A Toast, To Getting Older

On a muddy riverbank south of the Thames there is a pub called The Ship. I am thinking about this pub today because it is my birthday, and because last year this time I was living in London, toasting white wine and sharing a plate of chips with good friends there. My 7th grade crush, now a US air force pilot, came to celebrate with two of his buddies from the force. They were stationed in Germany and up for an adventure to London. Then there were my Aussie friends, who always represent on a night out. Friends who I've worked with, studied with, danced with were there. My friends whose shoulders I cried on re: relationships that weren't working out, they were there too. When I think of all the friends I've had over the years I am overwhelmed. The more I move around, the more my friends begin to represent all that I've done in my life.   


So a year on, my life looks completely different. The setting, my hairstyle (long hair, bangs), not to mention the age (29 gasp!) have all changed. In the past year I have 1) resigned from a career, 2) moved from Europe back to the U.S., 3) become a full-time student, 4)gone from being single to being in a relationship, and 5) felt serene about all of these changes.  Like a river rock, never surrounded by the same water but still a rock (with bangs) - that is how I feel right now. It's as if I have reached a new plane of emotional wholeness I didn't know I was capable of reaching. Getting. Older. Is. Awesome.


Marcie and I often find ourselves taking moments to appreciate what is going on in our lives. When one of us begins to say, "can I just take a moment..." our partners inevitably roll their eyes at our sentimentality. But talking about stuff we appreciate is a way of life for us, and no degree of mocking will stop us. So now I'd just like to take a moment... to appreciate all of my friends old and new, and wherever you are in the world. May you drink deeply from the Starbucks cup of life and never want for adventure. 
                             
                                  Love,
                                  Melissa
       

How to Remove an Ink Stain

There are always millions of tons of dust in the air, just as there are millions of cubes of air in the earth…And sometimes there is a ballpoint pen in your washing machine, which explodes and does this to your bathrobe:

The culprit

Eight of us went for a very muddy hike at Lake Nockamixon, so afterwards we did a load of laundry. A couple of loads later when I pulled the exploded ballpoint pen out of the machine, I knew immediately it was Ben's. He had already claimed a handful of loose change and a set of keys from a previous wash that day. He must have been distracted when he put his pants in the wash...

Anyway, men are like this right? Always forgetting to empty their pockets.

But why did it have to be the load of whites? Some quick googling turned up an effective solution: rubbing alcohol. When it comes to stain removal always remember the chemists' adage, like dissolves like. Soap and water will work on water based stains. This is also why your nail polish dissolves in nail polish remover (acetone), but not in water.

We did everything we could to save Papa Smurf, but the bleeding was unstoppable.

First I  panicked and started to liberally douse the bathrobe in rubbing alcohol.This produced two results. One, the ink stain immediately dissolved in the rubbing alcohol like magic (yay!). Two, the excess ink began to spread out all over the fabric (crap!). To remedy the situation I had to get organized. I folded paper towels into blotters and laid the fabric down on top - this part was tricky because the robe had two layers, and so I had to tackle each layer separately while being careful not to let stained portions of fabric touch unstained portions of fabric.

Then I used more paper towels to section off the stain from above. Now when I poured alcohol on the robe, the excess ink was trapped on the paper towel blotter.  

 Paper towel blotters and rubbing alcohol.

After the excess ink was blotted away there were still some faint blue marks. Using toothbrushes, hydrogen peroxide, and some soap, Marcie and I got to work removing as much of the remaining ink from the fibers of the fabric. 

Then we used a bleach pen to treat whatever discoloration was left. Finally we sent the robe through the wash cycle on cold, twice. 

Using a bleach pen to get the last of the ink out. Success!

The final result was great. You could barely tell the robes had been stained at all. There were points along the way where we thought we were going to have to buy replacements. Fortunately, instead of shelling out hard-earned cash, we were able to salvage them with chemistry and a little elbow grease!

When he reached for his ticket, his hand grazed mine....

