Stuff Jewish Girls Like

OOTD: It's Brights Time!

2013-05-16T09:44:00.001-04:00

Summer brights! Welcome to my life.

In this Outfit:

Ann Taylor Loft Colorblocked Crepe Dress (8 - a smidge big. For reference if you've generally tracked me in sizing, I've gone up a size) (here) (affiliate link) (link updated since I originally posted the wrong one)

Jessica Simpson Minna Wedges (9.5 - these run a half size small) (I get SO many compliments on these shoes and I'm always embarassed to tell people they are by Jessica Simpson) (PS: don't get them in black patent)

Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft (from December)

Kate Spade Lever-back earrings in citron

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch

Sorry about the iPad photo....I know it looks ridiculous. I didn't bring my phone to the locker room on Monday morning.

I bought this dress online from LOFT last week, before I decided to impose a no-more-clothes-purchases-until-normal-weight-is-achieved policy upon myself. (I'm about TEN pounds up from where I like to be; some of that is crossfit muscle so my new happy weight may change but I GUARANTEE YOU that a good bit of that is not muscle.) BUT I am glad this dress snuck its way into the mix. It's lightweight, comfy, and reminds me that summer is practically here.

Anthropologie Dashed Knit Blazer (L)

Michael Kors Gansevoort Tote (my jeans stained the leather a bit blue within its first week of life, but the stains came out with some leather cleaner I found on Amazon) (here) (affiliate link)

...Except for the fact that it was like FIFTY DEGREES in DC earlier this week!! What gives, weather?? I like my spring without a sprinkle of winter, tyvm.

I love this necklace and wanted to show you a close-up. I am not just making an excuse for posting a photo of my chest. Consciously.

(Quick post today because I'm traveling and overwhelmed with work, but LOOK AT ME STILL POSTING when I'm traveling and overwhelmed with work! PROGRESS, you guys!)

Posted with Blogsy

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (Kate Spade Surprise Sale)

2013-05-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

OMG YOU GUYS. This bag? That I neglected to buy for $199 during a Kate Spade online sample sale in December 2010 and have whined about ever since? (See, e.g., here)

~~$495~~ $229 HERE RIGHT NOW. (affiliate link)

IT IS NOW MINE!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

A thoughtful and timely text message from my friend Michelle alerted me to the fact that my bag was on sale. I immediately presumed she meant on eBay, where I did indeed see two newly-listed All Typed Up Clydes for the low low price of...$600 BIN, OBO. Sigh. I contemplated making an offer at $350 or $400 as I went down to the office gym to shower.

When I returned to my phone, I saw these fateful words: "Kate Spade surprise sale."

And sure enough, there it was. My typewriter bag. From 2010. For $229. I could not submit my order fast enough. (Seriously, I may have yelled at the computer while the pages loaded.)

Kate Spade, if you cancel my order due to some mistake in my inventory I swear I will cut you. I will cut you.

PS: Be sure to check out the sale! Lots of other oldies and goodies are available, including (FYI the links below are affiliate links):

Pride and Prejudice Book Clutch -- ~~$328~~ $99

All Aboard Ship Clutch -- ~~$358~~ $139

Cobble Hill Travel Leslie -- ~~$648~~ $229

Gold Coast Lily -- ~~$298~~ $119 (also available in tan!)

Made in the Shade Sunglasses Clutch -- ~~$328~~ $79 (I think this is kind of hideous but it's hugely marked down, so if it's your thing, cash in on your counter-market taste!)

Horseshoe Cove Darek -- ~~$98~~ $29

Journal Bon Shopper -- ~~$148~~ $49

Sprinkles Mallory -- ~~$138~~ $49 (image source)

Kate Spade Lever-Back Earrings -- ~~$58~~ $19

Radio Belt -- ~~$128~~ $49

The Easiest Frozen Bananas

2013-05-11T19:45:00.001-04:00

PART ONE: THE BANANA

1. Peel some bananas.

2. Cut them in half width-wise, so you have a top half of the banana and a bottom half. (Not a left half and a right half.)

3. Stick a popsicle stick (affiliate link; and FYI those are also the sticks I bought for myself) in the banana halves and arrange on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper so that the bananas are not touching each other.

4. Put the bananas on the cookie sheet in the freezer.

5. After about half an hour (or three hours, if you sit on the couch and forget about them while catching up on Grey's Anatomy), they will be "flash frozen" and you can stick them all in a ziplock bag without worrying that they will congeal together in a big lump of banana. Then let them freeze for several hours before you proceed to part two. [Incidentally, this flash freezing thing is a very nifty trick for anything homemade that you want to freeze in bulk. I do this with uncooked homemade french fries, muffin-tin omelets, etc.]

You end up with this. ^

PART TWO: THE SAUCE

1. Combine roughly equal parts of chocolate chips and coconut oil. You can eyeball it.

2. Melt in the microwave. For small amounts, I do 30 seconds on high; for large amounts I do a minute. Roughly. Better to undershoot than overshoot and burn the chocolate. It doesn't have to be perfectly melted when you take it out, since it will get smooth in Step #3.

3. Stir until smooth.

See, told you. Smooth.

4. Dip a banana in the chocolate mixture. Swirl around until evenly coated.

Or you can be awesome and leave a little uneven spot like a boss.

5. Feel free to dip again if you want an extra-thick chocolate layer.

6. The chocolate shell will harden within about 30 seconds. [FYI, yes, this is "magic shell," but it's homemade, cheap, and lacking in crazy preservatives and chemicals (as long as you use chocolate also lacking in crazy preservatives and chemicals).]

7. Enjoy while reclined on the couch, but try to be diligent about picking up wayward chocolate shards as they fall into your cleavage. Or don't, and make it a fun little game for later. Your call, honcho.

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OOTD: Palm Beach International

2013-05-09T18:28:00.001-04:00

So remember, oh, MORE THAN A MONTH AGO when I told you I was having an awesome week of getting dressed? [Admittedly, an achievement in which most [normal] people would not take so much pride.]

