Jcrew Shoes Update

Langford Leather High Heeled Oxfords

I was about to do a post on some shoes until I went back and saw that I didn't tell you the amazing news! Remember this post about the various jcrew shoes I wanted? Go refresh yourself. Ok, well I bought one of the pairs I mentioned in that post over a month ago. I think it might've been bar studying induced impulse shopping. But c'est la vie. They were on sale and I bought them. (They're still on sale, but no extra 30% and only in limited sizes.) I bought them seriously out of season, so they're waiting to be worn. But I love them. I put them on as soon as I got them and wandered around Tallman's house and they're awesome. Very sexy librarian, and very high heels. Mission Accomplished.

I also, in that post, wrote about the Merkato Wedges (which are now on sale for $89, so go get them while you can). Since then I've decided I'm not wild about them, that I like my strappy gladiator sandals to be flat. When I saw this polyvore post (which will be spawning a whole other blog post), I fell a little in love with the Reese Back Zip Gladiator Sandal, which is so sadly no longer in stock. They're sooooo cute, I really hope they come back next year.

From Pinterest... not Jcrew :(

In the mean time, you might want to browse the Jcrew Sale Section for great shoes, they have a lot of sandals, boots, heels, flats, really just a great selection. Go now before all the normal sizes are taken!
I want to remind you yet again that JCrew does not pay me for these posts (I wish they did) but I did once work for JCrew, mostly out of love for the clothes.

Job Search Update

Last week I received some excellent job search advice from my dear friend Al's father, while visiting them on Cape Cod. One part that made me smack my forehead in a "why haven't I thought of this before"/"already acted on this" was that I should be in the court practicing and getting experience. Duh. Of course I should.
I volunteered/interned with a program that helped pro se tenants and landlords at housing court in 2010, and the organization that sponsors that program has many such programs that I can help with. They have one that does probate and family work, which is more in my interest area than housing court (though I did learn a lot there and had a blast with the attorneys I met through that program).
That's why, Monday morning, first thing after my tea I contacted a few people at the organization and by noon on Monday I was scheduled to start helping after a training day at the end of August.

Sure, this is unpaid, sure its not strictly trust and estates (there will be a lot of guardianship stuff). But its an important step. Especially since now, when I get real interviews for real jobs I can say "I've been volunteering at probate court" instead of "I've been sitting on my butt working my way through the library and hulu".

The job hunt continues, but I do feel some sense of relief.

Leopard Print Ballet Flats

Mad Men Collection Leopard Print Satchel

I think I've narrowed down what I want for my birthday... though goodness knows it might change in the next month an a half. (But isn't that why I have a blog? To note these changes and ideas?)

Leopard Print is always a little bit in, Erin over at Elements of Style would argue its always a lot in, and I'm a fan of pops of it as an accent. I started lusting over leopard print the other day when I saw the Banana Republic Mad Men collection and saw this purse.
I'm not the biggest fan of Mad Men (because I haven't seen it), or Banana Republic (because they make their clothes for women without hips), and I cannot afford a purse that I wouldn't really be able to use. But I like the leopard print.

I do need shoes though. This summer has been a struggle, with some random purchases acting as a stop gap for a general dissatisfaction with my choices in shoe wear (is it so wrong to want something cute that I can dress up and walk 7 miles in comfortably?)
So I turned to ballet flats. I have a few pairs, but I usually wear the heck out of them, and I'm not wild about them in the summer (what with the foot sweat). But fall is coming and leopard print ballet flats would make me super happy. I perused the usual suspects: endless, piperlime, polyvore and found that Tory Birch has an amazing selection of leopard print ballet flats.
Now I just have to choose.

Edie Leopard Ballet Flat in Patent

Help me?

Edie Ballet Flat $198

Which ones are the most practical?

Reva Printed Leopard Ballet Flat $225

Which ones are the cutest?

Tory Burch Patent Leopard Print Ballet Flat

Book Review: Distant Hours

I have read a few of Kate Morton's books and enjoyed them, so when I heard that she had just come out with a new book called The Distant Hours, I immediately put it on my library list queue.

Well it took me a few days to read, not just because I was at the cape basking in the sun and smelling hydrangeas, but because I was sick and this book made my head spin worse.
It made my head spin because it is from the point of view of at least six different people and set in two different time periods and the further back in time one does not go linearly. So for a sick person, it was a little confusing. Also I couldn't tell if there was magic, or mental incapacity in some of the characters, or both. (Having finished it I'm going to say mental incapacity, magic, and secrets came into play in making me dizzy and not understand what was going on for a while.)

Though I eventually recovered from my cold, figured out all the jumping around, and got 100 pages in and figured out the twists of the plot lines and could not put it down. I hushed my mother, I asked Tallman if I could stay up late and read with the light on, only to immediately pick up the book again upon waking. All those characters points of view and the multiple time periods that made the book so confusing at first made it enthralling once I recovered from its dizzying effect.

