Daily MelWear: I'm On A Mission

I found out yesterday that Peggy over at She Hath Done What She Could has dubbed this week Black and White Week.  Coincidentally, I was {sort of} wearing black and white yesterday, so I thought I would join in the fun!

Since the last time I wore this skirt to work and declared that it was too casual for the office, I have been on a mission to find a way to style this more professionally.

My first attempt this morning fell flat on its face.  {Do attempts even have faces?  That's a weird thought.}

I paired the skirt with a white button-down shirt, thinking that would surely up the professional ante.  Not so, however.  I think it was the style of the shirt, it had ruching under the bust and with this skirt being so full, I had to tuck it in but the placement of the ruching made it look odd. 

What I'm wearing today is my second attempt.  Cardigans can really only help make things look more professional. The tank underneath is too plain for my taste but the black beads add a little more interest.  Oh, if only I had a statement necklace that I could wear!  I really need to go shopping.  Really.

Also? I love the color of this belt.  A lot.

Today's outfit:

Black/White Skirt: Kohl's

White Tank: Target

Black Cardigan: Kohl's

Teal Belt: Salvation Army

Black Bow Pumps: Wal-Mart

Necklace/Earrings/Bracelets: Wal-Mart (um...I think.)

Daily MelWear: Skinny Cat

The title of today's post is simply referring to the fact that I'm finally wearing a different silhouette in slacks today!  Almost every pair of pants that I wear to work are the same style and they're all wide-legged.  I love wide-legged pants...but I've really wanted to find some that aren't quite so huge.

Enter my mother-in-law this weekend - she'd bought these for her mother but they didn't fit.  I tried them on and VOILA! Perfection. Yay for new pants! Without even entering a store!

I originally paired the pants with a magenta tee that had some floral embellishments, but the tee is now a little too big and looked kind of ridiculous.  Then I tried my leopard metallic tank and it was nice, but something was still off.  It looked too "party on a Saturday night" instead of office-appropriate.  I ditched my silver stilettos, added the jacket...and it works. 

I also tried belting it but with the blousy-ness of the tank, that didn't work out too well.

We had yesterday off from work in observance of Independence Day; I didn't even shower, hence the reason for no post.  It was great to have such a long weekend! 

What did you all do to celebrate the Fourth of July? Did you get a long weekend or did you have to work on Monday?

Today's Outfit:

Black Ankle Pants: The Limited (via my MIL)

Leopard Metallic Tank: Plato's Closet

Black Jacket: Charlotte Russe

Black/Gray Pumps: Target (Isaac Mizrahi)

Daily MelWear: Happy Independence Day!!!

Happy birthday, America!!!

Today, I do not take for granted the freedom that we have in this country.  

Today, I think about both of my grandfathers who were in the military, and I picture the flags that both of my grandmothers now hold dear in remembrance of their husbands. 

Today, I remember my cousin who is currently serving, and I remember his presentation of my grandfather's flag to my grandmother at the memorial service. 

Today, I could care less whether or not you like Barack Obama. What I care about is the fact that we live in a country where people are willing to give their lives defending our right to worship our God, our right to wear the clothes that we want to wear, our right to make our voices heard.

Be grateful for what you have.  Work hard for what you want or don't whine that you don't have it. Thank those who help you get there. 

And...try to look cute at the same time. :) This is my outfit for the Fourth of July, 2010!

Today's Stuff:

Denim Strapless Dress: Ross

Red Tank: Plato's Closet

White Belt: Wal-Mart

Nude Kitten Heels: Target

Friend Friday: Are Fashion Bloggers Narcissistic?

I think this is something that most fashion/outfit diary bloggers encounter at some point in time or another. Katy put together a good post of questions for this weeks' edition of Friend Friday.

1. Do you think personal fashion blogging is inherently narcissistic?

I really don't.  I don't think it can be generalized that way.  I haven't come across any fashion blog (yet) that seems narcissistic. I do it for the community aspect of blogging, because I feel like it's an easy thing to write about (for me - because I don't have to come up with in-depth topics or spend hours doing research) and because my ultimate goal is to challenge myself to be better, and to get tips and advice from other fashion bloggers to make myself better. 

2. I think we can all agree that certainly some blogs are personal odes to the blogger. In your opinion what makes a blog narcissistic?

I think a blog is narcissistic if the writer doesn't make any attempt to reply to comments and be grateful for them, or doesn't comment on other bloggers' posts with constructive words.  If the writer is simply posting their thoughts and opinions because they believe everyone needs to hear and see what they think, because they couldn't possibly improve any further, that makes a blog narcissistic to me.

3. Would you classify your blog as narcissistic? Why?

Nope.  Because I know I'm far from great!  While I'm hopeful that maybe, perhaps, some of my outfits might inspire someone somewhere, my goal is to improve because I don't really think I'm all that inspiring essentially. 

4. How can we combat the idea that because we share personal style thoughts/pictures we are automatically full of ourselves?

Why would sharing our opinions make us full of ourselves?  How is that different from any other blog?  Just because we share our opinions about fashion rather than cooking (or crafts, or entertainment, or anything else) doesn't make us full of ourselves. 

5. How do you explain what you do to others in a way that doesn't come across as narcissistic? 

I blog not because I think other people benefit from it; I blog because I have a desire to improve and to form relationships with those that inspire me. 

Daily MelWear: Team Building

Today was our annual Team Building/Employee Appreciation Day.  We got together at Truffles and Trifles for a morning of cooking together and then sat down to enjoy all of the lovely breakfast dishes that each team made.

My team made some kind of sausage casserole (I didn't do that part - I don't eat meat) and beignets! So yummy.  Some of the other items were a raspberry breakfast cake, hash browns, blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, banana waffles, breakfast cookies, cinnamon sticky buns...among some other meat items that I didn't notice. :)

And I may or may not have smuggled in some Amaretto to add to my coffee. 

Attire was casual so I decided to wear a super cute dress that I'd never be able to wear to the office.  You can't tell in the pictures but there are little orange accents in the flowers on top. I love the colors (although I'm not a Gators fan so blue and orange isn't a natural choice for me) and I adore the ruffles on the skirt.  So twirly and fun!

I'm including a couple pictures of some of the girls that I work with too - scroll down for those! (Aren't the aprons lovely?)

Today's outfit:

Dress: Kohl's

Yellow Peep-toe Wedges: Payless

Yellow Necklace: Wal-Mart

Me & Cheryl, the Executive Assistant for the Institute

Me, Brittany (Front office check-out) & Gladys, one of the Research Coordinators