Reading Rainbow

Have you ever had one of those moments in life when you realize something your mom or dad warned you about as a kid turned out to be true? But instead of just admitting they were right to hear, "I told you so," you keep it to yourself. I had one of those moments the other day.

As a kid and teen, my dad would come home to find me watching shows like Baywatch, Days of Our Lives, and the Real World. He'd say to my siblings and I, "turn off this garbage and go read a book," which we never did. "Fine, one day you'll see how many more books people have read compared to you," he'd respond, before calling us "simpletons" and heading outside to do yardwork. While the tactic didn't get us to read more, we continued watching our shows and he saved us from ever having to hire a landscaper to maintain our 3 acres. Apparently, raking leaves and pulling weeds can be quite relaxing.

But a few weeks ago I realized he was RIGHT and there are tons of books, especially classics, I should have read a decade ago. This post is a combo of self-realization and fashion in my rainbow colored zig-zag sweater dress.

Ch. 1- The Beginning...

This Missoni for Target design (which people either loved or hated) is actually from the kids section because the women's dresses were gone in less than 30 seconds on that crazy day. So I bought this hoping it wouldn't be too short.

This sweater dress was a little boxy, so I paired it over a white collared shirt (Express) and brown tights. When a dress is too short, add tights. (Brown tights from TJ Maxx)

Little gold feather necklace I found at Forever 21

Bright purses work for fall too. This is one of my favorites I just got at TJ Maxx (Olivia+Joy)

Ring & Bracelets (F21) Nail Polish (Slick Slate by Sally Hansen Insta-Dri)

One winter trick to lengthen and warm legs is to wear heels the same color as tights. Chocolate suede heels from my $10 and under shoe place in So-Cal called Footsies Shoe Warehouse.

I used the same natural makeup routine I did on my sister in the last post, but I added a bronze Cargo eye shimmer & lined my eyes in a gel MAC eyeliner (Dipdown)

 The changing Fall leaves in this N. California vineyard-photos by Thomas

This was the book I picked up that made me realize I need to start reading more. So I'm starting with John Steinbeck's East of Eden. I'm on page 7 so far...

The End.

School may be out forever in my case and I still watch "garbage" like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but on my little road to self-discovery, I plan to read 1 book a month for the rest of my life. I'll read these the old fashioned way, since I don't have a Kindle yet. On the top of the list is Catcher in the Rye, Catch-22, Gone with the Wind and maybe even Moby Dick. Plus, I have to catch up on newer novels like The Help and.... 

As I choose novels for my personal book club, do you have any recommendations? What's your favorite book?

xoDale