30 Day Clothes Challenge (Days 1 - 5)

So like many of you, I have been starting to get the urge to go clothes shopping for the Fall season, but have been trying to hold off for a couple of reasons:

1. The weather has still been pretty warm out (upper 80's), so it's not really the best time to be buying sweaters and boots. They would just sit in my closet for another month or so.

2. I really don't need to be spending money on clothes, especially since I just bought a bunch of stuff on clearance at the Loft a few weeks ago.

3. I recently cleaned out my closet and got rid of about 4 or 5 garbage bags of clothes, and I still had a bunch of clothes that I hadn't worn in forever because I kind of forgot about them.

So I came up with this great challenge for myself that I am calling the 30 Days Clothes Challenge. I am challenging myself to wear everything in my closet before the new season starts. I am going to go 30 (work) days and not wear the same thing twice. Now pants and cardigans will be worn more than once, but tops, only once.

I decided to make this a work day only challenge because I'll be honest, sometimes I just wear sweats or workout clothes on the weekends, and that is not very exciting. So for the next 6 weeks, I'll try to wear something different to work each day. It will be challenging because Labor Day is coming up, and then I have 2 vacation days coming up, so I'll figure out something. I might throw a weekend outfit in there, or I might just extend it out, we will just see how it goes. If I can make it through the next 6 weeks, then I can reward myself with a fall outfit that I can actually wear!

Each week (on Friday), I'll post what I wore that week. It will help keep me honest. I'll post once a week as to not bore everyone with my clothing posts. So far this week wasn't hard because I could pretty much wear anything. I'll be honest though, I started to freak out by Wed because I didn't want to wear all of my favorite clothes at the beginning and then get frustrated at the end of the challenge. I think I need to plan out my outfits on the weekends so that I don't stand there in front of my closet every morning, like I typically do, wondering what to wear. So I hope you enjoy my journey, and wish me luck!

This week's results:
**Please note I apologize in advance, I haven't mastered the art of taking a picture of myself in the mirror, so hopefully over the next 6 weeks, I'll figure out how to take a decent picture of myself. Here's hoping!

Day 1: Monday -- Wore Ann Taylor Loft pink t-shirt and Limited jeans

with Viva Beads necklace (one of my favs!)

Day 1: Monday -- I also wore an Ann Taylor Loft cardigan in case

I got cold at the office, plus it was a little chilly out that morning

Day 2: Tuesday -- American Eagle top, Loft jeans

and Lia Sophia necklace

Day 3: Wednesday -- Ann Taylor Loft shirt

with faux necklace and Loft jeans

Day 4: Thursday -- New York & Co top, Limited jeans, necklace from

Kohls, and earrings and bracelet from Lia Sophia

Day 5: Friday -- Gap dress and Lia Sophia necklace

(BTW: this dress is a pretty plum color,

but it's hard to tell in this pic)

Day 5: Friday -- I also wore a jean jacket from dELiA*s

So that is what I wore all week. As you can see, I wear a lot of jeans to work, but I am hoping to start mixing up with more dress pants. I also love to wear a dress to work about once a week. Usually for a client meeting or on Fridays. We are allowed to wear jeans to work, but if we do have a client meeting, we have to dress up. A very big perk to my job!

Hope you enjoyed, and stop back next Friday to see if I made it through another week!

Book Club: The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes (Chapters 11 - 20)

This week for the Book Beginnings and Bookends book club, we were assigned chapters 11 – 20. I am trying really hard to stick with only reading what is assigned each week because I am also trying to read another book as well, but I am finding that I am really starting to get into the book, so it’s hard to put it down when I am finished with the assigned chapters. It’s also a really quick read, and I can read the 10 chapters in about 2 nights. I think if I allowed myself, I could finish the whole book in 2 days, but for now we will stick with the assigned chapters.

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In this section of the book, the kid-napping takes place. Things seem to go as planned. The boys end up capturing the governor’s wife (Genevieve) and bring her back to the cabin in the woods where CeeCee is hiding out. The only glitch in their plan, and it’s a big one, is that Genevieve is pregnant, and I mean ready to pop pregnant.

