so glad tomorrow is friday. right now i'm in the midst of a predicament wherein it's warm and nice outside, but freezing inside my classroom. so, the tights are basically making daily appearances, much to my annoyance.

the outfit -- big striped green and white old navy dress, black tights and grey flats. almost wore my red flats in the early morning grog, then realized i am not father christmas.



the lunch (and snack) -- half a almond butter + strawberry preserves sammy, carrots, blueberries, almonds, and a fig granola bar. i had to make this lunch this morning which is why it's so boring.

i was at the school for 14 hours today. yep. it was "know your school night" for parents, and now i want to sleep for seven hundred and fifty hours. unfortunately, that is just not in the cards.

the outfit -- simple turquoisy-green t-shirt with floral patterned navy skirt from nordstroms, and grey flats. changed for parent's night, but no picture.



the lunch -- i forgot to take one this morning so this is midday, after i had eaten some fruit. so, strawberries + pineapple, black bean taquitos and a babybel cheese.

i lucked out and got a new skirt this weekend courtesy of my dear former roomie, kerri (who recently bought the dress of the
same pattern), so obviously i had to wear it as soon as possible, which meant today! lucky for me, today was also a sunny delight of a day so my choice of going tights-less was not in vain.

the outfit -- white forever 21 basic yet embellished t-shirt, black patterned american apparel skirt, and my red flats. i'm sure you all are sick of seeing black every day of my life, and so i'm going to strive for more color. just so you know, i'll probably fail in that quest.




the lunch -- leftover whole wheat pasta (with butter, salt n pepa on it) with asparagus, zucchini rounds and dried cranberries. and the tippity-top of a fork up there in the corner.

ugh yeah, last friday was a trainwreck. i turned my alarm off in my sleep, it was all bad. BUT it's a new week today so here goes nothing. it's a weird half-way between summer and fall, so i'm doing a lot of tights and dresses. just to clarify, if it was the dead of winter i'd be doing a lot of tights and dresses. it's my thing.

the outfit -- a dress that i love, it's black with floral print so two of my very favorite things (from forever 21) with black tights, black flats, and a cardigan that is more coral-y and less pinky-orange than shown.



and, the lunch -- (sorry its blurry!) grapes + strawberries, almonds, roasted veggie crackers and a babybel cheese. snacks o'plenty, just how i like to eat.

ah, the sweet release of thursday. i love thursdays -- they just hold so much promise. also, apologies again for the wonky lighting, i'm clearly going to have to re-figure this out. but anyway,

the outfit -- a navy blue dress with black rosettes around the collar, black tights, and grey flats. it's a gross, rainy kind of day so this seemed to fit.



the lunch -- some new things!! half a strawberry preserves sandwich, grapes, cucumber, and one of those babybel cheeses. i always love me some cheese.

the lighting in my room in the wee hours of the am is really touch and go, so i apologize for today's pictures. i just can't bring myself to do them in the living room where potentially any roommate could see and judge me.

the outfit -- plain white t-shirt with a purple gap skirt, belted with my eternally awesome forever 21 peacock belt and my black flats.



the lunch -- i was feeling fancy today. cheese and roast vegetable crackers (kashi brand, so yummy), with green grapes and a fig bar. very french country-side picnic on an americanized budget, right?

I just had this blog entry all typed out and blogger failed on me. LAME. the point is, today was a gorgeous day weather-wise, and i make no apologies for
wearing white after labor day. if there is going to be a fashion rule at all, it should be based on a specific temperature rather than an arbitrary day!!

the outfit -- much loved and worn old navy white skirt, white tank, and deep mint-y colored sweater, with black flats. super simple.



the lunch -- i am going shopping later!! more variety tomorrow. today, though, half an almond butter + strawberry preserves sammy, almonds, carrots, and blueberries. boring but delicious, nonetheless.

the days seem to just be flying by! today was actually a lovely day, weather-wise -- perfect fall weather. and i KNOW what you're going to say upon seeing my outfit. YES its after labor day, and YES im wearing white. and i make no apologies for it! if that's going to be a rule, it should be based upon a temperature precedent, not a random day!

so, the outfit -- much loved (and worn) white old navy skirt, white tank and dark mint-y color sweater. with black flats. super simple.



the lunch -- i told you, i'm going shopping later!! so this will be more exciting tomorrow. for today, it's half an almond butter + strawberry preserves sammy, almonds, carrots, and blueberries. yawn, maybe, but delicious nonetheless.

