Irish in Green Clothing Diary # 5

 St Patrick day is coming up! Where is your GREEN? I am in fact part Irish back by DNA, LOL! You're welcome to give me a friendly kiss from afar! <3 If you didn't know St Patrick was a real person who was the first or one of the first missionaries in Ireland! 

Jacket: George from @walmart I don't see this brand as much anymore. I would find random pieces on clearance racks. The quality would be way over Wal-Mart's norm.

Blouse I am wearing here is from BCBGirl a brand by Max Azria @bcbg

Skirt: Isda and Company Thrifted

Lol I totally need to work on that dance! My attempt here is kind of shameful!

#flossdance #dancelikenooneswatching #green #virtualclothingdiary #fashioninstagram #thriftfinds #patmcgrathlabs #stpatricksday

Outfit Diary #1 Lace and Light Blue

Outfit Diary #1 Blue Barbie Girl

Crochet Jacket (Knit with real crochet edging)

By Reggie

Size: M 

Cotton Rayon Blend Thrifted

I don't remember when I bought this, but it was thrifted. You can get a lot of use out of a piece like this. It can be mixed and matched with many different things. This is likely a vintage piece from the early 2000's

Tank Top

Size: Girls XL

Walmart Clearance 

 Just a basic tank top from Walmart. It is from the kids department. It was something like 2 for $3

Lace Skirt 

By Mix Nouveau New York

Size:10

Cotton

Clothes Swap Party

I'm not sure of the age of this skirt but I got it at a clothing swap party with friends.

Jewlery

Barbie Stainless Steel Necklace

I bought this necklace at Walmart back around 2014. It was on clearance for $3 (og price $14.88) I also racked up on a number of Star Wars pieces with it! With the Barbie movie out seamed a good time to get it out and wear it again. I was a huge Barbie girl as a kid. I still have my dolls!

Head Scarf

Knitted but made to look like crochet

Thrifted

 

Fast fashion? 😂 I wear my clothes till they are unwearable! My grandmother went through the Depression and that mind set got passed down to me.

#fashion #fashionyoutube #fashionblogger #clothesdiary #virtualclothingdiary #thriftedfashion #fastfashion #antifastfashion #cottagecoreaesthetic #fashionvlogger #vintagefashion #thriftstorefinds

First Post Since We Entered a Global Pandemic... Looking forward and back

    It's been since 2019 that I've posted on this blog. What can I say... a lot happened since then. We are now reaching the two year mark of a global pandemic. Can you image telling 2019 me what 2021 me would feel about the world she is now living in now? Early 2020 I basically stopped posting on my YouTube Channel. It's was struggling as it was with the new rule YouTube had slammed on us. Adult Disney fans just didn't make since to YT. I did had my GlitterGlamMandy Vids but I never even posted the last one I filmed. When a Pandemic struck maybe there is something wrong with me but I had a hard time adjusting to the "New Norm". Really only now am I really getting my mind into some sort of order. These are things I loved doing before and I find myself wanting to going back to. 

   One thing I didn't drop despite of a global Pandemic was dressing up for Halloween even though I went NOWHERE for the 2nd year in a row... but I've worn a costume EVER YEAR since I was around 3 or 4 years old. After a track record that long I didn't want to break the streak.

  Last year I had an idea what I wanted to do with a costume but didn't have the time or quite figure out how to make it (have to cover that in another post *spoiler: Mockingjay) So I grabbed a black dress and a costume piece I made back when I first started theater. A French hood based on the one worn by the mother of Queen Elizabeth the 1st, Anne Boyleyn. I was preforming with an acting troupe and they were doing The Prince and the Pauper.

Originally I was cast as Lady Elizabeth but we had some casting changes and I was moved to Lady Jane Grey... In these pictures you will see Lady Elizabeth wearing this hood. I am also the maker of the hood I'm wearing. I love these outfits! I do still have them! But no, not dragging them out (aka: not knowing where they are stashed around here... :-)

 I did a TikTok on different costumes I've worn during the years but didn't get to that one... so I'll throw a shot on here of it. And I did make a Tiktok of me in the dress so I'll try and link it here... 

@amandakayhowell

Anne Boleyn actually be like... NO! Halloween 2020 #halloween #six #musicaltheatre #anneboleyn #theaterkid #tudors #wivesofhenryviii #girlssupportgirls

♬ NO - Meghan Trainor

(In case you are wondering the B necklace was bought on Wish.com a few years back, not sure they still carry them but I didn't pay much over $4 including shipping... I should do a seperate blog post on this!)

