Purple dress: Old Navy, remixed * Olive shirt: gift from my parents from a trip to Venice, remixed * Mustard cut-out flats: Target * Roman Record Cuff: Eye Pop Art * Belt: Joe's closet (well, my closet, but Joe keeps a few things in there too...)
Thanks for all your sweet comments yesterday, everyone! I still don't feel 100% about those pictures, but to my credit they were taken at around 2:00 am, with terrible lighting, in my friend's living room, so I think I'll give myself a freebie on that one. These pictures honestly aren't a ton better, since they were still taken at night, with a flash, but you can't win 'em all. This is another outfit that I actually wore about a week ago, right when Chicago was essentially roasting alive. It was so hot that I honestly couldn't stand to be outside when the sun was up, and I was sweating bullets (hopefully bullets that you can't make out in these pictures) even in the evening when I went out to take my pictures. This outfit was basically born out of the necessity to be as cool as possible. Light, loose layers, breathable fabric (and shoes!), and simple, forgiving styles. It has cooled off substantially since then, and we should be able to leave our air conditioner off this week. There are a few pretty exciting developments on the life front for both Joe and I, and I'm hoping to reveal them soon. For now you'll just have to be patient with waiting, wondering, and a bit of absentee blogging on my part.
One thing I love about being out of school is the fact that I have time to read for pleasure again. I used to be a ridiculously avid reader, devouring multiple books per week (I always have to allocate a significant portion of my luggage to the various books I plan on reading while on vacation. I'll wear one pair of shoes all week if it means having lots to read!). But while I was a student, my reading time was monopolized by books required for classes or my own research, and my fiction (and non-fiction for pleasure) reading went way downhill. Since I finished school, I've pretty much had two books going at all times. Right now, for some reason, I've ended up with two Barbara Kingsolver books, The Lacuna, which I'm reading with my mom, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which I'm reading on the recommendation of a friend (whose living room you saw in yesterday's post!). AVM seemed like a good pick for my new-found need to simplify and prioritize my life, since it deals with Kingsolver's year-long resolve to eat only local foods, whether that means growing them herself or buying them from local farmers. While I have certain misgivings about the narrator herself, which I won't go into, I've been utterly enthralled by the themes, ideas, and motivations of the book and her project.
While I can't exactly start in on a year-long quest for local foods from my one-bedroom apartment in Chicago, I can at least start thinking more critically about what I eat and where it comes from. Joe and I had brunch at a little local place in Wisconsin this weekend, and as we each bit into our fried eggs, we looked at each other in amazement. For the first time in a long time, our eggs tasted like eggs. Fresh, local, delicious eggs. Regardless of any lefty conspiracy to destroy capitalism, eating locally tastes way better. My Wisconsin eggs, and Kingsolver's book, have totally inspired me to do what I can to improve what I'm eating. I'm fine with giving up certain veggies during the winter if it means I'll get to gorge on them when they're in season. And I'm fully planning to bring home bags of ripe tomatoes from the farmers market and can them so that we can enjoy fresh, homemade pasta sauce through the colder months. It's gradual, and it's mostly pretty small (and totally budget-conscious) steps that I'll be taking, but I think it's mostly about doing what you can. Joe and I were talking about it, and he mentioned that changing your lifestyle this way is a personal choice, confined by what you're able to do (whether it's because of geography, finances, or dietary needs). But this summer, with a farmers market a block away with cheap, delicious, local fruits and veggies, I'm planning to make the choice to eat lots of salads, try new fruits and roots that I haven't had before, and make at least a small dent in the way I think about my food life.
Title song: Blue Meanies, "It Doesn't Matter"
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