in which i might miss summertime

So this is probably the most unflattering outfit in the history of Waking Life. That will teach me to wear flats! I always tell myself that this time it will be different... that this time my legs will miraculously grow five inches... and they never do. Damn gams. Also, note to self: wearing a long tee shirt under a long button-down elongates in all the wrong ways. Oh well. At least my head scarf is kick ass.

(chambray: walmart; tshirt/shoes: tjmaxx; shorts: thrifted; sunglasses: vintage; scarf: etsy)

I felt a little bit gangster in this outfit for some reason, so I added my giant sunglasses... and somehow I think that makes the outfit even more gansta. It's cool though, because I am. (Except not at all.) These sunglasses are, sadly, on their last legs. Somehow the frame cracked when I was at the Cape and the lens keeps falling out. I might try to glue it somehow, but it's not looking likely as a long-term solution. Boo. They're my dream sunglasses (and were only $4 at a vintage shop!) and I'll be sorry to see them go, but at least I got a lot of wear out of them.

I know that I've been talking a lot about how I can't wait for autumn (and I still think there is no better season), but I find now that Labor Day is rapidly approaching that I'm clinging to the last vestiges of this sweltering season, and just the slightest bit sorry to see summer go.

I'll miss:

driving with the windows down

swimming in lakes and ponds and rivers

vodka lemonade

laying out in the sun for hours

dining al fresco

sunlight until late evening

fresh local produce

the creemee stand

green grass beneath bare feet

What will you miss about summertime?

in which my cape escape has ended

I'm baaaack! After a ridiculously relaxing week spent passing idle hours on the beach, we drove home through an epic rainstorm (seeking refuge at H&M and stuffing ourselves with Indian food--sooo good--like chipmunks storing nuts along the way) and spent a cozy Sunday watching movies and generally hiding from Irene. It didn't seem so bad, despite the terrible news from Southern VT, but by morning it was clearly worse than we had thought. Not only was our water black as night, but every exit route out of town had become a lake-like extension of the rushing Winooski river (which hasn't flooded this much since the epic flood of 1927--20 ft!). I won't lie, I wasn't devastated by the fact that I was unable to get to the office on Monday morning...

(skirt/blouse/scarf/belt: thrifted; boots: seychelles)

I didn't take as many photos at the Cape this year as I have in years past, and I'm not sure why. I guess I just get tired of playing paparazzi sometimes and want to just step back and enjoy the moment. Perhaps I took fewer photos because we did more... instead of taking long leisurely strolls after dinner at the house, we packed our evenings full of fun & games. I'll do a quickie Cape Cod post later on...

My dad and brother are currently in Washington DC with Bill McKibben to protest the Keystone XL pipeline project, and I'm quite proud of their commitment to the cause. Somebody has to be! It's kind of funny that last year my brother came to Cape Cod straight from a West Virginian jail, and this summer he and my dad left the Cape and went straight down to DC for a (probable) stint in prison. My family is just a bunch of jailbirds!

Meanwhile, I am getting super excited for my autumn wardrobe, and although I've let blogging slide a bit this summer I fully intend to ramp it up to its former glory as we transition into September and the holiday season. I've already stocked up on fall dresses (from Goodwill and H&M) and can't wait to wear them! I'm trying to figure out what K and I should do for Labor Day weekend and I'm a bit stuck. I wanted to go camping but the weather is supposed to be kind of icky, and I can't really afford to shell out for a hotel and a day (or two) of driving and sightseeing in some new town. So we'll see.

What about you? Any exciting Labor Day plans??

this is where i'll be...

...in case you were wondering :)

(2010)

in which i'm outta here!

At this time tomorrow I will be on my way to Cape Cod, after spending a lovely (I hope) morning at the Boston Aquarium. I thought I'd squeeze one last blog-wear of the summery straw hat before I disappeared for a while :)

(blouse/hat/belt: thrifted; skirt: ae; socks: uo; shoes: simply vera for kohl's)

I look forward to this vacation every year. Not only do I get to hang out with my awesome family and charming boyfriend, but it's so incredibly relaxing and combines all of my favorite things: sunbathing, reading, drinking, eating, and playing plenty of games (bananagrams and trivial pursuit are personal favorites). I'll be back soon!

Oh, and the straw hat is definitely accompanying me to the beach. Just FYI.

in which i boo bravo

I almost didn't wear this outfit today, even though I was already wearing it, because it felt too autumnal. Then I decided not to be silly any wore it anyway. I think it works for summer too, yes?

(tunic/belt: thrifted; socks: uo; shoes: seychelles; feather fastener: gift from k)

Tonight I'm going to drink many margaritas and eat lots of cheese (burrito? fajitas? nachos? still undecided...) with some friends (and brothers).

On a completely unrelated (and a bit of a downer--sorry!) note, I just wanted to briefly touch on something that is really troubling to me. I stumbled upon this article while looking through the TV Guide online for movies to watch last night, and it really disturbed me. Now, I'm as guilty as anyone for getting inexplicably sucked in to the vortex of reality television, and I'm ashamed to admit that I did watch a lot more of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills than anyone in their right mind should be able to withstand (okay, mostly because Camille Grammar's painfully pathetic delusion was fascinating to watch). Now, we have no way of knowing whether or not such a tragedy would have occurred regardless of Bravo's influence on (and interference in) the lives of the Armstrong family, but the fact of the matter is that these are people's REAL LIVES that we are toying with here. And I'm sure that Russell Armstrong was a lot less enthused about the prospect of being involved in this vanity project than his wife was, which made it only worse as she went and proceeded to broadcast their marital problems on national television (and subsequently file for divorce) and cry about what a failure of a man/husband he was. There is only so much anyone can take. I'm just pretty disgusted with the state of the world in general right now, and this was the tipping point. What do you think? Is there any way to stop networks like Bravo from enabling the destruction of people's lives while the world watches? Is there any way to get viewers to stop watching this parade of melodramatic filth? I for one will no longer be watching any of the Real Housewives shows, regardless of how rainy and cold it is on future Sunday afternoons.

in which this is the summer of straw hats

Hi friends! I have been a busy bee this week, and the madness is scheduled to continue right up until the weekend :)

(skirt/hat/belt: thrifted; shirt: old navy; shoes: seychelles)

On Friday night K and I finally went to the drive-in, armed with Battleship, Leonardo's pizza and giant cans of strange semi-alcoholic beverages [hers: tea, his: cola] and saw The Change-Up and Cowboys and Aliens (double-feature for $7.50--best deal in town!). I was actually kind of surprised by The Change-Up (in a good way), even if there were some incredibly gag-worthy moments. Ever since Arrested Development, Jason Bateman can basically do no wrong in my book. As for Cowboys and Aliens? I may or may not have fallen asleep several times during the extended fight scene at the end. This could either be because a) I'm an old woman, or b) the movie was pretty snore-worthy. Probably a combination of both. Even K thought it was pretty awful, and he likes those John Wayne-type movies (not saying this compares AT ALL to John Wayne. Just saying in general).

Last night I spent several hours sitting across the kitchen table from Elizabeth while we watched the footage from our interview session last weekend. We're full of ideas for our little documentary, and it feels pretty awesome to be working on a collaborative creative project again. Hopefully I'll be able to share more as the project progresses (which means, hopefully it progresses)!

(stage one of documentary project)

Today I'm having a picnic in the park with K on my lunch break (yay mid-work-day dates!) and tonight I think I'm going to rope him into doing some shopping. Because he needs a new beach towel for Cape Cod (so soon!) and I need... some other things :)

Happy Hump Day!