Friday, August 5, 2011

September Favourites (A Working Girl's Guide!)

I apologize for slacking off on the blog postings (I've been only slightly busy, but mostly lazy). I'm back and ready to share my working girl favorites with all of you! Summer is still blazin' for us Southerners, but I've been keeping out of the Georgia heat by working indoors at my new (but temporary) office job (yay for getting paid!). During the past couple of months I have been prepping myself to get healthy and stay fabulous despite sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week. Here's what I've been into at the moment...


1. Lunch Break Reads: Why spend money when you can hit up the local library? Especially when they restock with best sellers each month! Seriously, we're already paying for it in tax dollars! Last month I checked out "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. This book is such a hilarious light read, even if your not that in to Tiny Fey. I loved how self deprecating she was in her memoir-ish book. I loved her before, but now I have a greater appreciation of her work and also developed some mixed feelings about her... After reading it, I get the feeling she might throw you under a bus and then write a 30 Rock script about it. She is less caring (affectionate) than I thought she would be in real life. I hate saying this, (but at the same time I secretly love her for it!) If you've read it, you'll understand. Also if you've read it, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it!



2. Working On My Fitness: Since I am in an office by myself, I don't mind indulging in a few chair squats or binder lifts throughout the day. However, since I am trying to loose the poundage I gained in grad school, I need a more substantial workout after hours. For only $10.00 a month, Gold's Gym is holding a grand opening sale in my area!

That's right people, if you are in the market for a gym membership, try checking out the deals they have going on in your area. Some places have trial memberships, student and military discounts, and even young adult discounts (the Family Y has these!). Also try discount sites in your local area, like Living Social or Groupon, they often have deeply discounted fitness memberships. I know I've received at least two deals this month on gym classes! Invite your friends to join and sometimes you can even get a discounted membership (and a workout buddy!). Woo hoo! Getting fit never felt so cheap!


3. Cutie Foodie!: Last year I discovered the amazingness that is Bento-style lunches. It is a trend straight out of Japan (and much of Asia as well) that is putting fun back in to carrot sticks
(there was never any fun in those...) and making those boring sack lunches tradable again! Basically the concept is to create a healthy, delicious, well-balanced and aesthetically pleasing lunch fit into a small box (yes it's possible!). It is really fun to get creative with your lunches. This requires some planning, so I haven't been so dedicated to the "aesthetically pleasing" part, but I've been doing pretty good at the healthy, well-balanced part! My favorite bento blog, Just Bento, is perfect for beginners (like me) and gives some great tips and planning material to begin you bento-ing journey!


4. Appropriate Threads: I've had trouble adjusting to the "corporate dress code". Let's just say that I LOVE my skinny jeans, but sad to say that I can't wear them to work. Fortunately for me, I went to target and found a pair of black straight leg pants on major clearance for only $13.00! Yay! I can get the stylish non-trousery effect for less!

I wanted to do a separate "What to Wear to Work" blog post. I find that many articles just skim over the basic rules and never address the need to feel stylish at work. However, when I was researching the topic, I found an awesome post by Lauren Conrad on the must have items for a stylish work wardrobe. She's the expert, so I'll let her have it!




5. Primp & Plump- I need to talk to you all about tubing mascara. Ladies this stuff is so legit! I am blessed with fairly long curly lashes, but I still need mascara to define and thicken them up a bit. I found out about this mascara from Pixi2woo's youtube channel, she talks about it all the time so I had to check it out!

It's different from most mascaras in that, it is not a wax that fills out your lashes, it is actually a polymer coating that goes on fairly wet and then sort of "shrink wraps" itself around your lashes. You can even build it up to create a truly "fake lash" effect. Now, I have issues with mascara, I love my regular plain-Jane-Maybelline (the hot pink and lime kind), but I get what I pay for. I always end up looking like a raccoon (insert Drita coon killin' face here) and the waterproof formula's are a nightmare to remove! I've been branching out lately trying more expensive drug store and department store brands, but the result is always the same (womp, womp).

Although there are several high-end tubing mascara's on the market, I found the L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes at Wal-mart for $8.99 and I am ADDICTED! Let me just tell you that I am willing to fork out a little more for this product. Not only is it water resistant (pretty much sweat and tear proof also), but it is a dream to remove. All you have to do is rinse your face with warm water to loosen the polymer coating and sort of gently pull the tubes off of your lashes (yes I said pull!). It's a little weird at first, because the mascara comes out in clumps that resemble your own lashes, but don't be fooled it's just the mascara coming off. If you want to learn more about tubing mascara, check out this awesome Elle article.


6. Awesome Jams: When you are in your office by yourself, sometimes you just need to pump up the jam (yes I said it, and I'll say it again!). I just recently discovered TuneIn which allows you to access radio stations from all over the world. Right now I am loving "Capital London 95.8" a station that plays top 40 music from the U.K. (of course I would pick a London station, to go along with my new-found obsession with anything British). It is so interesting to hear what music popular in different parts of the world and even in your own country (check out the Miami stations!).

I also love the Carla Bruni station on Pandora, it makes me feel fabulous and sophisticated listening to her French and folky sound. I also love the fact that she is a supermodel and the first lady of France, love Carla! Even better, the station is relaxing and safe for a work environment.


I hope this post inspires all you working gals! Let me know how you stay fabulous during the work week!

xx Jeans

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