Disco, disco

This vintage cardigan came with a matching sleeveless sweater dress and I'm trying to decide if I should sell them together as a set or just sell the dress and selfishly keep the cardigan even though I have a million-billion cardigans already. So I'm taking it out for a test drive today to see what I think! 

Cardigan - thrifted vintage International Boutique

Shirt - Julie Brown

Pants - Gap

Loafers - Enzo Angiolini

This shirt always gives me a case of what I'm going to call "Disco Ball Neck"...

Two more Post-It note sketches from the 30 day drawing challenge...

Day 18, draw a plant. I drew a Dahlia which are one of my favorite flowers (along with Ranunculus and Zinnias.)

Day 19, draw a doodle. I teach kids to draw these frogs all the time when they are sick and waiting to be picked up by a parent.  The distraction usually makes them forget about the fact that they have a fever and thus are an emotional mess. 

Toodles, kiddos! Have a fabulous weekend (because I know I won't... I'm working an 8 hour shift for the photo booth for a corporate holiday party tomorrow. Oh joy.)

Bruised

After dressing like an overgrown child yesterday, I decided to dress up a bit more today...

Necklace - J.Crew outlet

Shirt - Target

Belt - thrifted

Skirt - American Apparel

Tights - Cynthia Rowley

Shoes - thrifted newstock Target

This necklace is just clear in real life, but always shows up a bit white in photos due to the flash reflecting inside the orbs:

I spent last night photographing a bunch of stuff for my etsy - it's so time consuming but still fun. It's like playing dress-up for three hours! Now I just have to measure, describe, and list them all. I'll probably do it on Sunday, as it's pretty easy to do while watching football (well, after the Vikings vs. Packers game - I'll be glued to that!)

Animal sweatshirts

I feel like this outfit belongs on a 5 year old, but I don't do the twee thing too often, so I figure it's okay once in a while. Besides, it got cold here and all I want to do is wear sweatshirts and jeans every day so today I'm going to. I found this sweatshirt in Marshall when I was there for Thanksgiving. I also got a matching one with a frog on it. They also had one that had a huge caterpillar wearing a hat on a leaf and another one with bowling pins and a bowling ball. I left those two behind though, they were just too crazy, even for me. It was pretty awesome though - I got 2 sweatshirts, a sheepskin vest, and a bomber jacket for $8 total. Gotta love those small town prices!

Polo - from when I was a bev cart girl at a golf course

Sweatshirt - thrifted vintage

Jeans - Bitten by SJP

Shoes - thrifted vintage Santorini

Fuzzy koala...

More Post-It Note sketches from the 30 day drawing challenge (I'm still way behind in posting them! Ahhhh!)

Day 13, draw a comic. I stole this one from an episode of Seinfeld because it always makes me laugh hysterically.

Day 14, draw your fave fairy tale. I don't really have one so I cheated and picked the musical Into the Woods because it has alllllll the fairy tales in it and it's hilarious!

I cheated even MORE and skipped day 15 (at least for now) because it was to draw a family portrait and that's hard! And the last one I could find was from my sister's wedding six years ago... hmm, I'll have to look around for some newer ones and get back to you...

Day 16, draw inspiration. I love looking through National Geographics, especially the old ones!

Plaid and polka dots

Last night was bore, bore, boring. I had to mail a bunch of etsy orders and the post office was nuts after the holiday weekend. I also unpacked from the weekend and did a bunch of laundry and a bunch of hand-washing of "new" vintage stuff. My entire upstairs is draped in clothes drying on towels (some of it I didn't want to chance throwing in the dryer.) Eh, it was boring but at least I was semi-productive. 

Glasses - thrifted vintage American Optical, lenses replaced

Scarf - thrifted vintage

Oxford - thrifted Juster Woman

Jeans - Earnest Sewn

Shoes - Plenty by Tracy Reese

I let myself "sleep in" until 6:30am yesterday because I was wiped out from the weekend yet couldn't sleep Sunday night. But today it was back to early morning yoga and it's nice to be back in the routine again. Gosh, 16 year old me would be so disappointed I'm not doing radical things on a Monday night. Laundry and getting up early to exercise, the life of a 31 year old.

Back to life

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving break. I went to Marshall, MN with Nate to visit his family for four days. We had a big dinner, drank too much wine, ate too much pie, played Wii with his nephew all night, ate too many leftovers, and even hit up the two tiny thrift stores in town on Friday. Now it's back to work!

Blouse - thrifted vintage Wrangler

Skirt - American Apparel

Tights - Cynthia Rowley

Shoes - Unlisted by Kenneth Cole

The Whos

I feel like a Who down in Whoville... for some reason stripes always remind me of Dr. Suess.

Sweater - J.Crew outlet

Polo - from when I was a bev cart girl at a golf course

String tie - thrifted vintage

Bracelet - thrifted

Skirt - thrifted Ann Tjian for Kenar

Boots - Timberland

I've gotta play catch-up for a few days for postings of the 30 Day Drawing Challenge... so here's the next three.

Day 10, draw your favorite candy. Gummi bears are surprisingly hard to draw. I should have picked Reese's Pieces because they're just circles (and are a close second fave.)

Day 11, draw a turning point in your life. I picked moving 6 hours away from home to go to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. I almost went to Ohio State because they offered me a scholarship. I often wonder what would have happened if I'd gone there instead... I would have a whole different life!

Day 12, draw your most recent accomplishment. Hmm, at the time I hadn't just renewed my Professional Rescuer certification so I picked my bike! I recently found a non-working vintage Schwinn Breeze and took bike repair classes to learn to fix it. I took the whole thing apart, repaired it, and now it works! Woo!

Camp Monday

Sorry I was absent from the blog on Friday. I was taking my "CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer" certification class at the Red Cross. So I didn't go to work and wore my biggest, longest cardigan and my highest waisted pants, since I knew I'd be spending 6 hours crouched over a rubber torso on the floor and didn't want to have to worry about the possibility of having a plumber's crack showing. Glamorous. The classes are pretty boring, but it's something I have to do every two years. Though it is kinda funny, like when the instructor comes around with just a bag full of rubber faces that attach to the bodies and she says "Everyone take a face. And a child face. And a baby face." Um, what???? Disturbing.

Saturday, another photo booth...

Necklace - thrifted vintage

Dress - secondhand J.Crew

Watch - Michael Kors

Wedges - nicole by Nicole Miller

Today... keeping it casual on this short, two day work week before Thanksgiving! Woooo!

Blazer - thrifted little boys

Blouse - thrifted Banana Republic

Jeans - Old Navy

Shoes - thrifted vintage Santorini

Fauna a.k.a. I attempt to wear floral pants in the fall

These pants kinda scream "SPRING!" but I decided to try to fall/winter them up a bit. They are corduroy, so I think they can work in the colder months too. Plus it's still like 40 degrees here so I don't need boots/socks yet. I hate socks so try to put off wearing them until absolutely necessary.

Sweater - thrifted vintage Boundry Waters

Pants - thrifted little girls Lands End (resewn by me from long flares)

Shoes - Bakers

I am wiped out. Last night Nate and I did some repairs on his bike. After volunteering and working on other people's bikes for a few weeks, we finally got around to working on the rear derailleur and gears of his bike which weren't shifting smoothly and skipped a sprocket. But now it's all ship shape! Then we collapsed into a pile on the couch, watched Happy Endings and The Mindy Project on hulu and went to bed. I guess I'm still adjusting to waking up at 5:15 instead of 6:30 every morning. Hopefully next week will be easier. 

I haven't done yoga since before I tore my calf muscle this summer. It's very relaxing and energizing at the same time in the mornings but MAN are my legs sore after doing yoga on Mon and Wed morning and doing a Jillian Michaels DVD on Tue and Thur this week. I feel like I'm walking all wonky. I hope I don't look too ridiculous.

