BurdaStyle 118A Cowl Dress Review

Pattern: BurdaStyle 118A Cowl Dress. From the Modern Minimalist Collection. 

After a recent closet purge of clothing I can no longer wear/haven't worn in over a year, I found my wardrobe surprisingly...bare. Which is great since it gives me an excuse to make moar cute clothes!

I used black cotton poplin fabric and a 22" invisible zipper that I purchased from Jo-Anns while they were on sale. I've also made a few minor alterations to the dress pattern - namely scooping the back a bit lower and folding/stitching the cowl part flat to imitate the blouse version from the same collection. I've also added slits to the side seams for ease of movement and to make said dress slightly daring. No errors/flaws were found in the pattern pieces.

The dress fit like a glove upon trying it on and felt absolutely comfortable throughout the entire day. My only complaint was the fabric itself, as it had the tendency to attract lint and pieces of thread like a mofo, but it's nothing that a lint roller can't handle.


I should note that if you purchase patterns from BurdaStyle, you MUST add the seam allowances yourself when re-tracing your size onto tracing paper, as they do not include them in the PDF printouts (unless they specify otherwise).

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Kickboxing, yo

I highly recommend this kickboxing workout from Fitness Blender. I tried it out for the first time today and it wore me out! You may need a yoga mat or something padded to lay on for the ab circuit. If you REALLY wanna go super workout-psycho, add in hand weights.

Note: If you've never done kickboxing before, it's best to do a bit of research on basics of form and technique since this video is fast-paced.

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New year, new resolutions

I apologize for not posting this until now, I meant to have this ready at the beginning of this month. Much of my schedule has been packed with filling in holiday orders, my part-time job on the side, and general holiday festivities. And the latest Dragonborn DLC. That took up much of my free time as well. How has your Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice been?

I won't lie. Much of 2012 consisted of much drama and stress that has left me feeling emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. However, I view life's curveballs as an opportunity to build character and become a stronger individual, so misfortune can bite my cute, well-toned ass. I'm plenty thankful for friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin, as well as new friends that I've made along the way...People who are fellow recovering "sponges" and "doormats." We get each other.

Moving along, I've met most of my goals for 2012, and I'm certainly not beating myself up over crossing off every single one from the list. Shit happens, ya gotta get over it and move on.

1. Fitness: Become ripped like Jillian Michael. Although I'm now about a size 4US, I still think I'm a bit "skinny-fat" when I look at myself nekkid in the mirror. I can see some muscle definition in my legs, butt, and arms, but I definitely need more work done to get rid of the remaining jiggliness in my midsection. Currently doing a mix of beginner/intermediate/advanced moves of Level 2 of Yoga Meltdown, and will eventually do the advanced moves of both levels in a row to get the most out of this dvd. Upon completion of that, I'll try out either her Ripped in 30 or No More Trouble Zones next. And perhaps I should also plunk down some extra monies for a pair of those Bowflex adjustable dumbbells, but well see.

2. Do an overhaul on my art style. Over the previous year, I've been stewing over my illustrations and have come to realization that I'm not satisfied with how they turn out. I feel that I'm getting a tad rusty in my technique, which partly explains the lack of new work as of late. Haven't had much time to curl up with my sketchbook and draw. I think now is a good time as any to experiment with new styles and see which one will "click" with my audience.

3. Sew moar cute outfits for meself! Since I started my part-time office job a few months ago, I've been having trouble finding cute and unique business casual attire that were reasonably priced. Luckily, I have a large collection of patterns I've amassed over the years that have remained in style (and those that weren't only required some minor alterations), as well as acquired several new patterns from Jo-Anns. So far, I've sewn five dresses, two skirts and a tunic, most of which were made from my existing fabric stash. Huzzah for couture clothing on a shoestring budget!

4. Install cherry hardwood flooring in one of the spare bedrooms. SO freaking glad that Lumber Liquidators just recently opened a new location in my area. I can just pick up the flooring in person and not have to pay high shipping costs.

5. Stain concrete floor in art studio.

6. Enjoy life more. Take my first vacation in years.

7. Find happiness...This will require some soul-searching.

That's pretty much it. Again, I'm making promises not to beat myself up over not achieving everything on the list. I'll just have to try harder next year. As for you guys: What are your New Year's resolutions?

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A little bit of motivation to start your Wednesday morning

Image from Eat More 2 Weigh Less

Yup, pretty much. So sack up and GET YER ASS MOVIN'!

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Weight loss update

During my hiatus, I've been sticking to my diet and exercise regimen faithfully. Unfortunately, shortly after my last post prior to said hiatus, my weight plateaued. Over a month later, I gradually packed on an extra seven pounds. I didn't know what was causing the weight gain at the time, but no matter how much I exercised and how careful I was with my diet, the scale wouldn't budge in the right direction.

