puppy love

Just the one picture for today's post ~ one that perfectly depicts how we spent the morning: trip to the dog park, wander through the farmer's market, lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and a stop-in at the used book store where I found one book for my dissertation and another entitled Fashion in History that deserves a post of its own.

More important, as far as P and I are concerned, is officially introducing our most beloved big dog, Tammy.  We adopted her from the Animal Defense League of Texas, a no-kill shelter here in San Antonio, in 2007 after we came back from England the last time.  My mother had started looking for a dog that summer and I was only too happy to spend my time searching Petfinder for her perfect pup instead of writing my dissertation (I found him, by the way).  Having spent a few months looking at adoptable dogs online (and knowing my parents planned to keep the cat I'd rescued in college), I begged P to let me adopt a dog, which he agreed to do after I submitted my dissertation.  Instead he broke his toe, ending our marathon training, and I suffered severe writer's block with barely a week to go before my deadline.  One morning after breakfast, I prevailed on him to take me over to ADL just to see about a dog I'd seen on the internet who had a huge, fluffy tail.  We went straight to the building she was meant to be in but she wasn't there ~ later we found out she had been moved to a more social building because she hadn't been eating.  The volunteer we asked about her said she was "crazy" and that we didn't want a crazy dog.  So we walked around a little longer looking at the other dogs and finally I agreed to leave if P would let me do one last pass through one of the buildings.  When we walked in we saw a big brown dog in one of the unmarked pens that had been empty before (we got there when they were cleaning) and I fell in love at first sight.  Our eyes met and she gave a little tail-flop at which point I dropped to the ground in front of the gate and told P to please go find someone who could show us this dog.  He hobbled off (he was walking with a cane at the time) and after what seemed like forever came back with the same volunteer who informed us that this was, in fact, Tammy ~ the very dog we had originally come to see!  The second he reached for the latch she bounced five feet into the air (she's nearly as tall as I am at full length) and wouldn't calm down.  He put the kennel leash on her, handed it to me and walked away saying he'd warned us.  Underweight at 52 lbs she was still incredibly strong and nearly jerked me off my feet (which she has done on other occasions) in her excitement to get out.  She dragged me around for a couple minutes until I found someone who would let me into a play-area where I let her off leash.  She ran around a few times then found an old tennis ball, and when P finally arrived I told him flat out, "This is the dog."  We met her on a Friday but weren't able to bring her home until Monday because they wanted the vet to check on why she wasn't eating so we went to visit her Saturday and Sunday morning, playing fetch for at least an hour each time.  

Monday morning she jumped right into the car for the ride to her forever home and we've been a family ever since. 

(Target hat and t-shirt, Vince shorts, Birkenstock sandals, Coach purse, Movado watch, Ten Thousand Things earrings)

always off time

This was sort of a last-minute-grab-and-go-I'm-late-for-lunch-and-my-hair-is-still-wet situation.  The original outfit I had in mind was shelved on account of potential puddles which sent me scrambling for ideas on my way out the door.  Isn't it convenient that the closet in our sardine-tin dorm-studio happens to be right in the entryway*?  Changed shirts, grabbed the nearest cardigan and then had to step back to pull the door open.  And run out.

So, right.  The cardigan is giant ~ something like an extra large, but for things like this I never really think that matters ~ and the t-shirt is super, super-soft with this lovely asymmetrical hem that keeps me from mooning people whenever I drop something (which is practically every other minute).  It is also, as you can see, very loose and roomy and thus very accommodating for my lunch of linguine and clams.  P left the restaurant early which enabled an undisturbed pop-in at the charity shop next door, of which he was the primary beneficiary.  But that's his story to tell.

(Mom's old sunglasses, Target scarf, Vince cardigan, Romeo + Juliet Couture tee, Seven straight leg stretch jeans, Coach purse, Movado watch, James Avery bangle, Navajo bracelet)

*five square feet of closet doors, main door and bathroom door = almost a hallway

on the ph scale

Yesterday we dropped by the British Museum to meet a friend for coffee and took some quick pictures whilst waiting for her.  I was in quite a mood before we left, feeling sort of dumpy and blah and ill-equipped for the radical change in the gorgeous sunny weather.  The limitations of my London wardrobe are becoming more and more apparent now that I'm trying to compose regular outfits.  I took most of my clothes back to the States when we visited in April to avoid having extra baggage on the next go-round and it appears that pretty much all I left myself here are a couple pairs of jeans and many different colors of my favorite Target t-shirt (seen above).  While on the one hand this forces me to get creative about wearing the same things over and over, there comes a point when all my outfits start to look alike, and not in a good way.  I'm also not allowed shopping at present, so no new pieces to break up the monotony.  

So we'll see.  Hopefully my creative juices will start to flow and the next 26 days will fly by fashion-wise.  Hopefully.  Otherwise expect to see a whole lot more this skirt and t-shirt.

(Vince cardigan, Target tee, J.Crew skirt, Coach purse, Frank Gehry for Tiffany Torque earrings, Movado watch, Navajo cuff & James Avery hammered bangle)

ain't no sunshine

The weather today was not so nice as it has been, but the cooler temperature gave me an excuse to layer up plaid and stripes so I can't complain.

This jacket is another piece from the Paul Smith sample sale that I am really excited about.  I loved the style so much (tails! epaulets! a mandarin collar!) that I snagged a heavier one in navy~they were the only two in the whole place and so well cut that I couldn't resist.  This blast of cold weather has only served to confirm that decision. 

P and I keep trying to figure out if we think it's a hybrid military-equestrian cut or what, but so far none of my google searches has turned up any promising cavalry uniforms.  We'll keep looking though (we're both pretty nerdy like that).

These shoes were a bit of a trip as I haven't worn heels since maybe October.  It definitely took a little while for me to adjust to being tall.  Also walking in wet grass.  Hopefully I'll do better next time.  

(Paul Smith jacket, Vince cardigan, Target tee, Current/Elliott jeans, Sam Edelman shoes & Coach bag, heirloom jewelry)