in which i play mint tetris

Last Easter Week I was graced with marvelously cloudy days, threatening April showers.  Not so this time around.  Also, it is frigid.  Don't let the big bad sun fool you--I was quite chilly (and the wind didn't help)!

(skirt/blouse/hat: thrifted; shoes: seychelles)

This skirt was another Goodwill find.  I am having a bit of a love affair with pleats (even if it is mostly from afar), and the mint print immediately caught my eye, so I had to have it.  It reminds me of tetris.  I was never really into tetris (back in the day I used to play marathon games of some dropping gem game--I think you had to find three or more in a row and click quickly, or something equally mind-numbing), but there was never much tetris in my life.  I do love puzzles, though.  And mixing prints!

Today is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's, which reminds me--I need to start on my next summer dress!  I just need to sew the bottom hem on my first dress and it will be finished (!!), and then I can start the new one.  Sometimes I love finishing projects just because it means I'm free to start another one (when I finished the first draft of my novel I immediately started writing another... maybe sometimes I'm a little overeager).

in which it's christmas time in the city

Most of life is so dull that there is nothing to be said about it, and the books and talk that would describe it as interesting are obliged to exaggerate, in the hope of justifying their own existence.

-A Passage to India-

(jumper: thrifted; shirt: old navy; tights: ralph lauren; shoes: payless)

I bought this jumper at Goodwill and hemmed it to a reasonably charming length. I tried to make it look a little bit less juvenile with the very grown-up combination of lipstick/bouffant... not sure if that was success (not sure I care, The rest of my life has been so dull lately there is nothing much to be said about it. I find the (above) quote quite relevant, since so often I have nothing of note to say to the world, which makes for rather rambly style blogging. I often feel that so much of the lifestyle blogosphere has to be prone to exaggeration, in the same way most people naturally recount events that have transpired in their lives (to make them funnier, or more tragic, or more transcendent). I don't necessarily have a problem with this--I think it encourages us to exaggerate our real lives, which usually = more fun and excitement, which in turn = positive. Anyway, it just struck a chord when I was reading last night, since I've been at a bit of a loss about what to write all week.

Tonight K and I are going Christmas shopping and I'm pretty excited, even though I really haven't the slightest clue what I'll be buying. (To be honest, I'm most excited about the eggnog latte I intend to consume.) I love the lights on Church Street at this time of year, and the buskers playing holiday classics while we windowshop. Silver bells, silver bells...

in which i hippy gypsy shake

This is really a springtime dress, but I got it at Goodwill a few months ago and it jumps out at me every time I rummage through my closet (probably because it's chartreuse--did you know that chartreuse is the easiest color to spot from a distance?), so I decided to attempt a winterization and wound up with a sort of gypsy-sixties medley. I'm not going to lie--it felt weird to wear so many bright colors all at once. I used to go crazy with color all the time but I feel like I've become more sartorially subdued in the past year. Maybe this is my way of subconciously trying to counteract the fact that I'm 26 and I still dress like I'm 16 most of the time...

(dress/scarf: thrifted; tights: hue; shoes: lulu*s)

So, I didn't go to the gym last night. But I did get groceries and do the dishes and make chili and write a bit and watch several episodes of The League... so that's a lot. And tonight I'll go to the gym, I promise. Being good is so hard around the holidays. Not only are there Christmas cookies to eat and eggnog to drink, but it's just such a damn BUSY time of year. It's hard to find time and still maintain some semblance of sanity. After this weekend, it's Christmas! Craziness. Actually that kind of freaks me out... I thought I had so much more time... blargh.

in which i've got a cape to keep me warm

It has been SO WARM here for the past couple of days--positively balmy. That springtime feeling is in the air, like everything has started to thaw even before freezing. Not that I'm complaining. It's just wacky in that "Day After Tomorrow" global-warming way.

(cape: goodwill; dress: thrifted/gift; boots: seychelles)

I'm taking advantage of this lovely weather by letting my bare legs breathe a little longer, and wearing this sensationally soft new cape/poncho that I scored at Goodwill this weekend. It may look warm, but my inability to wear a coat over its armless bulk will render it useless to me in the coming months. I do hope it snows a bit before Christmas, preferrably before K leaves for the west coast--I want to get in the holiday spirit!

This weekend was low-key. I didn't do much moving around, but I did manage to spend most of Saturday tip-typing away and getting a significant amount of work done on the novel. Days like that are the best. Plans to continue tonight...

Happy Monday, lovelies!

in which it is a blustery day

This sweatervest might be a little bit goofy, but I couldn't resist. I think it will probably get lots of wear in the winter months :)

(dress: h&m; sweatervest/belt: thrifted; boots: seychelles)

Last night I basically had a nervous breakdown because I felt overwhelmed by obligations, but after making dinner, tackling the dirty dishes and laundering our clothes, K bought me a bottle of wine (he's such a gem--my friend and I switched debit cards over the weekend and since the great credit card payoff of 2010 I have no other source of monies until I see her tonight!) and I hit the 40,000-word mark around 12:30 last night. All's well that ends well, I say. After work today I'm heading into town to eat pizza and watch Bill Cunningham: New York with a couple of pretty classy ladies.

Sad news: since today was so blustery, my camera crashed into the concrete and is now exhibiting seriously schizophrenic symptoms. The lens is all freaked out by the trauma. However, I'm trying not to jump on the freak-out bandwagon, since this has happened before and my little Nikon miraculously recovered. I know it's silly to have a fashion blog without a super fancy camera, but at times like this I'm glad I haven't shelled out for expensive new equipment.

in which i have big love for this dress

I really am an old woman. It's terrible. The past few weekends I have been going out with girlfriends (eating delicious Indian food and drinking champagne) and staying out until the wee hours of the morning (dancing/more champagne)... but then it takes me all day Saturday and part of Sunday to recover. There were several things I was supposed to do this weekend that didn't end up happening, but that's okay I guess. I did get some writing done. And alphabetized all of our bookshelves...

(dress/scarf/belt: thrifted; boots: seychelles)

This dress was to the floor when I thrifted it from Goodwill, which (as you know) is a length I have recently embraced. However, I would look way too Big Love in a full length wool dress with puffy sleeves. Not happening. It's obvious that this dress was handmade, which is pretty impressive. I hope someday my sewing skills improve beyond the odd hem job (I actually hemmed this one on my sewing machine, which was a first).