Tuesday, November 30, 2021

D is for Denim and C is for Venom: Just Kidding, but I Still Hate Caddies

Bag: Sleepyville Critters, Zulily

Top: Simply Vera, Kohl's

Skirt: Rewind, Kohl's


Sweater: Mudd, Kohl's

Bag: Ella & Elly, Zulily

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Top: So, Kohl's


Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

Bag: Mellow World, Kohl's

Scarf scrunchie: Wild Fable, Target

Sunny Seahorse Necklace

Top: So, Kohl's

We've all heard of mom jeans (I'm looking at you, SNL JCPenney jeans skit that I've referenced too many times).  And even boyfriend jeans.  But dad jeans?!  Until about a month ago, I thought that phrase was limited to being about inheriting the ability to tell corny jokes.  Yet apparently, it also describes a super wide, super comfortable, and (at least on me) super long cut of denim.  I almost wore this patched pair to Target but thought better of it, not wanting to trip and become a cleanup on aisle five.  

Jeans: So, Kohl's

That said, I'm still unsure how to feel about pants named after the patriarchy.  Then again, their vibe is more Woodstock than why-is-there-a-scratch-on-my-Caddy?  So I guess it's okay to hang with the man and keep these in the family. 

Unless, of course, the family's wearing khakis.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

The Search is On: Finding Dory

When it comes to dark comedies, it doesn't get much darker than Search Party.  Because unlike this homemade hat from the husband's last birthday, it's no balloons and cake walk.  It's more creepy clown car.  The kind that kills people.  

Search Party first stepped out in 2016 on TBS.  Then in 2020, it moved on to the cool kids of HBO Max.  Which tracks.  Not just because HBO is hipper, but because it's a more fittingly dysfunctional home for a show about a self-destructive anti-hero.  In this case, that hero -- or rather, heroine -- is Dory Sief (Alia Shawkat), a twentysomething New Yorker stuck in the molasses of millennial malaise.  Half-heartedly working as a personal assistant for bored socialite Gail (Christine Taylor), she's going through the motions of life with her equally navel-gazing boyfriend Drew (John Reynolds) and best buds Portia (Meredith Hagner) and Elliot (John Early).  So when she finds out that their mutual college acquaintance Chantal Witherbottom (Clare McNulty) is missing, she makes it her mission to find her.  What begins as a diversion spirals into obsession, and as I watched, I couldn't help but (sort of snarkily) think: How far would you go for a friend (er, acquaintance)?  How well do you know your friends?  And, finally, that eternal head-scratcher: How well do you know yourself?

As Dory, Drew, Elliot, and Portia become more deeply entrenched in what began as the Chantal mystery, their friendship -- and sanity -- are tested.  Just when you think the plot can't get any more twisted, it contorts itself into a whole new pretzel.  

Search Party reveals secrets of the human heart and mind, taking us on a psychological roller coaster that's made marginally easier to ride because it's in a theme park swathed in style and satire.  Danger lurks around every corner -- but it's funny!  Mind control runs amuck -- but check out that faux fur capelet!  It's this tempering of very scary stuff that makes the show not only palatable but, to me, fascinating.  Because even as Search Party tongue-in-cheekily mocks youth and privilege, it shows just how much it means to be seen.

So, if you're looking for something weird to watch and don't mind hanging out in the shadows, then your search is over.  

Search Party returns to HBO Max in January for what promises to be a superbly strange final season.

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Leftover Stews, Leftover Shoes: Pass the Pumpkin, Please

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Dress: Jessica Simpson, Amazon

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Necklace: Macy's; Bead bracelet: Fairest of Them All, Smithville, NJ; Amber bracelet: B Fabulous; Rings: Gifted from Italy, Leaf barrettes

Blouse: Candie's, Kohl's

Bag: T-Shirt & Jeans, Amazon

It may not be Easter.  Or even Labor Day.  But that's no reason to not wear white shoes on Thanksgiving!  I was so excited to bust out my treasured white and yellow Mary Janes with my purple tights and new orange dress.  Which is why outfit number one, although less harvesty than the others, won out this Turkey Day.  Hey, at least it's orange, like a pumpkin!

That said, happy Thanksgiving.  May your stews (or casseroles or soups or whatever) and shoes be as fab as your company.  

And if your company is less than fab, then fake the flu and go online shopping. 

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Unmellow Yellow

I've had this (green) bunch of bananas for two weeks.  I'm beginning to get concerned.

On this day before Thanksgiving Eve, it's a musing that's as good as any.

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Birds of a Feather Weather Together

Bag: Sleepyville Critters, Zulily

Top: Candie's, Kohl's

Ye Olde Feather Necklace (a nom de plume because I don't remember the real one)

Skirt: Hollister, Marshalls

Scrunchies: So, Kohl's

Boots: Penny Loves Kenny, Amazon

Bracelets, left to right: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Amrita Singh, Zulily; Target

Dress: A New Day, Target

Bag: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney; Charm: Elly & Ella, Zulily

Boots: Mossimo, Target

Sweater: Collectif X, Modcloth

Shorts: So, Kohl's

Um, feather weather?  Tote Trove Lady, didn't you mean sweater weather?  No, dear readers, I did not.  Feather weather is how I like to think of November.  You know, when the first breath of cold blows in and the leaves are falling and the birds have headed south, leaving only their punky plumage as a reminder.  Which fits right in with Thanksgiving as kindergartners all over the country adorn themselves with colorful feathers.  Or, less imaginatively, buckles and bonnets.  Let's be honest; being a Native American is much cooler than being a Pilgrim.  Even if my seventh grade social studies teacher summed up the historical inaccuracies of Disney's Pocahontas thusly: "Also, she (Pocahontas) wasn't that pretty."  

On that note, here's a little feathered friend who's indisputably cute.  It's none other than an eastern goldfinch (the New Jersey state bird!) that the husband glimpsed through my parents' window this summer:

Now that he's gone, I miss him.  Because when it comes to the colors of the wind, yellow is always my favorite.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Pheromones vs. Funerals: Love Finds a Yay

Belt: Marshalls

Shoes: Betsey Johnson, DSW

Dress: B. Darlin, Macy's

Top: Candie's, Kohl's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon; Orange and striped bangles: Mixit, JCPenney; Green, red, and yellow bangles: B Fabulous

What do you get when you mix Richard Curtis, Mindy Kaling, and a classic '90s rom com?  The Hulu original series Four Weddings and a Funeral, of course!  (Kaling is one of the show's creators but isn't in it.  Far be it from me to cause great but unfulfilled expectations.)  If there's anyone who loves TV more than me, then it's my sister.  So when she told me to check out this 2019 ten-episode comedy inspired by the movie of the same name, I binged it right away.  And it did not disappoint.  

Four Weddings and a Funeral follows four American thirty-something friends living their best lives in London.  Complications, misunderstandings, and that old chestnut honor keep the right couples apart and pair off the wrong ones in a plot that's as engaging as it is funny.  Featuring a diverse cast of characters more layered than the sum of their haircuts, it's at the same time timely and timeless.  The vibe is a little Masterpiece Theater goes clubbing, which means that the fashion's divine.  There's even a reality show within the show that ratchets up the weird factor.  Easter eggs (or should I say valentines?) include a cameo from Andie MacDowell and Love, Actually-style grand gesture posters.  To parrot the British, brilliant!

Speaking of birds, in the spirit of love and many-splendored things, I made this Loco Lovebirds Necklace.  Because -- spoiler alert -- I'm crazy in love with color. :)

Loco Lovebirds Necklace

That said, may life always invite you to four weddings for every funeral.  

And send you four lovebirds for every turkey buzzard.  

Sunday, November 14, 2021

From Head to Tow: An Unplanned Adventure

Sweatshirt: Macy's

Boots: Olivia Miller, Kohl's

Pink and True Blue Boho Necklace

Today the husband and I were all set to visit my sister, who had her third baby last week.  The outing called for an out-of-the-house outfit, and I went with my new celestial sweatshirt, old denim mini, and a necklace I made last night.  Oh, and also my beloved Betsey Johnson couch purse.  Or maybe I should say love seat, considering its heart-shaped pillows.  So attired, just before noon, I climbed into the husband's truck.  We took that instead of my Honda because we were stopping at a storage unit to pick up a shipment from the husband's wood monger.  Yet no sooner had we pulled into the lot than we heard the sickening hiss of a flat. 

A flurry of phone calls to AAA and Firestone later (sadly, our donut was toast), we went to the gate to wave in the tow truck.  An unmasked woman charged out of the storage unit office and profusely apologized for not having invited us in from the cold sooner, adding wouldn't we like to warm up now while the tow truck guy did his thing?  During the course of her monologue, she mentioned that she was sitting around doing nothing, waiting for Animal Control to come bag, of all things, a bat.  Oh, I thought, she's lonely; that's what this is.  Then, Go back inside, crazy bat lady.

I said thanks but no thanks, then turned heel and hopped in the tow truck.  The driver was also unmasked, which unnerved me, but the lack of a lethal critter made him seem like the safer option.  Little did I know I would question this a mile or two later when he started coughing.  As for the husband, he stayed behind to call an Uber (we both couldn't fit in the tow truck).  I spent the ride studiously staring out the window, clutching my couch purse and wishing that I'd never left the safety of my actual couch in the first place.

We met at Firestone, where we waited a couple of hours for them to replace the tire, then doubled back to pick up the wood.  We never did make it to my sister's.  Still, although this misadventure was annoying, expensive, and violated almost every personal COVID prevention protocol that I hold dear, it could've been a lot worse.  If the tire had blown out on the highway, then we might've gotten into an accident and been spattered all over the asphalt like an Olive Garden lasagna that flunked food inspection.  

That would've been awful.  

As would passing COVID or anything else on to any of you.  Which is why the Pink and True Blue Boho Necklace is now airing out in the craft room.

By the way, Pink and True Blue Boho is the name I settled on after rejecting Flat Out Fab, Road Rage Sage, and Wagon Wheel Teal.  

I had a lot of time to think in that Firestone.

Friday, November 12, 2021

Rudd Stud: Rhinestone in the Rough

Cardigan: Hearts & Roses London, Zulily; Top: Simply Vera, Kohl's; Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's; Green bracelet: Parade of Shoes; Red bangle: B Fabulous


Sweater: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Boots: Apt. 9, Kohl's; Bag: Tatty Devine, Modcloth; Headband: Macy's; Coral bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Black and white bracelet: Mixit, JCPenney

Paul Rudd is the kind of hot, hip, and self-deprecating-slightly-dorky leading man that makes women realize that men don't have to be testosterone-spewing alpha males to be sexy.  Just like sparkly stones don't have to be diamonds to be bedazzling (Rhinestone-encrusted jean jacket?  Yes, please!  Aunt Mitzi's tennis bracelet full of blood diamonds and also, possibly, the blood of Uncle Marve?  No thanks!).  So I was especially stoked to hear that Rudd is People's 2021 Sexiest Man Alive.  I'm so glad that this once-upon-a-time geeky dreamboat is finally getting his due.  Not that joining the Marvel universe as the world's most intrepid insect was too shabby either.  

Of course, true fans know that Rudd has had it going on since Clueless.  Awhile back, I read an article saying that Rudd, who played Alicia Silverstone's stepbrother-turned-love-interest in the iconic '90s flick, was "a wry forty-year-old" even then (his real age in the movie?  A callow twenty-nine.). 

Rudd's turn in Clueless is reason enough for me to pull out the plaid (yes, again!).  I'm particularly taken with these oh-so-'90s skirts.  All they need are a couple of big safety pins.  

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

What's more, their side-by-side contrasting plaid makes for an aesthetic that's classic-meets-edgy.  Kind of like the gentlemanly yet slightly snarky Rudd himself.  Who, by the way, in response to becoming officially "sexy," quipped that he'll now "have to spend more time on yachts."  

Oh, Paul.  That dry -- excuse me, wry -- sense of humor is why you'll always be the object of our (and Jennifer Aniston's) affections.