Egg Hunt at the Oval Office Party

 Fabulous Felt Egg Barrette

Top: Delia's

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Marshalls

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Fabulous Felt Faux Cameo Barrette

Dress: JCPenney

Top: Bongo, Sears

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Belt: B Fabulous

Sunglasses: Michaels

 Fabulous Felt Fruit Wheel Barrette

Dress: Modcloth

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Modcloth

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

Move over, mammals (I'm talking to you, donkeys and elephants), an avian invasion is afoot (or perhaps I should say aflight) this Easter Monday.  For, this post is not about politics, but poultry.  Because there's nothing quite like the thrill of the hunt, and what is an oval but an unhatched egg?

Ever versatile, the incredible, edible egg comes in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of fancy, ranging from fluorescent plastic childhood favorites to the exquisitely precious Faberge.  Real eggs are both more complex and simplistic than these facsimiles, their delicate outer shells harboring the embryonic seedlings of new life within.  

This week's accessories -- barrettes, the whole lot of them -- celebrate this eclectic spectrum, serving up eggs and ovals of all varieties.  Whether hard-boiled, in cameo form (just like granny used to wear), or chock-full of a bowl of ambrosia's worth of fruit (just like granny used to make), all three embrace the spritely spring spirit that has come to distinguish this dairyland dream of a holiday (cheese and butter and eggs, oh my; Wisconsin, your ears must be ringing).  Sure, outfit number one is a little more Fourth of July than Easter Sunday, but then ham isn't far off from hot dogs.  To that end, here's an egg-cellent shot of some hard boiled beauties prepped for potato salad, yet another cookout queen contender.  Which just goes to show that summer is never more than a sunburn away.  

I'll Stop the World and Felt With You

 Fabulous Felt Green Flowers Barrette

Top: Kohl's

Skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Modcloth

Bag: Call it Spring, JCPenney

Belt: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

Here's Looking at You, Unicorn Necklace

Green top: a.n.a, JCPenney

Tank top: Marshalls

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, DSW

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

Fabulous Felt Yellow Flowers Barrette

Dress: Xhilaration, Target

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bags: Charming Charlie

Scarf: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Ok, so Modern English was, well, English, and England and Ireland are lifelong enemies, which means that I can't even get away with a quippy "close enough" to rationalize this post title.  Still, I can't resist a good pun -- or 1980s hit song that pops up, decades later, in a McDonald's commercial.  So, I put together this trio of lean, mean, green fighting machine outfits this St. Patrick's Day weekend -- even if St. Paddy's is a holiday better known for beer than for baubles.  

On the topic of discrepancies, I might as well point out that I'm featuring only two felt things in this post as opposed to three.  But the other thing stars a unicorn, and any kawaii queen worth her sugar knows that the horned one goes wherever it wants.  Which is sort of fitting, because you can't have St. Patrick's day without rainbows, and rainbows go with unicorns like corned beef goes with cabbage, bringing everything full (although perhaps not quite sweet-smelling) circle.

So, here's hoping that you had a fabulous, festive, and fanciful wearing-of-the-green weekend.  Also, that you rode the hell out of that unicorn.  

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Please Let Down Your Cares: The Hairy Truth About Happiness

Fabulous Felt Strawberry Banana Orange Barrette

Top: Express, Marshalls

Skirt: ELLE, Kohl's

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Bag: Modcloth

Sunglasses: Michaels

Modern life moves at warp speed.  Pressures bombard us from every direction, smartphones and smarter screens only adding to the struggle.  (Although, to be fair, there's nothing easy about the old school practice of hacking a chicken to bits as opposed to, say, picking up some Perdue.  Ah, the good old days!)  That's why people say "keep calm and carry on," or "I'm going to my happy place."  I can't hear that last one without thinking of the end of Happy Gilmore when Adam Sandler daydreams about his grandmother hitting the jackpot, Chubbs alive and playing the piano, and a lingerie-clad Julie Bowen serving up pitchers of beer -- all meditations that help him win the big tournament.  My happy places are The Tote Trove, anywhere the husband is, and inside a good book.  Also, any of my favorite stores, although I've recently been making an effort to rely on those particular havens less often.  Not that I don't still love shopping -- let's not get crazy now!  But I'm trying to do the most I can with what I've got -- a goal, it seems, that applies to much more than stretching one's bead supply.

In this spirit of simplicity, I have only one piece to post this week.  And while I'm on the subject, I think I'll stop calling them "pieces."  It's so pretentious, like I'm hammering gold instead of cutting felt.  No, this week's craft is most certainly a "barrette" - a lovely, nostalgic, and very French word that evokes memories of allowance splurges on adornments for long, undyed hair.  In other words, the hallmark of less tress-stressed times.  Maybe that's one of the reasons I've clung to my girlish-meets-sister wives 'do for more than a decade -- it reminds me of when life was simple.  That, and more sophisticated hair care can be a real bitch.  (Yep, I used the b-word.  Because sometimes keeping calm and carrying on means sprinkling a little salt on your soup.)  

