Restraining Myself

Tonight I followed an auction for a blue Rachel Comey dress from a couple of summers back. I love the print, the lines and think it would have looked good on me. I placed my bid in the last few seconds, another bid, then another quickly followed. Perhaps they were from snipers, perhaps they were live bidders and I could have won, but instead I stopped. It would have been lovely and I would have worn it for sure, but I've been bad recently and sometimes, you just have to recognize that you can't have everything.

On that note, I am going to purge some items soon--never worn shoes (Prada, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs) in size 40, my Rachel Comey silk sailor dress which never really fit me and was never worn (my big thighs make shirtwaister dresses difficult), a couple of other Rachel Comey and Mayle pieces amongst others. Watch this spot for details. I have yet to go through everything I have but I'm learning that to have more new clothes, I have to sell some of the ones I already own and don't wear/never wore.

And maybe that Rachel Comey dress, or another in that pattern, will come up again and make it into my closet.

Yum!

One of my friends recently got a great new job, so we went out tonight to celebrate/mark the occasion (our schedules have been so busy that it took about a month). After my bootcamp style yoga/dance/pilates class kicked my butt, we headed off to Ayada Thai and had one of the most exquisite meals--we split chive dumplings, a steamed fish (red snapper, I believe) with garlic, lots of lime, chilis and cilantro, pad kaprao with vegetarian duck and fried catfish salad, complete with lots of green mango. It was indescribably good, each dish spicy and complex, yet also gentle and subtle. Then we walked back to our place and ate the icebox cake from Billy's Bakery--which drove Blue mad as he craves cream and butter. I let him have a few tastes of whipped cream as it seemed unfair to torment him so--his little nose kept tweaking and he couldn't be kept away from the bag, boxes and plates. He's one of those rare cats who can tolerate dairy (my other, late lamented blue cat, Lupin, was the same) so I let him indulge every now and again--but only in minute doses.

Given that I probably burned off a lot of calories and certainly sweated through my clothes (and audibly gasped in agony a couple of times), I'm not sure how wise my dinner choices were. But it was a celebration and I promised myself that I'd cut back (again) on the sweet stuff, fatty foods and other extravagances starting tomorrow. I have fresh salmon, cilantro, beans, brussel sprouts, limes and garlic in the fridge for tomorrow night's dinner, so that's a good start.

Done!

Grades are in, save for a couple of independent studies. I devoted yesterday to me--not necessarily in a pampering way but more in a recovery from utter exhaustion way. That meant acupuncture, zumba and meeting with a really great graduate student to talk about developing her paper into a longer project (it's certainly publishable as is but with tweaks it could get in a much better journal). I also caught up on some TV, watching the Gossip Girl and 90210 finales, both (spoiler alert) replete with sudden pregnancy cliffhangers. Both shows I think made a misstep in potentially breaking up two couples who are more dynamic together than apart--Chuck and Blair (so much better when scheming together) and Naomi and Max who were just delightfully sweet. Hopefully 90210 will ship off the annoying Annie and do something better with the Adriana character next season--it certainly is the show with the worst record for creating consistent characters and plot arcs, with its constant change in showrunners clearly evident.

So today is the day to clean up, sort through papers, recycle stuff and go to another dance-aerobics-pilates-yoga hybrid class. And tomorrow, finish errands and start the serious business of writing and researching (I think I have to hit the microfilm room at Bobst for a few days to get this conference paper started). And on that note, I also have to book travel and accommodations and register--another (expensive) task for tomorrow.

Also, I am going to spring clean my closet. Some Rachel Comey that I've not worn will be posted here in the next few days, amongst other pieces (including some Mayle) that I'm just never going to wear. I have to create room for my new Mayle, Thakoon and Suno pieces.

Grading

I may have hit the halfway point--I may be slightly over it. It is tough to tell as I don't know the page count (grad papers are about 50% longer). But I do know I am tired. Grades are due in tomorrow and it looks like it will be another late night. I was nice to my students and gave them as long as I could--because they are good students and nice people and need the time too. It's always a crunch but this time it's worse as I had a migraine on Thursday that lagged over into Friday, preventing me from reading or doing anything online. Still, I'd rather just enter grading bootcamp and get the task finished so I can get back to my own writing this week.

Madewell

While J. Crew has some exciting items for fall, Madewell shouldn't be overlooked. Its spring/summer collections have some great versatile pieces. I am seriously thinking about getting these sandals which combine the appeal and look of heels (especially from the front) and the comfort of heels. And with my faculty ID, the discount takes them below $110 so I'll pay lower NYC tax.

I also fell in love with this shirt, so much so that I bought it in navy (not available in this color online). It is soft, drapes just right and I think I will live in it, especially on hot or humid days. I doubt it will be reduced as it seems to be flying off shelves--four other people bought it while I was in there. I don't care if I see someone else wearing it as it's just that nice. The Madewell image below really doesn't do it justice. 

Suno

I have admired Suno's clothing for the last two seasons, albeit from afar as it was always just a little out of my price range. I've got a long list of covets from their resort and spring 2011 collection too, and would be happy just to own a few pieces.

I went to their sample sale this week, both times with Caroline, both times on my way to or from work. Yesterday we scoped out the merchandise and tried a few things on. Alas, some of my favorite items, including the dress Michelle Williams wore at Cannes, were simply wrong for my body, being a little too narrow in the back and constructed in fabric that had absolutely no ease. At $380 it was also a little too expensive for me at a time when I have some very big expenses coming up. Some of the tops were lovely on the hanger but again not really cut for my body--and the skirts were all too small.

I had a hunch (as I did with Mayle) that the reason the sale was so quiet was because the prices may be too high for recession-era New York shoppers. So on our way to NYU today, Caroline and I went by Suno and, sure enough, the prices were reduced by 50% as I'd hoped and semi-predicted (exactly as with Mayle). While some pieces appeared to have sold, likely even last night, the dress I wanted was there and for $132, was mine. I tried on the Michelle Williams dress and its ikat-esque print counterpart but neither worked--I was hoping that one may be cut an inch or two wider in the back but no such luck. It did look amazing on Caroline. So we each got our dresses and are both looking forward to the next Suno sale.

Here's my dress--I got the blue/purple/yellow/green colorway which is even prettier. It drapes so well and is incredibly comfortable.

Craziness

The semester is over (at least I'm done with the teaching part) but the insane work load has yet to abate. I just sent my book off to the publisher (at least I hope this is the press that will publish the work). I spent the day doing a quick proof read, catching a few typos, making a few changes, adding a paragraph and realizing that the final chapter really could do with another rewrite. At this point, though, time is of the essence and that rewrite is going to have to wait.

At least I can say the book is in, until the next set of revisions are due.

My dear students (and I mean that sincerely for they are a great group) are all currently working hard and a few papers have come in early, so that's on my list of work I have to do tomorrow. I'm also going in for another office hour--an abridged one for sure, but I'll be there in case people need to touch base.

As for the summer, my plans are to finish the book proposal I started some time back and get that one into the press. I also have four articles that are nearly ready to go and want to get them into journals. Then there is the conference paper I give in Scotland in early July that I have to write--and maybe I'll do the full chapter if I can. I'd like to see two or three of the five chapters of book #2 completed by August. If I can do that, I'll be happy.