Wore: Mmm... Ribs

As the wedding grows near (108 days away, if you are curious), I am:
     Super excited - I am literally marrying my best friend
     A little nervous - this isn't a first marriage for either of us
     Kind of anxious - I am mostly done with my DIY stuff but I still get a panicky when I think of what's left to do
     Super excited - both our families are going to be in GA for the wedding weekend
     A little nervous - this will be the first time both sides will meet each other
     A little sad - I keep thinking about the people who have passed who won't be here to share in the day

Specifically, I keep thinking about Andy's favorite cousin who was like a brother to him, my favorite uncle, and especially my Gramma.

At age 38, she was pregnant with my Mom in this picture... look at those cheekbones!

I always had an especially close relationship with my Gramma, often spending the night at her apartment.  She taught me to sew, cook, play poker and black jack.  She taught me that it was okay to be myself even when others made of fun of me (though that lesson took a long time for me to learn).

She always had a cigarette hanging from her lips, especially while she was crocheting and watching her soap operas.  One of my earliest memories of her was in her brother's garden.  He would let his family take home whatever they wanted as long as they helped weed.  I remember my Gramma wearing a shimmering silver blouse, black slacks, and silver sandals while gardening... with her signature Pall Mall dangling from her red painted lips.

My Gramma was a walking dichotomy.  :)

She had a brain aneurysm the day after my 15th birthday but miraculously survived.  (She was always a tough broad.)  She had brain damage which caused a lot of psychological issues and she had to be in an assisted living home followed by a nursing home before she passed away 12 years after the aneurysm that would have killed most people.

Her birthday is in April and I still celebrate it every year by making one of her signature meals.  Most often, it's her barbecued spare ribs but roast or fried chicken and pound cake are my go-to's as well.

Dancing to some random song in my head

Dress: Torrid
Leggings: New Look
Shoes: Hot Chocolate Designs

I think she would have heartily disapproved of my pink hair at first but would have come to love it because she considered me her kid instead of her grandkid.  She didn't seem to care that I wore mostly black because she had a lot of black in her own wardrobe.  I don't know how she would have felt about the tattoos but she loved all my earrings.

She would have LOVED this dress, though, because of all the sparkles.  My Gramma LOVED sparkly clothes and jewelry.

It's hard to see but there are a ot of little sequins mixed in with the beads.

I often think she still comes to visit me, especially when I need her.  I will suddenly smell cigarette smoke in a place where it shouldn't be.  Like when I lived in my house with my ex-husband.  We're non-smokers and were far from the road, plus we didn't allow smoking in the house.  So when I smelled it, I knew it was her.  When I am especially sad or depressed, I will feel a hand on my right shoulder followed by a little squeeze.  That's something she used to do when overseeing me sew, etc.

So while she will not be physically with us for the wedding, I know Gramma will still be there.  I am her kid after all and I know she wouldn't miss it for the world..

Necklace: Cute and Creepy Inc

Bought: Batty Bat Bag

With the exception of a few years in high school, I've gone out of my way to not be like everyone else.  This was so bad when I was a kid that I ended up failing a test in the 2nd grade because I could see what everyone else was answering and I wanted my answers to be different.  Fortunately, the teacher was smart and moved me to separate table during test time because I was anti-cheating. :)

Even when I go out to eat with other people, I have to know what they're ordering before I decide so I don't get the same thing.

I just don't like feeling like I am copying other people.

So when I see something that someone else has, I will most likely NOT get it myself (but will certainly window shop the f*ck out of the store if they list it).  So when Bane at Goth It Yourself posted this really cool batty bat tote bag last year, I knew it was not in the cards for me.

Except I really liked it.

A lot.

It sounded perfect for me and my needs and the bats were frickin' cute.

But I didn't get it.

Until over a year later, anyway. :)

I recently happened across an Amazon store who was selling it for a ridiculously low price (not such a low price now but reasonable still).  I hmm'd over it for a while but ultimately decided to get it.  I mean, as awesome as Bane is, I don't actually know her in person and I've only recent come out my lurk-phase to comment on her blog.  So it'd be okay just this once, right?

I have to say, I *love* this bag!  It's the right size to carry all my non-purse stuff, it fits over my shoulder well, and it zips close so everything doesn't spill out when I drop it.

