sweaters, basic skirts, and other things that make Mondays better

It's Monday! (You can tell it's a Monday by the sloppy bag sitting on the bench in the background of this picture.) And today was one of the best teacher Mondays because we had a two-hour early release from school. As a teacher, there's something exhilarating about finding out during 2nd period that you just received two free hours! The students cheered when I told them. 

But on to other things that make me happy! I knew today was going to be another cold day, and the weather gang is predicting that things are going to warm up this week, so I decided to take advantage of a cold day by wearing some of my favorite layers. My co-workers start to notice a trend around this time of year. I love any sweater with an animal on it. I know, I know. This totally makes me one of those teachers, but I'm okay with that. And today illustrates this love of animals. Lucky for you, if you want to join me in this habit, I have some cute options for you. Gap has several cute options.  These are just three. They're all found here. 

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I'm also wearing my much-loved chambray shirt and a denim skirt that I'm not a huge fan of but wear anyway. I'll be honest and say that having a denim skirt around is really convenient, so I often have one hanging in my closet even if it isn't the perfect fit. 
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I couldn't find one like mine, but I did find a few options. This one from Old Navy is too short for work, I think, but it might be cute in the summer time. I can't get the picture to load on here, so you'll just have to check it out. And I found a couple of cute options from Nordstrom. I'm betting more will surface as spring comes around, so I'll keep looking and try to find more options. This one is a denim-ish material that I thought might look cute with a button-down shirt or something a bit dressier. As I looked closer at the second option, I realized the slit in the back was a bit ridiculous and they were marketing it as a "sexy" skirt, so I thought I'd share this Amazon find instead. ​

At my old school, we weren't allowed to wear jeans, so my solution was to have a jean skirt. It meant I had something to wear with school t-shirts or on any day when I didn't want to have to think about things. I think it's always a good idea to have a few neutral pants/skirts that you can wear when thinking hard enough to put an actual outfit together is more than you can do. And I can't do khaki pants. I just can't. I worked at a summer job the summer after I graduated from high school in which I wore khaki pants and a t-shirt every day while I scooped ice cream.

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 It wasn't a particularly bad job; I just smell the distinct smell of waffle cones and am instantly transported back to post-high-school Laurel any time I put on a pair of khaki pants. I can't. I just can't. I know it's dumb. Don't try to use logical on me. I just can't do it.  Anyway. My survival trick was to have a denim skirt on hand. ​​

They're saying that this week is going to warm up, so this will be my last cozy sweater day for a bit. Okay--I'm heading to bed...maybe partly dreaming of a delayed opening.