Fall and Fashion

I'm letting an early Fall bug get ahold of me today. A rain storm just came through, bringing cooler temperatures with it. Chili is cooking in the crockpot, filling the whole house with heavenly smells. The kids and I did a little baking, trying out our new doughnut pan by baking our first batch of doughnuts ever:

We also went on a nature walk/scavenger hunt today, crunching through a few leaves that have already fallen to the ground:

The kids couldn't spot an acorn or a squirrel while we were out (I hadn't realized how few oak trees there are in our neighborhood!), but found everything else, and brought many of the items home, including at least two dead worms. A simple/fun activity to do with the kids - I highly recommend!

And now I'm relaxing on the couch with my first Octoberfest brew of the season, wearing my brand new "jewel colors are trending" wine-colored chinos that I bought yesterday:

I bought a pair in mustard, too, but haven't decided if I'm brave enough to keep them.

Let's talk fashion for a moment, shall we? I'm in the mood, because yesterday I conducted a shopping outing where I tried on at least two thirds of the Kohl's inventory. Minus a lot of the Daisy Fuentes, Lauren Conrad, and J. Lo lines because really, who am I kidding? And also avoiding as much of the Chaps and Dana Buchman clothing as possible, because I'm just not that old yet.

Which in essence means I tried on just about every piece of Sonoma and Apt. 9 brand clothing in the entire store.

In my defense, I took yesterday off, and unlike other recent days off, I actually felt WELL (have been battling consumptive, coughing illness from hell for the last week). So I was kid-free, and had the time.

Anyway, back to the fashion itself, and a few things I noticed along the way. First, there is just NOT enough of a selection of clothing in the Petite section. Not a novel observation, I know - I've made it myself many times in the past. But there were a few things that, after trying on in a "regular" size, I REALLY wanted to find in the Petite section. And couldn't. So frustrating! Short people must unite and demand fairness in clothing, so none of us have to sloppily hem our own pants (or roll them up, as you can see in the photo above) or wear tank tops that show underarm/side boob ever again.

Here is a list of trends that just need to go away:

1. Shirts with banded/elastic bottoms - unless you have very narrow hips, these shirts are NOT flattering
2. Shirts with wide sleeves/sleeves with huge openings/dolman-type sleeves - prone to the whole "exposing the side boob" problem mentioned above, and also do more to make one look like a boxer than to camouflage problematic upper arm areas
3. Anything that ties in the back - shirts or dresses. Seriously, why is this a thing? This should not be a thing unless one is in the under 12 crowd
4. Animal print - this needs to go back in the fashion closet for another 30+ years

I tried finding photos of all these things to show you, but it's impossible to save photos from most clothing websites to a desktop these days (probably because they are all formatted to allow you to zoon in without opening a new window). So you'll have to use your memories and imaginations when picturing these trends. What are some recent clothing trends that you could do without? Or how are you starting to enjoy the fall season?

Next up for us - a trip to the D.C. zoo to check out the new sea lion exhibit. Should be a fun Sunday!