Even though I will try to not get things that I know other people have, I get SO excited when I see that I already own something someone else does or if I see it on a TV show or movie.  Like this bat necklace that Meagan Kyla from Coffin Kitsch is wearing.  I have that!  Actually, I own a few necklaces that she does and I got excited when I saw each and every one  of them after discovering her blog. :)

I'm a fancy lady with a fancy purse!

Dress: SWAK Designs
Purse: Unique Vintage
Necklace: I don't remember - Walmart?  Walgreens? Walstore?

So, just how weird is that or do other people do these things, too? :)

Wore: Fancy Dancing Lady

Some days, in my head, I am a fancy lady.  I'm really not and the pics prove it but I like it when I feel fancy.  This dress does that for me.

Dress: SWAK Designs
Bracelet: Wish
Necklace: made by me

It's floor length, hugs the boobages nicely, and flows nicely over the rest of me.  It doesn't cling, either.  The downside is that the fabric doesn't breathe well which kinda sucks in this Atlanta heat.  I'm an indoor kitty that just moves from A/C to A/C anyway, though, so I make do.

I kinda needed the pick-me-up this week.  My right knee started hurting and has been getting worse so I went to urgent care after it kept me up all night; the doctor there just told me it's an arthritis flare up.  I was told in my mid-20's that I had arthritis in my knees and ankles (due to so many injuries from being clumsy) but it's never been this bad.  So I am icing it and taking over the counter pain killers and avoiding foods that cause inflammation.  It's a little better but I still can't walk well without a noticeable limp.

The worst part of the whole thing, though, was the doctor's attitude.  She seemed SO BORED while talking with me, like I was wasting her time.  Her "exam" consisted of poking my knee twice with her index finger then sending me for x-rays.

After her diagnosis she said,  "You are also so..." then puffs out her cheeks and puts her arms & hands out from her sides about a foot "...you have a lot of excess weight which will make your knees worse."

Yep, the doctor mimed to me how fat I am.

I laughed.  Hard.  I have no idea what she said after that.

It's no secret to anyone that I am a big girl.  I don't attempt to hide it and I don't apologize for it.  I love me no matter what size I am and don't let the scale dictate how happy I am.  Sure, I could stand to lose a bunch of weight for health reasons but I am who I am.  I just thought that was extremely unprofessional, though, and the old me from 10+ years ago would have been devastated.

So, topic change: my necklace.  :)  This is one of my fancy lady necklaces that I only wear on special occasions.

I made it myself to wear when I was the matron of honor at my sister's wedding in 2011.  I made it to coordinate with the one I made for HER:

I don't have a picture of it but I also made our mom one that she wore that was a straight strand of beads with just the skully cameo.  I wish I had a picture of my sister's dress on my phone that I could share.  It was a strapless white dress with a black sash tied around the waist and she wore a long sleeve black shrug over it.  It was a good combo of the traditional white that she wanted to wear with her gothy/punky aesthetic.

I am 7 years older than her and when I was 18, I went off to college so she was more-or-less an only child from age 11 and on.  I didn't start embracing my darker side until later in life and it's funny how she and I have turned out to have A LOT of the same tastes.  Unfortunately for me, she is still in Minnesota where we grew up so I don't get to see her (or the rest of family) nearly often enough.

We also ended up going through our separations and subsequent divorces at around the same time which we both thought was interesting.

Do you wear anything specific if you need a mood booster?

Tagged: The Darkling Tag!

I was tagged by the awesome Meagan Kyla at Coffin Kitsch for the Darkling Tag.  Thank you, Batty McGothson! LOL  I, in turn, tag 3 of the 4 people who actually follow me since Meagan already tagged one of them.  Bane at Goth It Yourself, Laura at Roses and Vellum, and Goth Gardener.  I would have tagged Syl at There's Bats in My Coffee, too. :)

What is your favourite candle scent? Anything apple-scented but not apple-cinnamon.

Do you have a favourite book? "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett

Are you a tea or coffee person? Neither.  I don't even like the smell of coffee and I have yet to find a tea that I like.  Now, good ol' Southern sweet tea?  That's another thing entirely that I only enjoy every once in a great while. :)

What is your favourite perfume/cologne? Either "Funeral Parlor" by Vampfangs which is a musky combination of candles and flowers or "Purr" by Katy Perry which is sweet and flowery (I know, I know... but I like it!)  I do realize that these scents are not alike! LOL

Do you have a celebrity crush? I will always have a crush on Annie Lennox (Eurythmics) but my current crush is Gustaf Skarsgård as Floki in Vikings.

