Daily MelWear BBCA: Springlike

Apparently I have an aversion to wearing just one color. Sometimes I can pull it off, like yesterday, but more often than not I've found myself playing with different combinations. Pink and yellow isn't an unusal one for me although it might seem unusual to most people. Or at least most people who aren't style bloggers (or readers!), because you all understand me, right? :)

Now my task is to come up with some other colors that can be combined with pink. That is a challenge I will gladly accept.

There are lots of fabulous women participating in the Blogging for Breast Cancer Awearness Challenge! Have you checked out their blogs yet?

I hope you're all having a fantastic week!

Today's outfit:

Dress: Ross

Jacket: Burlington (came with a skirt)

Belt: Can't remember
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: Fall?

Anyone who has been reading this blog for any length of time knows that I like to layer. It makes me happy to come up wtih different ways to layer cardigans, jackets, shirts, all that fun stuff.

But when it's 90 degrees out, sometimes layering isn't a great idea. However...I decided to wear longer sleeves and a cardigan anyway. Granted, I'm sweating, but they say beauty is pain, right? Does sweating count as pain?

Eh.

I was almost going to pair this skirt with pink but then I thought I should hold off on that for October when we start BBCA. Have you signed up to participate yet? I'm going to post a list of this year's participants very, very soon. If you're still unsure about whether you can do it, please keep in mind that although I'm doing it for the entire month of October, you don't have to. You can just do a week, or a few days, whatever works for you. I'll continue to add to the participant list throughout the challenge as well, so don't feel pressured to decide right this second.

Are you all having a good week? I think I had such a great weekend that it's carrying over into this week. And I'm excited about this next weekend too. So...YAY!

Have a great day, y'all!

Today's outfit:

Skirt: Burlington
Shirt: NY&C
Cardigan: Target
Heels: Target
Belt: Dots

Daily MelWear: Style Me, Heather!

A few weeks ago I posted an outfit suggested to me by the always fabulous Kish. I had fun wearing what she suggested and so I asked if any of you have other suggestions.

Heather of H & K Style Journey wrote this: "I would like to see you do a pink and yellow combo? And incorporate one of your scarves into the the outfit."

Well...clearly I slacked on the scarf part. I only have one pink scarf and it's a little too thick for 95 degree weather. And I don't have a yellow scarf. So.

I still pulled out the pink and yellow! I love these two colors together. They're always so bright and cheery and while I would've preferred wearing a white skirt or dress without any black, I think this one works just fine.

It really is kind of fun to wear an outfit put together by someone else. If you're so inclined, take a look back through the archives and see if there is any combination I've missed that you think I should try - style me!

Today's outfit:

Dress: Ross

Yellow Jacket: Burlington
Pink Belt: Salvation Army
Pink Heels: Plato's Closet

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: Brightening My Day with Everybody, Everywear

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Everybody, Everywear! This month's theme is yellow.

Are we all on the same page about how much I love yellow? I love it.  A lot.

Granted, I don't think it's all that flattering on me, a pale brunette, but I love its sunny disposition so much that I choose to ignore the fashion rules and flaunt the yellow anyway. It makes me happy.

I do have to admit that I'm not actually wearing this today. I wore it yesterday. We have a board meeting tonight and while *I* think this would be appropriate (considering some of our board members show up in scrubs or jeans), I'm fairly certain my boss wouldn't approve of the pattern and the bright yellow. And I don't know about you with your boss, but I'd like to keep my boss happy. Remaining employed seems like a good idea at the moment, especially as a single mom.

Speaking of which - I actually got to go OUT last weekend! My closest friends are the ones that live farthest away from me, so I don't get out much. I was whining to a local friend about it and she invited me to join her on a girls' night with her friends on Saturday. We went to dinner at a soup/salad/sandwich place and then hit the outlets (they're open till 11PM - WAY past my usual bedtime!). It was fun to get out of the house for a little bit. Granted, it was with a group of girls and not like I was on a date or anything, but it's a start. They're a great group and I had a blast chatting and shopping with them. I'm so grateful to my friend for inviting me!

And now I'm going to get some work done and hopefully take a peek at everyone else's yellow outfits.

I love yellow. Have I mentioned that lately?

Have a great day, ya'll!

