Saturday Stuff: Features, Thank Yous, Info, and Questions

Happy Saturday, everyone!

There have been some happy things in the world of the internetz this past week and I haven't had a chance to post about them. I figured I would start a Saturday Stuff feature that I might do every so often just to talk about things like this, things that I don't get a chance to bring up during the week (or more likely, I forget!). 

So for this first edition, I wanted to let you all know about a website called Pocket Change. They have a style and fashion blog where they featured me as one of their Best of the Web blogs!  They run this feature on Fridays and I'm excited to be mentioned!

I also have some thank yous to extend to several bloggers who honored me with the Best Blog Award on Monday! 

Thank you so very much to Heather, Angelica, and Tiffany!

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave you this award. Okay. :)

2. Share 7 random things about yourself. I feel like I've done this a lot lately so you may read some random things you already know about me.

- I'm a cat person, I LOVE cats, I've grown up with cats, and I've never NOT had a cat until this year when mine passed away on New Year's Eve. When I get my own place, I'm getting another cat.

- I've played soccer, taken dance lessons and was even in the dance company for a year or two, did baton twirling for a season, and have always loved singing and performing. My favorite is singing. If I could sing for a living, I would, but right now it's mostly just during the Christmas season that I sing professionally.

- I love to read and used to read ALL the time. Now that I have my daughter, and the blog, I haven't read a book in years!

- I cooked dinner for my parents last night to surprise my mom for her birthday! If you know me, that's a HUGE deal. You see, I can burn water. Yes. I'm worse than a beginner when it comes to cooking but I did it and they liked it! Who wants to teach me how to cook?

- I've had serious acne issues and swear by ProActiv. I will never again use anything different.

- I'm trying hard to make this blog a space where everyone feels welcome, relaxed, and uplifted. It's kind of difficult when I'm going through some stuff and I don't feel uplifted. After lots of talk within the blog world in the past about how some bloggers aren't authentic, I don't want to be un-authentic, but I also don't want to bring my personal issues into this space to bring everyone else down.

- Match.com and eHarmony scare me. Lots of people have recommended them, and I know lots of people who have met and even gotten married because of those sites, but they kind of make me very nervous. 

3. Award 15 blogs. (In no particular order)

So many of the people I would award this to have already received it, and I don't want to leave anyone out, so let's just say if you're on my blog roll, I award this to you! Honestly, I consider all of the blogs that I read to be the best blogs and deserve this award. I wouldn't read and follow them if I didn't think that. :) 

4. Answer the following questions:

a. Your favorite song
Oh, there are too many to pick just one!

b. Your favorite dessert
Anything chocolate, really. Except chocolate cake. For some strange reason, I'd much prefer white cake with white icing. Otherwise, anything chocolate.

c. What is ticking you off

The fact that I can't fit into my white pants again!

d. When you are upset, you:
Cry. Usually. And if I'm crying or depressed, I can't eat. If I'm angry, writing usually helps me get that out so I'll email a friend.

e. Your favorite pet
Probably my Figaro.

f. Black or White

Black and White cookies. Yum.

g. Biggest fear

Just one? I have too many. Flying, elevators, natural bodies of water. Then there's the usual one about anything bad happening to my daughter.

h. Best feature

Probably my hair. Even though I'm kind of bored with the style of it, it's still healthy and shiny and I like it.

i. Everyday Attitude

Just trying to stay positive!

j. What is perfection

God.

k. Guilty pleasure

Can I say chocolate again? No? Okay then wine. Or beer. Or both. But not together, that would be gross. 

 

Thanks again for the award, ladies! You made my day. :) 

 

For those of you who may be interested, I've decided to start posting on my other blog, Melosophy, again. I'm not sure how often I'll post because A Working Mom's Closet is my primary focus right now, but that was the first blog I started to help me on my weight loss journey, and it's just a place for me to write about life and my philosophy on anything else I feel like writing about. 

And last but not least, if you've made it all the way through that, not only do I commend you :) but I also want to ask your opinion:

 

What do you LIKE about A Working Mom's Closet? 

What don't you like? 

What would you like to see more of, or less of? 

What changes would you like to see here, if any? 

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Now it's time for me to go get my princess ready for soccer practice this morning. Afterward, my brother and his family will meet us for brunch, then my SIL (his wife) and I, and her mom, are going to see Harry Potter! Tonight we're all going to dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday. It's going to be a great day!

Hope you all have a fantastic day too!

Daily MelWear: Outfit 22/30

Do you have any idea how fabulous you are? You should think about it. Because you're pretty fabulous. And I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of other people who think that about you.

If you haven't participated in Fabulous In February yet, or if you forgot to link up for yesterday's installment, go ahead and do it now!

It's become increasingly more difficult to come up with things about myself that I think are fabulous, but this is a good exercise. Cara suggested that we continue on into March. I commented that I wasn't sure I could come up with any more traits, but what do you all think? Should we keep going on Mondays in March, maybe call it Magnificent In March?

I'm all about the alliteration, people.

Okay so on a completely different note, we did our taxes last week and it looks like my return is going to be enough to allow me to get a new laptop (desperately needed!) and a camera with equipment (tripod, remote, lense if needed, etc.).

I know I asked about this a few weeks ago and so many of you were kind enough to provide me with TONS of information. Let me get more specific and say that I can probably spend about $500 on a laptop and $500-$700 on the camera and equipment (or do you think I should spend more on the laptop?). With that in mind, I need some suggestions for a good laptop and specific suggestions for a camera and the equipment. Please remember that up until a few weeks ago, I'd been using my iPhone - I know NOTHING at all about cameras. Seriously, nothing. I don't know how to mess with settings, I don't know what lenses do, I don't know how to determine if I can use a remote or not (and I do want one with a remote).

Since I might have questions, if you would be so kind as to email me some suggestions so that I can reply I would really appreciate it! My email is aworkingmomscloset at gmail.com.

By the way, if you haven't heard already, Collette has started a weight-loss and accountability group for fashion bloggers. Once I get my yahoo account figured out, I'm going to join! 

And in case you didn't hear it the first time I said it, YOU are FABULOUS. I love you guys!

Today's outfit:

Purple Dress: Plato's Closet

Satin and Lace Blazer: Stein Mart

Tights: Wal-Mart

Zebra Belt: Ross - came with a shirt
Black Pumps: Target
Necklace: Gift from a co-worker

Daily MelWear: Royal Purple

Well Happy Return-To-Work-After-Christmas Week!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday weekend. I certainly did! Christmas Eve was spent at my aunt's house with my mom's side of the family, watching my girl play with her cousins and we even had a surprise visit from Santa!!! THAT was fun to watch.

Christmas day was at our house, with my parents, brother & sister-in-law & their baby boy, Princess Girl, her dad and his father and my grandmother. It was a really nice day!

On Sunday The Princess went with her dad to visit his mom and then over to his dad's house. Through the miracle of FaceTime on the iPhone 4, I was able to watch her open her gifts! Then I spent the day cleaning out her room and doing laundry. It feels so much better to have all of that done now!

Now we're back at work! *Sigh* At least I really do enjoy my new job, so that makes it a lot easier!

Oh hey, did you see my post on Favorite Holiday Outfits? You didn't? Well click here and go see all the gorgeous pictures of my lovely readers!

And now I have a very, very serious question to ask you. I really need everyone to put some thought into this and not just blurt out the first answer that comes to mind.

Here's my question: is the correct term headband or hairband? Because I see headband a lot but I also say hairband a lot, too.

These are the kinds of things that keep me up at night, people.

Have a great day!

Today's outfit:
Purple Long-Sleeved Tee: Target
Black Cowl-Neck: Plato's Closet
Purple Belt: Charlotte Russe
Black Pants: Charlotte Russe
Black Boots: Payless
Headband/Hairband???: Gift from my parents!

Daily MelWear: Blue and Red - and some questions!

Hi everyone! Are you glad it's Monday?!

Yeah.  Me neither.

This weekend was lots of fun and I really didn't want it to be over.  My parents kept our daughter overnight so we went to dinner with some friends, slept in, went for scones and coffee and were surprised to see a very good friend of mine there too.  I haven't seen her in years so it was great to see her and her husband, and meet their baby girl. We'd planned to do some tax-free shopping but I just wanted to stay there and chat with her for hours. So we did.

Eventually we had to leave for our family barbecue which was TONS of fun in the pool. 

I tried to do some shopping after that at the mall, but you guys...I'm OLD.  I walked into Charlotte Russee and was a little overwhelmed with all the good stuff.  My budget was pretty small and I can't break myself out of the mindset that I need to get as much as possible for as little money as possible (see? OLD.) so I ended up not trying anything on and heading to Forever 21.

Big mistake.  That place was a madhouse.  There was a waiting line for the dressing rooms, too many people to move freely, half the stock was on the floor, the music was too loud...ugh. 

I ended up going to Ross and getting a few things that I've been wanting (jeggings, a long white cardigan and a vest - I also picked up two strapless dresses that can also be worn as skirts OR as tunics, so yay!), while my husband took The Princess to get some ice cream.

My husband hadn't been feeling well that night so we decided to sleep in on Sunday and skip church.  We had a leisurely breakfast at home, then my father-in-law got there in time for lunch and more shopping! We went to a children's resale store and bought TONS of twirly dresses.  That's all she's been wanting to wear lately, so I didn't even pick up any dress that didn't twirl.  We got a few pairs of shoes too. I'm so grateful to my father-in-law for taking us shopping for her with each season! She's got some great stuff that she should be able to wear next year too, because I bought the next size up, and then once winter hits, he's planning to take us shopping for warm clothes. Yay!

Then while she napped, he stayed with her so that my husband and I could head over to Plato's Closet where I got a few more things I've been waiting to get: a basic yellow tank and a white skirt.  I also bought a gray tee with jewel embellishments on the neckline and a purple cardigan.

Hooray for tax-free shopping!

Okay so this dress...I bought this when my daughter was just months weeks old and I had to find something to wear to my friend's wedding rehearsal dinner (so this was WAY before I lost the baby weight - but it surprisingly still fits okay!). It was in November so I've always associated this dress with winter and I've always worn it with a black cami underneath.  Today's outfit is a testament to how style blogging has changed me.  I'm wearing this in the summer time with the sleeves pushed up and I added red accents! I'm excited to see how I can remix this dress now that my view on color combos and layering has changed. 

And now for my questions: since I'm still really new to this whole blogging thing, I need to know how you guys feel about responding to comments. 

To be honest, I very, VERY rarely ever go back to a post after I've commented on it just to see if my comment received a response.  In fact, I think I've maybe done that twice. Ever. For the most part, I leave comments and then I just kind of hope to hear back from the blogger in some other way, shape or form.

So here are my questions:

1. Do you want me to try to respond to comments that you all leave by posting another comment of my own?

2. Is there a better way that I could be responding to comments, via email or something else?

3. Should I respond to all comments or only the ones that ask a question or otherwise warrant a response?

Let me know! I value your opinions very much. Thanks for sharing them with me!

Today's outfit:

Dress: Ross

Red Tank: Plato's Closet

Red Snakeskin Belt: Salvatin Army

Red/Black Pumps: My mom (Payless)

Turquoise Necklace/Earrings: Wal-Mart 

Questions, questions, questions...

Sara over at Mommyland tagged me in her recent Questions post. I love these! It's fun to answer questions, hence the reason for the FormSpring.

So here we go!

1. If you could raid one celebrity's closet, who would it be?

Heh.  Good question.  I don't really follow celebrity fashion so I kind of have no idea. I'm so lame...

2. What is your all time favorite movie and why?

And another good question. Geez! I pretty much like any of the Disney animated movies (Nemo, Aladdin, Lion King, etc.). Waiting for Guffman is pretty awesome. Oh, and we just saw The Hangover - HYSTERICAL.

3. If you could only eat one food everyday forever, what would you eat?

Probably pizza, just cuz I can change it up with different cheeses,crusts, toppings (huh, almost like a LBD is versatile in its own way)...

4. What is the best gift you ever received?

My daughter!

5. Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? (Come on, you know you love it!)

Honestly, I can't pick just one. I'm not a huge fan of Robert Pattinson generally and Taylor Lautner is more attractive, but if I were to go solely on their personalities and just the books, I'd go with Edward. But for the movies, it's Jacob. 

6. What's the first thing that pops into your head when you see this word: Love.

Red. 

7. Favorite concert you've seen?

Hm.  I haven't been to very many. Maybe NKOTB on their comeback tour because I was with friends on a girls' night out which is SUPER RARE these days as a mommy.

8. At a yellow light, do you speed up or slow down?

Depends on how far away I am from the light. :) 

Thanks for tagging me Sara! I'm so flattered that you thought of me and this was FUN!

How does your clothing size affect you?

The other day I was catching up on my blog reading and came across a post by Destrahan's Daughter.

She mentioned being able to fit into a dress size that she hasn't worn in quite a while and it made her happy. After struggling for most of my life to lose weight and again after I had my daughter, I can completely understand her excitement!

There was a time when I refused to buy a piece of clothing - or even try it on - if it meant that I would have to go up a size.  Size mattered to me.  A lot.

Now that I've gotten to a (mostly) comfortable weight, I've noticed how very much my clothing sizes fluctuate based upon brands and designers. I was recently asked a question on FormSpring about my height and size and answered honestly that I can't really give one size. It's always different.
 
I've gotten to the point now where if I have to wear a larger size, I'm (mostly) okay with it.  If I fit into a really small size (like a 4), I don't give it too much credence because I just don't trust designer sizing. It's highly likely that another label would call that same skirt a size 10.

Men have it so much easier with their clothes, because they typically go by inches. Why can't our clothing be sized universally? There needs to be some kind of regulation that designers need to follow when sizing their clothes.

Does it bother you when you find your "normal" size is too snug?  Do you feel a sense of elation when you "fit" into a smaller size than you'd normally choose? Why do we allow clothing designers to affect how we feel about ourselves?

Why can't we just be happy with how our clothes flatter our figures and not focus so much on what the size on the label says?

Daily MelWear: A Little Bit of Sunshine

I had no idea what to title this post.  The I looked down at the yellow in my shirt and figured this title works. :)

I had such a hard time figuring out what to wear this morning! I don't know why.  I kept thinking that I did want to wear this dress, but I really wish that I had a yellow cardigan or a simple pink one (my pink one is rufflicious and would be a little too much next to this pattern). This shirt came to mind but it's yellow with white stripes and I wasn't sure the pattern mixing would work. 

Well...you can't really see the stripes, you mostly see only the yellow. So it works.  Kind of.  The back is really the only part where you can see the stripes but my hair is long enough that it covers it for the most part.

How do you all put your outfits together?  Do you think of outfits for the entire week, do you pick one out the night before, or do you throw something on in the morning?

Today's outfit:

Dress: I have no idea. It was my mother's.

Yellow/White Shirt: Macy's

Black Mary Janes: Wal-Mart

Necklace/Earrings: Wal-Mart (gift from a co-worker)

You've got questions? We've got answers!

I don't even remember whose advertisement that's from.

I just wanted to let you all know that I've added a box on the right side of the blog where you can ask me questions on FormSpring!

FormSpring is such a fun website. I don't get asked a whole lot of questions, but it's fun when I have some...so ask away! And it can be anonymous too!  Although I'd really rather know who you are. I want to get to know everyone!

You can also go to my FormSpring profile page to ask a question (and see others I've answered) by clicking here.

Hope you're all having a great day! It's not Monday anymore, that has to count for something!

Friend Friday: Summer Travel

For this week's edition of Friend Friday, Katy is asking questions about traveling during the summer.  She's had the good fortune of taking a trip already and has another one planned, too.  Lucky! 

The most I have planned right now is a little weekend getaway for a mini Family Reunion, but that's better than nothin'!

1. Are you going anywhere this summer that will require a suitcase? 

Actually, yes!  I don't travel very much and I'm TERRIFIED of flying, so we stick to car trips.  In just a few weeks, my daughter and I are driving with my parents to the beach with some family for a few days.  My husband has some gigs in town so he's not able to come. :(

2. What are your 'must-pack' items? 

Well, since we're going to the beach, I would say definitely a bathing suit! Comfy sleepwear for drafty hotel rooms, sanitizer and anti-bac handwash because hotels usually just have face soap in the bathroom (what's up with that, anyway?), make-up, a nice outfit in case we go to dinner, shorts. I think "must-pack" is very specific to your destination rather than just summer travel in general. 

