Wow, 2016 arrived and January was gone in a flash! I think it had something to do with the fact the the first half of my January involved a whole lot of blissful relaxation. The University tends to close down for much of the month, and that kept my inbox at bay and my mind on vintage pursuits.
Guess what folks, my birthday is just around the corner! Okay, it’s really over a month away, but because my family has to contend with overseas shipping times, this is the time of year when I start to put thought into my birthday wants. Not to mention that Valentine’s Day in in just a few weeks. Both of those concepts natural lend themselves to endless web browsing and wishlist creation!
I’m sure I’m not the only one who wakes up on occasion and just wishes that, instead of work, I could go to the beach instead. Now, I know what you’re all thinking: “Ummm…aren’t you a marine biologist? Don’t you work at the beach?” I have a sad reality to confess (especially to any younguns out there who dream of becoming a marine biologist so they can spend their days sunbathing and swimming with dolphins): Although I hate to rain on the Awesome Job Fantasy Parade, most of the time we sad seafarers are in the lab looking down a microscope…
Sometimes, just thinking about the history of ideas can give me goosebumps. To imagine the things that were once societally accepted as fact, until someone’s crazy, outside-of-the-box idea challenged it. To be there on the day someone bravely raised their hand, amidst the sneers and rotten tomatoes lobbed there way, and said, “Err…come on guys.” There was a time when everyone accepted the world was flat. That the sick could be heeled by bleeding them. That smoking had no adverse health effects. That Donald Trump was an acceptable presidential candidate. Come on guys.
Though a bit of a departure from my normal fit and flare silhouette, sometimes a gal needs a skirt that hugs her curves. I’ve had this Bettie Page pencil skirt for years and it always seems to find its way off of the shelf and into my arms on days when I need to earn a few gold stars. I don’t know why, but there’s something about today’s outfit that just screams “Apple for Teacher.” If that won’t earn me gold stars, I don’t know what will.
The lovely, last sighing strains of my Christmas holiday have come to a close, and I’m gearing up for a very busy few months ahead. Sigh. The first day back at work after a blissfully long holiday is always the hardest. Particularly without the comfort of (what became my) daily afternoon nap to ease the blow. The stacks of emails in my inbox, the meeting requests, and publications that I planned to get to once I was back. Well, I’m officially back and they’re demanding attention. God, I miss my hammock already….
Do you ever have items in your wardrobe that you completely forget about? That you tuck in a drawer, all excited to wear, and then it gets pushed to the back of your mind, crowded by all of the lists and errands and work-related responsibilities? For whatever reason, that always happens to me and tights. I’ve done my best to organize my collection, imported them into Dressed for inspiration failure, and happily await a day with that telltale chill in the air. But, like water through my fingertips, the minute I close the lid to their secure spot in my wardrobe,…
I get a fair few questions about my makeup routine. Truthfully, I can’t say that I have a ‘routine’ per se – primarily because I see makeup as a fun adventure every morning and I usually go with whatever suits my mood on a given day. But, I have a few tried and true cosmetics that I reach more more often than others and I definitely have a few favorite brands. So, I thought I’d take the mystery out of my makeup routine and share my makeup must-haves.
Robert Frost is and will probably forever be one of my favorite poets of all time. His poetry has popped up at very key moments in my life; I even used one of his works in the frontispiece of my PhD. Needles to say, Frosty and I are old friends. One of his iconic works “Nothing Gold Can Stay” speaks to how fleeting everything is, particularly the most perfect and meaningful things in our lives.
The ocean is and will forever be in my blood. Ever since I was a kid, you simply couldn’t get me out of the waves. And I grew up in New England, where the sea is not known for being a friend to those of us who like to avoid hypothermia. Even still, I would swim until my fingers became pruney and I was nearly cooked like a lobster in the sun, simultaneously shivering from the cold. But, I loved it. And through to adulthood, whenever I was having a terrible day, I would find solace in the ocean and throw my…