Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

I spent all of Sunday flying back from Seattle.

Striped shirt - American Eagle (Present from Sister), Dress - H&M, Ruffle army boots - Jeffrey Campbell

Which meant a lot of reading time! I quickly read through Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride, a book actually set in Seattle.

So good food and books coming out of Seattle!

I loved it! Not quite a home run, but I would rate it a 4/5.

And make sure to wear a hood for it to match the cover.

This book surprised me. You read a title like Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and see the cover and groan a little, worrying that all young adult novels are immature, cheesy, and perhaps all have a supernatural element these days.

Fave of the week: August 27-September 2

Pretty much the only time I love to wear black now is when it's mixed with brown, like in this latest fave of the week from Friday:

This sweater from Zara is one of my favorites. It's a great fall transitional piece because of its short sleeves and can be easily layered over shirts and cardigans. The mix of blacks and browns from the faux fur makes mixing blacks and browns in the rest of the outfit effortless. Though it takes a lot of room in the suitcase, it's worth taking because I can wear it with anything.

Roll out

Yawn. I am tired of being in Seattle.

Black cardigan - Banana Republic, Dress - Nordstrom Rack, Textured tights - Target, Brown buckled boots - Naughty Monkey

Not because it's not a great town, because it is! The weather has been gorgeous (sunny! And not humid like back at home!). And the food has been great (The Crumpet Shop, The Brooklyn Seafood, Steak & Oyster House, Blueacre, Urbane, Top Pot for doughnuts)! But man, oh man, work has worn me out.

I've barely been able to function all day.

And then I made the terrible mistake of wearing these boots two days consecutively because my other packed shoes didn't go, and the result was nearly broken feet. People, don't be like me.

Pack smarter! And maybe not an hour before driving to the airport.

Then you won't be complaining like me. And we all know how I don't like complaining about hurt feet as a result of lovely shoes.

So I smiled through it (mostly), and now I'm just thinking about getting home.

For plane reading I have The Graveyard Book, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and My Name is Mary Sutter. Children's, young adult, and adult. Check, check, check. Oh, bags are packed too.

Moloka'i

I packed this dress for three reasons.

Beige sweater with faux fur hood - Zara, Black cardigan - Gap Outlet, Shift dress - Ann Taylor Outlet, Belt - Primark, Boots - Naughty Monkey

It is professional, and I had work obligations from 7 to 7.

Followed by a lovely dinner with work colleagues at Sip. Which might have included sips of champagne to celebrate getting through the actual work.

Reason #2: It goes well with these other shoes I packed. Though I didn't end up wearing them because I usually like to change shoes daily at conferences, to prevent feet pain. Unless they're super comfortable shoes, of course.

Then I wanted to wear this sweater, which seemed to call for more shoe, as in boots.

Reason #3: I also packed this because I had started reading Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. When the main character is a little girl at an orphanage, her and the other girls wear wine-colored dresses. Ta-da! Here's my wine-colored dress.

And matching clothes to books is fun! I mean, how did I feel about the book?

For the most part, I enjoyed Moloka'i. I haven't read too many stories set in Hawaii, and I thought it was interesting reading about its history (no wonder some Hawaiians still have a problem with haoles). And I haven't read any stories dealing with leprosy/Hansen's disease, so there you go--lots of new stuff for me.

At least I keep it real

I way overpacked for my Seattle trip. This is my busiest work trip every year, filled with conference time where I want to be comfortable on my feet, but also individual meetings where I want to impress. Then throw in walking around Seattle and the 50 to 70 degree weather. Add in the fact that while I want to look great, I cannot bring my best boots, dresses, purses, etc. because in the past I've scuffed way too many shoes, had clumsy people (errrr, including my own self) spill drinks on me (seriously, multiple times), and I worry way too much about losing things and or having things stolen. So I couldn't decide what to pack, so I packed everything, and none of it really makes sense anyhow.

Wrap dress - Express (Present from Sister), Blue cami - Express, Black tights - Nordstrom Rack, Patent leather shoes - Sofft

I wanted to wear comfy shoes. Somehow I didn't pack my flats. These shoes are comfortable, but I needed to wear tights to keep them comfy, but these tights made the outfit look so heavy. And the style of the shoes don't go. It was tragic--I felt ugly all day.

And you know how much of my happiness rests on my hair, which somehow looked like...this.

I do love these shoes, though. I'm trying not to blame them for me feeling so terrible today.

Because they're so pretty!

So. There's that. I know some fashion bloggers would never post an outfit fail, but I try to keep it real around here.

No time to read, no time to shop

So when I'm not working, walking around Seattle, or eating at The Crumpet Shop, I'm making time to read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Trust me--that's not a lot of time. Children's book are perfect when you don't have too much time, but need to relax.

Chambray shirt - H&M, Pink tank top (underneath) - Pac Sun, Belt - Target, Skinny cargoes - American Eagle, Raffle army boots - Jeffrey Campbell

And for when it's chilly (which it's constantly fluctuating here in Seattle):

Pink and black scarf - Charlotte Russe Outlet

In case you're wondering, my shopping ban is still going strong, even in the city of Nordstrom's flagship store and even with the Macy's Karl Lagerfeld collection. Mainly because I don't have time to shop, but hey, it still counts.

Farmer Boy

I haven't been able to post anything for a while because it's been a busy work time, including taking a day to travel to Seattle. As much as I like dislike traveling (planes freak me out), I do like the quiet reading time!

And I have no shame, so I will read a children's book, complete with pictures, on a plane.

These pictures were taken after a day of traveling from the east coast to the west, so yeah, I look a bit tired, but this is pretty typical travel wear for me.

Blouse - Uniquities, Creme tank top (underneath) - somewhere from Japan, I think, Skinny cargoes - American Eagle, Ruffle army boots - Jeffrey Campbell

Gotta keep the shoes comfy while I'm flying across the country and through books. I gave Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder a 3/5 star ranking. Can you believe I've read and reread (and reread...and reread) the Little House books but never got around to reading Farmer Boy?