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." 

Winged Whimsy and Awesome Oddities: No Matter What, Don't Lose Your Head

One of the nice things about being in quarantine is having the time and brain space to soak up and obsessively ruminate on the treasures that light up your home and/or imagination.  So, here's my latest obsession.  I mean, observation.  

I spend so much time talking up unicorns that I don't give pegasuses their due.  Except, of course, in the case of the unicorn-slash-pegasus, that, ahem, unicorn of mythological beings.  Well, that stops now.  I give you Bayala (named not by me, but by her manufacturer, Schleich), a garden-party-pretty pegasus who's been biding her time on my bookshelf for the better part of a year.  A symbol of childhood wonder (and, yes, crass consumerism, considering that I acquired her during a Zulily binge), she reminds me to never grow up and that there's beauty in the strange.  Because that's why people love fairy tales.  That is, aside from the crowns, castles, and princes (there's that crass consumerism again, this time with Prince Charming as chattel).  They like knowing that outsiders can have happy endings, that even freaks and horses -- if not pigs -- can fly.  That's why Shrek is so beloved (well, that and all of the burping), and why children and adults alike are drawn to stable-dwellers that can transmute dirt to glitter.  

So thanks, Bayala, for making make-believe magic.

If only I could say the same for the Gingerbread Man.  Instead of making magic, he makes one last plea as I bite off his head.