Very Cherry: (Still) Celebrating Fruit Salad

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Red top: Marshalls; Yellow top: SHEIN

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Shoes: Impo, DSW; Socks: Zulily

Bag Charm: lhbdesignsbylaura

Skirt: POPSUGAR, Kohl's

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bow: Wild Fable, Target

Bag: N by Nina, Kohl's

Chelsea Cherry Necklace

Dress: Lily Rose, Kohl's

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Fun fashion's always in season, and fruit always brings the fun.  Why else would cartoon characters slip on banana peels, Gallagher smash watermelons, and Carmen Miranda balance fruit on her head?  (Also, for a more current, not to mention momlife reference, Cocomelon.)  So, despite the onslaught of pumpkin propaganda (I love pumpkins, but all in due time!), it's still about produce here at the Trove.   

At least until I'm pelted with acorns. 

B Reel Spiel: Surprise! It's Summer

Towel: JCPenney

Bag: Mix No. 6, DSW

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Skirt: Dollhouse, Macy's

Dress: ELLE, Kohl's

Skirt: Xhilaration, Target

Bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill

Tights: Zulily

Flip flops: Rocket Dog, Marshalls

Shoes: Impo, DSW

It's almost the first day of summer!  So I thought, why not get pumped with some B reel?  Here are my top ten unposted poses from last summer (and, okay, one from Easter).  Some are staged (I'm looking at you, Carmen Miranda and pink princess phone), but most are not.  Instead, I'm caught unawares by the husband between takes, as real as B reel can be -- well, as real as can be wearing makeup.  In most, I'm preoccupied with my purse; in others I'm sort of doing the robot.  But they're fun to look at and give me a laugh.  Hopefully, they give you one too.

So here's to another summer of colorful outfits and other happy, hot weather things.  Like ice cream.  

And hustling people at potato sack races.       

Book Report: Makeovers at the Beauty Counter of Happiness by Ilene Beckerman

The last gasp of the back cover featuring Carmen Miranda, Mother Teresa, and Amelia Earhart, oh my.

You can't not like a book called Makeovers at the Beauty Counter of Happiness.  It has so much promise, so much uncorked sparkle, and even better yet, lives up to it.  Still, this bite-sized book isn't all lip gloss and lattes.  There's depth here, stirring thoughts lurking beneath the layers of blush and foundation.  And it's no wonder, as it's authored by Ilene Beckerman, the same woman who brought us the equally bittersweet memoir Love, Loss, and What I Wore.

In a nutshell (or should I say compact?), the conflict of Makeovers at the Beauty Counter of Happiness centers around Ilene being invited to her 50-year elementary school class reunion and all the insecurities that arise.  If you're anything like me, then you're wondering who the heck has an elementary school class reunion, and my answer would be a New York City elementary school for kids with high IQs.  Pretty intriguing, no?  I'd read a book about just that.  But Makeovers at the Beauty Counter of Happiness isn't about the exquisite pain of being a baby genius.  It's about a different kind of challenge, namely women's cross to bear in living up to impossible standards of beauty.  Ilene vents her frustrations in charming, unsent letters to celebrities, historical figures, and her eleven-year-old granddaughter.

Three things I like about Ilene: she wears red lipstick, she laughs at herself, and she didn't start writing professionally until she was almost 60.  It's such pearls that keep me going.

Something New and Sparkly: Fall for Fruit

Crazy for Kawaii I Heart Fruit Bib Necklace

Caftan: Mudd, Kohl's

Skirt (actually a dress!): Marshalls

Shoes: Anne Michelle, Barefeet Shoes

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Sure, Labor Day is just a few days away.  But that's no reason to shelve your colorful and fruit-themed fashions!  I don't know about you, but nothing perks up a winter day for me like throwing on something cheerful - and unexpected.  This Crazy for Kawaii I Heart Fruit Bib Necklace (which kind of reminds me of Carmen Miranda) is both and would be right at home against a cozy black sweater. 

In related news, I picked up a fresh crop of lime slices today (with the help of a coupon, of course), so the fall promises to be bright and zesty.  Not to mention scurvy free.