Daily MelWear: Gettin' Comfortable

Well HI! It's Monday! I'm trying to psyche myself up! It's not working!

Oh well.  It was worth a shot.

This outfit is one that I've worn before, but deleted the pictures before I uploaded them.  Duh.  So I wore it again and took more pictures.  These pictures came out kind of crappy-like because of the time of day. Sorry about that.

I saw someone else wear a shirtdress with another shirt underneath and I thought to myself, "Why on earth did I not think of this on my own?!" It's a great way to rework this dress.  It's not a full shirtdress so I'm not able to layer another dress underneath it, but a shirt...that I can do.

I must admit that this is NOT what I'm wearing to work today.  Someone asked me on FormSpring why I don't post more casual, weekend outfits. Since I'm not wearing anything particularly thrilling today, I figured it was the perfect day to post a weekend outfit. I wore this on Saturday when we ran errands, trying to sell some things to make some extra money, went to lunch and then just crashed for the night.

Saturday's outfit:

Chambray Shirtdress: Wal-Mart

Black/White Striped Tee: Macy's

Teal Belt: Salvation Army

Gold Floral Shoes: Target

Pink Necklace/Earrings: Beya

As some of you may (or may not) know, I work in the research office for the diabetes outpatient clinic at a local hospital. We do studies on new glucose meters and medications and comparative studies too. I'm the administrative assistant and the only person in my department who is not a nurse. Although many of the girls who work the front office at the clinic are also non-clinical, they all wear scrubs every day. 

However, my boss has informed me that I can only wear the hospital-issued scrubs (they were actually an employee appreciation gift!) no more than once a week, and I'm not allowed to wear any other type of scrubs. Her reasoning that I shouldn't wear scrubs is because I'm non-clinical and she wouldn't want a patient to mistake me for a nurse or medical assistant and ask me questions.  Apparently it's out of the question for me to just state that I'm not a nurse, cannot offer any medical advice and they need to contact their doctor with concerns.

Anyway, I haven't worn scrubs EVER because she made me feel like she'd really prefer that I don't wear them at all.  However - she's off today so I'm wearin' 'em! I considered wearing a belt but then I thought that would be entirely unprofessional in this type of uniform.  I did make it my own a little bit with the necklace and hairband. Plus my Sketchers sneakers are SPARKLY!

I'm so comfy today. Although the shirt is so baggy that with it tied, my butt looks like one of Cinderella's stepsisters' butts. (Is it obvious that I'm a mom when I compare my butt to that of a Disney character? Oy.)

Today's outfit:

Black Scrub Pants and Teal Scrub Top: work-issued

Sketchers Sneakers: DSW

Necklace: Wal-Mart

Hairband: can't remember - either Wal-Mart or Target

So is there anything you wish you could wear to work all the time? If you are a stay-at-home-mom, is there anything you wish you had the opportunity to wear more often?

Friend Friday: Conspicuous Consumption

Katy mentioned that this week's Friend Friday topic is something that is a heavy topic in the world of style and fashion bloggers. Being completely honest though, it's not something that I've thought about in regards to what other people should or shouldn't be doing. I try very hard to not judge how people spend their money or run their blogs. Hopefully that won't make my answers too boring!

1. Do you think fashion blogs are often just conspicuous consumption? Are some?

I do think that some are. There are quite a few that post weekly or even daily about sales and what they're buying this time.  Sometimes, honestly, I do get a little bit jealous because they talk about how this $100 dress is now on sale for $50 and it's such a steal! Well...I can't even afford a $50 "steal". I buy dresses at Ross for $10! That's about what I can afford. So my goal is not to buy as much as possible, but rather to work with what I have more creatively, to buy things from thrift/consignment stores or serious discount stores, or to find things on deep discount. I only buy things full price from places like Ross, Wal-Mart and Target.

2. As bloggers do we have the obligation to explain our personal financial status, how we pay for the things we showcase, if we have debt, etc...

Nope. No one is obligated to explain their personal financial information. If people want to read about financial topics, they can read financial blogs. Fashion bloggers don't have to explain a thing. 

3. Critics often say that fashion bloggers should use their money to support more worthwhile causes than clothing themselves in a different outfit daily. What's your reaction to this?

I don't use my money to showcase different outfits.  I try to create outfits by reusing pieces as much as possible in an effort to not spend money, which will hopefully encourage other people to work with their current wardrobe too. Besides, everyone has their own opinion about what constitutes a worthwhile cause.

4. Since you started blogging, do you spend more money on fashion and beauty products?

Well, definitely not beauty products because I'm just not into that.  I have my core make-up products that I use and that's about it.  As far as clothing, I'm finding myself wanting to shop more often than I used to, but now I have a goal of finding great things on clearance or in thrift stores. I don't care so much anymore about the newest, full-price pieces. Yes, I love trends but I need to find the ones I can get least expensively!

5. Life is about more than what money can buy. What are the things that top your list of what life is all about?

Loving God. Spending time with my family. Making sure they know that they are my top priority. Raising my daughter to be confident, independent, dependable, wise and in love with God. 

