Turning Over a New Leaf: Upward and Autumn

Top: Simply Vera, Kohl's 

Emboldened Arches Necklace

Skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bow: Wild Fable, Target; Sunglasses: So, Kohl's

Bag: Mellow World, Kohl's

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Top: Nine West, Kohl's

Skirt: Wild Fable, Target

Skirt: Rewind, Kohl's

Cozy Colors Necklace

Bow: Wild Fable, Target; Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Sweater: ModCloth

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's

So, this was the first week of fall.  And a funny thing happened.  Instead of saying, it's still hot, I'll keep wearing fruits and flowers until the first frost, I reached for plaids and corduroy.  The resulting fits were even brighter than some of my summer ensembles, making me wonder, wait, do I like fall?  

I was as gobsmacked as you are.  

It just goes to show that you can always grow.  Even if it means finally admitting that you loved something all along. 

Undersea Stallion Battalion

Top: Self Esteem, Macy's
Skirt: So, Kohl's
Shoes: Ami Clubwear
Bag: Privileged, Zulily
Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Top: L'Amour by Nanette Lepore, JCPenney
Skirt: Celebrity Pink, Marshalls
Shoes: Simply Vera, Kohl's
Bag: H&M
Belt: Wild Fable, Target
Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

Sparkly Seahorse Necklace

This Sparkly Seahorse Necklace says "shoot-out at the O. K. Corral."  But it also says "wipe-out at the Old Bay Coral."  Because seahorses are weird like that, straddling the warring worlds of land and sea.  Speaking of coral, the tee shirt in the first outfit kind of looks like a mare's nest of it, with our poor pal seahorse obscured by its chaos.  So I took a take two with the nautical knot blouse, which makes for a much better backdrop.  Is this because nautical knots scream boat, and a boat is the only vessel brave enough to traverse the tightrope between terra firma and tidal waves?  Or because the knots look like pretzels and pretzels are tasty?      

Only the seahorse knows.  And she isn't telling.   

So be like the seahorse and keep a secret or two.  And when in Rome rock a (rhinestone) cowboy hat. 

Mother Earth Mirth

Dress: Mudd, Kohl's
Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily
Bag: Betsey Johnson, Modcloth
Bangles: B Fabulous

 Fabulous Felt Red Folk Flowers Barrette

Dress: Ruby Rox, J. C. Penney's
Shoes: Delicious, Zulily
Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon
Top bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City, NJ boardwalk
Middle bangle: B Fabulous
Bottom bangle: Amrita Singh, Zulily
Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Fabulous Felt Yellow Folk Flowers Barrette

Ah, Mother's Day.  A time to honor Mom -- the perennial keeper of the familial garden -- as the pampered flower she deserves to be.  And what better way to do that than with flowers?  Or in this case, flower barrettes.  (Mom, don't worry; these barrettes are not your gift, just part of my pseudo sales pitch.  Pseudo because 1) Mother's Day is already here and 2) I hope all the moms are getting brunch and handbags and real flowers).  Speaking of my mom, (as we just were), she always planted the first flowers of the season, which were always pansies, on Mother's Day.  And I would think, why does she want to be down in the dirt on her own holiday, when she could be eating Twizzlers or taking a nap?  But the thing is, my mom loves flowers and making things beautiful.  She wanted to be starting her garden, giving root to the first of the many blossoms that would make our yard explode with color.  That's what makes her such a gifted gardener, both literal and figurative, nurturing not only roses and marigolds, but my sister and me through all of our less than lovely years.  So thanks, Mom, for being tougher than crabgrass and grub worms and doing the hard work of helping us grow.   

On that note, here are some of my flowers.  Okay, my only flowers.  I didn't plant these azaleas (that credit goes to the previous homeowner) or even maintain them (the bottoms are choked by dead leaves), but they're blooming just the same.  And that makes me happy and hopeful that maybe someday I'll plant flowers, too.

Even if they're only plastic.  

Who Lives in a Pineapple Amidst the Twee?

 Tropical Tassel Necklace

Painted Desert Necklace

Top: Jennifer Lopez Collection, Kohl's

Skirt: Candie's, Kohl's

Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless

Bag: H&M

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Tote.  Trove.  Lad-y!  Or, maybe I should have asked, who lives in a Dutch colonial amidst the pineapples?  (SpongeBob and Patrick would understand; Squidward not so much).  Have I moved to Hawaii?  Or to an alternate universe with a tropical farm market run by cartoons?  If only.  No, I'm talking about plain old pedestrian knickknacks.  The husband and I decided to put one of the pineapple persuasion in every room of our house.  Out of all of them (and there are many), only these two are photogenic.  The other pineapples already hate them and are starving themselves with the hope that they'll be picked next time.

The door knocker was originally brass, but the husband painted it in vibrant shades of green, brown, and yellow.  He spent a lot of time getting the brown just right.  It turned out great, really popping against the red door.

Speaking of home decor, I recently saw a pillow (IRL or on Pinterest; I can't tell the difference anymore) that said "I'd rather have a passport full of stamps than a house full of stuff."  And I thought . . . nah, I'll take the stuff.  Partly because I hate packing and hotel duvets and tour buses with guides named Eugene.  Partly because I love stuff.  Buying stuff, collecting stuff, finding places to put stuff, wearing stuff, photographing stuff, pinning stuff, writing about stuff, looking at stuff.  You know how Oprah says, "I love bread!"?  Well, that's how I feel about stuff.  So, when I sat down this week to make some new stuff (and by stuff I of course mean necklaces), it made sense that it would involve pineapples (albeit tiny ones).  And also a cactus.

Good old P & P.  A pair of prickly pals, to be sure -- but more than that, friends to the end.  Kind of like SpongeBob and Patrick.

But not Squidward.  No one likes that dude.

Country Capers and Old-timey Vapors: Flying Southwest for the Winter

 High Voltage Hoop Necklace

Tee: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Qupid, DSW

Bag: Nordstrom

Belt: Gifted

Sunglasses: Brigantine beach shop

 Rhinestone Cowgirl Necklace

Top: Merona, Target

Skirt: Macy's

Boots: 2 Lips Too, DSW

Bag: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Jacket: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

 Pretty Prickly Necklace

Dress: Modcloth

Cami: Worthington, JCPenney

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Rampage, Boscov's

Contradictory to the title of this post, I'm not a big fan of flying.  But I would like to see the West.  I've never been unless you count a layover in Phoenix, which I do not, even if I do have the refrigerator magnet to prove it.  One thing I do like to do on an airplane is read, though.  It's as good a way as any to forget your troubles when you're helplessly airborne.  And, of course, when you're helplessly back on terra firma, too.

Speaking of reading, I got more than I bargained for at the dollar store when I picked up Peggy Webb's Elvis and the Grateful Dead recently. Now, about 90% of the dollar store books I've read are weird, and I always find myself wondering if I think this just because they landed at the dollar store, or because they are, in fact, a little bit off.  Weird or not, I could immediately tell that Webb's tale was one of the tribe of quirky cozy mysteries that I hold so dear.  It turned out to be about two crime-solving cousins from Mississippi, Callie and Lovie, and Callie's basset hound Elvis, a canine convinced he's the King reincarnated.  (Okay, so they're southern, not southwestern, which would be far more in keeping with the theme of this post.  But Lovie does wear cowboy boots, most often with peasant skirts.  And Callie, when pressed about her feelings for her not-quite-ex-husband, can be as prickly as our friend Mr. Cactus.)  Fueled by sweet tea and ire, the twosome sets out to find the killer of not one but three -- what else? -- Elvis impersonators.  Now, the mystery part isn't all that intriguing -- most cozies worth their sugar offer up a respectable-enough "wow!" or even "hey, I knew that," factor when all is said and done plot-wise.  But this one makes little more than a lackluster attempt to tie things up lickety-split in the whodunit department.  Nevertheless, considering that I'm no fan of hounds (Elvis included, even if it is blasphemy to say so below the Mason-Dixon line), it may come as a surprise that I rather enjoyed this outlandish adventure (or, on second thought, maybe it's not such a surprise, as I often end up enjoying books I profess to hate).  After all, I don't read this stuff for the crimes -- I read it for the colorful characters.  And they don't come much more rainbowed than a fast-and-loose foodie (that would be Lovie) and her baby-crazy cat lady of a cousin (Callie).  Even if Callie is a bit of a shoe snob.  She wears only designer and looks down on anyone who doesn't, so much so that a would-be black widow's culpability hinges, albeit presumably, upon her penchant for bargain basement kicks (kind of ironic, seeing as how I fished this book out of a bargain bin, but I digress).  As ever, the sartorially suspect are guilty of -- or at least suspected of being guilty of -- more than mere crimes of fashion.  But I was willing to overlook this character flaw in the name of fiction, remembering that snobs are people, too.  Which is just one more way, I guess, that books help make us better people.  

That having been said, happy trails to you . . . until we read again.