Thankful

Dress: Consigned at Periwinkle (Trinity) / Top: Gap / Pants: Macys (Union Bay) / Belt: J Crew Outlet / Booties: Blowfish / Jewelry: F21

This was our very first Thanksgiving all by ourselves. The Husband was on call, so we couldn't go anywhere. I very briefly considered taking it easy since I spent the first part of the week out East for my cousin's wedding. I'm oh so glad I didn't. We've been relishing leftovers for days. This meal will keep on giving for almost a week :)

My little feast surprised me. Many thanks to Jennie-O for an easy peasy turkey with a pop-up timer, All-Recipes for a delicious seasoning blend and whole-wheat rolls, Safeway for whole wheat stuffing mix on clearance, Meta Given for a silky smooth pumpkin pie recipe, and my grandma for teaching me how to make crust {though mine is never as pretty as hers was.} Thanks to my favorite little consignment shop for my perfectly modern Pilgrim of an outfit for $13, to my Slurpee Hound for her warm snuggles on cold nights {and for putting up with my sweater-gifts}, and to my Scott for cutting wood, keeping our stove toasty warm, and consenting to a weekend of chick-flicks with me.  But most of all, thank-you to my kind and gracious Father in Heaven, for providing me with so many lovelies for which to be thankful.

P.S. The Husband wore his fuzzies all day. In honor of the feast, of course. So no family picture. But we did get a good one of the Hound, all festive in her new holiday sweater whilst watching for scraps. She's a hawk when poultry's afoot.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Magenta Leopards

  Dress: Target ($10!) / Tights: Kohl's / Cardi: Maurices / Shoes: Ross / Belt: Nordstrom Rack / Jewelry: Gabes (Monet) / Scarf: DownEast (LOFT)

Confession:  I went through a phase where I thought I was obsessed with leopard print. Because MTV was still cool {barely}, and so was decking yourself out with matching velvety leopard pajamas, robe, and slippers while roaming the dormitory at night. My little Ford Tempo was also bedazzled with cherries, at the time, mind you. It was the early 2000s. I'm calling it 90s after-shock.

It lasted a bit, then I realized I was walking around in head to toe leopard and driving a car that screamed 70s wild-child wannabe.  A few days later I relinquished yet another attempt to define my personal style, and all things leopard and cherry were cleansed from my life.

These days I've upgraded to a Dodge Caliber, decorated with dog covers, and flannel pjs. Sometimes I sleep in tonal striped satin. Because I'm classy now. I also keep my cherries for food and my leopard a bit more subtle. In case you were wondering, the leopard on this dress is subtle in that it's black and white. Black and white leopards don't exist, people. Right?

You may be led to believe I'm wearing this to honor the current animal prints trend for EBEW, but this month we're honoring colored tights instead. I've always loved colored tights.  I had a hard time choosing between red, gold, and magenta. La vie, c'est difficile, eh*? But then again, anything goes with faux leopard, no?

 

P.S. In case you missed all that snow up there, it got cold here. No worries. Husband and Hound are nice and toasty.

They melt my heart. 

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*La vie, c'est difficile, eh? = Life is difficult, eh?
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Pièce de Résistance

Scottish Skirt  & Silk Blouse: Consigned at Periwinkle / Shoes: Gabes / Socks: Ross / Belt & Pearls: J Crew Final Sale

  

I've finally found it. My teacher's pièce de résistance*. It only took 2.5 years of teaching, and voilà, there it was. Like magic, a tartan skirt and the perfect silk blouse both appeared simultaneously in my favorite local consignment shop. For a very reasonable price. $10 for a new, hand-made skirt from Scotland? Yes, please!

Finally, gone are the days when I'm asked for my hall pass during prep or upon entering the office.  Gone are the days when students ignore me because they think I'm one of them. With this baby, I'm a real teacher now. And I managed to achieve this all whilst avoiding the proverbial calf-length denim jumper with pompons and bright buttons sewn into my cardigan. 

I'm celebrating with my current it-snack of blueberries with shavings of Dubliner cheese. Grown up me is a party animal.

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*pièce de résistance: masterpiece, highlight

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