Help!

I have a dilemma, people. Here is my conundrum: I'm getting a bonus at work shortly, and will of course be spending at least some of it on shoes. I am conflicted about which pair of shoes to get, though; I'm torn between the following:

 Old Navy Faux-leather Cross-strap Wedges - $29.50

OR

Steve Madden Tuxxedo Oxfords - $69.95

There are several conflicting things I'm trying to take into consideration. First, which would I wear more? I already have wedges, and own nothing like the oxfords, but I can think of more places I would wear the wedges. Second, price. The wedges are less expensive, decidedly so, but I can get free shipping for the oxfords and, as already stated, I already own wedges. Third, I would like to try out a look outside my style comfort zone, and I am loving menswear-inspired clothing for women lately. I have also tried my darndest to find cheaper brown, detailed, lace-up oxfords but to no avail. Target has some awesome black ones that are currently out of stock online because they are THE least expensives ones I could find (or anyone could find, it appears). The problem is, I don't want black, I want brown. Here are the outfit inspirations for the shoe choices:

Outfit courtesy of Uber Chic for Cheap

For any of you who are wondering, I'm buying that necklace with or without the wedges. It's just too awesome. I will also be styling the oxfords minus the fedora and the oversize glasses; those stray just a bit too far outside by style comfort zone.

So...which pair do I get? Which pair would you get? Why?

The dangers of vicarious living

When I graduated from college last August, I was quite thrilled about the prospects of no homework, no studying, and no finals. I actually looked forward to just working. However, I quickly realized that my academic life, while hectic and stressful, had filled my life with purpose and kept me busy - and that I now lacked that purpose. But, da-da-da-dum {imagine a trumpet fanfare}, my husband's foray into academia offered me a unique opportunity: I could live vicariously through him! I would be able to participate in that which gave my life meaning for so long without any consequences or responsibility. I could help edit papers, study for tests, crack the whip over David's self-proclaimed procrastination-addicted head, and do it virtually risk-free. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, let me tell you what could go wrong. Let me inform you of the unintended consequences of this mentality. My naive little brain was only focused on the wonderful things of college: the obtaining of new knowledge, the expansion of mental horizons, the shaping and molding of ideas and opinions and thoughts. I've only been out of school for 8 months and I already have collegiate amnesia, a common but extremely vexing affliction that causes a graduate to forget about the grueling work of academia and only remember the rosy parts. Those of you still in college have probably experienced this malady in the form of your parents/relatives when you talk about how difficult your classes and schoolwork are (I know I did); they give you an infuriatingly patronizing look that says, "Oh, it can't be that hard." That's right, my friends. They have collegiate amnesia.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Apparently, collegiate amnesia sets in fast. Fortunately, I have a cure! It's very simple: spend 24 hours pretending you're a college student with a HUGE term project due the next day that involves organizing massive amounts of newspaper, cutting, gluing, filing, and beautifying, and you have approximately 12 hours to complete it. That's what I did last night. With David. Until about 3:30 a.m. Did I mention I have work at 8:30? Nothing brings back the reality of college like staying up ridiculously late/early trying to get a big project done and suffering from severe sleep deprivation for the rest of the day.

So, I am happy to announce that I am cured of my collegiate amnesia, at least temporarily. I no longer have any desire to be a student. After last night, I'll take my mundane but easy 9-5 desk job, thank you.

I think perhaps my attitude towards this blog reflects my attitude about life in general right now: I keep waiting for something exciting to happen to post about. I keep waiting for something wonderful and fantastic to fall from the sky and land on my head Newtonian-style and give my life meaning. I fear that I've fallen into the "My life will be great when {fill in the blank}" trap. I think this could be one of the unintended consequences of goals: we focus so much on reaching the end that we miss the middle entirely. And I have lofty goals - goals for me, goals for David, and goals for us as a family. But I don't want David to be so focused on graduation that he misses the wonderful experiences of college, and I don't want to be so focused on attaining my personal goals that I underappreciate the relative simplicity and ease of my current life. I want to be happy now, right now, without any conditions or stipulations; I don't want to wait to be happy. So, I am determined to notice the little things that give my life meaning and make me happy now - the minutia, the seemingly inconsequential occurrences and accomplishments that actually create my life more that the grand but rare events.

Here is a brief list of said recent occurrences and accomplishments:

• David got a raise at his job
• I might get a raise at my job
• This past week, we planted the seeds in little plastic cups that will (hopefully) eventually populate our nascent garden
• On Saturday, we leveled off the garden, turned over all the dirt (sidenote: next year, I think I'll save my body and rent a Roto-tiller or some such contraption), mixed in compost, and installed four out of the seven 8'-tall posts that will support the perimeter of our garden. Whew!
• I found satin leopard-print flats at DSW that were 70% off - total damage, $11.98.
• David and I saw "Sherlock Holmes" at the dollar theater on Friday. My favorite part? Rachel McAdams' makeup; within 24 hours, I was at home attempting to recreate her smokey purple eye. :)
• I dyed my hair warm, dark brown this past week and, as I noted on my fashion blog, I already feel distinctly sassier. It did take two boxes of dye, as the first one turned out disastrously, but I managed to fix it and it's all good now.

There. I feel better already. Any suggestions about how to, to use a cliched phrase, appreciate the "journey" and not just the "destination?"