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.