Walking Chambray and Scarf Throat

After feeling pretty crappy for a week or so, I finally had enough and dragged my whiny butt to the doctor last week. Two co-pays, two shots, two throat swabs, and one panel of blood work later, Sean and I were both sent on our merry ways, loaded down with prescriptions and school excuses. The diagnosis? Pneumonia and strep throat. I'm telling you, high school is petri dish. Unless, I caught this crud from Sean- in which case, elementary school is a petri dish. Oh, who am I kidding? School in general is a petri dish.

I'm on the mend, which means for me, I'm whining about everything again instead of just specifically not feeling well. I'm tired. My throat hurts. I'm really achy. Did I mention I have strep throat AND pneumonia? All very real things Curtis heard probably a million times last week. After resting at home for a couple of days (thank you doctor's excuse!), I really do feel much better, or maybe it was that steroid shot on my backside... Either way Saturday we all woke up feeling pretty spry and Sean decided we had earned a trip to the movies. Interestingly enough, I was showing off another movie theater outfit in my last post. Maybe I should just start doing a movie review/what I wore to the movie blog instead? I'd probably post with the same amount of frequency, but I might possibly have more to say that way. Worth thinking about later, when I'm not under the influence of codeine-laced cough syrup.

Cardigan- JCPenney's (old, but similar here, here, here)
Infinity Scarf Set- WalMart (in stores only, similar here and here)
Dress- Eshakti (bought last year, but similar here, here and here)
Boots- Old Navy (FOUR years old! Similar here, here, and here) 

I was feeling down last week, so, of course, I did a little online window shopping. I get a lot of women who ask about my rather extensive (embarrassingly so) cardigan collection, in particular my mustard cardigan, so I was super excited when I found one at Forever21+ for under $11. I shared it on my Facebook page, and now it's sold out. I mean it could be coincidence, or maybe Forever21+ needs to hire me now. Either way, I didn't link to it, because it's not there. However, they do still have a longer length mustard colored cardigan available for under $16, but if you want it, you better get it now because I can't guarantee how long it will be there!

Random head shot because new haircut and color!

Fall Essentials with J.Jill Life Stylers

The ladies at J.Jill offered to send me a few items to spruce up my fall wardrobe WAY back at the end of August. Now, at the end of October, it is finally cool enough down here to get to wear it. I know it's a totally blogger cliche, but fall really is my favorite season. I love the clothes; the candles smell awesome, and apple cider is my drink of choice (not pumpkin spice latte, though it's near the top of the list!)

Yorkshire Pullover- c/o J.Jill
Smooth-Fit Straight Leg Jeans- c/o J.Jill
Scarf- Old Navy (similar here)
Booties- Target (similar here)

You can't go wrong with a nice pair of jeans and a super chunky sweater, as far as I am concerned. Throw on a scarf and a cute pair of booties and you are ready for a nighttime football game or a late-night showing of Gone Girl. I'll let you guess which one I talked my husband into taking me to...

I've kinda sworn off buying jeans because we can't wear them to work, but when I read on J.Jill's website about these new Smooth-Fit jeans, I couldn't help being intrigued. One of the most unflattering qualities about most jeans are the pockets. They puckered up and poke out, adding extra girth exactly where I don't want it! However, the pockets in these jeans are super deep and then securely sewn into place- giving the front of the jeans a nice, smooth appearance and giving my stomach area just a little extra, well, you know--- a nice, smooth appearance. I will tell you this. If you are a long-legged gal then these jeans will be perfect for you, but if you are a little stumpy like me, you may want to size down to petite or be prepared to cuff or hem them.

Lessons Learned from The Most Magical Place on Earth

October has descended upon us. Halloween is just around the corner. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are in the hands of everyone, not just cliched fashion bloggers, trust me! I've been pretty quiet around these parts because September just totally kicked my butt. Between my "catfishing" issues and student privacy problems, I was feeling pretty beat down by the blog. Add to that "real" responsibilities, like shaping and molding the minds of the future and chaperoning the sophomore class homecoming float, and I was just too stretched to blog. Not to mention "real-real" responsibilities like raising a child and washing clothes (sometimes) and cooking meals (rarely in September) bearing down on me. Sometimes life just gets to be too much.

In the midst of all that, I was also planning a huge surprise trip to Disney for my son and my nephew. I've known about it for months now and have been keeping it a secret. Not an easy thing to do! Every night leading up to the big trip, I was out at the homecoming float site, trying to stay out of the way of twenty super-competitive sophomores.After working all day, followed up by a 3:00 PM- 8:00 PM shift at the float, I collapsed into bed, no energy to do anything other than sleep. I am a super planner and early packer, but I literally found myself throwing clothes haphazardly into a suitcase while Curtis was packing up the back of the van. I've never felt so unprepared for something I've been planning for months. Well, except maybe my wedding, but that's a story for a different blog post!

By most accounts my trip to Disney would have been considered a total disaster. It was unbearably hot and muggy, except on the 4 straight days that it monsooned on us. If I heard one Orlandoan comment that "It never rains this much", I heard one hundred say it, and the control freak in me was, well, freaking out. None of my FastPasses were for good times or we had to cross over the 2,000 miles of park to get to one attraction to the other. Sean sprained his ankle a few days before we left and walked with a limp that slowed us down considerably. I think by the midpoint of the vacation I had finally calmed down (or given up) enough to enjoy the imperfection of it. I finally realized that the 5-year-old and 6-year-old I was bending over backwards to create the "perfect magical experience" for would never know the amount of stress and planning that went into the trip or have the capacity to understand the stress and planning that went into it. They don't know that they missed certain attractions or shows or parades or fireworks or the extra Halloween party that cost almost $70 a person that I just couldn't afford to get, and you know what? They don't care.

They had an absolute blast. I've never seen my son happier, which is a little sad, or maybe that just means we need to move to Disney World? My nephew was thrilled with everything, though he much preferred the "Frozen' sing-along to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They met so many characters, and because we were celebrating both of their October birthdays and both were wearing big "Happy Birthday" buttons, approximately one million people wished them happy birthday. Y'all, MICKY MOUSE, sang "Happy Birthday" to my child at the Magic Kingdom! I don't know how that slightly creepy, animatronic, speaking costume worked, but I had tears in my eyes as it conversed with my slightly amazed, slightly freaked out child. It was truly one of the most magical moments of my life, maybe not of his life, but definitely in the top ten of mine!

I've never actually seen the movie "Frozen", blasphemy I know, but I think I kinda understand the whole "Let It Go" mentality. I may not be able to create frozen castles or anything cool like that with my magical fractal fingertips, but I was able to let go and enjoy the little  moments. No matter how imperfect they seemed to ME, it was magical and perfect for them. I learned a lot of lessons from my trip to Disney: always pack EXTRA ponchos, don't play around with those FastPass reservations, expect EVERYTHING to take TWICE as long as you planned, your kids won't like thrill rides or ice cream, and they will want every souvenir they see. But I also learned that a little magic goes a long way and that you are never too old to experience some fairy dust-infused magic. I've learned to appreciate the perfection that can be found in the imperfections of life.