Saturday, August 31

I really had too many plans for today.  I wanted to sleep in, meal plan, go grocery shopping, clean the house, paint my toenails, grade 45 papers, grade 110 notebooks, write lesson plans, watch a movie at the theater, and go to a family get-together/dinner.

Yeah, I don't think I can fit all of that into one day.  I will try to get a lot of it done though.  To my chagrin, I think I'm going to have to cut out the movie. This makes me SO SAD since that was the one thing I was going to do for ME.  I guess the grocery shopping and meal planning are also for me, but those are sort of necessary.

I could not decide today whether I liked this outfit better with or without the cardigan, but I decided to wear it because I'm not crazy about baring my shoulders.

Blue Dress: LOFT
Brown Belt: ??? This belt is so old that I don't remember!
White Sandals: Sanuk

Necklace: Again unsure--it is also super old
Monogram Bracelet: Altar'd State
White Cardigan: Kohl's

Friday, August 30

This is being posted very late, but I have a good excuse: tonight was the first home football game at my school.  Football here is a BIG deal.  Everyone in the community comes out to watch it.  (I think this has more to do with the fact that I live in a small, rural town and there is absolutely nothing else to do on a Friday night for only $2!)

Anyway, in honor of the football game I wore my football jersey.  I don't look pulled together at all in this outfit and I seriously debated even posting, but I decided that this is real life.  This is what I legitimately wore to school today and that's what this blog is all about.

I blurred out the school name and my ID badge.  Not like it would be all that hard for a super stalker to figure out my real name and/or where I work.  All the same...

Football Jersey: local sports shop
Grey Pants: NY and Co
Monogram Bracelet: Altar'd State
Watch: Relic from JcPenney
(Also I wore my Sperry shoes today but apparently I cut those off when I took this picture.  Oops!)

I was super tired all day today: my dogs woke me up at 4:30 this morning because they could somehow sense that there was a bunny in the backyard.  GRRR.

Thursday, August 29

I went with stretchy, loose, and comfortable today.  The honeymoon period is ending with my students and they are starting to be a little less sweet than they have been.  Time to knuckle down on them so they see consequences if they start acting up.

Green Burn-Out Top: Ann Taylor
Grey Stretchy Pencil Skirt: Kohl's
Beaded Link Bracelet: The Mustard Seed
Nude Flats: Vince Camuto from Dillard's

Wednesday, August 28

I am tired today.  Really, that is all I could think of to write here.  Sorry I'm boring.  After a full day of teaching, I want to get into my sweatpants and cuddle with my dogs on the couch while simultaneously eating whatever I can find in my cupboard.  :)

Actually, I love this top so much.  When I saw it, I didn't care how much it cost, I wanted it in my closet!

Top: Altar'd State
Colored Jeans: Kohl's
Nude Flats: Vince Camuto from Dillard's
Watch: Relic from JcPenney
Monogram Bracelet: Altar'd State

Check out the buttons on the back!

And the ruffle on the sides!

Tuesday, August 27

Today was a boring day for me in the classroom: my students were taking their pre-tests.  I walked around, but I also had some time to get some things done in my classroom.  One thing was figuring out my new tablet and how to get it to play a video for me in class tomorrow.  I was so excited when I figured it out!

Pink Striped Shirt: Loft
Skirt: Gap
Necklace: Loft
Gold Slip-On Shoes: Target

As you can see, I went for total comfort today.  I was tired of coming home to my feet hurting!

Monday, August 26

Boy, are Mondays exhausting!  I end up staying a little later to make my copies for the week.  It makes me a lot less stressed out later, but it is a LONG start to the week.  You can't tell in this picture, but the pencil skirt is actually denim.  It looks black in this picture, though.

Top: Gap
Skirt: Gap
Sandals: Dana Buchman from Kohl's
Watch: Relic from JcPenney

I tried out maiden braids today.

Sunday, August 25

I really liked my outfit without the cardigan, but I felt the top was just a little bit too see-through for church.  Thus the two pictures, one with and one without the cardigan I added to make myself look decent.

The skirt is actually a dress/swimsuit cover up that my mom gave me.  She said she never wore it, but I have a feeling that she gave it to me when I was at her house and said I needed to get me a few maxis.  I love her; she's so selfless.

White Shirt: Marshall's
Skirt: gifted from my mother
Cardigan: Merona for Target
Pendant Necklace: Kohl's
Silver Flip-Flops: Cato Fashions

Saturday, August 24

I did something I've never done before in my entire life:  I mowed my yard.  I know, sounds stupid.  But I felt like She-Ra when I was done; I was absolutely covered in sweat.

After that workout, I showered and got ready for a day in town with a lady I work with.  She's new to the area and needed some time away from the school.  I was happy to go into town; I'm always up for shopping!

