Pop Sugar Reading Challenge Update

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As many of you know, I have completed the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge every year since 2018 and this year I am making pretty good progress! However, I am now at the point in the year when I have tackled all the "easy" prompts and now I'm left with the ones I don't know exactly what my approach should be. The good news is that I have completed about 80% of the challenge! The bad news is that...well, you know. I haven't done the other 20%. 

Here is what I need help with. Do you have ideas for me?

1) A book that features a book with a platonic relationship between a man and a woman. Honestly, I had two books on my maybe list and I DNFed one and I can't find the other one in my library systems. 

2) A book about postpartum - I honestly can think of nothing less interesting to me personally, so it would have to be pretty compelling.

3) A book with a character who navigates infertility - Okay, maybe this is the something that's less interesting to me. 

4) A book about birding - I have TRIED SO HARD in this category. I have DNFed the Christian Cooper memoir, The Comfort of Crows, and The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love. I need a romance novel where the meet cute is when they run into each other because they're both using binoculars to watch a rare bird (if that's not in a romance novel, I give that idea away for free).  WHAT IS LEFT TO READ?

5) A sapphic graphic novel - Surely there's one out there I haven't already read? The problem with this one is that the ladies on the Books Unbound podcast always recommend these and when I look at the lists of sapphic graphic novels, I've already read so many of them based on their recommendations. I don't count rereads for the challenge unless it's a requirement for a prompt. 

6) A book that will make me want to travel to Italy - Look, if there's a book that makes me even remotely consider international travel, it would have to be pretty great. Do you know any great books set in Italy? 

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All right, friends. What are your recommendations for me? 

My Summer Wardrobe - What I Wore Last Week

Who wants a roundup of the clothes I wear?! If not, no worries. Skip this entire post.

Wednesday, June 25 - It's hot, friends. I regretted the sleeves almost immediately. Weird day. I started out with a dentist appointment and ran into the office for about an hour and a half. I spent the rest of the day working from home and dealing with a dog who wasn't feeling well, so I had to take her outside approximately eight times. 

Dress: Toad & Co. (purchased on extreme clearance in the off-season and is no longer on their site)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Thursday, June 27 - Still really hot. We had an orientation event at work, so I was meandering everywhere on campus. No bueno. Also, my hair stayed down for approximately two seconds. ALSO ALSO the computer lab was SO HOT that I almost melted into my students. (I did not wear the flip flops to work. I wore the sandals I wore yesterday. I wore the flip flops to walk the dog because the rain makes everything wet.)

Dress: Happy Earth Midi Dress from last year (no longer on their site)

Shoes: Vionic flip flops

Friday, June 27 - The floors in our office are being waxed, so it's a work from home day for the entire office. No makeup, no jewelry, my hair hasn't been washed in four days, and my husband is STILL IN MADISON for his conference, so I officially DGAF.

Dress: Wool& Ava Fit & Flare - Lovely dress - very cool and flattering. Unfortunately, it is too low cut for someone with my assets, so I have to wear a cami under it to wear it to work which makes it less cool and ruins the lines. Perfect for a WAH day, but not ideal if I'm going to meeting in person with anyone. 

Shoes: Mephisto Helen (in black instead of brown)

Saturday, June 29 - Adventure day with Anne! It was actually a really nice day for our adventure, which was a fun boat trip on Lake Geneva, along with a tour of a lovely old summer "cottage." I slathered myself up in in sunscreen and it was fun. 

Dress: Toad & Co. (another one I ordered on super clearance in the off-season and is no longer on their site) - This dress has an annoying slit, so while I would like to wear it to work, I do not because it frequently shows too much leg. Anne suggested I tack it down with a well-placed stitch or three. I might do that!

Shoes: Mephisto Helen 

Sunday, June 29 - This was the one and only time I left the house, which was to go to the grocery store to buy sweet potatoes, which I needed to make for the dog.  This dress is too short for work and doesn't have pockets (all the rest of the dresses shown DO have pockets), so it's reserved for days like today when I all I was doing was making sweet potatoes and granola, doing housework (mostly laundry and vacuuming), and catching up on my blog. 

Dress: Mata Traders (years ago - they do seem to have more offerings with pockets these days)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Monday, June 30 - The thermostat in my office says 74.5, but it feels closer to 88 in here. I forgot to take a photo before I left the house this morning. 

Dress: Happy Earth Lily Midi Dress (Paradise is the print)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Tuesday, July 1 - Back in my office because the morning light was harsh this morning. It's still hot, but it didn't feel punishing on my walk with Hannah this morning.

