Long, Lean, and Green

Speaking of post-partum wearing of maternity dresses: kindly refer to Exhibit C. My husband's Bromance sent a package before Violet was born, including a teething bead bracelet, hilarious pacifiers (reading "Pull to Sound Alarm" and "Mute Button"), a sketch book for me, a pillowcase with his own face on it because he knew we were going into withdrawl, and this magical, magical dress. Ladies, this thoughtful man is single. How? I'm still not sure.

Anyway, I've been wearing this nonstop all summer long. It skims the lumpy post-C-section bits, has a perfect amount of stretch for boob access, cinches nicely in at the natural waist, avoiding the maternity mumu empire waist and the too-low that-would-never-fit-a-pregnant-belly waist line. Magic.

Grab a scarf of your choice for nursing cover duty and rock and roll.

Nice spit-up stain on the thigh, Violet. 

White Jeans and Little Things

Whew, glad I got such a heavy post off my chest earlier this week. On to lighter-hearted things.

One. I have, to date, killed three pairs of non-maternity pants so dead they had to be thrown away. Zippers may be fixable, but popped seams and ripped fabric? Nope. Not coming back from that.

Two. The cutest foggy morning slug inched along and crossed our path as Miles and I had our early morning walk. A tiny 1 inch trail of slime behind him; unbearably cute.

Three. My love of Peanut Butter (crunchy and overpriced, of course) with apples and carrots for lunch is still going strong.

Four. We went to Beijing last weekend. I'll tell you more later.

Five. I nearly fell off the sofa trying to paint my toenails. It may be time to start going to get pedicures instead of doing them myself. Bummer.

Mixing in a Bit of Spring

Not my favorite outfit, but I'm so happy I could finally get away with wearing this blouse with a long sleeved shirt underneath and jacket over top. I don't love that I still needed to wear booties with it, but I'll deal with it.

We finally made our way to Shanghai to hunt for the only H&M maternity section nearby last weekend. Up until then, this pair of maternity work trousers was the only thing I had that wasn't regular pants with a belly band. It's tough to sink a whole day into traveling the 85 km between Suzhou and Shanghai for errands. But, oh my gosh, was it worth it. With about 10 weeks to go, I needed pants with stretch!

Happy weekend to you all, friends! Hope you get to bust out a springtime favorite article of clothing and mix it with your winter gear. Maybe if we all collectively get into a spring-y headspace together, it will show up sooner. That's how that works, right?

 

Close Enough

The snowboots kind of ruin most of the could-be good looking stuff I wear lately, and I'm not totally sure I care. This was from a few weeks ago before my break, and we did have a meeting for which I changed into nice looking ankle boots, but, let's be really real. I spent the whole day in these bad boys. Best investment I made before I left the States. Thanks, LL Bean, for making a shortie pull on fuzzy lined boot perfect for both my daily commute and frigid office as well as pajama dog walks.

What about you all- any guilty pleasures you've been wearing lately and deciding it's "good enough" for winters that just never fricking end?

 

Conundrum

What does one wear for meeting the Dean of the School of Music for the first time? Especially when the group dinner is being held at an undisclosed location? Rob and I (and all of the other new faculty we've been spending time with) all freaked out and didn't have an answer.

Neutrals. Definitely neutrals. And not too fussy.

So, this super lightweight sweater for the warm evening should do the trick. Loose, it won't touch my torso too much and make me sweat, but it's pretty covered-up.

Pants or skirt? Skirt. No, pants. The sweater looked a little weird tucked in. 

Heels or flats? Well, heels would look nicer... Crap, all my nice pumps are in our shipment. These flats will be fine.

Maaaaan, I got brutal with purging my wardrobe before this move. My dress and shoe situation is a little pathetic. And my "getting ready and looking decent" routine is a joke.

Jeans: Gap...Sweater: thrifted...Shoes: Aldo, via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Target...Scarf: Liberty of London, thrifted...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Wrapping Up

Skirt: Target...Tee: J Crew Factory...Scarf: TJ Maxx...Belt: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

It's been so. darn. cold in our office the last month. AC is my nemesis. My fingers are literally freezing after having them exposed and elevated to work on the computer. Solution? Dress like it's early spring: lighter, happy colors, worn in pretty extreme layers (there's totally two long sleeved shirts going on up there), along with an oversized scarf. Oh, yeah, and then die of heat stroke once you step out into Houston's 96 F, 80% humidity afternoon weather.


