More backlogged OOTDs

I had a crazier than usual fall semester and as a result my blog updates fell to the bottom of my priority list. Hopefully things will be different this spring but with my ongoing pregnancy nausea and impending manuscript submission deadline, it will be difficult. After February I will have some reprieve. In the meanwhile here are some quick outfits from Fall that I never got around to sharing.

Up top is an old Anthro favorite, the Sketchbook Shirt Dress. I paired it with one of my older anniversary necklaces from Chris, spanx tights, and Tory Burch flats.  

I wore this Marc by Marc Jacobs Marieka Tulip print dress a few times during the term. Above, I layered a cashmere cardigan by Aqua over top and wore Spanx tights and Sam Edelman Petty booties.

You can really see the tired on my face in this one but the color of the leaves reveal that the worst was yet to come. The dress is H&M, the necklaces are all gifts from loved ones, the tights are Spanx, and the shoes are Sam Edelman.

I have others that I will share this week but wanted to get myself caught up. Since I do like to keep this space as my own outfit diary it seems worth posting despite the time lapse.

Kushyfoot Fall Wardrobe Essentials Review and Giveaway!

We're officially and undeniably into tights season and I couldn't be happier. So when Kushyfoot contacted me about a fall-themed collaboration, I was thrilled. They sent me a kit featuring a bundle of their fall wardrobe essentials. I have been trying them for the last week and still wear the socks and products from the previous bundle they sent me. I especially love the Shaping Tights. The Fleece Trousers are perfect underneath tall boots and the Anklet Socks work well under booties. The retail prices are affordable and the light padding and careful stitching offer extra comfort for long teaching days I spend on my feet. I am a big fan! Thank you, Kushyfoot!

Kushyfoot is offering a Fall Essentials bundle as a giveaway to a reader of Consume or Consumed. Entering is easy:

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September Stripes OOTD

I wore this outfit to campus on Monday for teaching and for meetings. September is always a busy month but this one feels particularly intense. This year is my final one preceding the submission of my tenure dossier so the stakes are high. I'm still revising my book even though I had hoped to finish over the summer. I did manage to get an article submitted for publication consideration so that is good. I have a conference paper to write from scratch that I have to present at a conference in November. I have two grant applications I am writing, one of which is due at the end of this month. I am working on a collaborative research project with a student research assistant. I am consulting on social media for a few clients, one of which is working with me through my university's Center for Applied Research. And of course, I am still involved with the startup. I am so happy that Covey is available on iOS with a user base that is growing rapidly.

There is a lot to do and a lot to look forward to but it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day. I do have a course release for this semester so I am teaching a bit less than usual but my committee service is ramped up. Chris is off soon for another trip to West Africa. His work is demanding and busy as ever plus he is teaching this semester. Emilia is taking dance, tumbling, swimming, and music in addition to her regular library story time and playdates. My mom thankfully helps me so much with the activities and with caring for her when I have to go to work. And my dad, mother-in-law, and sister also help me with her. Even with help, it is a lot.  But it is September so I should expect it.

Details:
Ann Taylor Loft dress
Spanx tights
Cole Haan wedges
Longchamp Neo bag
Layered necklaces that were gifts from loved ones

Pumpkins with my pumpkin

Last weekend my family got together to visit Triple B Farms. We've been going every year since I was little. And this year there was the added excitement of introducing Emilia to the tradition. She took to it right away! My sister and I took photos with my camera and got some fun shots to help us remember the occasion.

 

Baby OOTD

This was the closest head to toe shot I got of me, outfit-wise... Playing airplane with E.

I think both my parents as well as Chris and I wound up with great holiday photo card contenders (all of which I am refraining from posting here since some recipients are also readers). We all took home pumpkins and pies and apple cider as well as other treats. And even better, we will always have the memories.

Outfit details:
Bailey 44 top (current season version here; maternity version here; dress here)
J. Crew Matchstick cords
MBMJ Mouse Flats not pictured
Orla Kiely tote bag

Baby OOTD:
Mad Sky dress (in another print here)
Tea Collection pants (current season version here)
Minnetonka moccasins (similar here)
Luna Rose Baby headband

Quick Fall OOTD

I realize it has become blogger requisite to gush about the best of all the seasons. I too can't help rejoicing when I can break out my opaque tights, layers, and wool fabrics. I wore this ensemble to campus one day and to meet a friend for lunch on another. We met at Social in Bakery Square, so I decided to stop by Anthropologie and see if they had the sketchbook shirt dress in my size. They did not, sadly. I tried on what was there and still loved it but had to run before I could inquire about ordering the correct size, as (after being super pleasant and awesome during lunch) Emilia was turning quickly into a pumpkin.

After the 15% off promo the other weekend, I almost bought it but shipping would have basically ate up the discount. So it looks like I'm going to wait for a sale. A review will follow soon!

Emilia's fall wardrobe is super cute and I've enjoyed shopping for her as much if not more so than I used to enjoy shopping for myself.

Heads up that Bloomingdales Friends and Family is on. You can get 20% off most things. Happy shopping! 

