Loving It

Lately I've been loving...

1. The funny faces Thomas makes when he tries new foods.

2. And the adorable messes he makes! (I will probably not love these later, but right now I think it's cute!)

3. Our new-to-us hiking backpack. We used it a couple of weekends ago, and it was awesome.

4. Thomas found it so comfortable, he fell asleep.

5. Also loving: Sunshine getting her hike on with Grandpa. Love that dog! Love that Grandpa!

Sick baby outfit 4

Thomas was sick all weekend. I was frazzled all weekend. This is me in my fourth Saturday outfit standing in my baby-stuff-filled foyer. It was an accidentally super-cute outfit. I had already been thrown up on in my leggings/sweatshirt outfits, and this seemed like a simple thing to throw on. Poor Thomas. He never had a fever, and we kept him hydrated, but, yeesh, what a weekend. There is no anxiety like mamma anxiety. He's much, much better now. My foyer, however, is still filled with baby stuff and will be until Thomas is no longer a baby (then it will be filled with kid stuff probably).

Style Icon: Roger Sterling

What's not to love? I mean, other than the smoking. Smoking is bad! But glasses, handkerchiefs and three-piece suits are all highly loveable! 

Don gets more attention. He is the star of the show. But I like Roger's style more. It's a little more fun -- just like Roger!

"Mad Men" is such a flawless show. It's just so smart and cinematic, funny and (more often) heartbreaking. All the characters' clothes are amazing (and often symbolic!) thanks to costume designer Janie Bryant. If you haven't seen the show, carve out a good five days for binge-watching and have at it! You will not be disappointed, although you may find yourself overwhelmed by existential angst. Fabulously dressed, existential angst.  

Bubblegum

When you wear bubblegum pink to work, everyone notices. Your boss notices, your students notice, your co-workers notice. Bubblegum pink: No one doesn't notice. ("Like that pink!" they say.) The polka dots, on the other hand, are old news at this point.

Squirrel!

The title of this post is an obvious "Up" reference. That is one of my favorite movies of all time. Seriously. Top Five. That montage of the Carl and his wife? Um. The best thing ever. I cry like a baby every time I watch it. (I just re-watched the clip with my husband next to me and bawled, and Robert was like "Seriously, baby, you should know better" because he's been through this before.) But seriously the best movie about grief/infertility/love/life ever. Love it. Love it. Anyway, my sweater has a squirrel on it, and I bought it on eBay, and it's amazing.

I wore this outfit to an awkward baby shower. At least it was awkward for me. I LOVE the baby mamma, and I think we should hang out all the time with our babies once she has her baby and be like "Babies!" together, but... well... I only knew the baby mamma and the host, and the host was very busy, and the baby mamma was very in demand, and I made a lot of small talk at this event, and small talk is just so... so... small. Ya know?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who found the baby shower awkward because everyone else fit comfortably into some sort of friend group. Being a reporter for eight years made me relatively adept at talking to strangers, and I also recently had a baby of my own so there was that to talk about...

The baby mamma liked my squirrel sweater, and I was like "I dressed up for you!" (accurate). Being at a baby shower made me really miss my own baby, though. My life has changed so much. I think it's important to get out of the house and see other grown ups and go on dates one-on-one with my husband and whatnot and other. It's important to maintain my identity blah blah blah, but mostly I just like hanging out with my baby. Truth. 

Rays of light

First of all, can we all just say yay to days getting longer? It's nice to be seeing more and more of the sun. 

Here I am, enjoying the sun in a very "me" ensemble. Polka dots are represented. My staple boots. A skirt. A sweater. I wore this outfit to eat swordfish and snuggle my baby and read "Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume. It's my New Year's resolution to read 50 books from my classroom library and so far, so good.

It's funny to read children's books as an adult. You have such a different perspective! Sometimes, I find myself connecting most with the parents (like when I read "Wonder" -- that book is so awesome). Lately, I've been finding myself judging the parents. In general, I try not to judge real-life parents because parenting is hard, and there's more than one way to do it. Fictional parents who spoil one child, ignore the other and are happily confined to super rigid gender roles? Them, I'm judging! Poor fictional kid!

Idealism and red stripey outfits

I was thinking today about my late teens and early twenties when I sincerely believed I could change the world. Like for real. The whole world. On my own. Or at least I thought I could make a significant dent in it.

