Sometimes You Just Need a Reminder

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When I was younger (like early twenties, instead of early thirties--yipes!) I used to wear heels all day, every day. I swore they were comfortable (I was young, stupid, and didn't know any better), and I loved how my legs and ass looked in heels, especially with longer pants (still do!). 
But then one day I wore a pair of flats and at the end of the day my feet weren't aching and I realized maybe the pain wasn't worth the beauty? I dressed for myself and no one else, there wasn't/isn't anyone in my office I dress for so why would I make myself uncomfortable for the sake of a cute butt I couldn't personally see anyway. So I stopped wearing heels and starting wearing flats.
This means my closet is full of beautiful heels that never see the light of day anymore. It just isn't fair to them. So yesterday I decided to bring out a pair of heels to wear, yes they looked nice, yes my butt looked good, but you know what didn't look good? My mood at the end of the day. You see a typical "short" 8 hour day for me turned into a very long 13 hour day. In heels. Which I'm not used to wearing. 
As my aching feet settled into bed last night I thought to myself, this, my friend, is why you don't wear heels anymore. Which means my beautiful pumps won't see the light of day for a long time again. Currently, I'm okay with that, but ask me again in 6 months and I might have forgotten about this little episode. 
oh, and hi, I'm back. At least for this post. Because sometimes you can't shut the nagging voice in your head that says HEY PLEASE WRITE SOMETHING. 

Student Teaching - Week 7

What I Wore:

Student Teaching Week 7 

Loft blouse / Old navy sweater / Banana Republic ankle jeans / New York & Company boot cut pants / MIA black ballet shoes, $57

What I Did:
I went into this week in a mild panic. It was a notes heavy week and I had tried to come up with alternatives for the students instead of note taking but my energy, brain capacity, enthusiasm, and lesson planning skills were just not up to par so I knew going into the week that not only would the kids  have to take notes three out of the five days but also that I didn't have enough filler to take care of the downtime. Luckily for me, my cooperating teacher is awesome and within ten minutes of me walking into the building, she had suggestions in place and I was ready to go. 
Things I Learned:
With the exception of the electives, I teach the lower academic students. That isn't to say they aren't smart, history just may not be their forte. Anyway, this week I learned that those students love word puzzles. I gave them cryptograms, crosswords, word searches, and word scrambles and they really took to them.
Memorable Moment of the Week:
An exceptionally difficult student who refuses to do any work yelled out "I love word searches" and then poured over it, being the first one to complete it. It's the first time I've seen her show any kind of enthusiasm for anything and it was nice to find something that she really took to.
Looking Forward To:
This week in general. It's a fairly easy week for me, Friday is a half day so I won't teach them. Tuesday and Thursday are a map test and a unit test, respectively and the other two days will be review games. The week usually flies by for me anyway, but I'm assuming this week will really go quickly.
Honest Thoughts:
I'm definitely enjoying myself much more now but I still can't wait for this to end. It's still very exhausting and time consuming. Plus, no matter how many lessons I create or days I head into school prepared, it still causes anxiety. It'll be nice to be done and actually rest (and sew!) for once.
Seven weeks down, five to go! The countdown is really on!

Student Teaching - Week 6

What I Wore:

A few things are similar but not exact since most of the things I own are a few years old.

student teaching week 6 

Gap short sleeve top / Banana republic top / Long slip / Express green pants / LOFT summer pants / Bloch pink flat / Ollio ballerina flat / LOFT post earrings / Loop scarf

What I Did:

This week was a bit of a nice break for me. Not only did we have Monday off for Columbus Day (thank you Mr. Columbus for getting lost!) but Wednesday was PSAT testing so I got to spend the majority of the day supervising students watching movies. It was such a light week, but definitely a much needed reprieve. 

Things I Still Need to Learn:

Alternatives to note taking. I attempted to create two different types of lessons for the coming week, which is note heavy and both just ended up bombing in my face. It doesn't help that I'm new to this and, honestly, there is a ton of pressure to do well. Maybe down the road, in a classroom of my own, I'll find a way to teach without lecturing/notes, but for student teaching its not going to happen.

Looking Forward To:

Teaching a new class. So far I've been teaching all three core History classes, which means the same lesson three times a day. This week, I'll begin teaching an elective course my teacher has, Myths and Legends. Considering Greek mythology is one of my favorite things in the world, I have so much to share!

Honest Thoughts:

It's still very stressful, especially today (I'm writing this Sunday). I've spent the past four hours trying to find fun activities to go with all the notes I'm cramming down these kids' throats and I came up empty handed. It's so frustrating and the thought of heading there stresses me out but then when I actually do show up, most of my worries melt away and my days fly by. It's a catch-22.
6 weeks down, 6 to go -- I am officially halfway through this!

