I have decided that all posts not directly related to costuming are now going to be friends-only. If you want to read about the rest of my life comment to be added!

I went and saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tonight finally and...

( Cut for spoilers )

I've been having some problems with my website.

I host through godaddy.com and all was well until I received an email saying they switched servers. Now my website is unavailable and the only way I can access is it is by entering my username and password.

I have no idea how this stuff works, but I'm working on fixing it. A call to their support services might be in order, because I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to internet stuff.

Sorry if nothing is accessible, I'm working on it...

My Marian from BBC's "Robin Hood" gallery is up!

Lady Marian

Is it just me or do these fashions from Fall 2008 New York Fashion Week remind you a little too much of the Start Wars Costumes?

Chanel:





Givenchy:





What do you think?

And that means pictures! Or a picture anyway.

It's not quite finished yet, but here's a sneak peak of my dress:



I want to get a wide orange ribbon to tie around the waist, but other than that, the dress is pretty much finished.

Now I want to find some bright pink or orange plastic shoes to wear with it....

For some reason I thought it would be entertaining to keep a log of my time interning today. And it was.

6:30 am: Grumble and reluctantly get up for work. Curse myself for going to bed at 1 am last night

6:40 am: Call friend/fellow intern and tell her to get her butt out of bed

7:10 am: Get dressed in new, pretty rose pink sweater. Debate adding black choker. Decide to go with the choker.

7:30 am: Call friend/fellow intern again, only to find out she fell back asleep and wasn't going to come in. Think that that is very unprofessional.

7:32 am: Leave for work

7:50 am: Park 5 blocks away from work in order to have free parking. Congratulate myself for being smart and bringing walking shoes.

7:55 am: Call friend from high school to tell him I'm actually awake before 9 am.

7:58 am: Walk into building. Flash ID to bypass security. Feel very important.

7:59 am: Change into fun, black patent leather stilettos for work. Admire outfit in door reflection.

8:00 am: Enter office

8:05 am: Start typing invitations into County Exec's planner. Admire sweater in window as I walk to the printer.

8:10 am: Walk to printer again. Admire decision to put snazzy black flower pin on sweater.

8:13 am: Walk to printer again. Second guess decision to wear black choker.

8:15 am: Decide to stop admiring myself in reflection because it is vain and makes me seem shallow.

9:00 am: Start uploading press releases to their website.

9:05 am: Am lonely without friend/fellow intern

9:19 am: Accidentally type "plague" instead of "plaque". Spend 5 minutes laughing to myself about it. Spend next 5 minutes wondering if the County Exec really would have a ceremony about a tree plague.

9:31 am: Am hungry. Nutrigrain bar not enough to eat this morning. Boo.

10:00 am: Had to man reception desk while regular receptionist went to the bathroom. Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! Realized that I have no freaking clue what I am doing at this job.

10:05 am: Receptionist came back. I didn't screw anything up. Am relieved. No one called while she was gone. They must know I'm there waiting....

10:15 am: Fixed uploading problem that was making it take forever to upload press releases. Am awesome.

10:29 am: Back at reception desk. Answered phone correctly. Am even more awesome.

10:56 am: Still uploading those ridiculous press releases. They hadn't been uploaded since October. Am bored. And hungry.

11:15 am: Still uploading. On January now. Need caffeine.

11:25 am: Walk down the hall to go to the bathroom. Love the sound my heels make on the hard floor. Feel very important for I have an ID card and am wearing heels.

11:30 am: Clock out of work and leave building.

11:32 am: Begin long walk in the cold back to my car.

11:33 am: Kid passes me on a bike. Think about knocking kid off bike and riding it back to my car. Decide stealing a bike in front of the Courthouse is probably not a good idea.

11:36 am: Still walking. Hope my car hasn't been broken into . Driving back with an open window would suck.

11:41 am: Car parked 2 down from mine has passenger side window smashed and radio torn out. Feel bad for person. Feel happy it wasn't my car. Feel slightly disturbed that I had just been thinking about this exact thing...

11:42 am: Drive unbroken into car back to my apartment, shove half of a sandwich in my mouth, and run to class.



And that was my morning as an intern.

Merry Christmas everyone!


I should be back to posting on a semi-regular basis soon. With the intensity of this past semester, Christmas planning, and my roommate's wedding, I haven't had much time. But after the holidays I should be able to post more!


Also, for the first time in years, we're having a white Christmas!

First I would like to say that I totally stole this idea from elegant_musings who posted a while back about an earring holder that she made out of an old picture frame. I thought the idea was cute (and quite ingenious) and I was in desperate need of some way to organize my jewelry, so I decided to be a copycat and make one.

I bought a cheap picture frame at Ikea while I was there last weekend (LOVE that store!)