  This year I did almost completed the Mockingjay costume... but I hit a creative block and since nobody would see it in person anyway I felt more like going simple and leaving the Mockingjay for another time. BTW: Also in my crochet adventures this year I recreated Katniss' cowl neck from the movie... but again, just didn't feel to drive to wear it. But then browsing through YouTube I came across a pattern for a really cool Halloween crop top! This was only a few days before Halloween so it was like, I won't get that finished in time... but I had everything I needed to make it and decided to attempt it. If I didn't finish it... well, there will be more Halloweens ahead (where people will actually get to see it!) And I had a back up plan if needed...

But it was not! I completed the top in about 3 days! I didn't want it to be as skimpy as the original was so I added a few more rows to make it larger. I also wanted it to tie farther in the back then the original and it did. It was cold outside so I just ended up wearing a black T-shirt under it. Not too bad but I think I need to give a little more attention to the fit, the neck does not want to lay right and the bottom is rolling a little (might be my fault for making it too big but it's not bad and being a little more covered is important to me)

I used the color scheme (black and White) she did mostly because it reminded me of the memorable black and white dress from the movie Sleepy Hollow (honestly I have never even watched it even though I worked in the real Sleepy Hollow for years at an Halloween event based on the The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 

Oddly, I discovered I'm am a descendant of the Crane family... yes it was a real family that lived in the area. In honor of this I named my Tux kitten "Ichabod" who would have been my cousin.

  I found the Spider Crop Top pattern on YouTube made by PassioKnit Kelsie If your into crochet tops you might like her stuff!

  As for the rest of my costume I'm wearing a dark stone tiara I got from Wish.com  The Spider web earrings were from clearance from Walmart a number of years ago as well as the spider cape.

   As for Ichabod, (my kitty) he also got costumed as well. I found a YouTuber that has a lot of crochet cat and dog collars and such... you can find her here.... Lingzhi Handmade

Spider Queen & her Pumpkin

 This one didn't take long at all to make. Going for a pumpkin vibe. He took to it well. I learned quickly to put the tie at the top because otherwise he thought he was wearing a toy! (4 months old, so still just a kitten wanting to play) He eventually took it off himself and left it in the middle of the yard which is fine, LOL. He allowed a number of pictures to be taken in it. That's what he gets for picking me as his person...

Fairy Tale Forest Fantasy

  Pure Ice is now on my list of favorite affordable nail polish. Beautiful shades that last reasonably well!

   Pure Ice's new collection Fairy Tale Forest has a very frosted fantasy look to it! Very different feel then other lines I have been seeing. The colors make me think of snowy winter where everything is frosted over with snow. I have not seen these is stores yet. On their site they are called Limited Editions. I won a drawing and the whole set landed at my house! Even came in a zippered bag! Happy Holidays to me!

    Playing around with these here is just one of the many cool looks I'm probably going to come up with!

• Pure Ice White As Snow H198
• Pure Ice Stella Grace RK485

    First I started with White As Snow. It's the lightest color in the collection. I does have a very light iridescent pink/purple. It also have this cool effect that makes it look like you have snow on your nails! ("Cool" is an intended pun, lol) As with a lot of this collection the polish is sheer. So a number of coats might be needed or it gives you a chance to play around with it over other polishes.



 My red dress with my Fairy Tale Forest nails
 and my fashion twin, Hanh.

    There was one color that had a darker Pink/Purple iridescent, Stella Grace. My dress was red but it somehow looked like it matched. And I was happy with how it looked! I used several layers of Stella Grace to build the color. Like I said the colors are pretty sheer. You easily see White as Snow underneath!

    My only complaint is with Stella Grace. I has stars in it but none ever came up when I was using it. It's still a lovely polish though!

    I was doing my nails for an upcoming Christmas event. I was thinking on going bold with color but getting this set and like I said, it's different then a lot of stuff in my current polish I decided to try it!

I think it turned out well!

My Mini Bio

In order... Makeup, Fashion, and a little bit of Gluten thrown in the mix...

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 I was not the kid who couldn't wait to wear makeup... Really I didn't start until my mid/late teens when they started making glitter to put on your face. Anyone remember those? I think it was made by Bon Bon in the day. A gel with glitter mixed in it in a little container with a screw off top?
  Resorting to Google I found this Buzz Feed on 90's glitter. (though some of this stuff I saw after 2000)
17 Reasons Body Glitter Was The Best Accessory

This was pretty bad then...
it's frightening now!

Maybe the makeup without the hair... or
the hair with out the makeup... a shame
Drew Barrymore is quite pretty actually. 

