Home is Where the Harvest Is

Jacket: Blue Asphalt, Wet Seal

Adorned Acorn Necklace

Belt: Steve Madden, Zulily; Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's 

Koala Baby

Yellow top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Blouse: Candie's, Kohl's' Shoes and bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Mushrooms and succulent: Kohl's

Sweater: Amazon

Mum and pumpkin: Michaels

Bracelet: ZAD, Zulily

Skirt: Hollister, Marshalls

Top: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Amazon

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Jacket: Candie's, Kohl's

Bow: Wild Fable, Target

Wreath: Kohl's; Ribbon: Michaels

Boots: 2 Lips Too, Zulily

Orchid: A. C. Moore

Square Dance Romance Necklace

Bag: JCPenney

And by harvest I don't mean produce, but stuff that looks like produce but is plastic.  That's right.  I've changed my décor -- and wardrobe -- from creepy to cozy in honor of the oft overlooked Thanksgiving.  This is new for me this year, just as decking the halls with skulls was new for me last Halloween.  It looks like I'm turning into my mother after all -- which, Mom, if you're reading, I mean in the best way possible!  

Speaking of motherhood, I was decorating the fireplace while Char Bar watched from her blanket.  She was screaming up a storm, which she does when she's excited and/or frustrated.  So I shouldn't have been surprised when she rolled over onto her stomach for the very first time!  She couldn't roll back onto her back, though, so I had to turn her over.  Undeterred, she proceeded to roll -- and scream -- three more times as I kept one eye on her and one on my tchotchkes.  She hasn't stopped since, and I'm sure next year I'll be working overtime to prevent her from playing kickball with the pumpkins.

Some harvest that'll be!

Riding the Wardrobe Wave

Dress: So, Kohl's; Shoes: Jessica Simpson, DSW

Bag: H&M; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy

Barrettes: The Tote Trove

Surf Pretty Necklace

Top: Simply Vera, Kohl's; Dress: Minuet, Modcloth

Bag: Worthington, JCPenney; Ring: PinkBopp

Cherry Grit Necklace

Shoes: Unlisted, Marshalls

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Skirt: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Merona, Target; Scarves: A.C. Moore

I'm going to keep this one short.

Some people have no problem hopping atop a surfboard.  Even the thought of doing that terrifies me.  But I'm the first in line when it comes to wearing a quintuple of surfboards around my neck.

I guess that's my super power. 😏🌊

Christmas Party Punch: Deck the Neck

Left to right: Scarf: Boscov's; Purse Charm: A.C. Moore; Earmuffs: Betsey Johnson for Trolls, Macy's

Winter Wonderland Necklace

Sweater: Kohl's

Neon Noel Necklace

December means decking the halls, and what's a necklace if not a neck garland?  So I channeled my inner elf and made these two necklaces all about snowflakes and Santa (Santa, I know him!).  The snowflake one, a.k.a. Winter Wonderland, makes me think of my Great Aunt Celeste's beautiful blue Christmas decorations.  She put blue Christmas balls in her wineglasses and a mirror under her Christmas tree to look like a lake, and I was enchanted.  The Santa one, a.k.a. Neon Noel, is your classic Claus gone glam.  Deep down I always thought that those mall St. Nicks would've been more festive in hot pink and rhinestones.

And festive is the name of the game when it comes to Christmas parties and punches.  Because as George Costanza's father once wisely said, it's a Festivus for the rest of us.

Which has nothing to do with what I just said.  But what the hell -- if calories don't count during December, then neither does reason.

Keep it festive, people.

Complexion Confection: Matte as a Pancake

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

I was going through my shoes the other day when I found these spectator T-straps and thought, Oh, they look like pancakes.  No, there isn't a different color for each foot (because I'm not Helena Bonham Carter; although that would be badass, wouldn't it?); I have two pairs, one yellow and one tan.  But together they reminded me of butter and maple syrup and made me miss the days when you could go out to brunch without fear of catching, not just ptomaine from a gross griddle grill, but the plague.  Yet they didn't make me miss it enough to make breakfast (let's not get crazy now).  Instead, they inspired me to unearth my old Fabulous Felt Pancakes barrette and build a new outfit around it.  

Fabulous Felt Pancakes Barrette

This barrette, as you may recall, started an argument between a mother and son (hashtag barrette brawl) in A.C. Moore back before that store became just another brick and mortar casualty and, consequently, a playground for rats.  Their dialogue went something like this:  Mom: "They're flowers!"  Son: "No, they're pancakes!"  Mom: "They're flowers!  Me (but only after they asked for my intervention): "They're pancakes."  Insert self-deprecating smile.  

Anyway, this sweater is one of my favorites (so cozy and yellow!), and the scarf all but screams Hershey's Kisses. 

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Clockwise (starting with amber): Cloud Nine, Ocean City; B Fabulous; Mixit, JCPenney; Target; So, Kohl's

Sweater: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Skirt: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Breakfast pancakes, by the way, make me think of the other kind of pancake (lots of trains of thought going off the rails here), namely pancake makeup.  And the very best pancake powder on the market is Coty Airspun.  I've been wearing it since high school (except for a brief period when my stuck-up sophomore self would cover my zits with only Elizabeth Arden), and it's never steered me wrong.  Although light and airy (it's right there in the name: airspun), it provides incredible coverage, concealing blemishes so that my skin looks as matte and flat as, well, a pancake.  But then, Coty knows what it's doing.  The company's been cranking out this miracle makeup since 1935.  The big powder puffs on the canister even mimic those on the original cardboard packaging.  Which is so glam and retro.  And also kind of endearing.   

So, the next time I go out for a big stack of buttery pancakes, even if it's forever and a day from now on account of COVID, I'll be wearing a thick coat of this precious powder.  (Also, probably a colorful winter coat, but that's less relevant.)  

Because as many a wise and vain person has said, it's better to have pancake on your face than egg.

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Stilettos are Sweet, but Gerry is Too

Dress: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

If I Dreamed a Desert Barrette Brooch

Dress: ELLE, Kohl's

Yummy Gummy Bears Necklace

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Sweater: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Nahui Ollin

? Parrot Necklace

Blouse: Macy's

Fabulous Felt Yellow Folk Flowers Barrette

Bag: Marshalls; Shoes: Not Rated, Journeys

Not too long ago, I was crafting and rewatching P.S. I Love you when I caught this quote:

"Just create something . . . new, and there it is, and it's you, out in the world, outside of you, and you can look at it, or hear it, or read it, or feel it . . . and you know a little more about . . . you.  A little more than anyone else does.  Does that make any sense at all?"

This is what Holly (Hilary Swank) says when she meets Gerry (Gerard Butler) and explains her need to be creative.  And yes, it makes total sense!  There's something about seeing the thing that was once in your head become real -- and knowing that others can see it too -- that makes you feel human.  Then again, Holly doesn't put her imagination where her instep is and design shoes until Gerry kicks the bucket.  But you know what they say.  The course to true love never runs smooth.

It should go without saying that the part about creativity speaks to me.  So I'm showing you me wearing colorful stuff, some of which I made, like I do.  And -- because I like you so much -- I'm throwing in some knickknacks, too.  Like the clothes, they make me happy to count myself among the kind of people who surround themselves with whimsy.

Bottles: A.C. Moore

Kaleidoscope: Kohl's

Gerry/Gerard, if you're out there, then forget what I said earlier.  Dead or alive, you're always the dream, even when up against footwear.  Because when you met Holly, you thought, "I never saw so many colors on the same girl" and then promptly set out to pursue her.  And that, dude, deserves devotion.  

Even though, years later, you yelled at her for buying too much Marc Jacobs on eBay.