“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” — Maya Angelou
Aged. 14 Successful Women on the Age They Found Most Challenging.
Melded. This Ann Taylor ring in gold and silver toned metal is perfection. Did I mention it’s also under-$20?
Graced. Loyola-Chicago’s chaplain Sister Jean is a delight, and the only reason to keep watching the tournament now that Gonzaga is out.
Wrapped. I’m very concerned about our overuse of plastic, so I’m swapping my cling-wrap for beeswax, bottled water for a refillable Zojirushi, and food-huggers instead of baggies.
Educated. Women don’t owe men a debate about feminism, and it’s not our job to educate them.
Clutched. This Whistles croc-embossed pouch is everything. Also, this boucle clutch with gold clasp looks WAY more expensive than it’s $72 price tag.
Advanced. Tips to succeed at every level of your career.
Stunned. This dramatic OdlR gown is a total showstopper. You’ll wish you were royalty.
Committed. Marriage used to be the start to adulthood. It’s become the final trophy of being grown-up.
Simplified. New arrivals at Old Navy that you’ll wear all summer include a feminine lilac dress, a floral shell, and wide-leg linen pants. Plus-size? I love this flirty top.
Deluded. Buzzfeed has a list of office-appropriate clothing that includes an off-the-shoulder jumpsuit. You know, in case you needed a laugh.
Decorated. I love this abstract bridge print and this simple ikat wall print (both under-$75).
Befriended. On the importance of female friendships in a male-dominated world.
When I redesigned this blog last year, the changes were not well received. As a result, I lost my enthusiasm for some of the new features that I felt so passionate about. This week, I added some of my new must-haves to the Beauty Edit, changed the middle of the page to include some of my favorite Housewarming Gifts, and put a bunch of great spring fashions in the March Edit.
Here’s hoping I can keep these features up in the future. Because if I’m not excited about them, no one else will be either.
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Oh how I wish I had a reason to buy that evening gown.
I love the “Edits” and was excited to see them updated.
I’m so glad, I think this will be a better fit and a bit more fun.
Love the tips for reducing plastic waste!
I rarely, if ever, comment anywhere. But I wanted to respond to your “end of the day” note. Just because some readers didn’t respond to your redesign favorably, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a silent majority that supports you and values what you do so wonderfully. Please write what you are passionate and excited about. I will read it.
Here, here!
Same! I LOVE your blog.if I could only read one blog it would be this one.
Thank you. That’s sweet of you to say.
One more silent ‘here, here’. And one more frowny face for the Zags loss.
Me too!!
Please also stop using plastic straws. I always preemtively tell servers I do not need one. I have metal straws at my house and at work. I also bring my own containers for bulk and take out. I don’t care if people think I am weird – one use plastic is awful. (Plastic generally, you get the idea.)
I also buy compostable garbage bags even for regular trash. It’s worth it to me to spend a little more money on them.
I buy the compostable paper straws on Amazon (just because for whatever reason, I drink more water when I can use a straw). I’ll look into the compostable bags, do you find they’re sturdy?
They aren’t as sturdy as regular bags, but I haven’t had one break open on me yet. I pay more attention and am more gentle (if that makes sense) when using them, but it’s not all that much of a burden.
We put the compostable bag inside of a paper grocery bag and it works great. The smaller bags make us very aware of the amount of trash we generate. Awareness has resulted in reduction.
I made beeswax ‘wraps’ for friends for Christmas gifts this year. They were a big hit. I highly recommend them.
Two things – I love the redesign! But I also loved your blog before. That buzzfeed list was amazing. Cropped ruffle hemmed pants for the win!
I’ve been reading your blog since just before you redesigned it, and although the initial changes were a bit difficult to navigate, it is now my favorite reading! I think the variety and quality of your posts is phenomenal and I am impressed you can keep up this level of content. Thanks for doing this!
That Maya Angelou quote popped in my head earlier today. I don’t remember what I was thinking of, but it’s important to remember.
And I loved some of the redesign! I think most of what frustrated me was the web design/layout, not the content. Keep up what you’re doing – I really enjoy the new stuff!
Fairly new reader here and enjoying! Question – where do your old “middle of the page” recommendations go when you update them? How do I read the past ones?
You know, I don’t archive them. Maybe I need to figure out a way to do that.
I think you should consider it – this is content I would definitely go back and read. I have purchased at least one of the items you recommended in that section over the holidays and I definitely read your suggestion, thought about it and went back a couple days later to buy it. If it hadn’t been there anymore, I wouldn’t have been able to find your rec! I don’t know if you get some $ when I click the link but you would have lost that too 🙁
Maybe I will memorialize it on the Facebook page. That could be a good place for it.
I like the redesign.
There is so much wrong with that Buzzfeed piece. I just kept going “no….no….NO”
The Essie Gel Couture in the beauty edit has 40 colors at Target and more on the Essie website itself! I’m slowly rebuilding my entire nailpolish collection based on the gel couture, starting with work appropriate shades.
I have loved all of the changes, edits, and new features over time!
Hi! You can file this under undesired feedback if you want to, but I just wanted to say that while I LOVE the content of your blog, and find it to be one of my favorites for having a great mixture of thought provoking article links, great (and office appropriate) style, unbiased product reviews and amazing skincare tips, the redesign personally made it very hard for me to navigate. I read yours (and most other blogs) on my phone, and with the way it is laid out, I am CONSTANTLY missing posts – in trying to find this post (because I remember you mentioned something about the redesign not being well received), I saw 3-4 posts I missed entirely (including your new end of the day/week wrap ups!). And I check the blog every day! I judge whether I’ve read the post by trying to remember what the quote at the top of it is. I made this suggestion when you first did the redesign, but maybe try having a section of the blog that just shows all of your posts chronologically – that way us less technologically savvy people can still see all of your fabulous content. Anyway, it’s your blog and I am just a freeloading reader, but I know it would make it much easier for me to read, and it would allow me to engage with your content more effectively and more often. Like I said, feel free to ignore it and do with it what you want – I just didn’t want you to think that some of the people who didn’t receive it well still LOVE the content, just don’t necessarily love the format.
The posts are in chronological order. We removed the vast majority of the design changes the week after we launched and went back to chronological order. I see on the mobile version that the weekly choices appear after the first two posts. I’ll see if there’s something we can do about that, but that’s also how it appears on the main site. Two posts above the fold, the rest below the fold.