Savor the Labor: Red, White, and Blueberry

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Impo, DSW

Top: So, Kohl's

Floral bangle: JCPenney; Strawberry bangle: B Fabulous; Red bangle: XOXO, ROSS; Ring and rainbow necklace: Cloud Nine, Ocean City

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Mellow Yellow Nest Barrette Brooch

Dress: Lily Rose, Kohl's

Red White and Blue Moon Necklace

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Zulily

Dress: B. Smart, Kohl's

Bangles from left to right: Silver Linings, Ocean City; So, Kohl's; XOXO, ROSS

Bag: Nahui Ollin

Flip flops: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Skirt: Candie's, Kohl's

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Sunglasses: Party City; Yellow necklace: Sonoma, Kohl's; Headband: Marshalls; Bracelets: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Top: ELLE, Kohl's

Bag: Loop, Marshalls

Red Romance Fan Necklace

Not manual labor or delivery labor, but Labor Day labor -- or rather, play.  Because raspberries are red, blueberries are blue, and summer is sweet but over too soon.  My own holiday labors -- if you can call them that -- included making Americana-themed baubles and wearing my red, white, and blue best for the butterflies.  

True Blue Unicorn Earrings

As for festivities, the husband and I went to my parents' house yesterday and to Rita's tonight, where we enjoyed our treats outside by the light of the highway.  And that made for a big weekend for me because I'm almost always home.  Which reminds me of something my mom said last summer: the pandemic brings us back to a simpler time.  As in, there's nowhere to go, just like back in the day, so even a trip to the ice cream stand becomes special.  And however horrific the reason (i.e. a deadly, global virus of summer blockbuster proportions), slowing down and appreciating the extraordinary ordinary is a gift. 

So I hope your Labor Day weekend was lazy.  In other words, filled with fashion, fruit pies, and featherdown pillows for taking the very best naps.  

Head Honcho Horticulture: Who's the Real Botanical Boss?

 

Once upon a time, I said moss was boss.  But that's not true.  Because Bob Ross is boss, despite (or perhaps because of) his ever-serene demeanor.  The other day, I was filling a flamingo planter with fake flowers when I had a sprig leftover and thought, why not give it to Bob?  

He deserves a 'fro grow, especially because I never allowed him to reach his Chia Pet potential.  

So bloom where you're planted, Bob.  This bud's for you.

Stripe Life: Coloring Outside the Lines

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Blocks and Beads Necklace

Top: Modcloth

Light blue flower clip: Claire's; Dark blue flower clips: Made by my sister

Top: Self Esteem, JCPenney

Fern's Favorite Festival Necklace

Skirt: Lily White, Kohl's

Shoes: So, Kohl's

Skirt: ELLE, Kohl's

High Voltage Hippie Necklace

Top: Monteau, TJ Maxx

Just when you think I couldn't say anything else about stripes, I pipe up with more pattern prattle.  The vertical ones make me think of the '70s, nautical wear, and, of course, circus tents.  And because vertical stripes are really just lines, they also bring to mind staying in line, coloring inside the lines, and that ever-popular military classic, toeing the line.  Last but certainly not least, vertical stripes evoke verticals, as in magazine columns.  (I learned that term from The Bold Type.  Even if I did just fall down a Reddit rabbit hole criticizing the drama's inaccurate portrayal of young journalists.  And here I thought its biggest problem was that stylist Sutton wore too many neutrals.)  Most of these, ahem, line items, are about following the rules.  But The Bold Type (in case you don't watch or can't tell from the title) is the exact opposite.  Its intrepid, truth-seeking trio never met a line that it didn't cross.  

Speaking of trios, I made three necklaces to go with these striped separates.  And then I made these earrings.  But I'm not modeling them because, as you know, I don't have pierced ears.  Also, ew.  Who wants to buy something that's been jammed through my cartilage? 

Bitty Berry Earrings

So here's to stripes and not toeing the line.  And to bold patterns, bold women, and bold everything everywhere.  

Except for the The Bold and the Beautiful.  That's a show that should disappear down a Reddit and real-life rabbit hole.  

