2nd Annual Rochester Tweed Ride

Hello folks! Some of you may know that the husband is heavily entrenched in bikery. He cycles to and from work every day, rain, snow or shine. He grumbles loudly about having to use the car, for any reason. He has three bikes and uses them for different things. He fixed my (awesome) 1980's mint green Schwinn Traveler up and added pink grip tape and pink break lines. It's probably the best looking bike, ever.

We sort of helped plan the Rochester Tweed Ride last year. The first one. We were only involved a little bit and I didn't even ride. Though, I did dress in garb. There were roughly 40 people who participated to various degrees last year.

This year we helped out a lot more, we able to get a lot more local sponsors and things turned out pretty well. Please don't read that as me taking credit for that. There were a lot of very dedicated and creative people helping!! 60 people joined us with about 45 riding. We were so pleased with the turn out!

Here is a picture of the Belles!


Nope, he doesn't wear glasses. No lenses. Fake. Everyone loved them.


Check out that Fantastic Mr. Scarf! My friend Ann made him for me. Let me tell you, that is one warm fox scarf! I was so glad to have him. His name is Edison. Say howdee do.

I'd like to say more about the whole thing, but I've already written it up over at the blog: Rochester Tweed Ride. Mosey on over and take a peep and get inspired to ride with us next year! Might I also suggest you head over to Philipson Photography and like it to gain access to a myriad of amazing pics?

OK, but just no looking at my ass too much. Because I see now that the knickers weren't a fantastic idea. Hindsight (no pun intended) is 20/20. Skirt for me next year, it is! But do catch a peek at my bike, because it's gorgeous!

The Usless Card

It's no secret. By now you should know. I frequent thrift stores. I love them. I love the variety, items that have a history, the way it's like treasure hunting, the prices, I mean, there is a lot to love. Henrietta is thrift store Mecca. There are tons of them there, ripe for the picking.

The first time I ventured into Savers it was the day before one of their major sales. When we went through the check out we were offered a pamphlet letting us know about the Savers Club Card. This card was free and would allow us to get major sales the day before the sale. There is nothing quite like a pre-sale to whet the appetite of a great sale-er.

All you do is sign up on the website! I greedily took the pamphlet and read it over, twice. Special coupons, deals on your birthday, random sales for card holders only, plus the pre-sale sales! I felt like Ralphie salivating over his Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring. All I had to do was sign up!

So...off to their website I went. I'd signed up for other cards online. Panera Bread and Subway. These cards racked up points with each of your purchases, giving you FREE items! I'd just like to state for the record that the Panera card is one of the best card programs I've ever been in. I swear, I get a free item just about every other visit. And it's not cheap stuff either. It's good stuff. For free.

OK, so, I've got my pamphlet, I'm on the website. I sign up and then...am asked to print out a confirmation to be brought back into the store where they will then issue me a card. Mmmmkay. See, here's the thing. This is no longer convenient. In fact, it's starting to smack of stupidity. With the other cards I've signed up for they issue the card in the store. They have them right out for anyone to grab. Then you go to a website, register said card and BAM! You're in business.

So, now we have to get the pamphlet, go to the website, sign up, print a confirmation, bring it back in to the store, get a card and then bam? OK, fine. But this is the most bass-ackwards way of doing this that I've ever heard of. If this was for a regular store I'd ask them to bend over so that I could dispose of their paper confirmation the proper way.

After pressing print, nothing happened. This confused me. I pressed the back button to try again. It told me I had already printed a confirmation and couldn't do it more than once. This infuriated me. Let stupid Savers keep their stupid confirmation, their card and their stupid system, I thought. And I forgot about the card.

Until I started receiving their emails. Because I had signed up, you see. So I got to see all the promotions I could have been getting if their stupid card system would only work. That's pretty annoying in case you didn't guess. So I wrote to them describing my problem and trying (probably not very well) to hide my deep and growing resentment and frustration. After THREE email exchanges I learned that the confirmation will not print from browsers such as Chrome or Firefox. You pretty much are forced to use Explorer. (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little) Why this known problem wasn't mentioned on their sign up site is beyond my ability to imagine.

So, finally I got my printed paper confirmation (what is this, 1982?) and I took it with me to the pre-Veterans day sale. And I was issued my card, which inexplicably has a bar code on it. It was never scanned once. Not when it was issued and not when it was used. I just try not to think about it. I was also issued a paper coupon. What the crap good is having a card if you don't actually DO anything with the card?? I ask you?? I can't think about that. It will just send me in mad mind circles. I just have to concentrate on the fact that I got 50% off ALL of the items (except books) that I bought. Here they are. Just let the deals flow over your mind and wash away all the angst you've undoubtedly accumulated reading the beginning of this post. There weren't even any pictures in it. (Nobody wants to see bloody eyeballs, and brains exploding with inconceivable inefficiency, ok?)

Black (More of a really dark gray if you want my opinion. And I know you do) cardigan:
$3 with sale.


Green argyle sweater: $1.50 with sale


Blue dress: $4.00 with sale.

It's missing a button, but when I tried it on the button hits right about nipple level. That's never nice. So, I'm going to pick two fabulous buttons from my vintage stash and move them up to the lapels. I also think this dress is very Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer. What? You haven't seen that movie? STOP what you are doing RIGHT NOW and go watch it. That is not a request, people!! I'll wait....I'm glad you're back. You loved it, didn't you? You're adding it to your Christmas list, aren't you? Yeah, I thought so. I know, Joe is so cute, isn't he? I mean, that's why he's my boyfriend, after all. Come on with those freaking dimples, right?
So...what were we talking about?


I call this one the confetti dress. Even though it's not really. $5 with the sale. It had the original tags on it and hasn't ever been worn. Score. It is also a sun dress that was not made for someone with A cups. That almost never happens. I can't wait to wear it!
Check out the close up:



White dress with black polka dots: $4 with the sale.
Ridiculously adorable. I can't wait to wear it! I can probably just wear it tomorrow since it's been averaging about 60 degrees this November. We've broken the planet. That's it. They'll have to revoke that whole "no white after labor day" rule, because when it's a million degrees in November, why bother?

Oh, p.s. ... if you want to get any other coupons or deals from your "card" you have to print those out too. So really, the card is sort of like nipples on a man. They are there, for looks, apparently but they don't DO anything.

Oh, I can't leave you with that imagery. Quick, look at the buttons from the last dress. They're anchors. Cute, eh?

An Impasse

Of course, you all know that I start decorating for Christmas on November 1st. Down come the fall decorations and up go the Christmas. Or rather, down come the fall decorations, out of the fall bins come the regular decorations, in go the fall decorations, out come the Christmas decorations and in go the regular decorations. This is a long process. This takes many hours. The house is a wreck for days. (weeks?) It's like a precisely choreographed dance number. I'm the prima ballerina, spinning in a pink tulle tutu, full of magic and glitter. Making it all work. Bringing the pizazz.

Usually I keep my cool and pump the whole thing out in a weekend. Sure, my legs are tired afterward and I need new toe shoes, but this is what I've been practicing the whole year through for! This is the big show! However, this year things kind of got...out of hand. I had a lot going on and didn't have the time to put my nose to the grindstone. I did have time to make a huge mess and leave it for days on end. I did have the time to sit listlessly staring at aforementioned mess and wondering, "what?"..."how?"... Suddenly the ballerina is stumbling blindly down an alleyway in a drunken stupor, one pink shoe dragging behind her, a sparkling tiara askance on her curls, pink tutu covered in debris as she tearily insists, "Hey, you're the best, you know? I mean, you're really the guy." to a bum in a cardboard box.


When you are sitting in rooms strewn with paper amid rubber tubs half full of holiday decor, half of broken dreams, unable to move forward, unable to move back, you've come to a certain spot in your life. This my friends, is called an impasse. It happens when you lose control. When your collections start to dictate your every move and you can't quite recall who you really are or what you are doing. When you just keep thinking, "My god there is a lot of stuff here. I'm not even sure I could make my way to the bathroom though all of this mess, should I have need. How did this happen? Where am I, anyway?" You look in the mirror at your dirty pink tutu and fear you've gone 'round the bend.


When this happens you can no longer help yourself. Outside forces must act upon you to snap you back to the reality at hand. This, I am thankful to say, happened for me. It came in the form of my saintly husband stubbing his toe on the third plastic tote that I had crammed into the limited walking space in the dining room.

As he howled, trying not to curse my name, Christmas, the Grinch and Charlie Brown, jumping up and down on one foot, I snapped to. Back to reality. "You're a ballerina, damn it, now dance!!"

Cuts had to be made. I only have x amount of space in this small house and y amount of decor is not going to fit into it. You do the math. (Because math and I split up in 9th grade and I don't like talking to him.)

Culling the collection is never an easy job for me. I like my stuff. Especially my holiday stuff. Every tiny little bauble. Even though it wracked me with guilt, cull I did. Six things. Six. Holy crap. I think that bum stole my tiara!

Sunday...At The Dome Arena...!

OK, so it was Saturday morning, but still. The Dome Arena has a nice ring to it, you have to admit. When I was a kid they would hold monster truck rallies and WWF matches there. (Dude, when I was little it was called the WWF and I refuse to call it the WWE or whatever it's supposed to be now. Long live Jake the Snake Roberts.) Now Roc City Roller Derby is held there. Hell yeah.

$2 to get in at 8:00 am. I'm guessing that right now you think there is something wrong with my brain. Waking up at 8:00 am and paying to get in to what amounts to a big yard sale. You're right. There IS something wrong with me. I'm a freaking genius.

I was working on a very limited time table of two and a half hours. This place was packed. I didn't end up getting that much, but my heart goes pitter pat whenever I step into a place that large packed with so much junk.

Check it:

The orange boots were the first thing I got. Right after stepping foot into the front door, paying my fee and getting my hand stamped with blue ballet shoes. (?) $1 for the pair. The purse is from the Gap. $5. The lady who was selling it had other great purses and a myriad of hand made hair do-dads. She calls her business "My Best Friend's Closet", which I think is adorable. The purse is in immaculate condition and I can't wait until summer so that I can carry it around.

I also bought a few things to re-sell on my Etsy page, of course.

Then there are these guys:

Lilah wanted the nun for $2. I'm going to put it in her Christmas stocking. This little sister will end up playing French music for a grouping of other nuns at my mom's house. She only has one poor, lonely friar, though. The Santy mug is for a buddy of mine. Looks like ol' Santy has a drinking problem with that nose of his. Stop spiking the eggnog that you leave out with the cookies, will ya? It's not easy driving a sleigh with 9 reindeer, especially when you are blowing a .08%


Speaking of blood alcohol levels...this set is also for Lilah. I mean, could there BE a cuter bar set? No. The answer is no. I'll save you the hassle of thinking for yourself. Check out those tiny top hats!

I wish I'd have gotten more of a chance to re-look around the place several more times. I would have made a run to the ATM and bought a bunch more stuff, maybe. But I console myself with the knowledge that it's happening again in January. It will be sub zero here then and nice and snowy. I'll be in need of a good hit. Get the tourniquet ready.