Walking Like Legolas

"67% of a Triad"--Saturday, 2/4/17

Purple and teal are a great color combination because they are triadic colors.  I didn't go all in and add orange to this outfit, though--I thought the zebra print vest would be fun and, as it turns out, very functional because I always forget these jeans (technically, jeggings) don't have pockets!  So the vest offers a punch of pattern and a place to stash the power bank for my phone while playing Pokemon Go at the mall.  Then when walking by the river in the afternoon, it's a welcome extra layer of warmth.

Black and white zebra quilted vest (thrifted), $1.35/wear
Purple pullover sweater (Kohls), $1.70/wear
Teal-green scarf (Target), $1.00/wear
Black skinny jeans (thrifted, YMI), $0.40/wear
Fuzzy black boots (Walmart), $2.00/wear

Outfit total: $6.45/wear

"Leopard's Last Stand (or Walk)"--2/5/17

This work outfit with a grey leopard dress, denim jacket, and pop of burgundy from September 2015 was my inspiration for a similar winter weekend outfit... 

From mixmatchfashion.com

...only with burgundy/maroon on the legs instead.  As it turned out, this was the last huzzah for this sweater dress, which I like but can be oddly itchy at the seams under the arms.  It's not like constantly itchy, but manages to scratch at inconvenient moments.  It's too bad because it's an otherwise comfy (albeit short--just beyond fingertip length) dress for lounging or walking on the weekend.  But it had quite a going out party that involved Pokemon Go walking at three different parks in one (long) afternoon!  Although the dress will soon be gone, it won't be easily forgotten, as this was the dress I wore on the afternoon I caught 15 Omanytes.

Grey leopard sweater dress (Kohls), $4.00/wear
Blue denim jacket (Liz Claiborne/JCP), $3.23/wear
Grey scarf (Target), $1.71/wear
Maroon leggings
Maroon ankle boots by Dolce Vita, $7.21/wear

Outfit total: $16.15/wear

This little bun is astounded by how much walking we did this weekend.  Thankfully it wasn't extremely cold--a bit above freezing Saturday afternoon and about 28 F on Sunday afternoon (and not windy or it could have been bad).

In other news...There are still some treacherous icy patches in the parks, even though the sidewalks around our apartment are almost entirely clear.  At the large park we visited last on Sunday, there were gigantic sheets of ice on sidewalks, parking lots, and grassy areas.  Even though we almost entirely avoided these (racking up extra steps with all the detours we took), I still slid scarily about 3 times. 

But the first park we went to on Saturday was really great because there were several inches of snow everywhere (they did not clear the trails or anything) but it was packed so you didn't sink when you stepped on it.  It varied between a little soft and a little crunchy, but you walked on its surface like Legolas and felt like a total bad-ass...you know, like Legolas if Legolas caught cute little pocket monsters inside magic balls on a handheld device.  And Legolas totally would, right?  RIGHT?  I mean, if he weren't so busy rescuing good guys and killing bad guys because of the whole war thing.

From Wikipedia

It feels a bit like all we did was play Pokemon Go this weekend, but we also managed to do some cooking (though Instant Pot salsa verde chicken--a recipe we got from my dad--is so easy it hardly feels like cooking at all), laundry (I salvaged one new-burgundy-scarf-stained white t-shirt but not the other one), and all that usual stuff. 

Plus, I took down the difficult/time-consuming half of the ornaments from the Christmas tree--the ones that have special boxes you need to put them back in, the delicate ones that need to be bubble wrapped and then placed in shoe boxes, etc.  It's funny, I really get easily frustrated trying to find the right boxes for the Hallmark etc. ornaments, so I hate that part.  But then I realized that it's fundamentally like a hidden object game.  So I laid out about 6-8 of the boxes in a row, looked at them, and then went to the tree to see how many of them I could find.  As I found the corresponding ornaments (and boxed them), I replaced the filled boxes with more empty boxes until all the boxes were filled.  #gamification rocks

I'm still working through a backlog of interesting-looking articles.  This one Tam sent is another one that makes me glad to no longer be a grad student (or now an assistant professor) in the behavioral sciences.

Are you guys watching the Super Bowl?  I'm not, but Robert kind of is.  He just told me that there is a commercial with the ghost of Spuds Mackenzie.  Now there's a name that takes you back.

Wedgewood Blue #2

"Hunting Jacket Friday"--Friday, 2/3/17

I loved this combination from the seemingly-now-defunct blog Bureau of Chic--striped top, subtly patterned/textured jacket, flared jeans, boots.

From bureauofchic.com

Of course, part of it is the magnificent shape of that blazer.  My jacket has a more traditional cut (in the sense of the 19th century--hah, that polka dot ascot!), but I spiced things up with a long pendant + infinity scarf combo.  It made a nice departure from my recent puffy/quilted vest casual Friday outfits.

Light blue ("wedgewood blue")/white/orange striped pullover sweater (JNY), $2.34/wear
Grey herringbone hunting jacket (thrifted, Relativity), $2.25/wear
Flared jeans (thrifted, Lane Bryant), $0.15/wear
Grey ankle boots by Seychelles, $5.60/wear
Silver/bright beads owl pendant (Kohls), $2.33/wear
Coral lace scarf (Walmart), $0.69/wear

Outfit total: $13.36/wear

Speaking of interesting patterns/textures, I like the mottled look of this tortoise colored Dutch.

Not impressed with the idea of adding an owl to this situation.

In other news...My car came back from the shop today!  Next week, Robert won't have to chauffeur me to work and back.  They did an oil change, replaced a tire that had a slow leak due to a nail, replaced my battery, replaced a microfilter (?), flushed the brakes, and replaced the windshield wipers.  And then there was the big thing that caused my car to be in the shop since Tuesday.  I had a faulty eccentric shaft, eccentric actuator, and oil feed line, and they had to order the parts to replace them.  The only obvious symptom of the latter issue was that I heard a clicking sound under the hood when I unlocked the car.  Luckily my car is still under warranty so I only had to pay for the new tire and labor to replace it.  The problem with the eccentric shaft etc. would have cost $3,000 otherwise.  Eek.  Huzzah for warranties.  It's hard to believe that I will have had my car for 3 years in April...

Which means I will also have been at my job for 3 years in April.  What?!

Wedgewood Blue #1

"Meh Mixed Stripes"--Thursday, 2/2/17

This September 2015 outfit (hahahahahaha sleeveless shirt in September) was part of a style challenge featuring an oxford shirt, printed skirt, and pearls.  I only went with one of those items, but thought I'd try something light blue with black and white.

From alittlebitofcheer.com

I don't wear this "wedgewood blue" striped cardigan as much as I should, so I decided to pair it with a wavy-stripe skirt.  I think this was basically a mistake.  I mean, I don't think this would literally burn the eyes out of anyone's head, but the stripes did not play well together. And unusually, I had a meeting to lead today (albeit mostly sitting down), so I felt that my outfit would get more attention than usual.  Let's just say that this outfit did not make me feel confident.

White long-sleeved V neck T (Lands End), $1.09/wear
Black and white geometric reeds skirt (JCP)
Black polka dot skirt (Walmart), $1.84/wear
Black sweater tights
Tall black boots by Fitzwell, $2.23/wear
Black scarf (Target), $1.00/wear
Blue/black/white striped cardigan (JNY), $2.94/wear

Outfit total: $9.10/wear

I liked the plainness of the black scarf and white shirt with either the cardigan or the scarf (though not both together).  So after seeing these photos, I substituted my black skirt with small white polka dots and was much more satisfied.  This is an advantage to doing a photo shoot ahead of time--I get to make sure that outfits feel comfortable and see how they look, which somehow is sometimes easier to gauge from the photos than from the mirror.  (This skirt is so comfortable that I think that fact can overwhelm my aesthetic considerations when wearing it.)

This bunny is all, Silly human, next time you should substitute a bright pink cardigan to wear with all your black and white.  See how great that color combo is?

In other news...Well, Wednesday night our brief foray back into outdoor, after-work Pokemon walks came to a screeching halt as it was 15 F by 5:00.  So we stayed in, loaded ourselves up on our indoor exercise devices, and finally started watching season 5 of Longmire.  I so expected that we would have started this several weeks ago, but we found other ways to exercise.

