Blogging for Breast Cancer aWEARness

{Edited 10.10.10 - As of today, we have 35 participants! You guys are doing such a great job! Please double check the list and let me know if you're participating but aren't on here - I'll add you ASAP!}

Since the month of October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we all know someone, whether personally or through another, that has been affected by this disease, my challenge to style bloggers is to raise awareness by wearing (at least) one pink item every single day during the month of October. 

This doesn't have to be a main piece; it can be shoes, a belt or even just a pair of earrings.  Some element of the outfit must be pink. 

I leave it up to your discretion to determine whether the shade of pink is acceptable or not.

Some of you have mentioned that you don't believe you have enough pink in your closet to stick to the challenge.  If you're only able to participate for a week, then just do a week.  Whatever you can do will hopefully make this bigger and spread more awareness. If you need to buy some pink items, check here.

Below is a list of bloggers participating.  If you're interested in being a part and aren't on this list, please let me know and I'll add you! Be sure to grab the badge to add to your blog as well. {Also, if you're on this list because I misunderstood and you don't think you're able to participate, let me know and I'll take your name off if you'd like!}

Marilou of Twenty York Street

LaToya of A Chameleon's Closet
Matt of A Different Sort of Fashionista (10/1 - 10/8)
The Lovely Chics of Academichic

Apples and Pencil Skirts
Amy of Amy Fashion
Cara of Cara's Closet

Sarah of Classroom Chic

Brittany of Cleverly Titled Fashion Blog

Anne of The Cohabitating closet

Eek of eek!

Farrielle of Farrielle Design and Fashionista
Daphne of Fashion Confessions of a Mommy

Kelly of Fashion Fuel D.C.

La Historiadora de Moda of Fashionable Academics
Erica of Fashionably Brass (10/11 - 10/18)
Judy Anne of Fashionably Late Bloomer
Kelly of Fashion Me Blog
Kimberly of Fashion Momma

Elle of Fast Food & Fast Fashion

Kinsey of In Kinsey's Closet  
Jackie of Jackie Ranson Photography
Lisa of Knit, Teach, Ride

Lorena of Lorena's Every Day Wear (starting mid-way through October)
Frances Joy of Mad Dress Game

Kameel of Mrs Hall In Training
Lori of No More Sweatpants

Kristin of the Not-So-Desperate Housewife

Miss. Studios of O Miss Studios
Sara of orchidsinbuttonholes

Julia of Polka Dot Biker Shorts

Avy of ♥ Shahana Style ♥

Joy of Southern Comfort
Lauren of sparrow & urchin - a life & style blog
Collette of Statements in Fashion

Jamie of Thrifty Threads

Ana of Toil & Trouble
Nurmisur of Too Much Information

Tricia of Tricia's Take

Yuri of Two Thousand Things..

Viktoria of Viktoria with a K

Andie of What Andie Wears

Here's to spreading awareness and saving lives!

Daily MelWear: Simple Flowers

I'm glad it's Thursday.  That means I've survived the week. That's a plus.

I haven't worn this skirt in a while so I decided to bring it out.  I also haven't worn this sleeveless top in a while, I don't think I've ever worn it on the blog. It's usually cool in my office so I added the cardigan (not to mention I just love this cardigan!).

The statement necklace is from the goody bag from Marilou! She really has fantastic taste.  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, what are you waiting for?!

The Blogging for Breast Cancer aWEARness Challenge begins tomorrow, October 1st.  I'll post a list of participants either later today or tomorrow. If you'd like to take part, please let me know so that I can add you to the list.  You can either leave a comment here or email me at aworkingmomscloset at gmail dot com.

Keep in mind that it's up to your discretion regarding whether the shade of pink is acceptable or not, and if you're only able to participate for a week rather than the entire month, that's perfectly fine. 

Hope you're all having a great week.

Today's outfit:

Black/White Skirt: Salvation Army

Purple Sleeveless Top: Wal-Mart

White Cardigan: Ross
Black Belt: Kohl's (came with a shirt)
Black/White Pumps: My mom (Payless?)
Statement Necklace: Gift from ML 

Daily MelWear: Chaos and Calm

Look! A skirt, belt and heels. So while everything else in my life is chaotic, at least my outfits can be normal again.

This skirt is one that I've considered giving away, but then I saw this post by Melanie and decided to try the same thing. It works okay.

And again, I don't really have much to say. I'm sorry I'm so withdrawn lately. I appreciate the emails, comments and Twitter replies you've all been sending.  It really means so much to me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your support and your kindness. I really need a lot of that right now.

Hope you all have a great day!

Today's outfit:
White Skirt: Gap (long, long time ago...)
Purple Tee: Plato's Closet
Black Belt: Kohl's (came with a different shirt)

Tweed Pumps: Wal-Mart

Necklace/Earrings: Wal-Mart
Bracelet: Gift from Marilou

Daily MelWear: Black and Gray

Well.  I don't have much to say.

First I want to mention the October Challenge: Blogging for Breast Cancer aWEARness. If you're only able to do a week instead of the entire month, that's absolutely fine. If you aren't sure whether a certain shade of pink is acceptable, I leave that entirely up to your discretion. I don't have very many pink items either, but I'm going to try to wear things that would "go" with it so that I can just add pops of pink in my earrings or something like that. I'm going to post a list of participants as soon as I'm able (hopefully this week, since it starts on Friday, October 1st) so let me know if you're in.

Now let's talk about the reasons I picked this outfit.

1. This top is from the goody bag from Marilou! I love the ruffles at the top. This is a great skirt to dress up jeans (if I could wear those to work).
2. This bracelet is from Marilou too! Would you believe that I didn't even own a single bracelet? I had my watch, but that's about it. I love this bracelet! Especially the clasp detail.

3. We're doing a walk-through today at work of our new building. We're set to move in November.  Our instructions were to wear long pants and flat shoes.  This pair of pants is the only one I own that I can wear with flats. That didn't leave me much choice.

4. My plan is to wear the blazer all day, but when I got to work the air was broken and it was hot, so I took the blazer off. Now it seems to be cooling down so I can put the blazer back on which is great, because without it, this outfit seems a little too "night out" and less "office."

5. This color palette works for my mood today.  I have a cold, but can't stay home from work. I received some news that, to me, is earth-shattering and I'm still trying to process everything.

So yeah. Black and gray works. Now here are some pictures for you.

Today's outfit:

Gray Ruffled Shell: Gift from Marilou

Black Skinny Pants: From my mother-in-law

Black Blazer: Goodwill Boutique

Black Flats: Target

Pearl Bracelet: Gift from Marilou

Daily MelWear: Monday and an October Challenge

Hi friends,

When I was composing this post in my mind, I was really excited to talk about our weekend (we had fun!) and my very first wardrobe challenge that I want to kick off in October.

But then life happened and now my mind is in other places. Please forgive my lack of excitement for today. I'm not sure it's going to get better any time soon but I certainly hope so. 

For now, let's talk about today's outfit.  The wonderful, gorgeous, kind and ever stylish Marilou of 20 York Street sent me a package full of fabulous pieces and I'm wearing two of the necklaces today.  I can't wait to style some of the other items, they'll make their appearances soon, I'm sure.  If you haven't ever checked out Marilou's blog, you really should.  She has exquisite taste and is one of the most genuinely kind and thoughtful people I've ever met.

I wanted something that would show off the necklaces and this top seemed to fit.  Plus there's the fact that I don't feel very well so a simple outfit was in order.  Pants, sweater, throw on some jewelry and leopard heels and call it an outfit. Works for me.

Now on to the October challenge.  I've been wanting to come up with some kind of a style challenge for a while but just couldn't think of one. One of my friends sent me a Facebook message with an idea and I'm going to run with it (thanks Liz!). She suggested that since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it would be a neat challenge to somehow incorporate some pink item into every single outfit. This is doubly hard for me because I've been so anti-pink for so long that I don't have very much pink in my closet!

I've only known a handful of people touched by breast cancer, but I'm sure that every single person knows someone that has been affected by the disease.  Too many people criticize fashion and style blogs for being shallow. I'd like to prove that there is more to me than just clothes.

So that's what I've decided to do.  My talented husband created the graphic for this challenge and I'm calling it Blogging for Breast Cancer aWEARness. If you'd like to participate in the challenge, send me an email with your name and blog address so that I can start a list of participants.  Make sure to grab the badge for your blog too. 

I'm planning to start this Friday, on October 1st, so that gives you a few days to think about it and let me know! Anyone can join in later in the month too. Whenever you decide to join is fine, just let me know and I'll have a list that I can add to.

