Road trip: Durham, NH & Stafford, VA

My friend's husband and I, being consistently charming at two different weddings. As is customary, I am drinking in both photos.

Road trip: Delaware Bay, NJ & DE

Ever since I was little, if we were taking a road trip to a point south of Washington, we usually took the ferry. The ferry cuts across the Delaware Bay from Cape May to Lewes, Delaware, and takes about an hour and a half. The ferry holds a lot of cars--it's always boggled my mind how many can make it on there--and I can't count how much of my childhood was spent on a ferry. This time around, I slept through most of the ferry ride, because despite the wind, the water was smooth. But I was able to take some pictures, which made me happy.

Oh what a beautiful morning

Shirt: J.Crew | Top: Eddie Bauer Outlet | Scarf: JCPenney | Skirt: fuck, I don't even remember | Sandals: Ross

I bought three new skirts today. You should all be excited.

For more awesome SIA entries, check out Salazar's blog!

Road trip: Atlantic City, NJ

The intersection of Raleigh Ave. & Sunset Blvd., Atlantic City, NJ

You know how in The Hangover, Alan sings
"we're the three best friends that anybody could have"?
Well, these are those three best friends.

What to wear to a Bruno Mars concert

Moonshine Jungle World Tour
Bruno Mars with Fitz and the Tantrums
August 21 @ 7:30PM
Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC

A. wore:



I wore:



First of all, I got accidentally trapped in the VIP lounge in the stadium. There were two bathroom doors, and guess who used the wrong one? I was behind a wall of glass. I felt like a penguin in a zoo.

Second: A. and I agree that this concert got us pregnant. Bruno Mars is a human being with a sizable amount of sex appeal, and Bruno Mars is a human being with a band whose members all have a sizable amount of sex appeal. But beyond that, Mars is just an impressive singer. He sounds good, you guys. Concert season has been really excellent in terms of musical quality, and this one nailed it. Ending with Gorilla--possibly the raunchiest song I've heard in recent memory--was beyond blush inducing. When an uptick of baby births is noted in Charlotte in 9 months and no one can figure out why, you'll remember this post, and you'll know exactly what happened.

Interviewee

Necklace: Kate Spade | Dress: Target | Wedges: Target | Nails: butter London Tea with the Queen | Dog: morally supportive

I really love this dress, and I pretty much want to live in it. It is stretchy, it has pockets, and it is flattering. Maybe that's why I wore it for a job interview today. (Eep.) I was a nervous Nellie when I got up this morning, but I made it through. Then I worked all afternoon, came home and took a nap. Glamorous life, I know. I'd say I won't fall asleep until 2am, but we all know that isn't true. I'm going to be asleep in about half an hour. No shame.

What to wear to a Kesha concert

Kesha, with special guest Mike Posner
August 15 @ 7pm
Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC

K. wore:



S. wore:



C. wore:



S. wore:



I wore:



If I'm willing to see a musician twice in one year, you know I am a fan. Kesha: I'm a fan. I have so much fun at Kesha concerts, partly for the music, but also party for the people watching, which is beyond prime. No rain, no cold, just lots of fun, lots of crazy people, and a shitton of glitter. You should see the inside of my car, and the asphalt where I parked when I returned home. There is a fine coat of glitter on almost everything in my living space, and I'm all right with that.

Next year: the pit.

Road trip: New Haven, CT

Wooster Park, New Haven, CT
July 28, 2013

My good friend E. got engaged relatively recently, and she asked me to take some engagement photos while we visited her in New Haven. I'm not very good at taking pictures of people, but I think a few of the photos turned out pretty well. This one's my favourite.

Road trip: Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach, Cape May Point, NJ
August 6, 2013

There's a concrete ship that sank at Sunset Beach on my birthday in 1926. More importantly, if you stand on the very edge of Sunset Beach--the part where the ocean licks your ankles and coarse sand wraps around your heels--you're standing at the very southernmost point of New Jersey. That's pretty cool.

SIA: PSA

Calm Summer Evening, Issac Levitan
1894, oil on canvas

It's been gross and humid in Vietnam, where Salazar is, and I'm sad to report that it's gross and humid in South Carolina too. We're over it. Salazar picked this beautiful, simple, clean painting as a distraction from the heat, and I approve. SIA will take place on Monday, August 26th, so email your submissions to Salazar before then. I can't wait for this one.

