A lot of blue...

Top: Thrifted (BR) / Pants: Consigned at Periwinkle (Gap) / Coat: Sound & Matter via DownEast / Shoes: Gabes / Bracelets, Belt: J Crew final sale

I love the surprise on someone's face when, after they compliment my outfit, I tell them it's all second-hand or purchased from a shop like Gabes or DownEast, which sells damaged, irregular, or overstocked items from other brands for super cheap. I get some kind of narcissistic, yeah-thats-right-I'm-the-bargain-shopping-queen kind of high.

Then I check out my less than desirable photo results { twilight shots are sooo difficult, but I had to work late that day...} and my pride is yet again humbled. Kind of like when I stride confidently up to a door, push insistently for several moments, then turn to the Husband and say, "this door is jammed," as he pulls it right open.

Somehow that seems to happen quite a lot.

Speaking of a lot, I recently introduced my students to the Alot. I just love him. And they've practically been begging for an intro. He's my most favorite hyperbolic creature ever. I'm pretty sure some of my students didn't get him. It's okay. Alots are known for being better at grammar than many high school students. They're better at everything.

For the record, I titled this post "A lot of blue" because I'm wearing two shades of blue...if you count my coat. Cold snap courtesy of the Cascades. Anyhow, two shades isn't really a lot, I know, but I'm going to humor myself that it is. My point, however lost it may now be, is that I'm wearing a lot of blue. I don't have a blue Alot. That would be weird.

George Sand

Jeans: Go Jane / Tank: Charlotte Russe / Cardi: BR Outlet / Necklace: Ruche / Shoes: Gabes

I've been dying for a pair of aqua jeans since I first saw some by Guess, but they were pretty pricey. I found these at GoJane.com for only $27. They only have them in white or turquoise now, but they're also having a 25% off sale for Memorial Day weekend!  I rolled them up a bit on the inside of the legs to get the peg-leg look.

Now, onto a more technical matter. I thought I'd explain why I've chosen to use a nom de plume, or pen name, for my blog. After hearing from multiple techie-snoop students, in every school I've taught, that they've tried to Google me,  I decided that while teaching, I very much want my private life to be just that-- private. In fact, I kind of enjoy having a private little public outlet { as much as I enjoy a good oxymoron...} So I decided to go all George Sand* on the public realm and adopt a non de plume.

I first considered Lucie, my high school French class name. My sister and I kind of used to watch I Love Lucy every night on Nick at Nite before bed. Well, that and the last scene from Dirty Dancing. 

And honestly, who told the people at Nickelodeon that their current Nick at Nite line-up was acceptable? It's supposed to be about oldies! Ten years ago shows from the 50s-70s were playing. Now we've got shows from the 90s-00s playing. Shows that are still on syndication like, everywhere. I miss Lucy, Dick, Jeanie, and Samantha from Bewitched. 

I also kind of want to be Samantha. But that's besides the point. 

Then I thought about Elle, which is part of my middle name. But while I do love her dazzling abilities with diction, I'm not really the Elle Woods type, which is the first thing that pops into my head when I hear that name.

Rue just, somehow, seemed the easiest, best fit. So in the end, I decided that I could, indeed, share a name with both my blog and the brave / adorable tribute from District 11 and, voilà, a pen name was born.

Yea, I'm also that kind of dork. The YA fiction-loving kind. HP is my hero.

P.S. Aren't these lilacs simply gorgeous? Our garage and entire bottom are lined with large, lustrous lilac bushes, and it's pure delight for both the eyes and nose. Perfume of Mother Nature, I tell you. She can't be matched.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*George Sand = The nom de plume for Armandine-Aurore-Lucille Dudevant, neé Dupin. She was a progressive French novelist, perhaps the most well-known female French author, particularly popular for her Romantic works, which she published under a masculine name to give them more exposure in the 1800s. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Five Years

Please pardon the sun in our eyes. Husband was particularly affected.

Five years. I can't believe it's been five years. They've positively flown by, yet at the same time, it seems so long ago, our life back at the University. We've gone from living in an apartment in a dorm, to living in a virtual vacation home by a lake. We went from the cliff of a waterfall to the alter of a temple. Now we're poised on another cliff, about to take a plunge-- less tangible, but oh so very real. And exciting things are going to come of it. This is our year, I just know it. Happy anniversary, mon cher.

I love you.

Nautical

Pants: Victoria's Secret / Top: F21 / Necklace: Macys / Shoes: Sperry / Bracelet: Second Hand Brighton / Watch: Fossil

So, I got these pants at Victoria's Secret. People are always surprised when that is my response after they ask. But seriously, VS has the best deals. I found them a few years ago for ~$20, and I had a free-shipping offer. They're one of the few companies to which I will give my e-mail address, because they send so many offer codes and really excellent coupons by post. Their sales section online is fabulous, and a few times a year I get a free pair of unders with $10 off of a bra or a free $10 to spend in their shop. Who can complain about that?

Anyhow, this week has been a killer. I've pulled two almost-all-nighters, graded almost 100 essays, and baked more cinnamon rolls and cupcakes than I can count. I also made my very first diaper cake, the picture of which I must have accidentally deleted. But trust me. It was dang cute.  The Husband was so proud. And also kind of weirded out. 

Then I realized that I'd missed this month's Everybody, Everywear.

For whatever reason, that was terribly distressing to my little blog-life. So I got up super-duper early { 20 minutes totally merits a duper } this morning to take a picture in my nautical outfit just for you, dearest blog. You should feel very special. I hate to get up early. Especially on weeks when I've gotten very little sleep as it is. 

