Fall "fashion"

 I did not have to buy ANY fall clothes because! I have lost weight and my old fall clothes look totally great again. BUT, I did need to buy a new jacket. (Also I have now bought THREE pairs of jeans--- none necessary).

HOW CUTE IS THIS?

I wanted something cropped at the waist and also fluffy and beige. Quince was sold out of the coat I really wanted, but I found a pretty good copy at Athleta. AND THEN I found one for EIGHTY DOLLARS CHEAPER at Athleta Girl. I am an xxl child, apparently. That tracks. In all the ways.

And! Because this a coat for a child, it has a little beaded fidget sewn into a pocket-- so awesome.

I immediately took it out for a latte

SPEAKING OF FASHION. LOOK AT ME WHEN I WALK MINNIE TO SCHOOL. AM I A DREAM OR WHAT? (def did not brush my hair).

Dorothy and Minnie, though, have their fall fashion on lock

That pic of Minnie is of her getting her pre-vaccine treat-- a surprise stuffed animal pet for her doll that she opened immediately after her shots, and the anticipation of the surprise stuffy (WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE?!) worked pretty well.

On a random day off school last week, all 4 kids got flu and covid shots. Then they got a post vaccine treat (Coop had a separate appointment because he had PLANS on vaccine day). (yes, Minnie had a pre and post shot treat **shrug**).

Minnie also came to my weekly meeting with me last week because Ben had a dentist appointment. She was DELIGHTFUL (and made a rare fashion miss in an old Easter dress that's not a shirt and non-matching leggings, but when you're five and dress yourself, you're always taking risks, you know?)

Speaking of delightful! Fall dog:

Leopard Print and Red Lipstick: Fall "Fashion"

 Leopard print and red lipstick are my favorite fall neutrals. Basically, they're all I wear anymore. Behold:

Mac Ruby Woo and a one million year old H&M t-shirt for diving spectating (where I sat on a towel with Minnie, who brought along a tackle box of mdoeling clay-- preschooler make no sense)

Lancome L'Absolu Rouge Matte Drama in RED IS DRAMA and a really old LOFT cropped cardi for a Cool Blogger walk

ColourPop Lippie Stick in Trust Me (was this Dorothy's dance lipstick a couple of years ago? Maybe) and a giant AE sweater dress

And! I have been bringing the leopard to all parts of my lewk

Also experimenting with socks (NOT SURE how this is working out, honestly) AND wearing boots I haven't worn in literal YEARS (like these Fryes that I think used to have more room in the calf)

I forgot for awhile how easy it is to look polished-- even if you just scrape your hair back and call it a day-- with the addition of a shit ton of lipstick.

Like here, I tried to do my hair, but I didn;'t add lips, and the whole thing is meh. LIKE THAT BOOK-- do not read it. I just took a pic with it because it is my final BOTM and I am ALL CAUGHT UP and ready to pick my November read.

I did NOT buy this at American Eagle, but maybe I should have because it screams SEXY PILGRIM or SEXY JUDGE, and I do not have a Halloween costume yet...

I even added some pretty ludicrous leopard to our family pics

And honestly I should probably lay off this skirt... (On this day, Minnie told me, "Your Dunks, I just feel like they're so cringe.")

What about you? Anything you reach for on repeat this fall?

5 on a Friday: Things I plan to buy for my fall/winter wardrobe (42/52)

 Ben and I cleaned out our closets last weekend and got rid of 3 lawn care bags worth of clothes that no longer spark joy. I personally went from 18 pairs of cheap jeans to 10 pairs of cheap jeans. I tossed 2 on sight and tried the other 16 on. I ended up keeping 3 pairs of size 4 jeans, 4 pairs of size 6 jeans, and 3 pairs of size 8 jeans. WHICH, WHAT THE EFF. WHY can’t I just be a size and always be that size in every brand? SO FRUSTRATING.

I did keep a pair of skinny jeans, but they are high waisted and have a raw hem, so at least that’s two things on-trend??

Ok. From this purge, I realized there are a (very few) things I need to round out my winter and fall wardrobe:

1. TIGHTS. I love wearing skirts and dresses, and cold weather is no exception, I do need some more tights, though, to make this happen.

*Today I am wearing a pair of Dorothy’s jazz tights. This is silly.

