Shared: Choker? But I hardly even know 'er

Now that October is FINALLY here, I feel more comfortable wearing some of my larger spooky pieces of jewelry to work.  I'm sure I'll eventually get over that like I did with the prints.  I really love this time of year but it's nowhere near the same feeling as it was when I lived in Minnesota.  It's still not cold here and I even have a new coat to wear when the air does get chilly so I'm trying to be patient.  But at least I can wear my more Halloweeny stuff with fewer weird looks.  Not that I mind the weird looks, of course.

Necklace: Wish

Since I don't like to wear actual chokers, I call this necklace "one of my chokers."  I'm sure you can guess why. :)

I have a white plastic one, too, but it's a lot more costume-y so I usually wait until closer to Halloween to sport that one.  The problem with both of them, though, is the hands move as I do so I am constantly having to fix them to get them to lay right.  Oh, the pain of beauty!  ;)

Speaking of "beauty," see how tired my eyes look?  I took this before I was able to see the orthopedist and was so sleep deprived because of the pain.  (My knee is MUCH better now, btw.  Yay!)  Mutant Stomp Friends posted a great tutorial for how to cover that with makeup but time is just not my friend in the morning.  Plus, I think the dark bags go well with my outfits.  LOL

In other news, I bought some skeleton cameos and settings for them off Wish recently and was able to make 10 necklaces for $1.50 a piece including the black cord.  I still have 2 settings left over as well. :)

Cameos and settings both from Wish

I've decided that I am going to keep 4-5 of them and give the rest away.  I know the skeleton cameo is kind of overdone but I still like it. :)  I like the different colors that these came in which kind of makes them a little fresh again.  For me, at least. So you'll probably start seeing these in upcoming outfit posts.

Does your everyday wardrobe change much in October?

Wore: Bats in the Shadows

You've probably noticed this already but if you haven't, I'll point it out: I don't really like to wear prints.  I love prints on other people but I feel so completely out of my element when I wear them myself so the few print items I have are usually delegated to lounge clothes for home only.

I'm trying very hard to get over that.

This is one of my baby steps into the world of graphic prints in public:

Leggings: Hot Topic online
Shoes: Hot Chocolate Designs

This was also my test to see if the plus size leggings on HotTopic.com would actually fit me.  And they do!  Yay!

I know a lot of people aren't fans of Hot Topic and I completely get it.  I rarely step foot inside the store unless I have to go to the mall for some other reason (though I try to avoid that as much as I can).   Online, though, it's a good source for skully clothes in my size. :)

I've worn these a few times now with various dresses and they are starting to grow on me.

Dress: New Look

I also get compliments from strangers whenever I wear them so that helps!  I love getting compliments from Andy, friends, coworkers,etc. but when someone I don't know feels the need to to say something, it just makes my day even more.  

I think I will have to start paying attention to other prints now.  :)

I tried to get a pic of my necklace but no matter what I did, it was cast in a shadow.

Necklace: Wish

I adore Peter Pan collars and this necklace has that feel.  When I got it, there was just a single ring between the 2 halves so the black gemstone would flip up and down when I moved.  That was a bit annoying so I added 2 more rings and put the gem on the center.  Problem solved!  I also had to add a 3" extender to accommodate my larger neck. That's usually a given for me, though, no matter what weight I am.

Selfies always make my nose look bigger.  LOL

How do you feel about prints?  Love 'em?  Hate 'em?

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?

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?