Suiting Up

     This is one of my favorite outfits I've worn in quite some time.  My mom gave me this blouse from Zara after she wore it a few times.  Despite its pale pink color, I knew that I would wear it a bunch.  The reason I say despite the pale pink is that generally, such a pale color near my face wouldn't look so great.  However, because I wore a purple necklace between the blouse and my face, I was able to keep the pink from washing me out.  In addition to the necklace, my brown suit kept me from looking washed out as well.  
     By the way, I absolutely love this suit.  I think my favorite part is the high waisted skirt.  Once upon a time, I would not have even thought to wear such a high waisted skirt.  Recently, ie. in the past year or so, I have broadened my horizons with respect to high waisted skirts.  At the moment, 3 of my 4 skirt suits are high waisted skirts and I love them.  The silhouette has completely won me over.  Its both feminine and comfortable and most importantly, it works for my body.  Its pretty great to find a silhouette that is flattering for my body and especially one that I can readily find in stores.  Have you been fortunate enough to find a silhouette that works for you?  Do you have a silhouette you wished worked for you but doesn't?  

The Details:
Suit: JCPenney
Blouse: Zara (mom)
Heels: Nine West
Necklace: Target

Hair and the Law

  Sometime last week, someone asked me if I was pregnant.  I vehemently said NO!  It got me thinking though, not about pregnancy, but about my body.  The question made me feel chunky if not outright fat.  I mean, why else would anyone ask if I'm pregnant if I don't look larger than normal, right?  This made me feel bad.  And I realized how my feelings about myself are tied to my feelings about my body.  For many women, their body is their self and there is no separation.  For others, their perception is tied up in their hair.  I feel that way sometimes too.  When my hair is long and wavy and behaving, I feel young and sexy.  When its up and sleek I feel professional.  Luckily for me, I'm able to go from one extreme to another.  Other ladies, however, have a more complicated relationship with their hair.  My friend Neubia is one of these.  Her hair isn't just a thing on her head, but rather its a symbol of culture and heritage that is inevitably intertwined with her sense of self.  So I asked her to write a post on her hair and the choices she's made with regard to it.  Here is her story:

Law school sucks! Sorry, there is just no other way to put it. What makes it suck more is when your freedom of expression (i.e. individuality) is hampered as a result. Of course, now that I am a lawyer practicing in Fayetteville, NC, I understand that my alma mater, in voicing concern with my stylistic choices, was simply trying to prepare me for what I would face in the real world.  So what is the faux pas freedom of expression I've engaged in . . .

I HAVE LOCS! Some of you may know them as "Dreadlocks."   Screw that! There is absolutely nothing dreadful about my hair.  Hence, the shortening of my choice of hair style to just locs, rather than dreads.

I came into law school with natural hair. That is, I did not use chemicals to alter the texture of my hair.  Most of the time, I wore an afro. Sometimes I would wear braids or twists.  During my second year, I decided to embrace the tight coils that my hair often created on its own. One of the first comments I received when declaring that I was locing my hair (because in my early stages of locing, it just looked like I had twists), was whether I was considering a career at a firm.  Well, truth be told, I wasn't, but even if I was, if a firm is unwilling to hire me because of the grade, texture and stylistic choices I make with my hair, then I am unwilling to work there!

Making the decision to loc is not easy.  When most folks think of locs, they think of a chain such as this . . . Bob Marley, pot, rebel, Rastafarian, slacker, etc.  Well, as much as I enjoy Bob Marley, and consider myself a bit of a rebel, I am not a pothead, and I am a Christian.  I am also . . . (DUN, DUN, DUN) a lawyer.  That's right, people who wear locs are successful business types with expensive ass degrees from private schools, too.

There are 0, count it 0 other attorneys in this city with locs.  The word on the street is that the one guy who did have locs fell prey to the pressure and cut his off.  I refuse to conform! When I walk into court (most of the time to observe for now because we have local rules that take some getting used to) all eyes are on me.  In fact, one morning, I walked into the lawyers only area behind the courtrooms (exiting a courtroom) and was chased down by a bailiff.  "Can I help you?" he barks with his hands on his assault a black person belt.  "Excuse me?" I reply wearing WTF on my face.  "You can't be back here if you aren't a lawyer."  "Well, good news for you sir! I am a lawyer. Were you going to arrest me?" I proceed to fire off questions to him in rapid succession, none of which he is able to respond to because his face is still on the floor.  He walked away, likely still in awe that I, yes, the chick with the locs, was a lawyer. FFFFFFF you and the bus you rode in on!

