Leggings are not pants: a cautionary tale through photographs

For the past week, I'd had a bitchin' idea for what to wear for tutoring and a dinner at my husband's colleague's house on Friday (yesterday). I put on the outfit and looked down on myself and said "Awwww yeeeeeeeeah." Then I took the look to my bathroom and did elaborate poses to certify that the outfit was, indeed, bitchin' (I don't own a full-length mirror). Then I took some photos:

"Awww, yeah. Oh. Oh. Look at my big 'I've worked out regularly since 2002' thighs. Okay, well, I'm a little contorted. Let's take a more natural picture:"

"No. No. Dear God, no. Maybe if I had matchstick legs... Okay. I need to go change. This is inappropriate to wear in front of children."

"Oh, Lord, much better. Granted, I wore almost this exact same outfit two weeks ago, but I have flats on instead of boots, so it looks and is weather appropriate."

"Everything's gonna be aaaalllll right..."

(In hindsight, the first look wasn't that hideous, but, no. Leggings - even corduroy jeggings - need some sort of butt/pelvis covering in my case. Also, as soon as I got to my tutee's house, the other girl looked at me and sighed, "Oh, I LOVE your outfit." So if a thirteen-year-old arty hipster thinks I look cute, I'm okay. Validation, I get it from teenagers.)

How I wore it: all at once, one day it's spring

Folks, the weather here has been gorgeous for the last couple of days (and presumably for the next few days), making this new New Englander cautiously mutter that spring is finally here on its way (I'm afraid of jinxing stuff). So that has had me feeling fine. I'm still on a high from getting a job offer (the contract should be coming soon) and still hoping that my defense will go through in July, as planned (I'm waiting to hear from the registrar about what the rules are and the longer she takes to get back to me, the more convinced I am that I will never, ever have a Ph.D.). In general, life is wonderful.

But I've been having some self-esteem issues this week: for one thing, I've struggled with really bad hair days for the last few days. I know that these "problems" are probably only visible to me, but trust me when I say that they exist - and it's really hard to hide problem hair when you have so little hair. Also, I've been breaking out a whole lot. I've always tended to oily/pimple-prone skin, but these past few days, everything has been running amok. Even on my back (ew)! Any special tips?

But those things are minor and, other than that, everything's been going well. I had to tutor today and it was kind of grey and windy, so I went with a cautious "I don't think spring is really here" look:

Hardly breathtaking - just a usual look for me: skinny bottoms (leggings today), boots, and a tunic. For the outdoors, I put a corduroy blazer over the whole shebang. A thoroughly average look for a thoroughly average day. Ho-hum.

Anyway, things should look up: we have potentially fun-ish plans tomorrow night, and Saturday will be dedicated to hanging out, walking around Boston, and shopping. Yay!

Green corduroy blazer: Gap, remixed

Striped tunic: American Apparel, remixed

Black leggings: HUE, by way of Lord and Taylor, remixed

Blue boots: Frye Veronica Slouches, by way of zappos.com, remixed

Speechless

Two miraculous things happened while I was watching 'Glee' (no, I'm not one of those fans: I just happen to be a former glee club singer who loves musicals. And Puck.):

a) The kids on the show made me actually enjoy Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' and gave me second thoughts about getting excited about her new album,

and

b) I discovered this:

That, my friends, is Wendy Brandes' (new?) owl necklace. I first discovered Wendy a few years ago, through Erin and quickly became hooked, going to her website every so often and reading her always-educational blog as well. There've been a few pieces of jewelry (mostly necklaces) that have caught my eye, but nothing as gasp-inducing as this owl. A necklace with the face of a barn owl, people! An owl! It's no secret that I love birds of prey and while vultures are my favorite birds, owls come a close second. I've wanted a pet owl for over twenty years, ever since I read Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals. My top dream tattoo involves an owl. I have a stuffed owl (no surprise) named Aristides. I really love owls. And I really want that necklace.

But at $5,500, I will probably never own that necklace. But man, oh, man, it's one of the most awesome things I've seen on the internet in a long time. An owl necklace, people! 

Amazing.

Oh, by the way, thank you all for the kind words on yesterday's post. I'm really excited about getting a steady paycheck again and not relying solely on tutoring for pocket money. Your wonderful comments and encouragement really made me even happier. Thank y'all! 

How I wore it: I wanna feel the HEAT with somebody!

People, as I may have mentioned yesterday, when my husband and I were about to leave our house, it was 74 degrees outside and sunny. We went to an area college to celebrate Easter with a bunch of other Greeks (and Greek wannabes like me) in order to dance the day away (some friends were the performers). The sunniness was fleeting - and we got rained on a couple of times (although I had an umbrella) - but for much of the day, I wore only this:

Let's discuss a couple of elements here: do you see anything on my ARMS? No. I wore a cardigan for some of the rainier/cooler moments, but for the most part? Bare arms. More importantly, do you see anything on my legs?! NO! Folks, I wore nothing but my mustardy flats on my legs yesterday: no tights, no leggings, no nothing. Just a dress and a pair of shoes. Can you DIG IT?! I don't know if I can do that in the near future again (although the weather is supposed to warm up a bit), but it was wonderful while it lasted. 