If you could change your name to a stereotypical 90s/2000s gothy name, what would it be?  (*giggle*)  Moonface Ravensblood :D

What are your top three tips for surviving hot weather while black clad?  Light fabric, UV-blocking parasol, and a fan

What song always makes you happy (doesn't have to be a goth band?)   Love by Matt White - it's so cheesily happy :)

Are you active in the arts (eg. Play an instrument, paint, write, etc)?  Yes!  I sew, draw, paint and just generally craft.

What is your number one non-gothy hobby?  Food.  I subscribe to a number of food magazines, read a bunch of food blogs, love cooking shows, collect cookbooks, etc.

Thought Provokers:

If you could be a supernatural creature, what would it be and why? I think I would be a muse so I could help people create.

What horror monster-based super power would you have?  Mess with people in their dreams >:)

Do you feel confident or comfortable interacting with other Goths or gothy people (online or irl)? Why or why not?  Goth or not Goth, if a person engages with me first, I am fine.  I just have a hard time approaching others and starting a game of small talk.  I was a lurker online for a long time before I got the confidence to comment on other people's blogs and now I wonder what I was so scared of. :)

Is there something you wish there was more of in your subculture? Like many others have answered, more acceptance and less elitism.  I've only fairly recently decided to use "Goth" as a way to describe myself but have been lurking the blogs and forums for a while.  There seem to be quite a few who believe their way is the "one true way" and everyone else is a poser.  I have also been a part of the Pagan and BDSM communities and they were just as full of the One True Pathers.  It seems to be common in most alternative scenes which is a little sad.  But the thing I like about the Goth blogs that I follow closely is that they don't buy into that philosophy

Care to share an embarrassing story related to your "darkliness"?  This isn't embarassing but I thought it was kind of funny. :)  There was a contractor from another conuntry that used to work on my floor that I would often run into in the rest room.  At first, she wouldn't make eye contact with me but over time we did the small talk dance.  Finally, one day, she asked me "Why are you so sad?"  I wasn't feeling sad... at all.  In fact, happy is my normal state of being.  I asked her what she meant and she said, "You wear so much black and bones.  Doesn't that mean you are sad?"  I happily explained to her that I just preferred black clothing and the bones helped remind me that life is too short to be sad.

Oh, this is kind of embarrassing.  I saw the movie "Fargo" when it was in theaters (I'm old LOL) and laughed hard for a good 2 minutes over the wood chipper scene before I realized no one else was laughing and people had shifted away from me.  :)

How are you at DIY? Pretty darn good if I have the right tools.  Not like Bane, though.  She is my DIY idol!

Confessional (aka True or False):

I love watching cheese romance films. Mostly true.  I'm also addicted to bad TV shows meant for teenage girls like "Gossip Girl".

I ALWAYS remember to wash off my makeup at night.  False.  Unless I get super made up, most of my make up has been rubbed off my the end of the day.

I sleep with plushies.  False.  Rustle and Sidia would get jealous.  It's already hard enough keeping Sidia from turning Rustle into a minion and taking over the world.

I wear non-black pyjamas most nights.  False.  I don't really wear pajamas and most of mt at-home-lounge clothes are black but there is some grey, red and pink thrown in there.

I think Andrew Eldrich is overrated. I'm really not sure on this one.  People seem to like joking about him.

I don't like vampires.  False.  As long as they don't sparkle.

I don't like clubs. True and false.  I want to like clubs but I get overwhelmed with sensory overload.  So if I do go to a club, I get there earlier and find a nice spot with a wall behind me where I can people watch.  I am also the dork with ear plugs because my hearing is bad enough on its own. :P

I don't enjoy graveyards. False.  If they weren't outside, though, I would enjoy them a lot more. :)

Blood makes me queasy.  False.  I've never had an issue with blood, mine or others.

I'd sooner faint than pet a spider.  True and false.  If someone introduces me to their spider and it seems friendly, I'm more than happy to pet it and play with it.  If it's some random spider on the street or leashed up in someone's yard, though, I'll keep my distance.

I don't like haunted houses. False.  The tourist trap ones are fun but they are not scary.  I can't suspend disbelief enough to actually get scared.  Real ones, however, are fascinating.  I'm a skeptical believer, though.  I believe in ghosts, spirits, hauntings, etc. but I also know/think a lot of phenomenon can be explained by the physical realm.

I've never read Dracula. False.  It's been quite a while, though.

I think "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a long and boring song.  True.  Not my thing but I can see why other's like it.

Craft Along with GIY: Food and Beverage (Meat Head)

Yay!  My first Craft Along with Goth It Yourself!  And this one is right my alley. :)  Since my favorite time of year is right around the corner, I wanted to share with you my recipe for making your own dinner guest!  This is something I have made for numerous parties, including my sister's engagement party!

My sister's horror movie themed engagement party buffet

The head is pretty massive so it's best for parties or large family gatherings.  But you could also make everyone their own individual shrunken heads!

From my old cooking blog, Get Off The Couch And Cook

My full recipe is below but you can also use your favorite meatloaf recipe as well.

Start by sculpting 3-5 lbs of ground beef mixed with the seasonings, etc.  Be sure to embed large pieces of onion for the eyeballs and little pieces for the teeth.  It doesn't need to be perfect but should at least resemble a face.

Place it in a roasting pan on top of some rolled up foil to help get it out of the pan when it is done cooking.  I'd also recommend using a baking rack underneath it.  Then cover the face with tomato sauce, avoiding the eyes and teeth.

Cover the tomato sauce with broken up slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese (I like how provolone chars up better.).

Bake, bake, bake until the meat is cooked through and the skin is charred. :D

Hack and enjoy!

To make the shrunken heads, the process is the same except in smaller scale and the cooking time is a lot shorter.

Meat Head Recipe

For the head
3-5 lb ground beef
1/2 c thick and chunky tomato sauce
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp jarred minced garlic
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg

For the face
1/2 large sweet onion, peeled, ends cut off and layers separated
1 – 1 1/2 c thick and chunky tomato sauce
8 thin slices Provolone or mozzarella cheese


Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the meatloaves.
Shrunken head: Divide into 4 parts if making shrunken heads.  

3. Pinch off a small piece of the meat and set aside. Form the larger piece into an oval head shape.
Shrunken head: do this for all 4 parts

3. Cut 2 pieces of the onion to look like teeth and press into the meat where the mouth will be. Press 2 more pieces of onion where the eyes will be.

4. Divide the reserved meat into 8-9 parts.  Roll 6 little pieces into tubes and place where the onion and meat meet on the head.

5. Smooth the tubes to cover the onion partially.

6. Form the last 2-3 pieces of meat roughly into a nose shape and place on the head. Smooth the edges.
Shrunken head: Repeat the head making process for the other 3 portions of meat mixture. 

7. Place the head(s) on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan.  For the large head, I recommend putting it on a baking rack inside the pan and using rolled up foil like in the pictures above to help lift it.

8. Spoon tomato sauce over the meat, being careful to avoid the onion pieces.

9. Break up the provolone slices and cover the tomato sauce, again avoiding the onion pieces.

10. Bake at 350°F for 90-120 minutes, until the “skin” is dark brown and the meat is done in the center.  The cooking time seems to be the same for 3-5 lbs of ground beef.
Shrunken heads: 45-50 minutes

Wore: Operatic Bats

The whole bad lighting thing at work is getting to me. It's making me a little batty every time I try to take a picture of what I am wearing but I honestly have no idea how to get around it.  My apartment is seriously tiny and all I have is my phone camera.  I think, though, that if any other super plus size goth-y types come across this blog, they'll at least get an idea that we all can dress dark and still fit within corporate guidelines.

I snapped this silly moment when trying to figure out how to avoid the shadows on my face that I usually get. :)

Top: Torrid
Skirt: Jessica London
Operatic Stylings: Me

I don't usually post links to the things I wear because 1) most of the time they are old enough that they are no longer active on the website and 2) they'll probably disappear from the website so anyone going through older posts will end up with bad links.  I really do try to avoid the latter.

Since I was feeling a little batty today, I decided I needed to wear one of my batty bat pendants.  It also glows in the dark, which I never get to see at work but I like knowing that it'll glow if the lights go out or if I stick my head down shirt... which I may or may not have done just to see my necklace glow. :P

Glow In The Dark Bat pendant: Wish

My hand got cut off... in the top pic so you can't see my favorite bracelet.  I had lost the original about a month ago which me kind of sad because I wore it almost every day.  So I ordered a new one... and a back up to be on the safe side.  The snap pn the back is fairly secure but it must have gotten caught on something while we were running errands.

I only paid $2 total for it and I'm glad I got a back up because right now I don't see it listed on the site any more!

Bracelet: Wish
Ring: Amazon

That ring is actually my engagement ring. :)  I really wanted a red stone in a silver setting so we both looked online and kept narrowing it down and we found the exact one that we both loved.  On our wedding day, I am going to move it over to my right hand and wear just the band on my left.  It has a hart or white stag on either side of it which appealed to both of us.

From Amazon

There is a lot of legend and folk lore surrounding the white stag.  There are a lot of sites if you do the Google Fu on it but here's one of my favorites.

Shared: Wedding - Save The Date Cards

Today our Save The Date cards are going out in the mail.  Yay!  I'm so excited!  I designed and drew this myself to fit with the comic book aspect of our wedding.

Designed and drawn by ME! :D

Because we are getting married close to Yule/Christmas, we wanted to give people a head's up so they can plan accordingly.  We would have preferred to get married on 12/21 (the solstice) but that's in the middle of the week and too close to Christmas.

We don't have any specific theme for our shindig so it's incorporating stuff we both like: comic books, rainbows, my Bearly Dreadfuls (a few of them were posted here), and tacos.  Yes, tacos and not just for the food. More about all that in a later post!

I guess we unofficially decided our "theme" was just going to be stuff we liked and I wanted our Save The Date to give a little sneak preview. :)

Happy Birthday, Andy!

My baby turns 40 today!  Can you believe it?  He does not look like a 40 year old to me.  In fact, he doesn't look any older than he did when I met him over 7 years ago.  Maybe a few sparkles in his beard but that's about it.

I know it's cliche but he truly is my best friend.  In fact, he was my best friend for years before we "got together".  Perhaps I'll tell you all that sordid tale sometime. :)

Last night we went to Fogo de Chão for his fancy birthday dinner followed by a blissful meat coma and today we are doing a movie and lunch then ordering pizza tonight from our favorite pizza place (wheat be damned LOL).  I'm not sure what we're going to do between yet, though.  It's all up to him!  He is normally off work on Thursdays so I took the day off so we could spend his whole birthday day together.

Happy birthday, baby!  I love you!

Wore: Feeling like a lunatic

Every have one of those days where you wake up and nothing feels right?  That's what I was going through the day I wore this:

Dress: New Look
Leggings: New Look
Shrug: Torrid
Shoes: Hot Chocolate Design
Necklace: Black Box subscription box (now defunct)
Bracelet: t-shirt hem from a DIY

I mean, you can even see it in my face which is unusual.  I am one of those people who usually has a grin even in resting face mode.  I woke up with an extremely unhappy stomach only to realize that I had had wheat the night before plus Dexter** was going to be making an appearance so between those 2 things, my stomach was extremely bloated and distended.  I didn't realize I needed gas that morning so that made us run late which always makes me frazzled and people at work were just being dumb.  Everything just seemed sucky.  (I could go on about the little things that made this day crappy but I think you get the idea.)

If I had had the sick time, I would have called in sick.  Actually, I wouldn't have because I have too guilty a conscience to call in for a mental health day but I would have thought about it really hard.

I figured my full moon necklace was a good accessory for this day.  It glows in the dark but I don't get to experience that much during the day.  Stupid day star and fluorescent lighting. ;)

On a positive note for this post, I am really digging some of the clothes at New Look.  They are a UK based online store (8 day shipping to the US!) and you have to kind of dig for gothy-type wear but they are good for basics like dresses and leggings.  Their legging are some of my favorites because they are so lightweight!  In fact, I have 6-8 pairs from them now.  I also love the fact that the arm holes on their plus size dresses aren't gapingly huge like the arms of US-based plus size clothing I have.  This dress is sleeveless and I could wear it without the shrug outside of work if I wanted to without the sides of my bra showing through the arm holes.  For this particular dress, the fabric is a touch itchy for my overly-sensitive skin but I love the look of the texture.