Pokemon Go has also interfered with my plans to start playing Fallout New Vegas this winter.

Of course, we've got months of winter left to go...it doesn't matter what that groundhog does.

Rabbit Luck

"Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit..."--Wednesday, 2/1/17

If saying "rabbit rabbit rabbit" is good luck on the first of the month, surely wearing rabbit rabbit rabbit times a few hundred is even better luck.

Purple skirt (JCP), $2.97/wear
Cream/dark green rabbit blouse (Loft), $5.95/wear
Thick grey cardigan (thrifted, JCP), $0.71/wear
Gold crystal stone necklace (Loft), $7.80/wear
Grey tights
Grey ankle boots from Seychelles, $5.83/wear

Outfit total: $23.26/wear

And to cement the good luck, here's a Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit visual for you.  (See, Tam, I've got the rabbit rabbit rabbit thing covered!)

In other news...A co-worker sent this post to me at work today, knowing how much I love pie charts.

I wish I'd spent the day working on some cool visualizations but instead I was painstakingly entering data into the annoying database I've been complaining about recently, one person's data at a time, because for that project I'm living in 1990 only with the Internet.  I'm not kidding when I say that I spent about 6 hours to enter data (1-10 fields, numbers between 0 and about 20) for 500 people.  I can hardly wait until technology progresses to the point where we can upload a CSV file with the same data in about 2 minutes!

Dressing Up

"New Floral Scarf Revisited"--Monday, 1/30/17

When I wore this recently, I warned you that you'd be seeing more of this scarf soon.  And so it begins.

This time with red and true beige as the focus and navy as a support act.

Dark red dress (Kohls), $5.76/wear
Beige dress length cardigan (thrifted, Kohls), $1.31/wear
Navy tights
Navy ankle boots by Seychelles, $7.78/wear
Red/pink/navy/beige floral scarf (Lands End), $6.00/wear

Outfit total: $20.85/wear

I still haven't gotten to pattern mixing (I'm thinking polka dots or stripes as obvious first choices) but I'm loving the versatility of this color combination.

If I were a little braver, I might try wearing it with both pink and red in one outfit, but despite thinking it looks cute on others, I can't quite reconcile myself to that.

Would you wear pink and red together?

"Bundled Up Barbie"--Tuesday, 1/31/17

In this post from August 2015, dresses you can wear "now and in the fall" are featured.  You know, or in the winter if you go with leggings and a warm cardigan.

From bridgetteraes.com

I was originally going to wear this with my cream Skyrim cardigan, but I discovered that with a sleeveless dress, the cardigan is hella itchy on the arms (I've not noticed before because I always wear that cardigan with a long-sleeved barrier), so I substituted dark blue.

Sleeveless pink dress (Target), $5.00/wear
Dark blue boyfriend cardigan (thrifted, Laura Scott), $1.50/wear
Black leggings
Tall black boots by Fitzwell, $2.28/wear
Black/pink/blue striped scarf (Target), $2.40/wear

Outfit total: $11.18/wear

This scarf is actually a little bit itchy too--it's something about those metallic fibers, I think, and it makes me a bit hesitant to wear it--but it wasn't too bad with the high necked dress and cardigan underneath it.  It helped that I decided to wear it loose instead of tied around the neck.

For something a little different today, I present a couple of ring-necked ducks photographed at the DNR exhibit at the state fair.

In other news...The Economist recently published a special report on lifelong education that is worth reading in its entirety.  But this tidbit seemed relevant to me and at least a couple of my readers (i.e., over half of them, hah).

Over the past five years, demand for data analysts has grown by 372%; within that segment, demand for data-visualization skills has shot up by 2,574%.

I'm sure on the data viz side, that's from a low base, but still, I'll take it as a good sign.

And for an extra daily dose of cuteness in these trying times, check out this animal tweet off.

Black, White, Olive Weekend

Wearing this color combination two days in a row was a complete coincidence, but since reading significance into random events is a defining human trait, let's go with it.

"Black, White, Olive #1: Neon Zebra"--Saturday, 1/28/17

Olive top, black skirt, and a quilted vest are the key components in this easy weekend outfit.

From alittlebitofcheer.com

I got a little more aggressive in my choices, with a wild zebra print vest and some serious pattern mixing with the addition of a neon polka dot scarf.

