Summer Friday

Lovely Ladies - It's FRIDAY! And it's a holiday Friday to boot, which means an early release from work (noon can't come soon enough!) What are your Memorial Day weekend plans? I'll be doing some of this

Veggie Kabobs

and I'll also be drinking plenty of this

Summer's Perfect Beer

Whatever your plans are for this long weekend, I sincerely hope you have a fabulous time doing it. I'll be back on Monday with normal posting. Hopefully I can twist strong arm convince  - with batted eyelashes - the boyfriend into taking some outfit photos. Gosh, could my tripod take any longer to get here? 


Have a lovely weekend and we'll see you on the flip side.
 

California Dreamin'

Laguna Beach at Sunset via

Friends, by the time you read this I'll be in the air for a quick trip out to Laguna Beach for work. I wish I could say that I'll see this sunset while I'm there, but the timing won't work for me to actually see anything outside of an office and a hotel room. 

I'll be back on Thursday with a new post, so until then, I hope you enjoy your Tuesday and Wednesday. Can't you just feel the long weekend around the corner? Now THAT'S something to dream about!

Monday Musings

1957 Balloon Dress by Scasi - Image via here and originally found here

Happy Monday friends! Tons on my mind this morning

This photo found on the Kate Spade Tumblr is so rad
I typically go to Kate Spade for feel good inspiration
Back to another rainy day in the Bean - at least Saturday was sunny and beautiful
Another Harpoon 5 miler race in the book
I love working out and feeling sore in a good way
Off to California tomorrow for work
Two days out of the office
Blessing and a curse simultaneously
How is this weekend Memorial Day Weekend already?
I'm looking forward to Summer Fridays in the office (early out on Fridays? Heck Yes!)
Lots of mini trips around the country this summer for weddings
I can't wait to see our friends get married
I love taking inspiration from their ideas
And I love wedding parties
What's your favorite part of weddings?


 

Today Only - Some Fabulous Shopping Sales

In case you missed it, there are some fabulous sales going on today, and I highly recommend you check them out. 

First up, my go-to shop, Kate Spade is having a sample sale. If you haven't already checked it out... GO NOW! While I'm on a tight shopping budget and can't enjoy the sale now, here are the items I'm crying over: 

Gina Dress

Houndstooth Rose Coat

Another one of my favorite shops for the most beautiful dresses, Apart Style is having a friends and family sale. Today only (ending at 6 pm ET) get 30% off your order with the promo code FAMILY.  Here's what I'm contemplating: 

Beaded Silk Dress

Feathered Day Dress

 Honestly, I think I'm going to snag this feathered dress (budget be damed!) I think it will be perfect to wear while enjoying cocktails somewhere in the city this summer (when summer arrives.) 

And don't forget to hit up each of these sites through ebates. You'll earn cash back on your purchases at both of these stores, so it's like you're getting an even better discount!  Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=hinnvV4tX%2FeeDORRolitKg%3D%3D


Enjoy the shopping and have a happy hump day!

**Update: I couldn't resist the siren song of sales, and bought the Feathered Day Dress (only $71 after discount and shipping). My question for you readers is: do you think it's appropriate for an afternoon wedding? I'm always nervous about wearing anything with white on a wedding day, but this doesn't scream "stealing the bride's thunder" but would love your thoughts. 

How Ideeli Saved Me (and my Blog)

Remember last week when I said I had the raddest skirt I wanted to show you? And remember the time before that when I said how great my boyfriend is for taking photos of me in my outfits? 

Well, it turns out he's not so patient. And I'm not such a great poser. And when you put the two together, we're a hot mess of outfit photography. So the photos I have are tragic. I'm making funny faces. He remarks on said funny faces and says we're done. To be fair though, we're usually doing this as we're walking to the car to head to work (already fashionably late, mind you) so it's not the ideal situation. 

But today that all changed. After Kristen made the brilliant recommendation that I invest in a tripod, I've been thinking a lot about that. And today (as if by fate) ideeli had Targus tripod stands on sale. SUPER sale. Such a snazzy sale that I got a tripod for $10. Which means that now Stephen won't have to begrudgingly take photos of me while we're rushing off to work. And it means that I can actually spend those 10 minutes I have in the a.m. (waiting for him to finish getting ready) taking photos of my outfits to post up here. Yes, you read that right. I'm usually waiting on him to finish getting ready. 

So I promise more outfit photos soon. In the meantime, aren't these photos of my kids really cute? 

Max in a shoe box. Is this my cat or what?

Maggie May looking adorbs

Monday Musings

Happiness blooming in my front yard

On my mind this morning: 

Rain rain go away
A week's worth of rain on the agenda
This bright pink bush in my front yard makes me so happy
Wanted to do an outfit photo in front of it today
but ran late to work instead
plus I was wearing a coat
48 degrees today in Boston... in May
Why am I not back in Texas? 
One month until we're back in the Lone Star State for a visit
Then home for a week in July
Lots of traveling lined up this summer
Thinking about the shoe project I'm working on
Wonder what Stephen will think when I tell him what he  needs to photograph next
He's such a good sport
and a really good man
Rain or no rain, let's make this a great week

Fitness Thoughts: Why do we freak out about body image?

I've been thinking a lot about weight and size and health lately. One of my friends has been touching on it a lot on her blog recently (email me if you want the site) and that has naturally affected my conscious. My friend has been beating herself up over body image, and it's so frustrating to read about someone so healthy suffering through a stupid mentality.

I spent years wasting time thinking about my weight and hating my body image. It started probably as early as my teens and went on until my late 20s. And I hate saying this, but I used to be chunky. I ate in the most unhealthy manner, and it showed. Case in point: 

After being over active in high school, I gave up all exercise when I got in college and didn't take up exercise again until I was in my late 20s. So this is what I looked like through most of my 20s - chunky and so much older looking. Now that I've been personally invested in my health and regularly working out, my look is much healthier. But it's still hard not to get wrapped up in a number on the scale, to have dropped 3 pants sizes and still say "I'm fat." Even fabulous models like Crystal Renn are damned for being too big or too skinny. 

 

Model Crystal Renn

But you know what? I feel lucky. And fortunate. I have a body that has shown me what it can do when pushed to the limits; how good it can look with hard work. How amazing and toned my arms look with just a few pushups a day. It's not to say that there won't be days where I struggle with my body, or think I'm fat, but at the end of the day, I love my body for all it is, and all that it's not. And to my friend who's been thinking too much about her body image - you're gorgeous. You're strong. You're amazing. Celebrate the strength of your body for all it allows you to do.

Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday to my best friend Devon. You make 25 look REAL good. :)

Duck Tour

All kidding aside, I couldn't ask for a better friend. You're the calm to my crazy, and seriously the hottest mom I know. I hope I look half as good as you when I'm your age (which won't be soon, I know!)

I hope you have a fabulous weekend of celebrations, and can't wait to see you in July!

You get paid to do what?

Friends, I'm so sorry I've been MIA since last week. I was planning to put up a blog post telling you I'd be MIA, but then I got busy getting ready to be MIA and forgot to tell anyone where I was. 

So I'm sorry I've been missing, but this is what I was doing

It's about 15 miles to the LOVE SHACK!

Friends, that's me singing karaoke to Love Shack. I know what you're thinking. "Michele, that's nothing. Everyone does karaoke. And every one sings 'Love Shack' when they sing karaoke." Not so fast. 

I'm not only doing karaoke, but I'm doing karaoke at a client's trade show. And my duet partner to my right, is one of my client's customers. Oh, and did I mention that this client is a brand new client that I just met face-to-face for the first time on Sunday?


Now how big is this photo? 


So I was at my (new) client's user conference coordinating and supporting their on-site social media efforts. So I promise that I was really working. In fact, I was working so hard, that I needed to have a little fun. So when the customer (whom I'd met the night before "networking" at the hotel bar) said he wanted to do karaoke, and asked if I'd be interested in singing with him, I couldn't say no. I mean, we were only singing in front of about 2,500 professional people.


I don't mean to brag, but we tore the house down! It was such a fun experience, and was special to walk off the stage and get high fives from people who really thought you were good. So needless to say, sometimes my job is REALLY awesome, especially when I'm getting paid to support on-site social media in a really fun location, and sing karaoke to thousands of adoring fans. 

Oh, and about my outfit. It's my new favorite. I have some picture posts for you coming soon, but it's pretty fair to say that I might have a crush on that skirt.