Another Successful Thanksgiving

I hope you lovely readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving and extended weekend. I know I needed this break from work like nobody bidness.

My Thanksgiving break was extremely busy in the best kind of way. I spent Thanksgiving morning running a 4-mile road race, where I was lucky enough to get a personal record (meaning I ran my best 4-mile time - 37:16!) and my knee held up (a miracle in itself since my IT Band has been sore lately) and then came home and cooked a Thanksgiving feast for the man and myself. 

On Friday, the man braved outlet mall Black Friday crowds so I could check out the Kate Spade sale, and I got to pick out a few of my Christmas presents at William-Sonoma (I know, the element of surprise is ruined, but I got what I wanted, right?!

And finally, the moment arrived where the Kate Spade online sale hit, and I was lucky enough to grab my green holiday dress as well as this Yardley structured tote, which will be perfect for work travel. 

  

We also went to see Michael Buble at the Garden Saturday night. The boyfriend mentioned that he wouldn't mind seeing Buble live, and I didn't need any more convincing to snap up tickets. We sat front and center, about 20 rows back, and while this was my third time seeing the crooner, it was my first seeing him up close and personal.

So how was your weekend? Did you, like most people overeat? Or did you eat a mini meal and hit the sales to get most of your holiday shopping done? 

Christmas Came Early for Me - Yippee!

I don't consider myself an exceptionally lucky person, but holy wow did I hit the jackpot this time! I recently entered an APART giveaway on The Lil Bee for a chance to win a $200 gift certificate. I picked this stunning Diamante Tiered Mini Dress as my wish list item I'd buy in a heartbeat if I won the gift certificate, and guess what?!?! 

The amazing/wonderful/awesome/badass folks at APART did the most unheard of thing, and gave EVERYONE the item on their wish list! That's right! All 157 lucky ladies who entered the drawing WON! 

Seriously, I don't remember feeling this lucky! When you try to win on a blog as well respected and well read as The Lil Bee, you never think you stand a chance of winning. So all I can say is the biggest THANK YOU! to both Melisa and the great folks at APART. I know I speak for all of us lucky ladies when I say that what you did was beyond what anyone could ask for.

Is She Plus Size?

via Fashionista

I came across this article on Fashionista and just had to blog about it. This photo of "plus size" model Crystal Renn caused a stir on the Internet last week with people asking if she's no longer plus size, and her agent confirming she's now a full size 8 (just weeks ago she was a  size 10). 

As someone who's struggled my entire life with weight issues, I'm baffled that the industry considers a size 8 and/or 10 "plus size" Ac.cording to a WebMD article I found, the "average" woman is 5'4" and wears a size 14, so how can an 8 possibly be "plus size?" 

I know that the fashion industry/Hollywood is different, and that many people fit into the sample size 2, but seeing stats like this for the fashion industry is so frustrating. It breeds a culture of insecurity for those of us who aren't sample sizes. Crystal herself has been a champion for healthy living and not buying into the hype of size labels, but if she really wants to be a champion to the average American woman, then she has to take the opportunity to not keep dropping dress sizes. And really, who would complain about that?

Addicted to Online Shopping

I spend so many posts talking about fashion I'm green with envy to own, that I thought I'd mix it up. It turns out that I'm an online shopping addict (and it also turns out I have a strong desire to own lots of gray) and I've been doing some really serious shopping. The good news is that everything on here was had at a really decent price (hooray for my bank statement!) 

Sweater dress via (on sale) 
Skirts via (bought through Ideeli for half price) 
Boots via (bought on sale) 
Suede Pazzo pumps (purchased through Ideeli for cheap)

Mellow Yellow

I have a case of yellow fever. I blame my need for the gorgeous jewel tones on the gray skies that have plagued Boston for most of the past week. But the thing is, I've only started coming around to yellow-toned hues within the past year because I've never had the right coloring for yellow - the yellow undertones in my skin have always made me look like I have jaundice whenever I try to don the shade. However, with the darker shades popping up, I think I have a chance to wear one of my favorite colors this fall. Here are a few items that I'm checking out.

More BDG...

