Dance! Dance! Dance!

Skirt: Target...Tee: GapBody...Cardigan: Target...Tights: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Pearls: Beijing vendor

Simple? Chanel-inspired? Stretchy? I love it!

We got to go see a dance show on Sunday. Our friend wrote a violin solo piece to which choreography was performed. The choreography was created by a woman My Guy used to accompany- she taught a modern dance class and he played djembe or whatever random hand drum he pulled out of his collection. So, we were a little biased about picking a favorite. Anyway, the whole show was incredibly interesting, the first piece was visually stimulating- coordinating but fractured parts performed by 8 dancers. Another piece with a smaller group (all dressed in cream- laces and flowing fabrics, it was awesome) did quite a lot of lifts and movement around one another, really complex movements and forms. And our friends' piece was a trio that made great use of lighting and staging to allow each performer a series of moments to spotlight their unique choreography and style of movement. I love when pieces work that way- cater to and highlight strengths without using them as a crutch. There's an article here about the whole show. (The review of Lydia is the one to look for!)

I love going to see dance. It's good for my soul. (And I think Rob has music-ed me out a little over the years)

Graphic Balance

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Sweater and Cardigan: Target...Scarf: Target...Shoes: thrifted

So, what did Kate wear to an Early Childhood Winter Conference to man a table at 7 in the morning last Saturday?

Well, it sure wasn't crummy jeans and a variety of ill-fitting yoga pants, like most of the teacher attendees. No joke. There was a lot of bad hair, cat sweatshirts and bad posture running around the community center. Ladies, you continue to give teachers a very, very, very bad reputation as dumpy and unconcerned non-fashionistas. I understand that it's Saturday and very early, but daaaaang, it's a professional conference!

I kind of knew I'd be groggy and mad about leaving the house at 6:15 to get to the southern side of town in time (coffee stop, fog, and poor directions were all factors) so I went with something easy- tan, cream, and black with a little black and cream floral pattern mixing to balance the look out graphically. Not bad for an early morning, huh? Let's also have a little hip-hip-hooray for dry shampoo and claw clips for overnight twirly hair.

And are you all linking up? It is Wednesday, after all. Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday.

A Walk on the Wild Side

Skirt: Target...Blouse: Banana Republic, thrifted...Cardigan: J Crew Outlet...Belt: Gap...Jacket: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Necklace: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I didn't write about it yesterday, but our Zoo visit on Sunday was goooooood. This time of year down south means bright mornings, crisp, but temperate weather, happy families and, most importantly, comfortable and active critters at the Zoo.

What we saw:
A Clouded Leopard climbed over 18 feet up the side of his wire mesh enclosure
Mommy and Baby Gibbon screaming their heads off (Vocalizing- it's a morning ritual that we've never managed to see in person so far)
The male Tiger stood on his back legs and scratched at a tree and then let out a few growly grunts before taking a nap
The lazy fatty fat spotted leopard awoke suddenly from a nap and ran to the far end of his enclosure to check if the dead rat snack lady had a goodie for him
An assortment of bears taking naps with their faces unceremoniously and adorably smashed into the ground
A Caracal letting out the most adorable little mini-bobcat sounds. Think: angry house cat yowl meets baby lion growl

Buying a zoo membership was proooobably the best thing I did in 2012. And I don't think that's too steep of an exaggeration.

Jam Packed

Skirt: H&M...Sweater: Target...Shoe: Cole Haan via DSW...Earrings and Jade bracelet: via Beijing cart vendor...Belt: came with the skirt...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Good weekend. Saturday, I had to man a table at an Early Childhood Education conference, but I sure am glad I had the early shift- a very large, very caffeinated early morning treat from my favorite coffee shop, a drive to South Houston in absolutely beautiful fog at 6:30 and home by 11. We were starving by then, so we took a quick 1/2 mile trot to Bodega's Taco shop for fish and shrimp tacos. I love our neighborhood, but there really isn't an abundance of cheap food in walkable distance from our place. If we wanted $20 per plate entrees, we'd be in great shape. Aaaanyway, my afternoon was spent napping and painting my nails while Rob was at an afternoon rehearsal and we got ready for an early dinner with dear friends and their new doggy (the most petite and darling Cairn terrier mix I've ever seen). Sushi nights with friends are always great! And then Sunday, we got up early, went to the Zoo for a quick little while, ran a few errands, knocked out a few huge loads of laundry in under 1 1/2 hours, snuck a lunch of home-made pulled pork from Bromance, saw a dance show, and wrapped it up with a bike ride around campus and cheap beers at Valhalla.

For as much as we packed in, I still feel rested after a week of feeling crappy and out of it. I'm going to go ahead and assume it's a little gift of apology from last week and a nice little welcome from this new one.

What were you all up to? Fill me in!

Dull

I have no photos, you guys. I spent my week in the same pair of black crop pants and rotated between a few black sweater options- one loose, one turtleneck, one crewneck... and just switched out the scarf each day. For being a sickie, I sure could have done worse than chic black passing as glorified pajamas in public. And, this week I went to work, mailed out 1200 letters, managed a gaggle of darling retiree volunteers, and snotted my brains out. There's been some good, some bad, some sick, but mostly, I'm just really grateful it's the end of a work week.

I don't know if our animals felt a little bit lousy themselves or if they sensed and were sympathetic to their ill humans, but Eddie and Miles have been especially chill and snuggly, which I've loved. They spent an afternoon inching closer and closer, Rob caught this adorable photo of them. Aren't Eddie's bright green eyes beautiful?

Have a great Friday, everyone! I get to check out a gallery opening tonight, which will be awesome. But I have to go to a 7 a.m. Early Childhood Education conference and man a table on Saturday, which is a bit of a bummer. Eh, my favorite coffee shop opens at 6. No biggie.

I can't wait to catch up with you all and find out how your weekends went!

Tan and Cream

Jeans: H&M...Sweater: Target...Cardigan: Target...Scarf: Target...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Ross...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

In our sickie state, Rob and I could only handle hot dogs for dinner last night and a series of dark and brooding dramatic movies. The Departed and Robinhood Prince of Thieves were the hours-long line up. Isn't it weird how you start feeling lousy and your sense of humor float away? Very seriously, all I wanted was to watch people plan and scheme and shoot stuff. Perhaps a longing for my own brainpower and physical prowess.

Cough, Sniffle

Pants: Theory via Buffalo Exchange...Sweater: Gap...Shoes: Steve Madden...Necklace: thrifted...Shades: via TJ Maxx...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I may have a cold. Or, I may have knocked it out with a tremendous dose of cold remedies and immune boosters. I may have also overdosed. I will know more about whether or not this one will get me soon, I guess. Lots of tea and cold-eze until then. (Keep your fingers crossed, I don't want to ruin a pretty hefty streak of alluding illness. And missing work would be annoying.)

It's already been a long week, I went into the office for several hours both Saturday and Sunday to finish fixing the database and to print over 1000 sponsor letters. Starting this morning, we're asking our host committee ladies to pop in and sign letters being mailed to folks they know. And on Wednesday and Thursday, we're begging volunteers to help us to tri-fold three pages together and stuff them into envelopes. By Friday, if they're not out of my hair and mailed off, I'll probably Hulk out and shred them all.

That's a lie, I'd be the staff member responsible for reprinting. Don't want to do it again.

Happy Chatter

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Sweater: F21...Blazer: Banana Republic...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

We had another neighbor night- games! I can't tell you how much I enjoy these nights of chattering and friendly competition. We all have a pretty similar sense of humor and enough absurd pop culture overlap that word games like Catch Phrase get especially funny. The 3 1/2 word clues that turn up an excitedly squealed right answer are always the best.

Well, it's going to be a late one and a long weekend- we're doing another mailing on Monday... and I can almost guarantee that we won't finalize the dumb letter until 2:45, which means that I won't get to not work this weekend since I'll be too busy checking my mail merge document and printing over 1100 letters. Ugh. Do something awesome on my behalf and fill me in, okay?

You guys are all awesome. Happy Friday!

Layered, but not Bundled

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Blouse: thrifted...Blazer: Express c. 2002...Shoes: Naturalizer...Necklace: Target...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Oh, hello, roots.

Woo! Another Link Up- Third Thursday Threads (BLAZERS!) over at Work Clothes, I Suppose. Such a great blog, I hope you link up and read through the archives, Bri Marie is a really lovely person!

While the pattern of this blouse thing is completely unique and pretty awesome, its airiness lends itself way more to summer dressing than winter. My solution? Wear a deep scoop neck long sleeved layer under the blouse and tuck it into my trousers (this layer is true for about 90% of my winter dressing, with blouses, sweaters, button-downs. I get cold easily). You'd never know I was toasty warm with a long sleeved layer here or here, but the right inner layer makes all the difference!

So, really, this is just an ode to t-shirts and a nicey-nice way to pry info out of you ladies in the snow- How do you stay warm enough in winter? I'm lookin' for more ideas.