Daily MelWear: Walkin' on the Wild Side

I remembered yesterday that I have a three hour meeting this morning. 

Mornings are usually when I try to catch up on blog reading and commenting.  As much as I love my iPhone, this isn't something I've been able to use it for. I have an app called MobileRSS (there are three of them; I'm using the free version) that is REALLY fantastic and I love it - except for one HUGE flaw.  The vast majority of the time when I click in the box to type a comment, the keyboard pops up for a second and then goes away.  Over and over and over again.  It won't stay open for me to type anything. 

It's so incredibly frustrating.  When I try to visit the blog's actual site using Safari, I can't see the captcha to submit my comment.  I can see the captcha in MobileRSS, but then I can't get the keyboard to stick so that I can type a comment. I"ve tried other free RSS Readers but with all of those, I also can't see the captcha. 

I know that I'll have time during this meeting to catch up on my blogs but I want to be able to comment too! I'm really, really frustrated by this.  I don't want to spend money on another RSS app that might have the same issues, so I'm trying all of the free ones so far. 

Plus I have a meeting with my boss this afternoon so I'm pretty sure that I won't have any time other than during this meeting to get caught up.

Do any of you have any iPhone app recommendations?  PLEASE?!

Okay so on to the outfit: like I said, I'd forgotten until yesterday that I had this meeting to attend.  I work for a HUGE hospital but don't actually work in the main medical plaza, so I rarely see anyone else in the organization other than my immediate co-workers.  Since I'll probably be meeting people today I wanted to look professional, but still myself. 

This outfit is similar to one that I wore during my pre-blog days.  I saw another blogger wear something along these same lines and it reminded me of what I'd worn before, so I decided to try another version of it for this meeting. I like the subtle pattern mixing between the zebra sash and the leopard pumps. Everything about this outfit is super comfortable. I also have a blazer that I didn't photograph, but that's only in case the meeting room is cold. 

So seriously...please let me know if you have recommendations for RSS apps for the iPhone. 

And...I'm done. Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Today's outfit:

Black Skirt: Kohl's

Red Blouse: Kohl's (I think...I suddenly can't remember)

Zebra Sash: Ross (came with a shirt)

Leopard Pumps: Payless

Daily MelWear: Secret Lace

This outfit is inspired by a few bloggers.  Several of you yesterday wore light outfits with dark accessories, and I loved the contrast.  Also, Jenny from Closet 365 created a project for herself recently where she re-styled all of the dresses that she's worn to weddings in the past few years, in an attempt to get more use out of them and to prove that great dresses don't always need special occassions. 

That reminded me of this dress, which I wore to my brother's wedding about five years ago.  Since then, I've worn it to church (I think...) and that's about it.  It just hangs in my closet.  I really like the floral print and think it's a great dress, although on its own I think it might be a little juvenile for me at this point.  At any rate, this cardigan is one of those that I bought at Ross over the weekend and I thought it'd be perfect to pair with the dress so that I can wear it to work!

I threw on the black belt and shoes and I was set to go.  And LOOK - look at the back of the cardigan.  Isn't that fantastic?! I love this cardigan. It's just so soft, lightweight and gorgeous with the lacey back.

Yay! I wonder if this dress would look okay in the winter with black tights and a black sweater. Hm.  Thoughts to ponder.

AND - it's Wednesday! In case you weren't aware. {Just call me Captain Obvious.} That's means Monday is long past and we're closer to the weekend!

How was everyone's Tuesday? Do you have any fun plans for tonight?

Today's outfit:

Dress: Ross

Cardigan: Ross

Belt: Kohl's (came with a shirt)

Shoes: Wal-Mart

Necklace: Wal-Mart 

Daily MelWear: Flower Girl

Good morning! I had a great time reading over your comments and thoughts on yesterday's post about replying to comments.  It seems like some of you already have a great system in place that works for you and some others are in the same boat with me, trying to figure out what will fit in best with our blogs and our schedules.

If you haven't already, go back and leave your two cents! Or one cent.  However much you've got.

So last night, I came home to a yummy spinach salad that my husband made from a recipe in Men's Health magazine.  Light, delicious, healthy...and then we had some homemade chocolate guinness ice cream to top it off.  Negate much? Eh. We just had a little bit.

I'm having mood swings with this outfit.  This skirt is actually one of the strapless dresses that I bought at Ross over the weekend. I have quite a few fun, casual outfit ideas in mind but it was more difficult for me to come up with something office appropriate.  At first I didn't like this version.  I thought the neckline of the tee didn't look right.  Then I pulled the skirt up higher, pulled the tee down so it fit tighter and I kind of liked it again.  Added the necklace and heels and it was okay! Then I got to work, saw it in the mirror and I'm not sure again.  I'm wondering if the skirt is a little too full for my short self. It might work better with an untucked shirt (still belted, of course). I don't find this to be a very professional outfit at all, but at least there's nothing about it that is specifically inappropriate for work.

What do you think?

Today's outfit:

Floral Skirt (Strapless Dress): Ross

Pink Tee: Target

Brown Belt: Salvation Army

Brown Studded Heels: Wal-Mart

Floral Statement Necklace: Target