Outfit: I'm A Fangirl

I'm proud to say that I'm a fangirl! I fangirl about YA books, fashion, Harry Potter, movies, Mindy Kaling, rom-coms, Marvel superheroes, and more. It's wonderful when you find someone who loves something as much as you do, so that you can fangirl together. 

This past Saturday, I hung out with Kristin of Super Space Chick (and later her boyfriend Andrew joined us) and we fangirled about fantasy novels, Marvel movies, Nutella, and our love of reading YA books. She is seriously so awesome! Yay for meeting blogger friends in real life!

Speaking of which, in a month I'm going to Pittsburgh to meet more blogger friends: Jess, Kristin, and Marissa! I'm excited to explore a new city and get to know these wonderful gals!

I was sick last week, so I thought I would show you the pictures I took for the collaboration with Jess. Be sure to stop by her blog to see my answers to her bookish questions.

Cardigan: Old Navy | Shirt: Hot Topic | Jeans: American Eagle

Sneakers: Converse

Join my series Books & Looks!

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Books & Looks: Danielle

Say hello to Danielle!

When it comes to clothes and books, I generally like to keep it somewhat simple. Listen, that's not to say I don't like to go all-out with accessories or read some flowery epic from time to time... I love excess and drama. But on a day-to-day basis? I prefer polished, easy-to-throw-on outfits and just-plain-good books.

Book: Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

One of my favorite reads in the past year is a debut novel by Amy Zhang, called Falling into Place. After seeing Miss Zhang (who is still a college student! How cool is that?) speak about her book at an event in the fall, I knew I had to read her book. The story is centered on high school student Liz Emerson, who wants to end her life because she feels she has hurt too many people. The writing is simple yet beautiful, with a lot of striking imagery. The narrator is unknown until the end, and the revelation was incredibly satisfying. I found Falling into Place to be an inspiring read for two reasons:

1. Zhang is young, but she has accomplished so much already! As a post-college creative writer (and mega procrastinator, it seems), reading Zhang's book was a good kick in the butt. It got me excited about writing again.
2. Falling into Place is a unique read, It's refreshing to see a story told from a new perspective. I also thought it was interesting that the main character is a bully, as opposed to someone who is bullied.

Look:  I work as an editor at a publishing company, and I enjoy dressing for work. A lot of the outfits I'd wear to the office I also wear on my days off, too! There's something really great about feeling put-together in a dress and some stockings. This dress is from Oasap, and I love the color and the ribbed detail. It's very easy to throw this dress on, and it can either be worn by itself or paired with cardigan and a chunky necklace. I love versatile pieces. 

Is wearing tan stockings outdated? I feel like a lot of my friends would rather go bare-legged, but I love the polished, sort of airbrushed quality that stockings give. These are No-Nonsense, which you can pretty much pick up everywhere (the grocery store, CVS). Nothing fancy. From an early age my mom always made sure I had stockings on when I wore a dress, and I don't think it's something I'll stop anytime soon. 

I don't wear these boots too often (I'm generally a ballet flats kind of girl), but they make me feel awesome! Cool heels are an instant confidence booster.

I moved to New York City this summer, and once the fall rolled around I knew I needed a good coat for the blustery commute. It may be kind of silly, but I go a little starry-eyed when I see New Yorkers sporting great trenches or peacoats on their way to work. As an early Christmas gift, my mom bought me this beautiful gray coat from Liz Claiborne. I didn't know I could be in love with a coat, but here I am. You have to keep warm, so you may as well feel fabulous as you do it!

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Thank you, Danielle!

Have you read the Falling into Place?

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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Books & Looks: Kayly

Say hello to Kayly!

Book: Saga series by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

I couldn't pick a favorite book if my life depended on it, but Saga is one of my favorite new series. I was immediately drawn in by the art. I love the illustration style, which I find to be a great blend of realism and cel shading. The expressions on the characters are my favorite part - just bursting with life. Often times I find myself skimming over the art and just reading the story, but that was not the case with Saga! I took the time to soak in every page. And the story holds up to the art. It can be summed up as an epic adventure of a family trying to survive, but there is so much more. Every character has their own story, and I love learning more bits and pieces with each volume! 

Look: My look tends to be really simple. I live in jeans and tees, and tend to favor darker colors. In the fall, I rock a lot of long sleeves and sweaters in the hopes of maintaining some form of warmth (though usually  I still have to pile a sweatshirt on top!). Lucky for me, fall brings out one of my favorite parts of the fashion world - boots! This particular pair is my favorite. I originally bought them because they were too good a deal to pass up, but after wearing them a few times I loved them even more. Despite being heels, they are actually really comfortable and easy to walk in! I love being able to throw them on for a day's errands without feeling like my feet are going to fall off afterward. 

