Frida Day

I was in a Frida-ish mood today. I found a great Mexican dress at a thrift store. Unfortunately, though, wearing the dress as-is makes you look like nothing more than a dumpy potato wearing a sack. Do you guys remember those from the 1980s? I remember tons of people wearing them, but maybe that's because I practically live in Mexico. The embroidery is gorgeous and I'm a fan of a riot of colors.

I don't know if this was a huge improvement, but it was better than the starting point. I used a big cinch belt and a lace petticoat underneath, then layered on lots of silver and turquoise jewelry. I made little V's outfit, too. Did I show y'all my dollhouse full o'shoes? I took an old dollhouse, whitewashed it, then made a new home for my way too many pairs of shoes. I have another shoe house on the other side of the room, and a whole shallow bookcase in my closet full of them. Look! The roof opens to reveal a row of flats.

I tried to get a hairstyle pic, but it's ridiculously hard to photograph the top of your own head. OK....this is my first hair tutorial, so be kind, all right? I have dark hair which doesn't always show details well in photos, and I'm finding it really hard to photograph myself, so I thought I'd draw up the instructions.

Separate a row of hair in front of your ears. Mine was about 2 inches deep. Secure the rest of your head behind your hair with a clip. Part the hair in front down the middle.
Braid each side, starting around your ears or jawline. You can put a temporary clip or elastic on the bottom of the braid to keep it from unravelling, but we'll remove it later.
Take your left braid up pull it up towards the sky, then over to the right side of your head. Put in 2 or so bobby pins. (Hint: Hide them by placing them in the center of the braid where there is a natural crevice where the strands meet.) Leave the ends loose for now.
Do the same to the other side.
Take the tail of the braid, and starting at the bottom, roll it up on itself like your were wrapping it around a roller. It will make a little rose-like shape. When you get to the top of your head, secure it with bobby pins just behind the big crossed-over braids. Do this to both sides.
Release the back of your hair and embellish with flowers, ribbons, or clips.

Variation: In step 1, park ALL your hair down the middle. Follow the rest of the instructions the same way. This gives you an updo with all your hair up.

And this was today's lunch: