travel outfits: last of the meetings

Last couple of meeting days = last couple of days remixing from my very mini closet. Also, tired of these particular shoes yet? My feet sure are.

For attending a conference session related to my journal and the closing awards ceremony & reception for the conference:

 outfit #17

skirt: JCrew; tee & cardigan: JCrew Outlet; shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless

For attending a segment of the organization's board meeting to present about my journal (normally this meeting happens before the conference, so normally I look a little more formal. But we were all tired by this point and didn't care so much...)

outfit #18

pants & necklace: Loft; tee: Target; shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless; belt: H&M

 

Speaking of, here is where all the meetings took place. It was only a couple minutes' walk from our hotel and very easy to spot with the brightly painted building next door. My first outfit above felt appropriate by this wall - not so much next to the Japanese people on the sidewalks. They seem to dress pretty formally, but also in quite neutral or muted colors (so my second outfit here felt much more fitting). I already stand out enough around with my Western looks and especially with my hair color, and the skirt made me feel like I was shouting a bit...

travel outfits: dinner events

The dresses-as-skirts mentioned yesterday turned into these dress-only outfits for evening events. First, a dinner with the board of the organization I work for. I was quite pleased with how my $15 Target clearance rack find turned out - I got several compliments from my boss & people of his stature, which was slightly awkward, but I'll take it!

outfit #15

dress, shoes, jewelry pouch as clutch: Target

And then for the conference gala event, a duplicate of what I wore a couple weeks ago to an ENT department party with Peter. The invitation said "cocktail attire required", and I knew the classic little black dress would be just the thing - but didn't have one, of course. I found this one that I love on clearance the day of the event, and was pleased to get another use out of it here...

outfit #16

dress & bracelet: Loft; shoes: Target; earrings: Pink Box

The dinner event was at a Shinto shrine that had lovely grounds.

My co-worker was thrilled to see all this sashimi... it was quite prettily displayed.

Oh, and I was also really pleased with how my hairs turned out... I am what you might term hair stupid, so I normally am not capable of such things - but the humidity is so high here that I'm getting rather sick of doing my hair and then having it poof up like crazy, so I just dug out as many bobby pins as I could find from my suitcase/purse/toiletry bag, pinned up my wet hair, and hair sprayed it a whole bunch. Knowing this is possible will come in seriously handy as I work on growing my hair out this summer...

travel outfits: more meetings

Lots more meetings & conference activities the past few days. One handy way to stretch a suitcase wardrobe farther is to wear dresses as skirts by adding a cardigan - they look professional enough for the day, and then they can easily be transitioned to evening (those to come tomorrow...).

outfit #13

dress: Target; cardigan & belt: Old Navy; shoes; Christian Siriano for Payless

outfit #14

dress: Loft; cardigan: Gap; belt: H&M; shoes; Christian Siriano for Payless; necklace: Target

travel outfits: meeting time

Thus far my outfits have been a bit casual for setup and touring... and I've been feeling rather under-dressed around here. I think it's partly because we're in a big city (and in a hotel right on top of the train station), so there are lots of business people in suits around - but in general, people just dress a bit more formally in Japan, it seems. But now we've actually started conference activities and I'm feeling a little more appropriately dressed around here.

Daytime, for a board meeting and a workshop for people who want to submit to the journal I manage:

outfit #11 

cardigan: JCrew Outlet; tank: Banana Republic; pants: Loft; shoes: Christian Siriano

for Payless; watch: gift from hubby; necklace: gift from parents (from Australia)

Evening, for the opening conference reception:

outfit#12

tank: Banana Republic; pants: Loft; shoes: Target

Oh, and envision both of those with a lovely name tag over top. I always forget about that when planning my conference outfits...

And for another fun one - at the end of our workshop, we had a celebration of the successful start of our new editorial team (as managing editor, I stay constant, but the professors who work with the journal change every 3 years) by cracking open a barrel of sake. We don't normally do things like this - but one of our editorial team grew up in Japan and sort of suggested this ceremony as a joke (but then we actually did it). We wore these little jackets and then hit the top of the barrel with the fancy mallets to open it. The sake is then ladled into square wooden cups for drinking. With a 75 liter barrel, we had rather a lot left over, but it was an interesting cultural experience...

travel outfits: tourist time

We arrived at the conference location earlier than we normally do, so we had a bit more free time for sightseeing than normal. It's very hot and humid, and since our sightseeing involved lots of walking, shorts were a must. At first glance these two outfits might seem the same, but you'll note the (subtle) differences: cream vs. pink tee, leopard vs. bronze belt, blue vs. brown beads.

  outfit #9

shorts & tee: JCrew outlet; shoes: Toms; belt: H&M; necklace: Target

outfit #10

shorts: JCrew Outlet; tee: Loft; shoes: Toms; 

necklace: Charming Charlie's (birthday gift from my sister); belt: Old Navy

And again, to make up for the boringness of my hotel room photos, here are some places I wore these outfits:

In front of a shrine in our walking exploration of downtown Nagoya

At Nagoya Castle (from the 1600s but destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in 1959)

travel outfits: conference setup

Hello from Nagoya! I've been mixing and matching the clothes I brought to Japan but am just finding time to start posting them... The first couple days at this conference is all about setup - the main task being stuffing the bags the attendees receive with the programs, flyers, name badges, etc. We set up a big assembly line and do 1000 of them. That and various other setup tasks require casual clothes to keep the professional clothes for actual meeting times clean, so I looked like this in some variation of jeans + t-shirt for the first couple days here.

outfit #8

 t-shirt: Old Navy, embellished by me; jeans; AG, gift from mom; sandals: Target

My hotel room is rather boring with nothing interesting to take photos in front of, so for a something a little more interesting - a photo in front of a restaurant we had lunch at. My boss has a list of places/types of food he wants to try while here, and since I had no time to research the area before the trip, I'm happy to go along with whatever he says is the popular/famous thing. This was one of them - a restaurant specializing in breaded pork cutlets with some kind of sauce (you order from picture menus everywhere around here, which is handy in light of the language barrier, but it does mean your food is a bit of a mystery sometimes).

We've also dined at a place with a special local kind of chicken wings, and we've eaten tempura, green tea ice cream, and of course some raw fish... Not all the healthiest stuff, leading us to wonder how everyone around here is so thin.

 green tea + vanilla twist

 

 tempura + soba noodles

Also, everything in Japan seems to have a little cartoon character associated with it. The above pork restaurant has this pudgy pig, the wings restaurant had one, the cabs have one, and even the city itself does.

pie, yet again

I'm pretty sure I post about strawberry pie every year, but I just get so excited when strawberry season starts, I can't help myself (especially when I have discovered one perk of moving south: strawberries ready for pie much earlier - June 2!). And this year I decided to make jam for the first time, rather than continue to raid my parents' garage freezer supply.

But I went ahead and posted all about it over here, so your reading about my love of strawberries & pie is optional this year....

doctor dog

These are kind of old, but I just had to enter exhibit B into the record proving that Ginger is the most tolerant dog ever (see exhibit A).

She puts up very well with a certain someone... I'm currently en route to Japan and will be missing both of them & their antics.

travel wear

Yesterday I spent much of the day in the car, driving to Michigan so Ginger can stay with my family while I travel (Peter's schedule not being exactly conducive to dog care).

Suitably wrinkled from my day in the car (and then hair all humidified from visits to Peters' parents and Clayre & Joe that were mostly outdoors):

outfit #6

skirt: Gap; tee: Old Navy; sandals & necklace: Target; 

scarf (twisted and worn as belt): gift from mom

And today I'm off to the airport, so I'm into the second 15 of my items... This outfit might be kind of boring, but essential for travel: easy/comfortable for a very long flight; no jewelry or belt to deal with at airport security; slip-on shoes (also good for airport security, and comfortable for airport trekking + long flight feet swelling); scarf that doubles as a blanket for sleeping (plus a fleece in the bag!).

 outfit #7

jeans: AG (gift from mom); tee: Target; shoes: Toms; 

scarf: hotel gift shop on on of these trips when I didn't bring warm enough stuff; 

snazzy laptop bag: Vera Bradley, borrowed from mom

30 for 30, travel mode

Here are the remaining 15 of my 30 items... The ones going in my suitcase for my work trip to Japan. For 12 days of travel, I mostly need professional daytime type wear, but there are also a couple dinner events, plus I need casual clothes suitable for long travels and for lots of pre-conference setup.

I fit all of the clothes (plus three items from my original 15) into these two of these handy packing cubes - pretty proud of my efficient packing. I have one more of them, filled with workout clothes, pjs, and a couple extra t-shirts (a clean one for the trip home is a must!).

With this efficiency I'm taking a smaller suitcase than I normally do, but I still need a decent sized one as the necessary extras add up: undergarments, the above shoes + some for exercise, toiletries, box of 200 fliers to hand out... Oh, and extra books. I consider having lots them a necessity when 13 hour flights are involved.

#5: pre-birthday dinner

 outfit #5

skirt & tank: JCrew; wedges: Indigo by Clarks

It's heated up around here again... so it's back to tank tops, today in a slightly dressed up version for date night. We're going out for my birthday tonight, since I'll be away on the day of (actually, will be crossing the international date line, so it's going to be a very short June 20 this year - trying to decide if maybe that means I don't quite have to turn 27?).

For not getting overly stressed out today (my last day to get stuff done/pack before heading out), I rewarded myself with a pedicure. I perhaps over-rewarded though, since I did nearly have a meltdown in Kinko's while trying to get fliers and meeting agendas printed for the conference. Ooh, they always frustrate me with slowness there.

[Side note: check out our daisies - Peters' parents transplanted them from their yard last year, and their growth this year has been a bit explosive; I think they're about 2 feet taller this time around. The blooms are about to be explosive too!]