That's all I've got for today.  Again, I'm sorry for the lack of excitement and I'm probably not going to be around much for a while other than posting to the blog.  I'm reading your blogs, trying to keep up with what you're all up to, but I'm not able to comment very much right now. I'm not sure when I'll be back in full swing but for right now, please keep me in prayer. Thanks everyone!

Today's outfit:
Black Pants: Charlotte Russe
Green Sweater: Plato's Closet
Leopard Stilettos: Payless
Necklaces: Courtesy of Marilou

Friend Friday: Fashion Dos and Don'ts

This week Katy's Friend Friday questions are about fashion dos and don'ts. I know it's a huge coincidence but I found it interesting that we're discussing this the day after Sal published a blog post entitled Shouldn't Wear That. Please take a few minutes to read through Sal's post; it's extremely enlightening. I know that I've used the phrase often and many, many people use it, even when they think they're just being helpful, but Sal makes some very good points and I, for one, am going to make a concerted effort to discontinue saying that. 

With that being said, I'm going to answer these "fashion dos and don'ts" questions based purely on my perspective, on things that I would or would not wear, and not at all based upon what anyone else should or should not wear. 

1. What do you think are some of the top fashion don’ts? (Things you would never be caught dead in and cringe when other people wear them.)

Some of the things that I personally wouldn't wear are short shorts, rompers, mini-skirts, huge platform shoes, thigh-highs with short skirts...basically things that are overly revealing, just because I don't think those pieces would be very flattering on me at all.  With the huge platform shoes, I just think I'm too short for thick platforms; chunky and clunky shoes overwhelm me although I do love a good high heel! I probably wouldn't wear a scarf as a turban because I'm pretty sure that I'd wrap it wrong and I'd look ridiculous.

2. What previous fashion don’t do you now wear with pride? 

Black and brown! Mixed patterns! Different shades of the same color! Jewelry (or cardigans or shoes) in pops of color rather than matching colors! BELTS WITH NO BELT LOOPS! Oh I just love belts.

3. Do you think there is a universal fashion do? 

ABSOLUTELY. Do wear clothes that make you FEEL GOOD. Wear things that make you feel pretty, powerful, sexy, put together and confident.

4. What items lately, either recently in style or coming in now, do you think should never make it off the retail shelves?

Now see, this is a hard one.  Because I'm getting into the philosophy of "to each his (or her) own." Someone must have considered those pieces worthwhile at some point or they wouldn't have been manufactured in the first place. 

5. In your opinion, is there any blogger, fashion icon, celebrity who some how manages to pull off some fashion don’ts and still look good? 

I think there are tons of bloggers that are able to pull off things that I could never, ever wear, simply because it WORKS for them.

Nothing is a fashion "don't" if you wear it with style, purpose and confidence.

Daily MelWear: Blue Leopard

I just love leopard print. Love it.  A lot.

Even more so when I find a leopard print skirt (and it's knee-length to boot!) at the Salvation Army for $3! {The detail shot is at the bottom so you can actually see the print - it was still dark out when I left this morning so these pictures aren't great even with brightening and a flash.}

Whee!!!

Plus this blue blouse makes me ridiculously happy. It's one that I had altered because I just couldn't bear to get rid of it when it got to be too big.

As verbose as I usually am, I'm kind of at a loss for things to say (quite possibly because I've been on the phone all stinking day long, every day this week, so I'm kind of worded out right now), so I'm just going to post pictures. Have a great day!!!

Today's outfit:

Blue Blouse: Eh...I can't remember. Ross? JCPenney?

Leopard Skirt: Salvation Army

Black Belt: Kohl's (came with a different shirt)

Black Bow Pumps: Wal-Mart

Like my work badge clipped to my belt? Oops.

Daily MelWear: So Close...

Hi everyone!

Are you glad it's Wednesday? I am! We're that much closer to the weekend and I can't wait. We don't have anything spectacular planned, but I think being at home is pretty spectacular in itself.

Those of you that have been reading for a while know that I had some issues a few weeks ago regarding the length of skirts/dresses at work. Since then I've worn pants because it seems as though many of my skirts aren't acceptable at work anymore.

Today's dress is one of my absolute favorites because it's a blank slate. It looks great belted so I can wear any kind of belt with it, the shade of purple can be mixed with almost any color so I can layer practically anything over it...it's just perfect. I love this dress.

I was holding my breath when I put it on this morning, hoping that it would meet the knee-length criteria.

