Mr. Picks Mondays: Chambray Away

The chambray shirtdress makes another appearance. This was the day after we drove* back from a wedding in Missouri (most of the day was spent crossing Kansas - I cheered when my beautiful mountains came into view), so a one-stop-shop to get dressed was pretty great.

Dress and bright shoes – done.

Count it.

And I just got back from another trip yesterday, so a short post it is (I spent the 4th in Florida with my family and good friends - got the sunburn to prove it).

dress: Kohl’s

sandals: Target

*btw, I finished 3 books on the way to and from the wedding – thank you, Dramamine II!

Hemingway-ed

I don't know if you know this, but I really love my local library. They've saved me tons of money when it comes to reading - I can just check a book out, read it, and turn it back in, rather than purchasing a book I might not really like or want to keep. I also check out audiobooks on the regular, and listen to them on my drive to & from work. I'm finishing up Jane Eyre, and this time last year listened to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, among several others. The Mr. listened to all 5 books of A Song of Ice & Fire, sparking our interest in the TV show "Game of Thrones," and subsequent Halloween costumes. 

So, anyways, I love the library. A few weeks ago I finished The Paris Wife. It's a novel about Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson, and their life in Paris as he was working on some of his first works.

Finishing The Paris Wife piqued my interest in Hemingway, so, on this fine (read: not freezing) day, I went to the library and headed to the H section of the fiction area. I checked out two books by Hemingway, and am halfway through the first one, To Have and Have Not.

Now, my knowledge of this great American author is limited to The Paris Wife, the novel I'm currently reading, and what I read on Wikipedia (I never read The Old Man and The Sea in high school). Based on this small bit of information, I don't think Ernest Hemingway is someone I would have gotten along with. Seems to me he was a bit of a womanizer (he left his first wife for her best friend), and kind of selfish. That being said, I AM enjoying reading To Have and Have Not, although I wish it provided more background & detail for each character.

So, since I knew I was headed for a literary center, I wore a hat. I don't know why a hat makes me feel more cultured and traveled, but it does a little bit. Maybe it's the fact I don't normally wear them? Or that a fedora seems a wee bit old school? Either way, I wore a hat. And checked out some books by Hemingway. And took some pictures of my outfit.

linking up with:

Vodka Infused Lemonade for Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday

Color Blind for Thrifters Anonymous

shirt: GAP similar below

sweater: thrifted

jeans: thrifted (True Religion) similar below

shoes: thrifted similar below

hat: thrifted (Target) similar below

30 for 30: Day 6 - when I MET THE PIONEER WOMAN!

me & Ree - so worth the wait in line! and the drive! and the time off from work!

Last week, The Pioneer Woman came to Colorado on her latest book tour (A Year of Holidays - recipes for a whole year of holidays, beginning with New Year's Day, and ending with New Year's Eve). 

You better believe I went. And I got a picture with her (above, from my Instagram. 

And she signed my newest cookbook (and my previous one, too).

My sister-in-law introduced me to her sometime last year, and I'm so glad she did (thanks, KB)! P-Dubs has THE. BEST. recipes. Seriously. Everything I've made from her book is a HUGE hit at our house. I read her blog daily, and have her show on The Food Network set up to record on our DVR every week. I like to think we would be best friends in real life. Can I tell you I was SO awkward when I met her? I feel like I know so much about her, and she has no idea who I am 

*sigh*

I even took the afternoon off of work to make it to the signing, and my best friend came with me, and patiently waited in line with me. She's such a good friend - those are hard to find!

I could go on and on about how much I love the Pioneer Woman, but I'm going to suggest you check out her blog/cookbooks/show - let me know which of her recipes you make (and subsequently fall in love with). We're hosting Thanksgiving at our (NEW!) house, and have already drooled over the Thanksgiving section of her new book. And Christmas. And New Year's. And Valentine's Day...

my best friend is such a good blog photographer - she "directs the shot" and helps pose me

I was really proud of myself for this outfit for several reasons:

1) I don't care to wear tights, as I think they're uncomfortable. However, I wore these all day, and even longer than I normally would, as I didn't get home and into my pajamas until waaay past my bedtime.

2) I did some MAJOR print mixing here. Stripes AND houndstooth?? I patted myself on the back for this one. 

3) I think I look a teensy bit Parisian chic, which is something I'm obsessed with lately. We were sitting in the "fashion" section of The Tattered Cover (the location of the book signing), gleaning as much information about Paris fashion & becoing "tres chic" as we could without taking the new books home with us, as both of us agree it's more important to buy food and gas than books about clothes...

*sigh*

Someday...

thanks for coming with me, L. I really had the best time <3
also, I'm sorry I have blurry picture taking skills

linking up over at Simply Lulu Style, because I LOVED meeting the Pioneer Woman, AND spending the afternoon/evening with my best friend :)

Mr Picks Mondays: Summer's Last Hurrah

Since yesterday was Labor Day, and I had the day off, Mr. Picks Mondays was VERY casual. He chose the shorts AND the top (typically he chooses the top and lets me pick the bottoms, or vice versa) for a very summer-y combination. I know Labor Day marks "the end of summer," but since the first day of autumn isn't for a few weeks yet, I'll be sporting my summer clothes as long as I can (that, and I LOVE summer). Have I mentioned that I don't love fall, because it leads to winter? #truestory 

Also, I don't like Pumpkin Spice Lattes. 

There. 

I said it.

I find them underwhelming. Whip me up a cup of coffee and I'm a very happy girl. No artificial pumpkin flavoring for me! Blegh!

Anyways, enough of my rant about fall & winter (#summerforever). As I mentioned yesterday, we were in a wedding this holiday weekend, and then spent Sunday & Monday laying low and getting caught up on little things around the house, er, apartment.

My Labor Day started off with this read by Jessica Quirk of What I Wore. A really interesting and beautiful book, and I even took it to the pool with me and jotted down some notes. I think she did the illustrations for the book herself - umm, amazing! I can only draw stick figures, so I'm always really impressed by the artistic ability of others. I've been reading a lot of fashion books lately, and can't seem to get enough! I think I've checked out all the ones at our local library...I've already ready "Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible" and Stacy London's "The Truth About Style," among others. Any recommendations for me??

Wellllll, here's to a (short) week, my friends!

enjoying not laboring on Labor Day ;)

parrot tank: Target
shorts: Kohl's
mint tank: Marshall's
sandals: a recent find at Target for $6!

linking up over here today, because I loved spending Labor Day with my sweetie ;)