On me:
See by Chloé dress
Streets Ahead bow belt
Ferragamo Varina flats
Spanx tights
Kors watch; Yurman necklace

On her:
Outfit 1: Carters tunic; Tea Collection leggings; Tommy Hilfiger shoe socks 
Outfit 2: Mini Boden corduroy pinnie; Baby gap onesie;  Gymboree tights; Koala Baby shoes

A Fall Jewelry Giveaway from Anjolee!

I am excited to announce a special fall giveaway from Anjolee! Fall has long been my favorite season. My mother as well as both of my siblings were born in fall. It is when I got married to Chris. It is also when I gave birth to Emilia.

I can't believe that I am coming up on her first birthday already! Time really flew. I've been amassing some jewelry pieces that feature her birthstone and am eager to give one away to a lucky reader. Anjolee was happy to help.

Anjolee specializes in fine diamond and gemstone jewelry. They have a wide selection of highly customizable pieces including many beautiful diamond pendants. To celebrate the color palette of changing leaves (and one of the birthstones of the season), Anjolee would like to give a reader of Consume or Consumed the chance to win a sterling silver necklace featuring a genuine citrine pendant, as pictured above.

There are many ways to enter. This giveaway is open only to US readers.

Edited to add: The giveaway has closed and for some reason I don't seem to have the option to display the winner drawn in the widget. The winner drawn was Julie who I have contacted and helped arrange for the retrieval of her prize. Thank you to everyone who entered. I will have another giveaway soon enough! 

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Favorites for fall!

Day Dresses
Flats

 I don't plan on buying much for my closet this fall. But at some point at least some of the above items will become my fall 2012 "ones that got away." My favorite is probably the Kate Spade polka dot coat though the Marc by Marc Jacobs parka is also awesome.

See you in September (2013)!

As the weather cools the blogosphere is rumbling with enthusiasm over fall.  I too find the changing season to be exciting. Who doesn't love apples and pumpkins and sweater weather? But without my favorite wardrobe standbys to turn to, I expect this fall will feel decidedly different. Not better or worse, per se. Just different. Although I won't be able rotate through my usual fall wardrobe I also know that as a consummate sap, I will come to feel a great deal of nostalgia for what promises to be a very pregnant fall. Just as I already feel a lot of nostalgia for this time of year in 2010, during the lead up to my wedding date. Both periods came with anxieties of anticipation over all the various "unknowns." But ultimately the stress created from my anticipations remains a happy variety, with optimism over the changing shape of life to come. So while I might feel a lot of uncertainty over how my life will change once I am a parent, I look forward to it. One of the most important lessons I've learned from my family and my parent friends is that love multiplies. It doesn't divide and is not finite.

Philosophically, it seems fitting that fall's inescapable tropes of bounty and harvest correspond closely with the expansion of my and Chris's household. The reality of our scenario change in going from two to three is impending. And I still have so much more to do. But when I'm feeling frivolous, I go through my outfit photo archives to try and envision how I will wear some of my favorite pieces with a child in tow... assuming I am able to fit into them again someday!

End of Fall outfit

Chloe dress

Anthro belt

Miu Miu flats

MBMJ bag

KJL, Linea Pelle, and misc. bracelets

I wore this to the First Friday gallery events for December and to grab some late evening drinks at Salt of the Earth.

End of the day OOTD

J. Crew top

Anthro skirt

Spanx tights

Rosegold Liz booties

It is often the case that I don't have time to snap quick photos of my outfit when I arrive to work. But the reality is that it's far more honest to show you how disheveled and wrinkled things get by the end of my longer days of teaching. After seeing this linen blend skirt in the above photos, I seriously considered bringing my portable steamer to keep in the office. Although, generally I do not recommend steaming clothes while you are wearing them, as doing so has led to more than one painful moment in the midst of my own rushed laziness. Still I liked this outfit for its subtle fall-appropriate neutrals, and in spite of the wrinkles.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend I met with my family for the annual visit to our favorite local farm. We picked pumpkins at Triple B across the river from Monongahela, PA.* It was crowded but we still managed to find pumpkins and apples and more.

After my visit I felt even more impressed by all the style bloggers who wear beautiful outfits to photograph at their local pumpkin patches. My mom thought I was overdressed enough in sequined flats rather than beaten up sneakers, so I applaud the boldness required to wear a dress and pumps for such occasions. Although I clearly lack that level of dedication when it comes to clothes, every October when I comb through my blog reader, I enjoy seeing the beautiful, idyllic fall scenery playing backdrop to the outfit blogging of so many well-dressed ladies.

BTW, I bought a new camera and I was so excited to use it for the first time to take family photos. OF COURSE I accidentally (amateurishly) had it set incorrectly (to accommodate low light rather than bright light), hence the graininess. I meant to double check it beforehand but plum forgot. I will still use my point and shoot in a pinch and for any office/campus photos because I have no desire to lug a tripod, etc. to campus in the name of my own vanity. But I do expect this purchase means that the quality of other off campus photos will improve.

*Since I mention Mon City, I also way to suggest a wonderful history blog for any SWPA folks (and ex-pats), titled Lost Monongahela. It is interesting to think about the ebbing and flowing of industrial and post-industrial development in the corner of the rust belt where I grew up.