C O O K I E T I M E

i am a sucker for supporting my local girl scout. three boxes. those adorable little daisies got me to buy three boxes when my limit was one. gsa knew what they were doing when they created the daisies. cookie sales must have been down before their existence.

only three days left before the cookies go back in the vault. the fact that i still have two of three boxes left--i devoured the thanks-a-lot (thanks a lot for getting me off my diet)--is still quite commendable. trefoils and thin mints. i must savor them a little longer.

lately i have been buying colors that emulate the khaki palette and i know that burnt orange is a fall color (i am a fall girl) it still color, and i have been void of it for a little too long. time for an upgrade soon.

C O O K I E T I M E by andiaschehera featuring a wool felt hat

B I R T H D A Y

so there's this really incredible guy that i happen to like a lot and today is his birthday. so grateful that i still have him, especially since a couple of years ago i almost lost him for good. without him, i wouldn't be who i am. 

the intense science projects you helped me with. how many girls can say they learned how to read a naval radar schematic and troubleshoot the problem? 

teaching me how to play sports. teaching me how to enjoy watching sports.

our goofy dance offs to where i was clearly the winner every time, except for that one time in Jersey...you bested me good. you had luda on your side.

our dates. our unabashed love for anne of green gables, ever after, and pride and prejudice flicks.

dressing well. teaching me how to be a strong, independent woman all without being a man.

so as stated before, i would be nothing without him...literally...well maybe genetically someone else, but i just couldn't be 

me 

without 

him.

happy birthday, pops.

S C H U H E

went dress shoe shopping, once upon a time.

came to a sad conclusion that i can no longer sport my nine west favs which have always been a comfort to my soles. they were my first pair of heels and my bodacious calves thank them. now, i find more heels to be uncomfortable due to last years basketball injury, so boots, sneakers, and anything else that is flat takes precedence. but now i have a new job. they want me to get all dressed up and such, and said shoes will not do anymore. but i hast to has 'em. 

enter steve madden. 

i must say that i never cared for steve madden style of shoe, but in recent years i have been impressed with the face lift and he has done me a favor in  combining what i love and what i have to wear into a comfortable compromise. i think i just found my "the one". 

THE TOMGIRL SERIES | Merging by andiaschehera featuring leather booties

S U N D A Y M O R N I N G S

i woke this morning to chase the fog and its obscurity. 

that gypsy dog wished me luck, her eyes begging me to take her.

the roads are thick with the albedineity of a fallen sky that nestles in between brick and branch. this is probably the only time i enjoy the ambiguity, the mystery in my journey, taking turns where the paths lay unseen. but the sun was too fast for me, and dissipated secrecy.

i found myself in winter garden, named after a season we do not claim. where honey and orange intertwine and settle in abandoned crevices. the melancholic great lake apopka broods far beyond me. i might as well be looking across the atlantic.

what surprises the earth unveils when wandering in the unknown.

LA LA LA LOVE

had a wonderful valentines.
started the night off with 90s jams and famous couples. then valentines cards were made and handed out at random.i was told it was the highlight of most people's night.
food. champagne.
full moon. full hearts.
all while dancing like the fools that we are for allowing this day to be discarded because we hate to be alone. not tonight, friend. tonight love is all around.

C H O C O L A T E HISTORY MONTH

yep. 

i totally went there. and i totally can.

with all the valentines going around, even i forget that a whole month is reserved for honoring black americans. maybe its because most of the time its spent being showcased their mistreatment, their shortcomings. their scars are a bitter swallow, and sometimes the beckoning of creamy chocolate is a sweeter chew.

but for me, a child of parents who lived before during and after the civil rights movement, i have known nothing but love from them for all people. they are not scared by our history and i am forever blessed because of it. i can look inside the riotous crowds and marches and see chocolate and vanilla skin, looking "good together, mixed in". standing on the same side. willing to be arrested. beaten. killed for a stranger of a different shade.

that takes love. love is what i choose to see.

so in celebration of love and in celebration of blacks, here are some songs on amore sung by blacks during a time when america was purging itself of its hate.

O U T F I T

i don't get dressed up for valentines day. i think this year will be different. on the hunt for a valentine's day outfit.