On another note, who expected that this dress would become such a workhorse this year? I bought it for $49.99 in September and I wore it throughout the fall, winter, and now the spring. It was a good buy.

In other news...?

... I got the job!!!!!

Early this afternoon, while I was about to start some proofing/editing on my dissertation, I got a phone call from the school I visited a scant five days ago: they offered me a full-time job teaching foreign languages. Full-time. I'm so excited! Although I said that I'm not sure that it's the place where I will work till I retire, it's where I want to work right now. I'm psyched. 

... Can you imagine how many pairs of Fryes I'll now be able to buy?!

Red dress: Calvin Klein, by way of TJ Maxx, remixed

Mustard flats: Nine West, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: when it's my turn I turn into a loon

Happy Easter, everyone! Or those of you who care. I didn't, until I started dating, then became engaged to, then married to, a Greek. The Orthodox do Easter RIGHT, y'know? There's ritual, singing, candles, and lots and lots of food at a suspect time. That's a holiday for me.

So after being good and avoiding dairy and meat and eggs for the majority of Holy Week, both my husband and I cracked yesterday, about twelve hours before the end, while cooking/baking. I am incapable of setting something out for other people without trying it first (preferably during stages). Yes, I'm being flippant about breaking the fast too early, but also? I want to make sure that I would eat what I'm giving others. So while I was making my oatmeal cheesecake bars (yes, I tend to make those all the time, but they're the Greek's favorite), I tried the cheesecake filling in secret. Then my husband decided to sample the meatloaf he'd made and after that, all bets were off. He made a pork and beef meatloaf and a leg of lamb, I made the dessert bars and a pastitsio. Others brought salad, wine, more dessert, soup, Easter bread... we have food in our fridge to last us for weeks.

Anyway, we had a fun Easter: after spending the day cooking, baking, and cleaning, we went to church, met up with friends, old and new, and all came back to our place for food, wine, and lively conversation. We both agreed that it was one of our best Easters together. I decided to fancy it up:

This is the same dress and shoe combo that I wore for the New Years party at our place a few months back and, obviously, the second time wearing this dress (my husband bought it for me as a surprise on New Years Eve). I wore my grey patterned stockings to lighten the black a little bit and I enjoyed pairing the whole shebang with gold jewelry. 

There is nothing like wearing fancy clothes with long earrings and short hair. I felt dressed up, but fun, and I kind of wanted to live in this outfit for the rest of the month. I won't, though, don't worry. When my husband bought me this dress, I loved it, but sort of forgot about it after wearing it because of its plainness (simple and black. A staple in my closet, no?). But yesterday I fell in love with it all over again. What a perfect simple LBD (well, maybe not THAT little)! Anyway, I felt perfect for Easter festivities and I sort of want to recreate the look again and again. 

Although there's no photographic evidence, I wore my Spanish cape out yesterday for the first time. With the mid-50s, wet weather we'd been having, it was the perfect cover - I cannot WAIT to have it as a staple next winter! 

Even better? It's sunny (although that's supposed to change) and 73 degrees outside right now. Easter Sunday is a quiet day in our household, a way of recovering from having gone to bed at 5 AM after a rich dinner that started at around 1 AM. But there's talk of going out Greek dancing. I can't wait to enjoy the weather! 

Way to cut off my feet there

Black dress; gift from my husband, Jones New York (outlet), remixed

Grey tights: Gap, remixed

Heels: Impo, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: apparently it's called "Maundy"?

People, today I had some things to do with my husband, so we had to run around Boston a little bit, which is always fun. The weather got RIDICULOUSLY cold while we were out, though, so I was shivering for much of the outing (despite the fact that less than 10 hours earlier, I was running outdoors IN SHORTS). Nevertheless, I persevered. I also had to tutor and decided to make an outfit out of the whole thing:

This is the fun, gauzy Gap shirt that I first bought/wore a couple of weeks ago. I'd been wanting to pair it  with a skirt for some time, so when the time came, I chose my red workhorse skirt. I liked the way everything looked together and also with the Greek boots. Anyway, I was comfortable all day long (although underprotected from the cold, despite wearing a cashmere cardigan AND my faux leather jacket. Boo hoo...) and felt pretty cute. 

Good thing, too, because I am GRUMPY these days... It's Holy Week, which in my household means no dairy or meat until the big dinner after Saturday night/Sunday morning mass. Hard-core observers like my mother-in-law go through all Lent like this, but after just four days, I'm suffering through severe milk (and cheese) withdrawal and both my husband and I are a little grouchy. I can't wait for milk! And Reese's. Mmmm... It's okay - I've been rocking the Welch's Fruit Snacks for the past few days...

In other news, I kinda got a job for next year? Not really. But kind of! I got a call from my contact person this afternoon and she informed me that there was definitely a part-time job opening for next year (which, I was told before, would definitely turn into full-time by the time September of 2012 rolls around), so it looks as if I'm all set? There's still a chance a full-time job will open up for this coming year, but for now I'm waiting for an official job offer for anything. To be honest, I loved the feel of this school, but I'm not sure if it's the place where I want to settle for the rest of my professional life, y'know? I mean, maybe it will be, but maybe it won't - and I'll have the chance to make that decision quite easily if all I have is a part-time job, y'know? Anyway, I'll have more news tomorrow, I hope, and then...maybe I'll be going back to school in September!

