10 Years

This past Saturday was my 10 year anniversary. I can't believe I've been married for 10 years, it's crazy! We celebrated by having dinner at an ocean side restaurant in NJ. It wasn't overly fancy or overly casual so I went with a dress that fit the atmosphere.

Dress: Loft Outlet (summer 2011)
Sweater: NY&Company (spring 2011)
Shoes: Bandolino (spring 2011)
Wristlet: Coach Factory Store (summer 2012)
Necklace: Charming Charlie (spring 2011)

Cupcakes & Polka Dots

I picked up these green polka dot shorts at the Old Navy sale last week. I thought they were fun and super cute and first color that came to mind to pair them with was navy. I love navy and green together. This navy cardigan was perfect for when the weather cooled drastically down this past weekend. 

I headed down to my parent's house by the beach to for a visit and picked up some adorable new accessories at a local shop. I also picked up a delicious cupcake and thought I would add the picture.. for anyone who appreciates sweets as much as I do :) 

Tank: Loft Outlet (recent)

Cardigan: Old Navy (spring 2010)

Shorts: Old Navy (recent)

Shoes: Bandolino (a few years ago)

S'mores cupcake.. Yummy! 

Typical

Today is one of those days that you either have to be at the beach, in a pool, or inside with the AC on. We have the AC/pool plan going on today. First with errands that have to be run, in places like the supermarket where it's always cold. That's why I'm wearing a sweater on a 95 degree day. Then we'll go home and go in the pool. And then probably back inside the with the AC. And this is pretty much a typical summer mid-week day for us. And a typical mid-week summer outfit for me!

Shirt: Target (several years ago)
Cardigan: Loft (summer 2011)
Shorts: Loft Outlet (summer 2012)
Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction Flower Gem (Summer 2010)
Jewels: Sunshine Daydreams local jewelry shop

Green and White Stripes

There is something about stripes and summer. Well stripes are great any time of year, but I especially love to wear them in the summer. This green and white dress is another Old Navy sale item I picked up last week and I wore it out to brunch on Friday.

I'm happy to report that Thursday's pedicure with R went just fine. He helped me pick my color, sat and played his electronic game, and the ladies loved him!

Dress: Old Navy (recent)
Sweater: Loft Outlet (recent)
Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction Flower Gem (2 years ago) 

Add caption

Shades of Blue and Red

The heatwave has broken in the northeast which means I finally felt like attempting to style my hair and put on a pair of flats because I didn't have to worry about my toes sweating. Actually, I had white sandals on at first and then felt like I needed a little punch of color so threw on the red flats. I'm not a huge fan of wearing closed toed shoes in the middle of the summer, only because I have to wear closed toed shoes the majority of the year here in NJ, but I figured I would step outside of my comfort zone.. flats in the summer, wow I am really living on the edge :)
You can't really see in this picture but the tank top has these cute metallic details on the shoulder which makes it a little more interesting then your plain tank.

Tank: Loft Outlet (last summer, but they had the same tank in other colors, I picked another one up in a bright pink shade last week)
Shorts: Loft (last summer, but they had a similar style in the Outlet also)
Shoes: Gap Outlet (spring 2010)
Necklace: local jewelry shop Sunshine Daydreams 
Bracelet: local jewelry shop Sunshine Daydreams 

The Color of Summer

Tank: Loft (last summer)
Shorts: Gap Outlet (last summer)
Shoes: Old Navy flip flops (old) 

Hope everyone had a great 4th! I love this orange tank from Loft that I picked up last summer. It's a fun looking shirt. I have had a little trouble wearing/styling it as it's a tad voluminous due to all the tiers of fabric that overlap. But I still always find myself pulling it out because I love the color and the white dot print. Orange is really my color of summer. I have a lot of stuff in various shades!

Oh and it's obviously little R's color too so it's fitting he jumped into the picture with me. We went outlet shopping yesterday and for anyone with little kids, try to hit up your Gymboree outlet. They were having a great sale and I picked up about 7 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for R for only $35. I also picked up 2 pairs of shorts, 3 tanks, and a shrug sweater at the Loft outlet for only $60! We are getting ready for our trip to FL in August and I figured I would stock up on the warm weather clothes with all the good sales going on. I think this might be it for me shopping wise for a while. I have a ton of sundresses, enough shorts and tanks, and 3 bathing suits for our trip. The only thing I do NEED is a pair of comfortable walking type sandals for Disney World. Other than that, it's time for me to cool it with the shopping. Let's see how long I can last :)

NY&Co...

Funny story about these green pants. I wore them on the 1st day of our state testing a few weeks ago. I was feeling kind of exhausted that day and had my teacher assistant dismiss the kids (we dismiss right from the classroom). She opened the door for one of my parents and told her that her son needs to focus and do a better job of listening to directions on day 2 of the test. The mom kind of nodded, half listening, then looked at me (I wasn't far from the door, still in eye-shot) and yelled "I LOVE your pants, I have the same pair, from NY&Company right???" I smiled, nodded my head and my T.A. closed the door. We both looked at each other, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I mean, who cares about the test when the teacher is wearing such awesome green pants! We decided to laugh, because.. I mean it was kind of funny, especially the way she yelled into the classroom and all. Now we've affectionately nick-named this parent "NY&Company". These green pants must be a big seller this spring!

I am linking up with Tara from Mix and Match Fashion  for Teacher Appreciation Week. I appreciate all the great teacher's out there!!

Jacket: Loft (fall 2011)
Sweater: Gap Outlet (Spring 2012)
Pants: NY&Company (Spring 2012)
Necklace: Loft Outlet (last year)
Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction (last year) 

Shoes, not in the picture

Saved

I saved this outfit photo from a Christening we attended a couple of weekends ago. Not much else to say except that I really like these pants from Loft. Oh and allergies stink. I can't wait to go to bed and (hopefully) sleep off this nasty headache!

Tank: Kohl's Lauren Conrad (recent)
Jacket: Loft Outlet (early spring 2012)
Pants: Loft (recent)
Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction (spring 2011)

Pink and Grey on Valentine's Day!

I hope the blur is at least hiding my wrinkles :) 

I've always thought of Valentine's Day as more of a "pink" holiday than a "red" one. Red is for Christmas if you ask me. And I happen to like pink more than red so there you go!

Oh and Valentine's Day + 100th Day of School falling on the same day = INSANITY
The good news is.. 100 down, 82 to go!

Jacket: Gap (really old)
Dress: Loft Outlet (fall 2011)
Boots: Nine West via Macy's (fall 2011) 

Monster Truck Attire

This past Saturday we took R to the Monster Jam truck show. It was my first monster truck experience and I was stumped on what to wear. I figured some plaid would be fitting :)
The show was fun, I was really pulling for the truck called "crushtation" in the shape of a giant crab. Alas, crushtation did not pull it out for me. The next day we headed to a superbowl party. Definitely a "guys" weekend but I realized that I don't need any tea parties, I'll take the monster trucks with my boys any day :)

Plaid Tunic: Loft Outlet (Spring 2010)
Navy Sweater: Banana (winter 2011)
Jeggings: Macy's (fall 2010)
Boots: Nine West via Macy's (fall 2011) 

Seasonal

Sorry about the blur, still not
the greatest with the pictures! 

It has been hard to dress seasonably when the temps have been in the 70's and 80's in the northeast. Today was an actual "seasonal" day of overcast skies, light drizzle, and temperatures in the low 60's. I loved it!  I like a warm spring, hot summer, and brisk fall and I don't like when Ms. Mother Nature messes around with those 3 seasons. Winter, on the other hand, well she can disrupt that one all she wants! I'll take 70 degrees in January any day of the week :)


Corduroy Shirt Dress: Old Navy (Fall 2010)
Leggings: Loft Outlet (recent)
Boots: Kenneth Cole Reaction (2 years ago)
Belt: Loft Outlet (2 years ago)

A little appreciation goes a long way...

As I mentioned in the last post, it's been a long week. Kindergarten in September is tough.. the kids are babies and just want to play all day long, but I have an actual (challenging) curriculum that needs to be taught and to break them of that "play" mentality takes a lot of time, patience, and constant repetition and reinforcment. I have repeated phrase such as "don't forget to raise your hand" and "please don't get out of your seat" and "please push your chairs in" so often that I no longer have a voice. I think I mentioned in yesterday's post that I have a little girl who has cried all week long and doesn't speak a word of English. I have tried to help her by speaking comforting words in my fa-cocked version of Spanish/Italian. I speak a little Italian and since Spanish and Italian are so similar I have invented a new language.. Spatalian anyone? Well it's been working for me this week! The little girl's mom decided to gift me with some jewelry to thank me for being so kind and patient with her daughter. I have to say it felt very nice to hear her sweet words and get the gift. Teaching is an often thankless job and a little appreciation goes a long way, at least for me!

