How I wore it: debutante

So yesterday (Sunday) was Baby Boots' first introduction to the world of birthday parties. We were all invited to the 1st birthday of a little boy whose parents work at my school. It was an outdoor barbecue/picnic; Baby Boots was the youngest baby there, but she was also definitely the cutest, and I'm totally objective.

She also behaved like an angel, which made us unreasonably proud.

Anyway, for a simple party with kids and coworker mommies, I thought I'd put on my new favorite "good" outfit. It involves a nursing tank and my new favorite jeans - it's not that exciting.

... EXCEPT:

TURQUOISE JEANS, PEOPLE! Could I be any happier?! I think not! These are from the Gap, with their whole "colored denim" campaign and I am in love. I think the style is "sexy boyfriend" or some crap like that, but all I know is that they run big and are a little high-waisted, which is perfect for the self-esteem of a new mom like me, as I was able to buy my normal size. They're a tad stumpifying, but I don't care. I love them so, so much. Of course, with a long tank, I've made my torso a little too long and my legs a little too short, so I'd consider tucking the shirt in next time. ... Or would that be too retro? Decisions, decisions.

When I wore variations of this outfit (plus sweaters and scarves and whatnot) to work, I would fancy up the jewelry a little more, but Baby Boots has begun to grab quite effectively, so I decided that it was safer to wear simple silver hoops that, if pulled, will pop right off. 

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Black tank: Glamourmom, by way of Isis Maternity, remixed

Jeans: Gap (online)

Sandals: Nine West Athens, remixed

How I wore it: see you in September!

Today was the last day of school for the kids. Hallelujah. I mean, I still have to go in tomorrow for graduation and a couple of days next week for meetings but (nerd alert) I kind of love faculty meetings. My colleagues are an awesome bunch. Anyway, my day was very difficult and consisted of watching 'Pan's Labyrinth' with one class and the 5th Harry Potter movie (en español, of course!) with the other.

What? I'm an awesome teacher.

Today I decided to retry an outfit that I'd worn on a balmy March or April day and wanted to recreate. It involves my current favorite t-shirt and an old workhorse. However, I didn't really like the results head-on as much as did the results in the mirror:

BOXY!

Yeah, no. This outfit isn't coming from a place of yes as much as I'd thought. I love the colors together and have no complaint with the leg- and footwear, but I think the proportions are off. The tee is too long and blousy to wear with this particularly clingy and pencil-esque skirt. It makes my torso look eight miles long, too. 

Oh, well, back to the drawing board.

Can you tell it's been a while since I posed? Check out those stiff shoulders!

All my complaints being made, though, I'm glad I looked somewhat fancier for the last day of school (although the fact that I wanted to wear tights is a sad state of affairs). Oh, and one junior girl said she liked my outfit. So... there you go? I even wore contacts! I'll definitely be dressing fancy tomorrow for graduation where it's actually somewhat required. We'll see what I'll be able to whip up...

Blue tee: Old Navy Maternity

Red skirt: Dickie's brand, bought from a store in Philadelphia (Guacamole), remixed

Grey patterned tights: Gap, remixed

Red wedges: CL by Laundry, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: happy June!

It's the last week of school for my students and the weather has celebrated by being in the mid-50s and raining. I mostly feel for the seniors, who will be graduating in soggy weather. Poor things. That being said, I was delighted for the excuse to pull out, with no exaggeration, LITERALLY my new favorite sweater, which I ordered a couple of months ago.

You see, I've been really into ordering online from Old Navy. I started doing so for cheap, presentable maternity wear, and then started doing the same for nursing tops, and now I just can't stop. I was actually in the market for a plain, serviceable grey cardigan, but I got into exploring and something called a "blanket sweater" caught my eye. The reviews all remarked upon how sturdy it was and what good quality it showed, so I ordered it and fell promptly in love. And it IS like snuggling into a blanket, no matter what the outside temperatures are. I've mostly paired it with black:

And today was no exception, as I just put it on with black pants and a black tank. Not feeling particularly creative. The photo doesn't do my epic hair justice. I've been playing a lot with pulling the bangs back, but today I just let it loose and it looked kind of awesome, but my 3:30 PM style wasn't really reflecting that.

First outfit post of many months! Yay! I look forward to posting more! 

Enormous sweater: Old Navy

Black tank (underneath): Glamourmom, by way of Isis Maternity

Black pants: Ralph Lauren, stolen from mom (remixed?)

Grey booties: Aldo, remixed

Oh, heeeeeeey...

Dudes, I don't even know when my last post is. Life has gone by remarkably quickly and continues to speed by with this combination of baby and work and real life. I haven't looked at anyone's blog since, oh...March? April? My mother-in-law was in town for some of March, all of April, and some of May. Then my dad was in town for a week. Now my husband is home, taking care of Baby Boots until we can both do it, which will be shortly, as school finishes (FINALLY) this week. But, as you can imagine, the urge to self-photograph has been pretty...awkwardness-inducing. And the sad thing is that I have some cute new clothes and am able to wear many of my normal clothes and have been trying to put together cute-ish outfits (and succeeding, sometimes!), but... when I get home, I just want to change into yoga pants and hang out and nurse Baby Boots.

But I think it will be time to start again. I've been missing you all. And I hope you've been missing me as well. I'm going to slowly try taking pictures again and posting them and being awesome.

Another issue I've been dealing with is my own self-image. Although I'm happy to just be fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes, I've been - admittedly - not taking the best care of myself, nutrition-wise, and, as such, my weight's been fluctuating even more wildly than it would be naturally these days. As you can imagine, that also puts a damper on my enthusiasm to document myself. The good news is that I've resolved to improve my eating habits, both for me and the baby. And I'm going to try to enjoy these moments and not freak out. For example, last Friday (the 25th) was my husband's 33rd birthday. I wore a cute, postpartum figure-flattering maxi and dressed Baby Boots up in her prettiest dress. After dinner, my husband took a picture of us. Here is it:

My first reaction was to freak out about how enormous my arm looks and turn off my phone and pout. But the next day I took a closer look at the photo. Look at my face. Look how happy I look holding my baby in my arms and smiling at my husband. It shames me that I didn't notice that first, but rather made myself unhappy about my body. This is the very picture that made me realize that I need to get a better perspective on things - I want to focus on the good stuff in life right now and not the fact that I'm not as thin as I was a year ago. 

So, Style Nation, I'm going to try coming back again. Give it time and be patient. But I'm going to start trying to blog regularly again. Here goes...!