Feed a Fever, Starve a Sold: Run Up to Red, White, and Blue

Fabulous Felt Yellow Folk Flowers Barrette

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Croquet All Day Necklace

Skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Top: Decree, JCPenney

Fabulous Fall Flowers Barrette

Scarf: A New Day, Target; Shoes: Betsey Johnson, DSW; Yellow necklace: So, Kohl's; Bangles: B Fabulous, Sunglasses: Party City; Ring: Makin Waves, Ocean City

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

All pieces: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Barrette: The Tote Trove; Necklace: Charming Charlie

Old-fashioned Flowers Barrette Brooch

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: Marshalls

Fabulous Felt Balloons Barrette

Dresses: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Belts: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Yellow Necklace: Sonoma, Kohl's

Ring: Francesca's; Necklace: The Tote Trove; Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's; Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney; Blue bangle: So, Kohl's

Did you know?  Did you hear?  Labor Day is almost here!  

I've hoarded clothes all summer long, and now it's time they join the throng.

Florals and dots in red and blue parade with fruits of every hue.

To weave a wonder, wait and see, Americana's tapestry.

Okay, so there's one fruit-print piece here, and a cornucopia of colors it isn't.  But I couldn't resist writing some bad poetry any more than I could keep from collecting (yes, even more) LC Lauren Conrad clothes.  That said, with the ahem, close of the summer, I'm going on something of a shopping cleanse.  Not the hard-core kind with cayenne pepper and lemon juice and no solid foods (a girl's gotta eat, by which I mean buy the odd spool of jewelry wire or pair of granny panties), but the kind where you don't eat desserts you don't need.  By which I mean all desserts.  By which I mean shoes, bags, blouses, skirts, etc., etc., etc.  I'm going to try to appreciate what I have and also maybe save up for a mattress.  You know, like a grown-up.  

So this haul is my last hurrah for awhile.  Any "new" stuff I post after this won't be so much new as having hung out, unworn, in my closet.  There's so much of it that you probably won't know the difference!  In publishing this, I realize I'm strapping a target to my back, tempting fate to push me off the wagon -- and, predictably, into Target.  But I won't let that stop me, even if I stumble.  Because some broccoli is better than no broccoli at all.  Or whatever it is that sane people say.  

So this Labor Day, I'll be celebrating in something paid for.

While eating a boatload of cupcakes.

Twin Flame Game: Home is Where the Heat Is

My mom and I enjoyed reading and discussing Where the Crawdads Sing so much that we decided to do it again with another novel.  This time I chose, and I went with Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here.  I wanted something that could, ahem, spark conversation, so a book about twins who burst into flames seemed perfect.  Upon hearing this, my sister wanted in too, and our book club of two grew to three. 

Nothing to See Here begins with Madison and Lillian.  One rich, one poor.  Best friends and perhaps something more.  Forged in the fire of a Tennessee boarding school in the '80s, their friendship is intense, rendering them twin flames of another kind until an incident nearly snuffs out their fire.  Although they write to each other regularly, they don't meet again until 1995, when they're almost thirty.  And that's only because Madison needs Lillian to do her a favor -- raising her senator husband's combustible stepkids.  

Told in Lillian's irreverent voice, Nothing to See Here is part satire and part southern gothic.  The twins, ten-year-old Bessie and Roland, are nearly feral and young for their age despite having survived their mother's death.  They're banished to a balloon-and-polka-dot-bedecked house behind Madison's mansion, and it's Lillian's job to keep them from burning it down.  It's also up to her to hide their flaming freak flags to protect their father's precious career.  Not that they're igniting all the time.  Only when they get upset.  Or slighted.  Or unsure.  Or lonely.  So yeah, the threat of pyrotechnics is real, although the fire doesn't hurt them and is, weirdly, lovely.  Determined to avoid anti-anxiety meds and forbidden to turn to therapy, Lillian relies on yoga and other homegrown remedies to keep the kids even-keeled.  Sometimes it seems like she's treating their conflagrations like panic attacks.  Which they sort of are, if the tingles that precede them -- not to mention the aforesaid emotional triggers -- are any indication.  As Lillian's relationship with Madison becomes more complicated, her bond with the children deepens.  Because despite the constant threat of third-degree burns and the senator's brand of clean-cut creepiness, Lillian loves taking care of them.

Nothing to See Here is about putting out fires, both literal and figurative.  It's also about the power of appearances and what it takes to get to the top.  But mostly it's about family, reminding us that those who love and accept us will stand by us even when it means getting burned.  And Lillian gets that.  Long wronged by a world where she doesn't belong, she finally steps up to do what's right -- and finds something she never knew she needed. 

This was an unusual book, definitely thought-provoking.  Now I'm reading something that can best be described as a beach book.  I thought that was what I craved after Where the Crawdads Sing, Sicker in the Head, and now Nothing to See Here.  But instead it feels a little too easy, like a place I've already been.  It makes me wonder if these messier narratives have ruined me for chick lit for good.

I guess like Bessie and Roland, I just want to feel my feelings -- with a fire extinguisher at the ready.

An Orchard of Awesome: Some Old, Some New, but All for You (and, Okay, Also Me)

Fabulous Felt Cherry Cheesecake Barrette

Fabulous Felt Cherry Mousse Barrette

It's true.  Of the nine handmade, cherry-themed accessories featured throughout this post, I made four in the past couple of weeks and five in the past couple of years.  There's a cherry pie in it for anyone who can guess which is which.  Just kidding; anything baked by me is more punishment than prize.  

Tights: Poof, Boscov's

Top: Gypsies and Moondust, Macy's

Cherry Charm Necklace

Skirt: Tinseltown, Macy's

Black Cherry Blossom Barrette Brooch

Bag: Royal Monk, Modcloth; Pink bangle: Target; Red bangle: B Fabulous; Black bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Red rhinestone bangle: XOXO, ROSS; Pink bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Rose brooch: JCPenney

Skirt: Tinseltown, Macy's

Bag: Olivia Miller, Amazon; Sunglasses: Zulily; Barrettes: SHEIN; Black bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Yellow bangle: B Fabulous; Maroon bangle: Iris Apfel for INC, Macy's

Tank: Eyeshadow, Macy's

Wild Cherry Necklace

Shoes: Jessica Simpson Collection, DSW

Top: Kingston Grey, Macy's

Black Cherry Bow Necklace

Skirt: Alythea, Modcloth

Bag: Xhilaration, Target; Bow barrette: Carole, JCPenney; Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City NJ; Love bangle: Boscov's

Shoes: Penny Loves Kenny, DSW

Top: Bongo, Sears

Cherry Rose Necklace

Headband: New York & Company

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Modcloth

Skirt: POPSUGAR, Kohl's

Rainbow Cherry Necklace

Top: Candie's, Kohl's

Polka dot and striped bangles: Mixit, JCPenney; Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target; Purse charm: Carole, JCPenney

Bag: Skinnydip London, Macy's

Fabulous Felt Cherry Pie Barrette

Speaking of prizes (as we just were), earlier this summer, I finally tracked down that elusive Revlon cherry lip gloss at CVS.  It was my reward for going to the gyno.  Still unopened and pristine, some may say that it's the cherry on top of my ensemble sundaes.  Then again, some may say something else.

Fabric: Hobby Lobby

Moving on to actual cherries! 

I purchased these from a grocery store instead of a stand, and they ended up looking better than they tasted.  But then, you can never depend on produce.  Which is why I prefer to get my fruit fix from flip flops:

Flip flops: Katy Perry Collection, Nordstrom Rack

Inedible cherries never go bad.

Or give you diabetes from collateral Cool Whip.