Have you been to Old Navy lately? It's my headquarters for comfortable, functional, stylish and affordable summer clothes. I don't buy myself nearly as many clothes as I used to - seriously, I had a clothing acquisition problem before Sweets was born - but I had some birthday money to use and it's always a thrill to go out and spend it on something for me. I picked up the following at good old ON, and have been living in them ever since:
Jersey-knit maxi skirt with drawstring waist. A few things set this skirt apart from its many competitors on the market - it has a drawstring waist, rather than a fold-over waist, which makes it lay much nicer around the middle (no extra bulk from the additional fabric a fold-over waist provides), it's cut on the bias, so it drapes and flows beautifully, and it's actually long enough for me to wear. At 5'8" I often have a hard time finding pants and skirts that are long enough, and this is the first "maxi" anything that I have tried on that is actually floor-length on me.
Perfect tank with stretch. I've long been a fan of ON's tank tops, but my one complaint was that they never had that hint of stretch that keeps them looking nice and fitting well wash after wash. This year they finally remedied that by adding a touch of spandex to their classic tank and now it's per.fect. I *may* have purchased a zillion a few colors (pssst, did I mention if you buy 2 or more they're only $7 each?).
Pieced-hem gauze skirt. So light, so swingy, so perfect for summer. I can totally get away with this for running errands, going out for dinner, or even work. It's awesome and will totally be making an appearance on my Florida vacation packing list!
The tami. This is ON's term for their cross between a tank and a cami. Call it whatever you want, but it's darn comfy! It's a stretchy knit with thin straps, and what I enjoy most is that it's plenty long. It hits below my hips, which makes it great for layering or wearing on its own. I can't stand shirts that are too short!
So there you have it - my uniform for the summer. Tank top. Skirt or yoga capris. Done. Boring? Maybe. Stacy and Clinton would have a fit, but I'm ok with it ;)
And what am I reading, whilst wearing my functional summer outfits? Why, The Hunger Games trilogy of course. Let me be honest: I shy away from literature with cult-like followings. Refused to read Harry Potter. Wouldn't touch Twilight. I just have a thing about reading what everyone else is reading because I feel like it can't live up to the hype. And fantasy and vampires bore me. So I had no intention of reading The Hunger Games. I read the blurb on the back and it didn't draw me in, so I completely forgot about it. Then one day back in the spring I was giving my boss my diatribe about how I refused to subscribe to the hype, and she literally put a copy in my hands and told me I had to read it. It sat on my bookshelf for months, until I finally picked it up with a roll of my eyes and cracked it open, never thinking I'd finish it, much less blow through the entire trilogy in the blink of an eye. Yeah, couldn't stop. Every available moment I had was spent with my nose buried in those books. I just finished Mockingjay and am now suffering serious withdrawal. I want to start another book, but I'm missing Katniss, Gale, Peeta and even Haymitch too much! So I did what any normal person would do: I Googled what to read after the Hunger Games, when you're suffering withdrawal. So if you're like me and on the hunt for a good read, post-HG, here's what I sniffed out:
"So you finished the entire Hunger Games trilogy in just 48 hours, existing only on Chinese take-out and your Peeta-loving tears? Congratulations! But not you're stuck in a post-THG depression, craving more dark, dystopian young adult fiction. Is it normal to want to read about angst-y teens fighting oppressive future governments while making out with each other? The answer is YES and I am here to drag you out of the darkness and into the arms of a whole new pile of thick books with giant fonts written for people half your age. Let's read!" -Courtesy of hellogiggles.com
My intention is not to provide any kind of synopsis on these books (that's what goodreads is for, after all), because they're all the same genre, simply to provide you some possible titles to cure your hankering for more futuristic teen oppression-fighting angst.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Matched by Allie Condie
The Mortal Instruments by Cassie Clare
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix*
Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix*
*Those last two were recommended to me by the true experts on YA fiction - my teenage next door neighbors :) So go ahead, grab a comfy tank top and an ice cream sandwich and get lost in a book!
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