Boxy, smushy jackets that say things like “great for blocking wind” are usually not my thing. Especially not in “moss green.” But I think I must have been in a mushy pea mood when I was getting ready to go to Scotland this past August. I saw this Windy Day Jacket (that’s its official name!) by Madewell and snapped it up.

Here is why a boxy pea green jacket is sometimes a good thing in a wardrobe:

1) It de-girlifies my penchant for florals and lace. It’s like pitching an army tent in your grannie’s living room, home to multiple chintz couches and doilies. Instant eccentric granny chic.

2) This Windy Day Jacket is actually perfect for windy days. The weave on the jacket is so tight, I don’t even feel a baby breeze.

3) It’s not as trendy as this season’s ubiquitous/popular parka, more like its less popular (but equally adorable) cousin.

Oh! And it’s on sale at Shopbop.

I’m so glad a few of you commented about my last outfit post being in front of the bookshelves in the library because I think that may be my new “blank wall.” I spent forever looking for (what I call) The Swedish Blogger Background: white wall (no outlets or aircon vents of any kind to distract from the canvas), high ceilings, large old picture windows with window seats and ruggedly finished hardwood floors. Apparently I do not live in a place that has anything in common with Sweden. So, bookshelves (and non-socialized health care) it will be.

Speaking of books, have you guys read anything about David Sedaris’ latest? You have to, have to, have to go pick up a copy right now (or if you are short on funds or patience, click here to go to this NPR excerpt). Who knew a bestiary could be so hilarious and apt? Not me. Who knows what a bestiary is? I do! (Because I looked it up here after hearing the NPR interview.)

Oh right, the clothes and things.

Isn’t this t-shirt great? It’s so soft that I end up running my fingers up and down the loopy sleeves all day (the fashionista’s version of twiddling her thumbs). Cath got it from Rockit Boutique for my/our birthday.

The scarf is gifted from Donni Charm, the watch (also gifted) is Michele Watches, the belt is Madewell, skirt is Citizens of Humanity, the shoes are from Mango, the nail polish is by Priti (love, love, love this line of nontoxic polishes).

Photos clockwise from top: Shopbop, The Sartorialist, Garance Dore, and Vogue.

When wearing shorts last summer I received this. er. compliment:

“Mmmm-hmmmm. you’ve got tasty Popeye thighs!!”

I consider this a compliment because 1) I’m sure I would like Popeyes fried chicken a lot (especially with a buttery biscuit and red beans and rice on the side) even if I weren’t part Cajun and 2) by the sound of it, this man liked Popeyes fried chicken maybe even more than me.

The problem? My thighs are what I like to critique the most when I’m in a body image slump. And even if they might look tasty to some, they don’t always do what I want them to do in a pair of shorts or skinny jeans.

So I have a pair of wide-legged jeans for those days when I want my thighs to stand out a little less. Wide-legged pants happen to be trendy at the moment (see above), but I’m gonna keep these in the closet even when the trend passes. Wide-legged pants are there for the days when you want to focus on the fried chicken thighs on your plate instead of your own tasty gams.

P.S. If you guys want to hear any more about my trip to Scotland, I did a guest post for Dana at Dana Pop here (she’s a local Atlanta blogger you guys must read!).

Aren’t these ladies I’m with gorgeous? I went to meet the Sartorialist and Garance with Jinah (to my right) and we met everyone else in Atlanta who loves them, including these two lovely ladies (we bonded over billowy versus skinny pants/skirts).

To prepare to meet the Scott Schuman, I put on my newly thrifted Carmen Marc Valvo skirt ($20!!), a gorgeous leather bag gifted to me by my stylish aunt, and a t-shirt.

And if I lived in La-la land, the tide of fashionable, gorgeous people would have parted and The Sartorialist would have dropped to his knees and started clicking away the moment he saw us.

In reality, he didn’t have a camera and was mobbed continually for about 3 hours in the hot, stuffy gallery space. By the time we got to meet him, my make-up had slid off my face and my formerly chic skirt was sticking to my sweaty thighs. However, going by the photo below, I’m pretty sure I swept him off his perfectly clad feet (note look of “oh god, get me out of here” on Mr. Schuman’s face):

Really, Mr. Schuman was wonderful and polite and this photo belies the fact that he spent hours being completely charming with every adoring fan that he met.

Below are two photos he shot in the ATL- woohoo! Thanks for stopping by, Scott and Garance. Come back soon!

All photos but two above taken with Jinah’s camera, the top two by Zoie Johnson at SCAD.

Oh no. not these. scroll down one more photo to see The Ugly Pants.

Above is what I wished I could have worn the entire time I was in Scotland. (P.S. Any one else a Hamish MacBeth/Robert Carlyle fan? I’m standing in front of his house in Plockton, a.k.a. Loch Dubh).

Plockton is a cheery little fishing village right off of Loch Carron. Gorgeous. Charming. Again, home to my favorite fictional Scottish man. And most importantly, Plockton has paved streets and shops. This means no need to wear hiking boots, water resistant pants, and unflattering rain jackets.

