Casual Friday

I found a silver lining in the blistering cold of today. Since the whipping wind forced me to put on thick gloves and several layers, I had some protection for the epic fall I took on the pavement outside of Target. It's no secret that I possess very little grace. I trip over everything, and I choke on air. Today, as I scurried to escape the cold, much like Piglet of Winnie the Pooh tries to avoid the blustery day, I tripped over a bump in the sidewalk and went flying into the pavement. Thanks to Mom and Dad, I knew to put my hands out (instead of my face) to break my fall. I hit the ground and slid ever so not gracefully. I hit so forcefully that I broke the box of the shoes I was returning, destroyed my left shoe, ended up with rocks embedded in my jacket, and tore a hole in my glove. A kind man driving by (it was surprisingly and thankfully not busy) STOPPED his car and was all ready to get out and help me when I popped up, declaring, "I'm okay." (My ego, on the other hand, was a different story. And so was my knee. And the shoe box. And my shoe.) So, the silver lining is that all of the layers I had piled on reduced the damage. As my Dad said, "Good thing you weren't wearing a skirt. And now you can get a new pair of shoes like the boots you just got." Dad knows me all too well.

As a heating pad soothes my back and a bag of corn reduces the swelling in my knee, all I can do is laugh at myself. I mean, really, does my ridiculousness ever end? Nope. I did, however, get a new pair of flats out of the ordeal. I like them better than the ones I was wearing, so there's that...

(And my husband just texted me to say that he's helping at the scene of an accident. Good to know he's a kind Samaritan like the man who stopped to help me at Target.)

 

The Look:

 Cardigan: Target (HA.) Here is the exact one.

Shirt: Old Navy--similar for $6.40

Belt: Francesca's--similar

Jeans: The Limited--similar from The Limited

Boots: Ralph Lauren via DSW (got them for $100 down from $250!)--similar

Scarf: gift from my 11-year-old niece...girl's got style :) --  similar

 

I went into DSW for sneakers and walked out with boots. My priorities are in line, folks.

---------------------------------

Linking up with

Favorite Fashion Friday

and

Fab Friday

-----------------------------------

What I Wore to Work: Teacher Style

This week, I keep sitting down to write something, but my brain has farted. I cannot recover it. 

My sophomores have zapped my brain cells with their ridiculous shenanigans this week. 

I create a step-by-step outline for them that tells them what to write in every.single.spot, and they say, "I didn't know what to do" after it was due. Why am I not allowed to use a Nerf or water gun to pelt or spray some sense into them? WHY? Today, one student asked what to do for an assignment that I explained three times and had directions projected on the screen. (I pride myself on being really good at giving directions, but what good are directions if the person following them does not open his or her ears?) Luckily, another student responded, very sarcastically, first: "Oh, I don't know. The directions aren't on the screen or anything." Thank you, other teenagers, for saying what would have included an expletive if it came from my mouth.

I love my job, but they are trying the hell out of my patience this week. 

The Look:

Blazer: LOFT (similar)

Sweater: The Limited (another sparkle sweater)

Pants: Exact Stretch via The Limited (similar)

Shoes: Nine West via Marshall's (similar)

 

--------------------------------------

Linking up with...

* What I Wore to Work
* All Things Thursday
* Three-fer Thursdays
* Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday
--------------------------------------

Olive Pink & Puppies

Once a week, I need to satisfy your desire to see more of my parents' puppies. This little guy is Sammy. Sammy enjoys burrowing into crotches, sleeping on heads, and eating food off of my dad's pant leg. Nothing beats visiting my parents' house on the weekend. They feed me delicious food, they offer satisfying conversation, they house two of the cutest dude pups (I clearly house the cutest lady pups), and they help me forget the mounds of essays I need to grade. 

These wedges were $20 at Nine West! What? Crazy talk. Additionally, I took a little trip to Old Navy today in hopes of scoring a pair of $10 flats. None of them appealed to me; however, I scooped up a spring sweater and necklace. Would you like to know how much I paid for those two items? Yes, yes, you do. FIVE BUCKS. No, your eyes do not deceive you. I paid FIVE dollars for a sweater and a necklace. Even the cashier said that was the best deal she's seen...ever. I don't play sports, but I'm a winner.

