The Small Things

I've had a crick in my neck since Friday that finally went away today, but was replaced by a back pain I've never felt before. It feels like one achy vertebrae in the center of my back. It hurts to breathe and move. I've also managed to misplace something I've always been exceedingly careful to keep track of. It took me four hours to grade one assignment stack and I have two more to grade by Friday. It was also really cold today and I don't like the cold. All in all, not a great day (not necessarily a bad one either), but one fun thing did happen: knitting!

I was elated to pass a few minutes here and there with this gem. It will become Frontenac eventually. It has only taken me a few days to get it this far. My gauge is perfect and the yarn is an absolute dream.

It's the color I really love, but it's also incredibly soft. It is the Fibre Company Canopy Worsted and it gleams like a precious stone. I got it at a substantial discount from WEBS a few months ago by pure luck. It's going to be so cozy this fall! Tomorrow is going to be a crazy long day, so I'll get loads of knitting (and grading :P) done. I can't wait to spend the day with this thing!

In other news, the frost touched John this morning and inspired him to dig out our winter clothes from the back of the storage closet. I pulled a few things out for donation and the trash as I moved them between the tub and the closet or vice versa. I expected I'd be able to part with a few more things than I have. :/ Things fit much more easily in the tub now, but I think that's because a lot of my spring/summer clothes transfer to fall/winter with an added layer or two, not because I got rid of any substantial amount of clothing. I have so many pajamas! Where did they all come from?! Fuzzy socks, too. I never wear fuzzy socks! Mysteries of the universe....

Have you pulled out your winter wardrobe? What are you looking forward to wearing this season? Is it spring where you are? I still want to know what you're looking forward to wearing. :)

For more WIP Wednesday posts, visit Tami's Amis!

Happy New Year!

School started today! I'm excited because I don't have to take classes anymore and can now devote most of my work-week to reading for and working on my dissertation. I feel like I have acres of free time, but I know that's not necessarily true. I'm sitting in on a class and assisting in teaching another that is very heavy on writing (and so, grading). I'm sure I'll still find plenty of time to knit. :)

I'm an academic, so the year starts for me here, in late August. I made a few resolutions at the beginning of the year and, I must say, I'm doing very well! They were: destash, give more projects away, buy more dresses and skirts, buy clothing in muted colors (not bright primaries), revamp the blog, and schedule more posts. I've done everything but the blogging stuff. I'm working on it, though.

New school year, new resolutions, yeah? Well, they aren't that different, really.

• Continue to destash.
• Finish all the WIPs (and become a touch more monogamous with my knitting projects--just a touch!).
• Get rid of unflattering or ill-fitting clothing in the closet and replace with fitting and flattering options.
• Wear heels more often.
• Get better photos of older knitted garments as I pull them out to wear them.
• Revamp the blog, pick topics to discuss on Mondays (not the usual rambling).

I just bought a few little memo books and jotted down notes to help me with two of these things, so let's see how it goes, yeah? How are you doing on your resolutions? If the answer is "not well," forget I asked. ;)

I can't write a post without a picture, so here is Teddy, looking a little fatter and spunkier than you last saw him. Part of my final resolution is getting the bunnies (and hopefully the fish, too) back on the blog. I'll see what I can do!

The Magic of Summer

The indent on the couch got deeper and deeper as last week went on. I finished the pink, lacy sweater Saturday afternoon except for the buttons, which have still not been attached, but will be by this Friday! I've been engrossed in a couple other big knits, which I'll share Wednesday. But today: Remix. Outfits 10-14.

top: Banana Republic; jeans: Gap; shoes: Merona; shawl: handknit!

top: Banana Republic; cardi: Banana Republic; jeans: Gap; shoes: Merona

top: Gap; shorts: Banana Republic; shoes: Blowfish; scarf: found; bag: Walmart

top: ?; cardi: Banana Republic; jeans: Gap; shoes: Blowfish

Still nothing terribly exciting. It got very cold after I complained about the heat, so there's that lesson learned. :) No, neither one of us is mathematically challenged. I didn't get a picture of outfit 13. It was cute though! There's still one item I haven't mixed in yet. I guess I'll have to do it for tomorrow! 15 snuck up on me a little bit!

I'll write a post about the flood picture. John and I went on a documentary adventure on Saturday and took a lot of photos. I hope you all had a great weekend and will have a great week! I'll be back. :)

It's Getting Warm

Outfits 7-9:

blouse: Banana Republic; jeans: Gap; shoes: eBay

I didn't actually wear these heels, but they are in the remix. We only went to Walmart, so I wore my Merona penny loafers, but these heels are cute too! I'll try to wear them this week, but I have a hard time finding the appropriate moments for heels in summer....

top: Banana Republic; shorts: Banana Republic; shoes: none!

Effortless but cute enough for a day in, eh? If I had places to go I'd accessorize more, but it's just been hot and humid days on the couch around here. There are errands to be run soon enough. :)

top: Banana Republic; shorts: Banana Republic; no shoes!

This one was definitely an "it's too hot to try anything fancy" outfit. I don't think that'll be a trend (though it is May in Iowa) because of the recent and on-going stormy weather. I'll try to spice things up for Friday's post. :)

Lazy

I've been totally lazy today, so I'm going to post my FO and outfits in the same post. :)

My FO is a chemo cap for my Slytherin nest-mate's step-mom. She posted on Mother's Day that her step-mom had just cut off all her hair after beginning cancer treatment, which made me think of my mom, who once also had cancer. She wore wigs and scarves. If I had been old enough and known how to knit, I would have knit her chemo caps, so I thought I'd send my nest-mate's step-mom chemo caps I couldn't make for my mom. I think my mom would be happy to see me do it (and help!) if she were still here. :)

I made two, the second with a different pattern, but it was really small, so I think it will stay here and be a baby hat. I made both out of Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK and they are heavenly! Perfect for hairless heads. I hope this one isn't too small. It fit John's head, which I figure is pretty average (mine's giant). The pattern is Lace-Edged Women's Hat, which my friend was knitting for her mom last week and I decided to copy her because it was so pretty. :) The one now designated a baby hat is similar pattern: Race for Life 2009 Chemo Cap. Make the bigger size for an adult!

My outfits have been lack-luster, but I'm not in my pjs or a t-shirt and shorts, so I think I'm winning. Here are outfits 4 and 6. 5 wasn't worth a picture and it was basically 4 with jeans and a blazer.

top and shorts: Banana Republic; shoes: Blowfish

top: ?; cardi: Banana Republic; jeans: Gap; shoes: Blowfish; shawl: handknit!

I bet you missed that wall, eh? ;) I still have two or three pieces to pick out....Hmmm....

Dressed for Summer!

But it feels like spring. Our weather has not been very summery, so my outfits are a bit of a mixed bag. I have honestly not put much thought into all my pieces just yet, so this could get interesting. I still have five items to pick. Here are items 4-9 in outfits 2 and 3.

top: Gap; shorts: Banana Republic; shoes: Merona

top: Banana Republic; jeans: Gap; blazer: I got it at Dillard's?; shoes: Blowfish

I put on outfit 2 long enough to get my bangs trimmed and only put on 3 to go see Star Trek. :) The blazer for 3 is one I used to wear as an undergrad over t-shirts. My greatest fashion trend, I think. I'm going to try to bring it back in a sort of renewed casual glory during the remix. We'll see if it works! I'm excited to summerize the Blowfish shoes, too. They will be super cute in tomorrow's outfit.

Today is John's birthday, so I haven't had time to knit or to photograph knitting, so no WIP Wednesday post today. Tomorrow!

Clarification

I am doing the 15 for 15 with Eliza and a few others. It did start Friday. I did not start Friday because finals week and laundry and I'm still wearing winter/fall clothes in May, etc., etc....I have rectified the situation! I'm also going to do a sort of digest and give you a couple outfits every other day on my usual blogging days because we all know that I have a hard time blogging even on those days with predictable consistency (this will be less of a problem now that school is out). Besides, I wouldn't want you to get tired of me posting every day. ;)

That said, here is outfit the first!

shirt: Mossimo?; skirt: got it at Penny's, I think?; necklace: Forever 21; shoes: Merona

I put this outfit on before dragging my spring clothes out of storage. I have a hard time wearing a black skirt in spring/summer. It seems too wintry. The bright shirt makes me feel a little better about the whole thing, but I'm still meh about it. Since I'm wearing it, I guess the skirt's in the mix! I'll have to spring it up a bit. I didn't have much spring stuff to unpack, so we'll see how this goes. I might need a shopping trip halfway through.

