How we wore it: Assumption 2013

Oof, I've been off the grid. We've been near Sparta, for our annual pilgrimage to the Land Where Nothing Happens. But we've been doing a lot: eating, biking, eating, going to the beach, strolling around Sparta, biking more, drinking milk shakes, and - of course - watching Baby Boots grow.

Two days ago was August 15th, the feast of the Virgin Mary here, and the second most important holiday in Greece. Baby Boots and I had to dress up to the nines, mostly because we were going to be observed in church, but also because we were going to meet my husband's estranged aunt for the first time. I wanted to make sure that we looked like respectable ladies. On the baby, I put on a dress that she'd never worn before, that we'd bought especially for the summer. For me, I put on the last dress y'all saw on this blog, with my trusty orange sandals.

You see why I had to link to the shoes, right? My trusty photographer husband strikes again!

It was a simple look: mustard yellow, orange (I promise), and gold (jewelry). My hair was up, and my contacts were in. I was comfortable all morning and early afternoon in this dress. I guess I've been toning up due to all the biking I've been doing, so the dress fit much more comfortably than it did the last time I wore it. Either that, or I stretched it out... 

But let's get to the real star, shall we?

Check out Baby Boots in her fancy dress, sandals, and cross! She totally out-staged me, but I'm all right with that. 

How do YOU think we looked?

On Chalkdust and Boots:

Yellow dress: courtesy of eShakti for a review, remixed Thanks, eShakti!

[Orange sandals: Nine West, remixed]

On Baby Boots:

Dress: Baby Gap

Silver sandals: Target

How I wore it: mustard and ketchup

Today my husband and I had a bona-fide date. We'd had kind of a bad day, worrying about finances, about Baby Boots' behavior, and about a huge computer issue (he lost his whole iTunes library!), so we thought we deserved to go out for dinner and a drink, even if we hadn't already planned it.

As it turned out, I wasn't feeling too well, so we ended up eating in a fancy restaurant in a different area of Athens than we'd planned, but it was very nice. And we had a good view of the Acropolis, which is always a plus.

I had decided some time ago that for our first nighttime outing to the center, I would wear my new eShakti dress, which I still hadn't worn out. I loved it on and so did my husband:

I paired it with my new red shoes, as I thought it would be a fun combo and would make the dress slightly more casual. I really liked the look and I was comfy all night long. Unfortunately, the support in the bodice was a little too stiff for me (as I told you in my review in March, the chestal arena part is a little small) and the wires in the boning kind of irritated me, but it was great to finally wear it out. This is definitely not the kind of thing that Athenian women are wearing these days and I liked having the sense of individuality that this dress gave me. What do you think? Success or no?

Yellow dress: eShakti, given to me free for review

Red shoes: Tsakiris Mallas (Athens)

How we wore it: ladies in green

Hello, all! We're still chugging away in good ol' Greece, trying to make the most of it while living through Baby Boots' suddenly-abominable behavior. For real. She's turning into a terror. I think it's the fact that her grandparents don't just let her BE. Anyway. My husband and I bought ourselves bikes the other day (so now we each have two bikes in two different countries!) to have a way to get some exercise and be on our own. So we've been bike riding almost every night, although I have a mini panic attack each time, as biking on Athenian streets...kinda scary!

Anyway, we haven't really done anything on our own / that deserves a cute outfit in a long time. Today we took Baby Boots to her great-aunt's place for some playground fun and dinner. She acted like a spoiled brat - before you judge, let me just say that I think she's super-tired (she wakes up TIRED, poor baby) and, as I mentioned above, she's kind of always being given some sort of order ("Come here," "Give me a kiss," "Let's play with this," "Where's your doll? Let's go get her!") usually when she's quietly having a nice time by herself. Oy. Can you tell that this has been bothering me a lot these last few days?

Anyways, so for today's outing, I decided to put Baby Boots in a green dress and then decided to wear green also so that we could match. Cuz I'm gross like that:

... I wasn't kidding.

I have to admit, I think she pulled off her look pretty well. Her bright sandals added a cheeky touch to her pretty, feminine green dress. My own green dress, on the other hand, called for its own cheeky sandals:

... My silly gladiator sandals bought three years ago! Look, they're not really flattering on, especially the way they twist and turn, but I love them. They're so comfy and they're so visually goofy and they're so awesome. The green dress you see is the green version of this dress, bought in the great J. Crew Factory binge of April 2013. I've worn it a few times, even to work once, but never featured it on this blog. I love its simple shape and bright color. 

And that's all, folks. Theoretically, my husband and I are going on a real adult-person date tomorrow, so I hope to dazzle you with another outfit post, but don't hold your breath...

Also, I'm a week away from turning 32! Crazy!

Baby's outfit:

Green dress: Zara (Athens)

Multicolored sandals: Target

My outfit:

Green dress: J Crew Factory (online)

Gladiator sandals: Madden Girl by Steve Madden, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: double date!

Today was a good day. My poor husband was in charge of the baby while I worked like crazy on a potential article (should be out the door by the end of the weekend!). But we had planned on going out on a seafood date with our cousin and her husband and out we went, dammit! We left Baby Boots with her grandma and great-aunt at the latter's home and went to a beautiful neighborhood by the sea in Piraeus to eat at one of our favorite restaurants there.

Although my temptation was to dress up with a fun new dress and jewelry and etc., etc., I very consciously kept it simple tonight. I know that whenever I try too hard, I'm surrounded by hot Athenian babes wearing simple dresses and shoes, so I decided to relax and wear a simple black dress and the new espadrilles I bought a couple of days ago, and also to put on contacts for fun:

I swear it seemed light out when I took the photo...

I bought this black dress about a year ago as a potential postpartum nursing summer outfit (buttons!) and have worn it often since then, usually over opaque tights or leggings and with boots over the school year. It's scandalously short for my standards, but it is what it is. Over the summers, I wear it alone with a bright pair of shoes. Tonight it turned out to be my cheerful new espadrille-type shoes. They're fun, right? I love espadrilles, which I call alpargatas, traditional peasant shoes in Spain / Argentina. I had a lace-up pair, also red, when I was about thirteen and I ADORED them. Sigh...

Laughing at Baby Boots' antics

And that's me! Sorry for the crappy quality pictures! I'll be better next time, I promise!

Black dress: Old Navy (online), remixed

Red shoes: Tsakiris Mallas

How I wore it: second date

Hey, all! After an exhausting day of doing no work (baby woke up at 6 AM and was irritable and sleepy on and off all day), my husband and I took advantage of his mother coming home from work, ditched the kid, and went out by ourselves again. We decided to drive to Glyfada, a very posh neighborhood in Athens, and walk around, window-shop, and then get something to eat or drink.

Since the weather was slightly cooler these past few days (in the 80s, rather than the 90s), with a strong southern breeze, I deferred to the slight change in weather and wore my favorite maxi dress:

What do we think of my hair wrap? When I was doing some online shopping at Urban Outfitters, I spotted it and snapped it up. I've only worn it a couple of times, but I love it. It makes my messy buns look artistic as hell, and keeps up all the trailing hairs that are too short for the bun (which I usually keep up with baby alligator clips). Whenever I wear it, I feel like a less glamorous, more brunette version of Brigitte Bardot. Specifically here:

As I've mentioned a few times, BB has been my style icon these past couple of years and when I last got my hair trimmed, I told my stylist that I was letting it grow in the hopes of having Brigitte Bardot hair. Instead of seeming confused, Cheryl just sighed: "All those sexy long layers. Yeah, I get where you're coming from." See? Even Cheryl approves!

Anyways, I do love my big hair wrap and I think it adds a sexy, rumpled edge to my tall buns. Here's a closer look:

Okay, so the effect is slightly different...

Anyways, after a nice, rambling walk, my husband and I stopped at a bar/café and had a milk shake (me) and a frappé (him). We then drove home to see what Baby Boots had been up to (tiring out her grandparents, apparently). Although we're both exhausted as hell and I'm behind in my work, it was a fun day and a fun evening out. And we have a dinner date with my cousin-in-law and her husband tomorrow!

Grey head wrap: Urban Outfitters (online)

Striped maxi dress: Gap, remixed

Sandals: Steve Madden, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: family outing

The whole family has jet lag. In my husband and me, this manifests as us not feeling sleepy until a shockingly late (or early?) hour in the night/morning and then sleeping until noon. In Baby Boots, this manifests as either a 12-hour sleeping orgy, or in keeping awake until 5 AM and then sleeping till noon. Last night was one of those nights. So today, after a terrible night, and after hours of me working on an article that I'm trying to get sent out by the end of the week, when my husband suggested we drive to his aunt's house in order to get some fresh air and visit with the family, I jumped at the chance.

I also jumped at the chance to wear a dress that I've had since... April? May? But not worn yet:

Fun, right? I love me some stripes, as you know. I got this dress from my big J Crew Factory order some time ago and it was my first time wearing it, although I've worn its identical cousin in bright green (not yet featured here) a couple of times. Although they look black, the stripes are actually navy blue, so I decided to just pair my turquoise sandals with them. I don't think that it was the ideal pairing, but I was okay with that. I added some delicate jewelry (invisible in the photo), slung my hair into a messy topknot, and off we went! 

We ended up exploring the playground where both my husband and his cousin (who's pregnant with her first child!) played as children, ordering gyros and souvlaki for dinner, and having a great time. So worth taking a shower and putting on a new dress for!!

Striped dress: J Crew Factory

Turquoise sandals: Nine West (Athens), remixed

How I wore it: summer evenings

Let's just skip over the lack of posts, yes?

On Thursday, my husband, the baby, and I landed in Athens for our annual vacation - six weeks of it, this year! I'm particularly looking forward to this time because my in-laws are slobbering with eagerness to look after Baby Boots and I'm slobbering with eagerness to get my ass in gear and get back into my academic bubble. A job has opened up in my field which I WANT, there's another one down the line that I've almost been promised, and there's a third thing, a fellowship in a university close to home for which I'm eligible to apply. So stuff is going on. I spent hours yesterday and today squinting at my computer screen and at my Sanskrit dictionary in an attempt to turn a paper I presented at a conference EIGHT YEARS AGO into a viable article so that I have an actual publication under my belt while applying. Oy.

Anyway, today [Saturday] my husband and I went out alone in the evening for the first time since... December? January? I don't know. We took it easy - we went to Kolonaki, one of the posher areas of Athens, walked around, had a coffee, and came back home. However, I actually wore a dress. My favorite dress. A dress I haven't worn in three years:

This is the exact same outfit I wore in this post (notice: three years ago): not much has changed except for my bangs - nothing, in fact, has changed in how I style it. Silly gladiator sandals? Check. Hair up? Check.  

However, this was important for me - however my body may look at any given time, this is the dress that never fails to make me feel like a rock star. And it did it again tonight. Although I have at least three new dresses that I haven't yet worn, this was the perfect "first date in Athens" outfit with which to start my summer. 

I've missed y'all!

Red dress: H&M, remixed

Gladiator sandals: Steve Madden by way of DSW, remixed

This is why I haven't been posting...

... Remember how I told you guys I was really scared of bikes?

Some things change.

Last week, I bought my husband and myself bikes for his 34th birthday. This weekend, we put a seat for Baby Boots on his bike. We just came back from our first family bike ride. It was awesome.

How I wore it: nothin' but blue skies

Today we woke up to sunny skies, but the weather eventually got cooler and rainier as the day went on, which I knew would happen from obsessively checking my phone's weather app every few minutes. I decided to pull out my favorite colored jeans to make it seem sunny all day long. Although I'd never done this before, I decided to pair them with my favorite light cardigan and a striped nursing top that I'm fond of. And this time I tucked in the tank! My mustard flats and picked up the yellow accents from the cardigan, I hope, and - well - I liked the look:

Since I had gotten super-sick over the weekend and actually took yesterday (Tuesday) off as a sick day, I needed something comfortable and easy and this fit the bill perfectly. Although I don't think I've tucked in a shirt for years, I liked how this worked out. Furthermore, the neutrals on the sweater went nicely with the brightness of the jeans, I thought... It's amazing how much more I am into putting colors together than I used to be. 

Well, a movie I like is playing and I need to wash some dishes and continue with my self-imposed "improving my Hindi reading skillz" homework. 

Chalkdust out!

Striped cardigan: gift from my mom, by Ralph Lauren

Striped (black and white, though you can't tell) top: Glamourmom, by way of Isis Maternity

Turquoise jeans: Gap (online), remixed

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

How I wore it: all dressed up and nowhere to go

Today was Easter for the Orthodox church and my husband, baby, and I celebrated accordingly. Well, more like my husband and I... Last night [Saturday], we went to church quite late and left Baby Boots sleeping, surrounded by adoring grandparents (my folks are in town!). We came home a little after 1 AM and feasted with some friends, old and new. My husband really wanted to take Baby Boots to get communion - I think he regretted not showing her off in church last night - so we went back to this same church a few hours after we'd last left it, at the time when the priest's wife told us they would be having a service before the traditional Easter Agape mass. However, after getting our asses out of bed only a few hours after going to sleep, getting dressed, and getting over there, the church was padlocked shut until the traditional mass ... which would be an hour later. So we headed back home and ate instead. Before changing into comfy clothes, though, we snapped some pictures.

I decided to finally début the white Banana Republic Mad Men dress I'd gotten from my husband for our sixth-year anniversary as a couple last year [It's kind of funny reading that post, as so much has changed. I'm STILL nursing Baby Boots now, a year later, and there was nothing wrong with my breast milk in the first place!]. I have issues with white, but I thought when would be better than a balmy Easter Sunday in May?

Now I had some issues with legwear. I gravitated toward grey tights and then I was stuck. My husband suggested my red wedges, which is what I went with, but I regret that. Any better thoughts, Style Nation?

Picture of the three of us courtesy of my father. I look weirdly disproportionate, but you can see my whole outfit in this one!

I was pleasantly surprised by the white dress, actually feeling pretty good in it, rather than self-conscious.

Meanwhile, Baby Boots is rocking a Diane von Furstenburg dress for Baby Gap that we just couldn't resist buying. In the above photo, you can see more of the pattern, but up top you can see the gorgeous pleating detail. Baby Gap is our weakness, yo.

All right, folks. Back to bed!

White dress: gift from my husband, via Banana Republic (online), Mad Men collection

Grey patterned tights: Gap, remixed

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

How I wore it: late Tuesday twofer!

Ugh, guys, what a week and it's only Tuesday (night). Fortunately, it's a short week, as another school year unit is ending, meaning a long weekend for me starting on Friday (and it's Greek Easter, so yay!) and five more weeks of school after that. Yay!

Since I got so much loot from my J. Crew Factory haul (two tops and four dresses [!!!]), I couldn't resist trying out more stuff the last two days.

I've been told for years that a chambray shirt is a great neutral piece that many women need in their wardrobes, so I saw a tunic that I liked on the site and into my shopping basket it went. This might have been the piece I was most underwhelmed with, but I ended up loving it on:

This was me yesterday (Monday). I just paired the chambray top with black pants and my green Fluevogs and called it a day. I felt like a cool art teacher all day: my top was comfy, my shoes and watch were green, and my bun was towering.

Something funny happened while I was taking pictures. Baby Boots loves the flash of my camera and giggles delightedly every time a picture is taken. Yesterday, after she saw me set up the camera after a few pictures, she went to the door where I take my photos and posed! So of course I went and
stood next to her for and this is the result:

Don't know why she felt the need to lift her shirt, but maybe she's just showing me how to pose more creatively...

Monday night was a tough night, as my husband and I had a long conversation about all sorts of things and it was eye-opening and draining and tough and cathartic. So today I couldn't really think too much about what to put on, so I went with the ghost of an idea that I'd had while looking at my new clothes. Since I needed a pick-me-up, I was bolder than I otherwise would have been:

Forgive the face: I'm trying not to crack up as Baby Boots examines the camera

I got this cool dress in the blue color you see above and in cream with big navy polka dots. The dress is short on, as you can see, shorter than I'm generally comfortable with, and shorter than I'd expected. I asked my husband, who was half-asleep, if the dress was too short to teach in and he assured me it wasn't. And he was right - I didn't feel self-conscious when standing up...it was sitting that was the issue! Well, that and wrinkles. If I ever wear this dress at work again, it will definitely be in cooler weather, with leggings, so that I just feel more secure. This time I paired it with black tights and my tough black Fluevog booties. It was more rock n'roll in my mirror and my brain than what the camera is telling me, but I felt badass all day long and my ninth-grade female students loved the dress. The other cool features?

Pockets!

And?

Exposed zipper, which I love!

Okay, I'm starting to catch more and more typos! Time to go to sleep!!

Monday

Chambray tunic: J. Crew Factory (online)

Black pants: Ralph Lauren, stolen from my mom, remixed

Green shoes: Fluevogs, remixed

Tuesday

Blue dress: J. Crew Factory (online)

Black tights: Gap (online), remixed

Black boots: Fluevogs, remixed

How I wore it: new loot

I've been having a lovely weekend, folks. Yesterday, Saturday, we went to some friends for lunch and had dinner with a former colleague of mine - a professor in my alma mater whose first year was my last year there as a grad student. Since then we've been friends and correspondents and he's really trying to find me a job. In fact, my alma mater will be advertising for a Sanskrit lectureship in the fall, to start the school year 2014, and he's told me I'm his top choice, so he's given me hints to how to strengthen my sort of "advertising" as a potential hire, not necessarily for this job, but for more hard-core tenure-track jobs in the future. Anyway, it's given me a lot to think about and a lot to worry about (most notably, my lack of time to myself), but it was great to see him and my other friends earlier in the day.

I had gotten a 25% off discount from Gilt for the J. Crew Factory and my loot came in on Thursday. Yesterday I débuted the most casual item from the haul and paired it with my still-new light Old Navy jeans and my newest Fluevogs:

Please welcome my cat, Amalía, into the photo

Casual tunics for the win! I was drawn by the simplicity of this item and I'm glad it's in my life. I actually liked the whole look a lot, but I'll be the first to say that my badass 'vogs definitely look better with a darker pant than with this super-light wash. I can definitely see, though, this look with sandals or light summer shoes for a simple outfit in the next few months. 

And that's me! Today we had brunch with some former students of my husband who are each pursuing graduate school and it was lovely. A nap for all, and now Baby Boots is busy having her snack. A happy, quiet weekend.

Hope the return to the week isn't too terrible for y'all!

How I wore it: redux

Happy Friday, y'all! This week has been ridiculously long and tiring for me and for all of my colleagues. The weather continues to be lovely and springlike, so I decided to try my red dress again, but this time in a new iteration. And wouldn't you know it, I kind of liked it!

The tall, messy bun strikes again!

Instead of colorful tights and caramel boots, I went with neutral tights and colorful shoes. And a colorful cardigan that I - weirdly enough - never thought to pair with this dress. It might have been a lot, but I really loved how I looked and I got a few compliments from teachers and students. 

