The Office

I work in an environment that is what most people would consider "business casual." But what does that mean? Looking around my building, I've spotted women in everything from a formal suit complete with a stylish heel to a broom skirt, hiking sandals and a camisole.

For women, why is business casual painted with such a broad brush? Ask three women in your office what business casual means to them, and I guarantee that you will receive three different answers. At my job and while I'm out with friends and colleagues, I hear many different excuses as to why it's ok to dress in a less than professional manner (khaki, wrinkled clam diggers instead of trousers, printed tshirts instead of blouses, "Crocks"-inspired footwear instead of heels, wet unstyled or unwashed hair shoveled back into a an unprofessional bun or ponytail instead of a well-styled cut).

I would like to think that most of us are not as obtuse to not know what qualifies for acceptable work wear. Truth be told, I think it all boils down to being lazy - in some form or another. Let's face it, we've all had days where we press snooze on the alarm leading us to rush during our morning process or last-minute items like leaving a little bit early to get gas because you were unable to the night before. But when you peel back another layer, most times we find out that those are the excuses not the real reason for our lax style.

Study after study shows that those who look put together get ahead faster than those who don't put the same effort into their appearance. And I would even dare to venture that those who look pulled together and give off a successful image don't even need to be as smart or qualified many of times.

So why do we still let so many easily fixed hurdles get in our way? I really believe that it's sometimes easier to know there's something to change than change it. Changing your appearance like losing weight takes time and discipline and will not happen over night.

But, once we complete the transformation, it's all worth it. Don't let the excuses of "I want to lose more weight before I buy new clothes," "I can't afford the clothes I want," and/or similar variations of stop you from your journey.

Your exercise for today is to get started in small bites. Open up your closet and see what you have. Chances are you have a closet brimming full of clothes yet you "have nothing to wear." Pull out your favorite items: the gorgeous color shirt that makes your hair and eyes pop, the pants that fit perfect all the time, the dress that hugs your curves just right.

Place your top three or five favorite items on one side of your closet. Now, go through and look for the items that are your least favorites: the dated blazer with a button missing, the pilled cardigan, the trendy fluorescent shirt that you bought from the junior's department and never wore. These items should be taken out of your closet IMMEDIATELY! They are not items that will help you discover what looks good on you.

Don't mourn the fact that you spent "good money" on these items. Rather, donate them to a charity or give them to a friend who might enjoy.

If you are not ready to do your whole closet at once, do it in bite size bits, repeating this process until there's only items you love. You'll then be ready for step 2.

Spring Cleaning

About a week ago, I decided to clean out my closet. Brimming with clothes, not a empty hanger in site, and I had  nothing to wear!

The pieces that didn't make the cut all had something in common: they were my style, per se, but something about them didn't "wow" me. The sweater, for instance, that was tossed aside was a gorgeous mint color with clear mint colored buttons. I love bling and mint, but the problem for this piece was that the sleeves were long - I don't like long-sleeve sweaters since I get warm easy. 

Like the sweater above, most of these clothes only were worn a handful of times, but I kept overlooking them in my closet when I would go to get dressed because the fit was off or it was something that I liked three years ago, but just wasn't striking a chord with me anymore. And, I felt guilt about getting rid of them because I might wear them someday.

So, the time came and I took no mercy. I got rid of about 25 articles of clothing, and when I shoved them in a bag headed for the Goodwill, I didn't feel bad!

As luck would have it, my friend Court  (my twinnie), who people confuse me for all the time because we are the same height etc., came over for St. Patty's day and I gave her the bag of clothes. She got some great scores!

It's nice now to not have to see all those things that I wasn't going to wear ever or wear and not feel at my best. Now, I have a closet with less clutter but more options. 

I also notice that now when I go out, I won't just run into a store and buy five or more articles of clothing because there's a sale. Most times, I only really love one or two items, but feel compelled to buy the other items because there is a sale (many of the items I cleaned of the closet fit into this category).

My black cardi and cream blouse are two of my go-to staples. In this pic I've paired the two with a
yellow and black pencil skirt and a cheery lemon colored necklace - perfect for spring and the office!

It also occurred to me that I have way more options if I wash my clothes more often. I work for a water district, and using water efficiently is very important to me, so I was only doing laundry once every two to three weeks; however, it seriously limited my options of what I could wear because a lot of my mix and match staples, like my black cardi and cream blouse (above) were always in the laundry.

