Tory Burch: work and play

perfect for work:
Tory Burch slouchy straw tote - natural gold
glazed leather trim
$350
- when this bag completely opens up - it's huge (think weekender!)
- will fit files, research, gym clothes, cosmetic case - pretty much anything you need
- straw means it's very light for such a large tote




perfect for play:
Tory Burch carson mini bag - sand
leather and chain strap
6'' H x 7 1/2'' W x 1 1/2'' D
$350
- super SUPER cute with plenty of room for weekend necessities
- high-quality detailing


See more pictures of these bags at paperclipmag.com

Ready, set, go!

Today is going to be a great day because:
- I have a favorite project all lined up to work on (and time to do it!)
- One of my favorite meetings of the week occurs on Mondays
- I have something cute to wear (with cute shoes to match!)
- I have a LOT of really good posts scheduled for this week

Basically, I had an amazing, fun weekend where we spent some time spring cleaning and organizing our house and so I'm ready to get back to my office and continue the good vibration there as well. 

Anyone with me on making this a VERY good Monday???

office interuptus

My day began as usual.

Meeting at 9. LOTs of important discussions and decisions.

Mid-meeting my silent phone lit up. It's the elementary school calling. So I excuse myself and answer. (Why do I forget WHY the elementary school would call in the middle of a meeting?)

Of course. School nurse.

Bradley has thrown up twice. (TWICE??? They usually call on the first instance of something of this nature.) He's feeling horrible and we need to come pick him up.

Of course I DID ask if there were any witnesses to the moments of illness. Regardless, of the response - as good parents (and school policy), we made arrangements to share the responsibility of being home with him. Todd Owen took the morning, I took the afternoon (after my meeting was over).

Skipped lunch - since I was leaving so early - and got as much completed as possible and packed a few projects to take home with me.

Once home, I'll admit - he looked pale. Ill really - lying on the sofa. He tells me that he's thrown up THREE times today. I ask the husband if he witnessed the moments of illness. Nope, everything happened without parental supervision. We give him a snack. Tell him to lie back down for a little while and Todd Owen heads out to his afternoon appointments while I settle into my comfortable notebook and try to watch for any important work emails.

Once Brooke gets home from school, that's when Bradley REALLY tells us how terrible he's feeling. He reports that he's thrown up for a fourth time.

We establish a new house rule: IF SOMEONE THROWS UP, DO NOT FLUSH. A PARENT MUST SEE THE TOILET WITH THE VOMIT IN IT. (I know - this is really GROSS! Twice in one week. I'm SO sorry!!)

I put Bradley in his bed. Kiss him lightly. Whisper how much I love him and that I'm very sorry that he's feeling SO bad because I really wanted to go ride bikes with him. He asks, "Really?"

Such a dramatic recovery. In less than ten minutes, Bradley bounds into the room and tells me how he is all sparkly, fresh and new again. "It's amazing!" he exclaims.

Yes. It. Is.

And yes - we rode bikes tonight, in celebration of health.

feeling green

So, I'm in a meeting and it's not going well.

Ultimately, I am having a very rare occurance of feeling TERRIBLE at work. Unfortunately, the meeting is completely for my benefit. It's regarding direction for a project that I'm working on and so I really need to be attentive, clear headed and need to just get through the meeting without throwing up on the conference table, people's notes, or for that matter - people.

The question becomes, do I let those who are in the meeting with me in on the fact that I'm extremely ill - or do I just try to make it through without having to admit my stomach's need to hurl?

Well - the decision was made for me.

No NO - I DID NOT vomit during the meeting (or dash out of the meeting with my hand over my mouth). Nothing that dramatic. I simply realized that I was talking funny. I was SO focused on keeping my stomach contents in check (my apologies for grossing you out), that I was talking extremely slow, kinda soft and my words became very looooooonnnnnnng. It was just weird.

I needed to confess. And I did.

Well, I got through it. Actually, as I thought the meeting was over, it wasn't - we had another little pow-wow (different subject) afterwards. I got through that as well.