I almost resigned myself, believing that maybe my body was meant to stay in the mid-140s range. Then one day, while I was perusing My Fitness Pal's forums (lurking as usual), I stumbled upon a few threads with members complaining about weight plateaus. Turns out that before mine started, I wasn't netting enough calories - well below my BMR. The Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of calories you burn if you were to stay in bed all day. That number is the minimum amount of calories you must consume daily in order to survive, otherwise your body goes into "starvation mode" in order to preserve itself. That subsequently leads to the metabolism slowing, thus foiling one's attempt to lose weight.

Going back over a month's worth in entries, I realized that I've been netting less than 1,000 calories a day for, uh, quite a while actually. Oops.

After another month of packing on more calories and netting 1,500-1,800 calories per day (exercise included), I was delighted to see the numbers on my scale finally go down. Granted, the weight loss has been much slower this year compared to last (apparently it's supposed to be a bit more difficult to drop the pounds the thinner you get), but it's still pleasing to find my clothes fit looser these days. Not to mention that I've also been feeling stronger and more healthy. Huzzah!

Below are my measurements as well as my current weight:

5.1.12
Bust: 35" (lose 1")
Waist: 28" (lose 1.5")
Hips: 35.5" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

5.15.12
Bust: 35" (lose 1")
Waist: 27.75" (lose 1.25")
Hips: 35.5" (reached goal)
Thigh: 19.5" (lose .5")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

9.23.12 (weight 131.8 lbs.)
Bust: 34.5" (lose .5")
Waist: 27" (lose 1")
Hips: 35.5" (reached goal)
Thigh: 19" (reached goal)
Arm Cir.: 10.5" (lose .5")
 

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Post-Valentine's Day Post

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day went well. The SO and I agreed that we shouldn't be arsed with getting each other flowers, cards, etc. this time around, so we stayed in all day relaxing. We started the early afternoon (yes, we got to sleep in!) with breakfast in bed of bacon, eggs, and french toast with a bit of honey (my guy took his bread regular toasted).

For dinner, we whipped up some champ w/ sauteed onions and mushroom, and grilled big-ass slabs of steak.

Totally conquered, like a BAWSS.

For dessert, which happened a few hours later due to being too stuffed, I made chocolate-dipped strawberries. They didn't look as presentable as I'd hoped, but they still tasted groin-grabbingly good.

And to cap off the night after a nice massage, a glass of this:


One would think that after omnomming on so much calorie-laden food, an extra couple of pounds would be expected on the scale the following day, but...nope. Lost about .4 lbs and down to my lowest weight so far. :D Go me.

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Weight Loss Progress

I Love You Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake - Eye Exam Chart Print by CJ Prints

For the past few years, I've been making false promises to myself to get my then-fat ass in gear and drop all of my college weight.

Backstory - In 2003, a fresh-faced Pokey arrived in San Francisco for art school, weighing in at 132lbs., and a size 7US juniors. By my last summer semester at AAU in 2007, SF has proven well in it's omnomnomy good eats as I had ballooned up to 210-220lbs. and was squeezing into a size 14-16US in womens. Curse you, SF for your deliciousness.

Got fed up, started out with baby steps by cutting back on the fatty foods, eliminating sodas from my diet. Started taking morning constitutionals in the Pac Heights region and managed to drop several inches total all over by December. Shortly after I graduated, my friends and I had to scramble together for the big move to the east coast, so wound up melting off more pounds from all of the packing, tossing out garbage and simply not eating enough.

Shortly after the great move in '08, I went to the doctor's office for my annual physical during my visit back to my hometown and weighed in at 182lbs. Found out my triglyceride levels were too high so the doc put me on a diet and ordered me to lose at least ten pounds. Fair enough, since I was trying for that anyway. Managed to lose the ten pounds...but that didn't last long.

From then up until March of this year, my weight kept yoyo-ing between 165-175lbs. and I kept hovering at a size 8-10US. I certainly had enough of that bs, so after my bitchfest/breakdown I opened up an account at MyFitnessPal and started calorie counting. Technically, I tried calorie counting before but pretty much half-assed it for a bit before giving it the boot. This time was permanent.

I also ended my gym contract since it didn't help me a whole lot (NOTE: I'm not hatin' on gym memberships, I just think I didn't achieve the best results from mine personally). Picked up a couple of Jillian Michael's dvds at the local Wally World and pushed myself through the circuit training, gradually progressing through each level. It also helped that I didn't have to deal with traffic when I used to go to said gym.

Combined with (mostly) healthy eating and cooking at home more often, I was pleasantly surprised to find my weight dropping and my clothes fitting looser. Of course, this was all over the course of several months, so it was gradual yet steady, losing an average of 4-5lbs. per month. Currently I'm at 146.8 and have lost 26lbs. (huzzah!). My clothing sizes are about 4-6US misses depending on brand and 5-7 juniors (also depending on brand). Still have a little more than 20lbs. to lose, but I know I can do it!

With that in mind, back in my SF days, I was discussing weight loss with a friend of mine and how I wanted to return to my former athletic high school physique. He responded with, "We rarely return to our glory days." True, but I still thought, 'Oh yeah? I'll fucking show ya.'

