Groom Style

Grooms and groomsmen.. and their style!

I've always been a big fan of classic suit colors and bright, fun accents (ties! suspenders!).

Guilty:

Included a picture from our wedding.

Our guys were just so well dressed :)

spell love

Piglet: "How do you spell love?"

Pooh: "You don't spell it, you feel it."

Re-design

I've been mulling over a new re-design of this blog lately.

Mostly I want to push it out of "after work hobby" to "after work passion."

I've enjoyed this month of almost daily (every other day?)  updates but really want to push it to the next level. I want to add a weekly feature and update the page so it doesn't look like a standard blogger template. This personalization should add more interest and hopefully create a following.

I plan on adding more posts featuring stories and personal experiences. I currently shy away from too much detail and being real with the problems I (and maybe you?) face.

I found these great color palettes on DesignSeeds and am really attracted to these color schemes. I want to keep it light and fun but not introduce too many "girly" colors. What do you think?

growing into a career

When I was in middle school, maybe early high school, I changed my current career ambitions of being a teacher to being someone that was important enough to have their name in a textbook. I know, it's an odd thing to aspire to be, but it's actually still true today. I've always wanted to do big, important things. I have always found immense satisfaction in leading a group, being in charge, and pushing myself to do more good and better.

This perspective change helped to shift what I wanted to be when I grew up. It put a very academic focus on my future career. I would read about what Newton, Franklin, Tesla, and Crick did and how valuable their thoughts were to the scientific community. I envied their accomplishments and their Nobel prizes!  It resonated with me and gave me reason to load up on science courses through high school.

I eventually discovered what an Engineer was from my dad, who was a Computer Engineer by training and experience - not by education. 

Growing up, I played extensively with Legos - however, it only opened up the doors to house construction and interior decorating. If I had one of these cute toys, I might have sparked my Engineering bug sooner!




Landing Page 10.8.12-SHARE-WEB from GoldieBlox on Vimeo.

Party Dress

 

 

 

alice+olivia

If you have $800 to spend on your holiday get-up or a really rad wedding dress... this is your party dress

Outdoor Safari

Outdoor Safari by sonodana featuring a wool felt hat

J Crew polka dot top
net-a-porter.com

Mustard skirt
chicwish.com

Anne Klein heeled booties
zappos.com

Burberry crossbody handbag
burberry.com

Metal ring
topshop.com

Mulberry wool felt hat
mulberry.com

Scarve
modcloth.com

Take the small wins

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

I have been working on grounding myself and keeping perspective on life. 

Only looking for the big wins, the big milestones, the overall presentation of life -- I forgot what it's like to enjoy the baby steps and small accomplishments. No one can go from A to Z in one day. Lifestyle Changes and Whole Wellness takes time.

So let's celebrate!

This Fall I've

- Signed up with a personal trainer (once a week) and set a training/ running plan in place for my 12k in December. I forgot how much better I feel after going to the gym. I feel more awake, think more clearly, and appreciate that my body still knows how to squat, curl, and hold a plank. 

- Paid off my car a month early! This clears up a chunk of change to put towards our credit card. What a relief to feel just a little bit more free from debt! Next up are tackling my student loans (which are in three different sites/locations - how annoying)!

- Gone on two trips - one to Portland and one to Houston. Reconnected with amazing friends and otherwise had a fantastic time on each!

Keep Positive,

Dana

Holiday Dress

Holiday Dress by sonodana featuring loft shoes

ASOS wrap dress
asos.com

Motorcycle jacket
choies.com

Loft shoes
loft.com

Wallis black jewelry
wallisfashion.com

If I did the wedding again

I would rock this:

JCREW

with these:

BHLDN

ANTHROPOLOGIE

DKNY

Traveling to the SWE Conference

Yesterday I started my journey to Houston, TX for the Annual Society of Women Engineers Conference (WE12). It is literally one of my favorite weeks in the year - I've made friends and networked with many women from across the country and this week I get to see them all again. It's a lot of networking, advancing, & sisterhood, with many professional development sessions and workshops throughout the week. 

