Brown Betty.

Navajo inspired Sweater (Forever 21 -eek- $9)

1990's Brown Dress (Thrifted, $2)

Brown Tights

Brown Pleather Boots ($26)

Hi!  If you know me, then you know that this is my "it's kind of cold, I don't feel like functioning" outfit.  It's super comfortable, easy, but still looks like I semi-tried.  Yeah, It's kind of a gray day, and not much in the way of enthusiasm (on this end).  Sorry I've been such a lazy bum lately!  Actually, I have been doing a lot, just not in the outfit category. 

Yep, Good Night Noises is doing some shifting- which frees up some mind power...  Which was spent learning power chords on the electric guitar last night!  Okay, so this may sound silly, but I've always played acoustic guitar, and never understood why it was so hard for me to write a fast song.  Yeah.  It's all in the power chords baby.  The universe has opened up and smiled at me today folks-

And, yes, I had always heard of power chords, but never made the connection I guess.

But, man, even after only practicing last night, I already see a MAJOR improvement.  And this development has gotten me even more siked for our new & improved GNN (coming at you soon) & Sadie Hawkins :).  Yes!

Now, look at those boots!  I've been looking for a pair of knee high lace up boots for years.  They are always: too short, too expensive, real leather, etc.  And can you believe it, I actually found these at a local store that just sells cheaply made "fast fashion" clothes.  I couldn't believe they had these!  And for $26, it was a no brainer.  Now I don't ever want to take them off. 

And, whoa, you read it right: this sweater came from Forever 21 last year for something like $9 on clearance.  It's funny- both of these items are things I had been looking for on ebay and in vintage shops for years with no luck. 

On the way back from NYC, I put on the 'Jenny & Johnny' album, and was immediately sucked back into loving it.  I was obsessed when it came out, and I guess I just forgot for a minute?  It's so good.  And, am I the only one that didn't realize that they have been a couple for like 5 years?  How did I miss this?  :)  Here's a link below, but def check out the album.  It grows on you like crazy.. 

ally.

          

Occupy.

Pt. 2

Driving through the Holland Tunnel.  We did decide that it would be the prefect setting for the next NYC Thriller/Catastrophe move...  Muahaha.

Car shots: do these ever really turn out without looking really staged and silly?  Oh well.  :)

And on to Occupy!  As I said yesterday, the first night we slept in the car (in Brooklyn), and woke up at the crack of dawn to get our day started.  After we left the cutest cafe nestled away between brownstones, we set off for the subway.  Okay, I'd never been to Brooklyn before, and honestly never realized how short the subway was from there to Manhattan.  It was only a 10-15 ride (including getting on & off)!  Awesome. 

Zucotti Park (where Occupy Wall St.) is being held was a lot smalled than I imagined, but was packed with people (naturally).  But not so packed that we couldn't walk around and take pictures/talk/see the sights.  The one person that we talked at length with, turned out to be from Cincinnati!  What are the odds?!  He had been there for 2 weeks; and we most definitely got the low down on some questions we had. 

The coolest thing about the protest, is the little city they have set up within the barricades.  Above you will see a small section of the 'kitchen' area.  They had a free food station, a kitchen area, as well as a composting and grey water system.  In addition, there is a library, a kids corner, etc.  So cool!

Some of the organizers demonstrating different hand gestures that can be used if you need to communicate silently (during arrest, etc.).  Basically, it is against the law to use blow horns, so all of the information is communicated through call and answer.  The speaker will say a sentence, then the crowd repeats it. 

Lindsay eating her first NYC Falefal!

"Debt is Slavery"

The 'Comfort Station' consisted of various bins with housed free clothing, shoes, sleeping bags, toiletries, tools, etc.  Basically anything you could need.. for free! 

Since Jimmy & one of his bands were preforming in Manhattan that night, we got to check into his hotel room early (at this point, we were REALLY excited to get to be in a room of ANY kind).  So we headed over to Greenwich Village, to the 'Hotel East Houston'.  It was a great little hotel!  Right across the street from a 'Whole Foods', and countless other cool things to see and do.  After relaxing for a short time, we set out for dinner.