Black top: Gap, remixed

Red skirt: Dickie's, via Guacamole, a store (now closed?) in Philadlephia, remixed

Tights: gift from sister-in-law, via TJ Maxx (?), remixed

Boots: gift from husband, via a shoe store on Ermou Street, Athens, remixed

How I wore it: interview (#2)

Today I went for an on-campus interview at a school for which I was a candidate two years ago as well. It was a pretty good day, I think. I felt with it during my lesson (the current Spanish teacher said he thought it'd been "phenomenal") and the conversations I had with various administrators were really lovely. I'll be super-psyched if they hire me, I won't be devastated if they don't. I'm also very amenable to part-time work and they are very happy about that, so that's also a fun factor. Anyway, the school in question is a very artsy, progressive-type place (no dress code for teachers! Ahhh!!!) and I wanted to look more "stylish potential hire" than "frumpy non-professional" (which is how I looked two years ago), so I picked out my wardrobe well in advance with a lot of thought. Unfortunately, alas, I don't know if I succeeded:

In my fantasies, this skirt is high-waisted and hits a flattering amount above the knee. In reality, though, the skirt has always been a teensy bit roomy on me and is now SWIMMING on me. And so it falls onto my hips. And so it's slightly longer, slightly frumpier, and does NOT create a smooth line with a tucked-in tee. Plus it was cold, so a granny cardigan had to be added! Oh, well. At least I liked all the elements involved.

What I really hoped I'd be wearing was this:

Smilin' at my cat. See how low the skirt falls? See?!

As a base, I quite like this look, skirt's length notwithstanding. But it was in the 40s most of the day and grey and drizzly, so the cardigan was non-negotiable. At least I had fun tights!

Anyway, we'll see what happens. Meanwhile, I'm happy just working with my advisor's comments and finishing up my dissertation (and trying to make sure with the university that a July viva is feasible)...

In other news, this week I read the devastating news that one of my favorite blogs, Fashionable Academics (is it already down?!), has ended its tenure as one of the best academic/grad school personal style blogs out there. I enjoyed getting to "know" La Historiadora de Moda, AUH, Shakespeare's Feminine Endings, and the rest of the gang immensely. Y'all will be missed.

Black t-shirt: H&M, remixed
Green cardigan: gift from mom, via Lord and Taylor, remixed
Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft, remixed
Patterned tights: Gap, remixed
Black flats: Me Too, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: biker geek

So I think I've mentioned in the past that my style, at its best, tends to be rock & roll nerd sometimes. I really like a sort of hard/edgy aesthetic, but anyone who knows me will attest that - as soon as I open my mouth - all aspirations of edginess just fly out the window: I'm just too proudly geeky with no chance of hiding it.

So yesterday, when I got dressed for an impromptu walk around the nearest lake with my husband (the weather dramatically changed from humid/rainy/balmy to sunny/windy/balmy), I was rather surprised at how I'd styled myself: a (faux) leather jacket! Bad-ass boots! Skinny pants!

Can you see the mudstains that brutalized my boots? Don't worry, they've been cleaned

... Oh, and powder-blue glasses and flower-shaped earrings. And a slobbering enthusiasm for premodern Sanskritic literature and Indo-European grammar. 

Now, this isn't a novel outfit (for me) in the least; it has many of my favorite elements: a tunic, skinny jeans/jeggings, boots, and contrasting hemlines. But I felt good about it for most of the day: it had a streamlined effect that I'd only hoped for and was amply comfortable for stomping around a lake. 

Also, I get really excited whenever I wear my blue glasses... 

In other news, some wonderful stuff has been happening. My advisor wrote back to me and... guys, I'm gonna have a Ph.D. really, really soon. He wants me to visit him in early July. And German dissertations are supposed to be published, so that's gonna happen, too. Anyway, he sent me some corrections and to do some errands, he's mostly happy with my introduction, and life is good. I'm already looking into flights between Athens and Hamburg and lodgings (I really want to stay in the same kick-ass apartment as last year). Yay! Oh, and I also got my schedule for the Wednesday visit at the school and I'm gonna be teaching a grammar lesson (which, if you know me, you'll know that you literally cannot get me more excited than when I'm postulating about Spanish grammar to a group of hapless students) right at the beginning of the day, meaning that I'll be really unstressed for the rest of it. 

Stuff is happening: I just really hope it all continues to happen well! 

Grey jacket: H&M, remixed

Grey tunic: American Apparel, remixed

Jeggings: HUE, by way of Lord and Taylor, remixed

Blue boots: Frye Veronica Slouches, by way of zappos.com, remixed 

How I wore it: born in the USA

Hey, y'all. Yesterday (it was COLD and RAINY yesterday, boo!) my husband and I were invited to a nice dinner in the home of a Greek couple to whom we're quite close (they were the "best couple"/witnesses at our City Hall wedding); they'd also invited another Greek couple, so we had a fun time chatting about music, language, Sanskrit, and academia. I was the only non-Greek in the group, but everyone took my slightly slower reaction time with ease and were generous in explanations. Since we were having a cozy dinner at our friends' home, I didn't want to get too overdressed, but I'd had an idea in my head for an outfit for a while and I decided to go for it:

I decided to put together a black kurta and my white jeggings to create a sort of home-grown churidar pajama look (the churidar is the tight pant beneath the kurta - the pants I have from India are the loose, forgiving salwar). The funny thing is that all the elements of my outfit were bought in the States. The jeggings, as you know, are from TJ Maxx; and the kurta? I bought that at H&M many years ago, I think around the summer of 2002. It was labeled a "dress," but due to the very high slits on either side (not seen in the picture, but you can sort of tell by the shape of how it falls), unwearable as such. I've almost only exclusively paired it with bright red pants in the States, and, in India, where I wore it at least once or twice a week, I'd pair it with some loose salwar-esque pants that I was fond of. Anyway, I was thrilled with how it looked with the tight, white jeggings, so I'm pretty sure that I'll return to this look again. I'm a very big fan of black and white outfits and I think these jeggings will be my ticket in finally getting the hang of it...

Anyway, the dinner was amazing, the conversation was great, and the evening was a great success. Yay for friends! 

I've had an an unusually social weekend - what have y'all been up to?

Black kurta: H&M

White jeggings: HUE, by way of TJ Maxx, remixed

Black flats: Me Too, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: the bitch is back!

People, yesterday I had such a good day! [On a side note, as of yesterday, my husband and I have been home-owners for a year! Adults!] Anyway, I had another great run in the morning and I've been unofficially invited for an all-day interview at the school next week! I'm supposed to get the deets over the weekend, so I hope I'll know more shortly. Yay!

Anyway, one of my former colleagues was also having a party last night, so I clearly went. It's been a while since I've gone to a party not hosted by myself. My husband was too tired to attend, so off I went by myself. I decided to wear the other top that I bought in the Gap last week (I wore the first one a week ago):

Fun, right?! While trying on this immodest, drapy tank top in the dressing room, I thought that it wasn't really my usual style - metal embellishments? Drapy and loose? But the more I examined myself in the mirror, the more I realized that I wanted to be the kind of woman who wears this kind of top. So I bought it. 

And I'm gonna be honest: I felt like a rock star in this outfit: revealing top with studs? Tight black jeans? Yes.

The top is particularly special because of another detail (I'm so mature):

You'll be happy to know that, after I examined this photo, I combed my hair

Check out that back, people! A cowl(-neck?) collar, a sexy little string holding up the whole shebang? LOVE! I cannot wait to wear this bad girl out over the summer, when people can actually see the back detail. Because yesterday it was so cold that I had to cover up with a cardigan, like a good schoolgirl:

Yes, in fact, I was feeling silly while taking photos. Could you tell?

So, yeah, that kind of mitigated the whole "rock star" feeling. Oh, well. It'll be awesome at my cousin-in-law's bachelorette party... 

I also wore the new necklace I bought from ArtWark on Etsy for the first time. I loved how it looked with the gold detail on my shirt (and my favorite gold earrings, which you can barely see in all these photos):

Pretty shape and length, no? I loved how it looked. 

Anyway, the party was a blast, I got to see a lot of friends that I haven't in a while (some since last June!), and gossip some more about work - one of my favorite activities...

Anyway, that was my Friday, folks. And I'm very happy with it. 

Green cardigan: gift from my mom, via Lord and Taylor, remixed

Embellished tank: Gap

Black jeans: Bulldog by Urban Outfitters, remixed

Boots: gift from my husband, from a shoe store on Ermou Street, Athens, remixed

Gold pear necklace: ArtWark store on Etsy 

 

How I wore it: shine... the weather's fine

Today was kind of an awesome day, people. I was efficient, the weather was lovely, and my husband cooked me a delicious dinner which included appetizers and dessert. And I still have home-made peanut-butter cookies left over from a spontaneous baking spree yesterday.

What can I say? Life is good.

I even planned my Spanish lessons before 9:30 this morning and was ready to go when the time for tutoring came long:

I was so inspired by much of Style Nation's wearing of their maxi dresses and skirts this week, so I decided to pull out the longest, flowiest skirt I own. And so I did. With the glorious spring weather and the blanket-like quality of this skirt, I didn't even wear tights today! Just flats! I haven't yet branched out into wearing any other color top with this skirt but black, but I liked wearing my long, flowy black shirt today. I wore this exact same outfit about a year ago, but I didn't blog it. Anyway, as I'm saying, I do like the pairing of a flowy shirt with a flowy skirt. Yay, flowiness! 

Anyway, today went well for a number of other reasons: I was able to run the entirety of my favorite running trail today, for one thing. It'd been a while since I ran it, since I have to walk about 15 minutes before hitting it, so I've been eschewing it in the colder months in favor of hitting the running trail across the street from my house. But today was the second time I'd ventured there since, oh, October? And, as opposed to Monday, I ran the whole thing! Fist pump. Later, I got two phone calls from the new school that's been in touch with me, one from the dean and one, finally, from a language teacher. I does seem as if I might be invited for an on-campus visit, but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. Finally, my husband and I booked our tickets to Greece. They were expensive, but we worked it out and we'll be leaving from and returning to Boston, as opposed to New York, so we'll have less travel time to deal with. I also e-mailed my advisor to inform him of the dates of my European trip so that he can get back to me as to my future (and last?) visit to Hamburg.

