Showing posts with label Favorite things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Favorite things. Show all posts

Monday, January 12, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Business Casual at a Conference

Global Map
2014 was the year for business travel and if the beginning of 2015 is any indication, there will be a lot more business travel to come. I spent all of last week at my company’s global sales kickoff. It was just me and 3,000 other people, from all over the world, in Orlando for the week. Trips like these are really nice because not only do you learn a lot about the plans for the coming year but it’s a great opportunity for exposure to other cultures and languages. Fortunately, I love my job and the people I work with (even though we all work out of our homes, I see them A LOT!) because I end up spending plenty of time away from home. Believe me…coming home is really sweet!

Packing for business travel can be difficult due to climate, unpredictable weather and airlines (ugh!). I usually try to plan and cram everything into a carry on but since this trip was six days long, I decided to pack a larger bag and take many of my favorites. Most of the time, conference dressing means business casual (no suits) and since this one was an employees only affair, that meant I could take advantage of my very serious collection of clothing by Dobbin! In case this is your first time reading this blog, I must tell you that I absolute love this brand! Dobbin’s fashions are made in the USA, using amazing European fabrics (you will be amazed at the quality!) and priced just right! Just the fact that I, literally, purchase multiple items from every collection is a testimony in itself—I have NEVER fallen in love with a brand before! Not only is the fit just right but they have great sales (and they’re having one right now)!! Here’s a peek at one of the outfits from last week.

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My outfit began with the gorgeous Luisa Silk Blouse from Dobbin. The beautiful black and ivory print ensures that this top works with a majority of the items in my closet. It’s comfortable and a great layering piece.
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My pants were also from Dobbin: the New Stanton Slim Pant in Black Stretch Corduroy. Honestly, I thought these pants were like my velvet feel pants from Talbots---the corduroy is that soft! And just like the other New Stanton pants in my wardrobe, this fit is amazing! On my feet I wore a pair of LK Bennet burgundy colored suede booties from last year. Even though the heel was quite high, the platform inside ensured that these babies were really comfortable! (Here’s a pair that looks just like them but in black)
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Because I am always cold (and temps in large ballrooms tend to be on the chilly side), I topped my outfit off with a Talbots Charming cardigan in black. I have these in many colors and they are great!
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Outfits like this take me thru most conferences and even when it’s more of a prospect or customer facing event, these same pieces can be easily dressed up.

I’m getting back into the “regular blogging” groove so stay tuned for more this week!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Tales of a Bad Blogger

I haven't been a very good blogger lately and it's been driving me crazy! Those of you who read this blog regularly know I've had a very challenging year with the death of my father and my mother's health issues. And those of you who know me in real life (IRL) also have the additional insight of other distractions that have required that my attentions are focused elsewhere. Throughout this whole journey, I will say that I am constantly amazed at the power of love, communication and understanding.

I am re-focusing my energies to this blog and hope to, once again, provide excellent content to women like me---hard working, deeply caring women who try to take care of themselves and others, while trying to maintain a sense of beauty in our everyday lives. So with that, I thought I would give you a glimpse of my life in the past week (via pictures!). Hope you enjoy!!!


I've been traveling a LOT this summer on business!


The gorgeous Carson Stretch Ponte Faux Wrap Dress by Dobbin. Every time I wear it, I get a ton of compliments. So lovely!!!


My latest travel makeup stash.



Facial Masks from Korea (a gift from my friend Stacey)!


Pretty in Peach!!!


Candy Crush is my mood stabilizer under stress...


If you haven't seen "A Conference Call in Real Life," you need to! It's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time and it will definitely resonate with you if you spend 90% of your time in corporate life! Click here to see it.


The first thing I saw when arriving home from a long business trip---newly blooming Black Eyed Susans!!


And the love of my life, Bentley-Boo!


Followed by our "Bad Dog," Aqua Kitty!


Time for the kids to go back to college. This was the result of Saturday's shopping at Target---outfitting both for two separate apartments at JMU!


Last but not least, my new favorite past time! Barry and I are taking dancing lessons at the West End Ballroom  and absolutely love it. What a great way to spend couple time and prepare for date night!

More to come as I get my blogging muscles back!!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Another TV Obsession: Revenge!!!




Happy Monday!!! Hope you all had a great weekend and a great Father's Day. If you've been following this blog, You know that my father passed away two months ago, so it was a bit of a sad day for me, but I tried to keep busy by reoganizing my office, taking on a number of DIY projects and watching marathon sessions of my new favorite TV show, Revenge!

I'm not watching much TV these days, so Revenge is one of those shows that I didn't discover until I saw it in the lineup on Netflix. I blasted thru seasons one and two and then switched over to Amazon Prime for season three. This show is full of soap opera drama and it is just amazing at how evil and dastardly some of the characters are (I'm looking at you, Victoria Grayson!). Plot twist after plot twist has kept me interested and I swear, this show is like crack!!! 

Emily Thorne and Victoria Grayson
(Emily Van Camp and Madeleine Stowe)
Picture via

My favorite character is Nolan Ross, the delightfully geeky computer nerd who is perfectly played by the delicious Gabriel Mann. I've always been attracted to smart guys, and he's as smart (Nolan--despite his social awkwardness) as they get. Plus, he's got great taste in clothing and houses (and he's a great friend to Emily Thorne, the Queen of Revenge).


Gabriel Mann
Photo via

Photo via

Revenge really does grab you and pulls you in. There's so much going on in this show---intrigue, murder, love, sex, scandal...the list goes on and on. I've also been reading a little bit how the show is made and interestingly enough, one of the stars of the show, "Grayson Manor," the summer home of the fabulously wealthy Grayson family, actually doesn't even exist---it's completely computer generated!!! Check it out in the picture below:


Photo via
Amazing, huh?

Anyway, Do yourself a favor and get yourself over to either Netflix or Amazon Prime to begin watching this addictive show. If your're anything like me, you'll devour the first couple of seasons and be ravenous for more!!!


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Holidays, Capt. Jack Harkness, and Beauty Products—the Perfect Weekend!

Hope you had a great weekend! It seems like the last three days went buy in a flash but I was productive, in a weird sort of way. Most of my time was spent setting up and learning my new camera (hopefully no more fuzzy pictures), shopping for large numbers of beauty products, and organizing my home, all while catching up on episodes 1 thru 3 of “Torchwood” on Netflix. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Torchwood is a science fiction television show of an extraterrestrial-fighting secret (well, sort of secret) government agency headed up by sexy beast, Captain Jack Harkness. I swear that man is the hottest and he would be the one and only on my “list” if I actually had one of those lists (and he wasn’t merely a character on a TV show, albeit an incredibly delicious character). The actor who plays Harkness is John Barrowman, below.

John Barrowman
Photo via
Not bad, huh? Although my love is for the Captain, if I wasn’t a happily married heterosexual woman and he wasn’t a happily married gay man, I think I could be persuaded to check him out <cough>. But the CAPTAIN….sigh! I digress…

Anyway, I love “Torchwood” and have really gotten into the characters. I actually shed a tear at the end of season two when two of the central characters were killed. And the series “Children of the World” made me feel sick due to its allegorical nature (watch it and you’ll understand). Even so, it was a great diversion on a busy weekend. If you are looking for a new show, check out Torchwood on Netflix (and it’s probably on other networks as well). You also may be interested in checking out the multi talented John Barrowman at his website here.

In between watching many episodes of Torchwood, I also bought and photographed lots of new beauty products, which I will be showing, swatching and reviewing starting today. Here are some of the products that I will begin posting later this morning and for the rest of the week.

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Stay tuned for more!!! And check out Torchwood!!!

  

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Makeup Storage with Z Palette!


Like a lot of you, I have a TON of makeup! Whether it's eyeshadows, lipsticks, blushes, highlighters or powders, you name it, I've probably tried it. Since I like so many different types of makeup, storage is a problem. Just imagine having hundreds of lipsticks (or even more than ten) and then not being able to tell what color the individual tubes are when you go to reach for the perfect red. Or maybe you just know that you purchased a wonderful blue/gray eyeshadow some months ago but in order to find it, you have to open fifteen different eyeshadow cases before you find it. 

Enter Z Palette...the perfect storage solution for you and me. Read on to find out more!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Do you Glossy Box?


One of my favorite new "things" is the monthly or quarterly beauty/lifestyle subscription box. I belong to three: GlossyBox, New Beauty's TestTube, and PopSugar, which is more of a lifestyle box. The basic "jist" of these boxes is that monthly or quarterly, you are sent an assortment of deluxe samples or full sized  beauty items to try, rate and earn points to purchase other products. Each company does it a little differently but if you're a person who likes variety (and who doesn't!), you'll generally find that the value of the products in the box far exceed the price you pay (the ones I've seen run from $10 to $49 per month or quarter, depending on the service). 

The box in the picture above is the Man Repeller box from GlossyBox. 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Change in Scenery: the Importance of Time Spent Alone

Photo Credit: womenwithdrive.org

The other day, a friend of mine said, "Everyone's need for 'alone time' is different." She was right, of course. My husband doesn't seem to need much and some of my friends seem to avoid being alone at all costs. Still others crave the time by themselves and never seem to get it. That's sad, to me, because I believe that women our age really do need to take time for ourselves to regroup and refresh. We're often juggling way too many obligations and we owe it to ourselves to take time away, even if only for a half hour.

My need for time to myself has ebbed and flowed over the years. I can remember when I was a little girl, I loved stealing away by myself with a good book either in the backyard on the hammock, underneath the Christmas tree during the holidays or in my room to get away from my little brother. Then something changed. As a teenager, time alone caused me to worry if I was "popular" enough or too "nerdy." Later still, during an early marriage, I thought "if only I could just be alone for awhile" only to panic when I was, in fact, really alone for the first time in my life!

Monday, January 14, 2013

My Favorites: Nice things to have in your beauty arsenal

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A few days ago, I wrote about my favorite drugstore and high end beauty essentials. You can read that post here. Today, I'll outline some "nice to haves" for your beauty stash.


High End foundation primer

Drugstore foundation primer




High End tinted moisturizer


Drugstore tinted moisturizer

(I like the one for normal/dry skin)


High End long wearing foundation

Drugstore long wearing foundation

Saturday, January 5, 2013

My Favorite Beauty Essentials

Since one of the main focuses of this blog is beauty for women over 40, I thought I'd share some of my favorite tried and true makeup favorites. I'm a "beauty junkie" and have drawers full of foundations, eye shadows, mascara, lipsticks, etc. I try just about everything, from drugstore brands to high end brands and have found great products (as well as the bad ones) in every price range. Everything I mention here I have purchased and used myself.

Here are some of my favorite basics. I don't wear all of these every day (except sunblock!) but these are what I would consider the basics (click on the item name to view):

The Basics

High End Sunblock for face
  • None (you don't need to spend a lot to get a great SPF for face!)
Drugstore Sunblock for face

High End light/medium coverage foundation
Drugstore light/medium coverage foundation