So that was my way of honoring a springy Friday. How do you celebrate beautiful weather?

Striped cardigan: gift from my mom, by way of Ralph Lauren, remixed

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

Grey patterned tights: Gap, remixed

Green shoes: Fluevog, remixed

How I wore it: overboard?

Hi all! Today was another glorious day, made even better with some retail therapy (I got a big shipment from the J. Crew factory and I just bought some stuff for Baby Boots from the Gap), which I can barely afford, but whatevs - at least I'll look good going into debtors' prison (I kid, I kid).

The weather was again beautiful today and we had a bit of a special schedule at work, one that involved almost no teaching on my part, so I wanted to go a little more casual than I did yesterday. So I brought out my turquoise jeans that I love so much and haven't worn since the early fall, as, duh, bright turquoise. They seem to me a more warm-weather pant:

I decided to wear the jeans with black: my cool, embellished t-shirt [wow, that link seriously depressed me: remember when I used to look like that?!] and old black flats made the cut. Of course, being me, I went totally crazy with accessories and wore all turquoise jewelry, but what can ya do... 

Also, fun fact: my hair is (barely) long enough for a high, messy bun!

Ugh, so shiny. But smiling at Baby Boots!

It's true; one of the aspects I miss from having super-long hair was my ability to wear gravity-defying buns. Well, with patience, an elastic, and a baby alligator clip, I can kind of approximate my old look! 

On that note, let's talk haircare. I tend to avoid that topic because I barely can take care of my own locks, but I'm starting to give it the old college try. First off, my hair is pretty thick. I'm not kidding: when I make an appointment at my salon, the computer automatically pops up a note saying that I get extra time because it actually takes longer to cut my hair because of its thickness. Anyway, because I tend to oiliness, I used to really avoid conditioner, but I realize that without it, my hair is dry and tends to frizziness. So every other day (unless I go swimming or work out, neither of which has happened in, um, a while), I wash and condition my hair. And then I don't do much. No product, barely blow-dry it, etc... BORING. So I've been hearing a lot about Moroccan/argan oil and how it's amazing for every hair type, blah blah blah. While I'm always eager to try things, I'm pretty skeptical about panaceas such as this one, but while at the pharmacy, I decided to give a try to a Moroccan oil treatment (just went with this one at random). Well, I used it on my towel-dried hair on Tuesday night and just a couple of hours ago, and I might become a convert. My hair felt fantastic on Wednesday morning, soft and silky, but not oily. Even today, when it would usually tend to look oily or too dirty to keep down, it was totally manageable and I could've worn it down with no problem. I look forward to seeing how it feels tomorrow morning. 

What I liked about this product was that it made my hair soft and smooth, but not oily/shiny. So what happens on the days when my hair is a little oily and it's obvious? Well, I go the opposite route! I use this every once in a while to sort of dry out/texturize my hair and give it more of a matte look. Even though it's not a traditional hairspray, I spritzed it on this morning when I got my desired high bun in order to give it less sheen and to, um, get beachy hair. Which is what it's for. I very much enjoy it.

I know that this seems diametrically opposed (want shiny clean hair! Want beachy, salty texture!), but as my hair is kind of always in flux, I like having different products that do different things. Do you have any fun hair tips?

Black t-shirt: Gap, remixed

Turquoise jeans: Gap (online), remixed

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

How I wore it: spring, spring, spring!

Today was a beautiful day in Massachusetts and all my fellow citizens were celebrating. We woke up to temperatures in the 40s and they went up to the mid-60s by the end of the day. After yesterday's cold, raw, wet day, this was a welcome change - and it will be like that for the rest of the week, they say!

I decided to wear a maxi dress that I haven't worn since the early fall (and haven't featured since last July). Since the weather was still brisk when I woke up, I decided to pair it with a cardigan and short boots. I loved the way I looked and I got some compliments, but I have a few nits to pick, of course:

What is up with those stiff arms?!

(Well, first off, the dress was super-wrinkled, but whatevs)

Although I love them dearly, my husband has been complaining about my little cashmere cardigans for ages. He says they make every good outfit turn immediately into a dowdy old lady look. I thought he was just being silly until I looked at this photo and realized how darn, well, mumsy I look with this conservative cardigan over a slam-dunk of a dress. Of course, I did need a cover-up, so... what else could I do? Methinks it's time to invest in some lightweight, flattering cardis, what do you guys think?

It's a sad time in the Boots household, as I realized today that I have to say goodbye to the boots I'm wearing with this outfit. 

These wonderful cognac leather boots were bought for me by my husband in Athens for Christmas 2008. They've survived four years of hard wear. Their soles have been replaced once. However, upon taking them off today, I noticed that my heels felt very sore and potentially blistered - and I noticed that the boots' soles/heels have worn off and torn through and...considering I have twelve other pairs of boots, I think it's okay to retire them. I'M JUST SAD ABOUT IT! 