Well, this is the only outfit I'd left out of the photo collection from that week. Incidentally, this is also the outfit I was most happy with:

Save the best for WAY WAY FORGETTABLY LAST, AMIRITE??

^ fashunabul blogger shameface :-\

This was a new dress at the time and I loved the idea of wearing dark florals with a light blazer. Sort of an inverse of this outfit, which was in turn inspired by this outfit, both of which involved florals and blazers and which I loved (yes, I loved my own outfit, I'll say it):

Anyway, I was very proud of myself for flipping the florals formula. Something about the floral pattern and the light pink blazer made me think of the tropical and retiree-filled West Palm Beach. Don't press me on that association, though, because that's all I got.

In this Outfit:

Floral Dress by Corey Lynn Calter

Payless Chelsea Flats (9)

Kate Spade Kingsbury Park Shelby

Lauren Conrad for Kohl's (I KNOW OKAY) blazer

Kate Spade "It Takes All Sorts" Necklace

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Since [I've] Been Gone

2013-05-06T11:12:00.001-04:00

Normally I don't feel the need to acknowledge my brief absences from the blog --- I know you all have other blogs you like to read and I assume most of us read blogs on some kind of internet aggregator rather than visiting/refreshing actual websites --- but DAMN, I've been away for a while. The more time that goes by between postings, the harder it gets to sneak in with a little outfit without another word. As most of you probably assumed, I have been COMPLETELY crushed with work for the last month or so and I've barely had time to go to sleep, let alone come up with a blog post.

Supporting fact: Of the 12 crossfit classes I bought last month, I used exactly two. And one of them I used this morning. So there's that.

Work email: Anything but good.

But the amazing news is that the work that is crushing me is A TRIAL that's set in LAS VEGAS!!!!! OMG OMG OMG, yes, you read that correctly, it's MY FAVORITE WORK ASSIGNMENT EVER in my FAVORITE U.S. VACATION DESTINATION EVER.

Omaha, I'ma let you finish, but Vegas is the best trial venue OF ALL TIME.

OF. ALL. TIME.

Anyway, I'm quite excited about it in case you couldn't tell. But here's a brief run-down of what I've been up to this month while I've been bleeding myself dry at work:

I found a frozen banana recipe that is AWESOME. Will post it for you soon.

I know this looks like poop on a stick but it is actually a chocolate-covered frozen banana and it is the greatest thing ever.

I went to Las Vegas on vacation (not connected to work)! My boyfriend and I also learned a fun new poker variety called "Open Faced Chinese Poker," which I think is officially passe now that we tourists have learned about it (in terms of being ahead of the curve, we are like cruise passengers wandering in Brooklyn).

Excalibur: Kind of cheesy but at $35 a night it's hard to complain.

This is what open-faced Chinese poker looks like. Basically, the bottom hand must beat the middle hand, which must beat the top hand. Your cards are dealt five at once, then one card at a time until you have 13. Once you place your cards, you can't move them. You get points for winning the rows, and royalty points for making hands of a certain strength.

I bought a new purse! It has rose-gold hardware and it makes me want more rose gold jewelry. :-\

WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE WEATHER?? It was 80-something a week or two ago and today it's like SIXTY? BEGPARDON? Although I must admit that spring cold weather wear is pretty fun.

So, now you're mostly caught up on me. What have I missed in your lives and in the blogosphere?

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Google Reader Alternatives: Zite

2013-04-09T10:07:00.001-04:00

Google Reader is being phased out on July 1, 2013. This is the first in a series of guest posts about alternatives to Google Reader. (Read my own post about Feedly here.) The author of today's entry is an IRL friend of mine (from HIGH SCHOOL, no less!) named Michelle.

If you would like to submit a post extolling the virtues of your Google reader alternative, drop me an email.

*~*~*~*

Zite, a more up-and-coming RSS reader (think Google Reader meets Flipboard), abandoned the Google Reader backend completely, rebuilding it from scratch in just six hours. That’s dedication. Being a person who reacts to visual elements, I like the way blogs are laid out on my reader. Deciding what to read just got easier. Of course, this may end with more text-oriented bloggers seeing less traffic; but I have a strong feeling they’ll be able to adapt.

This Google Reader alternative that intrigues me, as it claims to get “smarter” in the same way Pandora does, based on the content that you browse. You know what that means: If you’re not careful, you could end up with a section of your app filled with cat memes.

Since I work in online marketing, mine has labeled me as ridiculously geeky, and shows me things like this:

You see those little labels below each article blurb? Those are tags, and I can decide to like them (and see similar items in the future), or ignore them. I love that. What a great way to keep discovering new blogs. Show me everything about Instagram, chocolate, and how-to-almost-light-yourself-on-fire-by-attempting-Pinterest-projects please!

I know technology changes, but I’m looking to make a commitment. Switching over all of my preferences from one platform to another every time something new comes out just doesn’t feel practical. Zite is, so far, catering very well to my interest in both new content, and my old favorites. The perfect blend of trendy, and vintage. I’m sure you fashionistas understand me perfectly.

*~*~*

Michelle is a longtime blogger and owner of an internet marketing company in Miami, FL. For more about the author, visit Michelle’s technology blog or personal blog.

Damn you, Windows Update

2013-04-04T19:13:00.003-04:00

I think this only exists to remind me how little I get done in any four-hour span of time.

Every time it pops up, I think, "DAMN it, am I STILL not done with this memo?!?!

Three Things (including a Lendperk review)

2013-04-03T10:46:00.002-04:00

1. I would like to run a post about some Google reader alternatives. I already told you guys a bit about Feedly, which I am using exclusively right now. Would anyone be interested in contributing a bit of content to a compilation post about alternatives to run alongside other peoples' contributions? Your piece can be as simple or complicated as you like; I'm just looking to cover as much ground as possible! Email me if you're interested.