2. A white t-shirt. I used to have a Madewell v-neck and a Target scoop neck, but neither of them was in my dresser when I cleaned it out. I am on the hunt. (I feel like this is a job for Nordstrom Rack perhaps, and I might also want a long-sleeved option…)

3. A longer cardigan I can wear with jeans. I have a cream one from Stitch Fix, a cropped gray leopard print one from LOFT, and a fun print one from Old Navy, but I need one more in a neutral color. Pink maybe? I used to have 2 pink ones, and I have no idea what happened to them, although I suspect bad laundering. 

4. A long denim skirt. This is a tricky item for someone with 5 kids to buy. Denim skirt. Tons of kids. Fundie vibes. But! I see these everywhere, and they’re super cute. Madewell maybe?

5. A pair of shoes in between high heels and Uggs- this is a very real void in my wardrobe. I have one pair of leopard booties and one pair of (really old and maybe too cheap for someone my age to be wearing) Old Navy booties, plus tennis shoes. I want something… else? But I don’t know what that would be.

I have visions of a mom uniform for cold weather that’s basically jeans but with something cute and polished on top and pretty jewelry and fun shoes.

So far I have the jeans part down

I bought 2 pairs of jeans this weekend (before I cleaned out my closet and realized how many I had), a sweater dress from American Eagle, a super cute beat-up-looking sweatshirt from American Eagle, a cozy pink waffle shirt from Old Navy, and a pair of overalls because the straps on my ancient Gap ones broke last fall, and I have missed overalls in my life. And! CLEARANCE RACKS ARE TH BEST— I only spent $75 for these 6 pieces!

Are you on the hunt for any wardrobe needs? Bought anything cute lately?

(Speaking of buying things. My Target order from yesterday. Shout out to Suzanne and a universe of missing spoons).

Speaking of a sore shoulder: what’s in my MOM BAG

 I had fun showing you the contents of my work bag the other day, so I thought I could have even more fun showing you the contents of my mom bag!

I have a range of bag options for momming, and they vary in size from a tiny Lulu crossbody to a slightly bigger Lulu crossbody; to a few mid-level designer options that are pretty roomy; to a couple more high end bags, one big one little; to an Esprit tote bag that I love for its nostalgia. Did anyone else HAVE TO HAVE this bag in middle school?

Anyway, the one I will show you is the big kahuna— my giant former diaper bag that is still my go-to kid-stuff hauler even though our diaper days are mercifully behind us. As I told you in my previous post, it is in SORRY SHAPE, even though it has BEEN REPAIRED.

But, I mean, it’s a Louis Vuitton purse— how bad can it look, really? **shrug**

Here is all the stuff I decided to cram inside it to take Minnie to an ENT appointment* and then, later, to the dance studio where Dorothy had a single 45-minute class, so dropping off and picking up was awkward.

Let’s take a closer look at this actual garbage, yes?

Here we have a coloring book and a baggie of haphazardly chosen crayons, which is pretty self-explanatory and always good in a pinch. More notable, perhaps, is the truly random assortment of small dolls, plus a bracelet and a blue jewel that’s actually a pool toy. I just grabbed a handful of stuff from the bin of TOTALLY RANDOM toys we keep in the laundry room because— and this is a pro tip— when you are planning a screen-free distraction for your kid, the more random the stuff, the happier your kid will be with it. Seriously, the last time I asked Minnie to grab some toys to bring along, she found an old silk scrunchie of mine, a Fisher Price donkey from the Little People manger scene, and a wooden lamp from her dollhouse. These are the things she keeps in her cup holder in my car to play with on the go, and they keep her busy EVERY TIME. Preschoolers are WILD.

I also grabbed two sad Barbie-sized dolls who have had a rough go of it, Spot It cards (a big hit with the 5-8 year-olds at dance with whom Minnie loves to play), bubbles in case she wanted to play outside at dance, a tiny notebook and some tiny markers to go with it (because sometimes she is too cool for a coloring book and crayons), and my keys (duh) which are also my wallet.

I always have these in my purse— why not whiten during a kiddie commute?

Never enough wipes, you know?

Also never enough hair ties— I always have one for me, one for Dorothy, and one for Minnie. And! This bag is where my extra tweezers live because WHY NOT pluck my eye browns in excellent light while parked and waiting for kids? Also, I have very neutral lipsticks for always and might add a specific color as needed (I also have a pink long-wear lip crayon in my car that does the trick). Here you can see a random Clinique tube, Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick, and my favorite Glossier balm.

Snacks for all moods

ALWAYS hand lotion and sanitizer.

