It's Time for A Style Update

Not a perfect dress, but I
love the color and
the matching coat behind it.

As I was walking around Charleston and surrounded by librarians, I came to the realization that my style needs an update. At the very least some new pieces to add. What prompted this?

It was evident that walking around Charleston I felt pretty up to date, but also a little formal. And formality certainly fits in in the South, the East and the Midwest. It is a little out of place, however, in LA. I remember how I resisted changing my style in the past. When I went from a support position to a manager's position, I was loathe to buy suits and proper "work" wardrobe. But when I did, I was taken more seriously. When I moved to the south, I hesitated on adding some girly touches to my attire, the pearls, scarves, etc. But then again, when I did, I fit in more.

So, I think it's time to stop bucking the style and update what I'm wearing to more readily match Southern California. It's pretty easy to understand: people like hanging out with people who seem like them. And wardrobe is the quickest way to make that connection--even quicker than race or ethnicity.

So, I think I wanna get a little more feminine and a little more vintage-y. I LOVE Zooey Deschanel's clothes (for the most part) and she's cute as a button on New Girl. I've found a few web sites that have this kind of clothing (shopruche.com, style.ly, modcloth, Anthropologie, etc). Now I want to lose a few more pounds to feel secure in sizing fitting me properly and I'm going to use that as a goal.

Got any fun fashion ideas or web sites for me?

Things You Don't Think About Until You Lose a Toenail

Yes it's gross. It hurt like hell when it happened. I pulled a door onto my toe and the pain was much like that of a stubbed toe but much worse (delayed as if it took my brain a couple seconds to reconcile what my eyes had seen). And I limped for a few days, could only wear flip flops for a few more and then it was over. So, I thought.

The nail popped off and it was relatively painless, but I was so determined that I wasn't going to lose it that it was a surprise when it came off and now I'm finding it's actually more of a nuisance than I thought. Here are some things that I didn't think about until that freshly exposed skin popped through:

• It's totally messing with my wardrobe. I start my outfit choice with my shoes and now my shoes are limited so I'm finding that I'm having a hard time figuring out what to wear.
• Speaking of shoes, I'm ashamed of the bruised skin and nubby little area for my toe, so no more open toe shoes. That has effectively taken my shoe choice to about 6 of my 30+ pairs.
• The skin is bruised and new so it starts to hurt at weird moments: when it happens to bump against a shoe, when the sheets hit it, in the shower when the stream strikes it, as I'm pulling on my pants.
• I haven't had a pedicure in months. Okay, so this is a really girly thing to complain about and a year ago it wouldn't have even crossed my mind, but it's nice to have your feet massaged and pampered.