Don't be concerned; I am wearing a skirt with this, too.  It just somehow didn't make it into the photo.  But if you've seen me in a knit hiking skirt, leggings, and fuzzy boots once...

Black knit hiking skirt (Patagonia/REI), $2.31/wear
Olive pullover sweater (Kohls), $2.12/wear
Black and white zebra quilted vest (thrifted), $1.69/wear
Black leggings
Black fuzzy boots (Walmart), $2.22/wear
Black scarf (Target), $1.09/wear
Black neon scarf (Target), $2.67/wear

Outfit total: $12.10/wear

Today's photo goes way back to a zoo trip in December 2010...because that's the last time I took zebra pics.  Clearly I need to get my act together and take my new camera to a zoo once the weather warms up a bit!

"Black, White, Olive #2: Professor Barbie"--Sunday, 1/29/17

Yes, this professor is a zoologist specializing in African equids (hence the stripes).  In the field, she tends toward olive linen and bright pink sunglasses, but today she's dressed for library research.  (Or, well, playing Pokemon Go at the mall, but can you really blame her?)

Black and white striped top with shoulder patches (Chaps/Kohls), $2.92/wear
Olive corduroy blazer (thrifted, JCP), $2.33/wear
Bright pink scarf (Target), $1.33/wear
Skinny jeans (JCP), $0.44/wear
Olive leopard flats (Nordstrom Rack), $2.31/wear

Outfit total: $9.33/wear

This bunny isn't falling for the "library research" story at all.

In other news...I had a pretty good weekend until Sunday afternoon, when I started getting sick.  I can't tell whether I have a sinus infection or just really bad allergies right now, but I think it's going to be a tough week.

Cutesy Apres-Ski

"Purple Puff"--Friday, 1/27/17

Continuing my jeans + puffy/quilted vest casual Friday streak with a new purple vest.  I was unaccountably cold in my office until about 3:45 this afternoon, so wearing a vest with "insultation: 80% down 20% feathers" was less silly than it sounds.  (I really expected to remove the vest by lunchtime but it didn't happen.)  I was also comfortable wearing this vest while Pokemon walking in my parking garage after work.

*Purple puffy vest (thrifted, Lands End), $5.24/wear
Black pullover sweater (thrifted, Macy's), $1.12/wear
Bootcut jeans (thrifted, Kohls), $0.32/wear
Black/teal/purple chevron scarf (Kohls), $2.19/wear
Purple flats (thrifted, Target), $1.05/wear

Outfit total: $9.92/wear

Is it silly to wear this vest with cute flats with bows on the toes?  Probably.  But I just wasn't feeling ankle boots or something more wintry in feel...though naturally I wore all weather mocs outside and changed into the suede flats inside my chalet office because I may be seasonally confused but I'm not actually insane.  

Naturally wearing something this puffy puts me in mind of a lady mini lop with a big, winter-ready dewlap, a being of complete puffy awesomeness.

In other news...This Mathematica-designed database that I am working with on a federal-grant-funded project gets more frustrating all the time.  I think I've complained before that there isn't any kind of data validation on data entry, and that the database inexplicably requires you to do things like, If you entered a date in field A, you have to enter the date again in field B, because the Mathematica program that calculates the performance metrics based on the database performs different calculations on the two fields and is apparently incapable of auto-filling the second field.

So in preparation for the quarterly report February 15, in which the Mathematica program calculates our numbers, I am trying to clean up the database, which has all the usual data entry screw ups of any database plus these extra errors that are because the database is dumb as all fuck.  And when trying to fix the dates for field B so they all correspond appropriately with field A, I started getting this data validation error that meant that I couldn't save the change--a data validation error on other data that had been previously entered and saved by program staff.  WTF?  They decided in the third year of having this database that they needed data validation, but it only comes into play when you try to change the data in other fields?  I don't know.

All I know is that my opinion of Mathematica as a company has nose-dived since working on this project.

It's a good thing I was over my migraine before tackling this problem this afternoon.  Speaking of which, here is a photo of yesterday's Alice-heavy migraine outfit.

100% real outfit, not pajamas

"Off with her head"?  That might have helped my headache...