Washing laundry about every week will still give me a pretty full load and provide me with more clothing options without having to buy more clothes.

Owning and buying less and washing more: the key to my spring cleaning success!

What is your brand?

Coke, Nike, Gucci - all products that have a very distinct brand. When you mention or see one of them, what do you think of? A true brand is more than just a logo or tagline, it is a promise that distinctly identifies your product is different than another product.

Going along with that means that your product(s) must fall in line with your brand and live up to that promise.

What is your brand? What does it say about you? I get a lot of emails from all kinds of places and one that I got a while ago (forgive me that I can't remember who it is from!) asked the question "What is your brand?".

Being from a communications background, it doesn't seem the least bit odd to remember that image is everything, and, no, I am not just referring to looks. It's part of the whole package. What you look like, how you dress, how you speak and more.

As the companies mentioned above know, a successful brand is one that is not all over the map. Rather, you always know what you are getting with a product from said brand. Often and unfortunately, our own personal brand is all over the place.

Take for instance your Linkedin profile. Linkedin is a professional networking site where you would want to put your best foot forward in hopes of maintaining your credibility as well as developing relationships with other folks - one of whom may be your next boss (no joke, I really got my last job in part through Linkedin) or another customer.

Using my field of communications as an example, I cannot explain why many accomplished communications folks have the most questionable profiles and profile photos. Do they not realize the brand that they are projecting?

For instance, I've seen a lot of communications individuals that maintain photos that are undeniably 15 years old or even have no photo at all. When I think of a professional communications person, an up-to-date photo comes to mind.

There has been numerous scientific studies done that prove that people, rightly or not, judge you in less than 5 seconds. With such a small amount of time to make a first impression, wouldn't you want to put your best foot forward?

Along the same line, if you have a super-professional Linkedin page, but have an accessible Facebook page featuring photos of you drunk and on the floor what does that say about your judgement to others and the strength of your brand?

I've never really run the gamut of brands, but in the last year or so, I've really tried to consistently portray my brand day in and out.

There are many ways that you can refresh your brand, but let's just look at one way: Your physical appearance. Does your style match up to the image you want to project? Mine was matching up, but lacking.

In my ideal professional brand, I would have a conservative, professional look that displayed my funkiness in an appropriate way. My real brand was conservative and professional, but BORING! Lots of trouser pants, suit jackets and cardigans, which is fine, but I always felt so boring just being appropriate.

Once I decided that my brand would be to dress in a more feminine, professional fashion utilizing shift dresses and pencil skirts and minimizing my use of jackets, I really felt like there was success with my brand.

One thing that I am always aware of with my brand is that it should be carried through daily. Yes, there are always going to be days when you are not looking your best, whether you have a cold or a bad hair day. But I never have an excuse to abandon my brand.

No matter where you work, you can almost always count on someone that comes in with wet hair, rumpled clothes and no makeup. Many of times those folks have an excuse that they didn't have enough time. To me, their brand says sloppy and a that they are a person that I can't even count on to come in looking professional, so what will their performance be like at work? Sloppy with errors throughout? Fair or not, that's the way my mind (an other minds) work.

Take for instance this photo below. We had work headshots done a couple of weeks ago, we use these photos for when professional organizations and others need a pic. I didn't have any control over the background, which is pretty standard. But, I did have control over what I was wearing in the pic.

To project a more mature appearance, I decided to go with a pinstriped jacked, but mix things up with a  shiny taupe top and my favorite Stella & Dot necklace. I almost hate to say it, but I like bling, and big chunky bling is part of my brand. But, I was able to rock the bling in a professional way without looking unprofessional.

I am still working on refining my brand, but the more I go with what I like rather than what I think I should like, the more authentic and happy I feel. And, I think, it shines from within.

Sure, I work in a more conservative environment, but I still try to show my authentic style through accessories.

Making do...

It's one of those months where our paychecks conveniently fall just a few days out of sync with our mortgage and other automatic payments, meaning we are down to nada. Of course, we have money in our long-term savings, retirement and other accounts but, in my opinion, those are always OFF LIMITS, so we made do when it came to tonight's meal.