Krisy Plourde, center left, and Tom Golden, center right, kiss after they were married on the “Love Train,” a SEPTA elevated train festively-decorated for Valentine's Day, on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 in Philadelphia. The train toured the Mural Arts Program’s “Love Letter” project by artist Stephen Powers. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, David Maialetti) from Washington Tmes article, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/13/the-science-of-valentines-day/?page=all

 I was flipping through the Metro today and my eyes rested on page four, where an add in the bottom right of the page caught me eye, and got me get all sappy. It asked, “Did you meet your sweetheart on SEPTA”? For the record, no I didn’t. Ben and I actually met while bustin' a move at The 700 Club, BUT I loooooove the idea of SEPTA romances! (For you non-Philly folks, SEPTA stands for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority). Instead of our eyes meeting on the dance floor, I’m starting to wish I could begin our love story with the phrase, “As he reached for his ticket, his hand grazed mine….”

     I hope some of you reading this met your Mister or Miss Right on the rails (or the bus, or the trolley, or the subway)! Please tell me about it and more importantly submit your story to  SEPTA Love Stories! 

                 The fourteen winning couples will get a free ride on a decorated Market Frankford line train, with a great view of the Mural Arts Program’s “Love Letter.” Then you’ll get to go to a champagne reception in downtown Philly. Submissions and votes are open until February 6^th! Good luck you crazy kids!!!!!!!!

              *Marcie 

Thank You and Best Wishes to Kia!

Nine months ago my friend Kia and I decided to create a blog about our friendship and mutual love of Philly and fashion, and it's been fun! Making plans and going on “Fashion Fieldtrips” around town we had allot of good times and laughs. Kia’s toddler Maya added to the fun with her smiles and giggles. A few weeks ago Kia let me know she has decided to move on to other projects in her life, and I want to wish Kia and her family the best! I suspect Kia and Maya will still show up in some posts (actually, as I have yet to published all of our “Fashion Fieldtrips” I know for a fact these gals will appear again ;) So thank you again to my friend and former partner for your ideas and your work! I look forward to having coffee with you soon!

     With Kia’s retirement I will be taking on a new partner, my long-time friend, Melissa! We look forward to expanding the mission of CareWearShare so you can plan on reading more ever so witty posts meant to promote a sound, stylish, and sustainable life! Thank you!


                  *Marcie

           

Tips From the Working Gal Who Forgot to Wear Pants!

Boyfriend's pants: good for work, obviously great for going out afterward  ;)  

Now, I am fully aware in neither of these pictures am I looking my best. Actually, quite the opposite! But I’m trying to make a point here, another public service announcement if you will: Looking your professional best at work whilst maintaining a carefree and fun-loving persona during your free time is tough. If you’re a “live life to the fullest” working gal or guy employed in a “professional” environment you may have some mishaps. You may perhaps forget to wear pants….

    Well, it’s not so much that I forgot to wear pants, as pack pants. Earlier this week I was excited to see my friend Malorie upon her return from Uganda, where she was employed by Invisible Children (a fantastic organization working to end the use of child soldiers in armed conflict and ultimately to help end civilian targeted warfare). My sister, boyfriend, and I met up with Malorie and our college friends Tory and Jeremy at the Victory Brew Pub. Now, this pub (with a great beer selection but sadly very wanting in its Gluten Free selection) is located about an hour from Philly, and this girl has to be up at six for work the next morning. This being the case, I packed a bag so I could stay downtown, and get more sleep.

      After a great time with Mal I dropped my sister off and retreated to Ben’s. I opened my backpack so as to hang my clothes for work the next day, and guess what I saw! Or to my absolute horror, guess what I didn’t see! Look at the photo above! It was PANTS! I neglected to bring pants.  A shirt I had, even tights were there. But pants? Nope. At one o’clock Tuesday morning I was faced with the grim visualization of me at work attired in nothing more than a maroon cowl-neck, black tights, and sensible shoes.This was not an option. My mind raced and I looked over at my slim and trim boyfriend. Idea time! Borrow Ben’s pants!

A nice little back shot. You too could look this good, but if this isn't your style read on for help!

I think given the circumstances I looked pretty darn OK. However, this situation is obviously not ideal. In order to help others avoid the fate of wearing men’s chino’s pulled up past their belly button, I have compiled a list of preventative measures for the young professional who just might forget to wear pants to work….