Top: Ann Taylor
Jeans: Se7en from Lane Bryant
Necklace: Kohl's
Sandals: Sanuk

I got the inspiration for buying a pendant necklace from Outfitposts.com.  I love her style!  

While I was in town, I returned my torn blazer from Wednesday and bought a new one (a different brand this time!).  I also got a few things at Old Navy, including a plaid shirt, a plain white button down, and an army green dress.  So excited for fall to get here!!!

Friday, August 23

I am so so glad for Friday!  School is hard to get used to again.  Standing all day is more exhausting than I remembered.  My students are just so sweet and great.  I am looking forward to an awesome, amazing year.  Having a new classroom definitely makes it better, too!

I finally got to wear my new dress today.  I've had it for nearly a month and was waiting until school started to wear it.

Aztec Dress: Altar'd State
White Shrug: JcPenney
Sandals: Charlotte Russe
Watch: Relic

I kept the outfit plain today.  I was giving presentations to my students on plagiarism and I wanted to be neutral.  I think it would be fun to try it with neon yellow or bright pink next time.  

Thursday, August 22

Today in class went really well.  Not much to report here.  I'm in the after-school fog.  I may have that feeling for the next week as I get used to being back in school.

I went with another pencil skirt and neutral top today.  I tried to make it more interesting by wearing my leopard print shoes with it.

Lace Top: Kohl's
Pencil Skirt: Kohl's
Leopard flats: Target
Cross Necklace: Wet Seal
Black Bracelet: Target

Tonight I want to veg out on the couch.  My feet are killing me from standing all day!!

Wednesday, August 21

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

First off, I had to take a Tylenol PM last night just to make sure I would go to sleep.  It's amazing how the first day of school is still full of nervous energy after all these years.

I loved my outfit a lot today.  I felt pulled together and professional and still very comfortable.  The only bad thing about my outfit: my blazer, which is made of some very flimsy material (apparently), ripped down the back seam when I bent down to pick something up.  It was NOT too small, and I am NOT the Hulk.  I tried to sew it up between classes and then hoped I could get through the day.  I couldn't just take it off because the shirt I was wearing was sleeveless and we aren't allowed to wear sleeveless shirts.  I'm definitely returning it.  It makes me sad because I really liked it.  The skirt was also bought online and I LOVE it!  I'd been wanting a pencil skirt, but my curves do not often fit into "business attire" and still look good.  This dress is made of a stretchy but structured material and it works perfectly!!

Shirt: blu pepper from Altar'd State
Blazer: JcPenney
Pencil Skirt: Elle from Kohl's
Kitten Heels: Union Bay
Necklace: J.Crew Factory
Bracelet: The Mustard Seed

My husband sent me those flowers at work today.  How sweet is that?!?  I absolutely adore Gerbera daisies.

Tuesday, August 20

Today was the last day of teacher preparations.  School starts tomorrow.  ACK!  I don't feel like I'm ready.  I'm sure I am, but still, it's nerve wracking to get a whole new set of kiddos again.

I've been dressing professionally and today was no different.  I had to wear my kitten heel shoes today so I could wear them in for tomorrow since they are new.  The top for this dress is a little big--I need to have it taken in by a tailor.

Dress: Kohl's
Necklace: Francesca's
Bracelet: The Mustard Seed
Shoes: Union Bay 

These shoes are actually kitten heels.  I LOVE them!

Monday, August 19

Today was a long day.  It started with a District Breakfast at 7:45, then a District Inservice until 11am.  Then we were free to eat lunch (we also ran a quick errand to Walmart for things for our classrooms), and then pictures for our IDs.  Then we worked in our rooms until 4pm.  I also had a leadership team meeting in the afternoon to attend.  Finally, we had Open House Night tonight.  The students seemed very pleased with the new school.  It really does look amazing!

Dress: Target (I found this gem on CLEARANCE!)
Bracelet: freebie from Victoria's Secret
Necklace: J.Crew Factory
Heels: Kohl's (also a clearance find!)

I could lie to you and say I wore these heels the whole time today.  The truth is, I wore them to the morning inservice, took them off and traded for ballet flats all afternoon, and returned to the heels for Open House.  No way could I survive more than an hour in those things if I had to stand and walk around!!

Sunday, August 18

It's really hard to believe we are towards the end of August!  I'm off to church today and then the new high school building has a dedication ceremony that I am going to attend.  Our principal was understanding in that this weekend is our last weekend of "freedom" and so didn't require us to come, but said that if we could, it would be nice.  Since I apparently have no life (and also I wouldn't mind having some brownie points built up in my school and community), and also because I really am truly appreciative to have the new building, I'm going.  Just call me a suck-up.

