Let's Talk Unmentionables

I know that there has been talk around the fashion blogosphere in the past about what everyone wears when they get home from work, with discussion ranging from comfy pants to the same thing as at work to some sort of compromise. Personally, I do all of those things, but after Rand commented that he never got to see my in my nice clothes, I started making a concerted effort to look nicer in the evenings. And my weekend dresscode is all over the place too. I like to be comfortable, but too many days in a row of dressing like a slob start to make me feel like a slob. I have found that a pulled together causal outfit makes me feel good about myself, but still allows me to be comfortable. So I try to wear a scarf with my T-shirt, or put cute flats on instead of tennis shoes. And I don't know about you, but I actually feel more pulled together and presentable on the outside, if what I am wearing underneath my clothes is pretty and matching as well.

I started thinking about this the other day when Lane Bryant asked me to check out their new line of Valentines lingerie at Cacique. Of course I agreed to check out all the cute new things since I love thier stuff and I can really have a hard time finding things in my size that are pretty. Please, I haven't been able to wear anything from Victoria's Secret in years. And curvy girls like to have pretty underthings too! What I am working my way around to saying is that it's great to pull out some pretty lingerie for Valentines Day (and I certainly recommend checking out Caciques V-day options!) but I don't think that it should be reserved for just V-day or other special occassions. I think well-fitting, pretty undergarments are a great way to start your outfit every day. I think I stand taller, and feel better on the days that I do.

Anyway, I'm not going to show you any photos of my underthings, b/c this just isn't that kind of blog, but here are some great V-day and other-day unmentionables from Cacique.


And I want to hear what you think about this. Do you "dress" all the way from the first layer out? Or do you not worry about what is underneath?

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Lane Bryant provided me with a $50 gift certificate to check out their Valentines items at Cacique. Honestly, I shop there all the time anyway, so this didn't influence me at all. I mean, I have a Lane Bryant store credit card, for Pete's sake! I love their stuff. If you have any questions about giveaways or reviews of products on this website, please read this post and feel free to leave a comment there. I read and reply to all comments.

Internet Access Again!

I've been making a conscious effort lately to try to add some patterns back into my wardrobe ever since I noticed a serious lack of it. Mostly my pattern is only found in skirts and dresses but not in my tops. So my mission was a patterned cardi and some patterned blouses. I have been eyeballing this Lane Bryant cardigan since I saw Kimberly wearing it. That was until Rand reminded me that I was not allowed to buy any new clothes. I just spent a month thinning out my wardrobe so it would fit into my new closet. Darn, he was right. Was that going to stop me? Probably not, but it would at least delay me until I got settled into my new closet.

But then Lane Bryant contacted me because they noticed how many of my outfits have Lane Bryant items. They offered me a giftcard to check out their new clothes. Well, golly. I can't turn that down, right? I HAD to buy this cardigan. Yay! Oh man, it feels so good on. My only complaint is that it's too long. Why are all the sweaters and T-shirts right now so long? I like my tops about 2-3 inches shorter.

(shhh...don't tell Rand, but I actually bought this cardigan too. What? I need more pattern in my clothing. Seriously. It's a need. Don't judge me.)

What I Wore That Was Patterned and Free:

• purple skirt (Lane Bryant)
• cream shell (Target)
• patterned cardi (Lane Bryant)
• gold T-strap heels (Santana via DSW)
• green earrings (can't remember)
• green necklace (can't remember)

What I Ate That Actually Involved Cooking:

• breakfast: Stonyfield blueberry yogurt, cuties, alternative bagel
• lunch: sunchips, apple, buddig sandwich, mixed frozen veggies, hot tea
• snack: cuties, string cheese, baby carrots
• dinner: tofu shiraki noodles, edamame, broccoli, onions, laughing cow cheese, Quorn "chicken" patty

Exercise:

I tried to find a place for the treadmill, but there are still too many boxes. I'm hoping that by this weekend, I'll have space for it.

Total for the Day: 21.5 points (oops. That is way too low.), no exercise (also way too low. ha!)

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Lane Bryant provided me with a $50 gift certificate to check out their winter clothes. Honestly, I shop there all the time anyway, so this didn't influence me at all. I mean, I have a Lane Bryant store credit card, for Pete's sake! I love their stuff. If you have any questions about giveaways or reviews of products on this website, please read this post and feel free to leave a comment there. I read and reply to all comments.

Info About Giveaways & Product Reviews

In the past week or so, I have received several emails from various merchants asking me to host giveaways of their products, or offering me a giftcard to their store if I will talk about what I bought on my website. I think most of you know from my previous concern about this, that I don't take this lightly. I started this blog as a fun and productive outlet for my own fashion, weightloss, and exercise goals. I am not doing this to get free swag or to be paid to hype up products.

However, if it is a store that I already shop at (seriously, have you seen how much of my clothing comes from Target, Old Navy, Lane Bryant, Ross, and Goodwill??) then I don't feel like it is misleading to accept a giftcard and continue with my normal posting. And I would hate to turn down a great giveaway opportunity for y'all just because a product is new to me. So I've created some guidelines for myself. Want to hear them? Well I'm posting them anyway, so look away if you don't care. There should be a post with lots of pictures coming soon, or you can always go drool over my closet video.

Still here? Okay here we go.

Giftcards

If it is a store that I shop at already, then I will accept the giftcard as long as there aren't unreasonable strings attached. What's unreasonable? I don't know. Maybe declaring that I will never shop anywhere else again and neither should you? LOL. That's not going to happen.

If it's a store that I have not yet shopped at, I will go to their website and look at what they are selling. If they have things that I would buy even without the giftcard, then I will accept the giftcard. If their clothing or products aren't "me" then I will not accept the giftcard, even if the products might be great for other people.

Giveaways

This is going to be pretty similar to my guidelines for giftcards. If it's something I like and use, I'll be happy to host a giveaway for y'all. If it's a store that I shop at already, ditto.

If it's a product or store that I have not used, but think it looks like something my readers might enjoy, something I would buy for myself, or something I would be happy to receive as a gift, then I will host the giveaway.

Again, if there are unreasonable strings attached then I will decline to host a giveaway.

General Info

So, if I am wearing clothing from a store, or talking about a workout DVD, or even touting some new peanut butter that I am eating, it's very important to me that my readers know I am talking about it b/c it is something I support on my own, not something that I am being bribed to talk about.

I'll put at the bottom of a post if I've received any freebies, or if a giveaway is being hosted my a merchant, or if in any way any content on that post might be influenced by an outside source. That way you'll know all the details, b/c I have done plenty of reviews and one giveaway (so far) that were just on my own.

Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions or concerns.

Tina