Now . . . Shopping in the stores: Bitten

So . . . Yesterday I went shopping with my BFF.

We wanted to check out the Sarah Jessica Parker "Bitten" line of clothes because "Fashion is not a luxury. It is a right." (It is not just the truth. It is her slogan.) Before I talk about what I thought about the clothes, I will say that she is scheduled to be signing autographs at the Randhurst Mall in Mt. Prospect, IL on Friday, Aug 3rd at 2:00 PM. I wish I could be there to shake her hand. I have loved her ever since she was in Square Pegs when we both were children. (By the way, I think I saw Square Pegs on Comcast "On Demand" listed under "Tube Time.")

Anyway, Steve & Barry's partnered with her to create a really nice looking line of clothes for women of every age. Not one piece costs more that $19.98. To see the line you can take a look at their web page conveniently linked here.

The clothes look great. The fabric feels marvelous. This is important to me because I demand that my clothes are soft. Some people have accused me of shopping more with my hands than with my eyes as they watch me plunge my hands into the racks, pulling out whatever pleases my touch, then deciding if it looks good as well.

That said. My body may be weird. But, in the slacks I tried on, size 12's fit my hips and thighs but left that huge gap in the back by my waist. (Typical, I know, but I wanted so much more.) If I picked a pair of trousers that were sized so that my pockets didn't stretch, my back side gapped. Many of the more stylish t-shirts had strange gathers in the armpits. BFF is a size 4-6 and she had many of the same problems. It seemed to me that even though the clothes looked like they cost more that $20.00 on the hanger, they fit like discount clothes on the body.

That doesn't mean that I did not walk away from Steve & Barry's without purchasing something from the Bitten Sarah Jessica Parker Line. I did. I got a very nice blue t-shirt. I have to admit that I like the fact that the clothing line carries several different colors of t-shirt with several different neck lines in each color. And it is SOOO soft. I was just sorry because I had planned on restocking my entire fall wardrobe from her line, and all I was able to take home was one pretty great t-shirt.

It is Monday

I am having the Monday blahs or something. Can't think of much to write today. The weekend went well. My summer rehab project(My image) is going well.

Down 5-8 pounds over the last 8 weeks on the Abs Diet. Most of that weight disappeared in the last week. I guess my muscle mass must have finally built up enough to start affecting my fat build up.

I can tell you that I absolutely feel "Great!" (capital G and !! are intended. That is how good it is.) Any time I bend the rules and eat fast food I feel it. Not in terms of guilt, but in terms of the tingle that usually infuses my body gets dulled.

I have an appointment to rid my face of my glasses on Thursday. I'm working hard on my Dad's "dress young and act immature" theory of aging. He says if you do those things no one will be sure exactly how old you are. I think he's right, but I need more make-up now. This is hard for a woman who is used to just washing my face and going to get used to.

I'm also learning to keep my head up and my shoulders back. I learn all these things from seeing pictures of my self and analyzing them compulsively to see what grosses me out then do the opposite.

Today I went to the new JC Penny that is opening in our area. I got a Hot! pair of A.N.A jeans. I can now go clubbing with the Pretty Girls in proper attire if I care to. I realized that my wardrobe sorely lacked good jeans a couple of weekends ago when I was invited out for a Girl's Night with my great looking group of girl friends. (I like to call them the Pretty Girls because that is exactly what they are. I always feel honored to be included in their activities. It is always an education.)I learned that weekend that jeans are required for clubbing. I don't do it much so I was under the impression that people got dressed up and put on skirts (Which they do. But not as much as they wear hot jeans, heels, and a sweet top.)

I took the advice to go low with a raised cut in back and a darker color. It truly works. I even tried on some of the Levi jeans that are aimed at the fat butt, Fight the Mom Jean demographic. I thought they looked horrible on the hanger, but I tried them on. They fit really well except that they had some sort of weird wrinkle action going where my legs meet my torso. It kind of made a rectangle. I thought I would go down a size, hoping that the jeans were too big, but the next size down was pretty darn tight, muffin topped me, and still hinted at that rectangle thing.

I'm trying to keep the costs down on this rehab project, but my Honey's knuckles are growing white from grabbing onto the desk every time he checks the checkbook or reads the credit card statement. I think I'm close to getting there and will quit updating the wardrobe soon(ish). Just hang on a little longer.

Tonight I am scheduled to attend a very interesting Home Show, Party thing. We'll see how that goes. The inventory seems like it should be interesting.

F is for . . .

Funky, Flirty, F-I-N-E fine, fat (sometimes), fit, fanatical, fair, friendly, fascinating, forthright, fashionable, faithful, fantastic, finely crafted and tuned, funny, frequent, and, finally, out of words.

And I was thinking I would have to define myself by that other F-word. One I am quickly forgetting.

It has been amazing how many F words are truly adjectives to describe me. If you get a chance, think about it for a few days, and let me know if you see what I mean.