Conundrum Solved: We Quit Cable!!!

A few weeks ago, I posted about how we had been considering cancelling our cable.  After reading everyone's super helpful comments, I decided to look more into Hulu Plus and a digital antenna.  I had two main concerns:  One, that I wouldn't be able to see all the shows that I currently watch.  Well, I checked on Hulu Plus, and everything I watch is available on there (the day after it airs).  Perfect!  Second, I was very concerned about missing the upcoming Olympics this summer.  Well, with a digital antenna, we can apparently get all the major channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox), and therefore won't have to miss any of the Olympic coverage at all.  Both of my worries taken care of!

So that meant that the day had come...

WE QUIT CABLE!!!!!

This picture is 4 years old and has nothing to do with cable, but I just hope it portrays the joy we will feel in our freedom from TV!!!

I made the call yesterday afternoon, and since we are too lazy to take our DVR all the way downtown to return it, our scheduled pick-up is March 20th.  We have 13 days left to enjoy our cable and our DVR, and then...a whole new world for us!

I feel extremely good about this decision.  As I mentioned before, our cable is $89 a month.  We have had our Netflix subscription for a couple of years already, but when we get Hulu Plus, that will be $8 a month, and a digital antenna appears to be around $20 for a one-time purchase.  So in total, we're basically going to be saving $80 per month, and $960 per year!  It's hard not to feel good about a decision that saves you that much money.

I'm imagining more freedom from the television in general, making more time to do the things we enjoy.  I'm imagining more music being played in our home without the noise of the television to overrule it.  I'm imagining less commercials!

I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who commented on my previous post with your experiences with cable and your great advice!  We took it all to heart, and are really excited to be cable free!

Reminder: Giveaway Closes in 24 Hours!

Don't forget:  if you haven't done so already, click here to be entered in my current giveaway!  All you need to do is answer a 6 question survey and comment that you did so, and you'll be entered to win a garment of your choosing ($50 value or less) for FREE from my Etsy shop, Dottie Adele!  Giveaway closes at midnight Thursday, so don't hesitate - you have 24 hours!

Around the City: Graffiti

I've spent the last couple of days on the opposite end of the island from where we live and work, and it's been a breath of fresh air!  All the graffiti and wall art especially caught me eye.  There's something sort of beautiful these--part art, part defacement--isn't there?

Desperately Needed Skirt

Last week, I realized that although I have a rainbow of skirts in my closet, I don't have one in just a basic, wear-with-everything grey.  So, naturally, I made one!

Using the trusty Jenny Pattern from Burdastyle (which I have also made in black and pink), I whipped this one up in no time.

Changes made:  shortened length by about 4 inches, made waistband 1/4 of original size, and omitted a lining altogether (sometimes it's just easier to wear a slip!).

I also felt like it needed just a little something extra, so I added these things.

Flaps, I guess?  It's not really a peplum, but I don't know what to call it.  I actually just freehand cut them out myself, but all the while I was very aware that what I was making looked an awful lot like the main skirt on New Look 6003, which I actually own, but apparently I wanted to make this more complicated for myself by not using the pattern that I had in my stash.  Just for the thrill of it.

And for the curious minds out there, my top is from Gap Outlet, and it is very, very unlike what I would normally wear...but it's growing on me :)

Weekend: Bachelor Stalking

It's really no secret how big of a fan I am of the entire Bachelor franchise (I mentioned it in passing here, here, here, and here, for goodness sake!).  To quote my good friend Heidi, "If I saw Angelina Jolie on the street, I don't think I would care, but if I saw Jillian...I would probably pee my pants."

To get ourselves some reality tv star sighting excitement, Brittany and I headed to Webster Hall on Friday night to see Michael Stagliano (Jillian's Season, Bachelor Pad 2, breakdancer after my own heart) play some tunes!

During the opening acts, our backs hurt, so we had to go find somewhere to sit down.  In the room between the bathrooms, we found a bench, as well as these old artifacts to play with.

We also pretty quickly discovered that we were inadvertent geniuses.  Everyone has to go to the bathroom some time, and we were situated exactly between them both.  Sure enough, this guy rolled up after not too long:

GRAHAM BUNN.COM (also quoted from Heidi) [Deanna's Season, Bachelor Pad 2].  I want you to know that Brittany started our conversation with him by saying, "I googled you today and all the pictures I could find, you didn't have your shirt on."  He liked it.  We liked him.  Also, the first picture I took of them, his face looked like this:

which is pretttttty awesome.

Then, these girls passed us by, so we joined them in the bathroom:

Stars of the current (Ben's) season, Jenna (who doesn't really cry as much as they would have liked us to believe) and Rachel, my bangs idol!  These girls have beautiful hair, as you have surely noticed, since about 62% of the above picture is actually their hair.  We talked to them for quite a long time, and were assured that this evening's Women Tell All episode will be a doozy.  I felt like a Bachelor insider with that info!

When we finally left our bathroom stake-out position, we immediately ran into this tiny pixie:

Little Ashley S. (Brad's Season)!  Guys, she has the best Bachelor recaps ever of all time on her blog, Say No To Cosmo.  Go read them all.  There are awkward screen grabs with people making the strangest faces and words written in all capital letters, AKA two of my favorite things.  Also, her boyfriend's name is Scott, and my husband's name is Scott...so we have a lot in common.

Finally, after about 3 hours of stalking, Michael himself took the stage! 

After a few songs, he told everyone to take out their phones and text someone that they love and tell them that they missed them.  He claimed that he texted his dad, but I am pretty certain that in actuality, he texted Jillian.  You did, didn't you, Michael?  Please confirm.

 Some of the people around us were also interesting.  Amazing pants/shoes combo.

 Also, look at the size of this girl's phone!  That's practically an iPad, am I right?

Michael is such a sensitive soul, he tattooed his guitar with the name of his tour.  Also, he breakdances, once sat on Bret Michels' tour bus (my infatuation with Rock of Love is a whole other blog post), has a voice that would sooth babies, and is a twin.  This guy is so legit.

Eventually, because we are old and have various pains in our bodies, we left.  But this is how happy we were as we bid all our new Bachelor buds good-bye.  The zooming is accidental, but our smiles are completely on purpose.

Our parting words:  "I am so pumped to do my taxes!"

Stuff I Like: Insanely Catchy Pop Song + Famous People Acting Like Regular Kids

Dottie Adele: Update + Giveaway!

Changes have been going on over at my Etsy shop, Dottie Adele!  Over the weekend, I revamped the look of my shop, made a new banner, and redid almost all of my pictures.  I also added two new garments, and one old favorite of mine is making a reappearance:

Here are the Ribbon Waistband Skirt, Black Lace Sweetheart Dress (you may remember this as my Something Fancy dress!), and the Splatter Paint skirt.  Click on over if you would like to see more details on each!

NOW:

Here's where the giveaway comes in!  Now that we're all gearing up for spring (it's so hard to believe it's March!), I have my eye on spring fashion.  What I'd like to ask of you is to complete the survey below telling me what your spring shopping is going to look like (so short - 6 questions - will literally take less than 60 seconds).  What I'd like to give you in return is any item from Dottie Adele ($50 value or less), custom made for you!

To enter, please complete the survey below and leave me a comment letting me know that you did so - that's it!  Giveaway will close Thursday, March 8, at midnight EST, and I will announce the winner on Friday, March 9!  I look forward to making one of you something special :)

**I've had a few questions about what a peplum is (question 4).  It is a ruffle added at a garment's waist.  See examples of a peplum on a skirt here, or on a dress here, and on a top here.