Daily MelWear: Outfit 27/30 and Fabulous In February!

Can you believe that February is over this week? Today is the last day of Fabulous In February! I can't believe it. It's gone by so quickly.

We did have a handful of people express interest in extending into March but not many, so I think we're going to keep it to February and do it again next year.

Also, can we please not notice the fact that I wore this dress last Monday too? I guess that's what happens during this 30 for 30 challenge.

Okay I'm going to have to come up with three fabulous things pretty quick because I don't have a lot of time today! Please make sure to check out my co-host Hope's blog as well for her Fabulous In February post!

1. I'm very organized. To the point where if someone moves a pen on my desk, I'll notice. I don't go crazy or anything or freak out if someone does that, but I will notice. At one of my other jobs, some of the guys in the Media department decided it would be funny to not just move a pen, but move my ENTIRE DESK 180 degrees. It must have taken a lot of work because they had to move the computer and phone cords and everything. To this day, no one in that department will tell me exactly who did it but I think it's hysterical. It was really funny.
2. Sarcasm is a second language to me. I think that's pretty fabulous.
3. I make a point to be WITH my daughter when I'm with her. I try very hard to not be on my laptop or phone very much, to look right in her eyes when she talks to me, to ask her about her day and her thoughts and what she wants to do and how she feels about things. She's only three, she'll be four in June, but it's so important for me to really hear her and be with her during the little time that I have.



And a blazer in case it's cold at the meeting.



Okay, that's it for me! I've got to start working on getting packets ready to deliver tomorrow, plus we have a Town Hall meeting this morning and my boss is leaving at noon and the other two girls are out today so I'll be by myself and it's just going to be a busy day!

Don't forget to enter the $100 Shopbop gift card giveaway if you haven't yet, and link up your Fabulous In February posts below or on Hope's blog!

Today's outfit:
Dress: Ross
Green Shirt: Target
Belt: Charlotte Russe
Black Pumps: Target

Daily MelWear: Outfit 26/30

Hey gang!

I'm going to make this one short and sweet. We've been at Disney all day today, spending the day with my daughter's father, his mom and her husband (Grammy and Pops according to my daughter) because Pops has accepted a job in Hawaii and he's leaving next week! Grammy will leave in a few months but we wanted to spend a day together making memories before Pops leaves. 

We had a great day! I do feel like this outfit is kind of a copout because I've worn this dress the exact same way but with a different belt and shoes before...but seriously, it got up to 87 today and the rest of my 30 items were picked for cold weather. I couldn't risk dying of heat today! I'm not entirely sure this counts as a separate outfit, but at this point, I'm going to MAKE it count because I need my spring items already!

I'm making this short because I'm exhausted, I'm starving and finally getting to eat my Panera You-Pick-Two (a mediterranean veggie sandwich without onions and black bean soup, if you really want to know), drinking my wine, watching the Oscars red carpet and getting ready to catch up on responding to emails and reading blogs. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are ready for Monday!!!

Today's Outfit:

Purple Dress: Plato's Closet

Zebra Belt: Payless

Black Flip Flops: I can't remember and I really don't think it matters. You can find some anywhere.

Daily MelWear: Outfit 25/30

Good heavens, those are some white legs. Wow. Don't look.

Well guys, I'm now a day behind. Because we went to Disney yesterday and I didn't have any of my dresses clean, so I had to wear some shorts and a tank that were not in my 30. Oops.

And...in the interest of being completely honest, I need to point out that these sandals are not in my 30 either. After walking around all day yesterday, I used my gift certificate from Christmas for a pedicure last night, then I decided that I couldn't wear closed toe shoes all weekend with pretty new polish on! So I wore sandals. 

I'm a cheater. But my toes are so pretty! 

This outfit was inspired by a suggestion from Cara and while I was too chicken to wear it without the cardigan to break up some of the pattern mixing, I do really, really like the two patterns together! Thanks Cara!

Oh yeah - and new hair! Actually...it's the same old hair but I haven't had it cut/trimmed in a LONG time so it seems like new hair.

Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed in regard to yesterday's post. As I mentioned in some of my replies (I'm trying to reply to everyone if there's an email attached, but I haven't been home all day and I'm about to crash right now!), I totally felt like a party pooper when I wrote it but the response from those of you that feel the same has been overwhelmingly reassuring. I just feel the need to point out again that I am completely in support of the nominations and awards, I'm glad that so many bloggers are being recognized for their hard work and that it's been such fun for so many people. It's just not my cup of tea, that's all. They're English Breakfast, I'm Earl Gray. 

Or something.

And by the way, have you entered to win a $100 Shopbop gift card yet? What are you waiting for?

Today's outfit:

Black/White Skirt: Salvation Army

Striped Sweater: Wal-Mart

Black Cardigan: Kohl's

Pink Sparkly Belt: Charlotte Russe

Black Sandals: Payless

Black Rose Ring: Charlotte Russe

Necklace: Charlotte Russe

Friend Friday: To Nominate or Not...

Hi lovelies! 

I felt like with all the hype this week's Friend Friday has been getting, perhaps I should throw my own post in to explain why I didn't participate in the Blog Award Nominations. 

So...being painfully honest (seriously, this actually, physically hurts to think and talk about it), I have had some serious self-esteem issues my entire life. Everyone needs to know that my parents have always been supportive, encouraging, complimentary and positive, so it's nothing like that. For whatever reason, I have always, always felt like everyone else was better than me, prettier than me, thinner than me, funnier than me, more talented, generally liked more than me, and I have had stupid issues with feeling inferior. All my life. 

It's dumb, really, and I know that.

Anyway...

One of my biggest fears is that I will make someone else feel that way. I never, ever want to make anyone feel like they are less than they are. It's an awful feeling. 

I'm afraid that if I nominate one person for each of the ten categories, someone will inevitably feel left out and I truly can't handle the thought of making anyone feel that way. I want this to be an outlet for creativity, friendship and acceptance, not a place where people feel like they have to compete.

This is just my hang-up and I know that - I think it's great that so many people ARE making their nominations and having a great time with this. I fully and completely support Katy and the rest of the FBFF bloggers!  Awards can be really fun - I just personally can't jump into this one.

So, my dear friends, please don't be upset with me for not participating in this week's Friend Friday; please don't be disappointed that I haven't submitted any nominations. 

I whole-heartedly love you ALL and want you to know that!!!

Giveaway: Shopbop $100 Gift Card!!! Who Wants Some Clutches?

I am pretty certain that by now, everyone has heard of Shopbop.

 Wait, what? You haven't? Well. Let me tell you then!

According to their website, Shopbop is "...one of the leading fashion retailers in the world. Curated with a chic, modern woman in mind, Shopbop offers a comprehensive collection of designer apparel and accessories to suit every style and occasion."

 Have you ever looked around on their site? WOW. They have some amazing pieces! Take a look at these clutches or this Alexander Wang Duffel Bag. If you're a novice like me, you may not have heard of Botkier but I'm so glad I have now! I'm loving that Venice Cross Body Clutch!

 Seriously, isn't Shopbop awesome? Okay except that...well...sometimes money is tight, right? Well then isn't it fantastic that they have a Designer Sale section?!

Even MORE fantastic is that they're offering one lucky reader of A Working Mom's Closet the chance to win a $100 Shopbop gift card! (The title of this post wasn't a hint to give that away though, was it? Heh. I'm not very good at subtly alluding to things.)

To enter:
1. You must be a follower of A Working Mom's Closet and leave a comment telling me how you follow.
2. For an additional entry, tweet about the giveaway and make sure to end (not start!)your tweet with "@wrkngmomsclost" so that I see it - and leave a second comment telling me you've done this.
3. For yet another chance, blog about the giveaway and leave me a comment with the URL to the blog post.


Entries will be accepted through midnight on Sunday, March 6th and the winner will be announced on Monday, March 7th.

Good luck!

Daily MelWear: Outfit 24/30

So I guess we all liked yesterday's dress as a shirt, right?

Okay - so then how about today's skirt as a shirt?

I'm seriously running out of ideas with my 30 pieces since the weather has gotten so warm. It's going to be in the 80's for as long as our weather predictions show us. It'll get up to 86 one day in the next week, I think. I figured I've worn a skirt as a shirt before so surely it has to be possible with some of my other skirts. I tried this one on and lo and behold, it's not bad!

I threw in the red belt and shoes with the turquoise jewelry just for some fun colors.

And also, yet more proof that a blazer can make practically anything work appropriate.

Daphne mentioned that larger pictures would be good so that you all can see details better. I'm making them as large as blogger will let me (I've tried them bigger and blogger ends up cutting them off) so this is the best I can do for now. Once I get my new camera (whenever that may be), hopefully the details will be easier to see!

That's all I've got for today. Hope you all have a great day!

Today's outfit:

Black/White Skirt/Shirt: Salvation Army
Black Pants: Charlotte Russe
Black Blazer: Stein Mart
Red Belt: Salvation Army
Red Pumps: From my mom
Turquoise Necklace and Earrings: Beya

Daily MelWear: Outfit 23/30

Moving right along and we're halfway through this week! Yay!

You guys are all so incredible. Thank you SO much for your recommendations and help regarding my camera/laptop questions yesterday. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I think I've narrowed it down and I'm pretty sure about the camera at this point. Now I need to figure out the tripod and the laptop situation.

Toward the middle of this 30 for 30 challenge, I felt like I was running out of outfits and didn't know if I'd be able to finish it out. Now that we're in the last third of it, I know I can make it to the end! I've figured out a few repurposes (like today's outfit - wearing my leopard dress as a shirt and layering a skirt over it!) for certain items. I have a couple more outfit ideas but I'm pretty sure I can figure out the rest of them too. I hope so, anyway! I've been considering doing a recap post of all the outfits together. Would that be helpful or interesting to any of you or do you normally just skim over those posts?

So what do you guys think about extending Fabulous In February and making it Magnificent In March? There weren't many replies so at this point I'm thinking maybe we should keep it to February as originally planned. Do you think we should extend it?

Today's outfit:
Leopard Dress (as a shirt): Wal-Mart
Black Pencil Skirt: Ross
Blue Belt: Salvation Army
Black Pumps: Target
Gold necklace: Gift from ML

Connect with me! Ask me anything on Formspring, follow me on Twitter, join me on Facebook or email me {aworkingmomscloset at gmail.com} to say hi!

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: Outfit 21/30 and Fabulous In February!

Hooray! It's MONDAY! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the grass is green, the coffee is on my desk! Yay for Monday!

Too much? Yeah. It was worth a shot though.

It IS Monday and that means it's time for another installment of Fabulous In February! I'm going to make this one short and sweet because I have lots of work on my desk AND lots of posts from the weekend to catch up on!

Here are my three things for this week.

1. I really, really like my upper body. I'm proud of my biceps, triceps, shoulders, back and chest muscles. It took me a long time to lose weight after high school and then once I had my daughter, I couldn't get the baby weight off on my own. I eventually won a contest and one of the prizes was 20 sessions with a personal trainer. Although I'm not training with him anymore, I'm really proud of the changes to my upper body especially. I still have a lot of work to do on my lower body and mid-section, but my arms are awesome!

2. I like the fact that I care. I care about people and animals and I feel pain when I see others in pain. Seeing an animal on the side of the road makes me cry. I care about making people feel special and important. My parents love telling me the story of when I was in kindergarten and during circle time one day, one of my classmates told us that his dog died. Without hesitation, I stood up to run over and give him a big hug. He wasn't even one of my friends but I felt the need to comfort him. In 2nd grade, one of my classmates was hispanic and didn't speak much English but I wanted to be his friend because no one else would, since they couldn't understand him. To this day I still wonder what happened to him, since my family moved to another state at the end of that year. I may not have the time or the foresight to think about bringing people food during hard times or things like that, but I do everything I feel that I can to be there for people.

3. I'm dependable and I get things done. When I tell you that I'll do something, I make sure I do it. I don't promise my daughter ice cream unless I'm definitely going to take her to get ice cream! Granted, my memory is awful and sometimes I'll forget things but when it's important, I'm there.

What makes you Fabulous In February today? Don't forget to link up below or on Hope's blog so that we can spread the positivity around the internetz!

Today's outfit:

Striped Dress: Ross
Pink Cardigan: Plato's Closet
Gold Belt: Charlotte Russe
Black Pumps: Target
Necklace and Bracelet: Gifts from ML

Daily MelWear: Outfits 18, 19, 20/30

Happy Sunday, everyone!

We are FINALLY 2/3 of the way through this challenge! Only 10 more outfits to go. And it's going to be in the upper 70's to lower 80's from here on out. Why, oh WHY, didn't I choose more warm weather pieces?!

I'm going to level with you right now, I do not have very much confidence in my remixing abilities to be able to finish this out creatively. I think the rest of my ensembles are going to be fairly boring. And for that, I apologize in advance!

I will say, however, that I'm kind of proud of myself for not taking Saturday off even though we spent the day at a theme park. I worked with it and it turned out okay! Wish I could say the same for Friday and Sunday, but I'm trying to pretend those outfits never happened. Eh...oh well. 

So, okay, Friday was spent at an appointment in the morning, then lunch, then hanging out at home with my baby nephew. Saturday was spent at the theme park. I have to be honest...but the time we walked outta there, I was wearing leggings and flip flops with the dress. So the flip flops weren't in my 30, but my feet were killing me.

Sunday was a lazy morning playing dolls with my daughter, then we met up with her dad for lunch. He took her for his custody days after lunch and I went grocery shopping. Now I'm home, trying to catch up on food prep, laundry, outfit posts, getting a little freaked out over having 170 unread style blog posts to read and comment on. Not sure that's going to happen. I may have to use the almighty "mark all as read" button for the ones that I don't get through before bed tonight. I'm sorry!

Hope you're all having a great weekend and a relaxing Sunday night! Oh, and before I forget - Jenna from Lust, Love, Lose interviewed me! Click here to read the post!

Friend Friday: My Body

Have you been reading the Friend Friday posts but aren't quite sure what they're about? Click here to read all about it and here to meet Katy, the creator!

This week we're discussing body image. Here are today's questions:

1. Since you started blogging has your image of yourself changed?
Not so much my image of myself but I certainly feel more freedom to be expressive and creative and daring in my sartorial choices. I still have issues. I still have things that I don't like about myself, physically or otherwise (hence the reason I started Fabulous In February, to try focusing more on the positives!) and yet somehow, I can wear a leopard print dress with bright purple tights to a crowded restaurant and be confident. I think mostly because of the validation that I get from all of YOU lovely friends! I'm so glad to have "met" you all! I can't thank you enough for the confidence you've instilled in me.

2. Are you self-conscious about any aspect of yourself? If so, do you go out of your way to avoid it or do you post it/talk about it anyway?
Oh dear. I don't really talk about it because I don't want to make my blog a cesspool of negativity. The end.

3. Based on how you are feeling now, what do you think the future holds in the evolution of your body image?
I think I've made a lot of progress in gaining confidence in my ability to dress my shape and coloring. I've gained a trust in my opinions. I've gained the ability to disagree with someone else's choices and not automatically believe that they must be right and I must be wrong. I think that the future holds growth in my personal confidence and I can only hope that means more bravery in creativity!

4. Do you photograph yourself for your blog? If so, how do you feel about the experience when you're having your picture taken? If you choose not to post pictures of yourself, what prompted that decision?
I do. Obviously. :) (Not everyone answering these questions writes a style blog, so many may not photograph themselves.) I feel the experience is rushed because I try to snap pictures right before I leave for work on most days! Other times, such as on the weekends, I feel a little silly asking someone else to take my photos because I'm so used to taking them myself in the privacy and comfort of my own home. I do get embarassed and feel like onlookers will view me as narcissistic when that's not my intention at all.

5. What would you want every person who struggles with body image to take to heart?
I would want them to take to heart the fact that EVERY SINGLE PERSON DOES struggle with body image! No one is completely confident in every little (or big!) thing about themselves, so while you may be envious of *her* legs and think your arms are gross, someone else might be envious of your hair or beautiful smile. And I would want them to read this post by Sarah. Because I loved it.  

How do you feel about body image in general? Are you happy with every thing about yourself? If you're a blogger, how has blogging helped improve your self-image?

Daily MelWear: Outfit 17/30

I think I can, I think I can...

I'm just gonna chalk this one up to accessories. Because really, that's the only thing that adds any interest at all to this outfit. It's black slacks and a black sweater. How much more boring can I get?! But, throw in the patterned scarf (it's HOT today ya'll, but I needed some kind of accessory and at least the scarf doesn't add too much warmth when styled this way) plus some pops of red in the belt and shoes and voila!

Not perfect but not quite as boring.

You guys have been so incredibly encouraging through this challenge. Thank you! :)

We're going to Universal on Saturday. It's going to be 80 degrees with sunny skies and no clouds. I'm strongly considering taking a day off from the 30 for 30 so that I don't melt. I feel like such a slacker for even thinking about it! I'm really wishing I'd included more warm weather items in my 30. Oops.

Hope you're having a great week! I'm super excited because my baby nephew is coming today to spend the next couple nights with us! Yay!

Today's outfit:
Black Slacks: Charlotte Russe
Black Cowl Neck Sweater: Plato's Closet
Black/White Scarf: Big Lots (seriously!)
Red Belt: Salvation Army
Red/Black Pumps: From my mom
Ring: Forever 21

Daily MelWear: Outfit 16/30

Oh, you guys. I'm seriously running out of office appropriate combinations now. I have some ideas for outfits that I could wear in a more relaxed office, but they wouldn't work for my boss. And they're not casual enough for weekends.

AND - it's supposed to be in the upper 70's and low 80's for at least the next week! I didn't pick out warm weather pieces! Most of my things are long-sleeved or layering pieces, not a whole lot of stand-alone warm weather items. OY.

Anyway...that's really all I had to say. Just wanted to whine for a minute. I have lots of other things to whine about but I won't bore you with them.

Instead, I'll just tell you what the surprise part is in this post! Maru, the incredibly talented and generous woman behind the beautiful Pronta scarves is offering readers of A Working Mom's Closet a 15% off discount when you place an order using the code PRONTALOVE15. Several of you mentioned wanting to order even if you didn't win, so hurry! Now's your chance to order with a discount!

Today's outfit:
Leopard Skirt: Salvation Army
Pink/Purple Ruffled Cardigan: Plato's Closet
Teal Tank (Free Item, not in the 30): Target
Black Pumps: Target
Necklace: Charlotte Russe (I think...)
Black Belt: Can't remember

Daily MelWear: Outfit 15/30

Hi friends! I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day yesterday.

Guess what?! We're halfway through with the 30 For 30 Challenge! Woo-hoo!

Did you see that the winner of the Pronta Scarf Giveaway was announced yesterday? AND - there's a special surprise in that post for everyone, too! Go check it out!

I wasn't sure that the collared shirt would work with the cowl neck of the dress, but it's actually not too bad. I especially like my sparkly gray tights! No jewelry today because we're going to deliver the meeting packets to the board members today. We only have to deliver them for the next three meetings and then we're going to an entirely electronic/internet based system! I can't wait! I love learning new programs and software and have already played in the sandbox a little bit. It's so exciting! I'm a dork. I know.

If you didn't get a chance to post for Fabulous In February yesterday, feel free to link up here or here today!

Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!

Today's outfit:
Gray Striped Dress: Ross
Green Shirt: Target
Gray Tights: Can't remember
Black Pumps: Target
Gray Belt: Charlotte Russe

Pronta Scarf WINNER and a SURPRISE!!!

Congratulations to McMel! Email me at {aworkingmomscloset at gmail.com} so that I can get some information from you!

And for the rest of us, SURPRISE! Maru has so generously offered readers of A Working Mom's Closet a 15% discount when you place an order using the code PRONTALOVE15. Happy Valentine's Day to ourselves! :) It's been such a joy working with Maru and we're already discussing another giveaway later on, so keep an eye out for that!

Hope you're all having a great day!

Daily MelWear: Outfit 14/30 and Fabulous In February!

Welcome to a new week and a new installment of Fabulous In February!

Did it make your week better when you started it off thinking positively about yourself?

Today has been kind of rough so far (and I know most of it is my own fault and I should be able to control my emotions and reactions) so I'm hoping that this week's Fabulous In February will help.

I don't really have much to say about the outfit - it's my leopard dress with a cardigan. The leopard and sequins make it fabulous but otherwise, it's kind of a cop-out. But the cardigan is, once again, PURPLE and not blue! Dumb camera.


This shows the truest color of the cardigan.

Anyway - let's get on to three positive things, shall we? Hm...maybe I should've been trying to think of things throughout the week. I'm having a brain fart right now...

Okay. Here we go.

1. I love that I can wear belts. When in doubt, I belt it and everything is all better. It is so lovely to have that option!

2. I like that I can be a people person. When I'm in a huge group of people, especially in a social setting, I'm normally very reserved and shy but if I'm put in a position where I need to meet and greet and assist, it's fun for me. I loved working at the research office when we had studies with 10+ patients every day because it was busy and hectic and FUN. When I worked at Barnie's Coffee, my favorite time of year was Christmas because it was so busy and I interacted with so many people. I loved my job at the church as the administrative assistant in the music office because I worked with the 150+ voice choir. Love it!

3. I like that I can figure things out on the computer software-wise. I'm usually the first one people come to in my office, and the office I worked in before, when they have a problem or question or want to learn how to do something. Now I just need to work on moving into the arena of web stuff and HTML so I can figure out blogging things better!

That's it for me. Wow...I'm going to have to think really hard for the next two Mondays. Six more things?! Whose idea was this anyway?! Eh...I'll blame Hope. ;)

The Pronta Scarf giveaway is now closed to entries. I have some work to do this morning but I'll pick and announce a winner as soon as I can!

Don't forget to link up your Fabulous In February posts!!!

Today's outfit:
Leopard Dress: Wal-Mart
Purple Cardigan: Target
Brown Boots: Outlet store years ago
Belt: Wal-Mart
Necklace: Gift from ML