Location, Curation, Fixation: Pink Prairie, Rainbow Ranch

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Skirt: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Geometry Gem Necklace

Bag: So, Kohl's

Trinket tray: Michaels

Bow: SHEIN

Bright Beetle Necklace

Boots: Universal Thread, Target

 LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Crafty Confection Necklace

Sunglasses: Circus NY by Sam Edelman, Boscov's

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Top: Wild Fable, Target

The best kind of crown.

Bag: Isaac Mizrahi, Marshalls

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Boots: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Charlotte was here.

Bag: Marshalls

You'd think that after all these years, I'd be over my country kitsch schtick.  That I'd get real with myself and say, face it, Tracy, you're a Jersey girl.  But aside from the occasional impulse to set up my tripod at a nearby abandoned gas station, I'm uninspired by my suburban surroundings.  So instead, I put on one of my many pairs of cowboy boots and imagine that my yard is a speck in a stretch of wide, open spaces.  Delusional?  Sure.  But it's probably wise.

Intriguing or not, that gas station seems suspect.

Problematic Summer Wardrobe

Dress: Betsey Johnson, Zulily

Pancakes should always be served with whipped cream.

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bow: Art Class, Target

Bag: Francesca's

Sweatshirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Skirt: On 34th, Macy's

Dress: ModCloth

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Oversized Anchor Necklace

Sweet suburban skyline sans storefronts.

Bag: Isaac Mizrahi, Marshalls

Headband: INC, Macy's

You know that I dread the end of summer and refuse to acknowledge it until October.  Well, samesies this year.  So until then, I'm going to keep on trucking sailing with my unseasonal summer ensembles.  And I'm going to keep reading beach books, too.  Like Ali Hazelwood's Problematic Summer Romance.  

This one is about a twenty-three-year-old, award-winning physicist named Maya and her "inappropriate" crush on her brother's thirty-eight-year-old, biotech billionaire bestie, Conor.  Maya may be a genius, but, like Halsey, she's "bad at love."  Yet (also like Halsey), you can't blame her for trying -- especially during her brother's wedding week in lemon-scented Sicily.  Less STEM, ahem, coded than Hazelwood's previous romcoms, Problematic Summer Romance is more easy breezy.  Because even eggheads sometimes leave the lab to play the field -- and the fool -- like the rest of us.  Smart and snappy, it's rife with pop culture references, all of which enhance Maya's journey.  So, just what you want from a summer romance -- and a book about one.   

That said, my own (sartorial, not relationship) problems have only begun.  

By which I mean brights, bare legs, and produce prints in the face of flannel and pumpkin spice. 

Also, white shoes after Labor Day.  

A New Way to Be, Nothing to See, Just a Geriatric Pregnancy

Coat: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Isaac Mizrahi, Marshalls; Scrunchie: Ella and Elly, Zulily

Sweater: So, Kohls; Skirt (a dress!): Three Hearts, Kohl's

Jewelry: Macy's

Top: Candie's, Kohl's; Boots: Mossimo, Target

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Here I am looking downright rural.  So, evidence that this bump is turning me into a country bumpkin.  I'm not mad at it, though.  It feels cozy and simple and safe at a time when life is anything but.  

Today I went for my 24-week checkup, where I was informed that I can register for my June hospital stay now if I do so desire.  Yikes!  I mean, the crib is still in the box.  Also, in slightly more serious but let's-not-freak-out news, I may have gestational diabetes.  My test results were just a wee bit elevated, which means -- yes, you guessed it -- more testing and more needles.  But I'm getting good at getting bloodwork (yesterday at LabCorp, I didn't even flinch), an activity that, as you know, used to nearly make me faint.  So, progress.    

But back to the outfits.  Full disclosure: The pink dress and jean skirt pics were taken last month.  There's no way I could wear a jean skirt -- or anything else with a zipper -- now.  But the pink sweater pic was taken yesterday.  Yep, I got gussied up for LabCorp.  

So now to up my diet and exercise game just a tiny bit for this tiny one.  

Because as ever I have hope that all things great and small are always possible.

Center Stage at any Age: All's Fair in Fall Footwear

Bag: Violet Ray, Kohl's; Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Top: Nine West, Kohl's

Southwestern Stranger Necklace

Sunglasses: (the long defunct) Cloud Nine, Ocean City boardwalk

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Skirt: Mossimo, Target; Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Isaac Mizrahi, Marshalls

Barrettes: SHEIN

Pastel Owl Necklace

Top: So, Kohl's

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Skirt: Vylette, Kohl's; Bag: Current Mood, Dolls Kill

Great Agate Necklace

Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target

Shoes: Madden Girl, Kohl's

I can hardly believe it, but the sun is beginning to set on sandals.  Which means that the first, ahem, official step into fall fashion is closed-toe footwear.  Now, this can be a little depressing.  So I decided  to turn that frown upside down and bust out a new pair while finishing up my fall jewelry (more on that later).  And with that I present my chunky black Madden Girl T-straps!  

A soon as I saw them, I was transported back to high school, a time when fashion (if not life) was fun.  Still, I hemmed and hawed before getting them.  Was I maybe a little too old for kicks last cool back when I needed a hall pass?

I hope you're laughing because I certainly was as soon as that ridiculous thought crossed my mind.

That said, I'm now the proud owner of these "back-to-school" shoes -- minus gym and geometry.  As they say, getting older has its perks.

Like creating kooky necklaces instead of moldy old still lifes and calling it art class: 

So if the shoe fits your foot but not your age (whatever that means), I say wear it! 

Also, stay in school -- and in school clothes. 😏