So, yeah, I was so proud of my own productiveness that I had to raise my arms high in victory:

Yes, I am this much of a goober.

So that was my day. Whoo! Eventful!

Black top: Tony's, a boutique in Old City Philadelphia, remixed

Black and blue skirt: Gap, remixed

Black flats: Me Too, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: it's just a state of mind

Hi all. Wow. I hope I get a job, not for the money or the security, but mainly so I can post more outfit shots. Is that weird? I can't believe I haven't updated since SUNDAY, but that's the way it's been going these past few weeks, eh?

[In job news, I've been contacted a couple of times by that school that e-mailed me on Sunday night. I should be having a phone interview with a current Spanish teacher in the very near future.]

In other other news, my husband and I are starting to make our summer plans and the tickets to Greece are hideously expensive this time. I know that it's so bratty: "Oh, alas, poor us, our summer plans are going to be so EXPENSIVE, dahlings!" But it's the way it is. My husband sees his family once a year, in the summer. His cousin (and the daughter of my godmother) is getting married in early July and she and her fiancé planned for a summer wedding specifically so that we'd be there. I have to go to Hamburg to defend (?) my dissertation. It's just gonna be expensive.

Despite everything, I've actually been having a good couple of days. For the last month or so, I've been telling people that I plan to do some Sanskriting on my own as soon as my dissertation is finished. However, I'm playing the waiting game now, waiting for my advisor's revisions/comments, so I decided to start NOW instead of waiting for another few months and potentially making my Sanskrit go all rusty. So on Monday I started rereading Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam, one of his seminal poems (I read the first book ten years ago with my second-year Sanskrit class and parts of the third and fourth books with my advisor many years ago). I plan to go from beginning to end, just me, and have a lovely time of it. I don't know why I'm telling you all this: Sanskrit! It's a valid life choice! Anyways, to cut a long story short, I've been filling my days with pretty poetry and lots of reference books. Yay.

Anyway, after the rash of nice weather we saw the past few days (and more to come, I hear), today was a grey and rainy day. I mean pouring. I'd gone out (and gotten sopping wet) for the gym and, unfortunately, had to go out again for groceries. This is what I wore:

Not very exciting, I know. I'd originally planned my outfit to be way cuter. While watching 'Parenthood' last night, I was struck by an outfit that actress Monica Potter (who plays Kristina Braverman) wore in one scene. I can't find a photo of it online, but it was super-simple: a white, tunicy-type blouse over a pair of khakis. Hair pulled back in a ponytail. So lovely. So I decided to try to recreate it with my Indian shirt, seen above, and my own pair of khakis. I was psyched to have a nice inspiration for an outfit. Alas, the weather being what it was, I decided to pack it all in and wear some hardcore boots over leggings. So while this top is a little shorter than I'd like for these bottoms, I couldn't help but want to wear at least one element of the outfit of my dreams. Maybe another day?

Unimpressed.

Let's change the subject. Last week, on my date with myself, I bought two pairs of earrings. The blue pair I wore last week, the day after I bought them, but I wore the other pair today for the first time:

Fun, no? As you can probably tell, I like simple jewelry where all you see is the stone. I like that these are white, which'll be a lot of fun for the summer, and I like the chains hanging freely to mix with the big, chunky stone willy-nilly. They're a teensy bit heavier than I'm recently used to, but nothing too dramatic. I mean, I kept them on while baking and hanging out on the couch, so they're quite comfortable. 

Anyway, tomorrow promises to be a prettier day and I hope to have news from the job situation. Happy hump day, all!

White earrings: Chico's

White top: gift from an ex-boyfriend, remixed

Tank underneath: Urban Outfitters

Grey jeggings: HUE by way of Lord and Taylor, remixed

Blue boots: Frye Veronica Slouches, by way of zappos.com, remixed 

How I wore it: if you don't know where you're going any road will take you there

Thanks for the lyrical inspiration, George H!

People, today was a lovely day. I got up early in the morning to do some baking. I then accompanied my husband to his place of work where he gave a successful joint lecture/concert with one of his colleagues. After coming back home and a quick nap, we went to our next-door neighbor's for a delicious dinner that had been planned, with another couple of neighbors that we know and like (that's what I did the baking for). It was so much fun - a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

Oh, I also just got an e-mail from the language chair of another area school with which I interviewed two years ago (and obviously didn't get the job), so we'll see how it goes this time around. Life isn't as bleak as usual.

Oh, and spring seems to be coming! I wore my lightest of jackets yesterday and today!

Anyways, for today's activities, I decided to keep it simple in black and red, a no-fail combination for me:

Smirky!

I've worn an iteration of this outfit a few times, but what can I say: I love this shirt and I love pairing it with black. What can I say ... I'm not the most original of remixers. At least I changed shoes? 

So, that's, um, all, folks. A brief entry for a lovely, filled weekend. Do you forgive me?