Dress: Happy Earth Isla Midi Dress (pattern is Les Fleurs) - I like this dress, but wish the V-neck wasn't quite so deep. I have to wear a cami under it and I don't love that look. Oh, well. The dress is cream/ivory and I only have white camisoles and the white makes the cream look dirty, so I have been wearing a brown one. I'd like to get a green or cream camisole, but I think you all know that I'm not going to actually take action on that. 

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Wednesday, July 2 - Back in my office because I forgot I was doing this. I only have one more daily summer dress in my closet - it's a way too short sheath dress without pockets I've owned since high school. It's perfect and I love it, but it really is reserved for days when I stay at home. I have a couple of cocktail dresses that are summery, but you're basically looking at my whole wardrobe.

Dress: Boden - This is from several years back. I fell for Boden's greenwashing and purchased this dress thinking it was an ethical purchase. Boden is terrible to its employees, though, so I wouldn't buy it today. However, since I already have it, I am going to wear it until it falls apart.

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

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For the wedding I am going to in early August, I am considering wearing one of the Happy Earth midi dresses (Thursday or Monday) with a duster I have. You can see the outfit I wore for our wedding anniversary when I'm wearing one of the dresses with this duster.

Thoughts? Do you have a preference for which dress would be more wedding-y? Should I try to find something else? (I am not opposed to buying a new dress, but if I want to do so, I should get started looking now.)

Tell NGS What To Do: Wedding Edition

Later on this summer, we will be attending a wedding in California. It's in the Santa Cruz area for those of you who want to know, although I have to admit that due to microclimates in the area, that might not be the most helpful of descriptors. I don't want to out my friends here. 

The bride and groom have been very quiet about this wedding. We never even received a save the date and the invitation came with very limited information, but there was a link to a wedding website! 

Okay, I thought this would have solved all my problems, but it absolutely has not. 

Conundrum #1

Here's what it say about the dress code:

The bride will be wearing a wedding dress and the groom will wear a suit, but we'd love for you to wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and festive. Dresses, suits, and ties are all optional. If you prefer a bit of inspiration, think coast, garden, and sunshine. Plan to walk briefly on moderately uneven ground, grass, and dirt trail, and know that you'll be standing for the entirety of the ceremony.

We recommend bringing layers, as temperatures can range from the low 50s to high 70s during summer.

What does that mean I should wear? 

I've googled the locations and literally cannot find the ceremony site, but I think it's literally a meadow. The place for the reception is a cute restaurant with a giant outdoor eating area. It sounds like we will be outdoors for all of it. 

1) Dr. BB is probably going to wear a linen suit.

2)The ceremony is at 4pm and the dinner is from 6-9pm. Both will be held outdoors. 

3) Should I just wear a regular cotton dress and bringing a cardigan or scarf?

4) Can I just wear my every day sandals? Because of my dicey leg, I am not great at heels on level surfaces, let alone uneven ground. Normal sandals doesn't seem very celebratory and wedding-y. I do not want to be hobbled, though. My bad leg sometimes does bad leg things. 

Conundrum #2

The registry has six items on it and then a contribution to a honeymoon fund. I suspect the meager registry items were put there for elderly relatives who would complain about just handing over cash, but I fear that I AM an elderly non-relative who is cranky about just handing over cash. 

Should I just suck it up and donate to the honeymoon fund (*sigh* *eyeroll* *unhappy face*) or be a jerk and purchase one of the registry items? 

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Okay, sound away. What do I do here? 

Go To Gifts

As some of you may know, I like to give gifts. But I'm also a lady who doesn't like to think about things very much because my brain is tiny. Here are some of the gifts I give all the time.

New Baby

Burp cloths and a rattle for the baby, something indulgent for the mom (this may be a scarf, a candle, a dozen cookies, or a bottle of fancy lotion depending on the lady). 

Baptism

Personalized baby block and personalized storybook 

Birthdays

If my niblings throw a party, I try to get them a fun gift and a book. If they don't have a party, I send a check for $25. For adult birthday parties, I usually throw some chocolate in a gift bag and call it good. 

New home

Personalized address stamp

Wedding/wedding shower/baby shower

I just buy off the registry. Look, sometimes you just have to give people what they want. If it's a wedding we attend and we send a big gift ahead of time, I frequently buy a personalized Christmas ornament (first Christmas!) so I don't show up emptyhanded. 

Housewarming

This is a bit more challenging, but it depends on how well I know someone. Can they keep a plant alive? If so, they get a plant. If not, they get some nice dish towels for the kitchen because you can never have too many dish towels. I have also started to give folks LED candles because they bring me so much joy in my own house. 

Random office gifts

You know the gifts I'm talking about - so and so just had a baby, so and so is retiring, our student worker is graduating, it's National Custodian Appreciation Day, whatever - I give $20 - $30 depending on what's in my wallet. 

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Okay, here's why I started writing this all out. Because I am in a real pickle now. My niece is now 18. She is graduating from high school and her open house is (consults calendar) in two weeks. Typically for high school graduates I give an LL Bean backpack if the person is going to go to college and $150 or $250 if they are not going to college/training. 

Is that okay for my niece? Should we be giving more as the DINK aunt and uncle? Should we give something else? This is setting the bar for what we give all the other nieces and nephews for when they graduate, so I feel like we have to get it right.

Oh, and what about birthdays? Do I still send her a birthday card with a $25 check? Just a card? What do you do when your niblings start growing up?!

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If you don't want to delve into my graduation present angst, do you have go to gifts for different occasions? 

Cookies: I Need Your Help

One of my goals for the year is to bake six new cookie recipes. This should be easy, but I am so frugal that I hate the idea of spending tons of money on ingredients to try a new recipe only for it to fail, so I always make the same three recipes repeatedly (a chocolate chip, molasses, and spiced chocolate chip). Yesterday when I wrote about this, I realized I didn't have a plan for what my new recipes would be, so let's work together to CREATE A PLAN.

Here are some picky bits about me. I do not think raisins should be in cookies, so if you DARE to suggest oatmeal raisin, I will decide you are an unreliable advice-giver re: cookies. Also, oats are basically off the table - Gluten Free Watchdog has found gluten in every oatmeal they have tested, so they do not recommend oats for GF people AT ALL. Oat-based cookies are OUT. I do not like chocolate to be the dominant flavor of a cookie - I'm fine with chocolate as a part of the cookie, but I am not a fan of things like chocolate chocolate chip cookies or whatever. 

Whatever cookies I make I will make with GF flour, but I'll figure out those substitutions, so just pretend that's not a thing. 

So, based on those caveats, what are your favorite cookies? Do you have specific recipes you'd like to send to me?

Currently I think of the following for my six "new" cookies:

1) Those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey Kiss in the middle

2) Iced lemon cookies

3) Thumbprint cookies with the jam in the middle

4) White chocolate macadamia nut, although to be honest I don't think my husband would like these

5) Snowball cookies

6) ?????

I am not wedded to any of these, though. If you were going to make a cookie today, what would it be? If you're not a baker, tell me what kind of cookie you would eat right now if a cookie could magically appear in front of you?

Advice Needed: Gift Giving Occasion or Not?

I am a person who shows love through gift giving. I do not show up to a party empty-handed. I buy things when I think of people and give them things. My love language is gift giving. However, sometimes I give gifts when gifts aren't warranted, according to my husband, and I want to know what you all think about my newest plight.

My current boss recruited me into my role. He started a center at our university and he won a federal grant and needed a program manager and he knew, because I went to book club with his wife, that I needed a new job.  He hired me, mostly because I'm friendly, I guess, although it turns out that my skill set was approximately what he needed.

His wife and I are friends. We go to book club together, our dogs have regular play dates, and we did some Democratic Party volunteer work.  They lived a block away and I regularly see her out and about.  We used to do porch dates in early COVID safer-at-home times. When they moved into their house, I bought them a housewarming present. Last year, I got the two of them an ornament at Christmas. 

Hannah the Dog playing with their dog, Gus the Boston Terrier in happier times. Hannah is obviously in her element.  

So when my boss called me a couple of months ago to tell me he and his wife were getting divorced, I was shocked and saddened.  She is moving to Kansas today and yesterday I helped her pack her Jeep and hugged her and she cried and I cried and there was snot.  I adore her and I'm sad she's leaving and I hope Kansas is good to her (or I will CUT YOU, Kansas).  

My boss also quit his job and took a job with a firm in Boston.  I mean, good for him, he's making about four times more than he was at our university. His last day is December 3, but he's really only working until Wednesday and then he's taking vacation days for the rest of the time.  Because of the COVID numbers here, no one is really amped about getting together to do a send off for him, but I feel absolutely terrible about that. He's the one who created the center where we work, created the very team that is now pretending he's not leaving, and has been instrumental to the success of what we're doing. I feel like he's done everything he can to be a stand-up guy here and we're just leaving him hanging.  

Is this an occasion where I get him a gift?  A you've been a great boss, I'm going to miss working with you, thanks for giving me a chance gift?  Or is that weird? 

If yes, what is the appropriate gift to give him? When do I give it to him?  Can I just drop it off on his porch like I did with the ornament last Christmas?  

What would you do?  Someone just tell me what to do and I swear I'll do it. I'm absolutely malleable that way.