3. When it comes to makeup how much of your collection do you pack? What do you take? What do you leave behind?

I wear pretty minimal make-up year-round anyway, so I pack my entire itty bitty make-up bag.  I wear eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow (two shades in one case) and...oh wait, that's it. I never use foundation or liquid make-up or powder (well, powder only when we're doing family photos or if I know lots of pictures will be taken), never use blush or bronzer, and never wear lipstick.  I'm kind of boring. 

4. Do you have any travel packing advice?

I really don't - I'm the one who NEEDS travel packing advice!  I see so many bloggers who are able to pack minimally and it makes me wonder how they do it!  When you pack so that you can mix and match your outfits and thus not have to bring so much, how exactly does that work?  Do you wash your clothes before you remix them into another outfit?  I think that's why I always over pack.  I pack complete outfits and never remix anything because I know I won't be able to do laundry and I can't wear something that's already been worn without washing it first. Someone help me!

5. What one item should every woman pack when going on a vacation?  

Deodorant.  Seriously.  Don't forget that. 

That's it for this week's Friend Friday!  Be sure to check out Katy's blog at Modly Chic to link to some of the other bloggers for their answers!

Friend Friday: Beach Chic

Katy over at ModlyChic had the good fortune of spending some time at the beach this week. (Lucky.) It prompted her to theme this week's Friend Friday questions about what fashion and beauty bloggers take with them to the beach, how often do they apply sunscreen, etc.

1. You're headed to the beach/pool, what's in your bag?

Water.  Lots of water.  Snacks, sunscreen, probably wine or beer of some sort, a book and/or magazine and some chocolate. Always chocolate.

2. Be honest... how do you feel about sunscreen? How often do you put it on?

If I were going to beach, I would put it on as soon as we got there (or before we left the house) and then halfway through the day again. Although...to be really honest...when we go to theme parks, I always, always slather sunscreen on my baby girl but none on myself.  I don't know why.

3. Do you have any sunburn remedies?

I used to burn and peel all the time, but then about 10 years ago or so, I started to use body lotion every single day after my shower.  Since starting that habit, I've never peeled again after getting a sunburn.  My skin always stays moisturized so that it never gets dry enough to peel.  

4. Do you use sunless tanning products? Which do you use, why is it your favorite?

Nope.  I'm a mom. I don't have time to mess with that. I wish I did because I have some of the whitest skin of any Italian girl in the world. If anyone has some suggestions for a sunless tanner that doesn't stain your clothes and you don't have to wait for it to dry, let me know!

5. The best part about the beach is... 

The warmth and the soothing sound of the crashing waves...

Do you wash your new clothes before wearing?

Quite a while ago, I won a giveaway from Lindsey at She's Still Got It for a $50 Macy's gift card. 

I've never shopped at Macy's in my entire life, but I'd recently lost all of my pregnancy weight and needed some new clothes. I stopped in a few weeks ago and found a great outfit of your basic black pencil skirt and a white button down shirt (with ruffles - yay!).  Unfortunately, they weren't marked down as much as I'd thought and they far exceeded my gift card.  I put them both back.

Today was my next opportunity to stop in.  I spent almost two hours in the store trying to get the most out of the gift card (spending the entire thing on one item was not an option) and finally settled on three items: a gorgeous black and white dress, a yellow/white stripped t-shirt and a black/white stripped t-shirt. 

What was the first thing I did when I brought them home?  I removed the tags and put them all right into my hamper.  

I wash EVERYTHING before I wear it. Yes, I can be a little bit OCD at times but think about how many people use the restroom but DON'T wash their hands, and then they go clothes shopping and put their dirty, bacteria and germ-laden hands all over the items!

Ew.  So yes, I don't wear any new item until I've washed it. Do you wash all of your clothes before wearing them, or am I really weird?