Morgan smartly suggested that we make tots and drench them in the leftover cheese dip that we usually use for tortilla chips (excellent side!). Then, we used our last three pieces of bread, including the end, to make bacon, turkey and swiss sandwiches. Heaven on a plate! Add in some Moscato Port that tastes oh-so-divine and that was dinner.

I write this post not to feel bad about the fact that I don't have any spending money for the next few days, but rather to reflect on the fact that making do is sometimes the best thing to do. Of course, I could've put some dinner on my credit card or taken money out of savings, but this meal was perfect. And, we were challenged to think outside our normal meals to come up with something fabulous.

And, that's what happens in life. We often get so stuck in buying more and more instead of using our creativeness to come up with something fantastic using items we already own. This principle can be applied to food, home design, clothing and basically anything else.

I will use our little meal tonight to reflect upon how much I already have and be thankful for all that I have been given.

The Ever Changing Bucket List

When I think of bucket lists, it heralds in thoughts of old people in their 70s diagnosed with a terminal disease, knowing that they have limited time to do ALL the things that they never did before. We all have our reasons for not doing those things we want to do: we are too busy, we'll do it later, we can't afford it, etc.

But surprise! We all have limited time here. And, that's why it's important to narrow down your list of would've, could've, should'ves before it's too late.

When I was in my late 20s, my husband and I brainstormed our first bucket list, which included items as small as try out a new restaurant to owning a BMW (me). The list is pinned prominently on our fridge, so we never forget what's on the list. That first bucket list is about five years old, but I am happy to say that roughly 85 percent of those items were accomplished.

The rest didn't happen mostly because we decided they weren't things we necessarily found important after the list. Now, it's about five years later, and we are several lists removed from the first. Why are lists so important you ask? They keep you motivated and accountable.

I don't move through life trying to accomplish one thing after another like I am tearing through the jungle wielding a machete, but I do get satisfaction from what I've accomplished. One of the ways I am going to continue my journey into self-discovery is reviving my blog, which I started nearly three years ago!

I don't have any lofty hopes of millions of folks reading. If you stumble across my blog and get something out of it, I am happy, though! One of my goals for this blog is to feature a potpourri of things that make me smile and live a good life. That could be a beautiful picture, an inspirational thought, kitties, clothes or anything else that inspires me.

With that said, I liked my work outfit today. If I had to name it, I would name it mint topped with polka dots. I got the skirt at The Limited last year, and it came with a nifty short sleeved jacket (where I work, we wear lots of jackets),  but when I put the outfit on and wore it to a PR conference last year, it was more golden girl than 30-something PR chic. Therefore, I never wore the skirt again. I had toyed with getting rid of it since that time, but I adored the color too much to do so.

So...I decided to deconstruct the Betty White-inspired suit and mix the skirt with a cute polka dot cardi that I found online at The Loft (it was recently 60 percent off!). I then added a belt to accentuate my waist and added some cute flats (I can't wear heels, ever. But, I'll go into that another day).

Mint is one of my absolute favorite colors, and I was so proud of my outfit, in fact, that I took a pic after I put on makeup this morning. My goal was to actually take a pic (that was not in the loo) so you could see my face and showcase my bag and shoes as well, but I opted for my pjs!

Pack like a pro

Lame, lame, lame. I was writing a witty post and was about a paragraph in describing what a lovely time waste Pintrest is when it all dissapeared! Damn you, Blogger and iPad! Anyway, if you haven't tried Pintrest, I suggest you do with the caveat that you will fritter away an hour or hours creating your boards of the stuff you like.

I think what I enjoy most about Pintrest is that it takes no creativity, but after you look at your boards, you feel like a wonderful person who is entertaining, funny and has quirky interests.

After my squandered hour of pluggin in NARS Orgasm blush and photos of T. Swift, I decided to finishing washing and folding clothes, so I could pack for a bachelorette party I am attending this weekend (Friday-Sunday).

My weeks are always quite busy, so I like to make sure that I pack ahead of time, if possible, to avoid annoying mishaps, like forgetting my bra or realizing that I used up my travel deoderant on the last trip and never replaced it.

In addition, I am a huge proponent of packing a carry-on for ALL trips. Whether it's next weekend's three-day bachelorette party to wine country or a two week trip to Europe, I never, ever pack more than a carry on.

