Fabulous Fail

Sometimes, your best thrifted DIY intentions fail you. After two months of frugal, patient shopping, crafting, painting, sewing, and jewelry-making, my Halloween costume was a huge flop.

Literally. After a couple wrong cuts, the top of my dress lost all structure and became floppy.

So, all of a sudden, I'm a day away away from Halloween, and no costume, and I still want to keep my two priorities:

1) Save $$.
2) Reused, recycled, or borrowed.

Thank goodness, Goodwill came to the rescue. I'll follow with a picture of the final product after Halloween, but I've decided to go as punk Eleven from Stranger Things. That's her in the middle:

(Image borrowed, copyright Netflix)

The good news is these are pretty normal clothes, so I only needed two items: white sneakers (how do I not have these?) and an over-sized black coat.

Here's what I scored. Like-new Nikes, a deal at $15. That logo's from the '70s, so someone had them stashed in a closet for a very long time. They fit great, so I'll incorporate them into my weekend wardrobe.

This wool blazer. New with tags, that shows it would have been $175! Now I got it over-sized, but it turns out it's exactly the right size for T. Not only did I get a screaming deal for $20, but T will get to incorporate it into his regular wardrobe.

$35 for a Halloween costume, where we can reuse everything? That's a Halloween Treat.

November 6th - Vote for the Planet

I got my ballot for the midterms in the mail today.

According to The Environmental Voter Project, 15.78 million environmentalists did not vote in the 2014 midterm election*, and only 4% of voters listed Climate Change & The Environment as the most or 2nd most important issue in choosing a presidential candidate**. Their hypothesis? "If environmental issues are a low priority for voters, they will be a low priority for policy makers."

Voting is the most formal way to get your voice heard, whether it's choosing candidates that share your beliefs or voting on specific policies.

First, confirm that you are registered to vote with your current address, etc. You can still register to vote in Washington State in person until October 29th. Click here for information.

Next, keep yourself honest: you can check on your own voter history here for Washington or by Googling "my voter history" and your state.

Finally, VOTE! If you live in Washington, you are lucky that you can vote by mail, which gives you a couple weeks to complete your form and mail or drop it off at an official drop-box.

If you are in a state that doesn't have mail-in ballots, and transportation is a hardship to get to your polling location:

• Lyft is offering 50% off rides on November 6th or even free rides to under-served populations. Check out their partners for promo codes.
• Uber is also offering free rides through partner organizations. 

First time voting from your current address? Find your polling location here.

What you can do:
Easy: vote!
Advanced: get involved with The Environmental Voter Project to support others in voting


*From the Environmental Voter Project's 2017 impact report.
**Per an AR Research poll leading up to the 2016 presidential election.