Jacket: LOFT (recent purchase)
Shirt: Old Navy (last year)
Pants: LOFT outlet (last year)
Shoes: Bandolino (many years ago)
Ring: gift from a parent

I am not a huge animal print person but decided to throw
these on to "spice" up my outfit. 

Part of my "bling" gift. It hilariously matched my shirt and
necklace almost perfectly!

Wake Me Up When September Ends!

This week has been nuts! First full week of school, open house, loads of paperwork, a little girl who cries every single day and doesn't speak a word of English.  Plus I still have my little boy and household to look after. Wow, is that really my life right now? I'm exhausted just reading it!

I've been tired and not kept up with this blog. It is pretty typical of me to start something and not follow through. I don't want this blog to become another example of that. The problem is I get down on myself over stupid things, like I see my traffic has gone up, but not my comments or followers. This makes me think that I have crappy content! Oh that pesky self confidence thing.. I just keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for me and no one else.

Anyway, enough of the pity party and on to an actual outfit. Not really thrilled with this one, but in my defense the AC in my classroom is broken and it's been pretty hot here in NJ so I've just been grabbing easy dresses to wear all week. I did love my open house outfit but was way too sweaty and tired to take a picture! Here is my favorite part of this outfit:

The accessories of course! 

Dress: LOFT outlet
Cropped Sweater: Old Navy
Shoes: Blowfish (via Macy's)
Necklace: Sunshine Daydreams Accessory Shop

Long week OVER!

Yay! Is all I have to say. I made it to Friday. Here is to having some relaxation this weekend. I think I've earned it!

Today was red, white, and blue day at work in honor of 9/11. I did not wear the white sweater all day, it got way too hot and the AC in my classroom is broken. Other than that I liked this little outfit. I always feel like twirling when I wear this dress because of the ruffle on the bottom :)

This weekend I plan on eating a  big juicy burger. I am starving! I feel like I barely had time to eat all week. Hopefully I can sneak some shopping in as well. Anyone else have exciting plans?
Happy weekend everyone!!


Dress: LOFT outlet (last year)
Cardigan: Old Navy (last spring)
Red ballet flats: Gap Outlet (last year)

Back to School Blues..

... Literally, as in my navy blue trousers, and figuratively as well, because who wants to go back to school on a gloomy, rainy day after being home for a glorious 2 months? This will take some getting used to, as it does every year. The good news is, I will get used to it, just as I do every year.

Today was the first day back, with no kids, just meetings all day so I decided to keep it casual.  Here's to September, lots of caffein to get me through my days and lots of wine to help me de-stress at night!

Shawl: LOFT recent purchase

Trousers: Gap (several years ago) 

Tank: Old Navy

Silver Belt: LOFT Outlet (last spring)

Necklace: LOFT Outlet (last spring) 

Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction (last year) 

I did not wear these shoes today.. it was way too rainy, but they are much cuter than
the shoes I actually wore, and since I PLANNED on wearing them, I thought I
should include them :) 

With my house in disarray I've had to
find creative places to take pictures,
like my son's bedroom! 

Crank Monster

Eh today is just one of those days. Rainy this morning, kind of sunny this afternoon. I've had little motivation to do much of anything. I am the type of person who must leave the house at least once a day or I tend to go a little batty and get really cranky. I couldn't think of anything great to do so it's been an indoor day complete with nap for both R and me. The nap made me a little crankier somehow! Thank goodness we have outings scheduled for the next couple of days! 

Anyway, I feel I'm in a clothing/outfit rut.  Or maybe I am feeling slightly intimidated by this fashion blogging, like everyone is really creative and interesting and I'm just kind of boring. But then I tell myself this is me, this is how I dress.  My hair isn't always going to be perfect, I don't have all the latest and greatest clothing. Maybe someone will see something cute and get an idea, maybe they won't, but I want to keep this blog up for myself and see how it evolves. OK that's over.. phew I feel better now :)  

Tunic: LOFT outlet (last year)

Jeans: Banana Republic outlet (2 years ago)

Sandals: Alfani (Macy's) a really long time ago

Jewels: Lia Sophia