Monday, November 29, 2010

Blogging Break Needed

Draft:

Composition:
gray long sleever (Target)
red open cardigan (Express, gifted by my sister)
distressed skinnies (American Eagle)
gray slouch boots (Steve Madden)
gold lame skinny belt (Charlotte Russe-- to be debuted in sincerity soon)

Usage:
You guys, I really need to take a blogging break.  So I'm posting this outfit even though I don't think it is bloggable at all.

I hope all of you stateside enjoyed a restful, relaxing, and/or productive Thanksgiving weekend with plenty of good food and good company.  I don't feel rested or relaxed, but I've gotten a lot of work done, so I don't feel panicked, either, which is an improvement over my state of mind two days ago.  After spending a nice Thanksgiving with my sister and my husband's extended family, I began a marathon paper writing session.  This means there hasn't been a lot of fashion going on in this house, but I thought you might be interested in how I dress for an extended period of mental heavy lifting.  (Or maybe, even if you don't care, you're just begging for a new post to pop up your reader so you can take a break for 2-3 minutes, as I've been doing for the past few days.)

While I sometimes find that dressing up helps me "bring my A game" to my work, this particular paper has felt more like slogging along than showing off.  So I've been wearing comfortable clothes that allow me to settle in for the duration.  I get cold easily, so layers are important.  For some reason, I also insist on writing in really long sleeves.  One of my favorite things about this sweater my sister gave me is the length of the sleeves.  Its drapey, open fit also makes it feel a little bit like a blanket.  And while writing in boots might seem strange, my feet get cold really easily, and this look is definitely preferable to the puffy striped socks/red flats look I was rocking yesterday.

I also employ some other profoundly nonsensical practices when trying to get through a really difficult thought experiment.  I eat a lot of gummy peach rings and drink a lot of wild cherry diet pepsi (because the two balance each other out?).  Thankfully, this glucose/aspartame cocktail has been supplemented this time by several heapings of my grandmother-in-law's delicious stuffing.  When I get stuck, I ask iTunes to play me a random song, take a break while it plays, and then get back to work once it's finished.  Sometimes my mind is blank during these 3-4 minute breaks, and sometimes I have important thoughts.  Yesterday I had a great idea while I listened to "Toes" by the Zac Brown Band with my forehead resting on the table.  (Have you seen the movie trailer where Paul Rudd smashes his head on a table after getting bad news on the phone-- starting at 0:45?  I can't tell you how many times I have imagined myself doing that these past few days.)  Sometimes the song iTunes chooses makes me laugh, like when "(I've Got To) Stop Thinking About That" by James Taylor cued up.  I wish I could, James.

Since I fear I might have disappointed you with my uninspiring outfit or my random babbling about my paper writing, I'll leave you with a photo of Oscar acting like life is hard.


Prompts:

  • What do you wear when it's time to settle in and get down to business?
  • Do you have any tricks of your own that help you get through a difficult task?

10 comments:

DB said...

That's pretty similar to what I wore yesterday to ride back from my godmother's. It's so comfortable, and it looks nice at the same time.

I dig it.

Anne said...

Oscar looks just as stressed about his tough life as my dog always looks. Sometimes he doesn't get the toy he wants, or we don't give him enough treats.

And I think you'll find that a lot of us dress like that for working at home. If I didn't have to do outfit pictures everyday now for the 30 for 30 challenge, I'd be in sweats and t-shirts most of the time :)

Anonymous said...

I'm with Anne on this -- I dress like that (or slouchier -- bring on the yoga pants!) when I work at home too. The cardigan looks pretty awesome though; the colour looks great on you. Good luck on plowing through your paper!

-Millie

E-Jo said...

I fourth everyone else. That's way nicer than anything I wear on working-at-home days where I'm typically just one step above pjs. The thought of photographing and sharing these ensembles is giving me hives.

I love the color of the cardigan. And how cute is Oscar? He's making a face that I recognize all too well from the mini-FR who has a similarly difficult life.

Good luck with these end of term papers! This point of the term is brutal when you're in coursework.

Rad said...

I wear the saddest, most beat up jeans and a huge tunic sweater I got at a swap last year when I work from home (maybe I switch these pieces out every now and then when they get dirty).
Sorry to hear about your stresses. By all means, take a blogging break. Take whatever you needed (frequent naps, massages, take out instead of cooking) to get you through this. Take care of yourself. And remember, everything is a draft. Truly! (My dissertation was a draft of my book manuscript, which continues to go through many many many more drafts). My best advice is to take deep breaths, make small goals, to reward yourself, and try to have perspective about them (You're write over a dozen seminar papers in graduate school. Some will be better than others, and that's OK). Good luck!

Scholar Style Guide said...

Thanks for the encouragement, blogfriends. It's great to hear from you! I meant to suggest that I wanted to take a break TO write a blog post, not that I needed to take a break FROM writing blog posts- I'm not sure if I phrased that clearly. Rad, all of that is great advice, and I'm doing my best to follow it. Also, you encouraged me to count up and discover that I have already written 7 seminar papers plus this one that's nearing completion, and I'll only have to write 3 more. I'm almost there! And I am definitely getting a massage when this term's over!

And I'm glad you all like the cardigan, considering I wore it again today. I also have a great hooded sweatshirt with nice long sleeves that I wrote in for several days before that. : )

-Liz

Blackberry said...

Love weiner dawgs! This is a great casual outfit.

Scholar Style Guide said...

I wear a variation of this outfit all the time while writing.

Also, any blog post with Oscar in it is a successful post in my mind.

-Katie

P.S. I am in complete awe of your productivity.

Anonymous said...

Aw Oscar! Too too cute!

I feel like I'm in need of a blogging break, but since I've signed on to 30 for 30, I'm sticking to it for a bit longer. I guess I'll see how I feel at the end of it.

But I love your getting-it-done outfit. It looks like comfort with style, very "I can run out to the store if I need something and not have to change" but also "I'm content with what I'm wearing and now let's get things done."

I hope your paper writing goes well!

Rad said...

Oops, my bad.
I am also in awe of your productivity. You're gonna have so many interesting conference presentations/future journal articles as a result!