Blood Test Blues Beget New Shoes -- And Also Happy Endings

I'd just read a book that left a bad taste in my mouth (I've endured many a dud that I've spared you) and was in need of something super sweet.  Enter Kerry Winfrey's Just Another Love Song.  It's about a small-town girl and the high-school-sweetheart-turned-country-music-star who got away.  They meet again fifteen years later while planning the annual summer fair, an event bursting with bake-offs and corndogs in a charming if sometimes caricatured tribute to the Midwest.  Now, it isn't the best romance I've ever read.  It's not even the best Winfrey romcom I've ever read (that would be Not Like the Movies).  But it was amusing and cheerful and soothing.  And with that other sordid story still fresh in my mind -- plus a trip to Lab Corp looming -- it was exactly what I needed.  

Indeed, as the phlebotomist prepped me, I was already buried in its pages, prompting her to ask if I was okay. "Yes," I said, still not looking up, "I've got my book friend here."  I actually uttered those words: book friend.  But I didn't care.  Because through years of trial and error, I've learned that books get me through icky stuff, however weird and antisocial it may seem to others.  So a shoutout to all the authors out there who weave worlds to take us out of ourselves -- and our less-than-ideal day-to-days.

And also a shoutout to Samantha over at PinkBopp and The Big Hair Diaries, who generously shared the Amazon link for these adorable blue flats: 

Shoes: Amazon

I know, I know.  I'm supposed to be on a buying ban.  And one month in, I still am (as recently as today, I resisted 10% Rakuten cashback from Kohl's; how strong am I?).  But for me, getting blood drawn always means getting a small prize, and I wasn't about to deny myself because of some self-imposed fashion fasting (especially because I'd had enough of actual fasting).  And these ten-dollar beauties were just the thing.  Cute and retro, they remind me of the earlier 2000s when I last had a pair, marveling at their cloud-like comfort as I crawled the mall.  Now the mall is mostly empty storefronts and subpar pizza.  Although to be fair, even in its heyday, food court pizza wasn't that great.

So that's how buying the blues -- and reading about a guy singing the blues -- made me feel anything but.  

Just Another Love Song may be just another romcom.  But to me it was a symphony.  

Tie High: A Bow is a Wish Your Cart Makes

Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Fabulous Felt Bow Barrette Brooch

Skirt: Cat & Jack, Target

Top: New York & Company

Shoes: Nine West, Amazon; Bag: Elizabeth and James, Kohl's; Printed bangles: B Fabulous; Pink bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Ring: gifted 

Skirt: Decree, JCPenney

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, Zulily; Chartreuse bangles: Target; Chartreuse stretch bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Hair clip: Wild Fable, Target; Ring: Claire's; Black and white bracelet and black bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Bag: Candie's, Kohl's; Blue bangle: So, Kohl's; Love bangle: Boscov's

Top: New York & Company

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Top: New York & Company

Skirt: Trixxi, Kohl's

Lipstick Love Barrette Brooch

Striped bangle: So, Kohl's; Green bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Rings: Making Waves, Ocean City; Bag: Candie's, Kohl's; Belt: Marshalls

I've always loved a good bow blouse.  And part of that love means never, ever calling it by its other, more derogatory name, i.e. the one that rhymes with "wussy."  So when I found these oh-so-colorful beauties at New York & Company this summer, I pounced.  Mixing them with other patterned pieces was a delight, as was cinching them with my favorite belts.  So I (almost) don't mind that I'm squinting in the outdoor pics.  (Twenty pairs of sunglasses, and yet I subject my retinas to the rays.)

Because not every picture (or decision) is perfect.  

Even when the blouses are.  

High School Rules and Fools: An Education

It's no surprise that I was drawn to Elyssa Friedland's latest novel, The Most Likely Club, a where-are-they-now look at four friends who graduated high school in 1997.  After all, I was in the class of 2000.  And never quite got over not being voted best dressed (or best anything) senior year.  I even wrote an article for the school newspaper about the ridiculousness of senior superlatives, saying what next, props for the student who can stuff the most hoagies in his mouth? (High school me was a bit of a wiseass.)  

Anyway, although The Most Likely Club's Melissa, Priya, Tara, and Suki did receive such recognition (Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbs 400, respectively), at forty-three, they're disappointed that none of it has come to fruition.  (Well, one has, but with a hefty price tag.)  Their twenty-fifth reunion, chaired by not-United-States-but-PTA-president Melissa, brings them back into each other's lives.  As they alternately reminisce and lament, they learn things about each other -- and themselves -- that they never knew.  And somewhere between the tears and tequila, they realize what's truly important.  

