What's on your nightstand?

This was a question that a friend shared with me that was either used in an interview or a random questionnaire she saw or read. I think it's quite an interesting question that can really tell you quite a lot about a person!

Most often, the answer to this question includes at least one book, either currently being read or next in line on the "to read list." As a teacher who puts 200% into her teaching job during the school year, I often find that I am working on school work or reading "professional development" types of things rather than my own "choice books" late into the evening. Thus when 10pm (or later) rolls around, all I am hoping for is at least 7 hours of sleep! So those "want to read" titles get pushed aside and begin collecting dust from September-June. The book I started reading in November, on my honeymoon, is still left, half-finished, in such a pile. Seriously??!! 


So on my nightstand, I currently have a stack of books at least 5-6 high! 
And yes, the pile definitely says a lot about me and my varied interests....
This stack includes 1984, The Night Circus, The Disappearing Spoon, and yes, the oh-so-talked about 50 Shades of Grey. Quite a variety, I know. The teacher in me is represented by The Disappearing Spoon, a chemistry novel (nerd-alert!), and 1984, which my students were reading in order to get into Honors English, and a book that I never read in high school! I thought I could guide them better as they were working on their projects if I read it too, but yet my copy still sits on the nightstand, dusty & unopened. The Night Circus was recommended by friends in a book club that I don't have time to actively join, so I just ask them for a list of their favorites every now and then, and this was one of them. And then, the infamous, 50 Shades of Grey. Well, curiosity got the best of me, and I just want to know what all the "talk" is about! Don't you??!!

With this "shopaholic challenge," I have decided to try to spend less time reading blogs, browsing pinterest, and online shopping, and get back into the reading that I love. I am hoping that I can catch up on this stack of books during these summer weeks where I don't have to think about teaching junior high science!

I wrote a post about a "fashion-related" book I read last year, The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean. I later read a similar book called, A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff. Both books were about women owning and working in vintage shops and the experiences that come their way. I enjoyed both of them, and hope to find even more books that fall into the "fashion" category. 
Perhaps at school, or recommended by another teacher or friend, I heard about a website, titled, What should I read next? Perfect!! I entered in A Vintage Affair, and sure enough, what is on the list, but this title: Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison. Is that some kind of sign or what??!  Crazy!  Here is the synopsis that I then found on goodreads.com, 
Helene Zaharis's politician husband keeps her on a tight leash and cancels her credit cards as a way of controlling her. Lorna Rafferty is up to her eyeballs in debt and can't stop her addiction to Ebay. Sandra Vanderslice, battling agoraphobia, pays her shoe bills by working as a phone sex operator. And Jocelyn Bowen is a nanny for the family from hell (who barely knows a sole from a heel but who will do anything to get out of the house). 
 
On Tuesday nights, these women meet to trade shoes, and, in the process, form friendships that will help them each triumph over their problems—from secret pasts to blackmail, bankrupcy, and dating.  Funny, emotional, and powerful, Shoe Addicts Anonymous is the perfect read for any woman who has ever struggled to find the perfect fit.

I think it sounds like a fun read. I may have to see if I can find a cheap copy on amazon or ebay and add it to my ever-growing nightstand stack!
...and hey, this purchase is allowed, as I can't "wear" a book, and those were the rules: 
"If I can wear it, I can't buy it!"


I know there must be other fashion-related novels and books out there....it just takes time to find them! I've blogged about reading those written by Nina Garcia and the Dreaming of Dior series, but I am hoping to find others.


What are you reading these days?
...and what is currently sitting on your nightstand??
(does it say a little something about who you are?!!)

Do your CLOTHES tell a STORY?

If the outfit you are wearing right now were to tell a story, what would it say?


I have often thought about this, as people have commented on different outfits and/or pieces of my wardrobe....what do I say each day with what I wear? Do I want to say something? Does it have to say something about how I feel or who I am as a person? Such an interesting idea to think about...

This is also one of the questions at the end of a fabulous book I just read, The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean. My sister passed it on to me while on vacation, and I finished it in one day! It was a fun and interesting read--keeping my attention from the first page right up until the last. I definitely recommend it! Here's a short synopsis:

Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary. Just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store. The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit. Surrounded by regal gowns, sexy sheaths, and Jackie-esque suits from decades gone by, Dora makes a curious discovery: Mimi had been secretly writing down and giving away stories about the dresses in her shop.

Erin wrote this book after she had been writing stories about dresses within her blog, A Dress A Day.
In an interview she gave, she explains, The idea at the beginning was to come up with a coherent narrative that would link the Secret Lives of Dresses stories from the blog (which tell a story from the perspective of, what else, a dress). But as I worked on the narrative it went from being just an excuse to string a bunch of stories together to being a story in its own right. Voila: novel.

Her Secret Lives of Dresses stories within her blog are SO fun to read.....and SO clever!

This just completely got me excited about owning a clothing store/boutique again! LOVED IT!!! I would LOVE to own any kind of boutique....a vintage shop, a unique local women's boutique, or even a shoe store--but adding that twist, that every (or at least most) of the items in it came with it's own "story" is completely FABULOUS!

I also found a few other books, about dresses with stories, Dreaming of Dior and Dreaming of Chanel by Charlotte Smith. The blog, Dreaming of Dior, has more info about the history behind the writing of the book, but here's a little bit about the first one:

Dreaming of Dior, a new book published by Harper Collins, traces the fashion adventures of author Charlotte Smith who inherited the amazing Darnell Collection from her godmother, Doris Darnell. The 5000 pieces in the collection, dating from 1790 to 1995, have all had adventures of their own, some poignant, some inspiring, but all fascinating with each dress telling a story of its owner's life. The stunning illustrations of Grant Cowan brings the stories to life in a book that is both beautiful and informative.

There are so many books out there about fashion, just as we wrote about Nina Garcia's "what to wear" books in our so....now what? post. There is anything & everything out there about fashion & style....from style guides to picture books, and they are all fun to read, even if you have just a small interest in fashion.


They may even inspire you to write your own, or at least think about what you wear and what is says about you....
what story are you telling when you walk out the door?



Some dresses are worn by only one person,
and so that’s the kind of person they like.
-The Secret Lives of Dresses, Erin McKean