Guys, it's my very last day at work today. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, and I'm definitely glad to be trotting off to China soon.

I won't say I'm not a little sad. This job has had its challenges- grants writing (but mostly grants reporting on Education and programs which I know nothing about) is hard. And diving into it with no prior experience and being given very little training made it tougher. But, I was surrounded by really good people, extraordinary work being accomplished, and, if nothing else, I was part of a shift in the the energy of the office after a few years of tricky office dynamics and leadership. If nothing else, I contributed to creating a cheerful and positive culture and working relationships. Was the position itself my best fit? Probably not. The Gala, streamlined branding and templates, and positive energy are things I'm proud to put my name on, though.

But, as of today at 5:00, I'm unemployed. Rather, I'm officially on vacation. Rob and I are going on a cruise to Belize, Isla Roatan, and Cozumel. And then we get one final week to soak up friend time and finish painting and cleaning this apartment that's been home for four years.

And then three weeks stuffed full of family time! I just saw my family during my brother's HS graduation a few short weeks ago, but I'm beyond excited for this.

And then we're getting onto a plane to move halfway across the world.

Move. Across the world.



Whoa.

Adios to the Three Musketeers

Skirt, Cardigan, Belt, Necklace: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange

Well, it's happened. We had our first for-real adios. Our friend (Rob, his Bromance, and this buddy all three came into the doctoral program together) is getting ready to skip town for several summer festivals and conferences and he definitely won't be back before we leave. There have been a few friends that have left after the school year ended who we won't see again before we move, but this is the first major goodbye.

And I didn't cry. Don't know how I managed it, but I didn't cry. It may be because his wife is still in town and I know we'll spend time together, so it doesn't feel "real" yet.

Anyway, we did a BBQ, because there really isn't a better way to say farewell than with a potluck and burgers. We started a grease fire, let it burn off and roasted marshmallows a few hours later, sipped a hodgepodge of leftover beers from the graduation BBQ, nibbled on chips until the 90% humidity made them stale and disgusting, and did a lot of really good reminiscing.

Gosh, it's been a good four years here in Houston.

Whirlwind Week

Pants: Zara...Blouse: thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer

It's been a wild week and getting more nuts! We sold our Honda Fit on Tuesday (I cried. It was such a good car), and went to see my friend's dress rehearsal of Chinglish, which was an excellent play. A friend from Arizona was in town visiting his parents, so we went to dinner last night and ate a disgusting amount of sushi. We've been packing and selling things like crazy after we posted a bunch of things in the university's online advertisement forum. Poor Rob has spent two days doing nothing but answer questions like "Yes, it's a pretty standard crock pot. No, that tall shelf can't be shortened. Sure, you can come look at it, but it has to be before Friday at 10."

And that's because Friday afternoon is his Doctoral Hooding Ceremony. And Saturday at the buttcrack of dawn is Graduation. Which, by the way, might get rained out, so each candidate only gets two tickets for the Field House, and our group includes a spouse and two parents. (Oh, yeah, and Rob's parents are arriving tonight!) Bromance's family is here too, and his cousin is joining the group, so if we can't weasel our way into any extra tickets, his mom and I are going to spend our morning watching the televised version and drinking mimosas together. I sure would love to see them graduate since I'm so sick of student-hood, but spending time that way isn't a terrible alternative.

So, I'll see you all next week! Maybe. There's been a lot of friend time each evening, lots of arrangements to make, but at least we're getting it all done earlier than later. Phew, I'm overwhelmed and exhausted already!

Navy, Mint, and White

Jeans: Gap...Tee: UO...Blazer: Gap...Scarf: Suzhou (Rob's little token from his interview trip)...Shoes: Nine West Outlet

Um, so blogging took a back seat. Sorry 'bout that.

