Blogging Break/ Badass Book Giveaway!

(Nothing to do with anything, really--I just love this picture)

As you've probably noticed, I haven't had much time to post recently. I really hate not being able to update regularly because I feel bad leaving my readers hanging and I miss writing and my mom calls me every day and says, "Didn't you used to have a blog or something? Didn't it used to brighten my days? BECAUSE NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR." She's so subtle.

Anyway, I'm currently working on some new projects which are really exciting but also really time-consuming, so for the next few weeks posting will continue to be sporadic. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not dead or trapped under something heavy, and to thank you for your patience!

I'll still be updating my Tumblr with pretty pictures and funny quotes, and my Twitter with blog updates and really important observations so please feel free to follow those, if you'd like.

Now, the good news: To make up for my radio silence, I'm super excited to be giving away a free copy of The Wanderlust Workbook, a life-changing ebook by the amazing Sarah Von Bargen, who is about to embark on an 8-month globe-trotting adventure.

I have a copy of this book, have read it approximately 40 times, and cannot emphasize enough how helpful and inspiring it is in making your travel goals a reality. In fact, I think one of the reasons Sarah decided to write it was because I kept emailing her and saying, "OK, so I want to spend 3 months tending to baby goats on a farm in the south of France. Where do I start?!"

This book answers every question that I ever asked her about trip planning and financing, and many more, things like how to take a leave of absence from your job, how to fund a big trip, how to decide on an itinerary, and how to deal with the smack in the face that is real life upon returning from an epic adventure.

For a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment on this post telling me a little about your dream trip--where would you like to wander and why? I'll choose a winner at random next Friday. Good luck! And check back soon for Daddy Likey updates!

p.s. For the next three days, Sarah is having a sale on The Wanderlust Workbook, knocking the price down to just 9 bucks. That price also includes a one-hour podcast and a step-by-step outline of what you need to do to prepare for a big trip. Snap one up for you or a friend or everyone you know, and thanks so much for supporting badass bloggers like Sarah VB!

When Horses Fly.

Pegasus Vintage Book Page Print, $8.50

This weekend I went to the Oregon Air Show with my dad and two of my brothers. While we were walking around the grounds trying to score as many free stickers and FAA Junior Agent badges as possible, my little brother Bob turned to me and said, "I'm going to buy a horse and a plane."

"Cool!" I said. "Are you going to learn to jump from your plane onto your horse like The Phantom? That's a classic move. The ladies love it."

Bob sighed at my stupidity. "No. I'm gonna teach the horse to be a pilot. Then I'm gonna ride the horse while it flies the plane."

"Oh," I said. "Well I guess that's even better."

Martin Feels Threatened.

Today's post comes courtesy of Daddy Likey's resident racoon fashion blogger, Martin Sheen. Take it away, Martin:

So, a fashion designer in Louisiana is making hats and purses out of the pelts of the nutria, a large invasive rodent.


Martin no likey.

xoxo,
Martin

p.s. A huge thanks to the lovely Angelina for the heads up!

Don't Show-cha Your Chocha!

Happy Monday and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this week's installment of Don't Show-cha Your Chocha! For those of you who are just joining the party here at Daddy Likey, DSYC is a recurring feature in which readers send in examples of the not-wearing-pants-when-they-are-clearly-necessary trend.

Please feel free to click here to read the humble beginnings of Don't Show-cha Your Chocha, or just read on and you'll surely get the gist of it.

Like, look at this:

Get it? (Thanks Gabrielle!)

Lovely reader Niovi sent this one in:

She explains: Sienna definitely shouldn't wash her dress too often, now it's torn, shrunk and chocha-lyptic.

To continue with the British chocha theme, here's the always-subtle Cheryl Cole:

Says Sarah: And to think of that she danced in that, oh the horror!

Here's a classic "For the love of God, hold down that hem!" moment:

Kimberly submitted a few not-so-ready-to-wear looks from Versace's Ready-to-Wear collection:

See-through shower curtain skirt...why even wear one?

Wouldn't you love a dress with these wonderful little triangle "chocha windows"?

Zoe found the perfect dress for your next purity ball:

Dub it "Key to my chocha."

Well, this is upsetting:

Says Winifred: Apparently your local toystore can provide some chocharifficness!

Tessa found the next few gems at every chocha hunter's favorite online store, Shopbop:

Sitting down: overrated and unnecessary.

So, wouldn't you guess this dress was from, like, sluttyclubwear.com?

Reader Becky delivers the bad news: The worst part is that this is A. from SEARS, and B. In the JUNIOR'S department.

Here's a confusing peacock/chocha combo from Amena:

Ummm, yeah.

Next up:

Says Natalie: This is not only an ugly dress, it's a risky, possible chocha-showing dress.

And finally, Anya sent in a series of chocha images (plus commentary) that I kind of want to turn into a flip book:

Exhibit A: The model is wearing sunglasses AND looking away, she clearly does not want to be recognized. I like the way she is touching the hem with one finger, as if to reassure herself that it didn't ride up and reveal her lady bits.

Exhibit B: She looks less than pleased about not having the sunglasses on anymore. I guess if she didn't have them to retain some dignity it was time to put her legs together and pull the dress down.

Exhibit C: A serious case of bitchface, and full-out leg clenching.

Amazing.

Giant Jewelry

This double-finger ring is the equivalent of brass knuckles for stylish geologists. Amazing.

Raw Stones Purple Double Finger Agate Slice Ring, $34.

Oh Deer!

Well, I'm back from Montana, and did not get eaten by a bear! I did, however, get spit on by a deer, a fact which seems to have elicited the most interest and bewilderment.

So here's the story.

On the second day of our trip we headed to Glacier National Park, which was obviously gorgeous, all craggy cliff faces and green forests and majestic waterfalls and bouncing mountain goats.

One problem: we accidentally visited on the 100th anniversary of the park, so we were basically stuck in a traffic jam for the entirety of our visit. We wanted to get off the road and explore, but every parking space was full and every shoulder was populated with construction equipment. At times it felt less like a natural wonderland and more like the parking lot of a suburban mall during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. And I mean, yeah, I love the Anniversary Sale, but that's not why I came to Montana.

So finally, after two hours of driving, we spotted a trailhead and my mom just sort of stopped the car. We got out, stretched our legs, and then I saw a sign that said, "CAUTION: GRIZZLY BEARS" and I started crying and got back in the car. I'd been nervous about bears for the whole trip, mostly because my brother Tona kept saying things like, "When a grizzly bear kills you, it's personal" and when we stopped to get water at Walgreens that morning my brother Devin pointed to a newspaper that said, "Grizzly Bear Eats Man."

Upon entering the park a ranger gave us a pamphlet with grizzly bear safety tips, which included making a lot of noise on the trails, especially around blind corners, so you don't surprise them. And that was pretty much it, because if a grizzly bear wants to eat you, it's going to.

My family finally coaxed/bribed me out of the car and I nervously made my way toward the trail entrance, where we came upon another sign that said, "Missing Hiker: Please Look For Body Parts."

Tona grabbed my shoulder and said, "The worst thing to do if you see a bear is to scream and run."

"Tona," I said, grabbing his shoulder, "if I see a bear I am going to scream and run."

Five minutes later we rounded the first blind corner and I saw a large brown animal in the bushes. I screamed and ran.

Turns out it was a deer. My family shook their heads at my stupidity and walked past it without incident. "Come on!" they all said. "It's just a deer!"

But my adrenaline was pumping. My life had flashed before my eyes. So had a VHS tape that my brothers and I watched on repeat when we were kids, called Dangerous Encounters. It was a collection of clips of wild animals mauling and killing people. It included a segment of a deer ramming some guy in a field until all his bones were broken.

Now Marty Stouffer's voice was on loop in my head, saying, "Deer kill hundreds of people every year."

The deer was staring at me, daring me to proceed. My family was staring at me, begging me to hurry up.

"Deer kill hundreds of people every year!" I yelled.

"That's not even true," Tona said. "Marty Stouffer doctored the statistics. That number is from deer causing car accidents."

"Marty Stouffer would never lie!"

"He did."

"Fine, I'm coming," I said, and started to shuffle toward the deer. Its front feet were blocking the trail, and when I got within a couple feet it reared up, made a hissing sound and stuck out its tongue at me. Seriously. Look:

I ran back to a safe distance and pleaded with it. "Deer, dude, you've gotta work with me here!"