ah! all sorts of tardiness for this post. let me just preface the outfit by saying i was obviously in mourning for a weekend that was too short by about seven hundred days.

the outfit -- basic black jersey dress, belted with brown skinny belt, black tights, and my black and pearl striped sweater. i also looked at this picture right as i was rushing out the door and realized i hated the look of the shoes, so i switched to my basic black flats, but no picture because i was late (of course).



the lunch -- bean + cheese taquitos, string cheese, edamame and dried cranberries. shopping time is coming upon us, therefore the selection over here is a little less than wonderful. still delicious, though!

didn't post yesterday because i got home from school and immediately poured myself a large mug of boxed wine, but of course i couldn't leave you hanging much longer (appreciate the tone). anyway, fall has really descended on us here in worcester, and i begrudgingly broke out the tights for today's outfit.

the outfit -- a new plum dress from forever21 that makes me feel slightly mad-men esque when i wear it, paired with regular black tights and of course, the gray flats. i was going to go with black flats but the black of the shoes and the black of the tights weren't quite right together, alas.



and then, the lunch -- pita bread + carrots with garlic hummus up top, and strawberries, pineapple, and almonds down below.

so, today was one of "those" days. like the days when you're on duty and the same kid throws up at both recesses (the second time, i looked at him and almost shouted, WHY THE F ARE YOU STILL HERE!?). the days when a kindergardener and her grape juice collides with you. the days when you spend half hour at the bathroom because the 10 boys in your room seem to need to use a gallon of soap and thus take seven hours washing it all off. yep, one of those days.

the outfit -- it's turning into fall slowly but surely, so i paired my boat neck striped (it's like an orangey kind of coral & grey-cream) shirt with my grey old navy skirt and my grey flats. simple and easy.



then, the lunch -- just a plain ol' almond butter + strawberry preserves on whole wheat, herbed roasted chickpeas (from same batch as before), some asparagus stalks, and some blueberries. again, easy peasy.

i love my second graders. they are so lovely and loving and (often unintentionally) hilarious. i do not, however, love that i have to wake up BEFORE THE SUN in order to hang out with them. also, the lack of morning light is seriously making my picture taking difficult. excuse the poor quality, but i'm going to have to set up a lighting station or something because apparently my bedroom is too dark (because i should still be sleeping!!).

the outfit -- a coral-ish colored plain t-shirt with an elastic waisted skirt that i made myself. the pattern is little black olive branch type things on a cream background. and then my "teacher shoes", aka my black flats that have a little buckle and are slightly pilgrim reminiscent.



the lunch -- ugh this picture makes me angry you can't see how delicious it was. that is roasted garlic hummus in the heart cup, with carrots, string cheese, and then up top are grapes and almonds + dried cranberries. lots of snacky-type foods, because i like to eat that way sometimes.

and so, the second week begins. they're really easing us into it -- first a 3 day week, now a 4 day week, and then next week we'll get the real deal going. my camera was being kind of wonky this morning, so the pictures are even less good quality than usual, but eh i'm too lazy to care that much.

first, the outfit -- i adore this dress. i got it for like $10 at forever 21 two or three years ago, and i adore it. my bff even has the same one. i love that it's casual enough to wear on a regular summer day, but dressy enough so that you can (and i have!) wear it to a wedding. and then i just wore my simple black flats (target, of course!)



and the lunch -- whole wheat pancake sandwiches (almond butter + strawberry jam), black grapes (my favorite color of grapes, fyi), carrots and roasted chickpeas. i made a batch of the chickpeas this weekend -- just bake til crispy, toss with olive oil and various herbs and spices, and voila! easy peasy. i like the crunch factor.

...and, the first week is over! very exciting and very exhausting. i'll be figuring out a better way to take pictures of my outfits this weekend, so i'm sure that means you (all?) will be waiting with bated breath.

first, the outfit -- my same black dress from Old Navy that I wore sometime earlier in this blogging adventure, paired with my AWESOME new peacock belt (close-up to follow), my black and off-white striped cardigan from Nordstroms, and my light green-ish but really more of an...aquamarine? colored flats with gold embellishments.





and the lunch -- a bean + cheese taquito, with salsa in the little cupcake holder, a string cheese, almonds, and strawberries + pineapples.

well, i fell asleep in a nyquil induced daze last night so i didn't pre-pack my lunch or pick out my clothes (blerg! took so much precious time this morning), so this was all hastily thrown together. my second grade girls kept complimenting my dress, though, so i guess i did something right.

