Folksy Fairy Tale: Snow White Steps Out

Dress: Lily Rose, Kohl's

Mushroom Magic Necklace

Headband: Michaels

Chockful of charms.

Bag: Delia's

Top: Allegra K

Bag: Marshalls

Socks: Amazon; Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Little tulip clip: Wild Fable, Target; Big tulip clip: A New Day, Target

There's something about a fairy tale forest -- that inspires me to stay inside.  Away from the bugs and the heat and the poisonous mushrooms, where I can create my version of what I think the great outdoors should be.  So, that's what this is, from my Mushroom Magic Necklace to my Snow White-inspired second fit.

You'd never know that my favorite Disney princess is actually the Little Mermaid. 😏 

Peachy Keen and Key Lime Green: Fun With the Fruits of My Labor

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Flip flops: Katy Perry Collection, Nordstrom Rack

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Watermelon and lemon hairclips: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Cherry necklace: Candie's, Kohl's

The skinny on Minnie: She's awesome!

Top and sandals: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Hairclip: Wild Fable, Target

Flamingo flowers from Daddy to Charlotte.

Hairclip: Marshalls; Bag: Luv Betsey by Betsey Johnson, Macy's Backstage

Perhaps it's bad form for me to refer to my baby and handbags in the same breath, not to mention with the irreverent phrase "fun with the fruits of my labor."  But then again, I'm an irreverent sort, so I might as well begin the way I mean to go on.

Life with a newborn means limited time for sleep, sanity, and personal hygiene.  So outfit shots are out of the question, at least in the traditional sense.  But when we take Charlotte to the doctor, or my parents visit, I seize the opportunity to shed my PJs and dress like a person.  And the same goes for Charlotte.  (Although her PJs are awfully cute with their flamingo, koala, and bumblebee feet.)  I even adorn her precious noggin with headbands.  Not that she tolerates them for long.  Just see Exhibit B, a.k.a, baby makes three, in which Char Bar is brazenly bareheaded.

So for now my fit pics include my mini me.  Which is, ahem, very fitting.  Because when I said I was losing my sanity, I was joking.  Since Charlotte came on the scene, I've never felt saner.

I did mean the part about hygiene, though.

Fingers crossed I floss for the Fourth of July.

Patch Match: Make Mine Melon

Red clutch: Target; Sunglasses bag: Luv Betsey, Macy's Backstage; Print cosmetics bag: Clinique; Slice cosmetic bag: Lancome; Straw bag: H&M; Wristlet: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Tee: Pink Rose, Marshalls

Tee: Disney, Macy's

Now that we're deep into the dog days of summer, it's time for rind finds!  For few things other than a watermelon can quench the thirst that comes with sky-high humidity.  So I pulled out my juicy jumble of watermelon-themed paraphernalia and curated it here for your (and okay, my) viewing pleasure.  Not surprisingly, I have more watermelon slice style bags than anything else.  But I also have a book called Watermelon, which I nearly forgot about.  Published in 1995, it's both Marian Keyes' debut and the first installment in her Walsh sisters series.  The watermelon in question?  Claire Walsh's baby bump!  It's fun, it's sad, it's sweet, it's tart -- not unlike a watermelon and goat cheese salad.  Which is to say, I highly recommend it.  

Sadly, I cannot say the same for the goat cheese. 

(Isa)Belle Breaks a Spell: Rose Petal Kettle

This weekend I gobbled up Jasmine Guillory's latest, By the Book.  A modern take on Beauty and the Beast, it's the story of how editorial assistant Isabelle-not-Belle-but-Izzy Marlowe sacrifices herself for success by volunteering to bunk with celebrity bad boy Beau Towers.  Although maybe "bunk" is a bad choice of words, as it makes Izzy sound like some kind of publishing prostitute.  Which she's not; after all, this is Disney!  No, Izzy moves in with Beau to help him finish his long-overdue memoir.  And it's awkward and scary and uncomfortable.  But after years as an overlooked Black overachiever at an almost-all-white publishing house, Izzy is burned out by New York City and ready to escape to sunny Santa Barbara:

"Publishing was so different than she thought it would be.  It seemed like people only cared about status and profits and the bottom line, and not that feeling you got when you read a book that meant something to you, that wonder and hope and fullness in your chest, that feeling like there was a place for you in the world, and it was out there for you to find it." (65) 

If that's not a Belle sentiment, then I don't know what is.  Who could blame Izzy for feeling like she's losing touch with it?  