It ignored me and resumed snacking on leaves.

"Nona, just do it," Tona said. "It's distracted and it's a female, it's not going to hurt you."

The rest of my family had resumed their hike and were disappearing around the next corner. I counted to three, covered my face and neck, and marched down the trail. That's when the deer stomped its feet and spit on me. I felt a mist of deer saliva. I yelled a series of expletives and charged forward. The deer made a sound that I can only describe as the ungulate version of "Harumph!" and bounded across the trail into the forest.

We never saw a grizzly bear.

p.s. Fashion-related posts coming soon!

Big Sky Blogging

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately!

I'm actually in Montana with my mom, brothers, and boyfriend right now. I packed my laptop in a Betsey Johnson floral totebag (just like Jack Kerouac, right?) so I'd be able to post updates from the road, but then I found out there is no internet in Montana.

Besides the lack of wifi though, I'm loving this beautiful state. Here is a list of notable events/experiences so far:

-Swam in a mountain lake
-Got spit on by a deer
-Saw a black bear
-Saw Professor Keenbean from Richie Rich
-Got an awkward back rub from a waiter at a Mexican restaurant
-Acted out some key scenes from Harry Potter
-Saw a mountain goat and a baby mountain goat
-Had to hide from a couple of Skeksis from The Dark Crystal
-Got in trouble for laughing too loud on a train

At one point on a hike in Glacier National Park, I was overcome by the natural setting and sat down by a raging river to sing "Mother Nature's Son" and whittle a spear from a birch branch. Photo evidence:


I'll be back to blogging ASAP, but for now I'll be whittling and trying not to get eaten by a grizzly bear. Hope you guys have a great week!

Stuff I Love: Golden Globe Necklace

"World Links" necklace, $60

In this case I would happily carry the weight of the world on my shoulders.

p.s. I would also happily carry the weight of a gold saltine on my shoulders.

Black Holes and Broken Sunglasses

This weekend my top favorite sunglasses broke.

They broke while I was drumming, which could have made for a really cool story, like maybe I had just finished a perfect rendition of "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse and did a massive headbang to celebrate and my sunglasses flew off and hit Dom Howard (the drummer from Muse) in the chest because he happened to be standing in the doorway and then he started a slow clap and said "You're bloody talented" and when I jumped up to hug him I stepped on my sunglasses and they broke and Dom was like, "Don't worry about it, I'll buy you some new ones IN LONDON because you are going to come on tour with us and fill in for me whenever I need a wee nap. Cheers!"

In reality I was sitting completely still while my little brother (who is a way better drummer than I am) tried to explain to me the concept of a paradiddle, and my $12 sunglasses just fell off my head onto the floor and broke. And I seriously almost cried.

I was able to find a replacement pair (in blue plaid) on ebay the same night for less than 10 bucks, which was awesome, but in my state of grief I also bought two other vintage pairs from Etsy and saved about a thousand more in my favorites folder, including these:

70s Rainbow Sunglasses, $9.99

Now I'm sort of hoping someone else buys these before I do, because I need to stop spending all my money on sunglasses, and I'll need to pack light when I go on tour.

p.s. I just bought tickets to see Muse in Minneapolis in October. Might need to buy a new pair of sunglasses to celebrate.

High Fashion Haiku: Broccoli Bag

If you put your mouth
where your money is, at least
you'll get some fiber.

p.s. Thanks so much to Catherine and Julienne for emailing me about this!

Impossible Pants

I saw Inception yesterday, and then today my friend Paul emailed me this picture:

Isn't this like the pants version of Penrose's Impossible Staircase? Where do the shoes end and the pants begin? Or am I just stuck in the third layer of a four layer dream about two layer shoe-pants?

God I have a headache.

Khaki Confusion

Every magazine I've opened in the past few months has included an editorial screaming "Khaki is back! And it's sassy and stylish! Throw out all your denim! Wear full khaki outfits! GO BUY KHAKI."

When I worked at Starbucks I bought a pair of khaki shorts to augment my summer work wardrobe. The dress code there required black or khaki bottoms and I found a pair for 10 bucks at Nordstrom Rack and when I tried them on in the dressing room I shrugged and thought, "Well, they're not the worst shorts in the world."

