Have you ever put on something and immediately fell in love? That's how it was for me and this dress. It is so fun and flowy, can easily be made work appropriate, and transition nicely into cooler weather with a denim jacket and ankle boots. I couldn't find it anywhere on Charlotte Russe's website, other than in one of the photos on the front page, so I guess it's sold out. I'm wearing a medium, for reference.

Details:
Dress: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: ShoeDazzle (similar)

As you've probably figured out by now, I'm a sucker for anything floral, and this fruit-punch colored Hawaiian-esque print immediately caught my eye. The lace-up back is a little more open than what I normally opt for, but I didn't feel overly-exposed in this. Bonus: it's fully lined. I'm wearing a large.

Details:
Dress: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: Rack Room Shoes

Forgive me for not posting last week. We had thunderstorms nearly every night, meaning our satellite-provided internet was down. But I'm back this week with a floral-print dress that's fun and office appropriate with a jacket.

Details:
Dress: eBay (similar, similar)
Blazer: JCPenny (similar, similar)
Shoes: Cato (similar)

And here's a look at what would have been last week's post. I bought this peplum top with no real idea of how I would style it. The heavier fabric, texture and deep color make me think of fall so I decided to lighten things up with white jeans and keep the outfit fun with leopard pumps.

Details:
Top: JCPenny (similar)
Jeans: The Limited
Shoes: Target (similar)

I've decided to start doing a weekend outfit wrap on Sundays. The goal is to show you how to reuse pieces you'd wear to the office if applicable and how to dress in a way that's fun but that also won't shed a bad light on your professional life.

So I've never pictured myself wearing a romper, but at the request of my husband I tried on one in-store a couple weekends ago and, other than needing a larger size, wasn't horrified by what I saw. So I started looking online for that specific one in the next size up, but wasn't able to find it. So I settled for this very similar one. It's fully lined, miraculously hits at my natural waist, isn't too short and is just fancy enough to not look like something a 12-year-old would wear (although they probably would).

Details:
Romper: Charlotte Russe
Shoers: Rack Room Shoes



When I was looking online for the first romper featured in this post, I fell in love with the vintage feel of this one. It should be noted that these pictures were taken at the end of the day, which explains the creases in the fabric. This one features a zipper in the back as well as a tie back and a sweetheart neckline and keyhole-style cut-out in the front. Next time I'll probably wear flat white sandals.

Details:
Romper: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: Target

**I'm wearing a large in both.

My obsession with button-front everything continues. When I came across this skirt in Target last weekend, I was prepared to leave it on the rack, expecting it to cost upwards of $30. Boy was I glad I checked the tag 'cause this white denim perfection was only $20! And it is perfect. It's super soft and has just the right amount of stretch. I did size up a full size for a little more wiggle room, but I do that for most bottoms at Target.

Details:
Shirt: old Lauren Conrad (same shirt different pattern)
Skirt: Target (on sale!)
Shoes: Target

And now for the personal progress part of this post. I haven't been able to wear this dress for the past year-and-a-half, so when it actually zipped up easily on Wednesday, I had a little personal victory. I've been struggling with my body image since having the baby, and having to remove several of my favorite clothing items (mostly pants/skirts) from my closet because they will never fit me again hasn't been easy. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to do this weekly fashion post was as a constant reminder to myself that although my body is different now that I'm a mom, it's still beautiful. Believe me when I say it takes courage to post pictures of yourself when you feel insecure about parts of your body. I'm still 10-20 pounds from where I'd like to be ideally, but I'm a long way from what I weighed at the heaviest point of my pregnancy, and that my friends is nothing to frown at.

Twenty-two. That's the number of counties in which my station's digital signal is available. Of those 22 counties, only seven are in our DMA or, in other words, count. Seven of 22. So what about the people living in the other 15?

This is a conversation that I've been having more frequently these days. The people living in those 15 non-DMA counties mean nothing when it comes to ratings. None of them get the Nielsen book in the mail. In those counties, the cable companies and satellite providers are not required to offer my station. A few of them do anyway, and in the Florida counties that lost us within the past three years, our loyal viewers rushed out to buy digital antennas so they wouldn't lose the station they'd come to depend on for their daily news, sports and weather.

