What the Art Teacher Wore #28

Brooklyn Bridge Monday: dress: Anthro, sale, couple summers ago; necklace: dunno, Target maybe?; hair accessory: the marvelous Peachy Tuesday

Please pardon me if I sound a little bit Eeyore-esque in this post but I said good bye to one of my favorite friends this week: Summer. On Thursday my days of traveling, estate-saling, fro-yo-for-dinner'ing ended. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for the upcoming school year and our European theme in the art room. It's just that, well, I'm gonna miss all of my free time. And fro yo. 

Along with WIWTW, I'm sharing some more photos from my NYC in 48 hours. Well, with the exception of one day...I'm sure you'll be able to figure out which when you do some downward scrollin'. 

In other news, the polling has closed on the DIY Eiffel Tower Dress. If you recall, the question was: Should I bedazzle the dress some more or leave it as is? It seems the majority of you are on the side of my hubs (thanks a lot, ya'll. Humph.) and are in the please stop the tackifying camp. I appreciate your taking the time to vote and I've decided...to leave the dress as is. Partly because you are right and the other partly because my ADHD has caused me to move on to other things. Like more poodles. Possibly in tutu's. Definitely wearing berets. Is it fro yo time yet?

Such a beauty, the Brooklyn Bridge.

Traffic in NYC Tuesday: "Well, as you can see, Bob, the traffic in Chelsea is flowing along just fine." This silly photo was taken on the High Line in Chelsea. dress: thrifted, Issac Mizrahi; bow belt: Anthro

Just a glimpse of the awesomeness that is Purl Soho.

Back to School Thursday: That's right, I skipped Wednesday. It was a bit of a long day what with flying home and heading straight to the eye doc afterword (notice the glasses?), grocery shopping and unpacking. By the time I remembered I hadn't taken a photo, I was in my pajamas. And I'm not ready to share that much with you. dress and sweater: sale, Anthro; sandals: Frye

Dino bones at the Natural History Museum.

Eiffel Tower Dress Friday: This is my first Bernie Dexter dress and I love it. It's so well made and I adore the little red piping. Not to mention the Eiffel Tower print -- eep! Must make more room in el closet for her designs. She even has a dress with a Matisse print. dress: Bernie Dexter; shoes: BC, old; hair flower: made by moi

A student project with a Barbie theme on display at FIT. My fave is the Barbie and poodle on the left.

Back in Tennessee Saturday: My family (my mom and my in-laws) were in town this weekend. We decided to go see the stock car races in Clarksville which is always an adventure. This particular race track is a clay track. That means every time the cars came around the bend, they were spraying us with clay pellets. Yeah, we ain't in NYC no more, kids. dress: vintage, dyed and altered by me; sweater: Anthro; sandals: Chacos

Crazy fun. By the end of the night we were picking clay bits out of each others hair. If it looks like I have a spray tan in the above photo, I do. We call it the Stock Car Clay Spray Special.

I do believe the rules of the track apply to my art room.

My sweet students arrive this Thursday! I cannot wait to see them. Until then, it's more meetings for me. Maybe a "pill draw" window would help me make it through those. Kidding, kidding!

Enjoy your week.

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DIY: Anthropologie Style

Dress: thrifted Issac Mizrahi for Target, anthropologie-ized by me; belt and hair clip: by me

Tell me if you do this: you go to Anthropologie determined that you are going to avoid the full retail at all cost and head straight to the sale room. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, you are on one cheap-o mission.

And then, you see It. That dress. The One and Only. The Dress that would complete You.

The Anthro version. On sale this time last year.

And you think to yourself, "you know what, forget the sale room, I've earned this! I've worked hard, I've earned my keep, I watched someone pick his nose AND eat it today. I don't care what the price tag says, that dress will be mine. It belongs in my closet!"

And then you do it.

You look at the price tag.

And the back pedaling begins.

"You know what, I don't really even like that dress.

"I mean, look at it...it's just too perfect. And awesome. Not to mention amazing. Why on earth would I want that? Geez, what was I thinking..." And then you drive off to the nearest Target and try to forget the dress with bottles of nail polish, a tube or two of lipstick, a pair of tights and three Kit Kats...or maybe that's just me.

But this little tale has a happy DIY ending. After seeing that little navy number and being scared off by the price tag, I recalled an Isaac Mizrahi dress that I'd thrifted some time ago. Sadly, it's permanent place had become my closet as I didn't really care for the spaghetti straps. With the out-o-my-price-range dress on my mind, I anthropologie-ized my dress with some sear sucker fabric fashioned into shoulder bows...and viola! $148 still snug in my pocket book.

Anthro sandals, also from last spring.

And then I got all crazy-like and decided to try my hand at recreating these bad boys.

Ya'll would you please get yourself some of these Sseko sandals already? It's for such a great cause...and I know you are tired of hearing me yap about them!

With my favorite sandal bases by Sseko. I love that I can create custom shoes in less than a half an hour with these sandals as my base.

Please pardon the toes...they's a little gnarly.

Oh and what do you know? The sandals match the dress. I've become so stinkin' matchy-match in my old age.

There you go, an Anthro-DIY. Just for kicks, let's do a rundown on cost:

dress from Goodwill: $7.99
hair clip and belt: made by me
sandal base: $39

Total: $46.99

Yippie!

Now I know I'm not the only one that's created an Anthro-inspired DIY...what have you created? Dying to know, leave a comment below!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #16

Monday, Seriously??: The last time I wore this dress one of my students asked, "Are you dressed like the Cleaning Lady today?" So this time I decided to jazz it up with a too-big flower and too-many necklaces. flower hair pin: flower from Joann's, hair pin made by me; necklaces: dunno, Target?; dress: Paul and Joe purchased for cheap a million years ago at Urban Outfitters; shoes: Blowfish picked up at TJMaxx

Hello there! Just a little peak at what I decided was appropriate to wear this week. And by "appropriate" I mean "what's clean and not on the floor of my closet". While scooting around on the internet (okay, let's just say it, there is no more "surfing the net" for us ladies, it's just pinteresting. Am I right?), I came upon these amazing works of art. And because I've been shoveling sugary sweets all week in an attempt to stay upright and perky, I thought I'd share with you some drool-worthy delectables that I have decided would complete me. Hope you enjoy!

Isn't this stunning? I love it. Frida Kalho by Alexey Kurbatov.

Flowery sugar cookies? Can I wear them in my hair and grab -n- eat when the mood strikes? Me thinks yes. Bakin' ideas found here.

Too Pink Tuesday: I am in love with this dress. Mostly because a dear friend who used to wear it gifted it to me. I think the color combination is divine. dress: gift from a friend; sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted; flowers: H & M; shoes: Anthro couple years ago

Is that a key lime pie I spy? Mmmm, my favorite. Cakes and Pies by Wayne Thiebaud

Vintage wedding cakes, so cute! My fave is mini on the jadeite cake stand.

Wild Hair Wednesday: I swear the ends of my hair isn't really that bad. All my photos this week were taken at the end of some very long days at which point my hair was the least of my worries. sweater: thrifted: dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: made by me; shoes: BC

No where near the wonder of this woman, but I thought her color scheme kinda-sorta worked with mine. Wonder Woman by Nicole Charbonnet You should really check out her stuff, it's awesome.

Wait, what? Is this the grown-up version of candy necklaces? Why am I just now hearing about this?!

Thursday, I'd like you better if you had an FRI at the beginning of your name: Don't ask me what I am doing with my mouth in this picture. Possibly talking to myself. That's what too much sugar will do to ya. sweater: ebay; dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: Pinky Otto; necklace: vintage, thrifted; flowers: H & M; amazing owl sandals: Anthro, last year

I thought this wild -n- wacky Hollywood painting completed my look. A giant hovering In -n- Out Burger cup? With frolicking elephant underneath? Sure, why not? Found here.

The only thing that would make this better would be a wig of cotton candiness.

Friday, I've been waiting for you since Wednesday: Seriously, this week was a long one. That way for anyone else? dress: vintage, picked up for 25 pennies at the by-the-pound Goodwill; belt and flower hair clips: made by me; shoes: Frye picked up at Marti and Liz

The dress had the worlds smallest waist. Seriously, it was 10" wide. And I was determined to wear it. So I added this panel of lace in the back which not only extended the too-small waist but also the too-small bust.

