Hello, friend!

I've been enjoying our new home so much that I've found myself taking an obnoxious number of photographs. Given that Mr. CP loathes having his photograph taken, I'm fairly certain he may rethink this whole marriage thing if I continue down my current path. Only kidding, only kidding. Ish. I've always been a bit of a dabbler when it comes to hobbies and crafty pursuits. I'm fickle that way. So, I suppose it was only a matter of time before I decided to try my hand at taking photographs. Like any new skill, it requires patience (oh gawd, does it require patience!), and practice. In unpacking our belongings, I've came to the conclusion that there are almost no photos of us. In point of fact, I can count on two hands the number of photographs of Mr. CP and I, which is in large part what inspired me to start taking more photographs.

Now that I'm settling in, I'll be able to post with greater frequency. What have I missed while I was away? What have you all been up to?

Blue Dress #3: A Bit of Whimsy

Dress: Dorothy Perkins (here)

Cardigan: Anthropologie/Ribboned Rocket Cardigan

Shoes: GAP

Earrings: Forever 21

When I got home from Anthropologie the other day -- with this cardigan in tow! Sale score FTW! -- I recounted for Mr. CP my uber-bizarre conversation with Boob Job Lady that I talked about in my last post (here). It ended up turning into a fairly lengthy conversation about Mr. CP's and my respective stances on plastic surgery. 

My position is quite simple: your body, your life. I think everyone has a right to feel beautiful, and if that means a nip, a tuck, a lift, a pull, and a few injections, then so be it. For my part, I don't like the idea of elective cosmetic surgery. It gives me the willies. Aside from my father, I avoid physicians like the plague. It's best for all parties involved, you see.

In general, I have a fairly laissez-faire attitude towards life (there are a few areas where this doesn't apply... toilet paper, for example, should always roll down on the roll, not up. Yeesh!). So, my philosophy about plastic surgery is pretty much identical to my philosophy about life (excepting toilet paper, apparently): you do your thing, I'll do mine.

On a completely unrelated note, if ever the Fates conspired to thrust me into a position of power as a benevolent dictator, I would commission a statue to be built immortalizing this expression. I think it says, "Peons, bow before me!" and "But I still love and respect you and your peasant ways!" all at the same time. Behold: Benevolent Dictatoress Kelsey. Ahem. Yes, that's a real word and a real title. Why do you ask? Are you challenging my authority!? Are you?!?!

My Adventure

Dress: A to Z Tees/Alhambra Outlet 

Denim Jacket: Gap Outlet

Scarf: Antique Mall

Flats: Aldo

Head band: Target

So, I wore this outfit to run errands downtown yesterday, which turned out to be quite an adventure. You see, it was May 1, so naturally there was a very large group of people protesting Capitalism (because, frankly, that's what just about every protest boils down to, but don't even get me started). The police were out in full force -- some mounted on horseback, a large number in full riot gear, some on bicycles. Anyway, there I was minding my own business when all of the sudden I heard glass windows shattering across the street. Apparently some of the protestors got reeeeally angry about The Man, and decided that the best way to get back at him was to break stuff. Naturally. 

For anyone who ever doubted that my survival instincts have been bred out of me: I present to you exhibit A. Most people around me started scattering, running into stores to avoid the rioters. I, stupidly, stood there ruminating on the psychology and sociology of rioting like a complete dumbass (and also like a giant nerd, dur). When common sense eventually set in, I had two thoughts. My first thought centered around this outfit. Everyone around me was wearing varying shades of black, so in a moment of absolute paranoia, I envisioned the rioters picking a victim from the crowd to defenestrate (great word, btw). Naturally, I concluded that they would pick me because of my vibrant green dress. My second thought was to stop being a jackass, and duck into a store like everyone else around me. Which I did. For anyone who ever doubted that my survival instincts have been bred out of me: I present to you exhibit A. At any rate, my foray into Nordstrom turned out to be a fruitful trip. I found a cardigan in the same shade as this dress. Thankfully, the police calmed the rioters -- or rather herded them in a different direction -- so I was able to scoot back to the house without too much trouble.

I fully intended to do the 30 for 30 challenge this month. But THEN I thought it might be better left for next month, when Mr. CP and I will be moving to Colorado. It will make more sense to just keep a few items out to wear while everything else gets packed up. Because I want to do something fun this month, though, I'll be doing something a little different starting next week. So, tune in to find out what I've got planned.

p.s. This dress has a hole in it. Waaaaaah! I dropped it off at the tailor and they're going to stitch it right back up, thank goodness!

I Bet You Didn't Know...

Top: Lowland Rugosa Tank/Anthropologie

Cardigan: Halogen/Nordstrom

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Abound/Nordstrom Rack

Head band: H&M

Necklace: Aaaaall over the place

Bracelet: Gifted

First and foremost, allow me to apologize for the funky lighting in the photographs. Apparently I managed to stand in the only -- and I do mean only -- patch of sunshine to be found in Seattle today. What are the odds?