first, the outfit -- a jackson-pollack like shift dress (mostly red, i suppose), with a skinny brown belt and a brownish cardigan. and my grey flats, which go with pretty much everything.



then, the lunch. half an almond-butter sammy, some salt + pepa rice chips, carrots (i was going to pour some ranch on top but alas forgot in the haste), and dried cranberries. literally the first things i saw.

first day of school! i didn't cry, none of the kids cried, and we're al still alive, so i'm going to chalk one up in the success column. i have absolutely zero time to write, so...

the outfit (all newly purchased) -- a white embellished v-neck plain tee and a grey, high-waisted scalloped layered edge skirt, both from forever 21. velvet bowed red flats, gojane.com



the lunch -- asparagus, grapes & blueberries, salt & pepper rice chips, a cut up veggie-dog with spicy mustard, and a fig cereal bar.

okay, i think i've figured out a better way to take pictures, but it involves a little work and frankly, at the moment, that sounds like a deal breaker. what it really means is that these lame pictures will have to suffice until the weekend when i can devote one of my glorious three days off to perfecting the new system. until then --

the outfit. navy and a true green are one of my favorite color combinations. i think it looks really fresh and only halfway nautical, which is good because full on nautical and you look like a snobby tool. also, green just happens to be my favorite color. So, big green and white striped dress from Old Navy, paired with a navy blue cardigan from le Gap. We can't wear flip-flops and my only other sandals are black (pictured yesterday), and while I do like navy blue and black together sometimes, I wasn't feeling it with the green. So my grey Gap ruffled front flats to the rescue!



and, the lunch -- a premade bean + cheese taquito, cut in half to fit, edamame (made from frozen pods, I just defrosted and then popped the beans out), quinoa salad (quinoa, black beans, corn, chives and yellow peppers), and red grapes. I really love variety in what I eat for lunch, I can't do the same sandwich and carrot sticks over and over, so you'll definitely get to see a lot of variety in my food stuffs.



tomorrow is the first day for the students -- wish me luck!

first day! and i'm already dying of exhaustion. and the kids weren't even at school today! just us teachers, for a professional development day. it was...less than stimulating, but i certainly was excited about my first day of professionalism! also, i'm going to have to figure out a better system for taking outfit pics -- but for now, this shall have to do. a food and fashion photographer i most clearly am not, but then again i never promised i was!

so, the outfit -- (excuse the lovely neck wrinkles, i was concentrating really hard)



simple black summer dress from Old Navy, belted with one of my old faithfuls, a teal-ish Nordstrom's purchase, and then a light purple sweater from Nordstroms as well. I love the sweater because it has the look of a really comfortable and really floppy suit jacket (with a kind of collar thing). And then my black sandals, which I love. I love wearing basic black pieces and then adding splashes of color, like with the belt and cardigan. you'll see this look a lot, i'm sure.

and the lunch --




first, you see the ice-pack i had to specially make (by freezing water in a baggie) because my bento box is so teensy. and then i stuck my string cheese on top, and squished some blueberries into an adorable heart-shaped rubber cupcake holder. that's the bottom box. and then in the top box, there are some almonds, and some pancake sandwiches. i made a big batch of whole wheat pancakes yesterday morning, and froze them. for lunch today, i just defrosted 2 small pancakes, smeared a bit of almond butter & strawberry preserves on them, and folded. easy peasy.

alright, so that's day one. things will get more exciting, i swear!

i know what you're probably thinking -- what the hell can this slightly nerdy 22 year old teach my about fashion? the answer, despite watching E!'s Style Police with religious fervor, is absolutely nothing. basically, i created this blog because while i don't think my wardrobe is particularly boring, i know i don't make the best use of it. and i'd really like to. mainly so i can snag a husband (half-way kidding). what better time to start experimenting with style than the brand new, fresh school year? and this school year is particularly special, because not only will i be a student, i'll also be a student teacher. that means dress codes and professionalism and outfits that allow me to chase after twenty-odd second graders. so that's what this blog will be -- a detailed journal of this crazy year through outfits. and lunches, did i mention that? aside from looking trendy and polished, i'll be attempting to eat in a much more healthful way, courtesy of my new bento lunch box. it's a teensy lunchbox with the potential to make me skinny. so i'll be detailing those as well.

essentially, this is a low-caliber "food" and "fashion" blog, and hopefully it will meet my (and your) low expectations.