Monthly Archives: October 2012

Sick Day

Posted in fashion, outfit of the day by

10/3/12

This outfit is a million times cuter in person, I swear.

Anyways, this is a warm, comfy outfit- perfect for a day like today. Some kind of 24 hour bug hit me in full force like a mack truck just as my class was starting. By the time rehearsal was over, I was exhausted and hot and shaky. I somehow managed the 45 minute drive home and stumbled into bed. Luckily, I went to bed and woke up feeling better. Still not 100%, but better.

At least I had a cute and comfy outfit to wear! I love pairing navy and yellow together, and the boots are so much fun.

Dress: Pink Rose via Ross
Cardigan: Forever 21
Jeggings: Target
Belt: Faded Glory
Boots: Rocketdog via eBay

Nail Polish: OPI At First Sight
Perfume of the Day: Vera Wang Glam Princess

Tuesday’s Ten: Halloween Candy Edition!

Posted in literally me, things I like by

Halloween is tomorrow! Hurray!

We never really did Halloween when I was little. I dressed up when I was four (Marist College cheerleader- my grandfather was the college president and sent me a little uniform and a pompom as a present) and when I was five (ballerina princess- I couldn’t decide, so I was both). And then my parents decided that Halloween was evil and we should celebrate NO MORE.

Ironically, I met my husband at a Halloween party my senior year of high school.

Anyways, between my parents majorly easing up, being in my twenties and free to dress up if I so choose, and a sister obsessed with Tim Burton movies and cosplay (and often Tim Burton cosplays), Halloween is a much more relaxed occasion. I have two costumes lined up- I’m going to be Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls at school, and then I’m going to be Coraline while I hand out candy.

Which…THAT IS THE BEST PART OF HALLOWEEN. Right after dressing up, because I LOVE any excuse for dressing up. Next year, when P and I are in a house again, I’m totally going to have a fancy dress up party.

But yeah. Candy!

Here’s the best options that I look for in Halloween treats:

#1: 3 Musketeers bars

#2: Twix

#3: Those little packets of M&Ms

#4: Milky Ways

#5: Milky Way Midnights, WHICH ARE EVEN BETTER THAN NORMAL ONES BECAUSE YAY DARK CHOCOLATE.

#6: Krackel bars (Crunch bars are okay, but Krackels are better.)

#7: Anything dark chocolate

#8: Actually, chocolate’s pretty good. Unless it’s the weird store brand unlabeled stuff, because ew.

#9: ANYTHING FULL SIZE INSTEAD OF MINIATURE. It’s like hitting the frickin’ jackpot, man.

#10: Runts. You know, those little fruit-shaped candies from vending machines that don’t taste like fruit at all? Yeah, those are good.

And here, as a bonus, ten things that NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE, wants to get in their little plastic jack o’ lantern candy bucket things, SO FOR THE LOVE OF MERCY STOP HANDING THEM OUT, PEOPLE.

#1: Circus peanuts.

#2: Necco wafers

#3: Boxes of raisins

#4: Candy leftover from last Halloween

#5: Sugar Daddies

#6: Flavored Tootsie rolls

#7: Laffy Taffy

#8: Weird off brand Walgreens candy

#9: Any kind of licorice that is not Twizzlers

#10: Anything banana flavored.

The Ravenclaw Dress

Posted in fashion, outfit of the day by

10/29/12

I know this is sacrilege in the name of all the is outfit blogging, but I hate taking my pictures outside. The light is always terrible and unpredictable, and I’ve tried different spots all around my house, and it’s always awful. I want to go back to taking pictures indoors.

This is one of my tried-and-true dresses. Charlotte Russe can be very hit-or-miss, but I love this one. It’s strapless and slides around everywhere on the top now that I’ve lost some boobage, so I always wear it with a tank or a tee underneath. And today it was finally chilly, so I added a cardigan too!

The hair was an experiment. I found the tutorial on Pinterest and played around with it at home, but today was the first time I tried wearing it out. I really liked it, and I got a lot of compliments, so maybe I’ll try it again soon!

Although if I try wearing that hairstyle with last week’s sailor dress, someone needs to stop me.

Also, I watched Coraline with my aftercare kids today, and now I need to be her for Halloween.

Dress: Charlotte Russe
Tank: Target
Cardigan: Old Navy
Leggings: Target
Boots Seychelles Gallium via eBay

Nail Polish: OPI Spiderman Into the Night
Perfume of the Day: Harajuku Lovers Music

Rachel Berry Called, She Wants Her Sweater Back

Posted in fashion, outfit of the day by

10/26/12
Seriously, this looks like an outfit that Rachel Berry wore in the first season of Glee. Slightly ridiculous. At least the boots keep it from looking too sweety-sweet, right? If I really wanted to look like Rachel, I should have added mary janes or something.

The sweater was a serendipitous Goodwill find- an Izod sweater, tags still on, perfect condition. And unlike most sweaters, it doesn’t make my boobs look super awkward massive! My mom used to buy me chunky turtleneck sweaters and shirts every Christmas when I was growing up, in order to cover up my burgeoning cleavage. Yeah, thanks, Mom, that just made my boobs look even bigger and lumpier, especially since she also bought me ill-fitting sports bras that made me sag like a geriatric bingo player! My middle school/early high school photos are tremendously unfortunate, especially when coupled with my unattractive poofy haircut.

I wore this outfit for a long, long, LONG day. I got to work at 8:30 for a meeting about the TACS fine arts competition- I’m coaching a bunch of students to compete in monologues and duet scenes. And then I sewed a butt-ton of costumes. Then I met with two students at lunchtime about Narnia things. Then I sewed. Then my theatre arts kids finished their reader’s theatre presentations (they did a series of David Ives one acts.) Then I had Narnia rehearsal, in which I choreographed the battle sequence. Holy crap are my legs bruised now. Lots of rolling around on the floor and smacking people with fake weaponry. Let me just say that the boots were exchanged for a pair of hot pink Converses pretty quickly.

The white string/red ribbon bracelet is from a student. One of his friends recently committed suicide, and he was asking if people wanted the bracelets- as a memorial, as an anti-bullying symbol, and as a reminder that the wearer is loved, since one of the things his friend had said was that she didn’t feel loved. I’ve been wearing the bracelet daily ever since, and I’ll probably wear it till it falls off. I’ve watched a lot of my sweet kiddos get picked on and torn down, and I’m not okay with it. I’ve tried to make my classroom as welcoming as possible as a safe space, and some of them have really taken to it.

Sweater: Izod, thrifted
Skirt: Modcloth Craving Curry Skirt in Saffron
Tights: Target
Boots: Blowfish Aerins via eBay

Nail Polish: OPI Katy Perry Teenage Dream
Perfume of the Day: Bath and Body Works Dreamy Vanilla Woods

All Thumbs Thursday: Birchbox by Color Club in Tweet Me

Posted in beauty, Birchbox and Ipsy, nail polish by

Birchbox by Color Club: Tweet Me

Birchbox by Color Club in Tweet Me

This arrived in my October Birchbox. Initially I was really excited to get a nail polish, and then I was like “…lime green? Really?” My preference veer towards subtle glitters or neutrals, and I don’t wear a lot of crazy colors, but I thought I would give it a try.

Color: a bright lime green creme

Consistency: a little on the goopy-thick side, but nothing unmanageable. Two coats covered it, but I added a third just to keep it smooth. There’s no visible brushstrokes, but it got a little clumpy on the nail.

Staying Power: Yikes! The ends were chipping by the end of the day. Like…majorly chipping. This picture was taken the day after I painted my nails, and you can already see how much it scraped off on the edges.

Color and Dupes: I already have a bright lime green in my collection- Did It On ‘Em from the Nicki Minaj collection. I haven’t compared them to see how they look, but the shade and quality seem pretty close.

Restock: Will I buy it again when I run out? Nope. Probably not.

Overall: This probably won’t be on my usual rotation- it’ll probably be used mostly as a pedicure color in the summertime. But a free polish is a free polish, right?

The 8th Von Trapp

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I am a SUCKER for anything with a sailor collar. I don’t even know why. I think it has something to do with my childhood obsession with my American Girl Samantha doll and my yearning for the my-size copy of her summer middy dress. But in any case, I love this dress.

Originally I came across this dress in the Memorial Day clearance sale. It was at least 50% off and I got super excited, but all they had left was a size small. I’m rather big of boob, so I always buy a size large in Forever 21 to accommodate the bazoombas and then take in the waist from there. So there was no way a small was going to fit. I mean, seriously. Snowball’s chance in hell. So I let it go.

Imagine my delight when it turned up in my size on eBay! I sniped that baby at the last minute and have treasured it ever since. It’s a wee bit on the short side, but I don’t even care. It’s so cute and so comfy.

I wore this for Narnia rehearsal- we’ve been trying to run act two and it is a HOT MESS. Well, actually, it’s not that bad, but my kiddos won’t focus and they get super silly, and it’s not as tight and clean as act one is. We’ll get there, though. They’re sweet kids and they work really hard when they set their mind to it, so hopefully it’ll all turn out.

Dress: Forever 21 via eBay
Leggings: Faded Glory
Boots: Rocketdog via eBay

Nail Polish: OPI Katy Perry Teenage Dream
Perfume of the Day: Bath and Body Works Dreamy Vanilla Woods

What Season Is It Anyway?

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Untitled
Oy, this outfit. Spring cardigan, summer dress, autumn boots…I don’t know how to dress myself right now! Nashville just can’t decide what season it wants to be. Ordinarily I like wearing summer and spring clothes- it’s so much easier, just throw on a dress and you’re done!- but I have all these cute boots and tights and sweaters I’m dying to wear.

Today was a pretty low-key day- the usual gamut of library, theatre arts class, and aftercare. The only downside? The only movie the aftercare kids wanted to watch was High School Musical. Which they also watched on Monday. Ughhhhhhhhh…I’m bringing different movies next week.

Also, please ignore the fact that my cardigan is misbuttoned. Oops.

Dress: American Eagle
Top: Old Navy
Cardigan: Forever 21 via eBay
Boots: Rack Room Shoes
Headband: Goody’s

Nail Polish: OPI Katy Perry Teenage Dream
Perfume of the Day: Harajuku Lovers G

Tuesday’s Ten: Sewing Frenzy!

Posted in sewing, theatre by

I have to sew All the Things for Narnia.

Lucky for me, not only has Simplicity come out with a whole slew of patterns that I can use, but JoAnn’s had them on sale for $.99! SCORE.

#1, 2, and 3: Simplicity 1771

I’m making a modified view A dress for Mrs. Beaver- the skirt isn’t nearly as full, and because of the actress’s height, I’m adding a ruffle on the hem. It’s a combination of a brown gingham, red stripe, and a yet-to-be-determined accent color, as well as a yellow and brown daisy trim on the bodice.

I’m also making the cloak for Lucy (and then saving it for myself!)

#4: Simplicity 1737

I’m making this for the White Witch- but in white, obviously. The overlay is going be sheer with silver snowflakes on it, and I think it’s going to look AMAZING!

#5, 6, and 7: New Look 6872

This is my all-time favorite pattern for a gathered skirt. I’m making three- one in navy floral for Susan, one in a gray, black, and yellow print for a member of the Witch’s Army, and one in red gingham for a follower of Aslan.

#8 and 9: Simplicity 2072

Yes, I’m using a slutty Halloween costume pattern. Don’t worry, I’m not dressing my students up like trollops! I’m using the basic dress pattern for the White Stag, although longer and without a bubble hem, and the sailor jacket pattern for Lucy. Lucy seems like the type for a sailor dress, doesn’t she?

#10: Simplicity 1873

And this is the dress that Lucy’s wearing with her sweet little sailor jacket. It’s such a lovely, simple pattern, especially with the full skirt, and when it’s done and she has all the accessories, it’s going to be adorable.

But that’s only part of the sewing list I’ve got! Stay tuned for more…

…and hopefully some progress shots soon!

Today I Am a Peppermint

Posted in fashion, outfit of the day by

10/23/12

My mother walked by as my husband was taking this picture and said “so on Tuesdays, you’re a peppermint,” and I laughed. Hence my silly face.

This was a comfy outfit, but it was too hot in the morning and not warm enough in the afternoon. And I ended up changing into shorts and sneakers for rehearsal anyways, so…yeah!

Also, today I had the sock bun, but I kept grabbing at it during rehearsal so I took it down. My kids started laughing because I looked exactly like Merida.

Dress: Carnival You Could Want Dress via Modcloth
Shoes: City Classified
Cardigan: Forever 21 via eBay

Nail Polish: OPI Step Right Up!
Perfume of the Day: Harajuku Lovers G

I Am So Not Punk Rock

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10/22/12

The closest I come to being punk is my collection of Fall Out Boy MP3s, which is definitely too mainstream to count.

Never the less, this is a super comfy outfit- important when you’ve had a headache for a week and have to deal with a bunch of noisy kids! I got a lot of compliments on my crazy leggings and my giant cartoon character shoes, which was awesome!

On the downside, I forgot that I was going to church at night, and while it was 81 degrees during the day, it was going to drop to the low 60s-upper 50s at night. I stopped by Target to run some errands and picked up a Converse One Star jacket for 50% percent off, which is super comfy and will probably live in my library for days when I get surprised by Nashville’s crazy weather!

Dress: Forever 21 via eBay
Leggings: Modcloth Budslide Leggings
Shoes: Fluevogs via eBay

Nail Polish: Sinful Colors Frenzy
Perfume of the Day: Harajuku Lovers Lil Angel