Student Teaching - Week Five

What I "Wore":

Most of what you see here I own, a few things like the boots and flats are similar but not exact since the ones I own are a few years old. 

Student Teaching Week 5

Old Navy petite dress / American Eagle Outfitters sexy top / Banana Republic pink sweater / Banana Republic black pants / Madden girl boots / Mossimo black flat / Kate spade jewelry / FOSSIL brown belt

What I Did:

This was my first week of teaching my own lesson plans in my core history class for the entire week. It was exhausting, during the day I'd either be prepping for the lesson, teaching, or modifying the lesson to better meet the needs of the student. Then, I'd go home and make sure my lesson plan was set to go for the next day/write lesson plans for another day.
Things I Learned:

End of the school day by no means end of the work day. Most days I'm staying two hours after school lets out to finish up grading or prepping. Then, when I do eventually get home, I'm still working on school stuff. 

Things I Still Need to Learn:

Still working on that classroom management! It's the bane of my existence.

Memorable Moment of the Week:

I'm currently teaching the students about the industrial revolution, and Thursday I had half the class pretend they were working in a factory. One of the roles was a 9 year old factory worker who cried a lot. I asked one student in one of the classes that I knew would really run with it to play the kid in the factory. He was so hilarious but also very helpful in making the environment uncomfortable so the kids could get an idea what it would be like to work in the factory with a child. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants a few times.

Looking Forward To:

Right now, I'm looking forward to all this being over, its so tiring!

Honest Thoughts:

See above.

5 weeks down, 7 to go! Next week we will be halfway done....I'm so ready for normalcy again!

Student Teaching - Week Four

What I Wore:

Just a few key outfits....

Teaching Week 4 

The Limited mini top / LOFT scoop neck tank top / Merona purple cardigan / Express / Banana Republic pants / ZiGiny pointy toe flat shoes

What I Did:

Things week was a bit broken up, since sadly Dave's grandfather passed away and the funeral was Thursday.

The school I am at expects their students to write a five paragraph essay at the end of each unit. I think this is a great idea since it gets the students used to writing but it's also like pulling teeth with them. The first three days of my core classes we spent prepping the kids for the essay and then getting them written. Friday I taught my own lesson again with the core classes, although it was just notes.

Things I Learned:

"I don't know" doesn't necessarily mean "I don't know". Sometimes it means "I don't want to do this".

Kids who pay no attention to you whatsoever will suddenly be very concerned in your absence.

Things I Still Need to Learn:

Classroom management is still a tough one for me to conquer. This week it was learning how to gradually increase my threats to get them to be quiet instead of heading straight to the worst consequence.

Memorable Moment of the Week:

I got a chance to connect with some teachers over my Chicken and Rice Bake recipe when I brought some for lunch this week. They tried it and loved it so much, I ended up printing the recipe and sharing it with them!

Looking Forward To:

Having a day off next Monday. Seriously, I need a day of binge watching Netflix by myself.

Honest Thoughts:

I'm really starting to get into the nitty gritty of all this and it's tough for me. This past week I literally went to school, then went to my regular job for a bit and then came straight home to work on even more school work until I went to bed. They were long days and I'm definitely on autopilot right now to get myself through all this. I'm hoping that this week was rougher because not only did I have to come up with the lesson plans for the core class for the month but then I had to write some. Now hopefully for the next month all I'll need to do is write up the lessons and prep for them. We'll see!

4 weeks down, 8 to go!

Rent the Runway

A friend introduced me to Rent the Runway a few weeks back and I'm not going to lie, I'm obsessed. It's an online rental service where you can rent designer clothes, jewelry, and other accessories at a very affordable rate. 

I first rented a dress, earrings and a necklace for dinner in the city for my birthday. The thing I loved most about the whole experience is that I was much more adventurous in what I chose. The dress I chose was all sparkles and that's not something I would ever wear. The earrings and necklace were huge statement pieces that 1. I never wear and 2. are usually priced more than what I'd be willing to spend on something I would rarely wear.  

Then, three days before I  was set to go to a wedding (that was the day after my birthday), the dress that I had ordered weeks ago from Modcloth still hadn't come in so I hopped on to Rent the Runway and ordered this gorgeous dress that was green sparkles on the bottom. Again, not something I would typically buy but renting it made it so much easier to try it out. Since the wedding was the day after my birthday I was able to wear the jewelry pieces I rented again.

Both rentals came in a really nice gown bag that folded into a smaller, more compact size and you got to keep the hangers!  I wasn't paid for this review or anything, I won't get any kind of credit if you check them out but if you are in need of a dress or some jewelry, or even a clutch, for an event, definitely check them out! 

Student Teaching - Week Two

I'm not going to lie, this week was a rough one for me, but I'm thankful for it. It's better to deal with the tough stuff now so that I don't go into teaching thinking it's all sunshine, rainbows, and cupcakes.
Favorite Outfit of the Week:

Shirt: Loft (old, similiar) Pants: Victoria's Secret (old, similar) Shoes: Zigi Soho Tilly Flats
What I Did:
Experienced a few run ins with some students, one who was trying to get attention while I was attempting to teach and another who was not happy with my attempts to separate her and her friend during a half day school wide project. 
Broke down after said student yelled in my face and contemplated giving up. 
Taught a few more times and thought up a review game to play next week.
One of the lessons I taught (which was a plan the teacher thought up), that is an absolute favorite of mine, the students had to create a "museum exhibit" out of play-doh and create a title card that had a brief description of the exhibit. 

Things I Learned:
Apparently Victoria's Secret stopped selling their suiting clothes (like pants) over a year ago. I used to only wear their pants exclusively but I hadn't bought a new pair from them in years and I only found out now when I was trying to find the pants that I was wearing in this picture. Slightly saddened since their pants always looked good on, but not so much since it's been a while since I actually purchased anything from them. 
Starbucks is slowly becoming my new best friend, since this is exhausting, especially coupled with the fact that I'm still working too. I nearly fell asleep on my way to work on Tuesday and had to grab a frapuccino to wake myself up to work in the evening and then again on my way to seminar on Wednesday. Considering I fell asleep standing up while talking to Dave Thursday night, my usual "I don't need caffeine to make it through the day" mantra might have to go out the window during the next 10 weeks.
If you know what you're doing, writing lesson plans aren't that bad.
Play-doh is awesome at any age, even high school. 
Things I Still Need to Learn:
So I'm better on the monotone aspect of my teaching but my speed is not good, I go too fast. So now I need to find the happy medium.
Memorable Moment of the Week:
During Friday's half day "Tech Day" I got to work with a small group of students and participate in the projects with them. It really gave me a chance to work more one on one with some of my regular students that I haven't had a chance to really interact with yet and I had so much fun with them. One of the projects the students had to do was come up with a six word memoir. At first they didn't want to do it at all until I came up with some for them and then they ran with it coming up with several more. It was so satisfying to see them really get involved because of my efforts.
Looking Forward To:
Teaching the review game that I came up with on Thursday. If it's a success I'll share it here!
Honest Thoughts:
I'm not going to lie, there were several moments this week where I was seriously close to giving up, I mean I was literally thisclose. It was a rough week but I'm sticking with it, even if I end up hating this, I've worked too hard and come too far to not see it through. I need to look back on this time, regardless of it's outcome, and know that I didn't give up.
2 weeks down, 10 to go!  

Student Teaching - Week One

You know those "Currently" posts that float around? I thought I'd borrow that idea and share tidbits for each week that I'm student teaching.  Favorite Outfit of the Week:

Please ignore the grainy picture, this was taken 6 am with my cell phone, since I have no other time to do this.

Cardigan: Banana Republic (out of stock) Top: Loft  Pants: Loft Flats: Gap Earrings: Kate Spade Necklace: Charlotte Russe (old)
What I Did:
This week was all about acclimating myself to the classroom and the students. I spent the first two days really trying to learn the student's names. By the third day, I was starting to get the hang of most of their names but I still needed the attendance sheet to remind me of the names of the students in each class. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that I've learned their names as quickly as I have. It took me a few months to learn my Teen Book Club teens names confidently and it only took me three days here.
Things I Learned:
Speaking of names, I never realized how important it was to the students for me to know their name until I started to learn them. The ones who I did remember quickly lit up when I spoke their name. The ones who names it took me a little longer to learn seemed exasperated with me. Learning their names helped me build a rapport with them and it's insane how far I've gotten in building a relationship with each of them just by learning their name.
Also, some kids know how to impress. I had two boys shake my hand when I introduced myself the first day. Their actions left such a distinct mark in my mind, I remembered their names instantly. 

