Erika S. basics, outfits

Beans and the Met

B and I took a trip to the Met yesterday for the first time since we’ve moved here.  The place is huge.  After 2 hours, we saw maybe only a third.  The exhibits are pretty amazing and I love how there is a mix of both modern art and archeology.  Next week, we’re hitting up the MOMA.

met

beans3

I broke in my Bean boots yesterday and they’re pretty awesome.    Also, check out this post by Kim France of the blog Girls of a Certain Age.  It pretty much describes my wardrobe mentality, a philosophy that I adopted a year ago and am getting more and more extreme with.  I wear the same stuff (or variations of the stuff) over and over.  Which begs the question, how can I write a fashion-oriented blog when there is no variety? I’m still thinking about that one.

bean boots

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beans

scarf: arrived in a care package from B’s mum in oz – coat: uniqlo – bag: h&m – t-shirt: threads for humanity – jeans: bdg – boots: ll bean – necklaces: f21, my mom – wrists: my popo (g-ma), j.crew, mainsai (holiday prez from B)

Erika S. outfits

winterizing

I love how some dresses can be winter-ized by just adding a few things.  This dress, I’ve taken from the balmy crisp SF weather, through to hot muggy Brooklyn summer, straight into the dry freeze-your-ears-off Brooklyn winter.  All it takes is the addition of a scarf, wooly tights, cardigan and suede booties.  Of course, there was a coat involved, but I left it off while inside.  Dress, during summer last seen here.  Next time, I’ll have to remind myself to use a few more squirts of Static Guard

scarf: topshop – cardigan and belt: j.crew – dress: f21 – tights: h&m – booties: steve madden

Erika S. basics, teaching

teacher outfit reliables

A thin cardigan:  warmish, thin and drapey.  Cardigans keep you warm during prep and cover up your arms so you don’t feel too naked in front of the kids. They also cover any arm jiggles you might think you have when you are furiously trying to get through a lesson before the bell rings and you’re writing like a mad woman on the board. Definitely aim for something not so thick and bulky that you end up dripping with sweat before you get a chance to breath and remove layers.  Some reliable, tried and true and fairly affordable options:

J. Crew: this on is currently on sale at $50 (with extra 30% off) which brings it to $35.  It will last a long long time (3 years and counting of weekly wear for me) and is the perfect amount of open weave vs. warmth for the classroom.

Uniqlo: can’t go wrong with Uniqlo.  Great price and quality that compares to more expensive brands.  $19

Stretch skinny or straight black jeans: slimming, easy, stretchy, and comfortable.  Black jeans are simple and basic enough that they match with everything possible and allow you that extra time in the morning to just grab your coffee mug and run so you can get to class early and prep. The color also makes them professional looking enough – they’re not sweats and they’re not blue jeans.  Boom, profesh. Some reliable, tried and true and fairly affordable options:

Uniqlo: black skinny fit tapered stretch jeans. Normally priced at $50, you can usually wait for them to go on special at $40

Madewell: more expensive, but really soft and will hold their shape. $99

Forever 21: inexpensive, washes well, and durable. $10

Button ups: sleeveless and sleeved (for winter, the only time it can actually get cold in a classroom even with 35 teenagers fogging up the place). A dressed up (professional) version of a top with room for your pits to vent/breathe.  Helps to have armpit breathing space when you’re doing your daily song and dance in an effort to keep the teenagers “engaged” with the lesson.  I mean, lets face it, not all kids find the functions of the golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum fascinating.  But they will find my mimed rendition of protein synthesis at least mildly amusing.  Miming takes a lot of energy, and as we all know, a by-product of work is moist pits.  Some reliable, tried and true and fairly affordable options:

Uniqlo: see above.  $30  Classic cut (not too slim, not too manly boxy)

Madewell: on sale now, only in lime green.  Wait till other colors go on sale, then get-em while they last.  Durable and roomy without making you look like a box on top.  $40

Black ballet flats:  This should be a big duh.  They’ll help you survive the day even when kids are too busy talking about the latest cafeteria fight to even acknowledge your presence at the front of the room.  They’re comfy enough without being sneakers, and … bonus points for being able to slip them off during staff meetings so you can give your dogs a breather rest.  Some untried and  possibly sucky but fairly affordable options:

BDG at Urban Outfitters: on sale now at $20

Forever 21: $25

frye

Frye: my personal splurge, 2 years ago.  The leather stretches out over time.  $149

Watch: the bigger the face, the better, so you can check yourself when you’ve been rambling for too long about how “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”.  One I like but don’t have, nor am I willing to shell out the cash for just yet:

Nixon: I like men’s watches – big.  $125

So, fellow teachers, did I miss anything?

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. basics

basics round up part 1: the booties

When booties are your jam, you tend to stock pile them.  Part one of my closet basics round up, the bootie.

I picked up my newest addition to the group this past week when J.Crew was having their 30% off sale items promotion.  I “needed” a brown bootie in my collection.  When I got them, my sister exclaimed that “they look exactly same as all the other shoes you have!” to which I replied, “no they don’t, they’re totally different!  They’re brown!”

If I were not such a sucker for shopping and spending my hard earned teacher cash, I’d be more realistic and be fine with having one pair of boots that go with everything.  But no, I’m a product of this consumerist American society, so I have 10 – all well worn and in constant rotation.  We all have that one (or many) thing that we get sucked into right?  Well, the first of my many things is…the bootie.  I like small booties and I can not lie.

Even more ridiculous and consumerist, I lust after these, these and these booties.  They will be mine.  Oh yes, they will be mine.

top, then grid in order of age: j.crew aggie boot – anthropologie inclined chelsea boot – zara studded cowboy ankle boot – ecote alexandra suede ankle boot – anthropologie woven clog booties – steven by steve madden noahh boot – dv by dolce vita jamison boot – boutique 9 cooper boot – nine west – bp from nordstrom

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. seriousness, teaching

I had been searching for some words for the Sandy Hook tragedy for some time. Monday rolled around and I still had no words about it, I had gone the entire weekend avoiding reading anything on the news. At our grade team meeting that morning, Sara (English) asked how were were going to address it with our crews (homerooms). I replied that I wasn’t. By the time I walked out of the meeting and on to my first class of the day, I felt empty and unable to empathize with other teachers who were touched and struck to their core by the events in Connecticut. I told myself that maybe I should stop avoiding it and just read up on it and allow myself to process the emotions, as a human being and as a teacher. I went home that night and read about how a teacher tried to shield her students from bullets, how another teacher hid her students in a cabinet and told the shooter they were in the library. I read about how the first responders to the commotion in the hallway – the principal and vice principal – were the first ones down. I read all about it and started choking up.

As I read, I pictured myself frantically shoving my students – 15 year olds – into the closets in the back to my classroom to hide them. I thought about how I keep the door to my classroom locked all the time and how that would probably be a good thing. There is no doubt in my mind that I will do my best to protect my students – even the ones that call me names.

Today is Wednesday, and until today, I still had no words for the horrific actions of one man with access to ridiculous guns. But now I do – part of what I love (and sometimes hate) about my job is how emotionally invested I am in my students. So faced with a similar situation, I would also try my best to shield them.

This blog post by a fellow teacher helps fill out the rest of my words relating to the recent media coverage of teachers like me, both before and after Sandy Hook.

Lisa Myers's avatarlisamyers.org

Please see the follow-up to this letter at http://lisamyers.org/2012/12/31/a-follow-up-to-dear-america-from-a-teacher/.

Dear America,

It feels strange to hear your voice praising teachers for their selflessness, dedication, and love for their students. We’re listening to what you’re saying, but we must admit that we are listening with tilted head and quizzical eye. Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to hearing a very different voice from you.

For the past few years, you’ve been certain that most of society’s problems stem from our schools, more specifically the teachers in those schools. We are lazy and useless, we are only in it for the money, we only teach for the vacation time, we don’t possess the intelligence to teach anyone much of anything, our demands for a respectable wage are selfish, we don’t teach students respect, we are leeches sucking the blood from State coffers, we don’t even work a full day like everyone else, and…

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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. teaching

Due Dates

Today was a big day in my class – our first full lab report was due.  Remember those?  All those sections: introduction, materials and methods, data and results and conclusion.

Lab reports are not easy for 15 year olds, so I built in a lot of hand-holding and supports for my little young adults. I assigned it 2 weeks ago and had daily “check for understandings” for the due date.  I gave them an instruction sheet, an outline, and an example lab report to look at. I gave them a lab report template where all they had to do was complete the sentences. I gave them time in class (2 class days) to work on it and I made myself available every day after school and via email to help them.

Today was the big day.  I hold in my hand 10 complete lab reports…out of 85 students.  FAIL.

I did gather a few NOT AMUSING excuses though. Real gems:

“I didn’t know it was due today!”   FACE PALM

“Lab report?  What Lab report?”   DOUBLE FACE PALM

“I need help on it!  can I come after school to get help?”  YOU’RE WAITING UNTIL THE DAY IT’S DUE TO ASK FOR HELP!?!?!?

“Oh, I didn’t get it.  I don’t understand it.”  FOR REAL?!?!

“Oops.”  FACE PALM

“Can I give it you you tomorrow?”  YES

“Can I email it to you tonight?”  YES