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.

Sudafed Brain

TOMS

Academia: Y'all, I honestly can't remember what I did in these clothes. I have a cold, and my brain just refuses to reach that far back. On a related note, what in the world do they put in Sudafed to make it non-drowsy? I suspect cocaine. That's the only decongestant I can take right now, and it made me lay awake twitching half the night last night. So my options are apparently cough all night and don't sleep, or don't cough but feel like I had five espresso shots and also don't sleep. If I weren't so tired, I'd cry.

Sartorial: I remember this outfit being comfortable, I think. Except that my pants are just barely hanging on. I think I rubber banded them together, which is a pretty neat trick when you're pregnant but too small for maternity clothes. Just loop a rubber band through the button hole, and then around the button, and voila! Pants that mostly fit.

The button hole is hidden in this particular pair of pants, but trust me, the rubber band is there.

Quiet

Necklace, TOMS 

Academia: Yesterday was a blissfully quiet day at work. The students had only a final exam, no classes, so I didn't see much of them. Instead, I got work done in my office, visited with work friends that I never get to talk to because I'm so busy with the students, and left early enough to go shopping with a girlfriend. After a very busy semester, it was just the kind of day I needed.

Sartorial: For a quiet day, comfy, stretchy clothes seemed appropriate. Perfect for curling up in a chair in a friend's office, stretching my legs out while working at my computer, and walking around Target.

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.

Anatomy of a Disney World Outfit

Academia: Cary and I spent Friday at Disney World in Orlando. We are experienced theme park goers - Cary actually worked at the Magic Kingdom in college - so today I thought I'd share the essentials of dressing for a day at a theme park. So without further ado...

Sartorial: When dressing for a day at a theme park, there are two major things you need to consider: the weather and your feet. Allow me to break them down one at a time.

Weather: You're going to be outside all day, so it's really important to fully understand the weather of wherever you are. If you're going to Disney World anytime between late April and late October, dressing for the heat is crucial. You really can't overestimate how hot and humid Florida is in the summer. Wear breathable fabrics (think loose cotton), bring a poncho, and above all, don't forget your sunscreen. SPF 30 at least.

We were lucky to be at Disney World in November, which is a lovely time of year in Orlando. High temperatures Friday were around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, with lows around 50. I'm a total wimp when it comes to any temperature below 75, so layers were important for me. I started the day dressed as you see above, took the jacket off in the early afternoon, and put it back on around sunset. We saw lots of other tourists from up North who were perfectly happy in shorts and t-shirts, but this native Southerner would have been miserably cold. When it comes to winter weather, know thyself, and dress accordingly.

Feet: I can't overemphasize how crucial it is to wear comfortable shoes for a day in a theme park. You probably know that you'll be walking a lot, but what you may not be thinking about is how much time you'll spend just standing in line - usually 30-60 minutes for the most popular rides. For me, standing in line is just as stressful on my feet and back as walking, so comfy shoes are key.

I wore TOMS on Friday, and they worked pretty well for me. Sneakers are good too; I've worn my Chuck Taylors in the past. Shoes I wouldn't recommend: anything with a heel, flip-flops, new shoes. Trust me: wear your oldest, most broken in shoes. Exception: TOMS, which never need breaking in.

So there you have it, how to dress for a theme park in two easy steps. Just remember your sunscreen and your sneakers, and you're ready for a day of Space Mountain, ice cream in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears, and congratulating yourself on not buying a hoodie with Eeyore on it. Because cartoon hoodies are never necessary. Even at Disney World.

Distraction

Academia: I'm writing this on Thursday evening, so just a quick note before I head to bed, because it's been a busy day. Cary and I are in Orlando for a weekend of distraction from our neverending cycle of doctor's appointments, and we're having so much fun that I'm totally exhausted and about to collapse into my oh-so-comfy Disney hotel bed. I'll give y'all some more details on Monday, but for now, I'll just share that a night at the movies (the Shakespeare-didn't-write-Shakespeare's-plays conspiracy drama Anonymous), followed by a root beer float, is an excellent way to distract oneself.

Sartorial: I needed to be comfy for the car ride, the walking around, etc., so I went with slouchy boyfriend pants, a t-shirt, and TOMS. Today (Friday) we're heading to the parks, so more comfy clothes are in my immediate future. Stay tuned on Monday to see what kind of clothes work for a day of standing in lines and walking. Have a great weekend, y'all!

Sister, Sister

Sorry about the pictures today. I wanted to see if I liked the flash settings on the new camera better than without the flash. I don't. 

Also, I'm still trying to figure out the appropriate amount of zoom.

Academia: A pretty normal day at work, except I got to have lunch with my lovely sister! My sister is a nanny, and as the child she nannies for gets older and my future niece or nephew gets closer to being born, her work hours are becoming more flexible, which means that we can have lunch once a week or so. It's such a nice break in the middle of the day and I love having the time to catch up with her. Living in the same town as adults is great.

Sartorial: After wearing a fancy dress and heels on Tuesday, I swung in completely the opposite direction yesterday and went as cozy as possible - boyfriend pants, slouchy cardigan, and TOMS. Perfect for a slightly chilly (for the Deep South) November day, and for sister lunch time.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Not my best picture ever. My sister took it and she is really tall, so my legs look two feet long. I mean, thanks for taking my picture, Suzanne!

Suzanne and me

Five of my favorite people, and two of my favorite people-to-be. We're all wearing buttons because it was Mike's birthday and Disney gives buttons that say "I'm celebrating!" to anyone celebrating almost anything, except the birthday person, whose button says "It's my birthday!" Everyone we passed said happy birthday to Mike, and someone actually congratulated Cary on Mike's birthday. Welcome to Disney World.

Academia: One of the nicest things about living in the Deep South is proximity to Disney World. On Friday, Cary and I, my sister Suzanne and brother-in-law Mike, and our good friends Jose and Adrienne took the day off and went to the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

For those of you who don't live within a day's drive of Disney, Epcot is divided into two sections: the futuristic utopia world at the front of the park (where the giant golf ball you've all seen is), and the World Showcase in the back, which is like a sample platter of the world's countries arranged around a lake. Every year Epcot puts on the Food and Wine Festival in October. They set up booths for all the countries featured on the World Showcase plus a ton more, and sell tapas-sized plates and alcohol from each country. So basically, you can eat and drink your way around the world.

Which is exactly what we did. It was a perfect day; the weather was gorgeous and Epcot is not so full of awesome rides that you would ever feel guilty about spending a whole afternoon meandering and eating, instead of standing in line. We just moseyed around, which was great for all of us - the pregnant members of our group because they needed to rest more, and the non-pregnant members because it gave us more time to drink our sample-sized beers in between booths.

Sartorial: When I go to theme parks, I dress for comfort over style. There is nothing worse than getting to 3:00 in the afternoon at Disney World and having sore feet, because you paid $80 to get in and there's no way you're leaving before nightfall, even if you feel like amputating your feet would hurt less than continuing to walk around.

I have found myself in this boat too many times, so when I got dressed on Friday morning, I picked clothes that could stand a long car ride and a long day of walking: wide-leg comfy jeans, breezy blouse (it's still in the mid-80s in Orlando), and TOMS. This is probably not my most stylish look ever, but I didn't want to cut my feet off at the end of the day, so I count it a success.

Nothing to Note

Dress, TOMS 

Academia: So I'm racking my brain trying to think of anything interesting I did in this dress. I mean, there were interesting things: I talked to my doctor on the phone, Cary and I went to the marriage class we're taking at church, but none of that is really sharing-details-on-the-blog-appropriate. So y'all will just have to be bored today. Sorry. I'm going to Epcot on Friday, so I promise I'll have more interesting stories soon.

Sartorial: I know the French pigtails don't scream "I'm a college administrator," but I just love wearing them. My hair feels so adorable in them, and it stays out of my face all day. And I liked them with my comfy dress and shoes too; it was a rainy day, I stayed up too late last night, and it was just the right kind of nondescript day to be cozy and have cute hair.

Comfort Ninja

TOMS

Academia: I'm still sick, but I dragged myself to work yesterday anyway. Luckily, our receptionist had taped a note to my office door saying that I was sick on Monday, so the students all asked me if I was feeling better, rather than expressing dismay that I hadn't been there at the exact second they had wanted to talk to me. They've done that before. I'll come back from a day off and someone will invariably say, "Why weren't you here? I needed you!" It's hard not to say, "I wasn't here because I don't live to serve you, thanks." But everyone was very sympathetic yesterday, and I managed to catch up on the work I missed, so all in all, it wasn't too bad a day.

Sartorial: Being sick at work demands clothes that feel like pajamas but look like regular work clothes. Amy at BiblioMOMia told me once that she calls this being a "comfort ninja," because only you know how comfy you really are. It's like a comfort sneak attack. So I went with leggings, a loose cotton dress, and TOMS. Perfect for curling up in my office armchair to shut my eyes, which I definitely did just for a few minutes did not do in the middle of the day.

In Hiding

Brian's Etsy Shop, TOMS 

Academia: I felt significantly less crabby with my students yesterday than I did on Tuesday, but I have a confession to make. Yesterday afternoon, I heard Tuesday's most obnoxious student coming down the hall, and I shut my office door and pretended not to be there. I didn't turn off the lights, but I seriously considered it. If I had thought he actually needed help, I would have helped him, but I knew he just wanted to complain. So I hid. Hi, I'm Emily and I'm a professional grown-up who hides from whiny 20-year-olds.

Sartorial: You know what's great for extended periods of time in hiding? Stretchy pants. Perfectly comfortable for slouching down in my desk chair and trying not to be visible through the frosted glass on the door. I'm wondering if there some kind of office camouflage I can buy for future periods of hiding. Like maybe grayish-whitish clothes that will help me blend with the fluorescent lights and dingy paint? If it saves me from hearing one more time how stupid the US is for not having socialized healthcare, it's worth every penny.

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?

Really?

Shoes 

Academia: An Open Letter to the Parents of the Badly Behaved Children in The Lion King:

Dear Parents,

Hi there. Remember me? I was sitting about six rows behind you in The Lion King on Friday night. If you don't remember me, I understand. You were so focused on the movie that the presence of other people didn't really seem to register with you. And by "other people," I don't just mean all of us who paid the outrageous movie ticket prices in the hopes of enjoying a beloved movie from our childhood. I also mean your children.

Look, I don't expect silence and perfect stillness when I go to a kids' movie. I know that it's hard for little kids to sit still for a long time, and that they will talk and squirm through a movie. If I go to a kids' movie, I accept that this will happen when I buy my ticket. What I don't accept is children whose parents let them treat the movie theater like a playground. Shrieking, running up and down the stairs, and talking nonstop at the top of your lungs are not appropriate things to do in a movie theater. The other kids in the theater didn't do any of these things. What in the world was going on with your family?

I don't blame your kids. They're little and they can't help it. But you did absolutely nothing to encourage them to behave, nor did you take them out when you realized that this just wasn't going to work out this time. I know that you paid a lot of money to see this movie. But you know what? So did I. And I cared about seeing The Lion King a lot more than your kids did. For me, this was a chance to relive a favorite memory from childhood, and I looked forward to it for weeks. For them, it was a chance to do exactly the same things they probably do most of the time, except in the dark and with stairs. Your steadfast ignoring of their behavior spoiled the whole experience for me.

In the future, please better prepare your kids for whatever situation you're bringing them into. They can't be expected to just know how to behave; you have to teach them. And if they're not getting it, you have to be willing to leave. It sucks, but you're their parents. It's your job to teach them to respect others and act like human beings. For the sake of the rest of our collective sanity, please do your job.

Sincerely,
Emily

Sartorial: This is what I wore for all of that. At least I was comfortable. P.S. I learned how to French braid!

There Is Such a Thing as a Free Meal

Shoes 

Academia: Of all the perks of my job, one I did not expect was the more-than-occasional free meals. I've had lunches and dinners with visiting professors, student picnics, and yesterday I had a breakfast meeting with a hotel manager. Not only did I get what I came to the meeting for (volunteer placements for tourism major students and the promise of a proposal of rates for an upcoming special program), but I also got eggs, bacon, and hash browns. It was probably the most productive first hour of work I've ever had.

Sartorial: Like I said yesterday, I'm on a mission to make these new TOMS work with everything, including business meeting clothes. I figured my best bet would be to take the basics that I might normally wear to a business meeting and try to choose individual pieces that went with the TOMS. This outfit was the result of several false starts yesterday morning, but I ended up liking the menswear look of this. Plus, this outfit kept me comfortable until 9:00 last night, which is when I got home. And that's why I buy comfortable shoes like TOMS. Happy feet mean a happy day.

New TOMS Day!

Dress, TOMS, Necklace

Academia: Good things that happened today: meeting at a local B&B where a student will be volunteering (including a tour and delicious B&B coffee), tivoed season premiere of How I Met Your Mother, and the first time wearing new TOMS!

Sartorial: New TOMS! I've basically worn holes in my old TOMS, and since they're the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned, I knew it was time for a second pair. I scoured the website, but all the styles I liked were sold out. So I googled "TOMS name of my town," and huzzah! There's a fair trade store downtown that sells them, and they still had these, and I loved them and bought them. And I loved the store too; the owner offered me his opinion without being pushy, and was chatty without being overly familiar. My favorite kind of salesman!

Be prepared to see these a lot this week. I'm on a mission to prove that they go with everything.