So in the span of my short professional career (6 years) I have managed to work with some of the most brilliant and talented women in the marketing and PR world.  I have seen the amazing results of bringing a good writer, a strategist and a crazy PR girl (said with love) together to plan, craft and implement a successful campaign.  That said, if you are lucky, you get to meet one of these brilliant and talented people when they are just starting out and subsequently steal the thunder of their great performances (kidding).

Grace, of the new website Umbrella’d, is one of those gals for me.  The moment she started at my old company I knew that I loved her and I knew that any project I gave her would be done perfectly and efficiently. Grace is one of the people that I felt a great lose for when I left my previous company to get married and move to Chicago.

I knew she was destined for stardom, but what I didn’t know is that only 5 months after departing from this little firecracker she was going to blow up to Superstar status and launch a website!  Now she hasn’t done it alone, she crafted this entire project side-by-side with her mother.  They took their combined skills (her mom, June, owns graphic design firm Pelican Studios) and made something new!  Umbrella’d is a site focused on offering more than other news sites because they are taking an ethical and moral stance to be uplifting!  I simply cannot get enough of this site and I am so happy that I can boast that I knew one of the creator’s when she was just starting out!

So read below to get the inside scoop on how this mother/daughter team crafted this gem:

Grace: Well, umbrella’d began last February when the recession hit and I was still living in New York. June was thinking of new ways to expand her business and I was trying to help her brainstorm. At the same time both of us were thinking about how even though we were in a recession that we were really fortunate and that we wanted to figure out ways to give more. The idea was hatched based on the principal that we would create a business, and once we cleared expenses the remainder of our income would really go towards giving and helping others. From there the ideas just kept evolving and eventually we landed on doing a daily news site.

June:  I am a graphic designer and have owned a creative agency (Pelican Studios) for 15 years. Since I was a child, I have been driven to ‘make something and sell it’. With the recession came slower sales and I was trying to think of something else to sell!

Grace: Well, yes and no. In the beginning we were not sure what we were going to be, all we knew was that we wanted a business that would allow us to give back. We also wanted to do something that was positive, informative and didn’t dwell on the negative. We found that there is media like Disney that is super positive and clean (and geared towards kids) and then there is popular media that is in-the-know like Perez Hilton, we wanted to find a happy medium. More recently we have aligned ourselves with the idea that people don’t always have time to flip through an entire USA Today or New York Times and it is nice to have a place where you can go spend 10 minutes and get the news in a condensed form, almost like the Cliff’s Notes of daily media.

June:  We believe that there are lots of people, especially young people, who want quality, intelligent content that is easy to access. It feels like a no-brainer to build a brand based on our kind of content.  We haven’t found any source like ours.

Grace: We were driven by a lot of different inspirations. The idea of creating this site didn’t come quickly to us, it was an evolution of ideas over a period of months. I think our biggest inspiration came when we started getting content together and got the site built and realized that we could really be on to something, that we really were able to create a site that is interesting and funny and informative and could still be in line with our goals.

June:  From the artistic standpoint, we wanted to build a beautiful site that was easy to navigate and was populated with artwork that had a 60’s comic book feel. Our staff artist has done an amazing job especially evident in the avatar generator.  From a value standpoint, my grandmother was one of the founding members of the Salvation Army in NYC at the turn of the last century and her life still inspires me. I grew up with an understanding of how important it is to help others and Grace and I believe there will be many opportunities through our site to give and urge others to do the same.

BR: I love the moral/ethical aspect of the site and the blacklisting. Can you expand on the bar you are trying to set?

Grace: The moral and ethical stuff came from a point of exhaustion I think. Just sick of reading about who is having an affair and who is going to rehab for a cocaine problem as opposed to who is doing something really interesting and who is making a big difference. There are obviously always going to be topics that are not cheery to write about but I think we enjoy having a news site that isn’t clouded with stories of other people’s demise. All of that kind of media becomes exhausting after a while.

The Black List was an added bonus to our mission of avoiding the negative and irritating. The Black List serves two purposes for us, one, to call out those people that we will never feature in our daily editorial and two, to take a moment and poke fun at how ridiculous these people are. The people we put on our Black List are people that we think are a waste of time to write about and have done nothing to earn our attention. Doing the Black List is a lot of fun, the idea was hatched a while back when we got so sick of hearing about Lindsay Lohan and decided she should not only not be featured on the site but called out for being an embarrassment to society. We do have a Black List policy however that people who redeem themselves always have the opportunity to be removed from the Black List.

June: We are having a lot of fun with this and it is easy to promote what is moral, ethical, healthy and good. I like the idea that we can help form or reinforce good values and help people improve their lives and become more and better. There is a lot of ‘lowest common denominator’ out there.

Grace: It is actually pretty seamless. I think that we both have a lot of respect for each other so that is the primary reason this partnership works, well that and trust. But I think also we both bring to the table what the other cannot; it’s a really nice blend of experience and ideas from two very different perspectives. The biggest adjustment was learning not to call June ‘Mom’ at work — that one took a while, but once I realized how stupid it sounded to say something like, “Mom, do you have the programmer’s invoice or do I?” I corrected myself pretty fast!

June: I agree with Grace and I would add that it is so much fun – I had no idea! Our values and work ethic are the same and our skills complimentary. I still get to call her Grace at work…

Grace: My whole week is a giant brainstorm! From morning to night we are constantly brainstorming and talking about what to do next, its 24/7. Last week at breakfast though I had to remind June that it was Sunday and I was sick of talking about work, at least for that meal. Your head is constantly in a project like this and it becomes almost impossible to separate yourself from it, it’s a good thing we get along.

June:  We are both super entrepreneurial and toss around ideas constantly. And we email a lot during the day!

BR: What do you hope to achieve with your positive media approach?

Grace: I hope people will appreciate the mental break away from media that is negative and engage with our witty, brief style. I love that we have the ability to share things that are funny and interesting and useful. I love that we can publish a quick piece about anything from Celiac Disease to Fall fashion to cookie recipes to issues surrounding racism and the economy. It’s amazing to be able to be so broad and have a hand in informing people about pretty much everything.

Most recently I have been most excited about bringing awareness to issues that I had no idea about, for instance, like the problems with human trafficking and sexual slavery right here in the US. If we can be responsible for making people aware of something like that and get them thinking about it and caring about it, then that is the kind of influence and impact that I would be so unbelievably thankful and honored to be a part of.

June:  I agree with all of Grace’s points. I hope to make the lives better of those that visit our site – that they would be better informed, more thoughtful about their lives, smarter, healthier, more interesting, more compassionate …

I had a friend go through the site and she commented that she would read the latest on the site before going to a dinner party so she would have great things to talk about!

I had a moment of actual nausea today while pulling together my morning post.  I had been planning to do a “Get The Look” post for Built by Wendy clothes.  This designer is absolutely brilliant!  I love at least half of what she/they put out every season–especially the coats.  My friend Holly has a 3/4 sleeve, just past the knee black dress coat from this store that would make you drool!

I am still on the hunt for my special dress to wear during my week of celebrations (yes, I plan to wear said dress for the entire week!)  I thought I would browse through the beautiful selection of  frocks on Built by Wendy, that also happen to be in my current fave color combinations red, black, white and grey.  Well my excitement quickly turned to disgust!  $240, really?  For a wool dress?  Am I missing a huge piece to this puzzle? Indie design label turned couture? Obviously I am exaggerating, but I know a little bit about the clothing manufacturing process and still can’t get my head around these prices.  This is a recession…are people, and more specifically early 20′s people still paying these prices?  Bleh!

To give a little reprieve (and hope for us sensible gals), Built by Wendy offers do-it-yourself patterns (available in their store, on the site and last I checked at Urban Outfitters).  The patterns are $15–if you have sewing skills and an extra $8 for fabric, you have the perfect combination to look super cute while not spending 1/4 of your paycheck.

The first image below is a blouse in the fall line currently selling for $140, the pattern (though the picture is very summer-ish) has similar lines and the perfect sleeve length.  So buy the pattern, make the top and then go and…I don’t know….do something sensible like pay your electric bill!

Happy Monday!  So I just re-read through some old posts and was completely and utterly mortified (again) by my spelling and grammar.  If I were a professional blogger, I would have deadlines and an editor and that would never happen, but I am not… I am just a girl with an intense full-time job and a hubby who likes home cooked meals, so I can only offer that I will try harder to not be an idiot when I am typing my posts at 5:30 a.m. I mean I spelled babies as “babys” really? Ugh!  I have decided that this Mad Men Monday will just be visual.

