B and I were planning on hitting up a local museum today, so I decided to have an extra-comfy, dressed down day, complete with this tee-shirt from Out of Print Clothing (“OoP”). I really love this company for two reasons. First, everything they sell is literary and I’m a huge bibliophile (I had a friend who once tried to index all of my books for me; when he last worked on this endeavor, at least four years ago, I had well over 600 texts). Second, for every product sold, OoP donates one book through Books for Africa to a community that doesn’t have access such things.

When OoP first started selling clothes, they used images of covers from out-of-print editions of various titles, and inevitably branched out to other literary ideas and themes, including “lit terms.” This last collection include fun, offbeat takes on common phrases: “doppelganger,” “plot,” “hyperbole,” and, my favorite, “bildungsroman.” I love how clever this shirt is; while the easiest, most basic definition is usually “German for coming of age story,” a bildungroman is much more a rich, complex tale of an individual as they grow internally — spiritually, intellectually, socially. This is such a great play on that — and a wonderful inside joke for the literarily obsessed.

We shot these photos twice because I didn’t like the way, upon reviewing, the shirt sat in the first set this morning. (Yeah, I’m that picky.) There’s a change of lighting as they day grew darker and rainier — but, per usual, I was goofy and acting up a bit for B. Here are a couple of “nice” pictures, plus some amusing outtakes, including with Lenka when she decided to walk through our mini-shoot.

Shirt: Out of Print Clothing

Jeans: Gap

Sneakers: Onitsuka Tiger Serrano Sneakers in Coral via Amazon

Sandals: Toms

Watch: Fossil

Jewelry: Global Odyssey

I sometimes forget that it’s perfectly all right to wear a simple white tee-shirt when there’s other stuff going on in the outfit that’s dramatic, like this polka dotted skirt and these platform shoes. I don’t think I verbalized that when I dressed this morning, but looking at photos, I can see that those two elements are striking enough that I didn’t need to add another visual competitor. Ah, I like when my intuition works before my morning coffee! Huzzah!

I scored this bottom from TJ Maxx’s website: the suggested MSRP on the tag was $78, but I bought it for only $20! The platforms are from TOMS, my go-to for summer sandals. After getting used to the straps putting some pressure on my ankles, I think they’re pretty comfortable; they provide some height without sacrificing the comfort of flats! I’m working my two jobs back-to-back today, so I brought extra set of sandals in case I couldn’t take running around the theatre in these, but they’ve been great thusfar.

Shirt: Old Navy

Skirt: TJ Maxx

Shoes: TOMS

Watch: Fossil

Bracelet and Rings: Larry Nelson of Global Odyssey

Necklace: Lunahoo on Etsy

I’ve been wearing my hair up a lot lately. The temperatures and humidity are climbing in New England. I’m also toying with the idea of going short, so these are my final forays into wearing it pinned up as such. There’s been a lot of talk in fashion magazines about the appeal of the “lob” — or the long bob. This clavicle-grazing cut is considering chic and versatile because it’s flattering to all face shapes and hair types. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my wavy hair and think it looks fun and unkempt in the best ways, but I’ve also been wearing my hair like this for the past five or six years. I don’t know, I’m feeling a change is needed. I may surprise y’all soon with a new ‘do!

Day One of Memorial Day Weekend: Success!

I never get three days off in a row, so with so much down time this holiday weekend, I’ve decided to make the most of it. I had a rare opportunity to spend day one of my mini-vacation with a good friend (hi, Julia!). It was great showing her our new house, catching up on a year’s worth (!!) of life before she moves cross-country, and playing tourist together in my little city. We had great conversations throughout the day, of which the reflections will filter through here soon I’m sure. My 20s are drawing to a close and there are some life goals and resolutions I think I need to make public so I can be held accountable. But, that’s for a future post.

I really liked today’s outfit because it was comfortable to wear all day and walk around the city, up and down hill and over uneven pavement. B mentioned during these photos that he liked my patriotism: though unintentional, I managed to wear red, white and blue! You’ll see a lot of these super comfy TOMS sandals as the weather heats up; they’re also great because they don’t interfere with the burn on my foot. (“Yeah, that’s gonna scar,” was my first thought after I was injured. Eep!)

Finally, the reactions in the third and fourth photos are from hearing my phone ding to alert me that people were liking my blog post from yesterday. Thanks, folks, for the support! I (obviously) get a goofy face when I hear of a new like or follow, but this is fun, so I don’t care!

Cardigan: Old Navy

Tank: Old Navy

Jeans: Gap

Scarf: H&M

Belt: H&M

Shoes: TOMS

Watch: Fossil

Headband: LOFT

Sometimes, on crummy days, I pull out my fabulous yellow pants because they are all sunshine and happiness. They simply make me smile, and that’s my small attempt at making the day better.

Pants: LOFT

Blue Shirt: Old Navy

Tank: Old Navy

Shoes: TOMS

Watch: Fossil

This week has been hard. You may notice in the photos that I have a huge bandage on my foot; I got a nasty rope burn on Monday from a dog leash. On Wednesday, we had an after hours event for volunteers that simply didn’t go as expected and several people let me know their critical thoughts, albeit surprisingly graciously, via follow-up surveys. And today, Friday, a couple of colleagues are annoyed at me — one justifiably so, the other not so much. These pants are working extra hard to combat all the negativity lately.

I’m just looking forward to a long weekend away from work, spending time with friends (one who’s moving at the end of the summer, another who’s visiting after settling elsewhere). B and I will work in the garden a bit too, maybe even set-up a new hammock. We’re also slated to paint our bedroom too. Photos promised of all these endeavors.