Book, readers, sunnies, and Minnie’s water. WHAT ELSE COULD I POSSIBLY NEED? (My giant water bottle du jour also stays in my car, but Minnie needs hers from place-to place).

All packed up!

At the last second, Minnie grabbed this cool LCD writing tablet my brother got her for Hanukkah, and I am glad she did because it was CLUTCH at the doctor and later at dance

*Speaking of the ENT! Okay, so, we made the appointment in APRIL when Minnie got ANOTHER ear infection. She had either an ear infection or a sore throat (OR BOTH) at least once a month from October 2023-April 2024. But! She did not have quite enough ear infections to get an immediate appointment. I knew when I saw the appointment on my calendar this week that it would be a waste of time to take her because SHE IS FINE RIGHT NOW THANK GOODNESS. Buuuuuuut, I also think if she starts to get sick a ton this fall/winter, we will get a faster follow-up appointment than we did an intake appointment, so we went. She had a really cute hearing test with two lovely audiologists (they played games while she listened to bird sounds on her headphones, and one of the games asked her to add toppings to a pizza when she heard the sounds, and they asked her what kind of pizza is her favorite, and she said FROZEN—ha!) and passed it with flying colors. The ENT said her tonsils are huge but do not seem to be causing a sleep disorder so they don’t need to come out, and everything else is fine. Cross your fingers that it stays that way.

My Summer School Sartorial Challenge: Some Thoughts

 I started wearing a different dress to class every day because I had some DOUBTS about teaching in-person every day, and I wanted to distract myself with the challenge.

I think, sadly, this is the last summer I will be able to swing that kind of teaching every day commitment. I really want to be in the public speaking classroom every year because I direct the class and feel like I need to be in the trenches sometimes to do this work well. But. There are other options besides every day teaching in the summer for seeing the class unfold in real time, and I am going to have to explore them. We have too many kids going too many places, and I need to be home with them to be most effective, especially with Ben gone for work.

Still, teaching freshmen is a particular kind of delight, and I am glad I got to do it, even though the day-to-day was hectic.

Real talk? I also decided to wear a dress a day because I think I am not the right size for any of my pants options, and this not something I want to deal with. Also, I have jeans and that’s pretty much it. Also jorts. (Which are not totally my size— but no not my size— and also not classroom appropriate). My wardrobe is very extreme: cocktail party or cookout is pretty much it. Sooooo the cocktail clothes get to go to work, and the cookout clothes come out after hours.

The good news? I stayed away from athleisure in public, which is an ongoing fashion goal. I also ended up feeling better about my body because my dresses all still fit me, and some of them are older than Jack. I have mostly been me-sized for a long time **shrug**

The bad news? I buy cheap clothes and then treat them like heirloom pieces. In my late forties, is it finally time to dress better? Or, does my utter midwestern momness mean I am doing the best I can already?

I am definitely ready to rock the swimsuit and cover up most days from now through the end of the month, anyway.

On a superficial note, this challenge made me realize I needed more shoes that I could wear to work or even out with dresses, so I took advantage of the Toms summer clearance sale to buy black and brown wedges. I will retire some year-old Target sandals that definitely outperformed my $18 investment and a 8-year-old pair of Toms that are literally falling apart (but are also still cute).

On a more serious note, I made up this challenge because the thought of overcoming the logistical nightmare that is my summer life and driving to campus and driving home and getting Minnie to and from camp and dealing with the after effects of the big kids home all morning and getting the middle kids to their million-dollar activities was just too much to handle. So I needed a fun distraction. But really I can't teach every day of the week over the summer at this exact moment in my life. Well, I mean, I can and I did but I think I might not again.

Least favorite lewk:

I was wearing the Target dress that you have probably seen everywhere and also probably own. Only I got it in a medium, and it was too big, but when I went to trade it in, it was sold out everywhere, so I kept it and put a tank top under it because it was so low cut but it just looks dumpy. It's been demoted to swimsuit cover up. It appears to be in stock in every size now. OF COURSE.

Favorite lewk:

This LOFT dress never lets me down.

Oh! And! My last 2 looks from last week:

Another AT LOFT dress that never disappoints, plus new Toms that were so painful, my ankles are STILL RAW— not sure if I can wear them again. And MInnie made me a bead bracelet at camp and insists that I wear it everywhere, so I do.

Also my hair is long enough for a bun, so that’s it forever. All buns.

Gap dress older than Coooper: