Mr. Hedgehog Goes to Work

If I had posted a Wednesday Wants and Wishes yesterday the theme would have, undeniably, been time. I absolutely want and wish, and even need, more time. There is just not enough minutes in an hour, hours in a day, or days in the week to get everything I want and need to do, done. Translation: grad school is kicking my butt! The beginning of this problem, and I don't know why my university approved this, is that this past weekend I had an 8 hour class on Saturday, from 8 am to 4 pm. Insanity, right?!? Well it happened. Ugh. This is my life (insert teenage, angst-filled sigh and eye roll here). 

Anyways, apparently the professor of this class, which was supposed to meet every Monday night for 3 hours, moved across the state. To accommodate having this person teach our class still, the department head approved for a pseudo-online-with-limited-meetings-on-campus hybrid class. In real life, this means we have online modules and lectures to watch weekly, plus once a month we meet for 8 hours on a Saturday. Worst. Idea. Ever. 

Upon finishing class Saturday evening, I felt physically ill. Imagine sitting still in class learning a month's worth of graduate level material for 8 hours straight, with one (working) lunch break. Yes, that's right, we had an in-class assignment to complete during our hour lunch "break". It was quite intense; both mentally and physically trying. So to make a long (sorry) story short (and thanks for sticking with me) this class ate up a lot of my time and left my brain melted in a puddle on the floor.

Needing time to recoup, my bf (who is in the same classes as me) and I took Saturday night off from homework and caught up on the DVR. Even though this was much needed and there was no way we could have worked on anything else (including writing for the blog, brain puddle remember?), it took a whole days worth of homework time away. Homework time that I desperately needed going into this week. So, Sunday was spent rushing to do as much homework as we could before burning out and then getting ready for the week - food prep, cleaning, laundry, etc.

All of this being said, I was left unprepared for this week and have had no time to do posts. Granted, I am still getting in the rhythm of blogging, but this week, it was just not possible to get anything up. Until today. (!!!!!!) If you are still with me, and I do again apologize for majorly unloading today, I would like to briefly talk about this outfit.

Sweater - Target (see more options below) / Plaid Shirt - Target / Skirt - Old Navy / 

Shoes (old) - Payless (option) / Purse - Phillip Lim for Target (out online, check in store) (option)

Necklace - Our World Boutique / Bracelets - J.Crew - Urban Peach Boutique - Jane (new sales daily)

I quickly snatched up this critter sweater this summer from Target, knowing that Mr. Hedgehog would steal the hearts of fashion lovers everywhere as soon as he hit the racks. I was able to wear him during a cool spell in August and am excited to break him out now that sweater weather is creeping up on us. Today I styled him in a way that I would wear to work. I am a huge layerer, as I hope is well documented by now, and was excited to play with some pattern mixing with this sweater.

Since the sweater is a quite a statement, I kept the base of my patterns neutral, playing with black and white prints, then added neutral accessories, again in black and white, with a splash of grey. This helped keep the focus on the sweater without having too much competition for your attention and also added to the playfulness of the sweater, all while remaining cohesive.

I just want to talk about this skirt for a moment. I love this skirt! If you follow me on instagram, you know I wore it this week for #nationalherringbonevestday (more on that tomorrow!). It is a great modest length, is stretchy - which I love because I sit all day at work and can leave with no wrinkles, and comes in a few more colors and prints. It's sure to be a staple through the fall and winter! The skirts are on sale at Old Navy for 20% (30% for cardholders) so now is a great chance to get one. 

Lastly, since this sweater is currently sold out in most stores (still available online though), I put together a few other amazing critter adorned options for you to get your adorableness on in this fall.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

Are you critter crazed this fall?

How would you style your critter sweater?

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!