As of now, I have five items picked out. I'll have to chose carefully and share on Wednesday with outfits 2, 3, and 4.

Care to join us? It's pretty fun to see what everyone else is wearing. I get lots of ideas from seeing the other mixers mix it up. :) As a student, I dress like a bum all summer because no one sees me. I definitely need some help with my summer fashion!  I've already got a summer dress bug. :) What do you wear in the summer?

Fourteen and Fifteen

There are not enough hours between Thursday and Friday to do anything I want to do, but I did finish up my 15 for 15!

Blowfish: boots; Target: tights; Athleta: dress; Banana Republic: shirt; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: legwarmers

Thursday's outfit was a minor stroke of genius. If only it hadn't been so cold! After I took this photo, I went upstairs and put leggings on over my tights. They warmed me up quite a bit. The braid was actually only one of many hair-does. It didn't know what to do and neither did I.

Gap: top, cardi, cords; Blowfish: boots; handmade!: shawl

Friday was supposed to be all about staying warm. I could have done better, but I didn't freeze to death, so that's a small win. I'm actually not sure I had't worn this outfit or something very similar to it already, but I was too lazy to look.

So there it is! I feel like this remix was much more successful than others, though the middle was a bit rough. I'm really glad I experimented with a dress and a skirt so that now I feel a bit more compelled to wear them. My heels were pretty much the only thing I didn't wear. I can't wait to do it all again! Well, I can because I miss my other clothes, but next time will be great. :) Thanks for all the encouraging comments and just for reading!

Thirteen

Here is what I looked like most of the day. It snowed all day. Despite my prayers, I didn't get a snow day. :P Going out in the cold is one thing. Going out in the blowing snow and cold is entirely another. Going out into the city that knows no plows is another thing all together. I really hate this city's snow management. Now everything is packed down and turned to solid ice. Who does that benefit? They need to talk to the girl from Idaho. I'd solve all their problems.

I won't rant anymore. Here is today's warm outfit underneath the coat and winter wear. My sweater kept me toasty warm. My pants did not. I should have put my leggings on underneath but I didn't think about it until just this second. Next time. Heels would have been cute with this outfit! Too bad there was so much snow. :P Cross your fingers for a snow day tomorrow! I don't even know if it's supposed to snow....

 Eliza and I are still working through our 15, but go visit Rebecca's blog for fun. :)

Twelve

Gap: top, pants; Blowfish: boots; Target: belt; handmade!: shawl

I tried several combos with this top this morning: skirt, knit cardi, belt, no belt, pants, grey cardi....Finally, I landed here. It's not spectacular, but it's likable. The problem with these last few outfits is that I have a few I really want to wear, but I don't want to wear my dress three days in row. Someone might notice that! I'll have to make do! Three days left.

The hair was just a quick and dirty bun. I'm experimenting with ways to get them to stay and this one is a winner. I do a pony, wrapping the elastic around twice, then twirl my hair until it spins itself into a bun and secure it with a third wrap of the elastic. I had a few sprays of hair poking out this morning and I don't think any more have joined them. I was dying to wear my betta necklace today, but I've decided it needs a longer chain. It won't come off the one it's on, so I'm going to have to come up with some creative solution until I can find the time and a chain to fix it properly.

Rebecca's done on time (how dare she, huh? ;]), but I think Eliza still has an outfit.

Eleven

Surprise of surprises, I did get dressed yesterday. I just forgot to document it. :P It was my striped shirt and black cords. That's it. No shoes, no accessories, just a shirt and some pants. Here's today's:

Gap: tee; Banana Republic: cardi; Athleta: dress; Target: tights, belt; Blowfish: boots; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: socks.

This is officially my favorite outfit! I felt so cute all day today. And comfortable! That's a big thing for me in a dress. I looked much cuter after I put my hair in a pony falling over one shoulder. I was having a decent hair day, so I didn't want to force it to do anything too fancy. :)

I'm super glad that I bought myself short boots because I have discovered that all of my hand-knit socks peek out the top for the world to see! No one asked me about or seemed to notice today's socks, but I smiled every time I looked down at them. They are my Thelonius Andromeda socks. Probably my favorite design- and color-wise. I wear my Dexter socks most often because they are deliciously soft. Unfortunately, I don't have many outfits that will accommodate their orange stripes. ;)

Go see what Eliza and Rebecca put on today!

Nine

Blowfish: boots; Gap: cords; Banana Republic: shirt; handmade by Eliza!: hat

Winter is coming. By that I mean I've begun watching Game of Thrones with my colleagues and there's also actually a wicked storm headed this way. I might get snowed or iced in tomorrow, which would only be a bad thing because I'll still have to go to school Monday. :P Just kidding. School isn't so burdensome this semester. Yet.

This is my inventory outfit. I went to work ready to work and man did I work! I counted patterns 'til the cows came home! Not exactly the work of the lumberjack I resemble. :) The hat's cute, eh? Eliza did an amazing job! It hid my sad braid today. I am terrible at braiding my own hair! I want to teach John so he can do it for me, but he refuses. I could French braid my own hair decently in high school, but apparently that is not a skill you retain after 10 years. Practice makes perfect, though.

Don't forget that Eliza and Rebecca are mixing it up too!

Eight

Gap: cords; Banana Republic: shirt; Old Navy: sweater; Blowfish: boots; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: legwarmers

Here is Thursday's outfit. I had hoped to show you today's too, but it is laundry day and half of my picks are in the washer. :P There will be a couple days next week I'll likely wear two different outfits in a day, so I'll catch up. I had a really cute idea for today, but everything was dirty!

So, this is my cheater sweater I swapped with my coral dress. I feel much better about all of my picks with the sweater in there. I've been told it looks like funfetti cake and I am pretty sure that's why it's my fave. :) I used to layer like this all the time in high school, but I haven't in ages! I don't know why. This sweater didn't really like to be layered. It's pretty thin and bunches up in weird places, but once I got it situated in the morning when I put it on, it stayed put all day! More than anything, it was warm!

Go check out Eliza and Rebecca's outfits!

Seven

My Wednesday tv and John's recitation of Men in Black as we watched took up my Wednesday night! Craziness. Here's my outfit after a day of really, really cold, terrible wind (so pardon the hair).

Banana Republic: top; ?: skirt; Target: belt, tights; Blowfish: boots; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: shawl

I desperately needed a cardi today. I don't know why I didn't grab one. My office swings from molten-lava hot to freezer cold unexpectedly. The tights were definitely not warm enough (they are raspberry-colored, not black like they seem in the photo). I wore boots to walk around in, but I taught in my heels, so they saw daylight today. I kinda feel like I can do this outfit with all of my tops, but it would sort of be cheating to call them different mixes. I need another idea for this skirt. :P

I have decided to cheat, though. I'm going to swap out my coral dress for a sweater tomorrow. I haven't worn the dress, so it could be worse, right? :) It's way too cold for three skirts and four tops are not enough for two weeks. I'm calling this one my hump-slump, so it should be downhill and more inspired from here on out, I hope!

Go see what Eliza and Rebecca are wearing!

Six

Gap: top, cords; Banana Republic: cardi; Blowfish: boots; found: scarf

First day of school. I had three outfits planned for today, but thought they would be wasted on the one and only class I have on Tuesdays, so I'm saving them for the rest of the week,when I teach. This one isn't the smartest, but it definitely got the job done. I tried accessorizing, but this outfit was resistant to it. This scarf was the most agreeable solution.

I've never really worried about how visible my sleeves are beneath this cardigan. Now I kind of do, seeing photos. Does anyone else look at me in this cardi and think, "Her sleeves are visible and they aren't full-length. That's weird."? I hope not. Maybe no one cares. Who knows.

Go see Eliza and Rebecca's outfits!

Five

My five-year-old computer is trying very, very hard to continue to be awesome for me, but it won't charge anymore, so I have decided to replace it. :P I've been a little sad (and mad) about the whole thing, so I have been staying away from the computer a little bit (except to try diagnosing and fixing it), hence the blog silence. The good news is that a new computer is en route and everyone will be happy again soon!

Banana Republic: top; Gap: cardi, cords; Blowfish: boots; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: shawl.

Anyway, here's Saturday's outfit! I have been in my jammies since Sunday morning, so I'm now three outfits behind everyone else, but I suspect it will work itself out. :) This one started as just the top and pants, which looked pretty boring, so I suped it up with the shawl, then the cardi (I knew it would be cold at work), and the necklace. Not bad. I hope accessorizing will save a few other lack-luster outfits I expect to come up, too.

