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.  

Staycation Nation: Pool Jewels and Polka Dots

Dress: Macy's

Bag: On 34th, Macy's

Totally Turquoise Necklace

Top and skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: The Shoppes at the Asbury

Flowers Capelli, ULTA

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, Zulily

Fruit Loot Necklace

There's a new Progressive commercial about vacations, maybe you've seen it.  The hook is how so few of us ever get time to recharge.  Flo jokes that this harried woman needs a vacation, and the woman responds by saying things like, oh, you mean when I'm driving to work and a song I like comes on the radio?  And Flo's like, no, a vacation, when you go away and take pictures and whatever.  And the woman says, oh, never had one.  To which Flo admits, me neither.

I can relate -- and I'm sure lots of you can too.  Especially because my version of a vacay is dressing like I'm going on one.  So I was excited to haul out my old palm-and-pineapple heels and new bathing beauties bag.  Fancy bags for everyday use, it seems, are having a moment.  Which I love because it jives with my every-fit's-a-celebration philosophy.  That's why this little piece of the pool is such a jewel to me.

And why, even when I can't get out of town, I relax and go with the Flo.

Zero Hour and Not So Fresh Flowers

Top: ELLE, Kohl's

Skirt: ModCloth; Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless

Bag: Kelly & Katie, DSW

Skirt: Trixxi, Kohl's

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Box: Michaels

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: Target

Sunglasses: Party City

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Necklace: Ella & Elly, Zulily

Fake and unseasonal and not even new, these are the flowers that I have for you.  This garden garb has been growing in my to-be-posted folder since spring.  That's why you see a school bus in the first pic.  So I figured I'd better post it before school starts up again.

Because the only thing worse than missing the bus is missing a bus-y bloom print. 🚌💐

Desert Rose, You Need a Hose . . .

Top: Simply Vera, Kohl's; Skirt: Dolls Kill

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bow: Limited Too, Kohl's; Sunglasses: A New Day, Target

When the frame is fine as is.

Bag: Amazon

Spurs and Succulents Necklace

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Cactus Calvary Necklace

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Belt: Marshalls

Bows: Zulily

OOAK oasis.

. . . is what they say come August.  That's when everything's hurting for water, especially desert dwellers.  So of course I'm sporting saguaros again.  And also a watermelon.

Because you can't beat the heat without humor.

Lady of the Lake: Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Muse

Carley Fortune's One Golden Summer is just what I needed.  In this follow-up to Every Summer After, Fortune returns to the idyllic world of Barry's Bay, giving Charlie Florek his chance to play hero.  Still, he's not the star of this story.  That would be Alice Everly, the gifted photographer who sees him -- and is seen by him -- through her camera lens.  

Burned out by a breakup and career ennui, Alice retreats to the lake to care for her grandmother.  Away from the stress of the city, she lets down her hair (literally!) and makes a summer bucket list.  Meeting a man is the last thing she wants, but that changes when she bumps into Charlie.  Gorgeous and irreverent, he captivates her -- and gets under her skin.  Still, there's no avoiding him because he's the caretaker for her cottage.  Not to mention the boy in the photo that she took seventeen years ago, the one that launched her career.  Back then, Alice was an awkward teen, hiding yet yearning to belong.  At thirty-three, she has a chance to finally put herself in the picture.  And she's not the shy girl that she used to be, nor is Charlie the bad boy he portrays.

Nostalgic and poignant, One Golden Summer is everything I love about this season.  Despite being indoorsy, it makes me want to cannonball into a lake, then nap on the shore, sunburn and mosquitoes be damned.  Fortune paints a beautiful picture (sorry not sorry, the pic puns keep coming), reminding us that sometimes getting it right means getting away from it all.