Trying to sport the Maxi in Southern heat

So part of being a designer is wearing clothing that might be considered "of the moment", or at least elements that look updated... One of such emerging trends is called the Maxi Dress.  Simply put, the maxi is any dress that is long enough to reach the ankles of the wearer.  

I have one such dress. It's black and made of 100% Linen.  I love the concept, but something gets lost in the translation.  The look one goes for when sporting this garment is laid back elegance.  After hours of wearing one, I am not laid back, nor elegant.

First, it's hot, and a long anything is not the first thing people around here reach for to cover themselves up.  Second, the dress has a surplice bodice, which means the neckline is relatively... exposed.  I have to wear an uber-fashionable scarf for cover, which brings us back to the first point.  

Time to tend to the pups, and yes, I will be walking them while wearing this ensemble. What my neighbors must think!! Miss all...

Homeward Bound

Had a wonderful weekend with family and friends with no time in between visits. Time with Elizabeth and Robb was fun, silly, and sweet: basically how it always is. ! ) They are an extended part of my family, and I am so grateful for their love and grace.
I was able to spend a lot of time with my sister, which is almost impossible to have imagined. Erin and I have both been confused with whirling dervishes in our almost incessant multi-tasking. I love her dearly. The niece and nephew are taller and each reeealllly bright. The things they say now, there individual senses of humor... so fun to see!
Was able to hang out with Taya on Saturday which was a breath of fresh air. Love her spirit and energy - they fuel me!
KelliRae played host that night and it was just a blast catching up (again, as usual).
Kevin and Mane were married Sunday in a beautiful Buddist Temple. Was so wonderful to see them absolutely happy. But once the reception came, Kev busted out old skool Michael Jackson. It was the best!!

Record Temps

Sunday...100 degrees

Monday...101 degrees

Today... 103 degrees.  Really?!??

Jeez Louise!

Heidi sent a link to a site which sells magical cooling dog collars.  Methinkst they will be getting an order for two very soon (unless I decide to buy one for myself as well!!) 

Creative Inspiration found!

Taking the lessons learned earlier this week, I ran out to Home Depot and purchased a Dremmel and other various ageing instruments for summer denim projects.  Then, yesterday, Darla, a designer friend from work, and I headed out to the monthly flea market at the Metrolina Expo.  Boy, did it bring me back to the days of exploring the flea market on the way to Cumberland with Grams in Wisconsin.  Those were great memories... of curiosities, friendly older faces, junk, and personal treasures.  

It reached about 100 degrees yesterday, and most of the vendors we visited during our 6 hours there were outside.  Honestly, it wasn't too bad.  The heat was there, but the feeling of being surrounded by "possibilities" was thicker.  I picked up about 30 antique drawer pulls... one group from a guy who said he bought it from a woman who had collected them for over 30 years.  I imagine many collectors have to decide now between carrying on their collections or selling them, to pay for the rising cost of gas and food.  I am at once sorry and grateful to be able to give these pieces a new life.  

Outside of my passion for looking through heaps of "stuff" to find pieces that inspire me, I love chatting with the folks who run their booths.  These are entrepreneurs.  So many just listen to what people are looking for, and then go out and find it to sell it.  Hear them tell it, it's the most natural thing in the world to acquire things, and then haul those things around weekend after weekend selling who-knows-what to who-knows-who.  Some of those folks are clearly more attached to their "things", which is a quality I understand.  

One couple was selling things from their childhood, like a garage sale.  I picked up two empty gilded frames and a coaster set for $3 total.  Darla bought a pie safe for $50.  The gentleman and his wife were glad to be rid of "junk that just sat in our garage, taking up room", and we were virtually dancing to the truck with our newfound belongings.

We liked our day so much, we are going to try to go every month!  Fun!!!

  

travelling for business

We'l see if this actually works - I'm blogging from my cell phone as we are on a bus which is taking about 20 apparel industry professionals from our hotel (we're all attending a workshop by Cotton Inc on Denim finishing).
The workshop goes on for two days and is a combination of text book lecturing and hands' on finishing in the lab (very cool).
We're going to a place called Only Prime... we'll see how I like it.

Charlotte, city of high crime?

There have been several warnings from my new buddies here in Charlotte that crime (break-ins, robberies, etc) has been an increasing concern for the city at large.  My assumption was that since the city has seen growth by the several tens of thousands over the last few years, the crime had increased relative to it's population growth.

Methinkst I was wrong.

http://spotcrime.com/nc/charlotte

Check out this crime link Heidi sent to me (thanks H!).  It's really alarming.  In the last two months, there have been 300 incidents of crime in this city.  Let me give you some perspective...

Minneapolis and Portland had 13 (populations are 400,000 and 530,000, respectively)

Detroit had 21 (pop. 952,000).

San Fran had 48 (pop. 777,000).

Boston had 132 (pop. 590,000).

Other cities that were at around 300: Chicago, New York City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.  And I assure you, Charlotte is no where near the size of those cities (our pop. according to city-data.com, is around 541,000).  Which means, the scale of crime here is... alarming.  And that, my friends, is why I got LoJack installed on my Toyota.  

Have I mentioned that about 75% of the vehicles on the road here are silver?  Why is this?  I chose the color because I knew it would get really hot for several months and wanted to reflect the sun as much as possible... maybe it's all of the midwesterners down here who have a similar tolerate/hate relationship with the heat of the sun in the south.  Better get grateful, or I'll turn into one of those shuffling old ladies with a sun hat, SPF 1000 and long sleeves year-round to avoid the beams.  And I'm simply too fabulous for that!