TOMBOY KC

these boots were made for summer

July 31, 2014

I have an aversion to sandals. I don’t know why, but something about their flimsy, falling all over each other appearance in my closet makes them less than appealing foot-mates. Be proud like the brogues, guys. Pull yourself together like the pumps! I mean, it’s not that I don’t like the way these sandals look once they are on (I bought them after all), but lying there on the closet floor they just look so dirty and… used. Nope, not gonna do it.

Picking sandals last for my sartorial softball team wouldn’t be an issue (think of all the sneakers I’ll buy with saved pedicure money!) if it wasn’t for that whole “summer heat” thing that’s going around. It appears that, much like my own mother, Mother Nature is hell-bent on making me do things I don’t want to do. It’s like a battle of wills at this point. She may have the upper hand to a degree (snap!), but Mother Nature clearly doesn’t know who she is dealing with (right Mom?!). She better prepare herself for a good ‘ol fashioned WWE stare down because, much like Ralphie and his Red Ryder, I am nothing if not willful and hell bent on doing whatever it is I want to do, regardless of how painful or how many eye’s I might poke out.

Bring on the heat Mama, I’m wearing boots.

– Lynsey Eaton

button-down: NSF (on sale plus an additional 50% off here) / shorts: Levi’s (also love these) / booties: Sam Edelman (old, similar here and here) / leather bracelet: Coach / watch: c/o Daniel Wellington / bracelet: c/o Wanderlust + Co. / clutch: Jennifer Haley (similar here) / glasses: Dior (these are a more affordable option) / lipstick: Revlon “Ravish Me Red”

SHOP THE POST

images by SUKILYNN for TKC

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mama said there’d be days like this

July 30, 2014

I wake up at 4:00 am to what sounds like a sonic boom but is really just my fire alarm going off…and then stopping short because there is no fire. This is a bad sign. An omen clearly intended to alert me to the fact that I should crawl back into bed and stay there for the rest of the day. I decide I will, but only after I take a bat to that thing and teach it to wake me up like that again…

After searching the house for a ladder tall enough for me to reach the ceiling in order to swat the terrorist (note to self, buy a ladder) and a few gymnastic attempts at solving this problem by standing on some less-than-sturdy furniture which almost result in a trip to the emergency room, I spend a small amount of time web-searching to assure that ignoring this alarm hissy-fit won’t also result in a trip to the emergency room (hello, carbon monoxide poisoning). It’s about the time I get off of the phone with the non-emergency line at the fire department (who confirm I am in the clear and just have an asshole residing on my bedroom ceiling) that I realize my actual alarm is set to go off in t-minus 15 minutes. I take those fifteen minutes to reflect on how a device that is supposed to keep me safe from harm has just put everyone in my path today directly in its way.

Despite my concern for the safety of others, I can’t go back to bed. My yoga class is about to start.

To be clear, spending sixty minutes in a room designed to replicate the summer temperatures in a Brazilian rain forest while attempting to contort my body like a teenage cheerleader sounds borderline miserable after the morning I’ve had, but spending the next 24 hours anxiety ridden thanks to my failure to do a little meditation sounds downright unbearable. So even though I am grumpy and sleep-deprived, I opt to go have my angst twisted out of me like a shammy and lethargically drag my feet across the floor to the closet and dig through my drawers for yoga clothes.

After putting together some crazy assortment of Lululemon meets Target athletic-wear, I spend another fifteen minutes searching for the keys my husband hid in the closet, then hop in the car to high-speed race the one mile to the yoga studio. By the time I arrive my anxiety has reached a level that even the show Boiling Points would be afraid to air, and I pat myself on the back for making the decision to yoga it out today.

That’s when it happens. The straw on that aching proverbial camel’s back.

Right before I enter the yoga studio I have been going to for over a year, I notice a flyer on the door announcing a change in the schedule starting, oh look, today. As I scan the new schedule to assure I am still going to the slow-moving, calm-inducing stretch session I had intended as opposed to a more fast-paced Vinyasa, I stop short. This can’t be right. Does that really say “Crossfit: Sweat It Out” where my class is supposed to be? How is that even possible? This is a yoga studio.

Call me crazy, but the yoga attendee and the Crossfit enthusiast are a very different demographic in my book. I came here for downward dogs and savasana, not to jump around like a seven year-old on a sugar high and be yelled at by a drill sergeant. I check with the front desk. There must be some mistake.

But there isn’t. Somehow Crossfit has managed to take over the world, and that world now includes my yoga studio. Too overwhelmed to ignore this sign, I turn around, walk back to the car, drive the one-mile home (much less frantically) and crawl back into bed. It’s clear I should have done this from the beginning. I might be hard-headed, but I don’t need to be told thrice.

– Lynsey Eaton

image via MoneyTalksNews

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working it: rewardstyle

July 29, 2014

Getting dressed for work is right up there with building skyscrapers on the list of the most difficult tasks we can think of. Think about it: in addition to following some sort of office dress code, you also have to worry about “dressing for the job you want.” No pressure or anything. Combine that with trying to have any sort of “personal style,” and you’ve got a full blown crisis on your hands. But before you hop back into bed, hide under the covers and give up altogether (girl, you’ve got to go get that cash!), we are launching a new series on workplace style that should help you work it all out (sorry, we had to).

That’s right, we are stopping into some of our favorite offices and forcing the occupants therein to indulge us by sharing just how they “work it” at work (last one, we promise). Our first stop? rewardStyle. Where else. Although it is not the most conventional of offices (there is a bar in the waiting room, after all), we felt it the appropriate first stop seeing as how we don’t know of an office more stylish than rewardStyle’s. And while it isn’t likely you’ll be able to transition your entire workplace into looking as fab as this one, with the help of Chelsea, Allison and Bridget, at least you can do something about your cubicle.

Chelsea: “Every day at rewardStyle is unique and exciting. Tomorrow I might hold a training session over breakfast, explain LIKEtoKNOW.it at lunch, meet clients for coffee and UX consulting, or design a custom digital monetization strategy over dinner. I want to be comfortable and confident in any situation, so I typically wear minimalist basics that I can transform accordingly.”

SHOP CHELSEA’S LOOK

Allison: “When it comes to my work style, my focus is on comfort. You will typically find me in an easy dress that I’ve accessorized with fun jewelry or a bold lip. With little effort, I’ve got a polished look that is comfortable, but still fashionable.”

SHOP ALLISON’S LOOK

Bridget: “Luckily rewardStyle is full of creative, open-minded and innovative people so I’m allowed to be pretty low maintenance when it comes to getting dressed for work. Picking out what to wear generally comes down to comfort and warmth (I’m always cold!). I live in my DL 1961 ‘emma’ jeans, J. Crew ballet flats and Vince tops. I also love an easy dress that I can throw on and either dress up or dress down, depending on the day. Last but not least, I pair my old, beat up white Converse with everything. There is something integrally cool about Converse that I feel matches rewardStyle’s vibe. They make any outfit of mine feel ‘cool’ even if I’m not! “