I Am (Clearly) Extremely Excited

Shirt: Gap (35.00)

Suede Skirt: Thrifted (2.99)

Belt: Vintage via Thrift (1.00)

Necklace: H&M (9.90)

Shoes: MIA via Charity Shop (2.00)

Tights: TjMaxx (4.99)

You might be asking yourself "why is this girl leaping like an idiot?", well I'll tell you: at approximately 11:06 am this morning my travel season for work officially ended. This is huge. It ENDED. Am I over- reacting? It may seem like it, but in the past two and a half months I have driven over 9,000 miles, visited around 60 different high schools, talked to (I'm sure) thousands of high school kids, and have risen for work almost daily at the ungodly hour of 5:00 am. So yes, I think I am allowed to take pictures in a parking lot of myself jumping around like a five year old hopped-up on Pixie Stix and then post said photos on the internet. Yay! So I'm really happy, we've covered that.

Now, my outfit. I have a definite thing for vintage leather skirts. Whether they be suede, nubuck, or leather, I love the high waisted fit and great texture. I found this suede skirt at a Salvation Army in Raymond, Maine which- for those of you who don't know your Maine geography- is out in the middle of nowhere. I still hold to the belief that the best thrift stores are either at churches or in the boonies! My belt is one of my favorites, I love the gold owls! So, if you're ever in Maine and need some thrift recommendations, let me know!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Daily Style / Halloween Past...

Shirt: H&M (20.00 sale)

SKirt: Thrift (1.00)

Tights: TjMaxx (4.99)

Shoes: Target (6.99)

Necklaces: J.Crew (14.99) and H&M (9.90)

Bracelet: gift from Grandma

Travel Bag: Tag Sale (1.00)

I admit: I bought this shirt impulsively and had no idea on how to wear it up until today. I looks funny with jeans, but I love how it almost transforms into a dress when paired with this wool skirt. This kind of baggy silhouette is not a norm for me either- look at me, breaking out of the comfort zone! The skirt was also something in my wardrobe that didn't quite have a place- the waist is elastic, so it always fit a little funny. So, moral is: two wrongs can sometimes make a right, I guess! By the time I returned home from work, it was quite chilly out, hence the indoor photos. I think I finally found the one place in our apartment that I can adequately take pictures. Finally. Our place isn't necessarily un-photogenic, it's just arranged in such a way that every corner is taken. I should also say that Zephyr is in the bag in that right hand image, I was trying to get him to poke his head out- but, no dice.

So, in continuation with my Halloween theme, the below images are from the same week as yesterday's Royal Tenenbaum costumes:

When you go to art school (especially one that is down the road from Salem, MA...yes, the Salem), Halloween is not just one day, but sometimes the entire month of October. Meaning: lots of parties. These images are from the Halloween party hosted by the College in 2005. I was the official photographer of the evening, working in the studio taking pictures of everyone's costumes. I'll admit, my costume kind of sucks- I had just come from my other job at the time and decided to just wear the clothes I had on (if you recognize the shirt, I'm a big psychobilly fan) slap some black make-up on and go as a zombie. But, everyone said I just looked like I got beat up. Oh well. Adria is (again) Richie Tenenbaum and Emily is a Troll Doll (complete with jewel belly). Emily is amazing.

I think we're just going to have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that, Richie.

Oh, What a rainy day!

Vintage Plaid Shirt: Thrift (1.00)

Vintage Suede Skirt: Thrift (3.00)

Shoes: Target (6.00 sale)

Tights: from Adria (free)

Necklaces: both H&M (both about 9.00)

pictures by Chris

Today, another round robin high school fair, except this time there were four schools. I'm exhausted- especially after sitting in Boston traffic for two hours on the way home. Luckily for me, it's pouring outside so I didn't feel the least bit guilty for coming home and crawling back into bed. This is an outfit that I picked out ahead of time this past weekend, which made getting dressed at 5 am so much easier! The shirt I picked up at a Salvation army in Fitchburg last week and the skirt is from one of my trips to Maine (I think I found it at a Salvation Army in Raymond?). The shirt has that perfect worn-in pre-loved feeling! Now, the image below is in honor of ChicFaced's comment from my last post. I've been posting costumes from halloween past, and the one below is from about four years ago when my friend Adria and I went as Margot and Ritchie Tenenbaum:

Adria is far more convincing than I (note her hand drawn striped shirt- such commitment), and I have no idea why I'm wearing pantyhose, but we had a good time reciting lines from the movie all night. As you may come to realize, most of my costumes are thrown together last minute. This one is no different. I think I decided to be Margot as I was walking to Adria's house. Also, on a side note: that terrible celestial poster in the background does not belong to either of us.

Daily Style/Over the Weekend...

Monday just comes all too soon...

Dress: Forever 21 (19.00)

Shirt: Hand-me-down (free)

Shoes: Target (9.00 sale)

Tights: TjMaxx? (5.00)

Belt: Thrift (1.00)

Necklace: H&M (9.90)

Oh, I'm not ready for it to be Monday at all. I just want to crawl back into bed and wait for the weekend to come back around. This morning I trekked up to Plymouth, NH for work- which was a pointless drive- the kids just weren't into it. The good part was that I got to meet up with a friend for lunch, so my trip wasn't a complete time waster. My weekend was pretty lack-luster, a family event took up most of Saturday, and Sunday was spent (finally) doing laundry and cleaning my half of our bedroom. I feel like life hasn't been very exciting lately, I guess that's just to be expected when work is a little too exciting. Chris and I did go to see Where the Wild Things Are last night, critics can say what they will about the plot, but I thought the cinematography and camera work was beautiful- so dreamy! Below are just a couple of shots from around the house, we picked up some candy corn at Target! Yum!

