Texas, O Texas

That's right, friends, in Texas we double-fry our bacon. This is me, chomping down on a piece of chicken-fried bacon dipped in ranch. Mmm.

October is always my favorite month, because in addition to Halloween and the annual chihuahua rescue festival in nearby Keller, the state fair opens its gates. There's Big Tex, the giant talking cowboy overlooking the Midway; there are acrobats and other performers and concerts; cooking demonstrations and booths full of essential junk; and, of course, the smorgasboard of fried food. Today I also consumed deep-fried jelly beans, a corndog, tornado taters, gallons of Dr Pepper, fried s'mores, and fried banana pudding. And THEN I rode some rides, and now I'm home and exhausted but blissful.

(There are also things there that manage to both amuse and embarrass me--like the "Dancing with the Dogs" show, showcasing the art of canine freestyle. Would you like to watch a dog and its owner jiving to "Nine to Five"? Well, the fair is where you can achieve that dream.)

But before I took this much-needed day off, a girl I sit by in class told me she had only ever missed one day of school, and that was because she had a flat tire. And that made me sad for her, because while work ethic is important, some of the best times I've had are when I slept in instead of getting up, spent instead of saved, or did something I wanted to do rather than something I needed to do.

And the world didn't end, and I've turned out alright so far. (I'm currently trying to justify missing a class on Friday to head to Nordstrom Rack for the designer shoe shipment....)

That being said, back to class tomorrow. And please don't judge me for my Dr. Seuss t-shirt. At the fair, you must wear things you don't mind being coated in powdered sugar and mustard and dust.

Closet of Chaos

Luckily, when I took this picture I found that you can see right through this dress, and therefore a slip was in order.

Technically speaking, this may not even be a dress...I found it buried in the dress section of Anthropologie, but I have a suspicion it might be a nightgown. But that's okay, because it would be a shame to just sleep in it, I think.

And the girl who asked me with such confusion why I never wore pants must have thought I was offended, because she wore a lovely dress the next day and found me to show me, telling me I inspired her to dress up. So that was a nice sentiment and an appreciated gesture in my usually hectic and stressful day!

Outfit: Dress/Nightgown: Anthropologie; Sheer Button-Down: AT Loft; Jeweled flats: Gianni Bini

I've let my closet become such a pit...project for the weekend, I guess.

Nothing Like an Awkward Question to Start the Day

One of my fellow law students came up today and asked me why I never wear pants, which I find to be a perplexing conversation starter....

Anyway, this outfit might be a little spring-y for September, but considering that it's over 90 degrees here I feel justified in wearing it.

Outfit: Dress and Long Sweater: NY&Company; Necklaces: Francesca's; Shoes: TJ Maxx (Arturo Chiang); Lace Cami: Express

A Vested Interest

Hopefull this week I will do better about posting! We're getting our memos soon, and I've been spending every second getting ahead of the syllabus in my classes, so that I won't have the project on top of pages and pages of reading (at least for a little while! It's hard to get ahead in law school).

But this outfit was a great deal...I found the dress at Penguin (usually way overpriced) marked down from $165 to $30, and I get a student discount there with my ID. The vest I found at the junior's department in Dillards, also marked very cheaply ($12). And the Banana Republic shoes I got ages ago, but they were also marked down to about $20.

And, taking a break this weekend to head to Old Navy, I found they once again had some pretty cute things. So, for a fun Splurge v. Steal moment, you can get this dress at Ann Taylor Loft for $80:

Or this one from Old Navy for $30:



















So, of course, I got the color block version AND the black version.

It's Fall...for About Three Days

Sorry for the delay in posting…I try to post every other day but time got away from me! My parents went through the hurricane in Houston and so I spent a lot of the weekend watching CNN in my pajamas. Luckily, they and our house are alright, though they’re still waiting in line for two or three hours every day to get gas for the generator.

In other news, the weather here is amazing…sunny and cool enough to start wearing fall clothes. At least until it pops back up to 100 degrees, which you can’t rule out in September in Texas.

This outfit is simple and not that creative, but really I just wanted something to showcase the necklace, which I found on Etsy. I don’t know if you can see it in all its glory, but inside the glass there are little watch wheels and a bronze.