The boys take off to begin negotiations, and shortly after, Genevieve starts to feel contractions. At first CeeCee thinks she is just doing this to try and get away, but then the baby starts coming, and she is coming fast. CeeCee begins to think how she can get this woman to a hospital, but isn’t even sure where she is in the woods and how to get out of there, let alone whether or not if there is a hospital nearby. Genevieve tells CeeCee she is going to have to help her deliver the baby, so CeeCee begins making preparations for the baby to come.

The baby is delivered rather quickly and she seems to be in perfect health. Genevieve on the other hand, had complications with her first child with hemorrhaging, and seemed to be having these same complications as well. She warned CeeCee if she started to pass out she will need to massage her belly where her uterus is. CeeCee tries her best, but Genevieve dies shortly after the baby is born.

CeeCee has no idea what to do, and debates just dropping the baby off at the hospital, but then again, has no idea where a hospital is. She goes back to Naomi’s house to get help. Naomi tells her she must get out of here and go into hiding, and she begins making plans for CeeCee to go into hiding, along with the baby. Naomi’s husband Forrest goes back to clean up the cabin and to bury Genevieve, and Naomi starts getting together the paperwork to get CeeCee and the new baby a new identity so they can go “underground.” CeeCee stays with Naomi and Forrest for probably about a day or so. They help teach her how to take care of the baby, and set her up with all the supplies she will need to take the trip from NC to Virginia where her new home will be.

CeeCee leaves for Virginia and has this great plan to drop off the baby at the governor’s house with a note that this is his baby. She attempts to do so, but there are too many police around so she just heads on to Virginia to begin her new life.

CeeCee is now Eve and the baby is now Corrine (Cory). They stay with a woman named Marian who is an older woman who has helped a few women in the past. She is a daycare worker and offers to watch Cory while CeeCee/Eve attempts to get a job. The rest of this section is about Eve and Marian getting along, and Eve beginning her new life. Eve still misses Tim, and wonders what is going on with the case, and if he will ever come find her. Marian tells her she needs to forget about Tim, that there is no way he will ever be able to come find her because it would be too dangerous for him, Eve, the baby and even Marian.

The discussion questions for this week are:

1. Where do you think Tim and Marty are at this point in the story?

I think they are probably in hiding trying to negotiate with the governor, but after they found out that Genevieve had died, who knows what they are up to. I have no idea if they are even in the same state anymore, let alone the same town.

2. What were your thoughts as CeeCee was helping Genevieve deliver her baby?

At first I thought Genevieve was faking the contractions. I figured this was her strategy to get CeeCee to get her out of there. But then when the baby started to come, I thought oh no, what is CeeCee going to do?! I kept reading on very quickly so I could see what happens. I don’t know what I would have done in CeeCee’s shoes. She was in a tough situation because I know she wanted to do what was best for both the baby and Genevieve, but I don’t think she knew what to do. She had no idea how to get them to a hospital, and obviously had no idea how to deliver a baby.

3. After Genevieve died, what would you have done with her baby if you had been in CeeCee's shoes?

This is tough. I would like to think I would find a way to return the baby, even if it meant turning myself in. I don’t think I could live with the guilt, but at the same time you feel bad because CeeCee’s life is just starting, and the consequences of getting involved with Tim may ruin her life if she turns herself in.

4. Why do you think CeeCee/Eve is still holding onto hope that Tim will come for her?

She is only 16, and this is her first love, so of course she is holding on to the hope that Tim will come after her to save her. When we are young, we all dream of our prince charming coming in on their white horse to save us (of course sometimes I still dream that now), until we get our heart broken a few times that is.

5. How do you think Eve will establish her new identity in Virginia?

I think she is going to have to completely start over and it is going to be hard to remember the new life she now has to live. It broke my heart though that she has to lose the letters from her mother.

6. What do you think of CeeCee/Eve now after she has gone through with the kidnapping, the delivery of the baby, the escape, and the relocation?

I feel bad for CeeCee, although she did get herself wrapped up in this whole plan. She is just so young and I kind of believe she didn’t really know better. I guess I was shocked at how easy it was for CeeCee to get a new identity and how quickly she was able to find a place to hide out. It’s like they have this whole underground system. I feel really bad for baby Cory because she will never know who her real parents are. I think that is what makes me sad about the most.

Office Jargon

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I thought I would end this week with a little Office Jargon. A couple of weeks back, Bethenny Frankle started a discussion on Twitter about Office Jargon, and I started thinking about the things that we say around our office.

Circle back – Let’s “circle back” on this topic, or follow up with me later.

Parking lot this – This happens a lot in status meetings, when we get off on a tangent on something we say, “let’s parking lot this” meaning let’s discuss later.

Out of pocket – out of office, or unavailable (although I never really liked this one, I like to say OOO, or “Out of Office”).

Net-net – what’s the bottom line, or as I like to say, why does this matter to me?

Thank you for your partnership – this can be a smart ass way of saying, thanks for doing nothing.

N of one – our CEO says this and it basically means “in my opinion” or “it’s just the opinion of 1 person.”

Drive By – this is when someone stops by your desk and drops a hot project, or a bomb, on your desk, typically something that is going to cause your day to be crazy, and keep you from getting your work done.

Come to Jesus – this is reserved for times when you have had enough, and you need to get down to the bottom of something; we tend to have “Come to Jesus moments” when projects, or even people, have gotten out of hand.

Regroup – aka: meetings that talk about meetings; meaning they are meetings that happen after meetings where people still don’t know what is going on due to mismanagement or just not paying attention; we have a lot of meetings.

Make it a great one! – this is what our Traffic Coordinator says after our weekly status meetings, which take place first thing Monday morning. Usually it is with sarcasm if we see a potentially stressful week coming up.

What office jargon goes on in your work place?

Tips Tuesday: Product Review

This week, instead of a tip, I wanted to share a product review. First off I am not getting paid for this review, nor am I getting any kick-backs.

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Over the weekend I picked up this cute little caddy with Caldrea cleaning products from Target, and I am in love with them! They come in 3 different scents, but I love the Herbs of Provence scent. The caddy includes hand soap, dish soap and kitchen spray. The kitchen spray is my favorite because it makes your kitchen smell like wonderful lavendar. If you have a Target nearby, I would totally recommend this. Let me know your thoughts and if you have tried any of the other scents: Citron Ginger and Olive Oil.

Book Club: The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes (Chapters 1 - 10)

Recently I joined a book club over at Book Beginnings and Bookends! We are reading the book "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes" by Diane Chamberlain and today is our first day to post about the first 10 chapters of the book.

Just to give everyone a little background on the book, the main story is about this 16-year old girl CeeCee, who lost her mother when she was 12 years old to breast cancer and is now living in a boarding house. She is working as a waitress and is barely getting by. One of her regular customers is this college guy named Tim. He comes in every day and CeeCee thinks he is “beautiful” and that he is possibly interested in her but then quickly second guesses it and thinks he is obviously out of her league. Tim eventually invites her on a date to go to the movies

A few days after their first date, where CeeCee explains to Tim that she would love to go to college, but is not sure how she can afford it, she receives an envelope with $5,000 cash. She eventually finds out that this is from Tim, no strings attached, and it is to help her go to college. They start spending more time together, and CeeCee begins falling in love with Tim. She even loses her virginity to him.

After the first few dates Tim opens up about his family and tells CeeCee that his sister is in prison for murder. She was actually raped by the gardener and then killed him, but because she couldn’t keep her story straight, she was found guilty of murder and is currently on death row. Tim tells CeeCee about this organization called SCAPE (Stop Capital Punishment Everywhere) and later asks her to become involved in their plan to kidnap the Governor’s wife in order to convince him to commute his sister’s sentence. At first CeeCee is not sure she wants to be involved, but eventually says she will do it. The rest of the first 10 chapters is about them putting together their plan for the kidnap. CeeCee is in charge of watching over the Governor’s wife while the negotiations are taking place.

As part of the book club, there will be discussion questions each week. My answers to the discussion questions are:

1. What is your first impression of Tim?

At first I thought that he thought she was a cute girl and probably wanted what every other college guy wanted, to sleep with her. After she lost her virginity to him and he continued to be interested in her, you realized that maybe he really did want more, but after you realized his plan, you began to have second thoughts about his intentions.

2. If you were in CeeCee’s position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help Tim?

This is hard because I am so much older than CeeCee now, so it’s hard to say what I would or would not do at that age. I don’t think I would be involved in something illegal such as their plan, but I can see how young love makes you do stupid things for people (been there, done that!).

3. Why do you think CeeCee is so eager to please Tim?

I think it’s probably a combination of losing her mother at such a young age, and going through the foster system. But it probably also has to do with the fact that this is her first love, and she is very naïve.

4. Who do you think has it harder Tim? Or CeeCee?

This is hard to answer also. I think they both have had it tough, but I think maybe Tim because he is not as naïve. They say what you don’t know, can’t hurt you, and I think that Tim has gone though some things that has jaded his life, and maybe CeeCee is still too naïve to realize some things.

5. What character traits about CeeCee stuck out the most in these first ten chapters?

I think she is very loyal and very nurturing. This is probably a combination of her being so young, because of losing her mother and of course because she is female =)

6. Do you think CeeCee is as mature as she seems?

I think she is probably a little more mature than someone her own age because of the situations she has been put in, but I don’t think she is mature enough to know that the decision she is making to help out Tim is not a good decision.

Check back next Monday for the second ten chapters, and check out the Book Beginnings and Bookends blog for even more discussion about the book.

Pink Saturday - 8/14/10 - Glamping

Happy Pink Saturday everyone! Our family is attempting to have a garage sale this weekend, so hopefully we can sell some of our junk (or treasure to some!)

Last week, when my boyfriend and I were sitting by the pool on vacation, I was reading the Aug 2010 issue of Southern Living Magazine and came accross this article about Glamping. I turned to my boyfriend and said, "Wow! I might actually consider camping if it was like this!" He turned to me and said "Jen, that is not camping"

Glamping is a form of upscale camping using tents with plumbing (including hot water and toilets), natural cooling and furnished with European antiques and luxurious bedding. According to The Martyn House website (the company featured in the magazine), glamorous tents have been around since 200 AD when the Ottomans used these tents for cultural or royal ceremonies. A form of Glamping immerged again in the early 1900’s in Africa to cater to the needs of wealthy, demanding American and European travelers who sought adventure in the wild.

According to the article in Southern Living, prices start at around $180 per night for a min 2 night stay. I am not sure though if this is per person, or per tent, but it looks really cool! My aunt stayed in something similar to this in Africa when she went on a safari, and she said it was awesome!

If anyone has ever stayed in one of these, please share your experience/thoughts on it. I don't know if this is something I'll do in the near future, but maybe someday!

Thanks for stopping by, and check out Beverly's blog for more info on Pink Saturday and to see the list of participants.

Biltmore Estate - Part 2 (The Conservatory and Bass Pond)

I am slowly getting through my Biltmore pics. Today I will share the Conservatory and Bass Pond. The Conservatory is probably my favorite part of the whole estate. There were tons of displays of pots of flowers and plants. I kept taking pics, and had to keep telling my boyfriend to get out of the shot. He kept saying, "are you done yet?"

Here is the Conservatory:

Here are some of the displays within the Conservatory:

This was my favorite display. It was a little water fountain, and the water was coming out of 3 wine bottles set on their sides. If only I could recreate that, I'll have to figure that out.

This is Bass Pond. There was a little boathouse off to the left (you can barely see the dock) but my boyfriend and I stopped and rested in the boathouse for a bit to get out of the sun. It was starting to get rather hot at this point.

This is a waterfall on the other side of the pond. We didn't walk all the way around the pond, we had already done plenty of walking by that point, but we did get to drive by the waterfall, so I asked my boyfriend to stop the car so I could get a picture. It looked so peaceful!

I still have pictures to share of Antler Hill Village, which had shops, restaurants, the winery, and the little farm. I'll try and get those posted soon, so be sure to check back.