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Lean In: The Corporette Discussion

04/08/2013 By 69 Comments

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean InLean In has been out for a few weeks now, and while I know readers have had a discussions here and there — as well as lots of discussion about the various articles about Lean In — I thought I’d add my own $.02 and give you guys a centralized place to discuss the book.

To begin with:  I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did.  I was surprised to find Sandberg really personable and funny, and I found myself nodding to a lot of what she said (if not saying YESYESYES, as you’ll see below).  I also appreciated the thorough research and facts in the book — the index notes section is almost fifty pages long.

On the flip side, there were still a few things that made my eyebrows shoot up, where I think she is being over-optimistic.  And these are incredibly difficult questions, so maybe we need someone to dream big… but some of it just doesn’t resonate with me.  For example: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kat, Recommended Reading

So… What’s Your Birthday Routine?

01/28/2013 By 79 Comments

So: Today is my birthday.  It’s always a reflective time for me, and I have my little routines — and I thought it might be fun to talk about how we all like to spend our birthdays.

Personally, every year on my birthday (or as close to it as I can swing it) I take a picture of myself without makeup — I’ve been doing it since I was in my mid-20s.  I like documenting my actual face and skin through the years, not hidden or modified by makeup. I like to go through the pictures as a slideshow, occasionally comparing different intervals (5 years apart — 10 years apart — etc).  This may sound kind of harsh but thus far I’ve been happy with the routine (and, I guess, the way I’ve been aging).

I also get to eat whatever I want for my birthday, diet be damned, and I usually go for something fairly juvenile and unhealthy, e.g. a Big Mac.  (For lunch today it’s going to be a salami and swiss cheese sandwich, and I’m really looking forward to it.) Tonight, my husband and son will take me out.  (I do like to celebrate the occasion with friends as well as just with my husband at a fancy restaurant, but I think I want it to be a tradition that the actual day-of is spent with just my husband and son somewhere chill.)

One of the traditions that is on hold for the moment is the midnight call — my parents and brother have always gotten on a conference line to call me at the stroke of midnight and sing Happy Birthday — but most nights the Griffin household is in bed long before that (see above re baby!).  (Although… last night I was up late finishing Gone Girl, which felt indulgent and luxurious since I I never get to read for fun anymore!)

Readers, do you have birthday routines?  What does your ideal birthday look like?  Does your office recognize birthdays (parties, cake, permission to leave at a reasonable hour, etc)? 

(Pictured: balloons, originally uploaded to Flickr by velkr0.)

Filed Under: Kat, Organization

How Much Do You Spend On Bags?

11/29/2012 By 157 Comments

Purses & Pumps :), originally uploaded to Flickr by nikkicookiebaker.How much do you spend on bags? After our discussion on Tuesday regarding whether a reader should spend $2100 on a bag that she was different from what she normally carried, reader E wrote in with this comment:

After reading your post yesterday regarding expensive, professional bags, I wonder who out there can afford such a bag? I am a lawyer at a big firm and live in DC. My firm pays the standard scale — I currently make $185,000 and will soon get a raise to $210,000. While I realize I may be somewhat conservative when it comes to clothes (I tend to buy designer clothes on sale or through Gilt or Ideeli), I am definitely not cheap. I would buy a $350 purse, but that is a far cry from $2100! Like most lawyers I know, I have student loans and a mortgage. However, I don’t save that much money (though I do pay extra on my loans). So my question is, who pays $2100 for a purse? Are these people who have no loans? Who have married money? Or am I just not investing enough in my wardrobe? I am interested in getting your (and other readers) opinion(s).

This is a great question, and we haven’t discussed this since the big discussion on how much people generally spend on clothes a few years ago.*  (Pictured.) I’m curious to hear what readers say here, but for my own $.02, this is how I look at it:

- The vast majority of my bags are in the $300-$600 price range.  Many were purchased for below $200, though, either at sample sales, online sales, or through flash sales (some of where I had “referral points” from recommending different flash sale sites on the blog).  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bags, Kat, Money, Shopping

Sponsored Post: Back to School with Macy’s

09/13/2012 By 76 Comments

This is a sponsored post in conjunction with Macy’s and Style Coalition. Pictured: My son Jack and me dressed in clothes from Macy’s. On me: Lauren by Ralph Lauren Ansford Three-Button Wool Blazer, Jones New York Collection houndstooth dress (no longer available online), Charter Club necklace (no longer available online). On Jack: Levi’s Baby Overalls and Carter’s Baby Bodysuit.)

For a long while now, “back to school” to me has meant OCI week — interviews! Interview suits! Interview etiquette, from lunch etiquette and thank-you notes! — for all the law students, MBA students, and even college students doing on campus interviews. But now that I’m a mother I’m starting to notice the collective deep sigh of relief that seems evident on the mommy blogs I read (and even among my Facebook friends) for mothers as their kids go back to school, because a return to routine can be a great thing, even if it means everyone’s a bit busier. (Or then there’s this, being shared by multiple single friends on FB…) I’m starting to remember all that excitement I felt as a child to go back to school — to buy new clothes, to pick out the outfit for your first day of school, to pick out new school supplies, to review your schedule and wonder what great stuff lies in wait throughout the school year.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Kat, Sponsored Post

Online Shopping Tools I Use

09/12/2012 By 49 Comments

colette shopping bag, originally uploaded to Flickr by KarlHab.How do you get the best deals online, especially for women’s clothes, shoes, and bags? We’ve talked about all of my favorite ways to find deals individually (as well as my best internet shopping tips in a larger scale), but I thought it might be helpful to have one post rounding up the different ways I use these services.  Especially since new tools are coming on the market every day (including Lyst, which lets you follow different influencers to see what they’re buying and recommending) and Wantworthy, which lets you easily keep a “shopping list” of items you’d like, whether to create a registry or just a list for yourself), it helps to go over some of the oldies but goodies. (Pictured: colette shopping bag, originally uploaded to Flickr by Karl Hab.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kat, Shopping, Tool of the Trade

Just an FYI… Kat’s live on HuffPostLive in about 5 minutes.

09/10/2012 By 2 Comments

I’ll be discussing whether men embellish their resumes by lying — and whether women are too humble. You can check it out here: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/.  (I’m after the, er, “trampire” segment.)

Filed Under: Kat