Worst Cold in Years

I am still trying to get over this terrible cold that I've had for a couple of weeks now -- it's a lot better but I'm still feeling pretty run down.  I haven't had one like this in several years.  It was so bad that I missed a Thursday and Friday from work, slumped around all weekend, and wished I could stay home the following week, too.  Having this inadvertent four day weekend of illness was made easier by the fact that I had a bunch of books from the library to read.

Book Review: The Secret Place by Tana French

4.5 stars

A cold case is re-investigated when a girl at an exclusive private school brings a new clue to the police -- someone at school had stuck a postcard up on the "secret place" bulletin board, proclaiming that she knows who murdered the popular student from the neighboring boys' school who turned up dead a year earlier.  The novel switches between chapters showing the progress of the investigation and the events within the girls' school leading up to the murder.  I'm a sucker for stories set in boarding schools (and the girls in this boarding school are major trouble-makers), so add a murder mystery to the mix and I'm all over it.

The only thing that kept this book from reaching 5 star status for me was that something about the male cop (if I recall correctly, the point of view character for all the police chapters) rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn't find the relationship between him and his reluctant partner for the case convincing or...something.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book a lot, and I think I would have enjoyed it even if I hadn't been desperate for something to distract me from the fact that the entirety of my body from head to stomach was one big sack of mucus.

What to Wear When Almost Passing Out During an End of Day Meeting Before Going Home and Crashing for Four Straight Days -- Wednesday, 9/24/14

I was all ready to leave for work when I realized, um, I might want a sweater or jacket or something this morning because it's a little bit cooler outside.

I got to my closet and immediately remembered, oh yeah!  I have that beige jacket with the blue and medium brown checks on it that I was very dissatisfied with in my all-beige outfit and that I've been wanting to try styling with a "pop of color" as Jen suggested.  A turquoise sweater is definitely a lot of color.  Let's give it a shot!  Here's a wrinkly version of this outfit (photo taken when I got home from work):

My verdict:  Success!  The jacket works when it's not bogged down in a billion shades of beige and nothing else.

Turquoise short-sleeved sweater (thrifted, Eddie Bauer)
Brown linen skirt (thrifted, Ann Taylor)
Fish charm necklace (Ann Taylor)
Rose gold ballet flats (thrifted, Old Navy)
Beige jacket (thrifted, Ann Taylor)