I’m also very enamored of this ring, but we’ll see how the budget goes. One great thing about law school, though, is that there’s a catered meeting or speech almost every day during the lunch break. So far they’ve been pretty interesting, and I save about six bucks a day, which definitely adds up.


Shirt & Skirt: H&M (Spain!); Brown leather flats: Banana Republic; Necklace: Etsy, Jewels by Design

Suitacular

Outfit: Brown Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft; Sheer Button-Down: AT Loft; Necklace: Outlet store; Snakeskin print sneakers: Liz Claiborne; Jean Pencil Skirt: Old Navy

Tomorrow I’m going to my first law school event, and I’m excited, even more so because I just got two suits, a pencil skirt, and a button-down at Ann Taylor Loft for $120! (They were having an amazing sale and I had a 20% off coupon.) I’m trying to slowly add to my suit collection over the course of the year so that I’m prepared if I do get an internship over the summer. Buying several nice suits at once really seems like it would break the bank.

Anyway, it’s the annual “Women in Law” event, where there will be panels on balancing your life with family and work, etc. and a cocktail hour to mingle with Dallas attorneys. Unfortunately, several girls I’ve talked to have had pretty much the same reaction to this that they did to the fashion show—that it’s a waste of time and somehow a step backwards to be joining a women’s group.

To me, though, there’s no point in pulling back your hair and pretending there’s nothing filling out the front of your sweater. I’m truly inspired by strong women who are proud of their femininity, who can get things done and look great doing it.

And I would think that networking with powerful women in the area would be much more advantageous to your career than trying to schmooze some paunchy old man. I worked in a law building for two years during undergrad, and one of the lawyers actually told me he didn’t like women on his juries because they were too talkative and frivolous. I’m assuming that he doesn’t have many female associates in his firm, and that there are probably a lot of pompous older gentlemen much like himself in the field. Something to look forward to, right there.

But hopefully tomorrow I’ll make some connections and get my frivolous little heel in the door, or at least well-positioned in front of it.

Lack of Social Graces

Outfit: Dress: Ann Taylor Loft; Knit cardigan: Guenevere; Flats: Liz Claiborne ($8!); Swallow Necklace: Nordstrom BP

I’m not the most graceful or socially adept person, though I like to believe that charm and friendliness make up for these defects. That being said, I still embarrass myself more than I’d like to.

Incident 1: Yesterday, I ran home after lunch to walk the dog and slipped on some flip-flops to head back to my last class. When I got there, I realized that I was wearing one black sparkle flip-flop and one brown leather one.

Incident 2: Today, it of course started to rain as I headed toward my truck, so I started to jog in the interests of protecting my laptop. Between my hobble-jog and my backpack, my skirt ended up heading north, and I’m pretty sure that the people immediately behind me got a cheeky surprise.

Oddly enough, I was way more embarrassed about wearing mismatched shoes than I was about sharing what kind of skivvies I was wearing with my peers.

Tomorrow I plan on wearing pants and matching shoes. We’ll see how it goes.

Frugal Fashion

Outfit: Floral Dress: Delias; Purple satin flats: Nine West Outlet; Sheer Button-up: Ann Taylor Loft*; Yellow Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft; Floral necklace: Anthropologie

As an explanation for my overwhelming collection of clothes from Ann Taylor Loft, I used to work at the factory outlet and got 40 percent off each item...a discount which I used liberally.

Inspired by saving for a trip to Greece, one of my best friends and I decided to go discount shopping this weekend instead of heading to the mall, and we ended up with some amazing deals. (And yes, I see the irony of shopping to save money. But it makes sense, to me.)

First we hit Nordstrom Rack, and three hours of digging later I had:

• a pair of Eleanor cherry pattern Keds for $7
• a pair of forest green suede wedges with reptile trim from Shoes for Lovely People, $20
• a Kenneth Cole Reaction dress for $15
• a pair of Seven for All Mankind jeans for less than half the retail price
• and a fuchsia silk halterneck Tracy Reese dress, which is now of course the pride of my collection

It was super-reduced, as well, because Nordstrom Rack was having their "Designer Event," which meant racks of Valentino and Missoni and Philip Lim and everyone I covet but can't afford. Unfortunately, other women approximately my size must have gotten to all the goods before me. I often have this problem, which is why I almost never wait for things I dearly love to go on sale.

