this little life of mine

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

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! 

Today's See It Sunday theme, Big, goes very well with the Blogging from A to Z Challenge I'm also participating in (B is for Big!). This photo is of the VERY big bonfire we enjoyed during the hay ride we took at the Rock K Ranch outside Green Bay, WI. There wasn't any snow in Green Bay for this year's Weetacon, so we didn't get to enjoy our usual sleigh ride, but we still rumbled out into the woods in two hay-filled wagons each pulled by two gorgeous Percheron horses. It was a blast, and that ginormous bonfire was very, very hot!

Beer in a snowbank. 

In honour of the Green Bay Packers winning the Superbowl last Sunday, I give you a sepia shot of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI, taken March 4, 2007:

 
In an effort to make my Christmas easy and stress-free this year, I ordered photo Christmas cards though picnik.com and QOOP.com. I chose a beachy California shot from our vacation to Pismo Beach this past September and used the "Ortonish" effect to make it all soft and dreamy, then went step-by-step though picnik + QOOP's  greeting card maker to create & order the cards. It was super easy and FAST; I got the box of cards in about three days! I did just a brief Christmas letter this year incorporating photos from my trips to Green Bay, Vegas, Pismo Beach and Morro Bay as well as a before and after shot of the newly landscaped back yard (using picnik.com's "Vignette" effect which is one of my favourites!). My new printer did a great job on them even though it's not specifically made for photos, and the whole thing was simply a piece of cake! Now I'm all done and can just sit back and relax! Merry Christmas!!!

weetaconopeningceremony, originally uploaded by LapisBlue.

Ahh, this picture makes me all nostalgic for the chilly joys of WeetaCon! Sadly I will be missing the 2011 gathering (due to a Big Awesome Trip in the works for next spring or summer), but I can always look forward to 2012!

lunch_at_tdh 005, originally uploaded by LapisBlue.

Chad and the Two-Foot Brat.