Tuesday

Today I took care of my teeth.  Like the alliteration there?  I had a dentist appointment in the middle of the day, so took the whole day off.  Who doesn't love a random day off in the middle of the week!

Hubby and I headed to town early so we could try a new doughnut shop that opened up several months ago.  It was good, but a lot of calories for food that didn't really taste any different than any other donut I've had.  I had a red velvet cake donut with white chocolate glaze and hubby had a maple-bacon donut.  I give them props for cool flavor combo ideas.

Plaid Shirt: Old Navy
Bird Sweater: Old Navy
Jeans: Mudd from Kohl's
Necklace: Premier Jewelry
Boots: Payless

Feeling Green

What is it about Mondays?  Are we all just grieving the loss of our weekend so much?  Are we all lacking sleep from throwing off our sleep schedules?  Is it because we have CLT meetings Monday mornings in which most people are just going through their to-do lists in their heads?  (That last one may just be specific to my school!)

I think this Monday morning has made me realize how I need to just take a deep breath and fill myself with kindness before I walk into school.  No matter how else I get treated, that shouldn't change my choice of treating people with kindness.  It's so easy to get caught up in my own feelings and let that cause me to be full of reactions.  This isn't a vague venting at something specific.  I get this feeling of frustration and anger and a mild sense of entitlement on Mondays (GRR!  Why is this so hard?  I've been teaching for a while, why isn't this any easier?!?).  Do other teachers feel that way or is it just me?

Here's my plain outfit with a pop of color.  Green, actually.  I found it funny because of how I feel about Mondays.

Green Cardigan: Charlotte Russe
Black Top: Kohl's
Black Skirt: JcPenney
Black Tights
Black Flats: Hushpuppies
Necklace: Forever21 (I think?)

Sunday--Work Day

Sunday is typically the day I trot my happy behind to the school where I work so that I can grade interactive notebooks and make all the copies I need for the week.  I'm typically there for 3+ hours.  It makes my Sundays pretty busy between Church and Small Group.

I'm still loving my Pureple app.  I figured out how I wanted to use their Outfits feature.  I like that it gives suggestions, and I definitely will use that when I need help and inspiration, but the way I've decided to use it is to track what I wear from day to day.  This way, at the end of the three months of my capsule wardrobe, I can see how many times I've worn something or if I haven't worn an item at all.  This will make cutting my 50 items down to 33 easier (I HOPE!).

If I make an outfit, when I click on the individual item from the Wardrobe page I can see that outfit.  Like here:

In the picture above, I had clicked on the red blazer from the Wardrobe page and, underneath where it says Notes, it shows all the outfits where I've worn the red blazer.  Cool huh?

Saturday, I went out to run errands and, while it was definitely feeling like spring outside, I still needed some long sleeves, so I added a cardigan.  What do you think?  Do you like it buttoned or unbuttoned?

Here's what I wore today to church and to the school to work.  I changed to sweats and a t-shirt before small group.  I just want to be comfy before work tomorrow!!

Dress: Maurice's
Belt: super old; not sure.  I think it may have come from a dress I got at JcPenney
Tights: JcPenney
Boots: Born
Necklace: (you can see it better in the picture below): Premier Jewelry

Is this the first time I've shown my face?  Gosh.  I really can't figure out how to make my whole body
fit into a picture like some bloggers (Yasi from Hello Gorgeous!, for example, does an amazing job).

Bracelet: gift from my mom

Jacket: given to me from a good friend; it's a little big now though.
It may be time to give it to a new owner.  It matched my outfit well, though!

I didn't even end up needing the jacket.  It was so warm outside today!

Modified Project333 and a Saturday Outfit

My love for weekends makes me question whether I should petition my husband to be a stay-at-home wife and puppy-mommy.  Just another passing thought from this crispy-around-the-edges teacher.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've stopped the 30x30 to jump right into the scarier Project333.  Why is it scarier, you may ask.  Well, because it's a permanent closet change, not just a temporary one.  I modified it to fit my current comfortability level, but the idea and spirit of the 333 is there.  I cut down massively on my available wardrobe.  I now have 50 clothing items to choose from for 3 months.  I won't really know how difficult this whole idea is until probably the end of May since I decided to start this whole process in February, aka the end of winter.

For anyone interested in doing Project333, here's my process:

1) I weeded through my closet and got rid of anything I either never wore, hated, or was busted/stained/etc.
2) With the massive collection of clothes that was left after that first purge, I made piles by the seasons (Winter, Fall, Summer, Spring).
3) I culled through each pile and picked out my *favorites* and then looked through the rest for basics I would need.
4) I had to sacrifice a few things to ensure I didn't go over 50 items (my personal choice--333 suggests 33 items).
5) My other personal choice was not to count shoes and accessories or undershirts/tank tops.  I never wear tank tops on their own (always under something else) and I have so many shoes and necklaces that I wasn't quite ready in my brain to give them up yet.
6) I packed away each season's capsule except winter.  The winter set is what I will wear until the beginning of March, when I pull out the spring set and put away the winter set.  My plan is to get rid of anything in my winter set that I didn't wear or hated and take stock of things I will need to add for next year.

Whew!

Here's today's outfit.  It's super plain and yawn, but it's Saturday and i just want to be comfortable.  Keepin' it real, ya'll.

Black T-Shirt: gifted, but I think it is from New York & Co
Aquamarine/turquoise tank: found at Goodwill
Dark wash jeggings (look like black pants!): Kohl's
"Turquoise" necklace: gift from my mom
Black Flats: Hushpuppies
I am wearing a hairband on my wrist since I was about to pull my hair up.

A plain outfit for a simple day sitting around the house.  I may venture out to the grocery store for food for the week.  A teacher's weekend is "rest": time to do the "rest" of the stuff you couldn't get done during the week because you were so busy!

Days 3-5 and Modified Project333

Hello Everyone!

Well, the middle of the week quickly turned into the end of the week and I didn't get in a post until now.

I do have some changes to tell you about though.  I decided to do a modified version of Project333 instead of just a 30x30.  I realized I just needed to go ahead and do this!  I think I was waiting to hear if hubby and I were going to be moving first (fyi we're not) and I just figured, why wait to move to do what is going to be good for me?

I added to my 33 items.  I have 50 items in my closet right now (daily wear shirts, cardigans/blazers, pants, skirts, and dresses).  I did not count shoes and jewelry.  I will have to do that in time.  I got rid of at least 150 items!  I have 50 items also picked out and boxed up for Spring, Summer, and Fall.  It's like a capsule wardrobe for each season.  I'm so excited to see how it works!!

Wednesday's Outfit:
Cream Sweater: Kohl's
Striped Skirt: Walmart
Flyaway Cardigan: Gifted; I think from Maurice's
Black Tights: Walmart
Black Fringed Boots: Kohl's
Necklace: Premier Jewelry

I forgot to take a picture of Thursday's outfit.  I wore a lace shift dress with a red blazer, kitten heels, and a statement necklace.  I had to help with interviews.

Mug Sweater: Kohl's
Grey Stretchy Pants: Kohl's
Boots: Gifted, but I think from Kohl's
Necklace: Gifted, from Forever21

Here are some pictures of my new closet space.  Look at all the extra hangers (there are more in the spare closet)!  The pile of clothes on the ground in the corner needs to be folded neatly and eventually made into a t-shirt blanket.  I need to find someone who can make one for me!

And here is my capsule wardrobe.  You can sort of see it in the above photo.  I didn't count the workout clothes, lounge around the house sweatshirts, or pjs and underwear (in the dresser above).

Here is the storage for each season.  It's so exciting!

This is the one for spring--just a month away until I open up these boxes!

Also, check out how I plan my outfits for the week.  It's not a brand-new idea, but it really works for me!

I made these out of scrapbooking paper and cut to fit my closet rods.  If I take 5 minutes to plan my outfits, I don't have to think about it the ENTIRE week!

30x30 Day 2

It's hard to believe it's February.  I stopped blogging almost a year ago!

I think I'm getting to the point in my career where I'm starting to feel burnt out.  I'm not sure how to snap myself out of it.  I still love my job (for what it's worth) and, for the most part, I love the kiddos.  It's just the pressure, and the paperwork, and the impossibly high expectations for my own and my students' performances…and all for, what?  Possibly a handful of kids appreciating it and less money than what a player on the losing team makes for being in the Super Bowl?  Really?  I wouldn't care if it didn't also suck up all my personal time.  I need ideas beyond the "get a mani/pedi/massage" or "do something for you" answer.  I need something sustainable to get me out of the 'crispy around the edges' feeling.  

Here's Day 2's outfit.  This first week is going to be easy to plan.

A student told me I look like a ladybug today.  I guess I'll be hearing that more often than I want this month!

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!