Orange Blazer & Navy Stripes

FYI: This post was inspired by Marionberry Style's stripes challenge, but I had to wear this outfit on Monday, not Wednesday, because I just couldn't control myself!

Allow me to show you my weekend (after I recovered from a wicked sinus infection) in pictures.

My parents, Jeff, and I went to see the lights since it was the last weekend.

You drive around, listen to a specific radio station, and watch the lights dance to the tunes.

Is it normal to feel motion sickness because the lights are flashing too quickly for your brain to process them? Yeah, I didn't think it was normal either.

At the same place, there's an arcade when you park at the end of the light show.

Mom and Jeff battled in Dance Dance Revolution. I have no pictures of that wondrous sight. Only videos. However, Dad and Jeff faced off in Nascar. It went something like this:

Jeff earned first place. 

Dad earned 24th/25th.

He then proclaimed, "I am going to throw up. This stuff messes with your head. Jeff, how do you do this stuff?" Jeff probably said something about Dad being a pansy. I probably laughed.

Yes, that blur is Dad's middle finger. Yes, it's on purpose.

We then went to this delicious Italian restaurant that even served gluten-free pizza for me!

My pretty Momma.

She made my WARM gray scarf :)

I keep telling her that she needs an Etsy shop.

Apparently, he's pretending to shoot something. 

This is Dad's smile. 

Now that you've enjoyed my weekend, too, I'll introduce you to today's outfit. 

One student told me that I looked like a hippy.

To that, my husband said, "A very dressy hippy. A 'dippy'."

Here's why today was awesome:

1. I had enough time to blow dry my hair this morning. 

2. I watched three people get popped by radar. I was not one of them. 

3. I switched it up and wore jeans on a Monday. I was sick on Friday, so I couldn't wear my jeans to work. I wanted a do over, so I let myself have one. 

4. I wore stripes.

5. I wore a blazer.

6. I wore a bright color (my favorite kind of color).

7. My legs were excited for extra space in pants that weren't "skinny."

8. Some long awaited packages finally arrived on my porch today :)

For the record, my blazer is a deep orange, NOT red.

When my husband makes me laugh, I lose my eyes.

Outfit Deets:

Blazer: J.Lo via Kohl's (exact for $24--use that Kohl's cash!)

Top: Express (here's one for $29.99)

Pants: J Brand via TJ Maxx (This pair from Uniqlo is $19.90)

Shoes (brown wedges): Aerosole's via Marshall's (these are kind of cute)

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Watch: Timex via Kohl's 

I do hope your weekend was enjoyable :) 

Linking up with Mode Monday and YOLO Mondays.

My First Time on the IT List!

• DahliaLynne looks absolutely stunning in a vintage gold skirt and plaid for her holiday card! Love her husband's outfit, too! (find DahliaLynne on Twitter!)
• A Fashion Fixation has perfected her bun and looks so chic in black and white! Head over to find out what tutorial she used to create her new hair obsession! (find A Fashion Fixation on Twitter!)
• The Second Best is whipping out her trusty Uggs for a look that is perfect to run weekend errands in! Cute and comfy? That's a win-win! (find Second Best on Twitter!)
• Loop Looks goes for a monochromatic look in fifty shades of gray (ok, not fifty...). Such a cute and easy outfit for the office! (find Look Looks on Twitter!)
• My Thrifty Chic is mad for plaid and she found it in an unexpected place for next to nothing! Pop over to see how she is styling her new find and some fun pictures, too! (find My Thrifty Chic on Twitter!)
• From Carpools to Cocktails paired sequins and cargos for a look that was casual enough for spending New Years Eve with the kids. Cute!! (find From Carpools to Cocktails on Twitter!)
• Little Bit of Wo.We is ready for the snow in leather, tweed and fur! She has managed to be dressed up and still look cozy and warm - impressive!
• My Confidence + Me recaps her holiday party outfit and looks stunning in light blue and lace! This one should definitely be carried over into the new year! (find My Confidence + Me on Twitter!)
• Rose a la Mode is keeping the winter blues away by dressing up in a festive outfit complete with plaid and a little bling! So cute! (find Rose a la Mode on Twitter!)
• Live Work Style is taking tips from her mom's wardrobe 20 years ago and is sporting and updated version of a trend from the 80's! Pop over to check out this cute look! (find Live Work Style on Twitter!)
• Good Life keeps it simple in tone on tone grey and boyfriend jeans! The epitome of comfy cute! (find Good Life on Twitter!)
• The Luxury Rehab rounds up 7 of her favorite looks from 2012 - tons of eye candy and inspiration in this post! Go check it out! (find The Luxury Rehab on Twitter!)
• Sweetie Pie Style is shopping the new color of the year! She found tons of cute accessories in this lush color to freshen up your wardrobe! (find Sweetie Pie Style on Twitter!)
• Second Street East is taking color inspiration from a new years resolution and turning it into an outfit and a room - such cute looks! (find Second Street East on Twitter!)

the IT list is brought to you weekly by Jill of Good Life and edited by Michelle of Second Street East.

For more information on how you can be involved - click here

Blue Lace Dress & Floral Blazer

Would you like to know the trick to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad hair day? 

Make your outfit so cute that no one will even notice your hair. Voila. 

I woke up and my hair looked like those babies from that Pampers commercial.

Except that I didn't look cute. At all.

I desperately tried the sock bun. No dice. 

As a result, I ended up with this little nubbin' on my head. 

I know you think it looks funny, but I'm sorry for not being graced with thick, luscious locks that whip into a bun worthy of the best ballerina.

Anyway, I wish you could see how cute these booties really are. (Again, my apologies to my friend, Amy, who hates booties.) I'm surprised none of my female students stole them off of my feet. 

One of my students walked into fifth period and said, "I heard about your outfit today. It really is cute." My students are talking about my clothes when they're not in my class?

Why can't they talk about that awesome poem we read? 

Who am I kidding? My vanity loves the attention.

And only English teachers like that poem.

And the kid who sits in the front.

Another student (a male), who is incredibly stylish in his own right, said my blazer would "look sweet" if it were the lining of a man's suit jacket and the chest pocket. Cool idea, kid. 

Today was a success. I think I pulled together a warm, professional, fun outfit, and I feel like my students actually understood today's poem. (If you have to teach poetry, I really love the TPCASTT strategy.) We also played my game of makeshift vocabulary basketball, which was a good time. Until my students with horrible aim accidentally pelted me with the Nerf ball. Bad form, freshmen, bad form. 

 Meet my first attempt at an artsy shot. How did I do?

This picture made me laugh. My face is the result of my feeling uncomfortable. 

My neighbor was totally peeking out of the window while I took some of these shots.

Outfit Deets:

Dress: Kohl's (not sure what brand, but here's one with long sleeves at Mango; this one at ModCloth is really adorable, too and a bit longer than the Mango dress)

Blazer: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's (exact)

Belt: Gift from my awesome sister-in-law (who also got me a mint scarf)--I believe it's from NY& Co.

Booties: Mia via Boscov's (exact)

Just so that you can see my pretty booties, here's a picture from the Boscov's website:

Today, I linked up with That Friday Blog Hop. 

Striped Peplum: Two Looks

When Jeff and I visited friends in New York, we ended up at the Loft in NYC. I wonder how that happened? Oops. Anyway, I saw this top, and we fell in deep, steamy like. 

I had a small case of buyer's remorse (though Jeff bought it as a Christmas gift) because I had no idea what the crap to pair with it. I didn't want to be terribly boring, but I considered it. 

Enter my a-ha moment, and it wasn't even inspired by another blog or Pinterest.

Holy cow, I can have independent sartorial thoughts. Gasp. 

I decided that my red blazer and new necklace would do the trick.

I considered wearing my red wedges, but I decided against my natural inclination to be supremely matchy matchy. 

One of my senior aides told me that my outfit was Pinterest worthy. Be still my vain, vain heart.

Ya know, I thought my hair was too big today. It's looking a little Marge Simpson-esque. 

I felt mildly self conscious until a previous student saw me and complimented my voluminous locks. 

The best part about our encounter? She wasn't sure of the adjectival form of volume. She looked at me and said, "volum...?" I said, "voluminous?" 

"Yes! That's the word.  I didn't want to say the wrong thing. I mean, come on, you're an English teacher." Ha.ha. 

Sometimes I think documenting my outfits is silly. There are so many bigger things happening right now. I then realized that, regardless of the vanity and triviality of fashion blogging, it might just provide a little bright spot for someone else. Maybe my narratives serve as amusement. And, hey, I try to include some educational links. Ultimately, this small corner of the world offers me positivity and sanity. I see so much misery and feel so much compassion for those who are in need that A Little Bit of WoWe serves as my reprieve from the pandemonium that we call life. 

I hope your visits here help you to escape whatever might be plaguing you. 

If not, there's always this.

Anyway, on with scheduled programming.

Please excuse that unsightly excrescence on the side of the house. I'm typically much better at cropping it out of the frame.

If I wore this shirt outside of the teaching realm, I might style it like so. Like WO. 

Bahaha, I slay me. 

 Welcome to my wardrobe, you fun, red flats. 

I'm not sure why I ended with the most awkward picture of the bunch, but I felt like you'd be disappointed by just one picture of this look. Of course, you might be disappointed anyway, but such is life. Please enjoy my larger than life hair. 

Outfit Deets:

Red Blazer: Old Navy (exact)

Peplum top: Loft (exact)

Nude Pumps: Naturalizer (I like these.)

Necklace & earrings: The Limited 

Military jacket: Forever21 (lots of choices here)

Red Flats: Urban Outfitters (these from Zappos have fun sparkles)

BlogLovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Meal Plans and Spots

I rang in the new year with an apple juice box, a Lifetime movie on demand, and a zonked out husband who had no recollection of the New Year's kiss that I gave to him. 

