Jessica with pictures!

Well, Jessica was a very nice-looking Rabbit. She was really pretty amazing until we were rained on on our way back from the dance. And when I say rained on, I mean soaked-to-the skin, shoes hidden, chilly wind, not-a-dry-stitch-on-my-body kind of rain. It was an adventure. And taffeta does not like to come off of rained-on Rabbits. Not one bit. As a result there are no head-to-toe shots of us, but I'm happy to share what exists...I had to do a bit of alteration, and even though this was made from a self-drafted pattern 3 years, a dress size, and 10 pounds ago, I found myself removing fabric. I used a combination of French and pinked seams, facing the slit that ended up being approximately 8 inches above my knee. With nude-toned micronet stockings and 5-inch heels, I felt pretty awesome.

A Show!!!!

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is up.

As of tomorrow...

We still have some things to do, but I feel pretty good about it.

Jessica Rabbit report soon, but I have exams before then.

ETA:

I will be doing Thankful for 30 this weekend- a la Mary of Confessions of a Craft Addict.

1. Bad Descisions Brunch- a time my friends and I get together on Sunday mornings and revel in Saturday evening's events... including some bad descisions, and many more laughs and remembering good ones.

2. Boys who play girls in the theater

3. Dancing in fall leaves- SOO many wonderful colors this year!

4. Tech crew fun times

Jessica is coming along...

I have a date.

I have the hairstyle CLOSE to figured out after a practice run last night.

I have the shoes.

I have the makeup, false eyelashes, purple mascara and all.

As for the dress....

The bodice is the only thing being lined, and is only lined to add support and a place for ...extra "support". I basted that lining together while a friend was working on "trial hair" and then put it on to check fit, realizing how much I have learned in the course of the past few years. The dress is being based on one I made my Freshman year. I didn't line it at all, and though I have gained enough weight and muscle to add inches just about everywhere, the dress was a bit too big.

It's a teaching moment to be sure: I have definately learned how far I have come. I wouldn't even have thought to try to do a fit of the lining this time 3 years ago... and I do now largely because of the awesome theatre work and close fittings I have done there.

I am pretty proud of myself... now let's just wait for pictures of the awesomeness.

Some Sewing!

...Not done yet. But for Halloween...

I am making a red dress....

I found the shoes last night at Marshall's... Well I found A shoe. This lovely faux-snakeskin-5"ish metallic sandally heel. For the life of me, I couldn't find the other shoe... And of course, it was the only one.

Then, at closing time, I got a call that said they found the mate! So I have shoes. They are red with one of those awful stacked heel, so I will be sanding the bases down and painting them shiny fire engine red.

For 7 dollars and a bit of work, I have shoes. Can we say exciting?

I'm using the extra fabric from Sunset (there is about 3 yards) for the dress, and then I'm set once I find purple gloves.

I am also doing a bunch of sewing associated with Rosenrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. It's been fun to be back in the costume shop, and we have boys down there right now who are learning. It makes my heart happy!

And after Jessica Rabbit, there will be a little bit of craziness getting R&G up, and then onto my gold dress for sorority formal! I might be able to work a bit of everyday wear for the winter in as well, but I HAVE been buying things. It's putting my refashioning side to shame, but at the same time, there is much going on in my life. So I need the time.

Hope all is well! Sorry for long absences.

Absentee blogging

Wow...

I cannot believe life got so crazy- But you know what? It's been good crazy. And I am in the midst of being more myself, and finding me and really living life.

I used the internet as a crutch last year, and am successfully seeing it as more of a tool, which means you hear from me less often, and I think that might end up having to be okay for a while.

With Halloween, some awesome hats being made, and another formal coming, there will be some pretty awesome sewing things popping up, and I think after this week I will have a post a week. Maybe it'll be Wednesdays. These are my thoughts for the moment. Feel free to hold me to them.

Now to study. I am catching up from pesky Bronchitis. Lots to do, not lots of sleep...

