Have a Heart or Three: Heartland Stand

Top: Wild Fable, Target; Skirt: Cat & Jack, Target

Print: Burlington Coat Factory

Crafty Cupid Necklace

Boots: Wild Fable, Target

Hair ties: Marshalls

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Tank: Nine West, Kohl's

Dress: Modcloth, Zulily

Heart Harbor Arbor Necklace

Barrettes: Michaels

Red bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Rainbow bag: Betsey Johnson

Sweater: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Heart Flower Bower Necklace

Bow: Carole, JCPenney

Bag: Target

I'm closing out Valentine's week with a bang.  It's hearts, hearts, and more hearts here at the Trove.  First, with more big bauble necklaces, then with the wooden heart candy dish that the husband made for my mom.  For me, he made the lip-shaped lipstick holder.  I'm psyched to display my Sephora lipsticks in it, especially because their cases are so cute and colorful.  

This is the first post in a while where I'm not wearing maternity leggings.  Instead I concentrated on kitsch, although I did wear leggings when the husband and I went out for V-day dinner on Saturday (more on that later).  Anyway, I bought the pink tank in the first pic a couple of years ago but never wore it because it was too big.  Now it fits perfectly, especially layered under that suddenly-too-small yellow top and over that below-the-bump skirt.  It's fun to see what fits I can finagle!      

Maybe by St. Patrick's Day, I'll have morphed into a rotund rainbow.

Primarily Prairie

Top and skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Headband: INC, Macy's; Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney 

Bag: Amerileather, Zulily; Stretch bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Bangles: B Fabulous; Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City

Top and skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Bag: Mellow World, Kohl's; Shoes: Nine West, Amazon

Carla Colorblock Necklace

Yellow and red bangles: B Fabulous; Green and blue bangles: Burlington Coat Factory; Ring: Charlotte Russe

Top and skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Headband: New York & Company; Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

 

Studded bangle: JCPenney; Green ring: Express; Red ring: Making Waves, Ocean City; Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

I talk about primary colors a lot.  And also, for some reason, prairies.  Which is funny because I suspect that if I ever visited a prairie, I wouldn't like it.  But I do like these prairie-esque skirt-and-top combos from LC Lauren Conrad.  

See what I did there?  

This is the part where readers usually groan and think, oh no, not more paid advertising.  But I can proudly say that Kohl's has never paid me for pumping up its products -- and something tells me it never will.  I do it because I love it.       

And now I'm off to do more things I love.  And also a few that I hate.  

Don't look surprised, exercise.

The Religious Experience of Bold Tunes and Tees

Sweater: Hooked Up, Macy's; Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's; Shoes: Anne Michelle, JCPenney; Bag: Zulily; Sunglasses: Amazon; Bracelets: So, Kohl's

Yummy Bear Necklace

Shoes: Katy Perry Collection; Sunglasses: Party City; Yellow bangles: B Fabulous; Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney; Dark blue bangle: So, Kohl's; Light blue bangle: Burlington Coat Factory; Striped bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Bag: Francesca's

Dress (back view!): Rewind, Kohls; Tank: Worthington, JCPenney

Four Leaf Fabulous Necklace

Skirt: Tinseltown, Macy's; Shoes: Jessica Simpson, DSW; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon; Striped bangle: Miami accessories cart; Dark green bracelet: Parade of Shoes; Yellow bracelet: Sonoma, Kohl's; Purple bracelet: Etsy; Blue bangle: B Fabulous; Neon green bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily

Lucky Day-Glo Necklace

Tee: Lisa Frank for Local Celebrity, Delia's

I was driving to the ATM to get tip money for the lovely ShopRite delivery people who help make my hermit life possible when I caught Joan Osborne's "One of Us" on the radio.  I was so happy to hear this '90s classic, especially the chorus "What if God was one of us?/Just a slob like one of us/Just a stranger on the bus/Tryin' to make his way home?"  When I was in seventh grade, our music teacher used to let us bring in our favorite songs to sing, which was pretty cool of him, and someone brought in this one.  When the "just a slob like one of us" part came on, our teacher balked, "I'm no slob; speak for yourself!".  Apparently, his coolness had limits.

Today's outfits have nothing to do with this.  Unless you count the tenuous connection of Lisa Frank and Ms. Osborne being '90s pop culture icons.

Which, of course, I do.  Because they're both passengers on this bus called life.

You too, whether you want to be or not, Mr. Z.

Frights of Fancy: Up in the Hair

 Top: Burlington Coat Factory; Bag: Sleepyville Critters, Zulily

Fabulous Felt Umbrella Barrette

Fabulous Felt Balloons Barrette

Fabulous Felt Kite Barrette

People of the internet, I present to you airheads.  Not the Brendan Fraser movie or the candy or even the gum-snapping ditz who topped your hot fudge sundae with a jalapeno popper instead of a cherry.  I'm talking about these felt barrettes featuring stuff from the sky.  We've got an umbrella, a cluster of balloons, and that Mary Poppins-pleasing classic, a kite.  Or, as I like to think of them, "Under My Umbrella," "99 Red Balloons," and "Let's Go Fly a Kite."  Of the barrettes, the umbrella is my favorite.  Of the songs, it's "99 Red Balloons."   

Speaking of balloons, here's an airborne accessory that I didn't make, worn with something I already posted:

Sweater: Jeanne Pierre, Marshalls; Blouse: Marshalls; Brooch: Napier, Kohl's

I like the looks of hot air balloons (obvi, as my Sleepyille Critters bag is a regular here), but I don't think I'd like to go up in one.  Too dangerous, what with all those angry birds and thunderstorms crashing in out of nowhere.  Instead of being up in the air, I'd rather have balloons up in my hair.  I think Up in the Air alum George Clooney would agree.  Not just because his jet-setting life in that flick made him so unhappy.  But because barrettes would've looked bouffant beautiful in his big Booker hair from "Roseanne." 

That said, the next time you're under an umbrella while also holding a balloon and flying a kite, I hope that you and your 'do have rollicking follicle of a good time.  

And also, that there's no lightning.  Or angry birds.

America the Beautiful: Let There be Bright

Sweater: Mudd, Kohl's

Necklaces: The Tote Trove (but you knew that)

Bracelets (left to right): Burlington Coat Factory, Cloud Nine, B Fabulous, Target

Ring: PinkBopp

I pledge allegiance to this bag of the United States of accessories.  I think that it's the cat's pajamas of carryalls (sorry, but PJs are my world now), and its spacious skies and purple-in-the-right-light mountains' majesty have got me getting all patriotic.

Psst: This bag is Delia's by Dolls Kill.  Last year, I was so excited when the online retailer resurrected this '90s brand.  What thirtysomething doesn't remember finding the Delia's catalog in the mail after school and rifling through it for the latest in baby tees, stackable lip glosses, and platforms?  Browsing -- and yes, shopping -- the Doll's Kill line is fun and nostalgic.  And unlike in high school, there are no pesky pep rallies, curfews, or frenemies.

Correction; there are always frenemies.  Hopefully these days they don't fly your tampon up the flagpole.

But back to the ride or die Delia's.  Nostalgic or not, there's a danger in rebooting something beloved.  "It's not the same!" the purists will cry, righteously rambling on about how much better things were in their day.  But I prefer Delia's 2.0 to the original, which could sometimes skew toward grunge.  It's girlier and more colorful, just like the fashion in movies.  Oh, parallel universe of make-believe, you never fail to amaze me.  Your larger-than-life brilliance shines a light on even the darkest of demons, transforming them into something cute and bright until they look like the crew from Monsters, Inc.

It's nice that old things can become new again without losing the thing that made them new in the first place.

In other words, Delia's -- and America, too -- you're a grand old bag, you're a high flying bag.

Forever in peace may you rave.

Double Stubble, Toil and Trouble: Lazy, Laser-less Labor Day

 Patriotic Polly Necklace

 An Apple a Play Bangle

Top: a.n.a., JCPenney

Skirt: Amazon

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Bag: Charming Charlie

Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Light blue bangle: Burlington Coat Factory

Royal blue bangle: Kohl's

Mustard bracelet: Cloud Nine

Barrette: The Tote Trove

Nothing says Dad's day off like five o' clock shadow -- unless it's Mom's grizzly bear legs.  Because Labor Day is prime time to let it all hang out and grow out before the big, bad fall tames our tresses.  (And yes, I realize that cooler weather means a reprieve from the onerous chore that is hair removal.  But I like this alternate, if-not-widely-intuitive, let-your-hair-down angle, and damn it, I'm leaning in.)  No one wants to do battle with a razor or toil at all on this last day of summer.  Toil is such a serious-sounding word, isn't it?  It makes me think of mining, factory work, and other hard knock jobs hatched by the Industrial Revolution.  I counteract its gloomy vibe by reminding myself that "toil" sounds like "toilet paper."  

Anyway, Labor Day is weird.  Unless you're a student or a teacher (thankfully, my hall pass days are behind me, and I'm no molder of young minds), it doesn't mean much of anything.  The sky is still light come five o' clock, you can still wear flip flops, and you can still even go out for ice cream.  Sure, there are harvest signs and pumpkins as far as the eye can see.  But if you want to, you can ignore them until Halloween or even Thanksgiving.  That's what I do.  Although I know that the bounty of apples and squash is meant to be a cause for celebration, to me it says one thing and one thing only: "Squirrel away your nuts because it's going to be one brutal winter."  

That said, here are some of my most Americana-y looks of the season.  Except for maybe the one with the windmill.  Nothing like celebrating a U.S. holiday by paying homage to Holland.

  

So, happy eating, napping, and neglecting hygiene.

And, above all else, letting the good times roll far beyond a can of pureed pumpkin.