Dress: Cato Fashions
Shrug: JcPenney
Wedges: Kohl's
Pearl Jewelry: gift from my mother (I think they are from Kohl's)

I have a black and yellow necklace that I have worn with this dress before, but I had to class it up today since my bosses, who are known to wear slacks and button downs to work, are wearing suits to the dedication ceremony today.  That meant, in my mind, that I should probably class it up a little.

Saturday, August 17

I am feeling lazy today.  I woke up early to get my hair trimmed, but other than that I have just been finding excuses not to get any work done.  I am just so tired today!  One of my dogs kept me up all night because he was sick.  I kept having to wake up to clean everything.  He seems to be better now though, so maybe I can sneak in a nap!

NOTE: This is a regular maxi dress.  It's not a fit and flare.  It's not pleated.  I hate that it looks weird in this photo!
Maxi Dress: monteau from Marshall's
Shrug: JcPenney
Neon Belt: LOFT
Neon flats: Kohl's

Trimmed and sleek hair: Too bad I never take the time to do this to it every day!

I have other plans for this dress.  I'm thinking red accents or leopard print.  I could even do some pattern mixing with my dotted denim top.

Friday, August 16

Today was probably the weirdest day I've had in a long time; it was good, then kinda* bad, then good.  Let me explain...

I woke up this morning and checked out the interweb (because I have an addiction to my laptop) to see that I had been featured on a fellow blogger's post today.  Check it out at A Little Bit of Wo.We.  I was so excited that, even though no amount of coffee could get me all the way through my workout today, I started dancing in my living room.  And then I completely forgot to put on makeup for work today.  True story.

That's part of the bad.  You never see my face in any of the photos, but boy do I feel like I NEED makeup.  Plus, it's just more professional to wear it as long as you keep it natural.  Anyway, I hate that I forgot it today.  What really made this day kinda* bad was the fact that today we teachers were trained on intruder response and active killer response.  Yes, you read that correctly.  We teachers aren't just expected to teach your precious little ones.  We are expected to actively respond to someone who is coming in to the school to KILL everyone.  If that kind of training doesn't sober up your day, I don't know what will.

Then I had a Pampered Chef party to host and my coworkers got to come over and hang out at my house for a while, which was lovely.

With that said, I have two outfits to post today.  One was what I wore to the morning session of our training, since we were told to wear professional dress.  The other is for the second half of our training, since we were told to wear comfortable clothes.  Why?  Because we were having to fight off "intruders" with guns and practice escaping the school with our "students".  Again, I can't think of anything more likely to give me nightmares tonight.  I almost broke down crying at various points in today's training.

Dress: Gap
Tank: unknown (it's super old)
Flats: Kohl's
Star necklace: gift from my grandma
Silver bracelet: Target

Chevron top: Walmart
Army Jacket: Maurice's
Jeans: Se7en for Lane Bryant
Shoes: Sperry's (from Dillard's)
Jewelry same as above

*Yes, I know.  I am an English teacher; I am fully aware that kinda is not a real word.  But in my defense, spell check thinks it is. ;)

Thursday, August 15

I got so much work done today in my classroom!  I still have a TON to do, but at least my classroom is set up.  Boy, I am so tired, though.  It's exhausting moving in.

Flower Dress: JcPenney
Cardigan: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: Loft
Belt: JcPenney
Sandals: American Eagle for Payless

I got a compliment on this "new" dress today.  Funny thing is, this dress is NOT new.  I've owned it for at least four years now and I've worn it a lot before.  I guess putting a cardigan and a belt on over it made it look different.  That is just fine with me!

Wednesday, August 14

Today was the first official inservice day at school.  I spent the morning working in my room with my student teacher and the afternoon in a staff meeting.  I calmed down a crying new teacher, smoothed over a hairy situation with another teacher (separate situations), and problem-solved with multiple colleagues regarding our space issues.

I wore a cardigan in the afternoon and brought a jean jacket with me since this morning it was super cold.

Dress: Banana Republic
Blue Tank: Goodwill
Bubble Necklace: Kohl's
Sandals: Sanuk

Here it is with the jean jacket.  I liked it better without.
Jean jacket: Old Navy

I got asked at work today if I'd lost more weight--by a male teacher.  So this dress must really flatter me because I definitely have not.  In fact, since last spring I've probably gained weight.  I had a lot of stress this summer.  SHHHH--don't tell anyone.

Tuesday, August 13

This afternoon I hit the wall.  I just felt exhausted.  School hasn't even officially started yet, but boy is it hard to be done with summer!

I spent the morning meeting with my student teacher and the rest of the day unpacking and getting my room organized.  I'm so excited to have a new school, but the whole moving in thing is not my friend.  I had to move my house by myself last year, but for some reason I am not as motivated to get my classroom organized.  I wish I could just shut my eyes, sprinkle some pixie dust, and have my classroom ready to go.

Since I was moving boxes, unpacking stuff, and generally expecting to get a little dusty and sweaty, I opted to wear something work appropriate but also stretchy and cottony that could move with me and hide any dirt/dust spots.

Coral top: Dana Buchman from Kohl's
Cardigan: blu pepper from Altar'd State
Skirt: Kohl's
Silver flip-flops: Cato Fashions

Technically, teachers aren't allowed to wear flip-flops to school in my district, but since today was supposed to be a day off for me (inservice doesn't start until Wednesday), I figured it wouldn't matter.  I'm such a rebel!

Monday, August 12

I'm thinking that, starting today, my posts will have to happen in the evening as my mornings are going to be crazy busy trying to get everything together and out the door in time for work.  I wish my school was one that didn't start until 8 or 9.  I dislike starting at 7:30 am.  I am NOT a morning person!

Dress: Target
Blazer: Deb
Necklace: Target
Shoes: Payless

I had a presentation to give today to my department and several other teachers involved in the new intervention strategies we are implementing.  I think it went okay.  It's never fun going to inservice, but I tried to make it useful.  I also bought donuts for everyone.  Breakfast = please don't hate me for talking at you for four hours. (I didn't really talk at them for the full four hours, by the way!)

Sunday, August 11

Today our church had a day of service so most people wore jeans or shorts and ratty t-shirts.  Since I was not going to be mowing lawns or mulching gardens for people, I opted to go for a slightly dressier version of the jeans and t-shirt look.  My service today?  I bought two sets of school supplies with backpacks, one for a third-grader and one for a fourth-grader that I will be donating to the school supply drive.  I know, a bit more lame than the hard labor, but I'm trying to prepare for a big presentation I'm giving to both my Language Arts department and the Social Studies department tomorrow.  I'm nervous!  Wish me luck!!

Blue Top: Daisy Fuentes from Kohl's
White tank: Loft
Jeans: Se7en from Lane Bryant
Necklace: Wet Seal
Blush Flats: Vince Camuto from Dillard's

Saturday, August 10

I greatly embarrassed myself today.  To tell the whole story, you have to understand that there was a problem with getting my new debit card that ended with it still somewhere in the mail.  My old one has since expired, which leaves me with no cash and only a credit card while my husband is away on a business trip.  Now, picture me in Sam's Club with my arms full of stuff (because I refused to get a cart because I didn't want to buy that much), waiting in line forever, and finally checking out only to run my credit card through...and find out they don't accept Visa.  UGH.  Who doesn't accept Visa???  Apparently, Sam's Club, people.  Well, I learned my lesson, felt very trashy at the fact that I couldn't even pay the less than $20 price of my total, and did the walk of shame out the door.

It's okay though because I walked my happy butt over to the grocery store and just bought all of my groceries there.  So take that Sam's Club!  Anyone else have an embarrassing story that would make me feel better?

Striped top: Target
Grey Cardigan: Maurice's
Belt: taken off a pair of shorts
Cropped Jeans: Old Navy
Necklace: Loft
Sperry's: Dillard's

 

I dressed comfy today since it's my last Saturday before work starts again.  I'm going to miss the summer!

Friday, August 9

I stepped out of my comfort zone today.  I wasn't one hundred percent in love with the final outfit, but sometimes you have to try new things.

I started out with this basic, blah combo.  Remember, I HATE shorts.  I wasn't leaving the house today though, so this is a special occasion.

 

Just blah, right?  So I added the army jacket I bought fairly recently as well as my new Ariat ankle boots.  This outfit just isn't my style, but I would maybe wear it with a skirt and tights or a pair of skinny jeans.

Feather tank: Kohl's
Grey Shorts: JcPenney
Army Jacket: Maurice's
Boots: Ariat via Ebay

A pendant necklace would also look nice with this.  I'm not leaving the house today though, so I figured it didn't matter.  This is my last Friday of freedom.  Inservice starts on Monday and I have SOOO much to do before the students come back!

Thursday, August 8

I gave my first of two presentations for teacher training today.  Granted, this first presentation was only to two teachers, but still.  :)

Even though it was only two people, I wanted to dress up for it.  I feel more in control when I'm dressed up.

Striped Dress: Target
Red Belt: Target
Shrug: JcPenney
Red Wedges: Payless
Pearl Necklace: a gift from my mom--I think it was from Kohl's

Wednesday, August 7

Another fairly relaxing day of no working.  Wait, that's not exactly true.  I did prepare a presentation I have to give at work both tomorrow and Monday.  It was an hour of copying, collating, and three-hole punching.

White Cardigan: Kohl's
Peach Top: pretty sure it's also from Kohl's
Black Capris: JcPenney
Necklace: Rue21
Flip Flops: Cato Fashion