But they don't count.

And therein lies the dilemma. When we are choosing what stories to cover or what to drop when we're in a time crunch, stories from those counties that don't count toward ratings are the first to get crossed off the list. And I totally get it. Ratings are the key to selling advertising, so those are the viewers that we cater to - the ones that count.

But for me, ethically, all viewers count. And in some of those non-DMA counties in Georgia, if we don't cover them, no one will. That's because they're in no-man's land, claimed by no television station and generally ignored unless something awful happens.

Do the people living in those counties deserve not to be covered simply because they're ignored by the ratings police? Shouldn't ratings include everyone who can and/or does watch? And since when is advertising more important than news?

There are no simple answers, but it's my hope as a producer that as this business moves more and more online that we'll stop seeing those DMA boundary lines and focus more on the people we're serving. Until that day, though, just know that this producer is fighting for your coverage, whether you count or not.

I love basic staples like this classic black top, striped midi skirt and red accessories. The shirt is currently on major sale at The Limited and comes in two more colors as well as a few prints. I was iffy on ordering this skirt, especially since it wasn't available in petite but the length actually wasn't too far off for me. It's on sale for less than $15 right now, but it's starting to sell out in some sizes. (I'm wearing a medium in both.)

Details:
Shirt: The Limited
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: old

I fell in love with this top at Charlotte Russe over the weekend, and since they were running a pretty decent sale I treated myself. I initially started the day in a different pair of pants, but by lunchtime they had to go, so my husband stopped by Walmart and picked up this pair of super-soft crops. Seriously, they were so comfortable! I couldn't find them on their website but they're made by Jordache and were only $15.

Details:
Shirt: Charlotte Russe
Pants: Walmart
Shoes: ShoeDazzle out of stock

 

Those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter will already know this but I wanted to share my incredible news here on the blog, as well. After nearly seven years with my station, I'm excited to announce that I've been promoted to executive producer. It's been a fun, often crazy ride, but it's one that has helped shape me into the woman I am today, and I'm excited to continue my journey in this new role.

A lot has changed since I started as a temporary employee all those years ago. To be honest, I didn't think I'd still be working in broadcast, but I guess life has a way of working out. Anyway, in honor of my promotion and upcoming work anniversary, I put together a list of seven things I've learned in the past seven years working in this business.

1. Social media is the future of journalism. When I first started, social media was almost an afterthought. Now, it's the first thought.

2. Don't work through your lunch break ... or weekends ... or vacation.

3. Just because you know how to do everything doesn't mean you have to do everything.

4. Good or bad, people will always surprise you.

5. You will never make everyone happy.

6. Money isn't everything, but it is nice to feel like you're not being taken advantage of. Know your worth.

7. This job can drive you crazy, but it is not worth your sanity.

I'm a huge fan of button-front everything. I love the retro/vintage vibe they give off, so this navy dress and orange skirt - both from Wet Seal - were right up my alley. The only downside to buttons is that they tend to pull, even though I sized up in both the dress and skirt.

The dress is a very light material but not so thin it's see-through. I do recommend going up a size for the buttons. I absolutely love the back. For work I layered on a cropped lace jacket, but I will definitely be wearing this dress on off days by itself. It also comes in a pretty print and is on sale right now.

Details:
Dress: Wet Seal
Jacket: Charlotte Russe old
Shoes: Target



The skirt is very soft and slightly stretchy. The buttons are snaps and thankfully not easily undone. It has an elastic waistband in addition to the buttons. I'm wearing it at my natural waist in a large. On the website, the skirt looks more red than it is in person. It's actually more of a burnt orange/rust color. It also comes in charcoal and is 70% off.

Details:
Shirt: JCPenny old (similar)
Skirt: Wet Seal
Shoes: ShoeDazzle (out of stock)
Purse: ShoeDazzle (out of stock)