Rad and the Case of the missing benefits

Rad and the Case of the missing benefits, originally uploaded by Cohabitating_Closet.

I had to go to school today to solve a mystery. It seems I am getting $85 less in my paychecks since last pay period. Since it's all direct deposit, I had to go to school and look at my stubs, which I usually get file away. I was all, "did some tax benefit geared towards economic recovery recently expire?" but that didn't make sense. No matter what anyone says, we're not actually recovered from Le Great Recession.
After some super sleuthing (OK, chatting with our office manager and some folks at HR), it seems this is a fee for providing my domestic partner benefits to Blokey. Annoying, but since we are now officially hitched, it should end (sometime, it's a backdated deduction for now). Part of me is uber annoyed, because if we'd known, we would have paid the $40 and done a courthouse wedding in Brooklyn prior to the ceremony in Chicago. (I'll leave out my thoughts about what this means politically).
Onto the clothes. This again another attempt for me to wish I was still in the 1990s: empire waist flowy dress, trucker jacket, and fake combat boots. Blokey and I have to go shopping at the fancy store in Manhattan so we can make vegan Spanish food for friends tomorrow, so I am dressed for utility today.
Also, this dress was for a few years my go-to travel dress, but it's become all stretched out in the neckline. It works OK for with a scarf but I am considering fiddling around with it to make it a summer tank dress. More to follow.

This level of decolletage freaks me out. For reals.

Also, I had the good fortune of getting a lovely package in the mail from Blokey's aunt. She used to be quite the sewer, even making costumes for local theatre productions. When she saw sewing books on our wedding registry, she told me that she'd sent old sewing books. She also sent me pretty killer dress making shears and a beginning kit. Yeay for awesome aunt-in-laws!

It's sewing Christmas in the cohabitating apartment!

Jacket: Levis.com
Scarf: Street vendor, midtown Manhattan
Striped dress: H&M, 2007
Plum leggings: Target
Boots: MIA