Cheers

I love this outfit, y'all. 

Socks-Target

It felt really easy, comfortable, put together, and a little bit of edgy.  Perfection, if you ask me. Which you do, because this is my blog.

Something like a sailor

Day one was no problem at all, though Ed didn't know proper fashion blogging rules: you have to show the shoes!

Belt-H&M; Scarf-small boutique in Ann Arbor

This little experiment is also going to chronicle my Growing Hair Out files.  Around May I decided to cut my hair pretty short; although I LOVED it, I decided longer was a little bit more my style. It feels like it's taking forever, so we'll see its progress over 30 days.

I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing pictures of myself.  I look so weird!  So uh, from now on, just marvel at my cute outfits, ok?

The final cut

I spent all day thinking about different combinations and swapping things out.  It was surprisingly easy to choose my 30 pieces, mostly because I don't have a ton of clothes to begin with.  The hardest part was narrowing down my cardigans--as someone who spent the last 5 years with snow and is trying to build a stereotypical librarian wardrobe, I have a lot of sweaters. 

A whopping TEN tops:

Left to right: Plaid button down-via Savers; floral blouse-Petite Sophisticate, via Ann Arbor Thrift; chambray blouse-Brooks Brothers (!) via Savers; white ruffle blouse-H&M; white short sleeved sweater-via Mel; black and white striped blouse- H&M via Ann Arbor thrift; striped button down-Fossil; horizontal gray and white striped-UO; yellow blouse-Target; black and white print-LOFT via Kjrsten

 3 dresses:

Blue and white striped-Old Navy; black ruffle-Gap Outlet; Navy-F21 via Ann Arbor Thrift

4 sweaters/jackets:

Black blazer-via Savers; blue and black striped cardigan-Express; brown cardigan-H&M; black cardigan-F21

5 skirts:

Black-Old Navy via Elaine; burnt orange triangles-Tulle via ShopRuche; gray tulip-UO; burgundy cord-Gap via Ann Arbor Thrift; navy linen-Gap via Ann Arbor Thrift

3 pants:

Black cords-UO; navy pinstripe-Gap via Savers; denim skinnies-Old Navy

And finally, 5 shoes:

Black boots- via DSW; brown boots-via DSW; red TOMS; hounds tooth flats-UO; brown oxfords-Target

There's the 30!  I have a slight confession; in Kendi's challenge, we are only supposed to use belts, jewelry, tights, or hats to accessorize.  While I have loads of tights, I have only a handful of belts, no hats, and virtually no jewelry.  Instead, I have vests. Lots and lots of vests (ok, five).  While I'm sure it's technically cheating, I will be using vests to remix and not counting them in my 30.  It's my challenge and I can cheat if I want to.

I apologize for the terrible quality (these pictures taken on my bathroom floor?! NEVER!)  I am a complete novice at using a digital camera and editing software (Hello, 2010, nice to meet you!).  Fortunately, my daily outfit pics will be taken by my talented and very handsome boyfriend.

I'm off to write about how to develop evaluation criteria for a general use thesaurus for a special collection.  See, I'm practicing the librarian stuff already.

Make that no more food for 30 days, too

Y'all, I just ate this:

That, dear readers, is a Flying Pig doughnut from Gourdough's Donuts.  It is a glazed donut, covered in maple glaze, topped with strips of crispy bacon.  I cannot, as long as I live, eat another doughnut and expect it to come within a fraction of  awesome as this doughnut.

This afternoon, Ed, Gus and I trekked to Auditorium Shores to check out the Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival.  For all the shit I give Austin about being too expensive and just generally overrated, Austin has some badass trailer food.  And this festival showcased them all.

I stuffed myself silly and need to pass out on top of all the clothes I'm deciding on for the 30 for 30.  So long, Saturday.

Wherein the 3 people that read this blog will stop

Let's chat for a moment about clothes, shall we?

Ever since I was little, I was allowed--perhaps encouraged--to dress however I wanted (within reason, of course.  I grew up in the 90s, where thigh-high socks and babydoll tees were all the rage and I, a mere grade schooler, could not participate without some age-appropriate modifications).  I've always considered the way I dress to be an integral part of self-reflection and identification.  And hell, if you have to get dressed anyway, might as well make it fun.

Since coming into my own as a young professional (yes, I did barf a little in my mouth as I typed that), I've had to navigate my sense of style with what is appropriate for my age and work environment.  Y'all, it's been tough.  When Ed and I first started dating, he joked that I didn't own any dresses, only long shirts.  And he was right!  Man did do I love showing some leg.  I try not to take myself too seriously and wear things that I like and are maybe a little different.  Though obviously cannot have a hem mere centimeters from my lady bits at work, I will not compromise my own sense of style and comfort for an office dress code that will always kind of make me feel like a little kid playing dress up.

But what is my style now? I am older, I do like to dress a little preppier and I still try not to take myself too seriously.  And so, in the last year or two, I've become an avid "fashion blog" reader.  Tania, Kendi, and E. have provided me with endless inspiration about how an everyday person with a tiny budget and a large style can effectively be taken seriously by employers and co-workers, and be a little fun and self-aware at the same time. 

All of this lead-up is to say I'm embarking on a short, and what is probably going to be very boring for you,  journey over the next 30 days.  I'm participating in Kendi's 30 for 30 challenge.  The rules are simple: 30 articles of clothing for 30 days and no shopping.  I'll take a picture everyday to help hold myself accountable.

Getting dressed and carrying on with your day should be fun! Seriously, whenever I see a woman around campus who isn't wearing those godawful running shorts, I want to applaud and give her a hug.  I like looking cute and a compliment about something I'm wearing--particularly if it's something I thought was "weird"--makes my day.  And, after all, isn't dressing kind of weird what it's all about?  

I'll post my 30 articles of clothes tomorrow and the challenge begins on Monday.  Hopefully all the remixing and outfit thinking won't stop me from being as snarky and sarcastic on here as I usually am. And really, I get all my best snark on days I can feel smug about my outfits. 

A broken spoke

Overheard on my bus home; Voter Guy (VG), a young male undergrad carrying a Bill White sign shouting at everyone to GO VOTE! GO VOTE DEMOCRAT! DON'T LIKE TUITION, VOTE BILL WHITE; Wanting-to-be-informed citizen (IC), also a young male undergrad.

VG: Go vote! The reason we have high tuition is because Rick Perry  degregulated tuition increases in 2003!
IC: Give me 3 good reasons I should vote for Bill White.
VG: Uhh, ok. 3 reasons, huh? Ok. Um, he went to Harvard and graduated Magna Cum Laude! And uh...well, what's important to you?
IC: I'm concerned Texas is going to follow Arizona's footsteps about border control.  What does Bill White think about border control?
VG: He thinks we should have tighter border security and stricter penalties for illegal immigrants.
IC: Oh...so I disagree with him about that.  Anything else?
VG: ....
IC: ....
VG: If he doesn't win, the last 4 weeks I campaigned for him will have been a total waste!

And that, my friends, is the future.

Where everybody knows your name

Things I miss about Ann Arbor:

• Fall and the changing of colors
• The relatively little traffic
• The  Gus-walking routes
• Bearclaw Coffee's chai teas

November just isn't November without August-like temperatures, eh, Texas?

Can you tell that I'm avoiding the part where I mention how long its been since I blogged and then excuse it with "I'm busy!"  Can you tell, can you?  Not to worry, I've got big plans.  And in the meantime, my favorite sign from Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity: