Fashion Sunday: "First" Outfits

For many, tomorrow will be a day of firsts... Very first days of school... First day back... First day of college... First day of graduate school... First day of a new job... (cheers, Kendi!)
For me, tomorrow will be the first day of my fall internships.  (Yes, I am a 25-year old with a doctorate degree and I will be "working" for free the next few months.  Perhaps I should have thought about this law thing a bit more thoroughly... but, I digress.)
"First Days" are, for me, synonymous with "first day outfits."  The question, "what are you going to wear on your first day," was asked with bated breath at our dinner table last night... but was not quickly answered.  What is it about that first day look that gets so many frazzled?  Perhaps because it sets the tone of the rest of the year?  It shows how interested you really are?  Whatever the case, and as I continue my ponder between pants or a skirt, I'm drawing inspiration from these looks:

more of a fall look from Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Line

Found here; Jacket, $750; Skirt; $350; Oxford $165

Diane von Furstenberg Little M navy pinstripe blazer;

found here; $385

Wing-Tip Shoe

Brooks Brothers; found here; $500

J.Crew's Kelsey Ruffle Top

here; on sale! $40

Green Hypocrisy.

Lisa Ling (@lisaling) tweeted this yahoo blog post this AM about green hypocrisy.  And, she stated correctly that it calls a lot of us out.
As we all try to live a bit "greener," it is impossible to do everything "correctly." But, as the article points out:

"doing something is definitely better than doing nothing at all."

As we all try to live greener, cleaner, and friendlier lives, let us try to not make these mistakes (more tips at the full article):

1. Recycling regularly, but using tons of disposables

2. Buying only organic foods, but eating meat at every meal 

3. Carrying reusable grocery bags, but filling them up with processed junk and bottled water

Fall Dreaming.

Some people dream of Summer.
This people dreams of Fall.
Cooler weather.  Layers.  Freshly sharpened pencils.  School zones.  Orange, red, and gold.  Swoon.  Even though it's approaching a million degrees outside, I'm sipping coffee and dreaming of Fall.  Everything looks better when the days are a little shorter and the temperatures are cooler.  The ultimate Fall fashion house?  Hands down, Burberry.  This post is a cheer to the approaching season and a hope that it comes soon... and, of course, an ode to my fave design house- Burberry.

Classic Fall: The Burberry Shower-Proof Trench.  I need a job immediately to purchase this.

@ Net-A-Porter here: $995

The Cotton-Twill Trench: Not so much for rain, but so much for style.

Love the Belt... and these shoes (also Burberry, found here).

Trench- at Net-A-Porter: $1395

Silk and Cashmere blend Cardigan.

a little military-inspired. a lot cute: found here. $395

Hooray!

Add California to the list of states that "get it" (presumptively, of course... pending appeals and hopefully a trip to the Supreme Court). Today, a federal Judge overturned the California voter-approved ban on same sex marriage.  Overturning Proposition 8 is surely a broad and fantastic step towards equality for all, however the hurdles to equality are still numerous across America.  And more specifically, the hurdles to finality in this case are high.  Below are highlights from various news outlets reporting on today's momentous decision.

from the San Francisco Chronicle:

"With an appeal virtually guaranteed, it was one step toward victory, but not a final win for gay marriage, said local residents.
"You could get happy about it, but we've been happy before and we got let down," said Michael Valdez, 59, who was out walking with his domestic partner Ray Smith."read more here

from the Los Angeles Times/Excerpts from Jude Walker's Opinion:

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."

from the WSJ blog: 

"Judge Walker ruled that the “fundamental right” in the case was the right to marry — and that it had been denied the plaintiffs. It’s important to note that Walker didn’t say the right was to marry someone of a specific sex, which might not be defined as a “fundamental right,” rather the right to marry generally. He wrote: "Plaintiffs do not seek recognition of a new right. To characterize plaintiffs’ objective as “the right to same-sex marriage” would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy —— namely, marriage. Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages.""

read more here

from the New York Times:

"...the very existence of federal court ruling recognizing same-sex marriage in California, the nation’s most populous state, set off cheers of “We won!” from crowds assembled in front of the courthouse in San Francisco. Evening rallies and celebrations were planned in dozens of cities across the state and several across the nation."

"During the trial, which ended in June, plaintiffs offered evidence from experts on marriage, sociology and political science, and emotional testimony from the two couples who had brought the case. Proponents for Proposition 8 offered a much more straightforward defense of the measure, saying that same-sex marriage damaged traditional marriage as an institution and that marriage was historically rooted in the need to foster procreation, which same-sex unions cannot, and was thus fundamental to the existence and survival of the human race.
But Judge Walker seemed skeptical of those claims. “Tradition alone, however,” he wrote, “cannot form the rational basis for a law.”"

read more here

It's OVER!

Hooray, Cheers, Woo-Hoo!!!
The bar exam is over.  The Wicked Witch is dead!

It was definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be (somewhat).  I had studied extremely hard all summer.  No seriously.  All summer.  On May 16th, I graduated.  On May 17th, I drove from Cleveland to Dallas.  And on May 18th I started studying.  There was so much information in my head by the last two weeks, I had daily headaches.  But, by the time the exam rolled around, I was confident.  In fact, on the Monday I drove to Arlington before I began my test, I got a call about an internship with the Texas Attorney General.  It was absolutely the confidence boost I needed to get through the week.  And then on Wednesday afternoon, I got a call about an internship at the Dallas County DA's office.  It was such amazing and welcome timing that two job opportunities would come during the most stressful week ever.  It definitely helped me keep focus on why I was putting myself through this stressful test!
So, as of last Thursday around 4 o'clock I began my climb back to normalcy.  It's probably going to be a long one.  The past few days I have still woken up wondering what I am supposed to be doing (i.e. instead of studying).  Fortunately, in my joy of celebration on Thursday, a little champagne got spilled on Maggie's computer, so the next few days were spent schlepping to and fro the Northpark Apple Store (no worries- everything is fine, all her stuff is now backed up and she has a new top-case (which she wanted anyways)).
All this to say, I'm back... I will be back blogging regularly about news, fashion, food, design, and moreso than ever about thinking and acting "green" (slightly ironic typing this now as I am inside a lovely and slightly chilly 78 degree house while it feels something akin to the foyer of hell outside... oh Texas).  I hope you all are staying cool!