Funday Fashion Monday: Summer at work

Happy, happy Monday, friends! I'm ready for a great week, how about you?? Last week was a very long one, with lots of hours logged in the office for me. I am SO grateful for the wonderful ladies who sat in to offer some amazing posts. In case you missed the week of fabulousness, check out Tara's post on life in Italy, Claire's wisdom on living in Ireland, Colleen's call to action and loving our neighbors, Claire's adorable DIY, and Paige's vlog on making Photoshop patterns from your children's artwork. These ladies really brought it. And I'm humbled and honored.

Since I've been working my hiney off, I've had summer work fashion on the brain. This week we return to Funday Fashion Monday with all the beauty and simplicity you can bring to the professional arena.

I like to keep it simple for the office with great pieces that will stand the test of time and trend. My favorite pick for you is that bright pink laptop sleeve (which I own in another shade). I swear by my Skooba bag for its durability and style. Carry it as a clutch sleeve or as a handled bag! My 17" MacBook doesn't go anywhere without the Skooba to hold it all together.

Summer is all about color, and I love what I see! This amazing shade of green comes from Mod Cloth and makes a statement all by itself.

Gladiator sandals are back again, and these are styled high. Funky enough to say summer and professional enough to wear over and over.

Kate Spade makes the best iPhone cases, and this gold and white striped case has enough bling to set the week off to bright start.

Finish it off with a fun stacked ring in sherbet shades.

I'm so happy to be back with you again, and I'm ready to get back into the swing of summer!! This week holds lots of fun surprises including a pool party here on the blog to celebrate the 4th of July. You gotta see it to believe it.

Thanks for popping over friends!! It's been so great to have you here.
XOXO,
MJ

Summer of Happiness: Does what you do all day bring you joy?

It's Thursday, friends, and that means it's time for some Happiness. Catching you up to speed, we're tagging along to Denise's great summer bookclub of the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. If you want to hear my take on adding energy to your life or decreasing negativity in your relationships, follow those cheery pink word links.

First a recap of last week. I followed my own path on the resolution list and made a conscious effort to create less negative experiences. Can I break this down for you, friends? Going into this last week, I really thought, "this will have no effect." But, huh, it did. There were a few moments this past week where I could have pressed an issue (like I typically do) or turned a comment into sarcasm (yup, guilty), and I didn't. I took that one extra inhale and kept it to myself. My hubby and I have had some long work nights this week, and eliminating unnecessary negativity (is any negativity necessary? Talk amongst yourselves) helped both us move through the hills and valleys more easily. And even have a sense of humor about it.

This week: a topic near and dear (and always here), happiness in our work.

Gretchen's five resolutions start this chapter titled: Aim Higher

• Launch a blog
• Enjoy the fun of failure
• Ask for help
• Work smart
• Enjoy now

Let me just go sprinting from the gates here...ENJOY THE FUN of failure? Say what? I knew this was going to be a challenge for me to read. Yes on the perfectionist. Yes on the fear of failure. Yes on the need to please.

Moving on.

First nod of agreement: "Being happy can make a big difference in your work life." I have been both happy and unhappy with my worklife at various stages in my career, and as I look back with my brilliant hindsight, I see how some doors closed and windows opened because of my experience. Have you seen this, too?

Here's another that rang a bell: Challenge and novelty are key elements to happiness. Yes. I get this. In the doldrums of day-to-day, if I can insert a surprising twist or turn the mundane into race for myself, I find energy and capacity just waiting to be tapped.

"One reason that challenge brings happiness is that it allows you to expand your self-definition."

As she wrote about blogging, I found myself wanting to pull out a highlighter, which I never use (and of course this is a library book). I've only been blogging since April, and so that rush, the adrenaline of hitting the publish button is still fresh and this wondering of "where in the world do I think this is headed?", still palpable.

I appreciated her ideas on Working Smarter. I don't work in the same way. I find myself setting small goals (send those three emails, finish that project, make phone call) and then adding a bonus to meet that (connect with coworker, take a walk, put on a new song) to add happiness and my version of effectiveness in my work.

And, lastly, I can never get enough of Enjoy Now sorts of themes. I can never be reminded enough. It's really an outcry, a prayer, to be reminded of all the Good gifts we've been given. I really loved reading her positive letter to the negative book review.

This week I'm going to enjoy now and sit back to drink in her first resolution - launch a blog. I'll be busy doing my work in the coming week and away from Pars Caeli as I invite friends over the housesit and entertain (oh, and will you ever be entertained!). And my intuitions tell me I'm going to be a little homesick, too. So, if you're on the fence, not sure if you should or if it's the right time, let me be the one to encourage you:

Launch a blog.

And here's my golden nugget to motivate us both.

Happy work week, friends. That's what the majority are, right? So we might as well make them happy.

How do you add happiness to your job or your vocation?

XOXO,
MJ

Hard. Work.

 

this from here.

Today is Take Your Son or Daughter to Work Day. Did you know it? Likely the big day would have gone unnoticed to me had I not seen the Land of Nod's great pictures of smiling young faces immersed in cool, creative activities at Mom or Dad's super cool employer. (Do you follow Land of Nod on Twitter? Totally fun with impulses of creative ideas - highly recommend to any momma.)

I brought my daughter to work...yesterday (urgh, so close). I wasn't involved in a national movement or a part of a fabulous photo shoot involving super cute 4-year olds (I'm biased) and their mommas at work. Nope. Little C has strep throat. It's our first ever bout of the horribles like this so we adventured together to the doctor, on a few errands, back to my office, and then out for prescriptions. 

Have you ever taken your child or children to work, during office hours? I have, and I always relish hearing their response to my professional world. C noticed noises, pictures, and quirky happenings that I usually overlook.

I'm thinking a lot about "work" today. I describe myself as a hard worker. Most likely you'd probably fit into the same category, too, right? What kind are you? I'm the kind that goes full throttle and works and works and works until a project is where I like it, typically disregarding the cycles of the sun or moon. I'm kinda like a small rodent, let's pick a prairie dog, who digs and digs her hole, working away diligently, bit after bit. I work so hard to get down deep into that hole that often, once I'm down there, I just can't see the rays of sunshine any more.

this from C.

I can say with great certainty that my professional life has only been enriched and recharged by spending time here with you and fully jumping cannonball into the festivity of my kiddos.

Let's go ahead and give ourselves permission to take time to live our lives today. Sound good? I promise to remember from my beautifully dug-deep down hole. 

XOXO, MJ