Furniture, Part II

Several weekends ago, I was perusing the free page on Craigslist, and came across a large cat tower that was up for grabs just 2-3 blocks up from my place. I went over there, and sure enough it had not yet been taken.

The thing was much larger and heavier than I had imagined, and I hadn't brought my furniture dolly. I started to carry it back myself, and the first block and a half was okay, but then I got super tired. I didn't want to put it down and risk someone else coming along and snatching it, so I continued to inch further home. Finally, about half a block from home, I gave in and went for the dolly. And that last portion was like pushing a stroller.

Again, great choices.

But, after a tiresome ordeal, I brought home Chester's new playscape and am happy to say he loves it!

He joyfully utilizes all of its surfaces, including the scratching post areas, which seem to have finally replaced my mattress as his preferred scratching surface. He also likes and uses this a hell of a lot more than the $20 cat hideaway/scratching post that I bought him earlier in the summer.

According to the ad, this was $300 new - and it's in great condition. He doesn't even notice (or at least he isn't bothered by) previous cat smells either.Win!

Winterizing

I got this skirt about a year ago, at a steal of a price. It's a really thick fabric which is perfect for the cold three-quarters of the year. Surprisingly, I have only worn it a couple times, but that is definitely going to change! I'm especially liking this more flared style, which suits my body type well and seems more versatile through the seasons, as it pairs better with thicker tights than my body-hugging knit pencil skirts.

Shirt: Rubbish | Goodwill Outlet (super old)

Scarf: No Label │Goodwill outlet

Coat: Dollhouse │ $7 │ Goodwill

Skirt: Express | $1.29 | Goodwill

Boots: No label │ $20 | Buffalo Exchange

Furniture, Part I

I get the majority of my wardrobe from Goodwill, but my thrifting doesn't just apply to clothing and shoes. I'm pretty sure all of my apartment furnishings are also secondhand; hand me downs from family and friends, and a lot of pieces from Craigslist and free piles.

When I moved into this apartment at the beginning of the summer, I spent one of the craziest Saturdays furnishing the place.

First, I drove a few miles up the road to purchase a table set; a beautiful bar-height dark wood with leather covered chairs. It had sadly suffered some damage from cat scratches, thus the low $50 price. Having my own destructive cat, I knew anything I brought in would get clawed anyway, so this was a good fit. The seller and I spent a little while unscrewing all of the pieces (there were like 8-10 screws on each chair) and then I attempted to fit the entire load in my tiny Smart car. The table surface itself barely fit, but I ultimately was able to get the entire load in there - which included not 4 but 6 chairs!

Then came the second crazy furniture endeavor, back to back.

I wanted a couch, but obviously don't have a vehicle large enough to transport one, and was avoiding a second UHaul rental. So I figured I could find a couch for sale/free close enough nearby in my neighborhood, and move it over on a furniture dolly (a $20 investment at Home Depot). I found a couch I liked that was about 10 blocks down the road, and went over with my dolly.

Of course this weekend happened to be one where my boyfriend was busy and my closest friend was out of town, so there I was, maneuvering the thing down the middle of the street on my own. Luckily two kind samaritans offered to help, and thank goodness they did, or else I never would have been able to finish the journey, or get the thing inside my door.

Moral of the story: get a damn u-haul.

The end result:

Menswear: an exercise in closet curation

 When it comes to identifying my personal style, menswear would not be one of the descriptive words I would use. I own some unisex items; blazers, cardigans and collared shirts, but unless worn together, none really stand out as particularly masculine. I also don’t have a male closet at my disposal.
Thus, putting together an outfit that could be labeled as menswear was a real challenge for me.

Blazer: Tulle │ Goodwill Outlet
Vest: A. Byer │ Goodwill Outlet
Jeans: Banana Republic │ Goodwill │ $1.29
Shoes: Toms │ stolen from sister

I did discover that I have quite a few vests that I never wear. Even when focusing on these individual pieces and building outfits around them, I still had an immensely difficult time creating something that worked.