Alas.

Anyways, I must fly (as usual) to try to get to bed before it gets obscenely late. Good night!

Purple cardigan: gift from my mom, by way of Lord and Taylor, remixed

Green maxi dress: Old Navy (online), remixed

Modesty top (underneath dress): Express, remixed

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

How I wore it: ta-da!

So most of you probably know what's been going on in the Boston area these past few days (and today was the most dramatic day of them all!) and it's been pretty horrible and stressful and panic-inducing, but I'm gonna forget about it for the moment, yes? I feel that that's my prerogative. Let's talk about clothes.

The weather has been warming up this week and it's really been quite lovely the last few days. On Wednesday, I decided to wear my other new pair of Old Navy jeans (from the same recent purchase as this light pair) with my ... NEW FRYES. I mean, my new-ish Fryes. The ones I got in December) but still haven't documented. It was perfect for a rapidly warming-up day, although I did get a little warm on my way home, but I loved it. I love those boots. Whenever I think my new 'vogs are the best shoes ever, my Fryes have a way of reminding me a little who's boss.

So here you go. Baby Boots was super-clingy (we think she has four new teeth coming in, so, yeah, she's been a little ... moody) and demanded to be held during my whole photo-taking process (which delighted her, by the way: she's such a little ham!). Also, I'm giving terrible face, so... be warned:

Pretend you don't see my head and focus on the awesomeness of these boots. Am I right? Are they not amazing??? I love their color and their height. They're obviously not as tall as my burgundy OTKs, but they're at a great height for my leg, right below the knee. I've never worn them with colored jeans before and I think the combo looked great (also, I love these jeans - I hadn't realized how much I missed having a pair of dark blue skinnies!). For the top, I went with a simple tank and colorful cardigan. I was super-comfy all day and felt fresh and young.

Baby Boots has crazy hair - she takes after both her parents in that regard: we've even started using toddler conditioner to see if it helps tame her wild (and adorable) curls!

Stay safe, y'all. My husband went out to take out the trash and I'm on pins and needles. 

Striped cardigan: Ralph Lauren, courtesy of my mom, remixed

Purple tank: Old Navy maternity, remixed

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Frye Paige Riding Boots in saddle (?), by way of CountryOutfitter.com

How I wore it: power outfit redux

Hi all! So I've been planning to update for days and days and now, at past 11 PM on Sunday evening, I finally have a few moments to myself to do so.

Last Wednesday, I had my anticipated meeting with the head of school to discuss the possibility of me leaving (notably, a few hours later, while I was still at work, I found out that I didn't get the postdoc I wanted, so it was kind of a useless conversation, as my contract still found its way onto her desk by the end of that day). So I decided to make it a fun outfit. New boots, plaid pants of justification ("Damn, these boots would go so well with that one pair of jeans!"), and black layers: I felt badass all day long:

Yes. Am I right? I freakin' loved everything about this outfit and was so enamored of the new Fluevogs + skinny jeans combo that I recreated it the next day, but with black jeans. I couldn't resist. 

I mean, can you blame me? This outfit is made of win! 

So that's the scoop. I'm still applying to the Sanskrit jobs that are out there (surprisingly many, considering the field), which leads to a lot of heavy conversations with my husband about the probability of us moving/me getting a job/etc./etc. Heavy stuff. I've been a little down, to be honest, about kind of the poor choices I've made in the past, what with all the breaks I took from finishing my Ph.D. and how out of the loop I am in the field and how I coulda shoulda woulda. I don't know. I guess there's time now to make up for past mistakes (or inactions, to be precise), but I'm so tired from working full-time and being the mother of a toddler that I just don't know when I can do it all. 

Fortunately, the weather's getting nicer, summer vacation is 9 weeks away, and hopefully something wonderful will happen.

Good luck with the upcoming week!

Sweater vest: Brooks Brothers, gift from my mom, remixed

Black top: H&M, remixed

Plaid jeans: Gap (online), remixed

Black booties: Fluevog, remixed

How I wore it: power outfit

Today I went into work with more than a little trepidation: not only was I working on slightly over five hours of sleep, but I was concerned about the probable meeting I was to have with my boss about my request for an extension on getting my contract back to the office. I wanted to saunter into work looking calm, cool, collected, and confident. I decided that I needed a "power outfit." In my last school, one of my favorite students loved the color red and whenever I wore a red dress, she'd say, "Señora, you're wearing my power color!" and that stuck with me. So in a silent nod to her, I decided red needed to be in my power outfit.

... That being said, I had no idea what to wear. The weather was supposed to be nice and warmish, and then rain and, well, Massachusetts in the spring. I didn't want to wear my new boots because I didn't want to be distracted. Then I was so tired that I went with some tried and true elements, some stuff that I liked from my last post, and called it a day. I will admit, though, I was kind of psyched with the final result:

Check out how tilted my camera was!

