Work Swag

Academia: A lot of cool things happened yesterday. Cary and I started early with a doctor's appointment that went very well, and we got to have breakfast together before work. Then yesterday afternoon, some visiting professors from an overseas university that always sends my boss and me very nice small gifts brought us some freaking huge gifts. Last time they were here, I got a teeny tiny memory stick. This time, my boss and I both got a digital camera. A DIGITAL CAMERA. A really nice one too - a Samsung ST93. I'm going to play with it over the weekend and hopefully will have some posts featuring free camera pictures early next week. I'll just say it again because it's so awesome: I GOT A FREE DIGITAL CAMERA AT WORK YESTERDAY.


Sartorial: We had to leave for our doctor's appointment at sunrise, which is why my pictures are inside today. But that may be a thing of the past - maybe my new camera has infrared night vision or something! It's also why I'm wearing this outfit; I wanted to be comfortable and wear clothes that made me feel confident, and the combination of this flattering dress and the comfy leggings fit the bill. This was also a great outfit for getting a free digital camera. I'm just saying.

Funky Jackie Kennedy

Skirt, Brian's Etsy Shop 

Academia: One of my favorite weekly activities is getting together with our four best couple friends, my sister and brother-in-law Suzanne and Mike, and our friends since forever, Jose and Adrienne, for dinner and Project Runway. We alternate houses every week and we all pitch in a dish for dinner. We're ages behind on Project Runway (we DVR), but we have a great time gasping at the drama, predicting the winners and losers, and critiquing the clothes.

And not it's not just Suzanne, Adrienne, and me who are passing judgement on the designers. The guys have just as many opinions as we do, and it delights me to hear them saying things like, "Yeah, I liked that dress, but maybe with a different shoe," or, "That really doesn't flatter her hips at all." When Project Runway isn't on, we substitute with Top Chef or other competition shows, but PR is my favorite because I love clothes and I love listening to the running commentary from the dude gallery.

Sartorial: We just watched the episode last night where the designers have to consult with men to make clothes for their wives or girlfriends, which prompted an interesting discussion about whether our guys could accurately describe our style to a designer. Mike and Jose did pretty well ("black and white" for Suzanne and "Ann Taylor Loft" for Adrienne), but being married to a style blogger allowed Cary to hit the nail on the head; he described my style as "funky Jackie Kennedy." That's exactly what I try for in my wardrobe.

I think this outfit is a little funky Jackie; the pieces are pretty classic, but the combination of fuschia cardigan, animal print blouse, and aqua earrings is a bit funky. I don't know if this would pass muster on PR, but I liked it, and my husband knows my style well enough to buy me presents, so I say I win.

Camel Rider

Necklaces (Katogo Long doubled and Katogo Short), Bracelet

Academia: Thanks for all of y'all's feedback yesterday! I'm going to keep this section of the posts, but try to focus it a little more on individual events rather than a rundown of everything I did in a day, and possibly talk about how fashion influences my job and vice versa. So, that said...

I ate lunch at Gyros Plus today, a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant near campus that is extremely popular with my Middle Eastern students. It's so yummy, but so messy. I spilled my Camel Rider sandwich on my shirt (ground beef, Middle Eastern spices, and hummus on a pita, mmmmm), so now I have a lovely grease stain to complement the rest of my ensemble. But on the plus side, I got to eat with about 12 of my students eyeing me from across the restaurant, which is never always fun. Were they waiting for me to pass judgment on their culture's food? Were they wondering why a teacher had shown up in the middle of their free time? Were they wondering if all Americans try to simultaneously wear and eat their food? Who knows. But the answers are delicious, because Cary ate my last frozen lunch, and I can't speak for all Americans, but in my case, yes.

Sartorial: I wore the warmer-weather equivalent of this outfit pretty recent, so I didn't really break any new ground here. I just like the combination of black and white with aqua and bright jewelry. Nothing really more to say about that. Now, where's my Tide-to-Go pen?