I Couldn't Stay Away

And look, I've totally forgotten how to take a proper outfit photo after just a week off from style blogging! Just as I thought I had everything all figured out, I spotted this dress at Loft. It was half off, and with my $20 "rewards coupon" (which means I spend WAY too much of my money at Loft), it ended up being $20. Stylenation, you know I can't pass up a good deal.



I love the cute lace yolk styling on the neckline and the elastic waist that was just begging to be belted.  And I thought that being 2 neutrals that are already pretty heavily represented in my wardrobe, it'd be easy to work into my rotation.  The problem is the high neckline.  I ended up pairing it with a black boyfriend cardigan that would accommodate the shape of the neckline.  But that's the best I could do.  And you know I need some more color than this.  How would you style this dress?



Dress: Loft
Cardigan: Ann Taylor
Belt and tights: Target
Earrings and Necklace: New York & Company
Shoes: Born

Cheers for the memories

Hello Style Nation.  After Anne's very sweet "stepping back" post, I thought I'd say a few words before I sign off the style blogging world for now.  Since I last posted many moons ago, I feel that my priorities have shifted towards new things.  I still really love style and I read many blogs still (although my ability to comment has gone).  But after some good long talks with the Blokey, accompanied by some money related goals, I've decided to basically stop buying clothes as much as possible, and not blogging helps a lot with that. I pretty much wear black, grey, and other neutrals all the time.  Hopefully still in a stylish way.  One of my grad students, who is a self-declared shopaholic, told me yesterday that I "dressed well."  (I was flattered.  The other students made fun of him).

(A pretty typical outfit lately.  I also wore a knee length pencil skirt, black tights, and 3 year old black kitten heels)

But in addition, I've had lots of new, exciting things that I've been involved with.  Surely you didn't think someone who calls themselves "Rad" would sit on the sidelines during Occupy Wall Street?   This requires multiple, 3 hour (sometimes longer!) "participatory democracy" based meetings every week, in which everything is discussed, at length.  (Did you see the video with Ketchup on Colbert Report?  The hand signals are about right).  In addition to my participation in a couple working groups, I've also recently become an "irregular correspondent" on a Chicago-based community radio program, This is Hell.  Well, it's not official yet, but I agreed to it on air last weekend.  This is all on top of this my usual teaching/research/service, as well as a running regimen.  Lastly, Steven and I are in the midst of a key marital dispute over whether to get a dog (I say yes; he tries not to roll his eyes). 

Hope all is well and I will continue to follow your blogs on Googlereader.  I do not have plans for any additional blogs, but perhaps I'll have a political one in the future.  In the meantime, happy November to all!  If anyone comes to NYC, I'd love to meet up for some herbal tea (which is in the cup above) and many some Caribbean food.

Taking a Step Back

I don't know how to say this aside from just coming out and saying it - I'm going to be stepping back a bit from this blog right now.  It's not that I don't like sharing my office style with you all, but I just don't feel like I have a lot to actually write about here.  Sartorially, I've gotten myself into a pretty good groove.  Some may call it a rut, but what I've come to realize is that it's just my own personal style.  I've found it, and since it's pretty consistent, there's less posts where I'm experimenting with new looks or seeking advice on how to wear things.  I'm just happy and comfortable with the way I'm dressing, which is a pretty good place to reach.  Now I have outfit photos just sitting on my desktop, waiting to be posted because I don't have much to say about them.  I'll still be posting outfits, but probably not as often.  Meanwhile, if you need your fill of me in the blogosphere, you're welcome to check out my photo blog, where I'm currently about halfway through my own 365 project.  And because I really enjoy writing and clearly needed another blog, I recently started up a personal blog.  So there you have it.

And who knows, maybe this opens the door for Rad to finally return to TCC :)

Cardigan: Target
Tank: Loft Outlet
Pants and Necklace: New York & Company
Shoes: Tsubo

Going the Distance

Dress, cardigan and tights: Target
Necklace: New York & Company
Shoes: Born

Happy Monday, all! How was your weekend? Mine was incredibly busy. Fella and I both had family visiting from out of town, so it was fun to catch up with everyone. And on top of all of the family time, we participated in the Hot Chocolate 5k and 15k. Fella and his friend ran the 15k, and I did the 5k with a few girlfriends. I did my first 5k back in May of 2010, but it had been so long, I forgot about how awesome it feels to actually finish one. I'm not generally a big runner, so I didn't train as much as I could have. I'm hoping to do another one later this year, and with some actual training, I'd like to knock about 3 minutes off my time. Anyway, the run was bright and early on Saturday morning. It was a perfect day to run through the streets of downtown Chicago, and our reward for finishing was - you guessed it - chocolate!  We received Ghiradelli chocolate squares, hot chocolate and fondue.  Totally worth running for.

Before the run, downtown Chicago at about 7:15am

Running along Michigan Avenue

The Chicago skyline at the post-race party

Me and Fella after the run

I Can't Stop Wearing This Dress

I feel like I wear this dress a lot, so much so that I had considered making it take a little break.  But apparently I haven't blogged it nearly as much as I've worn it, so at least you all won't get sick of it just yet.  It's a great print in colors that are easy to style around, comfortable and flattering, so I can't help myself.  What piece(s) do you have that you just can't stop wearing?

             



This close-up was intended to show you my brooch-wielding (or my necklace emboobening), but since I'm also sharing my puffy undereyes with the blogosphere, can we talk skin care for a moment?  As in, can any of you recommend an eye cream that actually works?  I've been using Clinique's All About Eyes Rich for a while, and though it feels nice, it hasn't done much for the puffiness.  Before that, I tried Garnier's Skin-Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller and a few others that I can't remember off-hand.  Most recently, Fresh Lotus Eye Gel was recommended to me.  But before I shell out $50 on another eye cream, I want another opinion.

Dress: Target (remixed, as above)
Cardigan: The Limited (remixed)
Necklace and brooch: New York & Company
Tights: Target
Boots: Eddie Bauer

Happy (belated) Halloween!

And more importantly, happy November!  How on earth did it get to be November already?  I think I've said that at the start of every month this year.  But really.  Anyway, what did you all do to celebrate Halloween?  Fella and I aren't big Halloween people.  It's a fun holiday when you're a kid, and it's been fun seeing all of my friends' adorable kiddies all dressed up.  And I may be hunting for dog Halloween costumes which should hopefully now be on sale (I've had my eye on this banana costume for Jude and cow costume for Meko). But dressing up as a grown-up?  Eh, it's not for me.  Though we did carve pumpkins and stock up on candy.  On Saturday night, which was the big Halloween party night around here, we turned down an invitation to go out with our neighbors and stayed in and grilled and watched Crazy Heart (I know, we're SO behind on movies) instead.  And above is my not festive work ensemble from yesterday.



Cardigan: Target
Tank: Loft
Pants: New York & Company
Necklace: The Limited
Shoes: Privo
Sunglasses: Loft


Happy Halloween from Meko & Jude pumpkins!