 In fact, this outfit seems to be made up of pieces that I rarely wear.

The blazer is too big on me, especially in the chest, and I feel like it isn’t flattering buttoned or unbuttoned. The boyfriend length is also not very ideal for shorter ladies such as myself.

The jeans fit well, but I have trouble finding the right footwear for such a wide trouser leg. Additionally, being a pre-hemmed "Petite" length, they are actually a smidgen too short for me, requiring the flattest of shoes.

So, while I can safely say I won’t be following the menswear trend, I was able to identify some closet squatters. As much as I may like an item, if it doesn’t look good on me there’s no point in holding on to it. And this is coming from a clothing hoarder.



Linking up with Work Clothes, I Suppose for Third Thursday Threads!

Puma Wynne Ballet Flats

A few days after I posted about commuter footwear, one of the pairs of shoes I had my eyes on came back in stock in my size. I don't usually buy items brand new, but this type of shoe is not something I will likely come across on the secondhand shelves, and it's a very worthwhile investment. Being on sale, with free shipping and free returns, I had no excuse to pass them up.

When they arrived, I was pleased to find that they looked just like the photo, and not at all like "orthopedic old lady shoes" as one reviewer had described. The sizing felt just right, and wearing them around the office for the rest of the day, they were comfortable. I decided to keep them, and wore them for real the next day. I did notice a couple things about the fit, however, that I unfortunately hadn't been able to gauge when I wore them inside.

- The inner "bunion" area rubs a bit, and I got a blister/torn skin the first day I wore them. I have been wearing them quite a bit, though, and as I break the shoes in, this issue has gone away.
- The soles, though sneaker-like, can be slippery on wet cement.

I also thought the packaging was noteworthy. Rather than a standard shoebox with a lid, the shoes were in a half box (for structure/protection) inside a narrow cloth bag - like the re-useable bags we use for grocery shopping up here in the Pacific Northwest! A little bonus mini tote for a pair of shoes- or a wine bottle, perhaps?
While I'm not sure that these complete resolve my commuter footwear issues, they have been a drastic improvement over my regular Payless flats.

Weekend Excursions

This past Saturday was Free Museum Day for Smithsoneon Affiliates, so the boyfriend and I took the opportunity to visit Seattle's Experience Music Project (EMP). This is the funny looking building that Fran posed in front of here. Inside, its a music muesum that features artifacts from notable Seattle musicians - particularly Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix.

It was his first time there and my second, and the place was absolutely packed. In particular, the room called the Sound Lab, which features hands on instruments and sound mixing, had lines for each station. We only got to try a few of them, and it was here that I felt especially bad for those who had paid full admission that day.

Also connected/included is the Science Fiction museum, which focuses on Star Trek memorabilia and the likes, but also had new sections on horror and fantasy films that I didn't remember from my previous visit 4 or 5 years ago.

I'm an avid public transit rider, and while we don't have an awesome underground system, our bus system in Seattle is decent. I always opt for the bus when going downtown or to busy metro parts of town that don't have ample parking. Since the museum is at Seattle Center, we took the bus, but due to some power failure situation on our way there, traffic was all backed up and the driver decided to do his own thing and take a detour. It didn't really save us much time and the whole ride/endeavor took nearly an hour when it should have been 20 minutes.

Then, as we were leaving and heading the few blocks over to catch the bus back, we got caught in a terrible downpour. This is what Seattle does; it'll be overcast but mild, and then all of a sudden a monsoon will hit. So, there we were, making our way through a rainstorm, with crazy wind that created sideways rain, and in just those few blocks we were completely soaked.

It kind of feels like we've gone from Summer to Winter without must transitional Fall. 

Chambray: Goodwill Outlet
Fleece Leggings: Zenada | Goodwill Outlet
Boots: $12 | Consignment Store
Socks: SeatownLax | Found/Free