Parenting Practice

Academia: I'm still off conferencing in Houston, and hopefully will be able to report to you next week that it went well (I'm writing this on Sunday night before leaving). In the meantime, I give you another outfit I wore last week, on a day when the students were really wearing me down. It wasn't a bad day at all, but just a day in which everyone had a question, or a weird problem, or a complaint.

It was exhausting, but in a way, probably good practice for parenthood. After all, Baby C will be here soon and she will need me way more than any student I've ever had. I'm sure it will feel different - I'll love my daughter more and differently than my students, which will make meeting her needs easier in some ways. But there will probably also be days when I feel run down by how dependent she will be on her dad and me. For those days, my job can be an excellent warm-up.

Sartorial: Wearing fun clothes can make tiring days a little better. Bright purple and red, comfortable jeans, and a big flower in my hair all make me smile. That's something to keep in mind for those inevitably tiring days with Baby C: putting on happy clothes might help ease that worn-out new mommy feeling.

To any moms reading this, how did you make yourself feel a bit more human on long days with your baby?

Rainy Day Tights

Academia: Two posts in a row! Yay! Yesterday was gross and gray and rainy, which was great when I was curled up on the couch with a warm rice sock on my back, but not so great when the fire alarm in my building went off and we all had to stand outside for half an hour. This happens all.the.time. in my building. Maybe someone keeps pulling the alarm or maybe a bunch of someones are really inept at microwaving. Either way, standing outside in the gray chill is not awesome, and warm rice socks are.

Sartorial: I've said it before, and I'll say it again: purple tights are designed specifically for rainy days. But not for lying on the couch. Sweatpants are better for that.

Limited Time Only

Academia: Thanks for all your congratulations and well-wishes on Wednesday, y'all! Cary and I both read your comments, and it meant a lot to us. Thanks!

I've been back at work this week, but yesterday was the first day I had to interact with anyone other than the other administrators and office staff. We had a new student and his parents arrive early (check-in for the spring is next week), and they wanted some help getting settled, so I went with them to apartment complexes for part of the day. They were a very nice family, and it was a great way to ease back into the semester.

Sartorial: Since I was seeing a student, and not just my coworkers, I thought it would be a good idea not to wear the jeans I've been wearing all week. I also spared y'all from seeing them. You're welcome. I'd say this pencil skirt only has about three or four more weeks before I can't wear it any more (it's already a little tight), so I'm trying to get as much wear out of it as I can now.

I'm looking forward to finding fun maternity clothes, but I'll definitely miss this skirt. It's comfortable and versatile, and it makes every outfit look more polished. Does anyone make maternity pencil skirts? Is there a way for a pregnant woman to wear a pencil skirt and not look absolutely squeezed into it? Yes, I hope?

Ever Seen a Movie About New Year's Eve in Manhattan? Yeah, I Thought Not.

TOMS

Academia: The last day of classes in any semester is a whirlwind of insanity, but yesterday felt more insane than normal. One of our administrators was out sick, so there was a lot of scrambling to cover the million-odd jobs she usually does. On top of that, the students go into panic mode at the end of the semester when they realize they have too many absences/are failing their classes/haven't made hotel reservations for the holidays/will miss the final because they bought their plane tickets for the wrong day. Fun times.

Amidst the normal hand-wringing that shows up in my office at the end of the semester, one crazy problem stood out from the rest yesterday. A very nice, very conscientious student came by and said that he wanted help making a hotel reservation. I said sure, where did he want to go? Times Square, New York City, was his answer. Fine, I said. What day?

December 31. Yeah.

I tried to explain that Times Square is the most popular place to be on December 31 in the entire United States of America, but he wanted to forge ahead and find a hotel. He was shocked to see that every available bed, army cot, sleeping bag, and folding chair on Times Square - nay, the entire island of Manhattan - costs $500 and up on New Year's Eve. I felt bad for him - I mean, he's not from here, he couldn't really know - but OMG, dude. Just OMG. Not surprisingly, he ultimately decided to go home and re-evaluate his plans.

