Tuesday and Wednesday: Patience, Grasshopper

This group of students is a delight, but also a lesson to me in patience.  They are teaching me the meaning of knowing your students.  They don't get things as fast as other groups I've had.  I have the immediate urge to get frustrated, but that does no one any good.  I just need to remember that this group of students is not the same as the last and that they may need extra time to understand things.  That's what being a teacher is all about: knowing your students.  They are the ultimate teacher for me right now.

Tuesday

Dress (as skirt): JcPenney
Sweater: Ann Taylor
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Wedges: Anne Klein

 Wednesday

Top: H&M
Cardigan: Sears
Pants: Cato Fashions
Necklace: F21
Flats: Vince Camuto (Dillard's)

Here's my week in review:  I spent the week playing phone tag with HOA reps about whether or not there were weight limits on dogs at our new house.  There were different answers we were getting and didn't want to go through on buying our new house if we weren't allowed to have our dogs.

I also spent the week playing phone and email tag with the HR reps for my new job.  I hate that AZ is so far away; it makes it more difficult to try and coordinate everything.  The good news is that both the house and the job are going to go through.  I should have an official offer on Monday!

Tuesday

Top: Ann Taylor
Cardigan: Sears
Skirt: Loft
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Shoes: Hush Puppies

Wednesday

Top: Express
Skirt: Cato Fashions
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Belt: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Target

One Foot In, One Foot Out

I feel like I'm in-between two lives right now.  I'm finishing out the school year here in MO, getting my students prepared for the end-of-course exams, helping my seniors prepare for graduation…and then I'm also mentally preparing myself for the huge life change that is moving halfway across the country.  I'm already thinking about the things I need to do when I move to Arizona.

It's weird to have one foot in and one foot out.  I'm helping my department plan and prep for next year, knowing I won't be there to see the changes.  At the same time, I'm wondering what it will be like at my new school, what the curriculum looks like, and what planning with a new group is like.

I'm cleaning my current house for prospective buyers while simultaneously thinking about where things will go in my new place.  I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone!

I was so exhausted on Monday and Tuesday (darn the two hour time change!) that I forgot to take pictures.  Monday I wore my mint bow top with the lattice pants.  Tuesday I wore the blue floral dress with the pink sweater over top.

Lace Tank: Altar'd State
Navy Midi Skirt: Cato Fashion
Blazer: Target
Nude Flats: Vince Camuto (Dillard's)
Necklace: Premier Jewelry

Sweater: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Marshall's
Necklace: EBay
Rain boots: Hunter

Saturday

I won't be posting an outfit for Sunday.  I'm feeling ill (just a cold) and won't be going out of the house in anything but my sweats.

Top: Gap
Skirt: Marshall's
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Nude Flats: Vince Camuto (Dillard's)

I got a surprising number of compliments on this outfit.  It must have been the bright, cheery pink color of the skirt.  I originally had this skirt in my summer wardrobe and moved it over into my spring wardrobe because I needed more bottoms. I'm so glad I did so!

That Bag of Grading

The past two weeks have been a blur of painting, packing, and staging the house.  The realtor came on Friday to take pictures for the website and I signed the papers, so it's now official that we are going to be moving.  GAH!

All day yesterday, my throat felt a little sore and then BAM! last night I felt the full-blown cold coming on.  I took medicine and tried to sleep in as best I could--colds tend to keep me up and feeling miserable.  Because of this, I've been eyeing my bag of grading that I brought home.  It needs to get done, but taking a nap sounds so much better!

Here are the outfits from earlier in the week:

Wednesday

Dress: JcPenney
Cardigan: J.Crew
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Navy Wedges: Anne Klein

 Thursday

Seersucker Dress: JcPenney
Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Dustee's
Flats: Hushpuppies

 Friday

Sweater: Ann Taylor
Skirt (actually a dress): Target
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Flats: Hushpuppies

On another note, I have mentioned going to a capsule wardrobe.  I have been really good about not buying any clothing since going to this, but my spring wardrobe has just been…lacking.  I've been frustrated because some of my pieces just don't seem to "go" and others weren't fitting well and I just felt blechh about it.  The point of a capsule wardrobe isn't to make you feel this way at all.  I decided the problem was that I was trying to hold on to some items that I just really didn't like.  I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on new clothes and I am not sure what I will really feel good about wearing once I am in Arizona, so I stopped by Cato Fashions this afternoon to see if I could replace a few items.  Here's what I found and what I replaced:

I replaced the cream sweater on the left with this super-soft (and on clearance!) animal print sweater.
It's neutral enough that it should go with everything in my spring closet.  AND when it warms up
I plan to just roll the sleeves.

I replaced the super-cute pink skirt on the left with a more neutral navy midi skirt on the right.
While I really liked the pink skirt, 1) it was a little short for work and 2) it didn't really pair with
anything I owned except for the cream sweater above that I replaced.

I replaced the denim capris on the left with these navy patterned ankle pants on the right.
There wasn't really anything wrong with the capris but 1) They were too casual for work and
2) they didn't work well with chilly weather

Last, I replaced the black capris on the left with the black and white patterned ankle pants
on the right.  I had similar reasons for replacing the black capris: 1) they were a little
tight and thus I wasn't wanting to wear them and 2) being short, they only
work when the weather is pretty warm.

Well, there you have it.  My replacements for my 40 hanger spring closet.  I spent less than $65 on all four pieces and I feel super excited to wear everything in my closet now!   I almost didn't buy the black and white pants because they look so similar to the navy and white ones, but they are just different enough to make it worth it to me.  I feel I have so many more options for mixing and matching now that I have more neutral and versatile pieces...It just goes to show that you can't just put together a capsule wardrobe with random items you like, but you really have to think about things like versatility, color compatibility, and fit.

Day 1 30x30 Challenge

Here's the first outfit.  I did have to "cheat" today since I haven't done laundry and the pair of jeans on my 30x30 is dirty.  I will be putting the ones I wore today away after I do laundry today and sticking to to the ones I plan to use for the month!

Gray Lace Sweater: Forever21

Pink Undershirt (can't see it): NY&Co

Jeans: Seven7 from Lane Bryant

Brown Boots: Lane Bryant

Necklace: Premier Jewelry

Side note: I do not have strings coming out of my rear.  Thanks to my dog, we now have bits of string all over the house.  I didn't notice it was in the picture until now!!

Also, here are a few of the upcoming outfits I may use in the future with my 30x30, as picked out by my app (Pureple).  This app is making getting dressed for the week a breeze!