An Ombre Autumn Outfit

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In my mind, when I purchased this Luna Luz dress in the summer at a local boutique, the outfit pictures I would take in this dress would be in an orange and yellow autumn tree setting.

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However, I forgot one important fact.

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I live in California.

And these trees?

Well, these trees only know one color.

And it ain’t yellow, orange or red.

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Oh, well.

I guess this just means that the dress does not have any color competition.

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I purchased this dress ((I cannot find my exact dress for sale online, but there is a white Luna Luz dress for sale here. I have seen my dress for sale on eBay previously but I did not see any listed when I wrote this) when I went back-to-school clothes shopping with my children. My daughter spotted the dress in the window with the giant sale sign and urged me to try it on.

“MOM! That dress is perfect for you!”

I know. She is such an enabler!

It’s actually not her fault.

I chanted those words throughout my pregnancy and through her first year of life.

Her first word was, “Muspeftyou.”

My husband just thought she really loved the cat. We’ve worked on her pronunciation since then.

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I lie.

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Besides her first word was, “nobye,” and you better believe it.

I think I know who is responsible for that one.

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Are the leaves changing where you are? Do you own any ombre pieces? Do you actually remember your child’s first word? I forgot to write anything down, so frazzled and depressed was I. But we’re just gonna go with, “Da Da.”

I want you to know that I firmly believe that this has absolutely everything nothing to do with the second phrase that I continuously murmured throughout her childhood, “Did ya see that dress?”

Everything. Nothin’.

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

these photos were edited using VSCOcam C1 on level 3.

The Prerequisite Pumpkin Patch Blogger Post

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Happy Halloween! I actually have two posts scheduled for today. One is going up later. It is a spooky home decor story. ; )

This year is flying by and when I told my kids that I need to know what they want for Christmas, they laughed at me.

Mom! It’s two months away!”

Um, no, it’s not. It is less than two months away and I feel so unprepared.

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What the heck does that have to do with a pumpkin patch?

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Absolutely nothing, except to say that I am behind. We did not buy our pumpkins this year until the twenty eighth.

The pumpkin patch was incredibly crowded.

The drought caused the corn maze to be short this year.

This pumpkin patch is the best though. They do not charge anything for the maze. It is a sweet free fun family activity.

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I would like to say that I am so cool that I sat on this hay stack and walked away unscathed.

I would like to say that.

But that would be a lie.

I was picking hay out from underneath that dress all night.

The pumpkin patch definitely had the last laugh.

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Did I mention I am allergic to hay?

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And pumpkins?

I know.

I was also so intelligent that day that when I went to cut the tags off of this plaid scarf from Target, I cut a hole right through it.

That is okay. It cannot be seen. I don’t think. Oh well, I love the two plaids mixed together. It made me unbelievably happy. I am wearing my plaid tunic that I purchased for $20 at Nordstrom Rack last year. So many stores have a similar dress this year (here -the yellow gives me butterflies and here).

I was unsure about wearing this tunic with just tights. I asked my husband over and over, “Honey, are you sure this isn’t too short?”
And he assured me it wasn’t. He lied.

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I made it through the whole corn maze without flashing anyone. I knew it was too good to be true. I went back to the car and I bent over to grab my gnome from the car, as one does.

I was being entirely unladylike, but there was a car right next to me and I figured the odds of the people coming back to that car whilst I was bending over were nil.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I stood up, turned around and a husband and wife were directly behind me. The wife’s lips were pursed and the husband was red.

You would think that would be the most embarrassing thing.

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But then this happened.

My husband was so happy that I wanted to give this little guy a ride.

By the way, those guys in the parking lot are high-fiving each other because they chose to wore pants that day. Showoffs.

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It was all worth it to see how happy the gnome was swimming in the squash.

With his little purple pointy hat, bright blue shirt and black… Pants.

Sigh.

Well, at least one of us left the pumpkin patch with a little dignity.

Although if you really stop to think about it, swimming in gourds isn’t exactly hospitable.

You can’t take us anywhere.

A Mythical Creature

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What would you do if you met a mythical creature in real life?

Would you run? Panic? Take pictures? Scream? Laugh? Cry?

Here is what you need to know about these pictures. Five minutes after they were taken, my husband and I went to our favorite Cuban restaurant to get a coffee.

I had chosen my dress that day because I wanted something fun and fantasy-like.

I chose the tights, because I could.

One day purple legs will be all the rage, you’ll see. Or is that just another fairy tale?

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At the restaurant, we saw a real-life mythical creature.

One that made me blush and then quickly leave. But for now, let’s look at pictures of Jenni without any coffee. She is a beast, all by herself.

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This dress is old. It was called The Myths and Legends Dress from Anthropologie. I love the creatures on the dress. I think they are plain ol’ animals but I like to squint at the pattern and pretend that the deer are unicorns. As one does. I found my dress on eBay a few years ago. I would link to a similar dress, but I do not think there is one out right now. If you are looking for whimsical clothing, I have this shirt in my wishlist in two different colors and I purchased this skirt last week (review coming on Monday).

The purple tights were $1 last year in Nordstrom Rack’s clearance bin (I cannot imagine why) and the boots can be found here.

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If you are into the fantasy genre, then you might understand that I did not buy the dress strictly for the fantasy creatures. I actually purchased it for the tower-like fortresses (um, the designer might call them something odd like…trees) in the middle of the forrest pattern.

They remind me of where druids dwell in the Shanara fantasy series by Terry Brooks.

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Wearing this dress always makes me feel a tad bit braver and a touch more childlike. The brave feeling turns out to be a farce, as we will see further down, but for now we can still believe.

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I wonder what is behind this door?

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Ancient druids practicing magic?

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In five minutes, Jenni is going to wish she could figure out how to melt into this wall.

But why?

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Because as I was sitting in the restaurant enjoying my hard won coffee, someone walked into the restaurant.

You know how they always say kids are amazed when they see their teachers outside of school? As if they were seeing a magical creature come to life?

Well, that is exactly how I felt when my gynecologist walked into the coffee shop as I was innocently drinking my coffee. My good looking gynecologist. With his family.

Here was my dilemma. I could go say, “hi,” but would he have recognized me? And then his four kids (in their teens and twenties) would have turned to look at me. And know. In that coffee shop. That their dad had seen all of me.

With my husband next to me.

Too many people had seen me naked in that coffee shop. There were only ten of us in there. I did not like the number equation.

So, I did what any person would do when confronted with a real life mythical creature.

I left as quickly as I could.

Went home and booked my overdue doctor’s appointment (because I believe in signs).

And am patiently waiting to see the fearsome creature in his natural environment.

Without coffee. Kids. And clothes.

Exactly the way I would greet a unicorn. Just so ya know.

Bow Me Over

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I have owned this dress for years and years. I originally purchased it from Anthropologie. I cannot recall its name. I have rarely worn it.

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My husband always told me it was too short.

But I decided to pair it with tights the other day to hide the length.

I do not know if it worked, but it made me feel better.

By the way, I had to edit this picture and I am now forbidden from carrying this little blue gnome in pictures anymore. On the ground is fine. But my husband says he doesn’t look like a gnome when I am carrying him. Whoops!

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I originally began thinking about this dress when I was browsing Modcloth’s website and fell in love with its twin. I thought to myself, “That dress is so cool. I love the bow in the back.”

It took me a few moments to realize that I all ready owned a dress almost exactly like it. Except I like Modcloth’s version a little better. Their bows seem more sturdy and structured as opposed to my floppy bows.

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I got so excited to style the dress with my bow boots from Anthropologie. These boots are sold out, but Modcloth has a similar boot this year.

Do you see the rubber on the bottom of my boot’s heel? It has collected tiny rocks and it makes the heel slip on smooth surfaces. It also creates a horrendous noise. It has been that way since I first wore them. Do you have any idea what I can do to fix this? It makes me not wear them too often.

I also think if I wore this outfit again I would pair it with a more neutral tight. I like these tights, but I am not so sure of this combo.

Oh well, at least they’re not bowing. Fun wins every time for me.

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Just like this octopus bracelet I wore this day. What does an octopus have to do with bows?

Who bows? I guess you could make the connection that my dress is blue and octopuses live in blue water.

Then they could be tied together.

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Do you ever have a moment when you realize that you really like an outfit, and then have an even better moment when you figure out that you can recreate it with items all ready in your closet? Do you have anything in your closet that you have never worn or barely wear? What makes you hang onto it?

I think I fear I will one day need the item in question. If I didn’t have it, I might be remorseful.

Bow what I’m sayin’?

*I shared this on Because Shanna Said So.