What’s In M’s Bag?

Gym Bag Edition

….because to be honest, I am way too anal retentive to carry around all that clutter celebrities do in my actual purse. So, gym bag it is.

I am a sweater and not in the cozy, warm, cashmere sense. When I make the time and effort to go to the gym, I go hard. So, I am a sweater. Big time. A shiny, stinky, vibrant red sweater at that. I am not a gym-before-work person, or gym-before-anything person for that matter. Why? Because I dont want people to think I lack basic hygiene skills.

However, I do like to polish off errands and the like post-workout. So, my bag revolves around making myself feel and look slightly human again.

Here are my amazing de-icking gym essentials:

1. Lululemon Headbands
Seriously though these things are made of unicorn tears or something similar. They go into my hair dry, they come off soaked, hair stays dry. Magic. Oh, and pretty colors.

2. Dry Shampoo and Baby Powder
Description unnecessary and travel sizes are a must. Thank you, talcum gods.

3. Say Yes to Cucumbers Towelettes
These are phenoms. They clean your face, smell good, and make you feel zen. Amazing. And reasonably priced at Target.

4. Travel Size Hairspray
…because sweaty hair lacks volume. Duh.

5. Sunnies (in my case, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Big heart)
No one wants to be the girl that wears mascara while running. Seriously, don’t be her. Throw on the big glasses after your run and you wont need to worry about your unmade eyes.

6. Stylish Accessories
Note how fun and un athletic looking my things are for the gym. I am a girl and I remain one even though I can run a few miles. Being in shape does not mean you cant tote your stuff in masculine crap. My vibrant gym bag was a steal at Old Navy and the smaller cosmetic cases are from H &M and Forevz. Oh, and I love my funky, bright, Saucony sneaks.

7. Bkr Water Bottle
Love the earth. Love your body. Carry this chic bottle.

M

Sequin Geek Chic

Ahh.. Just your everyday New Year’s Eve dilemma–to sequin or not to sequin??

New Year’s Eve is by far the sparkliest holiday of the year, and I was super stoked when I found this tres chic Calvin Klein black sequinned sheath for 23 dollars in late December (side note, not to gloat, but isn’t that the most awesome bargain?!). But, alas, two major problems interferred with my glorious bedazzled outfit:

1: Sequins hurt. Holy moley, my inner arms are on fire, Batman!

2: My plans were dinner with the bf. An eight o clock ressie at a casual restaurant doesnt exactly scream sequin and sparkles. I am all about overdressing, but this would have been ridiculous.

Determined to go into 2013 in style, I compromised by geek chic-ing up my super fancy dress. Add one whimsically patterned sweater (several seasons old and no more than twenty bucks), black tights, and my go to knee high boots, and suddenly my cocktail party attire had a casual dinner feel. I added a stretchy black belt over the whole thing to tie it together and pulled my hair up in a high bun. I loved the way it looked and I felt extra fancy without looking out of place. Not to mention the sweater protected my arms from a bloody sequin massacre. Win, win, win!

M

Clothes: Dress, Calvin Klein via TJ Maxx; Sweater, Forever 21; Boots, Steve Madden; Tights, Target; Blingy J. Crew Inspired Bracelet, Groop Dealz; Belt, Old

Oh shoe-t!: A Photo Journey of My Troubles

I would like to think that teachers are known for their cutting edge fashion sense and trend setting style. But, they’re not. You think of teacher clothes, and you think of blase front pleat pants, oversized vests, and tacky decorative pins. Oh, and the shoes. Don’t forget about the comfortable shoes! Its not really my speed. I would like to think I break the teacher dress mold.

….except for the shoes. Oops! My feet hurt at the end of the day. They kill. The comfy shoe clad teachers of the world are on to something. This is where fashiony M and practical M collide. I want to be fun and fresh. And funky. But I want to be able to walk without crying. The issues!

So I have decided to photo document my shoe journey:

These are a personal favorite summer shoe of mind (Lucky Brand Hacienda Wedge)They’re tall and pretty and comfy…. for dinner. Not for any activity that requires standing, walking, or doing things on your feet. I would like to think I can wear shoes like this with my super cute outfits to work….. but I can’t. Because it would hurt. And I may end up crushing a Kindergartener with them. Fail. Next!!

In a perfect world, I would wear these amazing shoes every day of my life. They would be stylish and chic and the world would not judge me. Sigh. Such a cruel world we live in.