For those who are also trying to get into shape, a great method of motivation would be to buy a pair of jeans, a bikini, or whatever article of clothing fits your fancy in your goal size (or the next size down from your current) and hang it up on the wall in front of your bed. My mom suggested this to me a while back and it's been working fairly well as of late.

Also, get rid of your clothes as soon as they become too loose fitting for you. The purpose of this part is to discourage oneself from overeating and to assure that you won't need to revert back to your larger clothes again. And hey, if said bigger clothes are in decent condition, there are some thrift stores like Plato's Closet where you can turn them in for a bit of cash. Plus, there's also Ebay.

For those interested, I've kept a fitness log to track my measurements. Sorry if the calculations are a bit off, I had to readjust my new goal measurements and may have screwed up some of the numbers by accident.

OLD MEASUREMENTS (Summer '07):
Bust: 44" (lose 10")
Waist: 36" (lose 9")
Hips: 43" (lose 7")
Thigh: 25" (lose 6")
Upper Arm Cir.: 14" (lose 4")

12.3.07
Bust: 42" (lose 8")
Waist: 34" (lose 7")
Hips: 42" (lose 6")
Thigh: 23.75" (lose 4.75")
Arm Cir.: 13.25" (lose 3.25")

1.7.08
Bust: 40.5" (lose 6.5")
Waist: 34" (lose 7")
Hips: 41" (lose 5")
Thigh: 23.5" (lose 4.5")
Arm Cir.: 12.75" (lose 2.75")

02.21.08
Bust: 40" (lose 6")
Waist: 34" (lose 7")
Hips: 40.5" (lose 4.5")
Arm Cir: 12" (lose 2")

3.31.08
Bust: 39.5 (lose 5.5")
Waist: 33.5" (lose 6.5")
Hips: 40" (lose 4")
Thigh: 22" (lose 3")
Arm Cir: 11.5" lose 1.5"

4.29.08
Bust: 39" (lose 5")
Waist: 33" (lose 6")
Hips: 39" (lose 3")
Thigh: 22" (lose 3")
Arm Cir: 11.5" (lose 1.5")

5.21.08
Bust: 38" (lose 4")
Waist: 31.5" (lose 4.5")
Hips: 38" (Lose 2")

10.9.08
Bust: 37" (lose 3")
Waist: 31.5" (lose 4.5")
Hips: 38" (Lose 2")

(Notice the huge time gap between these entries. I was like, "fuck it!" and gave up measuring for a while, only relying on the scale.)

3.9.11
Bust: 37" (lose 3")
Waist: 32" (lose 5") :(
Hips: 38" (lose 2")
Thigh: 22" (lose 3")
Arm Cir.: 12" (lose 2") :(

3.23.11
Bust: 37" (lose 3")
Waist: 31.5" (lose 4.5")
Hips: 37.5" (lose 1.5")
Thigh: 21" (lose 2")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

4.26.11
Bust: 36.5" (lose 2.5")
Waist: 31" (lose 4")
Hips: 37" (lose 1")
Thigh: 21" (lose 2")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

8.4.11
Bust: 36" (lose 2")
Waist: 30" (lose 3")
Hips: 35.5" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

8.19.11
Bust: 35.5" (lose 1.5")
Waist: 29.5" (lose 2.5")
Hips: 35" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

9.15.11
Bust: 35" (lose 1")
Waist: 29.5" (lose 2.5")
Hips: 35" (reached goal)
Thigh: 20" (lose 1")
Arm Cir.: 11" (lose 1")

GOAL MEASUREMENTS BY 06.03.12:
Bust: 34"
Waist: 27"
Hips: 36"
Thigh: 19"
Arm Cir.: 10"

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New items and other ramblings

"Misty Ruins" 8x8" Print


Oiran Loose Crew Summer T-Shirt - Sizes XS/S/M (unisex fit)


Sakura Organic T-Shirt - Sizes S/M/L


Yellow Hibiscus Kanzashi

I apologize for my sporadic posts over the past few months - I've been mostly busy with tax season, organizing my house and dealing with personal issues. Lately, I've been catching up on backed up custom orders, attempting to draft up new designs for art prints and t-shirts to send out to various boutiques and galleries.

Oh yeah, I also saved up enough pennies to buy a shiny new screen printing press! I'm still awaiting for it to arrive in the mail, but...no more crappy homemade press and foam boards for me! The metal clamps I used are still in excellent condition and are only a few years old, so I'll be listing those on Ebay relatively soon.

On a more personal note, my weight loss progress has been swell. During the last three months of my gym membership, I put in a whole ton of extra effort and the weight started to melt off. Upon the ending of my membership (beginning of this month), I picked up a copy of Jillian's 30 Day Shred dvd. I've been alternating between levels 1 and 2, and so far the workouts have been kicking my ass. I don't necessarily do the workouts every single day...more like 4 to 5 times a week, with a "rest" day in between 2 to 5 workouts. Even on said "rest" days, I normally do some low to medium-impact yoga or cleaning. Based on the workouts from the last months of my gym membership and the Shred dvd, I've dropped about ten pounds and a couple of dress sizes (now about a size 6US). Yay!

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