I'm not being paid to sing their praises.  I just really like them. :)

Anyway, after having a meh day, we decided to order tacos for dinner and I made Andy sit through British murder mysteries ("Midsomer Mysteries" on Netflix this time) and I cuddled with Claude van Dumm, my mostest favoritest Bearly Dreadful that I've ever made.

What do you do to cheer yourself up?



** Dexter is the code name for my period because he's a serial killing blood spatter analyst. :)

Made: Safety pinned drag t-shirt bag

I have always loved drag queens and drag kings and anyone else who fabulously blends genders for either entertainment, an expression of themselves, or lifestyle choices.  I love the fact that RuPaul's Drag Race has made queens even more mainstream and, it seems, accepted.  Other than the first season, I have seen every season multiple times and I can get lost for hours watching the YouTubes for anything drag (queen or king) related.  I think my spirit animal is a drag queen

I would be hard-pressed to pick just one favorite but Jinks Monsoon, Sharon Needles, Alaska, Latrice Royale and Katya Zamolodchikova are always at the top of my top 10.

I was SO happy when Hot Topic started carrying plus-sized t-shirts with drag queens on them!  Most drag merch stops at a 3X which is too small for this celestial body.

Source: Hot Topic

Sadly, even their largest shirt was too small for me. :(

Actually, it was a blessing in disguise since I don't really wear graphic Ts so I just cut it apart and did the easiest DIY: I just safety pinned it to a black tote bag I got free from an event.  Not original or overly creative but at least I will get more use out of it.  This is also where I got the t-shirt hem I've been wearing wrapped around my wrist lately. :)

Front

Back

Close up of pins in her crown

Shared: Eyeliner Fail

I woke up a few minutes early today so I figured I'd do up my eyes a bit.  I did a soft, subtle line in the upper lash line of my left eye just fine.  But then, while starting my right eye, there was an involuntary blink while swiping across which pushed the eyeliner down... resulting in this:

Talk about an oops!

After removing it (I need better make up remover) I didn't have time to redo it so I had to take it off both eyes and be on my way. :)

Wore: Black Cats

Someday, when I grow up to be big and strong, I want to be a crazy lady.  If I didn't let practicality get in the way, I would have way more than the 2 I have currently.  I'm not to the point where I want everything I own to be covered with cat prints but I can't see a cat anywhere without declaring "You're a kitty!" and trying to pet it.

I do, however, own a few cat-related pieces of jewelry which I know will make an appearance here over time.  Like these cat collar pins that I got from a defunct subscription box service (that also took money from me and never shipped boxes).

It was the first subscription box ever joined and I was really excited.  For $23 a month, they would send about 6 gothy-type things.  I paid in October and got my November box halfway through December.  I paid in November and my December box never arrived.  They said they were waiting for something that was back ordered.  I paid in December and got my January box at the end of February after I complained.  Meanwhile, the auto payment had already paid in February for March.  After the March payment hit with no sign of a February box (or December box yet), I canceled my subscription.  I wrote to them about 3 boxes that I had paid for but never received but the site was more or less down.  It's just $69 total so I can't see wasting time and more money to go after them.  It's really very disappointing.

I can't help but make faces in the mirror!
Dress: Hot Topic online
Leggings: New Look
Shoes: Hot Chocolate Designs
Bracelet: a bit of cut up t-shirt hem from a DIY over the weekend

I did get a couple of cool things out of the 2 boxes I did receive, though, like the pins which I think look good on my black dress with the white collar.  The pin backs are too centered, however, so the top heavy kitty heads have a tendency to spin.  I always forget about fixing that until I am wearing the dress again.

On this particular day, I also opted to wear a headband.  I don't usually wear hair accessories because I have a headset at work but this one seemed to complete the look:

Headband: Wish

Sorry for the complete lack of make up!  With it being so hot out right now, I tend to go completely without because my face melts off.  The make up thing is actually a little funny because I did end up joining another subscription service: Ipsy.  I know A LOT of people who belong to this and I love, love, love it... especially the make up bags themselves. :)

Do you belong to any fun subscription services?