october's favorite things.

1. 미남이시네요.
A completely silly, light-hearted K-drama featuring some of Korea's top "pretty boys".
Note: the character in the last picture (on the right) is actually a girl!



2. G-DRAGON.
He (yes, he) turns me into an absolutely crazy, screechy fangirl.
I also want to bleach my hair platinum blond.



3. Planning my trip to Osaka/Sapporo.
I'm wildly excited about the upcoming winter vacation.
Not only do I have a revolving door of guests, but I'm also going to Japan! :)



4. This dress.
Or actually, the fact that I have a similar one in my closet!



5. A short clip from the class picnic on Thursday.
We played a game involving hard-boiled/raw eggs. I think you get the gist of it.
Oh yeah, that's me laughing like a hyena at the end of the clip.

I know that October's almost over... I've been busy. And sick. Again. I don't know what is wrong with me. Just tutoring and resting this weekend! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

fall colors.

I love fall!

I also love this shot of some of the soccer kids. All of my 9th grade soccer boys have been scouted by different high schools. The kids leave middle school even before graduating to start training with and playing for their respective high schools. Soccer is taken a little bit too seriously here, as you can probably tell. Anyway, the 9th graders will be back in February for graduation, so I'll have one last chance to see them!

Had a situation with the posting yesterday - will fix that by Saturday!

knitted thing.

I met up with my college roommate in the Hongdae area* this past Saturday. We had fun: Indian food for dinner, shopping in the little booths and alleyways, random Tarot card reading (rather entertaining, though bogus), more shopping, drinks at a hole-in-the-wall place (the best kind!).

I bought this scarf/neckwarmer thing from one of the little shops. It's so cozy and warm! I haven't taken it off since I bought it. Seriously. I taught class while I had it wrapped around my neck!

Tee, Danny Roberts. Black shirt, AA. Jeans, J Brand.

I've had a lot of people at school tell me I look sick lately (dark circles around the eyes, tired expression, etc.). I'm under a lot of family-related stress at the moment, and it's been a bit difficult to cope.

Siiiiigh... one of my favorite soccer kids decided to quit soccer (he's not really built for the strict training program), and so he transferred to a school back in his hometown today. I was really down all day after finding out this morning. I ended up giving him two sheets of my stickers (he loves stickers) as a going-away present. I am getting too attached to these kids, I know. A few pictures of the cutie:

Excuse me while I go punch (and then sob into) my pillow.
명신아! 공부 잘 하고... 건강하개 잘 크기 바래!

*I've probably mentioned this before, but Hongdae is "the scene" for the 20-somethings in Seoul. It's got all the punk, artsy students from Hongik University (Hongdae for short), so there are plenty of interesting shops, galleries, clubs, bars and restaurants.

not-an-outfit outfit post.

I went to the Korean Folk Village over the summer with a friend. It's an interesting place, with old houses and buildings from way back when (1400s? 1600s...? Sorry, I'm a little shaky on my Korean history) that have been preserved by the government and is currently a major tourist attraction. Seriously. They also film a lot of the historical dramas and movies there.

The best part was dressing up in these duds, which is a representation of what the provincial governor would wear for official duty. Not bad, eh? Of course, there would never have been a female governor (duh), but they let anyone try on the costumes. Haha. The hat is really awesome with the huge red tassel and the beads, but it was heavy. I've also got a sword in my hand, but you can't really see it... too bad.

I'm just lazing around my apartment tonight to recharge and recuperate for the busy weekend ahead. I've been in an odd mood lately. Don't know exactly how to explain it, but I've been thinking about future plans a lot. We'll see what happens, eh?

cute fuzzy things.

I love all sorts of cutesy things (stuffed animals, baby shoes, miniatures, random fuzzies and the like...) as you may know. So this might be a bit of an extreme cute overload for some of you. I warned you!

Korea has probably the best sticker selection available to mankind. You can go into any of the small "school supply" stores and they have a range of fuzzy, puffy, holographic, whichever-way-you-want-'em stickers. I've always loved shopping for new school supplies (the smell of fresh paper and ink gives me a high), and so I frequent the little store near my apartment about once a week.

My mini sticker collection:

Little dancing cows!

I use my wonderful, precious stickers to bribe my students. Unlike normal teenage boys, my students are surprisingly fond of collecting stickers on their notebooks. They're awarded stickers based on behavior and participation, and trust me... it works.

I bought this hat on Etsy from Armada Anime. Um, yeah, it's got effin' cute teddy bear ears! I can't wait to wear it this winter! This picture also oddly makes me want to dye my hair platinum blonde/white.

And then there's these fuzzy things from the Mint Conspiracy Etsy store. I love them! They're Christmas-themed and so adorable! I bought a few to decorate the desk in my apartment. Eventually they'll make it back to Boston and garnish my workspace!

I just sent in my official pre-order for the Francis Spring '10 collection, and I'm all jumpy and jittery! After working like crazy for the past few months (and with the plan to keep working like crazy for the next eight months), I decided to treat myself to quite a few things. Yippee! I can't wait until all of my beautiful new Francis clothing arrives in March!

the floral dress.

I had a small-ish brain malfunction and forgot to do several major things on Sunday... including sending WendyB an email about her sample sale this week. Definitely peeved that I'm going to be missing out on some sweet WB for Francis swear rings, among other equally amazing pieces. Sigh.

It's decidedly chilly here now, and I'm scrambling to cobble together a semi-decent winter wardrobe. I didn't bring enough clothing with me for ANY season, but winter clothing definitely got the short end of the stick because of bulk and weight.

So today I layered this summer dress (which I didn't wear during the summer...) over a long-sleeved tee and thick tights. It was sufficiently warm for a cool fall day with another light sweater (stolen from my husband) on top, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do in the dead of winter. I suppose I'll have to wear all of my clothes at once. I didn't have much time before my students showed up (yeah, I teach a class in that room), so that's what you're getting. Mwahaha.

I'm wearing school slippers in the top photo... and I'm barefoot in the bottom photo, but I actually went to school in black ankle boots. The teachers have to change from their "street shoes" into the school slippers, too.

Tee, American Apparel. Dress, MinkPink. Tights, Tabio.

PS - Apparently the Jil Sander for Uniqlo collection is available in Korea. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a peek this weekend, hm? 'Specially considering my lack of winter-appropriate gear.

flat foot.

Ladies (and possibly the stray gentleman or two),

I've decided that I can't do high heels anymore. Well, okay, maybe only 10% of the time. Girl can't always resist the lure of a 5" heel, y'know. But I'm tall enough as it is without 'em (or maybe even too tall). I've been wearing flats and sneakers non-stop the past few months, and my life is decidedly better. No more sore feet! No more blisters! No more bizarre muscle aches! No more pedicures!

So with that in mind, anything beyond FLAT is out. Sneakers and flats just fit my lifestyle a lot better, it seems.

I've got some Adidas Samba Classics (also double as indoor soccer shoes, should I ever get the chance to play on an indoor field) and New Balance Classics (mine are a dark gray/orange colorway, and are actually in my closet somewhere) coming to me soon via my husband, aka the international postman, aka my favoritest person in the world.

I also picked up these Minnetonka ankle booties from Urban Outfitters. UO sent me one of those sale code things for 15% off, and I'd been ogling these for about two years, so I went for them. Again, waiting for hubby to bring them to me in December! I also really like these beaded moccasins from Minnetonka. The pink is cute, no? I can't justify buying such a summer-like shoe at the end of October, though.

Probably the best thing about all four of these shoes is that they fall within the 45-50 dollar range, which is MUCH more affordable than your usual Louboutin or Prada. And better for your feet, too.

I can't wait to wear my Sambas with some of my Francis dresses come spring! :) But I'll have to make it through the winter here first before I get my spring Francis order. SO EXCITED!

weekend!

I nixed most of my plans for today so I could take some time to be absolutely, completely lazy. I've been continuously exhausted since my illness a few weeks ago. In light of that, I'm going to make this a short cross-posted-picture post.

Here I am with my class at the sports festival, wearing our bright orange t-shirts I featured in my last post! Looks pretty good with the fall leaves behind us! Can you find me? Ten points if you do! Hahahahaha. See more pictures from the sports festival here!

ALSO - you should check out the Francis Spring 2010 lookbook! More amazing pieces coming this spring... I'm trying to narrow down my picks. I've got my eyes on the "cityscape" dress and the black/blue/purple/yellow color-blocked dress for sure. Also the "shredded" pink dress... and one of the other dresses, too... sigh. So many wonderful pieces, so little money!

team t-shirts.

I'm actually quite a big fan of the kitschy, printed team t-shirts. I have a few sitting in my closet (back in Boston) from my college days. Now I don't have much opportunity to be part of anything that might require getting a team t-shirt.

UNTIL TODAY!

Here I am with my blinding neon orange amazingness of a team shirt! My school is having a sports festival tomorrow (quite common for Korean and Japanese schools), and one of my classes (8th graders, class 1) asked me to wear their team t-shirt. Of course I obliged.

The graphic is of a Korean actress - who was recently in a K-drama called 'Style'. Not-so-surprisingly, 'Style' was about a fashion magazine. This character used the word "edge" (like... "edgy fashion") quite a lot in the show, so the text reads along the lines of "the class with edge".

Pictures from the actual sports festival will be going up tomorrow on my PAJUPAJU blog!

Note: I'll also post pics of me actually wearing the shirt, and not just holding it in front of me and giggling.

i need a schedule.

Hi folks.

I'm one of those people who needs a set schedule, otherwise I get completely lazy and sit around on my bum and stare off into space.

So, here goes:

OH LADY E updates on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
THE SHOP updates on Mondays and/or Tuesdays.
PAJUPAJU updates on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Good? Good.

I'm going to one of the big markets in Seoul on Saturday to source some stuff for my upcoming DIY projects. Hopefully this'll progress into something bigger... we shall see!

Outfit-y type post thingie coming tomorrow (Thursday). Thank you and good day!

press pause.

I've been feeling kinda... weird... and eating lots of fatty foods lately. Like fried chicken. Hm. I think it might have something to do with the cooler weather.

Anyway, I'm going to take a week or so from blogging to refocus on myself and get back to working out and eating normally. I'm also going to find myself a hula hoop tomorrow. Something semi-productive to do while I watch my Korean soaps. Mwahahaha.

See you next week!

boy.

So yeah, here's my new hair for fall/winter. There's a K-pop starlet who has a similar hairstyle at the moment... sort of an angled, sideswept bob. I asked for that style, and I'm pretty pleased with it. My husband was a little weirded out by it. He likes me with longer hair. Here's a better shot:

I think the shorter hair means I'm going to have to play up my makeup and add a bit more of a feminine touch to my outfits, don't you?

Hubby, don't worry! It'll grow out again. Haha.

you had me at 'schoolboy'.

'Schoolboy' pants available at Gap.

I don't know if Gap has been probing into my mind, but these pants are beyond perfect! I can't really resist anything that's marketed as "schoolboy". And the slouchy-casual fit of these is exactly the silhouette I'm looking for this fall/winter. I'm leaning towards the red and the greenish khaki (pictured above) at the moment. Price point is not too bad at USD49.50 a pair, but I think the price warrants just one pair. Hrrrrrmmmmm...

And hey, a bunch of my shoes have been listed on SAYM. Go on over and check it out. I'm letting a lot of my shoes go for an absolute steal. And yeah, I'm selling the Chloe boots. I don't wear them at all, and they deserve an owner that'll love them to bits!

short shorts.

Errr, excuse the booty shot!

Confession: I haven't worn short shorts since high school. I started gaining stress-related weight my senior year of high school, and the upward and outward trend continued until I finished college. I've been struggling for the past two years (since graduation) to get my weight back down to a normal level, but to no avail.

Folk... apparently what I needed to do to lose the college weight was to move to Korea and deal with 260 middle school boys on a daily basis. Seriously. I'm running around all day - making lesson plans, playing games with the kids, breaking up fights, sprinting to class, climbing stairs - and it's just impossible NOT to lose weight. I've shed about 15-16 pounds since I arrived in June. And even more surprising is the fact that I haven't been making a serious effort to hit the gym. I've just been eating and living healthier, and it shows. I can't wait to see the results once I start working out more.

While I'm a tiny bit embarrassed about shoving my virtual butt in your faces, I'm quite pleased with the way my body is finally starting to go back to normal. So pleased that I turned my boyfriend jeans into a pair of boyfriend shorts (even though it's starting to get cold here)!

got spots?

Giuseppe Zanotti @ Net-a-porter.com

Truth be told, I've always had a bit of a dislike for animal prints. I feel like maaaaaybe 1 out of 10 people have the pizzazz to really pull it off. And those Topshop wedges drive me freakin' insane. They're just so... BIZARRE to me. Then again, what do I know? I am, however, entitled to my opinion, so don't crucify me for not being a fan.

I think if I were to wear animal print, it would have to be absolutely minimal. Perfect example above.

let's get this show going.

ARE YOU READY...?!
(Those dudes up there definitely are.)

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I'm totally jacked up on coffee (French Café Mocha Choco). Oh yeah, I definitely stocked up for the occasion! I've got uber-caffeinated beverages and my cheesy K-pop music to keep me going for a couple of hours. Hot diggity. Check out the store for some new stuff I've just listed!