Stuff I've been up to:
Post-gala wrap up. Always.
The Orange Show "Un-Concert." I still owe you guys a little bit about that.
Garage Sale with our neighbors two weekends ago. Got rid of a handful of small stuff. We'll plan on another one June 1. Hopefully we aren't without furniture for too long!
I also packed up my first 50-lb. duffel bag. We're gathering boxes to do a slow shipment later in the year with books and winter clothes. Three months to go and our house is already a wreck.
This past weekend was the annual composer weekend away. Mmmm, sunshine and beers.
Lots and lots and lots of friend time. We haven't gotten much of anything productive done most evenings.

P.S. I have no idea why I don't wear this navy blazer more. It's lightweight, has nice slim sleeves, and is the perfect cropped length. It's a no-brainer. I also purchased myself glasses after my first vision check in a few years and went for these totally rad green hipster frames. Geek chic with a little flair, no?

All Over the Place

Skirt: DVF, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Scarf: thrifted...Shoes: Naturalizer...Earrings: Etsy

It's been a weird week already, our Executive Director has been out for two days with a plague of some sort, we have an LOI for a grant due next Monday, a major grant pushed back to EASTER (Sunday due date, what?!) another application due the 1st. And, just for funsies, we're gearing up to man a volunteer-run art activity table at the bi-annual art festival this weekend. Ain't nobody got time for that! And then, Rob leaves early Sunday morning to drive to Tucson for the week because the weekend of the 29th, his dance collaboration is being premiered. I'll fly out late Friday night and we get to drive back together on the 1st. I can't even tell you how badly I'm tempted to "take a wrong turn" on the way home and wind up in CO or UT, just to play around in national parks for a while. Gosh, my heart belongs to the Rockies.

Good morning, scattered mind.

I think I'm just surviving on lists. And I'll write 'em wherever I can just to try to cement it in my head. Whatever, it's aaaaall going to be worlds better after April 11. The darn Gala's just gotta get itself done and over with.

Come hang out over at the Pleated Poppy, Because Shanna Said So, and Style Elixir!

Ding!Ding!Ding! We Have a Winner!

Skirt: Target...Sweater: Gap...Scarf: gift from Rob's interview in Suzhou...Belt: swiped from a skirt...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Rob and I frequently play a little game in the mornings. Neither of us are really shower singers, but there's a lot of music, tv shows, quotable movies, and made up tunes rattling around this household. So, morning is usually the post-sleep subconscious time for randomly recalling a little ditty and get it lodged in your head. 

"I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can guess what song I have stuck in my head right now"

We usually give a clue of real song vs. movie or tv tune, but that's it. No extra questions. Just three shots to pull from literally thousands of inside jokes. Sometimes it's Aerosmith, sometimes Phantom of the Opera, sometimes it's the Slap Bet song from How I Met Your Mother.

Rob ACTUALLY guessed that "Under the Sea" was in my head. It's been the first time either of us has accurately guessed the right answer. I actually owe him $25 dollars! I might pay out in nickels, just to spite him and his superior guessing skills.

Thank goodness I didn't bet a pony or McFlurries every day for a year.

My timer caught the moment I flung the door open to open-mouth, wide-eyed stare in wonder at his guessing prowess. I pretty sure I looked like this. 

Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet

Dress: ASOS...Scarf: Target...Necklace: Target...Belt: swiped from a skirt...Earrings: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer

Oy, Flickr and I had a fight. Sorry it's taken me literally days to get this post up and rollin'.

So, fancy wear. Worn in our nosebleed seats at the Houston Ballet performance of The Rite of Spring. HOLY CRAP, such a great performance; the raw, carnal energy was palpable, which I loved. I really wish Rob had let me take a photo of him, he was in his normal going-someplace-gotta-look-presentable man candy getup. Because when you're paying $7 for parking, you really ought to take the time to look nice.

I love long, tighter dresses like this one. And I love that, even though the colors of the dress itself are all summery and fresh, a kick of black makes it look chic. Plus, there's sleeves. And I prefer a little arm coverage, especially when I'm squeezing the rest of myself into a hip and thigh hugging ensamble.