Baack...

It has oficially been a month since I have touched this blog.

Sorry.

I've had lots to think about, and even more importantly, I had some family and friends to catch up with... And before I knew it, I had been home for almost 3 weeks and it was time to pack again... narrowing down the things I really need to take back versus the things I didn't.

The experience of going there and living in another culture, another language, completely out of my element made for a very liberating environment and let me do things and explore more about me. It was a lot to process and I still have a lot to process, which means a change.

You might see more diary-like entries in the future, not rants but sounding boards. I can't promise it'll be all about sewing anymore, but it'll still have things about sewing, because sewing is a part of who I am. I'll try to make sure I post about sewing and crafting once a week- and maybe it'll be on the topic of ceramics or drafting part of that time this semester since I am taking a ceramics class and a drafting class.

I'll leave you with another Istanbul picture... These dogs were all over campus. There was a puppy who was a tiny squirmy thing when we got there and had grown quite a bit by the time we left. Half the fun of this trip were the little things like that- the places we went to dance or have a cup of chai, and the other things like that. The sites were beautiful, but the people- American, Turkish, and otherwise- taught me just as much.

What? It's over?

My time in Istanbul is coming to an end in, oh... 8
hours. It'll be a jam-packed 8 hours considering the packing I have to do, and the journals I have to finish. But I learned SO much while I was here, and I really and truly know in my bones I will return to this place. It will never be the same, but when a professor said Istanbul is a city that grabs hold of your heart and doesn't let go, he wasn't joking. It's an awesome awesome awesome place. I am going to miss the sunsets... The ones at home really won't have much ground to stand on after 6 weeks of views I havn't seen and water on at least one side of me. Not having minnarets in every picture or visual representation of a skyline will be one of the weirdest things when I get home, and the rhythm that hearing a call-to-praryer 5 times(I totally sleep through the first one since our dorm window doesn't face a mosque) will be missed too... Some of us have spent a good bit of yesterday and will spend a good bit of time today thinking "this is the last..." but something tells me we will all have many more experienced in this city. July 2009 is over, but it was one of the best months of my 21 years. I learned more than I ever thought I would, and about things I didn't think I would be thinking about. But it really is unequivocally a life-changing thing to take yourself out of normal, and doing it in such an adventurous, some would argue unsafe, way made for meeting amazing people and doing things I know I never would have done otherwise.

I could wax nostalgic about it, but that's not what you all come here for. Tell me what you want to know about this city.

How I can get YOU to come and see it for yourself!

Sinfully Delicious: A word on Food and Drink

Well, I know I talked about food once before, but now comes the really good stuff. Desserts.

The sweets here are SO amazing... I have seen enough baklava to make my head spin, and the ice cream... oh, the ice cream. Really good and cheap, and it's everywhere. It's called dondurma, and it's a delicious cross between gelatto and custardy ice cream. And there are things like Turkish tiramisu and Turkish flan and gorgeous fruit tarts and waffles loaded down with chocolate and fruit and oh-my-waistline-can't-take-all-of-the-cute-places-that just-serve

-coffee-and-desserts... But you have an excuse when you travel, right?

We've had that and more. The table in the photo is covered in traditional Turkish foods, and at that point the entrees had been whisked away in favor of desserts. There were several kinds of dried fruits and nuts, and a custardy thing that reminds me a little bit of pumpkin pie filling with the texture, but tastes like caramelly heaven.

It was also really amazing, but I can't remember the name of it. We had really gracious hosts sharing al of this delicious food with us, and in the name of paying it forward!

I only hope to have the oppurtunity to do that for someone else one day, because it was exactly what many of us needed. There's something that

crosses over all

borders, politically and culturally speaking, about a home. Dorm rooms, resteraunts, and hotels just don't have that feeling that a family lives there and is ready to welcome you with open arms. Just the very essence of hospitality and relaxation you can find nowhere else are really spectacular, and you never know how much you miss it until you've been without it for a while.

