Belt Free Week Challenge Roundup

Rand's Challenge Assessment: (this convo took place on Thursday night). I'm doing a week without belts. Fist pump from Rand. "I'm glad you finally listened to me." About what? "About belts making you look like a barrel." stunned slience from me "You know, because the belt makes a horizontal band around your middle just like the bands on a barrel." uh.... "And you know how horizontal stripes are bad.." Wait, are you saying that belts make me look fat?? "uh..." I think we should end this conversation before you make me self concious about belt, which I love and I think look really good on me. "Okay."

So as you can see, Rand really approved of this challenge. LOL

(click to enlarge)

Now here are my assessments:

• I tucked my shirts into my skirts, which I don't normally do
• i selected layering items that buttoned at the waist or in some other way cinched in my waist
• not wearing belts can be a lot more comfortable
• I missed my belts, but maybe I can cut down on them some

Tough, Smart Lawyer

I'm sure you have similar ads where you live, but here in Dallas we have a couple of well known legal commercial: the Texas Hammer and The Tough, Smart Lawyer. Well since I had to meet a pro bono client today, I didn't do casual Friday. And I thought that I should do my "tough, smart lawyer" pose. The cat hair stuck to my knee doesn't really add to my toughness and if I had really been smart, I wouldn't have kneeled down to pet the cats right before taking my pics. Ha!

What I Wore While Being Tough:

• black slacks (Lane Bryant)
• striped blouse (via Ross)
• grey vest (Lane Bryant)
• satin flats (via Kohls)
• grey necklace (Rainbow)

What I Ate While Cursing the Post Office For Closing an Hour Earlier Than I Thought:

Rand and I ran out to the post office at 5 today. He needed to return a gift he bought for me (wrong size - way too small, bless his heart) and I needed to mail some DVDs to Sam like I have been promising for 3 weeks now. I thought the post office was open until 6, but it actually closed at 5. Ugh. Back again tomorrow. So we drowned our sorrows in some beer and gumbo.

• breakfast: cheesy egg, bagel, and cuties
• lunch: buddig sandwich, snap peas, apple, cheese
• snack: Clif Z bar
• dinner: Widmer beer, chicken and sausage gumbo

What I Did Before My Coworkers Got There:

(somtimes the hoop tries to escape and you must hunt it down)

Family Love

Rand and I babysat for his niece. Man, does she love me. It's crazy and sweet. We had to take quite a few photos before we got one without her in it. She wouldn't leave the brooch on my jacket alone, and she kept trying to walk around in my heels. She's not even 2 years old. She's going to be quite the fashionist when she grows up.

What I Wore While Babysitting:

• taupe skirt (Target)
• cream shell (M Studio)
• tweed jacket (Target)
• cream leaf brooch (Etsy)
• blue/green plaid pumps (Discount Shoe Store)
• green silk scarf (Goodwill)

What I Ate on My New Froggie Plate:

I picked up this frog Crate & Barrel plate at Goodwill when I was looking for a set of smaller plates for Rand and I (we're trying to cut down on our portion sizes). I couldn't resist it, so I got it for lunches at work. It made me smile.

• breakfast: scrambled egg with laughing cow, 2 cuties, alternative bagel
• lunch: buddig sammie, apple, cheesestick, carrot
• snack: thinkOrganic bar
• dinner: brisket meal (Dickies BBQ)

More At Work Exercise:

The Deep End

20th Century Fox was filming the pilot of a new TV show about young attorneys today in downtown Dallas. It's called The Deep End and stars Billy Zane. We could see the crews setting up outside our office window - they were filming our building. I will of course be looking for it on TV, just so I can see my office building. On a side note, it made me a little nostalgic for when I used to work in the film industry.

What I Wore While Reminiscing About Making Movies:

• maroon skirt (Lane Bryant)
• maroon shirt (Old Navy)
• blue/white striped cardi (Target)
• blue earrings (no clue, but they are pretty cheap)
• maroon suede pumps w/ fur poofs (J. Renee)
• flamingo pin (Goodwill)
• button ring (Etsy fair, unknown vendor)

What I Ate During a Very Stressful Day:

I tried to talk myself out of the garbage that I was craving for breakfast (stress makes me have really strong food cravings - I need to break that association of food as a solution to stress). I did pretty good for the first hour of work. Then the craving just got stronger and stronger, and here is the kicker - I was the only one at work. I still have that urget to hide my eating, so "if noone sees me eat it, it doesn't count." WRONG! But I still feel that way from time to time. I decided to go for a walk instead of eating stuff, but then I ducked into 7-11 at the end of my walk and loaded up on a pile of crap food. Ugh.

The good thing? I didn't let it turn into a Free-for-all day like I would have done last year. So that's progress anyway.

• breakfast: french vanilla cappucino, cheese danish, apple tart, sausage (7-11)
• lunch: too full and too stressed to eat
• snack: Honest bar, small banana
• dinner: healthy taco salad

Exercise:

More hula hooping in the office. It breifly made my stress level decrease, which was nice. I also went on two 1/2 mile walks at work, so 1 mile total. It's slowly getting better. Maybe I'll even workout for real soon.

Copycat - Keiko Lynn

Rand's Daily Outfit Assessment: "That looks like a doily. That's a doily shirt."


Coincidentally, the same day that I bought this shirt at Goodwill, I saw Keiko Lynn's post. Her dress inspired me to pair the shirt with a full skirt.


What I Wore While Copying Keiko Lynn:

• black embroidered skirt (Lane Bryant)
• white lace shirt (thrifted, Goodwill)
• black sequin screwback earrings (thrifted, Goodwill)
• cotton strand bracelet (made by Maria)
• black ribbon heels (Nine West via 6pm)

What I Ate That Was Actually Healthy ALL DAY LONG:

• breakfast: cheesy egg, alternative bagel, 2 cuties
• lunch: chicken sandwich, 2 carrots, apple, cheesestick
• dinner: vegetarian "chicken" parmesan, spaghetti squash, garlic toast, red wine

Exercise:

I brought my hula hoop to work b/c there is a ton of open space and I don't really have room to do it at home. Almost all of my coworkers took a turn. I hooped for about 5 minutes. And I went on one 1/2 mile walk at work.

Challenge: A Week Without a Belt?

A coworker commented to me that I wear a belt every day and that she's never known anyone else who wears belts so much. I must admit that I really rely on them to put a finishing touch on an outfit. And, since I have big hips and a large chest, the cinching effect at my waist keeps me from looking like a linebacker. So here's the question? Can I go a whole week without wearing a belt and still feel like I look polished? I think that the girls at Academichic did a similar challenge at the beginning of summer.

What I Wore Without a Belt:

• brown skirt (Lane Bryant)
• aqua/brown sheer peasant blouse (Lane Bryant, Goodwill)
• aqua satin belt/scarf (via Ross??)
• leaf brooch (Goodwill)
• aqua earrings (vis Ross??)
• razor blade bracelet (from fabulous Erin's Etsy Shop LoveErinDesigns)
• brown tweed mules (I forgot to look - they are really old)
• purse (Target)

What I Ate that Was Halfway Decent:

• breakfast: chai tea, cheesy egg, alternative bagel, 2 cuties
• lunch: buddig sammie, 2 carrots, apple, cheesestick, water
• snack: carrot (b/c the banana was bad inside), thinkOrganic bar
• dinner: chinese food

Exercise:

One 1/2 mile walk at work and a tiny bit of hula hooping, while showing my coworkers how to use it.