Then I brought them home and realized I was wrong. They were the worst shorts in the world. They had a high waist and a bunchy crotch and the hem hit right above my knee and they made my ass look like a pancake battling severe depression.

Even my boyfriend, who is normally exceedingly supportive of every outfit, took one look at these shorts and said, "Really though?"

For awhile I wore them anyway because I always forgot to wash my work clothes. But eventually the weather got cooler and I quit Starbucks and I hung the Worst Shorts In The World in the back of my closet and forgot about them.

Cut to a few days ago. With visions of chic khaki editorial spreads dancing in my head, I took out the Worst Shorts In The World, hacked about 6 inches off the legs and cuffed 'em. Paired with a sparkly black tanktop and blue hoodie they were perfect for a long city walk with a friend and I felt like I had conquered the khaki trend on my own terms. I got a few compliments on my new look. I was pretty proud.

(Not me. But similar shorts.)

Later that night I went over to my brother's house to learn some new songs on his drum set. I was feeling really cool about mastering The Kink's "You Really Got Me" until I looked down and saw that my sassy khaki shorts had stretched out over the course of the day into saggy soccer mom culottes. Rockstar moment ruined.

This whole debacle got me thinking: Why must khaki always swing so violently from one end of the style spectrum to the other? Is there no middle ground between sassy chic and saggy soccer mom? How do you guys feel about the khaki trend, and khaki in general?

P.S. And how in god's name does one wear khaki in the summer and avoid mustard stains?

On Anne of Green Gables and Eggplant Parmigiana

I was thrilled when the lovely Annie of Poetic & Chic invited me to help kick off her new interview series, the P&C Questionnaire. Her thought-provoking questions had me waxing poetic (and chic) on everything from Anne of Green Gables to hipster haircuts and eggplant parmigiana. Please click here to check it out.

#1 Life Inspiration

A huge thanks to Annie for the awesome opportunity!

Don't Show-cha Your Chocha!

Happy Friday and welcome to this week's installment of Don't Show-cha Your Chocha! For those of you who are just joining the party here at Daddy Likey, DSYC is a recurring feature in which readers send in examples of the not-wearing-pants-when-they-are-clearly-necessary trend.

Please feel free to click here to read the humble beginnings of Don't Show-cha Your Chocha, or just read on and you'll surely get the gist of it.

Let's kick things off with the most elegant and classy brand in all of fashion, Ed Hardy:

Reader Chrisanthi explains: Notice the blonde girl trying to hold down the brunette's chocha-skimming "dress" from being blown away... the girl with the hairdryer must be trying to drawn the attention away from her complete box shot.

Speaking of class and elegance:

Says Courtney: Though this particular choch-offense isn't especially short, the placement of the design gives me great concern.

Here's an elegant space age DSYC moment:

Says Brooke: This gal is just looking for trouble!

Love this one from reader Flavia:

You might call this a "tour de chocha."

Minona (oh my god, best name ever) sent in this fairly cute, really short dress from Asos:

This would be a perfectly fine chocha submission on its own, but as Minona said, "you have to go to the website and view the catwalk video, if you dare." Watching the model try to spin around glamorously while tugging her dress down to cover her butt is both stressful and delightful.

Here's a priceless chocha trifecta from Emma:

I found this picture of an ad campaign for Alexander Wang disturbing. The model's body language pretty much speaks for itself!

Here's a near sent in by lovely reader Bojana:

Entertainment Weekly captioned this dress as a 'youthful Rafael Cennamo mini.' Youthful here meaning 'chocha-licious.'

Here's a great Glee chocha (glocha?) from Jessica:

While I do love Glee, I think we can agree that Lea Michele is not super thrilled to have to appear in Elle in such a chocha-tastic ensemble.

Some of my favorite DSYC submissions are the ones that are clearly labeled as "dresses" while showing the model's entire crotch:

As Anna says: You can legitimately see her crotch. See. Her. Crotch. Oh jeez.

My other favorite DSYC submissions are the ones that are clearly labeled "nun's habit" while showing the model's entire crotch:

A huge thanks to reader Alex for spotting this one.

