"How fickle is woman!" ~Gone with the Wind (Both apply)

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately about other women's obsession with J.Crew specifically, but with shopping in general. I have to credit quite a few of my recent purchases to visiting blogs. I have three triggers that will make me want to purchase:

1) I see the outfit on someone else online (or in the store) and it/they look adorable. Many items I like come to life when I see them on other people. Maybe that's why sites like polyvore and pintrest are so popular. My blue suede Cece ballet flats fall into this category. Saw them on an SA in one of the NYC stores.

2) I see an item has limited quantity or has sold out. This prompts an immediate quest for this "much sought after" item. This would be the Crystal Brulee necklace. I looked at those suckers so many times in the stores last fall thinking, "They're pretty, but not my colors." Now I've got two; the blue from eBay, and the rose on an online popback. And I grabbed the new version in gold a few weeks back, too.

3) Item @ "like" status is on sale. Especially "staple" pieces. This would be today's purchases.

Yesterday, I was in the store and could find nothing worthy of bring tried on. Today, I purchased three pencil skirts (warm jade, casablanca blue and royal purple) and the Jacquard dot popover. All formerly in the "like" category, but on sale today, except the popover-which I bought as a top that wasn't a t-shirt and could be worn with all three.

Not sure if I'll keep all three or not. Have to see what I (don't) have to wear with them.

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Warning: Rant ahead!

I have accumulated quite a few J.Crew pencil skirts. I love them all. But sometimes I feel like I pull them out of my closet and can't hit just the right note with the top pieces to go with them. The things I have are either too casual or the wrong colorways. So I went to the B&M store today to try to find some t-shirts that could be paired with a few of them. PPPPT to what is in the stores right now. And online, for that matter. Yuk. Is anyone besides me tired of that orangish-red color yet? And how about something other than stripes already? Maybe I'm just ahead/behind the trends (were there saturated reds/pinks/yellows/greens last year in anything thicker than a kleenex?) Maybe they're yet to come. I found one scoop neck 3/4 sleeved t-shirt, black, in my size in the clearance section. It's your luck day if you are an XXS or an XL, because that is all that is left.

I did try on the yellow cotton shift dress. The seaming in the front left something to be desired. Not quite fitted enough, imo. And the back looked worse. Is it stylish to have a zipper sewn on the outside of the dress? I thought it looked unfinished. And it was hard to zip up. To top it off, the dress I tried on had a snag in the fabric in the front, foreshadowing what could happen after a few wears. I pointed it out to the over-eager SA helping me who just looked and said "oh."

I stopped in Target today, to scope out the shoes and accessories. I just can't get myself to like their things! Maybe I look so infrequently that I just miss all the really cute shoes. The ones I find always seem to have something wonky about them--too much toe coverage, unfinished edges, plastic soles... I know they cost under $30, most even under $20, but when I buy shoes, I need to love them; even the trendy ones. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone rant about how comfortable Target shoes are. Who cares if they were a great deal if you wear them a handful of times and they look like crap or fall apart. Mom always said that the first things people notice about a person are their shoes and their teeth. I just wish the ones I love weren't so damn expensive!

Other than my blue suede ballet flats, my last new/expensive shoe purchase was in New York City. Every time I go there, I go to my favorite jewelry store, Dinosaur Designs. To get there, I have walked by the same shoe store, John Fluevog, and drooled in the window at the brogues. This year I bought a pair. LOVE them! And that's the way it should be.


Thanks for reading!

It's not easy being green

Green is my favorite color. Sadly, I find it hard to wear. I have no idea why. I have two pairs of green flats that have never been worn in my closet. The green items I own that have a life outside my closet are two blazers, two cashmere sweaters a pair of casual capri pants, and this sweater.
OOTD: J.Crew high waist black jeans, Gap short sleeved T-shirt, J.Crew linen sweater, J.Crew striped scarf, and Sperry patent loafers.

I do like the green/black/white color combination, but it certainly lacks creativity. (In my defense, sometimes it's hard to be creative on a Friday morning...) I considered a white or striped button down shirt under the sweater, but that just seemed too warm and stuffy for today. C'est la vie. Or, perhaps, with a nod to St. Patrick's day, Sin mar atá an saol!

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Holding on for Friday

OOTD
(Another head to toe J. Crew outfit): J.Crew Long No. 2 pencil skirt in sovereign paisley {love}, perfect shirt in navy, older ?navy/black? suede flats, mixed media (my name for it) necklace and gold bangle bracelets. Sorry the lighting is so poor.

This week has been exhausting. I was speaking with a colleague today about some of the challenges teachers face, sometimes daily. When one of our students is in 'crisis' and that crisis comes into our classrooms, we need to make quick and appropriate decisions about how to best address the students' needs (the one, and the all). After the immediate challenge is dealt with, we must spin back around and conduct the business of educating the other students without missing a beat. Who else has to do that regularly? The time we get to process and mentally heal ourselves comes much later, after the papers get corrected, tomorrow's lessons get planned, and our own families and interests get some attention. (How do teachers with children--how do single parent teachers do it?!)

We do what we do out of a love and genuine concern for the well being of our students. I wouldn't want any other job in the world. No two years, days or hours are ever alike. We are tasked with the serious and important work of educating sometimes 30+ diversely unique minds at one time. Elementary teachers are fortunate; the younger students who spend the majority of their day with one teacher often ooze adoration for their teachers. Teenagers? High school teenagers? Not so much so. We share one hour a day with them, and construct relationships and trust as best we can in the time we have. If we are lucky, they will return to say hello or send an email. More than likely, we live with the hope and faith that they are successful and happy in their adult lives, and that somehow we had a small roll in making that happen.

*sigh*
Thanks for reading.