the blog

What About September?

September is: The birth month of ME I mean, let’s just put the most important thing right up here at the top, shall we? I miss the days when Katie was in jr high and high school and by the time I would get home from work, she and her best friend
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Week in Review: Week 182

After a full weekend (the first weekend of vacation, last weekend) of laying on the sofa reading, only going out twice just to get food, I figured I better start being a little productive! MONDAY So here’s my To Do list, it’s not too bad, and I did most of the stuff on Monday
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It’s Not Fall Y’All!

BUT – I learned my lesson last year. If I wait til it’s actually cool out to look for fall clothes, everything is sold out! I’m not gonna make THAT mistake again! Shop now, wear later. That’s my new motto. Don’t Be Bettye. So, I have some things top of my mind
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I Think I Love You: Match Made in Seven

Welcome to the monthly edition of Match Made in Seven! We are an international group of fashion bloggers who meet virtually once a month. One of us chooses a theme each month, and that can be anything: a book, music, a color, a movie. And then we all style an outfit based
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Week in Review: Week 181

Trying something a little different this week – trying to remember to write a little synopsis of each day on that day, so I don’t get to the end of the week and realize I can’t remember what happened 6, 5, 4 days earlier. Also, looking back at this post (on Sunday)
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A Year Ago at This Time

A year ago at this time I was reeling with the realization that I had been ghosted. I can’t believe it’s been a year. It was not easy. I wrote a LOT of emails that I never sent – sometimes that’s the best form of journaling for me. Asking and saying all
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More Good-byes

Just last week I had a little rant about the plus-size industry not moving forward fast enough (for me and many others). And I don’t want to go on and on again about that (just yet) but on a related ironic note, I saw in the news today that Avenue is closing
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Week in Review: Week 180

I really need to start making notes during the week. I can remember there were things I wanted to tell you guys but for the life of me cannot remember what they were. The work week was both physically and emotionally draining. It was the final goodbye week of one of the girls
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Goodbye Gwynnie Be-eee-ee

Ever since I decided to name this post “Goodbye Gwynnie Bee,” I’ve had an Elton John “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” earworm. It works if you make “Bee” be like 3 syllables. I mentioned in a post last week that I was ready to let go of my Gwynnie Bee subscription after 4½
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Week in Review: Week 179

Two more weeks til vacation. Just thought I would lead with that. Always a little sad to leave Janey on Monday morning. Current reading situation. Just started A Man Called Ove. I TRY to put new books on the bottom of the pile as they come in. But those bottom two have
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Is the Plus Size Industry Really Moving Forward?

Those of us older plus-size women can remember a time when “mail order” sack-like house dresses, Lane Bryant, and the men’s department were the main shopping options for our size. We were told to dress all in black or navy because dark, solid colors were considered more slimming; god forbid anyone see
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No Buy July: The Rest of the Story

So, in an effort to rein in my shopping a bit (which, in truth, is a lot of buying but also a lot of returning…and not a lot of keeping),  I did a  “No Buy July,” during which I was to buy No Clothing. I managed to buy nothing right up until the
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Week in Review: Week 178

I did, not one but, TWO fun things this week! August already better than July. I was going to say “but let’s start at the beginning of the week,” but in looking back at my photos (which is how I track what I did and when) it looks like I didn’t do
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The One Where I Didn’t Go Straight Home

The theme of the summer has been GO STRAIGHT HOME AND STAY THERE. No sunsets, no cocktail beach, no dinners with friends, no photo shoots. If it involves being out of the air conditioning or driving after dark I have been NOT INTERESTED. But tonight she went out. And it was good.
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From the Beginning

I thought it might be nice for some of the newer readers who perhaps have not gone all the way back to the beginning, to hear the story of why I’m here doing this…and what exactly a “fashion schlub” is! So, this is a repeat of my very first post, back on
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Week in Review: Week 177

It’s the last full week of July. Wow. Isn’t it funny how amazed we are by the passing of time? That’s like THE most basic concept of life…of the UNIVERSE…and we’re constantly amazed by it. “Wow, it’s almost August/the end of summer/back to school/Halloween, etc!” As though there was a possibility that
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This & That

Nothing too exciting going on here, folks. I’m wearing this cute top I got through Gwynnie Bee. It’s by Caite, which makes embroidered, boho, Johnny Was-esque tops and dresses. Remember the dress I wore to the beach the day with all the bugs (and the out of focus pictures, but we won’t
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The Hunt is On

My mother used to wear what she called muumuus, and today we call a caftan. Not Hawaiian looking things, but similar in length and shapelessness. They were colorful – pink and purple swirls or blue and green paisley. As a child they seemed silky. As an adult looking back, I’m sure they
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Week in Review: Week 176

THE ONE WHERE IT WAS HOT. I’m as tired of hearing “it’s so hot!” as I am of hearing, “it’s SUMMER, it’s SUPPOSED to be hot!” And it’s usually ME saying “it’s so hot.” It’s hot. So the main activity has been Staying Cool. I’ve sort of stepped away from phone/internet/social media
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Ten Minutes to Happiness

I am not by nature a “happy” person. People who haven’t known me long usually seem surprised to hear this, “No! You’re so Positive!/Upbeat!” I consider myself more of a “perky pessimist.” I’m not all mopey (I don’t think. Not all the time, anyway) and droopy like Eeyore, but..I’m definitely closer to
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