Blue Collar Red Lipstick

02
Feb
2016

Navy Crop

Blazer, BR (thrifted); skirt, Zara; camisole, Costco; shoes, J. Crew; bag, YSL (via eBay)

Ever since I found this cropped blazer, I knew I wanted to pair it with my navy midi skirt. It’s a no brainer. And lo — they work great together. I so love it when my instincts are proven right. I hesitated over the shoes, because any number of options could have worked — red, gold, blue, nude. In the end, I went with something less obvious: teal.

Oh, and to be clear: I promise you that I’m wearing a camisole underneath. In the light of my bedroom, it looked cream to me, but in the basement dungeon, it turned, well, flesh toned. But, no, I’m not nearly racy enough to go sans top to work.

Here are some close-ups:

high waisted skirt + cropped jacket = success

01
Feb
2016

Buttoned Up

categories: style

Blazer, BR; shirt, J. Crew Factory; dress, Pink Tartan (via consignment); shoes, Ferragamo (via consignment); bag, Gucci (via consignment)

Alternate title (courtesy of my friend, K.): Victorian librarian chic. Either way, I kinda loved it. This dress is one of my fave recent buys, and I love it layered over this jewel collar blouse. The vibe goes really well with the mid-century gothic novel I’m currently writing. In fact, I can totally see one of the characters wearing something like this.

Sidenote: one of my fave things to do is fantasy cast my books. I used to do it all the time with the books I read, but this is even more fun. Archer and Bell? Scarlett Johansson and James McAvoy (although a friend suggested Jack O’Connell, and I’m totally digging it). I haven’t got anyone figured out for my two current heroines (yet!), but I have a few ideas for the male protagonists.

Such as:

And:

And also:

Tell me I’m not the only one who does this.

29
Jan
2016

BCRL Book Club: February 2016 Book Club Selection

categories: Book Club

Some of you guys have expressed an interest in joining a BCRL Book Club, so let’s make this happen!

To keep this fun, I’ll keep the rules minimal. The last Friday of every month, I will post my review/discussion of the month’s book club selection, and announce the following month’s selection. The comment section will be all yours, guys. I will do a similar thing on IG, so if you follow me there, you will have several options for participating. If anyone has book suggestions, feel free to email them to me; otherwise, I will basically pick things that I want to read (or re-read), and think you guys might also enjoy. I enjoy a pretty wide variety of genres (including fantasy, historical, mystery, classic, literary fiction, non-fiction, memoirs), although I tend to steer clear of “fluffy” chick lit (think The Shopaholic series) and erotica. I’m not ragging on those genres, they’re just not my cup of tea. I will try to mix up the genre every month to keep things interesting – and, like I said, feel free to chime in with suggestions.

OK, on to February’s book selection. Drum roll please …

GOOD OMENS by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman!!!!

This book holds a special place in my heart. It introduced me to the contemporary fantasy genre (hey, it’s probably not entirely coincidental that my own book features a demon protagonist), as well as the crazy geniuses of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It is laugh-out-loud kind of funny, as well as brilliantly smart. I couldn’t think of a better first pick for the BCRL Book Club.

Hope you guys will join me in reading Good Omens this month – don’t forget to check out (and share your thoughts) in the wrap up post on February 26.

Happy reading!