A few weeks ago, my mom came to town with Patrick's mom and the four of us went shopping at J.Crew's warehouse sale. The warehouse is a crazy place--an old grocery store taken over by cardboard boxes, stuffed to the brim with random items of clothing. You have to dedicate at least an hour to finding a couple good pieces. At the beginning of the sale, shirts and dresses and pants are all in their respective sections, folded and arranged in boxes according to size.

But near the end of the sale, which is when we made our visit, the place was absolute chaos--hundreds of people competing for the best deals--digging through clothes on the floor or in the wrong boxes. This is how I came to find my new blazer, which was pretending to be a ladies' jacket in the women's section, but is actually meant for a young boy.

I found these boots, too. They were supposed to be in the adult section.

Blazer: J.Crew Crewcuts
Boots: J.Crew

Tank Top: Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Miss Me

Nails: OPI, Red My Fortune Cookie

Lips: Covergirl Outlast Lipstain, Shade 430

Every now and again I do this challenge where I try not to wear eyeliner, and I always end up hiding some in my bag or running to the bathroom to slap some on in a panic right before I leave the house. I think I don't look like myself without it. 

But that's just plain silly. Today I succeeded.

The weather has taken a sudden turn toward autumn and I am so happy about it. But I'm also so sick. I've been battling a bad cold for the past few days. I think it might have something to do with the temperature changing from 85 and sunny to 60 and drizzly while I'm just working a quick four hour shift and then have to walk home in a little tee-shirt. Maybe.

I'm usually up and running early every day, but this week I've spent a lot of mornings in bed, under the covers with tea and honey and cough syrup and books. Sleeping in can be really, really good when you need it. Maybe even when you don't.

Hope you have a cozy weekend. Wear a scarf.

"As the Civil War came to a close, many African American children had brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers who had been sold to other plantations, sometimes far away. A lot of families took to the road to find these relatives...I wanted to tell the story of one such family."

--A.LaFaye

This is currently my favorite children's book. It tells the story you never hear. The one that you should hear. 

Also, the illustrations are pretty awesome.

I had the honor of personally getting to know Alexandria a bit this summer when she taught one of my classes. She's incredibly smart and has the most adorable little daughter, Adia. Alexandria quickly became one of my favorite professors.

She's a wonderful teacher, a wonderful person and a wonderful writer and every time I read this book I cry in that good, passion-eyed, full soul way. Go buy yourself a copy. You can also find it online with Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Read it to a child. Read it to everyone. Share it a lot. I'd love to see this book get the full recognition it deserves.