OOTW: Winter Wonderland Edition

Before we get to the workweek clothes, I thought I’d share my usual weekend wear.  Depending on what I’m doing, I get more dressy with jeans and sweaters or even a dress, but if I’m just knocking around doing errands, taking Sofi for walks, meeting friends for coffee, and staying low key, I can be found in some combination like this:

Saturday, December 10th – I was meeting Kim for coffee (for the first time!) and since it was chilly, and early, I decided to go casual.  She’d mentioned that she’d be in workout clothes, I figured I was safe to do so, too.

Vest: Woman Within; Long-sleeved graphic tee: LB; Yoga pants: Woman Within; Shoes: Casual Comfort

There’s one thing about these pants.  They are really, really loose on me, which is uber comfy, but which isn’t the most flattering.  I never gravitate toward tight pants, but as you can see in the photo below, maybe I need to get some that aren’t quite as roomy?  Since they’re just for the weekends or after work, I don’t mind that they’re huge, but eventually I know I should get more form-fitting ones.  Maybe once I’m in a different size.

Reaaaaaallllllyyyyyy wide leg. But I do like how "flowy" they are.

Ready to meet a new friend for coffee!

This week at school the ASB decided to make it really fun by thinking of different themed dress days. They also had corresponding activities at break and lunch, which was fun for the kids. I took part in almost every day, and I loved it because it meant I had a week’s worth of outfits already all planned out. No guesswork! Luckily, too, I had enough “holiday” clothes to wear.

Monday, December 12th: PJ Day.  Now I was originally going to wear this:

Some of my winter pjs, from Woman Within; my (pre-makeup) outfit for pj day at school. Did I dare?

I know that these jammies are so cute and would’ve been a huge hit at school (They have knit scarves, hats, and mittens all over them and they say “warm and cuddly” on the top).  The problem was, since it was a Monday, I wasn’t sure how many of the kids would remember this dress-up day.  And I didn’t want to be the only one who did it.  I know that seemed like such a high school worry, but when your job is standing in front of people giving information, you do worry about what you’re going to wear and how it looks.  The pants were thin and showed my flub, and I wasn’t feeling as confident in them.  Plus, it was really cold that day, and I knew that if I wore them, I’d be freezing in my classroom all day long.

So I totally copped out.  I went with sweats, because people do wear them to bed and they were much warmer.  I felt better in them, and they were different in their own way.  The Chicago sweatshirt has the exact color of dark rose of the pants.  So I wore this:

No, that isn't a camel toe! Those pants are sort of loose too, and they gather. Still, not the best pose.

When I got to school, tons of kids (and a few teachers) had the pjs on, so I definitely should have worn mine.  Lesson learned.

Tuesday, December 13th: Holiday Color Day.  We were supposed to wear either green/red or blue/white or whatever colors were in the particular December holiday we celebrated.  I was so happy, because it meant that I could wear my Quaker Factory shirt that I got from QVC.  (OK, that statement made me sound 75 years old!). Since bling is in, and this is a holiday shirt, I don’t mind wearing it at all, even though Quaker Factory also makes some sweaters and shirts that could later be worn at an ugly Christmas sweater party.  😛

The detail of the shirt.

I took this in the bathroom to show the shirt in good lighting.

Shirt: Quaker Factory (QVC); Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Aerosoles

Wednesday, December 14th: Decorate Yourself Day.  The directions said, come dressed as you would decorate a tree.  Wear ornaments, lights, tinsel – whatever you want.  Instead, I opted to wear my other QF shirt.  Hey, I have two and you can’t wear them any other time of year.  Why not?

The detail of the shirt.

To show the true color of the shirt.

Shirt: Quaker Factory (QVC); Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Clark's

One important thing that I want to note is that last year when I bought these Quacker Factory shirts, they were snug on me and I worried about how I looked in them.  As you can see from these photos, they’re loose now.  And next year, they won’t fit at all!  Love that!!!!!!!

(I skipped Thursday because we had our Journalism deadline, and we all wear our Journalism sweatshirts on those days).

Friday, December 16th: Character Day.  The directions said to dress like your favorite holiday character – Santa, an elf, Rudolf, etc.  I chose to wear a Christmas hat and my star/snowflake shirt.

Bring on Winter Break!!

Detail of the shirt.

Top: LB; Cami: LB; Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Clark's

And with that, I am now on Winter Break!!  It was fun to have the dress-up days and make it through one of the longest weeks of the year.

Which outfit did you like best?

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OOTW: December 9th

This week, the temps were chilly in the mornings (37 degrees or so is COLD around here) and the evenings, but the days were clear, sunny, and gorgeous with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.  Beautiful winter weather.

Monday, December 5th: I was freezing, so I decided to go with a chunky, cable-knit scarf to spice up basic black and white.  Later in the morning I asked one of my famously fashionable students to “do something with the scarf” and she secured it around my neck in a much more flattering way than you see here. 

