Decorating My Own World Redux

I've written a number of times in the past about how I often work from home because I'm an academic.  While I haven't been getting nearly as much work done as I should here lately because of the move and its accompanying errands (and all the orientations and campus errands that I have had to run as a new faculty member), I have still been trying to get at least a little reading, writing, or syllabizing done each day.  Getting dressed, as always, helps me to dilineate work time from coffee and blog-reading time spent in pjs and tv and blog-reading time spent sans shoes with my feet up on the coffee table.

The day that our new furniture finally arrived last week was no exception.  Having been reunited with my shoe collection a couple of days before, I decided to wear my Louboutins.¹  Once the furniture arrived, I pretty much gave up working in order to start arranging furniture and hanging things on the walls, so the shoes came off.  But for a couple of hours earlier that day, my feet were in my shoes and my hands were at my keyboard typing away about course objectives, schedules of lectures and readings, and paper assignments.

1. Blouse - Liberty of London (Target), Skirt - H&M (remixed), Shoes - Christian Louboutin, Bangs - Botched by yours truly

On another note, I wanted to thank all of you who commented on my last post about gendered assumptions.  While I can't force M. to correct people, I will continue to go about doing so with as much grace as I can muster.  It frustrates me that so many of you have had similar experiences.  If that isn't a sign that the work of feminism isn't over, I don't know what is.  

Not the Shoes I Planned

Yesterday I went to do some work on a project in a coffee shop and to meet up with AUH.  After running into some colleagues of hers (who for some strange reason thought that she was tutoring me . . . but hey, I liked the idea that I look young enough to be in college, as it gives me fodder for the blog and it strokes my vanity) and having a coffee, we dropped by the public library so she could take some stuff back and went for a little walk through one of our local parks.

I hadn't planned to wear the shoes that I did with this outfit that I wore yesterday.¹  However, when I went to leave the house I couldn't find the pair that I wanted to wear so I grabbed this pair of heels.  That seems to be the story of their life.  You see, these shoes were an "emergency" purchase on a trip a couple of years ago.  I had packed my trusty big backpack for two months of research in Mexico City and Puebla.  On my way to Mexico I flew through Dallas to spend a few days and to attend a friend's wedding.  Although I admitted to being a hasty packer a couple weeks ago, normally I am very type A about getting ready for a trip.  I make a list; I verify that outfits look cute and occasion-appropriate before putting them in my luggage; I take extra under garments and socks; I put my pjs on top so they are easily accessible.  However, in spite of all this careful preparation and packing, I somehow inexplicably arrived in Dallas with my cocktail dress for the wedding but no shoes -- aside from running shoes and functional (cute but not in anywhere near the same register) flats.  I had picked out a pair of shoes, thought I had put them in the backpack, but must have taken them out at some point for rearranging and not realized I had forgotten to put them back into my bag. 

1. Shirt - Cable and Gauge, Skirt - Easy Wear (remixed), Shoes - Alex Marie (via Dillards), Belt - Kensie Girl (remixed), Earrings - Target (remixed), Barrette - Goodie (remixed)

Another Dallas friend and I dashed off to a mall, and I found these shoes in Dillards.  They weren't too expensive.  They seemed to be pretty comfortable.  I bought 'em.  They turned out to be a wise choice, as they got me through the wedding and a night of dancing with only a little bit of tired feet at the end of the night.  That's not bad for heels that haven't been broken in at all.  I've worn them a couple of times since that trip, but it seems like I only ever grab them when I can't find the shoes that I am planning to wear.

Do you have any item of clothing that you only seem to wear in certain circumstances in spite of the garment's inherent versatility?  Have you ever made an "emergency" purchase that you've ended up being really happy with or really disappointed with? 

Professor off on a Tangent: Good Enough to Eat

Fashionable Academics reader, AD, teaches English to college students and makes some of the most incredible cakes I've ever seen.

Here is one of her recent creations: a 100% chocolate cheetah print shoe.

Using a mold and white, dark, and milk chocolate, AD created a shoe that, in her words, "would go well with a killer little black dress or maybe some ice cream."


In other academic dessert related news, if you're on Facebook, you could help a lover of Hegel get the wedding cake of his dreams by joining the group 1,000,000 Strong for a Carrot Cake Shaped Like Hegel. 


Have you had any delicious desserts this weekend?