Now, since I'm vegan, the minute I hear I'm going to a new city of any kind, I start researching Vegan restaurants immediately.  So of course, I already had a list of possible choices ready to go :).  I really wanted to go somewhere I'd never been, so the clear winner was 'Sacred Chow'.  Dear god, it was delicious..  They offer "tapas" that you can mix & match, so we got: Orange Blackstrap Seiten, Cornmeal crusted Tofu bites, Root veggie Latke's, & Saag Paneer.  Oh man, if you are ever in NYC, go there.  It was sooooo good.

After that, we found some wine, and took it to the roof garden/sitting area of the hotel :).  Later on, we walked over to the show, and ended our night with a MUCH needed sleep.

One more thing!  I've been reading the 'Babycakes' cookbooks, and guess what?  The bakery was right around the corner!!!  So we woke up, and went over for my first donut in like 3 years.  Yum.  And the owner was there doing a televised interview :).  Good luck :). 

Then we drove the 12 hours home.  What a whirlwind!

Ally.

Reality Bites.

Orange Lipstick

1990's Floral Dress (Friended, $0)

Orange Tights ($8)

Black Velvet Flats (Thrifted, $?)

I'm back from NYC!  Wow, it was a whirlwind of a trip, but totally worth it :).  We left Sunday morning bright & early, and drove the 12 hours with surprising ease (being able to see the Fall forests helped I'm sure).  We arrived in Brooklyn at about 9pm, and decided to sleep in the car...  I know this seems a little silly, but the hostile we lined out turned out to be a hotel that charged $200 a night (bull), so that was pretty much our only option.  Since it was such a last minute trip, we each only had about $150 to spare, so yeah, no hotel options for us.  It turns out, after having that experience, that we HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH BROOKLYN.  It's like Newport x 1,000.  After returning home, we discovered we were in the 'Park Slope' area.  I loved the feeling of the neighborhood, and now dream of moving there :).

That night, we walked around gazing into shop windows, and found a cute little Mediterranean restaurant to get some healthy food, a glass of much needed wine, and people watch.  We were seated next to a first date, which was clearly a blind date, and dear god, it was an uncomfortable one!  But provided some awesome entertainment, haha.  Obviously, sleeping in the car only afforded us about 3-4 hrs of actual sleep, but also made us extremely SLAP HAPPY, so we had a great time :).  In the morning (the buttcrack of dawn), we went to a tiny little cafe to suck down some coffee, and then went on our quest to find a place to brush the teeth/etc.  I didn't think I could feel more sympathy for homeless people until having to spend a night/day dealing with only a fraction of the issues they do.  It was difficult.  But back to the good-

We rode the subway into Manhattan, and descended into Occupy Wall St.  VERY peaceful demonstration.  I cannot emphasize that enough.  It was nothing like I expected.  No reason to be nervous at all.  If you have the opportunity to, go participate.  (More on the protest tomorrow, when I have a myriad of pictures to accompany it).

My friend Lea brought in some more clothes to the shop (thank you!), and this little number was in there.  Love.  It was long, so I hacked off the bottom (kinda wish it looked cuter long, but alas I am too short, and it made me look like a grandma- and not in the good way!).  And I rolled up the ruched end of the sleeves to make it more of a flowy 3/4 length.  It is so comfy & soft; definitely will be worn multiple times this Fall/Winter.  Ahhh, orange tights and orange lipstick.  My kind of day.

Okay, I have to admit, I think I am a little obsessed with Jospeph Gordon Levitt all of a sudden...  What a fantastic actor.  Wow!  I saw 50/50 first, which was absolutely the best "hollywood" movie I've seen in a very long time.  I cried hard, and laughed hard all at the same time.  A beautiful, honest movie.  See it.

Then, last night, after a LONG wait, we watched 'Hesher'.  I knew it was going to be good, but it was AWESOME!!!!!  Damn.  It's at Blockbuster, so go watch it immediately. 

We also watched 'Terri'.  Which again, was a fantastic drama which is focused around an overweight/outcast teen.

Stay tuned for the second half of my NYC trip + tons of Occupy Wall Street pictures!!! 

<3 ally.

Hesher:

50/50:

Terri:

Here I come.

1960's Brocade Outfit ($0, donated by an awesome customer)

1960's Silver Pixie Boot (Ebay, Forever ago, $alot)

Hey, hey, hey, check out the new bangs folks!  I cut them straight across, but didn't have time to make them completely even- so just brushed 'em to the side for the day :).

Yep, I'm 95% sure that we are starting our trek to NYC to participate in Occupy Wall Street Sunday morning.  We plan to spend the night Sunday & Monday, then leave Tuesday morning.  Short but sure to be sweet.  Ahhh!  Can't believe it.  But, right now, my biggest concern is parking the car for two days.  If you are reading this and have any tips, email me at Anaveryisland@aol.com.  We are going to be camping in the square, but obviously aren't opposed to staying in a free home (had to throw that out there!).  It is me and another girl for now- but could be 3 ladies all together. 

I adore this outfit, but alas, not so photogenic after 4 hours of work.  We're having a $10 sale, so we've had some customer flow!  Anywho, do these boots not match perfectly?!  Ha HA!  Love when that happens.  These boots are amazing in person, and have a silver leaf pattern.  Like I said, I purchased them off of Ebay years ago- and although I don't remember how much I paid, I'm know for a fact that they weren't cheap- I fought for them until the last second!  Totally worth it. 

Yep- I'm gonna keep it short today!  People keep coming in, and I hate to be distracted :).  Expect a TON of pictures on Wednesday's post!  Wish me luck & safety. <3

ally.

Take back the Night.

1983 'Take Back the Night' Rally Shirt (Etsy, $9)

How powerful are these pictures?  Thank you to all you women who are strong enough to let their beliefs be known for the betterment of our society.  I wish I could have been there. 

If you haven't already guessed it, I would call myself a feminist 100%, and am confused that there are ladies out there that wouldn't.  But that's a whole other conversation. 

I feel VERY strongly about sexual assault, and the attitude the mass media/mass public hold when it comes to who's at fault.  I think it's hard for people some people (who haven't gone through sexual/physical abuse) to understand capacity to which the victim suffers (mentally).  For the rest of their lives. 

Which, sadly, is usually the reason a lot of things get swept under the rug/not taken as seriously as they should.

Sorry about the break in posts, but the mouse situation has taken on a life of it's own!  We even had to close a day; but it's getting a little better (?).  >I say that sentence to make it come true, haha.<  It's hard to be in the store, let alone take pictures!  That said, I don't think customers are aware when they come in, but we know it's there, so it's hard for us not to notice!

The above picture is one of my absolute favorites that I've seen.  If you're not aware, these were all taken at different 'Slut Walks'.  It originated in Toronto, but have now been popping up around the US, and more recently NYC.  The latter of which was brought on by a police statement warning women about wearing short skirts/shorts at night to avoid being assaulted (this came after several sexual assaults happened in the neighborhood).  Hmm.  Yep, easy way to piss off some women! 

Let's keep with protest speak, shall we?  I've been following the NYC protests from the beginning with equal hope and absolute excitement.  If I wasn't absolutely broke, I would be there in a nanosecond.  Luckily, the Cincinnati branch of this protest starts Saturday, and you better believe, I am there.  I feel pretty strongly about a lot of things facing our society, but the biggest being the hold that billion dollar corporations have on our daily lives.  I have very strong feelings about the sub-sects that they effect- but let's be honest, corporations are the main problem.  Whether it be healthcare, student loans, food, housing, etc. 

I'm so, so, so happy that there is a collective that's rising up and trying to make some changes. 

It's my dream.  And it brings to to tears to my eyes watching people try to make a difference. 

The other night, I went out with friends, but came home feeling a little down..  I jumped on Facebook to answer a customer question, and low and behold, someone had just posted that Jeff Mangum was performing live at the protests!  He was the singer of 'Neutral Milk Hotel' (which was my favorite band the minute I heard it), and he has literally only played like 5 shows (all secret, pop up shows) in the past 15 years.  I caught the last half, and I was so happy to be able to see it!  I never thought I would!  Of course, you can watch the performance below, but seeing it live was super special for me :).  Basically, it made my month/year/life. 

          
 

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