After months of being creeped out by Instagram’s targeted ads I finally found a way to turn the function off and over the last few weeks have been pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the non-targeted ads gracing my feed. I’ve done more ad clicking and intentional viewing than I’ve ever done. I’m not an ad clicker because deep inside I irrationally believe they’re all scams trying to find ways to part me from my money. I know they aren’t all scams of course; just squirrels trying to sore a nut or some such. I think they got me. Enter Hanacure Face Masks and JW Pei Luxury vegan handbags. I really am…
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Mini Pattern Grab
It is not my fault that McCall’s came out with an actually bomb spring pattern collection this year. I’m taking pride in the fact that I waited as long as I did to get the three patterns that were most interesting to me. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact they’ve been sold out for weeks and I couldn’t take advantage of the pattern sales. I know I said I was cutting myself off after my last dive down the pattern rabbit hole, but Memorial Day weekend changed things and I knew it was my duty – nay – my necessity to buy them when I saw all…
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Hair Rehab: I Love My Fro But She’s Shy
This past month was a reminder I didn’t need as to why I always wear my hair in braids, twists, buns, stretched, straight or otherwise not in a fro. I’ve been in a kind of hairstyle rut while I cope with this South Louisiana heat that’s too hot for wigs and I’d also say too hot for long braids. A few weeks ago I was wearing my fading flat ironed hair in a variety of french twists and buns. After a couple weeks of that I was over it and decided to moisturize my hair and figure out where to go from there. I missed my fro. I was happy…
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Soul Candy 013 | Life Is To Be Lived
“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around,” Katharine Hepburn Have you noticed there was only one new post this past week? Yeah, that’s not regular posting by any stretch of the definition I’ve given myself to live up to. These days I have a lot of demands on my energy because of my day job. I don’t have it in me to half ass things that have my name on it even if it’s something I don’t much care for. I just can’t. I…
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Wig Review: Isis Red Carpet RCP605
I was trying to channel my inner “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” but was really feeling more like Fleetwood Coupe De Ville (god I love youtube, you can find anything). It took me a while to get used to this much hair. But when I did you couldn’t. tell. me. nothin. I like the volume that the Isis Red Carpet RCP605 has which kept growing as it got frizzy. Some will see the frizz as a bad thing so beware if you are frizz averse: this wig is not for you. I have a lot of patience and so managed to be careful to avoid a lot of would be…
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Soul Candy 012 | Keep Going
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill I think I am the grand emperor of starting over. I think I start over better than anyone and I really hate that I’m so well acquainted with the process. Still, it’s a good skill to have and despite my insecurity over it, has served me well. I’ve started over schools, careers, relationships, cookie recipes, this blog five times… I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process; like that I used to have crippling perfectionism, the root of many of my issues. Starting over, rebooting, whatever, works but it’s not always the…
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Check Out The New Digs: truly claire Has Been Redesigned
It has been a long three months without you but the blog redesign is finally here! I wish I could say I spent that whole time working on content for the blog, drinking my water, and minding my edges; but alas, no. The break from daily posting gave me room to deal with some real challenges I had: asthma frustrations, a very expensive A/C repair, nursing Crispin who got injured in a cat fight, and collaborating with friends on another web venture that will soon be launched. It’s been a lot on me mentally and financially but I’m coming up on the light at the end of this tunnel and it…
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Soul Candy 011 | Ordered
“When I cannot bear outer pressures anymore, I begin to put order in my belongings. As if unable to organize and control my life, I seek to exert this on the world of objects.”Anais Nin
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Design Studio | Vogue Patterns V9053 | 001
I fell in love with this admittedly cheap but stunning chiffon back when Hancock Fabrics was still a thing not this Michael's buy out that is but a shadow of it's former self. It was on the clearance table and I bought all that was left of it, something between 7 and 8 yards. It has bold vertical stripes and is slightly sheer. I knew I wanted to do a maxi dress with it but kept not making the time for it. I came across the V9053 from Vogue when I went sewing pattern crazy a few months ago and suddenly half my work was done for me. I’ll be…
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PIH Challenge Suspended
It would be a waste of time and product trying to lighten dark spots that just keep coming from new inflammation. So I’m suspending my challenge until May after I see my endocrinologist