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Thank you, Kayly!

Have you read the Saga series?

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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Books & Looks: Jacquie

Say hello to Jacquie!

Hello Sincerely, Sara followers! I'm Jacquie of Claws up. I'm no stranger to Sara or her blog. We have been best friends for 17 years, and we started our blogs within a few weeks of each other. I never  pass up an opportunity to support Sara and be a part of her amazing blog. It took me a while, but here is my Books & Looks post!

Book: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Picking the book half of my post was the easy part. Hands down, The Silence of the Lambs is my favorite book. It all started when I first saw the movie almost 10 years ago. Most people might think it's just some horror movie with not much substance, but it is incredibly physiological and deep. Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a famous and well-known psychiatrist. Traumatic events in his life pushed him over the edge and he becomes a cannibal. Silence of the Lambs is the third book in the time frame of the four book series, and he spends the entire book in prison, as he has been arrested in the previous book. We see him meeting with Clarice Starling, an FBI student on a case to find a serial killer by the name of Buffalo Bill. Hannibal is so polite and cordial to Clarice. He gives her just enough information to push her to figure out the mystery on her own. People view Hannibal as a monster, but when he interacts with Clarice, all you can see is how human he really is.

The story of Hannibal Lecter begins when he is a child during World War II. He loses his entire family to the Nazis, and loses his sister in the most horrific way. It is so interesting to see him go from a completely normal kid, to what people are calling a monster. In the end you can see that he was never really a monster at all. While I love every step in the progression of his story, The Silence of the Lambs will always be my number one book.

Look: The reason why it took me so long to get this post together was that I just couldn't pick my look! Do I go for the item  wear the most? Or do I pick a piece that I love, but I might not get the chance to wear a lot? In the end I picked an outfit that I thought was "quintessential Jacquie". I can usually be spotted wearing a cardigan, button up, colored pants, something neon, boots, and of course, a scarf. There are no words to express how excited I am that fall is here, and I can finally rock those pieces all together! I tend to put in a lot of thought when it comes to picking my clothes. For me, more is usually more, and I love incorporating lots of pieces into my look.

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Thank you, Jacquie!

Have you read The Silence of the Lambs?

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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Books & Looks: Jess

Say hello to Jess! Not only is this is Books & Looks, but this is 

also her sponsor spotlight post!

I'm finally doing a Books and Looks! It sure took me a while, but now that the weather has turned in my favor, I can bust out my normal attire. Which is blazers, cardigans, boots, and hats! Anyways, I'm Jess from Bookworms in Dresses and picking a favorite book is so hard for me! I love all the books on my shelf! (Well, 98% of them.)

Book: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The book I chose for my favorite is House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. He also wrote The 50 Year Sword, which is another of my favorites. You've probably heard of House of Leaves before and perhaps someone has even recommended it to you. That's how I first heard of the book. Someone asked me if I had ever read it before, and then proceeded to tell me that I HAD to read it. ASAP. So of course, I went out and got myself a copy and hunkered down, thinking that this book was huge and it would take me forever to read....well....I was wrong on that count. I blew through this book, though I did have to take breaks just to sit and let the book sink in a bit. 

House of Leaves is a story that can really pull you in, and I like that in a book. Heck, you really start to believe that everything in the book is real. You might even get an itch to start measuring the walls in your house to make sure that they all line up right and you aren't missing an inch here or there. I mean, the book is that good. It's written in a very, very, very unconventional style with some pages only having one or two words on them. Some words being in red or blue, and different fonts for different sections. It's all very alluring to a book nerd like me. Speaking of, The 50 Year Sword is like that too, very unconventional, and another killer story as well. 

Look: My style is pretty down to earth most of the time. I own a lot of grey, black, and browns. Boots with socks + jeans is my fall and winter staple outfit choices. I also love to add a little pop of color with a scarf or a beanie! Also, have I mentioned before that I love raw cut stones? So pretty!!

I almost want to give House of Leaves another read, and see if it still has the same impact on me that it did back when I first read it. I also want to see what else Danielewski has written and get my hands on those books as well. I know there is something called The Whalestoe Letters, which is actually a part of House of Leaves. I almost want to read those separate from the book. 

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Thank you, Jess!

Have you read House of Leaves?

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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Books & Looks: Hannah

Say hello to Hannah!

Book: Making History by Stephen Fry

I have novels that I love as I’m reading them, and will stay in my favourites list long after finishing, but my enduring love-affair is with the illustrious Mr Fry’s third novel. It concerns a historian who alters time with the help of a scientist with a heavy conscience and makes it so Adolf Hitler was never born. The consequences are not what you expect. It manages to tap into my loves of alternate universes, discovering yourself and unexpected love, and, let’s be honest, history. It certainly helped that I first read this book while studying history at university and the World Wars were my specialist subject.

If you’re familiar at all with Stephen Fry’s rambling, glittering prose then this novel is a lovely example of how he wraps uses it to convey jarred world views that aren’t always because of a shift in reality (my personal favourite: WHATNOW lament of the graduate). Sometimes it switches to television style script too, as if the whole story is being directed by fate from a desk somewhere. It’s occasionally subversive, but I urge you to give this one a try.

Look: My look has been described as Disney-princess-goes-punk (thanks, friends). I think it might be to do with my insistence on pairing pretty dresses with big boots. Perhaps the tattoos help too! I just love having something a bit feminine, but without being too ladylike. Plus, who wears dainty ballet shoes in a mosh pit? Someone looking for broken feet, that’s who. My go-to dress is H&M and covered in a print of little safety pins; it’s what I wear when I want to be comfortable but still close to my favourite kind of style. And they have pockets, so this dress holds my heart forever! My boots I bought cheap so if they got ruined at a festival it wouldn’t be a big deal, but they’re still knocking around three years later! Sometimes DMs are just too cumbersome. If I am any kind of punk at all, in this outfit I’m a bloody comfy one!

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Thank you, Hannah!

Have you read Making History?

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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Books & Looks: Emily

Say hello to Emily!

Book: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

I don't really have a #1 favorite book - that's the curse of the English major. And people ask me what my favorite book is a lot - that's the other curse of the English major. So I've developed a strategy: I just tell everyone that Good Omens is my favorite book, simply because it's the one I most want to recommend. Good Omens is a hilarious satire of the apocalypse in which a demon and an angel must work together to keep their beloved Earth from ending, with the added complication being that they've lost the Anti-Christ. (Also, it has a great cover, with a bunch of equally great variations.)

Look: I'm a senior in college this fall, and I've had this floral dress since my senior year of high school. I wore it in my senior photos. I wore it in these photos, which I had taken about two years ago. And I wore it the other day. It's a simple design, it's soft and comfortable, and it's easy to dress up or down, so I wear it a lot. I love the bright floral pattern on the dark background. This dress is getting a little worn, and I know I'll be sad when the time comes for it to hit the throw-away pile, but I also know that I'm going to keep wearing it until then.

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Photos were taken by Natalie Mutrux!

Thank you, Emily!

Have you read Good Omens?

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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Books & Looks: Kristin

Say hello to Kristin! She's the first Books & Looks girl! 

Book: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Asking me to name my favorite novel is like asking me to choose between cookie dough or cookies & cream ice cream (read: impossible). My favorite book can change on a whim or depending on what the weather is on a given day, and I have "Top 5" lists for every genre and time period available. 

That said, I chose Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl for my current favorite book because not only does it make me giddy every time I reread it (a fanfic-writing heroine!? Awkward real feelings about things that actually happen in life!? Quirky, fun, quotable lines!? Yes to all!) but the cover has me completely smitten. This is definitely a book I'd pick up from the shelf based on cover alone; give me teal or give me death! Teal infatuation aside, I love Noelle aka gingerhaze's distortedly tall, sketchy style.

Look: When it comes to getting dressed in the morning, I like to keep it simple. And by simple, I mean that most mornings I barely make it out of my pjs. When I do get dressed, I go for comfort, a touch of feminine detailing, and navy blue (because navy blue is simultaneously neutral and a color — score!). I paired my favorite lace top with my navy blue parka, since Pittsburgh is prone to rain. Layering is a must in this city, since it can easily go from 50 degrees in the morning and 80 by noon, even into the fall months.

My favorite piece is my tiny bow charm necklace. I can't think of a day I don't clasp this around my neck, and I find it the perfect piece to accessorize with, whether a casual or a fancy outfit. It's simple, but adds a bit of charm (and is apparently a talking point, as well). 

You'll rarely find me in heels; I jokingly tell my students that I always wear comfortable shoes so that I can run better when Godzilla attacks, or zombies overrun the city, or spaceships land, but I'm not joking. Not even the slightest. Hence, the neutral flats. Comfy, snazzy, and practical.

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Thank you, Kristin! 

Have you read Fangirl? I'm reading it now and love it!

Want to be a part of Book & Looks? Pick your favorite book and piece of clothing and take some pictures, then email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with the subject "Books & Looks". In the email, include: four to five pictures (preferably horizontal), a paragraph or two about why it's your favorite book and why it's your favorite piece of clothing, and three social media links. 

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