OOTD: Navy and Raspberry - plus an Anthro shoe review

Poncho-cardigan:  Merona for Target, sz. small

Sweater dress:  Brooks Brothers, sz. small

Belt:  Merona for Target, sz. small/medium

Tights:  Merona for Target, sz. small/medium

Shoes:  Miss Albright Lake & Land Heels, Anthropologie, sz. 7.5

This OOTD was from Wednesday and was inspired by Anthropologie's Lake & Land Heels by Miss Albright.  I ordered these shoes last week after I decided I needed a non-black pair of oxford-like heels.  After reading the reviews and seeing the sale price - $79.95 - I decided that my closet was sorely missing this pair of shoes.  Here are the shoes on their own:

After wearing these shoes all day, I can reaffirm the positive reviews on the website.  I'm on my feet pretty much all day, and these shoes kept me comfortable.  Some reviews on the website said to size down, but I ordered my regular size 7.5, and they fit just fine.  The adjustable ankle strap allowed for a tighter fit. 

I love the blue suede and light brown leather, and the tassels are the perfect touch.  I got compliments all day.  My only two complaints are that one set of tassels came untied several times throughout the day and the one strap dug into my ankle a bit when I walked.  After wearing the shoe all day, however, both problems seemed to be somewhat alleviated.  I think once I wear the shoes in, they'll be fine.  This shoe is still available on Anthro's website in sizes 7.5 - 11. 

My CTO: Comfy Teaching Outfit

So, I just found this draft in my archives, and I thought I had scheduled it to publish last week on Thursday (9/15/11), but apparently not.  I'm going to be honest; I'm too lazy to fix it to make it more timely, so I'm publishing it as-is. 

Do you ever have a day where you just want to be comfy?  It's starting to get chilly here, and that initial autumnal drop in temperature makes me want to curl up in a ball.  Plus, I'm going to a Blink-182 concert (yes, sometimes I have the musical tastes of a 15 year old boy), and today at school, I just wanted to be comfortable.  This outfit tends to be my go-to early fall/spring Comfy Teaching Outfit.

Glasses: Prada

Sweater: Ralph Lauren (from the outlet about 5 years ago)

Dress: Converse for Target

Cami: N.Y. & Company

Shoes: Converse All-Star Chuck Taylors

When I first wear this outfit every year, the kiddos go crazy for a couple of reasons.  "Miss T.!  You got glasses?" is always the first thing I hear.  Nope, children, I'm blind as a bat and wear contacts, because my glasses are Cokebottle-thick.

Don't mind the rat's nest on top of my head.  Rainy days tend to make me look like I've stuck my fingers in a toaster.  I included this picture for two reasons: 1.  You get a better glimpse of the glasses, and 2.  You can totally see the contrast between my classroom (above) and my fiance's classroom (in all of my OOTD pictures, including the first one in this post). 

Okay, so anyway, the second thing I hear when I wear this outfit is, "Miss T.!  YOU WEAR CHUCKS?!"  I love telling my kids that I wore my Chucks to my high school graduation with my cap and gown.  I was class president, so I was the first person in line to march onto the stage, and my Chucks were on display for everyone to see.  This story normally gets me some street cred with the ninth and tenth graders.  And really, that's all I can hope for in my life, right?  ;)

The Chucks are not only an instant conversation piece, but MAN, are they ever comfortable.  If my feet need a day of rest, I slip these puppies on with this dress, khakis, or cafe capris and I'm instantly calmer and ready to tackle the day. 

What's your CTO?  Those of you that aren't teachers, what do you wear on days that make you want to curl up and go to sleep?

Missoni for Target: My Picks

Instead of sitting at home lamenting the fact that I'm not attending NYC's Fashion's Night Out tonight, I'm sitting at home blogging about it.  Well, sort of.  One of tonight's FNO events was a three-day temporary opening for the new Missoni for Target collection.  I've never been super-crazy over Missoni's woven zigzag patterns, but now that the designer is making an accessible line for us regular folk, I figured I'd give the long-adored designer a chance. 

The line is available beginning September 13th (this Tuesday!), but I took a gander at the lookbook to decide exactly what I want to snag, because word on the street is that this line will sell out fast.

Here are my faves:

I can't get enough of that scarf on the left.  Love the colors, love the pattern, just love it all.  I have a feeling it would go really well with J.Crew's liquid silk skirt in bright dahlia or tippi sweater in bold peri, vibrant flame, or even warm mustard.



These rainboots are only $34.99, and they are just adorable.  They would look darling with jeans and a trench.  I love that the colors are neutral enough that these can be worn with any number of colors.  They'd look adorable with a sweaterdress and tights, too!



How great are these stacked heels?  They look like they'd be comfortable, and I love that the Missoni zigzags are pretty subtle.  I am also a huge fan of the black and brown together.  The color combination makes this shoe extremely wearable.  If I get nothing else from the collection, I am going to try to make sure this shoe is in my shopping cart.



I love this outfit, but I would never be able to pull off wearing both pieces together.  I'm also not sure that I'd be able to pull off the shorts at all.  My hips are the widest part of my body, and a horizonal zigzag stripe doesn't exactly seem like it'd be flattering, but I'd try them on, nonetheless.  I think the sweater would be extremely wearable if it were paired with a pair of capri pants, cords, or a black pencil skirt, or trousers.


I adore the pattern of the dress on this little girl, and if I had a little one of my own, you best believe she'd be rocking this frock.  I can only hope that this is only the first of several lookbooks, and Target carries this pattern over to a dress in my size!



