Ever have one of those days when the best thing about the day is that it’s Friday and the end of the work week?
Yeah, that’s been me, pretty much since Wednesday (except then, it wasn’t Friday, which made it all that much worse). Then, through the magic that is our 21st century technology, I was alerted to this:
It’s a Polyvore devoted to Bethany from The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading. The little details are amazing and made me smile–like the Lara Croft image, and the T-wolves, and a fantastic cheer uniform, and, and, and … I could go on. Oh, the embedded music (told you I could go on). You’ll have to click through for that.
All in all, a fun way to end the week and start the weekend.
Oh, I know, opinions vary about Valentine’s Day. It could be great. Then again, it could suck. If you’re anticipating the gi-normous box of very expensive chocolates and they don’t materialize, it could really suck.
But wait! Don’t you think it might suck a little less with one of these?
I thought so. Would you like one? Or maybe one for a significant someone in your life? (You could give one to your sister–I would–that would be cool.)
If so, stop back on Saturday for our Geek Girl’s Guide to Surviving Valentine’s Day contest.
Yes, it’s true. Now you can have Geek Girl and carry things in it too:
Actually, you can have just about any book and carry it too, thanks to Karla at Bagitude. Or playbill, or album, or game.
This was one of my gifts from Bob this year. Except. I discovered Bagitude to begin with, and had a Geek Girl one made for Darcy. So … surprise? Not so much. Still, awesomeness factor = high. Bob suggested I keep my bookmarks and pens in there for book signings, which is exactly what I’m going to do.
On a completely different note. It’s minus seventeen degrees here this morning. Minus. Seven. Teen. Dude. It’s so cold, the ice on the back deck is making that bone-jarring cracking noise. So every once in a while, it sounds like someone is firing a shotgun right outside the window.
Because dangerously cold isn’t enough. It isn’t winter unless it’s scaring the crap out of you at random intervals.
I’ve never been someone with a knack for sewing/knitting/crocheting. How I got a decent grade in Home Ec. (as we called it back in the day) is one of those mysteries best left unexplored. Although my sister reported that when she took the class four years later, the teacher still remembered me. Fondly.
Uh. Whatev.
That being said, I love dresses. I’m not really a girly girl either (she says, clad in camouflage Chuck Taylors) but I could spend hours searching for the perfect prom/home coming dress online. Because, you know, that’s practical.
And I love it when bloggers post their sewing/craft projects. One of my favorite dress sites is:
And, if I’m remembering correctly, Darcy has a special fondness for Tetris. (Am I remembering correctly? You do <3 Tetris, right?) So, this is for her, courtesy of A Dress a Day:
When geekdom and fashion collide: a thing of beauty
Fun but time consuming. I could see spending way too much time at that site. So, instead, I’ll work up some posts for this week (I hope) with actual words in them. Stay turned for mini book reviews and an possible excursion into the former East Germany. Darcy may have a few things up her sleeve too. She never fails to surprise me.
The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading is featured in another Polyvore set. Yay!
I love the song Melt With You. I love Vitamin Water. It probably goes without saying that I love puppies, too. Those shoes are lethal-looking. Are they sharp? Because they look kind of sharp.
They are also: PIERRE HARDY – METALLIC STRAPPY PLATFORM LACE-UP SHOES, and they are $830 on sale.
However, the dress is apparently $31.00. It’s also from Japan, so maybe that’s not accurate. But the Grosgrain Bow Headband–which nicely matches the cover of Geek Girl, I might add–is all of $1.50.
Have you guys seen Polyvore? According to their About page, they are:
Polyvore is a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. It is also a vibrant community of creative and stylish people.
What they also are is a really cool pre-work writing tool. Sure, you could do it the old-fashion way with glue and scissors (people get nervous when I use scissors) and magazines (except I don’t subscribe to any–I’m all about digital media).
Or, you could do it online. You could easily build a set for the story as a whole, or for each character, or even the theme. I’m kind of excited to get back into draft mode and try this out. In the meantime, I’m avoiding the the site because: Hello, time suck! I already spent way too much time looking at the Converse All Star sets.
Someone added The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading to a set. There it is, in the bottom right hand corner. I love all the blues in this set as well. I would also totally buy that skirt if I were–well, let’s just say several years younger.
What about you? Have you heard of Polyvore before? Have the urge to explore and create a set?
white toed, old laces and ankle covered
By Acoustical
broken-in black and red high top
converse with hand painted
cities and cyborgs on the sides
waving to those who are keen of eye
and smiling enough to remember me.
squeaky on linoleum and midwestern
when worn with corduroy skirts
lime and watermelon scarves, floor length …
The shoe gene skipped a generation in my family. My grandmother had it. I remember the neat rows on her closet floor: flats, pumps, stilettos, organized by color and style.
My mom inherited it too. Who else has red shoes, white shoes (in chalk, alabaster and bone), blue shoes – and the patriotic pantheon of pedestriosity – red, white and blue shoes? I was with her the day she discovered a pair of square toed spectators in just the right tint of burgundy – she actually squealed.
My daughter has the gene. It was obvious when she was just a tiny thing. We’d walk into Target, where most kids beg for a trip to the toy department. My girl? Before she could even talk, she would squeeze my hand, point, then go all puppy-dog-eyed as soon as we neared the shoe section. I’m not sure how large her collection has grown but I know with certainty that she owns at least 15 pairs of Chucks – and still lusts for more.
Even my son gets misty over a new pair of kicks.
Me? Not so much. My entire shoe wardrobe consists of black loafers, brown clogs, black strappy sandals, brown chunky slides, white(ish) lace up walking shoes and a tattered pair of slip on black Chucks. Period.
I think it’s pure biology. Not only did my DNA fail to replicate the shoe-love portion of the strand, it gave me weird foot bone structure too. One of my earliest memories is of the Podiatrist squishing and kneading my feet, then the trip to the “special” shoe store … and the social outcast-ed-ness that followed at pre-school the next day. Believe me, nothing shouts ‘dork’ like orthopedic shoes.
Having said all that, last week I went shopping with a friend. We played ‘What Not To Wear’ and she was my Stacey London. She dragged me to a plus-size store that she promised I would like (I did!). Even better, most everything there was on sale (sweet jeezus, how I love it when that happens!). I bought six new shirts for just over $100. Total.
Buoyed by my retail success, I hardly freaked at all when she said, “Now for the shoes,” and pointed me across the mall. I didn’t balk until we came to the entrance and I got a whiff of Footwear #9. My friend lured me in by swearing all I had to do was look, and promising a reward of pasta and Diet Pepsi to follow.
I bought a pair of shoes. Cute shoes. Cute black, flat, mary jane, slip-ons made from something akin to scuba suit material, with athletic soles, that make you feel barefoot and stylish at the same time. OMG! So this is what it’s like to love a shoe? Count me in.
If you want to see my amazing new shoes, check out our new Events Page – we’re adding more appearances all the time.
And if you’re wondering where’s the bacon? It’s right here:
Charity’s answer to the shoe dilemma? Basic black:
Todd’s friend Brian here with an important public service announcement: Prom is fast approaching! If you are lucky enough to have persuaded an actual live human female to attend the event with you, you must begin planning NOW!
First up: Apparel. You might be able to get away with something like this:
But if your date expects something more formal, consider this:
You might be saying: Dude, I heard girls are all like “Our colors have to match!” What if my date picks out a dress that clashes with Coke? Do not despair. Fortunately, we live in the Golden Age of Caffeinated Beverages:
You should be able to find a perfect match with very little effort.
Next we turn to flowers: I’m sure your girl unit will be uber impressed when you slip one of these duck tape corsages on her wrist:
Chicks dig D-I-Y
Finally, once you get to the dance, you’ve got to fill the evening somehow. I recommend developing mad dance skillz, like this:
A few days ago the Geek Girls introduced you to Mieke, the high school student who interns as a reporter for her local newspaper. Mieke interviewed Darcy about The Geek Girls Guide to Cheerleading and Monday evening her article appeared in The News Sun … with a color photo … on the front page!
Since then, Darcy has been plunged into the world of celebrity. She’s received numerous phone calls, texts and emails congratulating her. She is recognized at every fabulous place she goes (the gas station, the grocery store, the pizza parlor). Fans continuously approach her saying, “Aren’t you …?”
While she finds this flattering, the pressure of so much fame is also exhausting. She now has to worry constantly about papparazzi. Any moment they could descend on tiny Kendallville, Indiana and the next thing you know Darcy could be featured in one of those hideous Fashion Don’t montages. In an effort to return her life to normalcy, she is currently considering big sunglass options ala these fellow celebs:
She doesn’t want to suffer alone though, so here are the parts of the article that include soon-to-be-famous-also-and-fellow-Geek Girl Charity (Really, we’d post the whole thing here but The News Sun is offering it as subscription only content so we can only present excerpts) :
Darcy Vance of Kendallville and Charity Tahmaseb of Minnetonka, Minn., have met only once in person but the miles between them don’t obscure their friendship; in fact they wrote a book together called The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading …
Vance says she has always loved writing and that she met Tahmaseb while taking an online writing class. “We took some more classes together, we read each other’s work and tried to help each other become better writers,” Vance said.
Tahmaseb had a story that one particular agent enjoyed, but he suggested a few improvements. Meanwhile, Vance received a letter from the same agent; he liked her story also, but said a couple of things needed improving … “We shared a joke that between the two of us, we make one really good writer.”
Vance tried to persuade her friend into rewriting her book … Eventually Tahmaseb caved and, together, they made the changes that became The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading.
“We worked on the book together and we did it all online,” Vance said. …
The 332-page story is geared toward teens and young adults. Vance will be autographing copies of the book at Summer’s Stories in Kendallville on May 19, the book’s release date.
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