In Plockton I got to wear my new Madewell jacket and skinny Madewell jeans, a heeled boot, and my much beloved Bottega Veneta.

Hiking the hills of the highlands I had to wear.THIS:

The image on the right is the more accurate expression of my sentiments towards this Ugly Pants outfit. I have on a fleece, a rain jacket, long underwear, woolly socks and water-proof hiking boots.

(Ahhh the sartorial trappings of a hiker).

And it gets worse. Those Ugly pants. zip off. at the thigh. Just above the knee (a.k.a. the region generally known as Sprawling Thigh Land). To improve matters, I suggest pulling up your woolly socks as high as they will go, as my bf did so helpfully for me in the photo below (he thought you should know the full extent of my fall from fashion grace):

Here is my deep dark secret, readers. Although I grimace at these photos now, I didn’t actually give a hoot what I looked like stomping around peat and heather on the rugged Scottish mountains. I mean, a passing sheep might give me a disparaging glance, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I was wearing one of their departed friends as socks (much appreciated, thank you).

Not only did I not care how I looked. I felt good. Great, even. I was warm and dry and could jump in puddles up to my ankles and not get a bit wet. I could scramble up steep sloping hills on my knees and down again on my bum, and didn’t have to worry about ruining a pair of jeans. And that rain jacket (thank you, Amelia!), is miraculous! Wearing it, you don’t get wet if it rains! What an idea.

When I last lived in Scotland, I wore a newsboy cap and a smart trench when it rained (as it tends to do in Scotland). My neck and hair got wet and the trench got heavy. Who knew people made real clothes to prevent just such occurrences?

Don’t get me wrong, I will still enter every REI with trepidation (“I don’t belong here” is usually emblazoned on my face), but I will now understand people who want to. And I will even understand why they choose to wear cargo pants that make a swish-swish-swish noise when they walk (in pants language they’re saying “I’m man-made and water-resistant. So eat it, cotton.”).

For the foreseeable future, my Ugly Pants will be retired to the bottom of my drawer, but the next time I have to pull them out to see the light of day, I will do so gleefully. It will mean that I’m going somewhere so fantastic, I won’t even care that I’m wearing zip-off- swishy trousers.

Och! I’m already homesick* for the place, but it’s nice to be back in the land of wifi. (Thanks for keeping up AC while I was gone, Kitcath!) I missed you guys too! I’ll be back in the land of commenting once my jet lag wears off. I’m most definitely still on British time.

I’m sure you guys don’t want to browse through tons of look-at-my-beautiful-vacation-photos photos, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. In the next post, I’ll show you what I actually wore whilst hiking the damp hills of Scotland (the above photo with H&M scarf and Madewell jacket is utterly misleading). Brands like (gulp) Northface and (shiver) Columbia were de rigueur for me. Be afraid. very afraid.

For now, I’ll leave you with the rosy view of my trip:

* Cath and I spent six months in Edinburgh studying in 2004. Since then, we’ve been deeply in love with Scotland. We can’t explain our choice. We know she has a bad reputation (cold, rainy, a bit moody even), but she is The One for us. If we could move there, we would at the drop of a tartan cap. Sadly, we’ve had to make due with a long distant relationship since 2004 until my brief fling these past 11 days. Cath will hopefully reunite with her next year. P.S. For all our mixed blood, we don’t have a drop of Scottish in us, so our love doesn’t come from kin (or clan). Go figure. It must be the kilts.

Lar uploaded these photos right before she left for Scotland, but she was so busy packing that she didn’t get a chance to write the post. Hopefully she won’t mind me posting these for her.

Last week when our aunts were in town we did what every respectable Asian American family does on the weekend – we went out for Dim Sum. I can never walk away from a dim sum meal without feeling completely stuffed, but Lar and I decided we had to take outfit photos in the cute little courtyard near the restaurant (I’ll post mine later).

Lar is wearing an American Apparel dress, Moxsie purse, American Eagle boots and I think the belt is from Madewell.

After doing some post-dim sum shopping at the Asian market, we all went to my parents’ house and watched The Joy Luck Club. Then we had Chinese takeout for dinner. I’m not kidding. It’s like we were living an Amy Tan novel for the day. Fun times.

A couple of days later my mom made her amazing shrimp creole to add a little bit of Cajuness back into our lives.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the owners of Simply Bags contacted us about sending two monogrammed beach bags. Usually I’m a little hesitant about embroidered initials, but I had just read about monograms on a Garance Dore’s post (her blog is my fashion bible). I mean if Carine Roitfeld is getting her Lanvin bag monogrammed (see below), can’t I do it on a beach bag? I went with “Lar” instead of my initials because I’m not C.R. and because my initials are the acronym for bad cholesterol (LDL).

Polka-dot shorts from Asos.com, quarter holder necklace from Snoozer Looser, black tank from who knows where, croc friends on location at Heliotrope.

And this (above) is how you’ll usually find me when I carry my “monogram” tote, surrounded by googly-eyed crocodiles.

ps- Are you guys having a good beginning of the week? Apologies for not responding to your sweet comments, work is still using up most of my time and brain power. I’ll be back in business by the end of the week!