The drinks are pretty amazing too. I think I talked about how Coke is made with real sugar, and that make it SO good!

There are tons of flavored mineral waters too, and I've even seen some juiceboxes.

In exploring and being a part of the nightlife here, we have experienced everything from neat hole-in-the-wall, non-touristy places where the alcohol* is really delicious and really cheap to traditional taverns to high-class places where you can feel the music. A traditional liquor we see everywhere here is Raki, and it's pretty nifty. I have only had it twice, but I like it a lot.

It tastes like black liqorice, and goes down very smooth. I had it the way Turkish people do, with melon and appetizers. It's got about the same proof as vodka but is much more delicious. Whiskey is pretty uncommon, but gin and vodka are readily available, and there are many DELICIOUS flavors of vodka... hazlenut and watermelon tie for favorite at the moment.

The beer everyone seems to love is called Efes, and it's comparable in flavor to a light beer, and in alcohol content to some heavier beers. As I am not a beer drinker, I havn't tried it, but I do have a baby mug our guide gave me as a souvenier!

We have one more week before we all head for different places, and 2 more weeks and I will be home. Tomorrow we leave for Cappadocia and our long excursion. I am beginning to see that one of the American professors here wasn't joking when he said Istanbul is a city that grabs hold of your heart and doesn't let go. I'm already thinking of when I could possibly come back!

*On the issue of alcohol:

I do my best not to make a secret of the fact that I drink. I am of legal age, and learned from long before I turned of age to treat alcohol responsibly. I am sorry if talking about alcohol offends the sensibilities of any of you, my darling readers, but I won't hide the fact that I drink every once in a while or appologize for it. When I do, it's socially and with people I know and trust. It's not responsible to do otherwise or get carried away. Moderation is my policy!

Indulgences

This is our last full week in Turkey, and we've been going-going-going... We have a future event planner working with our group to take us awesome places and has it ever been an adventure! It's also meant I have been dead tired upon walking in my door every night, and havn't really looked at my computer.

But I promised you some fashion. And some shopping. Wardrobe Refashioners will want to look away now because I went to...gasp...Old Navy before I left and...gasp... a mall last week.

Old Navy wasn't too remarkable, I got some awesome tops and a sweet spring-and-fall weight trench that saved me while travelling and didn't pay full price for anything.

Shopping here was an experience. I was looking for some things to wear out to nightclubs and

was surprised at how...trendy everything is. The stores take trends we find in the states, put them a size smaller, and throw them out there. It could be because I am in a big city, but I also saw lots of American stores like the Gap and Bananna Republic and Guess and most of the big designer names. We steered clear of these, and I now have a pretty cute outfit I wore out last weekend that has things in it I know I will definately wear again. I can speak for the girls in the photo for sure and say we are all wearing Turkish clothes. The black dress is pretty cute, and you can't see the strapless, distorted paisley dress my other friend is wearing but it speaks to the trends here. I got the vest and top at the mall, and the skirt at a store I would compare to Target. There are lots more dresses and the level of formality is a little higher, and I'd honestly say people just dress better than those my age in the states for some things, but better may not be the right word. But more later. I have to get my face from out in front of this computer and enjoy the few days we have left here!

I am sure I will have another post or 2 here and a week or 3 of catch-up/nostalgic posts upon returning home.

Midterms in foreign countries still mean procrastination

It's reassuring that some things really never change. Really, procrastination came across the Atlantic with me... Can't beat that.

But I have to if I want to go to a Turkish movie theatre tonight.

I just wanted to do a quick post to tell you what's coming up... I will get to some shopping questions and reply to some things, and Wednesday there will be a guest blogger hanging out in the land of anachronisms. I am participating in a blog swap through 20-something bloggers, so it'll be a little different. A is pretty nifty though. She is a Canadian student, and I'm excited to write on her blog over here.

So shopping, fashion, and a guest. Hope you're ready for it!