OOTD- Floral Pink Blouse

Top - Forever 21

Pants - Kourtney Jeans by the Kardashian Collection at JC Penney

Shoes - Soda shoes - Marshalls $10

Watch - Francesca's $18

Gold Link Bracelet - Kenneth Cole - Nordstrom Rack

This was a Friday work outfit.  Whenever I wear jeans, I wear a nice top (blouse) with it to still salvage some form of authority in the classroom.  I do believe the way we dress as professionals determines the amount of respect we receive. Not that I agree with that being the way it should be, but that IS the way it is.

My boyfriend decided he wanted to get into my blogging life and requested a pic be posted of him.  I was courteous and not only uploaded him, but uploaded the sandwich he made for me to have for lunch as well.  Shout out to those of you who get your lunches made. Raise the roof.  Ok, I'll stop.

Do you wear denim jeans to work?

Teaching Tip of the Day- Booksapp2

Track your classroom book collection with this nifty app! Booksapp2 claims to store records of your books on your iPad by only scanning the barcode or book cover and voila. Well it doesn't do that... BUT it is pretty great still. Just add books by ISBN and it will conduct a google search. Once it identifies your book, it will add it to the collection you choose such as "school" or "home."

It tags the books with categories such as "thriller" or "romance" which makes it especially easy to track your inventory. When a student borrows a book from me, I document it in the notes section of the description page of the book.

Loving this app. Download it for free! How do you track your classroom book inventory?

Deal of the Day- Sapphire Chevron

I read on Instagram about Christmas Tree Shop having chevron pattern pillows. I sat on the idea of stopping by because well... Do I really neeeed another pillow? I have about 4 that should go in my bed, but I rarely fully make my bed so they kind of just chill in the corner.

Today I reached my peak and knew I wouldn't stop thinking about the affordable crooked stripes until I at least went to go see them for myself. They had them in black, coral, grey and sapphire.

My current living room has a lot of purple decor... When I moved out, Pinterest wasn't invented. I have obviously established a more sophisticated and tasteful palette for decor since that time. In order to add to what I have, I chose the sapphire pillow. This way I can work on jewel tones: plum (amethyst) and sapphire and incorporate gold metal in there too. Oh yeah and I may have found a sapphire blue ceramic pot too...

The pillows were marked at $9.99, but were only $6.99 at the register! What is the most amount of money you've ever spent on a pillow?

OOTD - Black Maxi and Cheetah

Maxi Dress- Target (Maternity Section) Last Year

Cheetah Zip Cardigan - Old Navy

Watch - Fossil

Wedges (Can't see) - Target

This dress is a maternity style dress but that doesn't mean I'm preg.  This was the only maxi style dress that I could find that had thick straps that wouldn't reveal my bra straps while teaching. 

Are you still going to rock maxi dresses this summer?

OOTD - Pink Skinnies and Chambray Tunic

Top - Joyce Leslie - Years Ago

Pants- Francesca's - On Clearance for $12

Watch - Fossil - Macy's $150

Shoes - Kenneth Cole Reaction Wedges - Marshall's $25

Yes, I'm wearing colored skinnies to work again.  I like wearing an over-sized shirt with these pants because I think they're a little too tight in the stomach area... #girlproblems.

How do you conceal your problem areas?

OOTD - Seafoam Stripes and Teal

Top - Francesca's $30?

Pants - Michael Kors - Marshalls $40

Watch - Francesca's $18

Shoes - Sperry Top Siders / Cheetah Print on Sides - Zappos.com

Thankfully, this isn't a blog on hair.  Or else I would have negative 10 subscribers.  I know.

I like wearing colored skinnies to work because it's easy to wear pants at work, it's a pop of color, and my students appreciate my effort on keeping up with the trends.  It's not like I wear things all the time because I know it will impress them; it's just nice to remind them you're a person too and that you can rock some trends too.

In some work places this outfit could never fly because it's too loud/casual.  But for my school, I think colored skinnies are appropriate. I always wear colored skinnies with a blouse (as opposed to a tshirt) and sometimes a blazer and try to dress it up with appropriate accessories (like my watch).

Reflection: I also could have wore nude wedges or my tan Kenneth Cole wedges with the gold studs.

Are colored skinnies acceptable at your place of employment?

Project of the Day- Coffee Table

I've been waiting a year and a half to do something to this trunk I bought at goodwill from before I moved out of my parents' house. This trunk has served the purpose of a coffee table, but it was a little low for my liking. Plus, I felt like it was missing a finishing touch.

The plan was to get decorative legs at Lowes, stain them to match my tv stand, and then attach them to the base of the trunk. On the way down the aisle to the legs, we spotted curtain finials that were already pre-finished and seemed sturdy enough for the project. We spotted a deal on $5 finials (they were on clearance). Although, the finials in the picture are more my cup of tea (for $12 for a box of 2). This was our first home project together and everything in my apartment is already mine so I wanted him to be able to have some say and the price was right. We went with the clearance finials.

We went to my parents and rounded up :

• A saw
• A drill
• Small blacks of wood (3x3x1)
• Screws

The bf used the saw to cut 4 small blocks of wood for each corner of the trunk. He used 2 screws each (going from the bottom, inward) to secure the blocks inside the chest.
Then he used a drill bit smaller than the screw of the finial to make a hole for the finial to screw into. Finally, he screwed in the finials.

Reflection: If I had to re-do this project, I would chose the finials I originally wanted. The ones we ended up with look nice enough, but I think it would have looked nicer with chunkier legs. (After seeing the project complete, I think my bf agrees too). At the same time, I'm really glad we came across these pre-finished finials because it required no drying time!

What do you think about using a trunk as a coffee table? Too vintage? Just right?