Although I didn't come up with this lovely idea myself, I still receive a few surprised gasps or comments like "I don't know how you do it."

It's easy: I don't want to give the airline any more money than they are already getting from me to check a bunch of junk that I most likely won't need; luggage that has to be checked has the chance to get lost, damage or stolen; I am only 5'3 on a good day, and I need to be able to lift my luggage by myself, especially if I am traveling by myself; and I don't want to manage lots of "stuff" while I am on vacation.

One of the best tips that really brought traveling light home to me is a passage in Janet Luhrs's book "Simple Living" where she, too, had her days of bringing way too much on a trip. But then one day packing for a trip to China she asked herself what was more important: putting on an extravagant fashion show for the Chinese people or enjoying the trip without having to keep an eye on a bunch of stuff. The latter won out.

I know there are some people that pack nothing more than a mere sack to go on vacation. But that's not me. This blog post is not about wearing your underwear for three days in a row or only rotating between two shirts. Rather, it's a jumping off point for you to pack better and lighter--and, most importantly--only what you need.

When I used to go on trips, I would consider myself somewhat of a clothes horse and try to pack things I "might" need instead of the things I did need. A lot of "what ifs" crept in to my mind: What if there was a freak snow storm in the middle of summer in Arizona? I absolutely had to pack a large jacket and then what if I wanted to go in the pool every day? One bathing suit just would not suffice; I would need at least three or four.

I would really get anxious about packing and packing it ALL. You name it, I probably tried to pack it. And 95 percent of the stuff would just sit in my bag.

That was until another friend of mine introduced me to packing light, and I never went back. As mentioned, everyone has his or her own packing tips, but these work for me:

1. Make sure that you have a good-quality rolling luggage piece that is deemed "carry-on." Most luggage pieces now adays have a tag on them advertising that they are carry on. You can get a decent piece in almost any color of the rainbow for around $80-$120. I got mine at Kohl's a few years ago, and I went for a eggplant purple color. I always carry my little roller on the plane with me, but it's easy to spot in the overhead and in a crowded airport with a sea full of luggage.

I highly advise staying away from logo luggage, such as LV. It points out that you might have lots of money. Regardless of if you do, you don't want someone to think you must be loaded and take off with your bag before your trip eveng gets started.

Lastly, I always recommend checking your air carrier for any other stipulations they might have on carry-on items to make sure that you are taking the right things with you.

2. Invest in some packing cubes. They come in different sizes. I prefer the packing cubes from ebags, http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/packing-cubes-3pc-set/13032

These cubes allow you to organize what you are bringing and you can easily take out the bags and know where your items are located.

3. Pre-packing: Make sure that you wash all your clothes before packing, so everything that you could possibly need is clean and ready to be packed. Most of my trips are casual, so the benefit to packing right after you wash is that some of the clothes may be going in the suitcase and don't have to go to the closet first (saving you a step).

4. List: Create a list of what you will need for every trip. You can find templates that you can make adjustments to online to fit it to your needs. This list will help you remember things that are easy to forget, like your meds or cell phone charger.

Check the weather prior to deciding what types of items you will need to bring. In doing a quick search, I found that in wine country it will be in the mid-60s with lows in the 60's, so I don't need to pack very warm items.

You will also want to sit down for a moment and write out what you are doing, so you know what to pack. Using the bachelorette party in wine country as an example, I knew that Friday would be a travel day with a nice dinner in the evening. Saturday would consist of wine tasting and a casual dinner and Sunday would strictly be traveling back home.

With that in mind, I jotted up a list day by day to see what I would need:

Friday travel (these items were not packed)

--Yellow striped shirt

--Scarf (in case it gets cold on the plane)

--Boot cut jeans

--grey sneakers (these are my heavier pair of shoes. I am only bringing these and some dressy flats, so I decided to wear them on)

--light grey button down jacket (This jacket is the heavier of the two jackets, so it is a wear on item)

--Purple bucket tote for me to store my Nook and other items I may need.

