A Week of Fall Fashion

As promised, a weeks worth of fall fashion... Just a few days later than planned.  I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.  I had a few days where I wasn't feeling great, all of these colds going around at school one of them got me, it wasn't a bad cold, more annoying, which of course led to me not tidying up my classroom as I should have.  After a few days of this my classroom was starting to feel like Professor Jones office in the Indiana Jones movies, which isn't such a great thing.  On Friday I had some extra energy (and was at my breaking point with the mess) so I made a to-do list and got started!   Still a long way to go for complete happiness and organization but I'm feeling less overwhelmed and I was able to accomplish a LOT over this work filled weekend! Thus the blog was shifted to the back burner, sorry! I really had to do something before the Seattle Times headline read "Teacher crushed by stacks of books, ungraded papers and unit tests in Seattle classroom" lol  

Monday: 

Black Silk Blouse (t. Babaton-Aritzia) Black Pants (Michael Kors-Nordstrom Rack)

I LOVE this outfit! The blouse is a staple of my wardrobe.  I splurged on it back when I was working two jobs and it was worth every penny of its $90 price tag! I want to buy a sleeveless one in black too or one with a fun pattern! The pants a new addition to the closet.  I need more teaching pieces for my wardrobe but I wanted pieces with interest.  These straight leg black pants with gold zipper details were just the ticket! Even better, I bought them at the Rack on red tag clearance :) 

Tuesday: 

Black long sleeve (BP-Nordstrom) Dress (Ella Moss-Barney's New York)

This outfit probably looks familiar... It's basically the same outfit I wore last week, but without the denim vest and a different BP black longsleeve, yes I have more than one, this one is a little bit longer and super soft! 

Wednesday:

Bordeaux Sweater (t.babaton-Aritzia) Pants (Mossimo-Target) Boots (Steve Madden)

As you all know if you've read previous posts, I LOVE these boots! They are amazingly comfortable and have just the right amount of sass via the gold spikes :) 

Thursday: 

Black Maxi Skirt (Nordstrom Rack- I cut out the tag, it itched so I don't know the brand) Striped Tank ( J Crew-sale rack) Lace Sweatshirt (Free People-Mom for Christmas via Macys)

I'm not sure why I hadn't thought to put these pieces together before, I've had them all for over a year and I love them all individually but then I had a stroke of genius Wednesday night when I was picking out an outfit, I decided I wanted to do the cute and comfy thing for Thursday, it was going to be a day with less an the optimal amount of sleep, so comfy was a necessity! Also, a few of my students asked me what I looked like without makeup, which I thought was interesting since I don't wear a ton of makeup anyways but I decided to oblige their curiosity and go makeup free on Thursday... Ok maybe I applied a thin, single coat of mascara, but that's it! 

Friday: 

Purple and Gold Sweats (Husky Atheltic Department Surplus), T-Shirt (UW bookstore), Black Zip-up Hoodie (America Appearl via Mak's Closet), Black Vest (The North Face via Mak's Closet) 

Oh how I love Fridays! Not only do we get to wear college gear, but it was W Day in Seattle, which is the Friday before the UW Huskies homecoming football game, and thus gives everyone in Seattle the excuse to wear even more husky gear than normal! 

So there you have it! I promise to put some academics in the blog this week not just clothes :)

Unit next time,

Karissa 

Oh How I Love Sundays...

I apologize for the lack of posts... I was having some internet trouble at home and kept forgetting to hit publish when I was elsewhere with internet.  Anyways, internet is fixed and I'm back to a mostly normal schedule.  Last week was a bit crazy... It started off like any other Monday, running late, kids forgetting the basics over the weekend, like how to raise your hand, and a desperate need for caffeine... The kids figured it out quick as they were reminded they had a unit exam on Wednesday.  

So Monday was review day, pretty standard.  On Tuesdsay we had one of the councelors at our school come and talk to the students about college and career readiness.  It's an awesome program that informs students about options after high school, how high school choices effect those options, and how to navigate those choices.  This is particularly important because for many of my students this is the first place and maybe the only place they are getting information around college.  Wednesday they took their unit exam, Thursday they had a science field trip.  I didn't attend but instead worked with the kids that didn't go and helped them get caught up on missing work. Then Friday... Friday is what we call an activity day... Class periods are 25 minutes, and the last two hours of the day are filled with an activity, usually a school dance, with other options like open gym, a movie in the auditorium and open library/computer lab.  As you can imagine, students get a little excited about the activity, and 25 minutes is not a whole lot of time.... So my students did a little "essay" question to connect with the unit exam from Friday, they were a little bummed but they did an awesome job and I'm SUPER proud of them :)

Needless to say, after that week of craziness, I'm looking forward to a more normal week in the classroom! Due to all that craziness, I only have one outfit picture from the week.... I took pics two different days, forgot the other three oops! But one was blurry and thus we are only left with one outfit, sorry!