Sartorial: I like to bring a little color to a day of insanity and hand-wringing. Purple tights make me feel better when I have to say things like, "Hmmm, I guess you could stay in Newark. Which is not actually even in the same state you're trying to be in."

Pageant, Etc.

TOMS, The Poppy Chain Boutique 

Academia: Sometimes the nicest weekends are the most random ones. Over the past 48 hours, I have done the following:

1. Had a visit from my mom
2. Been inducted into PEO (my mom is also a PEO, which is why she came)
3. Went to my godson's baptism
4. Attended a local church's Christmas pageant, which wasn't so much a pageant as a 90 minute variety show that included a medieval court performance, a rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas" in which the partridge in the pear tree kept forgetting to hold up her sign, a musical retelling of the Christmas story with a completely immobile Mary and Joseph (they just sat there holding Baby Jesus for upwards of 20 minutes), and a giant fake boar's head. Yeah, it was weird.

And it was all delightful. At the pageant, my friend Brian went to ask one of the greeters if she had a tissue, and she made him hand out church-themed calendars while she went to find him one. I love living in a small town.

Sartorial: I wore this outfit on Friday, to work, to clean my house before my mom's arrival, and to the pageant. Any outfit flexible enough for all of that is an okay outfit by me.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

The Poppy Chain Boutique

Academia: I could yammer on about students, the end of the semester, how the writers of my favorite TV shows seem to be conspiring to get every single character on every show pregnant (on behalf of infertile couples who turn to TV for an escape across America, you all suck), but none of that is as interesting as the fact that I'm wearing a necklace that I WON today!

Sartorial: I have been reading fashion blogs forever, and I finally won a giveaway! I'm so excited - I never win stuff! This one was hosted by Whitney and Monica of Ask the Duplex (a truly fabulous blog you should all check out), and the prize was $25 to the Poppy Chain Boutique. I love long pendant necklaces and I never have enough, so I chose this one and Ashley of the Poppy Chain sent it to me right away.

I adore this necklace and wanted to wear something that would show it off, so I went with my blank canvas black dress, added a blouse in the same color as the chrysanthemum on the necklace, and finished it off with my new favorite shoes. I felt so pretty and whimsical in this outfit that you could have cast me in New Girl with Zooey Deschanel, the queen of pretty and whimsical. And hey, no one is pregnant on New Girl yet either, which makes it the perfect TV escape; no pregnancies and pretty clothes are my top two requirements for TV viewing right now. Which is why I love you, Modern Family, and not you, The Office.

Happy Legs

Academia: Thanks for your kind words yesterday, y'all. I feel like I keep e-melting down and y'all keep cheering me up, so thanks for bearing with me. My mom told me yesterday that when you're going through something hard, like infertility or the death of a loved one or losing your job or breaking up with someone, you just have to keep living, and do things that distract you and make you happy. Writing this blog and knowing y'all makes me happy.

Sartorial: Another thing that makes me happy is wearing purple tights. Horrible clunky segue, I know. Just humor me. Today is colored tights day on Everybody Everywear, so I pulled out this lovely pair and they made my legs feel cheery all day. I wore this exact outfit more than once last winter, and it's one of my favorites, so y'all can definitely expect to see it again.



Bonus happy things: The creme-brulee-sized sweet potato pie my friend Melina brought me at work yesterday, the new Three Musketeers movie (so cheesy, so fun), and these two spoken-word poetry performances that my friend Debra emailed me yesterday. She says the first one is for fighting the good fight and the second is for feeling good, so if you need to fight or feel good (and who doesn't?), check them out.

In the Trenches

Academia: Y'all, my brain is fried. I wore this on Friday, but since then I've had family in town, a doctor's appointment, a housewarming party at my sister's, and a full day of work on Sunday. It was all extremely interesting and would make a great blog post, but I'm too exhausted to write anything other than blerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

Sartorial: I bought this trench coat in August and have been dying for it to get cool enough to wear it. I've always loved the look of trench coats (they make me feel like Carmen Sandiego), but how much more awesome is a trench coat with pleated ruffles? THIS much more awesome. Seriously, I'm so tired that my writing is entirely dependent on varying font sizes. #zerocreativity #andalsohashtags

Puss in Boots

Academia: Fall is here! A cold front came through on Wednesday, and so the high temperature yesterday was about 68. I got really excited, as you can see by my tights and boots. It'll be back in the 80s by early next week, but for now, the weather is perfect for shaving hot chocolate with out-of-town cousins and snuggling under a down duvet, which is exactly what I did last night.