And I was thinking how much I've changed, probably not in a good way. Definitely in a realistic one. (Oh aging, you do wise us up, don't you?) These days, I listen to NPR and think about how impossible it is to change even the littlest things. I get so mad about so much. I almost made it my New Year's Resolution to listen to/watch less news, but I'm not a news junkie, not at all, and I don't think the answer is to be uninformed. It's worse to have your head in the sand, right? Right.

So here is a picture of my comfy boots, and I am now going to write the comfy thoughts I think to myself to feel better about things -- I became a teacher to make the world a better place. I am for serious that cheesy and idealistic. I know I'm not going to make the whole world a better place. I know I'm not going to change laws or policies. I'm not going to have some big societal impact, but every single year, I can make the lives of the students in my classroom better. Just those kids. I can make it my goal to make them excited about learning, to give them chances to be creative, to listen to them, to encourage them to run down paths of crazy thinking...

And I'm a mama now so of course I have a huge impact on my sweet, little Thomas. That little nugget slays me. Slays me! I can't even deal. There we are in our matching red stripey outfits. Great minds think alike! And by that, I mean my great mind dressed us both. So yes, this outfit. I like it. It is cozy. My thrifted red sweater. My favorite wordy dress. Big ol' socks. Comfy boots. An awesome outfit to wear when feeling exhausted yet still idealistic.

Pretty darn dapper

Remember when I said Thomas's style was going to surpass mine in 2015? Well, consider this post Exhibit A. 

Sure, I have my nice striped sweater, which has become a staple, and my reliable black-and-white maxi skirt, but this outfit is nothing compared to what Thomas has going on. 

What does he have going on? Frog onesie. Bear-in-a-car overalls. Newsboy hat. Let me repeat that last one -- newsboy hat. 

So yeah. He's looking pretty darn dapper. A cutie-patootie for sure!

Snazzy, white coat

Sometimes I think Robert and I are the worst at giving presents, and sometimes I think we are the best. We give each other presents all the time, but we give them to each other immediately. There is no wait time. Also, these presents are often small, silly things like beef jerky (for me) or Takis (for him). I never get flowers because they make me sneeze. I do sometimes get chocolate. I very rarely (if ever!) get something wrapped.

And on one hand -- how sad! Even on Valentine's Day, we buy our present together. We absolutely, positively fail at surprises. This Christmas, I ordered him a pair of fuzzy boots online because that's what he wanted. Then the package came. Then I tried not to give it to him immediately. Then I gave it to him immediately. Then he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I showed him this coat. Then I ordered it online from him for me. I mean, what's that about? But that's what happened. And I'm happy!

I'm happy because now I own this coat. Target was just really feeling me this season coat wise. I saw this coat when I bought the polka dot coat, and I was like "Look lady, you don't need the one coat you are already buying. You certainly aren't going to buy two coats. That's crazy talk." So I didn't buy the fab textured coat with the faux-fur collar.

But then when Robert asked me what I wanted, I immediately knew. I want this coat! I had been thinking about the coat. It was not something I could justify buying for myself (not that it was pricey, it was just so unnecessary), but it was a really wonderful present! It's white, and I have a little baby so I'm only wearing it for special occasions. These pictures were taken on a date night (those are so few and far between). We had the sweetest girl babysit Thomas, and we walked to our favorite downtown restaurant the day before the day it closed. It was a bittersweet meal! That was the restaurant we ate at when we first looked at our house. It's the place we took Sunshine to to eat outside! It was Thomas's first restaurant ever!

Anyway, it was sad that the restaurant was living its last days, but it was happy to eat some meatloaf and mashed potatoes and drink some beer and spend some one-on-one time together. And I was happy to be wearing such a snazzy, white coat!

Polka dots and puff balls

My last name used to start with G, but since I got married, it starts with an M, and it's way, way easier to find an "M" sweater than a "G" sweater, and I have been taking advantage of this for sure. 

Also: My pants have polka dots, and yet I still don't seem to like them. This is unheard of! I mean, they're okay, but they're only okay cause of those polka dots (man I love polka dots). Those shoes are my nude ballet flats. Love them. Also: They match the color of my skin almost perfectly. When wearing this outfit, I totally weirded out a dude in the grocery store parking lot. He was all like "Is that chick barefoot?!" And then he was like "Oh. Okay. Nude flats." At least that's what I interpreted from his facial expressions. 