THE TOMGIRL SERIES | Be Mine

H E A L T H

three days ago i realized how out of shape i was. my diet has been pretty healthy, so my weight has not gotten too much out of control, but last year's business with the show (video to come soon) left me pretty inactive. 

this year is about loving my body again, get it back to what it was two years ago.

i started looking up apps to help keep me on track. i went through 2 exercise tracking apps and 3 diet based apps before i found something that work for me. sports tracker and my fitness pal.

seriously, my fitness pal is fantastic. its thorough and user friendly, and has a barcode scanner on it so you don't have to type in all the nutrient facts. if i eat more than one serving size, i can change the number and it will calculate the calories and what have you. (okay done sounding like an infomercial--back to your regularly scheduled program.

i also decided to start doing exercise routines via youtube. i decided to go with circuit training. its 45 minutes long. the first day i only got through twelve minutes. the second day i made it to twenty. i am so uncool.

julian 2. me a depressing 0.

G R E Y

i love a good grey, stormy day. 

when it bleeds out the colors of the trees and flowers, vibrant tones hushed by the steady fall of rain. the sky hoards it all above the clouds. 

it cannot contain the color and at dusk it blushes at its failed attempt to swallow up the reach of the sun.

S E A S O N S OF L O V E

no rants about this commercialized month.

if i just take away the thought of having to see a whole aisle dressed in reds and pinks and chocolates and bears, and just focus on the fact that its a month to love, my perspective on the subject of valentine's broadens.

28 days of loving. intentionally. without reservations. i have been trying to understand what that looks like for me. maybe it isn't just about loving people, but loving life, loving the things that excite.  big or small.

H A I R

so i decided for a shorter look. chitty chitty bang-bangs too. 

 

the whole look is growing on me. i haven't had short bangs since 2007 when i decided to grow my hair out. chin length bobs were my go to styles for a really long time until about five years ago.

i must say this is totally out of my element. after the deed was done and i had to face myself, i realized how incredibly modern this look was and i thought "oh man that means i am really going to have to put forth an effort now." yup. the downside to pinterest is that its search engine does not quite recognize "simple outfits that go with blunt bangs and bob". primitive.

making a public appearance at the smoothie room

kidnapping a friend and going on mini adventures in photobooths

O U T F I T

spent christmas in pensacola with the folks. a lot has changed and so much has stayed the same. i spent most of the holidays at a new coffee shop, the bodacious brew, or photo sniping places of my youth or old ruins on the beach. funny how much i wanted to get away from this place, but its dullness of activity is something i think quite fondly of now.

finally snagged these photos of me from the sister. we went exploring on well known spots in pensacola including graffiti bridge and bay view park.

coat :: hm

nike kicks :: dsw

purse :: forever21

shades :: forever 21

accessories :: hm

F A C E

i like to sleep as long as possible. and to the point where it leaves me very little time to spend time on my face. last year for my birthday i purchased my first mary kay products that knocked out at least two extra steps for me in the morning. yes i am lazy like that. but my face should not suffer for it. 

3 in 1 cleanser that tones my face, which i do twice a day. 2 part microdermabrasion is a twice a week sort of thing. its the only thing that hasn't created scars on my face like exfoliating products have in the past.

makeup is the same way. i have gotten it down to under 8 minutes with no more than the use of 5 items: foundation, mascara, blush, lip, and sometimes shadow. the point is not to look bedazzled like a MAC painting. minimalism is key with the purpose to look more put together than i actually am. all of a sudden, no body knows that i am wearing sweats with different colored socks.

foundation:: maybeline fit 355 eye shadow:: ulta lipstick:: mac "spirit" or "chili" blush: mac "sunbasque sheertone shimmer " mascara:: rimmel extra super lash

before

after

 there is not much difference between the two except that my face is half a shade darker in the after (the difficulties of finding an exact match for my skin tone). but it is enough to make me look like i am fully awake. my point is minimalism. and to not have to draw on any facial features of any kind, meaning lips, highlights, shadows (no contouring for me. don't have time) or brows.

i have been asked (and sometimes told) to get my eyebrows done. i have been prodded about this most of my life and have been told i have bushman eyebrows, that i would actually look pretty if i arched them, and many other things. it actually makes me laugh because they think i should pay heed to their advice and taunts. i am not opposed to a well arched eyebrow. but i am ok with my "bushman brows". jennifer connelly is my hero. i go to the salon maybe once or twice a year and spend the rest of the time trying to grow back my brows because too much was taken off. i want to avoid having vulcan-like eyebrows, thanks.