Sartorial: The theme of this Friend Friday is Halloween. I love costumes, and have nothing against Halloween, but since I live in a college town, all the adult Halloween activities seem to revolve around getting hammered and dressing up as a slutty [insert character here], e.g. the Slutty Pumpkin. I haven't really done Halloween in a few years, so this should be interesting...

1. Do you have plans for Halloween? What will you dress up as this year? My only plan is to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. I love doing that, especially early in the evening when the littlest trick-or-treaters are out being adorable. I don't think I'll dress up, but I always try to have the best candy on the street. No sketchy paper-wrapped taffy here.
2. Where do you go for costume and makeup inspiration? When I dressed up for Halloween as a kid, I always wanted to be pretty, not scary. So I got a lot of inspiration from Disney. I haven't dressed up in several years, but wearing a princess costume still appeals to me, so I'd probably still take my cues from the Mouse :)
3. What was the best costume you've ever donned? When I was six, I decided I wanted to be Puss in Boots for Halloween. So I dressed as a cat, and wore cowboy boots. It was awesome. My inner literary critic was so pleased with herself. I was a character from classic literature! Yes, my six-year-old self had an inner literary critic. But no one got it. Everyone just said, "Oh, a cat!" My inner literary critic was highly offended.
4. What's the most creative costume you've ever seen? I didn't see this because it happened before I was born, but my mom says that one year, my dad convinced her that they should wear all black to a Halloween party and tell people that they were "shadows of their former selves." Not shockingly, no one got it, and they had to spend the whole night explaining their costumes. I love it though. And now the whole Puss in Boots thing is starting to make sense.
5. No holds barred - if you could dress up as anything, what would it be? Scarlett O'Hara. I need to wear a hoop skirt and a pretty ball gown. They just look like so much fun. Plus, Scarlett was the queen of refashioning - she made a dress out of curtains long before Maria von Trapp ever thought of doing it. She should be the patron saint of fashion bloggers.

So there you have it, friends. Apparently I'm destined to always want to dress as literary characters, be it the hero of a fairly obscure fairy tale or the original steel magnolia. What about y'all? Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? What have been your best (and worst) costumes?

Feel Good, Look Good?

TOMS 

Academia: I had a bit of a frustrating day at work yesterday. I felt like I talked to students all day who were either rude for no reason, or who were asking for my help with things they should have learned how to do a long time ago and had just opted not to. But. BUT! The day ended with shrimp and grits and Project Runway with friends. Any day that ends like that can't be too bad.

Sartorial: I felt good in this outfit yesterday, although when I look at the pictures now, something about it seems a little off. Do y'all ever wear outfits like that? I might try to recreate this in the future with different accessories, because I think the core pieces are working, but it's probably the accessories that are throwing it off.

Generally, I believe that if I feel good, it probably looks good, but maybe that's not always true. I mean, I feel good in pajamas, but that doesn't mean I should wear them outside. What do y'all think? Does feeling good always equate to looking good? And what's going on with this outfit?

I'm No Slouch (Except Today I Am)

Cardigan, Jeans, Earrings

Sorry for the wonky camera angles. I couldn't find a flat spot in my yard.

Academia: Fridays are kind of slow at work because there are no afternoon classes. And I'm not teaching a class at all this summer so I can get accustomed to my new duties (although I may add one in July). So I came to work this morning and just kind of hung out. I did some paperwork, solved a few minor student issues, and went to lunch with my work peeps. Yeah, I'm not really a person who says "peeps." I was just trying it out. Right now, I'm in my office catching up on blogging, and I'm leaving early to pick up Cary at the airport and head to the beach (again, yay!) for our church's annual retreat. After the hectic pace of the rest of this week, having a slow day has been kind of nice.

