Friday 5

1.  Look at my friend's dog. You will find yourself puppy shopping.

2.  Breaking Bad did not disappoint.  Thank you, Vince Gilligan.  You did what the writers of Dexter just couldn't seem to accomplish. (Spoilers here if you're interested.)

This show only got better as it moved along.  That rarely happens.  (We know it didn't happen with Dexter.  I'm sorry.  Still not over it.)

3.  Two last Skirtember dresses.  Thanks to everyone who participated!  And thanks to Chantal for hosting it with me!

Dress: BR outlet // Sweater: Express // Sandals: Steve Madden (they hurt! and I'm not a fan of how they make my legs look)

Dress: Ross // Sweater: old // Shoes: Nine West

4.  Have you signed up for The 2nd Annual Great Pumpkin Swap?  

5.  I'm going to do so much stuff this weekend.  Clean, clean, clean.  Grade, grade, grade.  Craft, craft, craft.  Bake, bake, bake.  And organize. 

Who wants to bet that something will come along and distract me and force me to do none of that?

Utter failure (a.k.a. Skirtember Week 3)

Skirtember.  Let me tell you what happened.  I knew I only had so many summer-ish skirts left to wear.  I knew I wanted to start going to the gym after work last week, but I knew I wouldn't be able to take a proper photo if I went straight to the gym.  My nice clothes would end up in my gym bag and I'd be sweaty.  It's too dark in the morning to take a picture.  That's skirts being wasted. So I wore pants Monday, thinking I wouldn't be taking a picture anyway.  I definitely didn't make it to the gym, of course.

I wore a skirt Tuesday.  

Essentially, I carried my gym bag around all week, wearing pants all week, because I didn't plan on being home to take a picture.  Silly me...I thought I'd be working out after school. I'm aware that's a stupid, odd excuse.  And I didn't actually make it to the gym until Friday.  

This picture should be called "triumphant" because it was a Friday afternoon.

I've had a sore throat since freaking Thursday, so the weekend was a wash too.  When Scott saw me in jeans on Saturday night, he said, "I thought it was Skirtember?"  

I started to feel bad.  But not bad enough to go look for a skirt.  We were going to a birthday dinner and, as usual, we were running late.  Judge away.  It's alright.  

Maybe you can link up below and see what the good folks who show value and commitment were wearing in the past week.  

Friday 5

1.  This is what I was wearing one year ago.

"Oh my!", right?  It was pretty chilly last September.

And we can probably just call that my participation in #Skirtember for the week because I'm a total failure on that front.    I'm slowly realizing that most of my skirts/dresses are for cold weather, not 95* and humid.  Imagine that.

2.  We started watching Hemlock Grove a few weeks ago.  I loved it so much at first...I insisted on 4 episodes in a row the first night!  It got kinda weird.  But still, I think it's worth checking out.  I really liked the last 2 episodes of the season. Tell Netflix I sent you.  I swear, we're keeping them in business.

The creepy looking dude on the left is Alexander Skarsgard's brother.

3.  Each day I feel like I'm making headway with this new job.  (Classroom pictures to come...)  But then, usually on Wednesdays, I find out all this other stuff I need to be doing and then I feel like I'm going to cry and throw up at the same time. While this challenge is exactly what I'd been craving, sometimes I wonder if I'll ever actually catch up.  As of now, it's completely undecided.

4.  Speaking of...My friends > than Scott's friends. While I was trying not to throw up on Wednesday morning, my friend Kayla was taking Scout to the vet.  He'd had the appointment for a vaccination made long before I got my job.  She'd graciously agreed to take him. She was peed on, cleaned up poop, watched him bleed from a nail-clipping gone wrong, and had to hold him while he got a shot.  Holy cow.  That's a friend.

5.  This is what tomorrow looks like...

I'll see you....sometime...
Happy weekend!

Skirtember- Week 2

Welcome!

So.  Skirtember Week 2.  How'd you do?