Things I Still Need to Learn:
Using a decent inside voice when I'm at home or work. I'm so used to hearing loud voices all day or projecting my own voice that I find myself speaking loudly when I'm in quieter settings. It's going to be an adjustment switching between the chaos of the class to the quiet of home/work (side irony note here, I used to think work was loud...).
I taught a few lessons Friday and apparently I have a very monotone voice. I tried to fix it after the first lesson I taught and ended up only talking louder not with more inflection. This is definitely something I need to work on. 
Memorable Moment of the Week: My first day I remembered the name of one girl in particular very quickly. When I approached her for the second time of the day and called her by her name her eyes widened and she had this look of surprise on her face. She said to me, "you know my name?" and seemed genuinely shocked that I would remember her so quickly. The look on her face absolutely melted my heart and made the entire exhausting, chaotic day worthwhile. It reminded me why I worked so hard to get to this point. 
Looking Forward To:
Teaching a few more classes...hopefully learning how not to talk in a monotone voice?
Honest Thoughts:
Before starting this, I was terrified. Enough so that I thought I might have been making a big mistake and that this might not be for me. At the end of my first day I was still wavering. By the end of my second day, I realized that I might actually really enjoy myself and learn a lot from this experience and that it's okay to wonder. 

Why I Could Never Cut it as a Fashion Blogger

There is so much involved to a fashion post, and it's not something you think about until you actually attempt it. 

"I need to do my hair and makeup on a Sunday!?!"

"The backyard probably isn't the best spot to take these pictures, where is the nearest location that would enable me to take 'WOW' pictures?"

"I have the camera, which is great, but no photographer, unless I dress Dave up, or teach him to take pictures the exact way I envision them."

"Do you think Dave will go for being dressed up? No, no, I would definitely get side eyed for even asking"

"Still, would the dress fit him? That way I could take great pictures....then photoshop his hairy legs out and impose my face on him....no, no, he would definitely side eye me for even thinking this..."

"How do fashion bloggers do this every day? I mean I don't even put this much makeup on or put this effort into my hair for regular work days. And how the heck do they always have good locations AND photographers?"

"Aw crap, I ran into a spiderweb trying to find my perfect location. Aaaaand now I'm going to have to worry about some massive spider running around this pretty dress. I bet you fashion bloggers don't run into spiderwebs." 

Said look is spiderweb regret

Luckily for me, one thing I didn't have to worry about was the dress itself. eShakti graciously sent me this dress to try out for a review, and I love it. My favorite thing about the dress is that it was made for my height. I always wondered that when I went to a store, how someone my height (5'3") could share a dress with someone much taller and get the same results. 

The answer? You don't. 

This is why eShakti is great, because you can have the dress customized to your specific measurements. Unfortunately, I didn't go the full customization route and I wish I had because while the dress fit really well in most places, it was a bit tight in the chest area. Even though I didn't do the whole custom shebang, the site still asked me my height and made sure the dress was cut to that specification. 

My second favorite thing about this dress? Pockets!!!! I love a dress with pockets. From what I can tell most, if not all, the dresses on eShakti have pockets. And what's even better is that if you hate pockets on your dress, you can have the dress customized without them!

I really could go on and on about how much I like this dress, but I won't. I will say one last thing, this dress also came with a piece of fabric sewn into the shoulders so I could clasp it around my bra. I truly wish all of my shirts/dresses had this option because it makes for wearing the dress so much better. No bra straps to worry about? Yes, please!

I would highly recommend checking out eShakti, especially if you have trouble finding clothes that fit you perfectly. You can also check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to get ideas for the best outfit for you! 

I received an eShakti dress as a form of compensation for my honest review. 

Why is it Called Bathing Suit if You Don't Bathe in it?

In June, my sister is getting married in Jamaica. I'm really excited for the event and the trip itself, of course. Aside from my bridesmaid dress all I really need to pack is a bathing suit and a toothbrush, right? 

I've started the search for the perfect bathing suit and here's what I've narrowed down so far. Fair warning, there are more J.Crew suits on here than others...I spent hours searching sites, and J.Crew just appeals to me more than what I found on other sites. 

Gold Trim Tank via J.Crew

Tulle Swim Set via J.Crew

Anne Cole Tankini Set via Macys

Bleu Rod Beattie via Zappos

Halter Wrap Tank via J.Crew

Michael Kors Tankini Set via Macys

Cutout Tank via J.Crew

Twist Front Bandeau and High Waist Brief  via J.Crew

What suit do you prefer? Do you have any suggestions?

Weekend Haul

This weekend Dave and I headed to the mall to try and find some new shirts for me. I don't know about you guys but whenever I feel under the weather for an extended period of time, it always ends up doing some major damage to my self esteem too. Shopping with the hubs and grabbing a few shirts always seems to do some wonders when it comes back to righting the wrong. 

We stopped by The Limited, and they were running an awesome BOGO sale. Here's what I picked up on our little spree:

Glossy Split V-Blouse

Pintucked Layering Blouse

Spirograph Cami

The Ashton Blouse

Shadow Dot Layering Blouse

I don't know how long their sale is going on for, but you can't beat BOGO!

On a side note, did you know that Williams-Sonoma smells like bacon? I'd sit in that store all day for the smell alone.