But, the world is not so kind and my feet are not naturally encased in gel, so I resort to these Lucky Brand moccasins (weird that both example shoes are Lucky–the only two items I own of the brand, swearsies). They love my feet and my feet love them. They magically coordinate with all my casual cool work outfits and they are suuuper comfortable. So comfortable it almost makes me want to cry. But, notice the grime? They have seen better days. Big sniffle. And they aren’t sold anymore. I have practically (and by practically, I might mean actually) worn holes in to the bottom. We are past the point of casual cool and into the grunge look. I do not do grunge.

Which brings me to these puppies. Fine, they are probably not making a spread in Vogue any time soon, but they will do. They go along with my casual chic work emsembles and they (fingers crossed, breath held) will be just as comfy as my most beloved Lucky Brand moccasins. They’re pretty classic if I say so myself. Glamorous shoes they’re not but they’re not teacher chic either. Small win in my book. And, best of all, I got them at Marshalls for way less than this price: Minnetonka Kilty Suede Moccasin. After all, teacher budget.

M

Things That Are Awesome: bkr water bottles

You may think its odd to be obsessed with a water bottle, but that obviously means you don’t own a bkr bottle. Sleek and chic, bkr bottles are made of glass, so there are no scary chemicals silently leeching into your body while you’re sipping.

The bottles are encased in an amazingly durable, removable silicone sleeve that protects it from any bumps and bruises along the way. And trust me, the sleeve does its job. I have straight up dropped my bottle– off of bookshelves, onto a treadmill. I am clumsy and bkr has proven that its quite able to take a beating. And if it’s not, the bkr-ers will replace your bottle if under warranty. Pretty friendly.

Did I mention how bkrs save the earth? You won’t use a bajillion plastic bottles to hydrate. Al Gore is smiling from afar.

Most importantly, it’s pretty. Swoon. Swoon.

The only bummer? The price. It’s not cheap at 30 dollars, but the quality isn’t cheap either. And it’s worth your money. One Mind, Two Coasts gives bkr three giant thumbs up. Get yours here: mybkr.com.

Happy hydration!

M

M’s High Five for Friday

Today is my first high five for Friday experience! Terribly exciting!

My favorite things for the week, in no particlar order:

1. The crafty,homemade bracelet I made out of lanyard and a chain using my own two hands! I felt terribly ingenious and its kind of cute too! More about this project in my next blog.

2. Chicago! I just returned from a weekend jaunt! Fabulous city. Kind of like New York, but nicer people and cleaner streets. Go, Chicago! Also, the hotel I stayed in made the front cover of the Times Travel section the week after I went. Hello, Trendsetter!

3. The gym. Actually, I dont really care for it too much and would much rather find an adult playground or play an actual sport. But, alas, I must. I went every day this week which is probably more than I have gone in the last calendar year. And I used kettlebells. Tricky little things but if Kelly Ripa can do it, I can too! Oh, summer!

4. Vacation. Notably, the slow, lazy kind, that involves novel reading and jaunts to Argo tea for delicious iced concotions. See above.

5. Lunching like a lady. During the school year, my lunch typically involves twenty minutes of silence, a string cheese, and homework folder stuffing quickly followed by 25 sweaty, screaming five year olds. As you can imagine, come summer time, I like to try to be a real person as often as possible. My last fancy lunch involved these ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers from Pranzo, the newest restaurant at Batali and Bastianich’s Eataly. Fancy schmancy!

M

Ain’t No Sunshine..

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone the summer clothes hit stores.  Okay, not quite as catchy as the original tune, but you get the point.

Retail marketing has a sick sense of humor.  You step into any clothing store from March onwards and you have all the makings of a lovely summer outfit.  The only thing missing? The lovely weather.

I walk into a store, promptly purchase an exorbitant number of sun dresses, skirts, and flowy tops while Summer Loving is playing on repeat in my head.  I can already feel the sand in my toes, the sun on my shoulders, the warm breeze in my hair.  And then, I walk outside.  It is damp, cool, and not summer at all.  New purchases go in the back of my closet, where I will inevitably forget all about them and purchase another summer clothing surplus when the weather actually is warm enough to wear them.  And the vicious cycle repeats.

But it won’t this year.  I am fighting the Man. Yes, capital M.  Flowy tops, summer dresses, cropped pants, I am versatiling diversatiling (I give up!) making you useful on icky, early spring days when I would otherwise be sticking with my winter wardrobe choices.

Check it out! Cropped J. Crew cargo pants, flowy Forever 21 cross over top, cream J. Crew ballet flats, Gap seersucker headband (who has time for hair straightening when it keeps raining??).  All spring items, all worn in temps just shy of 60 degrees.  M-1, Man-0.

Oh, and ignore the green face thing.  My methods for securing anonymity are still working the kinks out.

M