Clothes Crave

Lately, I’ve been really in to vintage lace and florals, especially when paired with dark denim. It’s a pretty vintage look, but the thrifting opportunities in Oklahoma suck. We also don’t have an Anthropologie, but the catalogue is available online, so I can pretend! I put together this outfit today while putzing around. Everything, and I mean everything, is closed down because of the ice storm. My first ice storm! I have to say, as long as we are safe and have electricity, I think it’s pretty cool to look at all the ice hanging from the trees.

Anyway, back to fashion. I could totally picture myself wearing this in Paris! Right, Cathy? Also, while I’ve always loved Anthropologie, I’m especially digging their focus on the 1940s-50s for inspiration right now. LOVE.

Hidden Hue Blouse
James Twiggy Denim Legging
Filigree Genetian Barrette
Gilded Impatiens Necklace
Petal Pushing Flats

 

Do Something

(source)

I donated through Partners in Health, an organization that has been working in Haiti for over twenty years, and is publicly supported by the band Arcade Fire, whose member Regine Chassagne has Haitian family roots.

This can help you decide how/with whom to donate.

 

I Wore This Today

When: Wednesday, 1/13/2010
Where: Hardest day of subbing ever, for a 2nd grade class
What:
Dress – ModCloth
Blue tights – Urban Outfitters
Greenish lace tights – Betsey Johnson via Modcloth
Flats – American Eagle
Peacock hairclip – Target!

I loved today’s outfit, but it didn’t photograph well either! I should have worn a belt with this dress to emphasize my waist, and it didn’t help that I waited until my lunch break to take pictures, so my dress was all wrinkled from hours of walking around and bending/sitting to help children out with work. But seriously, I loved this outfit. It was all about the little details for me–the two layers of tights, my awesome flats, and my peacock hairclip.

My tights match the floor. Hehe.

 

What I Wore in the New Year

When: Tuesday, 1/12/2010
Where: Hair appointment (trim), 1/2 day playing 8th grade U.S. history teacher (hopefully my real job next fall!), dog park with Holland, Maggie, and D
What:
Skinnies – American Eagle
White tanks (layered) – American Eagle
Plaid ruffled shirt – Gap (40% off, bought on Sunday)
Sunglasses – Urban Outfitters
Boots – Vintage, bought at this awesome store in Wicker Park (Chicago) for 50% off
Bag – Ditto (got the boots and the bag for around $130 dollars)

I thought this outfit was great, but I think it works better in person than in pictures. I love the ruffle detail on this shirt, and I tried to get it to come through in photos, but it didn’t work out too well. I’m also proud of myself for wearing such a bright color of red. I usually avoid bright colors and I’m trying to step out of my fashion comfort zone a little bit this year. A plaid shirt is obviously a staple in my closet, but the color makes it different!

My favorite parts of this outfit are my two new prize possessions, the vintage finds I got in one of my favorite stores to visit in Wicker Park, Chicago. I went there with D while we were in Chicago for New Years and he got a fantastic 1960s brown corduroy Levi’s jacket for 50% off too. I wish I could remember the name of the store, but it’s really close to the yummiest brunch place in town, the Bongo Room. The bag is especially awesome–it’s embossed leather and has roses and a horse and is just sosososo cool. Plus it has tons of zip pockets so my stuff actually is organized! It’s a miracle. I love it and I’ve used it everyday since I got it.

Fabulous!

I’m off to read blogs and finish getting ready for work tomorrow before watching Conan give it to NBC (Cathy, I know you love Leno, but he is in the wrong here).

 

Bonne Annee

Happy New Year! Ok, so I’m a little behind the times, but better late than never! Truthfully,  I have been crazy busy since we got back to Oklahoma on Tuesday–this post has taken me days to write!

D and I had a fabulous vacation, with stops in Moline, Illinois; Syosset, Long Island; NYC; Chicago; and back to Moline. We easily logged over 80 hours in the car, most of them with our trooper, Holland, by our sides (or in the back of the Prius in his little den, whichever).

Honestly, we had a blast. We both love road trips and we had so much fun playing silly car games and being nerdy–at one point we tried to figure out where all of the U.S. presidents were from (both the state they were born in and the state they called home) before looking up anything online. We did pretty well!

We were also fortunate to have stayed with our fantastic families. It was great to get to know Doug’s mum and stepdad better, and they were so good to put up with us and Holland(!) for several days on two separate occasions. They were so generous and kind and it was a blast. My family was great too, as we had Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner with my cousin Kaley, her husband Paul, and the kiddos. My grandma, who is now 86(!) put up with us for a long time (thank you!).

Plus, we got two nights and a full day in NYC together, courtesy of my parents. We stayed in the Warwick on 54th and shopped and dined and were generally blissed out. We ate at Candle 79 and Famous Ray’s Pizza, and caught a jazz show at the Village Vanguard. It was a cold, whirlwind weekend–super romantic and a perfect part of our vacation.

In Chicago we got fantastic pancakes at the Bongo Room with our bandmates Tom, Jenna, and Perry, and got fantastic deals at an awesome vintage store right next door. We had a great time with old friends as we rang in New Year’s at Tom and Sandy’s place (thanks guys!), and then it was back to the Quad Cities where D played a show and we hung out with Paul, Kim, and Bambi + Johnny. It was great, but by the end we were tired and ready to come back to Oklahoma (but it’s still cold here!).

Now that it’s 2010, we’re looking forward to a lot of things. I’m particularly excited about two things:
1) My interview with the Teacher Competency Review Panel on January 14th–the final step before I can get a real teaching job!!
2) Paris with Cathy in the spring (hence the French title to my post). We haven’t nailed down the dates yet, but I can’t wait. Crepes, wine, and beautiful parks–not to mention shopping, art, and chocolate. All with my bestest. LOVE.

I also have some New Year’s resolutions and a bunch of new clothes and ideas to reveal, but those will have to wait for a bit….

 

Teacher Certification Updates

First, I passed the tests! Yay! I got a 298/300 for the OGET (which for all you MA people is like the basic writing + math part of the MTEL) and a 279/300 for the US+OK History/Economics/Political Science OSAT. I wish I had done better on the OSAT, but it’s really not a bad score. The most important thing is that I passed! On to the next step! Yesterday I had to head up to Oklahoma City to turn in my application to the Teacher Competency Review Board and get fingerprinted for my background checks by the OSBI and the FBI. I turned in my essay, resume, test scores, application, and $100 application fee, then waited to pay another $58 to get fingerprinted.

The fingerprinting was crazy! They took flat prints of my thumbs and then of each set of four fingers, then took “rolling prints” of all ten digits as well. It took a while–the system is very sensitive and my fingers are “special.” They are, according to the fingerprint people, “too small,” “too skinny,” “too stiff,” and, what’s more they have too many whorls in them–my fingerprints are especially curvy. Haha.

Now, I just have to wait to be interviewed by the TCRB in about a month and a half. After that, I should (hopefully) have a temporary teaching certificate and be able to look for jobs. I’ll still have to take three classes over the next year or so and pass the OPTE (the Oklahoma Professional Teacher Exam) in Secondary Education. I also plan on petitioning to take all of the exams needed to become certified in World History and English Literature + Composition.

I have more exciting news too, but we’re getting ready to start making our way to Illinois and then New York, so it will have to wait!

 

What I Wore + Holland at the P-A-R-K

When: Friday, 12/11/2009
Where: Playing math teacher, taking Holland to the dog park
What:
Tan-orange boots – Target
Skinnies – American Eagle
White tanks (layered) – American Eagle
Green sweater – Urban Outfitters (fall 2008)
Cream hat – American Eagle
Gold flower cutout earrings – gift, Green-Eyed Daisy in Falmouth, MA

Do you like the trash and recyclying in the back of the first two shots? Clearly I need to be more attuned to my surroundings. These next two photos are taken by the tree in our front yard.

Holland and I went to the dog park after I finished school today. He loves it there. Two words I have to spell out (because otherwise he recognizes them and goes crazy) are walk and park. I think he would be extremely happy if the dog park was adjacent to our house. While we were there today, I took some pictures of him doing his thing (running around as fast as he can), as well as a couple other shots of him looking cutetastic. Hey, it was freezing and I had to occupy myself. Plus, he is my furbaby.

I made some thirteen-bean soup that smells awesome and we’re going to hunker down and eat it while watching the two-hour episode of Dollhouse…which may be followed by last night’s episode of Jersey Shore. You know you love it.

 

What I Wore Today #4, an Ode to Tarjay

When: Tuesday, 12/1/2009
Where: As a middle school math teacher (6th grade), working at Borders
What:
Tan-orange boots – Target
Black-white-brown plaid shirtdress – Target
Black striped tights – Target
Black cardigan – American Eagle
Gold and black earrings – really old, from some random store in Boston

This outfit is not always the most flattering (the middle doesn’t fit well and makes me look kind of wide) but I love it. So comfortable and fun and I love the print and colors:

Target is fabulous for dresses like this. This dress was $15!! $15!!! You get something cute and trendy and don’t lose a lot of cash. Fabulous. Cathy, I know you are jealous of the Target. Come to Oklahoma!

I leave you with a picture of Holland Oats. Note also the fake tattoo on Doug’s arm. This picture was taken the day after Halloween, when we dressed up as Brett Michaels and Ashley from Rock of Love Bus….which will probably never get posted on this blog.

 

Thankful, #4

For this guy, more than anyone could know:

 

Thankful, #3

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They love you when nobody else does.