The last post I wore jeans in seemed to be a big hit with all of you, my beautiful, wonderful, oh-so-spectacular readers, so I figured I would post another jeans-centric outfit. I wasn't sure about pairing the dark blue top with the dark blue bottoms, but I think the cardigan and boots did a nice job of breaking up the monotony. You can't tell in the photographs, but the embroidered flowers on the top literally glow. Thank you, metallic thread! Swoon! I kept looking down at my shirt while I walked, and mumbling random phrases like, "Preeeeeeeetty" and "mmmphmmmph glooooooows! mmmphmmph." (Note: for the purposes of this post, "mmmph" = random mumbled noises) No one pulled their children away from me today, but I did get the stink eye from a couple people. It's okay, though; I had my beautiful glow-y blouse to soothe my wounded spirit.

The ever-beautiful and exceptionally sweet Alex of Delayed Missives recently gave me two new blog awards! Hooray! A fellow Scotch lover, I'm eagerly awaiting the day when Alex comes to Seattle -- or I go to New York -- and we can bond over our mutual love of malty, peaty goodness and, of course, fashion. ;)

These awards carry with them the requirement that I share 7 random facts about myself. Ruh roh... this could get interesting.

1.) I love coffee. Have I ever said that before? I don't think I have. I love coffee so much, in fact, that I have at my disposal at least a dozen different ways to brew up a cup and/or pot. However... ahem, unfortunately for Mr. CP I'm terrified of most (read: all but one) of the coffee-making implements we have -- I'm illogically convinced they are going to explode on me -- so until very recently it was among Mr. CP's many duties to make sure that I was caffeinated in the morning. In an effort to "empower my womanity" (his words, not mine), we bought an idiot-proof, user-friendly Nespresso machine. I can now make my own coffee. I feel empowered.

2.) I will maintain until my dying day that a three-pronged fork should be called a "threek." I therefore refuse to call it anything else.

3.) I have an inexplicable attachment to hoods. It's a fair bet that 9 times out of 10, if I'm sitting around the house, I'm wearing a hood. 

4.) I once got a concussion while having a nerf war. It's a long story, but I'll boil it down. Mr. CP stole my nerf gun and tried to run away from me; I latched on to his leg, and stupidly refused to let go (I'm tenacious that way); he pulled me along the floor (he's tenacious that way); I bonked my head on my jewelry armoire; I got knocked out. Fin.

5.) I talk in my sleep. Apparently my favorite thing to ask about is "cantaloupe." For the record, my favorite fruit is bananas.

6.) The absolute last place you ever want to find me is in the kitchen. I'll either end up burning the room down, or producing something so foul that not even alley-scavenging raccoons will want to eat it.

7.) I don't talk about it much on here, but I love reading. Lately, I've been wading my way through Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard (headache much?), and also re-reading the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I recently finished re-reading Silas Marner by George Eliot (one of my very favorite books), Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, and Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault.

Now I get to pass on the awards to some other lovely people! =D Hooray! In the interest of spreading the love, I tried to give these awards to a different group then last time. ;)

Kassi at The Closet Intervention

Laura at The Blog of Worldly Delights

Rebecca at The Plus Side of Me

Dotty at Dash Dot Dotty

Karla at Frugal Big Girl

Gazel at Bonjour Gazel

Sara at The Woollen Mitten

Loren at Frock Stock

Walk, Don't Waddle!

Top: Gap

Cardigan: August Silk (Nordstrom Rack)

Skirt: Thrifted

Tights: Gift from Mr. CP! (Modcloth)

Shoes: Old Navy

Sweater Clip: CatRabbit

Earrings: Marc Jacobs (Nordstrom Rack)

Head Band: H&M

I tend to fixate on things. It's just how I'm built. I get all worked up about something, and dwell on it. And dwell on it. And, for good measure, dwell on it some more. My current fixation centers on the relative lack of colorful and/or patterned tights available for plus sized women. At least three times a day in our house, I can be heard complaining at length about it. I usually conclude my daily rants with, "What the [insert expletive of your choice here]?!" (In my more PG moments -- which are admittedly few and far between -- I tend to favor, "What the crap?!") Poor Mr. CP is the one who has to listen to my rants. And let me tell you, it's the exact. same. rant. day in. and day out. Nothing really changes except the expletive I use. Poor, long-suffering Mr. CP. 

Because he's just that spectacularly sweet -- and also, I suspect, in an effort to get me to stop complaining -- Mr. CP put his mad Google Fu skills to good use and hunted me down two pairs of colorful, patterned tights! That's right, colorful and patterned. I got what I wanted -- two beautiful pairs of tights -- and Mr. CP got what he wanted -- silence. Okay, well, not complete silence, because I'm still me, but he no longer has to listen to my seemingly endless diatribes on tights. Hooray for Mr. CP!

I tend to be reeeeeally picky about tights. I want tights that are durable, that fit (dur!), and most importantly, that don't result in what I've dubbed Penguin Crotch. Penguin Crotch is best described as the result of a pair of ill-fitting and/or poorly made tights such that the crotch sits somewhere around the knees and causes the wearer to waddle in a rather unsightly way. I am pleased to announce that these Modcloth tights fulfill all three of the above requirements: they seem durable, they fit, and I do not waddle to-and-fro like a Pacific Northwestern penguin. Yippee!

p.s. I apologize for the wrinkly skirt. I had been sitting for a while. =)

"Silly Pumpkin!"

