Hey, Sugar

I’m really trying to clean up my diet. I made an ill-timed resolution to give up sugar a couple of days before our ninety-six Papas eggs (a Covington, Kentucky easter confection) showed up. My will power expired when the Opera Cream eggs were unwrapped. I made a new commitment to quitting added sugar (and processed grains) this morning, when the skirt I wanted to wear wouldn’t fit around my waist. (But as I type this, I’ve just finished a Starbucks chocolate chip cookie.)


Hat, Free Press. Dress, Parker (consignment). Boots, Vince Camuto (consignment). Earrings, Charming Charlie. Bag, Colini Handbags (thrifted).

As a vegan*, it takes a lot of planning and cooking to avoid sugar and processed grains. Then, my hard work is, once again, derailed by a shipment of Graeter’s ice cream from Cincinnati:


*Yes, I know neither the Papas eggs nor the Starbucks cookie are vegan. My diet and my principles are totally going to hell.

Cruise

I’m not a cruise person (unless it were an Antarctic scientific expedition), but I like the idea of dressing for a tropical voyage. I was certainly ready for playful sea breezes by layering a tank dress under a wrap dress.


Wrap dress, Banana Republic (consignment). Tank dress, Roundy Bay (thrifted). Shoes, Isaac Mizrahi. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Earrings, flea market. Bag, Croft & Barrow. Bracelets, Target and consignment.


Another luxury thing I’m not into: fancy cars. But I thought it was funny to snap a photo in the Mercedes Benz showroom and then troll everyone on Facebook with my “car shopping” post.

Hypostyle

Hypostyle is not, as I might have guessed, “low fashion.” Instead, it is an architectural term describing a type of hall with the roof supported by columns. This background is actually the underside of the Yolo Causeway (a portion of I-80 connecting Davis and West Sacramento), but it looks Greek to me!


Vest, Tinseltown (cut from a consignment jacket). Dress, Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique (consignment). Shoes, Nine West. Sunglasses, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.

Owlish

I was so excited to find the owl pellets underneath a neighbor’s tree in January, but, despite multiple trips to stare into the magnolia's branches, we never saw the owl. It appears to be gone now. (Maybe the homeowners chased it off so we’d stop creeping around their front yard with binoculars.) So far, the only good look I’ve gotten of an owl in the wild was hiking Blue Ridge Trail over a year ago.


Vest, Forever 21 (cut from a consignment jacket). Dress, Express. Boots, American Eagle (consignment). Sunglasses, Toms. Earrings, Cuffs. Scarf (worn as a belt), TJ Maxx. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.


On this day, the only owl I saw was on my beer. But I was ok with that. Oh, the elusive owl!

Wannabe

Envy isn’t always a bad thing. It’s just a more intense form of admiration. In fact, I consider myself lucky to admire some of my friends and acquaintances so much that I want to BE them.


Poncho, Newport News. Shirt, Old Navy. Shorts, Lassie. Boots, Joe’s. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Earrings, Epcot Mexico. Necklace, vintage. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.


I very much admire one of my salon owners and would love to have just a fraction of her talent, moxie, and long, blonde hair. But, when I saw her senior high school portrait, my fandom entered stalker territory. She would have been a senior when I was a freshman and I would have definitely followed her around campus like the most pathetic wannabe ever.


Seriously. SO. MUCH. 80’s cool!

Pats

When I was training for a half marathon with my friend Erin, she grew impatient with my constant stops to pet the cats we ran past. Unless they were totally feral, I could usually charm them long enough for a few pats. Although walking, now, and in heels, I haven’t lost the habit of calling to stray kitties on the street.


Sweater, thrifted. Skirt, Thailand. Shoes, Franco Sarto. Earrings, street vendor. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Bag, Clarks.


This kitty has a purple-tipped tail! I only meet the most fashionable cats nowadays.

Cut It Out

There are many things I like about this dress: the black and white pattern, the fit and flare shape, the (p)leather trim. But my favorite feature may be the triangular cutouts at the neck on both the front and back. They are modest and provocative at once.


Sweater, Moda International. Dress, Under Skies (consignment). Boots, Steve Madden. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Earrings, Claire’s. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.


Today, I liked how the v of the sweater neck echoed the shape of the dress cutout. When I layer under the dress, I like the way the cutout frames the under layer, both in front and back:


Speaking of cutting, I was pleased to find this new mural in progress on the side of a hair salon:


I’m all about the chop chop.

FroYo

I was told that my pastel hair and skirt were reminiscent of sherbet. Of course, no one in California eats ice cream. Instead, there is a frozen yogurt shop on every corner. Because froyo is so much healthier than ice cream, especially after ladling candy on top. (I prefer mochi pieces, myself.)


Shirt, Forever 21. Skirt, Talbots. Shoes, Seychelles. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Earrings, Stardust Remembered. Scarf, Claire’s. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.


If the pastels are some sort of frozen desert, the black and white remind me of Goetze’s licorice caramel creams. Or my dog.