I was bumped to First Class on my 4.5hr flight yesterday morning. Which is an excellent way to start any trip - Thanks United Airlines! It has only been the second time up there in big seat heaven and was treated to breakfast this time around! Besides getting a drink the moment you sit down, it's 100% personal service the entire flight. 

On the flight, I started reading the book "All your Worth" - which has been truly eye opening. I was a little hesitant because it was written in 2008 and I wasn't sure of its relevancy. But so far it has been spot on and a really can't-put-the-book-down read. Can't wait to go home and put our finances in order!

Today's schedule includes a trip to the local Farmer's Market followed by a few hours of SWE Committee Meetings. 

Copy Cat Bag

Are you on the Cambridge Satchel Company bandwagon? Their gorgeous bags have been popping up all over US Shipping-friendly stores like Bloomingdales and ASOS.  I've been especially intrigued by them because I desperately need a bag with structure that doesn't become a bottomless, glorified trash can. 

And while perusing the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale I found a very, very similar bag... on sale for about a quarter of the price ($58). 

So do I sacrifice quality and originality for a more budget friendly find?

Original ($175)

Copy-cat (sale $58)

My go-to jewelry

From the last post you've probably, correctly, assumed I missed the "how to be a girly girl" chapter of my adolescents -- and had a lot of making up to do in my 20's. I did grow up with an older sister who thankfully did my makeup for Prom and bought me my first piece of nice jewelry. We are over 4 years apart in age, so there wasn't much sister/sister bonding beyond that. 

My lack of real jewelry appreciation led me to buy several sale jewelry from Express and The Limited in college. All those pieces were incredibly boring, cheap, and lasted only a few years before decaying or breaking. Then I hit a "omg crafts and local artists" period of my life when I grew up and moved out on my own. I appreciate their love of their craft and one of a kind feel each piece has. 

If you're in Seattle, I highly recommend visiting the summer and winter Urban Craft Uprising Fairs. Tons of amazing artists with a large variety of crafts and homemade items. Nationally, the Renegade craft fair is supposed to be spectacular, and I hope to attend one in the near future.

And my love affair with Etsy is strong and well known (I will never forget when my treasury list went to the front page - famous!!). I want to showcase some great, mostly northwest, jewelry crafters tonight:

Stone and Honey

Deuce

elephantine

Foxtail

RachelPfeffer

Roots and Feathers

I might have a thing for triangles, arrows, and pyrite.

Braids

You know how girls are often jealous of other girls who have straight hair when they have crazy spirals... and vice versa? Yea, that's me 100% -  I'm a straight hair, boring brunette lady who has always wanted crazy big, colorful hair. I'm also that way about braids - I never learned to french braid and have the bare basic skills to pull a braid together. I'm not much of a hair stylist and if I can't curl it, thank goodness for bobby pins to whip something up!

So I'm currently lusting over these styles: 

reverse braid and bun

High Crown Braid

thick braid crown

find more at http://pinterest.com/yogurtcupcakes/hair-inspirations/

Business Case

Business Case by sonodana featuring a knot ring

Chiffon top
allyfashion.com

Topshop
nordstrom.com

Vince Camuto stretch pants
nordstrom.com

Crown Vintage rose shoes
dsw.com

The Cambridge Satchel Company tan bag
$170 - asos.com

Knot ring
$9.67 - urbanoutfitters.co.uk

Nars cosmetic
asos.com

Nars cosmetic
narscosmetics.com

Kickstart November

Good Morning, November!

This month I am taking a spin on National Novel Writing Month and going to challenge myself to post daily to this tiny little blog. I've always wanted to expand this into something worth visiting, and I'm hoping this is the kickstart that it needs -- look forward to some posts about travel, dogs, cats, hair, clothing, and life.

First up. 

I'm participating as a Mo Sista for Movember!

I've created a team with my co-workers to raise awareness and support of men's health.

Starting November 1^st,  we are raising awareness and funds for men’s health issues, specifically men’s cancer initiatives.

Men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery (or beardom). Supported by the WOMEN in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds and awareness for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

If you're interested in helping - 

Join me in Support and awareness of Men’s health

1 in 2 men, and 1 in 3 women, 

will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.