Daily MelWear: Hello World!

HIIIIIIII!!!!!!

Hey, look what I can do! I can BLOG! Or something. 

You guys are so awesome. Thank you SO much for all of the very, very sweet comments on my last post, the Facebook messages, the Tweets, the emails...it means a lot to know you've missed me {almost} as much as I've missed you!

So let's get caught up again, shall we? Hm...I'm still working. Still a single mom. Still not independently wealthy (stupid lotto...). Still like to play dress up. That about sums it up. My daughter and I have started looking to buy a house, there's some fun news. Let's see if it takes us half a decade or not. I'm hoping not. 

My girl has been doing FABULOUSLY in VPK this year. I can't believe it's already time to get her registered for Kindergarten. We want to get her into a charter school nearby, so this morning was spent getting everything done to apply there. Now we just have to wait a couple of MONTHS (seriously?!) to hear if she's in or not. That seems too long. 

Oh wait, this is supposed to be a style blog, right? Well...I did wear this outfit today. I know it's winter and all, but guys, I live in Florida. It's almost 80 degrees today. This sweater is perfect because it's cool and breezy and short-sleeved, but it's seasonally appropriate too. In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that the heels came off for flip flops later only because I got my toenails painted. 

 

Now my girl is napping (i.e. lying in her bed, talking and singing to herself and claiming she isn't sleepy), I'm having a beer and blogging, and tonight will be dance class then going to Perkins to visit her favorite server because they share the same name.

So there you have it, my life in a nutshell. Exciting, no? 

My hope is to be able to post a couple times a week. I'm not going to stress if I can't though. Real life has to come first. I opened a WordPress account too, but I think importing will be way too much for me so I might just start blogging from there and ask you all to subscribe to that feed instead. Be on the lookout for that. 

Hope you're having a fabulous Friday and that you have an exciting weekend planned! Mine includes shopping for Valentines for my daughter to hand out. I live on the edge, y'all. 

Today's outfit:

Purple Sweater: Kohl's

Black Tank: Target

Jeans: Salvation Army

Leopard Belt: Wal-Mart

Heels: Rack Room

Wow, this makes me look pregnant. I assure you, I most definitely am NOT. I need to lay off the chocolate, maybe. Geez.

Daily MelWear BBCA : Pink and Purple

Every year my cousins and I get our kids together for a photo so we can give our grandmother a Christmas gift with a photo of her great-grandchildren. My brother and SIL are moving this week, so we had to get this picture done quickly in order to have their son included. There are six children total.

We got a grand total of THREE shots. Three. And in every.single.one, my daughter is not looking at the camera. At least in the one we picked, the rest of the kids are looking and my daughter's facial expression is happy. But still, really? Not one shot with her looking at the camera?

Perhaps I haven't been as much of an influence on her as I thought. Although I must admit that before the photographer got started, my daughter was the only one standing there posing with her hands on her hips. That kid cracks me up.

Today is FRIDAY and that means I'm HAPPY. I'm so glad the weekend is here!!! Hope you all have a great one!

Today's outfit:
Floral Skirt: Ross
Blouse: Charlotte Russe
Pink Belt: Salvation Army
Heels: Target

Daily MelWear: Board or Bored

Yesterday was one of our bi-monthly board meetings. I've worn this suit before, pretty much the same way but with a different color combo. I haven't been very creative with it, but I'm coming up with some new ideas as I sit here and mope about the fact that this day seems to be taking FOREVER.

I really just want the days to go by quickly so I can get to the weekend faster. I know I'm not the only one. Right?

I'm getting really excited for BBCA! I also feel like I should go shopping. See, I never said that you couldn't shop during this challenge. If you find more pink pieces, by all means, go buy them.

I'm such an enabler...

(You're welcome.)

May you all have a wonderful and quickly-passing Wednesday! (Seriously, why does the weekend always take SO LONG to get here?!)

Today's outfit:
Skirt Suit: Ross
Purple Blouse: Charlotte Russe
Yellow Belt: Target
Heels: DSW

Daily MelWear: Red and Purple

I have to be honest...the red and purple combo scares me a little. It makes me think of the Red Hat Society and I'm just not there yet. However, I do kind of like the two colors together and figured I'd try it with this skirt. 

I wore this to church on Sunday since I figured the combo would be a little much for my office. I'd originally wanted to pair the skirt with my purple sleeveless top, but I wore that earlier in the week and hadn't done laundry yet. I'm not sure if the two satins are a little over the top together, but I went with it anyway. 

I actually napped in this outfit too. I was too exhausted to get changed. Rest assured, I did change before I went out that night, though. 

Hey, guess what?! I was featured on Kimberly's blog yesterday as part of her Prim & Prismatic series! Go check it out! 

And have a fabulous Tuesday!!!

 

Today's outfit:

Skirt: Salvation Army

Purple Blouse: Charlotte Russe

Black Belt: Ross (came with a jacket)

Sandals: Beall's

Daily MelWear: Rebel in Leopard

Lately things have been a little more lenient in the office in regards to our attire. I do know to take off any jewelry and make any other adjustements before leaving, but I've felt a little more freedom recently.

Hence this outfit that breaks all sorts of rules. The skirt is leopard print (we're not supposed to have prints of any kind, least of all animal print), the blouse is sleeveless (hey, at least it's a solid color, right?), it's a little more low-cut than I usually wear, and lastly the sandals (we're not supposed to wear open-toe shoes of any kind).

However...I do keep closed-toe flats and sling-backs under my desk in case of an impromptu visit, errand, or meeting, and I brought a blazer with me. And I didn't wear jewelry. I don't want to break every rule all at once...

By the way, my mom told me that Wednesday morning, my daughter went right into school with no problems. HOORAY for the watch!!! Seriously, I think that idea deserves some kind of reward. Anything that makes my baby girl happy and less afraid deserves something.

So how's your week going?

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

I'm excited. It's a long weekend.

Yes.

Today's outfit:
Skirt: Stein Mart
Blouse: Target
Blazer: Stein Mart
Belt: Can't remember
Sandals: Beall's

Daily MelWear: Polka Dots and Purple

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I've worn this outfit before to church but didn't photograph it, so I figured I might as well do that. :) Wearing a belt like this is WAY out of my comfort zone, because I feel like it highlights my hips as the widest part of my body. I really do like it though and might have to find a few more belts like this.

Belts are awesome.



Look, I can do the blogger pigeon toe pose! :)



The pop of purple in the flower makes me smile. I love little pops of unexpected color. It's a happy thing.

Hope you're all having a great week so far! Tell me about your weekend, what did you do?

Today's outfit:
Skirt: Burlington
Tank: Target
Cardigan: Target
Belt: Dots

Flower Pin: From my MIL (actually given to my daughter, but, well...you know...)

Necklace: Gift from the very sweet and super gorgeous ML

Heels: Beall's

Daily MelWear: Maximum Stripes, Minimum Price

Hey, that title rhymes!

Kind of.

Sort of.

But not really.

I'm not nearly as clever as I'd like to think. But I make myself laugh, so I guess there's something to be said for that.

I'm not sure how I feel about this skirt yet. It was a whopping $5 at Forever 21, so I snagged it. We'll see how often I end up wearing it.

I still feel like I need a change. A hair cut may happen this weekend. But I also feel like I need to do something else. Any suggestions?

Today's outfit:

Skirt: Forever 21

Blouse: Charlotte Russe
Belt: Stein Mart (came with a blazer)
Heels: Target

Daily MelWear: Swirly

I really had no idea what to title this post, and then I looked down at my dress and figured swirly was appropriate.

This cardigan is a little too long with the length of the skirt (see the full length of the cardigan here and wow that dress would be too short at this office...) so I folded it under (hence the extra love handles around the waist - I assure you that's the cardigan fluff. I think.) and used a wider belt. (What's with the plethora of parentheses and asides in this post?!)

I posted a photo of this dress styled for the weekend on Facebook last weekend. Are you a fan on Facebook?

FYI, since some of you have asked about my dress code at work, so I've added a page that explains more about it.

I'm still a little preoccupied with some things this week, but I'm trying to make the rounds to visit blogs even if I can't comment and hopefully I'll have more to say next week. Unless you're liking these less verbose posts, in which case maybe I should make this the norm. :)

You guys are awesome. You all make me smile every day with your sweet comments and emails, and I'm so grateful for technology to have "met" you. Have a great Thursday, friends!

Today's outfit:
Dress: Wal-Mart
Cardigan: Plato's Closet
Belt: Kohl's (came with a dress)
Heels: Wal-Mart

Daily MelWear: Maximum Comfort

I think I want to live in maxi dresses forever. I know some people may argue that they're too casual for the office, but I think this is entirely appropriate for my office setting.

I also need to invest in more summer scarves. While our dress code prohibits necklaces, it says nothing about scarves.