Oh, well, I didn't reinvent the wheel, but I did feel comfortable and cool the whole day. As I've said before, that shirt is a workhorse. I love it. As you know, I love me a good buffalo plaid and, as a child who came of age in the 90s, a checked flannel shirt is all right with me... 

In the end, there was no meeting and I got granted the extension: on Wednesday, I'll meet up with the head of school just to touch base, but her e-mails to me today were cordial and sweet, so I'm not as scared as I was this morning.

From a distance, you might see that I'm wearing a pendant: it's the same one I'm wearing in Saturday's outfit. It's pretty new: I got it from the same store where I got my fish pendant,  Paperface Studio. You can't really tell what it is from far away, but if you look closely, you may see that it's a Day of the Dead skull:

Some might find it morbid, but I love it. I don't come from a culture that celebrates Day of the Dead, but I love the symbolism behind the skeleton/skull figures and I couldn't resist when I saw this silver "sugar skull"! It is dainty and delicate, but has a satisfying heft to it: I love the detail!

All right, time for bed. What would your power outfit be?

Checked shirt: Old Navy (online), remixed

Grey tank: H&M (Athens), remixed

Red skirt: Dickie's brand, from a store in Philadelphia, remixed

Black tights: Gap (online)

Grey booties: Aldo, remixed

Silver skull necklace: Paperface Studio

How I wore it: I'm a cool mom

Quick update, as it's my last night of break, it's almost midnight and NO ONE IN THE HOUSE IS ASLEEP. For real, for some reason Baby Boots always stays up till ass o'clock on nights I want to turn in early. I think it's probably because I'm tense at the end of breaks and she senses that from me, so she, in turn, can't sleep.

Anyway, last night we went out to dinner with a student/friend of my husband and my husband encouraged me to wear my new Fluevogs. I wasn't planning on their first outing being with this outfit, so take it with a grain of salt:

See what I mean? The look in-person was unbearably chic and flattering. In this picture? Stumpification central. That's okay. The booties themselves are so amazing and comfortable that I plan on living with them so you'll be seeing them A LOT.

That checked shirt is from my legendary Old Navy haul in September and it's become quite the workhorse. The light jeans (which is my new favorite wash now, for some reason) were from a much more recent Old Navy Haul. 

All right. It's time to hit the sack so that I can take advantage of my husband trying to get Baby Boots to sleep...

Checked shirt: Old Navy (online)

Grey tank (underneath): H&M (Athens), remixed

Jeans: Old Navy (online)

Booties: Fluevog

How I wore it: "spring break"

I'm sure y'all are bored of hearing me complain about how I didn't get a real spring break because of baby and I have two weeks and I barely got this second week and blah-blah-blah world's smallest violin. It's true. In my incredibly privileged vacation schedule, my second week - in which I wanted to work on job applications and grades and lesson plans and turning my dissertation into a publishable manuscript  - was kind of a bust. Remember how I said Baby Boots started barfing? Well, then I got sick. On Wednesday I could barely get up from a prone position, as a random fever suddenly started spiking (although I did take and bring my baby home from daycare). Thursday I was nauseated the whole day, plus the baby had her 15-month check-up (yes, she's 15 months old!). Yesterday was my real day "off," but my brother and his family came into town for lunch and ... so, yeah. Summer, I'm lookin' at you!!

Anyways, as I mentioned, yesterday my brother, his wife, and their two kids came to visit me for a quick lunch on their way to my sister-in-law's family for Easter. I put on clothes for them, and kept them on when I picked up Baby Boots from daycare a couple of hours later. The top is from my mythical September Old Navy purchase. Everything else y'all have seen a billion times:

As usual, because I'm a terrible photographer, my beloved blue Fryes photographed as black, but they're definitely blue and I wore them on purpose because of my striped top. I freakin' love that shirt, you guys. It's a simple-ass grey and blue striped long-sleeved tee, but I love it. It's ridiculously flattering (I totally don't buy into that "horizontal stripes are unflattering" nonsense): every time I wear it at work, people tell me I look slim. At work, I tend to wear it with a scarf of some sort because it's a little too clingy on the chestal arena, but for a casual Friday at home with family, it was fine. 

I'm in a bit of a rut with that top. I tend to wear it with black jeans and boots (usually my blue rain boots, on a rainy day), but not with much else. Any suggestions, Style Nation?

Striped top: Old Navy (online)

Black jeans: Bulldog brand, via Urban Outfitters, remixed

Blue boots: Frye Veronica Slouches, via zappos.com, remixed

eShakti dress review

Some time ago, eShakti contacted me about reviewing one of their products. I chose a pretty halter poplin dress in a yellow/mustard which is, of course, seemingly not available online anymore (so no linking!). It arrived quite quickly and I must say, I am smitten with it!

