Twentysomething science teacher married to a (mostly) great guy. We're finishing the renovations on our home and deciding what to do next. It’s a good life and it’s getting better.
shirt: Carole Little (from Marshalls)
dress: Calvin Klein
shoes: rsvp
These pictures don’t really do justice to the dress I’m wearing – either that or I think the dress looks better than it actually does. Unfortunately, I suppose either one is possible. It has multiple layers of black fabric which look cool (I think…) but don’t really photograph well. The shirt on the other hand, the shirt is awesome. It’s long, comfortable, and it has pockets. Pockets! It’s perfection. I’m pretty sure that it’s not trendy; Carole Little clothing from Marshalls tends to look pretty … frumpy? … but this shirt is great. I can see myself wearing it all summer long. It’ll work over dresses, with white pants, over my bathing suit, with a pair of jeans; I can’t think of many things in my closet that it won’t go with. I used to wear button-ups all the time in high school and college and somehow got away from it, I went with cardigans instead. There’s something really crisp and cool about cotton shirts though, they’re summery and light. I love it!
tank top: Kenar
skirt: ABS Essentials
flip flops: Old Navy
One bad day for me + one bad day for my husband = going out for supper. At a restaurant an hour and 15 minutes away. Perhaps not the wisest thing we’ve ever done, but I think it cheered us up a little. We both needed it.
These pictures didn’t turn out so well. It was hard to find a location to take the pictures and the lighting wasn’t good so I look washed out but I’m posting them anyway. They definitely don’t do justice to the shirt I was wearing. The print is amazing (I think) and it has a metal zipper on the back. I’m a sucker for exposed zippers. I usually debate with myself quite a bit before buying something (I’m that cheap) but there was almost no debate over this. It went something like this:
I love those colors! And pattern! Oh, a zipper! Swoon.
How much is it?
$14.99
Oh, that’s more than I usually spend on a tank top…
But it’s amazing! I love it!
Geez, get a room already. And put it in the cart.
True story.
jacket: from Marshalls
sweater: J. Crew
tank: Martin + Osa
skirt: Grace Elements
shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction
Another dreary day and my yellow sweater didn’t do a whole lot to perk me up today. Coffee would have helped but I was too lazy to make some. That’s just sad. The sun is supposed to come back out tomorrow, thankgoodness. I have a summery shirt I’ve been dying to wear but I need nice weather first. Besides, everything is better when the sun is out. I’m definitely solar-powered.
Now, I’m planning to spend my evening watching Northern Exposure. I’m only 20 years behind the times… I’m enjoying the show but I’m also using it as a distraction. My students start their end of course testing (aptly called the SOLs – who named these things?) tomorrow and I need to think about anything but that for a while. I’m worried for them; I have weak students this year and it’s been a struggle for all of us. Think good thoughts for them around 7:30 tomorrow morning, please. They’ll need it.
skirt: Tulle
shirt: from Marshalls
jacket: Ralph Lauren
tights: Hue
shoes: rsvp
I have a love/hate relationship with linen. I love the way it looks and the relaxed vibe it gives off but I could really do without the wrinkles that show up immediately after you’ve gotten dressed. Taking this picture at the end of a long day probably wasn’t the best idea either. The skirt looks awful and you’re going to have to trust me when I tell you that I ironed it before school this morning! You certainly can’t tell by looking at the pictures…
Filed under: inner monologues
Today’s weather report: chilly and really, really rainy. No pictures today. Hopefully it will be a little less wet outside tomorrow. Is it bad that I was lazy getting dressed this morning simply because I knew I wouldn’t be photographing it? Probably. Welcome to real life.
I happened upon this post over the weekend and wow, did it hit home. Go read it. Now. I should probablly commit to reading that article on a daily basis because I know I have my priorities screwed up when it comes to body image. I’ve struggled with it for years and it’s always been something I thought I’d just grow out of. That doesn’t seem to be happening. Every now and then I need reality to slap me in the face and that article does it quite nicely, thank you very much. Health and happiness are so much more important than any concern I may have over my inner thighs touching. And even though I know that’s true, why is that so hard to really believe? I really thought that I’d be over this type of thinking by this point in my life.
sweater: Kersh
tank: Romeo & Juliet
skirt: Grace Elements
shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction
It’s Friday and the final day of Dress Your Best Week. This has been such an interesting, enlightening, and thought-provoking experience. I’ve loved reading what other people had to say about themselves and their favorite features. Everyone has something (or in this case, five things) worthy of celebrating. I’ve enjoyed thinking about my features in a positive way instead of focusing on aspects of myself that I’m less than happy with; why is that always our default setting?! In addition, I know I’ve found a few new blogs that I’ll be reading on a regular basis. Thanks Academichic for have such a great idea and encouraging other bloggers to participate along with you!
My final favorite feature is my clavicle and shoulders. They don’t do anything special but I like the way they stand out. They’re prominent. They make me feel strong, powerful, and maybe a little sexy. Sexy isn’t usually something I do, at least not well. I’m more of a cute girl. But if I (or maybe just my shoulders…) manage to look slightly sexy now and then I’m not going to complain.