Aaaannnnd I think we should end with the slutty nun. Yep, definitely.

Spot a chocha? Send it in! daddylikeyblog@gmail.com

Stuff I Love: Happy Day Dress

I just really love clothes that make it seem hard to have a bad day.

DVF dress, on sale for $138 (size 8 only--Crap! now I'm having a bad day)

Five Men's Fashion First Impressions!

Good lord it's been a long time since the Five Men made an appearance, hasn't it? This is mostly because rounding up all the men often feels like trying to control a herd of diva sheep with ADD. No offense, guys.

Anyway, if you're new to Daddy Likey (welcome!), here's how Five Men's Fashion First Impressions works: I show my group of men (brothers, dad, boyfriend) an avant-garde fashion item and record their immediate reactions, which usually include at least one reference to Con Air. Here is the introductory FMFFI post, if you're curious. And here is today's fashion item, submitted by the lovely Ashley:

The skeletal heel from Dsquared2. My opinion? Awesome.

And now, without further ado, the men...

Brother, age 15: First of all, it's not logical. The spinal column is bowed out too much. Second of all, it seems like it's gonna burst open and an alien is gonna pop out.

Brother, age 20: The only two explanations I can think of for this are if your bone is actually protruding from your foot or you are Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park.

Father: (Cocks head. Squints) So that's the caudal portion of the spinal cord. (Looks closer) Wow! It's even got intercostals in there! It's really quite a good representation. It must be life-modeled. I mean, it's butt ugly, but it's quite eye-catching. I like the bones. I don't like the shoe.

Boyfriend: That's the creepy robot from Transformers that tries to kill Tyrese Gibson!

Brother, age 23: Looks like a sand shrimp claw.
Me: So do you like it?
Brother, age 23: No, I hate sand shrimp.

So, there you go.

p.s. The Five Men take requests! If you find something you'd like their sometimes disturbing but always brutally honest opinion on, send it my way: daddylikeyblog@gmail.com

Awesome Affordable Etsy Find of the Week!

Oregon is currently experiencing a heat wave. We hit 101 today. Anytime the temperature climbs above 90 I'm convinced my second floor apartment is not actually an apartment but a human oven closely observed by alien chefs. It's terrifying. And sweaty.

Vintage slip, $8

Today I fled to the beach to escape the heat. Tomorrow I plan to wear nothing but a vintage slip to work, then crawl over to the air-conditioned grocery store across the street, lay down in the freezer section, and try not to get arrested for indecent exposure.

p.s. For all you sweaty, stylish Portland folks, also happening tomorrow: The Up in the Air Summer Affair Rooftop Party and Fashion Show. I'm hoping to peel myself off the grocery store floor, put on a bra (hopefully), and go check it out. Should be a really good time! See you there?

Top 5 Neon Pink Sneakers for the "Neon Pink Sneakers Girl"

My sophomore year of college I was really into Converse sneakers. I wanted to be known as "Converse Girl" so I wore my pink high tops and purple tie-dye low tops every day and said things like, "Look everybody! I'm wearing my Converse again. Might as well call me Converse Girl!" really loud and often. I was well on my way to mediocre fame and maybe a sponsorship when my foot started to hurt. I went to the doctor, he did an x-ray, and said, "Your foot is broken."

"Umm, how did I break my foot without noticing?"

He frowned at my beloved Converse sitting at the corner. "Do you ever wear different shoes?"

"No," I said. "I'm kind of known as the Converse Girl."

He explained that the lack of support from my beat-up sneakers combined with constant walking and my habit of excitable jumping had given me a stress fracture.

I stormed out of his office with a walking cast, later switched to even less supportive ballet flats to spite him, and I haven't really worn sneakers since.

Cut to the other day at Starbucks: I saw a girl waiting in line wearing the most amazing neon pink Keds. I gasped and said to my friend, "Look at the neon pink Keds girl!" and I felt a pang of jealousy and nostalgia in my heart. My obsession had returned.

Here are a few of my favorite options a frantic search for "neon pink sneakers" turned up:

Vans Neon Authentic, $42

Converse Big Star, $50

Keds Champion Dip Dye, $40

Vans Slip-Ons, $42

Roxy "Harbor," $39

What about you guys? Do you have a particular shoe obsession?