to dress more like Rainbow Brite

A few days ago, I talked with some friends about what were our favorite TV series when we were younger. Mine are easy: Rainbow Brite and Jem and the Holograms. I haven't thought about any of them in a long while, but now they they were there, I suddenly felt an urge to see them again. I had to struggle a little to get to see them already as a child: they aired on channels we didn't have, so I watched them at friends' places and such. I had the first episodes of Jem and the Holograms on video, and watched them over and over (I still know many of the songs by heart).

But that tape is long since gone, so I've had to turn to YouTube. I haven't had much time to see it, but the little I've seen (of Rainbow Brite so far, since the memory of that is so much more distant) is making me childishly happy and giddy.

And I can't help but thinking; Rainbow Brite is about a little girl who wants to give more and brighter colors to the world, and Jem and the Holograms about a girl who wants to sing and make music. Dang it did I choose my path that early?! :)

So well, I decided to try and dress more like Rainbow Brite. Not just "today I'm wearing two shades of red and some blue", more like ... "today I'm wearing green, yellow, blue, red, white, brown and some pink". My wardrobe is full of color, this shouldn't be too difficult. I love color too much not to wear it every day! The photo below is from yesterday, Johan took it as we were walking to church.



+ scarf: åhléns
+ green jacket: vila
+ red jacket: ginatricot
+ mittens: gift from my mother
+ dress: h&m
+ bag: made from an IKEA fabric
+ pants: topshop
+ socks: knitted by my mother
+ shoes: cheapo

In the first episode, Rainbow Brite says her quest is to bring color and happiness to the world. Well, so is mine. :)

Oh, dear! I completely forgot that I've promised to tell you how the buy nothing month went. And that's almost two months ago. Well, here goes: It was PERFECT, completely wonderful!

It was so liberating. I felt very strong, as though nothing would affect me - neither trends nor sales signs (I don't know about you, but sales signs often make me feel exactly what they want me to feel - that I have to buy lots of stuff right now or else it will be too late (too late meaning, I will be un-trendy and ugly and people won't want to be with me)). I felt that it saved me time, too. Instead of thinking "I need new shoes - when do I have time to try and find a pair that I want?", it was just "do I really need new shoes or do I just think so because capitalism wants me to buy more?".

There were some difficult situations, of course, like when Maria and I wanted to share a pint of Ben & Jerry's for dessert after eating dinner at my place, and wanted to go and buy it, but I couldn't - so she had to buy it. Which was not what I intended when coming up with the buy nothing month rules. We both wanted the ice cream, and we both ate it, so I may as well have paid for it now that it actually ended up being bought anyway.

As for clothes, paper and other stuff that I usuallt buy, it was all easy and good. I just used what I already had and was completely happy with that. It was so good!

Then, of course, during the last week, something did affect me ... my sugar addiction. Everything was so stressful in September (as you may have understood if you've read here) and I needed sugar to cope. I didn't manage to resist it, in the end. So, the thing that I needed first, was candy. Doesn't it sound ridiculous? I'm trying not to be ashamed of it, but it's not easy.

Which, of course, made it quite obvious what will be the natural step after this: candy-free month. Because I don't want to be addicted to sugar - at least not as much as I am now. It's not so much for health reasons (I am growing quite fond of my belly the way it is, these days) as for the whole addiction thing. Today I was getting a headache, and then bought a Twix, and when I had finished it the headache was gone! I had no idea it worked like that. Can one get headache from (imaginead) lack of sugar? If so, I need to end this immediately.

But since it is an addiction, it won't be easy ... Trust me, I've tried to quit eating candy several times. It has lasted for about two weeks ... So I'm not sure as of what to do with this, yet. I'm thinking a whole month is too much to start with - if I fail (and I think I will) I'll ony feel lousy. Shouldn't you always put up goals that seem reasonable and reachable?

So. The buy nothing month will be back, definitely. Not December - I am not ready for that kind of challenge yet, but maybe January or February, we'll see. As for sugar, I'll try to cut down on it, but that will need some great deal of character. Wish me luck!

That would be me! Totally no make up!

The Suburban Queen, one of my inspiration sources when it comes to clothing and general colorfulness (gosh if only I did the thrifting bit as well as she does!), wrote a post on make up and the (lack of) use thereof. One paragraph in particular was so good that I may as well quote it, here goes:

"What I am quite anti is the rhetoric of "taking care of yourself". Making it sound like it's dirty or unhealthy not to do these products. Unless you have a medical skin condition, you won't need a fancy creme to "take care of yourself". And that's not what you're paying for, either. About 40% of the price of more lux beauty products is pure air - it's the cost of the image. Furthermore, you most certainly don't have to cover up your face in order to "take care of yourself"! That thought gives me the creeps. If and when you want to take care of yourself, please take a second to think about what you need, not what needs are created for you. I hope this doesn't sound too patronizing, but it's not a small scale issue. The beauty ideals are a huge deal. Cosmetics is a huge industry."

I couldn't agree more! As for myself, I still have acne, and I would probably look better (whatever that means? And why do I/ we think it's "better"?) with make up. But I haven't used make up since I was about fifteen, for feminist reasons (apart from stage make up, of course). This weekend, though, Hanna asked if I'd let her curl my eyelashes. I said yes (even though I find it quite uncomfortable to have a metal thing that close to my eyes, and still keep them open). The difference was huge! I looked like someone else - and, it feels odd to say it, but - I looked like someone prettier ...

And I think it would be interesting to know how it's done, the whole make up deal. Because I don't. Girls and women - and some, but few, men - get years of everyday practice while growing up, and maybe that's what it takes to get all that in order. Since I missed out on that, I just don't know how to do it (stage make up is completely different from everyday make up; it is, of course, much less subtile, much more of everything, much less complicated, you just have to think about what lighting there will be on the stage).

Thing is, I think I might like doing it. It looks rather fun to me. What I don't like is when people can't leave their house without make up - I know too many of those. I wouldn't want to end up there. I don't need lots of time to get ready, and I like it that way.

However. I won't reach a conclusion to this whole thing tonight, it's way past bedtime. I think I'll let Hanna take me out on a make up shopping tour, and then teach me how it's done, and then I can choose whether it suits me or not. I don't have all my personal "rules", as people like to call them, just for the sake of having them, or because someone tells me to. I can change them whenever I want to.

I'm rather picky about jewellry, too. (If it's not round flat earrings, because if it is I'll take the lot! :)) If I'm supposed to wear something "extra", something "more" than just clothes (as in, something that takes more than two seconds to pick and put on) I want it to really be something extra; I want it to be something special, noticeable. Preferrably I want it to mean something (which is rarely achievable to a reasonable price, but well). Actually that might sum up how I feel about make up, as well ... I wouldn't mind using make up now and then, just for fun. But I like to keep it simple, natural if you will. And anything that takes more than two seconds in the morning is not simple :)

However, if anyone feels like giving me a late birthday gift (or any kind of gift really), I'm still in love with these earrings. They are just AMAZING and would suit me perfectly (even though not even 10% of my friends would understand just how funny they are). I'm liking this heart too. Just so you know :)