2. I am wearing my jumpsuit today. Heck yeah.

3. Recently, Lendperk contacted me and asked me to write a review of their dress-rental service. I was not paid for the review, but I did receive a free dress rental. (And you can, too!)

Lendperk is a subscription service that calls itself the "Netflix of dresses." Essentially, the way it works is you sign up for a monthly membership in which you pay either $20 for one dress rental a month, $34 for two a month, or $49 for unlimited monthly rentals. If you don't use your monthly rentals, they can roll over. Then when you're ready, you browse Lendperk's selection, pick a dress and a size, and it will be shipped to you. You use it for your month and then send it back. Like Rent the Runway (RtR) (referral link), you don't have to worry about dry cleaning.

Lendperk features dresses from mostly-accessible brands/retailers like J.Crew, Modcloth, Anthro, and ASOS. Lendperk is still getting its feet off the ground, so the selection of dresses and sizes is somewhat limited right now. (That said, I noticed several new dresses have been added in the last month, so it's nice that the collection is growing.) The J.Crew dress I'd wanted to rent was unavailable, so I went with this one from Warehouse/ASOS:

The dress arrived in a soft mailer and included a return shipping envelope. It took a couple of days to arrive. I didn't find the dress wrinkly, but the soft mailer delivery could create some wrinkle problems with other fabrics:

Unfortunately, I can't show you what the dress looked like on me because the dress didn't fit! I consulted the size chart before ordering (which helpfully includes brand-specific measurements) but the fit of this dress was way off for me. Unlike RtR, which sends you dresses in several sizes just in case you have a fit issue, I had no alternative size of this dress and ended up just dejectedly sending it back.

Pros of Lendperk: Variety of dresses, no need to worry about dry cleaning, WAY cheaper than RtR, many dresses include a page of helpful photos of live people wearing the dress (see, e.g., here).

Cons of Lendperk: At least some dresses are sale purchases or past-season (see, e.g., this Anthro dress, which went on sale quite a while ago), limited selection, you are out of luck if you receive the wrong size dress, featured brands/dresses generally retail/go on sale for cheap enough that I could probably buy the ones I like for close to $50.

In sum: I love the idea of Lendperk, and I hope it gets some kind of angel funding so that it can dramatically expand the size and current-ness of its selection. It seems like its creator, Star Li, is a bit of an entrepreneur who has started businesses in the past, and it looks like she is developing this one to grow (and possibly be sold) as well.

As it stands now, I would probably not pay for this service unless there was a particular dress I really wanted for a random occasion and I knew I wouldn't wear the dress again after that occasion. So, for example, let's say I was going to a garden party. It might be worth it to get the $20 plan, rent this dress, and then cancel the plan afterwards:

Since you can cancel plans at any time, it looks like you can just pay for a plan when you feel like renting a dress and then have no further obligation to pay as long as you timely cancel. I'd probably only do this with brands I already knew my size in, since you are a bit SOL if you end up with the wrong size.

That said, I'm generally pretty unenthusiastic about dress rental services. I'd rather put my money towards the purchase of my own dresses that are versatile enough to wear in various contexts in my life over long periods of time instead of spending money renting a dress I don't get to keep or that I know I only want to wear once anyway. Also, I don't particularly like seeing dresses I'd passed over in the Anthro sale section available for rent. I would prefer to see new designs that are still full-price in stores.

(Even though I'm a member of RtR, I have yet to rent a single dress from them because HTF do you justify spending $65 --- at the low end --- on a dress that you have to give back?? That's what I spend on dresses I KEEP! And I'm not brand-conscious enough to care if I'm wearing Harve Leger to an event or whatnot. I suppose if I needed to go to a gala where a long dress was required perhaps I'd consider it, but even then I still think I'd rather sale shop.)

Anyway, if you'd like to try Lendperk for yourself, you can sign up for a 9 day free trial, which is good for one free dress rental. I probably won't be using this service in the future since I'd rather develop my own closet, but I do think it's a great idea that could go far with the right investors.

Monday Link Roundup!

2013-04-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

I notice a lot of my favorite blogs post weekly compilations of interesting links they've found around the internet. It seems like a great idea to me, so why don't we give it a try just for today?

* How can you tell if you are selling yourself short in the workplace?

(image source)

* When is it time to walk away from an important relationship?

* I love this outfit's combination of purple and yellow. Somehow, she pulled it off without looking like a Muppet (see here)!

* New study establishes that singing at the top of your lungs in the shower can be an effective treatment for mild down-in-the-dumps-ness.

(image source)

* Eeep, a talking bunny that says the word "Mama"! How is that possible??

* OMG, I am absolutely drooling over this healthy dessert recipe. Yes, please!

* Some would say it's time to give in and dance.

Happy April 1st! ;-)

(See also: here at 1:52 ("2006 called; it wants its punchline back."))

OOTD: The Streak Continues!

2013-03-30T08:25:00.001-04:00

In This Outfit: J.Crew sweater, Anthro skirt, Nine West shoes, J.Crew factory necklac, Michael Kors davenport watch in rose gold, Kate Spade lever-back earrings.

Yeeehaw! And thus concludes my week of great outfits (with the exception of Wednesday's outfit, which was probably my favorite but which I'll show you next week).

Apparently I have no photographic evidence of Monday, but I'm gonna go ahead and call this a perfect week anyway.

Stringing together a couple days of fun, distinct, professional looks may not be a particularly notable accomplishment to most people, but considering the fact that I sometimes take unwarranted sartorial risks, five days on top of my game (not just without fashion disasters) deserves a self-congratulatory self-pat on the back for me :-)

I am probably delusional, but I feel like this J.Crew sweater goes with pretty much everything in my wardrobe? Is that possible? I don't care. I love it. Best "it's two sizes too big but I love the colors and it's only $15" purchase I ever made.

Also, these old Nine West shoes somehow cycled to the back of my closet and I don't think I've worn them in a year, but yesterday I remembered why I liked them so much. Cute, professional, neutral but with sparkle, and comfortable all day.

This outfit aside, I had a FANTASTIC day at work yesterday. I'll tell you a little bit more about it when I get the ~~green~~ neon-light. (<-- Spoiler alert!)

What are you guys up to this weekend? I've got the weekend off and I am headed to Atlantic City for a bit of poker!! Yaaaaay...

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OOTD: The Beauty of an "On" Week

2013-03-28T13:50:00.001-04:00

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but

(why are there so many videos of babies tooting horns on youtube?) (also, is it creepy to post a photo of an unknown baby tooting a horn on your blog?) (nevermind, don't answer that)

I feel like I have been killing my outfits this week! In the good way. A la KILLIN IT. Not murdering it in the Amanda Bynes sense, but killing it. Killing. It.

Which is great, because a spent a recent week falling on my face one outfit after another after another and I began wondering whether I had some sort of undiagnosed brain tumor.

But those concerns have been put to bed! (Mostly!) Behold!

In this outfit:

Tommy Hilfiger Sleeveless Belted A-Line Dress (M, slightly big) (similar* for $80, similar for $130)

Anthropologie Dashes Knit Blazer in Sky (L) (here*)

J.Crew Skinny Patent Leather Belt (similar*, more similar* but more pricey)

J.Crew Factory Beaded Bib Necklace (similar* for $35)

Ring from either ASOS for Forever 21 (another* white and gold ring)

Manolo Blahnik Pumps (39.5 -- I'm usually a 9) (gifted) (pretty similar* on sale from Kate Spade for $165 in limited sizes)

In this outfit:

Ann Taylor Blazer (6) (similar* at ASOS for less than $100)

Ann Taylor Loft top (S) (similar* for less than $20)

ASOS Peg Trousers (10) (similar* for $30 in limited sizes)

Payless Chelsea Flats (9, TTS) (here*)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (here*)

Kate Spade square studs (similar* for $10, similar* for $5)

ALDO Necklace (I freaking hate ALDO) (not especially similar,* but the same idea and less than $10)

PLUS, one more great one that I'll show you next week, because I actually took real photos with my real point-and-shoot.

I love it when everything comes together!

If only it had really gone this way...

2013-03-26T14:18:00.004-04:00

Moreover, when Attorney Cooper said that gay marriage could harm the moral fabric of the country and hurt the institution of marriage, Associate Justice Sotomayor asked, “What are you even talking about?” while Justice Anthony Kennedy reportedly muttered, “You got to be fucking kidding me,” under his breath.

“I have to interject, Mr. Cooper,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said as the attorney argued that the government has legitimate reasons to discourage same-sex couples from getting married. “Do you honestly care this much about this issue? Because if you do, you’re a real goddamn idiot. Actually, you sound as dumb as dog shit, and you are wasting our time.”

...Before adjourning the court, Roberts said there would be no official opinion on the case because it’s just “common goddamn sense,”

Hilarious. You can read the full article here. (The for-real court transcript is here.)

Many Ways OOTD: I'll prove it to ya!

2013-03-25T11:00:00.004-04:00

Because of my blog, my IRL friends sometimes assume I would be a very fun person to shop with. After all, I clearly enjoy shopping and often seem to find a good bargain.

Like this skirt! Which only cost $30!
Mossimo for Target top (M), Hi There! by Karen Walker for Anthropologie Pleated Skirt (8) (sold out*) (similar* for $30), Payless Chelsea Flats (9, TTS) (here*), Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (here*), Necklace from Eastern Market in DC, Kate Spade Square Stud Earrings (similar* for $10, similar* for $5)

Truth is, I'm pretty terrible in a female shopping posse. I often get distracted shiny or chambray things and walk off unannounced, I rarely bring an appropriate amount of clothing into the fitting room (either too much or too little), and I am fairly bad at giving people advice on what clothing they should try on, buy, or leave behind.

Maybe worst of all, though, I often fail to take well-intentioned advice from my friends when they try to tell me to take off my sale googles and not buy whatever item I happen to be contemplating at the time. (See, e.g., these crotchy Anthro pants, which were $20 and which my friends told me not to buy (note: I love them and wear them often, even if they do kind of look like those nutso DVF pants we were laughing about but that I secretly love)).

Like this skirt! Which my friends suggested I not buy because the waist is kind of weird and it's dry clean only.
Anthropologie Ridged Ribs Boatneck (TERRIBLE! Shrunk dramatically in the wash, even though it's labeled as washable :-( ), Hi There! by Karen Walker for Anthropologie Pleated Skirt (8) (sold out*) (similar* for $30), Kate Spade Glasses Necklace (kinda similary*), J.Crew Cece Flats (TTS and quite comfy) (here*), Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (here*), Kate Spade Square Stud Earrings (similar* for $10, similar* for $5)

But sometimes I just KNOW that a certain item and I are going to get along swimmingly. I look at the piece and understand where it will fit in my wardrobe and know, from prior experience with similar pieces, that it will get a lot of wear.

Like this other elastic-waisted pleated midi skirt (Anthropologie's "Million Pleats Midi"), which is one of my favorites!

So, there are some times when I need to apologize to my well-meaning and wonderful friends for flying in the face of their "don't buy that!" advice. And on those occasions, wearing said "that" several times in a two-week span of time seems like the best way to honor their intentions...

Like with this skirt!
Gap T-shirt (here*), Ann Taylor Loft sweater (L) (similar* for $21), Hi There! by Karen Walker for Anthropologie Pleated Skirt (8) (sold out*) (similar* for $30), J.Crew Cece Flats (here*), Necklace from Alexa Crawford (ancient) (sort of similar*), Michael Kors Davenport Watch in Rose Gold (here* in leopard print), Earrings from Eastern Market in DC (similar* for $6)

So, thank you, friends. And I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, but as you can see, I love the skirt! Even if I sort of wore it exactly the same way but with minor variations three times in a row. I'll branch out from dark/baggy top+flats next time, I promise. (Also, I machine-washed it and it was totally fine.)

How was your weekend?

* Affiliate links

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OOTD: Shameless Inspiration

2013-03-23T15:24:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for your wonderful thoughts and responses on my last post. The comments section of that post is like a non-sponsored post promoting the virtues of discourse :-D

On March 20, the official first day of Spring, my ~~Google~~ Feedly reader blew up with "YAY SPRING" posts. I couldn't help but get into the spirit myself, but it has been a bit too cold in D.C. lately to embrace spring florals fully.

That's where personal style blog inspiration comes in! The other week, one of my favorite reads, District of Chic, featured a great early-Spring floral look:

(source)

I don't know why I hadn't thought about wearing florals with black before. It seems obvious now, but something about florals always seemed to demand brighter colors or pale neutrals.

Anyway, I copied this look for work:

In this Outfit:

(these are all affiliate links)

Eva Franco Bloomtown Violet Dress (8) (similar, similar, similar)

Urban Outfitters Silence + Noise Blazer (L) (similar)

Necklace from Eastern Market in DC

Jessica Simpson Minna Wedge (9.5) (don't recommend --- the patent leather is poor quality and damages easily. Such a great shoe in terms of shape/comfort though, so this is a shame. I have them in gray leather and that one seems to be holding up better.)

Kate Spade Bow Bangle (almost exactly the same but $18)

Kate Spade Gold Square Studs (similar for $10, similar for $5)

(This is what happens when you forget to take an outfit photo until midnight after your weekly poker game.)

I've been deleted! (a.k.a., a word novella on strict commenting policies, sponsored posts, disclosures, and discourse)

2013-03-21T17:03:00.000-04:00

(Apologies in advance for writing you a novel. tl;dr -- )

(source)

"Wait a minute, my comment was there a minute ago..."

I refreshed the blog post I'd commented on a few moments before over at A Practical Wedding ("APW"). Sure enough, the comment I'd posted --- after thoughtfully wording my criticism in such a way as to be reasonable but still true to my thoughts --- had vanished.

(I'm not married, nor am I engaged, but it will be my five-year anniversary with my boyfriend on Sunday and without getting into too many details about conversations occurring in my private life I will admit to reading APW and sometimes looking at sparkly things or white things, because I am a gender-conforming, red-blooded woman over here.)

So, first I'm going to tell you what happened to me on this one specific blog (APW), and then I'm going to tell you why I think this stuff matters in a broader sense.

Some background: The post I commented on was about a new initiative by one of APW's sponsors, called "Turtle Love Company" (TLC). TLC sells vintage and vintage-y engagement rings, along with other types of jewelry. They seem to be a big sponsor of APW as I see TLC-sponsored posts on the website frequently. The new initiative was called a "Dynamic Pricing Experiment," in which TLC would start listing rings at their appraised value, and then lower the price if the ring did not sell.

Now, if you couldn't tell from the name and content of this blog, I love sales. I am all about sales. I know a sale when I see one. In fact, sometimes I FEEL a sale BEFORE I see one, just getting random tinglings of my Jewish Girl-sense when I am in the proximity of a sale.

And this "Dynamic Pricing Experiment" thingamajigger sounded a lot like a sale. Exactly like a sale. Your standard, run-of-the-mill sale. The complicated academic name struck me as inauthentic. So I left these comments, which were deleted a few minutes after the most recent one:

I'd heard that the moderators at APW were sometimes trigger-happy when it came to removing perceived "negative" comments, but I never imagined that a comment I perceived to be constructive, albeit not heaping with praise, would be deleted. I truly thought these comments were respectful and posted with only good intentions. After all, the original TLC post said:

"then don’t forget to come back here and tell Adrianne what you think! (I’m hoping your feedback will be more helpful than my ZOMGTHISISAMAZINGILOVESALES.)"

I mean, surely my comment counts as "feedback . . . more helpful than ZOMGTHISISAMAZINGILOVESALES," right? So why didn't the APW moderators think so?

I left another comment asking why my comment got deleted, to which Meg (the creator of APW) commented, "If you have questions about our comment policy, feel free to email us directly. We moderate comments based on tone." I responded that my tone was intended to be thoughtful, albeit critical and....yep, the whole thread with Meg got deleted, too.

So I went over to APW's commenting policy and read it, and you know what I found that disturbed me greatly?

"Our sponsored and partner posts are paid content from a business we’ve consciously chosen to work with. Out of respect to the business that paid for a particular post, we reserve the right to remove comments that we don’t feel are in their best interest. These sponsors and partners are how we are able to stay online. If you want to ask us about our choice to work with someone, please send us an email. APW’s mission is to promote discussion on weddings and marriage, not on the business model that allows us to facilitate those conversations." (emphasis added)

WOAH. As far as I can tell, "best interest" can have a very broad definition, can't it? Is a potential customer's post that the name chosen to describe a "sale" not in the "best interest" of a sponsored company? Is the post of an unsatisfied customer that the merchandise she purchased was shoddy, not as advertised, or the like not in the "best interest" of the sponsor? Where does the interest of the consumer fit into all of this? As a consumer, I certainly would like to know if, when reading a post written by or for a sponsored company, the comments section is being whitewashed to feature only positive commentary, even if negative commentary exists.

I'd like to say that as far as TLC is concerned, I'm impressed with the response I've received from the company about this thus far. (I've never purchased anything from them, but theoretically one day I may ptoo ptoo.) I emailed Adrianne (a former lawyer, like me), the head of TLC to voice my concerns. I received very thoughtful and respectful emails from her in response, explaining a bit more about the "dynamic pricing experiment" thing (which, FYI, still sounds like a "sale" but I could be missing a subtlety) and also noting that that she did not have control over comments being deleted and the company does welcome feedback. It's not always easy to hear criticism so I give Adrianne credit for her reaction here.

But I do think this issue goes beyond TLC and even beyond APW. (I've taken a day to meditate on this and think it over, so in case you couldn't tell, you are getting a much different post today than you would have gotten if I'd posted after my negative interaction with Meg yesterday.)

1. As consumers on the internet, I think it's important that we make ourselves aware of the way in which sponsored posts and reviews are presented on the websites we frequent. Had I not read the commenting policy on APW, for example, I might not have realized that the APW moderators had such broad criteria for deleting comments on sponsored posts. Now that I do know, I realize I cannot rely on any of the positive feedback generated about vendors in APW posts, since I have no idea how much negative feedback is being deleted. I would be shocked if APW is the only website "protecting" their sponsors in this way. While I would love to place all blame on the blog with restrictive commenting policies, we maintain responsibility as consumers to make informed purchases. What I didn't fully realize until yesterday is that part of this process of informing ourselves must also include learning about the ways in which a given blog might misrepresent the public opinion of one of its sponsors.

(source)

2. As bloggers or publishers on the internet, we have an ethical responsibility to present as unbiased a view of "sponsored" material as possible. I blame no blogger for wanting to feature sponsored material on her website, but with the power to promote comes the responsibility to promote responsibly. We saw the dangers of comment over-moderation when the Anthroholic scam broke, years after it might have broken otherwise had it not been for the deletion of negative comments about Anthroholic on various Anthropologie-centric blogs, largely on her own. For example, we have been engaging in a discussion on this blog about a blogger's responsibility in disclosing affiliate links. My IRL-friend Michelle (who blogs herself over here) deals with FTC disclosures as part of her job and pointed out that disclosure requirements have become much more stringent this year, indicating that the FTC expects bloggers to be up-front about the way they handle sponsored content. Disclosure of affiliate links is a separate but related issue, and I bring it up to indicate both that it's an important area for us bloggers to learn about, and that even the government has recognized the influence bloggers can have over the marketplace. Again, with great power comes great responsibility.

(source)

FWIW, even beyond government requirements, I truly believe we have a responsibility to be honest people. (Bias alert: I have a deeply seeded expectation that decent human beings be honest with each other. I was the type of kid who, in elementary school, skipped a question on a quiz if I accidentally saw someone else's answer to that question, even if I knew the answer myself.) I'm sure you've noticed that I run some sponsored content on this blog --- almost entirely, if not entirely, reviews of products I have had a chance to test --- (and I've got another sponsored post coming up in the next week), but I want to make clear that I never delete comments on these (or any) type of posts and I encourage discussion in the comments sections of my posts, even if I think that discussion is unreasonable or if I disagree with it. I have only ever deleted a small handful of comments in the years I have been writing this blog, and those comments were either explicitly racist, violent, or sexual [as in, sexually invasive/explicit/violent] comments. And also spam. I delete spam.

3. As companies sponsoring blogs, you have the power to demand that the bloggers you sponsor maintain standards for public discourse and disclosures that you can respect. As I mentioned in #1 above, it does you no favors as a company if the blog you pay to run posts about your services deletes any potentially negative commentary as a matter of policy. Not only does it alienate potentially well-meaning commenters (like me), but it also undermines public trust in you as a company and as a selector of blogging partners. I know that I, for one, will look at sponsored content on websites like APW differently now that I know that anything not in the "best interest" of the sponsor will be promptly wiped away, and I know that I will be exploring the commenting/sponsorship policies of other blogs I read to make sure I know who I need to be wary of. As a company, your advertising dollars have power. When it comes to disclosures and open discourse on the internet and other forms of social media, your interests are aligned with consumers and blog readers: it is in the "best interest" of both of you (assuming you are a good company with a good product) and readers that the reader/consumer has accurate information. Use your advertising dollars to demand that the blogs you sponsor uphold higher standards of discourse and disclosure. If they won't, don't risk your brand's reputation on someone else's lack of integrity.

Okay, novel over. Have you ever had a comment of yours deleted before? Ever had a negative experience after paying for services you learned about in a sponsored post? I'd love to hear your thoughts --- all of them. Really. (Just not the violent, racist, or sexually violative ones.)

[FYI: I edited this post later on March 21 to fix a few typos and add some clarifying language.]

Can we just LOL over this for a minute?

2013-03-19T14:39:00.001-04:00

I need some adult suits (embarrassing biglaw associate admission: all of mine are polyester and cost less than $200), so I've been browsing the suiting sections of various online retailers to get an idea for my options.

I stumbled upon this gem in Nordstrom's, "Boardroom Attire" section:

And for a mere $1000, THIS LOOK CAN BE YOURS. (yes, that's an affiliate link, but please don't buy this.) (purse and shoes not included.)

What is even happening here, Diane Von Furstenberg? I am all about "reinterpret[ing] workwear," but this looks more like "reinterpreting hangover." AMIRITE? Who is wearing this in a boardroom??

....Although honestly it's growing on me a little. Damn my love for pajama-like workwear. (Still, clearly not buying it.)

OOTD: You Win Some, You Lose Some

2013-03-18T09:07:00.001-04:00

I have mixed feelings about flash sale websites like Gilt and Rue La La. On the one hand, they do sometimes offer excellent value on great items I had been meaning to acquire. (see, e.g., a recent purchase of a 12-cup Kitchenaid Food Processor for $79, when I haven't seen a price below about $200 for that size/brand.)

But then there are times when I don't NEED anything, but that ticking clock of "Boutique closes in 23:54 hours" makes me wonder if maybe I should just save myself the possible regret and spring for that random dress/pair of shoes/accessory. Sometimes it works out swimmingly, and other times I end up spending money returning an item I probably shouldn't have purchased in the first place, or becoming disillusioned with the whole process after googling the item pre-purchase and finding it for the same or lower price on Amazon or some other site.

All this to say, I mostly like this dress I got on Gilt last month.

In this Outfit:

Sam & Lavi Elise Dress (M) (sale stalk it on Amazon here)

J.Crew Tights

J.Crew Factory Lace Captoe Flats

Kate Spade Alexandra Avenue Large Catalina

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (on sale here)

Necklace from Eastern Market (flea/craft market) in DC

Coach Pave Ball Earrings

(FYI, things that happened after I reviewed these photos and before I went to work: 1) I steamed the creases out of this dress; 2) I blowdried my hair; 3) maybe not #2, I can't remember, but I did eventually get a haircut that now basically necessitates blowdrying my hair every morning, whomp.)

The good: I'm a total sucker for the shade of green in this dress, which is more of a bright kelly IRL. I also love the mix of patterns and solid colors here. The cut is nice (I think) and I like the sleeve length and neckline.

The bad: It feels shoooort. I wore it with black tights to minimize the effect of the shortness, but it is can't-lift-my-arms-above-my-head-for-fear-of-knowing-a-stranger-in-the-biblical-sense short. Short enough that I may not be able to wear this diddy to the office once the weather gets warmer.

(Also, it's dry clean only. But is rayon ACTUALLY dry clean only? Can I wash this on cold and line dry it? Please say yes.)

So, I don't know where the overall balance comes out on this dress. Maybe slightly negative...but then again, I got a small discount on the dress because of a small spot of discoloration (noticeable up close but not from more than a foot or so away), so perhaps that evens things out a bit.

Do you guys shop on flash sale websites? I find most of them overwhelming (I don't have the energy to sort through five pages of "Our Favorite Spring Dresses WTF), but I will browse if I recognize the brand being featured!

Posted with Blogsy

Good Riddance, Google Reader

2013-03-14T15:11:00.000-04:00

YEP, I SAID IT. I'm glad Google Reader is being discontinued.

(Source)

Sure, I used Google reader daily to keep up with my various RSS feeds, but I didn't particularly LIKE it. I didn't participate in any of the online community aspects of Google Reader (I don't have a Google+ account), and I found myself constantly cursing at my reader for consistently dropping certain feeds and then posting ten of them at once weeks later.

Even more, there are several blogs I tried unsubscribing from --- multiple times --- but Google kept signing me back up for them! (Incidentally, I am very, very sorry if my blog has been that annoying irrepressible blog in your Google reader. I now know from sad personal experience how much irrational hatred a face on the internet can prompt.)

So, what is your new RSS client of choice, friends?

I got a few email notifications from Bloglovin' this morning informing me that a few of you guys have started following me over there. I have a bloglovin' account but I don't really like it! The layout annoys me -- is there a way to see full posts, or can you only see snippets? -- and I am not aware of any iPhone/iPad apps that allow you to keep up with your Bloglovin' subscriptions. Are there any that I just don't know about?

I just started using Feedly, and although I'm only a day into the user experience, I like it a lot so far. I like the technological elements of my life the way I like my societies: integrated and cooperative. Feedly integrates with Google Chrome with an add-on, has apps for iOS/Android/Kindle (the iphone app has five stars with four thousand reviews --- nothing to sneeze at), and ALLOWS YOU TO SEND BLOG POSTS TO EVERNOTE! (If you're not using Evernote then hoo boy, that's going to have to be another post.) The Evernote clipping feature needs a bit of work (formatting is off when you click and it's unclear whether you can clip selections or if you must clip the whole page) but I love that the option there. [Edit, April 8, 2013: The importing of the ENTIRE blog page --- including headers, sidebars, and comments --- has officially gotten old. Fix this now, please. Thanks.]

Plus, you can import your subscriptions from (and sync them with) Google reader, categorize your blogs into topics...

...view whole blog posts in your main view...

...and customize the layout of your home screen.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the program so far. We'll have to see if any of my aggravating deleted blogs make their way back onto my reader again. (But if they do, I'll probably just blame Google.) [Edit, April 9, 2013: The Feedly app, since it has adopted Google's RSS formula or whatever, has also adopted the same annoying blog dropping-undeleting glitches. For more google reader alternatives, click here.]

I'd love to hear your progress on scoping out replacement RSS readers! Let me know what you're finding out there in the open (free) market.

Just...trust me on this one.

2013-03-12T12:01:00.001-04:00

Red Velvet Torte:

Gluten-free, refined sugar-free, flour-free (e.g., no coconut flour, almond flour, etc), supremely easy, chocolatey, and SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS.

Really, I promise, this torte will become your new favorite party trick. "Oh you like my red velvet torte? What's in it? Oh, you know, the usual....eggs, cocoa, honey...BEETS YES BEETS MUAHA."

That's right, the secret ingredient in this torte is a couple of beets, and I'd bet that unless you told people they'd probably be none the wiser. (Note: I LOVE beets, so I couldn't tell you whether the taste would be aggressive for someone who doesn't like beets. I didn't notice the beets in the recipe but that could just be because I don't hate them.)

I found this recipe at a blog called Elana's Pantry. She calls it the Purple Velvet Torte, but it looks red enough to me. Try it ASAP and come back to tell me what you think! I love making desserts with random "secret" vegetables! (See, e.g., Green Monster.)

Posted with Blogsy

DID IT. TWICE.

2013-03-11T10:52:00.001-04:00

Yep.

In this Outfit:

Anthropologie Cosmos Jumpsuit (now $50 here)

Michael Kors Harness Satchel (similar in black on sale)

ALDO shoes (I freaking hate ALDO) (similar not by ALDO)

Banana Republic Cardigan (similar)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (here)

Kate Spade lever-back earrings (on sale in turquoise and white)

Kate Spade Doodles Pen Necklace (similar by Marc Jacobs for $29??)

Glasses from Firmoo (NOT c/o...I have owed you an updated review for months, ack!)

(note: these are affiliate links!)

Wore it to work on Thursday, you guys. And it was awesome.

Thursday was the perfect confluence of jumpsuit-inducing events: I slept late (read: did not go to the gym; read: did not have to pack my clothes in advance; read: had the ability to experiment in the morning); I didn't have any big meetings during the day; and I was feeling like crap from working five 70-hour weeks in a row and needed a little pampering.

Pampering in the form of a one-piece polyester hug.

I'm not really sure what I expected when I wore this to the office. I felt like I was looking over my shoulder to see if security would come take me away. "Ma'am, we're going to need you to come with us. You know why."

But no, no issues. Nobody* even looked twice. And wow, was it comfy. It's no secret I like work clothes that fit like pajamas, and boy did these fit the bill.

* Except one of my office friends, who told me I looked "seventies fabulous**," and two of my other coworkers who were like, "nice jumpsuit!"

** My mom*** was excited to hear I was wearing a jumpsuit, noting that she had two of them in the actual seventies.

In fact, I liked it so much that I MAY HAVE POSSIBLY worn it on Friday too. (I was in the DC office Thursday, the NY office Friday.) The second time, I didn't even bother with a jumpsuit-hiding cardigan, I just strutted around in my full jumpsuited glory. Strutted right past the chairman of the firm who was wandering the hallways.

No sir, your eyes do not deceive you. After all, isn't a jumpsuit just another kind of suit? Really? Semantically?

*** Speaking of moms, my only awkward moment was walking by the "Mamma Mia" theater:

My jumpsuit was different, though. Totally different.

Also, I almost wore it Saturday. But I stopped myself. Mamma mia.

I hope you all had great weekends! What did you do? And don't you wish you'd been wearing a jumpsuit while doing it? (PS: peeing was not that hard.)

*~*~*

PPS: A reader asked me last week why I don't mention which links are affiliate links. I don't have any reason for not disclosing such a thing --- I figured the link paths were obvious so in-line disclosure was not really needed, but I don't mind adding disclaimers to make affiliate linkage more overt. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you expect responsible blogs to handle affiliate linking. A line at the bottom of the blog post? A parenthetical after each link? A short explanation in the blog sidebar?

Incidentally, what are your thoughts on affiliate links? As a reader, I don't mind them where they add to the content (e.g., "here's what I'm wearing, and here's the same thing or something similar if you like it" -- that's a helpful resource to me as a reader and I don't mind if a blogger may get compensation for making the effort to track those links down). I personally don't like it where bloggers just dump a bunch of affiliate links in a post with seemingly no other purpose than to drum up revenue. A wishlist post now and again is fine by me, but too much of that and I start turning off.

So, anyway, thoughts?

OOTD: If at first you don't succeed...

2013-03-04T13:35:00.001-05:00

I got sick of showing up to work with only one post-exercise outfit to change into, discovering too late that my outfit didn't quite come together. (See, e.g., here and here.) Instead of definitively addresing the problem by, say, trying on my work outfit the night before like a rational person, I decided instead to bring one skirt and four different possible tops in my gym bag to change into. I had some ideas of the combinations I thought would work, and figured I could tinker more once I got in front of a mirror in the locker room.

It worked out fine, I think, but the combination I ended up going with was nowhere in my imagination when I threw clothes in my bag.

For those of you who work out in the mornings and put office clothes in your gym bag: how do you put together outfits?

Posted with Blogsy

Mother-Fracking #YOLO

2013-02-28T21:44:00.001-05:00

THIS IS HAPPENING*, PEOPLE.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

Note to Anthro: this is why you need to have free shipping all the time. I never would have tried this crazy nonsense if not for your recent free shipping promo.

* Just maybe not happening at the office......I haven't quite figured out how to make a jumpsuit work for business casual? This may be a bigger challenge than the maxi skirt. (FYI, I tried black-blazering it to no avail.)

OOTD: Making the Best of It

2013-02-27T08:30:00.000-05:00

As much as I prefer taking outfit photos outside my apartment in the morning, I sort of like the photos taken in front of the mirror in my office gym. Those photos generally mean that I diligently woke up in the morning, exercised on my way to work, and then got myself ready in the locker rooms in the basement of my office building. Getting fitter, ya'll!

Anyway, here's what I wore yesterday:

This shirt was a somewhat unfortunate final sale purchase. It's great --- soft and a good winter neutral --- but probably a size too big. I assembled the pieces of this outfit the night before without trying them on in advance and was a bit underwhelmed by the end product. Thank goodness for my emergency black blazer:

Better...better...

In this Outfit:

Ann Taylor Loft Colorblocked Dolman Sleeve Top (here)

Anthropologie Checked Crops (similar)

Anthropologie Pave Post Earrings (here)

Forever 21 Lace Collar Necklace (similar-ish)

Payless Chelsea Flats (here) (TTS)

Michael Kors Runway Watch (on sale)

Thank you!

2013-02-25T09:35:00.003-05:00

I have not yet had a chance to respond to comments from Saturday's post seeking advice about camping, but I wanted to say a quick "Thank you" for all of the helpful advice rendered thus far (and keep it coming, if you've got it). You guys are fantastic and I greatly appreciate it.

(I am sooooo sorry if you don't get the reference and are grossed out, but I just could not resist)

Happy Monday!

In the Kitchen

2013-02-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

Two things.

One: I made a delicious and easy recipe this week that I couldn't wait to share. It's a chorizo and kale soup recipe from PaleoPot. It was incredibly hearty and did a great job of warming me up on a few of the cold winter nights we've had around here lately. If you like your soups a bit spicy, you'll love this! Vegetarians, I bet you could replace the chorizo with white beans.

Two: I recently overhauled my tupperware cabinet and I am a better woman for it. (You know the cabinet I'm talking about --- the one where you keep your motley assortment of plastic containers collected from Chinese take-out orders? I am sure that isn't just a Jewish thing, right?)

Previously, it looked something like this:

(source, suggesting its own organizational method)

I found this little diddy on Amazon (for only $20, no less---now on sale for $16):

And now, I've got this:

Geez, what would I do without Amazon Prime? Honestly.

Do you have any cabinet-organization secrets? I want to attack my pots and pans cabinet next...