Pretty ladies

It's been a while since I posted about some of my favorite bloggers... let's fix that! 

First up: Scathingly Brilliant. Kate took a loooong hiatus from blogging, and I'm so happy she's back! I love her beautiful, pastel world of super-feminine clothing and nerd-tastic accessories. 

Abby of A Geek Tragedy also threatened to leave the world of style blogging, (Q: I mean, why do we think it's socially acceptable to post photos of our outfits?! A: Because it's so super fun.) but she was only gone a few weeks, and I was stoked to see her and her Birkenstocks back!

Next up: Tanaya of All Things Bright, Bling and Everything in Between. She always wears beautiful things in beautiful places. Love, love, love her bohemian style.

Another major favorite: Connie from Snow in the Air. Look at her all chilled out in gingham! This is a fab blog by a fantastic, pretty lady.

And finally: Melanie of Bag and a Beret. How cool is she hanging out looking as colorful as the graffiti? So cool!

Belmont in black and white

I had some serious black-and-white action going on during a recent visit to the little town of Belmont.

I wore this to a last-minute dinner in the town's cute little downtown. Just like I said in my last post: Boots are great for the mornings these days. Not so much the evenings. And so: In this photo, I am feeling a little toasty. Just a wee bit toasty.

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin patch time! It's fall. I have a kiddo. It's time to hit the farm and pick out  a pumpkin.

Thomas thought this one looked good. Actually, he felt pretty positively about all of them. He went up to each one and said "ball." Inaccurate, but understandable.

We met up with friends. Hey, little cutie! 

We went to the pumpkin patch (which was actually on a full-blown farm owned by a fellow teacher at my school), and I wore boots because it was a wee bit chilly. That's how it's been in the mornings: chilly. Then, the afternoon comes...

And it's like 80 degrees! What is that! I am so ready to commit to fall! Let's just have some consistent chilly weather, okay? Anyway, this picture is from later in the day (hence the Thomas outfit change into his ADORABLE bow-tie onesie). I wore sandals because boots are not conducive to 80-degree weather. When it's 80 degrees, you give your toes some freedom and go look at fountains.

Happy fall, y'all!

Style Icon: Mary Margaret

 "Once Upon a Time" is one of my favorite TV shows in recent years. The first season, which is on Netflix Instant, is all about a town of fairy tale characters, who don't realize they're fairy tale characters. You see, they've been cursed so they think they're just regular, everyday people.

Snow White (above, played by Ginnifer Goodwin) believes she is Mary Margaret, a school teacher, and, man, she has perfect school teacher style.

Cardigans, peter-pan collars, cute hats and coats, high-necked '50s style dresses... the stuff of wardrobe dreams. All cute. All appropriate for teaching math to children.

Plus she has great, great hair. Not everyone can sport that pixie look.

Love the tights. Love the T-strap shoes. Love that she is carrying around her work. Love the little stud earrings. Love it all. All of it. Every bit. Especially the coat, which I haven't even mentioned yet. Love that coat.

I love the little details on her clothing. I love that they cast Snow White as a sweet woman with short hair who teaches kids. I love that she holds a bird in the first episode like it's no big deal.

In related news, I now feel like I need to own way more cardigans. Way. More. School teacher cardigans.

That '70s outfit

This is my '70s outfit. My Love shirt and brown clogs (oh those brown clogs are getting so much play these days) and high-waisted flare jeans. I used to be all about '50s style -- flared dresses and adorable heels, but I've now jumped ahead a few decades. The '70s were just so laid back, man. (In my mind. I wasn't actually there. But it seems like at least the clothes were pretty chill.) Related sidenote: I am really into John Denver right now. He was so aggressively uncool with his granny glasses, overuse of the phrase "far out" and constant cheerfulness. Way to be cool with your un-coolness! Coming soon: John Denver, style icon. (Did John Denver ever wear clogs? Discuss.)

