DIY Summer: High Waisted Bikini

So.... I'm really into high waisted shorts and bathing suits right now. 

Norma Jean

Well, I'm a chub. We all know this. Therefore, finding a suitable bathing suit (haha, suitable suit) is a nightmare. I have a very lovely bikini top that holds the girls in just fine (Yes, I did). But, have you ever noticed how bikini bottoms tend to create/enhance the whole muffin-top effect? Yeah. They're super tight so that they don't fall down when you dive into the pool. (Happened to me. Not once, but twice. First time the bottoms; second time, I jumped feet first and my top decided not to go down with me). Not so good. Therefore, I have accepted a self-proposed challenge to make my own high-waisted bikini bottoms. I've found numerous different methods, and I'm willing to try 'em all if I have to. Because I'm not going to miss out on any more summer fun just because I'm self-conscious of my tum tum.

Here are the most helpful ideas I've found:

1. Use an existing pattern and make my own (from One Avian Daemon)

2. Create your own pattern by cutting up one of your old bikini bottoms (from Bowlers and Buttons)

3. Alter a one-piece (from Burda Style)

So just curious, to all the dudes, how do you feel about the high-waist bikini comeback?

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Mix Tape Monday: Teenage Dirtbag

Feeling a little nostalgic. I loved this movie in like 8th or 9th grade.

I'm a sucker for an underdog. But really, who would wear that hat in New York?

 This guy's voice is already so high that when he sings like a girl it's pretty believable. Another of my favorite songs from this album - yes, I bought this album (a CD, remember those?!?) - is Hump 'Em and Dump 'Em. I'm sad to say that at the ripe old age of 13, I had no idea what that meant. I was a naive. Also, "Love is a Mutt From Hell" is particularly profound. Key lyrics - "He takes advantage of me/He even knows when I pee."



"Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus
Her name is Noelle
I have a dream about her
She rings my bell
I got gym class in half an hour
Oh how she rocks
In Keds and tube socks
But she doesn't know who I am
And she doesn't give a damn about me

Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Yeah I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Listen to Iron Maiden baby... with me
Ooohoooooo

Her boyfriend's a dick
He brings a gun to school
And he'd simply kick
My ass if he knew the truth
He lives on my block
And He drives an IROC
But he doesn't know who I am
And he doesn't give a damn about me...

Cause i'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Yeah i'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Listen to Iron Maiden baby with me
Ooohoooooo

Oh yeah, dirtbag
No, she doesn't know what she's missing.
Oh yeah, dirtbag
No, she doesn't know what she's missing.

Man I feel like mold
It's prom night and I am lonely.
Lo and behold
She's walking over to me.
This must be fake
My lip starts to shake
How does she know who I am?
And why does she give a damn about me?

(and she said)

I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby
Come with me Friday - don't say maybe.
I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby
Like you
Ooohoo Hoo Hooooooo

Oh yeah, dirtbag
No, she doesn't know what she's missing.
Oh yeah, dirtbag
No, she doesn't know what she's missing...
YYYYEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH

Frank Turner Friday: Sons of Liberty

I love me some celtic sounds, especially when they're mixed with rock/folk music. Dang. Here's the song, listen to it because it has the violin. The video is great because Frank is just an amazing, fun performer, and he plays the violin solo exceptionally on the guitar, but I still prefer the violin in the studio version. Check it.

The studio version:


And the live version:


"Sons of Liberty" - Frank Turner
Once an honest man could go from sunrise to its set
Without encountering agents of his state or government
But a sorry cloud of tyranny has fallen across the land
Brought on by hollow men, who did not understand
That for centuries our forefather have fought and often died
To keep themselves unto themselves, to fight the rising tide
And that if in the smallest battles we surrender to the state
We enter in a darkness whence we never shall escape

When they raise their hands up our lives to possess
To know our souls, to drag us down, we'll resist.

Watt Tyler led the people in 1381
To meet the king at Smithfield and issue this demand:
That Winchester's should be the only law across the land
The law of old King Alfred's time, of free and honest men.
Because the people then they understood what we have since forgot:
That a government will only work for its own benefit
And I'd rather stand up naked against the elements alone
Than give the hollow men the right to enter in my home

When they raise their hands up our lives to possess
To know our souls, to drag us down, we'll resist.

Stand up Sons of Liberty and fight for what you own
Stand up Sons of Liberty and fight, fight for for your homes.

So if ever a man should ask you for your business or your name
Tell him to go and fuck himself, tell his friends to do the same.
Because a man who'd trade his liberty for a safe and dreamless sleep
Doesn't deserve the both of them, and neither shall he keep.

Because it's Wednesday

Wednesday is seriously my longest day. And today is possibly the worst, because the semester is wrapping up and I have about 6 huge things due in the span of the next 6 days. But you know what makes Wednesdays a little better? Flight of the Conchords, that's what.

Key quotes:
"Then you sort out the recycling
That isn't part of the foreplay process but it's still very important"

"Tripping sensuously over my pants" (in this version we get the "sexy dance")

"You know when I'm down to my socks it's time for business
that's why they're called business socks, ooh"



If you want a dramatized version, just be aware there might be some nudity: http://youtu.be/AqZcYPEszN8

Mix Tape Monday: Especially Me

By Low.
Because they're great.



"Especially Me" by Low
Cry me a river
So I can float over to you
The bearer to deliver the news
I'm over the moon
And underfoot
All these elixirs would be moot

'Cause if we knew where we belong
There'd be no doubt where we're from
But as it stands, we don't have a clue
Especially me and probably you

You've fallen in a slumber
Just wake one more time
To miss or put asunder
Would be a crime
Some songs feel like butter
Some songs sound like cake
This little number is for your sake

'Cause if we knew where we belong
There'd be no doubt where we're from
But as it stands, we don't have a clue
Especially me and probably you

'Cause if we knew where we belong
There'd be no doubt where we're from
But as it stands, we all need the truth
Especially me and probably you
Definitely you

Frank Turner Friday: Reasons Not To Be An Idiot

It's been a while since I've dazzled you with Frank Turner tunes. So today you get a fun one. With a silly video. Enjoy.

Reasons Not To Be An Idiot by Frank Turner

You're not as messed up as you think you are
Your self-absorption makes you messier
Just settle down and you will feel a whole lot better
Deep down you're just like everybody else 

She's not as pretty as she thinks she is
Just picture her after she's had kids
I bet she sits at home and listens to The Smiths
Deep down she's just like everybody else

So why are you sat at home?
You're not designed to be alone
You just got used to saying "no"
So get up and get down and get outside
Cause it's a lovely sunny day
But you hide yourself away
You've only got yourself to blame
Get up and get down and get outside

He's not as clever as he likes to think
He's just ambitious with his arguing
He's crap at dancing, yeah and he can't hold his drink
Deep down he's just like everybody else

I'm not as awesome as this song makes out
I'm angry, underweight and sketching out
I'm building bonfires on my vanities and doubts
To get warm just like everybody else

So why are you sat at home?
You're not designed to be alone
You just got used to saying "no"
So get up and get down and get outside
Cause it's a lovely sunny day
But you hide yourself away
You've only got yourself to blame
Get up and get down and get outside

Amy thinks that life is lacking in drama
So she fell for horoscopes, faith-healing and karma
She's so wrapped up in her invisible armor
She'll never grow into herself
And it's OK thinking me and all my friends are just wasters
But saying that I can still see through her heirs and graces
I bet she's scared her life won't leave any traces
Caught up like everyone else

That's not the point anyway
Oh darling, I felt compelled to call you up to say
So why are you sat at home?
You're not designed to be alone
You just got used to saying "no"
So get up and get down and get outside
Cause it's a lovely sunny day
But you hide yourself away
You've only got yourself to blame

Get up and get down and get outside
Get up and get down and get outside
Get up and get down and get outside
Get up and get down and get outside
Get up and get down and get outside
Get up and get down and get outside

Mix Tape Monday: Little Boxes

My friend Jess sent me this vid last week and I've had it stuck in my head ever since. You may have already seen this band's cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," but I think this one is so much more interesting.

 Reasons I love it:
1. Their voices (but especially Gianni's - in red)
2. Gianni's hair, duh.
3. The production design (fabulous)
4. The fact that they pop up randomly, reminding me of the wedding scene in Love, Actually
5. The instruments are made out of random items (like the beautiful cigar box guitars), which is reminiscent of jug bands (when people during the Depression would make instruments out of anything they could find for entertainment)
6. Every single person in this large-ish band shows legit musical ability (just think about it: the different sized tubes? Incredible.)
7. Every time I watch it I notice something new: like the most recent time when I realized Gianni's slide is a toilet paper roll
8. Malvina Reynolds wrote this song in 1962 and it's still relevant, today

 So, I hope you enjoy Walk of the Earth's rendition of "Little Boxes" as much as I do. Also, there's a "Making Of..." video posted after the lyrics. Check it out, if you want be cool.



"Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds/Walk Off the Earth
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same 

There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same 

And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same 

And there’s doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same 

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school 

And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same 

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same 

There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same