The bold colors at the top of this painting reminded me of the bold flower at the top of my head. Bloom by Meredith Pardue.

Mmmm, nothing says delish like jell-o mold desserts, my favorite! (Ha, I kid, I have a fear of all things jell-o-y). Thanks for stopping by!

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(Flower) Pothead

Oh, hey neighbor. Yeah, I'm taking pictures. Of myself. With a tripod in the front yard. What? These America's Next Top Model photos ain't gonna take themselves.

It's spring and I've officially become a Flower Pothead. I've spent hours on flowers: planting, painting, wearing, embroidering and decorating with them. This spring thing better stick around because I'm in deep. I thought I'd share with you just a bit of the flowery fantasticness I've gotten myself into:

Flowers in my Hair: Saw Casey wearing flowers in her hair on a recent post and just had to do the same. Mine are fake flowers purchased at JoAnn's hot glued to a hairclip.

Flowers in my Patterns: We dropped in my favorite vintage shop in Orlando, Paris Market Vintage, where I swooped up this sweet 1970's era skirt for a mere $4. If you are ever in the area, it's a great shop with the sweetest ladies working there.

Flowers on my Doorstep: I took these $10 plastic flower pots, turquoise spray paint and cheap acrylic paint and did 'em up Bob Ross style last year. They've sat outside all year with very little wear. I decided to try trailing petunias in the pots this year. I'll share with you how I painted these pots in an upcoming post.

Flowers on my Hoop: My embroidery hoop, that is. I managed to make some headway on our recent trip. I'm about half way finished now...you'll have to wait and see the result when it's complete. It might be a while.

Flowers in my Foyer: I don't care that they might be weeds, they are flowery just the same.

Flowers in Miniature Bottles: Hubs came home from a recent adventure with a sack full of these miniature jars. He'd been off-trail hiking and stumbled upon a cache of vintage trash. Such a great find, don't you think?

Flowers in the Sunshine: Nuff said. Hope things are coming up roses where you are!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #11

Spring Green Monday: Guess who's overcompensating for not wearing even a stitch of green on St. Patrick's Day? sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted; dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: made by me; brooch: vintage, thrifted; shoes: thrifted; fishnets: Target

Okay, please don't hate me. But I don't have to work for the next two weeks. I know! Can you believe it? We have a grand total of 14 days off for spring break. I am beyond excited. I've already had a blast, spending my weekend with a great friend and fellow art teachers at a conference in Memphis. Now I've got the next couple of days to catch up with friends and DIY's before hubs and I head to Orlando.

On with the outfit post. A couple weeks ago, when introducing Claude Monet to the kids, Lauren and I dressed as Monet's garden. This week I thought I'd try to match my look with a painting just for kicks. Sometimes I based my look on a painting, like Monday's dress; other days, I searched for a painting with a similar color palette after the fact. It was a lot of fun...and I'm hoping it helps me out of those fashion slumps I sometimes get into. Of course, the kids loved it. And that's why I do it, right? (Not really, but it makes me sound less crazy if I say so, doncha think?) Enjoy!

Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Vincent Van Gogh ... I opted not to match the beard but the wallpaper.

Since the shoes just weren't tacky enough, I hot glued some flowers onto shoe clips.

Blarf, It's Tuesday: Wearing the Blouse-from-a-Scarf made by me; skirt and fishnets: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Still Life with Peppermint Bottle by Paul Cezanne

One of my headbands from Jen at Peachy Tuesday...you must check out her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/peachytuesday

One-Day-Closer-to-Break Wednesday: dress: anthropologie; tights: Target; shoes: Clarks

Spanish Dancer by John Singer Sargent

Put a Bird on It Thursday: Not seen the Portandia "Put a Bird on It" skit yet? What are you, nuts? Youtube it immediately. dress: anthropologie; sweater and tights: Target; belt: Pinkyotto; crayon shoes: thrifted and then painted by me

Photo of a Stuart Davis painting by me on my visit to the Met. Sorry, I failed to get the title.

More Peachy Tuesday goodness in my hair, love these headbands!

It's Friday, Let's do the Ed Grimely! shirt and tights: Target; skirt: anthropologie; shoes: Indigo by Clarks; belt: made by me

Dogs Playing Poker, artist unknown

I mean, really. What other painting was I going to pick?

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