I painted it black and nailed 6 small nails into the sides so I could string wire across to make earring holders. I also added 5 larger nails to the bottom so I could hang necklaces on them to keep them from getting tangled. (Let me tell you, it was not fun trying to separate all my necklaces from the pile on my dresser where they used to be!) Here's the finished product: (And please don't laugh at my horrendous photography skills)

I will eventually get around to writing what I thought of both the movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but for now, a discovery will have to do.

I bought these great cream colored leather (er...probably fake leather) heels while in England, and as is typical for light colored objects, they became dirty. Ugly black scuff marks were all over the backs and the toes and I couldn't find any way to get rid of them. But then I finally got smart and googled "removing scuff marks from white shoes" and I was taken to a website that told me to use nail polish remover. I was a little skeptical-nail polish remover removes everything and what if it ruined the shoes? But I tried it (I tested it on a tiny bit first, there was no way I was going to wreck these shoes-they're much too cute!) and IT WORKED!!!! My shoes are now squeaky clean and shiny white! Er...cream. So I was very excited and just had to share my discovery.

First of all, best bag ever:

This bag rocks. I want it. Period. (If only I had $40 to spend on a bag...)

Second, I am in love with these shoes:


I'm usually not that big of a Skechers fan, and I really didn't like these shoes when I first saw them in stores. But I needed new shoes to wear to work, comfortable shoes that I could stand in for 8 hours straight. Since we can't wear sneakers, I started looking for shoes that were comfortable and yet still somewhat stylish so I gave these a shot. And after wearing these all week, standing in them for hours on end, I have to say they are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn and I can't stop raving about them.

Third, my new favorite store is Ulta. I went in one years ago, but I had forgotten just how great of a cosmetics store it was. So while I was there I bought some new toys. Er...eye makeup.

Fourth, I bought this shirt (surprisingly) at Kohls and it is now my new favorite shirt:


I also wanted this one, a yellow shirt with a bird in wellies but I couldn't find my size, which made me very sad.

I seem to only be making stuff when I'm really bored. I can't motivate myself to work on an Elizabethan costume for the Renaissance Faire which is in a month, but apparently I can whip up a skirt in an evening while waiting for a phone call.

See what happens when I get bored? I make things that look like this:



The skirt is 2 yards of yellow, polka-dotted cotton fabric that is box pleated to a black yoke with an invisible zipper in the back. The black trim was some random stuff I had in my stash. I think this whole skirt cost me $5.

It's been so rainy and nasty out that I wanted to make something bright and cheery. Now all I need are some wellies to wear with it. That would make me happy.





P.S. Enelya, this picture is for you, I just wanted to show you what I did with the awesome Spanish shawl you gave me:

Don't get me wrong, I like Forever 21. They have cute, inexpensive clothes that will last just as long as they are in style. And since they are cheap I don't feel bad about buying them. But I am wary (read: terrified) of entering one of their stores. Take a few days ago for instance. I went to the local retail establishment on an innocent quest for some new t-shirts. My recent trip to South Carolina revealed that I had a severe lack of shirts in any color besides black. While black may be great for the winter months, in summer that is just asking for some form of heat stroke.

So to remedy this fact I cheerfully set off to the mall. Against my better judgment I decided to brave Forever 21. Now, I understand that the purpose of stores is to sell customers fabulous goods that they may or may not need. But that does not mean that they should pack as many wares as they possibly can into their stores before they explode. It is impossible to find anything in that store because of the sheer amount of stuff. Everywhere you turn there are racks overflowing with shirts, dresses, and skirts of every color. But instead of being nicely organized, this particular establishment has decided that a better approach would be to fling clothes every which way and wherever they end up dump a pile of more stuff onto it.

But in my naivety I entered the store. And am almost immediately overwhelmed by the clothes jumping out at me. I began to rifle through the racks of clothing. Or at least I try to rifle. I can't actually separate the sapphire jackets to see what the front looks like. The 2 inches of shoulder and sleeve that I can see look great though. Trying to pry them apart, I hear a loud crash and suddenly the jackets wrench apart. I glance over and stare at the 20 shirts that popped free of the rack and were now sitting in a pile (albeit a colorful pile) on the floor. Oops. But really, if they had not packed the rack so tight, I wouldn't be having this problem would I?

So shoving the shirts back onto the rack, I give up on the jackets and stumble around 3 or 4 more overstuffed clothing bars to a table of rumpled material which turned out to be t-shirts. Grabbing a few I fought my way to a wall with graphic tees and skirts hanging on it, bumping 2 more shirts off a rack on the way. I sigh, I haven't even made it through 1/4 of the store and I'm already exhausted from looking at clothes. I have no idea which way to turn, and with nothing specific to look for, the thought of searching through the remaining 200 overflowing racks of clothing is very unappealing.

