Raunchy

Skirt: H&M...Tee: Gap...Jacket: Armani Exchange via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Naturalizer...Belt: Gap...Necklaces: J Crew...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Okay, so I'm finally feeling disconnected from the Gala to share some amazing stories from last week:

Wednesday came and went and our catalog deadline was a big darn joke. As Boss Lady and I hacked our way through the list of descriptions to edit (she was mostly distracted all week and we pushed past the deadline laughing), we started noticing our verbiage got more and more inappropriate and raunchy. Who talks about a restaurant in terms of a secret rendezvous? We did. At 9pm on Tuesday. Who uses icky and demanding phrase of "Your John Hancock, please." in regards to $900 pen? We did. At 8:15 on Wednesday. So far removed from elegant and enticing. We won't even talk about the phallic references to the bullet casing necklace.

I would be remiss if I didn't say I really am glad for the exhausting experience of last week. For the first time in three years, Boss Lady placed a lot of trust in my writing abilities and pricing judgements to get the auction stuff done. Which is a big darn deal because she is a control freak. Whip smart, but a control freak. I maintained a positive, productive, cheerful, and relatively happy demeanor all darn week long, no small feat considering how close we cut so many deadlines. Boss Lady was crabby and tired, but we kicked serious arse as a team. Which I'm glad for. She's been known to hold it against people who "leave" and "wrong" her (aka taking a career advancing job), but I think my commitment and dedication to creative and decisive work in the last month won her over.

Thank goodness.

I do, however, think I'll have to do a better job of keeping auction items G to PG for my new job... they are in the business of arts education, after all.

Bad Photos

Skirt: Target...Blouse: Banana Republic, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Scarf: Target...Shoes: Steve Madden...Belt: Banana Republic...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Well, lesson learned- if you have to get going and leave for work early to get materials for an 8:00 am volunteer fair set up time, you better build in those extra 3 minutes to snap a photo or two... 5:45 pm light is poop after the time change. Well, now I know.

I'm glad the election is over, I've been carefully tracking the campaigns, strategies, and listened to all the debates since preeeeetty much last summer. It's been pretty tiring, but my NPR listening is probably going to all of a sudden feel very slow from here until the new year. And now, shall we play a game? Is Kate Republican or Democrat? What influenced your thinking?

Aaaanyway, it's a big darn day on another front, too: Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday!

Black Basics

Skirt: Target...Tee: Gap Body...Jacket: Armani Exchange via Buffalo Exchange...Scarf: Target...Belt: Gap...Shoes: Circa Joan & David...Earrings: vintage

New Yorkers are on to something. I spent literally 2 1/2 minutes picking out and and yanking on this look. It's aaaall about pieces that play nice together, even if they're simple.

It's amazing how much you can wrap your head around when you have a full day to do so. Working full time in my new position feels weirdly like a luxury since I'm able to sit down, prioritize, and actually spend some time reading through grants to absorb some of the finer points and nuance. I'm a pretty fast learner, but it was tough for me to have spent the last three weeks with the new organization working a measly 12 hours each week as a transition period... and not feel like I really absorbed anything. Shocker, right? Anyway, I'm so pumped about diving in and knowing more. I think needing to be prepared enough to man a table at a volunteer recruitment drive tomorrow is a solid start. Eeee!

New

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Button down: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target....Shoes: Nine West Outlet...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Earrings: vintage...Shades: via TJ Maxx

A big, hearty welcome to my first full week of my new job. And, yes, I know I have some 'splainin' to do.

I am now the Grants and Special Projects Manager for Young Audiences of Houston. If it has anything to do with getting the arts into education, they've got their hands in it. Want to make partnerships between schools, hospitals, community centers and the major performance groups and individual artists? Got that covered, too. It's a really cool funnel-type organization that channels arts-based opportunities for personal growth and learning for kids and their educators, which is a really cool thing. And I'm going to help with the funding side of the operation. Which is a little new and terrifying to me, but I can't wait to be a part of it all! (Especially since, in order to write grants well and geared to the right projects and foundations, I'll need to have a solid understanding of kids' needs and the programs we offer... which means I get to hang out in a few classrooms to wrap my head around it!)

Happy new week, you all! It's going to be a good one.

