Wednesday, August 23, 2023

I always love it when blogger ‘updates” me on situations, favorite products, etc., so that is what I thought I would do today…

My mom –

is doing great! She is still a working artist (former art teacher) and just had her art work chosen to display in my hometown’s downtown area and also had her own gallery art show. She is getting ready to take a trip!

Lume –

So, I bought the Lume starter pack that had the stick deoderant, the cream, the wipes, and a small cream. The smells were simply horrible – toasted coconut, tangerine, and baby powder. The worst was baby powder. Every time I put it on my pits I felt like I had just changed a diaper. But, it worked. I then went to Target after I ran out and bought the above unscented for not a low, low price. This small tube costs $15. Either the Target formula is different or it no longer works on my body, or the summer is no match for it. I smelled horrible so I am back to Secret Invisible where you twist and the deoderant comes up in the little holes. Erica feels the same about Lume not working for her anymore, either.

TikTok – I took a break from Tik Tok videos (making my own Spanish instruction videos in a very amateur way) over the summer. I had a good-bye for now video recorded but my mom had the stroke and then it seemed like I had waited too long. I did make my first Tik Tok money over the summer based on views. I made $55! I really don’t know what I will do with it this year. Part of me thinks I have used up my best material.

Mason – Mason went and helped his now four year roomie Jakob move in Sunday. Mason will join him in the spring and had many of their shared items housed at our house. They have a private bathroom in the senior dorm! Mason is working a few more shifts but then taking about two weeks off before England in mid-September. He is doing fall semester in the north of England.

Jack – started moving into his solo room in the same senior dorm with private bathroom last night. Mason helped him and had asked off work to do so. I suspect Jack will be sleeping at home (on the weekends) more than normal to spend time with Mason before England.

German Cousins – Tom’s cousin, Tom’s cousin’s wife, and their middle son are arriving Monday afternoon. I will be at work until 4:00 so I thought I would have a pasta bake ready to put in the oven and serve bread and salad. Any other ideas? I also might have a small charcuterie ready if they are starving immediately after traveling. They will be traveling from Boston after spending a few days there, so they aren’t fresh off the plan from Germany. I have to be honest that I am sad that I have to work and can’t get home earlier, but I am taking one day off. I have had it planned since well before August 9th and I had to tell myself that it isn’t my fault that the school district wasn’t able to make school happen.

Groceries – This month has been an experiment with shopping at Kroger, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and even Walmart for a few things. I am at around $700 for the month here on the 23rd.

School –

I forgot to get an outfit pic, but this is my face during my planning period. Yes, we got to start on Monday! It was such a good day and honestly, I felt like myself (my teacher self) again. The first day of school on August 9th really wrecked me, but I felt like I actually had energy after school Monday! I think the kids were glad to be back! I started my routine and taught new content. Now I have to learn 150 first names, last names, and Spanish names but I should have that soon!

What updates big or small do you have?

Amy

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

I’m low key shocked to be writing this post. When a teen says “low key” that just means “kind of”.

I have gone to Aldi twice now in my quest for grocery savings. You may remember that my Walmart Plus June was an epic fail where I spent over $1600 on groceries. I think it was the just having college kids home, stress, convenience of being able to have groceries on my doorstep, and maybe a few other things. I cancelled my 30 day trial, but I think it was more me than them. In July, I did much better and almost exclusively did Kroger pick up. I do not think Kroger is cheaper, but I was much more intentional.

Since August started, I have done a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Two of my shopping trips were at Aldi. I had not been there in about a year.

Yes, you still have to put your quarter in the cart to be able to use it, but I always have a bit of change in my car so that is no big deal.

I remembered my reusable bags once and the second time I didn’t. I am ok paying a few cents for each bag and they are nice with handles so I can re-use them:

It is all self-checkout now and you can bag as you are scanning – woohoo! I like this much better than taking all of my stuff over to a counter.

Aldi is about 10 minutes away as opposed to Kroger that is like a minute away. Aldi does do pickup so if I knew the products more or I decided to learn their system, that might be an option.

There are lots of brand name items. I would still have to go to Kroger once every couple of months for a few things, but during my Walmart experiment I realized we are way less brand name or Kroger brand dependent than I had thought.

All of this was $130:

It included lots of meat/protein and I feel like this would have been almost $200 at Kroger.

They have a good version of Laura’s Lean ground beef that is way cheaper. I have cooked this once and was very happy with it.

The salmon looks a lot like Trader Joe’s for less. Remember that Trader Joe’s and Aldi are owned by same company. We don’t have a Lidl, but a lot of people like that store, too. We like the tie to Germany that Aldi has and Tom’s cousin who is coming works for a frozen food company in Germany that works with Aldi.

This is good! I will buy more of this and I didn’t get a big southwestern profile, so I think I could use it in place of my Costco grilled chicken strips.

This was really good and made a quick dinner – there are several options like this that I would like to try.

We have not tried these yet, but I thought they would be good in the air fryer.

This is a good sub for my Land O’Lakes:

So, anyway…who am I? Also, if you are doing a charcuterie board, their cheeses are so tempting with about as many options as Trader Joe’s.

I think Aldi has made big improvements in the last year and I can see myself trying to shop here at least for half of my trips.

Do you have any thoughts on Aldi?

Amy

Monday, August 21, 2023

As you all are reading, I am getting ready for my second first day of school! I have not seen my students since August 9th! I have been having mostly teacher days and they have been long…please pray for a smooth second first day for our kids if you are the praying kind. I am happy to link up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday.

Also, Jack moves to campus on Tuesday and our German cousins are coming a week from today. Your girl will be adjusting to a five day week with students (if you are a teacher you know…), helping Jack pack if he accepts my help, cleaning for the Germans, and sprucing up the house a bit.

Mason is still at home for about three more weeks and will continue working for about another week. He will be a big help with the house, Ernie, and entertaining the Germans.

Here’s a quick recap of my very chill weekend…

At school, I learned to flip the top of the Stanley so I don’t need a straw. I am not interested in those wrinkles so I am very happy to match this switch – lol.

We also got a yearbook photo taken of the 8 OGs. I guess we aren’t really “original gangsters” but it sounds funny. We are the ones who have been at our school the longest and this photo represents 200 years combined! Oh my! I cropped out my school name but I’m not sure it really matters. You all could figure it out.

I treated myself to a pedicure after a long day and it was so nice. I didn’t plan to go so dark, but the color I picked turned out darker on. I was going for a grey/mauve. It got me in the mood for fall, though!

I made Tom breakfast for dinner and he was thrilled. J and M were out with friends so it was just us.

Friday I had a nice cold Michelob Ultra with Erica. We went to Boombozz and they have a fabulous happy hour everyday from 3-6. It was only $10 each for this and nachos.

Friday night I made a re-creation of the bibb and bleu salad we had last weekend.

After dinner, Jack and I went to Kroger for a few things and laughed hysterically at the eaten fried chicken in the chip aisle. What went on here?

I watched Happiness for Beginners and it’s so cute. It also has about five songs by my favorite singer – Bob Schneider from Austin, TX. Tom and I have seen him in concert about five times.

I woke up Saturday to this:

I ran a few errands:

I got my Pioneer Woman magazine in the mail. This is my last one I think. I don’t get any magazines anymore, sadly. I just don’t think they are as appealing as they used to be and especially not for the price.

I re-did my OPI Taupe-less Beach mani.

Mason had to work, but always eats my dinner after he gets off. I made mini bowtie alfredo. Jack loved it.

Tom and I went to grab carryout from Waldo’s chicken to take to the last concert of the season in the nearby neighborhood…

I got a salad. We only stayed for an hour or so because we didn’t love the music and we were both tired.

I went to bed at 9:45 and slept like a baby until 7:00 a.m., enjoyed the patio for reading, and then started my meal prep. I have enough breakfast for the week, but I made buffalo turkey meatballs with cauliflower rice, ranch, and celery for Monday’s lunch for Erica and I and roasted vegetables with apple gouda turkey sausage for Erica and I.

And, that’s where I ended as I wrote this post!

How was your weekend?

Amy

Friday, August 18, 2023

Thank you all so much for your support and kind words about my district bus mess and about my 30th year – if it ever gets off the ground! So, here’s the latest…

Friday there was a press conference where we were told that the goal was to go back to school mid-week this week. Saturday we were told that Monday would be a day off for teachers and students – which worked well for me after a busy weekend! Tuesday would be a teacher work day. Then, I think it was Monday that they announced that elementary and middle would start Friday (today) and high would start Monday and that the rest of the week (this past Wednesday through today) would be teacher work days. I had quite a bit of time in my room to continue planning/working ahead, but lot of meetings and busy work were manufactured.

Y’all my head is spinning! I’ve told a lot of people that I hope I haven’t lost momentum for my actual job when the students come Monday!

I will be watching the news today and tonight to see how the bus situation was improved for elementary and middle, but I pray for no more changes. You can look at it like August 21st is a much more acceptable date to start school than August 9th, right? Ha!

My post was messed up yesterday – sorry. I went back and finished writing and then it didn’t save.

So, let’s dive into some favorites, because in all of this, there have been many things!

First, I received this last week – wow! I can’t believe I have had that many words. It’s hard to explain how blogging has enriched my life. Not only have I learned so much from reading blogs and developing friendships, but I think writing a blog has helped me to make more of my weekends so I have things to talk about! Does that make sense?

I am notoriously bad with learning all the functions with my appliances and electronics. I have learned how amazing this feature is, though – do you have “Steam Fresh” on your dryer? You can put a super wrinkly item in and it comes out wrinkle free. For most things it takes about 3 minutes but I did put one garment in and it took 8 minutes? I think it has a way of determining the weight of the garment or some other voodoo. Try it if you have it!

You know how much I love popcorn and love making my own with raw kernels in my microwave popper and then adding my own butter spray and salt, right? The friend of my bestie’s daughter brought this on our road trip and it’s already in my next grocery order. Have you tried it?

We had our dining room rug from Pottery Barn for 23 years and it needed to go. I ordered this one and I am so happy with it. I just go to Savieh brand for rugs now because I love them. I think I now have 5 in my house. Ignore the computer mess and the tablecloth that is not on correctly. I also am still loving my new floral arrangement holder.

We had to get a new faucet this weekend and I love it. It makes me realize how bad our old one was. Tom can do everything. I helped him with some of the instructions.

I sadly finished this cute story. I think it is now my favorite Sarah Adams. If you want a well-written chick lit book that isn’t too risqué, check her out. I have another of hers on hold at the library.

I started this and it’s really cute already.

I had my nieces over once a week every summer and I often have Facebook memories pop up. I tried to always have a project and in this photo we are making slime.

They played so well together. I usually did a couple of activities or we baked something. We did the Mentos in the 2 liter Coke, make donuts out of biscuits, and other things like that. Then, I remember they started playing “post office” and had fun for hours with envelopes and stickers and stuff like that. The nieces are now both nurses. One is one year older than my twins and the other is three years older than my twins.

I thought this was so funny. I love talking to my stylist and I think have been going to her for over 10 years – maybe longer:

I met my sister in law (mom of the nieces above) for some sushi Monday night and it was fun!

I got a new polish at Walgreens – Taupe-less Beach:

Light colors are definitely more forgiving. My best tips are to do two really thin coats and not get too close to the cuticle. Then, use a top coat. Re-apply the top coat if you want to. Oh, and sit at a table where you can lay your hands flat.

And, my last favorite was getting to try a new place with my friend Beth. I discovered there was a plant shop/cocktail bar on my favorite street! It is called Pretty Decent Bar and they have reasonable plant prices, creative cocktails, and a few bar snacks.

It’s totally my vibe! The atmosphere and the company were perfect. Beth is one of my friends who sent a kid off to college, so we put this on the calendar for her to have lots of fun to look forward to.

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Well, I thought I would have even more “fashion” but my school year started and then abruptly stopped. But, we have a few things to look at here. I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files.

This is what I wore to meet my friend for happy hour:

Boy, these MIA clog sandals have served me well. With this silhouette of jean, I think I need a heel. I want to try them with sneakers, too, but I am not sure…

This is my Walmart pj top and my new Dillard’s Westbound jeans.

To go to dinner at Mason’s work, I wore my buttah Wit and Wisdom pants, my fun poncho top from a local boutique and my new Eurosoft slides. My clutch is super old from a consignment shop and I have used it more times than I can count. Love that pop of gold.

Here I am Friday night in my Walmart Free Assembly dress and my Eurosoft gold slides again. I get so many compliments on this dress. I am really glad I got it!

So, for the comedy show Saturday night, I wore the Dillard’s Westbound jeans again with my Shein top (still debating how I think this fabric feels…) and my Cushionaire from Amazon MIA clog sandal dupes.

I went in J.Crew Factory on Monday when I was doing my Trader Joe’s run and went to the 70% additional clearance section and found myself some fun pants. They were $13! The top I am wearing is also J.Crew but from my consignment store. And, there are those Eurosofts again! Look at me in my J.Crew. I am having a lot of luck in my new store when I check the clearance section.

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Did you have a summer list of fun goals? I did here and I did pretty well with them! You can read my report card, too, if you wish!

I think it’s fun to make a list for each season and there really is no better time than fall to do this, right? If you live in a place where summer is really hot, you are like a Gilmore Girl waiting in anticipation. Why is it almost always fall in Stars Hollow?

My kids say food is not seasonal, but many of us wait for that first cool day to make our first batch of chili. Tom requires macaroni noodles in his and you must have Fritos, am I right?

So, here are the things I want to do in the second half of August and into September and October…

Support my friends who have kids leaving for college – So many are sending either their first or their youngest child

Provide a fun week for our German guests and enjoy it myself, along with them – they will be here in about a week and a half

Celebrate my kids’ 21st birthdays!

Walk to breakfast with Tom

Continue to use the boat as much as we can until we have to winterize it (usually end of October)

Go to Chatauqua by boat – arts festival in my hometown

Go to Oktoberfests – a couple of different ones are held around town

Use my Solo Stove when I can

Continue to read on the patio – go away mosquitoes!

Work on a nice fall capsule-ish wardrobe

Continue to declutter different spaces of the house

Start cooking fall foods – soups and chili!

Get out fall decor around September 1 – it will probably be a week later due to the German visit

Get out the fall candles

Buy my fave Mrs. Meyer’s Acorn Spice cleaner and handsoap

Walk – take advantage of the best time of the year to go on walks!

I am sure there are many more things I didn’t think of, but this gives me a good start to be intentional with my time.

What about you? What’s on your list?

Amy

Thursday, August 10, 2023

This is definitely not a teacher blog, but teaching is such a big part of my life that it gets talked about quite frequently here. So, yesterday was our first day of school.

photo of me as a beginning teacher

How is it that it is my 30th year? I am only 51! I guess there are advantages to starting your big girl job so young. I was 22 when I started and will turn 52 in November. I am starting to have lots of people shocked that I haven’t retired and asking me when I will retire. I really don’t know! I swear!

I don’t love the first day for the reason that I do too much talking. I love to get the first day out of the way so we can start my real teaching style which is that they do a lot of talking.

So much has changed since my first year – the 1994-1995 school year. We didn’t even have the internet yet in my school. I think it was two or three years later when our business department was like, “Hey ya’ll – look at this here thing called internet”. Some of my besties were in the business department at my first school and they loved showing us this new “tool”!

Also, the kids had “smoking passes”. If their parents signed a form, they could whip out a pass and go smoke between classes. I also remember the students telling me they could tell which teachers smoked by how they held their chalk – bahaha! I was never a smoker, by the way.

Here is a new trend I am noticing and I do not like it. So, we had 8 rotations with different information led by the admin team, counselors, and a few support staff like the “goal clarity” coach (I use quotes because what does that even mean?), the building assessment coordinator (yup, we have a position just for all the testing we are mandated to do), and a few other people. In all 8 of the sessions we were told to just text these people if we needed things because email would not be checked or would get lost. Say what? In one of the sessions, we were asked to put our personal cell phone number on a sheet. Last year I had non-emergency texts while I was teaching sent by one of these people. I do not want to give out my personal cell to anyone else. I just don’t. Sorry. I have also had a principal call me at 8:30 p.m. on my cell about a non-emergency thing. He is no longer at my school, but come on!

As my long-time readers know, I have worked really hard to have a work/life balance. Maybe this makes me that old, curmudgeonly teacher!

Promises/Goals for Myself:

-People before paper. If a student or fellow teacher comes in, they are more important than the task I was working on.

-Take care of my feet – comfy shoes!

-Leave work at work. I would rather come in early or stay late and keep my work/homelife separate.

-Do not check emails after hours unless I am expecting something or have something I need to look for specifically. Do not watch the principal’s memo on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. Why? The information will still be there Monday morning.

-Walk and read after school (try to wait on tv until after my evening shower) and do not plan too much during the week. This will be even more important as I will get home an hour or more later. My new end time is 3:20 where it used to be 2:20 and I no longer have last period as my planning. Last year I was able to wrap things up and be ready to go very close to that time!

-Make plans with friends – but maybe only a couple times a month if it’s during the week or think outside the box like a weekend morning.

-Work smarter – Use grocery pickup and order things instead of wasting precious time and energy running around.

-Guard my exposure to negative content, news, people, etc.

You can also check out my Self-Care Syllabus here and I recommend that everyone have one – parents and teachers alike!

I hope that all of you have a wonderful school year – teachers, parents, wives, husbands, grandparents. I pray that our schools are safe places to foster the love of learning. I hope that all kids feel loved and special.

So, I wrote this before our news last Thursday morning – our school district cancelled for four days (so far) to get the bus situation fixed. Teachers had to work two of those days which is actually good so that we don’t have too many added to the end of the school year – we hope.

Amy

–

Monday, August 14, 2023

Well, if you read my Friday Favorites you know what transpired last week. We had our first day of school on Wednesday and then school was cancelled for Thursday and Friday due to our bussing situation. Hey, you might have seen my district on the national news? It’s just so, so sad. I was stunned when I heard the news on Thursday morning and then I woke up Friday morning just incredibly sad.

I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to share my weekend…

Thursday Erica invited me to her pool and we had a lovely time from around 1:00 until about 4:00 when we got the text message that we were supposed to report to work on Friday after all – for just a teacher work day. Previously they had said no teachers were to report for either day. Just kidding!

The face of a woman in a toxic relationship with her employer:

Relationship status: “It’s complicated”

As a little more back story, my school was one of the schools “taking one for the team” by changing school start and end times to fix the bussing issues from last year and years past.

So, no one will ever call me spontaneous, but I in fact was on Friday…

After work, I joined in a road trip that my bestie was on. She got her daughter Morgan Wallen concert tickets in Columbus, OH for her birthday. Heather was only dropping her daughter and friend off and didn’t have a ticket, so I joined, and we met my sister who lives there. Columbus is cool! High Street was hopping. Of course, I had been many times, but it had been a long time since I had “gone out” rather than staying at my sister’s house.

First, we stopped at the hotel and the girls put on their concert ‘fits – so cute!

Then, my sister had made us a reservation and we had the best outdoor table…

The food and the conversation were great!

After dinner, we went back to my sister’s house where Ezra was waiting:

We chatted a bit more and then Heather picked up the girls and went back to the hotel and I stayed with Kate.

The next morning Kate took me to the hotel and we were on the road by 10 because the girls had an event to attend back at home. That was why I was able to go, too, because I already had plans to leave my house by 5:00 for dinner and the Eddie B Teachers Only comedy show with Erica, my teaching partner in crime.

We ate at 8 Up which is the rooftop resaurant at the downtown Hilton…

We split everything and got a bibb and bleu salad,

chicken sliders,

and potato puffs.

Rooftop photo opp:

It was really funny on the weekend after the bussing situation to have what appeared to be mostly my district’s teachers at this event.

He had added to his routine as I’m sure you can imagine and roasted some of our district’s leadership.

This was at The Brown Theatre and after we went in The Brown Hotel:

We found our French teacher there!

I woke up Sunday morning and realized I cannot do this much in a weekend! I had a slow morning until Tom realized we needed a new kitchen faucet and then I stucky by his side and helped me replace it.

After we plumbed, we went out on the boat and had the most relaxing time.

My mani matched my cup!

We went home and I made dinner, took a shower, and we did Sunday night things even though…

I got a message Saturday that we would not have school Monday and Tuesday would be another teacher day. The goal is to try to have students come on Wednesday – exactly a week after our ill-fated first day of school.

What about you? What did you do?

Amy

Friday, August 11, 2023

Happy Friday – it has been such a weird week – you will have to wait til the end to find out what happened! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika!

First, off, Sunday was the culminating performance of Jack’s opera training. They did Tales of Hoffman – 3 hours in French – please don’t ask me to explain what happened.

I did understand dinner – Mexican food!

Mason wanted to try ham croquettes – I had these in Spain:

Monday was a long teacher work day but the alumni association bought us lunch:

Monday night I wore my new Wit and Wisdom pants – like buttah – you need them. Tom and I finally went to eat at the Italian restaurant where Mason has been working.

It’s pretty incredible inside and I think it’s been a good experience.

Tuesday was another work day:

And, Wednesday we started school with the kids!

After school, the PTA had a big spread for us and it was really nice to socialize with the other teachers and see how their days went.

Look at this cute pencil cookie!

I was so, so tired. It was a combo of not sleeping great (never do on the night before the first day) and just how intense it is. I went outside and read my book and felt much better.

Ernie looked exactly how I felt!

Luckily, I slept great the next night and woke up ready to go Thursday morning. I was drinking my coffee, reading my blogs, when my phone lit up with a message….

School was cancelled for the day and the next day, you guys. Say what? Remember how my school’s schedule was changed? They had changed many schools to aid in the bussing problem. Well, it was apparently a colossal failure with little kids not arriving home until after dark. The word on the street is that the last child to get home arrived at 11:00 p.m. It was worse than the prior bussing situation. I was shocked.

So, yesterday I had an errand and pool day and Friday I was going to do a few other things when I got a second message that teachers were to report to their schools. At the time of writing this (Thursday evening at 7:00), I still don’t know what is going on. There is a rumor that we are supposed to prepare to teach virtually next week.

I am sad, heartbroken, disappointed, confused, all the things. I hate this for our kids.

This post went in a different direction than I had planned…

Amy

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

This post took me a long time because I decided to look at all my seasons and because I kept finding more things I love. I guess that is a good problem to have. It could have definitely been longer, but I had to stop it somewhere.

Also, it makes me think that all of my clothes should be favorites if I am giving them closet real estate. Hmmmm….

I also thought it would be interesting at the end to tally up color, retailer, and length of time owned. I decided not to do anything too new because I want to show items that have stood the test of time – at least one season.

How I started this post – the clothes that came out of the dryer! Isn’t that the truth? The clothes we love the most get worn and washed the most usually?

But, first some clothing memes:

Why are we so weird about packing? I want to get where I can create the perfect capsule!

I know some people have luck at Costco, but when I buy things for myself there I end up donating them. I think I have one exception – my Sport short black rain boots. I have worn the heck out of them.

I wear these black tanks year round and I wear them to bed and under things. My first ones were Target and now my favorites are Amazon Essentials.

The Aerie Sunday short:

My J.Crew Factory biker shorts I got for $10:

My Aerie bathing suit from three seasons ago:

My Aerie black suit from last year:

This dress from Target maybe 10 years ago: It’s the perfect dress to throw over a suit for the boat and looks nice enough to go into a restaurant. It’s the brand Mossimo so that tells you how old it is.

This Old Navy consignment store blouse (new with tags) that is gauzy. I have worn this a lot!

My Target Universal Thread cut offs: I think I have had these for 3 years and have heard many bloggers sing their praises since then.

My Spanx faux leather leggings. They really are amazing. I have had mine for 5-6 years and I got them in short length and paid full price. No regrets.

My Chico’s faux leather black and brown pants from last year. I was shocked by how much I wore them and really shocked that I seemed to reach for the brown more than the black. They feel like butter. I paid full price and bought both at the same time and thought to myself, “what am I doing?” but I needed them in short and knew that the in store selection wouldn’t be good if I waited. It turned out to be a great move.

Here I am in two favorites – the Spanx leggings and a top coming up:

This hot pink sweater that I got from an online boutique – I am not even sure the boutique exists anymore. I have had it for 3 years and it is super soft. I always get compliments when I wear this.

This top I picked up on a whim in TJ Maxx. It is in the photo above with the Spanx leggings. The sleeves are sheer and the middle is like a thin sweater. I love the scalloped detail at the neck and I think a higher neck can be more flattering on a large chest. I can’t believe how much I reached for this top last winter.

This top I have had for maybe 7 years? It is also from TJ Maxx and has cute button detail on the sleeves. It is a great length on me and a great material. It’s starting to look a little worn.

I just fell in love with this Loft sweater. I love this color in the winter and it is super soft.

This purchase from last year shocked me. I bought this black silk button up from Chico’s and wore it so much. I felt great in it and I wore it so much. I was patient and tried at least two different sizes to get the right fit. Sometimes I am impatient and say it’s “good enough”.

This bright blue (the color is bad in the photo) sweater from Loft last year. The shoulders have a slight puffy effect and I thought this looked great with black pants and black jeans. It’s also UK blue so it was perfect for watching games in the winter.

This Loft horse sweater from two years ago, I think. It feels great and I was happy every time I got to wear it:

This Amazon star sweater: It is lightweight and great for school or going out.

Surprises:

I consider myself to be more of a summer person so it surprises me that I have more winter clothing favorites!

I also consider myself more of a colorful person, so the number of black items also surprised me.

Another surprise is that I mostly named solids rather than patterns. I have a lot of patterns in my closet, but maybe it’s too many. Am I reaching for the solids more at this stage in my life?

I featured 19 pieces. I know I forgot some items that I would consider favorites!

Color:

Black – 9 out of 19

Retailer:

Chico’s – 3

Aerie – 3

Loft – 3

Target – 2

TJ Maxx – 2

J.Crew Factory – 1

Amazon – 1 – this needs to be a lesson! I really shouldn’t rely much on Amazon!

Consignment – 1 – this surprised me with the amount of stuff I have from consignment stores. Is there a lesson here?

More than 2 years old: 6

Less than 2 years old: 13

I plan to consider what I learned when shopping this fall. I really like the direction Chico’s has gone in recently. I find their stuff to be high quality. Chico’s is still a bit bipolar – you have the “quirky art teacher who is of a certain age” and you have the “modern hip woman” sides of it.

What does it say about me that Aerie and Chico’s tied? I am a 50 something trying to be a teen? Ha!

Let me know what you think of my “research”!

Amy