In black and white (and color)

I used to love windy, rainy Saturdays. They were once my favorite kind of day. But, man, windy, rainy Saturdays make it a lot harder for me to keep my baby boy happy. This kid wants to be outside! And we've had a slew of rainy Saturdays, and I'm over it! Mommy and Tommy want to go play! (When we named Thomas, we said he would only ever be Thomas, never Tommy or Tom, but I break the rule when I talk about us having "Mommy and Tommy time" because rhyming is the best.)

These black and white pants are like pajama bottoms. And that striped shirt is nice and roomy and comfy too. (Also I might be over-wearing the brown clogs. They're just really nice in wet weather!) Thomas is looking a-mah-zing. His little moccasins and jeans are thrifted. I bought his shirt on Target online because it was the cutest, and I couldn't not.

Star Wars! My husband is the one who's supposed to be the geek, but I'm the one who loves Star Wars (the early movies, obviously). How cute is he? These pictures were taken during a nice, brief break in the rain. We decided to make use of it in the park. It was really, really lovely. Thomas just walked around and picked up leaves and threw them down. We saw a hawk flying in the sky. He pointed at all the dogs who walked by. 

I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I need more of a social life or I feel pangs of jealousy when talking with twenty-something co-workers who are footloose and fancy free, but mostly I just love my life the way it is. I love spending time with Thomas. He's so fun! He's so full of smiles. Like, he's really just a joyful person, and we have such a good time together.

 I think he went through another growth spurt, and his toddling has turned into expert walking. It kills me how old he is! When you're just an adult living your life, time is kind of chill and slow. When you have a fragile, beautiful, growing kiddo, you suddenly become hyper-aware of how temporal everything is, don't you? It makes you kind of a crazy person, but it also makes you a really grateful person. Children, man. They're the best. Time is fleeting. Enjoy their youth.

Style Icon: Janet Jackson in "That's the Way Love Goes"

Janet Jackson is so awesome in this video. 

In general, I'm not the kind of person who notices other people's makeup, but I love hers in this video. It's so subtle and clean. Also loving: the choker, the hair, the earrings...

... the 90s crop top, the smooth dance moves, the bracelet and once again that a-mah-zing choker. All her friends look totally stylish and 90s bohemian cool in the video as well. Jennifer Lopez was her backup dancer, and she gets a lot of screen time, but even with J Lo in the video, no one can compete with Janet Jackson's star power. For sure.

Dreary day

It just rained and rained and rained in North Carolina for what seemed like weeks. This picture was taken this past weekend when we braved Hurricane Joaquin to go visit my parents and my brother and his family (Thomas's cousins!). The drive really wasn't that bad. South Carolina was much harder hit, but it sure was dreary. You want to know what my kidlet likes? The outside. You want to know what I'm not that into? Being outside when it's raining. It makes for some conflict. Anyway, here we are in a brief respite from the rain. My boots and dress are thrifted. My hair is cut-off (very exciting), and my baby is adorable. Pictured behind me: An actual everyday pond and not the results of crazy rainfall.

Second-hand Sarah

There is a teacher at my school who has just really stunning style. "I think she shops at the stores I search for on eBay," I told my co-teacher. 

One such store? Anthropologie. It is such a rich lady's store. I've gone in and tried on clothes (with baby in tow even) at the actual bricks and mortar store, but I've never bought anything. I'm just too cheap. I just can't. Maybe for a really special occasion? But maybe not. I totally admire friends who buy pricey, but quality clothing sparingly and have that mythic "capsule wardrobe." Me? I spent too many years broke and thrifting like crazy. I am now addicted to second-hand and have unrealistic expectations about how much things should cost.

Maybe some day that will change, but maybe not. Pictured above: My new-to-me Anthropologie shirt bought through eBay. It is so so pretty. It is wearable art. It is my new boyfriend. I just can't with it. Love it. And I bought it for probably 1/3 of the original retail price. Treasure hunting at its best!