Alicia Keys sang it well

'Tis so much easier walkin' outdoors in the cold with a cuppa hot beverage in hand. Or cigg 'tween lips.

I loved the sudden inflow of so much new information - little white plaques enriching an experience - detail pointed out, traced, explained - things that surround me on a day-to-day basis, but I never gave a second hoot - mean so much more now, knowing their history/context.

Frog closure: A sewing notion which can be used like a button to close a garment. Frogs are usually highly ornamental, designed to enhance the garment they are sewn onto in addition to acting as a closure. Cloaks, jackets, formal uniforms, and Chinese-inspired designs often use frog closures instead of buttons. The name is probably a reference to the fact that a frog closure splays out across a garment, like the limbs of a frog. In addition to being ornamental, the splaying knotwork of a frog closure also distributes pressure, which can be valuable in a tightly buttoned garment.

Never would have guessed they refer to those corded-ball clasps which seem to be gaining popularity everywhere, especially on outerwear.


Jodhpurs: In their modern form, jodhpurs are tight-fitting trousers that reach to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff with reinforced fabric protecting the inner calf and knee from rubbing. In an era before the invention of stretch fabrics, the thighs and hips were flared, a traditional oriental style possibly to help with bodily cooling in a hot climate, and also allow free movement of the hip and thigh. Jodhpurs are worn primarily for horse riding.


Mori Girl: The mori girls (森ガール) belong to a Japanese subculture. 'Mori' means forest in Japanese, and mori girls look like fairytale forest wanderers in their loose dresses, vintage prints and quaint accessories. Mori girls choose to live their lives on their own terms, stopping to appreciate the little things that others overlook amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Think Free People and Anthropologie.


Cummerbund: A broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets (or tuxedos). First adopted by British military officers in colonial India as an alternative to a waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use. The word Cummerband which entered English vocabulary in 1616 via languages of the Indian subcontinent such as Hindi and Urdu, is originally a Persian genitive phrase (Persian: کمربند) comprising kamar (waist) + Hindi bandh (band). The word cummerband and less commonly the German spelling kummerbund (translating to 'ribbon of sorrow'), are often used synonymously with cummerbund in English.



Stupid slow shuttle turned me into a Sammy Slurpee. My hands are always cold, but it was a whole different level of chill I experienced today. When my body freaks out on me, I arrange the odd sensations into prose in my head and enjoy the literature so my mind doesn't equally freak out.

Freak out. Something I'm still trying hard not to do.

~The End~