Heading North

It was so cold here today! Brrr. I wanted to take a page from Lester's book and spend all day under a pile of blankets.

Instead, I went to my boyfriend's house for Hannukah with his family and had a great time eating latkes and gingerbread. Since Zach and I have been dating for well over four years now, I feel like his family is my family, too, so I usually enjoy get-togethers. This is also the first year we've been "adults" enough, so to speak, to buy gifts for everyone (read: one of us has a job and so we can afford it), and it was fun picking things out for each person.

I'm about to head to Illinois to spend Christmas with my family, so I won't be back till after New Year's. There's no internet at my Papa's house, but it's actually kind of nice to be disconnected and just catch up with family and read and sleep and slow down. But I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday, and I'll be looking forward to catching up with everyone's posts when I return!

Merry Christmas! And love from me. :)

Outfit: Dress: Anthro; tights: Target: Shoes: Target; Jacket: Arden B.

Outfit Treat

A few posts back, I put together an outfit on the addictive Polyvore and said I would get it as a treat when finals were over...but luckily all I had to buy was the skirt! I'd been wanting a lace skirt anyway, after seeing all the lace on the runways, so everything worked out.

The total from the Polyvore outfit was $4,355--hahahaaaaa. Hilarious.

My outfit:

Cardi: $20 from AT Loft

Tie-front shirt: $50 (ish, can't remember, but on sale!) from Banana Republic

Ring: Free! From when WHBM messed up my order.

Bag: $20 from Nine West Outlet

Skirt: $118 (Christmas splurge; some remorse)

Shoes: $55 from Stuart Weitzman (as an aside, I have good luck with designer shoes for cheap--I've had these for years! They've got a cut-out flower detail on the toe box and are very comfortable.)

Grand total: $263. Actually, still a lot. But since I didn't buy it all at once or even to go together, I won't feel too bad. (Also, please excuse the red eye.)

I tried to watch Tropic Thunder tonight, because it was supposed to be hilarious...not so much, to me. However, I also just watched Borat, and am kind of embarrassed about how hard parts of it made me laugh. And, in my scurry-hurry-watch-all-the-movies-I-can-before-school-starts-again mode, I went and saw Doubt with my best friend, and it was very good. I greatly admire Meryl Streep...wasn't she luminously beautiful when she was younger?

Final-ly Done

This is my Civil Procedure book--THE most boring class I've ever had.

It's kind of hard to believe that I finished my first semester of law school...and it's not as bad as people say. Yes, it's hard work, and yes, it's boring--but there's still time for showering and friends and eating delicious food and spending afternoons curled up on the couch with a book.

I learned a lot and have made some great friends so far...and I've also met more pompous type-A people than I imagined existed. As individuals, most of them are quite tolerable, but put them in a group and then you have...lawyers.

Anyway, my grades don't come in till February, so I'll save my "Law School Advice Post" for then...assuming I am in a position to give advice. :) Regardless of how that comes out, though, right now I think I did well and I'll stick with that belief until I know otherwise.

Oh, and if anyone has a lawyer friend in Dallas...please tell them you know a stylish, smart little law student who needs a job for the summer...and she'll work for free.


Outfit: Tie-front cardigan: Moth; Tank: Old Navy; Jeans: Seven for All Mankind; Boots: Anne Klein; Jewelry: NY&Co.

Ladies in Ballgowns

I definitely fell down on the studying this weekend...I panicked Thursday night about one of my exams, and so Zach headed over and took off Friday to study with me. It actually really helped, so I think I did fine on that exam...but the one tomorrow fell prey to Harper's Bazaar and cheesy Christmas movies. (Aren't the Harper's Bazaar fashion shoots consistently amazing? They're always beautiful and lush and arty, not just stark, contorted women posing in front of flat canvas.)

But on to more enjoyable and interesting subjects, I ate at a Spanish restaurant this weekend and had amazing roasted curry-spiced chicken and roasted apples and pan con tomate and crema catalana...delicious! We also saw a Swedish film called "Let the Right One In," about an incredibly lonely and isolated little boy who, physically and emotionally abused by his peers, befriends a girl outside his apartment who turns out to be a vampire. It was an odd, sad little movie, and some people left in the middle, but I liked it. There are tons of films I want to see soon..."Nobel Son," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "Doubt," "Slumdog Millionaire."

This is my $10 shirt from Anthropologie--I love the ladies-in-ballgowns print! The shoes were also ridiculously cheap...I bought them three years ago at Dillards, and someone (*cough*Zach*cough*) said, "You'll never wear lavender shoes!" But see, I was just waiting for the right shirt to go with them. They were a little too sweet to wear with just any old outfit.

Outfit: Shirt: Anthro; shoes: Gianni Bini; Tights: Target; Skirt: Old Navy; Belt: Nordstrom BP

Tension Tuesday

Today was not a good day. I realized I did make a mistake in my property final, and then one of classmates kept calling me to ask me questions and then argue about why I was wrong (and how it didn't snow here today--it did). By the end of the conversations I was doubting myself and felt like I didn't understand anything and ohmygod I was going to fail contracts.

So when I got off the phone I burst into tears, which coincided with the UPS man delivering a package, which resulted in a very awkward exchange.

Me: *Sob, gulp* I'm so sorry I'mhavingacrisis.

Him: "Hmm. Sign here, please."

Him, while I sign: "So, that temperature's really dropping, huh?"

I think I lost my dignity there for a little while. But I got it back when I looked up what I was confused about and was actually right in the first place.

Outfit: Dress: Free People; Boots: Rocket Dog; Black tee: Limited; Chihuahua: Lester

It looks like I'm giving the camera the finger here...I promise I'm not! Intentionally, at least. I think that's my index finger.

Property Passed....

I just took my first exam, and I actually think I did well! I'm trying to not get too hopeful, however, as the test is graded on a curve, so what really matters is how much better I did than other people. But secretly, I think I did better than them. ;) And if not, I'll never mention it again.

However, I take it as a sign from above that I did do well, as I went to Anthro and found a shirt for $10!! And even better, it was one that I contemplated buying several months ago but held off on.

I have four more exams left, with the two hardest ones next week. After they're over, I'm going to lay in front of my boyfriend's big TV and watch No Country for Old Men and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, my favorite movies. I highly recommend them both....Umbrellas is a French musical from the sixties, and at first I was jarred by the sung-through narrative and thought it was going to be brightly colored fluff...and then by the end I was sobbing. Several of my friends hate No Country, citing a lack of plot and and substance, but...it does have a plot, and it's about everything, namely the randomness and futility of life but the pushing hope to keep going anyway. I actually liked the movie better than the book, which almost never happens.

Anyway, Lester is trying to sit on the keyboard, so he probably wants me to watch TV with him before I start studying again.

Outfit: Sweater skirt: Old Navy; Tights: Target; Shoes: Liz Claiborne via outlet; Cami: Ann Taylor Loft; Sweater: Anthro

A picture of my tree! Note the shoe ornaments. :)

Lace Lust

I studied almost all day, and had a rather disheartening meeting with my career counselor wherein she informed me that I shouldn't expect to do too well balancing family and life with a law career, because the practice just doesn't lend itself to such. I suppose, as a career counselor, she wants to hear about my dreams to sit on the Supreme Court, not to have sit around the table on a Sunday night with kids. But that's what feminism is about, choosing one or the other or both, and I plan on proving her wrong in grand style.

But then I visited D'rae's site and discovered Polyvore, and so as a nice break I made this outfit:

She and OTG are very good at recreating looks, and I'm inspired to give it a try, as well!

So when finals are over, I'm going to brave the pre-Christmas crowds and try to re-create it in a less expensive fashion. Any suggestions of change to the outfit are welcome! I've been wanting a lace skirt, so I'll use it as a reward to get through the next two weeks with a smile.

So be looking for a similar outfit in a few weeks!

Exam Time

My posting might be more sporadic than usual, because it's time for the dreaded law school exams. However, I'll try to keep up with it, because picking out a great outfit every day takes the sting out of heading to study group or the library.

I loved this dress so much I bought it in two colors, but I think it makes me a little shapeless...maybe a belt next time, or a little jacket. And a heeled boot.

The necklace is my favorite one...I bought it a few years ago when I took my mom to San Francisco for senior year spring break. They were having a jewelry trunk show in Bloomingdale's, and I fell in love with some of the designer's pieces and snapped them up. (It helped that her items were reasonably priced!)

Also, Lady D, one of my favorite bloggers, gave me the Butterfly Award, which made me very excited! I think I'll break the rules and tag people in another post, though, because it's late and I'm heading off to bed.

Dress: Express; Necklace: Kris Nations; Shoes: Liz Claiborne via Outlet; Tights: Target; Cami: Express

For fun! Me and my mom in San Francisco

Polka Dots

Unfortunately, I didn't find any good deals during Black Friday...this might be the last year I venture out. It was too crazy at the mall for me, and I got there before 7 am.

Exams start a week from today, and while I'm not generally a panicker, it's stressful that one test is worth my entire grade...so there will be a lot of studying this week! But hopefully a little fashion, because I need to destress somehow. :)

Unfortunately for me, I sit by the class "gunner" (a law school term defined as that kid who always has his/her hand raised, usually waving it frantically, and who sighs loudly when someone else gets an answer wrong and occasionally mutters about their stupidity, and who runs up to the professor after class, book clutched to chest, to discuss some pressing matter of tort law). This means that I get to hear about how long her outlines are, how many hours a night she studies, and how many internships she has already applied for for next summer.

That does not help my psyche...while I have been working hard, and keeping up with everything, I know I'm not working nearly as hard as some. Some people have entered the law vortex and made it their lives, but I...just can't. I like dinner with friends, and dates with my boyfriend, and naps on a Sunday afternoon with the dog. So I choose to believe that even if I am not at the top of my class, I'm ultimately a happier and saner person for the balance I worked at during the semester...but we shall see if I'm kicking myself when grades come out!

I decided this dress was too short for heels and put on black mary-jane flats before leaving. However, I was too lazy/late to get another picture. Looks like I was too lazy to take the red eye out, as well.

Outfit: Dress: Macys; Tights: Target; Bracelet: Forever 21.