Red top: Tony's, a boutique in Old City Philadelphia, remixed

Black jeans: Bulldog by Urban Outfitters, remixed

Buffalo plaid flats: American Eagle [Payless], remixed

How I wore it: Friday wanderings

People, today turned out to be an exceptionally full day. After tutoring, I decided to head downtown to the city in order to drop off a job application (oh?); meet my husband; take a long walk; and go to the French restaurant where we ate for our anniversary last month. And in order to do all that, I decided to wear one of the two new tops I bought yesterday at the Gap:

Fun, no? I wouldn't say it's my usual style, but I quite love it on. It has a jersey base with a light overlayer of thin chiffon-y material - that's what makes all those lovely, flouncy folds. It has one special detail: the reason for which I took it off the shelf:

Well, it WOULD be a cool detail if my camera hadn't blurred it

A random exposed zipper on the left side! I'm kind of a sucker for both zipper embellishments and exposed zipper, so this shirt spoke to a dark place inside me. 

I foresee this new top looking cute with a lot of pants (bright ones especially) and skirts, but today I kept it simple with jeans because I dearly wanted to wear blue jewelry:

The hamsa charm I've had for about four years. In spring of 2007, when my then-boyfriend (now husband) went home to Greece for Easter, I sent him on his way with two pairs of earrings, one for his sister and one for his cousin (who's getting married in July *sniff*); I bought them at a store in Philadelphia called Dahlia's ('Treasures from the Holy Land'!) on 20th and Walnut, I believe. Because I spent at least $200, I was given the little charm as a gift. I immediately strung it on a silver chain and wore it while the Greek was out of town. I don't think I've worn it since. I liberated it from my jewelry box in New York last month. The earrings I bought yesterday in a store called Chico's. As soon as I saw them, I thought they'd look nice with the hamsa. And I was proved correct, I think.

In the meantime, I'm sitting watching "Camelot" and - don't judge me - feeling hungry again. Time to forage the fridge. I'm gross.

Earrings: Chico's
Necklace: gift with purchase from Dahlia's in Philadelphia
Black top: Gap
Jeans: Gap, remixed
Grey booties: Aldo's, remixed

How I wore it: I choose me

People, today I took myself on a date. Because of my condo association's yearly owners' meeting (and election for the new trustees!) this evening, I had to tutor an hour earlier than usual. And I had an appointment in the city a few hours before that. So I decided to make a day of it: go shopping, take myself out to lunch, and generally enjoy time with myself and the Beatles (in my iPod, folks. Duh.). 

Spring is slowly slouching into the region and I decided to speed it up by débuting my new white jeggings:

Despite my dead eyes, I was actually pretty into my outfit for the first part of the day. Look! White doesn't make me look like a whale! Look! I can wear chic black and white without looking like a waitress (when my ultra-hard-core choir performed a mass one Sunday, wearing our standard dress code of white - collared - top and long black skirt, and we hear an old man ask "What's up with all the waitresses?!")! Look, my blue boots are adorable on white! Yay! I'm actually super-looking forward to wearing these over the summer - with a long top and my turquoise sandals? CA-YUUUUTE! 

However, it was in the high 30s when I woke, only a few hours before my first appointment, so I had to make the outfit a little more early-spring-appropriate:

Oh, well. 

So my first appointment was to trim my short hair, over which growth my stylist exclaimed in shock. Apparently my hair grows faster than normal mortals'. Yay. So now I'm all shorn and happy:

Forgive the exhaustion: this was taken after the 2.5 hour-long owners' meeting

After my haircut, I sauntered around Boston and did some shopping which I probably shouldn't have done. I bought two pairs of earrings and used up some coupons at the Gap ($105 down to $59!) to buy new shirts and socks. I'll be rolling these items out shortly: I was too lazy to take photos of my new products. 

Anyway, the long, ten-hour day in white jeggings taught me some lessons. A) If you're a brunette, don't wear these "jeanz" during a haircut. You'll find bristles for hours afterwards. And B) Gap mirrors are hugely unflattering - or these jeggings aren't as cute as I thought. 

Hmmm...

Black tunic: American Apparel, remixed

White jeggings: HUE, by way of TJ Maxx

Blue boots: bought in Spain, remixed

How I wore it: simple gifts

People, my life has been so BORING the last few days. I mean, yeah, poor me, I take my days at my leisure, but it's taking its toll on me. A neighbor today asked me how my job search is going and when she saw the look on my face, she quickly changed the subject. LALALANOTTHINKINGABOUTITLALALALA. Plus, the dissertating is going slowly - I made the first few corrections that my advisor suggested, but now I'm just playing the waiting game. Will I really finish in July/August? We shall see. 

So, as you can imagine, when my husband asked me to get some salad stuff today at some point, I jumped at the chance to put on clothes that are neither for the gym nor for sleepytime (yes, I wear PJs all the time when I have nothing better to do at home). However, because my two stops were merely TJ Maxx (yes, again; more on that in a second) and Trader Joe's, I didn't exactly bring it:

... See what I mean? I actually think that if I hadn't worn boots, this look would've been much cuter, much more "New York Herald Tribune!" [if you get that reference, let's be friends]. But the weather continues to warm up in tiny increments and the wind was fierce, so boots it was. Just alternating blocks of grey and black on me. I have to admit, for all its simplicity, that grey t-shirt I'm wearing is one of my favorites. It's got the perfect proportions of loose/not baggy that one always wants in a good, soft t-shirt. I bought it at American Apparel when I first moved to Boston in, gulp, June of 2008. 