Indeed, the Disney parallels in By the Book are as effective as they are charming.  Izzy's publishing house is called Tale as Old as Time, she imagines that inanimate objects in Beau's rose-covered mansion are talking to her, and she and Beau binge a TV show called This Provincial Life.  What's more, Izzy makes an entrance down Beau's sweeping staircase in a yellow dress, the mansion boasts several secret rooms as well as a library, and Beau has a tea-loving assistant nicknamed Kettle.  Yet most importantly, it isn't long before Izzy realizes that the so-called spoiled beast she's being paid to tame is simply a sheep in wolf's clothing (or, in his case, sweatpants).  Like the roses in the garden, under her persistent but gentle tutelage, Beau begins to blossom into a writer -- and human.

Full of all the fun, food, and romance for which Guillory's novels are known, By the Book delivers a Disney-worthy happy ending.  No doubt about it, you'll want to be Guillory's guest. :)

Make Like a Tree and Leave: Going Places

Bag: Amerileather, Zulily

Shoes: First Love by Penney Loves Kenny, JCPenney

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Fabulous Felt Blue Roses Barrette

Fabulous Felt Orange Roses Barrette

Flip Flops: Katy Perry Collection

Top: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Zulily; Rings: Seahorse Designs, Etsy; Necklace: The Tote Trove; Sunglasses: Brigantine Beach shop; Hair clip: Goody, Target; Beaded bracelets: So, Kohl's; Yellow bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Orange bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Lime bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Necklace: Candie's, Kohl's

Red bangle: Decree, JCPenney; Purple bangle: Claire's; Coral bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Rings: Mixit, JCPenney; Skirt: Amazon; Bag: XOXO, ROSS

Skirt: Marshalls

Fabulous Felt Cute Fruit Barrette

Top: So, Kohl's

Wristlet: City Streets, JCPenney; Heart ring: Delia's; Rainbow ring: Wet Seal; Necklace: The Tote Trove; Sunglasses: So, Kohl's; Red and green bangles: B Fabulous

Skirt: Mossimo, Target

Print top: Mudd, Kohl's

Mint flower clip: Forever 21; Yellow flower clip: Capelli, ULTA; Yellow bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Bag: Candie's, Kohl's; Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney; Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's; Coral flower clip: Kohl's; Necklace: Gifted; Turquoise ring: Francesca's; Gold ring: Mixit, JCPenney

Sandals: Bongo, Sears

Shrek always says better out than in, and maybe sometimes he's right.  Even if he is referring to farting instead of leaving the perimeter of one's yard.  That said, I wore the outfits in this post to actual places, as evidenced by my mostly flat footwear.  This is where I went, in order of outfit appearance:

- Parents' house for my dad's birthday

- Gynecologist 

- Dentist (That's why I'm not wearing my usual lipstick, red mouths being frowned upon by the chisel wielders.  Going without it felt weird, ranking this outing below the one to the gyno.  Because although I donned a mask for my stint in the stirrups, I wore my Cherries in the Snow underneath, making the ordeal (slightly) more bearable.)

- Post office

- Bank

Obviously, the highlight was my dad's birthday.  Here's a shot of the presents I wrapped:

And one of my mom's colorful, pre-dinner snacks:

On the craft front, I took these two rose barrettes (well, not these barrettes, as the ones I wear are always dandruff-dusted doppelgangers of the ones I sell), out of The Tote Trove vault.  Which is a fancy way of saying that I reactivated them in my Etsy shop.  I thought, if they're good enough for me to wear, then they might be good enough for someone else.  Because nothing says happy birthday, father quite like fabulous felt.  

And finally, I may be the one going places, but my trees are the ones going rogue.  The husband thinks that the palm tree-looking one (actually an oak) in the first pic is the work of seed-spitting squirrels.  And then there's the one in the last pic, extending octopus-like over our hedge.  

When I asked if that was also thanks to the squirrels, the husband deadpanned, "No, the raccoons." 

Cake Talk: Bloom Where You're Slanted

It's exciting to read a new author.  I'm always thinking, who is this person, and what does she (sometimes he) have to say?  These questions and others unfurled as I delved into Louise Miller's The Late Bloomers' Club.  As a late bloomer myself, I couldn't wait to see just what the phrase meant to Ms. Miller and her heroine.  This is what I found:

Nothing ever happens in Guthrie, Vermont.  So when eccentric cake lady Peggy Johnson dies unexpectedly and leaves her farm to the Huckleberry sisters, it causes a stir.  And not just because the sisters are as different as Mozart and Miley Cyrus.  But because a developer wants to buy Peggy's land to build a small business-destroying superstore.  

Forty-two-year-old Nora has never left Guthrie and dutifully runs her parents' diner.  Thirty-five-year-old Kit has followed her artistic whims all over the world.  So when Kit blows back into town with her besotted boyfriend, there are fireworks.  Kit is fun, and I admire her free spiritedness -- that is, until she starts infringing on the freedoms of others.  Which is exactly what it seems like she's doing to Nora, the novel's anchor and narrator.  Still, there are two sides to every story, and the other side of this one is that Nora is a martyr (to give you an idea, she takes on Peggy's cake baking business as well as the search for her missing dog).  Miller is clever in setting up Kit as the "villain," forcing us to see her through Nora's eyes -- especially when Nora realizes that she's been wearing cloud-colored glasses that made her myopic.  Because maybe Kit has held Nora back -- but maybe Nora has held Nora back too.  The sisters' newfound inheritance forces them to take an honest look at each other and decide what's best for themselves and the town, all while untangling the growing mystery of Peggy's seemingly simple life.

And now it's quote time!  Here are some wise words from Kit's (sort of) Buddhist boyfriend Max:

' "We're all suffering.  I guess I just relate to people who are willing to share more of themselves.  A lot of pain in the world could be alleviated if we could all admit when we're having a hard time." ' (93)

You said it, Max.  And then, of course, there are some fashion snippets I love:

Nora describing a long-gone library volunteer: 

' "Don't you remember her?  She was really cool.  She had all of these interesting dresses, and she always wore red cowboy boots.  I've always wanted a pair." ' (174)

Nora describing Kit:

' "Short, curly red hair, dressed like Stevie Nicks and one of the Disney princesses started a fashion label together?" ' (177)

If such a brand existed, I'd be first in line.  But back to business:

No one in this book is who he or she seems.  And I don't mean that in a sinister, spy thriller kind of way, but in a we're-all-humans-just-doing-our-best kind of way that makes life's problems better, not worse.  That said, Miller gives us multifaceted, sympathetic characters in a beautiful, bucolic setting.  Also, as a bonus, this was the first time I heard the term "leaf peepers" used unironically (I'm looking at you, John Oliver).  Charming yet poignant and tinged with the no-nonsense spirit for which New England is famous, The Late Bloomers' Club doesn't offer easy answers.  But when it comes to the importance of taking a chance, it hits closer to home than anything I've read in a while.   

Animal Print Stint: A Very Merry Unbirthday to Me

Tights: Xhilaration, Target

As you know, I hit the big 4-Oh in the beginning of the month.  But the family party (okay, get-together, as there were a pod-approved nine of us) took place last weekend -- which gave me an excuse to celebrate all over again.  And if Alice and animal print don't say happy birthday month -- or merry unbirthday, to quote that wonderfully wacky Alice in Wonderland ditty -- then I don't know what does.

Socks, ? (they were a Christmas gift :) 

Skirt: Bubblegum, Macy's

Boots: Jessica Simpson Collection, Amazon

Sweater: Bar III, Macy's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

My parents pulled out all the stops, decking their house with pink decorations.  It was the best bash I could've hoped for, with all of my favorite people.  At one point we were covered in streamers, but I decided not to post any pictures of that.  I respect the privacy of others, if not my own.  

Anyway, it's a good thing we partied down last weekend, because this is what it's like out today:

There's fifteen inches of the white stuff here at the Jersey shore.  As always, I took it in from inside my window.  And then promptly hit the couch to watch TV, this time the pilot of ABC's new vineyard-set drama, Promised Land.  It's good; I raise a glass to it.

Even if what's in my glass is cinnamon apple tea.