Today's (uh,  yesterday's) outfit:
Dress: Target (One of their daily deals last week! It's so comfy, I just hope it doesn't shrink after washing it; I'm  planning to hang it to dry.)
Yellow Jacket: Burlington (came with a skirt)
White Belt: Wal-Mart
Gray Shoes: Payless

Daily MelWear: White Out 3!

It seems that my version of the White Out challenge by Beck is more to just not wear black. Hm. Maybe I need more white items for summer.

This outfit is an example of what happens when you wear pieces that don't fit well. This skirt wrinkles a tad too much (and I don't own an iron), plus it doesn't sit correctly on me. This top (which, by the way, I thought was yellow but looks green to me today and I'm not really okay with that) does weird things at the neckline and poofs oddly.

So. In theory, in my head, I really liked this outfit. Executed with these particular pieces, not so much.

Eh, you win some, you lose some, right? The beauty of style is that I get to try again tomorrow.

Have a great day, friends!

Today's outfit:
White Skirt: Can't remember, it's too old
Yellow(ish) Shirt: Target
Pink Cami: Charlotte Russe
Pink Belt: Salvation Army
Pink Sandals: Payless

Daily MelWear: Weekend Attire

I don't normally post my weekend outfits but a few people have asked about them and I have some extra time today (my daughter is with her dad for Father's Day and my parents are out visiting my brother and his family) so I thought I'd go ahead and post some. So exciting, no?

There are no photos of today, because I slept in and haven't showered (and may not today. TMI? Sorry, but this is the ONE day I have to stay home and get things done!) and probably will not be wearing anything cute. Moving on...

Friday is my day off work because I work 10 hour days Monday - Thursday. My daughter knows Fridays as Mommy Day since we always have the day together. I love my Mommy Days!

I was originally going to wear this dress just by itself, but then it seemed like WAY too much pattern so I threw the cardigan on top even though it was almost 100 degrees outside. Pops of yellow in the belt and shoes are always fun with the blue and green pattern. Usually I wear something underneath too when this dress goes to work but since it was the weekend, I left that off. 

I spent the morning with my daughter, having pillow and tickle fights, and then I had a nail and hair appointment at 11AM. When I came home, we had lunch together before her nap. After her nap, we played, had dinner, then took a trip to Target so that she could pick out anything she wanted with the gift cards/money she was given for her birthday. She picked out the new Alice In Wonderland DVD with Johnny Depp (that's definitely my daughter!), a bath toy, a Toy Story car racing toy, a Rapunzel doll and some new black sandals that matched my yellow ones I was wearing.

On Saturday, we went to my cousin's daughter's dance recital in the morning and then to lunch with the whole family. After lunch was nap time, then I brought her to her dad's house so that he could spend Father's Day with her. He opened his Father's Day gift then instead of waiting so I could see him open it. I found Star Wars lightsaber chopsticks! One adult and one kid-sized pair. He was so excited and so was our daughter. Yay for good gifts! :)

I went back home, picked up my mom and headed to Wal-Mart and Bath & Body Works, then we went back for my dad and he took us to dinner.

That was my weekend! Now for a few other things to mention...

Daphne from Fashion Confessions of a Mommy tagged me in a What's In Your Bag post. My bag isn't all that exciting, but here's a photo (I have one of those purse organizer thingies because I'm a neat freak - there, I said it):

And here's what's in there (basically): hairbrush, medicine case with ibuprofen, dramamine and chewable pepto, gum, pens, business cards, sanitizer, lotion, make-up, thigh-highs in case my boss freaks about us not wearing hose, and two extra pairs of panties in case my girl has an accident. I usually have my wallet, keys and phone in there too but didn't take a picture of them.  I'm entirely unexciting, I know. Heh.

One other thing is that I was awarded the Lovely Blog Award by B. Inspired at Bravoe Runway. I know this has gone around several times (and I also really don't like leaving anyone out) so I'm not going to tag anyone else, but I'll quickly share seven things about myself.

1. I like to sing. A lot. I'm no star or anything but I do get paid to sing with an entertainment company during Christmastime. In fact, my ex-husband and I met at a restaurant where we both worked, where the waitstaff put on shows each night. I was a hostess, he was a chef. FUN times! :)

2. I have weird fears of elevators and water. I'm claustrophobic so I HATE elevators for fear that I'll get stuck in one, and I don't like natural bodies of water. I'm okay with pools, but lakes, oceans and other natural things freak me right out. And I also hate flying. The last time I flew was on a missions trip to Thailand back in 2005. Nothing happened on any of those flights, except that I had a panic attack for no good reason. Even though the flights were "okay", I'm still PETRIFIED of flying.