Bitch, please

A bitchy shirt, to go with my bitchy dress... the collection is slowly growing. I'll be a full-fledged bitch before you know it.

Necklace - thrifted vintage

Blouse - thrifted Hilfiger

Skirt - thrifted vintage (no tags)

Tights - Target

Shoes - Bakers

Detail shot so you can appreciate the bitchy print and my necklace, made of the finest gold. Ok, so it's not gold. It's vintage so it's probably made of plastic that's now known to cause cancer.

It's good I look like a bitch today, I need it! Work has been crazy lately. My only co-worker (who only works part time anyway) is on bed rest for six weeks because she's pregnant. And she's taking six months off after the baby comes. She's already been gone for 2.5 weeks and it's starting to wear on me. Doing two people's work while still getting paid the same sad, sad public school salary (I make less than a teacher - thus all my extra jobs) is frustrating. Plus I basically am not allowed to get sick or take a day off because no one else who works here is qualified to do my job and it's near impossible to get a substitute for this position without a few weeks notice. Hopefully they are hiring someone soooooooon and until then, I'll be chained to my desk, occasionally lightly hitting my head against the wall in frustration.

P.S. Aaaaaaand just as I was rereading this post to make sure it doesn't have any glaring errors, one of my autistic students came in because she needed a break. And to talk about a little neighbor boy she hung out with dying in a car accident last week. She showed me his favorite Yu-Gi-Oh card, that his mom gave her after he died and that she now wears around her neck in an i.d. pouch. And I realized I can't complain. I love my job. Shitty pay and all. And that we're all just lucky to be alive today. 

Damnit, this post started out funny about how bitchy I look and my potentially toxic necklace and it reaaaaaaally took a turn there. Sorry! This is my life. I've always said, if my office floor didn't have a drain in it, I'd have drown in the tears of children long ago. 

The birds

Today...

Blazer - thrifted little boys

Blouse - vintage via eBay

Jeans - Gap

Clogs - Zigi Soho

Details...

I'm playing catch-up on some Post-It Note sketches from the 30 day drawing challenge... I didn't want to overwhelm you with photos yesterday, so here's the next three (which kinda all go together, theme-wise!) 

Day 7, draw your favorite movie. This one was hard because I didn't know what to draw to represent the movie. So I drew the ground, with a bellbottom, a rugby sock, an egg from the freshman girls hazing scene, and of course a beer can and cigarette butt.

Day 8, draw your favorite animated character. I was torn, King of the Hill is my fave, but I couldn't decide which character to pick. I went with Hank but I also love Bobby and Dale. (For animated shows, I also love Bob's Burgers and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.)

Day 9, draw your favorite TV show. I picked Parks and Rec (and Ron Swanson, duh!) but I also love 30 Rock and Happy Endings (and some dramas like Breaking Bad and Dexter but they aren't favorites since I only wanna watch them one time, not over and over like comedies). Also, I guess Seinfeld would be my all time fave, but I went with something that's still currently showing new episodes.

Last night Nate and I made dinner, watched The Walking Dead from Sunday, and then went to volunteer at Cycles for Change. It was super easy and fun (except for when we had to repair a chain - my least favorite thing to do - it's so messy and you have to be so precise!)  Then we had to double check fixed bikes to make sure all the necessary repairs were done and everything was in working order and shifting and braking smoothly before they get rented out in the "bike library." Then we installed a bunch of rear racks on the finished bikes. Today was day two of getting up early and exercising before work. So far, so good! 

Photo booth (59) and Hello, darkness

Saturday night... another wedding for the photo booth. And it was crazy warm out (like 70 degrees). So, I know I said "wedding season" was over, but somehow I'm working every Saturday this month except for Thanksgiving weekend. Eh, extra money is always good.

Dress - Donna Rico
Watch - Michael Kors

Necklace - Disney Couture

Shoes - Nine West

Adorable skull necklace...

Today... it is snowing. There was a 50 degree temperature drop and now it's suddenly all wintery here.

Cardigan - thrifted Target sample

Polo - from when I was a bev cart girl at a golf course

Tie - vintage via www.stephaniegeisler.etsy.com

Shorts - thrifted Express

Tights - Target

Shoes - Unlisted by Kenneth Cole

Tie detail:

Nate started a new schedule for work today, so now he has to be there at 6am every day (he manages a group home for disabled adults and a new guy moved in who needs some extra assistance in the morning). So I'm going to try to get up at the same time as Nate and just do some yoga before work (I've always wanted to be one of those people who exercised in the morning instead of the afternoon). Today was the first day, and while it suuuuuuuucked getting out of the warm bed, it was nice once I did it. Plus I had extra time to get ready and even emptied the dishwasher too! We'll see how long this lasts before I quit and just sleep the extra hour and twenty minutes!

Checks, please.

Somehow I have accumulated a lot of these bright orange/coral colored accessories so I decided to throw them all on today!

Hair scarf - thrifted vintage

Blouse - vintage Wrangler

Belt - thrifted vintage

Jeans - Gap

Clogs - thrifted Carlos Santana

Well, not too long after I put up yesterday's post, I got a text from Daniel's mom that he was sick. :( Nothing serious, just a bad cold. So we'll have to celebrate his birthday next week! Eh, I figure it's good to spread out the birthday love anyway so it lasts longer and you don't get overwhelmed on just one day!

Nate and I are going to my sister's place tonight to see my mom while she's in town and hang out with my nephew for a while. I'm always excited to see him! Plus, there's pizza involved so that's always a plus.

Red and rust

Today...

Cardigan - Old Navy

Necklace - vintage

Dress - Target

Tights - Target

Shoes - thrifted Joan Helpern Signature Collection

Cloisonné articulated goldfish necklace:

I'm in the mood to whine today, but I'm not going to...  I'm gonna focus on the positive and keep this short! It's my special needs buddy Daniel's birthday tomorrow so we'll see what he wants to do to celebrate tonight. Usually we go out to eat or go buy a big slice of turtle cheesecake (his fave). It's been over nine years, and he's still my "Thursday date" as he calls it. I think this is the oldest photo I have of the two of us (from 8 years ago) on our way to a Twins game (thus the baseball mitt on his head.) Hanging out with him always puts me in a better mood, he's such a card!

Welcome, this is a farmhouse.

Today...

Sweater - thrifted vintage Kentfield Classics

Jeans - Gap

Shoes - Plenty by Tracy Reese

Whenever I look at this sweater all I see is Hershel's farm and clearly that's a zombie sitting by the tree. If you watched season two of The Walking Dead, that sentence would kinda make sense.

More 30 day Post-It Note drawings...

Day four, draw your favorite place. I picked my kitchen because that where I screenprint t-shirts and cook! My two favorite things!

Day five, draw your best friends. I kinda cheated on this one because I didn't feel like drawing people, so I drew some inside jokes and nicknames.

Day six, draw your favorite book. This one was hard. I'm not a "favorites" kinda person, I'm too fickle! But Vonnegut is my favorite author for sure, and this was the first book of his that I read. I'm not sure it's my favorite but I do looooooove it. Also the book has nothing to do with cats or cradles but it is called Cat's Cradle. 

On a personal/political note, MN voted on an amendment yesterday that would have put a ban on gay marriage in our state constitution. I am thrilled to say it was not passed! We don't have gay marriage yet but that was a step in the right direction! Aaaaaaand as a result, I might have been woo-hooing down an alley with a gay friend and two lesbian neighbors. Sorry if we woke you. :) One of my good friends is the director of a non-profit that was fighting the amendment and he also happens to be gay. Last Tuesday, his mom, who lives out of state, had a heart attack. As he was trying to figure out travel to go see her, she called and said "don't come, you've got work to do. Because as much as I'd love to see you now, I'd rather get to see you get married one day." Annnnnnd let's all cry now. P.S. His mother is out of the hospital now and doing fine! And now that the amendment is denied, he can go visit! Woo-hoo indeed.