Emphasis Added!

A couple of days ago I wrote about my work wardrobe issues (specifically how I would like to look not quite so broke down on a daily basis).

My beautiful tumblr friends came to my rescue and provided some great tips (a thousand thanks to each of you).

Check out Nadia’s comprehensive tips for a totally put-together workday look.

nadiathinks:

My notes on good workwear:

Buying essentials

• Accessories:  I use the same accessories over and over but a good resource for costume jewelry is Forever 21 or the New York & Company sales.  Good prices for a quick change to a wardrobe.
• Basics: I like getting simple basics from Express & Zara (cheaper and easy to settle the basics there).  Express isn’t super cheap, but their box sales are and ordering online gets you an extra 20% off sometimes.  Zara is GREAT for work basics; I love their $29 pencil skirts and $39 slacks!  I say always buy one fabulous work skirt (mine is BCBG) and one fabulous slacks (i have b&w houndstooth slacks I love from Express)
• Colors:  I like to grab super colorful or trendy items (like bright orange tees) from Forever21 because they are VERY cheap ($4.80) and you don’t feel badly about the trendiness taking up too much money.
• Dresses: I get my dresses from Gilt sales and Express box sales.  They’re greatquality, durable, cheap, and the color lasts through the washes.  You can get great designer dresses from Gilt during sales (I got a few Ali Ro dresses and love them).
• Purses:  I like the sales on Aldo accessories because their purses are fairly durable and cheap.  Banana Republic used to carry some AMAZING high quality purses, but now I just hit up designer outlets for the silk & satin variety.  BCBG is a constant.
• Sweaters: I love the ones from Banana Republic.  For quality & lasting, they have not been beat so far.
• Shirts:  Victoria Secret sales is where I get the nicer shirts.  I get blouses from Express.  I like that Express blouses are a BIT longer so do not come untucked as often, and VS has bodysuits you can wear if untucking is a serious issue.
• Shoes: Nordstrom or couture sales.  I maintain that even though I do not have to walk that much at work, I want my shoes to be of quality and be comfortable.  I am partial to Dolce Vita (they have great sales on this brand), BCBG and L.A.M.B., and Nordstrom will beat any advertised price by $1 so it helps to find good deals.

Favorite work outfit:

• black BCBG satin skirt
• white Express blouse
• BCBGirls boots

THE essentials to have:

• white button down
• black skirt
• grey slacks
• black pumps

emphasisadded: I have a problem:  My work clothes are busted.

My office wardrobe is largely a product of my days as a consultant and given the fact that my current job is much less conservative and my current body is somewhat less big, my professional attire staples are just not working for me any longer.

I would love nothing more than to be that girl that looks SUPER put together (and remarkably feminine) every day at the office…You know, that employee who’s blouses are always perfectly crisp, wrap dresses are appropriately snug and high heels are exactly high enough to look pretty while kicking ass.  Unfortunately right now I bust a sag in every pair of pants I own and my shirts have a tendency to untuck themselves.  Classy, right?

I am willing to put in the effort and money to make my professional-chic dreams come true, but I am a little overwhelmed about exactly where to start.  So I turn to you:

Where do you beautiful people get your work clothes (skirts?  dresses?  trousers?)

What is your favorite work outfit?

What are the essential pieces every professional wardrobe needs.

Any help/suggestion/pics would be greatly appreciated!!!  I will compile any/all suggestions you guys send in and share my finding with everyone!

Thanks for the encouragement!

howpeculiar:

emphasisadded:

I have transitioned into the most challenging portion of my “30 short day detox” program, the juice fast.

The detox protocol encourages a (minimum) 3 day juice fast where you are permitted to drink freshly juiced vegetables, coconut water and kamut.  While they provide 3 days as a baseline, you are encouraged to fast for up to 7 days.

Last detox, my fast lasted 6 days…with the second day being the most physically challenging.  I have to confess - yesterday wasn’t bad, but today has been a struggle for me. I am hungry.

If possible please send positive thoughts and visions of (raw) sugar agave nectar plums my way.

I am doing a variation of this detox (much less stringent I think…I basically have green juice every day for breakfast and then veggies and sometimes fish for the remainder of the day) After the first week I was sick as a dog, and my face broke out- but I got through it, my skin is now glowing I feel 1 million times better than I did before I started

SO. WORTH. IT.

You Can Do it!

I have transitioned into the most challenging portion of my “30 short day detox” program, the juice fast.

The detox protocol encourages a (minimum) 3 day juice fast where you are permitted to drink freshly juiced vegetables, coconut water and kamut.  While they provide 3 days as a baseline, you are encouraged to fast for up to 7 days.

Last detox, my fast lasted 6 days…with the second day being the most physically challenging.  I have to confess - yesterday wasn’t bad, but today has been a struggle for me. I am hungry.

If possible please send positive thoughts and visions of (raw) sugar agave nectar plums my way.

I am reblogging this so I don’t forget to enjoy this PB Sensation once I am off detox!

nutritionista:

PB&J banana sandwich happiness (and energy that lasts all morning).

I have a problem:  My work clothes are busted.

My office wardrobe is largely a product of my days as a consultant and given the fact that my current job is much less conservative and my current body is somewhat less big, my professional attire staples are just not working for me any longer.

I would love nothing more than to be that girl that looks SUPER put together (and remarkably feminine) every day at the office…You know, that employee who’s blouses are always perfectly crisp, wrap dresses are appropriately snug and high heels are exactly high enough to look pretty while kicking ass.  Unfortunately right now I bust a sag in every pair of pants I own and my shirts have a tendency to untuck themselves.  Classy, right?

I am willing to put in the effort and money to make my professional-chic dreams come true, but I am a little overwhelmed about exactly where to start.  So I turn to you:

Where do you beautiful people get your work clothes (skirts?  dresses?  trousers?)

What is your favorite work outfit?

What are the essential pieces every professional wardrobe needs.

Any help/suggestion/pics would be greatly appreciated!!!  I will compile any/all suggestions you guys send in and share my finding with everyone!

Awwww!  Thank you for the shout-out.

Totally made my day!

applebloggingjeans:

I follow 48 people on Tumblr, most of whom are female.  Ironically, I also have 48 followers… most of whom are female.  I love this.  Don’t get me wrong… I adore my male readers and the males I follow, but I’m just simply stating an observation that Tumblr seems to be a woman’s world.  Would you agree?

I think Tumblr brings out people who are just looking to enjoy what other people have to offer.  So, I’d just like to share a few of my favorites with you.

Tumblrs Whose Beautiful Faces I See On A Regular Basis:

SimplyShea.  This gal is a fellow North Carolina lovely.  We are (sort-of) in the same line of work.  She’s spunky and fun and quite entertaining.

uncmeg.  What can I say about UncMeg?  She’s full of life and energy and LOVE for UNC!  Go Heels!!!!!  She’s quite stylish and sassy!

tobegladfor.  This lady is undoubtedly one of my favorite people on the planet.  We are office-mates and, through that crazy world that belongs to working adults, we have developed a lovely friendship.  She’s insightful and very passionate about discovering herself.  Plus, she wears really cute yellow skirts and likes to experiment with her hair.  Gotta love that.

peerintomywindow.  This gal has been a friend of mine for YEARS.  Years!  We grew up in the same town, played on our high school volleyball team together and danced with the same academy.  She’s a true southern belle and I don’t get to see her nearly as often as I’d like.  Good thing we get to keep up with each other through the interwebs!

Tumblrs I Know Through The Glory Of The Internet— Thanks to Tumblr and Other Sources, We’ve Been Able to Connect:

WithoutMelissa.  What a lovely, lovely dear.  Our paths have crossed for various reasons over the years.  A former Raleigh gal like myself, Melissa and I have shared such things as foster puppies, vintage Zodiac boots and love letters.  If you don’t follow her, you are truly, truly missing out.  She has been kind enough to help me on my quest to find great vintage decor!

JimIsland.  Jim is a California fellow who is just plain entertaining.  He’s chasing the Hollywood dream and truly enjoying himself while he’s at it.  He likes to ride his bike and generally be active.  He’s cute as they come.  And he has blogging roommates who are quite funny too.  Jim’s a guy who likes answering questions, I’ve learned.

TupeloHoney.  Dear Miss Tupelo hasn’t been active in a while.  But I truly enjoyed her blog when she was posting more regularly.  She’s a sweetheart with a kind soul.  I appreciate her love for sprinkles.

Abster.  This little lady has a great sense of decorating style and a sweet smile to boot!  She is working on a darling flat, working hard at her job and maintaining a great relationship with her family.  She’s a spot of sunshine and I’ve throughly enjoyed our email and Facebook exchanges.

EmphasisAdded.  Talk about a fashionista!  Tiny Mrs. Emily is really a firecracker.  She was recently in my neck of the woods, and we have determined that when that happens again, we are going to organize a Tumblr Meet-up!  What a fun lady!  Oh, and did I mention she has great shoes?

GoldenMeg.  Such a dear!  She’s a friend of WithoutMelissa’s, and through the blogging world we have come to appreciate one another’s lives.  Meg once told me she loves Ruby’s pink collar… and I want to tell her how much I love her San Francisco style!

So there you have it.  There are a few of my favorites.  This list is NOT extensive… I love so many more of my fellow Tumblrs, it’s hard to count!  This is just my little way of saying… keep up the good work, guys and gals.

fishy:

(via michaelmcgee:rocketjumper:flourhoneymilk)

Icarus

Today my father made wings out of feathers and wax so that we could escape the king’s castle. But I flew too close to the sun and the wings melted. I then fell into the ocean below. I can’t swim. FML

Odysseus

Today I came up with a plan that helped my country win a 10-year war. But, because I forgot to pray to Poseidon, I won’t get to go home for another 10 years. FML

Oedipus

I’ve been really busy. I solved the riddle of the Sphinx, gained entrance to the city of Thebes, killed the king and took his place, and then married his wife and had several kids. As it turns out, the guy that I killed to become king was my dad. And the chick that I married and had kids with was my mother. FML

These are hilarious.

It was a very tough week, and by Friday night I was spent….so this weekend was dedicated to mending my spirit.

Below is a list of little things that cheered me up over the past few days:

• (un)Happy hour at Nomi- You know those nights where you can’t possibly muster up any sort of loviness?  Those are the times you have to call on your dearest friends for one too many glasses of wine (whine?)
• My husb. did a dress rehearsal of his closing argument for his trial advocacy class in front of me.  His professionalism was the sexiest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.  I can’t wait for my man to be a real lawyer!
• I got my hair did.  Somehow the world is instantly brighter when your hair looks hot.
• The Blackhawks (It’s not WT to like Hockey if your city’s team is in the playoffs for the first time in like 7 years!)
• I bought THREE new recession special belts!
• Simon and I snuck away to the lake house last night.  It was beautiful all afternoon but got super cool at sundown.  We lit the fire and spent our evening chit-chatting, listening to Simon’s new tunes, and watching “Flight of the Concords.  Perfect date night.
• This morning one of Simon’s professors hosted a party for her “Law and Literature” class up at her lakehouse (conveniently located about 15 minutes up the road from our place).  Party icebreaker: Group analysis of a Frost poem.  Cool.
• We had our very first meeting with our REAL ESTATE AGENT…we are considering buying our first place.  Ahhhh!
• Laundry: dunzo
• I created the very best raw desert ever with the agave/oat/cranberry ball and iced coconut meat.

I feel much better prepared to face this new week.

Thank you Friday.  Thank you Saturday.  Thank you Sunday.

Yesterday was one of those straight-up BAD DAYS.

(I just deleted the multiple maudlin paragraphs I had written here outlining why my spirit was totally broken, and decided instead to just say this….)

Good thing today is a new day.

Remember how an hour ago, I wrote about how insanely excited I was for the “This American Life” live showing tonight.

Boss just called and said he would be arriving home from a business trip soon and asked me to “stick around this evening.”

oh god…please no.

Let’s just say: I don’t cry at work…but I may have had to step outside for a moment.

Dana,

Are you doing the detox through Karyn’s in Chicago?  I am in the midst of my second “30 short days detox”, and I have encountered similar resistance from people in my life.  I think people are scared of how extreme it sounds, but I assure you…in practice, it isn’t bad at all.  During my first detox, I lost over 10 pounds and felt healthy, energetic and generally remarkable!

What I love about Karyn’s detox is that while maintaining the raw vegan lifestyle you learn (or reinforce) healthy eating.  The whole process made me more aware of the types of food I was using to fuel my body and helped reinforce smart nutritional choices.

It is such a fantastic experience.  I say- go for it!

Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions emphasisadded@tumblr.com.  I am totally here for you!

danawood:

So my sister is a nutrition science major.  I was all excited to share my news of my detox program that I registered for.  Um, and this was her response, haha:

While I will always support seeing a nutritionist, I would really ask you to NOT to do the detox diet.  There is no such thing, they just want your money.  We learn this over and over in our nutrition classes.  Detoxing your body can do more harm than good, especially when it’s over an extended period of time, because your body isn’t getting the correct balance of nutrients that it needs.  And supplements can be very dangerous because there are many of them with competing pathways for absorption, and your body is made to handle only certain amounts/ratios.  We spend entire semesters on toxicities of certain vitamins and minerals, and the best way to get these is through the diet, NOT supplementation.
The best way to cleanse your body would be to eat more fiber, whole grains, and drink lots of water.  If this detox diet makes you feel sick, just remember that your body gets sick for a reason, and that should be a major red flag not to do this diet.  If this nutritionist thinks this is a good idea then I would ask her what her credentials are and where she graduated.  Otherwise, I would find a nutritionist who is willing to make a diet plan for you—the only one that really works.  It’s just like psychology, there’s no magic plan to make yourself better.  It needs to be highly individual and it takes time/work.  Let me know what you decide.

Loves,
Amanda

So after I JUST paid for this detox program, now I’m scared to do it!  Ugh.  The program looks like more raw/vegan than anything.  Is that bad?  I wish I knew more about nutrition.  It’s a 4 week program.  Does anyone know? 

I told y’all I got my hot mama a pretty sweet birthday gift!  So what is it…?

Drumroll please:

My mother is now the proud owner of the uber-fab Chi Rocket Professional Hair Dryer.  Hooray for beautiful hair (and beautiful moms!)

ps. Now I suggest you go buy yourself one.  Seriously… go.  It is that worth it!

I wish I could tell you what it is…but since she reads the blog, I can’t.

(I promise to share as soon as she opens it!)

I will say… it is awesome!

Julie…always hooking us up with what’s hot!  Thanks for the ReThread tips.

I too adore Thread Social! 

Fun story:  My 5th grade boyfriend was Thread Social lead designer, Melissa Akey’s little brother.  Ah…Matt Akey!  I remember he brought me back one of those woven hippie belts from family vacation and I wore that bad boy like it was my job.  Man, was I stylish!

thecooknook:

One of my favorite lines is Thread Social. They create cocktail and party clothes that are at once both quirky and refined.  I have a couple of their dresses which never fail to yield compliments, and one dress which is now a shirt because I washed it when I should have drycleaned it. In fact, you can see that dress, before said shrinkage ocurred, here.

I was perusing the Thread Social website to check out the Fall ‘09 wares (which are already for sale! If you are confused by this,too, then I am not alone.) and I discovered that they have a new section of clothes for sale called ReThread.

ReThread is, and I quote, “an easy, breezy collection cut from thread social’s excess fabric into our most popular silhouettes. an eco-conscious approach, yes, but a wallet friendly one as well:  nothing in the collection retails for more than $225.”

Sah-weet! Check out the (limited but still super cute) goods here.

What a lovely idea:  FantasticMonday…. a place to celebrate your favorite tumblrs!

ps.  In my heart, I celebrate you all every day… nice to know that I now have a public forum to do so!

(via fantasticmonday)

In case anyone wanted to follow this detox plan, I wanted to share the week 1 protocol with you.

In addition to maintaining a raw vegan diet, you need to consume the following every day:

1. 2 tablespoons of Green Kamut (You can buy the powder in a health food store and mix it in the blender with 32 ounces of water.)  It is worth noting that I HATE green kamut.  It instantly makes me gag and the smell alone sends chills through me- bleh!  I found the only way I can get it down is to decrease the amount of water I mix it with and take it almost like shots of alcohol, complete with a lemon wedge chaser.  This is by no means the recommended in-take procedure but it works for me!
2. 1 tablespoon of Bentonite & 1 tablespoon of Psyllium: Mix with 3 oz of water and shake in a shaker THREE times and drink IMMEDIATELY.  If you overshake this concoction or let it sit for longer than 30 seconds, it takes on an almost clay-like consistency and becomes literally impossible to swallow.  I have to warn you….drinking this is not that much fun.
3. 3 Fenugreek Capsules in the morning & 3 at night.  These dietary supplements help aid in breaking up and ridding your body of excess mucus and toxins.
4. Digestive Enzymes: You take these before, during and after each meal
5. Rejuvelac: 2 Cups per day. 
6. Green Meal Shake: 2 tbl of green meal, 2tbl flax seed oil, banana, rejuvelac, organic apple juice

Personally, I find keeping up with all of these requirements is actually more challenging than the diet portion of the detox.  It is fairly time consuming getting all of these elixirs prepared and consumed…but in 30 short days, I will be fully detoxed!

I haven’t written much about detox this week, mainly because…it is going so well (probs just jinxed myself!).

Last time I detoxed my first two weeks were hellacious!  I felt like I had the worst flu of my life and could barely muster the energy or social graces to leave my apartment.  Things are considerably brighter this time around.

I think I am doing a better job realizing that the world of raw does, in fact, extend beyond lettuce and raw almonds.  I received several emails from readers asking what I eat while on the detox, so I have decided to share a sample menu from my past week…hopefully you will find it useful:

Monday:

• Breakfast: Green Meal Shake (recipe to follow)
• Lunch: Raw “Egg Salad”  (I bought this salad from Karyn’s Raw Food Center on Halstead.  Obviously there is no egg or mayo in this product - they actually use young coconut flesh as substitute for the eggs and season it with tumeric which gives it the color and consistency of egg salad.  It was pretty delicious.  I was shocked.)
• Dinner: Chopped Salad with avocado
• Snack: Dried Mangos

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: Green Meal Shake
• Lunch: Lara Bar
• Dinner: Moroccan Gazpacho garnished with cilantro, pine nuts and chopped tomato (recipe to follow)
• Snack: Raw Cashews

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: Green Meal Shake
• Lunch: Cabbage leaf cup filled with sprouted beans, chopped tomatoes and green onions, macadamia nut “cheese”, olives and topped with a raw salsa.
• Dinner: Salad*

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Green Meal Shake
• Lunch: Orange & Raw Cashews
• Dinner: Tomato-Lime Salad & Gazpacho
• Snacks:  (During “The Office,” I got the munchies and went to town on…) An Orange, Grapes, Dried Mango, Raw Nuts

Friday:

• Breakfast: Green Meal Shake (Full disclosure, I am only half done and having a hard time choking it down today…it is still sitting on my desk taunting me.)
• Lunch: Tomato-Lime Salad & a Clementine orange

Note: On Wednesday night I went out to eat with my family after our soiree at Barney’s.  I was a little nervous about staying raw while eating out- I find that people get uncomfortable if you order a lame-ass side salad while they are chowing down on steak and lobster (this was one of my issues first time around)…so what I did was wask the waiter to (and I quote) “please, chop up all the raw veggies you can find in the kitchen, toss an avocado on top and bring me out a super fun looking salad.”

This may not sound like a big deal, but I assure you when the server brings a bowl mounted with fresh bright veggies it not only tastes considerably better than the typical side salad (whaa-whaaa: lettuce/cucumber slice/cherry tomato) but your diet isn’t perceived as “weird” by others.  Win-Win…be thin!