gross, grey days

dress: Nordstrom Rack

blouse: GAP gift

tights: Kohl's 

wedges: Mia

coat: Ann Taylor resale

This outfit was from last week, which means I have gotten behind yet again. I have kept pretty busy and the motivation to post pictures on gross, grey days has been in short supply. 

sunshine on my shoulders

dress: resale

cardigan: Sway

black top: Target

tights: Kohl's

heels: Steve Madden

thanks Glee

 dress: Anthropologie resale

necklaces: H&M gift

giraffe necklace: Unpossible Cuts

tights: Kohl's

heels: Target 

belt: Target

I am going to just come right out and admit that I ripped this outfit straight off last week's episode of Glee. Don't you judge me okay? I have had this coral dress and worn it a few times. How did it never occur to me to do something as simple as pair it with black tights and heels? Thank you wardrobe/costume design people on Glee.

Octo Love

 dress: resale

turtleneck: GAP clearance 

tights: Kohl's 

heels: Lela Rose for Payless clearance

necklace: Unpossible Cuts

Happy Dance! The weather cleared up this morning. I swear it was raining 5 minutes before I walked out the door to head to yoga. So I layered up with leg warmers and rain boots, got my umbrella. I was a block down the street before I realized that not only was it not raining but the skies were blue.
I never go to yoga at actual yoga studios. I have always gone to the classes at gyms I have belonged to. Today was my first foray into the studio yoga world. Holy monkey! It was amazing! probably TMI but I was all sorts of drenched in sweat (ewwww) and walked out feeling like a sweaty beast, albeit an amazing one!!! So long YMCA, hello expensive yoga classes.
This dress is one of the best resale purchases ever. Very versatile and how adorable is the heart cut out in the back. It is great in the summer worn alone. I layered a cardigan over it last winter. This turtleneck is a first for me. Me and turtlenecks go way back as sworn enemies. I had always insisted that I looked like a giant wiener in them. I stand corrected, I look awesome in turtlenecks.
I am so darn modest tonight :)

hamburglar

 sweater: Old Navy sale

button up: Limited (2001)

skirt: vintage

tights: Kohl's 

shoes: Forever 21

necklaces: gift (thanks family)

This has been the week of working late. PTA meeting, going to listen to an education reform speaker, presenting at our Parent Academy. We all have those kinds of weeks. Thankfully, tomorrow is Friday and a weekend full of relaxation awaits. I read a funny post about introverts that is going around Facebook. I took the Myers Briggs personality test back in high school and I don't remember my full results but I do know that it said I am introverted. I agree, I have never considered myself an extrovert at all. Where extroverts recharge by being around people, I need my down time after being around a bunch of people. I have always been this way. Considering I spend 8 hours a day being bombarded by questions from 31 ten year olds, I need a bit of quiet by Friday. I used to ignore this and party it up all weekend. Then I would wonder why my weekends felt so disappointing come Sunday night.
As far as what I am wearing, this week made layering a huge MUST! I am rocking two pairs of tights and still taking these pictures may have been the only time I removed my coat all day. Brrrrr. Hello winter, you sly dog you. I think the last time I wore this sweater was as the Hamburglar for Halloween. Good times. The funniest part of that costume, was me running around the party all night accusing everyone of stealing my hamburger. I think they thought I was really committed to being in character...but no I honestly kept losing it. :)

giraffe...hella

dress: Francesca's Closet clearance

necklace: Unpossible Cuts 

belt: Target

Romance boots: Seychelle's

Picasa is being a butt and refusing to sync the photos for today that I just uploaded, so I here is an outfit I wore last week that didn't make it up. Ahhhhhh, last week, when the weather was nice. I knew it couldn't last, seeing as how it's supposed to be winter. And today was COLD! 

Any East Bay folk recognize the design on my necklace? I love it.

This time last year

So the one year anniversary of my blog came and went with out me even noticing. There was once a time that I was good with birthdays...but then (shrug). I also, passed on doing an recap of 2011. Instead I thought I might try working in a "this time last year" feature. It would give me a chance to possibly reflect on what I was doing and what I was wearing the previous year.

This time last year I posted
Round 3 with the Ballerina Skirt

Oh, that frilly little pink skirt. I still have it but haven't felt any interest in wearing it. In hindsight I can't believe I wore it to school, it's pretty short. That skirt was the piece that sparked the idea of challenging myself to find ways to wear un-wearable items. Items that seem inappropriate or unflattering but that I like for what ever reason. I think I totally showed this ballerina skirt whose boss.
Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

In that same post I talked about celebrating my friend Sarah (and Scott and Matt's) birthdays.  My roommate and I went to PikaPika in Japantown to take silly photos to make a birthday card. Obsessed doesn't begin to explain how much I love me some pikapika. (Kyoko, when are you coming back? A trip to Japantown is needed!) Then after getting all dolled up for the party, we took more silly photos. That skirt was crazy short as well. I must have been going through some kind of phase with the mini skirts.

I hope you enjoyed reflecting back on last year with me. Short skirts and silly photos = good memories.

leaped out

 

 

 dress: GAP sale

blouse: Target

tie: ribbon from another dress

sweater: Old Navy

belt: Target

Hawk wedges: Seychelle's

I felt like leaping today and sadly I am now all leaped out! I do have a favor to ask. If you have time, go to the Warby Parker facebook page and help me decide between the frames I got in the mail yesterday. My friends have all weighed in and the almost unanimously chose my least favorite.So now I am quite, thoroughly confused. 

Miss Car Washer

 

skirt: Banana Republic resale

top: JCrew resale

heels: Lela Rose for Payless clearance

tights: Sway (you can't tell but they are green)

necklace: Unpossible Cuts

Outfits like this one feel super teach-librarian like. Is it the glasses, the bun, the top buttoned all the way up, or perhaps the pencil skirt? I am thinking it is all of the above. Regardless, I am loving this kind of look even more than my go-to uber girly dresses and heels. I like the way this gorgeous, bib-style, lotus necklace (from Unpossible Cuts) looks over a buttoned up, button up. Even against a pattern like this plaid, to me, it's all about the necklace.
It is hard to believe how many of the shots I take end up with my eyes closed. I have a special talent there. And notice the 2nd photo. I had no idea that I could make a joker face. I don't think I could recreate that magic on command if I tried. Just wow. :)
On a completely unrelated note, this is NOT the ideal outfit to wear to the self service car wash. Not conducive to scrubbing and vacuuming my car at all. It did get lots of whistles though. Apparently, other people love the teacher-librarian look ;)

signs...especially stop signs

These are from before I left for Texas and just never made it up. 

 skirt: H&M

top: Forever 21

sweater: Kohl's

boots: Michael Kors resale

tigths: JCrew sale

necklace: unpossible cuts

Story...I went to go running in my neighborhood this morning. I had been wary of running at 5am in the city but decided if I did laps in my neighborhood, I should be fine. I get a few blocks and check my ipod to see what time I had started, and it says 12:24am. I stop and begin to fume thinking that the power has gone out and it is actually the middle of the night. I turn back toward my house and check the time zone app, still says 12 am. Check another app, same thing. I am super annoyed at this point wondering how I am going to get back to sleep, when I pass a cafe on the corner of my street. It has a giant clock inside that reads 5:15. Stupid ipod!! I don't know what happened but the good news was that I could turn back around and continue my run.
Then one block later, a car runs a stop sign and I have to leap out of the way to keep from being run over. Are these signs to stay in bed and skip the 5am runs.