Spotted and Stalking: The Perfect Holiday Dress

Have you ever found the PERFECT dress? You know, the dress that looks like it was made for you (and only you?) This Kate Spade Galleria Bette dress is that dress for me. Seriously, I love this dress so much I could marry it. 

It's made of silk and cotton douppioni, and has the cutest - but not overly girly - bow detail at the neckline. It would be perfect for my upcoming holiday parties, but at $395 I need to have a heart-to-heart with my shopping self to really justify the cost. 

What do you think? Worth the cost? And wouldn't it look perfect with these shoes? 

Breaking Plateaus

 

It's such a great feeling to overcome obstacles. Fears. Plateaus. It's been a long time coming. I've been working on this challenge for months now. I've thought about it a million times, thinking that this will be the time I do it. Today, I channeled my inner Nike and just did it.

I finally broke my 4-mile hurdle. I just went for it today. It didn't matter that I could have run behind getting ready for work (one of my favorite weekly excuses) or that my knees were a little achy (stupid cold weather) but I just got tired of making excuses and went for it. 

And holy wow, did it feel good. It was such an accomplishment and felt so wonderful to finally get past that plateau I've hit. The best part is? It didn't even phase me. I can easily run 5-miles, and I plan on doing it every time I hit the road. 

Spotted and Stalking - Lanvin for H&M, Part Deux

Last month I wrote about the Lanvin for H&M collection, and how giddy I was over the sneak peek. So imagine how breathless I was today when I got the preview of the full collection, courtesy of Fashionista. 

I'm not usually a huge fan of H&M; I personally have a hard time picking through the racks (it's probably why I'm a power online shopper), but I will dig through a thousand racks to get my hands on these gorgeous garbs. 

But enough . I've got my favorite duds below, but head on over to Fashionista for the full line. I promise you won't be disappointed. 

 All photos courtesy of Fashionista

Link Love - Ebates

I have to share a little link love today for a site I discovered through the Bon Bon Rose Girls (seriously, these ladies can single handedly be blamed for my online shopping addiction, ha!). The site is Ebates and is one of the greatest inventions ever! 

Ebates lets you shop at most of your favorite online retailers, but the kicker (and this is the best part) is that you can earn cash back when you shop. Basically (as I learned reading about Ebates) retailers will pay sites a percentage of a sale for driving a customer to the site, so Ebates takes that money and puts it back in your pocket. How brilliant is that?! 

I recently used Ebates to purchase my new running shoes, and earned 6% cash back buying shoes that I was already going to buy. So I can honestly say that it felt awesome to know that I was going to save even more money. And I've done some serious digging through Ebates and there are a ton of my favorite go-to stores - Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Urban Outfitters, DSW - so it's likely you can shop at most of your favorite stores and get some serious cash back.

So as you start thinking about shopping for the holidays, consider Ebates. You'll be saving money while you shop (and who doesn't love that?) 

And in case you need more inspiration, tonight is the #WeAreFashion Twitter Party that BonBon Rose Girls is co-hosting with Ebates, The Looks for Less and The Cheap Chicas Guide to Style!So if you're on Twitter (and I'm talking to you, Becky!) check out the #WeAreFashion Twitter Party tonight starting at 8 pm ET. 


*Disclosure - I was not asked and did not receive any form of payment for this post. I'm just a girl with an online shopping addiction, and I feel better saving a little money to keep feeding my addiction.

West Coast Work Week

Hello lovelies! I'm starting my week with a quick trip to San Francisco. Unfortunately it's for work (and not for fun), but I'm looking forward to the change in place and the warm temps the weather channel is promising me. 

This is my second trip to the Golden Gate city, and, like the time before, I won't be there long enough to actually explore this amazing city (I'm there for less than 24 hours.) So, in lieu, I've included a few photos of my favorite scenes from San Fran, so we can both get into the West Coast vibe. 

Whenever I go somewhere for new business, I always get nervous about what to wear. I want to look professional (especially when it calls for biz casual) but I want to look stylish too. I admit I have a go-to outfit of black slacks, a black blouse and I throw in some punch with my shoes (this time it's my leopard print calf hair). It's a little tragic that I wear the same thing every time, but I don't know how what else to wear. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions on how to look professional and stay away from black?