The Importance of “Me Time”

April 2, 2018 by Virginia 7 Comments

We are getting closer and closer to Spring Break and boy do I need it! Both of my classes are in a place now where I’m up late into the night, barely holding my head above water. I’m trying hard to remember my own advice – find balance beyond the workplace – but sometimes that’s easier to do than at other times. Right now that balance is almost non-existent, hence why I missed last week’s blog post! Last Friday we didn’t have school and for the first time in weeks I spent the day doing non-school things that I love. That’s what I want to talk about today, the importance of “me time”.

Friday morning I woke up, grabbed my cup of coffee with my favorite creamer and sat on the couch in the morning sun. There’s something about this simple act that gives me so much peace. Morning light is happy light and as I sat there admiring my gallery wall, the pictures brought back memories of my wedding, vacation destinations and special family moments. My entire family is coming to visit in a few weeks during Spring Break and it got me thinking about what else I want fixed up about the house before they came.

Shopping for Affordable Pillow Covers

Right below my gallery wall is a chair with an uncovered pillow form! It’s been sitting there waiting for a spring pillow cover since I removed the plaid ones after Christmas! So, I got to spend some time scouring the internet looking for fun pillow covers to go with these DIY pillow cases that I made last year. I found a ton of great options and ended up buying two of these and also this pair. At such great prices, I couldn’t pass them up! I found so many great options I thought I’d round-up a bunch to share with you all as well.

Each pillow cover comes in multiple sizes and/or patterns. Most are under $10 and some are sets where you get two for under $20! Aren’t these embroidered pillows gorgeous!?! They are a steal too! And these come in 25 different colors and patterns!

*This post does contain affiliate links, which means that if you click and/or make a purchase through these links, I may make a small commission. For more information, see my privacy policy. Thank you for supporting the retailers that make this blog possible!*

Row 1 – 1 / 2 / 3

Row 2 – 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Row 3 – 1 / 2 & 3 / 4

Row 4 – 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Row 5 – 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Row 6 – 1 & 2

I don’t know about you but some of the importance of “me time” is just getting to spend time thinking about fun things like decorating my home and how to combine colors and patterns!

Time Getting Ready

After I ordered my new pillow covers, I got ready to take my first trip to the mall in months. I’ll get to the actual trip in a moment, but another thing that just made my day was having time to get ready. Lately I’ve been so tired that I’ve slept through multiple alarms. That doesn’t leave much time for pretty makeup and hair. Friday I got to take my time getting ready and I used it to play around with my makeup, curl my hair and try new outfit combinations. I tell ya…I just kept smiling the whole time! Anyone else feel that way when you can actually take your time getting ready? It’s amazing to me how something so simple made me feel so happy. Plus, I felt good all day because for the first time in weeks I felt put-together!

A Solo Trip to the Mall

It’s a bit of a trek for me to get to the mall. I live in Westerly and the “big” mall is an hour away in Providence. On the way there I listened to my favorite Youtubers (Emily | Kathleen) give me their makeup reviews and the trip didn’t feel so long.

The mall on Friday totally reminded me of home, lol. The smells of Nordstrom and Starbucks bring scent-induced memories of Seattle and I had such a great time trying on dresses/skirts for Easter and looking for the perfect pair of paper bag waist pants. I wasn’t successful with the pants (anyone else feel like that style of pants just looks like they eat you alive?), but I found so many other great buys! If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have already seen my finds. I’ll share them again here just in case.

I found this floral skirt on sale for $12! Total steal! I wore it for Easter this weekend and it was a hit. Then, this striped blazer is so cute. The cuffs are button-less and it flares just a little. It’s lined too! Finally, this yellow skirt made me feel so bright and happy!

I did do a bit of work on my way home but I stopped at Panera (another Seattle favorite) on my way home and did a little grading while eating my favorite Mediterranean Veggie sandwich. All in all, it was a good day.

So, I don’t have any “real” outfit photos for you today but I do have an important lesson – take time for “me time.” It will revive your spirit!

What do you do for me time? Let me know in the comments below so I can add it to my list for Spring Break!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

-Virginia

Linking up with: Glass of Glam | Sincerely Jenna Marie | More Pieces of Me | I Do deClaire | Curly Crafty Mom

Over-the-knee Boots for Work & Floral Top for Spring

March 12, 2018 by Virginia 11 Comments

Hello Friends! I’m really excited about today’s post for a few reasons: 1) I’m finally sharing my new suede over-the-knee boots for work (which I love and can’t wait to tell you about) and 2) I finally found some look-alikes of my favorite floral top for spring!

Over-the-knee boots for Work

One item I really wanted to get this winter was a new pair of over-the-knee boots that I could wear to work. When the Stuart Weitzman suede over-the-knee boots first became popular, I knew I wanted a look-alike pair. It took awhile for more affordable brands to come out with copycats so when I found a great pair of gray over-the-knee boots at Forever21 (featured here), I grabbed them. However, over the years they stretched out and would fall down my leg. Plus, the pointed heel just wasn’t realistic for my now more mobile job.

I went on a hunt for a new pair of over-the-knee boots for work. The great thing about buying a replacement pair is that there are so many options out there for an affordable over-the-knee boot. You can get them in flat versions and block heel versions, in a ton of different colors. My stipulations for over-the-knee boots for work were that they be wide enough for my calves (many options are made for skinny calves), a block heel (added comfort and traction for my long walks across campus), and a tie at the top that would keep the boot from falling down my leg even if it got stretched out. This Steve Madden pair from DSW fit the bill. Plus, I got them on sale (right after I featured them in this post)! They are still pretty tight on my calves and because of that, there is some bunching right at the ankle, making for a funny fit. But, I can’t even explain how comfortable they are and, for the price, I just couldn’t pass them up.

This is a great time to buy a pair of over-the-knee boots, as many retailers are starting to clear their stock to prepare for summer. You’ll get a great deal and still get quite a bit of wear out of them throughout the spring.

Floral Blouse for Spring

I bought this blouse from Shein ages ago but it’s still one of my favorite tops for work. It goes with jeans, pencil skirts, black pants (seen here), you name it! My favorite way to wear this floral top is with white skinny jeans, as pictured here. I haven’t featured it recently on the blog (even though I wear it all the time) because I don’t like featuring something that you can’t buy and doesn’t have a similar replacement. But Friday I was looking at new arrivals at H&M and found a ton of great options to get a similar look. I tried a bunch on in-store and have some size recommendations in the widget below. This version is a great, soft fabric and is on sale. Be aware that the sleeves run tight.

This is the perfect kind of spring look for me in the classroom. I feel bright and cheery and fashionable, yet comfortable. That’s a winning outfit combination! In fact, make sure to check out another way I wore these white skinny jeans in the classroom HERE.

Get the Look:

Have you tried floral blouses for work? Where did you find your favorite one? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure to check out last week’s post on my Top 5 Favorite Teacher Shoes!

-Virginia

My Weekend Wishlist: Great Sales and Teacher Outfit Finds

January 15, 2018 by Virginia 9 Comments

Hello friends! Today’s post will be short and sweet! Since our rental units have been empty for the last 6 months, my fashion budget has become pretty much non-existent. I read other blogs but I have tried to stay away from the mall and haven’t done a whole lot of online shopping. You know, kid-in-a-candy-store and all that! But it has been SO HARD! After Christmas is one of the best times for sales as merchants are trying to clear the shelves and start to transition into spring items.

Weekend Wishlist Great Sales Teacher Style Blogger

This weekend I found myself drooling over and dreaming about a ton of items on sale and decided since I spent all this time researching and saving items, just because I can’t buy them now doesn’t mean someone else can’t take advantage of my “research” and try them out! I wish I would have posted this early because a lot of great weekend sales have ended or items have already sold out (like this amazing blazer for spring). But, with everything on my plate right now I’m trying really hard not to beat myself up if I can’t do everything!

When I saw Kileen sharing this Gucci dupe, I knew I wanted it. As soon as our other units get rented, it’s going in my cart!

Teacher Outfit Wishlist

My teacher work wardrobe is starting to feel stale. I’m really missing being able to wear jeans to work. Last week I got the idea that maybe I need to add a pair of coated skinny jeans to my wardrobe. They’re comfortable like jeans but look more classy.

Then, I started browsing on Shein and boy oh boy…talk about heading down the fashion-rabbit-hole. Forgive me for all the links without pictures but it would have taken me way too long to show all of them in the image. I’m obsessed with this high-neck peplum blouse, and I would totally try this Chartreuse dress if I had any idea where I would wear it! This white ruffle top is probably a little too sheer on its own but how fun would it be for work?! Definitely a different take on the white blouse! This ribbed peplum top comes in three colors and is les than $15! The stripe skirt from the image above gets all the heart-eyes from me but probably my favorite find is this yellow bell sleeve blouse with bow for less than $15! Last but not least, I have seen pants with this kind of belted/tie waist all over. What do you think? Wearable for work or too much for a classroom teacher?

What I Did Buy

The only buy I did end up making this weekend, against my better judgement and which will probably get me in trouble with my husband, is this pair of OTK boots. Ever since I got rid of my gray OTK boots from this post, I’ve been looking for an alternative with a tie in back so they will still stay up even after they get stretched out. I tried these on in store last week and couldn’t BELIEVE how comfortable they were, even with the heel. I dreamed of all the ways I’d wear them here in New England as we struggle through the cold weather on our way to spring and so when DSW’s 20% off clearance event meant I could take an extra $10 off the price I went ahead and ordered them. These were pretty comfortable too, without a heel. These are similar to the ones I ordered and are available in grey, but they weren’t available to try on in store and I wasn’t quite willing to risk them not fitting.

Lastly, how cute are these tassel earrings?! They’re only $6 and free shipping! Jump on that!

Ok, that was longer than I planned…ha! Apparently I had more items on my wish list than I realized! What are you drooling over right now? Or, even better, what sale finds did you snag this weekend? I’d love to know!

-Virginia

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