The Only Time I Was Ever "on Fleek"

Most everyone can probably guess that I am not a fashion forward person. I am not an "early adopter" of runway styles, I hate to spend the money on new clothes and honestly, my mom buys most of what I wear, even at age 29. She enjoys it far more than I do, and between my birthday and Christmas, I manage to sustain a reasonable wardrobe. Today, I got dressed in a flurry, came to work, have been quietly minding my own business, but upon checking "my sites" at lunch, I made a surprising discovery.

Today, I am on fleek. It's indisputable.

Home page of Stitch Fix today:

Home Page of J's Everyday Fashion today:

My outfit today:

 

In a rarely employed technique, I executed a bathroom outfit selfie at work, because I couldn't miss this opportunity to let everyone know that for the first and probably only time in my life, my fashion skills and ability to dress myself in the morning are not only acceptable, but are, in fact, stylish.

Happy Friday to you all, but the happiest Friday award goes to me, your local fashionista.

Have you any big plans this weekend? I'm going to see my favorite, Grace Potter, in concert tonight, and tomorrow I'm looking forward to a quiet day on my own, since Mike will be at the OSU game.

This Lady Pit Hair Thing

More than a year ago, an acquaintance posted a challenge to her female friends: don't shave your pits and send a picture of the damage.

My hair grows slowly, so I let it grow for a month and then shared the photo.

She, along with a bunch of other people on the internet, are making a point that body hair isn't some gross and terrifying thing. They're all correct, but I'm mostly anti-body hair because it's a pain in the neck to remove. Or the Pit, rather.

There are a whole number of reasons to stand with this "movement". I know, there are LOTS of things that are WAY more important, but I'm feeling a little loopy today and want to talk about this Lady Pit Hair Thing.

1. Deodorant Blobs- Grosser than pit hair. Unsightly and glows in black lights. Not that I'm spending tons of time under a black light, but there's almost nothing worse than seeing those blobs when a friend pulls her hair into a ponytail or does her signature "raise the roof" dance move. (Blobs aside, she should really stop doing that move).

2. Sweat- when my pits are bare, they sweat more. I think it's got something to do with my body trying to figure out why they are hairless and to protect my skin with oil, since there's no protective hair-layer.

3. Razor Burn- Those bumps are gross, painful and never-ending. Just...NO.

4. The Man- This is the big point for internet people. Why is body hair gross on women, but acceptable on men? Why must we remove a natural part of our body for the sake of social standards? Why do those standards even exist?

I don't make a habit of taking pit-selfies, but this is what I shared with my friend last year. It's my pit. With hair on it. I also have unusual pits. They're not really pitted, they're sort of...convex.  My mom always asks me if I have bruises on my armpits, but it's just shadows from their outward poking manner.

Not about Ping Pong

Part of me hates blogging, and part of me really enjoys it.

Throughout high school and into college I journaled often, and I love reading back on those entries to remember my personal evolution. Reading about those otherwise forgotten daily activities puts a smile on my face, like a conversation with someone I don't keep in touch with, or the details of a basketball game with friends. It's interesting to see my handwriting from those times. On days when I was suffering a personal injustice at the hand of a parent, my writing is big, scrawling and filled with energy. When the entry simply documents the activities of my day, the writing is neat, and entries are short. You can physically see the change in my style- the way I wrote a Y or an A. I think those differences are indicative of exercising my personal choices and outward expression of how I wanted to be perceived.

It's that daily representation that I really like about blogging. I suppose I can just go back to journaling, but to be honest, it's so much easier to type up my thoughts, especially when I spend so much time in front of my computer. It's much easier to build into my day, rather than pulling out the journal I have right now at the end of the day when I'm tired and all I want to do is rest. The journal I have right now is bright green, with gold gilded paged. I think it's from CVS, and I've had it for years without filling up all the pages. It's good to know that my level of angst doesn't warrant daily entries, but I've lost so many memories by letting it gather dust.

This particular blog post has no particular purpose, except to bring me back to the space. A few exciting things are happening, and Mike suggested that I spend a little time blogging over the next few weeks to put my head in a good space for writing, and writing well.

Month of Music

It's been quick month of marriage and very busy. After dinner at Tucci's, dessert at Jeni's and trip to the movies, I realized that I've been really ingrained in the music scene recently.

The movie last night was Love & Mercy, with Elizabeth Banks, who I love:
An excellent and artistic biopic about Brian Wilson, Beach Boys, with great tributes to his music and musical process, as well as some of the medical and psychological trouble Brian suffered.

Mike saw The Who on May 15:
He said it was good- I have no idea, but I think it's cool that he went.

On May 22nd we saw G. Love & Special Sauce (one of my faves):
This show took me back a few years and left me feeling happily chilled out with great appreciation for G's unique style of jazz + hip hop.

On May 30th we saw the Rolling Stones:
A wedding gift from friends, this concert was probably a once in a lifetime for me, and they really brought the moves and music.

Last weekend I went to Bunbury music festival with my girlfriends and saw Matt & Kim, the Black Keys, 21 pilots, and SNOOOOOOP, among others:
My first music festival was a great success of silliness, dancing and the immense privilege of seeing Mr. Snoop Doggy Dog with friends who know how to drop it like itz hot.

It's the summer music season, with festivals around every corner, taps are flowing, and flower power in every 18 - 26 year old girls hair. I'm hoping to get to a few more shows in the coming warm months.

Anyone I should definitely check out? Anyone you're excited to see?