Who wants to teach me a million different ways to tie a scarf? Because this is pretty much the only way I know how. Although I've belted a scarf a couple times, worn one under a blazer, used one as a belt, and pinned & belted a scarf once, too.

Still...I need some new tricks.

Hope you're all having a fabulous week!

Today's outfit:

Black Dress (as a skirt): Ross
Purple Blouse: Charlotte Russe
Scarf: Plato's Closet
White Snakeskin Belt: Dots
Sandals: Beall's

Daily MelWear: Casual Days What?

Thursdays are usually our casual/jeans days at work, but I'm not a jeans kind of girl (have you noticed?). When my boss {in her jeans and t-shirt} saw me when I walked in, she said "Oh you're all dressed up!" like it was a bad thing. Huh. Honestly I am just much more comfortable in this than I would be in jeans. Although I would probably prefer sandals but I need a new pedicure first. :)

Let me tell you about this skirt. This is the first time I've worn it as a skirt. It can double as a tube dress and that's how I've worn it the past couple of times (most recently to SheCon, the night we went to karaoke - you can see it in this post, it's the last photo!). This dress is SO comfortable and seeing how well it works as a skirt too, I'm smitten. I need more in every single color! Plus, the ruffled tiers! Fun AND not a pattern so it's actually within dress code! YAY!

Okay I'm done gushing.

How's your week turning out for you so far?

And, just out of curiosity (because I've already done my shopping - rare for me to do it early!), what are you all doing for your husbands/fathers for Father's Day this Sunday?

Today's outfit:

Black Skirt: Ross

Purple Top: Charlotte Russe

Bow Belt: Stein Mart (came with a blazer)
Leopard Heels: Payless
Necklace: Charlotte Russe

Daily MelWear: What's Black and White and Pink and Purple and Teal?

I know that post titles are supposed to be catchy and enticing, but sometimes, I got nothin'. Except colors. And clothes. I'm wearing some, so that's good.

There has been some interesting talk in the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday group this week about becoming a professional blogger and advertising and creating marketing packets and everything that goes with it. These discussions have made me wonder how you, my readers and friends, feel about those things.

If you are a blogger, is it your goal to become a professional blogger, or would you take it if it turned into that naturally, or would you prefer to keep it as a hobby?

Do you have a marketing packet and if so, how did you put it together (secret - I don't have one, I've gotten lots of advice on creating one, yet I'm still a little unsure how to go about doing it and gathering all of the information I'd need)?

As a reader, how do you feel about ads and/or links being placed on blog if you know that they provide some source of sustainability to the blogger? Do they bother you, do you not notice them either way, do you find they're typically for products or services you'd be interested in so you like to see them?

That little pink flower is part of the blazer's button! CUTE!

I think those are all my questions. I really want to know what you think, so let me know - and have a FABULOUS Thursday while you're at it!

Today's outfit:

Black Dress: Plato's Closet

Floral Black/White Blazer: Stein Mart
Teal Belt: Target
Lilac Wedges: Payless

Daily MelWear: Mom's Office Jeans

No, these aren't MY mom's jeans. They're not mom jeans either. At least I hope not. You'd tell me if they looked like mom jeans, right? I bought them at Plato's Closet a couple of weeks ago and I really like them. They're not so low rise that I have to keep pulling them up, they have a wider hem so they don't look like plain old jeans, they're a darker wash, AND they're wide-legged! Whee!

AND it's Thursday which means tomorrow is Mommy Day with my girl! We're going to visit the VPK class that she'll likely attend next school year. I'm nervous. She's never been put in daycare, only in church, but she's so incredibly social and loves to meet and play with new friends. I don't really know why I'm nervous, other than realizing this is a huge milestone and she's growing up. My sweet little baby has turned into a smart, funny, beautiful, affectionate little girl and she's only getting more grown up with time. I'm so proud of her and really want to soak in this time with her. She's only going to be this age once and I already miss it!

Whew - enough of that before I cry. We're also going to Party City to pick up the goody bag supplies for her fourth birthday next weekend! YAY!!! I'm so excited! She's turning four, and yet this will be the third birthday party we've had with Disney princesses as the theme. Seriously. We picked the 1st Birthday Winnie the Pooh theme for her (duh) first birthday, but she's picked princesses every year since. Silly girl. :)

Okay I'm off to get some work done. Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

Today's outfit:
Jeans: Plato's Closet
Purple Top: Charlotte Russe
Yellow Belt: Target
Yellow Wedges: Ross (I will say that the only annoying thing with sandals and long pants is that the hem constantly gets stuck under my heel when I walk. SO annoying.)