  Part of the reason I wasn't interested in makeup was the styles popular when I was a pre-teen/teen. Makeup styles from the 90's were... somewhat scary with the heavily applied jet black lines around the eyes often paired with a hairdo that would looked good on a poodle or some other fancy pup but not on a human... now if any of you reading this was guilty of said style don't take offence... I'm sure some people thought it looked good... I did not, but hey, whatever ;-)
  Really, it took me years before I felt comfortable getting eyeliner anywhere near my eyes after having to endure that craze...
 There were a few times I wore makeup (my mom put it on me, she was a model in the 70's so I was saved from the 90's look) for a show or Halloween as a kid and looking in the mirror I looked like a china doll! Wasn't a look I was crazy about either!

  I remember my mom and I finding a book (yeah, a book made of paper... no Pinterest back then) with different makeup looks I had never seen before. I LIKED what was in this book and we bought it. I'd still recommend it today! But at the time you just didn't see anyone going out looking like that! Sparkles, Gloss, Vivid Colors! Basicaly looks that would come to be popular in a few years following but you would look like a weirdo if you went out like that in circa '99/'00! At least not where I grew up!
Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin

Me on set with Krampus after I
finished off his hands.
Fighting Owl Productions

  But makeup trends changed through the years and I joined a dance troupe which required makeup and then I moved into theater. For a time if I wasn't performing myself I was up in the makeup room helping out. It's a good skill to have. Though I have taken classes, on the job training is most likely what taught me the most.

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  Fashion...
 this is a topic that I think I must have been interested in since nearly birth! I remember at 5 seeing a young girl in what I now know as a "pageant dress" in Captian D's and I wanted a dress like it! My mom actually tried to make it for me but I never got her to quite understand the dress. It was close but it needed another ruffle! Oh well.... where were those cell phone camera's back then? :-)
  My love of acting goes hand in hand with costuming. I'd make all kind of things into some sort of costume. Also my love of history has played into my interest of vintage and antique clothing. My
collection started with dresses my grandmother gave me and other items that had been past down like my Grandfather's baby clothes. (1912) Also a collection of doll clothes made by his sister in circa. 1906. When I got into theater vintage and just out right usual outfits came in handy. I have worn a number of them in shows doing community theater.

My first northern winter. Taken in Jersey City

  But no, I don't wear costumes all the time. When I lived in a small city in the deep south (I mean DEEP south, not Virginia!!!) I was pretty much always a little more girly and glitzy. I would be asked why I was dressed up and I was a little at a loss cause that was just what I liked to wear! Moving to NY I was suddenly in a crowd in which everyone was dressed like me. It really bugged me! I struggled a little on finding my style identity. I'm not one who likes to blend in. Oh, and I get annoyed with NY'ers who cling to this all black thing! What on earth is wrong with color?! Black is no different then red, blue, green... why do you CLING to black?! I will continue wearing vivid colors in the city... maybe it will wear off on you people eventually! ;-D
  Check out my Pinterest board - The Reflection in the Mirror

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What's the deal with this mysterious stuff people call "Gluten"?

  Well, I can understand how people could think this in a health craze... like the 90's Sugar Busters (Which I know did work for people but that's besides that point) But the thing is Gluten has been secretly attacking me since birth. Yes, some people avoid gluten to live healthier and lose weight which if it works, that's great. My battle with gluten started at birth. Some people are born without what they need to process a protein found in wheat. Thus when eaten it enters your body and your body attacks it as a foreign invader.
 As an infant I had a hard time keeping anything down. I was told about this all through my life but it was never known what had caused this. My parents found that the only thing I could keep down was sprite and rice cereal... note; *rice*
 Having asthma I believe covered up what was going on with the rest of me. I was on meds which can also mask symptoms of gluten intolerance. It wasn't until I got off these meds that I really started having a problem. As my weight plunged I developed a rash or what I thought was at the time was acne that would turn into awful sores on my face and down my back. We treated it with all types of soaps and cleansers and while they may have taken the edge off it was FAR from a cure. A few years later came the stomach aches... Then in 2011 they got so bad that it was constant at times. I did not have a clue what was going on.
  I have a friend that years before had found out she had issues with gluten. One day I was reading

Best pic of my face I could find not touched up
or wearing makeup before Gluten Free.

about things people did to make their hair healthier and I hit a number of them talking about gluten... so, I googled gluten. The first picture to catch my eye was that of a sore on someone's skin... that moment... could it be??? That was not what I thought I'd be finding! Pretty much that moment the thought of giving up bread didn't sound so bad... if THAT is what was causing what I thought was some mutant acne... conceder me GLUTEN FREE from now on!!!! After a little more research both I and my mom started to cut the wheat and see what happens...
  It takes time to go gluten free and finding where they hid it in foods you would not think would have it in it. Now as long as I'm strictly gluten free my face it beautiful and my stomach is much better! After 10 years of those boils on my skin... wow, it was what I was eating!
  I hope to share in coming post some of the meals I have found tasty and safe for you all with Gluten intolerance....