It's a long fall from the top of my soapbox

I started to post a "Would You Wear That Wednesday" entry today, but something is weighing heavily on me again. Thanks to my Facebook news feed, I discovered the rabbit hole that is Upworthy and all of the videos posted on it. As I was skimming through them and deciding which ones to watch, I started seeing a lot about the fashion industry, particularly about the Bangladeshi tragedy and the use of child labor, and quite honestly, it made me so mad-  at the industry,at consumers, and at myself. I made two commitments in May and July to only shop thrift stores and then to stop shopping from August until the end of this year. I haven't kept either of those commitments, and I've completely buried the anger that I felt that this "hobby" of mine is killing people. It's not just garment factory collapses, fires, etc, but it's also the pollution from the chemicals used to dye garments and the ruin of land/water in places like China. Also, people in these countries don't have hope. I can't imagine having a child who only has the option of working in a garment factory for the rest of her life and earning something crazy like $45 a month for working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. This injustice has just been weighing on me.

I am blessed. I was blessed enough to have been born into a loving family, marry a wonderful man, and have fantastic in-laws. My husband and I aren't rich by any means, but even our worst day is probably better than some of these people's best day. (I know I'm making a huge overgeneralization here, and I can't even begin to know about their happiness levels, but this is just my perspective). I'm a Christian, and I'm trying to live my life according to biblical principles, and yet I support this industry that literally kills people. What Would Jesus Do, indeed?

I didn't mean to get on a soapbox here or go off on a complete rant, but I think that it's past time that I fully commit and dedicate myself to this cause. I want to do so many things to help balance the scale of injustice, and this is a great place to start since this is my hobby and passion (to a certain extent). I don't quite know what my next step is, but I know I need to do some restructuring and go back and see what else I said I was going to do so I can recommit myself to it. Also, I don't want to completely give up the fun aspects of this blog or quit enjoying reading other people's blogs or become a comment troll who quotes horrifying fashion industry statistics on people's blogs (the Internet equivalent of throwing paint on a fur coat...ha ha). I just want to be a more socially responsible consumer and help make a difference in these people's lives however I can.

Does anyone have any suggestions of where I can start? As a librarian, I've already done some research and have ideas about where to look for more information, but any information that people have already gathered would be really helpful!

Also, if I haven't lost you yet, thank you for reading. I may have gone a little overboard here, but I just wanted to get everything out. I'll be back Friday with more awkward pictures and references to the weekend. =)

Freedom

Thank you to all of the veterans who have served and are serving to protect our freedom. It is because of these brave men and women that I can take pictures of myself scowling and put them on the Internet for everyone to see...

An outside picture! With a scowl!

The last time I'll wear these in 2013!

I'm not all scowls in the morning...

Also, I just realized that I completely forgot to post on Friday. My husband and I had an impromptu date/Christmas shopping night, and I guess we were out too late for me to remember to post (we were out until 9:30. Proof that I'm old.).

Edit: I did write an entry on Friday, and I even uploaded the pictures! I guess I just never hit publish on the draft! Gah, where is my brain lately? So, everyone gets two entries for the price of one tonight! (Even though I'm changing the date on Friday's entry because librarians like things in order and such...).

A Year Late and Several Dollars Short...

As a frequent clearance rack shopper, I often find that I'm a little behind on the "blogger trends" that go through my reader. Honestly, because I tend to primarily shop at Old Navy and Goodwill, I'm usually behind on the trends for other reasons as well! Today's sweater was a fall/winter 2012 favorite for many bloggers, but it has all but disappeared from the blogosphere (is that the right word? It sounds so awkward!). The exception to that, of course, is the fabulous Jen at Librarian for Life and Style who is actually a real person and remixes her clothes and doesn't make you feel like you need a second or third job just to be able to wear cute outfits! Whoa, let's call this Flattery Friday, okay? Didn't mean to gush quite so much, but it's always nice to see people actually re-wear items and use them in different ways, especially if I own the same item and can get inspiration from it!

Anyway, getting back on track here!

Love playing with the settings in Picasa!

 TGIF! It's supposed to be a nice weekend here, so I'm excited to open the windows and get some fresh air in the house while I do some desperately overdue cleaning. The weather folks are calling for flurries (!) Tuesday night, so I'd better enjoy this nice weather while it lasts. Anyone have any fun weekend plans?

EDIT: This was supposed to have been published Friday night, but I guess my brain didn't hit the publish button when we got home from Christmas shopping. I know I could save it for another day, but I don't like drafts languishing there too long, and knowing my brain lately, I'm liable to let this one sit until February...

Would You Wear That Wednesday: Patterned Leggings

Do you know what the most difficult-to-find clothing item in the world is? Evidently, it's plain brown leggings. I got mine snagged on a bin of Halloween decorations a couple of weeks ago, and the hole was in a low spot that most of my tunics/dresses won't cover. I've been on the hunt to replace them ever since, and I haven't had any luck! I finally did a couple of online searches where I could narrow by color, and was excited when Target said they had a pair. Unfortunately, the item below is what they classified as brown leggings.

Image source

While they are technically brown leggings and would probably allow for some interesting pattern mixing options, they're not quite what I had in mind. Also, with my, er, generously sized legs, the pattern probably would not look the same as it would on a true "junior sized" female. So, my quest continues...

Would you wear these? How would you style these if you got them?

Mundane Monday

I promise that I'm not trying to be a grump lately; I'm just going through a funky stage right now related to work, and it's touching a lot of areas in my life, unfortunately.

Also, camera phone pictures. Blah.

Here's hoping to a Terrific Tuesday...or at least one where I don't have to tell someone not to run in the library...

Struggling...

I've been in a funk lately, and I'm just now starting to get out of it. October was a really busy month, and every time I started to blog, I just felt meh about the whole thing. I kind of felt meh about everything, and it was hard to motivate myself to do things beyond my basic responsibilities. My wardrobe reflected it too. I would just throw on whatever kind of fit and go with it. It was a vicious cycle; I felt "off" so I dressed like it, and then my blah outfit made me feel frumpier and more off. That really help me see the connection between looks and attitude.

Thankfully, I'm coming out of this blah phase, and I'm ready to hit the ground running again. I've taken a couple of pictures over the last month:

A layered look from October 3

My look for the Pantone Challenge: Carafe

I'll be back on my regular schedule next week. I may even try venturing outside for pictures. Scary thought, right?

Has anyone else struggled with the blahs? How did you get past them?

A reason to return...

Pantone-Inspired Fall Color Challenge with The Modern Austen and Literate & Stylish. Sign me up! I had so much fun with this during the spring challenge that I can't wait to do this one next week!

Also, I finished my busy instruction season, so I feel like I can have hobbies again! Yay!! 

What's everyone been up to for the last month? I've been trying to keep up with and comment on blogs over the last few weeks!