Zebras

...Outside the African Grassland Habitat--Wednesday, 12/30/15

Looking for a way to wear my short sleeved zebra print silk shell, I found these three ideas.  First, a wintery version (with a too-short skirt and over-the-knee boots that would not be ideal for wearing to my job).

From sarahsreallife.com

Second, a straight up summery business professional version with a sleeveless blouse.

From thecorporatecatwalk.blogspot.com

Third, a blue dress with black and white animal print flats (yes, same person as in photo #1) just as further support for the cobalt + black/white idea.

From sarahsreallife.com

My business casual winter look combines the black and white animal print top and shiny necklace from the first outfit and the (unfortunately poofier type of) faux wrap skirt (but yay pockets?) from the second outfit.  Make it seasonally appropriate with the addition of tights and a blazer, and voila.

*Zebra silk shell (JNY), $17.40/wear+
Cobalt blue skirt (eShakti), $11.67/wear
Black ponte knit blazer (Target), $2.27/wear
Silver blob necklace (JNY), $2.25/wear
Black wedges (thrifted), $0.31/wear

Outfit total: $33.90/wear

With the black cross top wedges that Tam likes, just because.

In other news...Tomorrow I am going to help one of my co-workers with stuffing envelopes.  Our admin is unexpectedly out this week, so several of us (i.e., all 5 of us that are in the office this lonely week between Christmas and New Year's) are pitching in an hour of work each to get the job done. 

Stuffing envelopes--that's a blast from the past, right?  Back in my survey research days at the state, stuffing envelopes was a not-uncommon task.  It was a running joke among the analysts who did surveys to say "Good thing you took that graduate seminar in envelope stuffing!" when we'd see each other in the mailroom, organizing our mail-outs. 

Remember how I'd get workers in the job corps internship program to help me with the survey mail-outs?  Remember the worker who was unable to fold a single piece of paper in thirds because the idea of creasing the paper was beyond him?  Yeah, that remains one of the highlights (lowlights?) of my career.  I wonder what happened to that guy.  Jail?  I mean, he'd make an incredibly incompetent criminal if he has any tendencies in that direction.  Winner of the Darwin Award by killing himself stupidly?

The cold weather has me and this sweet bunny all hunkered down.  He is also a bit bug-eyed with horror at that worker's inability to fold a piece of paper...or his willingness to try to fold a piece of paper without chewing it, because chewing is obviously the right and good thing to do with it.  Note to self: Do not hire rabbits to help with paper survey mail-outs.  Or with phone surveys--they do not make good interviewers.  Bunnies are strictly Internet survey workers only.

Back to Work

Bird (Jail) House Fashion--Tuesday, 12/29/15

A pink dress and black/white striped blazer is a nice combination.

From clothedwithgrace.blogspot.com

But to make this outfit cold-weather compatible, I added a black t-shirt on top of the dress, underneath the blazer.  And the inevitable tights, of course.

Sleeveless bright pink dress (Target), $14.00/wear+
Black and white striped knit blazer (Nordstrom), $7.08/wear
Black knit top (Walmart), $1.00/wear+
Bright pink silk bird scarf (Nordstrom), $10.00/wear+
Black tights
Black heeled oxfords (thrifted), $0.83/wear

Outfit total:$32.91/wear

So, yeah, my striped blazer is a bit more in-your-face prison style, but you mix those big house stripes with cute little sparrows, and well, you have an outfit that perhaps says "mental facility" as much as it does "correctional center."  But I like it even if it looks like Hamburglar has attracted a flock of sparrows by eating French fries outdoors in a messy way.  (I'm not sure what kind of sparrows these are, incidentally, so perhaps they have traveled a very long way indeed.)

This mini rex matron approves of bold black and white patterns.

In other news...What's cuter than an otter?  A baby otter!

It wasn't easy to go back to work today.  I'm still feeling kinda crappy (though better than yesterday) and it snowed a fair amount overnight--enough that the snow was higher than the curbs, making driving on the (unpaved) back residential streets to work a bit challenging.  The parking lot (where I bumped the curb getting into the driveway) was almost completely empty, and I saw only a few people in the office.  But my office mate was in, so it didn't feel deserted.

My goal for this (thankfully short) work week:  get through it.

Holiday Illness

And Cheshire Rabbits--Monday, 12/28/15

It's just as well that I'd asked for today as a vacation day from work to recover from our trip because I have a lot more recovery than I'd hoped.  I got sick last Monday and am still sick, though not as bad I was mid-week.

So obviously it's a day to wear a ludicrous Alice/rabbit themed outfit.

And because my stomach is hurting, I am wearing my new rabbit pajama bottoms with it.  Does it get much sillier than this?  Well, I'm wearing my glasses rabbit watch and little bunny stud earrings (Robert gave them to me yesterday as an unbirthday present) too elevate the silly factor.  I might be wearing rabbit slippers later as it cools off today.

Alice in Wonderland T (Out of Print), $3.29/wear
Bright pink Cheshire striped top (thrifted, JCP), $0.29/wear
Grey leopard jacket (thrifted, Macy's), $1.00/wear

So I plan to sit around doing not a hell of a lot today, including playing my latest simple but addictive free phone game, 1010.  It's a puzzle game like Tetris in which you place shapes in a grid to destroy lines of blocks (horizontally and vertically) but it isn't a timed game.  The trick is to leave enough space on the grid for the pesky 1x5 and 3x3 shapes.

1 More Day

Layers Galore--Friday, 12/11/15

Button up shirt, black sweater, striped knit blazer, jeans, bright red shoes?  This I can do.

From ajourneyinstyle.blogspot.com

I don't know whether her sweater was long-sleeved or not, but I find that this is one of the perfect ways to wear a sweater vest...you know, for those times you don't want to look like a 70s librarian, and instead are rocking a boldly striped prisoner costume blazer.

Teal and black leopard blouse (thrifted, Express), $2.00/wear+
Black sweater vest (thrifted, Foxcroft), $0.67/wear
Black and white striped knit blazer (Nordstrom), $8.85/wear
Bootcut jeans (thrifted, Target), $0.33/wear
Aqua/red/white bead necklace (Target), $2.47/wear
Red flats by Me Too, $2.98/wear

Outfit total: $17.30/wear

The inspiration photo is definitely a more simple take on this concept, but I had to add a hint of pattern mixing and a big-ass necklace.  I thought the colors of the necklace brought some cohesion to the red/gold shoes and the teal shirt.  Also it's just cool-looking against the black background of the vest.

In other news...Ack!  It's time to pack!  We're leaving for our long road trip south tomorrow morning.  1 more day?  It's a lie, I tell you.  A bold-faced lie.

2 More Days

And a Birthday Too--Thursday, 12/10/15

Lilli has an amazing collection of dresses (as befits her blog's name).  But this was a simple yet elegant combination I thought I could work with from my closet.

From frocksandfroufrou.com

For drapey blue cardigan enter the blue Aztec snakeskin sweatshirt cardigan!  (Which is definitely one of the most distinctive names for something in my closet.  I never wonder which blue Aztec snakeskin sweatshirt cardigan I mean when I write that.)

Sleeveless navy dress (Target), $9.33/wear
Blue Aztec snakeskin sweatshirt cardigan (thrifted, Rafaella), $1.67/wear+
Navy tights
Navy ankle boots by Seychelles, $10.77/wear
Navy scarf (Target), $2.40/wear

Outfit total: $24.17/wear

This neck-to-toe monochromatic outfit is atypical for me but I enjoyed it.  (And I did have the long scarf thing going to keep it from being too un-Sally-like.)

In other news...I was very productive at work today, which I need to be if I'm going to get out of there on time tomorrow for vacation!

3 More Days

What to Wear When Interviewing for a Research Analyst--Wednesday, 12/9/15

The key elements of this inspiration outfit were striped shirt, black suit vest, subtly black/grey patterned skirt, tights, and black shoes.

From inthewriterscloset.blogspot.com

For my version, I used a burgundy striped button up shirt, a more fitted vest, and a new grey tweed skirt.

Burgundy/black/grey striped button up shirt (thrifted, Kohls), $2.00/wear+
*Grey tweed skirt (thrifted, Ann Taylor), $7.50/wear+
Black suit vest (thrifted, JCP), $1.33/wear
Grey tights
Black heeled oxfords (thrifted), $1.00/wear
Silver chain link necklace from Mom

Outfit total: $11.83/wear

This photo gives you a better sense of the colors/patterns/textures involved.  I was really pleased with how it turned out.

In other news...I am linking to this article about the significance of people's names mostly because it reminded me of a conversation Robert and I overheard at The Cocoanuts this weekend.  (The people seated directly behind us were talkative and opinionated before the show and during the intermission.)  One of the people involved in the production has the first name Tree, which was considered amusing and ridiculous by this group as they were looking over the program.  The woman in the group (in her 30s, I think) was like, "Tree, that's ludicrous.  I'm going to call you...Sally.  Sally, that's a nice name." 

Now we know the secret of my success.  My familiar name, that people can process with great fluency, and yet that doesn't remind them of their overbearing relative, or their annoying next door neighbor, or that bitch they knew in high school.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Both of the candidates we interviewed today were men with common, standard white American names.

4 More Days

Color Combo--Tuesday, 12/8/15

This photo inspired me to try an outfit mixing light blue, olive and white.  (I also want her adorable fluffy dog...)

From work-it-blog.blogspot.com

I switched the colors of the shirt and cardigan, put on a white necklace, and a seriously comfortable outfit is born.

Olive cardigan (Kohls), $12.32/wear+
Light blue long-sleeved top (Kohls), $1.70/wear+
*Denim trousers (thrifted, Boden), $5.24/wear+
White swag necklace (Kohls), $3.61/wear
Olive leopard flats (Nordstrom Rack), $5.99/wear

Outfit total: $28.86/wear

It's odd--did these pants somehow get bigger in the wash?  I would swear they were not so baggy and long when I tried them on at the store (and I know that I haven't miraculously gotten smaller over the holidays).  Of course, bagginess has not stopped me before, and it won't stop me from wearing these, but it's a confusing thing.  I guess I need to hem them...grrrrr.  The top I wore yesterday has also developed a gap in a seam that I need to close up too (luckily it was covered by my cardigan so I didn't notice it until last night), so I will be doing some minor sewing when I get back from Christmas vacation.  I should think about whether there are any other small jobs I've thought about but have put off.

In other news...Pants getting bizarrely and annoyingly bigger and longer?  That's just about right for how my day started out, feeling sick and nauseated and not at all wanting to take my morning flax oil (though I did).  All hail the mayor of Grump Town.  I was sitting at my computer around 7:55 a.m., not wanting to go to work, but Tam sent an email with the final exam that she wrote for her probability class, and the exam had an image of a rabbit wearing glasses on one of the pages and an image of an otter on another.  This gave me the will to get off my duff and drag my bedraggled self to work.

My tardiness was such that on my drive to work, I heard on the radio a Christmas song by Sibelius (it is the 150th anniversary of his birth today) sung by the incomparable Anne Sofie von Otter...who is not only the most glorious mezzo-soprano but whose name is Otter! 

And now I'm home from work.  Hurrah!