So Close

Jeans: Gap Perfect Boot...Blouse: thrifted...Blazer: Gap...Shoes: via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Pearls: Beijing vendor...Shades: via TJ Maxx

Hahahahahahahhaha, even though this outfit is more of the simple same... my face in the first photo shows what's up. I'm tired, it's cold, we're walking right up to deadlines and flipping them the bird, people are clinging to information, thinking that if they give us the scoop only a day prior to the Gala that everything is okay. Nope. We went to print on Monday. Don't get ticked that your item isn't prominently featured in the catalog.

ONLY 48 MORE HOURS OF THE MADNESS! Catch you all on the flipside. I can't wait to get totally adjusted and really learn my new role for my new job. Full time non-profit gig for the WIN!

Oh, and my costume for the Gala tomorrow is adorable. I'll show you guys on Sunday! Thanks for hanging around while I chatter nonsense at you all (and I CAN'T WAIT to start really reading your blogs in earnest again. I've missed you all!)

H A Double-L O Double-U Double-E N

Skirt: Target...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Gap...Scarf: Target...Shoes: via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Earrings: Old Navy

Happy Halloween a day late! I've never been a Halloween enthusiast or costume wear-er, but here's a little homage.

I didn't really notice until we moved to Houston, but I really don't "do" holidays. Thanksgiving is the only one I can get into- eating all day and spending cheerful, grateful time with loved ones, it's always been the only holiday I really "celebrate". Christmas? Eh, hang a wreath, maybe. Valentine's Day? We're lucky if I pull out a red or maroon article of clothing. And Halloween really requires waaay too much effort. So, there I was. In orange and black. Whoop-dee-do.

I do want to see what you guys were all up to last night! Looking forward to my Reader feed during the next few days!

A Halloween Link Up

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Sweater: F21...Cardigan: Gap Men's, shrunken...Scarf: Target...Boots: Biviel via Buffalo Exchange

It's a good day! Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday and Marionberry Style's Trend of the Month Challenge (Boots or Booties!). Worn during my weekend of working (yup, no days off this week just before Gala), I thought it would be fun to do a casual look for a link up. Even Boss Lady told me I was fashionable. So, that's a perk.

Hope you guys are having a good week. I've been missing this community, missing the interaction, missing the fun. A quick daily "hi and bye" with little time to read your blogs is the pits. Gotsta make the monies somehow, and for this one last week, it's a matter of diving in way over my head and making deadlines happen.

Until next week...

The Catalog

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Blouse: Target...Cardigan: Target...Trench: Target...Shoes: via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Earrings: Banana Republic

Stretchy pants. Loose tank. Cozy cardigan. And a trench to keep out the chill that's rolled in.

Bluuuuugh, it's been a long couple of days. We had a 5:00 pm deadline yesterday for the Auction Catalog (for which I've wound up being responsible) and it did not go well this year. Boss Lady freaks out about how much there is to do, insist on controlling and writing the verbiage with me, but won't focus her energies or attention on doing so. So we work for 6 hours on both Saturday and Sunday. And we technically miss the deadline. Thank goodness our vendors are amazing and our graphic artist is awesome.

I'm pooped. I can't wait to talk with you guys about more than this dumb catalog. Thanks for sticking around!

Little Black Jacket

Skirt: Target...Sweater: Zara...Jacket: Armani Exchange via Buffalo Exchange...Scarf: Gap Men's...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...

It was a meeting day off-site. Simple, profesh, easy, and wrinkle-free. Black and white pattern-mixing for the win. Seriously, between these Target skirts and those Naturalizer pumps with a barely 3" heel (over 6 years old, baby!) I have no-brainer dressing handled.

And this silly jacket. Bromance and I did a little shopping together the weekend my Guy was out of town and I found this weird little number buried in the racks. It isn't a raincoat. It isn't a trench. It isn't a swing coat. It isn't peplum. It's just its own funny little thing. And I love it.

Overdressed. Again.

Dress: ASOS...Cardigan: Target...Trench: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Scarf: Target...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Target...Shades: via TJ Maxx

I actually wore this to a concert a few days ago. And, per my whining and moaning about what's appropriate, I was far-and-away the most overdressed person there, excluding performers. And I'm over the whole conundrum. If I have to look nice for work, what's the fun of dressing like a schlub in a concert hall? None. That's right. It's more fun to look nice for 18 hours than like a varsity-basketball-cheering undergrad goon.

And if you wear manageable heels, you can rock 'em all day. So, that's a bonus.