In order to not spoil anything, because I recommend you read this book, my summary will be limited to: A publisher finds out secrets about her mother and her favorite childhood book, some secrets are huge and important, some secrets people die for, some secrets bring people together, some don't exist and are just imagined.
Yeah, I know that summary was confusing, but seriously, go read the book, and stick with it through the first bits where it is a little confusing, because it gets really really good.
Enjoy!

More Anthropologie Housewares Gushing

Oh dear this is becoming a regular feature of this blog. Me posting about things in the housewares department of Anthropologie that I really enjoy. Its such a moot point since I don't have a house, or space for housewares, or money...  but I do like to make a note of what I'm currently loving and share it with you.

Soda Lime Pitcher

This pitcher is adorable. I have a pitcher problem, I can see Tallman giving me a hard time about it already.

Sheer Petals Platter

I was looking for a birthday gift for my mom this past week and so I've been looking at a lot of platters. This is a little less refined than I normally go for but I can see watermelon slices or fresh baked cookies looking so charming on it, I want it.

Farmers Egg Crate

You all know that in my happiest of dreams I own chickens. And I'd need somewhere to put the eggs, wouldn't I? I would use this.
The rest of the things I ogled at the Anthropologie website were things I either already own and are in storage (latte bowls and mini late bowls) or were more expensive than I could reasonably justify (these plates).

Peach Cobbler Muffins

I like to joke that Tallman has a mistress, and that mistress's name is Science. But a close third for his attention and affection is Reddit. Do you know about Reddit? Its basically a series of forums, but its much more than that. Go check it out, then come back.
Ok, you're back.
Tallman saw a recipe on Reddit the other day for Peach Cobbler Muffins, and immediately texted me about them. Then when I got home he showed them to me. Then later he mentioned them again. Now he claims he didn't ask me to make them, whatever, I offered I guess, and I made them. (Muffins are the easiest thing in the world to make so it wasn't a hard request to fill.) Apparently I said they were ugly when I saw the picture on Reddit, I don't remember this, but they certainly are odd looking.
This is the recipe link: Peach Cobbler Muffins. 

I would like to add my 2 cents to the recipe: It calls for 6 big muffin tins, I've never seen this kind of tin, and they don't spill over the top easily (they end up coming apart because of the peach you put inside) so I'd recommend making 12 muffins and filling them below the top of the tin before inserting the peach slices. (That is why there is no picture of them out of the tins, I did take a picture, but the ones that spilled out over the top broke a bit and were a little ugly, so no pic)

Also, these are so sweet that frosting is a mistake. I know because I tried it.

Also, cinnamon and peaches is an amazing taste combination.

You should totally try this recipe. They're delicious.

Bee Necklaces OR The differences between Tiffany's and Etsy

Pic Cite

As you can tell from the title, this post is about two things.
I started contemplating birthday gifts, because mine is less than two months away and I need to give Tallman warning/ideas. Let me just say right here that I do not want all the things that I am about to mention.
I started my browsing on Tiffany & Co, because I've never owned something from there and I'd love to. Why? I don't know. Is it the box? The movie? The cache? The fact that it was founded the same year as my alma mater (1837)? Is it that I've never had anything from there and almost everyone I know has at one point or another had a necklace, a ring, a bracelet from there? Is this longing just formed from commercialism driven jealousy?
Possible.

Bee Charm

But I'd love to receive something in a little blue box and treasure it because of its cache, inflated pricing, and so I like to look through their website. I love looking at the more expensive pieces and wondering what I'd wear with them. (maybe I'll do a blog post on that some time) But today I had bees on the brain and so I searched for them, hoping to find a cute enamel bee... which I did... and its cute, though I can't really imagine wearing it, its just not very me, despite my love of bees.

Tiffany Garden Bee Pendant

Next I found this Garden Bee Pendant from Tiffany's. Oh my. Sure its $3,250. And its made out of diamonds. But dear lord How adorable is it?
I would wear this everywhere, everyday. Which would be a problem, and would likely lead to muggins, or me losing it or damaging it. (I have this problem where if I like something I want to use/wear it... I'm not sure its a problem actually.)

But despite how adorable this necklace is and how much I'd adore it. Its really too expensive and a little silly that its made out of diamonds like that. It could be just as lovely in sapphire or glass... right?

So that brought me over to etsy to see what they had in the way of bee necklaces. (Clearly I got side tracked from my original task which was finding things I want for my birthday.)

Tiny Gold Bee Necklace

On Etsy the best I found was this tiny gold bee pendant by Luxe Adornments. Its cute, simple, and clean. Its the closest thing to the Tiffany's stuff, even the enamel charms, which I thought were pretty simplistic.

This brings me to the second part of this post's title. Etsy is great. I love Etsy, I love that it provides an opportunity for the crafty to sell, and for those who are looking for something a bit different to buy. But there is a lot of crap on Etsy. Stuff that is bulky, lacking clean lines and simplicity that I really like in jewelry. This can hardly be surprising given the relatively low costs of many Etsy items, but sometimes the bulkiness seems unnecessary, like putting two pendants on a chain, or pendant and a stone- doesn't that just detract from both?

I hope you enjoyed this random post about a trip I took around the internet looking at bees. :p