Raven 13 part 3 - finale...finally

Raven 13 part 1
Raven 13 part 2
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Thanks to that full bottle of wine I didn't need any other liquid courage all night. We danced a bit. Met a couple of other GG/TV couples I hadn't seen there previously. Also saw a couple I had met there before. Had a brief chat with Maureen, whom I met at a previous Raven event, also had a chat with a couple where their family all know about his crossdressing for the past 6 years!!! I think that’s pretty awesome!  There were a good deal of people attending for the first time and having such a great time. I didn't have my friend there this time to take pictures so I have less than I’d like to have had. Ah well. Got to be 2am, everyone either went home or to their rooms to either sleep or party more.

The next morning we went to meet up for breakfast at the nearby Eagle Diner. There were a few people from the Raven event, at least 2 rather large tables and several smaller tables had faces I recognized from the night before. Some of the gurls were in girl mode and a few were in guy mode. Paula and I sat at one of the rather large tables surrounded by people we knew either by face or name. I sat next to an older woman I had met a few times before named Jackie. I thought Jackie was a GG supporter of T-Girls, like myself. But as I was chatting with her she mentioned herself being ‘dad’. I was floored!!! I HAD No Idea! I didn't (or at least tried) not to express my shock, in a good way. She is totally passing!!! She is also very sweet & a wiz in the kitchen. I LOVE to hear other people’s stories and she had many. Stories were told of the ex-wife (who didn't cook very well), kids and even grandkids. The grandkids know her as Aunt Jackie, which I think is cute. When they get much older and start asking questions I guess they’ll get the answers then, but for now Aunt Jackie will do. Also at our table was the Dancing Queen Linda, a few men… men…er… Men who don’t dress…I guess. Also at our table was our wonderful event host Jen!!! But…not dressed as Jen. She was in guy mode. Ok, so Paula and I were wondering what Jen looked like in guy mode. Neither of us could imagine. Actually, for a while I thought she’d already went under the knife and was full time girl but I was told that she went to work male. So my mind was kinda blown seeing her w/o boobs, wig & make-up I guess. She was still Jen. Same voice, same attitude, same zeal for life. She just looked a bit different. I saw a few others out of their girl clothes at breakfast. It was a nice time. We talked about maybe having a flag football game at another Raven weekend. That would totally be a fun thing to do, maybe a Friday afternoon in the spring or summer. We all had out meal and had a good time eating and laughing together. Then it was time to go.

The thing I like is that there are girls who go to the Raven who are at every stage of…T-Girl-ness. You have the girls Dressing and going out for the first time, girls who just like to dress up and go out who have no interest in transitioning, girls who would like to transition but because of their significant other are not. There are girls who have transitioned who are still with their spouse who are working on seeing if this life will work out for them. There are girls fully transitioned and looking for a significant other of their own, be their preference male or female…or another t-girl. I love that, though not everyone necessarily knows where everyone else is on the spectrum of things, everyone respects one another enough that no one is ever put down for being one way or another or having a gender preference etc. …Though I did hear that one girl’s spouse was disrespected by being inappropriately touched by a couple of the gurls… that totally was not cool. From what I hear this was an isolated event, I’d never been harassed in that way but I, being a natural born GG don’t go around grabbing other girls bums. It’s not cool to do to someone you hardly know.

That being said, the weekend was fun. I met new people and hope to talk to them more in the future. Next time I think I’ll see if I can gather email addys and get a conversation going that way. Maybe have a few more interviews under my belt and on to my page. It seems my 1 ‘interview with a straight crossdresser’ is the most popular post on my blog. I plan on doing a year in review for 2012 blog posting soon.

Laterz!

Raven 13 part 2

Raven 13 part 1
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I got very little sleep that night. Got up early to greet my sis when she arrived at my house. Hang out with her for a bit then we went to an early lunch (brunch) at RiverWinds in NJ. Awesome food, service & atmosphere there. I always enjoy meals there. Try the calamari, they make the absolute best!!! 

After Brunch with the sis, Paula and I stopped by a JCPennys and got a few things we needed…I think stockings were the major needed item. We also looked at the clearance jewelry. can’t remember if we got anything else. Back into the car to drive up to New Hope.

We got there…maybe around 2 or 3pm and started to get Paula ready first (as usual). I did similar makeup as the previous day but used lighter grey on the eyelids. Because of the way Paula’s dress was cut and the corset being cut the way it was, Paula’s faux boobs couldn't fit in the dress without showing through. I decided we’d try to create cleavage using make-up. I didn't have the right kind of make-up so I improvised. It didn't come out as good as expected but, looking at the pictures, it did have a bit of the desired effect. On went the corset and then the hair. Paula really like everything about the hair on the previous day so I duplicated it in a more secure way than the day before (I couldn't fine more than 2 bobby-pins on Friday). I got the hair pinned up securely with many pins. While Paula finished getting herself ready, I worked on me. I had to iron my Lehenga Choli cause…well…I didn't have it properly hanging so it was very wrinkled. I decided on wearing false eyelashes that had rhinestones on it. I said, out loud, “If these don’t stick the first time I’m not wearing them”. They must have wanted to be worn cause they went on quite easily. I used this gold make-up…stick thing (that I got from the dollar store a few months ago) on my eyes and lips. It’s the type where you can use it wet or dry. I usually use it wet. It’s more opaque when used wet, it’s more of a shimmer when dry. I didn't do much with my make-up. I bobby pinned my tikka into my hair. Pinned my hair up a bit got dressed and we got out and to the Red Carpet before it was over!!! Red carpet is from 4:30pm until 7:30pm. I think we got there around 6:45pm. We met our friend Jen and she was quite surprised to see that we actually made it out to the red carpet. We had our pictures taken on the red carpet with our friends. I…forgot to get a red carpet shot alone. Ah well. There are pictures of me sharing the spotlight with others.

