Day 4 of 30 Whales & Skulls

I have had this Libertine for Target skirt forever! I love it but it is a cream background so it can be hard to mix. I used the navy cardigan to bridge it with a white & navy striped shirt.

Navy cardigan: Jcrew sale XS

Striped navy shirt: AE 0

Skirt: Libertine for Target 1

Tights: Target M/L

Boots: Steve Madden

Belt: ?

Trying to do the tied-belt thing. I think I might just buy really big belts and tie them up like I have seen you all do. This one needs to have its buckle removed. I was tucking it in all day!

I wish I had more of the stuff from this collection!  I don't know if you can see it but the skirt has a big kick-pleat in the front which I love!

I tried this with brown boots but they just weren't working. I kept staring at the boots in the mirror. I stuck to black.  Regular-length boots make you feel so exposed after wearing OTKs a few days a week!

This outfit kept me in a good mood today. I love skirts with big pockets. They just add humor. I hope you are all having a great week! Thank you for the follows! :)

Don't buy

Saturday. I am supposed to be revising an article but instead have been looking at J.Crew's 40% off sale/Free shipping on $100. Argh. I will refrain. It isn't that hard. It is annoying to see the things I have been waiting for (heather grey cashmere turtleneck sweater!!) go on sale so drastically. But I know J.Crew will make these items forever, and I have enough in my closet.

But if I WERE normally employed (non-GPTI salary) and had some extra money to burn, this is what I would buy:

• Cashmere turtleneck sweater in Grey Heather $119+40%
• Factory Always Striped cardigan in Navy 39+40% The contrasting stripes are great!
• Always Perfect button-down in white $60 [reg price]. They stretch after a while, and I am on my 3rd one.

 And I am oddly attracted to:

• A cashmere Henley in an unexplainable orange-red color called Cherise $99+40%. Not sure what the attraction is... Yes I do: it is all the bloggers wearing really bright skirts lately against the snow/grey skies, and the closest thing I have is a (dark & somber) maroon fluted skirt from Ann Taylor Loft '05.

Unfortunately, I just looked up how much I would be saving and the total cost would be about $167 down from $256. I want those items! But I am refraining. I have stuff to wear here. And $167 is groceries for a whole month, and gas, and if I spent that much at J.Crew, it would only be for three items. Yes, one is regularly priced at $158 , but I will not die if I don't have it. It would just be nice...

I have been really proud of myself for not spending hardly any money on clothes this school year, but I think I could do better. The only items I have bought were some neutral cardigans (on a drastic sale) from J.Crew in mid-October. It is harder to refrain from basics like sweaters or cardigans or white shirts because I can see where I would immediately wear them, or that having them would help me wear XYZ. Shoes are less of a problem. I used to buy a few pairs of shoes per season, but the only ones I have bought this school year were my running shoes (which I desperately needed) and the boots I found for $50. I am glad I already have what I need to get through most of the days.

I feel better about blowing off that J.Crew sale! I just need to get a grip sometimes.

UPDATE
Was just reading a blog post about not being able to find work after earning advanced degree...sobering! Now I am extra glad I refrained from that sale.

Owls about staying late?

Ha! There I am. I haven't played around with photos, blogging, etc., and I figured if I let 30/30 be the first time I went live, It'd be trouble. My apartment is trashed (and you can pretty much see all 400 square feet of it!) and I took this pic around 6:30 after the sun had gone down. I will have to play around with lighting and figure out if my camera has a self-timer this weekend.

I knew today would be madness (28 tickets in the queue :O ) and the main IT guy is still out sick. Working IT and teaching on the same days is a toughie, outfit-wise. You can get grimy crawling around behind the hardware, but I still want to look cute for teaching my course! I knew today would have to be a casual day due to the tickets, although I really wanted to debut my new boots.

Now you can see my makeup explosion...hmm the point of this one was to show the shoes!

This is a close-up of the owl print. I was paired this with an orange Dooney bucket bag but I forgot to include the bag in the pics.

Oh well. This is what I am wearing head to toe:
Necklace: James Avery
Cardigan: J.Crew ($19)
Black tank: Psst from Nordstrom Rack ($7)
Owl tank: Forever 21 ($20?)
Belt: a black ribbon likely pulled from a F21 dress
Watch: Citizen
Jeans: Seven lightweight Dojos from Nordstrom Rack
Shoes: Steve Madden ($29)

And one last pic of my helper, Boris Snoris I Adoris, my darling Boston Terrorist.