Labor Day Fabrics and Flavors

Dress: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill; Skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: Jessica Simpson Collection, Amazon

Bag: Francesca's

Tank: Rebellious One, Macy's; Skirt: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Tomato girl summer going out hot.

Bag: Universal Thread, Target

Corn and crustaceans.

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Jeans: Wild Fable, Target

Blue for You Necklace

Bag: Amerileather, Zulily

Filler schmiller. 

Because a felt boat's always a good idea.

Labor Day means red, white, and blue -- and one last BBQ.  So I donned my polka dot frock and enjoyed festive fare with my family.  The best thing on the table?  My mom's tomato pie.  Probably because it was bursting with, not only tomatoes and cheese, but mayonnaise and sour cream.  So, hearty enough for the hardest-working laborer, not to mention decadence in a dish.

As for Charlotte, she focused on the fruit, as per usual.  I've never seen anyone get so excited about oranges and blueberries. Watching her glee is my favorite thing.

Still, she'd better not get any ideas about me baking a pie.

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.  

Last Call 'Til Fall? Do Me a Favor and Spare Me the Labor

Dress: Lily Rose; Skirt and bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Primarily Prismatic Necklace

Hair clips and sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Skirt: Candie's, Kohl's

Bag: SHEIN; Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target

Top: Molly Bracken, Modcloth; Skirt: Dollhouse, Macy's

Flip flops: Katy Perry Collection, Nordstrom Rack; Necklace: I'm Your Present, Etsy; Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

That's right.  I said what I said.  But you should know me well enough by now to get that it's the unofficial end of summer I'm spurning and not the celebration of America's workforce.  Labor Day is the New Year's Eve of summer.  A little over-hyped and a lot melancholy, it marks a seasonal transition no one wants to make.  And that's why, in my own quirky way, I make the most of it with fashion photography.

These fits are from the long weekend, which included my parents' BBQ, a trip to the bank, and hanging around the house.  Which is not at all like "sitting around the house" from Better Than Ezra's "Good," and not just because that song references the Fourth of July instead of Labor Day, but because with  Charlotte, there's not much sitting.

That said, this last pic was, appropriately, taken today on the actual holiday.  After a day out, it was time to stay in, and I spent most of it, not in this nautical-slash-ice-cream-themed getup, but in my nightgown.

It's what the laborers would've wanted.

Lake Remake: One to Play on Repeat

Carley Fortune's Every Summer After seemed like the perfect book to finish the day after the last day of summer.  It's Fortune's first novel and a lot like her second, Meet Me at the Lake.  It's also a lot like The Summer I Turned Pretty (at least it's like the Amazon Prime adaptation, as I haven't read Jenny Han's trilogy).  But that's okay.  More than okay.  Because as Every Summer After's Persephone says, "I liked how each book was both predictable and unique, comforting and unexpected.  Safe but never boring." (10)  Although scream queen Percy is talking about horror instead of romance (apparently, she finds bloodshed soothing), I get what she means.  Readers choose genres for a reason, and it's not to be surprised.

That said, Every Summer After is another Canadian story about angst-ridden, lovesick teens who weather a decade apart due to a misunderstanding.  Also, there's a lake.

It's lovely.

Summertime Blues if You so Choose; Otherwise, Onward to Autumn

Dress: So, Kohl's; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Modcloth; Shoes: Jessica Simpson, DSW

Strawberry Cherry Necklace

Top, skirt, bag, shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Berry Blossom Necklace

Dress: ELLE, Kohl's; Bag: Simply Vera, Kohl's: Shoes: Katy Perry Collections, Nordstrom Rack

Bright Howlite Necklace

Usually, Labor Day bums me out.  It means the end of summer and sunshine and custard stands, and who wants that in her life?  So I'd hang on as long as I could, refusing to wear fall clothes or put up fall decorations, using the defense that it was still in the eighties.

Until now.

I don't know if it's because I did so much this summer -- I even went to the beach! -- but I'm okay with it being over.  I want to take the time to enjoy fall instead of scrambling to jump on the bandwagon right before Halloween.  So I'm going to collect spooky décor (just today I bought a Poe print) and mix black and gold in with my warm-weather wardrobe.  I think it'll be a whole new fun thing to look forward to.  And anyway, if what I saw today is any indication, then fall has already arrived:

So yes, folks, it's happened.  I've fallen for fall.

In the eternally wise words of Blink-182, I guess this is growing up.        

Avian Adventure: Winging it This Labor Day

It's not quite a beanstalk . . . but it is a mighty tall coleus plant!  And it's reaching for the stars -- or, rather, the sun -- in my parents' beautiful backyard.  The husband and I were there yesterday and took advantage of the photo op before eating our weight in cheddar.  Which was apropos, because there's a block of cheese on my shirt!  Also a cartoonish bird, topping off a week's worth of winged wardrobe wears:

Skirt: H&M

Pastel Parrot Barrette Brooch

Bunch of Bold Necklace

Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon; Bag: Zulily; Bangles: B Fabulous; First two bird rings: Macy's; Middle bird ring: Francesca's; Chunky ring: Claire's

Flip flops: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Caftan: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Skirt: Dollhouse, Macy's

Yellow Feathered Friend Heart Barrette

Top: Next Era, JCPenney

Wristlet: City Streets, JCPenney; Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City; Shoe: Madden Girl, Kohl's; Yellow and red bangles: B Fabulous; Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney

Top: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Shoes: Katy Perry Collection

Plenty of Pineapples Necklace

Skirt: Decree, JCPenney

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill; Barrette: The Tote Trove; Pink bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Yellow bangle: B Fabulous; Dark green bracelet: Parade of Shoes; Neon green bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City boardwalk

Top: Ziztar, Zulily

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Palace Peacock Necklace

Headband and top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Rhinestone turquoise and fish bracelets: Target; Purple bracelet: Wet Seal; friendship bracelet: ZAD, Zulily; Rose bracelet: The Tote Trove

So, this Labor Day, I hope you heed the birdcall of the wild, whether that means rocking an avian outfit, petting a parrot, or wrestling a raptor.  Whatever it takes to spread your style wings. 

And let the feathers fly.