I have been intrigued by all of the burgundy nail and lipstick combos I've seen out there in fashion magazines, Pinterest, other blogs, etc. and thus decided to give it a try!  In the spirit of trying to save money for a trip to Spain this summer, I'm trying to cut costs where I can, like painting my own nails (sometimes lol), buying drugstore makeup for trendy colors, and Starbucks only on special occasions.  So I did a little research and found a couple lipsticks that were recommended/rated high for a Bordeaux lipstick for someone with fair skin.  Of course, I could only find one of them at the Target I was at, CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain 450.  I can't say I loved it, it was a little dull... Quick fix though, I threw a little of my favorite lipstick, MAC Russian Red, over the top and it was fabulous! I went with Essie "a list" nail polish, it was a little more on the red side but I love it!

Here you can see the lipstick and nail polish combo, they ended up matching really well, a pleasant surprise! 

And here's the outfit :) 

Skirt (actually a tank top maxi dress, Ella Moss- Barney's New York) Long Sleeve TShirt ( BP-Nordstrom) Denim Vest (Talula-Aritzia) 

I really love this outfit and my lipstick/nail combo! It will certainly be making a reappearance very soon! Perfect for fall!  

Look forward to a full week of outfit posts, and some of the map work I've been promising :) 

Until next time,

Karissa 

Hump Day

Today one of my students asked me why people call Wednesday hump day, which of course made the class explode into a fit of giggles "OMG! He's said hump...hahaha". Oh middle school kids... Anyways I then of course explained that when you make it through Wednesday, you're over the hump of the work week. Some kids got it, some didn't... Oh well, maybe when they have a job it will sink in lol 

Today I opened up my class with a short video clip, asking the write about what the clip means to them.  It was an awesome and inspiring video you can watch here, just 3 minutes but so worth it.  My students were extremely engaged and most wrote whole pages in 5 minutes about motivation, never giving up, and doing what makes you happy... It was well worth the five minutes I usually use for a history related do now.  I love doing fun little life skills and motivation based do now from time to time, plus it makes me happy, which is always a plus! 

On another note, two of my students said I look like Buffy the vampire slayer today in two different periods, on both occasions fellow students agreed.... I don't see it, but you be the judge! 

Blazer (Nordstrom Rack) T-shirt (Crisis Clothing-a local company) Pants (Savvy-Nordstrom)

And of course the best part, my shoes :) 

Shoes (Tory Burch-Nordstrom) 

This is one of my favorite outfits, a little edgy with classic touch... And of course I added more edge with the rocker poof, I was having some fun with it :) 

In other news we have no school Friday, one of those lovely teacher Professional Development days that I swapped for a day of PD this summer, which means a day off! Yay! So since I have a day off, keep your eyes peeled for a post on the map work I've done with my 7th graders so far this year!

Until next time!

Karissa

A case of the Mondays...

When I woke up this morning I knew I was in for a long day... When my alarms went off I had that feeling of "why in the heck is my phone going off I just went to bed" despite my 6 hours of sleep, but after too many days in row of 5 or 6 hours my body was not having it. However, as I am a teacher, not a fabulous CEO that can move her appointments back at a time suits her better, I dragged myself out of bed and got on with my day.  One where I'm feeling particularly sleepy, I usually don't wear the outfit I previously selected and instead go for one of my three favorites.  With the mentality "look good feel good" I figure that on days I need a little extra something I should dress in something with "a little extra something", and let me tell you, quite often it works!

And of course, until my heater decided to turn on I had to wear my favorite item in my closet, the trench coat!

Trench coat ( t. Babaton-Aritzia) Skirt (J Crew-here) T-Shirt (Etsy) 

But... When it does come on, I feel like I'm teaching somewhere tropical... So for most of the day, I really looked like this....

This morning, however, the Mondays were determined to make it a long day! I got my self ready, running a little later than I prefer, but still in good shape, heated up some milk to make some hot chocolate, and then this happened....

Seriously universe?! It's my FAVORITE mug! I know it's a Monday and you're trying to mess with me, but did you seriously have to mess with my Minnie Mug? Uncalled for!

Needless to say I was not happy! But now, on the verge of being late if I didn't leave pronto, I made my hot chocolate, poured it in a travel cup and was on my way!  I started to get the feeling of success when I arrived at school on time (I HATE being late places, so that was crucial to a good day), I got into my classroom and remembered that I didn't feel like organizing Friday night and that meant I needed to Monday, it's like coming home from vacation to a pile of laundry you didn't do before you left plus what you need to do now. But I managed to get started, check my email, decided I'd organize after school and went on with my day, which turned out to be quite fabulous! My students were awesome, the little 7th graders are starting to learn about the first English colonies in what is now the United States.  They were so intrigued by the idea of the lost colony of Roanoke (find out more here is interested, it really is fascinating!) I'm positive I have future detectives and historians in my room! 

The Mondays did manage to catch up with me though, unfortunately.... When I got out of my meetings today I was really feeling tired and decided to call it a day, go home, eat, fold some laundry and get a couple things ready for the rest of the week at school....what actually happened: got home, turned the drier back on for a few minutes, ate a few bites of cookie dough ice cream, turned on Monday Night Football, took clothes out of drier, folded three items, fell asleep on pile of laundry for a the first half of the game and halftime, woke up to a 21-14 Jets lead, looked at my to do list and stared blankly at it wondering why little animals from all over Seattle didn't come into my apartment and cross a few things off my to do list for me like they do in Disney movies.... I feel gipped.... I swore I was a Disney Princess! 

