How I wore it: mermaid

Today one of my colleagues said that I looked like a mermaid. I had done a bit of a color experiment with my lower half that in the pre-sunrise early morning looked great. When I walked out of my house, though, I wasn't sure if I had matched all the elements okay, but - as I said - my colleague told me that the colors all went together as if I were a mermaid and, hey, who doesn't like mermaids?

Baby Boots ran into the shot to be in the picture, too.

So, this is what we've got: a chambray shirt, a dark green pencil skirt, teal (you can't really tell, but they are) tights, and light blue cowboy boots. That is…a lot of greeny blue tones, yes?

All of that being said, though, I felt great all day. The boots - their color, embellishment, and height (remember: I don't wear heels so much) - made me feel tall, slim, and glamorous from the moment I put them on. I'm gonna be frivolous here: I love the way my legs look in cowboy boots. I know, not important in the long run, but dang, it helps. 

The green skirt is from my famed Old Navy spree of two years ago (I just think y'all have never seen it) and I'm a big fan of it. After last week's successful foray into tucking tunics into pencil skirts, I decided to try it with today's more neutral look. I'm glad I did. I felt very neat and retro with those elements. 

The boots were just good for ass-kickin'. 

So, who's excited for Halloween? We are! Baby Boots is going to be ridiculously cute tomorrow night, if I do say so myself: I hope to be able to share some images with you over the weekend!

Chambray shirt: J Crew Factory, remixed

Green skirt: Old Navy (online)

Teal tights: Gap, remixed (?)

Cowboy boots: Corral, by way of countryoutfitter.com

Let's do the Time Warp again!

Last fall, Lopi talked about her love of old school Reebok Freestyles. I think I remember people actually wearing them back in the day, so - intrigued - I went onto the Reebok site and started playing around with the concept of designing my own sneakers. I played around with some of my favorite colors and came out with a pretty awesome working model. Then my husband designed his own and we bought each other our self-designed sneakers for Christmas/Epiphany.

As you know, I'm not much of a sneaker wearer, but there's something about these (the boot-ness? The combo of my favorite colors?) that I can't resist. So today, on a day that threatened rain and 70-degree weather and lots of slippery kitchen work, I decided to pull out my babies:

Note the mud stains. These are well loved, people. Also, this is the radiator in my office. Intriguing!

There's not much to say about them. I love them, I love having ankle support, and I love that I "made" them [I was always wondering why these colors spoke to me … until I realized that my daughter's stroller is the EXACT SAME COLOR]. The kids at school love them (when I first wore them last year, there was almost a riot), and they were perfect with a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a flannel over the whole shebang. 

Sometimes I am comfy.

How I wore it: Maxwell plays the fool again

Happy Monday, y'all! It was so hard to go back to work after what was, essentially, a one-day weekend. However, I was happy to try out a new look and wear a new bauble. Let's explore, shall we?

Stiff!

I have a problem, guys. I can't stop buying fun leggings. Is that a thing? It's all the fault of the biking. I keep on thinking that they're good investments to keep my legs warm while I bike to work, especially on these mornings where I wake up to temperatures in the 40s. These were no exception. 

That black dress I'm wearing has become such a workhorse. I mean, I wear it a fair amount over the summer, but I never imagined it would become my most-worn basic layer this year. I guess, since it's pretty short, I only feel comfortable wearing it to work over leggings, so I just sort of gravitated toward it for my new commuting patterns. 

I love my black Fluevog booties and I love them with leggings, but I don't know if I'd wear them again for biking. They're pretty big on me, and I felt as if I didn't have that much control over the pedals. Not a feeling I'd particularly like to repeat. I mean, it wasn't that bad, but I'm glad that tomorrow will be warmer and I can just wear normal shoes again. 

You can't really tell in that picture, but I'm wearing a new necklace. I ordered it last weekend and it arrived on Saturday:

A ukulele necklace! It's kind of a lame thing to buy for oneself, but I honestly think that learning to play the ukulele (or starting to learn how to play the ukulele, to be honest) has changed my life for the better. It brings me so much peace and I think it's doing wonders for my mood - also, it has to be good for my brain to learn a new skill, no? I bought this necklace from Etsy.com, from GirlBurkeStudios. This shop has a lot of charms for enthusiasts of different activities and I'm grateful and happy to have this tiny little ukulele with me when I can't actually play my real-sized uke. 

Well, my friends, I should go and start making dinner for my family. Hope you're all having a great start to the week!

Black sweatshirt: Old Navy (online), remixed

Black dress: Old Navy (online), remixed

Leggings: Threads 4 Thought, bought at Whole Foods

Black booties: John Fluevog, remixed

How I wore it: remember…?

… Remember how I used to work in a school where I had to dress in skirts/dresses and hose every day? And no boots, just closed-toed shoes? Because… ladies?

Well, I decided to channel that yesterday and today for parents' visiting weekend at my work. I wish I had gotten a photo of yesterday's outfit, but my camera lost battery power just when I was about to shoot. So you'll have to make do with today's slightly more sedate version of "CLASSY POWER TEACHER"!

Behold:

Remember THIS photo location?!

Yup, an old pencil skirt, a drapey black tee, fun patterned tights, and old grey flats. Not the most inspired outfit, but sort of fun to look like a (semi-) responsible adult again in my wacky little progressive school.

Baby Boots continues to be sick - she actually got a full-blown cold last night - so we spent the rest of my day taking care of her and the rest of the weekend looks as if it'll be much the same. Alas. I'm just hoping I won't have to miss work on Monday…

Happy weekend!

Black tee: Gap, remixed

Pencil skirt: Banana Republic, remixed

Grey patterned tights: Gap, remixed

Grey flats:Adi shoes, ℅ CSN Stores (now Wayfair, I believe), remixed

How I wore it: COLOR!

Woo, it's been a stressful week. Baby Boots got sick on Tuesday morning and we've been scrambling to stay home/miss the least amount of work possible/get sitters. I stayed home on Tuesday, my husband stayed home yesterday and today, and we got a (PRICY) sitter for tomorrow, which is a big work day for both of us.

The weather has been pretty yucky this week - Monday was my only bike day. Since I spent Tuesday in harem pants and an ugly Beatles tee and yesterday I had to help out the cafeteria workers (every teacher and his/her advisees does this a couple of times per year), I've been dressing pretty messily. Tomorrow, Friday, I have to pull out all the stops for parent visits, but I decided to look cute today, too, and defy the rain gods:

What's up with my legs always disappearing on the blog? Time to turn more lights on.

Now that's colorful! I have owned that bright pink corduroy pencil skirt for two years (when I did a whole Old Navy autumn spree that I still haven't fully documented), but I've not been too creative in styling it. In fact, when I was planning to wear it, I was thinking of wearing a black/white buffalo plaid button-down, although I was grumpy from my lack of creativity. However, I had seen a Glamour article in which a stylish lady paired a striped oxford shirt (quite similar to mine) with a bright orange pencil skirt. Inspiration struck, and boom.

It was a pain to keep my shirt tucked in all day, but I was really happy with the look. One of my colleagues liked the whole look and I got a lot of positive comments on my bright skirt. Yay!

Remember these awesome boots? That I've owned for four years? They're still going strong, although they've sort of become my most beat-up boots (at the end of the day, I'll always love my Fryes most). I wore them in the rain and they got super-stained (nothing a little leather-cleaner can't fix). However, the sole of the left boot started peeling off and I think it's time to bite the bullet and get new rain boots (my old ones bit the dust last year) and to purge these guys from my wardrobe, as much as I love them. I don't think it's going to be worth getting them fixed and I now I have my beloved similar Fryes and I could afford to pare down my boot collection a fair amount. So, bye-bye Steve Madden boots. I loved ye well, but I love my other boots weller and it's time to say good-bye. 

Well, tomorrow I have to teach two classes while being observed by my students' parents and then have, like, a thousand conferences with them. Wish me luck!

Grey hairband: Urban Outfitters (online), remixed

Striped shirt: J Crew Factory, remixed

Pink skirt: Old Navy (online)

Grey tights: Gap, remixed

Boots: Steve Madden, remixed

How I wore it: muted Monday

Today was a long day - the first Monday I've worked in two weeks! Crazy! It was also the chilliest day of the school year so far: I woke up to 39 degrees and, dang, I was cold on my bike ride to the train station…

It was nicer on the way back, but I think it's time to start thinking more about my layering strategies in colder weather…

When I got back home, Baby Boots was ready to be my photo partner:

Let's never speak of these photos again

While I hate how this photograph turned out and how this outfit photographed, I do like many elements of this outfit. These pants, for example, were a weird purchase. I mean, I love ankle pants. Theoretically. I think the people who best wear ankle pants are basically the size of one of my legs. However, when I saw these forest green pants for sale on the Old Navy website last winter, I couldn't resist. The problem, of course, is that my legs are quite curvy and - in this photo at least - there's not enough ankle showing and my big feet's shoes look obscenely huge. 