With no further ado, I give you the illustrations of Dyna Moe!

I tweeted about this yesterday and got a ton of positive responses, but I am still very torn.  My hair has been in the “growing out” phase for seriously a year and a half and lately I feel very un-cool and un-pretty. I bought different brushes, try different blow dryer methods and still…by lunch time when I look in the mirror at work (in the sad, sad fluorescent lighting) I just want a do-over.  When I had short hair I always felt just a little more polished and pulled together, but I haven’t had long hair for 7 years (at least).  In college my hair was all one length and down to the middle of my back–I don’t want that plain style again…but I need something.  So here is the debate: Do I tough it out and try to get lovely Zooey hair or do I get it cut and get instant cuteness ala Amelie?

The big 3-0 is next month….so choose wisely!

That is right my sister’s….Christmas planning has begun.  The lists are being crafted and the checking account is already starting to drain in anticipation of the birth of Jesus.  Kind of odd that we have turned a spiritual holiday into a consumer spending frenzy, eh?  I won’t dwell on that as the span of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas really is my favorite time of year.  I love buying presents (and receiving them) and wrapping gifts and baking treats.  The old cliche of Christmas making you want to be a better person rings true for this gal.

So yesterday I was exchanging emails with my mother-in-law about lists and gifts.  This is a big year–in the span of six weeks, it is their 40th wedding anniversary, our 1st wedding anniversary and three of our birthdays.  Yikes!  That is a lot of gift giving….so in preparation for said giving and receiving, I found this lovely little chart to map out sizes and color preferences.  How cute!  You can even download it yourself from illustrator, Cookie’s blog.  Now my only concern is the fact that this cute little gal has nipples showing and I really don’t think my mother-in-law would like to picture me naked anytime soon, so I might paste a little dress on her before emailing this, but the concept and illustration is just adorable.

It’s time to start the holiday cheer!

Men’s clothing is not normally my thing, but this morning I thought….”Hey, why not?”  I like Don, I like the way he dresses (well for work anyway…his casual apparel sometime bothers me), I should dedicate a day to him. I think my wedding was the only opportunity I will ever have to see my husband in a suit, so I must live vicariously through a fictional characters’ wardrobe.

I found the three key Don Draper items on Etsy.  While I was on the search for post inclusions, I also found the Manly Vintage blog–how stinkin’ cute is this?  Fella’s that like vintage and love Chicago…they get two thumbs up from this gal!  This blog appears to have reviewed some Chicago area thrift stores which may come in handy for me, too!  This city has all sorts of nuggets and I have been slowly finding them, but a little help never hurt.  Hooray!

I am dedicating this post to my oldest and dearest friend, Melissa.  Melissa recently had a little baby boy named James.  He is too freakin’ adorable.  Because of the distance between us, she is in Cleveland I am in Chicago, I have not met the little dude yet.  About 2 months ago I bought him a little present and started to stitch him an additional momento.  I planned on sending it that week–but my ridiculous carpal tunnel started acting up so I laid off the needle for a few days (embroidery needle that is….) and that turned into weeks!!!  My thoughtful and sometimes irksome husband pointed out last night “you know babies grow really fast, right? Do you think that outfit is even going to fit him by the time you finish that stitching?”  And to him I must reply: touche!

Where does the time go and how have 2 months passed?  I feel sick.  This weekend it is getting done or else one of you has to come to my house or my cube (office friends) and literally punch me in the face. 

I decided a little extra inspiration wouldn’t hurt, so I started snooping online and found The Baby Gardner’s Baby Bloggie.  The whole blog is focused around vintage baby things.  Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I just found this site!  Now I promise I will not start inundating you with baby posts, but I am entering my 30′s in 6 weeks and the baby phase has only just begun for my girlfriends.  I now have a destination for unique/vintage gift ideas.  I have added a little embroidery pattern to give you a smile and me a kick in the butt!