... At the same time, folks, spring is slowly but surely moving into the Boston area. Yesterday I woke up to about 60 degrees (grey and rainy and then rapidly going down twenty degrees in the course of the afternoon) and today there was a hint of spring in the air when I took my run. I even changed things around and played my special spring album: I usually never deviate from running to Lady Gaga (you tell me: is there anything better by which to get motivated than the first few moments of 'Bad Romance'?), but today I had to play George Harrison's penultimate solo album, 'Cloud Nine,' from 1987. As you all know, I'm a devoted Beatlemaniac and an even more manic George Harrison fan. My big brother had this album, probably bought when it first came out in the 80s, on cassette. I heard it every once in a while through him - we shared a room until about 1987/1988. When I rediscovered my love for the Beatles with a vengeance, in high school, I inherited many of his tapes, as he had graduated to CDs by then and was finishing up college. Anyway, I inherited his cassette of 'Cloud Nine' in ninth grade and first started listening to it in the spring of that school year, the rare beautiful New York spring, when it's just warm enough to wear a light jacket or no outer layer at all and the trees are all fuzzy with buds, but no leaves, and Central Park is the only place you want to be on a Saturday morning in April or May, even though it's a long walk away. This album, with its wonderful songs - 'Fish on the Sand', 'When We Was Fab', 'Breath Away From Heaven'... all of them, really - was the soundtrack to that spring. And ever since then, I've associated it with that season (just like I associate 'All Things Must Pass' with winter because I got it for Christmas later that year), even when I grew older and got the CD and whatnot. Wow. That was a lot of information I just wrote up there. Well, today I listened to 'Cloud Nine' in most of its entirety during my run. And thought of spring. Is there any particular song/album/artist that you associate with different times of the season? 

Woo, now you know a little more about me. Probably more than you ever wanted to know, eh?

Anyway, on my way to Trader Joe's today, I stopped by the neighborhood TJ Maxx to check on something that I'd kept on my mind since my excursion on Sunday. And I went ahead and bought it:

White jeggings, people! Are we ready for this? I'm not a big fan of white - actually a huge hater of white, to tell the truth. After eight years of having to wear a white shirt to school almost every day (we had casual Friday at my school), I kind of swore off white when I hit college. I have precisely two white t-shirts, which I almost only use as layering tops, except for the hottest days of summer. I'm convinced that white is one of the least flattering colors (shades?) out there for me. But in the last few years, I've been gently intrigued by white jeans, for all seasons. And when I saw HUE jeggings in white (for $7.99!), I figured it was a good gamble to try. Since so many of my boots are colorful, they'll show up well with these pants and they'll be nice and cool to wear during the summer on the plane ride to and from Athens, for example. ... Assuming they don't look awful, which is always a distinct possibility with me and white. We'll see!

I also went ahead and bought The Hunger Games at TJ Maxx as well, by Suzanne Collins. Has anyone ever read it? I know I'm older than the target audience, but I've been intrigued by the series for months and was planning to take it out of the library. But finding it on the way to the cashier at the store, I thought it was a sign and snatched it up. Anything I should know, Style Nation?

So there you have it, folks: boring outfit; rambling about my favorite musician; white jeggings; and a young adult book. GLAMOROUS!

Grey t-shirt: American Apparel, remixed

Black jeans: Bulldog by Urban Outfitters, remixed

Grey boots: Frye Paige Huaraches, by way of endless.com, remixed

Sad, imaginary shopping

Folks, I've been really good about saving money on clothes. I'm sick to death of everything I own (except for my boots, natch), but I've been good about not going out and buying stuff. I was even all set with all my boots ("That's it! I'm done"... please) until we bought that periwinkle pair in Madrid - but those are for playing, a mere bagatelle. I've not even really been trolling Zappos or the Frye website in order to shield myself from temptation.

The fact of the matter is that I can't afford to go crazy on clothes right now. I don't have a job - except for three hours of tutoring a week - and there hasn't been a single peep from schools for next year yet. We're quite comfortable for day-to-day life, but I can't really indulge myself on (big) impulse purchases. So I've been good about protecting myself from the disappointment of not being able to buy pair after pair of boots/cute dresses/new pants. Trust me, if I get a job, I will be burning through boots like a maniac, but not right now. Not yet.

In the meantime, though, Sal posted about the Frye Harness 12R Boot yesterday and she - like I, who commented about it - was hesitant about these boots until she saw them styled in cool ways. I always thought they were a little clunky and awkward until a friend of mine put hers on last month in Philadelphia, and I fell in love. So I went to the Frye site yesterday and, well, since then, I haven't been able to stop adding boots to my mental shopping list. Let's go through some, shall we?

When searching through the possibilities with regard to the Frye Harness 12R's, this color caught my eye:

Teal, people! How could I resist? And at $248, they're not ridiculously expensive. Just plain ol' expensive. Seriously, aren't they lovely? Imagine them with yesterday's jeggings: did your mind explode? Good.

On the subject of boots that I find "meh" in pictures and AMAZING in person, let's move on to the Paige Tall Riding boots. I have a pair of Paige boots, my grey Huaraches (also worn with yesterday's jeggings - see link above) and my dream fantasy boots are also Paiges, so I know that they're pretty awesome. However, the plain Tall Riding boots seemed a little staid, until I saw someone trying them on a few months ago. Predictable as I am, I'd want them in grey:

And if that's just a little too much grey, even for me, I've conveniently also fallen in love with the saddle color:

Never mind, I officially like this color more than the grey. Too bad they're $348. But aren't they worth it?!

