February Freeze, vol. 2: stalking pays off

     I love silk, especially silk with colorful pretty prints, but I love a bargain more.

  Trina Turk top (Nordstrom Rack)

      Red cardigan (JJ Basics, previously loved)

      Amrita Singh "Marion" earrings (HauteLook)

      6-strand red lucite bead necklace (eBay)

      Tweed jacket, FCUK for Sears (gifted)

Cheesy dating/flirting books (gifted - thanks, Sis!)

     Therefore, I stalked this shirt at Nordstrom Rack, waiting patiently for the price to drop and keeping my fingers crossed that no one would snap it up in my size. At last, the price tag sprouted a 65% off sticker, and I ended up paying a grand total of $17.
     (Cue upbeat romantic music, as Carrie and her silk shirt dance out of the store).
     One of my favorite kinds of love stories. :)

     I love silk, but at the same time I don't wear my silk shirts enough. I think they're a little too fancy, but then it's heartbreaking that they just hang in the closet while the T-shirts get to have all the fun.
     From the topic of stalking, it's a short hop to thoughts of Valentine's Day (or is that just me?) -- which is what inspired me to add a red cardigan for some pink and red fun.

    

    

a happy ending

        Today was my big presentation for storytelling class. My topic was Hans Christian Andersen. He wrote "The Princess and the Pea," "The Little Mermaid," "The Ugly Duckling", "The Snow Queen" and many other stories. While many of us are familiar with the basic outlines of his stories, it's surprising to read them in their original form! The language is beautiful, and his imagery is almost cinematic.
         It wasn't mandatory to dress up for the presentations, but most of us did in some way or another. Andersen often made paper cuttings while he told stories, so I thought this dress would be perfect. The print is reminiscent of his paper cuttings (a very elaborate creation of his is shown below).
    

       Looking at this photo makes me realize that these tights are definitely the wrong length for me.  I suspect they're supposed to be capri length on someone of average height. They were a necessity, however, for surviving the air-conditioning. I'll be looking for an affordable, longer pair sometime.
      It's a big relief to be done with my presentation! All I have left is an informal reflection that's due Sunday. I'm really happy to be done with my first full-time semester. It was intense and rigorous at times, but I'm glad that I did well and stayed focused. For next semester I'd like to think about having some kind of schedule to keep myself on track with readings and a way to organize my papers better.

Goodbye, ponytail! I'm excited about getting my hair cut tomorrow.

     For my next post, I'll be reviewing two pairs of boots. I'll be keeping one pair as a birthday present to myself, so I'll be trying both pairs on with different outfits to help me make a decision. I hope you can come back and help me decide! :)

Try-it-out Thursday: it's not easy being green (and red)

     I decided to continue my exploration of color, and since the holidays are coming up, I just had to take on red and green. I thought mint would be a fresh alternative to the forest green usually associated with Christmas.

          Can you tell I'm still giving this red cardi a lot of love? :)
          Today I met the group of first-graders I'll be working with for the next 5 weeks, and they're kind of adorable. :) Our Green Thumb Club will be growing lettuce and beans, and learning science along the way. I'll admit I've never grown anything from seed before, but I've got my fingers crossed that this will work out. :O (The kids actually applauded when I announced at the start of the class that we were going to grow plants).
         Next week I'm hoping that we can start our bean plants, so I'm trying to sprout some beans in a zip bag. I put the zip bag on a windowsill that gets some sun, and I can't help checking them multiple times a day. I know that's such a kid thing to do, but I'm excited about seeing that first itty-bitty sprout!
        An excerpt from today:
        Me: What plant can we see outside our classroom? (a large tree)
        First-grader: A pumpkin!
       Happy Thursday!

Try-it-out Tuesday: the versatility of red

    Way back when (OK, maybe a year or so ago), I thought black or brown were the best colors for things like shoes, jackets, or anything you would end up wearing often. I figured it matched everything and no one would notice how often you wore it. Color was pretty, but seemed impractical.
     This cardigan has changed my mind.

JJ Basics cardi, AE camisole.

    While I've paired this camisole with stripes before, I like how pairing it with red makes the bright colors in the camisole's floral print pop. (Florals might need to be added to the list of surprisingly practical items too!)

Forever 21 flower ring

    For a dash of whimsy I added my flower ring (a garden can never have too many flowers, right?) I also put on faux-pearl studs from Forever 21 and a classic pearl pendant.

Pearl necklace (previously worn by mom)

      Happy Tuesday! What's something you once thought was impractical, but now can't live without?