 

Low flying seaplane!

Behold the very rare Kelsius Moosius in her natural habitat!

Dress: Gap Outlet

Cardigan: Halogen (Nordstrom)

Tights: Hue (Macy's)

Boots: Enzo Angiolini (Nordstrom Rack)

Sweater Clip Brooch Thing: CatRabbit

Head band: Target

Bekah the Merrymaker made me giggle the other day when she concluded an email with the phrase "silly pumpkin." She was, unsurprisingly, talking about yours truly. The phrase seemed very appropriate for this particular post since I pulled a very silly -- or bafflingly stupid, depending upon how you look at it -- move the other day. I pulled a muscle in my back... drum roll, please... putting on my deodorant. That's right, folks. I managed to injure myself while going about one of the most mundane daily tasks you can imagine. I'm sure you're wondering how in the name of all that is sacred I managed to pull such a magnificently klutzy move. I really have no answer. There's not even really much of a story to it which, frankly, makes it that much more ridiculous.

This one time, I forced Mr. CP to go to a yoga class with me against his will. Not only did the instructor end up putting me in the corner to do "remedial" poses (+10 humiliation points), but in an unexpected and fairly hilarious twist of fate Mr. CP ended up being considerably more flexible than I am (+5000 humiliation points). Despite the fact that putting on deodorant doesn't really require an extensive degree of flexibility, I'm tempted to blame my injury on my general inflexibility. It somehow sounds less ridiculous than "it just happened." Silly pumpkin, indeed.

In Pursuit of Pumpkins

Sweater: Gap (old, old, old)

Skirt: Thrifted

Tights: Hue

Boots: Fitzwell (6pm.com)

Wellies: Sperry Top-Sider (Nordstrom Rack)

Hat: TJ Maxx

Bag: Red by Marc Ecko (Ross)

October is a month full of traditions in our household. Today, we made good on one of our long-standing traditions by heading to a pumpkin patch. Armed with our favorite chai lattes, we hopped in the car and made the 45 minute drive to our favorite pumpkin farm. I learned long ago the importance of bringing a change of shoes, so the first thing I did when we arrived at the farm was pull on my trusty wellies. We spent most of the afternoon winding our way through the corn maze, and tromping through the seemingly endless pumpkin fields in pursuit of the perfect pumpkins. This, of course, was the first step in another of our traditions: a sort of unofficial pumpkin carving competition we hold. We don't really have any judges, so we typically just end up bickering at length about whose pumpkin turned out best. Last year was one of the few times where we actually agreed on the winner. Mr. CP emerged victorious. I plan on carving my butt off this year to recapture some of my lost dignity. Huh... that sounds awkward... But my point remains. I. Will. Win.

Kelsey vs. The Skinny Jean

 Sorry the photo is blurry and jumbled... I'll try to get a better photo next time. Look! Birdies! Ooooo!

Blouse: Gap

Cardigan: Halogen (Nordstrom)

Skinnies: Gap

Boots: Abound (Nordstrom Rack)

Necklace: Juicy Couture (Nordstrom Rack)

Brooch: Oh My Cavalier!

Earrings: Marc Jacobs (Nordstrom Rack)

Head Band: H&M

I was reading Rebecca's latest post over at The Plus Side of Me a couple days ago, and found myself inspired. Rebecca explained that she had a long-standing fear of ankle-booties, a fear that she overcame to adorable effect in her most recent OOTD (which may or may not be recent as you're reading this). After reading her post, I tried to think of a trend that I was too self-conscious to wear. After ruminating on it for a little while, I decided that skinny jeans were to be my Everest. So, I rummaged around in my closet until I found this pair of jeans I bought ages ago for half off. I tried them on at Gap and thought, "Golly (because apparently I'm a pig-tailed six-year-old), these sure do look flattering! I look so tall! And so skinny!" Let me just say that I will swear until my dying day they have magic mirrors in Gap that make you look taller and skinnier -- and hell, why wouldn't they? It's a brilliant marketing strategy. The jeans looked completely different when I got them home. They made me look hippy. And, let's face it, ass-y. And also kind of short. So, into my closet they went, where they've happily lived for longer than I'd like to admit.

At any rate, inspired by Rebecca, I conquered my fear of skinnies and put together this outfit. I felt a bit uncomfortable running around town in it, but I think that's to be expected when you push yourself out of your comfort zone. I'm definitely going to keep expanding my (dorky and cliche) horizons, though, so I'm certain you'll see these jeans in future OOTDs.

A brief note about the accessories in this photo. I was so excited when I found this necklace on extra-special clearance for around $10. A couple of the charms were on backwards, which was easy enough to fix with a pair of pliers and a few minutes of my time. The earrings were on clearance for around $10 as well, I think. They may have been slightly more. The earring you see in the photograph above has a large gold branch, and a small silver branch. The opposite earring (not pictured) has the reverse: a large silver branch, and a small gold branch. I love little details like that! =)