Friday evening at a nice restaurant

--Black lacey shirt

--Skinny jeans

--Black ballet flats with bows

--Patent leather red Coach purse (This purse is what I will use for the remainder of my trip. It is small enough and festive enough to take to dinner, but it also comes with a longer strap, so I can put it over like a cross body bag on Saturday when we are wine tasting)

--Black button down jacket, if needed

Saturday day wine tasting

--Taupe colored top (Stay away from whites if wine tasting)

-- Black jacket (repeat from Friday night), in case it gets cold, but I can also wear the taupe shirt alone as it has a bit of shine to it.

--Boot cut jeans (repeat from Friday's travel look)

--Pantent leather red Coach purse (repeat from last night)

--Grey sneakers (these are really cute slim Sketcher's sneakers. Not the bukly kind you would go jogging in).

Saturday evening

Note: I am not sure what we are doing yet, but the taupe colored top can be dressed up or down with the jacket.

--Taupe top (repeat from wine tasting)

--Black jacket (repeat from dinner the night before and wine tasting earlier in the day)

--Dark wash skinny jeans (repeat from last night)

--Patent leather red Coach purse (repeat from earlier today and last night)

Sunday travel

--Jason Wu for Target Milu shirt

--Black jacket (repeat from the last two days)

--Boot cut jeans

--Grey sneakers

--Purple bucket tote that can be stored under the seat as my personal item

Of course, I also bring my undies, socks and bras. For this trip, I am only bringing one extra bra and about two pairs of socks and four pair of underwear. Black sweats and a tank top were also packed for sleeping purposes. I also packed a dark grey shorter sleeve sweater, in case I have spill or need to change.

5. Invest in minis

Most beauty and toiletries that you use are available in minis or you can make them mini by placing them in small (less than the maximum 3 oz TSA requirement containers).

You may only bring a one quart sized clear plastic ziploc-like container of liquid, gel type items if you are carrying on, so choose wisely. Check the TSA website for all the details. I purchased a sturdier plastic bag from Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. It is TSA ok, and it holds up better than the normal plastic ziploc bags. I also make sure to place this smaller bag in a larger clear bag to reduce the chance of any kind of spills while I am in transit.

I always bring even less than the 3 oz containers. I can store more and have never finished a 3 oz. container on vacation. If you are interested in getting smaller containers, I would highly recommend the Nalgene set, http://www.rei.com/product/402139/nalgene-travel-bottle-kit-medium. I am not sure if these lovely little bottles are air tight, but I've never had a problem with them leaking or items like lotions drying out while using them. They also have the benefit of being dishwasher safe.

Think about items that you could substitute to reduce the number of liquid items. For instance, I generally use a liquid face wash, but when I am traveling, I bring face wipes, so I have more room in my bag. And, if you are going to a destination for two weeks or more, you may even think about buying a lot of your toiletries there. I did this in Europe a couple of years ago, and since I was staying at the same location for 80 percent of the time, I just went to the local pharmacy and stocked up on some shampoo and conditioner as well as toothpaste.

Unless you are going out to the middle of nowhere, most places are so close to a pharmacy or other place you can pick up these items, and it might be worth it. You will reduce the risk of products spilling or exploding in your luggage, too.

You might also want to consider getting by with what you are provided with at hotels. They might not be your go-to soap or hair products, but they get the job done, and you don't have to worry about packing additional items.

For makeup. I try to go for travel palettes that have several pretty colors for eyeshadows and blushes all in one small pallette. That way, I have all the colors I need and don't need to bring an arsenal of products.

For makeup brushes, try MAC. They have a lot of cute travel brushes that come out during the year as limited-edition. I was lucky enough to purchase the Hello Kitty set a couple of years ago. Although travel sized, these brushes don't dissapoint and pack the same punch as their full size counterparts while at the same time fitting neatly in to your carry on.

6. Where to put it all

Save hassels when you get to the airport by making sure you know where everything is. Nothing is more frusterating or annoying than being behind a person that is digging for their ID or plane ticket.

Have your items in an easy to get to place. I like having my ID in a secure pocket outside of my wallet, so I can get to it easily without fumbling around.

Make sure that your TSA liquid items are easy to get to as well. I will probably carry these items in my tote until AFTER I go through security, so I don't have to waste time digging around my bag. Second best, is having these items easily accessible in the front compartment of my luggage.

From traveling to wine country for the weekend or traveling to Europe for three weeks, you can always take a carry on. It makes everything more memorable. Next time, I will show you how everything fits neatly in my luggage.