The Most Likely Club has all the feels.  Nerds in shining armor, girl power (yes, you can have one with the other!), suspense, humor, and a generous helping of '90s pop culture references (Friends!  Fiona Apple!  Chokers!).  It even has a well-placed Easter egg about Friedland's previous book, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel.  But best of all, it shines a light on how high school dreams and pressures sometimes set unrealistic expectations.  I can't imagine any woman not connecting with it on some level.  

Light-hearted and fun yet layered and real, The Most Likely Club would make a great movie (are you listening, Hollywood?).  

But for now it'll have to settle for being da bomb.  Or, you know, most likely to be read in one sitting.  

Call the Town Crier, It's Mullet Attire

Here it is.  The picture no one wanted or asked for.  Me in my Zoom attire, business on top, party on the bottom.  You know, if business meant a tie-dyed top, graphic tee, crazy necklace, and rat's nest bun.  Of all my shoes, the pair that gets the most wear is these pink Croc flip flops.  Perfect for trips to the bathroom, mailbox, and recycling bins, they're the last word in comfort -- if not style.

So here's to breaking the fourth wall and wearing what you want.

Because the rest, as they say, is a crock.  

From Page to Stage (er, Screen): Run, Don't Crawl to the Cove

When it comes to books vs. movies, the book is (almost) always better.  But the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing is a near doppelganger of Delia Owens' masterpiece.  I say this because when the music started to swell over the marsh, my personal waterworks sprung a leak.    

Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) stars as Kya Clark, the little girl-turned woman who raises herself in the wilds of North Carolina.  Sensitive yet steely, she's exactly who I imagined, her refinement and reverence for nature defying the town's crude opinion of her.  The rest of the cast is spot on too, with Taylor John Smith as the earnest Tate Walker and Harris Dickinson as arrogant Chase Andrews.  

That said, the movie is less gritty and violent than the book.  And although this detracts from the horror that helped shape Kya's worldview, it highlights the parts of the story that are charming yet enshrouded in mystery.  In other words, it's Nicholas Sparks-meets-Agatha Christie -- in the most wonderful way.  To make for a trifecta of icons, Taylor Swift's "Carolina" accompanies the credits, translating the haunting feel of Owens' unforgettable pages.      

So if it's eerie enchantment you crave, then this is the flick for you.  And if not, then no need to grouse about it.  

There are plenty of other crawdads in the marsh.

Hair Flair Dare: Shady Lady

Top: Hippie Rose, Macy's

Belt: Dolls Kill; Shoes: Jessica Simpson, DSW; Bag: Zulily; Heart ring: Candie's, Kohl's; Flower ring: Gifted; Bracelets: So, Kohl's

Kimono: Love By Design, JCPenney

Sweet Squad Necklace

Flip flops: Katy Perry Collection

Punky Potholder Necklace

Dress: Live To Be Spoiled, Kohl's

Yellow bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Pink bangle: Don't Ask, Zulily; Brown ring: Charlotte Russe; Barrettes: The Tote Trove; Bag: Skinnydip London, Macy's; Striped and other yellow bangle: B Fabulous; Blue bangle: So, Kohl's; Maroon bangle: Iris Apfel for INC, Macy's; Floral bracelets: Amazon; Floral heart ring: JCPenney; Blue heart ring: Delia's; Pompom bracelet: Zulily

 

Tank top: Amazon

Bag: Violet Ray, Kohl's; Sunglasses: Michaels; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy; Hair clips: Amazon; Ribbon necklace: The Tote Trove; Bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily

Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Fairy Fish Tale Necklace

Dress: Speechless, Kohl's

Orange Grapeade Necklace

Shoes: Cape Robbin, Ami Clubwear; Bag: Circus by Sam Edelman, Kohl's; Bangle trio: B Fabulous; Barrette: The Tote Trove; Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City; Chunky bangle: Mixit, JCPenney

Ninety-nine percent of the outfits I wear in these posts include things I've worn or would wear in public.  Then there's the other one percent, which is where this candy boxful of rainbow hair comes in: 

I ordered these clips (which are, by the way, for children) from Amazon almost a year ago, and they've been sitting on my dresser ever since.  Then, not too long ago, I got the idea to team them with my most voluminous kimono and Jessica Simpson sandals for festival vibes.  And it turned out to be exactly what I was going for, Lady Lovely Locks crashes Coachella.    

So, why then, wouldn't I wear this look to the post office or Hobby Lobby or Rita's?  I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with the fact that in all of my forty years, I've never, ever colored my hair.  Not even just highlights or for Halloween.  Despite my love of color, I've always been content with my natural dark brown and felt no need to mess with it.  But with each passing day and brand new white strand, I know that that era is ending.  Before long, I'll be checking out boxes of DIY dye, trying to figure out if I'm more of a September Siena or Chocolate Chicory.  And I think, in its way, that that'll be fun -- if also a little scary.  Maybe playing with these pixie tails (to use the official Lady Lovely Locks term) is my way of testing the tress waters.         

Because the answers to all of life's questions lie deep in the archives of '80s pop culture.

Air in the Heart, Hearts in the Air

Over the years, I've read lots of historical fiction by Beatriz Williams.  Yet I can't recall a single novel that reimagined a real-life icon.  So when I picked up Her Last Flight, I knew I was in for an, ahem, departure.  Because as its weighty title suggests, this book explores the age-old question: What really happened to Amelia Earhart?

And you thought I was kidding when I made that crack about an Earhart girls trip.  

In some ways, the premise is simple.  Because although a lot of things happen in this book, they're all rooted in this: Just Amelia, or as she's called, Irene, and her mentor Sam on a desert island.  Nothing to do and nowhere to go, the seconds ticking away on the time bomb of when-will-they-do-it?  It's an old trope, lending characters' fantasies a license they wouldn't otherwise have.  Not that it's salacious.  Oh, no.  Williams is nothing if not classy, shrouding the rendezvous in so much secrecy that you'll wonder if it even happened.  

Told in two timelines, Her Last Flight spans the late '20s to '40s to laud and deconstruct a legend.  Sparkling with Williams' signature twists, it's an old-fashioned love story, one imperiled by fate and fame.  Romantic and suspenseful, it has all the elements of good historical fiction.  Still, I can't help but prefer Williams' other novels, especially the Schuyler sisters series (although now that I think about it, Tiny Little Thing may be a tiny nod to Jackie O.).  Maybe because they allow Williams to color more boldly outside the lines.  Or maybe because I'm not big on being a passenger in an airplane, much less the pilot.  Either way, Her Last Flight is less of a girls' trip and more of a brunch.  You know.  Perfectly enjoyable, but you're a little too full after forcing that third croissant.  

I do still wonder what happened to Amelia, though.  Because I'm with Williams in her hope that the clouds she flew through at least had a silver lining.

Summer Sun is Never Done: Still Giving Fall the Cold Shoulder

Skirt: Candie's, Kohl's

Scrunchies: Holiday Lane, Macy's

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Skirt: Tinseltown, Macy's

Red Striped Blossom Barrette Brooch

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: Loop, Marshalls

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Top: Love Notes, Marshalls

Shoes: Ami Clubwear; Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City; Green bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Purple bracelet: Etsy; Other bracelets: So, Kohl's; Barrette: The Tote Trove

Pineapple Pirate Necklace

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Fabulous Felt Blue Dice Barrette

Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Dress: Candie's, Kohl's

Garden Games Necklace

Blue and green bangles: B Fabulous; Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney

You heard me, autumn.  Stand down with your corduroy and football and pumpkin-spiced everything!  I'm not ready for cool air and dark skies and the sad slide of all the green things turning brown.  (And it goes without saying that I'll never be ready for football.)  No, I'm still squeezing the last bit of juice out of summer -- as evidenced by these outfits (or, as the kids are calling them, fits), at least one of which includes lemons.  

But enough of my caterwauling.  It's time to talk about my favorite oldie but goodie pieces in this post.  The first is the red Candie's dress, which I've had a few years.  Maybe you remember it.  It's simple, but I like the fit and color, and it has a slightly retro feel.  Still, the real star is my looks-like-it's-thrifted-but-is-actually-from-Marshalls Loop bird bag.  It was ever so slightly mangled (bent sequins, a little hanger grease on the plastic), when I wrestled it from the racks twenty years ago, but that only made it more precious.  Which is why I've styled it here and here and here and here  . . . 

Fall or not, it's one bird that keeps flying.