bookstore bookclub booktime

Today seemed like a good day to head home and work on some projects at the 'rents. I'm redoing a chair for my new room (one of my roomies moved out and I decided to take her old space) and my mom and I wanted to put up the tree together. I'll post some pictures soon.

On my way home I stopped at one of my favorite places in the whole world, Duvall Books. It is the most beautiful, lovely, and perfect place I've ever seen. Bookstores are my weakness and I think that can be traced back to the wonderful worlds this place showed me as a child. The shop is jam packed with books and curios and old photos. Just, you know, all my favorite things ever. It's a place everyone knows my name and I never fail to leave with a treasure or two. 

This time I bought The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Anna Karenina. The former has been on my to-read list and the latter is for The Clothes Horse bookclub. I'm so excited to have new stuff to read and a bookclub is just what I need. I was in a great mother-daughter club back when I was a kid and used to sit in on my mom's bookclub too. But since I've grown up, all my bookclubs have been with cute boys and there were . . . distractions. And then, in all cases, the relationship fizzled by the second book. A nice online club hosted by one of my favorite bloggers seems like a brilliant idea!

cozy cowl

dress - target, cardigan - thrifted, wool tights - mp, boots - thrifted

I'm trying to post a little more often and more immediately. This is actually what I wore today (well, yesterday technically). I love this dress!

Work has been insane lately, with the holidays coming up and all. Today we had a really sketch looking dude in the store, testing pens and leaving creepy little skull drawings all over the place. He had face tattoos and seemed really suspicious so we were watching him really closely which always makes me so anxious. There was also a guy who must have had jaundice or something because his face was totally yellow. And a couple really needy customers. Bleh. Just glad to have two days off for Thanksgiving! I'll be posting a last minute Thanksgiving craft this afternoon, so check back for that!

spotty dots

 
sheer polka dot chiffon blouse - target, wool skirt - target, sheer polka dot stockings - target, oxfords - aldo, amethyst crystal necklace - diy, glasses - joseph marc

I am just loving polka dots lately. Big ones, small ones, even or random, they all look good to me. This blouse combines several things I love: polka dots, blush/nude pink, and sheer chiffon. I also love the way the soft chiffon contrasts the darker wool, in both texture and tone. It also rather delightfully reminds me of the work of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Her dedication to a single, playful form has always intrigued me and I love how she plays off of a very defined style. 

Source: vogue.it via Rachel on Pinterest

"...a polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement... Polka dots are a way to infinity." -Yayoi Kusama

some of my favorite things this week

Source: republicofyou.com.au via Rachel on Pinterest

My new hero is an 8 year old from Omaha who dresses up as a different inspirational woman every school day.

This should be creepy, but somehow it's not: Ask A Mortician

Kaylah over at The Dainty Squid has an excellent post about pressing plants. It makes me want to pull out the beautiful wood flower press my stepdad made and his sister painted for me. I think I got it for my sixth birthday.

I made this butternut squash and chicken stew for a roomie dinner last week and it was a hit.

My dear friend Aly has a pretty great blog about her experience teaching English in Korea.

I happen to like my polka dot tights enough to own several permanent pairs, but this tutorial for temporary dots would be fun for some of the colored tights I own. Better pick up a chalk marker from work!

of monsters and men - - - mountain sound

we will miss you "sew" much

This is a little card I made for a coworker of mine who retired. I used Crate Paper Acorn Avenue and On Trend for the paper, cut in strips and mounted on a kraft paper card. I also used a white pen to add stitching lines around the perimeter and made a little double point pennant for the sentiment. We really like puns at my store and since this gal worked in the fabric department, I had to say "sew" much. The green letters are done with Amy Tangerine Thickers and the rest I think were from Cosmo Cricket, the Tiny Type letters. I think I like this card so much because I think it was really perfect for her. Not only did she work in the fabric department, she also makes these beautiful scarves out of recycled saris. The paper patterns reminded me of fabrics that might be used in a sari and therefore in her scarves.

last bare legs

silk blouse - vintage, skirt - thrifted, shoes - borrowed, purse - dooney & burke

There's something quite sad about the last day of the year you are able to go bare-legged. Of course, you don't know it at the time, but the next time you put on a skirt, you'll roll some sheer tights on as well. And the next time, and the next, and then a bit later those sheer stockings are replaced with thick opaque ones, maybe even woolen ones. And then you might look back on that day, if you can remember it, and miss the ease and appeal of bare legs.

I didn't use to like bare legs as much as I do now. I used to wear tights in inappropriately hot weather and I still wear sheer or lace tights sometimes throughout the summer. After all, summers here in the PNW are not necessarily hot. (I believe today, a rainy day in November, was a pretty average summer temperature for us.) This past summer though, I was all about the bare legs. I discovered I could show skin with not only sundresses and shorts, but also with more demure pencil skirts and silk blouses. It just feels nice to let your legs out in the world, unfettered by nylon. All the same, I am enjoying my current tights wearing weather. Just feeling a touch nostalgic for a time when getting dressed in the morning could skip one or two pieces (I wasn't wearing a lot of cardigans then either).

summer day, missed train, arctic club

Just feeling a little nostalgic for summer fun, hanging out with my roommates, and drinking absinthe at fancy bars in the middle of the day. I miss it all.

orange sweater, polka tights

 

sweater - target, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted dooney & burke, glasses - joseph marc

Like the idiot I am, I lost my damn purse, with my camera in it (still hoping it's hiding somewhere in my very messy car) so that's my excuse for the lack of blog content lately. I did, however, get a new phone that takes much nicer pictures than my old one (a little advice, don't tell a boy that unless you want to send him dirty pictures, because he will ask) so I might be able to make do if it doesn't turn up. In the meantime, I have some older pictures kicking around that I ought to post. These for example, were from early fall. I love that time of year that you can wear wool skirts but mix them with sheer tights and lighter tops. This bright short sleeve sweater I wore a lot over the summer because it's light weight and made of cotton, but it also worked nicely for this time of year. I kind of miss that part of the season now, with all the grey and rain now.

ann + chuck = 50 years

dress - target, tights- target, boots - modcloth, cardigan - uo, bag - thrifted dooney & burke, sunnies - target, necklaces - talonalia and handmade (a birthday gift)

Last weekend my mom's whole side of the family (minus my aunt from New York) ventured across the mountains to celebrate my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. We went to some wineries in Woodinville and then had a lovely dinner at the Grange in Duvall before heading back to my parents' house for brownies, more wine, and to look at old pictures. It was really wonderful to have everyone together and my grandma brought some old pictures I had never seen before. They were such a cute couple.

macklemore & ryan lewis - - - same love

I forgot to post this yesterday, but I didn't want to wait until next week. This Tuesday we get to vote on a lot of important things. Many states, Washington included, have the opportunity to pass marriage equality. More important than who our president is for the next four years, this would ensure that everyone is able to marry the person they love. This should be a right denied to no one, and I very much hope you vote to approve Referendum 74. (Or whatever is on your ballot, in your state.)