Erika S. outfits, teaching

so funny

Its a new year, and we were back in school on the 2nd.  In SF, we usually got a full 2 weeks off for winter holiday.  Here in NY, it’s a “measly” but well enjoyed week and a half.  Woe is me.  I was ready to be back with my kids, and more than ready to flex my humor bone.  B laughs at me my jokes all the time usually.  The only time I ever hear crickets in my class is when I make a silly science pun.   It’s a good thing that I like poop and fart jokes too otherwise I’d never get a reaction out of them.  So I decided to end the first week back with a bang of a t-shirt.  I was breaking the unspoken “teacher professional” dress code at my school by wearing a t-shirt.  gasp!  with jeans.  double gasp!  None of my professionally dressed colleagues said anything, and I got many chuckles from the kids, so whateves.
so funny

This t-shirt is pretty old.  So is the cardigan which is now half the size it used to be thanks to many rounds of washing (everything shrinks for me, even when washed strictly in cold water and air dried).  What is new are the rain booties.  We all know I have a thing for booties, and with the harsh Brooklyn weather combined with my daily trek to/from school, I figured I could justify adding a pair of weather proof booties to my collection.  Also, LL Bean had a 30% off Bean boots promotion one of the days leading up to Christmas, so I jumped on it.  So cute and so New England-ish, no?

so funny

so funny

cardigan: super old from therapy in SF – tshirt: loyal army – high waisted jeans: bdg – boots: ll bean – necklace: unicorn crafts – lipstick: coral colours #867, send from australia by B’s mom (it’s pretty awesome)

Last bit – I’m a bread making machine lately since B got me a cast iron dutch oven for christmas.  The easiest classic recipe ever, though I’m on the lookout for flavor tinkering changes (hello sourdough starter!!!).  It’s my cheat day today so I plan on eating this entire loaf.

MMmmmm Breeeead

Erika S. outfits

sack it to me

Last night B and I went out on a ‘date’, meaning we went out to a nice dinner, and a nightcap.  For me it’s an excuse to throw on some tights and indulge in my love for roomy sack dresses.  Anything that accommodates cocktails, apps, a main and dessert without making you feel like your clothes are on the verge of exploding.  We went to the Library, at Public.  On the Schenck scale of goodness (more on that some other day), it was pretty good.  Poor picture quality – the hallway lights in our building have that ever present yellow tone and I didn’t want to bother fiddling with the white balance.  Also not shown, the 2 other layers, hat and scarf worn on top of the dress to shield me from the freezing weather outside.
United Bamboo for Madewell crepe dress

United Bamboo for Madewell crepe dress

United Bamboo for Madewell crepe dress

dress: united bamboo for madewell (purchased right before christmas at an extra 50% off sale, making it a killer deal for a well made silk dress) – tights: uniqlo heattech (very necessary for the cold front that’s been coming through NY) – booties: zara (on sale now) – clutch: f21 (old)

Erika S. outfits

empty days

It’s vacation and I should be grading lab reports. Instead, I’ve been lounging, cooking and eating. Lab reports can wait, I guess.  I got myself a new bag – a wannabe Alexander Wang bucket bag for a small fraction of the price.  Thanks to “fast fashion”, I can indulge in designer aesthetics without the designer price point.  Considering I’ll probably get sick of this bag within the year and just go back to my trusty Freitag tote anyway, I’m cool with the semi cheap-o construction and materials.   OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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beannie: topshop – glasses: warby parker – jacket and purse: h&m – puffer: marmot – jeans and sweater: uniqlo – booties: steve madden (my fast fashion version of the Isabel Marant Dicker boots)

Erika S. outfits

old faithfuls

Winter break is coming up in 2 more days.  Just in time too – I’m due for a serious break and I know my students need one also.  I pulled out an old faithful today, a striped sweater dress.  I bought this dress a couple years ago from H&M after I saw Anna from See Jane wear this version so beautifully.  It was inexpensive, has held up to many washings and can easily be a year round dress with a few additions.  And so, it’s become an old faithful with a bit nostalgia.  I wore this dress the first time B and I visited Brooklyn/New York City together after only dating for a month.  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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circle scarf: topshop – dress and boots: h&m – leggings: target

Erika S. outfits, teaching

Blooms

It’s friday night – post teacher happy hour – so I don’t feel much like writing a whole post.  So I have this to marinate upon-

I’d like to frame this blog post with an authentic experience around high order thinking and annotation to encourage rigorous pair-sharing.  Meet Mr. Giraffafant, Ms. Cruz’s sweet old buddy.  Using what you know about genetics and natural selection, compare and contrast key characteristics of Mr. Giraffafant’s outfit with Ms. Schenck’s outfit of the day (keeping in mind one of her many high school nicknames, giraffe).  Be sure to support your argument with evidence and cite your sources.  blooms5   blooms2

blooms3

blooms4

blooms

scarf: topshop – jacket: uniqlo – cardigan: j.crew – shirt (old) but also seen here on this blog & boots:  anthropologie – coated pants last seen here: bdg urban outfitters

Erika S. outfits

bright sunshiny day

Two days later and things are going much better.  Then again, I see ‘that class’ again tomorrow (first time since monday), so ask me again how things are later.  I think I have a game plan though, and it’s called “space”.  I’m giving those boys space and in return, they’re going to give me space.  At least, that’s how it’s working out for me in my head.  In the mean time, I’m up for some brightness in my life.  So I color blocked my day with a neutral and a hot red pepper color. That’s me – neutral for the most part, but sometimes I turn into a hot pepper and get angry.  bright

brighter5

brighter4

brighter3

brighter2

glasses: salt (old) – circle scarf: topshop – cardigan: j.crew – belt: gap (old) – dress: some cheapo no name from tobi.com – tights: uniqlo heattech (so warm!) – booties: steven by steve madden (on sale!)

Erika S. outfits

with a rebel yell

These pants make me feel like I’ve stepped out of a cheesy “nab the punk rock trend!” type fashion guide on a mega-clothing site like ASOS.  Not that it’s a bad thing really, but it makes me feel a bit odd.  Combine the pants with my “tough biker girl look” boots and I really feel uber trendy, young at heart like maybe I’m dressing too much like a teenager.  Whateves.  When I was in high school (and well into college…and even now), was was seriously into punk music — what I considered punk (there’s is a lot of debate over what is and isn’t punk and whether or not punk is dead) : No Use for a Name, Pennywise, Dead Kennedys, Fugazi and other mid 90’s-ish groups.  To me, plaid pants were for the 80’s type Haight street gutter punks that were trying to emulate Billy Idol and his ilk.  That was not me.  I was busy obsessing over Blake Schwarzenbach (my ultimate teenage crush, next to Rivers Cuomo), trying to bleach my hair in an effort to get Punky Color to stick.  Chesterfield King tore my teenage heart apart and glued it back together by the end — every. single. time.

Back to the pants: I like them, they’re comfy with an elastic waist, they were dirt cheap, and they’re plaid — which as we all know, I have a thing for plaid.  Even my students know I like plaid.  Today in class, I debriefed yesterday’s lab which centered around looking for patterns in self collected data.  I used my pants as an example is a repeating pattern, and this kid P was all, “You’re always wearing plaid, Miss.  You must like patterns.”  YES I DO, P!!!

In the spirit of the punk rock rebellious attitude, here are a few gems of teenage rebellion, true stories:

  • a kid once took a crap on the floor of the boy’s bathroom on purpose.
  • once, a couple of boys tried to flush large semi-automatic guns down the toilet at school to try and get rid of them.
  • a kid once urinated into the soap dispenser in the boys bathroom and it was a while before someone realized it.
  • a kid once took a large Crayola Crayon piggy bank, stuck it through the fly of his pants and went around to different classrooms, interupting them to bonk other kids in the head with the “penis crayon”.

rebellious3

rebellious4

rebellious

rebellious2

sweater and boots: h&m – pants: uniqlo – necklace: present from sunny, a couple years ago

Erika S. outfits, teaching

mad easy.

In effort to avoid looking like I was attending a funeral today, I threw in some reddish/maroonish/berryish colored tights.  The tights just happened to match my maroonish booties – a happy coincidence.  To complete this berry theme, the boots and tights also matched my not-so-new-anymore-since-I-wear-it-all-the-time-now Rimmel ‘bordeaux’ lipstick.   Some kid today said that I actually looked a bit “teacher-ish” except for the red tights and boots that elicit a “omg I love your shoes” type response.  So….the trick to looking like a teacher is: bun, glasses, black dress, black cardigan.  Thanks, kid for the fashion advice.  I’ll remember it, because unlike you (for now), I am good at listening (most of the time).

glasses: warby parker – circle scarf and necklace: h&m (I think, it’s hella old) – cardigan: j.crew – dress and tights: uniqlo (last year) – booties: ecote via uo

By the way, my lesson today was on graphing.  As in what is a graph, which is the X axis, how to graph using a table and identifying the independent vs. dependent variable.

Kid: Miss, this is maaad easy!  Why are we doing this?

Thinking to myself: Yeah, it should be ‘mad easy’, considering they’re in the 10th grade.

Me: If you think it’s so ‘maaaad easy’, then why was your graph hella wrong on the cellular respiration lab?

Kid: What’s ‘hella’, miss?

Mental note: replace ‘hella’ with ‘mad’ from now on.

Erika S. outfits

variations on a theme

look familiar?  yup, I’m full on outfit recycling like crazy now, something I never really did in the past.  I used be inspired/care enough to come up with different ways to mix up what is in my closet.  Not so much anymore, as I’ve been sticking to my work uniform of black jeans, a button down and booties.  At least I now have a new button down to throw into the mix, never mind that it’s from the same store in the same cut.  It’s a new color!  The elfish booties – an Anthropologie find on black Friday, on sale with an extra 25% off!  And I didn’t even have to deal with crowds at my sister’s neighborhood shopping area in DC.  They make me feel like Arwen, where in reality they probably make me look like Elf.



glasses: warby parker – scarf: present from my sister – cardigan – j.crew (similar) – shirt: madewell (similar color)- belt: gap – booties: anthropologie