It kind of doesn't. But it's so close! It's a little bit too short by an inch or two.  It's acceptable if I pull it down so that the waist is closer to my belly button; the belt is up higher than the waist of the dress, it's sitting where the dress should sit. Every time I stand up, I pull the dress down.  As I walk, I'm tugging on it. And I'm slouching over like Melanie suggested the other day! The dress is great when I'm not at work, the length is perfectly modest in most normal settings so it's not the dress that's making me uncomfortable; it's the dress code.

I really need to find longer skirts and dresses so that I don't have to question and be uncomfortable. I just don't have the money to go shopping right now so I'm trying to make do with what I already have in my closet.

I need you guys to pray for me that I won't get in trouble for this one! I will likely add this to my "not for work" list, which is really sad because I LOVE this dress SO much.

Today's outfit:

Purple Dress: Plato's Closet

Teal Cardigan: Charlotte Russe

White Belt: Kohl's (came with a different dress)

Nude Kitten Heels: Target

Necklace: Wal-Mart

Daily MelWear: Hot Autumn

Yesterday Megan said something about wishing she could find an autumnal sundress.

Well Megan, this one's for you! :) 

I found this dress, which is actually a strapless 3-in-1 (apparently you can wear it two ways as a dress and also a third way as a skirt), at Ross several weeks ago.  I feel like the black and grayish-tan pattern is very fall-ish (yes, that is now a word), but it's an extremely lightweight and breezy strapless dress. It's perfect for fall in Florida!

And, since I can't wear a strapless dress to work, I threw on a bright button-down shirt with a belt and called it a day.

Ashley had a giveaway a few weeks ago and I was the first person to comment on the post, noting that the first person really never wins. Honestly, those random number generator thingies ALWAYS pick a number BETWEEN the first and the last but they never pick the first or the last! I knew that but left the first comment anyway just to get her contest rolling.  Well, Ashley, being the fabulous, stylish, sweet and gorgeous person that she is (seriously, have you checked out her blog yet? Do it!), decided to send me a consolation prize!!! I was super excited when I got her email and even more excited when I received her package in the mail! She sent me the prettiest pair of flower earrings from The Limited! I totally meant to take a detail shot of them this morning but my husband and I were rushing out the door for work and it slipped my mind. But I'm wearing them today, I love them and I'll try to take a detail photo next time.

Today I'm expecting to be the beginning of hundreds of phone calls, since at least 1000 fliers were mailed out yesterday. I'll probably be chained to my phone. Have I mentioned how much I hate being on the phone? I really don't like the phone. I'll be much happier once we have all 180 patients scheduled and a waiting list of people to call when we have cancellations and no-shows.

Thanks for all of your comments on yesterday's post and the post with the professional photos.  April is truly amazing! You guys make me smile every single day, have I mentioned that lately? There are days when I feel like I'm not good at this whole blogging thing at all, but reading your comments perk me up and make me happy. You guys are awesome. Thank you. :)

Today's outfit:
Strapless Dress: Ross
Red Blouse: Wal-Mart
Black Belt: Kohl's (came with a shirt)
Black Bow Pumps: Wal-Mart
Flower Earrings: giveaway from Ashley

Daily MelWear: Pops of Red

Hi friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend! We had a pretty easy one, didn't do much or spend a lot of money other than using some coupons at Bath and Body Works. Yay for Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin! It may not feel like fall in Florida, but I can certainly make my house smell like it. Plus my daughter wants to be a ghost for Halloween for some reason, so I bought her a ghost soap dispenser. It makes her happy.  She's 3, I really thought she'd want to be a princess or something, but nope, a ghost.

I can tell you right now that I'm not just sticking a sheet over her head. I'm gonna bedazzle that sucker or something.

Anyway - if you haven't seen my previous post from last night, please go check it out! My friend April is a fantastic photographer and took some shots for me after church. They're awesome! SHE'S awesome! {For those of you that have commented already, thanks! And yes, I do wish that she could take my blog photos every day!}

On another note, the next three months or so are going to be CRAZY for me at work, so my reading and commenting might be a little sparce. My posting might become infrequent too, but hopefully I can keep up with that.

For the next seven weeks starting today, we're doing a study involving 180 patients. That means a WHOLE LOT of answering the phone, returning calls, scheduling patients, making reminder phone calls, rescheduling patients, trying to find fill-ins for no shows, be here to witness consents all day long (but I need potty breaks!), copy their paperwork, file everything, ship paperwork to the sponsor, make sure the Principal Investigator signs everything necessary and the nurses didn't miss anything - ALL while still maintaining my normal workflow for everything else that I do. Whew! The study should be complete by the first or second week of November.

And THEN - our entire institute is moving into a new building in the middle of November! So amongst all of this study chaos, plus regular workflow, we need to pack EVERYTHING up to move!

I'm stressed out just thinking about it and today is only the beginning. Oh dear...Halloween is in there somewhere and then there's Thanksgiving. Needless to say, most of my outfits are going to need to be simple because I'll probably be running around like a chicken with its head cut off most of the time.

Oy.

And someone please tell me that this dress IS in fact knee-length, so I'm not worried about getting in trouble for going against the code again!

Today's outfit:

Black Dress: Ross

Black/White Tee: Macy's

Red Belt: Salvation Army

Red/Black Pumps: My mom

Black Necklace: Wal-Mart

Daily MelWear: I Love My Friends!

Happy Sunday night, everyone!

I normally blog first thing in the morning and likely will tomorrow as well, with tomorrow's outfit of course, but I had to post these pictures today.

My very good friend, April, is a hugely popular photographer not just locally, but she's hired to travel all over the US too. She took some pictures of me during my weight-loss journey and we haven't done any since January, so she agreed to take a few more shots this morning after church. 

Good grief, the woman is MAGIC. She does all of our family sessions now because I refuse to have anyone else take our photos. She is THAT good.

I apologize in advance for this post being much more photo heavy than normal but I LOVE THIS WOMAN AND HER PHOTOGRAPHY!!! She's also on Facebook too! Go check out her page and become a fan!

Without further ado, here are the photos!

Yay for April!!! Seriously, she's fantastic, her photographs are always, always spectacular and she is a JOY to work with every time! If you need someone to do headshots for you or for family photographs, please get in touch with her! Check her out on the web and on Facebook, too. 

Thanks April! I love you, lady!

Friend Friday: Work vs. Blog Wear

Katy at ModlyChic asked for suggestions via Twitter and received a response from @redheaded with a suggestion to talk about combining office wear with personal style and blogging. Says Katy, "I think it's great, because after all how many times have you looked at a post and thought the blogger was adorable but probably wore the outfit only to take pictures and post to the blog?"

Without further ado...

1. When it comes to outfit posts on your own blog, be honest are they what you actually wore that day?
Absolutely, 90% YES! The only times I'm not wearing the outfit that I post (that other 10%) is when it's from the past, but I always point out when and where the outfit was worn in those cases. Either way, if I took a picture in it, I did actually wear it.

2. For a fashion blogger, working in a corporate environment can be tricky. How do you mesh your day job with your personal style choices?
It's sticky for me.  My corporation has some pretty severe guidelines, although thankfully my particular department is just slightly lax on some of them. I do wear brighter colors and more jewelry than is usually allowed. I try to make sure I'm either wearing a blazer, a cardigan, acceptable heels or a longer skirt to make my outfits more office-appropriate. My signature style includes lots of colors (I love finding unexpected color combinations) and belting practically EVERYTHING.

3. When you get dressed in the morning, do you think what should I wear to work or what should I wear for the blog?
This question makes me laugh. Because I totally think in terms of the blog more than anything else! Even on days when I know I won't have time to take pictures or blog, I still think about whether it's something I'd post for the world to see.  That's kind of sad.  I should get over that and dress more for me.

4. Do professionals you interact with ever make comments about your clothing choices?
Oh yeah, but nothing more than, "Oh, that's cute!" or "I wouldn't have thought to put those colors together." I tend to play it safe a lot (don't want to rock the boat too much, can't really afford to get fired) so there's not a lot of opportunity for people to question my choices. Usually. :)

5. Some bloggers openly admit to wearing outfits only for the blog post. What's your opinion on that?
It's their blog, they can do what they want. If they only want to wear their outfits for pictures, then so be it. Whether or not they actually wear their outfits out somewhere has zero affect on the inspiration that I may or may not glean from it. It's also their life; no one else should be able to dictate what they wear outside of their home. You know, except for like laws and stuff. :) 
 
So there you have it! I'm sorry I'm not the most interesting person with fascinating answers. But I do my best. :) 
 
Don't forget to check out Katy's blog and see what the other bloggers have to say on the subject, too!
 
Have a great Friday and an AWESOME weekend!