Sunshine

 My very own Marilyn moment.

Top: Banana Republic

Skirt: Vince Camuto (via Nordstrom)

Tights: Trade Chic

Shoes: Born

Bag: Mitchell Leather (thrifted)

Headband: Nordstrom

Earrings: Random boutique in Rome

Those of you who live in perpetually or frequently sunny climes are probably like I used to be: either indifferent to the sunshine, or sick and tired of it. Depending upon the day, I think I probably fell into both categories when I lived in Colorado. 300+ days of sunshine was all I knew, all I had ever known. It was familiar and overrated, nothing at all like the romantic, infinitely more atmospheric (in my mind) Emerald City. It took nearly two full years of living in Seattle for me to truly begin to appreciate the sunshine -- to relish the feel of it on my skin, the reflection of it off the water, the smell of it.

I have yet to meet a group of people who revel in and appreciate the sunshine like Seattleites do. Every June, for example, the Summer Solstice bears witness to the aptly-named Solstice Parade in Seattle's quirky and artsy Fremont neighborhood. Characterized by rampant nudism, wild costumes, and an almost Bacchanalian abandon, it is a fascinating (and often times very, very amusing) study in cultural tradition and human interpersonal relationships.

I tend to enjoy the sunshine in a slightly less risque, but equally enjoyable way. Mr. CP and I like to walk to our neighborhood's garden on nearly every sunny day. It's only about a block away, and because the garden itself hosts a very large p-patch (tiny plots of land that anyone, provided they rent the space, can cultivate) it's always fun to see how peoples' crops are coming in. It also provides a nice quiet place to take photos. If you look closely in the first picture, you can see Mr. CP!

Seeing Spots

Tank top: Loft
Cardigan: Banana Republic
Skirt: Thrifted
Tights: Macy's
Shoes: Sanuk (via REI)
Bag: Coach (thrifted)
Bracelet: Made by Mama CP
Earrings: Gifted (vintage)
Head band: Target

Imagine my absolute pleasure when, after parting ways for a brief period in Las Vegas, I returned to our room to find that Mr. CP had bought me this Banana Republic polka dot cardigan that I had been drooling over for quite some time. In fact, you might recall that it featured prominently in this post. While it was a bit too warm today for khakis, I fully intend to create that particular outfit once the weather gets a bit cooler. To be honest, I'm not sold on the outfit with these particular tights; I think it would look better with un-cropped (is that a word?) tights, and cute flats. But I desperately need to do laundry in our spider-infested, unfinished, creepier-than-words-can-possibly-convey basement (which is a story for a whoooooole other time), so all my tights are waiting patiently to be washed. It was too cold to go without tights today (at least for me), though, so I donned my only clean pair of tights, and off I went.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I visited some local consignment stores with a girlfriend today. I was woefully underwhelmed. I think I might have been more impressed had I been a more petite woman (read: sizes 2 - 6), but there were literally no clothes at all in my size. Added to that, most of the items were horribly overpriced, which is attributable more to the stores' locations than the actual quality of the items they were selling. We did, however, decide to stop at a local Goodwill, and thank goodness we did! I hit the jackpot! I picked up a chunky cable-knit Michael Kors cardigan that hits about an inch above the knee -- perfect with my shorter dresses for winter -- for a whopping $8, and I nabbed two striped Banana Republic sweaters for $2 a piece.