I just keep shopping.

I went to Peeble's last night to buy a basic skirt and a basic pair of trousers. I came home with a basic skirt, a basic pair of trousers, and three dresses. But they are totally amazing dresses.

One is a short, very mod little empire frock in a black/purple wooly paisley. It will look cute with tights and some of my new pointy-toed flats.

Another one is a knee-length, black/white A-line sweater dress that looks a lot more expensive than it is. It will look fantastic with black boots, chunky black/white bangles, and one of my many fabulous black hats.

The third one is a red sweater chemise with an oversized cowl neckline, and I bought it, because it reminds me of a fabulous red sweater dress that I had in college. In fact, I think I can trace the birth of my signature style, if I can be said to have a signature style, to that sweater dress.

I grew up in a house where pretty clothes were valued. My mother loved pretty clothes, and my father was a clothes horse. It didn't hurt that they were both very attractive, slender, dark-haired, dark-eyed people, and therefore could wear pretty much anything well. I was always a chubby kid, but I picked up my love of pretty clothes from my parents.

We were fairly poor when I was a little girl, at best lower-lower-middle class, and we lived in a rented four-room house until I was 11, while my parents saved for a house. But my mother could sew, and she sewed for me and for herself, so I always had nice clothes, even if they weren't store-bought. Then my mother went to work for a wholesaler when I was in middle school, and suddenly, we had access to fashionable (if not designer) clothes at wholesale prices.

By the time I was in college, I had a fantastic little wardrobe, and I dressed up for school, which is where the red sweater dress comes in. It was an A-line dress with a fitted turtleneck, and I wore it alone (I was so much thinner then) or with a blue/red/green plaid blazer and a matching plaid tam. When I wore all three pieces together, people oohed and aahed and told me I looked like I had stepped out of Vogue Magazine. And that's all it took. Red has been a signature color in my fall/winter wardrobe every year since I was 19 years old. :-) And, of course, hats...

I have shopped again.

Another pair of low-heeled shoes.


Apparently, these are from JLo's collection. Who knew?

The process of buying new shoes has begun.

My first three purchases:



Penny <3 Kenny (only in dark brown, instead of black)


Nine West


White Mountain, and an incredibly comfortable pair of shoes, if I do say so myself.

Sigh.

I'm going to have to buy some new shoes with low heels. I simply cannot continue to do 2 and 3 hours presentations in my heels. My knees will not put up with it.

Just in time for Halloween...Vampires! In love!

Book Love Affair is giving away a copy of "Immortal: Love Stories With a Bite", which is a collection of vampire love stories by various urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors. If you're interested in that kind of thing--and who isn't?--then go to Book Love affair to enter.

http://www.bookloveaffair.com/2009/10/giveaway-p-c-cast.html

Okay, okay.

So I bought one last hat for my birthday...a vintage Mr. Charles pillbox. But I only paid eleven bucks for it, including shipping. It was a steal!

Book Review

I don't often do book reviews, but I'm going to do one now.



Isn't that a fabulous cover? Now, you all know me...I have a thing for good cover art. I have been known, on many an occasion, to judge a book almost entirely by its cover. And so it was that, after my science fiction book group finished discussing our September selection at Borders, the group spread out to browse through the store. And what do I see on the New Releases table but this book. I mean, the cover practically leaped out at me, wrapped a brawny arm around my neck, pulled me close, and breathed menacingly in my ear, "Buy me, woman!" But I'm not quite that easy, so I took a moment to read the cover caption:

A novel of vampires, werewolves, and parasols.

Parasols?! And I was tempted, oh, so very tempted, but still I resisted. Then I read the blurb on the back:

First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? From bad to worse, apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and a werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe that Alexia is responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening in London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful, or just embarassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

At that point, I was a goner. I ran gleefully through Borders, with the book clutched in my hot little hand, to show my sci fi friends what a treasure I had found. And then I went home and read it. Not all at once, you understand, but almost immediately, which rarely ever happens with the books I buy anymore.

So, how was the book, Min? It was, in a word, delightful. Alexia is a stubbornly intelligent, but ever so proper (when it's called for) young woman with a devoted friend (whose dreadful taste in hats is a running gag), a mostly appalling family (her stepfather isn't so bad), and a reluctant werewolf suitor (whose beta may well be the most intriguing character in the whole book), all out of the best traditions of Austen and Heyer. Except for the werewolf part. It's a sweet little romance and a Victorian adventure story and a goofy comedy of manners and a proto-urban fantasy, all rolled up into one charming little book, and I absolutely loved it. I don't want to give too much more away and spoil the fun, but suffice it to say, I will be buying the sequel, "Changeless", as soon as it hits the shelves of the local bookstore.