Finally, I saw this pair many moons ago, but it was shortly after receiving my gorgeous OTK red Shirleys (now unavailable anywhere! Score one for the Greek!), so I stifled my lust. This is from the famed Campus series, which - again - was never my favorite until I saw it on someone. They're also OTK, which is just silly, because who needs more than one pair of OTK boots?! I present you the Campus Over the Knee in grey:

Amazing, am I right? And they're that true light grey color that I love. These are $358. A trifle! 

So...using the Frye shopping cart and considering that the Paiges are out of stock (booo!), my total comes to (only) $606. Well, hey! 

So there you have it, folks: my fantasy spring shopping list. What about you? Are there any items over which you're currently lusting?! Which of these boots, if any, do you like the best? I'm leaning toward the teal as the top top favorite. 

All images were from the Frye website. For whose newsletter I just signed up. 

How I wore it: she's like a rainbow

Folks, can you feel it, now that spring has sprung? No, in all seriousness, some slight springiness is observable in the New England area where I live. The light is rosier, the grass is greener, there are dandelions on my yard (I know they're weeds: I love 'em anyway), and the temperatures are creeping up to the...low 50s. Well, as we say in Spanish, peor es nada, right? At least it's not raining! ... Which it's supposed to do for the next two days.

DAMMIT, SPRING!

My husband had to work at his desk all day today to make up for a Saturday of teaching a private lesson, taking a long walk with me, and watching the first two episodes of the deliciously trashy (and all wrong - does it surprise you that I was a hard-core Arthurian geek when I was a preteen? No, I thought not) "Camelot" on Starz. However, I had the brilliant idea to leave the house on my own in order to deposit a tutoring check and go fantasy shopping at TJ Maxx. So I did. While I wore very wintry elements, my glasses [Elton John was on SNL last night! I was inspired!] and my attitude made me feel more like spring:

While I'm not actually wearing that many colors (turquoise, black, grey, and light blue), the addition of my purple purse (and *sigh* grey coat) made me hum the Stones' "She's a Rainbow" during my short walk to the bank and to TJ Maxx (nothing to be found there, alas).

People, I'm kind of disappointed with my own styling of the turquoise corduroy jeggings seen above. I've only paired them with my grey Fryes, I think. And, naturally, tunics. I bought this particular color of legging because a) I love that turquoise/teal color, and b) in grad school I had similar color bellbottoms. Which I wore with everything. And all sorts of shoes. Maybe the fact that these are leggings, and therefore the choices are more compromised (i.e., any top has to cover my butt; look good tucked into boots) make them harder to style than my former turquoise trousers. Perhaps when the weather gets warmer and I edge away from boots (*gasp!*), I can play around some more with footwear and make the looks vary a slight bit. In the meantime, do you have any suggestions, Style Nation? How would you style a pair of brightly colored corduroy jeggings?!

Black top: Tony's, a boutique in Old City Philadelphia, remixed

Turquoise jeggings: HUE, by way of Lord and Taylor, remixed

Grey boots: Frye Paige Huaraches, by way of endless.com, remixed

How I wore it: snow/rain/sleet in April

... Boo! I'm hoping that the weather will get springier soon.

Boy, is this what living in New England is about? Endless speculations on the weather? Cuz that's how it's been for the past almost-three years that we've lived here.

Moving on.

Despite the April Fools weather from God, I did have to go out for a trip to the gym and a tutoring session to my French students. I wore my contacts so that my poor glasses wouldn't get the same treatment they got last night when I was caught in a sleet shower without an umbrella or protective headgear:

Is my expression suitably showing how uninspired I felt? Actually, I do like navy and red combos a lot: I wore a similar outfit almost exactly a year ago, just with a different red tunic. I apparently have two. I added my charcoal cardigan because it was effin' cold today, y'all. I have to admit, though, on a grotty day like this, I'm not particularly preoccupied with looking cute or stylish: I need to be comfortable and capable of keeping warm and dry. This outfit did go a long way in doing all of that - I could've done with a warmer sweater.

And 20 more degrees.

Sultry!

So, people, I would like to ask your opinion. About a week and a half ago, my hair suddenly got fluffy. It's kind of an occupational hazard when you have short hair: it's all going well and looking neat, and from one day to the next, FLUFF AND MULLET. At least that's how it was for me in Spain. After trolling the internet trying to find how to cut my own hair (and then prudently backing away from the computer), I decided that I need to call for a trim. What do you think? My husband thinks my hair looks cute, but he has no problem with me getting a trim because he trusts Cheryl, my stylist. One of my students, however, said that she liked the poofiness. Whom do I trust? My comb, mirror, and husband, or a fashion-savvy teenager? What say you, Style Nation?

Plus, my sideburns have a life of their own. That shit needs to be trimmed down.

Charcoal cardigan: Gap, remixed

Red tunic: American Apparel

Blue jeggings: HUE, via Lord and Taylor, remixed

Blue boots: Frye Veronica Slouches, by way of zappos.com, remixed