Style Imitating Art: Oval Office, part II

Remember when I posted SIA a few days ago? Well, Vivienne of Thrifted Shift--a very dear friend of SIA--sent me her outfit on Tuesday, which she compiled after taking inspiration from our outfits. So it was an inspiration of an inspiration, if you will. I was lame and didn't have time to post it until now, but I felt a need to give Vivienne's contribution her own post, because a) does anyone look back that far? and b) she looks amazing.



Absolutely charming. Thanks for submitting, Vivienne!

Snipped

Top: JCPenney | Belt: Target | Skirt: Talbots | Heels: Urban Outfitters

So, okay. I cut all my hair off. And it has looked AMAZING. Until today, when it did this terrible flippy outty thing at the ends and I look like I'm from 1998. I hate it. But whatever, other than that, I think I'm okay. In other news, I'm back from my vacation and I have lots of pictures to share with you guys! Someday soonish this will happen. But for now, beftime.

Style Imitating Art: Oval Office

It's SIA time! Yes! This week's inspiration was Oval Office by Roy Lichtenstein. Amazing stuff. Here we go!

First is Jen of Librarian for Life and Style, whose top is just...I can't even. Amazing.



Next is Erin, who writes at Loop Looks, and who looks adorbs. I love the blazer.



Here's my co-creator, Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, who looks charming as always.



And then there's me. Plus Frank2, and back home. My full post will be up later tonight.



Thank you all for participating! Everyone looks extra cute this week and I personally love it.

Guest post: A review of The Long Earth

Hey y'all! I'm on vacation, so I've asked some lovely ladies to babysit the ol' AC while I'm gone. You've met Salazar, right? If you read this blog, you should have by now! But if not: here she is :)

Hi Animated Cardigan readers! It's Salazar here from 14 Shades of Grey, and while Jess is away on her vacation, I'm bringing you the review of a book about, appropriately enough, traveling. Except it's traveling between parallel worlds.

"The Long Earth", a collaboration between Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett, opens when a series of seemingly infinite parallel worlds are discovered right next door to Earth and can be accessed with a simple device called a Stepper. There are also natural steppers who can simply walk to these worlds - one step, one world. The book mostly revolves around Joshua, a natural stepper who's been assigned to an expedition to check out these worlds. It follows him and Lobsang, apparently a Tibetan motorbike repairman who's been reincarnated into a computer, as they travel from world to world and see how it differs from the original Earth (now called Datum Earth.) There is a subplot with a policewoman back on Datum Earth, which shows how this discovery affects the world.

I pretty much worship Terry Pratchett, so I knew I had to check this book out. The concept is fantastic, the characters quirky, and I expected some complex, interconnected storylines, like those in the Discworld books. But I have to say, I was disappointed. The story never goes anywhere as Joshua and Lobsang travel through the Long Earth. The different flora and fauna on each parallel Earth is interesting, but that has no effect on the story, and I soon got bored with it. Joshua and Lobsang discover a mystery somewhere in the middle of the book, but when it's resolved, it just falls flat. Joshua falls flat as a main character too. The book makes a big deal out of the fact that Joshua is Very Special, but I don't see how this Very Special quality plays into the story or how it helps Joshua figure out the mystery (hint: it doesn't.)

The subplots - how the Long Earth is colonized, how the economy of Datum Earth falls apart, etc. - which frankly I find much more interesting than Joshua's expedition, are touched on but never go anywhere either. The most intriguing subplot deals with a group of "phobics" (people that can't Step) who forms a dangerous movement against the Steppers, but it's only introduced near the end of the book and is over in two chapters. I've never read Stephen Baxter before; still, I suspect that this book is more him than Terry Pratchett. There is a hint of Pratchett here and there, though mostly his sarcastic, whimsical sense of humor is absent. Even though I didn't expect to laugh out loud like with the Discworld book, the writing really is too dry for me. There is a sequel, "The Long War", already out, but I figure if the first book didn't pull me into that world, a sequel won't either.

Man, I didn't mean to do such a negative book review for a guest post! And hey, maybe that's why it's the perfect traveling book - it's not so captivating that you can't put it down, so you can just pick it up whenever you want.

When putting together an outfit inspired by the book (I always try to with my reviews), I'd thought about clothes one would wear while Stepping, but that would involve layering and hiking boots and things that make me sweat just to think about, so this is an outfit that mimics the book cover instead.

Big thanks to Jess for letting me rant on her blog. Have a great vacation, Jess!