Houndstooth

Coat: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Cardigan: Target...Skirt: Target...Scarf: Target...Tights: Gap...Shoes: Naturalizer...Pearls: Beijing vendor...Bag: Longchamp

Pleated Poppy What I Wore Wednesday link up. And a little Work it Wednesday over at A Little Bit of Lacquer,  you know, because it's Wednesday.

It's been so inappropriately cold and drizzly, I haven't wanted or been able to get photos of a few of my outfits... until now. I felt like such a dud, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get my flash to trigger, even if I popped it up. Duh, Kate, wrong setting. Read the manual to figure out what you're doing wrong before you harumph about trying to hold still for 1/4 second exposure times rather than using flash. Moral of the story, I got the flash to work, it's not grainy as crap (like when I go for a 400 ISO to make up for the slow exposure), the semigloss paint gleaming in the flash on my door is a small nuisance compared to freezing my buns off at dark, shadowy 8 am. Camera flash, you saved my frozen toes.

And do I care that I spent a day in way-too-loud-and-graphic black and whites? Not even a little. I haven't been loving this cardigan- I bought it and thought "it's so me! Houndstooth, black and white..." and then realized it's awfully noticable and it's not a great outer layer if left unbuttoned. It's kind of an awkward length and a little dumpy worn that way. Did it make its way into the possible donate pile? Yes, it did. Has it been redeemed? Yes, it has. And it's all because I realized it can be tucked into my tights, smoothed out under a skirt and worn as a mere top, not just as an accented cardigan. Some days my brain farts and creativity-crap-outs surprise me. And then I spring back. A little.

Chilled and Crabby

Jeans: H&M...Button Down: J Crew...Sweater: Zara...Coat: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Shoes: Naturalizer..Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Hey, remember this sweater? That little trick was a great discovery!

It's been darn cold around here these last few days. Which sucks, but I'll survive the trek in to my office on chilly mornings and late night dog walks with bundled layers and fluffy socks stuffed into flip flop sandals (gosh, I really need a pair of pull-on boots...). The big, fat negative is being home in the evenings. Our apartment is really old and drafty, we're on the first floor above a crawlspace, thiiiin subflooring and wood floors. Non-energy efficient windows transfer a lot of the chill in. I love the character of our place, but brrrr! Even the rugs and draperies we have don't help a ton. Only a window AC/Heater in the living room and crappy space heaters in our bedroom. If we try to run them both on high to heat up our room for the night while we're watching tv, we're guaranteed to trip the breaker. Which we have to travel down the complex's hallway toward the parking lot out back to reset.

This is really only a "thing" because I was feeling especially chilled last night. I spent as much time as I could coaxing any critter that would get near me to stay for a snuggle. Thank goodness Miles and Eddie were both feeling cold, too.

New Week Kickoff

Pants: Zara...Sweater: Target...Scarf: thrifted...Shoes: Calvin Klein via Buffalo Exchange...Coat: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Mittens: who knows

I'm heading out bright and early this morning, we have a coffee date for Auction stuff for the Young Audiences gala. BTW, we've decided on Pop Art Soiree as the theme... Does anyone in Houston who might want to support arts in education have a connection to Kate Spade? We want a donation to our auction baaaad.

Anyway, the weekend shaped into a pretty good one. Friday night was dull, Rob got sucked into going to a classical concert and I would have just napped, so joining him was a no-go. Saturday, he sat in on a sight reading session, for which he didn't write a piece. Super lame and long for him. Window shopping wasn't a terrible alternative for me. And Sunday. Oh, Sunday- lazy morning, a few hours of silly data entry, and an excellent curry-filled evening. Natalie, Matt- rockstar beginning to the week! I'm so happy you were game to join our Sunday tradition of a too-big dinner and cheapo beers.

Happy Monday, you all!

Dragging

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Blouse: Gap...Cardigan: J Crew Factory...Jacket: Gap...Shoes: Steve Madden via Ross..Necklace: Wish Boutique...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Guys, it's been a bear of a week. And I'm really, truly out of things to say. Working 11 hour days because decision-makers are overthinking things is frustrating. Welcome to the world of non-profits. But, man, this feels a little ridiculous.

So, adios, I'll see you all after the weekend! What will you be up to? Tell me your plans (I may swipe the idea so I don't have to think up my own)!

