Prep

shades, Ralph Lauren; blazer, vintage; tee, Old Navy; vest, Gap;

watch, Fossil; jeans, Revolt; oxfords, vintage; bag, Jessica Simpson

Sunday I finally started to feel some relief from my cold.  However, since a 'bout of cabin fever had now started to set in, I decided to get out of the house for a while.  Besides, even if I hadn't been feeling better - the sun was finally out!  I mean look at this picture - I have a shadow!  Despite it being a little bit warmer outside, I still couldn't bring myself to go without long sleeves and long pants (I had been running a fever all weekend).  So, I rolled up my jeans and took a hard left at Prepsterville.  Several hours of shopping, three cups of java, and a late lunch with my BFF later, and I felt almost as good as new!

funk.

shades, Payless sample; jacket, Kohls $13; scarf, Payless sample;

shirt, TJ Maxx $5; jeans, Kohls $6; boots, Payless $15

Ever have those days when the motivation to crawl out of bed doesn't come so easy? I call those my funk days. Well, today I had a funk day. Maybe my funk is due to the fact that we received yet another snow storm over the weekend.  Did you catch that in the background?  Dear Mother Nature, it's me Gracie.  Did you forget that it's almost April?!

Regardless of the reason, on funk days I spend a little more time than usual thinking about my clothing choice. I knew that in order to crawl my way out of my funk today I needed to have fun with my outfit.

And, look at that... I think its working! I see a hint of a smile after all...

oxfords.

Remember my obsessing over oxfords here and here?  Well, a vintaging trip this weekend proved to be successful at last.  This pair has a bit more of a heel and pointy toe than I originally thought I was searching for, but when I saw them… it was love at first sight.  I'm thinking about substituting brown ribbon for laces.  And, oh yeah, they cost less than $10.   Perfection. 

On a side note: I thought at first that these might eventually make it to the store, but after wearing them to work today I promptly decided that they would not.  I don't know how good I'm going to be at this whole online store thing.  Knowing me, I'll probably end up keeping most of the inventory for myself.

Back to School

Last night, instead of cozying up in front of a warm fire and catching up on the 'ole DVR list I sat at a desk... in front of my laptop... until 8:15pm.

woot.

Sarcasm aside, this chic is returning to the classroom this semester. And, if everything goes as planned, it will be the start of my last year in the MBA program. While it can sometimes be hard to muster up the umph to go to class for nearly 3 hours after working all day, knowing that I'm almost where I want to be (with a Master's degree) makes it so worth it.

Another thing that makes it a little more bearable is the cool back to school stuff I get to purchase! Would you really expect anything less from me? I mean, you can't tell me that buying Trapper Keepers and pencil cases wasn't a little bit fun in grade school (either that or I am a huge dork)! While shoes did not make it to this list, here are some pretty cool items to help make the world of academia a little more fashionable and fun.

 This contraption holds file folders and even folds up and can be hung on the wall.

I love to use Post-It notes, so when I saw this set of cool pads from Russell and Hazel I knew I had to include it.  They come in just about every size and look a lot nicer than the neon colors you normally find at the drugstore. 

Okay, so I know I said a shoe didn't make it to the list, but did you really think I could go without including at least one shoe in this post? I was on Uncommon Goods website when I found this cute little stilleto-inspired letter opener.  Maybe not specifically a school supply, but still a cute office must-have!

I love this trashcan (also from Uncommon Goods)! Actually no can is needed, just recycle your old plastic grocery bag and viola... you've got the perfect basket to make shots at with your discarded term papers! Too cute!

At first glace this looks like a normal notepad, but it's actually a mousepad also!  I mean, talk about functionality! Anytime I can make life a little simplier, I try.

Alrighty, now that I'm all stocked up on cool school supplies, I guess I have no excuse to put off working on homework. Have a great weekend, dear readers!

Gratitude: The Old School Way

This morning I decided that since my husband and I will have officially been married for 3 months tomorrow, it might be a good time to finish writing our thank you cards.  Being raised by a proper southern woman, I was taught the importance at an early age of showing gratitude when others do nice things for you.  I can remember as a child hand writing thank you cards after birthdays and Christmas, and then when I got older, after both graduations.  So, writing wedding thank you's (granted there are a lot more of these) doesn't particularly bother me.  However, it did get me thinking about how technology has changed the rules of etiquette.  Or, if it even has at all.  I can't tell you the last time I hand wrote anything.  Everything I do is saved on my computer and when I need to send anything out, it is sent through email.  We did manage to send out a few Christmas cards this year, but even still you can go to Walgreens where your pictures and your holiday cheer are printed out by a machine, then come home and print mailing labels on your computer.  No writing, no signing, no nothing.  Neither of us get paper bank statements anymore, it all goes straight to our email and we check it on our iPhones.  I get texts from my favorite department stores about upcoming sales.  This Christmas we even received some E-Christmas cards from friends.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that our snail mail to email ratio per day is 1:10, at least.  But, while I am definitely a Gen Y'er and love my technology (I would rather type in Word over handwrite anyday), for me it still hasn't changed Thank You cards.  Maybe that's the southern woman in me, but I think gratitude should be thoughtfully sent the old school way. 

Got to give credit where credit is due.  Cards designed by my BFF Joe Currin

Now, this chic is going back to writing.  Have a great Saturday afternoon and, if you're in the midwest try to keep warm!