3. My favorite color is green.

4. If our daughter had been a boy, we would have named him Giovanni Michael. However, I'm SO GLAD we had a girl and that we had EXACTLY the girl we have. I adore her!

5. My two favorite jobs were working as a barista at Barnie's and as the administrative assistant in the music department at a huge local church.

6. I'm a little bit terrified of the day when I'll pay off my bills and be able to move out of my parents' house into my own place with my daughter. I've never been on my own and it scares me. Plus I'll have to learn to cook. Meh.

7. I could probably live on coffee, chocolate, and pizza. Not for long, cuz I'm sure eating that badly would kill me young, but I do love those things. :)

And that's it for my weekend post! I have the next 7 hours all to myself to get several loads of laundry done, more blog posts written, guest posts completed, organize my room a bit and who knows what else. Hopefully I can even get all of that done!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend and Sunday!!!

Daily MelWear: Board Meeting Momma

I always get thrown off a little when we have an extra week in between board meetings. I expect them to be every other Tuesday but they're actually the 2nd and 4th, so when there's a 5th Tuesday in a month, I just get all confused.

At any rate, today IS a board meeting day! Which to me means a skirt suit or at the very least, a blazer.

I have to be honest: as much as I love the silhouette and aesthetic of a pencil skirt (especially for business), I find A-line skirts to be much more comfortable. I think I need to start looking for more of those.

And now let me pat myself on the back a little bit. Back in April, I wrote a post about my story, my struggle with weight and how I got it off. I do feel like I've lost my grip on my eating habits since hitting my goal weight (although I'm pretty good about sticking to my workout routine). While I don't weigh myself anymore because I don't care how much I weigh (I'd rather gain weight in muscle than lose weight and lack definition), I do care about what I'm fueling my body with and how my clothes fit. Lately they're a bit snug.

Yesterday is the first day in a long time that I stuck to my menu and drank my water and didn't feel guilty about anything I ate. Yay! Go me! I know it's important to allow yourself treats and splurges, but I don't think that should be allowed every single day, which is what I've been doing lately.

It's difficult as a vegetarian, who doesn't eat eggs or fish, and also doesn't like tofu or tempeh, to eat well and not overload on carbs. I'm doing my best though, and I'm proud of myself for yesterday! Hopefully I can keep it up!

Do any of you struggle with eating well, avoiding sweets and coming up with yummy and healthy menus? What tips and tricks do you use?

Today's outfit:

Gray Skirt Suit: Ross

Pink Shirt: Dots

Yellow Belt: Target

Heels: DSW

Daily MelWear: Bumblebee Office Momma

You know, they say that people with my coloring (dark features, fairly pale coloring) shouldn't wear yellow. I don't know who "they" are, but "they" write a lot of fashion and beauty rules that I just don't follow. Horizontal stripes make you look bigger? I wear 'em anyway. Short chicks can't wear long/maxi skirts? Eh, whatever. Wearing white on the bottom half isn't flattering? Well I like my white pants, thankyouverymuch.

A couple weeks ago I guest posted on Brittney's blog while she was vacationing and wrote about tips to stay cool during summer while still dressing appropriately for the office. If you didn't get a chance to read it, check it out!

Last year at this time I was all about the cardigan for work outfits. It seems this year I've moved on to blazers and one of my favorite summer office-wear tips is to find brightly colored short-sleeved blazers. That's why I'm so glad I found these cute little ensembles at Burlington a few weeks ago! Adorable skirts with perfectly bright blazers; I can remix the skirt AND the blazer with so many different things, for work or for play.

Last week's outfit was fun with the sandals and necklace, but today we have a corporate Town Hall meeting so I needed to wear closed-toe shoes and no jewelry. I was SO very tempted to pair this with a pink belt and pink flats, but then I figured I shouldn't push the envelope too much around all the executives. I'm trying to play it safe. Even this print is pushing it a bit with our strict dress code.

But they promised snacks. And that's enough for me.

By the way, what are some of YOUR favorite tips for dressing professionally in the summer?

Have a great day, my friends!

Today's outfit:

Skirt and Jacket: Burlington

Black Tank: Target

Black Belt: Can't remember

Black Pumps: Target

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.)