Let's turn our attention from my mediocre pants (and relatively lovely flats) to my basically perfect baby. No pressure, Thomas, but, you know, you're practically perfect in every way. I'm not saying your're Mary Poppins, but I'm also not saying you're not Mary Poppins, you know? 

Okay, fine, he's not Mary Poppins, but he is practically perfect when wearing this ridiculous winter sweater with a puff ball -- a puff ball!!! Three exclamation points. He's that cute.

Layers

Two layers of solid awesome. First layer: Sheep sweater.

Second layer: Charlotte's Web shirt. Solid awesome. Both layers.

Also pretty amazing and awesome: The addition of Thomas in our new-to-us hiking backpack. We got the new backpack at my brother's house. His adorable kiddos are too big for it these days. I can't wait to take it for-real hiking!

(Sidenote: I wore this shirt to school, and all my students were like "I love that book!" and I was like "Nerdy shirt for the win!")

Style Icon: Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge is such a gorgeous, stunning, straight-up movie star. I love all the glamour shots of her in amazing dresses.

She's intensely glamorous when she's casual too.

Can we talk about the little gloves? Can we talk about the dress? The earrings? The little bag? Let's talk about them. All those things are fabulous. Dorothy Dandridge, you are looking fabulous.

Isn't she such an other-worldly screen goddess? And she was way more than a pretty face (or, you know, other-wordly screen goddess face). She was a singer and dancer and the first African American woman nominated for an Academy Award. Way to be an awesome style icon, Dorothy Dandridge!

And yet...

Here's me standing on the porch of my parent's house in the mountains wearing a mighty-fine dog sweater. It's nice. It's a perfectly nice moment in time... and yet... and yet it needs something more...

Yes! An actual dog to go with my dog sweater! Perfection! And yet... and yet... there is something missing. My heart is calling out for still more...

Mmkay. There we go. Dog sweater. Dog. Husband. Baby boy. Now this photo is complete!

Spots and stripes

So my new black and white polka-dot coat is my new boyfriend, and I wear it all the time, and it goes with everything, and I love it, and I took it to meet my family at Christmas, and I just really think we're going to have a great, lasting relationship.

Turns out, black and white polka-dot coats go with everything. That's according to me.

I especially love pairing it with other black and white things. Pattern mixing at its most basic and graphic! My two favorite prints hanging out and looking good! Oh yes. 2015 is going to be full of black and white polka dots (and lots of black and white stripes too).

Pretty Ladies

Here are some pretty lady bloggers who have entertained me through the holiday season and beyond:

I just started reading Eccentric Owl in the past month, and I'm really digging it. Kristina is a bespectacled stay-at-home mom who wears lots of layers and writes about the joys and, well, non-joys of being a new mom.

I basically love everything Anna from Melodic, Thrifty and Chic wears. Everything. All the things. She just knows how to put an adorable outfit together. I mean look at her knit hat with ears and that great combination of colors!

Jane of Always With Yoo has one of the prettiest, sweetest blogs out there. She's not really an "outfit" blogger, but when you see her outfits, they're always cute. Even cuter is her dog, Piri, whose life is covered at length on the blog. I am a full-on fan of that dog. Piri rules! UPDATE: Wait! The blog was taken down! Sadness!

Caitlin of Healthy Tipping Point is also not a style blogger of any sort. She's a lifestyle/health/mom blogger. She just had baby number two, and I'm loving following their family's adventures. She somehow managed to go to Disney World with a toddler and a newborn in tow. That's crazy, but it looks like they had fun!

Becky of Pink Cheetah Vintage is all about buying second hand first. That's a mindset I can get behind! Look at how fabulous and sort-of Stevie Nicks she is in that dress! Plus she lives in Asheville, one of my all-time favorite cities.

So those are just a few of the tons and tons of blogs I read. I'm totally addicted to them, but I guess there are worse habits to have!

Pants, straight up

Robert says these pants look like PJs, but they have a zipper and a button, so they are straight-up pants.

Non-PJ pants are thrifted. Shoes, coat and purse are all eBay. Shirt is Old Navy and a "tall" size. Tall sizes are amazing! I can't believe I just now made this discovery! My torso is so long! I have such a tall torso! I need tall shirts!