So I decide to give up on clothing and instead enter the entire room devoted to accessories. This wonderful room is the eye of this hurricane of clothing. The accessories room has a black and white tile floor, mirrored walls, and funky silver chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. This is what shopping should be. I can actually see both the floor and the walls and the accessories are placed in moderation. I linger in here, admiring the bracelets on tables and necklaces hung on hooks. But unfortunately, the registers are back in the other room. The scary, teetering on the brink of a clothing explosion room. But if I want these shirts I must brave it. So I square my jaw and set off into the room...only to be practically bowled over by a high school bimbo with her Coach purse wearing clothing 2 sizes too small with a pile of clothing to try on. How I miss those high school days. Not. Anyway, I battle my way through clothing and customers to the registers. Only to find out that their credit card system was down and of course I had no cash on me. Screw it.

I left those shirts on the counter, walked out the door and across the street to H & M, where upon entering, I spotted the t-shirts hanging on the wall, grabbed my size and would have checked out all in under 15 minutes, but seeing as I was in H & M, I just had to look around. So I wound up spending way too much time, and more money than I should have. I love that store, why I didn't go there first?

But anyway, that's my story of the store-on-the-verge-of-exploding, also known as Forever 21. So please, while I like your clothes please take about half of them out of your stores. I'm not going to buy stuff if I can't find it in your labyrinth of clothing racks. Ok? Thanks.

Better than the second movie
Still nowhere near as good as the first
Still too much gore
End left wide open for more movies



Oh, and stay until the end of the credits. Unlike the last 2 movies, this final scene is actually important.

It's been a week, but I'm back from my trip and I have sewing updates! I feel so accomplished!

First:
I finished my cousin's medieval dress in time and I hope she liked it.



I also updated my website with a page for the dress: http://aranelonline.com/girlsmedieval.htm


Second:
I made a webpage for my blue babydoll dress and I have some pictures of my roommate wearing it. She wore it out with her fiance and she came home all excited that a girl had asked her where she got her dress and told her how cute it was. She was so excited to tell me that, and then she made me promise to teach her how to sew. So yay! Here's a picture of her in the dress:

and the webpage here: http://www.aranelonline.com/bluebabydoll.htm


Third:
I was bored last night so I made this:


I saw something like this at Urban Outfitters and I nearly bought it. Until I realized that I could make one. So I did. I think it took me all of 2 hours from planning to completion. Simple and cute, I love it. And the webpage: http://www.aranelonline.com/braidedtank.htm

I'm finally online again. The internet modem at my house fried, so with the exception of Saturday lunch at Panera, I've been without the internet. But that has been a good thing, as I've actually accomplished projects!

First, I completed the muslin for my cousin's medieval dress. I think we're going fabric shopping on Wednesday, so I'll do a fitting then, and then a mad rush to complete it in a week. Yikes!


After I finished that, I made the babydoll dress. It was pretty easy. It's basically 7 rectangles of fabric serged together. And why yes, I did figure out how to use my serger! I was quite proud of myself.

I don't really have any decent photos of the dress; I work until 5/5:30 most days and the lighting just isn't that good then. However, I did manage to take a few pictures that were completely washed out, and while I was in photoshop messing with them and trying to make them darker, I accidentally made them look really cool. So here are the only 2 shots I have of the dress:

Things I like at the moment:

Fox's Drive. I missed the episodes on tv, but I discovered that you can watch the episodes online here, http://www.myspace.com/driveonfox
Attractive guys, fast cars, and Nathan Fillion. What's not to love?


New Harry Potter International Trailer! It's not very large or high res, but it's good nonetheless!
I have to admit, I am becoming very excited about this movie. Yay for Weasley mischief!




Some other random stuff:

This was actually from last Thursday, before the weather turned warm again, but I was particularly missing England that day, and I think that was reflected in my clothing choice. Or at least I was told I looked very English numerous times...



In other news, a year or two ago I made a medieval costume for one of my cousins to wear to the medieval banquet at his school. Now another one of my cousins is in 6th grade and needs a costume for her medieval banquet. So Wednesday I'm meeting with her and my aunt to discuss dress options. I've basically told her to design her dream medieval gown and I'll see if I can make it. This should be interesting, but hopefully fun!

Other people seem to be posting links to stuff that they like or things that inspire them, so I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and share a video that I have been obsessed with lately.

One of my friends in England was absolutely obsessed with Regina Spektor. So to humor him, I listened to some of her music. She's a little too indie for my taste, and honestly, if I listen to her music for too long my ears feel like bleeding. But I love, love, love the music video of hers for the song "Fidelity". I've even started to like the song because of the video. I have a fondness for all things black and white, and the props/costumes/set (can you tell I'm a theatre person? lol) are just pure eye candy. Rather than describe it, I'll let you watch it.




And I really want that black and white striped dress she's wearing. And those shoes in the beginning...

Happy Easter!