However, this weekend the Husband and I are celebrating five years of marriage. Five! I can't believe it's already been five years! And we just might have booked a little couple's massage session, which will more than make up for one crazy, wild week. Oh yes, yes it will.

Is it Friday yet?

Editor's Note: Proof of diaper cake's dang cuteness found! You may hold your applause. :)

Hello, Spring!

Popcorn's popping on the apricot tree { okay, not yet actually...the apricot tree has yet to bloom, but the cherry trees are out! }, everything is turning lovely, brilliant green, and I have a springy new skirt. I cleaned the house this past weekend, made some plans for a fran-tabulous summer holiday { hint, hint }, and let the Husband talk me into seeing The Avengers, which was surprisingly funny, even witty, at times. I now have a crush on The Hulk, and it's all his fault.

AND--- I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the school year. C'est presque arrivé.*

Summer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*C'est presque arrivé.  = It's almost here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodbye, Winter

Dress: ModCloth / Skirt as Slip: Gap / Belt, Necklace: Ruche / Boots: Ugg / Shoes: J Crew via DownEast / Watch: Fossil / Bag: Bunco Prize

This winter was fairly mild compared to last year, and I think { fingers crossed } it's finally over. Blossoms and sunshine are finally in abundance. We no longer huddle in the smallest room of our house around the electric heater. Nor do we need our mattress warmer. Getting out of the shower is no longer the hardest part of the day, and I no longer dread coming home to a freezing house. Merci, merci, merci, Madame Spring for coming earli(er) this year! In return for such kindness, I feel I must bid a proper adieu to Old Man Winter. I won't be missing his icy greetings any time soon. Or ever, actually. In fact, I'd be perfectly satisfied to get my fill of snow at Crater Lake each year if he'd just leave me alone.

We love to hit up Crater Lake for a nice after-church drive, and wanted to get up there for a last look at the snow. A few thoughts:

1) I purchased this dress with this particular lake in mind. I may have bought it in hopes of entering a photo contest to win a gift card, which would in effect pay for the dress and leave me extra for some other lovely. Then the contest closed before the dress arrived. Boo.

2) The snow didn't get as high as last year along the roadside. Evidently, this displeases me.

3) My birthday shoes, snagged at DownEast for under $30, are way slicker at modeling than I am.

4) I love my Husband and Hound. And Spring! Le printemps, je t'adore!*

And yes, this is their new official pose. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Le printemps, je t'adore! =I love you, Spring!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning People

Dress: Thrifted / Button-up, Scarf: Consigned at Periwinkle / Shoes, Belt: Gabes

I thought this outfit perfectly represented perkiness, the morning absence of which has been on my mind lately.

See, I really wish I were a morning person. You know that psalm--“early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise?" Well, who doesn't want to be healthy, wealthy, and wise? So I went through a phase when I advertised that I was, actually, one of those perfect “morning persons." Then I tried my mightiest to be one. Turns out, that whole "make it happen" bit doesn't always work.

I can be a bit of a hardcore perfectionist. How's that for a self-denial oxymoron? My childhood nickname may possibly have been Miss Perfect. { It was.} And perfect people are morning people, right? So I needed to be a morning person.

I pictured myself bouncing out of bed like Cameron Diaz in the first Charlie’s Angels movie { I even got an i-Pod alarm to facilitate this }, tidying my bed, whipping up a super cute outfit and hairdo, then dancing my way to the kitchen for a breakfast of oatmeal, French toast, or pancakes with fresh berries and OJ while listening to NPR or checking the news. I’d take the Hound on a brisk walk then have spare time to catch up on housework or divulge in web surfing before heading to work. Doesn’t that sound lovely?

But I wasn't fooling anyone. Try as I might, I never succeeded.

Not even a little, tiny bit.

I still burn with shame when I hear that others read their blog rolls in the morning as they eat breakfast. Real people actually have that kind of luxury time in the morning? Perhaps I could, too, if I didn't hit snooze until the last possible minute before stumbling out of bed, half awake...

Then I brush my teeth and stumble through the kitchen in my pjs and out the door with the Hound, just long enough for her to do her business. I feed her and again traverse the kitchen, back to the bedroom, where I stare at my closet with no clue what to wear because I’m still too sleepy to care.  I may even crawl back under the covers until just a few minutes before I absolutely must leave. I rarely do anything interesting to my hair or tidy my room, and I never leave time for breakfast, news, Cameron Diaz-esque dancing, or web surfing. Still quite grouchy, I leave for the day. 

My “I’m a morning person” phases ran intermittently through high school and college. Eventually, I learned that if I wanted to look nice, I needed to shower and lay out my outfit the night before, to minimize thinking required in the morning. I doesn't seem to matter how early I go to bed; when I wake, I just can’t muster the inspiration to care. Exhibit A: my hair in the photo above. And the eh smirk that goes with it. Too bad I can't lay out my hair the night before, too.

So I guess you could say that I’m going to have a jolly time when motherhood rolls around. I say bring it. Maybe it will get my bum into gear and I’ll become that kick-a morning person I’ve always aspired to be.

Meanwhile, I hope all you morning people out there appreciate your early hour perkiness! I’m mad jealous.

P.S. Happy May Day! It's finally May! It's still a bit snappishly cold today, but we've got flowers and blossoms all over. This apple tree behind me is set to burst into bloom any day now. Yay for real florals!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post linked up to the Pleated Poppy's What I Wore party!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------