Nevertheless  . . . I'm considering cutting my mane.  Because I suspect that there really is something therapeutic about getting rid of all that dead weight.  Haircuts are no stranger to women in transition.  "The Big Bang Theory's" Kaley Cuoco cut her hair to skullcap proportions shortly after getting married -- and before getting divorced -- in real life.  And when Scarlett (Clare Bowen) lost her mom on "Nashville," she chopped her waist-length locks to an ear-skimming pixie.  But perhaps it was Sheryl Crow who, albeit breaking free of the coiffure coterie, said (er, sang) it best with her all-purpose and all-powerful mantra: "a change will do you good."

    

On a lighter note, briefer strands will be an even better canvas for showcasing -- what else? -- barrettes.

I Spy with my Little Eye the Candy Colors of Kawaii

 Fabulous Felt Sweet Strawberries Barrette

Dress: Modcloth

Blouse: Marshalls

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Belt: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: Michaels

 Fabulous Felt Pastel Celestial Barrette

Top: Wet Seal

Skirt: Necessary Objects, Annie Sez

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Princess Vera, Kohl's

Belt: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: JCPenney

Fabulous Felt Pastel Pastries Barrette

Dress: Modcloth

Blouse: Marshalls

Shoes: Bongo, Kohl's

Bag: Marshalls

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Michaels

Bracelet: Cloud 9, Ocean City

Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City

Remember when you were a kid and you'd go on car trips with your parents and look for things outside the window that were yellow or started with the letter "k" or looked like a giant marshmallow (I'm looking at you, Michelin Man)?  Well, this post is like that in no way (except for maybe echoing some of the whimsy of one Mr. Michelin).  It's about revamping my Etsy shop, a process I feel compelled to document despite the dangers of revealing how the sausage is made.

Some time ago, I decided to narrow my shop categories down to a spare and sassy three: Carnival Candy, Rustic Romance, and Twee Party.  Because Necklaces, Barrettes, and Other made too much sense and were kind of boring.  No, I wanted magic and mystery in my categories, weird and enigmatic phrases that would make shoppers go, "What the . . .?"  Even I'm not entirely sure what they mean.  (What is a rustic romance, anyway?  A dalliance between garden gnomes?)  I just knew that they conveyed certain styles.  Carnival Candy was supposed to be glam, Rustic Romance was supposed to be boho, and Twee Party was supposed to be sweet.  And they were.  Sort of.  But after a while they also started to look alike, all melting into a morass of Willy Wonka-esque, rainbow-colored goo.  If Will Ferrell's Mugatu were weighing in, then he'd say that they were the Blue Steel of handmade accessories; Carnival Candy, Rustic Romance, Twee Party -- it's like I'm taking crazy pills; they're all the same!  So, I needed to find a way to lose the uniformity but keep the crazy (a plan that surely even Mugatu would approve of).  And I decided that the best way to do that was through color.  Carnival Candy would be all crayon box brights; Rustic Romance would be earthy browns, tans, oranges, yellows, evergreens, fuchsias, and deep purples; and Twee Party would be sugary pinks, mints, lavenders, yellows, turquoises, tans, and browns (these last two exclusively for portraying caramel and chocolate, but of course).  I thought, what better way to do this than to remake some old designs in new colors?  So I took these strawberry, celestial, and pastry themes, all initially done in a carnival palette, and recreated them as kawaii copies baked to be the life of the twee and crumpets party (even if the moon isn't edible except for maybe in that classic kid's book Mooncake.  Also, if you subscribe to the green [or in this case, green-blue] cheese theory).  I'm looking forward to trying this with other food motifs as well as flowers and palm trees.

Like all things Trove, it's a work in progress.      

Sitcoms Say it with Silly: Flagging Down Life's Lessons in the Fast Food Lane

 Fabulous Felt Flags Barrette

Tee: Merona, Target

Skirt: Merona, Target

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Target

Fabulous Felt Cheeseburger Barrette

Tee: Hollister, Marshalls

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Belt: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Rampage, Boscov's

Fabulous Felt Sailboat Barrette

Red blouse: Lily White, Alloy

Lilac blouse: Self Esteem, JCPenney

Skirt: Byer, JCPenney

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Sunglasses: Michaels

We can learn a lot from watching comedies, especially sitcoms.  Even Judd Apatow says so in his book Sick in the Head: Conversations about Life and Comedy: 

". . . most comedies  -- even if it's a Jerry Lewis movie -- start with an incredibly immature person who needs to learn a lesson." (23)  