I'm going to have to start taking pictures by myself again.  Scott doesn't understand "Quit telling me to look! The sun is bright!", and "Really? Could you make my nose look ANY bigger?".

Skirt: Banana Republic Outlet // Sweater: Loft // Tank: Target // Wedges: Fred Meyer

 This picture is kind of a wash, but you can see this dress better here if you're interested.

Dress: Target // Sandals: Old Navy // Sweater: Loft

Well, Stitchfix got me.  I was reading some blog a few weeks ago and, in my incredibly depressed state, re-directed myself over to Stitchfix and started "shopping".  I got this dress in my box last Thursday.  I wasn't sure about it, but Scott really liked it.  Since it was our anniversary and all, I kept it and wore it to dinner.  

Dress: Hourglass Lily // Wedges: Marshall's

It was $48...$28 once I took my credit into account.  I also got a sweater that wasn't quite my style, a cardigan that was, sadly, a little too small, and a high-low shirt that I wasn't sure about.  There was a really cute necklace also, but I couldn't justify paying $30 for a piece of costume jewelry.  

I signed up for another Fix. sigh.

Skirtember- Week 1

Our first link-up is here! If you wore a skirt or dress in the past week and would like to participate by linking up your photo (through a blog post, Instagram, etc), now's the time!

I'm really not trying to do some kind of exotic model pose.  The sun is blindingly bright these days.  Problems, problems...

Skirt/tank: Target

Skirt: Old Navy / Shirt: Target / Wedges: Marshall's

Dress: Banana Republic Outlet // Sweater: Gap // Watch: Fossil

Shirt: Target // Skirt: Banana Republic Outlet // Watch: Fossil

Obviously, I didn't wear a skirt everyday.  I wore a cute dress on Thursday, but was too exhausted to even think of a picture when I got home.  Friday, I wore jeans (ugh, horrific) because it was Spirit Day.  Saturday, I also failed (rather defiantly) by wearing shorts when I went shopping.  Oh well.  I'm trying!  

Link up below!

Friday 5s.

1.  Today I'm guest-posting for Jane.  She's (hopefully!) made her way to Ft. Carson, Colorado by now.   I'm sharing one of my favorite dinners: Thai Noodles.

2.  I don't make muffins very often, but my mother-in-law gave me this recipe 4 years ago and I make them each fall.  Now my mom makes them too.   They freeze really well and I've also shipped them to
Afghanistan.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3.  Scott was looking through the camera, saw this failed picture from before the commandant reception last week, and he liked it. I thought the beep had gone off and, obviously, it hadn't yet.

Let me tell you what was happening in this picture.
Him: We're late.
Me: I want a picture like the one in Alaska.
Him: It's hot.
Me: Uh huh. 
Him: Another one?
Me: Documentation!

4.  Perhaps the biggest news of the week (and of the last 4 months) is that I landed a teaching job.  Unbelievable, right?!  I think so. I'm still in shock, to be honest.  And I'll have 22 second-graders come Monday morning, so I've got my work cut out for me.  You guys are so darn supportive. Thank you for all the tweets the other day!  Here goes nothing!

Also happening Monday...
5.  Are you wearing skirts or dresses yet?  Skirtember started earlier this week with the beginning of September.  Our first link-up is on Monday.  See you *there*!

I totally wore a dress yesterday (as well as all the other days this week), but I was so exhausted when I got home...no picture to be had.

And a bonus, because it's too cute not to share.  We were dog-sitting for some friends last weekend.  Their puppy, Duchess, wrote us a thank-you note.  

This is a Pin-worthy idea.

Happy weekend!

Just a #Skirtember reminder!

Chantal is ahead of me!  I definitely intend to put on a skirt when I go to the grocery store after I spend most of the day in my gym shorts (the grass won't cut itself).  We spent almost 16 hours driving yesterday, so that's my excuse.  Already, full of excuses.  More on that tomorrow!

Also, this is what I was wearing last year during the first week of September.  I have a feeling (an accurate one) that my outfits this week will be a little..different.

This was 8pm on Friday.

