Style Crush: Jean Seberg

I stumbled upon the French movie Breathless (1960) one day and instantly fell in love with Jean Seberg. I love her short pixie and striped outfits. At one point, I was close to getting rid of all my clothes and only wearing striped dresses and tops!

Her life story is full of controversy and mystery, and sadly she died tragically at the age of 40.

I love channeling her style in my own plus size version. This is me yesterday!

Now if they could just find Jean-Luc Godard to give him his Oscar for Breathless...

Music Monday: Boy Eats Drum Machine

If you live around here, you have probably heard of Boy Eats Drum Machine. Jon Ragel has been pretty busy around town showing off his one man music skills. I have known him (and his lovely wife) for at least 10 years and have always been a fan of his music projects. Boy Eats Drum Machine happens to be my favorite. Which reminds me, I need to get out more and go to some shows where I will proceed to dance my behind off. I can't imagine just standing there--Portland, I am talking to you! 

He also makes his own LP covers and CD covers, how awesome is that?!

So now, take a look and a listen.

I love the first video. It is made by a fan, stop-motion and you have to watch it! If you don't watch it now, bookmark this and watch it later.

“Hoop + Wire” - Boy Eats Drum Machine from Jason Sievers

Another fan-made video, but with a yo-yo.

Hoop + Wire from Clifton B

This BEDM video is very reflective of the movie, Brazil (1985).

Boy Eats Drum Machine - "3000 Flares" Music Video from Erik Stanfill

The next one features our own roller derby gals, Rose City Rollers.

Boy Eats Drum Machine - ABQ from Benjamin Meader

I am pretty sure this last one was his first video.

Boy Eats Drum Machine - "Eunuch" Music Video from Erik Stanfill

You're welcome for introducing you to this awesome artist which will now make your day brighter and your life fuller! And watch out for his new album coming out soon.

10 Things I Love Sunday

1. Kyla Roma's beautiful tattoo!

2. Camping! It was our 30th family reunion this year and we camped at Detroit Lake State Park. I made signs and a flag banner to decorate our campsite.

 

3. Beth Ditto from Gossip - everything about her. And this article she wrote on being fat.

4. Living in Oregon and enjoying all the beautiful views. This one was taken by me of Crown Point Viewpoint at the Portland Women's Forum Viewpoint.

5. This photo.

6. Speaking of cupcakes. I made these red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting this week and the office now demands weekly batches.

7. Cowboy-style boots. I have already started wearing mine. Love fall weather!

8. Owl of the woods.

9. Needy kitties.

10. And my cute husband that likes to take silly pictures with me.

Pesco-Vegetarianism

I am sitting here catching up on blogs and watching some of "The Food of the Gods" (1976) and becoming more and more convinced to become vegetarian. Nothing like seeing giant rats being beaten bloody, even if the effects are horrible, it still bothered me. Especially when the real rats that are being used in the movie are shot in the eye with red paint and nearly drown in water! I can't stand watching it! I can't watch PETA ads either and the ASPCA commercials with Sarah McLachlan brings out the tears.

It's not just the mistreatment of animals that has me convinced. Half the time, meat is really unappetizing to me. I get sick of it! I feel like I am forcing myself to choose what my next meat will be, like it is my only choice. I know, it sounds ridiculous! But, if I limit myself to what I really want to eat in the first place, isn't that going to make me happier and my life better?

I am thinking about becoming a pesco-vegetarian. I don't think I can stop eating sushi and dim sum. Sorry little fishes! I always find you quite tasty. I have tried being a semi-vegetarian in the past and can't remember how long it lasted. I think the hardest part is eating dinner at other people's houses. We have weekly dinners with our parents and will have to explain it to them. Wish me luck!

4 Simple Goals

Thanks, Elsie for this great idea! 

These are the rules...

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish.

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". get what i'm saying? positive actions instead of just the end result!

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.

4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward.

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year! i'll be doing this too! links back to this post are appreciated.

Here it goes...

Go on more adventures. We should hop in the car more and go to interesting and new places in the Northwest. Like Leavenworth, WA - a Bavarian village with a yearly Autumn Leaf Festival! How cute is that. I love the little cuckoo clock style buildings. My friends visited and their pictures were so adorable and it looked they had a lot of fun.

Take more pictures. This was on a lot of people's but I feel the same way! I sometimes forget to take pictures or get too busy. I take a pretty fair amount of pictures on my Nexus One, which aren't all bad. The picture above was from my phone last night, using the Vignette app to get the border and toy camera effect. But I would love to have more high quality photos to use on here and to get me more familiar with my camera. Part two of this goal is to get myself in more photos. I noticed after looking at photo sets from trips that I am not in very many or not at all. I wasn't in any of my camping pics! The husband needs to grab the camera more often and I need to bring along the tripod.

Draw. I used to draw all the time when I was little. Took art classes and had sketch books. I probably won't carry a sketch book now. But I can commit myself to sketching on the computer more with the tablet. 

Cook tasty food. I am sure we all go through this. We get inspired or motivated to cook more at home and do pretty well and then we get tired, work 40 hour weeks and take-out and restaurants start looking better and better. I am a pretty killer cook, if I do say so myself. Time to get back in the kitchen.

I'm excited to start working on my goals! 

Welcome to my blog!

Wait, somebody is actually reading my blog?!?! I hopefully have some interesting things to show you and talk about. I suppose that depends who you are. If you are a crafty, creative, thrifting, tattooed/tattoo-appreciating and cat-adoring person like me- AWESOME! Or if you are just here to peek into my noggin, that is okay too.

I have been following these nifty blogs and I thought to myself, "I want one!". Seriously, I have been reading some of them for a couple years now and feel like I know the bloggers. So instead of being a creepy stalker, I too will blog and show some of my pretties and feelings and all that good stuff.

You can expect to see my owl collection (of course!), my Polaroid Land Cameras and photographs, digital photos, drawing, recipes and other goodies relating to Rachele. I plan on joining in on some of the blog memes like Friday Favorites and Music Monday. I may even come up with some of my own so come back and check for more. If you are a Google Reader person, like me, or use other feed readers- subscribe! Drop me a comment and let me know who you are and if you have a blog I can subscribe to also.

On a side note, why isn't thrifted and thrifting in my spell-check dictionary? I and others use these words all the time! C'mon, I spend so much doing it so it has to be real.

Time to frost the red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! I might bring some to the office tomorrow...

CONTACT ME

Would you like to offer your product as a giveaway on the blog?
Maybe you are thinking of becoming a sponsor?
Do you have a product you would like to send me to review?
Or maybe you just want to shoot me a friendly message?

Name:
Business Name:
Tell me about yourself and/or your business:
Website URL:
Email Address:
I am interested in:	Purchasing an ad space Offering an item for giveway on your site Sending you an item to review Nothing, just want to say hi!
Message:

Advertising

If you are a business or blog looking to partner with a sassy fat lady, then advertising here is for you! You can also send items for review, have something featured in an outfit post or host a giveaway. You can even be a cheapskate and buy the lowest priced ad and swap ads with me! If you have sponsored me before, email me and we'll swap even stevens.

If you purchase an ad, you will have an opportunity to describe your shop or blog and upload a button image. If you have no idea what pixels or photoshop is, I can design your button for free. You can upload an image you want made into a button and leave me a note in the "tell us about your ad" section. Or you can email me at rachele@nearsightedowl.com and we'll get shit done.

I won't pretend to be a fancy schmancy blogger but I would cry sugary tears of happiness if I got free cute clothes and accessories in my size and had the opportunity to show them off to my readers. That goes for anything relevant to my interests and passions - fatshion, cat whiskers, old lady brooches, bathroom haircutting and watching British teen dramas. So email me at rachele@nearsightedowl.com if any of that sounds appealing!

Stats

The Nearsighted Owl has had 160,210 views in January and 132,214 in February. We have 2,035 Google Friend Connect followers, 850 Bloglovin' readers and 2,762 feed subscribers as of 3/31/13. Other online presences included Tumblr with 1,689 followers, Instagram with 891 followers, Twitter with 771 followers and Facebook with 1,123 likes. The Nearsighted Owl was Blogger's Blog of Note on 9/13/11, which brings new readers in every day.

Small Print

The Nearsighted Owl is a for-profit blog. Please contact me if you like me to review or feature an item in an outfit post. Giveaways have a $20 minimum value. I may choose to turn down your submission or sponsorship if your site or product is not relevant or of interest to me. All reviews are honest and only posted if positive. Prices are subject to change. I am also part of the Amazon Affiliate program, partner with other companies and product links may be paid. Brands advertised here are companies that I have worked with, use personally or are relevant.

FAQ

Would you draw me? Do you do commissions? Will you help me design my blog?

I have done commission, portraits and blog designs in the past. But right now I am focusing on writing and not doing them anymore. I still hope to share personal artwork and drawings with my readers though! Just no time for commissions right now. You can purchase prints of my past artwork here.

What cameras do you use?

I used to use a Canon Powershot SX10 IS and now I am using a Nikon 1 J1. I also take photos with my phone. Sometimes I use film and Polaroid too.

What do you use to edit photos and graphics?

I use Picasa, GIMP, Picmonkey, Fotoflexer, Corel Painter and iPhoto.

You use the word fat on your blog. Why do you describe yourself with such an insulting word?

I don't consider the word fat to be an insult. It is a word that describes my appearance and a word I identify with.

How would you describe the fat acceptance movement?

The fat acceptance movement has had a profound influence in my life and something I think about every day. I am plus sized and also a fat acceptance activist, even if it is in a small way. By the clothes I wear and the confidence I carry, I am sending a message that goes against what popular opinion says - that you can determine someone's worth or health based on their size. The fat acceptance movement is about breaking that stereotype and giving everyone, regardless of their weight, the opportunity to love their bodies and be treated with respect. Kate Harding says it best in her article, "Don't You Realize Fat is Unhealthy?".

How much do you weigh?

I don't mind answering this question. I don't try to hide my size and hope that people can be inspired or boost their own confidence when they see someone their own size that is happy with their body. I am 5'9" and 300 lbs.

How come you don't share your real name online?

I prefer to keep my blog and job separate. If I shared my real name, it would be very easy to find my blog.

How long have you been married?

The mister and I have been married for 10 years. We met in high school and got hitched very young!

If you have a question, please use this form to ask me. If I don't add it to the FAQ section, I may answer your question in a future vlog.

- Rachele

About

My name is Rachele (pronounced "Rachael"). I am 30 years old and love to draw, crochet, cook and take photos. I have more than a few tattoos and I have been pescetarian for over two years. I have been married for a decade to my high school sweetheart. 

We live in a 1950's atomic ranch house filled with the many findings of our thrifting trips, including a collection of owls, globes, mushrooms and pyrex. We spend our weekends watching movies or going on adventures in our beautiful state. But mostly we love staying home with our four kitties.

Sandy

Marie

Wednesday

Clementine

I am passionate about positive body image and the healthy-at-any-size and fat acceptance movement. My heroes include Beth Ditto, Kate Harding, Leslie Hall and Roseanne. I post about fatshion, feminism, fat acceptance and strive to change how the world sees fat bodies. I shoot from the hip and can swear like a sailor.

Thanks for stopping by! You can email me at rachele@nearsightedowl.com.

Prints

1. Visit my print shop and find the artwork you would like

2. Click on "BUY IT - Greeting Cards & Postcards" below the artwork

3. Choose 4x6 postcard and add to cart

4. Then checkout to send your prints right to your house!

Please let me know if there is any of my artwork like that would like to be available as prints. This also includes custom portraits that I have done for you. You can visit my Etsy to see if I have other things for sale.

- Rachele