My name is Mary Sutter

Sunday, our whirlwind weekend trip in Charlottesville continued with a trip to the University of Virginia. We took a tour of the Rotunda with its large green lawn and pavilions.

Top - American Eagle, Purse - Treejse, Gray maxi skirt - Express, Blue boots - Frye

We learned even more about Thomas Jefferson, like the ideals on which he founded the University and how it affected his designs for the first buildings.

There's the Rotunda and the lawn I mentioned.

We feared all week that it would rain during the weekend, but it turned out to be beautiful weather. The blue skies constantly reminded me of the same blue skies 10 years ago...we did spend a good part of the day watching the news and talking with each other about 9/11. It was strange--being so happy, having a great day, but at the same time...not.

The weather also made us think that perhaps the overbearing heat is through, that the summer is really winding down. We went to a beautiful mountain apple orchard, and saw these:

How can you not love fall? Look at how much fun these jack o' lanterns are.

After our apple orchard visit, we hit the road for the long drive home. I settled in with My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.

The book for which I wore this long skirt. Mary Sutter wouldn't approve of anything else, of course.

I would rate the book as a 3/5. I love historical novels, and this one was set during the Civil War, a time period I haven't read about in years. It's fun to learn but be entertained too. And I did learn. In fact, I learned and was horrified by the medical field and doctors in those days.

Hangin' out with T.J.

Husband, Child, and I took a weekend trip to Charlottesville, where we hung out with Thomas Jefferson.

Blue polka dot blouse - American Eagle, White and pink cami (underneath) - Express, Pink belt - American Eagle, Shorts - 7 for All Mankind, Blue boots - Fry

We like to strike similar poses next to statues. It's nerdy, but it's what we do. Besides being silly, we also learned a lot. (1) Thomas Jefferson was a tall dude, nearly 6'3". (2) T.J. had a lot of interests, including gardening.

These flowers are called Joseph's coat.

(3) His home Monticello was gorgeous. He had a big room, considered his dressing room, with a ladder going up to a closet above his bed. How exciting to have a large, yet tucked away, nearly hidden closet. His bed was in an alcove between the dressing room and his study, which went right into his library.

I'm standing outside his study, library, and sunroom here.

(4) Ol' T.J. was so into his books that after he sold a whole bunch to Congress, he took that money from selling them and bought a bunch more. "I cannot live without books," he said. A man after my own heart. I was going to buy a big plaque that said this very quote when Husband distracted me by offering me fried chicken and peach cobbler from Michie's Tavern.

Books, what?

Summer's almost through...

Everybody's gearing up for fall, showing off boots and sweaters, and believe me, I'm feeling pretty excited too. But I'm still trying to get through some summer clothes.

Tank top - Pac Sun, Dress - Pac Sun, Bracelet - J. Crew, Watch - Michele Watches, Espadrilles - Michael Kors

Such as dresses from the most summery store of all, Pac Sun.

I've grown out of a lot of their styles.

They're still good for plain tanks and tees, as well as a dress or two.

Especially when you want something simple but cute.

I really needed something simple today. I had the day off from work, but ended up busier than I would have on a work day, running around doing errands and doing a lot of housecleaning! How does that always happen? My boss suggested I hang out by the pool, instead I cleaned the house. Sigh.

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

So here's the problem with this dress: it doesn't have a shelf bra situation built into it, and I don't have a bandeau tube bra. Thus, it really needs a shirt under it, but even better, it needs a shirt over it.

Floral shirt - Express, Black patent belt - Primark, Dress - Gap Outlet, Espadrilles - Me Too

I was in my closet last night thinking, How can I hide this bra situation? I decided on this shirt because of the darker purple and lighter purple flowers matching the dress. I wanted this combination to work so badly, I ignored that I needed a slightly thicker belt in the gray family.

And just tried to make it work with this thin, black belt.

So it wasn't a home run outfit today, but I still felt good for some reason. Mixing patterns regularly now, even when it's not such a great outfit, has given me a strange confidence. Also, I love these colors and the skirt has a nice swish to it. Perfect for the few times I left my chair at work, and later when wandering around Child's school tonight to meet teachers.

I still want this to work! Do we have ideas?

I think maybe wearing a purple cardigan instead of belting this might have helped (since I somehow don't have a thick gray belt). And/or wearing black boots. I tried going for black heels, but all of mine looked too dressy, whereas some casual black boots might have worked. Thoughts?

As for the title of today's post...I don't know, it's in my head. Because I keep thinking, How do you solve a problem...like this purple dress?

The maxi skirt, take two

When Express had buy one, get the other half off on bottoms right before the Bloggers Do It Better maxi challenge, maybe I picked up two maxi skirts. What?! I'm going to wear them all fall and winter, and it was a good deal.

Necklace - American Eagle (Present from Sister), White tank top - Target, Magenta shirt - Forever 21, Belt - Fossil, Gray maxi skirt - Express, Sandals - Jeffrey Campbell

And it's a good thing I was wearing something new today because I strolled through Nordstrom, and wasn't even tempted to buy anything. Except for a cape.

I would look super cute with a cape, right?

No worries--the shopping ban is still holding strong. You know who should go shopping, though? People that want shoes, specifically boots, from Nordstrom. I didn't look too closely (didn't want to be tempted), but I saw boots hanging from sales racks.

Comment if you find something!

I will live vicariously through others.

But what's red and green and blue all over?

I apparently have a thing for blue and green.

Green top - Anthropologie, Black tank - Express, Skirt - Anthropologie, Green wedges - Steve Madden

It's like this outfit, but with more volume.

I'm trying to look coy here.

How do we feel about red lips? I don't do it often because it can be a bit fussy, but I felt ultra-feminine and even powerful all day.

But it does make for a pretty simple accessory.

Do you rock the red lips? Any secrets to making it work? For me, it's completely coloring in my lips with lip liner and going for a more expensive lipstick than usual. Because of my skin tone, I also opt for a red with a hint of orange.

The Graveyard Book

Wow, macabre overload! I not only read all of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, on my way back from Seattle, but I also finished The Graveyard Book.

White tee - Michael's, Brown belt - Express, Blue jeans - J Brand, Brown wedges - Sam Edelman

I decided to pull out my new colored denim to wear with my review of the book. New colored denim--did you go shopping?!, you shriek at me. No, these are from my last Uniquities shopping trip. The shopping ban has been holding strong now for...two weeks.

Man, it feels like it's been longer than that.

Maybe I stockpiled enough new things that I can just slowly pull them out and make them last for the rest of the year. Or maybe I can switch to buying a lot more books. Or better yet, just go to the library a lot, which is where I picked up The Graveyard Book.

So what do we think?