#4 and a visitor

 

 outfit #4

top & sandals: Target; pants: F21 (cropped by my trusty tailor)

Today I got a lovely break from the busy & packing with a visit from my college friend April. I liked this breezy outfit for walking over to the bagel shop for a nice outdoor lunch (and talk-a-thon - we haven't seen each other in a while) but as it got a bit hot I switched to shorts for our afternoon walk with the dog and then a trip over to Hyde Park to wander around in some of the shops. Of course, as is my duty as hostess here, I also made sure April got to enjoy some Graeter's ice cream... It was so fun to catch up and have a girls' day, plus she even helped me decide on some outfits & accessories so I could finish packing - saving Peter from this duty and probably getting me some better advice :)

outfit the third

 

outfit #3

 shirt: JCrew (via consignment shop for $8!); 

shorts: JCrew Outlet; belt: Target; shoes: Toms

Today I was really busy with more to do list tasks & errands... so when Peter got home he helped me multitask: I harvested (and I can say harvested, because look how nice and big my plants are!) basil to make pesto for dinner while he took my photos for the day...

number two: done and done

outfit #2

dress: American Apparel; sandals: Target; belt: thrift store; necklace: gift from mom

I have (what feels like) a zillion work things, house work tasks, and errands to get done before I leave on Saturday, and I'm determined that today is going to be super productive. So I needed something casual and easy for running around - a simple summer dress always does the trick in this category, even easier because I didn't really even have to pick one out: I just went to the 30 for 30 section of my closet, and I'm good to go. Off to get an oil change and start stocking up on groceries for Peter...

 outerwear still doesn't count toward the 30 items, right? 

Didn't think I'd be needing jackets in mid-June...

 to do list lineup - look at all those items crossed off!

the first one

outfit #1

top: JCrew; skirt: Gap; wedges: Indigo by Clarks (comfy!); scarf: I made it

It was my never-ending plight all winter to freeze half to death in my home office... and now we're onto my summer version, where I sit and sweat all day (frugal with the utilities much?)

Finally today took a break from the 90s weather, which gave the house a nice opportunity to cool down below 80. I took advantage of this with my first warm shower and outfit that didn't include a tank top  in days. Quite pleasant.

30 for 30, stress reduction style

A week from yesterday, I leave for MI to drop off Ginger with my family, and then a week from today, I leave for my work conference, which is in Japan this year. I'll be away for a little over two weeks, since I'm going to spend 4th of July at the cottage before heading back home.

When I travel, but especially when I travel for work, I tend to get rather stressed out about all the stuff that needs to get done beforehand - housework, work work, packing - and the pre-trip stress tends to about match the length of said trip (i.e. I've been all worked up for a week by now). My aforementioned list-making tendencies are going into overdrive... I've been working to calm myself by breaking down all my vast lists into a "I must get this done today list" (since anxiety also somehow turns my normally efficient self into an ADD and unfocused crazy person).

In the midst of all this, I'm adding a clothing list - with another 30 for 30 remix challenge. This time I'm going to break it into two segments - one for home, one for work trip in Japan - and having limited closet options will actually help the stress, I think, especially for packing. I can be done ahead of time and enjoy date night with Peter the night before I leave instead of thinking about this business.

Plus: No more panicking and throwing 12 more things into my suitcase at the last second, because I'll have set options to work from. No more worrying about items I want to pack being dirty at the last second, since they'll be preplanned. And easy to transition into a weekend at the cottage right when I get back from the my trip with a suitcase full of dirty clothes, since I'll have other pre-picked items to wear.

After that long-winded introduction, here are my 15 items for the "home" segment of the challenge:

p.s. I'm still keeping up the no shopping rule, also good because I have additional panic tendencies that lead me to think I need to buy a new wardrobe before travel. Now panic is not an option!

summer fun list

If you haven't noticed yet, I kind of love goal setting and lists. Writing lists of things makes me feel wonderfully in control, and crossing things off them gives me a vastly greater feeling of accomplishment than just doing the thing. (Also, I get to use my colorful sharpies for these things, which doesn't hurt.) I thought a summer fun list would be a good way to keep track of all the things I've been meaning to do around town (now that we've been here a full year already!) and to take full advantage of the warm months.

That all sounds like fun stuff though, and my love of lists sounds more about my neuroses... so I admit this summer list actually has another purpose: calming me a bit about year two of residency. We've been hearing over and over that year two is so much harder than year one (which was no cake walk) - and with year two starting in less than a month, I'm starting to get a bit anxious about the whole thing. It's not my favorite to think about having a hubby who's overworked, worn out, on call practically every weekend (it'll be 3 weekend calls per month next year...), and still needs to find time to read medical-y stuff on top of that.

So: a list of some fun things to make the most of our time together, and some other things for me to look forward to when I need to occupy myself.

Thought I'd better whip up a summer reading list too, since I've got a super long plane ride coming up for my work conference in Japan, followed by some time at the beach: