Yesterday night we have celebrated the official registration of my brother's wedding. Here in Italy you must go to the city hall and to the church (if you're Catholic and you'll get married there) about two moths before the wedding day and put black on white the the fact you'll start a new family. Usually people celebrate with a big party this day and so we have done the same thing to respect the traditions. There was a beautiful night, not too hot, not too humid, just a perfect summer night. My brother and his future wife have invited about 30 people between relatives and friends and have prepared a nice party in the gorgeous garden of my sister in law parents house. Surrounded by palms and flowers we have spent a beautiful night. The most of the invited people were about 30/35 years old so it has been more funny and "light", my brother and her fiancée have received I don't know how many flowers bouquet (maybe ten or twelve), plants and other gift for their future home. I didn't buy nothing, I didn't have time to go and choose something, anyway I've decided I'll buy them two personal presents. I think to take a jewel for her and a watch for him, of course something expensive (!) so I'm waiting for a friend of mine, a jewels trader (who sells wholesale only to the jewelry stores) who is on holiday now, and then buy my gifts with a large discount :D He is my ace in the sleeve because his jewels are gorgeous and I'd like to buy a little diamonds lace or a diamonds bracelet to my sister in law. I must be careful with my bank account next month so I've spent some money this month buying some nice clothes like shirts, pants and three gilets in  several colors. I'm becoming a gilets maniac, I love the way they fits and you can wear them with a lot of different kind of outfit. Very cool. Yesterday night I wore black pants, a purple stretch shirt with an ethnic waste, a black gilet with thin with strips (it's called "gessato" style in Italian) and a black little heels shoes (I like those shoes but my feet suffer her own pains every time...). I must admit I loved the way I looked, because my skin is pretty sunburned now and to make a nice contrast I've worn silver bangles, silver rings (I always wear only silver jewels) and a metal-silver make up. Great! Who's that girl?! :D I didn't need to find any confidence in myself and this has been the best part. It's not simple for us, women, to feel really good with our own body when we have to prepare us for a party or to go out in the night, we need to feel good with our clothes, we must find something that makes us feel great with ourselves first of all in order to feel great with the rest of the world. Cheap psychology? Maybe it is, but it's the truth. Anyway, to rest in shape I didn't eat almost nothing yesterday. My diet is going on perfectly and I never have the courage to do some "food sin" in the middle of the week! Crazy me! Of course I could eat also because i have had only salad and crackers for lunch and cycled for 90 minutes before to go to the party but... but I didn't have the courage to bite more than two little slices of pizza and a tiny square piece of ice cream cake. My diet sacrifices are giving me stunning results and also if I know I'm becoming a little maniac and obsessed about that, I want to resist for some other month. And talking about my shape and the very visible improvements, I've met "my prince of tides" (or the prince of my tides?!) who I knew was invited to the party too and he has made me a lot of compliments about that. I hate his compliments (I'm a liar!) they always drive me crazy because of the fact they drag me to loose myself inside of him and our destructive relationship... again and again! This is the worst thing that can happen between us and so I've done my best to appear detached, but I guess my mission didn't have had a big success because at the end of the night we have had a sms chat. I'm without hope and this relationship is, and will be, a never ending story. Poor me... why do I love the compliments I hate???!!! :) I'm absolutely fucked. Doctor Lowensteinnnnnnnnnnn! :D

1. Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Seasons 1-4 USED

2. Hunter Green Slim Slack from American Apparel

3. Royal Blue Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt from America Apparel

4. A TON of candy (see "Candy Kitchen" post)

5. A TON of Beatles bootlegs (all for free, but see "Beach Playlist" post)

6. Ring of Honor DVDS: "Return Engagement," "Tag Wars 2008," "Man Up," and "Supercard of Honor 3"

I love clothes. I give this undue importance for an individual's dress sense which some may consider to be unnecessary. The idea of being up to date on fashion, wear good clothes and look good all the time didn't come out of choice but was a habit nurtured and cultivated.

Mom grew up with a lot of Indian pop culture influences. She, being a good dresser, is always up to date on the latest fashion fundae. Fashion used to be very subjective and still is. For most belonging to the middle class and upper middle class society in India, fashion meant the latest from the Indian film industry. So, the legacy carried on. Mom often used to look at the latest Yash Raj movie or any of the then current hits and say, "I am buying you that for next Diwali", "I am buying you this for the birthday".  I grew up from saying, "Ok fine" to demanding, "Ok, I am going to get that next Diwali". It is a very simple example of how influential an upbringing can be.

Fashion, sadly and arguably, starts and ends with movies in our country. It is not seen as something that suits you best and something you feel most comfortable in. I digress to a totally different topic altogether. It was still cool, for a boy of fourteen, to see "Wardrobe: Options" or "Wardrobe: Boy London" on the bottom of the screen on Channel V just before the VJ says goodbye. The eyes lit up on realizing that the clothes he wore during Diwali were from that same shop in Juhu. But it was no less trendy to walk around with those printed T-shirts from Fashion Street. After all, the city was Bombay.

It was not all western. Mom and my aunt, time and again, stress on the elegance of the veshti(dhoti). They often talk about how a shirt and veshti could, as a matter of fact, be sexy. The amazing world of movies came to their aid once again. The sight of Madhavan and Jyothika in Dum Dum Dum, clad in trademark engagement attire of veshti and saree, both made of silk, struck in their minds. It was an epitome of beauty to witness two good looking people clad in traditional attire in a complete natural setting. I did carry my one and only silk veshti all the way to the US.

So where did it all start? Mom has her reasons. She has a regret somewhere in her heart that she has two sons but not a daughter. She often used to tell my friends and young girls she knew, how she wished she had a girl. Why? So that she could dress her well and make people go awe. She never missed a well dressed woman whenever we strolled through Lokhandwala Complex. She loves the tank tops, the short kurtas, the silhouette tops and the works. She admonishes women of her age who never let their daughters experiment with clothes. The farthest thing my mom and I could do for my cousin when she was 15, was getting her a top that had "HOT" printed in bold sparkles. It was an inexpensive one that was a rage in Bombay after Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta endorsed it in some movie. We never saw it again.

Certainly, dressing up and looking good is a trait often condemned and termed waste of time. Some even misconstrue the attitude coupling it with a very negative take on metrosexuality. Luckily, the parenting I experienced(and continue to do so) had temperaments opposite to that of such naysayers. It established the fact that looking good is not natural, but an art.

I've read various articles about compulsive behavior (and contemplated how my tendency to overeat has sometimes leaned more than a little in that direction), but until today I had never heard of compulsive folding of clothes. It seems that people who have worked at Gap or other clothing retailers where folding is a key skill (to keep stacks of clothing neat and appealing) carry the urge to fold clothes on in later life.

It would be evident to anyone who saw my pile of laundry on the table next to the dryer downstairs that I suffer no such compulsion. It's not that much work, so there's no real reason to put it off ... but more often than not the pile grows dangerously high and threatens to drop a few items back onto the floor to get washed again.

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...except for the fact that there are about two stores still open while they're doing extensive renovations.  I used to go there when I interned to stay out of the rain during my lunch breaks, now I'm pretty sure they've completely shut off the food court.  But nevertheless, I had some extra time in the city yesterday while I waited for my family to meet me to see The Little Mermaid (which was wonderful), and so I checked out what is left of the mall.

First up was Strawberry, a store I usually walk past but they had some cute dresses in the window.  I ended up spending a pretty long time in there (I was in no rush to get to the crunch of Times Square), and came out with a few great purchases.  I was able to find one online to show, the others I have to take pictures of when I have camera batteries that are charged.

The first is a top from Derek Heart, I absolutely love how soft and comfortable it is.  I have a lot of light blue tops but I don't buy much dark blue, I'm wondering why because it's a great color.

Not pictured is the cute sundress I bought.  It's white with red flowers on it, and a big black border on the bottom.  It's a little low cut but it has a nice liner so I won't need to worry about going bra-less.  I also bought a pair of great gray skinny jeans.  They're a little short but they look good with heels, and, well, I love heels.  I've tried on approximately five thousand pairs of skinny jeans and very few of have fit well, so I was excited.

Total:  $39.97

The next stop was Charlotte Russe, a store I can go to at home, and at school, but I like going into it whenever I happen to be around one.  After my boyfriend sat on my sunglasses I was in need of a cheap pair, and fast (it was really sunny out yesterday), so I picked up a pair of aviators.  I also bought this plaid blouse:

I don't own much plaid but the colors on this are so rich, and I love the tie around the waist.  I have a small fortune in white tank tops, but I figure to shake things up a little bit I can wear different colors.  I have a great coral tank that clashes just enough to look good (or so I hope).

Total: $16.98

So including the cheap sunglasses, I spent $55.95.  Without the sunglasses, it's $49.96.  I bought two tops, a dress and a pair of jeans, so that comes to an average of less than $13/item, not too bad, right?

A combination of sunny evenings and unread library books have kept me away from my computer lately.

And really, those aren't bad reasons to close my laptop and walk away.

Tomorrow is the Gallery Crawl in downtown.  I wanted to go see Ben Hardt play at the Brillobox after, but I'm going to be house-sitting for a month starting Saturday, and my laptop needs to get connected to their wireless connection.  It used to be able to get on any wireless hot spot with no problem, but my dad set up some private thing in our house, so now when I try to use it in other places, it won't work.  All I know is its annoying.

Blah, blah, blah, I know.

My mom made haluski for dinner!  For all the non-'burghers and those not of Eastern European descent, its really not as disgusting as it may sound.  Though when you're been forced eat strange foods with cabbage all your life, by your mid-teens, your taste buds scream UNCLE and you find it to not be so bad, so I'm a little biased.  I was forced into liking it by my ancestors, more or less.  Still, seriously, its good, go try it, if you can.

I'm kinda excited for casual Friday tomorrow, 'cause it means I don't have to do laundry tonight.  I get a good number of compliments on my t-shirts.... which are basically the only compliments I ever get on my wardrobe.  Perhaps I'll do a t-shirt blog fashion show someday... when I truly run out of things to write about.  So look for it to be posted on Sunday.

That's it, kids.

So I figured I should look around and I've been needing some pants/shorts, so I went to Target first 'cause I always thought it would be cool to shop their Liz Lange line. Bummer! They only had like four racks of maternity clothes total? WTF? I wanted these pants. But they didn't have my size, so I got some shorts and some black pants. Then today I was out so I dropped by Old Navy and got some maternity jeans. They're supposed to be "short" but that's always a joke. At least they don't have buttons 'cause all my jeans were starting to hurt when I sat down 'cause the buttons would jab my tummy.

Since getting my tickets to DC, I've been on a clothes shopping spree. First I bought a rose print dress at a thrift store here in town. It needed some simple mending on the collar and the decorative buttons cut off to make it more plain. It's very comfy.

I don't have a decent slip so I went online and found some underthings I liked. While I was at it I bought a dress and nightgown from the same place.

I got a white mesh Eastern Round traditional headcovering and some sunbonnets from MennoniteMaiden.com

I've been looking at modest/cape dress makers online. The dresses are $45 or more plus shipping. The're nice but... Plus, since they are custom sewed there was at least 3 weeks before shipping. I looked on e-bay and found 2 used dresses I liked and bought them. One is pink made from Tropical Breeze fabric, which I've been wanting but couldn't afford new. The other is a coral print but may be too small, however the price was extremely reasonable and I really liked the way it looked (pockets are a plus) so I took a chance.

I hope everything arrives soon and fits. I've never ordered clothes this way before, only a few shirts and a hat from catalogs. I also expect to find a thrift shop down there to get more reasonably priced basic dresses. Most of the dresses at the thrift shops here are office dressy type or skimpy and trendy. I'd also like to try to find a couple of nice full aprons (pinnafores) to keep the dresses clean and perhaps some for my daughter as well. I'd better bring an extra bag. :)

2 of my new dresses. The first is from Vermont Country Store. The other is a cape dress from e-bay

2 pictures of Round Eastern style headcoverings and the bonnet I bought.

Alright, listen up guys and gals. This week there is a fat summer sale at DrJays.com where thousands of products for men, women, and children are up to 70% off. Now here at MizJerisa.com, we know that it is hard to spend big bucks to stay fresh and clean nowadays. So we promote bargain shopping and simply gettin them when you can. Doesn't mean you have to shop at the Goodwill ok. So no, you cannot get a shirt from ZooYork or LRG for no two bucks, but it's simply cheaper than how much they would usually cost. And remember, don't buy it unless you love it. So there you go. Anyway, here are some good deals I came across while browsing the first ten of a gazillion pages of sales. The basics seem to be the best deal to me. You can layer them and mix and match 'em with different outfits. (All photos from Dr.Jays.com).

Left to Right: The Dynamic Tee by Zoo York: now $16.98 (was 24.00), We Trust Tee by Zoo York: $14.99 (was $20.00).

Left to Right: Crewneck Tee by Tanglewood: $5.99! (was $10.00), No Matter What the Season by LRG: $9.99 (was $24).

From Left to Right: The Signature Skinny Jeans by Sweet Vibes now $17.98 (was $24), The Zip Front Twill Jacket from Therapy by Lane Crawford now $14.00 (was $20).

From Left to Right: Motorcycle Jacket by Clique now $14.99 (was $30), Contrast Stitch V Neck by Energie now $3.99 (was $15).

I got this book in the mail from Amazon the other day...omg..I LOVE IT!! It's the coolest way to recycle old tshirts that I have found yet.

You have to get this book!