Although Apatow is talking about full-length features, each sitcom series episode holds its own power as a microcosm of its main characters' struggles.  At the end of the half hour, the heroes and heroines have triumphed over that week's challenge, however unbelievable and zany, only to be plunged headlong into another comedic conundrum the next week.  But that's how they grow.  Just like we do.  One of my favorite sitcoms is The Big Bang Theory, and I've always particularly liked Sheldon's Fun with Flags podcast sequence in which he presents erudite facts and anecdotes about, well, flags.  He is, in many ways, at the height of his eccentricity here, unabashedly letting his freak flag fly for the masses.  Until the day, that is, when he decides that balancing his responsibilities as a physicist, boyfriend, and podcast series author are all just too much.  So he posts his last podcast only to get a comment that goes something like this: "Sorry to see it end; I kind of liked it."  The lukewarm sentiment immediately goes to Sheldon's head, inspiring him to resuscitate his barely cold series.  Part of me laughs at him, as I and all viewers are meant to in this (albeit sweet) satire on social networking.  But another part of me knows that I would do the same thing.              

I had a similar reaction to last Sunday's episode of Bob's Burgers.  Bob slips on some oil outside a masseur's shop and injures his shoulder.  At his doctor's urging, he tries to sue the masseur, Jairo.  But Jairo doesn't have any money and offers to heal Bob's shoulder instead.  Part of the healing process is to eliminate stress, and Jairo discovers that the biggest stress in Bob's life is coming up with the burger of the day.  So Bob stops doing it in an effort to embrace his new Zen-like existence.  Although his family and lone loyal customer Teddy miss seeing his latest kooky creation, Bob sticks to his new stress-free lifestyle.  Until wife Linda tricks him with a fake order.  At first he resists, but eventually his instinct to provide stellar customer service wins out, and he has a breakthrough.  Everyone rejoices (even Teddy, who, despite not liking the new burger, is happy to see Bob back in the game).  Everyone, of course, except Jairo.  But Bob doesn't back down, telling him that the stress of creating the burger of the day is worth the creative rush.    

So, what does this have to do with the flag thing?  I guess the lesson in both cases is that creativity is its own reward, no matter what it takes to get it out into the world.  Also, that flags are cool and beef is delicious.    

To that end, my Betsey Johnson burger bag seemed the perfect piece to include in this post.  Mostly because it has "Nice Buns" scrawled across the back, an inflammatory -- no, cheeky -- statement if ever there was one in this brave new gluten-free world.  

Sir Mix-a-Lot, I think, would approve.          

The Acoustic Rooster Rides Again and a Not-quite Treatise on Tunes

 Glam Guitar Barrettes

Yo, Where Did the Rest of the Bow Go? Necklace

Top: Macy's

Skirt: Marshalls

Leggings: Boscov's

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Sunglasses: Michaels

Fabulous Felt Tribal Treat Barrette

Top: Chaps, Kohl's

Jeggings: Mudd, Kohl's

Boots: Charles Albert, Alloy

Bag: American Eagle, Payless

Sunglasses: Rampage, Boscov's

 Day Glo Danglers Necklace

Top: Self Esteen, JCPenney

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Qupid, DSW

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Belt: Gifted

Scarf: Repurposed from We Love Colors tights

Sunglasses: Brigantine beach shop

Lola Locket Necklace

Tee: Gifted

Hoodie: Mossimo, Target

Jeans: Earl Jeans, Macy's

Shoes: Fergalicious, DSW

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

I've always loved music.  (There's an original statement for you; that Tote talker, she really digs those deep cuts.)  Hearing a favorite song on the radio can make my day, and I've been known to idle in the driveway with a choice one blaring (my Spidey senses indicate that I may have already blogged about this; if so, then please excuse my, ahem, broken record rambling).  Although I don't go to concerts much anymore (I prefer rocking out to CDs, having come to terms with the truth that those outings were always about the outfits), the necklaces and clothes in this week's post make me think of the Southwest and indie bands and the connection flickering, mirage-like, between them.  In particular, my memory is homing in on the introspective stylings of Jimmy Eat World.  Probably because they hail from Arizona (home of other such phenoms as the eponymous iced tea and JCPenney brand jeans) and because the husband and I saw them one New Year's Eve years ago, an account of which is ensconced in this blog's considerable archives.  Bright and sunny with a side of pensive, the Southwest seems as good a place as any to brew the bittersweet brain stew that is alternative music.  I think.  I can't be sure because I've never been there.  

What I am sure of is that the Mossimo hoodie in outfit number four is a touch too toasty for the desert.  It kind of looks and feels like a blanket, which is why I vowed never to wear it outside the house (despite displaying it here with a tee shirt and jeans).  Still, at $7.48 it seemed an attractive addition to my pajama wardrobe.  Tribal pattern or not, it's a fleece fashioned for northeastern nights.

One last thing.  I don't know what's up with the rooster.  Except that it's colorful and crazy and sounds good next to acoustic.  Truth be told, I don't know what's up with the acoustic, either.  But then, best not to pull at that thread.