It was embarrassing though. Ever been through something like this?

not SO plain

If you are like me and like the idea of having the color coded office with similar files all filed under the same color (which makes things really easy to find later), then you might also like this idea: just use many color sharpies to color code your files. Manilla files are so much less expensive that you can feel a little more free to write ON them (gasp!) and when they get overly destroyed over time - easily replace them. They look neat and - with the label being color coded - still help you stay organized!

is it SO wrong?

Kids today need more exposure into workplaces.

My daughter (who is almost eleven years old) wants to be a special education school teacher when she grows up. I know that one of the main reasons is because her teacher (who she adores!) is studying to specialize in this field of education.

In talking with her, I realized that I remember being a kid and playing "school." BUT - thank goodness for TV (seriously)! TV shows like, "Police Woman" and "Charlie's Angels" were on and giving us little girls a vision of becoming something other than a housewife, school teacher or secretary. I can even remember a commercial for Avon that made me look forward to making my own money. When I was a little girl, working women (to me) were Super Cool! (Probably helped that my mom worked in an architectural firm.)

Thinking about current TV shows that my daughter watches, there aren't many - if any - glimpses into a work environment that look attractive. I've tried to show her that people are passionate about their careers by watching shows like, "The Zoe Project," "Project Runway," "Kell On Earth" (thank goodness they bleep the bad words). These shows have cool work environments with fun characters to watch, but of course with a TON of drama (of course, it IS TV we're watching).

So, this past Saturday night - I decided to give her a little bigger glimpse into a work environment. I knew the glimpse would have to be stylish, and fun-looking featuring someone that she could relate to: "The Devil Wears Prada." (Is it SO wrong that it's entirely made up?)

Lately, my daughter has been fascinated with the movie, "Momma Mia," starring Meryl Streep. She grew up watching, "The Princess Diaries," starring Anna Hathaway. So, I knew that she would be blown away by "TDWP." And she was. As soon as it was over, she asked if we could watch it again! (and I was THRILLED!!)

Thinking we were bonding over stylish offices and quirky leadership styles, I suggested that we watch the documentary, "The September Issue." I thought that as much as she was intrigued by the character Miranda from "The Devil Wears Prada," that she would adore learning about Anna Wintour and in inner workings of Vogue.

I was wrong. Within the first 10 minutes of watching the documentary, she labeled the movie "boring" and suddenly wanted to go ride bikes (which we did). BUT, I'm keeping my ears attentive to see if our movie time made any impression of a broader career objective. I am thankful for teachers and very appreciative that my kids gain so much from their time in school, but I think we need to ensure that kids today understand that there are more careers available to them.

In the meantime, is the "take your daughter to work day" thing totally over?

what have you been reading lately?

If you were watching the Bravo series "Kell On Earth," then you might also like to learn more about Kelly Cutrone.

Her new book, "If You Have To Cry Go Outside And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You," will definitely give you a broadened picture of who Kelly is and how she came to be the owner of her fashion PR company, People's Revolution. My favorite chapters of this book were chapter seven, "You Are The Brand: Normal Gets You Nowhere," and also chapter eight, "If You Have To Cry, Go Outside" because these are the meaty chapters with advice for building personal brands and future careers. For those of us already on our way, it's a good reminder of what we like about our own journey. The fact that it is personal, kooky and always evolving.

When you decide to invest in this book, please keep in mind that Kelly Cutrone has become a household name to a younger demographic, thanks to her presence on the TV shows "The Hills," "The City" and now "Kell On Earth." So her main target audience for this book is high school students, college students and 20 somethings. If you are a fan, you'll enjoy getting to know a more personal side of Kelly. For instance, you'll read about the birth of her daughter, Ava. You'll also gain an appreciation for how she has built her business and you'll get an insider glance at how she operates her office.

If you've watched her give Whitney Port advice on "The City" over the past seasons, (or watched her Bravo show lately), you'll already expect that her read will be kinda kooky until she talks business. Then, she really shines and suddenly, you realize that she's crazy like a fox.