evil chips…collection collective

i have been a vegetarian
most of my life.
i think that
i was about 9 years old
when i decided
that i wouldn’t
eat meat anymore.
i wanted to be
a veterinarian
and i felt that
it didn’t make sense
to eat some animals
and save others.
i have 3 older brothers
so i have had
my share of
meat jokes
and
meat pranks.
i was a hardcore
vegetarian
throughout my teens
with a brief 2 year bout
into vegan-land.
then i went to europe
for an extended period of time
got sick of bread
and
rediscovered
yogurt and cheese.
i use to be an
animal rights activist
marching with bunnies
against benetton,
wearing vegan shoes,
berading meat eaters
and fur & leather-wearers
then i got older and jaded
and started to study ecology.
i realized that
although politics
has it’s place
research science
in ecology and conservation
really makes
a big difference in
the long-term
protection of organisms
and the environment.
i still try
to avoid buying leather
don’t eat gelatin,
rennet or lard
and try to live a pretty
animal product-free life.
so today
i went with my labmates
to get a sandwich
and chips.
i am not a big
chip eater
but the handcooked
chips sounded simple
and appealing
to compliment the taste
of my veggie sandwich.
so naïve you are bugheart!
while i was eating my lunch
and checking blogs
i noticed the chips
tasted funny.
too rich,
almost sickeningly so...
but i was absorbed in blogs
and i didn’t really
think about it.
but by the bottom
of the bag
i felt sick.

so i looked at the bag
to see the ingredients
(foolishly expecting cocoa butter
or some sort of fattening oil)
and
they were fried in LARD!
oh god- i am going to be sick.
who the hell fries their chips
in LARD anymore!
i thought handcooked
meant handmade!
such an idiot.
evil chips!
yuck. yuck. yuck.
after brushing my teeth
for half an hour
i think
gag
i can start with
my original post…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i have written
a great deal
about collections.
one of the reasons
i thrift shop
is because
i love collections.
i find it pleasing
to group items
that are similar
in form or color
but unique in other ways.
i am always on the hunt
for items
that i collect.
each wednesday
i will post some photos
of one of my collections.
i invite you to do the same.
if lots of people
are interested
we can start a
flickr group.
please let me know
if you are posting
your collections
on wednesdays
and i will link
to your blog.

my collection for
this week
is clothing by
vested gentress:

i first discovered
vested gentress (VG)
because i found
an amazing asparagus dress
at value village.
unfortunately it didn’t fit
so i passed it on to
a stitch-n-bitch friend.
she in turn found
a fabulous
grasshopper skirt
(pictured below).

this is some
background
information
that i found
from this site:
This business, established in 1961, was based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and was known for whimsical screen printed fabrics. These fabrics were made into dresses, slacks and skirts. They also had a line of golf wear. The company closed in the late 80s.

you can tell that it is
a true VG dress
because it will have
this label
or there will be a little VG
somewhere on
the fabric.
i have never been
able to find
any more information
on the creators
but i really adore their prints-
particularly
the whimsical animals.
i am particularly into
the bug prints
so if you ever find one
(especially with caterpillars)
i’ll give
you an arm and a leg
for it!

here are some of my dresses:



and some of my skirts:




i am definitely not
the only collector
out there….
check out
soulemama.
VG items
can be very expensive,
especially if they are
in good condition
i have been lusting after
this skirt
on ebay for weeks.

unfortunately
VG sizes run small.
i wear an 8 (sometimes)
to a 12 (in skirts).
i have found sizes
up to 18.
i have lots of
different sizes
in my collection
(not pictured)
and some may show up
on great monday give-away™.

feel free to email me
if you want to swap.
bugheart(at)gmail(dot)com.

once again,
let me know
if you decide
to join the
all new
wednesday
collection collective!