Erika S. fun stuffs, outfits

Last days of Summer

The classic end of summer weekend has come and gone. By now everyone is back in school and anticipating the weather change. Today I overheard a couple girls talking about the imminent return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Apparently that means winter is coming. Good thing I managed to check off my last 2 summer time goals this past 3 day weekend. B and I climbed a 14er, and I went fly-fishing!

A 14er is essentially a mountain that is over 14,000 ft, and there are 96 of them in the US. 53 of these 14ers are in Colorado, so summiting them is a bit of a thing here. It seems that just about every Colorado resident has “bagged” at least one 14er. So we climbed the easiest one, Mt. Bierstadt (14,065 ft) this past weekend. Man, breathing is no joke at 12,000 ft and above. I survived though with heaps of breaks on the way up. I think I’ve got the 14er bug, so now I’m chomping at the bit to scale a few more of these peaks. Gray’s and Torrey’s Peak will be next!

mtbierstadt

I managed to squeeze in a little shopping trip yesterday before I met up with a friend to go fly-fishing. Picked up this dress from Forever 21, which of course, on me it’s a shirt. I really like these “dresses” because it guarantees that I’ll never have to worry about bending over or squatting down to pick up a pencil in the classroom. I have a super long torso, so even with high-waisted jeans, the danger of an accidental butt crack slip is always a concern. Please ignore the wrinkles, I’m not an iron or steam type of person. Even with wrinkles, this top is neutral, comfortable, and professional looking enough for the classroom.  Winning. Also, these jeans (and a black pair) are the only pants I’ve been wearing lately, because they’re the only ones that fit me right now. Thanks, summer!

laborday

laborday2

laborday4

laborday3

laborday5

glasses: warby parker – top: f21 – jacket: h&m – jeans: mother denim – shoes: mia

Erika S. outfits, teaching

First Week

The first week of school is done! It was a rough week trying to get my body to physically adjust back to being in the classroom with students. I wasn’t hungry when I actually had time to eat, and I was starving during 5th period when I don’t have any breathing time till around 2:30. My restroom break schedule still needs tweaking around my teaching schedule. To help that, I’ve been forgetting to drink any “not coffee” type liquids. By the time next Friday rolls around, I will have whipped my body back into teaching shape with the bladder made of iron.

This year I’ve decided to document my entire “first week back” wardrobe. This is a fashion blog, after all, and there is no more important sartorial week in a teachers year than the first week back. Am I right? This week’s wardrobe is pretty typical for me – I start off with a few nice (read: dress or skirt) and casual it up for the rest of the days, ending with a bang of super dress-down on Fridays.

Monday: 9th grade only (I do not have classes, as I teach 10th and 12th graders this year). I forgot to take photos that day in the classroom, so B helped me snap a couple on my phone when I got home. Giant forehead alert!

first day of school2

first day of school

glasses: warby parker – cardigan: american apparel – dress: j.crew – shoes: saltwater sandals

Tuesday: My actual first day of school. I don’t know what I was thinking putting this outfit together the night before, because I hated it all day at school. I think the shoes have got to go to a friend who has a desk job, because they were not comfortable at all for making laps in the hallways. The skirt was too tight in the waist (summer pleasures brought on a fall squeeze) and kept climbing upwards when I walked. It’s a old skirt, and I used to love it, but I think it’s passed it’s peak. The shirt on the other hand, I love.

jcrew ruffle hem silk top

jcrew ruffle hem silk tank

glasses: warby parker – top: j.crew – skirt: dkny jeans – shoes: h&m

Wednesday: the short day. We have block schedule at my school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This means I have prep periods all morning, teach only one 1.5 hr class, and then we have early release for grade team and all staff meetings. I love Wednesdays, obvi

3x1 channel jeans

anthropologie leather trim tank

shirt: anthropologie – belt: banana republic – jeans: 3×1 – shoes: mia

Thursday: OMG save me type of a day. Thursdays is the opposite of Wednesdays this year. I teach straight through for 5.5 hrs before I get a real break. By the end of Thursday I could barely remember my own name.

beastie boys shirt

beastie boys shirt2

glasses: warby parker – shirt: target – skirt: banana republic – shoes: mia

Friday: Thank god the weekend is here, I survived! This Friday, I busted out a slam dunk of a first week of school t-shirt, a real gem for this science teacher. B’s mum sent over a super stuffed birthday package for me this year, full of gummy candies, gorgeous smelling soaps, gardening gloves, and an awesome science shirt! It is seriously the best, and the kids definitely liked it. The shirt is from a small Perth based Etsy shop called ScienceStitch. I think mum found the shirt in Perth, so I’m sorry if you’re looking for the same shirt online.

i do science tshirt

science stitch

i do science

t-shirt: science stitch – belt: gap – jeans: 3×1 – shoes: nike (omg, like walking on clouds!)

Erika S. outfits

Report week

My classroom is back! This week has been teacher report week at my school, which is our time to gear up for the upcoming school year. We have a bunch of new staff again this year, so it’s been fun meeting everyone and catching up with the old folks. This first few days where many of us are juggling physical work on our classrooms while jumping in and out of meetings can make getting dressed in the morning interesting. I’ve been taking the easy way out by essentially wearing the same thing all week and just rotating out the t-shirts.

These jeans and clogs are stylish enough to keep me from looking like I’m still on vacation, and the t-shirt is casual enough to do dirty work like science supply room reorganizing. A bonus is that the t-shirt is covered in tiny little skulls – the Cheap Monday logo. Normally I’m not into brand logos, but I’ve made an exception for this one since the skulls are just the right amount of cute and bad-ass. I picked this one up in Sydney on the way out to Bondi.

cheap monday

cheap monday standard skulls tee

cheap monday standard skulls tee2

t-shirt: cheap monday – belt: banana republic – jeans: mother denim – clogs: mia, via nordstrom rack – necklace: from my mom and grandmother

I have a new pair of “classroom shoes”. These are the shoes that I keep under my desk at all times just in case my feet need a rest over the course of the day, or I just feel like a change it up mid-day. I used to keep a pair of ballet flats under there, but they have been nearing the end for a while.  Luckily, Oofos emailed me and asked if I’d be interested in trying out a pair of their clogs. Yup, of course I do! I got them in the mail, immediately stuck them on, and didn’t want to take them off all evening. Clouds. Really. Comfortable. Clouds. They’re not the most exciting pair of shoes ever, but they are ridiculously light weight, squishy, and supportive. My friend Mallory has a pair of their sandals, and she wears them all summer, and also when she comes home and doesn’t want to go barefoot. These will be good for those days when I’m breaking in new shoes or just want to treat my feet at the end of the day. Hurray new classroom shoes!

OOFOS

OOFOS2

Erika S. outfits

A Don Henley Summer

It’s been HOT in Denver lately, with temps in the mid 90’s every day. There was never much of a summer growing up in the San Francisco fog, so I’ll never get used to the thick sweat/sunscreen coat I end up wearing everyday. Plus, now that I’m older, my feet swell in the heat. YAY. Who really cares though, when there is so much fun to be had in Colorado during the summer. B and I have been hiking, working on the garden, grillin, and riding bikes to breweries. We are heading on a 3 day canoe/camping trip in western Colorado this Thursday. Don Henley’s been playing in the background all summer, and I’ve been obsessed with 80’s/90’s soft rock. But seriously, how awesome is this song?

I went shopping the other day and J.Crew was having a 50% off sale items sale. This dress was long enough, and fit well, so I picked it up on a whim. It was a hit with everyone, even random strangers on the street. As I was photographing this in the backyard, B commented that it looked like a hippie wedding dress. I can live with that.

jcrew white eyelet dressjcrew white eyelet midi dressjcrew tiered eyelet midi dressjcrew eyelet midi dress

dress: jcrew – clogs: mia via nordstrom rack – sunnies: wordpress.com swag via b