I know I just said jacket-less was a thing of the past but surprise, surprise, here's a sweater!

(Which honestly wasn't warm enough by itself - I wish I'd layered a turtleneck or something underneath.)

I'm still working on my Sept-October clothing recap, but let's just say it didn't go...great. I'd been doing so well with thoughtfully adding pieces only when I meant to, but then came Fall and SWEATERS and my self-control broke a little. I *will* say that I only bought pieces I'd made enough money for on Poshmark, which is not the same as not buying something at all, but did in fact make me feel a little better. 

Part of the reason this particular sweater stole my heart was that it really fulfilled that vision of what I wanted to look like. I felt enveloped by huge, cozy warmth but still had some structure, especially once I did the half-tuck into these GAP jeans (jury's still out on them by the way). I think a shopping ban/constraint is all well and good except when you've gotten rid of a least 1/3 of your closet already and you're trying to figure out what the hell you want to wear when the temperature drops to below 30 degrees. Then maybe there's some room for compromise.

Read & Have Opinions On:

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago's vampires announced their existence to the world---and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker...and this one decided that the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Turns out my savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now I've traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude---and servitude. Right. But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I'm surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan's attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone's still out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches? My initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war---and there will be blood.

My Thoughts: I picked this up from the library on an author's recommendation, and honestly? I just didn't love it. I'm not sure what I'm missing here, the reviews are high enough that I feel like an outlier, but Ethan annoyed me as a probable love interest, the way Merit's transformation from human to unwilling vampire to Sentinel was handled annoyed me, and the love at first sight for Merit's roommate ALSO annoyed me. I don't know. The elements are all here for a story/series that I should love and I'm just not invested in any of the characters enough to continue.

The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

Swallow, daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heaven or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would sell his soul and lose his son to the sky.
My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.

But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?

My Thoughts: Another library pick, a much more successful result. This story, which is centered on the growth of two people at its center, stuck with me - especially as the supporting characters came in their own as well. The setting was new and the battles unexpected (a bit) so while it was longer than I had initially anticipated, I enjoyed the read enough to have placed the second on hold so I can see how the King's brother fairs on his own.

Archangel's Viper by Nalini Singh

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it's not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman--it's the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head...

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael's private guard, and he's as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly's. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself--because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening...

No one is safe.

My Thoughts: While it took me some time to get used the level of violence in this series, Archangel's Viper is probably one of my favorites to date. Holly and Viper have to find their way to each other, and do so during some incredibly difficult "could end up in someone being incinerated" circumstances. I would in no way consider this a standalone - there's a LOT of history between book 1 and book 10 - but it's good enough (on both the romance and plot levels) that it's worth the investment of your time.

I'm Looking Forward To:

Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh (November 14, 2017)

Sailor Bishop has only one goal for his future – to create a successful landscaping business. No distractions allowed. Then he comes face-to-face and lips-to-lips with a woman who blushes like an innocent… and kisses like pure sin.

Ísa Rain craves a man who will cherish her, aches to create a loving family of her own. Trading steamy kisses with a hot gardener in a parking lot? Not the way to true love. Then a deal with the devil (aka her CEO-mother) makes Ísa a corporate VP for the summer. Her main task? Working closely with a certain hot gardener.

And Sailor Bishop has wickedness on his mind.

As Ísa starts to fall for a man who makes her want to throttle and pounce on him at the same time, she knows she has to choose – play it safe and steady, or risk all her dreams and hope Sailor doesn’t destroy her heart.

The Woman Left Behind by Linda Howard (March 2018)

Jina Modell works in Communications for a paramilitary organization, and she really likes it. She likes the money, she likes the coolness factor—and it was very cool, even for Washington, DC. She liked being able to kick terrorist butts without ever leaving the climate-controlled comfort of the control room.

But when Jina displays a really high aptitude for spatial awareness and action, she’s reassigned to work as an on-site drone operator in the field with one of the GO-teams, an elite paramilitary unit. The only problem is she isn’t particularly athletic, to put it mildly, and in order to be fit for the field, she has to learn how to run and swim for miles, jump out of a plane, shoot a gun...or else be out of a job.

Team leader Levi, call sign Ace, doesn’t have much confidence in Jina--who he dubbed Babe as soon as he heard her raspy, sexy voice--making it through the rigors of training. The last thing he needs is some tech geek holding them back from completing a dangerous, covert operation. In the following months, however, no one is more surprised than he when Babe, who hates to sweat, begins to thrive in her new environment, displaying a grit and courage that wins her the admiration of her hardened, battle-worn teammates. What’s even more surprising is that the usually very disciplined GO-team leader can’t stop thinking about kissing her smart, stubborn mouth…or the building chemistry and tension between them.

Meanwhile, a powerful Congresswoman is working behind the scenes to destroy the GO-teams, and a trap is set to ambush Levi’s squad in Syria. While the rest of the operatives set off on their mission, Jina remains at the base to control the surveillance drone, when the base is suddenly attacked with explosives. Thought dead by her comrades, Jina escapes to the desert where, brutally tested beyond measure, she has to figure out how to stay undetected by the enemy and make it to her crew in time before they’re exfiltrated out of the country.

But Levi never leaves a soldier behind, especially the brave woman he’s fallen for. He’s bringing back the woman they left behind, dead or alive.

Hi, my name is Dana and I'm a sucker for banker stripes (I had to Google the name, don't judge me).

In my closet right now I'd say there a few common threads (high-waisted pants, white tops, etc) and one of them, almost despite myself, is banker stripes. I own two or three tops in the print, have to mentally stop myself from trying on more, and just feel like I look good in them which makes the whole self-deprivation thing harder.

This top in particular was one of only 2 pieces I took home during Marissa Webb's short time as Creative Director at Banana Republic. Now don't get me wrong, her aesthetic speaks to me, as do her shapes, but the actual cut of her clothes ran SO SMALL and most never looked right. But this oversized tunic-y shirt is so comfy that I had to bring it home, and my favorite way of pairing it is over jeans.

In fact, to be honest with you all, I had to think hard about how I wanted to present this outfit - initially my brain said: "Wear the nude heels Dana, the nude heels are cool. And sexy." But while the nude heels *are* both cool and sexy, they aren't particularly comfortable for a full day of walking and this is how I wear this top - with flats. So please excuse me if I seem slightly less glamorous than usual, because instead I felt comfortable and very much "me" with is awesome in its own right.


*Fit Note: I sized down to a 31 short in these jeans and I still can't decide how I feel about them. The 32 fit but I was worried it would stretch out (despite the Sculpt claims) because of the room in the waist. These are definitely more fitted, without changing the leg, but I still feel like I'm pulling them up slightly? JEANS ARE HARD GUYS. Also these are virtually identical to the Old Navy Sculpt but I didn't like the washes so I ended up paying more money and kept these. I mostly love them but I'm still annoyed.

Once again my friend Jessy and I went out to Meridian Hill, though this time the outfit was much less...expected for a Saturday afternoon in DC, lol. I hope you all had an amazing weekend, and if you're celebrating Halloween the day of, an incredible costumed day!

I actually don't know how to start this particular post, because in the process of creating it I think I realized that I'm ready to say goodbye to this dress. It's a beautiful dress that's treated me well, but to be honest, I fidget in it. It's slightly shorter than I like, and the shoulders drift backward so I tend to pull the front down quite often, and it's just not comfortable to wear. And I think that I'm much less accepting of pieces that aren't comfortable to wear, and maybe it's time this one found a new home.

I'm not usually one that finds success at vintage shopping, but ooh buddy, did I hit the jackpot on Saturday. This sweater is perfectly contemporary with just a touch of the athleisure details that are popular today, but the sailboat pattern is fun and nothing like what I've seen in stores. Do I hate being that person who can't link because it's vintage? Yes, but I can also tell you wholeheartedly to go check out Meeps in DC, because it's a treasure trove of interesting finds, and very reasonably priced! 

Free People refers to this as their "Love of My Life" midi dress, which is both ridiculous and hilarious enough that I'm sticking with it as today's theme.

This purchase was one of those that ended up being decided via a crappy fitting room picture. I loved both the cream (yellow?) and black colorways, I actually felt prettier and softer in the cream, but it was clear from the picture that I glowed in the black.  If I was another person with a different life I would have seriously considered the merits of owning both, but as a standout fall dress, there really wasn't a bad choice here.


*Fit Note: I'm pretty narrow under the bust and this fabric has more stretch than I anticipated, so I sized down to a medium.

I guess now I can say I've gone apple picking in almost 90 degree weather, even if it wasn't something I was particularly looking to add to my story collection, lol. While we're all being inundated on social media with sweaters, coats, and other such cool weather clothing, DC is NOT HAVING IT, so here's a spring dress amongst some pretty leaves.

I'd also like to point out that on this day my friends and I saw a girl dressed in leggings, mid-calf hiking boots, long sleeves, and a bobble topped knit hat. Don't be that person and risk heat stroke - I'm right there with you on the love of Fall fashion, but there are limits.