And being that it’s Friday, I’m now going to sign off and go enjoy spending some quality time with my husband. I’m not used to doing daily posts so five in a row has taken a bit of effort! It’s been great though, really. Thanks to all the people who stopped by and to those who commented too. Come back any time! Have a great weekend, folks!
scarf: Lucky
jacket: Ralph Lauren
dress: Max Studio
flip flops: Old Navy
So we’re on day four of Dress Your Best Week and I should have planned more carefully! The last two features that I wanted to feature (bad word choice) are both covered up in my outfit. It is unseasonably chilly here today so short of freezing all day, I didn’t have a choice. When it comes to looking good or staying warm, I’m going to go with warm every single time. I did manage to shed a few layers just for the sake of a few pictures but the layers went right back on when I was done! Cheating? Maybe.
The feature I choose to showcase today is my arms. While they’ve never saved anyone from a burning building or scaled any skyscrapers, they always manage to look good in a tank top. Is that shallow? Maybe. But it’s something! I’m glad I don’t have to worry about their appearance. I know they’re going to look fine. They also manage to do most things I ask of them. I can haul around 50 lb. bags of chicken feed and then help set our new (and oh so exciting!) concrete countertops. They can talk the talk and walk the walk. But they can’t do any pull-ups. No one’s perfect.
My arms are long, just like my legs, so they require a little extra effort when buying long sleeved shirts. As a high school student I remember thinking that having to shop around my arm length was a real pain, but it doesn’t even cross my mind anymore. Or maybe they’ve just made shirt sleeves longer in recent years… Either way, I’m happy with my arm and I think I’m going to keep them around.
dress: J. Crew
shirt: Nautica
shoes: 9 West
belt: from Rugged Wearhouse
For day 3 of Dress Your Best week I’m choosing to celebrate my waist. It’s definitely one of my favorite physical features although I haven’t always appreciated it and have only recently started to dress to accentuate it. For most of my life my waist remained hidden behind your average, somewhat baggy shirt or sweater. It was there, but it wasn’t really visible. Maybe it was hibernating. Well that isn’t cutting it any longer! It’s amazing what a belt can do to an otherwise shapeless shirt or dress. Instead of your eyes going to the widest part of my body (hello hips, I’m talking about you), they’re drawn to the narrowest part. It’s the perfect trick and I wish I’d learned it years ago! I’ve had fun picking up various belts this year too; I’ve been trawling the discount stores and thrift shops in town snatching up ones that match my style. I don’t find great belts very often but the thrill of the hunt is pretty powerful and it’s worth it when I find one that will work in my closet. So thank you, belts, for helping me appreciate my waist and show it off.
cardigan: from Marshalls
tank: from Marshalls
skirt: Tulle
shoes: Madeline Stuart
It’s day two of Dress Your Best week at academichic and while I focused on my legs yesterday, today I wanted to focus on my coloring. I love my dark hair/light skin combination. I used to say that the dark hair came from the Native American on my mom’s side of the family (that sounded so exotic in elementary school!), but it’s not. It, along with the light skin, come from the Polish side of my family. I inherited them both from my dad (thanks Pop!) and I love them.
I spent a few of my teen years attempting to tan without much success but I’m over that. Now as long as I remember to put on SPF 30 I’m good to go. My hair on the other had has given me more and more trouble as I get older and it won’t be getting any better. I started going gray when I was in college and now, at 28, I’m probably one third gray. I guess that’s what I get for complaining about my head getting hot in the sun… The whole graying process comes from my dad too since he was fully gray by the time he turned 30. Thanks again, Pop. Side note: I probably have 10x more gray hair than my mom and she has a 30 year head start. She enjoys pointing this out. For now I dye it but I won’t do that forever; I’m just not ready to embrace that much gray hair yet. Lest I sound too superficial, I’m not embarrassed or even particularly bothered by it (trust me, I let my roots grow out way, way too far), I’m just not ready to be gray yet. It doesn’t feel like me. I’ll reevaluate when I’m 40!
sweater: sweet romeo
dress: Maggy London
tights: Hue
shoes: rsvp
I decided to take part in Dress Your Best week at academichic and choose to spotlight my legs today. Sure, I give them a hard time on a regular basis. My thighs could be more toned and yeah, cellulite happens, but they’re not so bad as a whole and I really do appreciate them. They always get me where I want to go, they’re long, and I love that I can easily keep up with my husband when we go for walks. Maybe wearing a short dress with colored tights was taking the easy way out when it comes to complementing my legs, but I love this dress and with heels it makes me feel like my legs go on for miles. So there!
The second picture has nothing to do with my legs or style. You can’t see what I’m wearing at all. But we had so much fun taking pictures today (after a rough start – we forgot the camera card) and I just wanted to show that. The wind was blowing and we were getting strange looks while people drove past but it was fun! Really fun! The picture after this (which thankfully came out a bit too blurry to post) shows me laughing so hard I was drooling. Stylish, right? A Monday when you can have this much fun is an awesome Monday!
Hopefully you folks had a decent day too, and comment if you’re taking part in Dress Your Best week. I want to check out what everyone else is wearing/highlighting!
