Black and Blue

Were you able to wear your school colors during the excitement of March Madness? I'd like to say that I color coordinated this black-and-blue outfit to my school colors but unfortunately that would make me a mighty tall stretcher of truth.

shirt — D.K. Gold (thrifted) skirt — Express Design Studio (Express) shoes — Blowfish (DSW) necklace — thrifted belt — thrifted

The truth is that no special thought went into selecting the colors for this outfit. Well ... that's not entirely true. I do happen to really like how black and blue looks together. What I couldn't decide about though was whether the multistrand necklace or the single strand one was better. Which do you think? (Ignore the fact that I was committing a fashion faux pas by wearing a necklace and earrings at the same time! Oh the horror of it.)

 

 

I also was a little nervous about wearing this skirt, which was a bit too tight and a bit too short,* to work. You know what they say about old ladies of a certain age wearing short skirts ... They say, "No-o-o-o-o-o!" The fashion police would probably say that it's worse than wearing a necklace and earrings at the same time! Shudder! I did try to disguise the fact that the skirt was a bit too tight and a bit too short by pairing it with an overly big shirt (aka a bag). Seriously speaking now, I think the outfit was okay — I don't think it was scandalous, and I even received some a few compliments.

* If I put it in teeny tiny letters nobody will notice that my skirt was maybe a bit too tight and a bit too short.

But back to the excitement of March Madness ... Woo hoo! and Woot! Woot! "What excitement?" you ask. Why, the excitement of the Lehigh University men's basketball team (my alma mater) beating Duke in the first round. This was a big deal. a HUGE deal. a gigantic enormous amazing HUGE deal. Did I say it was a big deal? LOL. Oh my. Not only was it Lehigh's first-ever NCAA Tournament win — as a 15th seed, but also they beat Duke (a 2nd seed) in doing it. They BEAT Duke! Now, c'mon that is huge. HUGE. Duke is Duke. Who hasn't heard of Duke? They're a powerhouse. Don't get me wrong, Lehigh is amazing, and I feel so fortunate and lucky that I was able to go there as an undergraduate. But sports is just not all that emphasized (except for wrestling. Oh, and then there's that annual Lehigh versus Lafayette rivalry thing) Whatever. You don't go to Lehigh to play sports — to make it to the big leagues. You just don't. And they won in style and class, and pulled off an upset! How I wish that I could have been back on South Mountain to celebrate. 

And then there was the excitement on the women's side as well! My second alma mater, the University of Delaware, was playing as a 3rd seed! Woo hoo! and Woot! Woot again! Even though they were expected to do well and to play in the tournament, their story was just as exciting.

Four years ago, when Elena Delle Donne graduated from high school in our tiny little state, she was the number one college recruit for women's basketball in the country. No surprise, she signed with basketball powerhouse — the University of Connecticut. She left for college, and the story turned upside down and inside out. Two days later she left UConn, came back home, gave up her scholarship, and enrolled at the University of Delaware. The women's hoops world was abuzz as to what would possess her to do this. (You've got to understand — UD is not what you would call a basketball school. In fact, it's probably more well known for producing our vice president, Joe Biden, than for women's basketball. Nobody knew why she left and people speculated, and some really nasty and cruel things were said about this 18-year-old kid.)

It turns out that Elena was homesick, and mostly homesick for her older sister, who was born without sight or hearing and with cerebral palsy. Elena sat out basketball for a year (UConn didn't release her), and then started playing basketball for UD. This was her third year, the team has finally been able to gel around the superstar player that is Elena Delle Donne and come into their own. And make no mistake — Elena is a superstar. Her story is an amazing feel good story — read more about Elena here and here.

I would like to say that both my teams went on to win and win big. I think you could safely say that they did and they didn't. To me, we can take lessons from both teams — from the Lehigh men's team to believe in yourself and the UD women's team of what is really important. And those are wins — that is what sports really should be all about.

Linking up to Fashion Friday at Blonde Episodes.

Just Walk On By!

Keep reading if you want to see something even scarier than this outfit!

skort — Greg Norman (thrifted)

sweater — Bill Blass Jeans (thrifted)

booties — Blowfish (DSW)

This skort* was such a pretty cobalt blue color that I couldn't pass by the rack without snatching it up, especially since cobalt blue had been designated as an IT color for the fall. I tried the skort on and even though it was probably two sizes too big, I thought I could make it work. Hey, it stayed up under its own power, so it couldn't have been all that big, right? Besides cobalt blue is a good color for redheads and for erstwhile strawberry blondes like me. That's partly how I justified this purchase, but it had more to do with how I spend my money — I struggle with spending money on myself because I don't ever feel deserving of it. So I make do with what I can find even if it's not the right size, the right shape, or the right anything.

*skort: A skirt with a pair of shorts underneath.

I did actually wear this to work in early October — back when I was still commuting to DC and not through DC. It was a gray and rainy day out, and I thought the blue would brighten up the day. It's probably no surprise that that idea didn't work as planned. I ended up feeling dumpy and frumpy all day (note the pained expression on my face). It's kind of surprising that I have actually posted these pictures — it brings all those insecure, dumpy, and frumpy and not worthy feelings back.

And you know what? 

If anything is going to make you feel less deserving, it's those feelings. And that's my own damn fault — I inflicted them upon myself. I should have had the self-control and the wherewithal to pass up the pretty blue color and the thrift-store price, and just walked on by, secure in the knowledge that I was worth more than that.
 

If you see me walking down the street

And I start to cry each time we meet

Walk on by, walk on by

Make believe that you don't see the tears

Just let me grieve in private 'cause each time I see you

I break down and cry

And walk on by (don't stop)

And walk on by (don't stop)

And walk on by

I just can't get over losing you

And so if I seem broken and blue

Walk on by, walk on by

Foolish pride

Is all that I have left

So let me hide

The tears and the sadness you gave me

When you said goodbye

Walk on by

and walk on by
and walk by (don't stop)

I need to see the losers more often, so I can remind myself that I deserve to feel good in what I wear, and that I should love everything that I buy. And, for me, that means that it can be way more important to spend a little more money if it's going to change the way I feel about myself. Anyway .... enough psychoanalysis (for now anyway. I'm sure it's going to keep popping up, like a pimple in the center of your chin, when you least want it too ... AGGH!). 

But as promised, here's my really scary picture ...

What do you think about this critter? I was taking those pictures of myself, when I happened to look over, and this guy was just hanging out on the screen next to me! WHOA! I have no idea what kind of critter he was, but was he ever huge (and to put him in a better perspective, I'm not an insect phobe)! I don't think he was particularly dangerous — a stinging kind of thing, but after my episode this summer (read about it here), I didn't want to put a whole lot of faith and trust into what he could or could not do! Or what he would or would not do!

Thanks for sticking by me, through all my whining and moaning posts of late. I'll try and work on that. The holidays tend to be kind of a rough time of year for me, and then with the commute and my job situation — I just feel worn down and worn out. On a happy note, I do really like this picture of me ...

 

Linking up to Stacy at Spunky Chateau for her Thursdays is for Thrifters. My take on thrifting was a bit different this week, but my outfit wasn't a complete fail ... I liked my sweater, and I learned a valuable lesson (let's just hope that it sinks in).

True Confessions ...

True confession time — I didn't wear this to work. I wore it in my driveway to take pictures.

white sweater — Old Navy (Old Navy)

black sweater — (older than dirt)

skirt — Amanda Smith (thrifted)
tights — Target

booties — Blowfish (DSW)

But, truth be said, I'll probably wear it at some point. That is, once I decide on whether I like it with the white top or the black top better. I'm thinking the black. Which one do you prefer? 

Colored tights are something that I've tried to wear before, and it's usually hit or miss (here, here, and here). So when the ladies over at Every Body Every Wear chose colored tights as the theme of the month, I was up for the challenge. I took my inspiration for this outfit from Paula at Fashion Over Fifty. She did such a great job with her red tights, that I thought I would try to emulate her style. And I agree with her — red tights are empowering!

And empowering is what I need these days, with my three- to four-hour commute — ONE WAY! Yes, you read that right, and yes, I know that's insane. I had been commuting to a dream job in DC and then, in one fell swoop, my position was eliminated. My company didn't do what a lot of companies are doing these days (my former company, as a matter of fact), and just pull the rug out from me. No, they said that they could use me in another project at their headquarters in Herndon. Unfortunately, that would add another hour to my already long commute.

I toyed with the idea of not going to Herndon the next day but, in the end, I knew that if I went that I would at least get paid for the day, which would be better than a poke in the eye. Seriously, I didn't have anything to lose by going. (Yes, these are the kinds of things that I obsess over flit through my mind during a time like this.) On top of that, I was in a state of shock from having my position eliminated just a scant two weeks after I had started this "dream" job. I knew that if I just stayed home, I would have been asking myself the whole day, "What if?" (Believe you me, more than anything, I WANTED to stay home ... I can't even begin to describe all the emotions that I was feeling.)

My commute to Herndon the next morning started off the same — I left the house at 5:45 am, which was the same time that I had been leaving all along. I caught the 6:50 Amtrak, but instead of taking it straight through to DC, but I got off at New Carrollton, the station before DC. From New Carrollton, I could take the Orange Line straight through to West Falls Church — the stop for Herndon. I thought it would be better to go straight through instead of getting off at Union Station and getting on the Red Line, then getting off the Red Line at Metro Station, and getting on the Orange Line. That just seemed to be too overwhelming for me. Seriously, it sounds complicated just writing it, let alone doing it!

More tomorrow ...

But in the meantime, check out more Colored Tights at Every Body Every Wear.