Since woodland animals are going to help, I suppose I should cross a few items off myself. I hope the Mondays didn't come after you quite as much as they did me.

Until next time,

Karissa

October or Oktober?

I just love October! Pumpkins, costumes, sparkly bat decor, and boots! Fall fashion is my absolute favorite time for trends! Boots, scarves, leggings, coats... What's not to love?! I've been digging through my closet, bringing all my fall favorites from the inner depths to limelight! It makes me so a happy :) But before we get to teacher outfits, I'm had a really awesome couple days of lessons with my 8th graders.

In Washington, 8th grade history covers Washington state history and world geography.  We are currently looking at the Native people in Washington state, focusing on Coastal Native Americans for the last two weeks and Plateau Native Americans coming up next.  To start off the unit I read the students a creation story that is prominent in many Coastal tribes, they LOVED it! I thought they would have interest but I was not expecting so much buy in from reading one story.  After finding out how much they LOVED the creation story, I went with it and did a whole art integrated week of lessons and guess what, it was a huge success! 

Like I said, I started off with the creation story (here).  I read it out loud as they followed along, using their reading strategies (ie. circling words they don't know, making connections to prior learning and writing questions in the margins, and underlining important details), partner turn and talk trying to infer what the story was about, who is was told to, why it was told, etc., and for homework they had to write a one paragraph extension of the story. The students where so creative with it, it was fabulous! We did an art analysis the next day, looking at art from several coastal tribes, both current works made by tribal members as well as much older and traditional art. They took some notes on what the cultural and spiritual characteristic of some animals, shapes, colors, etc., found in the art observed.  THEN the fun part came.  Now that they had all of this amazing background knowledge, that they were totally eating up I must say, they got to create their own art inspired by coastal tribal style, the colors used, animals we learned about, shapes or the creation story they had read.  After they finished their piece, they created a story to go along with it.  Some stories were informative, many taught lessons, and others were rather whimsical. Over all I was SUPER impressed by the amazing art and written pieces they turned in! 

Here are two of the pieces:

This piece was done by quite the little artist. She titled it "Beaver".

This is was done by a young man, he titled it "Salmon".

I think I was most excited by how genuinely interested and intrigued my students were about a culture they had no real prior knowledge of.  Many of the m expressed wanting to learn more about other cultures and many were inspire to learn more about their own culture! As a teacher I'd call that a success! 

Now, enough about the learning, on to fall teacher fashion! 

On Monday I was feeling quite cheery; so I decided to add some spice to the typical boots, cardigan, black trousers by throwing a pink flower in the hair and putting on my favorite pink lipstick :) 

The one full length picture that I took off this outfit came out blurry -___- ugh! But at least you can see my flower and lipstick! 

Yesterday I got to deal with a flat tire, boo... But I was feeling like a rock star before hand, so here this is my rock inspired outfit :) and big thanks too B for helping with my car situation! 

Sweater (Wilfred-Aritzia) Pant (Mossimo-Target) Boots (Steve Madden-Nordstrom)

Let me just tell you about these pants! Last holiday season I was shopping for my lil sis Mak at Nordstrom and of course couldn't refrain from trying on a few things myself, and the lovely people at Nordstrom always bring you more things to try on.  One of those items put in my fitting room by the sale associate was a pair of pants, black cigarette pants made from a fabric with black velvet flowers.  I am not much of a velvet fan but I loved these pants as soon as I tried them on, just KNEW I had to have them! That was until I looked at the price tag.... a whopping $280... As much as I loved them, I am a teacher after all and that's not in my price range! A few hours later I stopped at Target on my way home for some holiday bows and wrapping paper, I happened to walk through the clothing department and found THESE amazing pants, for $24... And just like my mom, LOVE a good deal! 

Here's a better picture of the fabric :) 

And one more selfie... Aftert Monday's fun with makeup I decided to go more natural with the look on Tuesday.... And you can tell that my sweater is actual more of a wine color. 

Earrings (Kate Spade-Nordstrom) Watch (Michael Kors-Nordstrom Anniversary Sale) Bracelets (Etsy-see previous post) 

And finally, the end of this novel post, today's outfit... What can I say, I really do love all black! 

Trench Coat ( t.babaton-Aritzia) Pants (Joes Jeans-Nordstrom) Blouse (Mossimo-Target) Shoes (Tory Burch-Nordstrom) Tourquoise Bracelet ( J Crew) Watch (Micheal Kors-Nordstrom)

This outfit just screams NYC to me, maybe it's because it's all black, or maybe the trench coat, I'm not sure but regardless, I really do LOVE this outfit! Well I apologize for the novel length post but the last few days have been a bit hectic, so I put it all into one, during Criminal Minds commercials of course! Now off to focus on the end of the episode :) 

Until next time!

Karissa