Summer Bucket List: Take Me Out to the Ball Game #1

I am now officially halfway done with the bucket list! I am so successful at having fun, guys!

I'm behind on the blog a bit, so I haven't written about all 12 things yet, but consider this the next step. Two weeks ago, I went with a bunch of friends to see the Brooklyn Cyclones.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Cyclones, they are a class-A short season farm team for the Mets. So as far as baseball goes... well, they're not the best. In this particular instance, they had more errors than runs. And it wasn't because there was a shut-out.

However, there's something really fun about minor league baseball. First, the tickets are way cheap, and there aren't really any bad seats, so that's cool. Second, because the baseball isn't great, they do all sorts of ridiculous and kitschy things between innings which are just hilarious to keep people entertained. Third, the stadium is really nice in this case, with a view of the Coney Island amusement park and the beach. And finally, you don't really care who wins, so there's none of the stress that fans sometimes feel at Major League games.

When the Cyclones first started playing, all of their games would sell out, because it was the first professional baseball in Brooklyn since the Dodgers had left in the 1950s. (Hence the Jackie Robinson and PeeWee Reese statue behind me.) Now, the stadium is much emptier, but it means you can choose to go on an impulse. Other bright side: kosher food! Yes, it's not cheap, but it's not any more expensive than other stadium food, and I love it when I can feel like a normal person and eat at public events.

When going to a baseball game, it is important to be dressed for the occasion, and for the sun and heat. So baseball caps and comfortable shoes are a must. And meanwhile, I got to wear my super fun Parks and Rec t-shirt! If you don't get the reference, then you should stop reading and go learn about the wonder that is Leslie Knope immediately. No, but really.

This is where the mascot flirted with me and I got
sort of freaked out. Awks.

And coming soon: my trip to the Staten Island Yankees. So much minor league baseball, so little time.

Have you experienced the fun of minor league baseball? What do you do for summer fun on the weekend?

What I'm wearing: GAP khakis, Look Human Little Sebastian shirt, Chacos sandals, '47 Yankees hat

Summer Bucket List: Central Park Boating!

Dear readers, it is HOT here. And when it's hot, what better to do than spend some time on the water?

Here in New York, we actually have many natural water sources, some of which are fit for swimming! The lake in Central Park is not included on that list, as its dark green color might suggest. However, boating there is super fun, and also way cheaper than most New York activities.

So as an early birthday present to Leo, I took him boating in Central Park a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time until we tried to row back. You see, Leo insisted on sitting next to me, instead of on his own bench. Which meant I could only really row with my left arm. Which meant we spent a lot of time going in circles. It is hard to not freak out in such situations, but I wanted to keep Leo calm, so we sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Over and over and over.

Eventually we made it back to shore and Leo came to hang out with me at work for a while, which he enjoyed partly because my friend/ mentor/ supervisor Wendy gave him ice cream. Meanwhile, I had been sweating profusely, which made me nervous about being presentable for my evening class. Luckily, I had chosen a jersey dress, which both hid my sweat and dried pretty quickly. Let's here it for dark colors on hot summer days!

The whole look, back at work.

 This was almost two weeks ago, so now Leo's birthday has finally come. Happy birthday to my favorite youngest nephew! You are sweet, funny, and weird in the best possible way.

In other news, Eshakti is having a deal right now. If you place your first Eshakti order with this link, you get $40 off an order of $70 or more. Custom dresses for everyone! Try it out and let me know how it comes out for you.

What I'm wearing: Boden dress (similar here), Downeast Basics cami, Bare Traps sandals (similar here)

On Gratitude, Part 2

My teacher, my mentor, my fashion consultant,
my confidant, my friend!

If you have ever taught middle school or high school, then you might have come across a certain type of kid. This kid is someone who is not good at being a kid. She is sweet, if a little awkward, but has a much easier time talking to adults than talking to her peers. She is someone who isn't having a great time of things as an adolescent, but you know that once she grows up, she'll be fine (or even great.)

Dear readers, I was that kid. I do not look back on most of middle school or high school fondly. I was a little too serious for my own good, and never quite figured out how to navigate cafeterias or parties. Thankfully, life got much better for me once I got older and grew into myself a bit, but it was rough going for a while.

The one exception to this rule is my 8th grade year, which I remember as being almost exclusively happy, in large part because of the woman you see in the picture above-- my 8th grade English teacher, Molly.

Molly was one of those exceptional teachers you remember forever. She was great at making the seemingly dull interesting and the irrelevant feel like the most pertinent thing in your life. She taught me how to write, and also how to think. But most importantly of all, she taught my class how to be a family, and she taught me that who I was as a student would never be as important as who I was as person. For a kid who had trouble fitting in, this was the biggest gift of all.

Sorry for the mirror selfie. I realized I missed the
whole outfit picture

Luckily, 8th grade was not the end of my time with Molly! My sister is very close with Molly's daughter, so we saw each other over the years, and when I moved back to New York, I started going to her synagogue every week. Eventually, we were on the board of the synagogue together and we sit a few rows apart from each other every week. Molly has become a great friend to me, weighing in on anything I need advice on, whether mundane or weighty. (She tells me I wear too much black, so in her honor, I wore this colorful shirt from Stitch Fix.)

So I was delighted to join her a few weeks ago to celebrate her retirement after 40(!) years of teaching. It was amazing to see how many of her students came from over the years, and also how many of us are working in education. I have no doubt that that is not a coincidence that we were all in Molly's class. So here's a toast to Molly! Thank you for everything you have taught and given me inside and outside of the classroom. Here's hoping to many adventures on the next stage of your journey!

What I'm wearing: Fun2Fun Blouse via Stitch Fix, Boden pleated skirt, b.o.c. sandals via DSW

Summer Bucket List: Outdoor Karaoke!

Only 11 days behind! I'm catching up, right?

This year, 4th of July fell on Shabbat, which meant that many of the usual fun activities-- barbecues, going to the beach, taking the subway to watch fireworks-- were off limits. So instead, on Friday, July 3rd, my friend Jess and I went to outdoor Karaoke in Riverside Park.

What is outdoor karaoke, you ask? Well, this summer, for the first time, on two Fridays, the Parks Department sets up a stage from 6-9 on the pier at 70th street. People can sign up for songs, and then get to (have to?) sing in front of the whole crowd, and anyone else who might be walking by. It was very hilarious, and the first people were pretty awful, which means that it wasn't so scary.

However-- HUGE bummer-- we had to leave before it was our turn because Shabbat was coming. BOO. We were going to sing Don't Stop Believing and it was going to be epic. Sad Rachel. Also, this was going to be a big deal for me, because as some of you know, there are few things that would be as out of character for me as getting up and singing in front of a ton of strangers. The next karaoke date is on the weekend of my parents' 40th wedding anniversary, so I won't be able to go, but perhaps next year. In the meantime, we enjoyed beautiful weather, some hilarious moments, and the five-year-old we befriended getting up and singing Let It Go in front of the crowd.

The fancy stage,

The sun is setting! Shabbat is coming! Must run home!

In other news, I wore my red and blue Eshakti dress because it seemed so patriotic. This was my first Eshakti purchase, and it might still be my favorite. I LOVE this dress. It is so 1950s-ish, super comfortable, and the perfect shape for my body. Plus, of course, pockets. Obviously.

Hope you all had a fun 4th. Almost two weeks ago. Oh well. Better late than never, right?

What I'm wearing: Eshakti dress (similar here, I added 3/4 sleeves), Franco Sarto sandals via DSW

Summer Bucket List: Outside Bar

My friend Jessie said, Hey Rachel, can you write more about your summer bucket list? So I say to Jessie, Sure, here you go!

Here's the deal with the bucket list. Basically, as will not surprise those of you who know me in real life (instead of just on the blog), I have a strong homebody streak. I tend to be a little bit on the shy side, and since I sometimes get stressed by the idea of socializing, it makes me stay home too much. But you know what? I like doing things! At least most of the time. So I made my list of fun things to do in New York in the summer and set off on my journey, since there's nothing I like more than crossing things off a list. Because I'm cool like that.

As you can see, I've actually been making good process on the list. I've done 8 things so far, and I will do at least three more in the next week and a half. Then I'll be about halfway done. Go me!

Last Monday was both my and Sarit's first day at work. It was sort of a fake first day for both of us, since I've taught in the summer programs for the last five years and Sarit has been a rabbinic fellow in the place where she's working now for the last two. But it was a first day nonetheless, and a beautiful evening, so we, along with our friend Shaina went to Ellington's in Riverside Park. (If you've never been, I highly recommend it. It's in Riverside Park at about 104th, and they have both food and drink.)

I know, I know. The bucket list said a rooftop bar. I'm counting this even though it wasn't on a roof because it was outside and had a beautiful view, and it was much more my speed than a regular bar. We sat on couches and had a drink each and just chilled out and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was awesome.

Help, I don't know how to pose!

The view! The sunset!

I was hoping to also cross "see a beautiful sunset" off my list that night, but it wasn't much, so I'll have to try again another day. In the meantime, here is the view:

Again soon, perhaps. In the meantime, the list marches on. Anything else I should include? What's on your list for the summer?

What I'm wearing: Anthropolgie dress (similar here), Boden cardigan, b.o.c. sandals via DSW

The Times, They Are A Changin'

Ok, I know what all of you are thinking. Rachel used to blog so much and now we hardly hear from her! Has she lost interest? Is she too busy for us? Has she started walking around naked all of the time and therefore has no outfits to show us????

Dear readers, I assure you that it is none of those things! Instead, there has just been a lot going on, but I promise I think of you often. Here's what's been happening on my end of the world:

1. My sister and her family moved here! This is a VERY exciting development in my life. Now, instead of having to fly across the country to see each other, they're just a walk away! So far, I have taken Simon to the movies and Leo boating. Maddie and I just chill, because she's a baby. Pictures to follow in future posts

2. My June job ended. We had a great five weeks together and it was sad when it was over. In case you were wondering what I was teaching, here is a cartoon of how the Talmud explains putting people to death:

3. My comps list got approved! So in theory I am in the process of studying for my seventh and final comp. You notice that I say in theory. Hopefully it will happen for real soon.

4. My July job started. Dear readers, I love July. It's my favorite month of the year. I'm teaching full time, on three different topics, so it's a lot of work, but I am so happy to be teaching this much again that I am trying to enjoy every moment.

5. The bucket list marches on! I am trying to make sure to do at least one fun thing a week. It's good for me and so far I am enjoying.

So that's what's been happening. Less computer time means less time to blog-- that is the one unfortunate part of all of these good things. I'm trying not to think about what will happen in August, when I am back in the library all the time.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of my beautiful eyelet dress, which I loooove, and which I finally found a sweater to go with. 

Happy summer! What's keeping you busy these days?

What I'm wearing: Anne Klein dress (similar here), Boden cropped cardigan, Franco Sarto sandals via DSW

On Gratitude, Part 1

Dear readers, I promise that I haven't forgotten you! I have so much to tell and show you, and I will try to catch up in the next couple of weeks. So here we go!

Almost exactly eight years ago, I opened a volume of Talmud for the first time and fell in love right away, even though I basically had no idea what was going on. At the end of that first week of learning, I called my parents and told them I wanted to quit my job to go study full time. I think they thought I was insane. But I am nothing if not stubborn and determined and sure enough, after one more year of teaching, I left my job to go back to learn Talmud, Halakha (Jewish law), and Tanakh (Bible) full-time.

The shoes!

Guys, the thing about Talmud is that it's HARD. It's written in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic, there are no vowels or punctuation, the Talmud often leaves out proper nouns, and it very much has its own method of reasoning, the likes of which I have never seen anywhere else. So despite my determination to study full time, it is totally possible that I could have been derailed and given up.

But instead, almost seven years after I started my journey of full-time learning, I am still going strong, more than halfway through the PhD process and also teaching text in a serious and rigorous way. In large part, it is thanks to the woman pictured below, Channa, who was my teacher in that first full-time year of study. Her amazing energy, patience, and skill as a teacher made sure that I not only continued studying, but I continued to feel excited about doing so every day. 

So when it was announced that Channa would be honored at my school/ work's annual dinner this year, I was so thrilled that she would finally get the recognition she deserved. As I told her, I was the one wearing the name tag saying faculty, but next to her, I'll always be the student and she will always be the teacher. Even though she moved to Israel after that first year, I continue to think about her every time I study and teach, and am so glad that she continues to be a role model and mentor for me. 

My amazing first teacher, who taught me
how to teach and how to learn. Mazal tov!

The range of what people wear to the annual dinner is pretty wide, but I was not going to miss my chance to wear my awesome Stitch Fix polka dot dress. This dress came in my first ever fix (pre-blog) and it was way over my budget, but I am so in love with it that I didn't even care. I added a red belt and red shoes for a little pop of color, and I got soooo many compliments that I know that it was worth it. I can't wait to find another occasion to wear my 1950s-style polka dots!

What I'm wearing: Donna Morgan dress via Stitch Fix (here on sale at ModCloth, but almost sold out), Boden cropped cardigan, DKNY peep toe heels (similar here and here), red patent leather belt (similar here, although at a much higher price point), pearl necklace (a gift from my parents when I graduated college)