Going back to work after a vacation is never the most fun, but the universe took pity on me and decided not to test me too much this week. The kids are still on vacation, which helps – my AuDHD brain can only handle so much change in routine all at once. With my son starting high school soon, the next few weeks are going to be, um, interesting. Send thoughts and prayers, if you can spare them.

And remind me again: how is possible that I have a high schooler??

Which reminds me … this blog is almost old enough to be heading off to college *cries in where did the time go*

Speaking of fresh starts, the new La Liga (Spanish football) season kicked off this week, and my team won its first game. Yes, I am still locked in with my latest obsession. In fact, I am now waiting for the Premier League season to start as well, so I can spread out my hyperfixation, lol! I’ve even found a podcast I like for football updates and commentary, which is how you know things are getting serious.

I love finding new podcasts to add to my rotation. I like having background “noise” to listen to while I scrapbook, but I’m picky about not only topics but also hosts, so I often just end up recycling old episodes of my standbys. Recently, in addition to the football one, I also started listening to Diabolical Lies and In Case You Missed It (ICYMI). The former reminds me a bit of If Books Could Kill and Maintenance Phase, two of my faves. The latter is a bit more like The Culture Study podcast, which I also love (Anne Helen Petersen is the best!)

If you’ve got some good reccs for me, please share!

I am embarrassed to admit that the only books I managed to squeeze in the last month have been two on football (one about the history of the Premier League and one about the FBI investigation of FIFA, juicy!). My TBR pile is completely out of control and a constant source of shame. After having to change vacation plans, I didn’t end up reading any of the books I had set aside for the trip to BC. They are still waiting for me, along with a few more I thrifted recently. I keep saying that I will buckle down … and I keep getting distracted. Mostly with writing.

All that to say: sometimes, balls will be getting dropped. (And not just on the pitch, har har!) And that’s OK. Life comes in seasons, and some of them aren’t for reading.

You know what else I’ve not been doing? Writing about fashion on this ye olde blogge. Oops! I feel like there are lots of things I want to say and share here, but none of them (or most) have to do with fashion. Don’t get me wrong! I still love clothes and putting together outfits, but I feel like I’m talked out when it comes to the subject. After sixteen years, what else is there to say? The fashion wheel keeps turning, our tastes keep evolving … plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, you know?

So, tell me: what shall we talk about next?

Have a great weekend!

I walked into 2026 with stars in my eyes thanks to all the astrology girlies talking about quantum leaps and how this was going to be Leos’ big year. We are currently *checks calendar* 8 months in, and I am still waiting for all the manna to start falling out of the sky into my lap. You know what 2026 has consistently delivered, though? Chaos. Unpredictability at every turn.

And that includes fashion.

Here are three things that were NOT on my personal style bingo card for 2026 and, yet, are now (or about to become) my whole fashion identity.

Athletic Wear

I have never considered myself an athletic person. My superpower is reading books; I don’t get along with the sun. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to reform my sloth-like ways to give my body a fighting chance to keep up with my forever-young state of mind. At 46, I’m now in the best/fittest shape of my life and I have plans to take it up another notch by getting more serious about strength training. So, in a way, it’s fitting that I should enter the Sporty Adina phase of my style evolution.

In truth, this phase has a lot more to do with a very specific kind of nostalgia than it does with late-developing athleticism (which, let’s face it, can be called that only relative to my previous sedentariness). I am so obsessed with the aesthetics of the 90s and 00s, and athletic/street wear was a huge part of that. A part I didn’t explore back then because I felt “disqualified” from it. I was too nerdy, not cool enough, etc. to pull it off. I am still all of those things now … except that, now, I don’t care. I also don’t care that some people might think the aesthetic “too young” for someone my age.

I can’t say this too many times: it’s freaking amazing to (a) be old enough to not care about what other people think of your hobbies/interests, and (b) have the wherewithal to indulge said hobbies and interests in a way that you couldn’t as a teenager/broke student.

Anyway, you will find me in the mens’ activewear aisle at the thrifts for the foreseeable future.

Bootcut Jeans

I’ve never had a particularly contentious relationship with bootcut jeans — unlike, say, low-rise jeans — but it was not a style I was expecting to revisit in 2026. I knew they would make a comeback, sooner or later, because everything in fashion eventually does. I was still taken by surprise by how much I loved the look of the first (vintage) pair I thrifted earlier this summer when I tried it on. Honestly, I think I would be cycling back to skinny jeans before bootcut, but here we are.

There is something that feels very … effortlessly cool about them. I know, I know. The two worst words one can use when describing anything style-related are “effortlessly cool” but, sorry, that’s the feeling that bootcut jeans currently evoke for me. They suit a few different vibes I enjoy (Ralph-coded, as per always), including southwest/prairiecore and 90s minimalist. We love a versatile closet workhorse.

Capris

This was, hands down, the biggest shock of all. I am not usually too susceptible to fashion trends I see on social media, but this time I was got. I don’t remember the last time I wore capris/pedal-pushers, but seeing images of fashion girlies sporting black ones paired with minimalist pieces got me hella intrigued. I like that it’s taking the Y2K vibe and giving it a 90s off-duty model polish. Less cutesy, more laidback cool.

The downside is that this is very much a summer/early fall kind of piece, so my runway for experimenting with it is going to be short. That being said, I just thrifted a vintage pair for $10, which feels like a good compromise for this scenario. Low risk, plenty of upside. And it’s going to give my low-heeled, pointy-toe pumps a reason to come out of retirement again.

What were your biggest fashion surprises of 2026?

This week had its share of hiccups, but several big wins as well. Let’s dive right in! My biggest and happiest news of the week is that I finished the first draft of my latest WIP. It took a 48 hour writing marathon, but I got it done in time to meet my (mostly arbitrary) deadline of finishing by Wednesday. I now have a 2-book series in raw manuscript form that I am absolutely pumped to make my main project for 2027. TBH, it’s the second book I just finished that has me obsessed — a dark academia murder mystery set in a convent of vampire scholar nuns. What’s not to love? The biggest challenge will be to shape the first book, which establishes the series protagonists and their backstory, into a sufficiently strong “hook” aka series opener.

But who doesn’t love a challenge, right?

More immediately, I have my next historical murder mystery to get ready for publication in October. I met with my editor on Wednesday to discuss her feedback, and I think I have a good roadmap for the final round of edits. Then, it will be time to layout and format, proofread, and the final, final tweaks. October feels like a good way down the road, but I know from experience that the timeline is going to be pretty tight … as it always seems to be with me. Sigh.

You might have noticed that I’ve been a little MIA here lately. Part of that has to do with the aforementioned writing marathon (and the ones that preceded it this past month), but part of it has to do with the fact that we managed to break my website while trying to do some much-delayed updates on the back end. Luckily, we were able to fix the issues and get things running again. And when I say “we”, I mean my IT support guy, aka my husband.

I am very excited about my new style direction — 90s off-duty model meets 2000s football player — and it has led to a few extra thrifting trips recently. On my list: football jerseys (natch), vintage athletic wear, and a few key mid-2000s fashion items. One of them? A pair of black capris. I saw a few pop up in my IG feed lately, styled with black, low-heeled pumps and elevated minimalist pieces, and I was intrigued. I also recently thrifted a pair of men’s vintage Tommy carpenter style jorts. I don’t think they will be a long-term closet staple for me, but I’m having fun wearing them for now … and I know my son will gladly take them off my hands.

Have a great weekend!