New Fall Arrivals at Anthro & another Back to School OOTD

I was excited to see some new arrivals on Anthro's website this morning! These adorable boots went right to the top of my wishlist:



These are called the Pebbled & Primped Boots and they remind me of the brown Winding Ruffle boots that I missed out on (still pining after those and continue to search on Ebay for them at a reasonable price). I actually need a new pair of black boots. Well, as much as a person who lives in Florida can need a pair of boots. ;-)

I also like the Berry-Stitched Boots.
Would the color be versatile enough though? I hope some blogger reviews these soon!



I guess I'm on a shoe kick today, because these Peppermint Swirl Spectators also caught my eye. Again, not sure I'd get a lot of wear out of shoes this color. They are darling though!



The bird skirt finally has a name! It's the In The Trees Skirt and I just love the tweed and the colors of the bird & branches. I've been really into pencil skirts lately so this is one I'll definitely have to check out. It will need to go on sale before I could ever consider actually purchasing it though!



This next item isn't brand new but I had to include it because it's so perfect for fall. I don't wear a ton of blazers but this one seems like it would be comfortable since it is stretchy. I'll have to try it on the next time I'm at the store. It could be a great addition to my "professor wardrobe" for school. :-)
To A Tee Blazer:



Here's what I wore to teach yesterday at the second local college where I'm working this fall. I wasn't completely sure about it so I asked my husband what he thought and he said it was "bright and pretty." Part of his job involves designing maps so he has a great eye for color. He was kind of half asleep when I asked him though so I wasn't sure if he actually liked it or if he was just trying to get me to go away. ;-) So, was it cute or a bit much for the classroom? I felt cute and class went well so I guess that's all that matters. :-)

Anthro Picture Frame Blouse
Maurices Necklace
Anthro Looping Lanes Belt
Anthro Penciled Abronia Skirt
Target Wedges

Happy Wednesday! I'm already making plans for the weekend. My mother-in-law is coming to visit and I have some serious house cleaning to do before she gets here!

Travel Tuesday: San Diego Edition

This week for my new travel feature I thought I'd share the highlights from last month's trip to San Diego. I posted some of my outfit pictures already but not much about what we did while we were there. Take a minute and let yourself be mentally whisked away to the perfect weather and beauty of San Diego! Doesn't that sound good?! Here we go...

First of all, I want to recommend the hotel we stayed at because it was really nice and affordable! Below is a picture of the Sofia Hotel. It's located in the Gaslamp Quarter, within easy walking distance to great dining options, some of the city's major attractions, and public transportation. It's also right across the street from Horton Plaza if you want to do a little shopping. My husband was attending a conference during part of the week and it was a short walk from the hotel over to the convention center.



On our first day we took the light rail over to Old Town. Some people might think this is too touristy but I think it's a must see! Get a glimpse into the past and see what the original San Diego settlement was like. We had great Mexican food there, strolled along the old streets, browsed in the shops, got some toffee from the old-fashioned candy shop, and toured the McCoy House Museum. My husband got some cool shots of the storefronts and made the one below look old by changing it from color to sepia tone.



Any city guide will tell you that another must-see stop is Balboa Park and I agree! You could spend several days there visiting all of the gardens, museums, and of course the famous San Diego Zoo. We only had time for a quick walk before heading to the center of the park to the Old Globe Theatre for an outdoor performance of King Lear. This was heaven for me since I love literature and plays, but my husband enjoyed it too. There are three different venues on site and they often do non-Shakespeare performances, so check it out even if you're not into the Bard.



On our last full day there we took two boat rides. First was the ferry over to Coronado Island. It's just beautiful there! Things to see: beaches, shopping, dining, and great views of the city skyline from across the water. We ate lunch at the Coronado Brewing Company (YUM!!) and then went back over to the mainland to catch the harbor cruise. I recommend the Hornblower Sea Lion Harbor Cruise. They give you a great tour with lots of information about San Diego landmarks and history, you can take great photos of the city from the boat, and you get to see adorable sea lions. So fun!



Here's a beautiful shot my husband took of the city. That's Seaport Village on the right. If you're pressed for time, skip the village. I wasn't impressed with their food options (either over-priced fancier restaurants or poor quality order at the counter types). There are some cute shops but I would have rather spent more time on Coronado Island or in the Gaslamp Quarter instead.



On our last night there we of course had to squeeze in a game for my baseball-loving husband. I have to admit, Petco Park was pretty awesome. It's nestled right in the urban center so you get a cool view of the building surrounding you in the stadium. We were rooting for the Padres that night and they won big! Yay! :-)



I hope you enjoyed my little tour of the city! Several Anthro bloggers live in the San Diego area and you might remember my post about how I was lucky enough to get to meet up with Carol from In Pursuit of Pretty Things and visit an Anthro store with her. It was such a fun addition to a fantastic trip to what has become one of my favorite cities.

Stay tuned for next week's Travel Tuesday beach edition!

OOTD: Lavender & Coral

This was my outfit on Thursday when I went to campus for a department meeting. I love this dress! I wore it a couple of weeks ago with grey/silver accessories but this time I wanted to add a pop of color so I wore my coral belt. I kept it a bit more casual with a smaller necklace and leather sandals.

Anthropologie Tiny Windows Dress
Kohls lace cami
Anthropologie belt
Lands End sandals
Urban Outfitters necklace
Fossil watch

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend! It's been SO HOT here lately but it's storming tonight so maybe that will cool things off a bit. I'm going to a play at the community theater tomorrow afternoon with my mom and an old friend. Can't wait! :-)

Back to School OOTD

The fall semester has officially started for me today! I teach a night class tonight at one of the colleges where I work part time and I will teach 2 afternoon classes at another school starting next week. It's going to be a busy semester!