S H O E S

boot-boot-sneaker-boot-oxford-sneaker-sneaker. what is missing in this sequence? i have been neglecting my need for a good pump. time to hit up nine west. make my feet sing.

S P O R T

four days ago, i got to witness my former college win the national championship in football. a triumph only accomplished two other times within the last twenty years. they said we couldn't do it despite our perfect 13-0 season. four days ago we proved them wrong.

i screamed until i grew nauseous when we scored a 100-yd touchdown off a punt return with 5 minutes remaining in the game. and when we scored the winning touchdown with less than a minute to play, i went crazy. i cried. i was dizzy. i was buzzed. i even bought a not-worth-a-buck-fifty local newspaper just to have the article about my team plastered on the front.

to be honest, when i was younger, i hated football. but my dad liked to watch it and i liked spending time with him, so i started asking him what everything was. suddenly, i knew what a first down was, and now i could cheer with everyone else with purpose. the game was no longer dull. even golf became nail biting. golf.

 i know this means squat to most of my readers. sports on a girl's blog is not too common and i will spare you the play by play. i'll even throw you a bone and say i wore a grey monochromatic look with a boucle coat, heels and a splash of garnet and gold in my scarf to show off my team spirit. but this is me and what i enjoy and it should not make this a less feminine post.

go noles!

B O D Y

40.5. 34. 26. 38.

shoulders. bust. waist. hips.

just shy of a perfect hour glass,  but my shoulders leave my tops draping shapelessly off them like they were on a hanger. (now there is an understanding of why i abhor shoulder pads) more fitted tops draw more attention to them and i end up looking like an inverted triangle. most of the time i do not notice it, but when i opt for skinny jeans and a baggy top, it becomes apparent that i have cadillac shoulders, and from behind i give off the appearance that i am a slender man. 

no bueno.

but i like my loose fitted items. i also don't like looking like a boy. *le sigh*. more v-necks says one. full skirts says another. am i a fruit or a keeper of time or a pythagorean equation? they make it so complicated, and their suggestions of styles to wear do not suit my tastes.

mitigate the breadth of my shoulders (or look less like a boy from behind).

elongate my torso.

how can i make this happen in a state of simplicity and still keep my sweaters and sweatshirts?

oversized sweater that extends past my hips, but is slimming at the waist

 raglan. duh. why didn't i think of this sooner?

thin sweaters where the shoulder line extends past my shoulders

ok. i can breathe. change doesn't look too bad now.

R E V I S I O N

i had a conversation with a friend several nights ago, while my car ran for hours in her driveway. the journey of becoming a woman. being a woman, well i am not sure what that looks like, but i do not think it is all frills and dolls.

i want to be comfortable being woman. the natural flirtation. the strength in my form and not just my words. being okay with being pretty. i have shunned this part of myself for so long, and i am embarrassed to draw attention to myself.

i have come a long way from baggy clothes. from hiding. from invisibility. but i still haven't quite stepped out, all eyes on me. unnerving. but i can merge the two. i can be the woman in a sports sweatshirt and a pair of heels.

so this is the new chapter of my blog. the new chapter of me. on becoming.

here's to looking forward.

C O U N T O W N

gutes neue jahr! may 2014 be a year of expected givings rather than of expected gettings. see you all on the other side.

LIFE l Cabbage Patching

Italian baguette. Giant baby bearing cabbage. Secret gardening among the peppers, the tomatoes, and herbs. All at the East End of the world.

THE TOMGIRL SERIES | Polished Pioneer

This Thanksgiving I got to fulfill one of my childhood Frazier induced dreams of visiting Seattle. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I did no research on the place, took no one's word for it and pioneered through the Oregon trail (not really but I did take a train from Portland to Seattle and I am happy to report no wagon wheels were harmed during the process of this adventure).  I was brilliantly surprised. It solidified in my mind that I was born for colder weather. All those layers. Makes a girl like me swoon.

TOMGIRL SERIES | Polished Pioneer by andiaschehera featuring a leather purse