(Let me just warn you, before you look at the photos, that I tried this on before putting on make-up and doing my hair and stuff. So. Yeah.)

Cute, is it not? I love the pockets! The dress is a gorgeous material, really high-quality, as advertised. As you probably know, I love me a cute halter dress for the summer, and I'm really looking forward to adding this one to the arsenal. It has full support in the bust, which I also love. 

Granted, it's a little wrinkled, but in real life, there would be some nice big pleats in the skirt. I love the details of this dress: the matching belt that came with it, the (invisible, since they're at my neck) that holds the halter together... Most of my other halter dresses tie at the neck, which can sometimes be a major (and literal) pain (especially by the end of the day), but this will make a nice, smooth line. 

I only have two quibbles and that's something that I could have solved easily on my own. As I've mentioned before, eShakti offers alterations on every garment, some for free. Because of the little free time I have in life, I decided to order this dress in a normal size, without any alterations of any sort. I should have given my bust measurements, as - I assume from breastfeeding Baby Boots - my chestal arena is proportionally a little bigger than what my normal size would imply. I also would have changed the length of this dress. This right-below-the-knee length is a little unflattering on me and I would've gone a little shorter, had I thought about it more fully. 

But those are minor issues and, again, ones that are fully avoidable and not the company's fault, but rather my own. I cannot wait to wear this dress over the summer. Although I'm wearing my mustard flats with it above, I'd probably style it in real life with my orange sandals or with the various pairs of brown, neutral sandals I own. I think this dress will be a staple for me in Greece and I can't wait. It gets a huge, unqualified √+ from me! Thanks, eShakti!

Oh, one of the dresses I wanted was this one, but it was unavailable when I ordered. I'm so in love with it - it totally fits my Brigitte Bardot aesthetic:

source

Droooool, am I not right?

Anyway, folks, I'm more in love with eShakti than ever and will totally add them to my favorite shopping experience when I have a little more money to spend. 

What would you buy from there??? 

How I wore it: spring breaker

Today was supposed to be my first real day of spring break, although it's the beginning of my second week of vacation. Last week we travelled with only a day and a half of rest between the two trips and we returned home yesterday evening.

Let me tell you what today was supposed to look like: I was to send Baby Boots and my husband off to daycare/work at around 9:30 AM, after which I was supposed to go back to bed for a short nap before heading off to a massage at a nearby spa at noon (a gift from my husband for Valentine's Day...last year). After that, I was going to work on some grades and comment-writing, after which I'd go pick up Baby Boots and rock out the rest of the day, looking fabulous and feeling relaxed, natch. It would've been the first day EVER since the baby's birth that I'd have had a day off.

Let me tell you what happened instead. Yesterday, after getting home, my daughter started vomiting randomly. Today she seemed normal, but we decided to keep her home and thus, while my husband went off to work as planned, I stayed home anxiously watching the baby eat (or not eat, as the case was) and praying I wouldn't be covered in vomit AGAIN. It was, in the end, a calm, nice day, but I still wish I could've gotten that massage... and that time off. Well, there's always Wednesday and Friday..!

Baby Boots and I did end up going out for a little walk to nearby Davis Square and the simple outfit that I wore ended up being cuter than I had thought. Since I was wearing a plain black nursing tank at home with black yoga pants, I just switched out my stretchy pants for slightly fancier black pants. Then I punched up the whole thing with a green cardigan, my green leather watch, and my green Fluevogs (I figured since I talked about my fourth pair of 'vogs in my last post, why not feature my third pair for the first time? Considering, too, I've had them since August, it was high time):

I love how the greens don't match anywhere

A simple, but fun and easy outfit for an unexpected outing with the little one! 

I also need to explain how much I continue to love my new Ray-Bans. You can't tell in photographs, but the green really adds to the whole effect. It's such a new look for me, but I love them. 

This is the face I make when my daughter is napping in her stroller just a few feet from where I stand and I'm trying to make "serious blogger face."

In other news, I'm stressing a little about my contract situation. I applied, as I've said, to a hard-core postdoc in a nearby university and I'll hear by the middle of next month. But I'm supposed to hand in my contract to my school by the beginning of the month, which is the first day of work from spring vacation. I've asked for an extension, but now there's this whole "Ahh, Chalkdust might be leaving" situation, which is so not the deal, as I'm pretty sure I won't get this postdoc and I'm still waiting to hear from my department head and the head of school and ARRGHHHHGH. 

Anyone else on spring break? Anyone else had soothing plans that got sidetracked?

Anyway, this was a bit of an unexpected post, but I promise there'll be a dress review tomorrow on this here blog! Stay tuned!

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

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

Black pants: stolen from my mother, by Ralph Lauren, remixed

Green shoes: Fluevog Radio CBCs