strawberries & cream

IMG_5252

My latest impulse buy is a very properly stringy kind of string bikini, with triangles none too generous in size and with little strawberries on it. We are perhaps approaching the line. I think it’s so cute, though things being so cute does not usually make my purchase a forgone conclusion…it’s like white (which I love), only cuter than white, I think is what happened.

IMG_5262

IMG_5285

How glam is this hat? I theorize that it would posh up any outfit. Excellent sun protection, too, if a bit of an umbrella-like liability. This is an 8″ brim (compare with this one, which is 5″ and I would say still quite dramatic).  I actually tried on a 10″ brim but was outdone. 10″ is too much for even me.

IMG_5319

IMG_5328

Bikini from Pret-à-Surf (via The Outnet), skirt from some shop in Santa Fe, sun hat from San Diego Hat Co., [cheapo] wayfarer-style sunglasses from eBay, pearl studs from Pearl Paradise*, pearl bracelet from eBay, espadrille wedges from Eric Michael.

*I am loving how they stand out against the backdrop of the hat brim. So often modestly sized earrings get lost in the chaos. Do you need any more convincing that pearls would be a salutary addition to your life? If so, wait until next week.

IMG_5331

x

reading: Nabokov, Stein, France, tennis, babies….

IMG_5337

Baby Meets World: Suck, Smile, Touch, Toddle, Nicholas Day – Babies are fascinating, and this provides much evidence to support that. Myth debunking, history of oft misguided babycare, multicultural perspective, weird/cool data.

Strokes of Genius:Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played, L. Jon Wertheim – Outlines in elaborate detail, with superb orientation, the 2008 men’s Wimbledon final. I haven’t read that much sports writing, admittedly, but I think this is great sports writing. I was already into tennis when I read this…and it got me more into tennis.

Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle, Nabokov – Nabokov improves your vocabulary and forces you into new cerebral flexibility. I think he is phenomenal.

Paris France, Gertrude Stein – Lately I will give just about any book on France a go. This is good (many of them are not good), sort of slippery and fluid and fast-reading, though her style gets in your head. Weirdly I am reading a lot about France and babies. And babies in France.

On Lies, Secrets, and Silence, Adrienne Rich – This is a collection of searching and riveting essays, all to do somehow or another with women and feminism. So many beautiful and true moments in this. Recommend.