Outfits: Internship Week 1

Hello readers! It has been a couple of weeks since my last post but I have been a busy busy bee! I officially started my new internship on Monday (working for free as usual) and from now on I will be posting my outfits for the week every Friday so please check back at the end of every work week.

I am currently working in a college athletics department (I am so excited about this opportunity!) so the attire tends to be a little more business casual than the outfits I have posted in the past. I am trying to find a balance between blending in with the current employees and being slightly more dressy in order to avoid looking like the intern who got too comfortable too quickly. Plus, if I went very casual, people would likely think that I was a student rather than someone who is actually working in the office. They say dress for the job you want, not for the job you have and I believe it is always better to be overdressed than under-dressed.

Every week I will feature my 4 work outfits (I do not work on Tuesdays), one of which is casual (or semi-casual in my case) Friday.

Monday: All the pieces have been previously featured--Shoes - Burlington Coat Factory $16.99, Black and white suit jacket- Burlington $10, Black dress pants - Marshalls $12.99, Bag- Justfab.com $20...this nude bag has become my go-to work bag and I LOVE IT!

Same outfit as above- black puffy sleeve top: Wal-Mart $4.99

Wednesday- Dress was previously featured: Ross $26.99, Brown shoes: Marshalls $39.99-- This is more than what I would usually pay for a pair of shoes but brown, closed toed, work shoes have proven very difficult to find so I splurged :)

Thursday- White button-down: Sears $9.99, Navy blue patterned pants (I am not sure why these photograph black, they are a beautiful navy blue and have a great pattern on them. They are my new favorite item): TJMaxx $24.99, Navy blue pumps: $20 (there is a better picture of these in my "There shouldn't be cleavage on your feet" blog)

"Semi-Casual" Friday: Teal and lime colored polka-dot top (tank top underneath it was a gift)- Burlington Coat Factory $14.99, Beige dress pants- TJMaxx $12.99, Beige pumps- justfab.com $39.99.

Happy work week everyone! I hope you liked this weeks outfits! Remember, you don't need a lot of money to be trendy and professional. Until next week!

A Young Professional Working for a Great Cause!

Today I am so happy to feature a very special, well dressed, young professional. Drum Roll Please! Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....my cousin Kristy!!

First, I will explain how this special feature came to be. Next, I will show you Kristy's fab low priced professional outfit followed by an explanation about how you can also be a professional working for a great cause!

Why Kristy?
Kristy is the Regional Manager of Child Sponsorship for a fantastic charity called Friends of the Orphans. In order to help sponsor as many orphans as possible, Kristy has devoted her spare time to hosting Mary Kay parties where 50% of the profits go towards child sponsorship (the other 50% goes towards purchasing the products). Last night we had a party at my house and it was such a blast! It was great to get together with friends and family, have some fun applying and learning about makeup, and then buying some great products knowing it would benefit a special child. Our party was all for the benefit of a 10 year old boy named Richard who lives in one of the homes in the Dominican Republic. The whole time we were trying on our make-up and having great laughs we had pictures of Richard surrounding us, reminding us that child sponsorship helps provide necessities for this innocent orphan.

Here is Richard :) He also has two brothers in the program who would love to be sponsored!

In the words of the Friends of the Orphans Brochure, "Friends of the Orphans supports a network of nine Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for 'Our Little Brothers and Sisters') homes and their outreach programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, [they] transform the lives of children by creating families for life and enabling them to transcend poverty and grow into caring members of their communities."  With the support of Friends of the Orphans, NPH currently cares for more than 3,700 children. All this could not be possible without committed people like Kristy.

Her Outfit is as Great as Her Cause!

Above- Beige tank: Ross $7.99, Jacket: Sears (Bongo) $14.99, Pink Skirt: Kohl's $4.99, Beige Pumps: Sears $20.99

Above- She also had a great bun on her head and showed me this helpful piece underneath the bun to help make it perfectly round and professional. Purchased at Navarro for $7.99. A polished bun is a great way to go when you are either having a bad hair day, maybe don't have your hair as clean as you would like it to be, or if you know you have a long day ahead (as my cousin Kristy always does) and would like to keep your hair off your neck and face. 

Would You Like to Help?

I am a firm believer that what goes around comes around. If you are a good person who is willing to help others, you will receive that same goodwill tenfold. If you say "I will give when I have" then I believe you will never have enough to give. Mother Teresa once said "“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving." Listening to Kristy speak yesterday showed me how much love these children need. When you help sponsor the child you can write them letters and send them pictures. These simple acts help a child know that not only are they being taken care of, but that they are loved. I know this blog is all about getting by while being young and broke but I think it is important to realize that we can help others in many ways. I feel so blessed every night that I can go to sleep with a roof over my head, a pillow, a blanket, a full stomach and a world of opportunities and it is important to do what we can to provide those things for those who are less fortunate simply because of the situations they were born into. 

If you are willing to host a party in order to benefit one of the orphans (you can pick which orphan and in what location), I urge you to contact Kristy by email at kfueyo@friendsus.org or by at her office at (305) 663- 6211. Swap out a typical girls night where you would spend money on drinks and spend a night among friends knowing that any money spent is going towards a great cause. 

If you would like to learn more about Friends of the Orphans and the opportunities to help volunteer or sponsor a child, please visit their website by clicking: www.friendsoftheorphans.org. You can also follow them on Facebook by clicking: Friends of the Orphans Facebook

   

Dress it Up

“A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.” 

― Sophia Loren

Ladies, it is summertime and it is HOT out! Most places have seasons but here in Miami where I live the seasons are more like "Inferno", "Blazing Hot Summer", and "68 degrees," where for a month (usually January or February) we all quickly whip out our boots and scarves. 

Besides that quick cool down where we rush to wear our "winter" clothes, dresses are great for the Inferno season. Dresses are an awesome alternative to suits when it is hot out because if you make the right choice, you can look professional and attractive without the added sweat.

Below are some of my dresses with stores and price breakdowns as usual :)

Above- Patterned wrap dress: Burlington Coat Factory $16.99, Navy Shoes (although for some reason they photographed black): Featured in previous post

Above- Red Dress: Burlington Coat Factory (can you tell I love this place?) $24.99- I would definitely recommend a jacket with this dress. It is a great option to dress up for a post-work happy hour, Black Pointy Toed Pump: previously featured 

Above: Black and White Polka-dot dress: Burlington Coat Factory (I think there is a pattern here) $12.99- This dress is great because it has sleeves and may be worn without a jacket depending on your office, Black Shoes: Previously featured 

Above- Black dress: GET READY FOR THIS.....Old Navy $3.99!! Old navy has great sales all the time, Black Pointy Toes Pump: previously featured

Necklace: Forever21 $6.99

Above-Peplum purple-ish (that's a word right?) dress with brown skinny belt: Ross $26.99, Nude Pumps: Justfab.com buy one get one $20, Nude briefcase bag: Same sale at justfab.com $20

So there it is ladies, dress it up and avoid all the unnecessary sweating during Inferno season. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my next post!