Scarf: Woman Within; Cardi: Avenue; Long-sleeved Tshirt: LB; Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Clark's

Tuesday, December 6th: I’m wearing the outfit I wore on Thanksgiving, only changing the look up this time with a side pony.  Finally, my hair is getting long enough for me to do styles like this!  My shorter hair was sassy, for a while, but it got really monotonous in terms of doing different things with it.  Plus, with a face as full as mine, I like having the longer hair to balance my appearance out.

Trying to show some side pony action.

Cardi: Talbot's (from SW); Top: Macy's; Jeans: Avenue Divine Denim; Shoes: (cut off) Hush Puppies

I was worried that the bedroom pic was too dark, so I went into the bathroom to give a better view of the colors.

This is Sofi's spot every morning as I get ready. Sorry it's blurry.

Wednesday, December 7th: This is the outfit I wore in my Christmas card photo, and the one that I may where on Christmas Day.  I’d told you last week how much I love the Fair Isle print, and this sweater is another example of why.  When I wore it, one of my students told me I looked like Christmas, which was so cute.  This sweater makes me feel very wintery and warm.  I liked the way the red shoes carried out the red theme, but I wasn’t sure if they were too much.  What do you think?

Closeup view to show the detail of the sweater.

Sweater: Catherine's; Long-sleeved Tshirt: LB; Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Aerosoles

Which outfit was your favorite?

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OOTW: December Already?

Can you believe that it’s December?! Wasn’t it just September last week? I love this time of year, and I really want to make sure to enjoy each and every moment that makes the holiday season so special.

One thing I’ve been having a lot of fun with is these Outfits of the Week posts. I have always tried to put a lot of thought and care into my wardrobe choices, but I’ll admit that through the winter months I usually get sort of lazy. Lots of sweatshirts that keep me warm, but don’t do a lot to enhance my figure. This year I decided that I’m not going that route. That my cute clothes aren’t just for when I’m going out with friends or to a special event. That each day I’m going to do my best to put effort into my outfit.

This week’s post is a bit longer, because I included a couple of photos from last week. (Although I completely forgot to take a photo of my Thanksgiving outfit).

Wednesday, November 23:  This was my run errands, walk the dog, and take Sofi to the dog park outfit the day before Thanksgiving.  I love the look of top because it’s a long sleeved tshirt, so it’s comfortable, but it has a great collar that makes it look much dressier.  I bought it in 3 colors and then went back and bought it in 2 others.  Love.  It looks great with jeans, sweats, and could even be paired with a skirt.

Top: Roaman's; Scarf: LB (old); Jeans: Avenue; Shoes: Uggs

Monday, November 28th: Back to work after a long weekend, but the fun part was getting ready.  I’d been wanting to wear this sweater that Scale Warfare gave me for some time, so it was easy to get dressed this morning.  I really liked all the compliments I got throughout the day, too.

Close-up to show the detail of the sweater.

Cardi: Kohl's (from SW); Top: Avenue; Jeans: Style & Co; Shoes: Clarks

Side view.

Tuesday, November 29: I know I’ve shown this top before, but the last time I wore it was in September (I think), and I wore a shrug.  Now that the weather is cool I can wear this great cardi from Talbot’s (again courtesy of Scale Warfare).  I love the look of this outfit, although the top does go a bit low, so if I wear it again, I need to remember to put a cami under it.

Close up to show the color

Necklace: Silpada; Top: LB; Cardi: Talbot's (from SW); Jeans: Avenue Divine Denim; Shoes: Hush Puppies

Wednesday, November 30th: I’ve been loving the Fair Isle patterns this season, and this sweater is no exception.  I got quite a few compliments on it from my students, which was sweet.  Plus, it’s warm and cozy, which was perfect for the windy, blustery day we had.

Sweater: Woman Within; Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Uggs

Close up to show the detail of the pattern.

Thursday was once again college day, where I wore a sweatshirt from my alma mater.  No need for photos.

Friday, December 2nd: I was excited to put this outfit together today because it featured one of my new purchases – a quilted vest.  I’ve always liked the sporty look of vests, but never wore them because of the bulk that they added.  But then last week when I wore that pink top (see above), I realized that it would have been perfect to have a little vest to wear just to keep me warm.  And I did some looking online and found a slim vest for $15.99 (I had a coupon), and I knew it had to be part of my winter wardrobe.  It’s a tiny bit small for me (I can’t zip it), which means it will last me throughout the winter and maybe into the spring, too.  Even though I’m not supposed to be shopping for clothes because they’ll all be too big for me very soon (keeping up the positive thinking), I did indulge in Lane Bryant’s Black Friday sale because every single item was 50% off.  Which actually meant that the clothes were priced reasonably.  I found 3 shirts just like this one to wear on the weekends with jeans or sweats.  I love the thin long-sleeved material because they can be layered.  The graphics make it a bit more fun than just a plain, solid tshirt.  Win win.  I also don’t normally wear sneakers to school, but I thought they worked well with this look, and since they were expensive shoes, I want to wear them more than just to the gym.  Plus, it’s Friday, so dressed down footwear is perfectly fine.

To show the graphic of the shirt. It's actually "just right" in terms of size, so it will still fit for quite a while as I lose weight.

Vest: Woman Within; Shirt: LB; Jeans: Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes: Reebox Flex

Which outfit was your favorite?

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