Here's the info on Skirtember, in case you missed it!

Enjoy what's left of the holiday weekend!

Truths.

Truth.  I've unfollowed teachers on Twitter who constantly complain about their jobs.  I know I've complained about aspects of teaching before (who hasn't?).  But I would hope that I never took to Twitter and whined about how annoying it was to have to go to professional development.  Perhaps I've thought it, or said, "It's a shame the kids have Veterans' Day off and teachers don't."  But I don't recollect tweeting about how boring it was.  If you're that brilliant, you deserve to have your administrator find it.

Truth.  When it comes to shopping, I must be stopped.  I spent Saturday in Marshall's and Target.  I really think I'm making up for lost time.  Most of what I've purchased since we've been here has come from Marshall's/Homegoods.

It used to be that I could only go to Homegoods when I was visiting the lower 48.  I made those trips count (just like the ones to Trader Joe's).  I recall a weekend in Los Angeles...buying plates at Marshalls/Homegoods and stuffing them into my suitcase, wrapped in clean clothes. I got a collander too, and I remember getting into an argument with Scott because he "knew this would happen" and why didn't I "bring the big red suitcase!" instead of the more appropriate (smaller) black one that was better suited for a weekend trip.  Don't worry.  We managed to get it all back to Alaska.

This week, I bought curtains.

They're a teal-ish color.

Last week, I bought this picture frame that highlights some of my favorite pictures from the last few years.

Clockwise: End of deployment #1 (2/24/10), battalion ball (5/10), one of our last pictures together in Alaska (3/13), end of deployment #2 (11/2/13).

Truth.  I miss my Target.  That's right.  MY Target.  The one in Wasilla that I knew like the back of my hand.  I would say that I could find a new Target to call my own...but 45 minutes is too far away for such nonsense.

Truth.  I wore jeans again.

Sweater: Loft // Tank: Kohl's // Jeans: JCP // Sandals: Old Navy 

(I am planning on wear these sandals to death..in case you were wondering. Gotta get my $19 worth.)

Truth.  I really liked this article that Sar shared earlier this week.

4. When people ask you to hang out, you weigh the advantages of a night out with friends with the desire to spend some time alone. Your decision as to whether to accept the invitation depends on which option you’d prefer at that moment. This isn’t that hard to understand.

Truth.  Skirtember starts next week!  Get your dresses and skirts ready!  I bought a $15 adorable polka dot dress at Ross' the other day...on my way out of Marshall's.  

Skirtember Challenge

In case you missed it, I'm having a blog sale.

For September, Chantal and I are going to initiate a challenge.  I hope you'll give it a try!

What's Skirtember?
Try to wear a skirt every day in the month of September, snap a picture, and show off your fashion choices in our weekly link-up. You can show 7 days of skirts/dresses, 5 five days, or even 1 day.  Whatever you've got to share.  The challenge begins on Sunday, September 1st, and our first link-up will be Monday, September 9th.  

Guidelines
1.  Try to wear a skirt or a dress as many days in September as you can.
2.  Mix and match.  Get creative!  If you wear skirts often, re-mix what you have.  If you never wear skirts, maybe check out a summer clearance sale and try a few out. When you have to think outside the box, you'd be surprised at what you come up with!
4.  This is not meant to be an "all or nothing" challenge.  It's a challenge to try something new and different.  Forget to wear a skirt one day?  Don't worry about it!
5.  We'll host a link-up every Monday during September where you can showcase your skirts/dresses from the week before.
6.  Link up, share the button, spread the word!

I wear a lot of skirts.  Chantal likes to wear jeans.  I do not like to wear jeans.  So we figured we'd be the perfect odd couple to host this challenge :)  I had a little too much fun putting together some examples.

You can make up a collage if you're feeling crafty.  You can link up some Instagram photos to the hashtag #Skirtember.  Even send a Tweet!  @ScatteredCShels @KristinskNook

Who's up for a challenge???

Sharing at Mingle Monday and Funday Monday