Cooler weather has finally arrived in the South, and it looks like it's going to stick around. Although we' have had a few colder days recently, it's not been enough for me to break out my thick knits or pile on the layers just yet.

That doesn't mean dressing for the season is completely out of the realm of possibilities, though! You just have to be creative. Here are some of my favorite tricks for dressing cold even when it's not.

This is the easiest way to usher in the season. Trade out your bright, summery colors and prints for darker hues and patterns. I'm a big fan of burgundy and olive green, but blacks and browns are always good choices.

It's also the season for plaid! I don't typically wear plaid on its own. I like to layer it over a graphic t-shirt or solid-colored shirt or underneath a jacket, like in the photos below (all from last year).

If you really want to be on trend, try shades of red and color blocking.

This might be my favorite trick. It's really been too warm here to bust out a full cold weather wardrobe, but a little leopard print goes a long way. Leopard-print sneakers have been my go-to here lately as a way to incorporate the season into my daily looks, although apparently I've taken zero pictures of outfits with them. I've been mostly pairing them with darker-colored graphic t-shirts and a variation of different bottoms.

Of course, sneakers aren't your only option. If you work in an office, try a pair of leopard-print heels or sleek flats or even a leopard-print belt. Not enough? Go the extra mile with a leopard-print skirt. It doesn't even have to be the traditional brown leopard print. Try black or green!

Texture is a quick way to give the appearance of cozy warmth without giving yourself a heat stroke. Silk is one of the big trends this year, which is great for me considering my love of silk slip skirts, but you can also try corduroy, leather, tweed, suede, wool, or a ribbed knit that's not necessarily a sweater - I'm seeing a lot of skirt options.

One of the easiest ways I've found to incorporate texture is with a jacket. I have a cropped corduroy jacket that I love, a wool-blend shacket that is the perfect weight, and a brown leather jacket with a hood that is my go-to for almost any occasion.

Another easy way to add some texture is with a skirt, like the ones below. Houndstooth is a classic that never goes out of style; faux leather adds a bit of edge to what would otherwise be a standard outfit; and you just can't go wrong with plaid wool.

Need some ideas for how to layer different textures? Check out this helpful how-to guide.

Instead of a full-on sweater, try a cooler option. This is one of those trends that I love but struggle to style on myself. I never know what shirt to wear underneath my sweater vests other than something with a collar, and I just can't bring myself to wear them with nothing underneath. 

I feel like this one should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Swap out your sandals for ankle boots or sneakers. It hasn't been cold enough for tall boots here yet, but my high-top sneakers and Chelsea boots are going a long way to converting my looks to be more seasonally-appropriate.

Hey, y'all! It's been awhile since I did one of these check-ins, huh? I would like to say that I've come here to tell you that activity on the blog is about to pick back up and be more consistent, but I can't.

Life has been pretty hectic lately. All aspects. Even my Fall Break! I've always been the type of person who struggles with downtime, especially extended periods of it. I guess when you've never really had any, you get used to always needing to be productive. But lately I've been struggling to find any downtime at all...especially mentally. I can take a day to do nothing, but I can't always turn my brain off.

What I'm trying to say is that I'll try to be more consistent with blog content, but I can't realistically promise multiple posts a week right now. My mental load is pretty high these days, making it tough to be creative. That said, I'm pretty well planned out for the rest of this calendar year for school, so that does free up some of my brain space. However, I do have a tower of assignments for my teacher certification course to slog through between now and the end of November. I'm trying to work ahead, though, so that I can breathe a little freer this nine weeks. I've managed to get one out-of-district field experience completed, and I only need two more to get my in-district ones out of the way.

In other news...I passed my certification tests! I've had my results for awhile, and I'm pretty sure I posted about it on social media, but I never got around to sharing it here. So that's a big weight off my shoulders.

I'm sure I'm leaving other stuff out. Life has been moving so quickly that it's easy to forget things. Anyway, I'm going to end with a photo dump from our annual visit to Scarecrows in the Gardens. This year's theme had something to do with famous art.

Man, I am so late in getting this reading roundup out to you guys. We're basically halfway through October already! I would apologize, but I've been incredibly busy with a ton of homework, planning for the second quarter of school, and life in general.

At first glance, it appears as if reading fell to the wayside for September. However, I spent the first part of the month re-reading a favorite series that had been on my mind for awhile. A comfort read, if you will. I usually don't include those in my reviews, since I've already reviewed them at some point on the blog. It was the All the Pretty Monsters series by Kristy Cunning, if you're interested.

Author: Willow Hadley

This is the first book in the Charlotte Reynolds series, which isn't complete and has been some time since the last book released. That's not the reason I decided not to continue with the series, though. I decided not to continue because I felt disconnected from the story. The background felt under-developed, and I had a lot of questions about some of the already-established situations that I felt like the author did not go into enough detail.

The book starts with our main female character, Charlotte, being released from her second stint in juvenile detention, but instead of being sent to another group home, Charlotte is released into the care of her uncle whom she hasn't seen since her father died. Charlotte moves in with Arthur and his adopted stepson, Sebastian, and is quickly accepted into her pseudo-cousin's friend group. Honestly, I don't even remember what the main conflict of the book was, which should give you an idea of how underwhelming I found it to be.

Brutal and Vicious (A Flawed series books 2-3)

Author: Auryn Hadley & Kitty Cox

I'm loving this spin-off of the Gamer Girls series so much. This group of characters are all in the Gamer Girls series, but with the exception of Knock they're all in the background. And even Knock isn't really a main character in the others. You know they're all there, and you know they're all integral in how the overall plot plays out in the end, but you don't know what exactly they're doing. This series shows you, and it's fantastic. I don't think you have to read Gamer Girls first to enjoy this series, but I think reading the other first would be beneficial.

Author: Lisa Barr

This month, I ended with my One Woman Book Club pick. I wasn't sure I was going to make it in time for this book roundup, but I managed to finish the book on the last day of the month. It was fantastic.

Jules Roth is a fresh-out-of-college journalist who's just landed her dream job as a member of her hero's investigative team. Dan Mansfield has just agreed to investigate a painting that's been missing since World War II for his friend, world-renowned shoe designer, Ellis Baum. The painting, Woman on Fire, is the last painting by Ernst Engel, who was the leader of the German Expressionist movement and executed by the Nazis, and features Ellis's mother, a former Miss Germany who was executed for having a relationship with a Jewish banker. The trio enlist the help of Ellis's grandson, Adam, a famous artist turned recluse after nearly dying from a drug overdose, to find the painting, which is also being sought by a ruthless collector and dealer, Margeaux de Laurent.

Author: Katherine Applegate

This was such a good read-aloud, and one that I would recommend to any parent. Wishtree is told from the perspective of an oak tree, Red. Red has been a part of the neighborhood for many "rings," and has many tales to tell. Once a year, people bring their wishes and tie them to her branches. Red thought she'd seen it all until a new family moves in and is not welcomed. Now, Red decides she must do more than observe. She must act, and this act may be her last.

Author: Eva Ibbotson

This was one of my favorite books when I was around Alexis's age. The cover you're seeing is one of the newer editions (2008, I believe). It does not match my copy. Anyway, this is a fun read, especially around Halloween. Arriman the Awful is a famous wizard responsible for keeping darkness alive in the land. When a fortune teller predicts his replacement will soon come, he creates a 'monster' to watch for him, but he never comes so, following the advice of his butler, Arriman decides to get married. He devises a contest for all the local witches, including Belladonna, a white witch who is desperately in love with Arriman but who stands no chance of winning the competition...until she meets Terrance and finds her familiar.

Teachers aren't just responsible for their curriculums. We're involved in social and emotional learning just as much as academics, and for me part of that social learning is being a good role model for how to dress appropriately...even when dressing casually.

Take A Look It's In A Book - Reading Rainbow was such a great literacy show. As an English teacher, how could I resist a shirt with its catchphrase?

Be The Sunshine - Teaching is all about mindset. Sometimes I need a reminder.

Booktrovert - Okay, so I'd probably have this one even if I wasn't a teacher...

Kindness Matters - There are tons of versions of this one out there.

You Can Do Hard Things - This one was inspired by my old yoga instructor. This was basically her mantra, and I've taken it with me into the classroom.

All The Cool Kids Are Reading - I got this for Read Across America Week.

Book Flowers - This is another one I would probably own regardless.

Prove It - One of the best things about ELA is that there are rarely right or wrong answers. You just have to be able to prove your answer.

Frog & Toad - How could I resist one of the best friendships in all of literature?

If you've been a reader for awhile, then you'll already know that my favorite way to wear a graphic t-shirt is with a printed skirt. I've found that knee-length and longer printed skirts in a variety of cuts are perfect for teaching, and my graphic tees blend right in.

This black spotted skirt is one of my favorites to mix and match with.

But I also like to play with colored skirts. The red floral print (left) is one of my favorite skirts. It's got a subtle high-low hem and just enough yellow in the pattern to make it versatile. The pink floral (right) always feels fancy to me, probably because of the material. It's very long, which puts some limits on it, but it's still a lot of fun to wear.

And sometimes I keep things simple with solid-colored pants. My gold linen pants are always a favorite, and you really just can't go wrong with white jeans.

I've had this outfit roundup post sitting in my drafts for at least two weeks - so long that I've had to update it twice! Between losing multiple planning periods a week which results in planning after school to the mountain of homework I have for my teacher certification program, I have honestly just not had any desire to spend any extra time sitting in front of a computer these days.

However, fall will soon be upon us (even if the temperature in my neck of the woods doesn't reflect it), so I definitely need to go ahead and share these looks with you while they're still relevant.

I decided to wear my slip-on white sneakers, mostly because I wanted to be comfortable but also because I love the 90s-early 2000s nostalgia they give me. You're going to see these quite a bit throughout this post. I'm linking to the exact pair that I've got, but they're selling out in almost all sizes so if you want a pair, you need to hurry!

I read a lot more in August than I realized. I guess that makes sense, though, since this month was five weeks. Still, with school starting back and all the homework I've been working on for my teacher certification program, I felt like I didn't have time to read this month. I completed fourteen books and DNF'ed six (that's a lot for me).

Let's dive in to this month's reading roundup.

Liar Witch and Pirate Witch (The Deadwood books 2-3)

Author: Marie Mistry

This is hands down one of the best series I've read this year. I loved Nilsa, I loved her mates, and I loved the story.

Nilsa is an assassin witch sworn to serve the Moon goddess. When the high priestesses of both the Lunar and Sun covens are killed, Nilsa is the prime suspect. Forced to flee her home, she seeks refuge aboard the pirate ship Deadwood, the crew of which are the mates she was told she'd never have. What starts as a journey to find the priestesses' killers turns into a much bigger quest to save an entire species from an evil queen.

Only The Lonely (A Death Gate Grim Reapers Thriller book 1)

Author: Amanda M. Lee

Have you ever read a book where the blurb was better than the actual book? Yeah, that was this book for me. It had so much promise, but it just fell flat overall and didn't leave me with that have to read the next book feeling.

Izzy grew up on Belle Isle in Detroit, where her parents guarded the gate separating the living and the dead. After her parents were killed in a breach of the gate, Izzy's grandfather took her to New Orleans where she was raised among the bruja. Now an adult, Izzy has worked her way up to gatekeeper and accepts a position on Belle Isle. Her first day on the job the gate is breached, and the local reaper council sends the Grimlocks, an entire family of reapers, as backup. Izzy and one of the brothers, Byron, have an instant connection, something she doesn't have time for, especially as she tries to keep her special magic hidden.

The Descendant series books 1-5

Author: M. Sinclair

I'm quickly becoming a fan of this author. Her female leads are so funny, and the men are just the right amount of psychotic (something I never thought I'd say). There's still one book left to go in this series, but I've found it to be even more interesting than the Red Masques series, which I enjoyed immensely.

Nova is not like the other witches in her coven. When a group of mages enrolls at her school, Nova steps up as the coven leader's daughter to set up some boundaries. After all, mages are dangerous and not to be trusted, according to her father. But Nova is inexplicably drawn to the mages, who are in town investigating her father who is not at all who he pretends to be. Once Nova knows the truth, the mages' mission becomes her own, which launches a journey of self-discovery and the uncovering of a secret that reaches all the way to the gods.

Captured by the Magi: Zodiac Magic Academy (Exemplar Hall book 1)

Author: J.L. Madore and Ruby Knight

For me, this book was just meh. It wasn't bad per se. The storyline is interesting, but the 'daddy issues' just didn't feel like they were executed well, and that detracted from the overall story. I'm undecided on whether I'll keep going with the series.

All her life, Jesse felt like there was something inside her trying to get out. Little does she know she has magic, something that's supposed to be impossible in the female descendants of Magi. It's also the reason her dad disappeared when she was a child, leaving Jesse and her twin bother, Wyatt, to fend for themselves against an increasingly neglectful and abusive mother. When Wyatt turns down the offer to go the Exemplar Hall, the Magi school, he's kidnapped and forced to enter the admission trials. Jesse, with the help of her summer fling and newly-returned father, disguises herself as a boy and enters the trials as well to save her brother.

Author: May Dawson

Five years ago, Amelia's mate was murdered, and she was forced to marry his killer. Now, she's doing all she can to keep the truth of her son's parentage from her abusive husband, while searching for a way to escape. Then, her dead mate's pack attacks hers in revenge for his death, taking Amelia and her son back with them. Now Amelia and her son find themselves living in the pack house with her mate's three brothers and sister.

This wasn't terrible, and I downloaded the second book in the series, but I haven't felt compelled to read it yet. There's a lot going on in this book from mate-like relationships to a brewing coup and lots of betrayal all the way around. The way the book ended is definitely a cliff-hanger, but not in a who's going to die sort of way. I am curious as to where Amelia and her son are going to end up but, at this point, not enough to find out.

Author: Eden Appiah-Kubi

If you love Pride and Prejudice, August's One Woman Book Club pick is for you. I love how modernized this story is - from the college setting to the all-inclusive cast of characters. I thought it was a nice nod to how modern the original book was for its time. If Jane Austen is your jam, I think you'll find Eden Appiah-Kubi does her work justice (and I'm not just saying that because she liked, commented, and shared my Instagram post!).

EJ is an RA at Bennet House, the only all-women dorm at Longbourn University, where she lives with her two best friends, Jamie and Tessa. EJ is a black woman pursuing a degree in engineering; Jamie is a trans woman pursuing a career in theater; and Tessa is an astronomy major with major guy troubles. When Jamie meets and falls for Lee, the son of a Hollywood producer, EJ is naturally and begrudgingly paired up with his best friend, Will, an actor who's fresh off a bad, very public break-up with an infamous singer. The two have a horrendous first meeting, but both agree to be civil for their besties. In case you haven't caught on yet, EJ and Will are our modern day Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Of course, there are quite a bit of bumps in the road for both EJ and Will, both as a couple and separately. While the story is a nice parallel to the original Pride and Prejudice, I think the author did a wonderful job of working in issues that could only be part of the modern world.

Jump (Lost Boys book 4)

Author: Emilia Finn

This book partially overlaps book three of this season. It focuses on Matteo Ruiz, the fire jumper who's girlfriend died in the hotel fire and who's been crashing at Axel's house, and Vivian, Axel's girlfriend, Hannah's, roommate and best friend. The two have an anonymous encounter at a masquerade birthday party for Axel's sister - no names, no information, no plans to ever meet again. When Hannah moves out of Vivian's apartment, she and Axel think Matt will be the perfect roommate to fill the empty room. What follows is a story not based on a ton of action or danger but one of healing. It was a truly good story, and I'm glad Matt finally got his happy ending.

In Deep (With the Pack)

Author: Hannah Haze

Y'all, I don't know why I keep trying these omegaverse books. They're not my thing. I know this, and yet I keep giving them a shot. That said, this was better than others of this genre I've read. It's still not enough to sell me completely on it since I still have issues with the fact they're wolves but never turn into wolves. I just don't understand that part of it. Anyway, this is a standalone but is part of a six-book collection.

Rosie is an omega attending university to become something more than an omega. She's determined not to become dependent on an alpha or a pack, but all that changes when she catches the attention of the Crew, the top rowing team on campus who have a real shot at the Olympics.

Guardians (Collectors Division book 1)

Author: Lexie Winston

Orphaned as an infant, Mina has worked hard to become the best Guardian the Collectors Division has ever seen. It's all come down to this: running the gauntlet at the culmination her school years and joining a team. She never expects to be chosen by Team Alpha, the elite of the elite teams, despite them telling her years ago they'd wait for her. She also doesn't expect the secret they've been keeping, the huge mission they've landed, or the secrets about her heritage that will be revealed.

I actually liked the plot of this story a lot, even though the big conflict wasn't revealed until almost the end of the book. The relationships were underdeveloped in my opinion. I feel like there's a lot I don't know about the main characters.

Author: Michelle V. Dionetti

Part of our bedtime routine with Alexis is reading. Last month, I pulled this old favorite out of my bookshelf. The Calico mice live in a fabric shop. Life is good until the owner of a nearby inn, Mr. Max, tries to run the shop's owners out of business so he can turn the shop into a parking lot. The Calicos decide they won't take this lying down and with the help of their neighbors at the inn come up with a plan to stop Mr. Max.