1.   (Suggested my mother, Patti) Leave a work appropriate outfit at work! Specifically, keep tights, a basic skirt that that works with most tops, a basic shirt, and a pair of pants! Do leave your favorite stuff at work because you’ll miss those if they’re out of rotation. Just leave something that fits and matches allot in your wardrobe! While you’re at it, leave a tooth brush and paste, too! This really is the ultimate solution, but I’d like to offer some additional backup options.

2.   Make friends with reliable and generous people at work who are of your same relative size. Even better, make friends with others who are your size and share your sense of style. Get their phone number. When sans pants, make use of this number.

3.   Find a significant other who is your same general size/build. Obviously same sex couples have the clothing sharing advantage here, but heteros can make it work, too. Just understand that the clothes probably won’t fit perfectly, but employ belts and a good sense of humor. Be thankful you’re not wearing tights. 

The (Un)Toy Story!

I know this is not a mommy blog but I have a bad mom confession to make any way: I hate toys, all toys! They either have millions of pieces, are ginormous, expensive, or kids are only interest in them for about five seconds {this may be an exageration, but you get the idea}. I also live in a 1000sq foot row home, which gets cluttered very easily. Add to this the fact that I tend to get stir crazy staying in one place all day,and you can see why I need to find some alternatives! So instead of buying Maya lots of stuff, I take her out of the house to encourage creative play :) We go to different local jaunts like the Philadelphia Zoo, our local branch of the Philly Library, or other kid friendly places. Sometimes we just stay home and she writes on my couch with a black gel pen, true story.{Don’t get me wrong Maya does have some toys, but I try to get her classics or very well made stuff that will stand the test of time}. 

 

"High Horse" get it? ;)

 So anyway let me get off my high horse... This week as part of her Christmas gift, Maya and I went to the Please Touch Museum for the first time ever, and Maya loved it! I think we will be treating ourselves to a membership! Last year we were diehards and braved the elements to play outside. This year mama is a wimp and we need places where we can stay warm and dry. 

   So here are some pics. And here's another confession: though I do care about conservation and conscientious consumption, I also wanted you guys to see my cutie's outfit ;)After all, this is technically a fashion blog, right?!

                                                                                                   *  Kia 

Sugar Body Scrubs! Last minute gifts you can make in a hurry!




Easy to make sugar body scrubs! *Phot by my friend Anyelis

As Christmas is fast approaching, I wanted to do just a few more posts on some last minute ideas. At the beginning of November one of my girlfriends, Anyelis, hosted a sugar scrub making party.

Now, I certainly love a party, and this was a good one. Anyelis gathered some friends, created a facebook page, where we divided who would bring what ingredients and what toppings for our ice cream desert. Introductions were made, and we set to work creating yummy smelling scrubs to give as Christmas gifts. You probably don’t have time to get a party together before you light the Yule log, but you can still whip these bad boy scrubs together before the 25^th! The whole process can take you way less than an hour, and you probably have allot of the ingredients already. Anyelis found a good recipe and great instructions for making and decorating at Maybe Matilda.



If you have mason jars, excellent, but if not you can recycle any nicer looking glass containers and lids which may at one time have contained, oh let’s say pickles or spaghetti sauce ;) I believe the jar I used once housed specialty goat cheese. Just wash thoroughly and remove any paper labels. Next you whip up your scrubs, for which several bloggers have their own recipes but Rachel from Maybe Matilda recommends:

- 3 cups white sugar

- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. good quality oil (I used olive oil, but you can use any nice, non-smelly oil)

- 10 drops of yummy-scented essential oil per jar (I went with mandarin, peppermint, and lavender)

                                                                                                                                          Rachael-

 

Body Scrub Party! Beautiful and yummy smelling presents you can make in a flash!

At the party we went to town and created various scrubs with lots of different scents and colors. You can avoid chemicals by purchase organic food coloring from local natural food stores or Amazon, but since this the pre-Christmas time crunch if you just use any old food coloring have laying around I’m not going to tell…. Mixing is simple; just use a little bit of the coloring at a time to get a hue you like.



Mirelis, Nilda, Carolina, Anyelis, Katie, and Lina decorating their jars.

 You can also add cocoa powder for a sweet chocolate smell and rich brown color. Anyelis also suggested we add vitamin E. Next, decorate, decorate, decorate those containers! Go all out!  Have fun, and have a Merry Christmas!

                                 *Marcie