven't found any yet that I like. Any suggestions?

Maybe "procrastination" was my word for 2009

And if I'm not careful it will be my word in 2010 also, since this New Years Quiz to review the past year should probably have been posted, like, oh, three weeks ago.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
~Well, I joined Facebook.

~I started using fabric shopping bags (that I designed and made myself).


















2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I had thirteen things I wanted to try to do this last year, and I did five of them. I haven't really thought yet about making new goals. Hm. If I'm going to, I really should start thinking about it, shouldn't I?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.
At least, not in 2009; but very recently there was a birth in the extended family:



















Isn't she cute? Her name is Olivia.



4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. But someone close to a friend did. Oh, and there was another one, too.


5. What countries did you visit?
None.


6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More MONEY! More ENERGY.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
No dates, exactly, but there were some highlights:

~My youngest son's 18th birthday party where we had 30 people over to make homemade pizza.
~Going tanking with friends (a blast) and as a result, helping my daughter survive a nasty river bug (a blast of a different sort).
~Going out for an anniversary dinner at an expensive restaurant and drinking champagne-- paid for by our kids.
~Forming a new band called Hanbury Tree:














8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Learning to become a mother to a married daughter and her husband. (Well, I'm still learning, but I think I've made much progress.)
(I know my daughter got married in August 2008, not 2009, but I spent the rest of 2008 just adjusting to the idea that my daughter was GONE, and didn't learn anything.)


9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting the garden go to crap-- again. And thereby not having a pantry full of home canned goodness to live on this winter.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I've suffered something that appears to be an awful lot like fibromyalgia, and the novelty has definitely worn off. And that led to some pretty miserable days of feeling like a tired, lazy, achy bum and feeling depressed about it.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A pair of fashionable, but warm and practical and comfortable, knee boots:


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Our friend Swede, who remains our friend no matter what and sometimes brings over meat and ice cream for supper.












13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Can't say-- too incriminating.


14. Where did most of your money go?
Groceries. At least, that's what it felt like. And that's not always the most inspiring way to spend money, especially when I have visions of new clothes and books and vacations.

15. What did you get really excited about?
Learning new music and performing with Hanbury Tree.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? I Dreamed A Dream, as sung by Susan Boyle

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? about the same; well, maybe a little happier.
– thinner or fatter? about the same

– richer or poorer? poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Laughing.


19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being depressed and achy.


20. How did you spend Christmas?
Snowed in, with my family snowed in with me.


21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
No. But I didn't fall OUT of love either, which is an accomplishment in this day and age.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Well, if I watched TV at all, it would have been What Not To Wear. As it is, since we don't have a TV, I watched as much of it as I could via You Tube and the What Not To Wear website.


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

24. What was the best book you read? The Triumph of Individual Style, by Carla Mason Mathis and Helen Villa Connor


25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Two songs:



26. What did you want and get?
A pair of boots, see #11.

A pashmina. THIS pashmina:

27. What did you want and not get?
A cashmere sweater. (my hobby this year has been CLOTHES. Can you tell?)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
UP.

The whole family watched it twice last week, and we are still quoting quotable lines out of it. ("SQUIRREL!!")

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
What did I do? I turned 47. And that answers the rest of the question as well.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If my husband had not been sick and depressed. If I myself had not been sick and depressed. If my oldest son had not been sick and depressed.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Learning, growing, changing. I started wearing black and gray, and dressing a little more sophisticated. I would say I've been giving myself a style makeover, except that makes it sound like I had a style to begin with.

32. What kept you sane?
Using "The Divine Hours", by Phyllis Tickle.


33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Susan Boyle (interesting odd fact: she's my age.)


34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I'm rather distraught over government health care.


35. Who did you miss?
My daughter, when she was in another state with her husband for four months. My second son who has been off on a missions adventure since September. (but he will be back in February...)


36. Who was the best new person you met?
The couple with whom we formed Hanbury Tree. A pastor of a local Methodist church, and his wife.


37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Keep my stinkin' mouth shut. Even if it kills me. No wait, that was 2008's lesson. Um...


38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.


"Call your name every day
When I feel so helpless.
I've fallen down
But I'll rise above this
Rise above this."

From "Rise Above This" by Seether.



My (Big)(Fat)(White)Christmas

Christmas came in this year with a blizzard. Fortunately, LovelyDaughter and JD agreed to come over a couple of days early, so they got snowed in at our house instead of theirs. And a friend of ours who was coming for Christmas also came early and got snowed in here, so we were set.

(Many other families were not that fortunate. JD missed visits with his family because some of them were snowed in by the blizzard in Oklahoma City, and others were stuck in another town in Nebraska. I know he was enormously disappointed.)

FOOD: Christmas Eve I cooked a small turkey--I insisted that for once we had to have turkey, for me, because to me that says "HOLIDAY"-- with mashed potatoes, etc., and pumpkin pie. Christmas Day I cooked a ham, and did verenike with onion gravy, etc., with pecan pie for dessert.

EVENTS: Christmas Eve we played "In A Pickle," and then we put out our plates. In the morning I put out the gifts, covered by bandannas, and filled the stockings with pistachios and candy. When everyone got up, we sat around the table and the kids took turns uncovering the gifts that Hubby and I gave them, and emptying the socks. Then we moved over by the woodstove and the kids gave gifts to each other and to us. In the middle of it all, DrummerDude called (!) from Costa Rica where he is on Outreach with YWAM. (By the way, my little countdown calendar tells me he has been gone for 102 days and he'll be home in 39!)

After the gift excitement was over, we still had the excitement of the blizzard outside, and watching the snow dump and blow into huge drifts. We didn't get dug out until Monday afternoon.

And now here I am, two days later, all the snowbound guests gone home, looking at the piles of snow outside, and the gray, gray day. No, gray is not exactly the right word. I guess technically the day is white, white, white. White snow, white clouds, white sky, white everything. But it FEELS gray. And that makes ME feel gray.

But I'm trying to feel sunnier. I got on Facebook and I answered all but two of the dozen or so "requests" that I've been trying to ignore. I sent back doohickeys.

I did something today that I've been procrastinating for several weeks. And I'm finishing up a batch of homemade granola that I bought the ingredients for a month ago. And, amazingly, someone I haven't talked to for a very long time contacted me yesterday, and we are meeting this afternoon for a visit. She has no idea yet how much it means to me, and I'm sure I will feel a lot sunnier afterwards!

A Change

So, I messed around with my blog a little and made it into a three column layout. Do you like it this way?

A Bit of an Answer

Last night we received some tragic news. A friend of ours called and told us that his daughter (a couple years older than GuitarGeek, and newly married) was hit by a snow plow and killed.

Our hearts are grieved and aching for the pain our friends are feeling right now. What can you say? What can you do?

This kind of thing always rocks my theology. About the time I think I have God figured out, something happens and I don't know where to fit it into my picture.

Is this incident a total freak accident? If so, then where is the God who has all our days in his hands, and planned our lives before we were born, and has all the hairs of our head numbered?

Is this then something planned by God? If so, what kind of God plans for one of His children to be killed? And for others of His children to be put through the agony of grief?

So then is this really an attack of Satan-- a demonic action? If so, why? Why did God allow it? Where is the God spoken of in Psalm 91 where those who trust God are under His protection?

And what about the stories I've read of miraculous interventions and rescues, of people who inexplicably found themselves drawn to pray for someone and found later a tragedy had been averted? Why didn't God intervene in this case? Where were the people who were supposed to pray? Or weren't there any?

It all boils down, for me, to one question: Can I trust God? Is He trustworthy? Is my life truly in His hands, or do I need to look out for myself?

It's a real question, not just rhetoric. Because the answer affects the way I live my life. When something bad happens to me or my friends, what should we do? Fight the demonic forces that must be warring against us? Rebuke the evil? Accept it? Rest in God's perfect plan? Give thanks in ALL THINGS? Shrug and say "stuff happens"? Believe that All Things Work Together For Good?

If I can't find some sort of answer I can live with, then my heart becomes overwhelmed with fear. If it could happen to them, it could happen to us! And if God didn't protect them, how can I believe that He will protect us?

I don't know for sure. I know what I think, but that doesn't mean much unless it's really truly TRUE.

However, I know this:

Last night I prayed, asking God for SOMETHING, at least a bit of an answer, and this morning I pulled out Daily Light, a devotional book I haven't used in a while and found exactly that, a bit of an answer.

Look at these excerpts:

"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live-- God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life...

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also."

This then is a bit of an answer, and one of the messages of the Cross. There is hope. There is something more after this life, and it will be good. I suppose that's why the Apostle Paul said that the weight of the glory awaiting us is far greater than the weight of the affliction we suffer now.

Sometimes that's all the answer we get, but at least it's a bit of one.