High heels, high expectations

This morning I posted an optimistic Facebook status:

I was glad it was so well-received, but I think that my reality fell flat of my hopes today. Sometimes you've got to crash and burn in order to learn something, right? You've got to take your critical feedback in stride and get right back on the horse. 

If you've got to fail, at least you can look like a winner while doing it. 

Blazer: Camden Market, London
Blouse: Thrifted
Skirt: Target
Tights: (probably) Forever 21

Shoes: Madden Girl (hand-me-up from little sister)
Brooch: Antique
Rings: Meijer jewelry counter
Photos: Hakala Imagery

This brooch is the most fabulous thing. Some close-ups of it in action, and me looking about as frazzled as I feel.

Tomorrow is a new day, folks. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

Cool colors, warm heart

Today it was so lovely outside that I didn't even need a coat to keep me warm... just a big cable-knit sweater and a scarf!

If you ever see me 'round campus, this is what I usually look like: bundled up with some oversized shades on, hunching my shoulders and gazing blankly into the distance. So hip, I know. 

Today I've had a couple of meetings (one virtual, one in the writing center on campus), and I went grocery shopping because I was all out of...

• Vegetables
• Ground ginger
• Pico de gallo
• Black beans and rice
• Deodorant
• Multivitamins

...which are basically all of the things that I need to survive in this world. Between that and my recent haircut, I'm feeling more like a well-adjusted human being; although I did manage to lock myself and the puppy out of the house for nearly six hours last night, so let's not speak so fast on that.

I meant to duplicate my house key at the grocery store too. Damn.

Dress: Hand-me-up from younger sister, tag says H&M
Tights: ???
Sweater: Old Navy
Scarf: Shop in Pittsburgh's Strip market

Sunglasses: Somewhere in Ann Arbor?
Bag: Nine&Co for Kohl's
Earrings: Forever 21
Booties: Love Culture

Rings: Tres Joli and family heirloom
Nails: Maybelline Express Finish "Minty Minty"

Photos: Hakala Imagery

Detail shot on the earrings and manicure:

Please enjoy this final image, wherein I resemble some sort of deranged small child. Happy weekend, everyone!

Splitting at the seams

I will update my blog more than once a month! I will! I will!

This outfit and its accompanying accessories and details are quintessentially grad school. And by that I mean this: they are falling apart. 

This dress is a vintage find from an art fair last summer. I cut out most of the lining because it was completely shredded, but there still is some work to be done (like re-hemming the bottom, fixing the collar, sewing up some holes that are forming under the arms, etc.; I knew I should have listened to my grandmother when she tried to teach me how to sew)... but I couldn't resist wearing it on this crisp autumn day. Though it is frayed and worn, it remains a sight to behold.

I think that I also love it because it reminds me of this Dior number that Rachel Weisz wore at Cannes:

You will notice that my left shoe also looks rather ragged. That's because my parents' dog ate it a couple of years back. These Oxfords are an old souvenir from my two months spent in London, so they are well-loved and well-traveled.

Also, there are few things that I wouldn't do for some time to get my hair cut right now. This is the shaggiest it's been since 2010, and I feel like an old English sheepdog.

Some details:

Dress: Vintage, via Ragstock

Tights: Forever 21
Oxfords: Primark

Typewriter Necklace: ALikelyStory at Etsy

Rings: Tres Joli at Etsy and Grandma's class ring

Hairpiece: ???

Nails: CoverGirl Stay Brilliant "VioLast"

Photographs: Hakala Imagery

The first year of grad school is teeming with holes, I think. I am ever-aware of the holes in my knowledge, holes in my budget, and (with my newly embraced single status) holes in my heart. How fortunate am I to be surrounded by family and friends and mentors equipped with all manner of needle and thread to help mend me.