Circus outfit

We had a big family outing last night, to a little Italian family circus that's come through town. It's small, with just dogs and horses and acrobats, and I figured that'd be perfect for my son. He alternated between loving it and being a little scared of the "mean" clown - but he wouldn't stop talking about it, so I'll mark it down as a success.
Not as successful: the completely obtuse woman behind us, who first stepped on my son's fingers (and took her sweet time moving) and then spilled her drink on my backside. Huh.
About the outfit: I can't say for sure how it came together - I guess a hidden desire to wear two different kinds of stripes at once - but in the end I felt a little like a French circus mime. This circus was Italian, but hey - still Europe, right?

Striped dolman-sleeve top: TJMaxx
Navy pinstripe shorts: Dockers
Navy-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Yellow rubber watch:
Background onlooker: fueled by cotton candy and lemonade. Also very sticky.

Where: Circus!

Where is Frumptastic?

I apologize for my lack of appearances on this blog as of late. I thought I would be able to take pictures, be creative in my outfits, etc. but it seems like that is just not happening. Work is a busy disaster, we've been traveling a lot, we are trying (in vain?) to sell our house and I'm focusing most of my (nervous) energy on my son's surgery a week from today. Frankly, I don't care what I'm wearing. Add in some body issues and you have a good mix for not wanting to get dressed up and take a picture of myself. I AM doing some things to resolve this problem.

First, I am returning to the gym. I hope that this will make me feel both physically and mentally better because right now, both fronts are not great.

Second, I am eating better. I am exploring some different recipes, healthful meals and snacks, and cutting out as much processed food as possible.

Third, I am giving myself a break. I hope to be ready to start posting entries with photos in September. I will try to express some thoughts here about body image and my process (hopefully it won't be too depressing) when I have the inspiration.

Yours in Frump,
Frumptastic
::Insert jazz hands here::

One of those days

It was a crazy day, full of errands and running around, and by the time it was late afternoon, I was thoroughly grubby. I had an evening meeting, and I wanted to at least look presentable - so I changed on the fly and sped off. Halfway there, I realized I had my shirt on backwards and had to pull over and change on the side of road. Yeah. Super classy - that's me.

Black-and-white striped top: Kohl's
Purple jersey skirt: Old Navy
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: Evening meeting.

Baby, baby

I have something to tell you. I have a favorite item of clothing: this orange ruffled mini-dress. It was love at first sight; I bought it without a second of buyer's remorse. Do you want to know how many times I've worn it? Just twice, before this weekend.
The thing is, I can never figure out how to style it; it's too short and sheer to wear alone, and kind of bell-shaped at the bottom. I got the dress last summer and first wore it with pewter-grey leggings and grey cage sandals, and a cardigan. The second time I wore it in the winter with leggings, tall grey boots, and again a cardigan. I thought I was doomed to only ever wear it with leggings.
On Saturday I was getting dressed to go to a garden baby shower (it was gorgeous!) and pulled out my favorite dress yet again, as I've done a hundred times, pretty sure I'd just be putting it right back. But! The coral shorts from the night before were still left out! And the blue wave belt I wore last week! It was serendipitous. And I know the shorts peeked out the whole time, but I didn't care. I got a ton of compliments on the dress, so I was happy.

Cropped white cardigan: Old Navy
Ruffled orange dress: Lulus.com
Coral linen shorts: Gap
Brown & silver platform wedges: Mossimo/Target (see them better here)
"Ocean jasper" necklace: local jewelry shop (see it better here)

Friday night Thai

We had a bunch of cousins and family in town and staying with us for the weekend; it was a fantastic chaos of playing kids and beach and parties. Perfect summer weekend.
When our contingent arrived on Friday afternoon, they had a craving for pad thai. So we packed up and drove downtown ("Hey, it's New York City!" said my son... it was definitely not) to eat at a nearby Thai place. It was a little rainy and muggy, but it was still a fun dinner. I wanted to be cool and casual, but still a little colorful, so I went with the coral linen shorts that everyone loved so much when I first wore them! No heels this time though - too much walking for my still-sore right foot.

White cardigan: Target
Chiffon ruffled tank: Old Navy and altered by me
Coral linen shorts: Gap
Ivory/gold ballet flats: Aerosoles
"Ocean jasper" necklace: local jewelry shop (see it better here)

Where: out to dinner with my lovely aunts and cousins.