Nothing fancy with the hair. It's a pony I didn't pull all the way through the last wrap, then I slapped a headband on. Usually the headband gives me a headache after a few hours because my head is too big for elastic headbands, but it didn't today. My stylist thinned my hair out a lot last time I had it cut, so that may have helped. High ponytails give me a headache too. Too much hair. (Thanks for the comment on bobby pins in the last post, Ivy {Pumpkin}!)

Rebecca and Eliza have been doing much better than I. Go see what they are mixing up!

Four

Banana Republic: shirt; Gap: cords; Blowfish: boots; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: cardi

Here it is in all it's first-day of wear glory: my new cardigan! I made it so I could wear this outfit, pretty much. It's kind of lumberjack-ish, which I love. It's partly inspired by the idea of this pin. I wanted to mix in my khakis to give it a real try, but 15 slots fill up pretty fast!

The hair is pretty easy (and falling out as I type): make a ponytail, twist some random tendrils, pin them up around the elastic of the pony. Ta-da! I don't know if a) I don't know how to use a bobby pin correctly, b) I don't have the right bobby pins, or c) my hair just isn't grabby enough for bobby pins (which I would find hard to believe), but damn...they just don't like to stay in my head. Must investigate.

I think pretty much all of my remaining outfits involve this cardi, so sit back and enjoy the cabled goodness. :D

Go see more outfits at Rebecca Lately!

Three

Gap: cardi; Athleta: dress; Target: tights; Blowfish: boots; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: shawl, legwarmers

I have used up all my creativity mixing my impossible choices, so don't expect any creative scenery away from this spot in my house. :) This outfit was too monochromatic, so I opted to add punches of color. This is the only time I've ever wished I had pink socks (to balance my pink shawl). I think the red legwarmers were adequate. I have legwarmers planned in the knitting queue for the next few weeks so I won't have to rely on the red ones alone anymore. None are pink.

Nothing too fancy with the hair today. Just a simple half-pony. This is my favorite of the new necklaces. The tights I got the other day. They are pretty fabulous. Target. $5. I'll tell you about the ring sometime soonish. Promise. :)

There are more remixes at Rebecca Lately!

P.S. My remote decided it wanted to start working. It. Is. Awesome.

Two

Gap: cords, top; Kauni?: tank; Blowfish: shoes; Forever 21: betta necklace

I did a shopping thing today. I think it's technically against the remix rules, but it was a necessary evil. I needed a brown belt and tights, so I got some. I also got leggings I'm not sure whether I'll wear, but some much-needed baubles from Forever 21 were the true treasure. Holy crap that store scares me! It's HUGE and so full of clothing! But, the jewelry is cute and super cheap! I'm terrible at accessorizing, so new baubles and a new belt will get me on the right track, I think.

I couldn't leave without a betta necklace. :)

I got a remote for my camera for Christmas, but it doesn't work anymore and I can't figure out why! So frustrating! Hence the dark, inside photos again (because I spent too much time trying to figure out what is wrong with the remote). :P So here's a dark hair pic. I did a simple pony-flip today. I think it's pretty cute! I used to do it all the time when I was young because my mom had bought a little tool. I think it was called Pony-Flip, actually....It is much easier with the tool than my fingers, I'll tell you that much.

I'm pinspired today too! Go visit Rebecca's blog for her outfit and links to everyone else's!

Les Messy Ness

Outfit the First! (I'm a day behind, it seems)

 Banana Republic: cardi; Gap: tee; mystery: skirt; American Eagle: tights; Blowfish: boots

From this pin. In assembling my picks, I realized my wardrobe really lacks any subtle color like the one I pinned outside of my sweater stack. I either have crazy bright colors or gray scale. When I shop, I really need to be more conscious of color-choice!

For the next 14 days, I'm going to try to be more adventurous with my hair. I got this bun to stay up for five hours with just a hairband and two bobby pins. That's kind of a miracle for me! My hair is so thick and heavy that it is impossible to up-do for more than a half-hour before it falls all over the place. Luckily, messy is in now, so my heavy hair has a chance, eh? My make-up was super cute too, but this is a post-Les Mis shot, so...no make-up survived. :)

Go see what Rebecca mixed up! She's got a list of everyone else participating too.