this little life of mine

A green tea martini made with Grey Goose vodka. Yummy!

IGIGI photoshoot at Weetacon, with our very talented photographer Wendy Bix.  Hey! Don't forget to leave a comment on ALL the IGIGI reviews (including mine!) for a chance to win! You've only got a day and a half left!! Here's how it works:

Go to the IGIGI website and pick out your ideal dress for a special occasion, important business meeting, date night or what have you. Then leave a comment on this review, telling us which garment YOU want and where you plan on wearing it. You can increase your chances of winning an IGIGI gift certificate by leaving comments on each of the other Weetacon IGIGI reviews at this page. Comments must be received by April 20 at midnight PST. Winners will be notified and announced on this page and the IGIGI at Weetacon 2014 page by April 25th. 

When I travel, I don't usually bother to unpack, let alone hang stuff up, but this past Weetacon, I had a massive OCD attack and was compelled to organize my weekend's wardrobe.

Jamberry Nail Wraps are a fun and easy way to decorate your nails without using nail polish or polish remover, plus there's no drying time!

This year's IGIGI fashion event at Weetacon was simply amazing! For the past several years IGIGI has provided some of us with one garment of our choice off the website to model at the Weetacon IGIGI Fashion Show. It's a really fun event, and we get to keep the item provided to us in exchange for posting photos of ourselves wearing the garment, as well as our honest review of it. This year, IGIGI upped the ante and gave us not one but TWO items to wear and review! Also this year, we did things a bit differently: instead of having one big fashion show, we wore our garments during several key points during the weekend, and had a couple really fun fashion shoots! Photos were posted to Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets using the tags #IGIGIWeetacon,  #IGIGIbyYuliaRaquel and #IGIGI. 

 Okay, enough introduction, on to the reviews, but ... first things first: 

DISCLAIMER:  Both dresses discussed in this entry were provided to me for review purposes by IGIGI. The content of this entry was not dictated by IGIGI and  I get to keep the dresses for my personal use.

The first dress I wore was the Isadora. I loved this dress the moment I saw it on the IGIGI.com website and I was thrilled it would be one of the two dresses I would get to model. The Isadora is just as lovely in person as it is online, and it fit me pretty well. I got it in size 14/16, as I'm usually a size 14 or XL on top and size 18 on the bottom (a Triangle according to the website). The stretchy jersey fabric on the top made it easy to get on and off, and it packs wonderfully! Very little pressing required. It was a little big in the bust, but fit my larger arms perfectly. The full chiffon skirt is very flattering on me; I liked that it was a bit longer than most dresses - about calf-length -  since I'm not very comfortable showing off my legs, and it's lined, so I didn't need a slip. The bright red rose pattern is very pretty, and was one of the selling points for me. The Isadora dress has a fairly deep V-neckline, and when I wear it to work I will add a lace chemise under it, but the evening I wore it out to the Black and Tan, I decided not to be so modest. The neckline has some added elastic in it (Elastane, according to the website), so I was able to adjust it to show just enough cleavage with out being uncomfortable or feeling too exposed. I paired the Isadora dress with a pair of black wedge heels, a faux-jet purse and crystal cross necklace. It retails fro $140.00, and I feel that is a very fair price for such a beautiful, flattering, comfortable dress.

(And, for the record, no, I'm not pregnant, it's just an unfortunate hand placement on my part!)

My next dress is the gorgeous Francesca dress in dark currant. This colour is really beautiful, and the fit, again, was great! The stretchy poly fabric draped perfectly over my curves, and the mid-calf-length full skirt is very flattering. Like the Isadora, the Francesca has the 3/4 length sleeves, V-neck with  Elastane, so it can be worn with or without a chemise, and is fully lined - all pluses in my book!  I wore this dress (also in size 14/16) out to dinner at Hinterland, but unfortunately the setting wasn't photo-friendly, so I wore it again during the Weetacon Closing Ceremonies Sunday morning, and was able to get some great pictures from Wendy. The Francesca dress in dark currant retails for $160. 00, which I think is a fair price for this very beautiful, versatle, and comfortable dress. I can easily wear this dress to the office, out to dinner or even dancing! 

 So, there are my reviews, and I hope you enjoyed them! But,wait, don't go yet! As in previous years, there's a CONTEST!! And you, yes YOU, could win! 

Happy Valentine's Day, all!  Or, TGIF for those of you who don't celebrate the lovey-dovey holiday and are just thrilled it's Friday! Me, personally, I have no reason to celebrate Valentine's Day, but I did wear my pretty red brocade jeans (Torrid), a fuzzy little black shrug (again, Torrid), a Valentine's pin and heart-shaped earrings, so I guess I am celebrating a little bit. Oh, I also wore my spiked-toed ballet flats, so don't piss me off, k?

Anyway, here's a random Five for your Friday, Valentine's Day, whatever:

1. I was planning to send out Valentine's cards this year, but totally forgot, which is sad because I had a bunch of already-made handstamped cards, but I just didn't get around to mailing them. Sorry.
2. On a totally unromantic note, I got copies of my lab test results from my doctor on Wednesday and was surprised to find several of them were not, as she'd told me, "normal". At least it didn't look that way to me, as many of the numbers were well above the normal range in the key provided. I know I'm not a doctor or anything, but it can't be too hard to figure out if it's above the recommended level, it's probably abnormal.
3. Anyway ... with Weetacon only two weeks away now, and my planned costume having not arrived, I have had to resort to whipping something up from home. Luckily I do have some workout gear handy (the theme is sports and/or favourite athlete), so while it might not be exactly what I wanted, I'll look good anyway!
4. Speaking of things arriving (or not), I've been buying stuff online like crazy lately (which sadly corresponds with several marathon showings of Hoarders, so having boxes arrive every day is making my mom twitchy!). Most of it is going back because it doesn't fit or doesn't look as nice as it did on the website (really, Torrid, I love your stuff, but some if it is just so damn cheap, and I don't mean inexpensive!), but it's just fun to try stuff on.
5. And finally, returning to Valentines Day, here's a picture of a cute little plastic Betsey Clarke pin my late Aunt Alice bought me when I was a little girl. I loved Betsey Clarke. Still do! I still have not only this pin, but the doll, a picture and a small book of inspiriational religious quotes.

   

As if I wasn't excited enough for Weetacon this year (and I am very VERY excited), I've just been given another reason to squee: awesome plus-size designer Igigi is once again giving us the opportunity to wear and review their beautiful garments!

If you're not familiar with Igigi, please follow the link to the website and peruse their gorgeous dresses, separates and accessories. Go on. I'll wait.

(Also, if you're curious, you can read my review of the Rosita dress I wore last year.)

Okay, now that you're back, do you see? Do you see, why I'm so excited?? Gorgeous, gorgeous dresses that are comfortable, beautiful and flattering, as well as easy to travel with. As  with Weetacon/Igigi Fashion Shows of the past, we get to pick three items we'd like to wear during a special evening fashion show, and later review for the Igigi website. (Which of our three choices we get is always a delightful surprise that is revealed as we touch down at St. Brendan's on day one of Weetacon!) This year I would love to try any of the following:

1. The Isadora dress  - I love the black with a pop of red in the floral pattern on the skirt! It would be great for a night out, but with a camisole underneath, it could be worn to work as well.
2. The Francesca dress in dark currant - Basic, but flattering and pretty! Again, just add the lace cami to cover the cleavage, and it would be great for work and play!
3. The Tiffany dress in Jade - This would be perfect for work as it already covers the cleavage, and while the bright colour is a bit out of my comfort zone, but we all need to try new things, now don't we?

 Less than a month now till Weetacon. Can. Not. Wait!