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 winter has returned with a vengeance

When I woke up this morning to frigid cold and a fresh layer of snow, there was only one thing to do:

FUR HAT FUR HAT!

(dress/shoes: thrifted; chambray: walmart; tights: tjmaxx; hat: h&m)

I love this little jumper dress, but for some reason I always feel like it looks the same every time I wear it. That's not really the case. This is how I wore it last time. I'm even wearing it backwards today... maybe I'm just crazy. One thing is for sure: I think it will look so cute in the summertime, as a little sleeveless sundress (hint hint: summer, where are youuu??). I'll just need some fun wedges to go with it...

I spent some quality time with my sewing machine last night (before The Bachelor). I think I've got it pretty well figured out now (finally getting my hands on the instruction manual sure didn't hurt!), though the upper thread doesn't like to pick up the bobbin thread and I'm not sure why (thoughts??), and I still haven't gotten the balance of tension quite right. But I'll get there! And now I have a nice floral summer skirt freshly hemmed (double hint hint: summer, where are youuu??).

Seriously feeling inspired, you guys, about everything. But tired--there is so much I want to be doing instead of sleeping, these days!

in which i am a caped caitlin

Finally, the end of the week! I thought it would never come...

(cape/belt/shorts/lace shirt: thrifted; hat: tomorrowneverknows via etsy; bracelet/necklace: gifts from k; boots: seychelles)

We had another wonderfully successful Art Club last night--the group is expanding! We discussed everything from knitting and music videos to sex and politics (I think that's just about the gamut), drank lots of red wine, and were generally awesome. Oh, and... yeah: I finished the rough draft of my novel on Wednesday night, so that's news (!!! :) !!!) Now there will be lots of revising and fleshing-out, but there are words on the page, from beginning to middle to end.

I kind of love the landscape around here lately--the brown grass overlaid with ice reminds me of Wuthering Heights or something. It just seems dramatic. Maybe more like Springtime in Siberia than Wuthering Heights. Whatever. It's pretty, in that dead-and-buried kind of way.

I don't have any big plans this weekend, and K is working both tonight and tomorrow night again, so I'll probably be hanging out in my living room watching Netflix Instant and eating chocolate-covered cherries (and real food, too... probably). Tomorrow I might take myself on a matinee date to see The Artist? We'll see how ambitious I am... hope you all have wonderful weekends!

in which february is for ski sweaters

Can it be true? February is notorious around here for being agonizingly frigid (they don't call it the "February Freeze" for nothing), but today feels astonishingly spring-like. Hey, fine by me. I just wish it wasn't because of Climate Change and all of the nastiness that goes along with it.

(sweater/hat: stolen from mom; shorts/belt: thrifted; boots: llbean)

Funny how I always seem to dress most warmly on days when it is least necessary, and on the coldest days I tend to wear little filmy dresses and towering heels. Go figure. Mother Nature and I are not on the same wavelength, apparently. Also, I wasn't planning on wearing hats anymore but I guess I just can't get enough--I'm a hat-o-holic!

I'm feeling pretty good today. I do keep going back to yesterday's post and staring at the photos of those sunnier, wandering days and daydreaming of summertime and adventures and whatnot, but living vicariously through my own past seems to be doing the trick for now. Or maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather and the fact that it is now February, which means we're that much closer to those summer months, or the fact that I have been going to the gym at least once in a while, or the fact that Art Club is so great, or that I'm wearing comfortable shoes, or that I'm about to consume some peanut butter... I suppose it's always a multitude of factors that add up to our ultimate happiness. I would like to get a little more sleep, though...

Hooray for February!

in which GM is alive and Bin Laden is dead (and i'm in a good mood)

Did everyone (in the US) watch the State of the Union last night? I won't talk much about it, because I don't want to get all political, but I will say that I do think it is so important for people to watch out for and help each other in this country. I (and the rest of the public) am so fed up with the politicking and uncompromising idiocy of our current setup in Washington. And I feel bad for Obama. But anyway, at the end of his speech he was talking about how we need to have each others' backs, and do what is best for the country and our fellow Americans, not for our greedy, pig-headed selves. I say Amen to that. Now if only we could agree on what is best...

(jumper: etsy; tights: gift; chambray shirt: walmart; hat: stolen from mom; shoes: seychelles)

Anyway, enough of that. Here are some things that are good this week (my state of the union, in you will):

-raspberries in my morning honey&cinnamon oatmeal (i'd forgotten how amazing raspberries are!)-

-warm (enough) weather-

-discovering potential new favorite authors-

-k's super-easy new part-time job-

-kemp's cookies-n-cream froyo-

-successfully doing my 'morning pages' all week!-

-time logged on the treadmill-

-a functional heating system in my car-

-no mice in the apartment lately (according to the traps)-

-immune system standing strong against illness in the office-

-hats-

Happy Hump Day!

in which i wear a yellow hat

I have been wanting a mustard knit pompom hat for ages. I stumbled upon this one while doing some Christmas shopping and waffled for much longer than necessary about whether or not to buy because it was like, $12. As you can see, it's awesomeness outweighed my waffle.

(sweater/hat: tjmaxx; shorts/belt: thrifted; shoes: lulus.com)

You know what would make this outfit infinitely more awesome? Elbow patches on this sweater. Maybe I should sew some on... it's too late for this outfit, but for the sake of this sweater's future..? Also re: this sweater, I almost bought a nearly identical one at Plato's Closet during my big spree there on New Year's Eve day. It looked the same except that there was a sort of chevron thing going on with the front. I didn't get it because it was too casual for my usual style, but I'm kind of regretting not buying it. Maybe I'll have to go back...

Well, this post was a whole lot of silliness. Last night I made lasagne. I also watched The Bachelor. I might wear a hat every day this week. Shorts make me happy. The end.