The Look:

Vest: Forever 21 (very similar from Nordstrom)

Top: Jennifer Lopez via Kohl's (Santa Momma gave it to me! exact)

Pants: White House Black Market (at least three years old--similar from Old Navy)

Shoes: Nine West (similar)

Necklace: Lauren Conrad from Momma (very similar)

 

---------------------------------

Linking up with

* Shanna
* Pleated Poppy

---------------------------------

OH, next Trendy Tuesday is "Nautical or Knot."

 My colleagues are so creative. :)

Trendy Tuesday: Pretty in Pastels

The colors in this outfit make me so happy.

I do not always give you a run down of my day, but let's have at it. 

At school, my juniors left me in awe because of the hard work and brilliance they put into their Huck Finn trial. (Seriously, moments like this remind me of why I do what I do.) My sophomores, on the other hand, left me feeling homicidal because half of them did not turn in the assignment that they had TWO full class periods and a weekend to complete. Oh, teenagers.

After school, I went to the ear, nose, and throat specialist who told me that I need sinus surgery. Quite honestly, I'm cool with having my sinuses roto rootered if it means leaving these headaches far, far behind. Sure, I am going to go through two more weeks of antibiotics (on top of the five that DIDN'T work) and steroids (also did not work), but headaches have plagued me for four months. I am ready to say buh bye to them. If that means surgery, I'm cool with it. 

After the sinus dude told me my face hates me, I went to yoga again. GASP. This yoga does not involve a lot of breathy, creepy talking and downward dogging for ten minutes, so I like it. The focus is to realign the effed up parts of the body, and I've got a lot of parts that could use un-effing. Plus, the instructor has a sense of humor. At this point, I'm sure you know how much I appreciate a good sense of humor. 

Currently, I am watching Bates Motel. This show is very Oedipus Rex-esque, which I just finished teaching, but I love it. All of those psychologically twisted shows appeal to me. 

What's wrong with me?

Nothing this outfit can't fix.

 

The Look:

Cardigan: Express...so old (similar at LOFT)

Tee: Target (here it is in colors)

Belt: Came with a dress (I like this braided on at Asos for less than $15)

Skirt: Amazon (exact for less than $20--I'm considering another color.)

Flats: Audrey Brooke via DSW (on eBay)

Scarf: Francesca's (I seriously love that store. Pastel stripes at Amazon)

 

Pinspiration & Organization

 I wanted this skirt so desperately, and after Mom (I mean...Santa) bought it for me, I was at a loss. How would I style it? It seemed too dressy to style it exactly like my other black maxi skirt. It's a bit too cold to wear just a t-shirt with it. What to do? What to do?

Well, first came a brain fart, and then came styler's block, and then came Sydney in a Pinterest carriage. I am not sure any of us remember how we dressed ourselves before Pinterest.

However, I am happy to report that I need Pinterest less often than I did in the past, but it sure has helped me make more sense of my closet. (Too bad it does not help my husband make more sense of my side of the closet. Is there an app for that?)

When the weather warms up, I think I will try a graphic tee with this skirt.

Feel free to send your ideas my way.

 The Look:

Shirt: Old Navy

Cardigan: The Limited (it's old, and it had a tie, but I cut it off.)

Skirt: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's 

Flats: Steve Madden via DSW

Necklace: Okay, it's either Francesca's or The Limited. 

 I wanted you to see the fun backs of these flats.

Speaking of Pinterest, I wanted to discuss how I organize my style boards. I used to have one big style board, but that thing was such a disorganized dump that the frustration it caused me prevented any kind of pinspiration from taking place. And then I got organized. If you do not mind indulging me, I thought we could discuss how I cleaned up shop.

Look! I made a fun graphic!

2014 Closet Resolutions -- Pictures of outfits that I can recreate with items I want to make sure I'm wearing but don't wear enough. I delete pins once I've worn the outfit and just add a picture of how I wore it on my outfits board.

Warm Weather Fashion -- (for spring and summer) some of the pins, I put a tag in the description "with tights and boots" so that I can find it when I search my boards for winter looks with tights

Cool Weather Fashion -- (for fall and winter)

Color Combinations -- This board is my favorite. It's full of color combinations I want to try (ex: coral/blush and cobalt blue). If I've tried the combination, I might move the pin to another board like "Warm Weather Fashion" because I like the silhouette.

My Outfits -- all the looks from my blog

DIY Fashion -- Tutorials AND pictures of things I want to learn to make. For example, I really liked a checked dress that I want to figure out how to make one day.

Fashion Tips & Helpful Websites -- I include pictures of one item many ways in this category. I'm thinking about making a new board for those pins.

Closet Holes & Wants -- I pin items I'd like to add to my closet. I delete them once I've added them to my closet.

Geez, that's a lot of boards, but I've found that one big board for all of the stuff is not as easy to navigate. 

------------------------------

Linking up with

* Molly 

* The Style Record
* Mix it Mondays 

------------------------------

Goin' Fishin'

When I teach my students how to write essays, I always tell them they want a "hook" at the beginning of their introductions. They have to grab their readers and pull 'em right into that essay, no matter how poorly written, littered with "theres" instead of "theirs," it happens to be.

Today, I am taking my own advice. I lured you in with the promise of pretty pictures (the first outfit) in order to show you what I'm really wearing today. Haha! Look at me! I'm so tricky! What a good fisherwoman I make. The cherry on top? The vest I'm wearing in the "real" pictures is something much like what a fisherman would wear. Don't you just love happy coincidences? Me too.

Oh, and random thought (because I never have those...ahem): as I walked out of the x-ray place today, I walked past a man who had clearly just finished smoking thirteen packs of cigarettes, and he stunk to high heaven. Do you know I actually waited until I passed him before I coughed? When I realized what I had done, I mentally rebuked myself. Why on earth was I at all concerned about HIS feelings? Seriously, that turd bucket was polluting my airways (and his) with junk I am highly allergic to, and I was the one being cordial about not coughing so as not to offend him? Well, never again, my friends. Never again. Cherry on top? I was just exiting the building from a SINUS x-ray, which clearly shows how royally screwed up my face is. And here I am all worried about this joker's feelings. Stroke my narcissism and make me feel a little better here. Does anyone else do this? Avoid offending someone else who's actually in the wrong?

 

The Look:

Sweater: Gap Outlet (old)

Necklace: NO idea

Jeans: The Limited

Flats: Audrey Brooke via DSW 

Now, here is today's outfit wrapped up in terrible selfies. 

Forgive me.

 

The Look:

Jeans: Simply Vera via Kohl's

Shirt: Old Navy

Belt: New York & Co.

Vest: American Eagle

Boots: Steve Madden 

Necklaces: Target 

 

In all honesty, I really wanted you to see my elephant necklace.

I got it at Target just before Christmas.

The tree necklace came with it :)

Also, please admire my new shoes from Sole Society. 

I decided to head the UPS guy off at the pass,

and then we had a nice little chat about all of this stupid snow.

Linking up with

Favorite Fashion Fridays

and

Fab Friday

Why do you build me up, buttercup...

Just to let me down (let me down) with your unpretty pictures? I'll tell you why, sugar pie. I like this outfit so much that, poorly taken pictures and all, I wanted to share it with you. Sure, the outfit might not be amazing, but doesn't that pale yellow just make you smile? Add to that the polka dots and you've got a winning combination.

Yes, I had to have Jeff help me put on my cardigan, but I wore just enough layers to remain comfortable at work. Rewind a moment. Does anyone else suffer from sleeves-too-tight syndrome? Let's get real here, people. I have spindly little arms of which I am fully aware. However, you would think I was trying to squeeze a leg into some of my cardigans. I mean, for whom are they making these sleeves anyway? If even I struggle to stuff my toothpick arms into the armholes, we have a problem, Houston. So, I have to buy cardigans in a size small if I want to wear anything other than just my arms under those sleeves. Of course, the small sleeves fit better, but then my 12-year-old-boy-sized chest just floats under the rest of it. I am not talented enough to make my own cardigans, so suffer I must. Oh, these first world problems of mine.

 

The Look:

Cardigan: New York & Co.

Oxford: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

Black Jeans: American Eagle (technically "jeggings," but who likes that word anyway?)

Belt: Target (love me some Target belts)

Boots: b.o.c. via DSW  

 

This look was loosely inspired by this pin.

Obviously, it's still too cold to copy the pin exactly, but I liked the idea

of a yellow cardigan with my polka dot oxford.

 

I also wore the jeans this way,

and the cardigan this way,

and the oxford this way.

---------------------------------------

Linking up with

What I Wore to Work

All Things Thursday

Look What I Got

Pinned it and Did It

Three-fer Thursdays

and

Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday

(You'd think I would've linked up better pictures for all of those links. Well, I hope the words make it worth it.)

---------------------------------------