It is indeed fall and it seems to have come out of nowhere here in Chicago.  One day I was spilling my entire lunch on my white jeans en route to work, the next day I had to rock full-body insulation.  I have mixed feelings about the cold weather, but I do love fall and all the festivities that come with it.  I also love covering up a bit; sweaters, hats and gloves are fun!  For those of you who do not know me in real life, you must know that I wear tights a lot.  I probably own 40 pairs (that’s a lie, I own more) and I wear each and every pair of them.  I wear them 3 seasons out of the year and have probably been doing so since 7th grade.  During that style breakthrough year in 7th grade I used to wear gingham and leopard print tights with my little Doc Martens and I even owned purple fishnets (I am certain I thought I was So Sweet.)

Fast forward 18 years to modern day Chicago where I have been people watching on the train every morning, I realize that a lot of the ladies are a little confused with the tights scene, so I thought I would pull together a quick Do and Don’t list to clear some things up.  I also spotted the Kate Spade shots included in this post and felt inspired.  These looks are right up my alley.  They are short, sweet and professional.  Sadly Kate is a little above the Budget Retro price limit so at the end of the post I will offer some affordable brands.

Budget Retro Says Do:

1. Layer tights–if the ones you have aren’t thick enough then double them up!  You can also layer fishnets over tights for a textured look.

2. Use black tights to winterize a summer dress.  That yellow dress can hang in the fall, just toss on a turtleneck and tights and you are on your way.

3. Wear textured or colored tights to make a black or neutral outfit pop.  The Kate Spade red tights are a perfect example.

4. Wear tights under dress slacks to give you a smooth silhouette.

Budget Retro Says Do Not:

1. Mistake sheer nylons for tights (we should not be able to see that you haven’t gotten a pedicure since August!)

2. Wear footless tights unless you are a dancer (sorry this may offend some, but they make a lot of really pretty girls look short and stout and it makes me sad.)

3. I won’t say Do Not, but be cautious with patterned tights.  They need to be accompanied by a very polished outfit and you need to rock them with an ounce (or more) of confidence!

4. Mistake tights for leggings.  Tights are meant to accompany an outfit–they are not meant to be the outfit.

I have tried every type of texture, brand, size (sometimes I buy tall tights even though I am only 5’2 so that they are opaque from hip to toe)–with 18 years of trial and error I have found a few favorites that I will recommend.

Hue tights are amazing and they offer every color. I just found the Merona Luxury Opaque Tights at Target a month ago and they are so thick and lovely–they should last all winter and they were only $10 (They do not have them on the site yet.)  The Assets tights, from the maker of Spanx are amazing for form fitting clothing (although be careful about length…the Spanx portion of these are a little long and I think my cubemates saw this while I typed away at my desk. Gross!)

I hate to admit this, but when it comes to online shops…I am usually the last to know.  I mean it is a little embarrassing considering that I work online all day and I have a blog focused on style, but I haven’t found one of those cush jobs yet where you get paid a ton of money to do no work. Until that happens I will continue to actually work during the day and offer you “slightly delayed” finds at night.

This week’s Mad Men Monday is featuring one of those “how did I just find you” kind of stores called Shabby Apple.  The shop is amazing, they have clothes for all ages and sizes, they have super cute photography and they work with a charity–”Shabby Apple donates 5% of its net dress sales to support work in India.”  How many shops can you feel good about purchasing more than you budgeted for?

With no further ado, I give you the Madison Avenue and the Upper East Side dresses.  These two were just screaming to be included in a Mad Men post (and with how slow I am lately…they probably already have been. ha!)  I love, love, love houndstooth and half sleeves and the offset buttons. The pretty blue (this is my favorite shade) with the flattering waist and perfect length.  These dresses just prove that you don’t need to show off all of your goods to look stunning and gorgeous!

Sidebar: Would either of these be a good 1st anniversary dinner dress? I have one month to prepare.

I saw this short/commercial a little over a month ago on the Bust Blog and have been wanting to share it ever since.  I love when creative people can do low-budget things and it ends up better than most high-dollar stuff.  Enter Retro Wardrobe and their cute little promotional commercial.  I had trouble getting to their site today, but eventually got on.  The interface isn’t that pretty, but the content is divine!  It is kind of like going to a thirft shop where someone picked out all the cool stuff for you…and then charged you like $5 to deliver it to your house. I smell Awesomeness!