I want to be comfortable tonight but still look polished when I meet my class so I decided to wear my new Anthro dress that I picked up on sale.

Anthropologie Shifting Feathers Dress
Gap Cardigan (old)
Anthropologie Looping Lanes Belt
Target Wedges
Anthropologie Pessinus Garden Necklace

The other day I ran into someone at my local Anthro store that I work with at the university that starts next week. I was so excited to find another Anthro-addict that I can talk to! [If you're reading this, Hi Sarah!!] :-)

Travel Tuesday: Savannah Edition

I love to travel so I thought it might be fun to start a weekly travel post where I could share pictures of the fun places I've been and give suggestions for things to see & do. Since I just went to Savannah for a long weekend, I thought I'd start with that.

I don't have pictures from our first evening there and that's when we went to the historic downtown area. If you've ever seen pictures of Savannah then you've probably already seen River Street and some of the famous squares. We took tons of pictures of the historic area when we went in 2008 so I'll save those for another post. This time I'm going to focus on some of the lesser known but really fun attractions in the Savannah area.

First up is a place that I mentioned yesterday, called the Wormsloe Historic Site. Below is a picture of the entrance. Doesn't it look kind of spooky with that spanish moss hanging down from the tree? After going through the entrance, you go up a long oak lined drive to the small museum and trails. The ruins of the original colonial house are down by the marsh. This is a nice place for a walk in nature (although a little warm in the heat of August). This area was also a plantation at one time and there is a private residence (mansion) on one corner of the grounds that the descendents of the original landowner (Noble Jones) still own.


Another fun place to visit if you enjoy history is Fort Pulaski. It's historically significant because the Union Army was successful in destroying part of it with a cannon during the Civil War, making this type of fort obsolete. It was a beautiful day when we visited and we spent a lot of time just wandering around. There's a drawbridge and moat, lots of cannons, and you can climb up to the top for a great view of the surrounding marsh.


The next day we took a boat ride to see the dolphins between Savannah & Tybee. It's just a little past the fort so you could do both of these on the same day easily. We took Captain Mike's tour, which I would highly recommend but call ahead to book your spot because spaces fill up fast. It's an hour tour and they do it several times a day, including a sunset tour. It's reasonably priced and we saw lots of dolphins so it was worth it! Here's me on the dock with our yellow boat in the background.


We also got a great view of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse from the boat. This is not to be confused with the other lighthouse by the beach on Tybee (which is also fun to tour). You can get to Cockspur by boat, jetski, or kayak. As you can see in the picture below, it was high tide, making for a cool picture with the water lapping at the stairs.


To finish off the day, which happened to be my husband's birthday, we went to a baseball game in town. The Savannah Sand Gnats are a minor league team and they have a great stadium not too far from the historic district. Tickets are cheap -- we sat in the first rown right behind home plate! This would be a fun, inexpensive place to take your kids. They had fireworks after the game and the food there was reasonably priced. It was a great way to end the weekend and celebrate my baseball-loving husband's birthday!


I hope this gives people a few ideas for places to visit if you're ever in Savannah! What does everyone think about feature? Are you interested in seeing more travel pics and hearing about other places we've visited?

30 for 30 Challenge Finale!

This past weekend I finally finished up Kendi's 30 for 30 Challenge! My last outfit was comprised of the only item that I hadn't worn yet, this white & green floral dress. I had been thinking about cutting off the flutter sleeves of this dress and that's why I didn't wear it sooner. I've only worn the dress one other time earlier this summer and I wasn't totally in love with the sleeves. I think they make my already broad shoulders look even wider but I still can't decide for sure if they should stay or go. I love the pattern of this dress and it was great for a warm summer day of exploring in Savannah. Here I am on the oak-lined pathway that leads to the tabby ruins of the colonial estate of Noble Jones at the Wormsloe Historic Site.

30 for 30 Challenge: Outfit 30
Dress: Bealls
Belt: Bealls
Sandals: Target

This next picture was taken at Fort Pulaski, between Savannah and Tybee Island.



I've been meaning to post a picture of my new (used) car, so here's a snapshot my husband took of me in front of it. I'm excited to have a newer car and hopefully won't have to deal with anymore car problems for awhile! :-)



I'll post some more pictures from our Savannah trip tomorrow. I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

A quick post before I head out of town...

We're leaving in an hour to go to Savannah for a long weekend get-away and I can't wait! We're planning to do a trolley tour, hit the beach at Tybee, and just relax while celebrating my husband's birthday. Before we head out of town, here are my outfits from today and yesterday. In the first picture my face looks frozen in terror because I had the brilliant idea to get a picture of myself in the stacks at the library but I was terrified that someone would come around the corner and ask me what I was doing! Suddenly the timer on my camera sounded so loud! I had to try three times and this was the best I could do. I think I was successfully sneaky and no one heard or saw. I need to get more adventurous with my picture taking but I'm a scaredy-cat! :-)

30 for 30 Challenge: Outfit 29
Shirt: LOFT
Tank: Belk
Cardigan: Bealls
Skirt & Belt: Anthropologie
Necklace: Urban Outfitters
Watch & Bag (in background): Fossil

I was trying to get creative with yesterday's outfit since I'm getting near the end of Kendi's 30 for 30 remixing challenge and I'm sort of running out of ideas. I thought I'd wear my purple dress as a skirt with my navy polka dot blouse over it but I didn't love the result. Maybe I'd try this again but use an actual belt instead of just the purple sash from the dress around my waist.

30 for 30 Challenge: Outfit 28
Dress (as skirt): Target, Converse
Blouse: LOFT
Sandals: Target

Have a great weekend everyone!!