get on your bike

I'm still in the midst of grading my students' final projects, but I took the time to go running this morning anyway, and I am so glad I did! I've read enough about the myriad benefits of exercise to know these things, but I'm still surprised every time I come back from running with more energy and a better mood. One day I'll internalize this knowledge and make my work-out schedule a little more regular... but for now, I'll post about it here to create some type of accountability for myself.

As far as the outfit goes, I love the dramatic statement of a red dress, especially with my pale skin and dark hair. I used to hate being pale (I'm one of those people who cannot get a tan, and it seems like my skin has only gotten more sensitive to sunlight!), but now I find myself deliberately choosing colors that accentuate my skin color. It's unique, and I've finally embraced that.

red bicycle print dress: Target / necklace: c/o sammydress (giveaway) / earrings: Target

I really do buy all of my clothes at Target, don't I?

another floral print

I wouldn't be surprised if a solid third of my wardrobe consisted of floral prints. I have no idea when this fascination began, but lately I can't seem to resist a pretty dress with flowers on it. The tights, however, were a happy accident. When tights go on clearance at Target or Kohl's, I buy basically every pair in my size. This pair had a strange color in the package, so I was a bit uncertain, but decided that for a little over $2, it was worth the risk. They turned out to be a nice complement for the pinks in this dress!

dress: Deb, clearance for $7.50 / cardigan: Kohl's, clearance for $9 / tights: Target, clearance for $2.30

Inspiration: The Clothes Horse

As I mentioned, yesterday was my last day of teaching. My students showcased their digital projects (websites and videos they've created) and I brought them chocolate chip cookies (I baked about 85 and, between my 2 classes, there were no leftovers!). I was so impressed with their work, and they were so sweet. Teaching is stressful work, especially with social anxiety, but days like yesterday remind me why it's worth it.

With so much grading looming over me now, I hadn't had any time to think about what I might wear today, so I decided to back through one of my favorite fashion blogs, The Clothes Horse, for some inspiration. Here's the outfit I chose:

Rebecca's looks are always so adorable, and it's actually because of seeing cute skirts like this on her blog that I bought this one. I'm typically uncomfortable in anything this short, but I just LOVE them on her, so I thought I'd give it a go. Plus, tights make short skirts a little easier to wear, in my opinion.

blouse: thrifted, New York & Co., $2.50 / skirt & belt: Kohl's, $8 / tights: Target, $3 / pearl necklace: gift

mint dress and a mustache

I'd have preferred something a little more spring-y for my last day of class, but the 45°F temperatures outside necessitated some layers (I'm also wearing sweater tights). I felt like the black tights and cardigan were metaphorically weighing down this cute mint dress - until I remembered this mustache necklace I won in a giveaway! It's so fun and light-hearted; I'm glad I finally had an opportunity to wear it!

dress: Target, $7 / cardigan: thrifted / necklace: c/o Sammydress (giveaway) / belt: Kohl's (with another dress)

cinnamon coffee cake muffins

I am undoubtedly a morning person, even though I rarely jump out of bed ready to take on the day. Instead, I prefer long, lazy mornings with coffee and a pastry while I catch up with some reading. To keep from feeling too guilty about this indulgence, I worked for weeks to perfect my recipe for low-fat cinnamon coffee cake muffins. Each muffin is approximately 90 calories, 11 grams of sugar, 1.5 grams of fat, and 2.5 grams of protein; I typically have 2 for breakfast. No, the sugar isn't healthy, but these muffins are a LOT better than the kind of breakfast I would be eating otherwise!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Prep time: ~30 minutes

Baking time: 18 minutes

Ingredients

For the batter:

2 tbsp margarine

1/8 cup no sugar added applesauce

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

6 packets Sweet'n Low

2 oz egg substitute OR 1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup all purpose flour

Cinnamon to taste

For the filling and topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tbsp no sugar added applesauce

Cinnamon to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream margarine, 1/8 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup white sugar, and sweet'n low. Add in egg substitute, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
3. In a small bowl, combine flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to taste. Add alternately with Greek yogurt to the egg mixture. 
4. To make the filling / topping, combine ingredients in a small bowl until all the sugar is dissolved.
5. Spoon 1 tbsp of the batter into each muffin tin. Top with 1/2 tsp of filling, then add another 1 tbsp of batter to each muffin. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining filling in a light layer on top of each muffin.
6. Bake at 350°F for 18 minutes. 

I hope you enjoy these muffins as much as I have!

.i'm giving up on looking back.

As a student, even one who enjoyed school, I counted down the days until the end of the semester. As a teacher, it's totally crept up on me! This is my last week of classes - not just of the semester, but at my job teaching freshman composition at the University of Kentucky. I'm in the unfortunate position of not knowing what I'll be doing next - I turned down a renewal of my contract since the husband and I are hoping to move to Dublin this summer, but as we have no concrete details yet, it's a big step into the unknown... terrifying to a control freak like myself. But it's Ireland, so I'm a little more open to making myself uncomfortable in the meantime.

Since I'm feeling sentimental about my last week of teaching, I put a little extra thought and effort into my outfit. The dress is nothing special - a cheap, simple black dress I got at Kohl's over a year ago - but the cardigan is a recent acquisition I'm quite excited about. I found it at Goodwill this weekend on a shopping trip with my mom and my cousin (so much fun!), and I loved the pastel floral print so much that I bought it even though it was a size XL! Luckily I'm not totally inept at using a sewing machine, so I was able to alter it to fit me. I know this is a pretty simple outfit, but it feels so me - I wear a lot of black, and a lot of floral prints. Combined with my silver leaf earrings and a Celtic knot necklace that you can't even see in the first photo, I feel completely at home.

dress: Kohl's, old / cardigan: thrifted, $3 / earrings: Sammydress, $2 / belt, bracelet: ? / necklace: gift / shoes: Target, old

.it may be elaborate fantasy, but it's the perfect place to start.

Having toyed with the idea of starting a blog for some months now (time gets away from me), I've finally decided to give it a go, largely because my part time employment has almost come to an end, and I am staring down an entire summer of free time. While that kind of freedom might be appealing to many, I become anxious when I don't have projects to work on, so here's to keeping my sanity in check.

A brief look at what's to come: outfit posts, book reviews, recipes, travel (my husband and I are going to Ireland this summer, as well as several gaming conventions!), and probably some pictures of my cat. ^.^ For today, though, I'll give you a look at this outfit I put together with zero plans to leave the apartment. It's probably an inauspicious start, posting such terrible quality pictures, but I just found the battery charger for my camera not 10 minutes after taking these beauties with my webcam, so let's all be optimistic, shall we?

dress and necklace: Kohl's, $6 each / earrings: Target, $5 for 2 pairs / belt: thrifted, $1.50