Polka

There aren’t many polka-dotted things in my closet. So, of course, I had to wear the few dotty things I do own, together.


Kimono, Carole Little (thrifted). Dress, Jovovich Hawk for Target. Leggings, Express. Boots, Steve Madden. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Earrings, Article. Bag, Rebecca Minkoff.


I wore this to our Toastmasters holiday party. The group has come to expect my pattern mixing hijinks and my insistence that we do at least one “crazy” pose in our group photos.

Conference of the Fall

Beefy competed in two contests at this weekend’s District 39 Toastmasters conference. I’m very proud to say he placed third in the humorous speech competition with his speech, Sitcom Husband. (Beefy is a funny guy!) Competition is fierce at the district level as these speakers have already won club, area, and division contests.


Dress, Ella Moss. Dress worn as a slip, Parker (consignment). Boots, Lauren Ralph Lauren. Sunglasses, Earthbound Trading Co. Earrings, self-made. Bag, Aldo.

I’m wearing my leopard Parker dress as a slip underneath the sheer, floral Ella Moss dress. I thought it might look a little weird, but the colors and patterns played nicely together.



Beefy after his big win! (I changed into cocktail attire for the evening competition.)

Lucky Cat

How do you make one outfit work for both a military promotion ceremony and a Halloween-themed speech competition? Black, leopard, and optional cat ears.


Jacket, Xhilaration (thrifted). Dress, Express. Shirt, FY2 (thrifted). Tights, Me Moi. Boots, Lauren Ralph Lauren. Necklace, thrifted. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.



The two events:


My friend’s promotion speech


Beefy won BOTH portions of the Toastmasters Division contest: Evaluation and Humorous Speech!

Group Photo

Group photos are the worst. The larger the group, the greater the chance that someone will be blinking, speaking, or picking their nose. Then there’s always the joker that ruins the photo by giving the person in front of them bunny ears. I prefer single portraits.

No bunny ears here! (And I never publish the awkward, “not ready” pics.)


Shirt, Banana Republic. Skirt, Carole Little (thrifted). Shoes, Isaac Mizrahi. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Belt, H&M. Bag, Aldo.


I did take a photo of our Toastmasters group tonight, in honor of two special speeches given by James Jeffley, 2014 and 2015 World Championship of Public Speaking Finalist.

And yes, at least four of the takes were ruined by bunny ears. You'll never guess who the culprits were.

Master Blasters

I love my Toastmasters peeps. They inspire me, entertain me, and sometimes bring beer to our meetings. After a long day, when I thought I couldn’t bear any more human contact, they gave me the energy to be my best for 90 more minutes.


Jacket, Xhilaration (thrifted). Dress, Donna Morgan (consignment). Shoes, Nine West. Hat, Charming Charlie. Earrings, vintage. Belt, thrifted. Bag, Clarks.

Because I can’t call anything by its proper name, I refer to our club as Master Blasters. The nickname makes me think of Transformers, boomboxes, and explosions. Our meeting wasn’t quite that exciting, but energizing, nonetheless.

Regime

We had our Toastmasters election, tonight! A new board starts on June 1st, including Beefy as Sergeant-at-Arms.


Dress, Ella Moss. Scarf (worn as a belt), TJ Maxx. Shoes, Seychelles. Earrings, Stardust Remembered. Bag, SheBoBo.


Our current president, immediate past president, and members of the new board (excluding Beefy because he was on a business trip):

40 B4 40: Yes, Yes, No

My 40 B4 40 project is nearly over! I have about a week left. I shared some of my lessons learned in my 10th Toastmasters speech. You can read the text at at Abby Lacey (a fellow 40B440er) or watch my delivery below: