This Is The Year: Style Tips, a Pumpkin Party, and Chucky Visits Yellow Springs

#7) Update my Style: Any respectable style update includes purging items that are decidedly out of style, such as these floral pantaloons that have always been too big. I guess I didn’t try them on when I bought them. Or I bought them on a day I had eaten a box of Triscuits and was suffering from the infamous wheat belly.

I also got rid of these yellow shorts. They are authentically vintage, but are STIFF. Zola was sad to see them go before she had an opportunity to eat a hole through them.

I spent two days last week updating my work wardrobe with new basic blazers, tanks, jeans, and shoes. I used my Pinterest style board and the “Style Guide” as inspiration. Tonight I’m going to drink a couple glasses of wine and spend the evening styling and archiving about 20 no-repeat outfits. I’ve always wanted to do this, and I read an article that drinking wine while styling inspires more creative combinations.

Clearly, I was intoxicated when I got dressed for bed last night:

And stone cold sober when I accumulated a row of the same blue and white-striped menswear shirts:

#16) Go Antiquing: Donnie and I spent a day last week in Yellow Springs, and found this mid-century modern antique store that lots of unique pieces. Earlier in the day Donnie had randomly said to me, “You used to be as sweet as a baby doll, now you’re as sweet as a Chucky Doll.” So when we saw the baby doll in the box on the red chair, we had a good laugh.

For the record, the reason I had to act like a Chucky Doll is because what started as a lovely hike became a nightmare of getting lost in the woods right before a storm. The only way we found our way back was by listening for the road, climbing over the metal barrier, and then walking a mile back to the trailhead on busy street. We also had to call up Google Maps on our phones for reinforcement.

This progression of photos demonstrates how my mood devolved over time:

#18) Take Donnie to Kings Island: Never made it to Kings Island this year. Turns out Donnie has as much interest in going to Kings Island as I have in going to a Michigan football game. To put this in perspective, this is similar to the level of interest normal people have in going to the dermatologist. Or being compared in any way to a Chucky Doll.

I probably should have consulted with him before adding it to the list, but I guess it’s the kind of thing you do when you are a kid or have kids. So this is not the year. Which means that on December 31, 2014, I won’t have a perfect score on my “This is the Year” tracking system. DAMMIT.

Unless you are willing to give me credit for pulling into the “passenger drop-off” lane on the way home from Yellow Springs and making Donnie take his picture with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

#22) Entertain: I was looking for an excuse to try some of the #pumpkineverything recipes that were blowing up my Pinterest feed, so I planned an “All Pumpkin Dinner Party” for the second Saturday in November. The menu included:

Fondue in a pumpkin

Brie with pumpkin-cranberry toasts

Pumpkin hummus

Salad with pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin curry soup

Pumpkin kale mac and cheese

Butternut squash risotto (pumpkin family!)

Pumpkin corn muffins with pumpkin butter

Pumpkin bread

Pumpkin brownies with pumpkin ice cream

Pumpkin punch and lots of pumpkin beer

Obviously, I didn’t make all of this stuff because it would have taken me ten weeks, but I hope the “pumpkin party” becomes an annual tradition.