Beach Block Blues: Don't Hit Snooze, Your Pop Rock Jam is Up Next

Writer's block.  We've all had it.  That voice that mockingly chants, There's nothing new under the sun.  Everything that needs to be said has been said.  So park yourself in front of a Real Housewives marathon with a feed bag of Cheetos and give up already.  Now imagine that you're broke and the ability to purchase said Cheetos depends on you churning out the novel you promised your agent by the end of the summer.  And that your crush-slash-nemesis, who's also a writer, just happens to be your new neighbor.  And that he's broke with writer's block too.

Welcome to Emily Henry's Beach Read.  And yes, it's the very same Emily Henry who wrote People We Meet on Vacation, that other rom com I just read about writers.  This time, the heroine is January Andrews, and her neighbor is Augustus "Gus" Everett.  Both nurse deep emotional wounds, and both are loath to admit it.  But their shared college past injects a jolt of electricity and fun into their fledgling friendship.  Sweet yet full of substance (Think Bundt cake instead of cotton candy.  Although cotton candy does make an appearance.), this novel is as much about the writing process as it is about romance.  I love how it challenges the idea that chick lit writers and readers are "less than."  As a writer of women's fiction, January is an ambassador from that world.  Scrappy and witty, she's quick to defend her genre and how it helped her through a tough time.  Gus, on the other hand, is firmly in camp literary fiction and as such, aptly cast as January's brooding antagonist.  But when the two switch genres for the summer, what starts as a game to beat writer's block ends up making them better storytellers and brings them closer to each other -- and to their true selves.  My favorite part is when Gus reveals that, contrary to what January thinks, he respects her writing:

"You make beautiful things, because you love the world, and maybe the world doesn't always look how it does in your books, but . . .  I think putting them out there, that changes the world a little bit.  And the world can't afford to lose that." (293)  

Well put, Gus.  Realism has its place, but one of the reasons we read is to get out of our heads and realize that life's not so bad.  Too much reality can send us right back to those Cheetos -- and the bad kind of unrealistic fiction (i.e. reality TV).  That said, Beach Read is also funny.  Henry's banter game is as strong as ever, and January and Gus's convos are a hoot.  Because you can't choke down the kale of personal growth without a large dose of ranch dressing.  

Even if January and Gus eat mostly pizza.  

Having a Ball: The Media Circus, Most Macabre of All

Shoes: Impo, DSW

Bag: Current Mood, Dolls Kill

Skirt: Macy's

Fabulous Felt Balloons Barrette

Top: Kingston Grey, Macy's

Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Circus Clown Barrette Brooch

Bow barrette: Carole, JCPenney; Rainbow necklace: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Ring: Wet Seal; Red Necklace: Wet Seal; Bangles: B Fabulous

Dress: Zulily

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Sunglasses: FantasEyes, JCPenney

Top: Candie's, Kohl's

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, then you know that I have a love-hate relationship with the circus that I can't stop talking about.  On the love side, there's color, lights, and the tutus of the tightrope walkers.  On the hate side, there's refuse, sad animals, and the mangy mane of the one-armed juggler.  Ball pits represent a sliver of that, what with their riveting rainbow of camouflaged pee (never mind that you're more likely to find a ball pit in a Chuck E. Cheese than under the big top; Chuck E. Cheese is a circus unto itself).  So I was excited to bust out these gumball-like globes (I've had them since Easter) to stage my new Circus Clown Barrette Brooch.  Because they bring the fun of the pit minus the pitfalls.    

Of course, these days, the scariest circus isn't the one stunk up by urine or even a two-headed clown, but the one with media in front of it.  And a media circus spins all its plates and then some in the dark comedy Breaking News in Yuba County.  It boasts an all-star cast including Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Awkwafina, Ellen Barkin, and Juliette Lewis as well as, like any entertainment worth its salted peanuts, an array of wild wigs.  Janney leads as Sue Buttons, a mousy call center drone who's addicted to sensational news stories and chants affirmations at the grocery store (I am enough!).  Which sounds kooky, but sticking her head into the sands of self-help and pseudo-journalism makes more sense once we learn that her husband's a jerk who forgot her birthday.  It turns out that she's at the grocery store to pick up her own cake, which is misspelled.  Spoiler alert: the bakery clerk won't fix it.  Just when Sue thinks that things can't possibly get any worse, she follows her husband to a motel and catches him cheating.  He drops dead, and Sue seizes the opportunity to snag the recognition she craves by reporting him, not dead, but missing.  Soon she's the star of the biggest missing persons case on the news, much to the delight of her equally fame-hungry reporter sister (Mila Kunis).  But the stunt sets off a chain of violent events that reveal that hubby was hiding more than a mistress.

Always a fan of humor with edge, I enjoyed this movie despite its sometimes gratuitous gore.  Because for all its sensationalism, Breaking News in Yuba County delivers a message not so different from that of the sadly canceled (sniff sniff) Good Girls: Be nice to women or else. 

Thankfully, the weirdest thing to happen at my circus is a disembodied clown head bobbing up over the big top.  Because -- surprise! -- it's not a head at all, but a balloon.

Or is it?  I guess that's for its future owner to say.  

Talk about buyer beware.   

Out of My Depp: A is for Anchorwoman

Top: Candie's, Kohl's; Skirt (a dress!): Macy's; Shoes: Not Rated, Journeys; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon; Fuchsia belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon; Peach belt: Izod, Marshalls; Blue bangle: So, Kohl's; Lime bangle: B Fabulous; Coral bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Striped bangle: Mixit, JCPenney

Anchors emblazon everything from cardigans to pillows to flesh (I'm talking tattoos).  But just what is it about these nautical notions that charm us into desecrating our homes and decorating our bodies?  Their promise of a glam getaway and/or safe harbor?  Their association with a simpler, more romantic time?  Or is our love for them nothing more than the product of our preoccupation with Popeye?  (All waterways, it seems, lead back to tattoos.)  In the end, all that matters is that anchors are aces.  And that I had a whale of a time incorporating them into this Bright This Ship Necklace:  

Bright This Ship Necklace

Because when you go bright, you never go wrong.  Unless, of course, your craft is so colorful that it attracts a posse of pirates who commandeer it for their rutabaga smuggling ring (when it comes to contraband, root vegetables are funnier than rum.)  If that doesn't say piece-of-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-footage-on-the-cutting-room-floor, then I don't know what does.

Unless it's Johnny Depp dressed as a rutabaga and belting out a ribald riddle.       

By the way, I hear that Mr. Depp's bankrupt.  For enough clams, I bet he'd be down.  

Saab Story Dory: Still Waters Pun Deep

We all know a grumpy old man.  Or at the very least have seen one on TV, whether he be an old-in-spirit-only curmudgeon like Ron Swanson, or one of the classic geriatrics from (what else?) Grumpy Old Men.  People say that oldsters get so crotchety because they've endured so much and have had enough already.  Which I thought I understood.  But then I read Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove and realized I didn't understand anything. 

Not too long ago, I read -- and very much enjoyed -- Backman's Anxious People.  But A Man Called Ove was Backman's first novel.  I'd always wanted to read it, and when Ellie of Ivy's Closet and Caitlin & Megan said I'd like it, I made an Amazon order.  As a librarian, Ellie knows books.

So, Ove.  When we meet him in suburban Sweden, he's the epitome of the irate, set-in-his-ways, hates-everyone senior citizen.  He loathes technology, people who aren't punctual, and cats.  He's always driven a Saab and distrusts anyone who drives anything else.  Never mind that he's only fifty-nine.  Ove is the kind that's been old all his life.  But the death of his adored wife, Sonja, as well as the loss of his job have exacerbated his already cantankerous ways.  Every morning, he patrols his neighborhood in search of burglars and other miscreants.  He oils his kitchen counters whether they need it or not.  He fixes things in his toolshed.  And he does it all not to pass the time, but because he needs to be useful.  As Ove's own Sonja said, ' "All people want to live dignified lives; dignity just means something different to different people." ' (274)

Backman does this clever thing where he alternates between Ove's past and present, making everything seem at the same time old-fashioned and timeless.  It turns out that Ove's life has been exceptionally sad, and Backman fleshes out each flashback with details so heartbreaking -- and, yes, sometimes funny -- that I couldn't help but be endeared to this angry old man who has very good reasons for being angry after all.  In this way, A Man Called Ove reminds me of another beloved book, Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.  Both are about seemingly misanthropic men who've been burned but turn things around just in time to trust again and appreciate life.  And that's my favorite kind of story.  

If Ove knew that he was the subject of this post -- well, if Ove were a real person and knew that he was the subject of this post -- then he would hate it, right down from the publicity (if you could call it that) to the hot pink background.  And that amuses me. 

Because documenting stuff with humor and heart is where I find my dignity.

And I like to think that Ove would respect that -- if only because I made a pun about Saab.