Sartorial: Well, I caved and bought a short-sleeved cardigan at Target yesterday. I also got shorts at Old Navy, but felt weird going to work with mostly naked legs, so you don't get to see those today. I got this oatmeal color because I figured it would go with everything, and it looks much less washed-out in person than the pictures make it appear. Actually, this whole outfit is better and more vibrant-looking in person. And I'm digging the slouchy chic vibe, especially since I'll be in the car for a few hours this afternoon. Yeah, I don't really say "digging" either. Maybe I just need to stay away from slang, especially outdated slang that no one my age ever uses.

Sweet Home Alabama

Reasons to dress down on a Thursday:

1. I'm grading papers at home. The only people who will see me today are the people in the grocery store, the cats, Cary (who can't get rid of me), my sister and brother-in-law (who can't get rid of me), and my friends Jose and Adrienne (who could get rid of me but probably won't).
2. It's 90 degrees out.
3. Apparently the Apocalypse has arrived in the South in the form of ginormous tornadoes. While I wasn't anywhere near the insane damage that happened yesterday, the same storm system is coming my way today. I don't think we're supposed to see tornadoes, but inclement weather calls for comfortable clothes.

Seriously, did y'all see the footage of those tornadoes in Alabama? My aunt and cousin live in Birmingham, and I spent a good hour thinking they might have been sucked up by the 1.5-mile-wide tornado that ripped through town. They weren't (although they did spend some quality time hanging out in their basement). And I was just in Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama, a city which is completely devastated now. The people there were so gracious and the town is lovely. Since I live in another Southern college town, Tuscaloosa is especially on my mind today.

Queen for a Day

Dress, Brian's Etsy shop

When I was a little girl, I looked like most other little girls. I acted like most other little girls, if maybe a little more dramatic, and I did normal little girl things. But I knew, I knew, that I really should have been a princess. I saw the way princesses lived (the ones who had fairy godmothers, not the ones who got divorced from the Prince of Wales), and I knew that's how I wanted to live. I needed a castle and a fairy godmother, and most of all, I needed a ball gown and a tiara. Needed them.

Obviously, I didn't grow up to be a princess. I did harbor a fantasy in high school that I would meet Prince William and he would fall madly in love with me, and I wore a tiara at my wedding (because when else would I ever be able to get away with that again?), but that's as close as I got. So y'all understand that sometimes, I need to wear royal purple with gold accessories. It's just a nod to Little Me, because according to her, I should be knee-deep in fairy godmothers by now.

Of course, I did help a group of students book a last-minute flight to DC to meet the king of their country today. So I'm one degree of separation from an actual king now. I'm brushing up on my pageant wave as we speak.

In a Garden

Dress and necklace: LOFT outlet
Jacket: LOFT
Tights and shoes: Target
Earrings: Brian Moody

Cary has had spring break this week, and has been very busy and creative in our front yard. Where before, we had scraggly azaleas (the only ones on our street that wouldn't bloom), now we have a lovely arrangement of hydrangeas (my favorite flower), leafy things, and a birdbath. It looks like this:

Spring must be in the air, because I kind of went berserk with flowers and bright colors in my outfit today. I feel like I'm wearing the sartorial equivalent of our yard. It makes sense; my outfit made me happy, and the yard makes me happy. And having a husband who wants to garden makes me happy, because I don't like gardening. I do like looking at gardens though, so I'm very happy that we have one. And that I can dress like one too.

P.S. If you haven't checked out my friend Brian's Etsy store, you should. These pretty blue pearl earrings I'm wearing are his, and he has tons of pretty, funky jewelry to sell. I promise Brian isn't paying me to say this, other than to lend me the jewelry. If anything, I should be paying him, because he helped Cary with the garden, fixed a broken necklace of mine, helped us paint our kitchen cabinets a few months ago, and is currently in my kitchen cooking dinner. I'm thinking of becoming a polygamist so I can marry Brian and have him move in and make jewelry and dinner forever.