As a result of all of my food intolerances, sensitivities, and allergies, I've been trying to reclaim my health through my meal plans and nutritional supplements. Call it a new LIFE resolution, if you will. I even went so far as to start seeing a nutritionist at the nearby hospital (best decision ever). 

Anyway, I'm going to focus my efforts on taking my meal plan from healthy to balanced. Luckily for me, my husband is completely on board. In fact, he'd like to start contributing his "recipes" to this here blog. For the record, I've nicknamed him Jeff Boyardee. Cute, I know.

All right, I feel like, for the past few posts, I've tried to provide you with some resourceful links to all sorts of information. Well, I'm about to inundate you with several today: 

If you want some help balancing your meals, ChooseMyPlate.gov is a valuable resource. 

The nutritionist told me about The Fresh 20, which I'd like to try because it has gluten-free menu options (and normal ones, too, so don't worry.)

 Jeff was not a fan that you had to pay for it, so he found Eating Well's gluten-free meal plan.

If you hate that the doctor always sends you off with a bag of pills and you'd rather find a more natural method of healing, the best book that sits on my parents' bookshelf and mine is Prescription for Nutritional Healing. It should be a bookshelf staple for everyone...inmyhumbleopinion. 

I admit that Dr. Oz is awesome (and nice to look at), but Dr. Weil has been around for a long time and doesn't earn nearly enough credit for his knowledge. Advice that he's been giving for what seems like forever is finally becoming mainstream information. He's worth checking out, too.  

And, BAM! I send you off with a handful of links and my outfit.

I tried a new color combination, and I'm a big fan. I hope you are, too. 

It's okay if you're not. I'll probably wear it again anyway. 

 If it weren't frowned upon and mildly unsanitary, I would wear this cardigan every day, but then the other clothes in my closet would feel sad, and I can't have that, now can I?

Outfit Deets: 

Cardigan: LOFT (old but here's a sort of similar one at Old Navy)

Top: The Limited (here's one on the cheap from NY & Co.)

Belt: J.Crew (I think I like this $15 one from Lulu's better.)

Flats: Mod Cloth (these from Nordstrom are cute)

Necklace: NY & Co.

Oh, Jeff made some delicious tuna salad that has a lot of good stuff in it.

Mix together the following ingredients:

2 cans albacore tuna

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

 some mayo to help it mix (we use the kind with olive oil in it)

salt

pepper

parsley

1 avocado (my favorite part)

Whew! I hope you feel mighty educated after reading this post. Actually, if you made it this far, I applaud you.

Oh, and I linked up with The Pleated Poppy, Rolled Up Pretty, and Because Shanna Said So today :)

P.S. Here's to hoping I win that J.Crew giveaway from Here & Now!

Leather and Tweed

Why, hello there, and Happy New Year to you, my friends. 

I do hope you are enjoying this holiday and that you didn't drink yourself into a horrific hangover that could rival the movie. You have all of your fingers and teeth, yes? Then I suppose you're already in pretty good shape. 

2012 brought me a beautiful, sweet baby niece (who's also my goddaughter) and a happy little chunky monkey of a nephew. Even though 2012 brought two bouncing babies whom I love and I used to work in the infant room at the Goddard School, it's a shame that I'm still terrified of babies (except for my niece--I figure I'm her only aunt, so she has to like me.) I'm petrified that I'll poke its eye out with one of my buttons or make it wail until it chokes on air, so I'm never one of those women who says, "let me hold your baaaby." Plus, every parent is different. Some want to swaddle them in a Hazmat suit so that no germs infect them, while others wouldn't mind if you took them in for a week. So, unless I know the parents really well, I just coo and make stupid faces at the children from afar. 

2012 brought me a lot of peace. I've come to terms with the fact that I cannot be perfect, and there is no reason to beat myself up over it. All of my papers won't get graded in one day (or even one week), and that's okay. I do not have time to make cookbook worthy meals, and that's okay. I cannot scratch off everything on my to-do list, and that's okay. As long as I do my best to be my best, I need to be satisfied with my efforts versus chastise myself for not being better. 

2012 brought me a lot of wonderful things, so I'm excited to see what 2013 has in store for me! I'm especially excited for my best friend's wedding! :) 

 This coat is so old that I cannot remember how I came to own it. Was it a gift? Did I get it for myself? I have no idea. I just know that it's from Express, and apparently it fits right in with the current faux fur trend. 

 I didn't want to be all brown, so I tried to add some color with my top and, obviously, my lips :)

Outfit Deets:

Coat: Express (here's a similar one, or this one)

Long Sleeve Top: Kohl's (here's a similar version for $6) 

Scarf: Gift :)

Hat: Target 

Tweed skirt: The Limited (try this one or this one)

Tights and socks: No clue, but you could try Target

Boots: Diba via DSW (love these--pictures of them have been floating around Pinterest)

So, if you want to feel inspired, check out the best photos of 2012. Pretty dang cool.

I hope you enjoy these random little links and tidbits.