Summer Blazer
Posted: June 9, 2023 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue wide-leg trousers, brown, brown clog sandals, pink, pink cat embroidered top, white, white linen blazer Leave a comment
In recent years, I’ve discovered that I don’t always have to lay off the layering (terrible pun totally intended) once summer rolls around. I have to wear a long-sleeve shirt to cover up from the sun while I bike to work, and at work, my office’s temperature is kept just barely above Arctic level, so I still need a cardigan or some sort of layer anyway, so why not incorporate that into my outfit, like here? The cat-embroidered top is a little too twee to wear to work, but throw a blazer on top, and it’s instantly office-appropriate.
More Pink And Green
Posted: June 7, 2023 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: brown, brown flat sandals, green, green wide-leg pants, pink, pink linen top Leave a comment
This is another of those pajama-like outfits that I wear so much in the summer because they’re comfy and reasonably put-together without requiring a lot of thought. Stylish? Not really, but when it’s hot out, being stylish is usually the last thing on my mind. In fact, this was such a no-brainer combination that I had to check the blog’s archive to make sure I haven’t worn it before. It turns out, I’ve worn a very similar combo (this pink top with another pair of green trousers), but not this particular one, so I think I’m good.
Taking In The Laundry
Posted: June 5, 2023 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: belt, blue, blue plaid dress, brown, brown spectator shoes, necklace, style imitating art 3 Comments
Here’s my outfit for this week’s SIA, inspired by Grandma Moses’s “Taking in the Laundry“. My interpretation is a little loose, since I don’t have anything with the exact print or colors to match the painting, as is often the case when we have a landscape as the inspiration. The most I could do is go for the general feel and color scheme. So I went with this dress because the plaid is a simple and straightforward print, and it has a homey feel similar to the painting. The colors of the dress (blue, green, and a touch of yellow) and the colors of my shoes are to reflect the painting as well. And finally, I had to wear my house pendant for the house in the painting. All in all, I’m really happy with my outfit, even if it doesn’t match the painting exactly.
Don’t forget to check Shelbee’s blog on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this lovely painting.
Creme De Menthe
Posted: June 2, 2023 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue wide-leg trousers, brooch, brown, brown flat sandals, green, green linen button-up Leave a comment
We just had our first proper summer heatwave last week, and as usual, when it gets really hot, I have to reach for cool colors (I know it doesn’t work like that, but I always feel warmer in warm colors, and cooler in cool colors. I guess that’s why my winter wardrobe is mostly brown and yellow, and my summer wardrobe is mostly blue and green.) This thrifted linen shirt and the hand-me-down trousers from my mom just hit the spot, and they’re so comfy to wear too, which is always a bonus!
Book Reviews: May 2023
Posted: May 31, 2023 Filed under: Book/Movie/TV Reviews | Tags: book Leave a commentI had to read a bunch of thesis scripts in the last two weeks of May, so I resorted to shorter books this month to meet my quota. They’re still interesting though! Here goes:
Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher:
After enjoying “Swordheart” last month, I decided to check out another T. Kingfisher fantasy romance set in the same world. This one follows a perfumer and a paladin whose god has died as they get unwittingly involved in an assassination attempt. As with “Swordheart”, I enjoyed the world of the story and the characters, and this one has a more complex plot than “Swordheart”, which I appreciated as well. However, I didn’t buy the relationship as much (it’s sort of insta-love, which I never find convincing), and the plot gets resolved very easily. 3.5/5
Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
Continuing my exploration of poetry, I went with something more classical this time. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Elizabeth Browning’s love poems (these sonnets were written for her future husband, Robert Browning), but after reading them, I became convinced more than ever that poetry is like music. You can’t always explain why you like this song more than the others, just like how you can’t explain why a particular poem hits you harder than the others. That is to say, I appreciate the beauty of Elizabeth Browning’s language and sentiments, but I don’t really connect with them as much as I thought I would. 3/5
Poems by John Clare:
More poetry. I’ve never even heard of John Clare before, but I saw one of his poems quoted on a poetry Instagram account, and his brand of nature and rustic life description hits my exact sweet spot (see my two favorite poets: Seamus Heaney and Mary Oliver). However, while I do enjoy all of Clare’s poems about rural life, their sentiments don’t hit me as hard as Heaney’s or Oliver’s, and I don’t think I would enjoy them half as much if I didn’t read the introduction about Clare’s life. Knowing about his sad, extraordinary life makes me appreciate his poems a lot more. 3/5
4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie:
To clear my head after reading all those thesis scripts, I’m back to my usual “easy read”. Since I’ve watched all the Miss Marple adaptations with Joan Hickson, I know what happens in this already (one of Miss Marple’s friends witnesses a strangling on the train, and Miss Marple sets out to discover what truly happened), but it’s interesting in that Miss Marple herself doesn’t feature very prominently in the story. Sure, she is behind the scene pulling the string, but most of the investigation is carried out by the police and her associate Lucy Eyelesbarrow. It makes for a nice change of pace. 4/5
14 Shades Of Grey 