Also, I should have chosen maybe a less dumpy top. 

Believe it or not, my Fluevog green shoes were great for biking. As opposed to my flats, the slight heel lets me get much better leverage on my pedals. Good to know… 

In an attempt to take a more flattering picture, this happened:

When the urge hits, you have to read RIGHT AWAY.

Anyway, it was a long day and now I'm happy ensconced watching 'The Good Wife' OnDemand. Good times. Happy Monday, y'all!

Black top: Old Navy (online)

Striped tank (barely visible below): Gap

Green pants: Old Navy (online)

Green shoes: Fluevog, remixed

muted mixing

Sorry, all, for not having posted in a while. It's been a little stressful both at work and at home and I've found it difficult to get motivated to take pictures after work. It should get better this week!

(I mean, I got a new buffalo plaid dress that I DIDN'T DOCUMENT! And it's so cute! You'll definitely see it.)

Yesterday, Friday, was the end of a week full of glorious, unseasonably warm weather. We'd had heavy rainfall on Thursday, so I celebrated Friday's weather by - as usual - bike commuting. Along with my new buffalo plaid dress, I also got grey fair isle leggings (all from Old Navy. Again.) and yesterday I wore them under a short black dress. Confused as to what to do about shoes, I decided to wear my houndstooth slip-ons. It was all a little krazy klown, but by the end of the day, I dug it:

What do you think? Masterful pattern mixing or the output of a deranged mind? 

Anyways, my husband just took Baby Boots out for a walk, so I'm gonna watch some TV and strum a little ukulele.

Happy weekend!

How I wore it: it's Johnny's birthday!

So today, as I knew I wouldn't be biking because of my faculty meeting, I planned something a little special. And the fact that it was John Lennon's (would-be 74th) birthday was icing on the cake.

Meet my 2013 Christmas present(s) from my husband!

Under the sweatshirt is a Beatles tank. Duh.

So those are my cowboy boots. Um, I love them? I never knew that turquoise fleur-de-lys cowboy boots would make me go all mushy inside, but they do. I basically peer-pressured my husband into buying them for me - he's not a big cowboy boot fan, but he loved these, too. They are super-comfy, but since they basically are the highest heels I wear on a regular basis (sad), after a long day, my feet do get a little tired. So far I haven't branched out a lot beyond wearing them with jeans or leggings, but I did wear them with a fancy eyelet dress for graduation last year. It was intensely cool. 

Every single other element of my outfit is from Old Navy online. A few years ago, I only owned one thing by Old Navy and now the majority of my wardrobe is from there. The shift happened when I got pregnant: I didn't want to invest a lot of money on maternity clothes and this seemed like an easy solution. Since then, I've basically come to rely on their sales, my coupons, and their online reviews. I tend to only buy stuff that's reviewed so I can see what runs big, small, etc. I've only had to send one thing back because some of their sizing is wacky - other than that, it's been a big success. I try to buy pieces that are basic and wearable and, hey, I don't spend a lot of money! Win-win.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed meeting what may be my favorite pairs of boots ever (I know, I say that a lot). Happy Thursday night!

Grey sweatshirt: Old Navy (online)

Jeans: Old Navy (online), remixed

Cowboy Boots: Corral, by way of countryoutfitter.com, gift from my husband

How I wore it: heart on my shirt

Today was my first day back at work since Friday (we had our first mini between-term vacation, for students to chillax and for teachers to write grades and comments) and I was not feelin' it. I had a very cute outfit planned, what with boots and tights and skirts and whatnot, but the weather has been warm and humid (not to mention, this morning, rainy), so I decided to wear something a little less…sticky. I didn't bike, as it was pouring when I left my house (natch, it stopped two seconds after I stepped outside, but I had already resigned myself to saving money by taking the school bus, so…), but I managed to get a long bike ride in on Monday and a couple of minutes in yesterday. Not too bad!

Here's my "back to work and thrilled about it" look of the day:

Tilt! Also, these shoes look way greener on iPhoto!

Of course I was already at work when I realized the date (October 8th) - John Lennon's birthday is tomorrow and here I am wearing a Beatles t-shirt in advance. Oh, well. It's not like I don't own other Beatles tees. (By the way, Baby Boots and I are both sitting on the couch as I write this, watching 'Yellow Submarine,' her new favorite movie. I'm a great mom.)

I cuffed the crap out of my black jeans because: a) I really like the look of cuffed pants and oxfords and b) these jeans are ridiculously long on me. I bought them in "tall" over the winter because they didn't have them in regular (and I couldn't wait, as these were replacements for another pair and life without black jeans is no life for me); I figured it wouldn't matter so much, as I tend to wear boots so often. I honestly didn't think of cuffing them until today. I'm so glad I did! 

The weather is supposed to cool down a little the next couple of days, so I'm looking forward to wearing boots again and introducing y'all to one of my favorite pairs. Ever…

Beatles tee: Old Navy (online)

Black jeans: Old Navy (online), remixed

Green oxfords: John Fluevog, remixed

How I wore it: song 2

Just like yesterday, I decided to go with a tried and true classic for me again today: a colorful dress, tights, and tall boots. And, oh boy:

… am I glad I did!

I can't believe I've had this dress for four years. It's been so wonderful for me. It is probably, quite simply, my favorite dress. Every time I wear it, I feel like a super-star and someone says something nice. 

The boots, ah, the boots. I've had them for about a year and a half, but haven't featured them except for once. Although I wear them a lot. 

Tonight the whole family is off to have dinner with friends, so I wanted to be cute, but comfortable for the whole day. I think I pulled it off, by golly!

So, question, Style Nation: This dress says that it's dry clean only, but its lining is polyester and its shell is 97% cotton and 3% spandex. Should I risk washing it by hand/delicates or should I just bite the bullet and send it to the cleaner's? What do you think?

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

Grey tights: Gap, remixed

Boots: Paige Riding Boots, by way of Country Outfitter, remixed

How I wore it: ahhhh...

Is there anything better than shrugging on one's tried and true silhouette?

Yeeeeahhhhh! Tunic, skinny jeans, tall boots, grey and black… I mean, this is me, folks! This is how I dressed for all of 2010-2011! 

This was my first tall boot deployment of the year and, damn, was I happy to wear my beloved Fryes. It was raining this morning and I was hesitant to wear my boots out in the weather, but I knew it was supposed to clear up and I took a calculated risk. They did fine and I'm psyched I chose to wear them. 

Ahhh, dark jeans, Fryes, and a tunic. Why haven't I been wearing this every day? 

Grey headband: Urban Outfitters (online), remixed

Charcoal sweater: Gap, remixed

Grey tunic: American Apparel, remixed

Black jeans: Old Navy (online), remixed

Grey jeans: Frye Paige Huaraches, via Zappos.com, remixed

How I wore it: Captain Badass

The weather has been rainy and damp these last couple of days and the schedule for the rest of the week is a little off (it's the last couple of days before the end of the first unit of the year), so I'm a little off-kilter with regards to my biking routine. I was able to bike on Monday, but nothing for the rest of the week, probably. Boooo…

The upside, though, is that I'm able to wear fun outfits that I don't have to worry about getting grease stains on. And long, dangly earrings that won't get caught on my helmet straps… I decided today to wear my favorite badass plaid pants:

Wow, the way the photo (which I edited carefully) appears on the blog is atrocious. I promise that have shoes. And legs, for that matter. Refer here to see the pants and boots in light. 

Not much to say here. A simple black top, cool plaid jeans, and badass black leather boots. I felt great all day, although these jeans aren't the most flattering pants I own. You know what, though? They make me feel great and I always get comments on them. One co-worker calls them my "Sex Pistols pants." A new co-worker complimented them and said she wanted to buy a pair just like them, and my daughter's preschool teacher also admired them. So yay for them and me! 

It's the end of hump day and I'm looking forward to a four-day weekend (with a lot of comment-writing, but still). What's up with y'all?

Black shirt: Gap (online)

Plaid jeans: Gap (online), remixed

Black boots: Fluevog, remixed