But after that we hit Marshall's and Ross, where I also got a few other things on the cheap for when it gets cooler.

(Right now I'm watching this show on TLC about young beauty pageant queens, and it's totally skeeving me out. It's truly disgusting...and the stage mothers are all so dumpy and sad-looking. Living vicariously through your child much?)

Going to the Parliament

It amuses me that a group of owls is called "a parliament."

What is a group of law students called?

Pretty freaking annoying (though individually, very nice).

Skirt: Anthropologie; Sheer button-down: Anne Taylor Loft; Black Cardigan: NY&Company; Patent mary janes: Nine West*

*These are my most beloved shoes, for whatever reason.

Correspondence, Part Three

Dear Now-Less-Esteemed Law Professor,

I think we might have spoken of this before. Please let me out when class ends, not after realquickinaminutejustonemorething.

I had yet another mandatory and completely uninformative meeting today, and you keeping me meant nine minutes less that I got to spend bitching with my friends about said meeting.

(The high point of the meeting, it should be noted, was when someone raised his hand and said, “Can’t we get all this information off the Web site?” and then got up and left. And at least the box lunches they provided us with this time had candy bars instead of carrots. Points for that.)

But back to your class, I’d like to let you know in advance how much I enjoyed our next assignment: a detailed description of how to use an index, complete with diagram.

You are truly pointing me down the path of enlightenment. And that index-guru knowledge will definitely come in handy when I start reading this book I picked up in Border’s, “How to Not Shoot Yourself in Law School.”

Best,

Erica

****
No fashion today. I wore distressed jeans and a coral short-sleeved hoodie with blue and yellow polka dots (which I got for $3.48 at Belk. Good deal.). I was too tired from staying up last night to get ahead in the reading. But it was worth it, because I did get about two weeks ahead.

Control Your Wildlife, Please

So, now that the first week of law school is over and the second is about to begin, was it so bad?

Why yes, yes it was.

I slept for about five hours a night, read for hours and hours a day, and didn’t see anyone outside of my classmates for a whole week.

I’ve been looking at the California Fashion Institute and taking little quizzes to see what fashion career I’d best fit into, and the great part about that would be that it only takes a year. And the downside, of course, is that the resulting unemployment lasts the rest of your life.

Anyway, after the shock of this initial week I feel it’ll get better. I’m already reading more efficiently, and I wasn’t a stuttering ass when I got called on class (maybe this was because I was actually paying attention and not playing solitaire, Girl Sitting in Front of Me).

And the only reason I slept so little is because I still took the time to talk to my boyfriend and my best friends. . .I read a novel and watched TV. . . I cooked dinner and played with the dogs. Dark circles are a small price to pay for not being a law automaton.

That’s not to say I’m not supremely frustrated with many things, however. Like some of my classmates. Let’s say we’re talking about possession as it regards to wild animals. Here’s a conversation that’s almost as absurd as some things people bring up.

Professor: “So, class, if a wild animal runs away and does not have an intent to return, then the person it got away from does not have any interest in it, and therefore cannot claim possession. Any questions?”

Stupid, Vile, Repugnant Over-Participator: “But what if—what if—there. Were a Beaver. And the Beaver was living in your apartment. And it built a dam. In your bathtub. Maybe with hangers from your closet. And then you opened the door and it ran away. So would it have intent to return? If it built a dam? And if someone captured and kept your Beaver, would you have legal recourse to get it back?”

Can you hear the screaming in my head?

Outfit: Dress, Macy’s; Yellow satin peeptoes, BP; Clutch: Bandolino ($6!).

I wore this to a wedding…it seems like all my peers are getting married. Aren’t we a little young for this? In accord with the skyrocketing divorce rate, I want to give them cards with an IOU for my legal services in the future, but my boyfriend won’t let me. He says that would be tacky. I say that in five years, a discount divorce is going to turn out to be a much better gift than that dart board they registered for.