Failing

Pants: Zara...Sweater: Target...Scarf: Target...Coat: Armani Exchange...Shoes: Target...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I'll quit complaining soon, but geez, Louise, taking work home even after I stayed until 7:30? I think that means the office is severely understaffed. I also think I'm glad that this position is finite; even if I have the potential to learn a lot, I don't get a chance to concentrate and learn, so I'm half-assing my way through grants writing and reporting, making crap up about programs, being told after a 3 minute flip-through by the Executive Director that it's all "a little off," and then she re-does it herself. Um, that's not giving me any training, guidence, or a clue. And if I'm asking questions about the program I've never seen or read more than a short paragraph about (written by the prior super space-cadet Director), I'm probably not going to have a great understanding of what I'm pulling out of my pocket and written output. Ugh. Moral of the story: this is not my best fit position, I was promised training and received none, I'm dropping balls because I don't know any better. But I'm not there forever, so I'll buck up and do my best. Four months of madness won't kill me, right?

And it's really too bad because the organization does seriously awesome things! I don't want to wreck the financial standing of a 56 year institution because I don't have the experience or focus to put together solid grants. Sigh.

Downer posts will end... NOW!

Good Blogger? #NailedIt

I just realized that I'm blogging a lot less out of laziness. Taking photos on the way out the door became a whole lot less fun once the dumb spare garbage bins got stashed in front of my aluminum siding backdrop outside. And getting home from work at 7 or after almost every night isn't super condusive to getting excited about non-family/neighbor/friend/critter time, ie. uploading photos.

And then I realized, nope, it's not even quite those excuses. I just reeeally don't want to disturb my lap cat. She has been a permanent fixture all winter. And when there's a doggy behind wedged close into you, it's just too cute and sweet and snuggly to move. So, if you've wondered where I've gone, the answer is a "creating a butt-print fossil on the sofa with my animals."

Oh, and what the hey, here's a look from my failed attempt at getting to a theater to see a show with a freebie ticket, but then getting clogged in construction, missing what maaay have been an entrance to parking, getting stuck on an entrance ramp to the freeway, getting off the freeway far far from the dumb theater, and getting waved past the secondary parking I knew how to get to once I finally got back to it. Already 10 minutes late and still not parked? Forget it. I wasn't meant to see Man of La Mancha.

Pants: Zara...Sweater: F21...Scarf: Target...Jacket: Armani Exchange via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Target

Happiness is...

Skirt: Beijing tailor...Sweater: F21...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer

Marionberry Style. Black and White: Trend of the Month. Heck yes. Also, Work Clothes, I Suppose Polka Dot link up (which happens tomorrow! You still have time!). Throw in a little Pleated Poppy and Watch Out for the Woestmans and we've got ourselves a party.

I'll probably pass along a few photos of the weekend in Memphis a little later in the week, but it got me thinking about stuff that makes me happy.
Family Time, especially if we all drive 11 hours for it
Car ride conversations
A cat curled into the tightest little ball on my lap
A cat dreaming and twitching in my lap
Birthday gift of Kindle pre-ordered book by Ron Rash
Azalea blooms in February. I love the South
Kahlua and skim milk
My super cool/terrifying gift from brother. A bad-ass knife. Because he wanted to pick out a suited-to-me version of something he's into
Expensive camping socks doubling as slippers
Neighbors who take care of my critter kids for the price of beer-gift
Neighbors who share their successes and worries and excitements with me, because we're friends
My brownware mug
Beagles who snore so loud they wake up
Making a date with my husband's bromance to see a musical
Perfectly red and pink sunsets

What's been making you grin? My workdays are dragging on a little too long, so send me your little bit of happy!

Stripes, Mint, and Confessions

Skirt: Beijing Tailor...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Belt: Target...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

I was told I looked "very J Crew" in this. I'll take the compliment, even if I'm dressing for the wrong season.

So, did you all get a chance to see my news (ha, I say "my news" like I had anything to do with it)? I'm really sorry about floating away with no explanation for over a week, but we were waiting on paperwork and researching our brains out and with my normal easy-and-hidden outdoor photo spot still out of commission, taking daily shots was a drag, so I decided the logical thing to do was go missing rather than subject you guys to dust-and-dog-fur mirror shots. Anyway, mumbling aside, I've missed you all and promise to retain a more normal schedule. Because ditching your friends is lame. I have been silently keeping up with you guys, even if I haven't been commenting.

Lots of other big stuff has been happening for my family, too, so I'll either have lots of good stuff to tell you soon or more secrets to keep. TBD.

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.