shades of green

sweater, Tommy Hilfiger outlet

Black Rivet leather jacket, Wilsons

scarf, Zulily

Jolt pants, Macy's

      I'm so glad that I settled on getting this sweater in green instead of a neutral - it's nice to have a little color on a cold day. 

     Had a great Thanksgiving weekend - drove down to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, and came back in time to bake a pan of oatmeal, accomplish the usual chores, start reading M.T. Anderson's "Feed," and enjoy two hours of aikido practice.
     It was a little rough waking on Monday, but it helped that my students had double specials - an extra hour to run copies and putter around the classroom helped me to ease back into the grind.
    Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to think about Christmas decorations. I'd like to get a small artificial Christmas tree ... one of my favorite things about December is eating breakfast by the light of a Christmas tree! It makes those workday mornings a little more fun.
   

Hsi Lai temple, Los Angeles

secret weapon

top, cardigan, pants, and socks -  Old Navy

necklace, eBay

Born "Arletta" oxfords, Nordstrom Rack

      My secret weapon to beat the Monday-after-a-long-weekend blues?  Quirkily patterned socks. The ones I'm wearing are maroon with hedgehogs. I know that you can't see the pattern, but I kind of like that - it's enough for me to know that they're there.
      It was a great long weekend - I lounged about the house on Friday, then did 2 hours of aikido on Saturday. Practice was followed up by lunch at a new ramen spot; I've never had Brussels sprouts in ramen, but it was surprisingly tasty. I walked off lunch at Target, then went for green tea Kit Kat gelato at a place that's been on my must-try list for a while. On Saturday evening I cooked a chicken tortilla soup that got rave reviews from my husband. I got some grading done, cleaned out my burgeoning work bags, tackled the usual weekend chores, and started reading John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines" and continued with Cheryl Strayed's "Tiny Beautiful Things."
     I firmly believe in refraining from Christmas decor and apparel until post-Thanksgiving, but that didn't stop me from buying a pair of reindeer-print socks and a mini string of snowman holiday lights from the Target Dollar Spot. I'm considering whether I should put the lights up at home or string them along the front of my desk at work.