...suits me just fine...

5 am... I do look grumpy

When Trystan over at This is CorpGoth posted the Mid-Month Status Report theme ("show off your classic CorpGoth style with an outfit featuring a blazer or suit jacket") I pretty much thought I was going to opt out. For starters, I'm supposed to be on sabbatical which means I'm mostly wearing band t-shirts and maybe pants... but usually pajama pants or some sort of boxers with graveyards or vampire teeth that I try to front as shorts but only in the confines of my own home.

Even if I were teaching this semester, I don't usually wear blazers. For goodness sake, I live in Richmond, VA and work in Washington, DC and it is still super hot! (90°F/ 32°C). When fashion experts mention to add a blazer for structure I roll my eyes because good lord, I don't perspire; I sweat! 

As a gardener, I've been simultaneously noticing how lovely my fellow bloggers appear in their posts and how I might want to consider painting my nails. Of course I did paint them last weekend and then went out the next day to prune and chipped the paint right off my nails... because, well, I sometimes forget gloves and not-so-secretly like to get my hands dirty.

Since I have been in charge of a special project for the university, I have actually been at work for the first two weeks of the semester. Today, *I believe my last day on campus*, I had a meeting with the dean so I had to dress a wee bit nicer than I normally would. Hence, I'm participating in the Mid-Month Status Report super early!...the meeting AND because the before-mentioned lovely bloggers also keep posting their super cute outfits and where they shop.

Their posts came to mind this weekend when on Saturday, I was in the need for a little retail therapy. I headed to the mall to see if Halloween was out and about... not that I haven't bought nearly everything I want online but it's nice to surround myself in Halloween happiness. I admit that I probably gazed at the Pottery Barn displays a bit too long, and the Crate & Barrel associate grumbled that it was hot outside and people were buying Halloween items (I ended up buying two more punch cups because they're so darn cute and the bat bowls) so I wasn't really in a great mood.

I then poked into White House Black Market and tried on a beautiful Ponte Moto Black Jacket with a ruffled lapel, silver snaps and zippers! I always wear a little jacket (It used to be an old jean jacket with a torn sleeve that my students said made me look like a punk... then I upgraded to a simple black button up jacket) on the train because it is always freezing-- in the winter and in the summer. Frankly, I'm not sure which season is colder by train standards. I decided that this could not only work as a suit jacket but it could work with jeans and dresses but it could function as a great commuting jacket. I made the mistake of trying on the jacket with the Bow Front Top and ended up buying that too. Today I paired them with a black skirt and voila! Watch out old band t-shirt!

All zipped up, the jacket is super structured so I'd like to apologize for sneering at those fashion experts. And not that you can tell in these photos (Note: I think I can take some amazing pictures of flowers but photos of me always turn out a little blurry because I'm taking them myself and usually in mirrors... so sorry about that) but I do have painted toe nails. I used China Glaze Boo-Gie Down because it feels like I'm celebrating Halloween.

So here's my super early status report and I can't wait to see what the fashionable bloggers post! I'm sure I'll be reading their blogs in an old Ministry shirt with a hole somewhere :p