I met a lovely lady there…whose name I have forgotten (Maybe Jennifer…why am I so bad w/ names???) She was tall and passing! She wondered why I was there. I told her cause I like crossdressers. She seemed quite pleased with my answer. She said she had previously believed herself to be a straight crossdresser but was recently also interested in males. She was quite interesting. She told me about how she used to wear wigs and how once the wig is on she is ‘Jennifer’. Then she decided to grow her hair out. Once there is no wig/you’re always in the wig where does ‘guy type’ stop and ‘girl type’ begin? It’s kind of perplexing. I’d love to talk to her more about her views on herself etc. I told her about my blog and wrote down my blog address…maybe I should have gotten her email? Ah well, hopefully I’ll see her again at another event and we can chat more. I ran into some other friends there. Allie came in wearing this awesome black dress with red shoes; she looked as fashionable as ever. I met another GG there who is dating a crossdresser. Her Gurl couldn’t make it that night but she still came with another friend. She made her complete outfit. The dress, which looked awesome & awesome on her, her hair accessories, the works and for the life of me…I can’t remember her name either *sigh*. I also met Lisa’s lovely lovely spouse. She was very sweet. I got to chat with her a little bit; hopefully I can chat with her more some other time. Lisa was so much happier at this Raven than the last one I saw her at. I think maybe having the love of her life there was the reason. Sometimes it’s lonely not having the one you love nearby. I can’t say for sure why she didn’t seem very happy at the last one, I didn't feel it was my place to ask, I was just glad to see her so happy at this one. After a few more pictures it was time to head over to the Raven for dinner.

We had our dinner reservations set for 7:45pm I believe. We arrived there about 7:25pm and asked if we could be seated early and we were able to. The Host there was looking awesome as usual. This evening he was wearing all white with diamond-esque embellishments on his tall white hat (kinda like the nutcracker styled only with white faux fur) and was wearing a big diamond-esque rhinestone necklace. It turns out he was a creator of costumes (awesome!). I like being crafty as well. Maybe at some point I’ll make something from scratch to wear to a Raven event. We were seated and I decided on having wine…a whole bottle of wine. When I thought about it, it was cheaper than getting several separate glasses of wine and I usually don’t change wines glass to glass. Whereas Paula…is not a drinker so…More wine for me, Whoot! After we ordered we mingled a bit with some of the girls there. Went to a few tables, made some new acquaintances, talked to a few people we had met earlier that night and the night before. At the table behind ours was a girl who was attending their first Raven event. She had a makeover by a make-up artist who often comes to make over girls who request the service. She does great work. Nikki looked great. She seemed to be enjoying herself very much. As I looked around the room I spotted a couple I had seen before who I’d only seen for dinner, usually they were leaving just after I got there (we were always running late) I wanted to talk to them… they were wearing the cutest dresses J I mentioned in my previous post about this encounter (here) finished up dinner and headed to the dance floor.
(cont. Raven 13 part 3)

Raven 13 Part 1

Ok, so I've been reallllly wordy with this post so I figured i'd break it up into bitesized chunks...you know...if you take really big bites. Also, I would have had this up days ago, but for some reason Blogspot wasn't working on Chrome (my usual browser), then I tried on FireFox and it seemed like it'd work...but no, it didn't. I'm currently using (dare I say) Internet Explorer *shudder*
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I went to the Raven 13 party on the weekend of Jan 12-14 and had fun as usual. It’s a free event and all T-girls & admirers are invited. This time I made all of the events!!! A first for me, yay!

Here is how the schedule of events usually goes: Friday is the Meet & Greet. Starts about 7:45pm and goes till 2am. Most don’t stay till 2. It’s at a bar& grill, near the Raven. Then around midnight, whoever is up for it goes over to the Raven for some dancing. On Saturday some of the girls meet up in New Hope for Shopping early in the day then get ready for the Red carpet shoot, across the street from the Raven. That starts at 4:30pm and goes till about 7:30pm. Starting at 7pm at the Raven is Dinner. Dinner is optional (not free where as the rest of the events are free) goes till about 9pm. Then the much awaited Dance Party starts at 9 at the Raven on their dance floor. That goes till 2am. The next morning about 10-20 of the attendees go to breakfast at the nearby Eagle Diner as a nice end to a nice weekend. Here is how the weekend got going for me.

On Friday I spent a couple hours honing my make-up artistry skills on Paula’s face. I am getting quite good, if I do say so myself. I applied most of the make-up. (click here for details of what I did on Paula's face)**Then I had Paula apply the Mascara. A bit of blush, some red lipstick & Paula’s face is ready. Next into the brand New Corset Paula got from Corset Story, pulled in nice and tight so Paula had a very nice Hourglass figure. Then on with the rest of Paula’s shirts…I think Paula was triple layered that day. Corset, Shirt, Sweater/jacket-y…thing with a belt around that. Next on with the wig. A while ago, I think for the Raven 12 party, Paula got a curly ponytail to attach to the wig. It looked really cute to the side as it was. This time we did something different with the ponytail. We made the wig & ponytail look kinda like a bumped up hair style. I put the ponytail just a little behind the bangs. Pulled some hair around it and pinned it into place. A while ago Paula was talking about wanting the hair up and we figured that’s be a bit time consuming and couldn’t do it in time for this raven event. Well, once Paula saw how her hair looked like that, she was sooooo happy!! It was exactly how she’d imagined it!!!. Awesome again! I put a lil black tiara in her hair around the bump and Paula looked like a princess!

We were running a bit late for the Friday Meet & Greet (as usual) So I did about 5 minutes worth of make-up on myself, pretty much just liner, mascara, concealer. Put on my dress, found a pair of shoes& out of the house we went. I didn’t even do my lips till be were outside the meet & greet. We got there after 8pm...maybe 8:30-ish. Went in saw a few friends we had met previous times. Jen (the party planner that made it all happen) Chelle & Reena was there. Plus many others we’d met previously (not all whose names I remember…yeah…I’m horrible with names, sorry girls) I ordered a drink, Amaretto Sour, one of my fav’s. …They…did not make it correctly…at all…it was horrible. I took 2 sips and had to take it back and had them make me something else. I don’t know what she made, but it was good. J I ordered food cause I didn't have time to feed myself before leaving my house. I can’t even remember what I ate, but it was good J. Meanwhile Paula went around meeting some new people. I also went around after a few minutes…it took me forever to decide what to eat. I met some girls who were at the Raven for the first time, (this was my 3^rd time) They all seemed really excited. I met another lady who sells Avon as well. She’s been doing it for a year where as I have only been for a few months. I remember one person I met is named Destiny…cause I have a lil cousin with that name so it was easy to remember that one. There is a girl there that is always dancing. She is a dancing diva!!! Every time I see her dancing I swear she must have been a cheerleader in a former life. I believe her name is Linda. I talked to her about it; she says she feels like she’s performing when she dances. She certainly looks like she’s performing; she gets my stamp of approval. J I took a few pictures and was in a few as well. We headed over to the Raven for a little bit but left early. In a few hours my sister would be touching down at the Philly airport from California. So off we went back to my house so I could await my sister’s arrival. Unfortunately, Paula started feeling ill. I think we stopped for some Dayquil on the way back which Paula started consuming.

photobucket.com/raven13party

(cont. Part 2 & Part 3)

Paula's Make-up for Raven 13

**Since I’ve been selling Avon, I’ve been using more and more Avon make-up on her face. After a good shave I used an Avon stick style concealer over the area that may later house a 5’o clock shadow. Over that I put the Avon Liquid Foundation over the area that I just put the concealer over. That way it’s double concealed. Over that and all over the face I put the bare minerals foundation etc to blend everything in. The mineral make-up makes the whole face look like it has light make-up on. You can’t tell that the beard area is heavily concealed. Awesome!!! Next I used this ‘warm’ powder mineral make-up on the contour areas. Cheeks, under chin & forehead area. I decided to kinda wing it with the eye make-up. Used some more Avon make-up. I got this huge kit of eyeshadows, blushes & lip color from avon when it was on sale for $19 now it’s back to $30-ish bucks..if its even available anymore. It has so many shades and stuff…totally worth it! I used some tips I got from watching Manila Luzon’s NYE smokey eye make-up tutorial (which I used for Paula when we went to Diamonds Karaoke the week before) but I didn’t go through the whole tutorial again. We haven’t done anything to Paula’s eyebrows (shaving, plucking etc) ever. I kinda re-shape them a bit using make-up. I use a white shimmery shadow that I got from Sephora (for free a couple of years ago) on top of the eyebrows at the outer corners to make them look thinner there. I use brown makeup on a eyebrow brush to fill in the brows a bit and make an arch with the color on the outside edge of the upper natural brow area. If that makes any sense to anyone but me. Next I used this dark shimmery grey in the crease area and a lighter grey on the eyelid. Liquid liner on the eyes with a bit of a wing tip. Paula finished up with the mascara & lipstick. Paula's face was  FINALLY done! Took us maybe 1.5 hours. We're getting better. Way down from 4 hours at the begining. Next is to get Paula to be able to do this all herself!

Happy New Year 2013!

I hope as 2012 leaves we can leave behind all of the bad feelings and thoughts that may have brought you down over the past year and 2013 will be a new beginning of good thoughts & good feelings. I hope you will be able to dress how you like and be proud of who you are inside and out. I hope acceptance of how you like to dress will be embraced. I have high hopes for 2013. I hope you all have a really great and prosperous new year!

Love,

Pirate Pebbs

Happy (almost) New Year!

Ok, so I haven't posted all month...and only a bit last month. I'm Sorry...I'm really Horrible with New Years Resolutions but...I mean...I was good about posting most of the year...and...ok...I got Nowhere in my calendar. My problem is that i'm very long winded with my posts. Also...well...I still don't have enough hot Straight CDs willing to be in my calendar...(I wonder if Jessica Who would be in it???) Maybe I should start doing video posts...or something. Speaking of. There is a Wonderful Awesome Straight Crossdresser who goes by the name Jessica Who who always posts the BEST videos for Straight crossdressers. I have 2 to share with you. :)

The first: Its OK to be a Crossdresser!

 Next one is a bit longer and goes a bit more in to things. Basically a Straight Crossdresser PSA. :)

Jessica Who is doing what I want to do as well which is being a voice for the voiceless...a Beautiful Bold Face for those hiding theirs from the world. Maybe at some point I could work w/Jessica on some sort of project to get the word out about Straight crossdressers. Jessica...probably doesn't need my help, but...I am a GG who thinks its OK so...maybe thats something. Hmmm...Maybe we could go on the Ellen DeGeneres about it. LOL Ok, I kinda dream that one day I could go on there and talk about Straight Crossdressers. Though...sometimes i wonder if it'll come of anti-gay because i'll be like, "...dude...they're not gay...not that there's anything wrong with that....er...Next question...heh heh..." Ah well.

I'll try to be better at posting more often next year. I Love you ALL!!!

Pirate Pebbs
ARRRRRR!!!!

Reflections about Raven 12

Here’s something I hadn't thought of before that I’d been hearing all night. Trans-Lesbians. They do not consider themselves crossdressers so…are they interested in things I say, my blog stuff, I mean…I think initially I packaged trans-lesbians in with my straight crossdressers theme, at least in my mind. I guess...whoever decides to read my blog for…whatever reason, be it entertainment or curiosity…anyone can feel free to read it. You don’t have to be a straight crossdresser to read this blog…I guess you just have to be interested…or just really bored with nothing better to do. Either way, Thank You for Reading! :D  I am just about a year and a half in to exploring my interests in crossdressers. There is a lot I don’t know. A lot of psychology, a lot of books I haven’t read, a lot of conferences I haven’t been to. I’ve just really been to websites and parties…do drag shows count? Cause I’ve been to some of them too. I hope I haven’t offended anyone (too harshly if at all) with any of my thoughts. I just hope for one day when anyone can dress in a way that represents who they are regardless of any specified ‘gender rules’. I mean if you wanna boil it down to the biblical…men & women wore dresses way back then. (American) Women (& women in many other lands) wear pants now just as men do and are not thought of as breaking gender rules (yes I know they kinda had to fight for it). Only recently (in America) have men been ‘allowed’ to wear kilts as manly fashion without getting too much flack for it. …ok…I think I’m done. Laterz!

Raven 12 - Utopian Weekend 10-10-12

2 weekends ago was the 12th Raven event Hosted by Jen Bryant at The Raven which has an Award Winning Restaurant with a Bar & Club. This was my 3rd visit to a Raven event. Original plan was to stay for the whole weekend but it turned out that my weekend was kinda double booked (would have been triple booked if i'd attempted to go to Phil-Con which I realized I couldn't do). At Raven 11 Paula and I Went to the Saturday Dinner & Dance Party and Sunday morning Breakfast at the Eagle Diner. This time we went to Sliders Bar & Grill on Friday night...Fashionably late (as usual...it takes forever for Paula to get ready) While there we met up with some familiar faces and made a few new friends. I got some yummy food from the bar (and a few drinks) everything was pretty good. We had some pretty awesome discussions as well. We had a discussion with Lisa Empanada (guest writer of this post) about Straight crossdressers. ...Ok...It kinda came up due to a major Faux-Pas which I committed. I mistakenly referred to Paula in the masculine. Something I never do when referring to her online...you know...where I can edit myself when I make a mistake... The thing is, I usually see Paula in guy mode. Also Paula doesn't care if she is referred to in the masculine or feminine. Also knowing we were in the company of ‘like’ individuals I guess I was a lil more lax. I think it has to do with the divide of not really feeling like a girl but enjoying her feminine side. Well...most of it was Lisa asking Paula questions about straight crossdressers. Lisa is a trans-Girl. She identifies as female and doesn't really 'get' people like Paula who...are fine living their male lives but also like to indulge their feminine urges. It was quite interesting hearing the uber masculine things Lisa did before she became Lisa.

I was also surprised...the whole weekend how many of the Gurls were married to women. I was told by one that she considered herself a Trans-Lesbian. She believes if she were born female she'd still be attracted to women. More of the girls were married to women than I expected. I was kinda surprised  I think I'd just grouped trans-lesbians with straight crossdressers...but...I guess technically that's not true even though..I guess physically it's true. I'd always thought to myself that if I were born male that I'd be attracted to females but I was born female and am attracted to males...but I lean towards pretty/androgynous males...or males that dress like females...that look like hot chix when dressed en-fem. :D 

While we were there I told Paula, "Ok, I didn't really plan on coming tonight. I came because you wanted to come. This is a meet & great, so...go meet someone new and make friends." So I had Paula lead the way & I followed. Paula walked up to a gurl neither of us had met before & introduced herself. Her name was Charlene...or was it Charlize  It turns out that she was there because we were there. She is on the same meet-up group that we are in. She noticed that a majority of the girls on the group are way older than us but that Paula and I were around her age. That gave her confidence to come out. (Whoot!) She & Paula exchanged email addys and we all made tentative plans to hang out and see a movie. We hung out with her most the rest of the night. There were a few photo sessions that happened. Jen was posing on a pool table and other girls joined in posing on the pool tables. Even Paula joined in. I took a few shots of Paula on the pool table. Then we took a few shots in the foyer. Then the party continued at The Raven’s dance floor. Our new friend took some pics of Paula & I on the dance floor. I took a lot of pics of our new friend with her camera as well all night. She wasn't ready to have any pics taken by any camera but her own.  We left around 1:30-ish AM and picked up my good friend Jerome from a karaoke party that I couldn't attend due to the meet & greet. He was my stand in for the night with my karaoke host Dr. Thunder (yes we also do parties). We had a sleepover at my house where I got a little sleep.

I woke up a few hours later on Saturday morning. I had a religious assembly to attend from 9am-4pm. Went there and got back to my place around 5pm. Paula had already started getting ready. Jerome was just about ready. I got the rest of Paula’s make-up on her after I finished up the corset that we’d started on Friday (which I didn't mention earlier. Made another duck tape corset, this time w/boning. Paula lost a good deal of weight since we made the first one and it no longer fit properly.) I needed to put/hammer the eyelets into the corset that was nearly permanently attached to Paula the night before (I cut it off of Paula before I went to sleep). I also had to take in Paula’s red dress, she had gotten it online and it was bigger than expected. My mom helped with that by pinning it while on Paula so that I could sew it when I was finished with the corset (yes my mom is also cool with CD’s). I got myself together as quickly as I could. I wore a women’s pinstriped suit with a Black & Gold tie, and we were off. We got there…I think around 7:30PM. We were seated by the fire. Jen’s Official Photographer took a few pictures of us. We got/ate our delicious meals. I had a Manly Meal of Ravioli…Jerome had Chicken cordon blu and Paula had a chicken salad…she couldn't eat much in that corset. We saw some familiar faces from our seats as well. After we were done eating it was time to Party!

I handed the camera duties to my good friend Jerome while I go touch up my make up in the ladies room where I met another lovely lady who is married to a woman. She says when she’s dressed as a girl she feels like a girl. When she’s dressed as a man she feels like a man. I think she said she considers herself a trans-lesbian. I put on my lip color and I was off to dance & have a good time w/o having to worry about taking pics, yay! But, of course…I was a bit shy to start dancing right away…this looks like a job for Liquid Courage!!! Had a bit o’ booze. And did a bit o’ dancing mostly w/ Paula. We met up with our friend from the night before, Charlize (I really need to ask her how she spells her name), and the 3 of us danced a bit. We put what few flyers I had for my blog in Jeromes hat. Looked like a press hat after that. And he was off taking pictures of just about everyone there. At some point I met up with one of my online friends that had come to the previous Raven event but I couldn't find on that day. I saw the many tattoos and saw the face and it was them!!! Chris & her Fiancee, 2 beautiful blondes, I had to get pics with them. I planned on meeting up with them again later but, alas, t’was not to be. I also saw a GG I had chatted with at Raven 11, Maureen, was nice to see her there again & it’s so great that she supports her husband’s crossdressing! I went outside a few times; it was a bit chilly, I was so glad I had decided to wear pants at this Raven event. I sat with Paula and met a new gurl there. I think another Straight CD. We had a nice conversation which I mostly forgot cause I’d been drinking. (I really need to keep a notebook with me at these events so I could write down names and key things to remember.) Jen came and then…and then… I called Lisa, Jen. I’d have been wayyyyyy embarrassed if I were sober (but had I been sober I wouldn’t have made that mistake) But after my sincere apologies and praising her for her grace & beauty she forgave me and came over to have a picture with me. (wow…I had been rubbing Lisa the wrong way a bit too much that weekend) Unfortunately my camera started to act up around that time (I found out later that it was my external flash) so pics from about that time to the end of the night were half blacked out. Thankfully it happened at the end, instead of the beginning of the night. At the end of the night we all drove back to my place because staying locally for the night could get quite pricey. It would have been nice to stay closer and go out to breakfast w/ everyone but…maybe next time. It seemed like everyone had fun.

Raven 12 Pics

Raven 11

Ok I have to start with Friday September 21st. Friday is not Raven related, though The Raven party started on Friday, but was awesome and I gotta talk about it! My good friend Kandice bought tickets for us to go to the Beats Antique Concert in Philadelphia a lil over a month ago. She wound up not being able to go because she had to go back to Massachusetts sooner than she expected. So she gave me both tickets so I decided to take Paula (in ‘guy’ mode) with me to the concert. Zoe Jakes = teh Awesome!!! It was one of the amazing shows I have ever seen live! Oh and Lynx! She was Amazing!!! I had never heard of her before but now I will never forget her! Her voice was beautiful…then…then…She Beat-boxes too!!! Wait… & she Raps! But like…she is Awesome! You don't know…you don’t know… I have clips (scroll to bottom of page for clips). So we went and it was an awesome show. Zoe even crowd surfed at the end of the show! Ok, Ok, now to the Raven.

Raven 11, Saturday September 22, 2012

Ok, so Paula and I drove up there a lil later than planned. I went to a housewarming party before the drive up and I lost track of time a bit…oops. We shared a room @ the motel owned by the Raven. When we got there, around 5-ish we started getting ready… took WAY longer than expected. Paula had to do a bit o’ shaving, meanwhile I had to pick up a few things from Rite-aid. I needed to get some clear coat for out nails as well as some q-tips and bobby pins. I got back and Paula had started applying the make-up as instructed but had a bit of trouble with the eyes. I did the eyes for Paula, helped style the hair and…well…helped with everything else that she needed help with. Meanwhile working on myself…we took so long we totally missed the Red Carpet! Ah well. We tried. The nails took a while. 3 coats of the silver then 1 coat of the black crackle. Loved how it came out! Looked great on Paula as well as myself. I had re-fashioned some of my jewelry so that Paula could wear it. Turned some of my fav earrings into clip-ons. A necklace I had brought for my outfit, before I got the perfect necklace a week before, was de-constructed and fitted onto another necklace that went with Paula's ensemble. Then another matching necklace that I grabbed before leaving the house that just happened to match perfectly and also a nice noisy anklet from my jewelry collection. Paula looked like a greek goddess! Next on to getting myself together. Thankfully i'm quite used to handling my own makeup in a generally quick way. Then into my dress & shoes and we were off. We were staying at the cabin in the woods, which was across the street and up the block a bit from Raven. We decided to walk...was not the wisest thing to do in 5inch heels... But we did. When we finally got there it was maybe 8pm. Dinner started at 7:30pm so we were a bit late. When we arrived there we met Jen, the organizer of the event, and had a bit of a chat and also met a few other lovely ladies. Then we headed in and actually got seated in the dining room. Ok...it was in a cramped corner, but whatever, we were in the room w/ everyone else who were there for the party. We ordered and then I got up to say hi to a few people. I met a married couple. Was their first outing to one of these events. I was recognized as being the writer of this blog. We had a nice convo. The out appetizer came out. As I made my way back to the table I...tripped on my dress & knocked over Paula's drink onto the bruschetta...oops. Our Awesome waiter, Marty, came over and remade out table and quickly got us another one...I decided to stay seated for the rest of dinner so as not to destroy more food. I had the salmon & Paula had the grilled chicken salad. The food was awesome! After dinner we had a really nice conversation with Marty. Marty is also a Drag performer at the Raven!!! I would LOVE to see a performance! Maybe one day I will get to see him perform. We also conversed about crossdressing and my blog.

Next off to the dance floor...kinda. We went to the dance hall area and I was immediately called over by a lovely crossdresser. I thought she wanted to talk about my blog...but she wanted to take me out to dinner. 2 seconds in there and I was already getting hit on! lol. Since I came there with a date, I thought it might be rude to set up a date with someone else while already out on a date. I gave him a flyer for my blog and went to the other side of the hall to look for a seat so I could put down my camera and rest my feet (5 inch heels...yeah...) I was determined this time to try to keep my shoes on all night, where as last time the shoes came off about half way through the night and most pics of me were shoeless.

I set about taking some pictures and mingling a bit. Saw a few people I remembered from my last visit to Raven including Allielee & Jamie. I also saw a few people whose names...i just can not remember. I wish my memory for names was better. Paula and I had a seat in the gazebo and got into a conversation with another person named Jamie. Jamie lived in NY but was in the area, one of Jamie's friends told her about the Raven event happening that night so Jamie came. Jamie is the 2nd Married (to a GG) CD I had met that night. Jamie's wife accepts it and has gone out with Jamie while Jamie was dressed as Jamie, which I think is Awesome!!! Reena came over and spoke w/us as well. Reena is also married (to a GG) but Reena's wife isn't into it, but doesn't mind if Reena goes out and has fun dressed up, but at least she doesn't make Reena restrict her from dressing at all. It was about then that we took a nice group picture (which I used for my facebook page 100 likes as pictured below).

After that we went back into the dance hall. I had a few drinks and the liquid confidence kicked in and I was able to dance a bit w/o feeling too self conscious. My dress was altered, by me. Originally the dress was just a black & silver mini dress. I added a tear-a-way train to it. I made it tear away so that it wouldn't get tripped on or trampled upon on the dance floor (I tripped over it enough myself). So dancing time started and within seconds the train was off & tucked away in my bag. When I was tired of dancing we went outside again and we met another couple who were sitting under the gazebo...another married couple! 3rd married CD couple (ok, 2nd where both persons were in attendance) of the night!  We had a really nice conversation with them. i think we had the longest of our discussions with them...and i can not remember their names. I blame all of  the long island ice teas that i drank...probably shouldn't have had so many.

Went in danced and talked some more. The night ended, took off my shoes and walked back to the room. The next morning Paula & I were kinda late to the breakfast meet up (I was helping Paula get ready, took a lil longer than expected) Went to the diner and had breakfast. First time for Paula out in the day time...and at a diner with a mixed crowd which included the elderly & children with Paula dressed as Paula. We missed meeting up with Jen, but she did say she saw us through the window and that Paula looked great.

All in all, it was a very nice time. Can't wait till the next one. Sorry it took so long to finish this post. While at the diner I started feeling sick and I was sick for a good 2 weeks. Was hard to write while sick. Other issues happened and well... I'm finally finished. I do have Pictures & Video (of the Belly Dance Performances) which I will post links to here.

I am curious about something. I have over 500 hits a month on my page and only 2 subscribers... Its a bit disheartening to have so few subscribers, but it makes me feel a bit better seeing so many hits. I just wonder if my subject matter is too embarrassing to subscribe to?  I guess it might be but I'm not embarrassed.

I Love you ALL! Ans now for links to Pics & Videos!

Raven 11 Pictures by Pebbles

Paula's Perspective - CD learns how to apply Make-Up

I had Paula do a write-up on her perspective of the whole make-up situation (CD learns how to apply Make-Up). I think it's good to hear both sides of whats going on. Since I'll never truly be on the other side, I find it interesting to know how one is feeling about the same situation. And so I present another 'Paula's Perspective' which will probably become a regular feature as Paula continues her adventures in crossdressing.

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I should apologize first I think I’ve been holding up Pebbs blog. I’ve been meaning to write this since we had our trip to the store but between the excitement of the raven party and a rough week at work haven’t had much time here we go though :).

I think I went into Monday totally looking forward to it and totally panicking at the same time. I haven’t been outside dressed other than the first raven party, and even shopping Pebbs has carried the clothes to cover for me. This one was going to be obvious that I was getting made over. I was really nervous about it but I stayed calm since no one I know goes to that mall, and Pebbs was there helping keep me calm.

It actually was pretty awesome they showed me a lot of tips. The woman helping us was really nice too she was polite and helpful. She showed me good ways to brush the makeup on instead of just trying to sell it to me. (I’ll admit I need a lot more practice to get better at it) It was pretty subtle most of the way which was tough for me. I have a double disadvantage in addition to being new to dressing up, I’m color blind so a lot of shades look identical to me. They were pretty nice though and helpful even there doing there best to pick out colors I could see a difference in. The blush was pretty easy to see, and the eye shadow was a pinkish and dark grey color it made it easier to see where they were doing all of the makeup to try and make a note of how they put it on.

It was totally cool though I could see the face getting smoother and the contours as she worked at it but there was one point without the wig that I had trouble visualizing it. I thought I looked a bit like the joker from batman… once Pebbs insisted I try the wig on and I looked in the mirror wow… what a change I could totally see girl mode sitting there… despite my guy shirt hehe. Pebbs wanted me to wear the makeup out but I was getting nervous there had already been a few people who came in the store, they didn’t say anything or act weird but I felt pretty self conscious already. Did have the weird feeling I haven’t had since I was a kid playing around with whatever makeup I could get my hands on. Where I’d take it off but then feel certain that it was obvious I’m still wearing it like my lashes looking girly, lips looking fuller… I know it wasn’t true and I looked normal but still made me nervous until we got home and I could finish scrubbing hehe.

Then I got to go back to Pebbs place and get all dressed up in my new dress, try on some stockings, and Pebbs made me awesome jewelry to go with it. I couldn’t wait for the raven party now, but that will be an update for next time. A weekend of dancing and having fun with pebbs in girl mode deserves it’s own post. :)

In the meantime I better get back to practicing I want to be able to do more of my makeup by the next raven party so that Pebbs won’t have to work quite as hard at doing hers and mine.

Jen Bryant's Fall Fantasy (Raven 11)

Paula & I Plan on attending our 2nd outing to this CD/TV/TS/(insert preferred acronym here) & Admirers event in a CD friendly town. The first one we went to I posted about Raven 10. We had a Blast! I also met a few people who read this blog (Awesome!). If all goes well I will be at this one in the dress I talked about in the previous post (in its soon to be altered state). Last time I was there my guest contributor Lisa Empanada was there as well. I hope to see you there! I shouldn't be too hard to recognize. I'll most likely have a camera in my hand most of the time. 

(Copied from the event posting from Meet-Up group T-Girls United) 

Jen Bryant's Fall Fantasy (Raven 11)

• 
  

  Saturday, September 22, 2012

  9:45 PM
• The Raven

  385 West Bridge Street, New Hope, PA

  
  

  You couldn't miss us if you tried

  
  
• Yes Raven 10 is over, and I hope that everyone has finally recovered and gotten on with there lives...I know that for me it was really hard going back to the real world after spending 3 days surrounded by the most amazing group of people one could ever meet. As one friend put it...it was surreal...so many smiles...so many good vibes...and mostly so much kindness shown towards one another. This was not an event my friends...it was more like the beginning of a movement. We were seen at swimming in the pool, we were seen at McDonald's, we were seen at the Diner, we were seen throughout Main street...yes my friends we were seen!!!...we took over Sliders (so called straight bar)...straight bar my ass...we owned it!!!...yes, we were seen, but not only that, we showed a whole community how beautiful we are. We show respect and ask nothing but the same...we smile at others and now find we get smiles in return. Surreal?...yeah for sure...but here's the thing...get used to it, New Hope looks forward to our events now, and the next event will be bigger and better than any other. Sooooooooo many plans are being worked on and will be announced as we get closer to the date. So, that being said, I am pleased to announce The Fall Fantasy (Raven 11) will be held on September 22nd at the Raven Resort. If possible try and come out Friday night as well. For those of you that have attended in the past, please try and make it, YOU are part of something great, and for those that have not yet attended, WHAT could you possibly waiting for? Don't you deserve a lil' happiness?
  
  Please RSVP NOW
  Warm Hugs,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jen Bryant

CD Shopping day fail

This past weekend I took Paula shopping for the second time (for the first time click here), but this time, things didn't work out so well. We were using Paula's car because, as you may have read, I don't have a car anymore. While on the way to our first store Paula notices the cool/hot indicator was approaching hot. Went into the first Jo-Mar store and looked around...nothing of great interest was there that day. We left with only some hair accessories for my kid. As we were driving to the next store Paula noticed white smoke coming from the hood and the indicator indicated that the car was Hot. We pulled into a nearby Wawa parking lot and walked to K-Mart, which was less than a block away, and brought some premixed coolant, let the car cool down and poured the coolant into the car. Waited a little while longer & decided to continue our drive to the next Jo-Mar store (there are 4 that I frequent, great prices). Before we got there the car was smoking again. We were able to make it to the store. Parked in the lot and went in. Figured we'd stay in the store long enough for the car to cool at least an hour. We still didn't find any clothing for Paula, but we did find something for me. I had no idea what to wear for Raven 11, but we found something (I do plan on altering it a bit since I feel it's a bit on the short side). I also picked up some shoes and a book bag for my kid. We finally left the store, still with nothing for Paula, we got in the car and attempted to get back to our homes. Well about 5 minutes into the drive you can probably guess what happened. More white smoke and overheating. We were just able to get off the Super Highway (Roosevelt Bvld part of US1) when the car stalled out. We still had to push the car to a safe location, which was just around the corner, and call/wait for AAA. Thankfully I have AAA plus, which has 100 miles of free towing. We had them tow the car to Paula's usually auto-body shop which, thankfully, is near Paula's moms house. Paula's mom was able to pick us up in a car and drop me off home.

It could have been worst but...It could have been way better as well. Its probably a good thing Paula didn't find anything because...well...that money will be needed for the car repairs. In a couple of weeks we plan on trying again to see if we can find something new for Paula, though...I think Paula should just wear that blue dress and be done with it.

Next thing on the agenda. Get Paula's measurements so Paula can shop online for girlie clothing & know what size to buy. Cause...well...we haven't done that yet.

Have a great day everyone!

Event I will attend: Raven 10

Jen Bryant's Summer Sizzle (RAVEN 10)

http://www.meetup.com/patgirls/events/66112342/

I will be attending this event for the First time this coming Saturday. This will be happening in the town of New Hope, PA, which I have been told is very Trans-friendly. I will be attending with one of my Close GG friends, Kandice, and I will be bringing with me the lovely Gurl that I have had the pleasure shopping with and dressing up in my previous post. These parties are once a season and everyone Raves about them. I can't wait to go! Though...I still have not decided what to wear. Maybe I'll have it all figured out in time. 

Anywho, check out the the page. It's a FREE event. Party is at 9:30pm, there are happenings before then, like dinner, but...thats not free.

See you there!

CD Shopping Day!

A couple of weeks ago I promised a local straight CD I'd take him shopping. Finally settled on this past Monday as the day. I had found articles on making low cost diy style corsets using a t-shirt and duct tape.

I picked him up a lil after 5pm and we drove to on of my favorite discount clothing stores JoMar (there are several locations in the philly area) looked through the dresses area for a while till we found a few we liked. I carried around the dresses most of the time to be less conspicuous. We got about 5 dresses and headed to the changing room area. No one was really manning that area so he went in one of the lil rooms and I gave him the dresses. he tried them on one by one and he opened the door a bit so I could see the dresses on him. We liked 3 of them. At the register there were make up kits. We grabbed one as well. Next we headed to a wig store. The one I was used to going to relocated a few blocks away. (had to call my mom to find out where) the new store was Huge! Went in and looked at wigs. after about 20 minutes of looking (and several girls asking if I needed their help) we finally settled on 2 we liked. I finally let one of the girls help us. I explained to her that we were going to a costume party (kinda true, we're going to a CD/TG party on the 14th, more info to follow) and needed the wigs tried on him. She was like, "fine with me, as long as he's secure in his masculinity" ... or something like that. Of the 2 wigs, one stood out and looked Great on him. Things were starting to come together. Before we left there we picked up some wig caps and eyelashes. Next off to another JoMar location. We forgot to get him a bra! We found a bra with removable straps so that we could replace them with clear straps. We also got a t-shirt. Got a pink one for the inside of his duct tape corset. Next...we had to stop by boston market for some food. Not too much for him, he was gonna be taped in pretty tight soon enough. Next we went to lowes to get the duct tape. Then back to my house to put it all together. Fortunately for him...everyone in my house already knows of my interest in crossdressers so there is no weirdness. Everyone includes my visiting aunt who stayed in the guest room the whole time. My younger male cousin who dressed as a catgirl for halloween last year (yes i helped dress him...he was wearing my clothes), and my friend who is staying for the summer which is the one who did his makeup. 

First we put on the wig, next we made the corset. It worked out really well. Next we put the bra on him. It was a lil snug, we'll just buy some bra extenders at some point if need be. Didn't have any falsies available so we stuffed his bra with socks...it worked for the moment. Next he put on his pink platform shoes, which he discovered is much harder to put on while corseted. Finally, On with the Dresses!!! The first was a light pink cocktail (i think) dress with a plunging v neck line and a darker pink sash around the waist. It looked nice on him. While he was wearing it my friend applied some make up to his face. Her transformation was complete. This was the first time she saw herself completely in female form & she Loved it! Next was another pink dress. this time a darker pink halter style dress that looked even better than the first. Lastly a long blue strapless dress that was quite fetching on her. I took a few pics of each outfit on her then it was time to get out of the girl clothes. Last thing to do was to cut off the corset (then he could breathe normally again). Next I took him home. He was extremely grateful for the experience and help. This was his Best Monday EVER! I'm glad to be a part of it :)


Here are some Pictures... YAY!!! I got permission to post them as long as his face is not fully shown....Guess I can add additional pixilation if requested.


First the Duct Tape Corset, since that's what we started with (besides the wig)

Next on to the main event...er...the Person of the Hour!

I did photoshop the shoes.
body hair removal also.

Let me know what you think. Feel free to comment here or on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/straightcrossdressers


You can see us Both in New Hope this Saturday at: Jen Bryant's Summer Sizzle (RAVEN 10) Details to follow in next blog entry.


See you soon!

Pirate Pebbs