Gross

Pants: Theory via Buffalo Exchange...Sweater: Target...Coat: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Earrings: Old Navy...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Uniform much? I love that I love these sweaters, but they're enablers of lazy, cozy style. And I'm okay with that.

So, a change of pace with my background... because our apartment swapped out the old garbage cans for new ones with lids, and rather than haul away the garbage-bound garbage cans or set them out at the curb, they stacked them behind the carport- right in front of my galvanized steel backdrop. And I was not about to touch them. Or find a new photo venue. So I turned 90 degrees to the right and chose brick.

Thrilling Thursday Tidbit? You're welcome. (It's better than harumphing about poor communication going on at work. Again, you're welcome)

A Good Old Fashioned Giggle

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Sweater: Target...Scarf: Zara Sweater...Flats: Target...Bag: Longchamp

Are you linking up Stripes with Marionberry Style? You better be (and regularly reading her blog too, homegirl's hilarious and oh-so-fashionable). P.S.- I'm super proud of this creative stripe wearing. A sweater with the arms tucked in as an infinity scarf? The game's called "I Win!"

Speaking of "I Win," I've been able to pull a few dead-pan jokes on my husband lately. Like the time I convinced him that I save and reuse coffee grounds and he felt bad for prematurely throwing them out (he's not a coffee drinker, he has no idea how it works). And after my shower last night, I asked him to toss me pajamas and underpants. He sweetly asked if I wanted a specific new pair, so I replied, "Nah, just the same ones from earlier today." Dead-pan. And he abandoned my skivvies drawer to comply with my dead-pan joke request for used undergarments. I burst into giggles, he grumped at me and gave me my pj's and a new pair... And then I told him, "Hey, I found something out today- if you say oranges reeeeally slow, it kind of sounds like 'gullible.'"

His lips made the O. Thank goodness he stopped.

And then I died of laughter.

Neutral Fail

Pants: Zara...Turtleneck: J Crew Outlet...Blazer: Gap...Jacket: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Ross...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I'm not really sold on this one, but, I wore it out of the house for a day, so it's on the blog. Accountability, transparency. Sometimes I wear turtlenecks that don't have enough contrast with the paired blazer. That's the way it goes down every once in a while. They can't all be winners.

But that's the point of a daily style-geared blog. Wearability. Real-girl. Lifestyle. I'm never going to be high fashion and I'm not going to not post something just because it's a semi-dud. Because even though my readership relatively small, you guys are active and I'm not going to bull-crap any of you into thinking I'm on the ball all the time. That's the point of this for me, to have a reason to get to know all of you. So, if I post a stinker, I post a stinker, and we can have a good chuckle about it.

Hahaha, hey, did you guys see that one post where Kate matched her turtleneck to her hair and her blazer to her roots?

Flash Dance

Skirt: Gap, thrifted...Turtleneck: J Crew Factory...Belt: Target...Scarf: Gap...Boots: Biviel via Buffalo Exchange...Tights: Target...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I have a love/hate relationship with this skirt. I thrifted it for just a few dollars, it's a lovely, well made, light grey, pleated beauty. The waistband is actually my waist size. But, the accordion pleats are tricky for sitting all day. It's about an inch too short to wear without tights (shows off my knobby knees but it's perfectly colored for springtime, which is infuriating). And it's got volume.

Guys, it's a darn good thing these photos get taken in the alley of sorts between our apartment buildings, blinds stay closed and cars can't see. I had a Marilyn Moment. Needless to say, I kept a hand delicately near my rump for the rest of my wandering around outside. Please tell me I'm not the only one to nearly flash my friends and neighbors.

On Loop

Skirt: Target...Turtleneck: Gap...Jacket: BB Dakota via Piperlime...Belt: Gap...Tights: Gap...Shoes: Naturalizer...Scarf: Target...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

If you were ever wondering about the true nature of my physique, take a little look at that photo just above. Yup, flat-chest magoo. I guess a sports bra during business hours will do that.

I've been taking work home with me and not touching it. Which really just means two things: I'm overambitious. And I'm a slacker. No excuses this weekend, though- it'a a list of dumb data entry, and that can be so easily accomplished while my attention is tuned into Will and Grace DVD's on loop.

Speaking of- what are your favorite shows that you cycle on DVD? I know I've given you guys my list of top 10 Movies, but here's our Show List:
That 70's Show (a solid 7% of our daily conversation is quotable moments from this show)
Will and Grace
How I Met Your Mother
L Word
The Office
Arrested Development. So witty, so cohesive. Can't wait for the new Netflix season.

Share! Fill me in! Get me hooked on something new!