While this moment was as heartbreaking as it was entertaining, I consider it one giant leap for nappy girls everywhere.  Do not underestimate us because we make the choice not to introduce chemicals into our world.  We can run with the rest, and indeed the best of them. So the next time you see someone with locs, take off your cap of ignorance, and don't make assumptions about them.  Each one, teach one.

Balancing Act

     I can't believe its May already!  Or hell, past the first week of May even!  Last time you heard from me I had been sworn in.  Since then I've gotten to actually practice law.  Its been pretty cool.  I feel a lot more comfortable going to court now that I can actually do things in court.  That and since I got sworn in I've pretty much been only wearing suits.  Before I got sworn in I would wear suits every now and again when I knew I would be seeing a client, but lately, suits have been a daily outfit choice.  That's not to say that I've gotten completely boring and *only* wear suits and button downs, however.  Instead I've gone for suits with interesting details.  For example, this blazer is the jacket half of a skirt suit I bought last weekend.  Unlike other black suits that I own, this one is short sleeved, which is perfect for the warmer weather.  Its also makes a more casual outfit more formal without going all the way to formal (if that makes sense?).  

    In addition to buying the suit that this jacket belongs to, I also bought this blouse (and a couple of others) as well as these heels.  It doesn't seem like the most responsible thing in the world, but I've needed new work clothes for a while, so I let myself have a mini-shopping spree.  I didn't go buck wild and in fact stayed at only one store.  I bought the one suit, 2 blouses, 1 embellished tee and 2 pairs of heels.  A pretty awesome take if you ask me.  The way I see it, its an investment in my image and place as an attorney.  There is a certain look I think I need to cultivate that is primarily formal but definitely personal.  I don't want to be a lawyer in a cookie cutter suit, so personal style is a must.  At the same time, however, I definitely want to maintain the right amount of formality.  Its a fine line, I think, and one that I'm figuring out as I go along.  

The Details:
Blouse: Anne Klein
Suit Jacket: Rafaella
Pants: Gap
Heels: Nine West  

Oh and hey look, I accidentally ended up doing the Everybody/Everywear challenge on the right day too! 

useless

     I wore this a few weeks ago to work.  This of course was before I found out about my bar exam results.  But really, nothing's changed.  I can't practice law until I've been sworn in and I can't be sworn in until after I get my license.  And it will take a good 3 weeks for that to happen.  So, while I've received good news, now I get to sit around and wait for a piece of paper to get to my house.  *sigh*  At least if I'm going to be useless still, its only for a limited amount of time, right? RIGHT?!?!?
    So yea. . . I don't have a whole lot to say other than, um, thanks for dropping by! (?)  I'm tired guys.  I got up at 6:25 so I could get to work by 8 to go to an all day deposition.  I'm hoping for some cuddles then sleep soon as I'm feeling kinda useless I'm so tired.  So I hope you have a great Wednesday!
 



The Details: 
Henley: Old Navy
Skirt: Liz Claiborne (consignment)
Tights: Hanes
Booties: Tsubo

Spring!

     Look kids, an outfit post!  Last time I posted an outfit I was waxing poetic about these shoes and how they go with everything including white pants.  Well this is the outfit to which I was referring.  I wore this outfit a week or so ago, just after the first day of Spring.  Bella and I were clearly loving the warm weather.  In fact, I've been looking forward to wearing these white linen pants for the past 2 months.  In fact, I've been waiting to wear several of my linen pieces for a while.  I'm really quite a fan of this beautiful fabric.  In spite of its habit of wrinkling by just looking at it, linen adds great texture and movement to an outfit.  Plus, it just fits in perfectly in summery and warm weather.      

The Details:

Top: Loft

Pants: Talbots Similar Also Similar

Heels: Nine West

Necklace: made by me

Waiting. . .

