Book Club Time

 

It's Literary Junkies day again!  Here are the questions for this month:

1. What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.  It's typical Gaiman - bizarre and fascinating and wonderful.  I've been so busy that I haven't had as much time to read as I want, and I'm struggling to stay awake to read a couple chapters each evening.  I was the weird girl at the gym yesterday reading while I rode the stationary bike.  I'm really hoping to finish it tonight.   I suspect it might be a 5-star rating! 

2. What book first made you fall in love with reading?

I have no idea!  I've loved reading as long as I can remember.  I remember my dad reading Little House on the Prairie to me and my brother when I was pretty young.  Once I learned how to read, it was ridiculous.  I read pretty much anything I could get my hands on.  High school and college kind of ruined "reading for fun" for me, but near the end of college, I read East of Eden and  The Chronicles of Narnia.  I really remember loving those and thinking I should start reading more! 

3. Summer is a great time for series. What are your series recommendations?

If you haven't read the Hunger Games trilogy, you really should!  Also, the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings are must-reads.  This year, I'm working my way through Harry Potter for the first time.  Pretty standard recommendations, really! 

4. Does a song come to mind with the book you are currently reading? If so what it is?

No, not with this current book. 

5. Are you participating in any summer reading challenges?

Nope, I'm not a big fan of challenges.  I tend to rebel against requirements, even when I voluntarily participate.  I don't want to make reading a chore, so I just read what I want.  I usually end up reading less in the summer, because there is so much going on during the weekends and evenings, so adding a reading challenge just isn't the best idea for me. I just have my annual goal to make sure I remember to read, so I don't waste all my time watching TV and playing on my phone!

Have you read anything good lately? 

Top: Chaus
Pearls: China
Cardigan: Gap
Skirt: Limited
Shoes: Target

Anniversary Week - 3 years!

 

2010 - For our 3rd anniversary, we decided to keep it simple and just went out to dinner.  I was happy for an excuse to wear this dress.  Since it's white, I can't wear it to weddings, and I don't have a lot of other dressy events to attend in the summer.

For some reason, I was posing with the roses John got me.  This was a pretty good outfit picture, before I was even blogging my outfits!   

Calvin Klein dress, Mossimo shoes

Of course, on the 28th, we went to dinner at Noodles&Co!

I'm also guest posting for Amber, over at Obviously Obsessed.  She asked me to write about a favorite vacation, so I figured I would go along with my anniversary theme and write about our honeymoon to Jamaica.  Go check it out!

How to Confuse a Barista

If you ever want to confuse the baristas at Starbucks, just go in and order a venti skim milk.  They will look at you like you are completely crazy and then ask you approximately 7 questions clarifying what you want:  Coffee with milk?  Oh, just milk?  Steamed?  Iced?  Just milk?  Seriously?  How much do we charge for this?

Yes, some people just want a glass of milk in the morning!  I've decided I need to come up with a complicated way of ordering it, like "Venti Decaf Skinny Calcium Juice!"

In other news, I'm trying to be better about taking pictures outside.  It was just a tad sunny when we took these, so I had to shield my eyes and then look away.     


Cardigan: Gap
Dress: Old Navy
Belt: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Target
Sunglasses: Fossil
Pearls: gift

Humidity, Pedicures, and Presents!

Today was officially the most humid day ever.  That may not be true, but it was the type of day where you walk outside and your sunglasses fog up so bad you can't even see.  But it's so sunny that you can't take your sunglasses off.  On days like this, I should really just stay inside, but I had to go to work.  One of my co-workers suggested that we should get pedicures after work, and that seemed like a really good idea, so I now have sparkly blue toes!

 

After my pedicure, I ran into Target really quick, just to pick up a few grocery items.  Two pairs of shoes later, I finally made it to the grocery side of the store.  Target is trouble.  

When I got home, I was excited to find this on my front porch:

Remember the blog swaps I mentioned last week?  Well, I got my Soak Up the Sun presents from Libby.  She went all out, and I am so excited that I signed up for this swap.  It is just so fun to get a bunch of little presents in the mail! 

Look at all this!!!

In conclusion, you should all sign up for the next blog swap you see, because it is super fun.  Special thanks to Meg for hosting!

Outfit details:
Top: Gap
Skirt: Loft
Shoes: Target
Necklace: gift (from China)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

By the time this post goes live, I will be on a plane headed to Phoenix!  I've got a conference Sunday-Wednesday, but decided to go out a couple days early to hang out with one of my favorite people who happens to live out there.  Should be fun, and very hot.  I know they say it's a "Dry heat", but I feel like 110 degrees is hot no matter how dry it is.  We might just have to stay inside a lot, like at a mall or something.  I'm excited to check out some stores that we don't have in Nebraska, like H&M and the Gap outlet. Hopefully I will find some awesome deals!

Shirt+Skirt: Loft
Cardigan: Gap
Shoes: Target
Necklace: gift (from China

Browncoats

Any other nerds Firefly fans out there?  Surely I'm not the only fashion blogger/sci-fi geek out there, right??  Well, I can always blame my husband.  I was trying to think of a clever title for this all-brown outfit post, and he said "Good guys wear brown coats." So there you have it.

Last time I wore this dress, I wore my white belt and tan shoes.  This time, all brown accessories.  Who knows what I will do next time, maybe white belt and brown shoes.  I mean, the possibilities are endless.

Dress +Shoes: Target
Cardigan: Gap
Belt: Urban Outfitters

Sunshine Day

It's seriously so nice outside.  As I sit in my office looking out the windows, I just want to take a walk outside.  Like the sun is calling my name.  I just can't stay inside all day.  Someone should write a song about this.  Oh wait, they did.

And now you can have the song stuck in your head all day, just like I do.  You're welcome.

Cardigan and Dress: Gap
Belt:  Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Target
Pearls:  Gift from China (every time I write this, it's like the country of China sends me presents.  I wish I was that cool.  Countries don't send me presents.  Just to be clear, the gift was from my friend Kim, which she purchased in China).     

Preppy

Since I went to private school most of my formative years, I sometimes shy away from being too preppy in my clothing choices.  I'm slowly getting comfortable with pleats, plaid, polos...

As I was looking at these pictures, I realized most of the items in this outfit are somehow connected to my in-laws.

• Skirt - present for my birthday, the first year John and I were married.  
• Sweater Vest - a few summers ago, I was in a Bible study, and there was a mall and Starbucks right next to the church.  Nicole and Becca were shopping and saw this in the Ladies Golf clearance section, bought it for me, and then were at Starbucks, when they saw my car, so they just set it on my windshield!  So sneaky!
• Shoes:  Becca bought these shoes from Target, and I had been looking for some cute brown shoes, so I had to go get myself a pair, too.  

Skirt: Loft
Top:  NY&Co
Sweater Vest: Lady Hagen
Shoes: Target

Shoe Repairs are Magic

I bought these shoes in the summer of 2007.  I completely wore the heels away, and didn't know of a good shoe repair shop in town.  Instead of putting them away until I could fix them, I just kept on wearing them.  The rubber heel was completely gone, and by the time I found a good shoe repair shop, I figured these shoes were goners.  I took them in anyway, and the guy said "No problem!" and fixed them right up!  $10 later, my brown peep-toe shoes are back in action! 

Top: NY&Co
Cardigan:  Gap
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes:  Target