Daily Style...

Velvet Elvis...

Velvet Blazer: Jack by BB Dakota via TjMaxx (19.99)

Jeans: BDG via Urban Outfitters (gift)

Tee-Shirt (worn underneath): J.Crew Outlet (9.99)

Scarf: H&M (12.00)

Heels: Guess via TjMaxx (24.00)

Gold and Onyx Bracelet: gift from grandmother

(Photos by Chris....whoops!)

I love this blazer, it's one of my favorite TjMaxx finds, one of those treasures that catches your attention just before you leave the store empty handed- peeking out from a cluttered rack. Maybe that's setting the scene a little too dramatically, but the fit alone sold me on this jacket instantly. I love the fabric too, it's perfect with jeans and a tee-shirt, anything more and it would be too much. Today was a good day: I actually got to see the inside of my office! It was nice to just sit at my desk instead of running around frantically from school to school. I did have a (very) early AM presentation at Beverly HS, but that was easy- it's just down the road! This next week will be the calm before my storm- next Friday I leave for Memphis and Nashville where I will be attending National Portfolio Day, then I fly back on Monday only to leave again on Tuesday for two weeks (two freakin' weeks!) for upstate New York. So, yes, I am savoring these next few days of relative calm. Anyone have recommendations on what to do in Nashville and Memphis?!

Daily Style: Seven Minutes is Far From Heaven

Oh, Wow. One of those days. I Tell ya.

Necklace: Forever 21 (5.99)

Cardigan: H&M (16.00)

Dress (belt included): H&M (24.00)

Tights: Target (5.00)

Shoes: Target (sale 6.99)

Today started out on a very low note. I awoke feeling abnormally well rested, "this is too good to be true" I thought. It was too good to be true, I was so well rested because it was 6:53! I needed to leave for today's college fair in seven minutes! Somehow the stars aligned and this outfit emerged from the mountainous pile on my floor. What's this? I actually feel like I look nice today?! Yes! Despite forgoing all makeup, save for a swipe or two of mascara, I'm feeling good. Finally. I wish I could say that this college fair was worth scrambling for, but it wasn't. Just a lot of standing around and repeating "no, we don't offer a nursing degree, we're a fine arts college, see, it says that right there on my sign." Work has been stressful lately, I'm counting down the days until the end of my travel season in December. I can't wait! Did I mention it snowed the other day?

Jen, from JenLovesKev is wearing the same tights today! Yeah Target!

Daily Style/Over the Weekend...

I'm sorry for the lack of creativity here...

Hat: Burton (Chris')

Overcoat: H&M- last year (69.90)

Dress (worn underneath): American Apparel (40.00)

Tights: TjMaxx (4.99)

Socks: Target (6.99)

Boots: Alice & Olivia for Target (39.00)

I'm definitely having one of those weeks (sad, considering it's only Monday). This weekend was another weekend spent working my bum off: Saturday I attended a portfolio event in Cape Cod and Sunday involved driving to Worcester for an incredibly unproductive college fair. To be honest, I'm feeling a little blah about these photos, I've got some major skin issues right now- for some reason every Fall, my skin goes berserk and all of a sudden it's like I'm 16 again- and yes, I'll admit to some light photoshopping of one specific problem area right between my eyes. I did get to go to a party this weekend, where, as exhibited below, I had a lot of fun. It was my friend Bea's birthday and we celebrated with cake, beer, and dancing! Also, notice Chris' GOLD LAME' MAINE HAT. How amazing is that? I picked it up at Goodwill during a day trip to Brewer last week for work. Win!

Also, a big welcome and thank you to all of my new followers! The fact that I broke 100 last week hasn't gone unnoticed, and I'm going to try and plan something for the near future!

Over the weekend, on the road and then some...

SweaterDress: TjMaxx (14.99)

Necklace: H&M (19.90)

Tights: TjMaxx (5.00)

Shoes: DIY

Well, happy one hundredth post to me- I wish it could be more interesting! To be honest, I've been working so much that when I'm not moving a million miles a minute, all I want to do is sleep. I've seen way too many sunrises for my taste within the past week, and way too many 18 hour days! I don't have much to report for my weekend activities, mainly because I worked both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I headed to Hartford, CT with two other people from my office to represent at the National Portfolio Day at HartArt and then got up and did the same on Sunday in Boston! NPD's are like college fair's specifically for prospective art students, there is a representative (sometimes a few) from each major fine art college and the student is able to have their work reviewed. Fun, for about 10 minutes, at which point I've seen enough drawings of hands to last a life-time. One nice thing that took place was a family dinner at my friend E's house. (Almost) Everyone who I've been missing was there and we all sat around and talked and ate (and ate and ate!). It was lovely!

I have tomorrow off! Chris and I have some fun Autumn-centric things planned, I can't wait to do something not work related!