     Remember when I mentioned that I would be wearing my new suit soon?  (I wouldn't blame you if you didn't---it was a while ago)  Well I did and here are the pictures to prove it.  I went a bit crazy with the purple + gray combo and made sure EVERYTHING I wore was either gray or some shade of purpley-wine.  But ya know what? I liked it!  I felt put together in my matchy-matchy-ness.  
    Oddly enough, this outfit, while being classically conservative, what with the skirt suit, hose and heels, just isn't all that conservative on me the way I've styled it.  Example #1, those aren't hose, they're gray tights!  Now the difference between gray tights and let's say bright peacock blue tights is lightyears, but when we're talking about the law, one of THE most conservative arenas on this planet, gray tights instead of skin colored hose or black tights is kinda risky.  
     AND I'm not wearing gray shoes either!  I know rule #1 about lengthening legs is to wear the same or similar colored hosewear + shoes, but long leggedness be damned!  I just wanted to be matchy.  So instead of opting for gray heels, I went with wine colored ones that matched my tee and necklace quite nicely.  These also happen to be one of my favorite pair of shoes in my closet right now.  I've worn them to match some purple shades in an outfit (like this one) or to completely contrast (and confuse the HELL out of one of my co-workers) with a turquoise top and white pants.  (post to follow later this week).  I love their versatility especially since they're patent and not black.  I'm all for having a pair (or several) of great black shoes, but having some unexpected color in your shoes just rocks. 

Let's ignore the hair in my face, K?

    So for those of you that are counting, the third way this outfit is slightly quirky on the conservative scale is my headband.  It has a bow on it.  Plenty of people will tell you that in order to be taken seriously, a woman can't show any personality.  At the very least, people will tell you that a young woman just can't draw emphasis to the fact that she's a young woman.  Well, screw that.  I like my bow on my headband and I plan to continue to wear it.  
    Lastly, this tee shirt is just a tee shirt.  I've worn it bunches of times with jeans and flats.  That's the thing though, its just a plain tee shirt, something that's not *supposed* to be in my work closet.  I, obviously, disagree.  I hate button downs and I'm having a hard time finding blouses to wear to work.  So in a pinch I've started wearing tees under jackets and they play quite nicely with my work wardrobe.  Hooray for simplicity!

The Details:

Skirt Suit: Rafaella fit + form (no longer available online)

Tee-shirt: Old Navy Similar

Hose: Hanes Similar

Heels: Nine West

Necklace: Banana Republic 


So yea, this is my way of adding some quirk and unexpectedness into a traditionally conservative outfit.  On a more real life note, its been a bit over 4 weeks since I took the bar exam again.  I should be finding out in the next couple of days whether I passed.  I've been a lot more zen about it than I thought I would.  From the beginning I've felt like I passed, but there's obviously no guarantee.  Hopefully I'll have some good news for you all sometime soon.  How do you normally handle waiting for results?   

Less than 10

     Soooo, what do you do when you look pregnant in pictures but you're not?  That's the impression that I'm getting from this outfit.  It could be that when I put the suit jacket on in a hurry to take these pictures before the sun set,  I put it on weird, but I don't know.  The bad thing is that now I'm self-conscious about the fit.  I'm hoping that when I wear it again I'll be able to figure out if I *really* do look like I'm growing a bump or if it was a freak occurence or what.  I'm also really hoping that when I wear the jacket with the matching skirt it will look normal.  I need some feedback guys, do I look pregnant or is it just my imagination?

Pattern!

     On another note, this jacket is from a skirt suit that I bought just before going back to work 2 weeks ago.  I had to get the skirt hemmed, but I am in LOVE with the suit (except for the aforementioned baby bump issues).  I know that in the far away pictures it reads gray, but up close its a really cool black on gray stripey pattern deal.  The skirt has a really sweet ruffle that's just the right amount of feminine and cute without distracting from the formality of a suit.  Be on the lookout for this suit on the blog as I'm wearing it today and will hopefully post it later this week.

    Speaking of the blog, The Fiance made a comment to me on Friday that it had been a while since I posted.  Now, I know that he checks in on the blog every now and again, but I had no idea he kept track of how often I posted or even the length of my posts.  He did not appreciate that last Monday's post was the last time I posted nor that it was a short post.  So that made me wonder, what do you guys think about my posting schedule?  I try to keep posting regularly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 am eastern time.  Last week posting didn't happen on that schedule as I didn't get home in time any day to take pictures in day light.  Sadly, several of last week's pictures were really cute.  I guess I'll just have to repeat them.  

     Considering that I don't always have a chance to check in with my Reader every day, how often do you check out blogs?  Is there a number of times a week that there is too much posting? too little?

The Details:

Suit: Rafaella (via Belk) Fitted Blazer

T-Shirt: Ann Taylor (gift)

Pants: Gap Similar in Navy

Heels: Nine West

Lavender Pearls: by me Similar

Quickie post

     Wore this a few weeks ago to work when I had to go in to help out in court.  Since it was such a beautiful day, posing by the Mustang just seemed like the right thing to do. Bella couldn't decide if she wanted in or out of the picture, so we're left with her tail in the picture.  Currently I'm wishing it was this beautiful right about now.  *sigh*  Hopefully sometime soon.  How's the weather around you?  Beautiful yet? 

 The Details:

T-shirt: Old Navy Similar

Pants: Gap Similar

Blazer: L.L. Bean

Boots: Tsubo Hepti 

Air Force A-C

     I put this outfit together and immediately felt like a female Air Force officer out of the 1940s.  I didn't mean it that way, but so much khaki and that collar just sort of made it that way.  I got the dress months ago and just couldn't figure out how to wear it.  I got it at a consignment store over the summer and at that time it was too warm for think 3/4 sleeves.  Then it was fall and I thought there was just too much khaki and I needed to break it up.  Being that fall here is pretty mild, layering a cardigan would have been too much.  Then finally it was winter and cold enough to wear it, but. . .
    The skirt is just too long.  It's been tough to put together an outfit.  I kept wanting to wear it with heels but my legs would be cut off.  Even this iteration of the dress isn't great as my legs look stumpy.  Nonetheless, I prefer the boots look over the heels look.  I think its because while wearing boots + tights, its ok not to see someone's knees.  Anyway, I'm going to see about hemming this dress.  I think it will just be more flattering if it hits me just under the knee rather than mid-upper-calf.  I also think that I would like to add a tulle skirt ala Audi's outfit under this dress to add some floof and interest to the dress.  It would probably fit with the vintage vibe that I get from the dress too.
    If you've been following me on Twitter (@lawfashionista) then you'll know that I've already begun studying for the bar exam again.  As a way to better concentrate on studying, I've stopped working and will only be studying for the next 7 weeks.  This means that I won't be getting dressed to go to work.  I'm not sure what that will mean for the blog.  I have plenty of backdated outfits to put up and I'm sure when I go on errands I'll change out of my sweats, but don't be surprised if I end up writing posts about how awesome sweats and PJ pants are to study in.   As I figure out a good workable schedule while I'm studying I may not be on a predictable posting schedule.  For the meantime, the bar is my #1, 2 and 3 priority, so that comes first.  The advantage of my being home, of course, is that I have more time to work out, so maybe I'll end up posting about how awesome that is.  We'll see.  Just wanted to give you all a head's up.  Any tips or suggestions on how not to get stressed when studying a humongous test?

The Details:
Dress: Consignment
Cardigan: Target
Boots: Target
Tank: Old Navy
         

Ruffles and Stuff

 First the Ruffles:

    This outfit is from a few weeks ago.  In fact, its from before I got my hair cut.  I've had this blouse for a little over a year, but am often hesitant to wear it.  While I love the ruffles on it, I'm often afraid that the ruffles add a bit too much va-va-voom to my figure.  That and the elastic bottom of the top just isn't my favorite.  To me it seems like all the extra fabric above the elastic adds volume to my body in an area where I don't want more volume.  In order to counteract this effect, I added a cardigan that hits at exactly the right spot.  The cardigan "hides" the extra volume and keeps the top part of the outfit close to my body.  That and the blue + purple combination just makes me happy.  Double win.

The Details:
Blouse: Target
Cardigan: Target
Pants: Gap
Heels: Nine West

Now on to the stuff:  

    I hope you all had a great Christmas holiday, if that is what you celebrate that is.  We went to The Fiance's parent's house for part of the weekend.  Of course we took Bella and had a very nice time.  I love going to visit them as they have been the nearest family for most of the past few years.  Luckily my sister moved to within 2 hours from us in August, so that's a plus.  But of course, my parents still live in Puerto Rico, a rather long set of flights away, so closeness of family is important to me.  

     Aside from seeing family, we also had snow!  It doesn't snow here a lot, and it definitely didn't snow as much as it did where I went to law school.  Nonetheless, snow is snow, and snow makes me happy.  Its so fun and makes everything, even sad dead trees look pretty and clean.
    On a not so happy note, I've begun to study for the bar again.  At the moment its just plain boring.  But I'm about 10,000% sure that at some point over the next 2 months I'll get really depressed because I'm going over the same thing I did this summer and even with all that studying I failed.  For some this is going to sound whiney, but I've never failed anything in my life.  I've been nothing but a great student my whole life.  And then I failed the most important test I've ever taken.  I've been trying not to throw myself a pity party since I got my results, but some days its really really hard not to.  On days when I'm reminded by how much my bills are or how hard it is to pay off my car or cable bill or anything else, then I feel really awful.  Essentially it goes like this: 

Bad thing (normally a big bill)--> Can't pay it b/c don't have the $ for it --> It's all my fault b/c I failed the bar --> feel like shit.  

When the cycle of feeling like crap begins, I know exactly how it will end, normally me in tears or pissed off at myself or both, AND its all but impossible to stop.  I feel tremendously guilty that The Fiance and I are in this position.  Everything was depending on my passing the bar and becoming a licensed attorney and since that didn't happen in August, well, life has been hard.  For example, even though I want to give him the world, all I could afford to give the Fiance for Christmas was a Fantasia Blu-ray and a SERIOUSLY down-priced iPhone 3GS.  He got me a pair of shoes that were 50% off.  
     I know I should count my blessings and be happy that I'm not alone in this mess and that we're both healthy and have jobs.  But its really hard to feel that way when there have been times the past couple months when I wasn't sure how I would be paying rent or health insurance or much of anything else.  
    Our situation has improved, luckily.  The Fiance started working at the beginning of November so that put an end to the several months where I was the only one working and paying bills.  But because it took so long for him to find a job, we're even more heavily in debt and really in the hole.  

The Mustang

     And on top of it all, his Mustang has decided it doesn't want to run anymore.  We're figuring out how to get him a clunker so he can get to work, but the past week and into the near future we've been sharing my car.  And let me tell you it sucks.  We've had to get up at 6 am, drive him to work (25 mins) then I turn around and drive to my work (1 hour 20 mins in the other direction).  On my way home at 5pm I have to go get him and then we get to go home and arrive around 6:45, 12 hours after we've left the house.  I'm figuring that I've been spending roughly 3 hours a day in my car instead of the usual 2.  ( I work ~60 miles from home).  
      I guess I'm just frustrated.  There's nothing I can really do until I pass the bar, which I retake in February.  I won't find out my results until the end of March either.  I would *love* for the blog to become profitable, but since I'm just a small slice of the internets, I don't think its going to happen anytime soon.  Anyway, to end on a happier note, here's a picture of Bella and Aslan, my sister's dog who we've been taking care of for the past 2 weeks.          

Two Belts

     I'm pretty sure I've worn this exact same outfit or something REALLY close to it before.  It's not really surprising since I love this sweater and to me, Red, White and Gray just work really well for me.  Throw in a black blazer and I was able to hang out in court. 
     Wondering about the post title?  I had to wear a second belt to keep my pants up.  I'm afraid it bunched up the pants some, but such is life.  There's only so much I can do with my existing wardrobe while I lose weight.  Once I reach a good place (and am able to) I'm going to treat myself to a shopping spree.  In particular, I hope to focus on my work wardrobe and build up a small collection of suits and work blouses.  

     I feel like I have a pretty good casual wardrobe.  In fact, a lot of my wear to work wardrobe at this point is stuff that should stay or be a part of my casual wardrobe, but for lack of other options, I have to wear them to work too.  This means I'm wearing things out faster than I would like.  And probably not dressing as nicely as I would like either.  Such is life I suppose. 

The Details:
Sweater: Old Navy
Red Belt: Target
Pants: Gap
Heels: Aldo
Blazer:
Earrings: Blue Nile
 

Go Tigers?

    I've worn this suit before, hell, I've worn this entire outfit before.  The reason?  It's comfortable and I really like this blouse with this suit.  Also I can't go shopping for more blouses or suits.  So I'm stuck with what I've got.  But I *can* make it more interesting.  
     To be honest, a suit really isn't all that interesting and shouldn't be all that interesting.  At least when an attorney is wearing a suit, the point is to look professional but forgettable.  The last thing anyone wants is for their attorney to be remembered instead of their case.  So, my suit outfits are and probably will be boring forever.  

    HOWEVER, what isn't boring is what happens when the suit jacket comes off.  Or at least it shouldn't be boring.  Because when the suit jacket comes off is generally when I'm in the office or in the car or anywhere else where I don't have to look court appropriate.  This is where I get to have fun with my outfits and enjoy dressing.  In this particular outfit, this would be the scarf worn as decorative belt.  

    Since I know that I've worn this exact same suit + blouse combination about 3 times since I got it, I wanted it to look different, special if you will.  While pondering this the night before I wore it, I happened to remember this scarf.  A couple of months ago, my parents were in town and my mom asked me to store some of her winter clothes for her.  I recently unpacked the box and stored all the scarves in said box in my closet.  (I'm borrowing them, or something like that.)  So I wondered, while planning this outfit, would the scarf work as a belt of some sorts.  Of course there's no other way to find out than trying it on.  So I did, and I loved it. 

     By now you may be wondering about the title of this post.  Well, one of the judges that rotates through district court here is a huge Clemson fan.  In fact, his "magic words" aren't please and thank you, they're "Go Tigers!"  Knowing this and having had to exclaim it earlier in the week, I decided to "promote" the Tigers a bit more deviously.  Cue the picture to the left.  I painted my nails a very dark purple, almost black, to "support" the Tigers.  The judge looked at me funny and laughed when I showed him, but he understood it as harmless fun.  See? Attorneys aren't ALL boring.

The Details:

Suit: JCPenney
Blouse: The Limited
Heels: Nine West
Scarf: Mom's (New York Style)
Nail Polish: Sally Hansen in Pat on the Black

Pity Party (part 1)

I've been thinking about this post for a while now.  I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to write it, let alone post it.  You see, I feel like my blog is one facet of who I am.  If I put too much of my every day feelings into it, then it breaks that illusion and ceases to be what I thought it was.  I know that every once in a while I update about my life and how things are going in the "real world," but this post is different.  So---if you want to avoid a whole lot of navel gazing, self-pity and self-doubt, go ahead and skip this post.  If not, here goes. . .

- - - - - -


    If I ever write a book about my life during the next few months its going to be called "I failed the bar and then my life was a catastrophe."  You read that right.  I failed the bar exam.  By 8 points.  Passing score is 346 and I got a 338.  When I first read my score I was relieved.  It meant I knew the stuff.  I KNOW the law.  But then I realized it also meant that the pain I was feeling on the days of the exam were enough to derail my concentration enough so that I failed.  Sucks might be too mild a way to put it.  Rather than make this one really long jumble of words and emotions, I'll give it some order, I'll go in a timeline/subject matter sequence.
    The bar exam was the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July.  Jenn and I drove to Raleigh Monday afternoon, checked into our hotel, checked in with some  of our friends and went out to eat dinner.  Our plan was to make it a chill evening.  After dinner and before bed, I was getting all my stuff together and realized that the extension cord that I had bought a week earlier was 2 prong.  My laptop charger is 3-pronged.  So off I went at too late an hour for starting such a gigantic exam the next morning to Walmart to buy a power strip.  Once I got back to the hotel I realized that it was too late, around 11 pm, for me to take tylenol PM and wake up the next morning without feeling groggy.  Little did I know at the time, but this was going to screw me over.  I didn't sleep.  I may have fallen asleep for 2 or 3 hours, but it was SO not enough.  The next morning sucked so bad.  My chest hurt, my back hurt and I was running on pure adrenaline for a while.  I took a bunch of ibuprofen in hopes that it would kick in quickly enough for me to be able to continue the exam and concentrate.  
    It wasn't enough.  My scores tell me that during the morning essay section I didn't do as well as on the afternoon portion.  It could be because of different subject matter in each, but I think it was the pain.  I was so distracted and worried about the pain in the morning that I did poorly on the morning section.  That's not to say that I didn't do well.  I actually scored 8/10 on 2 essays.  I also scored 2/10 on 2 essays.  The 8s were both in the afternoon, the 2s were in the morning. 
    I spent the whole of the 2 days in pain and wishing I could sleep.  Just a little nap would be enough.  I powered through the rest of the exam realizing I didn't have much else of a choice.  The bar exam isn't like any other test I've ever taken.  In high school, if I wasn't up for an exam I could skip the day and take it again some other time.  Same was mostly true for undergrad (so long as there was a valid reason).  Law school exams were brutal, but at least the deans knew that I was dealing with pain and if the pain got to be too much they would allow me to postpone exams.  The bar is such that in order to get special accommodations an applicant has to apply for them and show medical documentation  and then it gets decided on by a committee of some sort.  Since I had been fine for so long without any kind of pain, it didn't occur to me to even try for special accommodations.  Thinking back on it, I doubt that even if I tried I would have had them granted.  Chest and generalized body pain, while distracting, doesn't seem serious enough.  
    Anyway, by the time I was mid-exam, even if I wanted to, there was no way I could ask for a timeout from the exam.  As it was I worked as efficiently as possible while taking breaks to walk around and drink plenty of water and down lots of ibuprofen so that I could survive the whole process.  
    Leaving the exam I was ecstatic.  I felt pretty good about my performance.  I knew the stuff pretty well.  But its a curved exam and my score would depend on the scores of everyone else.  I had to hope that I was smarter and better prepared than at least 30% of the people in the room.  Surely I was. Right? Yes, of course.  But really?
    Turns out I may have been, but it wasn't enough.  I still failed.  By 8 points.  


- - - - 
In writing this story, I realized that it may take me several posts to complete it.  So bear with me.  Regularly scheduled programming will be coming soon. 

Shades of Gray

    I took advantage of the wonderful turn in weather to whip out my tights.  I'm not sure if NC finally got the memo that it's officially fall or if it turned cool because of the rain the past week, but it is gorgeous out! I love when the weather turns cool.
    The cool weather also really makes me want to wear cooler colors.  Grays and blues are particular favorites.  I also love jewel tones when it turns cold.  I find that strong and bright colors keep me happy when the weather is less than ideal.  
    Anyway, so these are my gray flower patterned tights.  These are some of my favorite tights because from afar they look like plain gray tights.  However, when you look closer you can see that the tights have a subtle flower pattern.  It's like a secret super cool fashion statement.  It makes me happy. 
    So I have a question for you all.  What do you think of the proportions of this skirt?  Normally I think it works fine, but in looking at the picture to the left, I'm not 100% sure anymore.  If the skirt had a higher waist, I think the look to the left would look ok.  It might be that I've lost enough weight as of late so that the skirt no longer fits where its supposed to.  Either way, to me it seems that the skirt is too long or too low slung or both.  It just feels like too much solid black that isn't as flattering as it could be.  What do you all think, is this all in my head or am I on to something?  What would you do with a skirt like this, shorten it or tailor it to a higher waist or . . . ? 

The Details:
Shirt: New York & Co.
Skirt: Jones & Co.
Tights: Hanes Outlet
Heels: Bandolino





P.S. How awesome does my hair look in these pics?  No idea how the 100000% humidity didn't turn my hair into a gigantic ball of frizz, but this was a GREAT hair day. 

Ladies Who Lunch

    This Dress is from the shopping trip I took just after starting working.  The fabric isn't solid black, it has white, gray and silver threads running through it.  I couldn't think of anything else to pair it with, so I threw on this cardigan that has the same colors as the dress on top of it.  I feel like the look is a bit "ladies who lunch."  I'm hoping to find a cute colored cardigan with which to pair this dress to keep it looking young.  I'm also considering wearing the dress with a button down underneath it in the fashion of a jumper in the same way I wore this sheath dress.  Thoughts?

The Details:
Dress: The Limited
Cardigan: Sam's Club
Heels: Nine West

P.S. These pictures right here are exactly why I need to wear makeup to work---I look ill!

Happy Monday!

     This morning I tried to go to work, really, I did.  I got up at the right time, got dressed, put on makeup, out the door and into my car.  As soon as I got onto the highway, however, I knew that it was a bad idea.  I called in to work to tell them I would be working from home as it was raining so hard I couldn't see 10 feet in front of my car and it would take me WAAAAAAAAY longer to get there and it would be dangerous.  So I turned around and went home and spent the day inside doing work.  or did I? 

The Fiance makes a guest appearance!