The fiance looks so good in blue AND purple, so I'm definitely going to be purchasing one of these ties for him.  The toughest part is going to be deciding which one he gets!





Okay, so this might not be a very practical item, but how sweet would it be to ride around the neighborhood on this?  It's almost like a work of art!  I actually might not mind exercising if I could do it while rolling over the hills on this bike in my matching rainboots.

Have you seen the Missoni for Target lookbook?  What do you think?  Are there any items you are planning to purchase?

OOTD August 25: A Day Date

Top: NY&Co.

Shorts: Mossimo for Target

Necklace: Target

Bracelets: NY&Co. and Kards Unlimited

Shoes: Candies for Kohls

The top I'm wearing here is New York & Company's Big Pockets Silky Blouse, and at $39.95, it's a much cheaper alternative to J.Crew's Blythe and Elodie blouses.  I'm wearing an XS, and I probably could have sized up to a small.  However, when I wear this top to school, I plan on wearing a cami under it, as it is pretty sheer.  I will probably keep the top button (which is gapping in this picture) unbuttoned.  The buttons gapping weren't really an ongoing issue when I wore this top yesterday.  I just happened to be standing at juuust the right angle when the fiance snapped this picture for me. 

The fiance and I are trying to suck all of the life we can out of our remaining few days of summer vacation (sob), and we decided to go on a day date to Pittsburgh's South Side.  We spent the better part of the day moseying the streets of the South Side, stopping in a few clothing boutiques (I found a new vintage clothes store!  Pics coming soon of my loot) to see what we could find.  We also stopped at a great pretzel place called The Pretzel Shop for a quick snack.  We ended our South Side jaunt with a quick spin around H&M, and I found a couple of cute pieces for fall. 

After our afternoon at the South Side, we went to our local mall to get some information about registering at Macy's and Crate & Barrel.  Then, we ended our day date with dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.  I may or may not have polished off a piece of chocolate tuxedo cream cheesecake for breakfast this morning.  ;) 

Happy Friday, everyone!

OOTD: Red and Recycled

Note: I wrote this entire post, then went to publish it, and it disappeared completely. So I’m sorry if a bit of anger or frustration seeps through my writing. BLAH!  This shall be my lesson of the day: always type in Word first.  Anywho, onward and upward.

This past weekend was busy busy busy, guys! Being the hardcore wannabe athletes that we are, my fiance and I had ultimate frisbee playoffs on Saturday, so we got up bright and early to compete with our team. Sadly, we lost both of our games in a double elimination tournament, but we decided that we earned a date night.

We went to a fun restaurant called BRGR. If you're in the Pittsburgh area, I highly suggest you try it. Yummy yummy…burgers, of course! If you are a friend of the bovine, they also have turkey and veggie burgers. Those are on my list to try next time. We also saw waitresses carrying milkshakes that looked to-die-for, but we went to our favorite fro-yo place for dessert instead. First, a little something for the foodies:

A well-done cheeseburger with white cheddar cheese on a whole wheat bun. It was perfection.

Here’s what I wore:

Tank: Anthropologie

Jeans: Joe’s Jeans, Anthropologie

Cardi: Merona, Target

Shoes: Mossimo, Target

Feather earrings: Local farmer’s market

Wooden bracelet: A vendor at our hotel in Punta Cana

Books bracelet: Kards Unlimited

Even though the fiancé likes to call this my “marching band shirt,” I love it. The orange-y, fiery red color is beautiful, the cut is super-flattering for a curvy figure, and the buttons are the perfect extra adornment. My only complaint is that the panel in the middle is pretty low, so I can’t wear this shirt to school. It’ll just have to make weekend appearances in my wardrobe until next summer.

I can't resist showing you a close-up of the bracelets I’m wearing:

As an English teacher, I melt over almost all clothes and accessories that are literature-related or inspired. This I Read Banned Books bracelet is no exception. Each link of the bracelet features the cover of a book that has been frequently banned, and some of them just happen to be my favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird, Howl, Huckleberry Finn, Go Ask Alice, and Alice in Wonderland. I love wearing this bracelet to school. It’s my own little way of sticking my tongue out at The System ;)

I made a polyvore for today’s OOTD, (which is showing up at the end of this post for some reason; Blogger and I are about to have it out, Greasers/Socs style) but I made a couple of changes. The earrings, bracelet, and cardigan are nowhere to be found online, so I found similar substitutions. The recycled bag is actually sort of a larger version of the wristlet that I currently carry, which is made out of recycled newspaper from Mexico. My wonderful mama bought it for me at an airport on one of her excursions, so I’m fairly sure I won’t be able to find it anywhere on the web either.

The fiancé and I were up and running all day on Sunday as well, with picnics and a visit with his grandmother, who is in town. During the summer, I don’t mind when my weekends are jam-packed with plans, but as the school year approaches, I’m hoping our schedule calms down a bit. I’m not someone who benefits physically or mentally from going non-stop, yet that always seems to be the way we live!

Was your weekend as hectic as mine was, or did you get to relax and recharge?

Red and Recycled by alldressedupnoplace2go featuring tote handbags

J Crew knit cardigan
$62 - jcrew.com

Top
$30 - anthropologie.com

Joe s
$158 - anthropologie.com

Tote handbag
$60 - momastore.org

Tribal bracelet
£15 - chiarafashion.co.uk

Drop earrings
$42 - urbanoutfitters.com

Women's Mossimo® Verity Peep-Toe Pumps - Taupe : Target
$21 - target.com