Work Attire... Help!

So it’s officially finals week… tomorrow I will be conquering my first exam and hopefully kicking its butt. In the back of my mind though is the fact that next week starts my first day of being a full-time engineer at work. I graduate from being a jean-wearing intern to a smartly-dressed engineer {seems ironic huh?} After hitting the books this week, I plan on hitting up a few stores in town for a few pieces to celebrate being a “real person.” Shopping spree after completing the semester? Seems like the only way to rejoice.

Thanks to Pinterest, I have a few “work office attire” inspiration to work off of:

 Living in Northern Michigan... this is the way to go!

Its extremely important to learn how to ROCK FLANNEL while living in this winter tundra for the next few months.

So does anyone have a few office attire tips for me? What is your go-to outfit of choice? How do you dress nice but feel comfortable. Help me out.

Best Sister Award Goes To...

My sister sent me a text message earlier today that immediately made me cry of happiness. To give a little background, I sat down with my boss yesterday to discuss "my future." I have known for awhile that they were hoping to grab me as one of their engineers once I got done with college only because I have been their loyal intern since my freshman year at Miami. But when I walked into his office, I wasn't expecting to hear such good news. I got to hear their pitch on why I should choose to start my career at their company. It was veryyy impressive and I was touched with how dedicated they were to making me happy.


Just when I think my week can't get any better, my news {thanks to Twitter}traveled up to the Upper Penisula of Michigan to my little sister at college. Here's her take on my situation:

Over all, I cannot wait until she is home so we can celebrate properly! Honestly the job and having an amazing sister/family is the best Christmas present I will ever recieve!

Update: now the boyfriend is making me cry too...

A Lakegirl with Wine.

Hello loves,

Well it’s definitely one of those mornings when I stayed out having too much fun on a school night weekday instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour. Yesterday at the end of my workday, my boss e-mailed a coworker of mine saying “grab Sarah and get to the bar. I am staying upstairs in this hotel and I want to set it up for you two to charge your dinner and drinks to my room.” We couldn’t have gotten there any faster… Literally we were racing to a bar on a Monday. {Really?} The night ended up being one of the best. I had an amazing dinner followed by walking around a wine cellar and being told to choose two bottles of wine to take home. I was one happy girl.

Haven’t tried either of them before… Which in my opinion is all the fun. So I apologize if there is any wine-induced posts in the next week or two. { I'm not really sorry though :) }

We also thought we should go for a walk downtown Petoskey to get some air and this caught my eye in one of the shop’s windows. They must of noticed me drooling a little bit because the next thing I know they are buying me this hat. Its like they knew I had a blog declaring myself a “lake girl.” {Ohh I hope not!}

So I guess it’s worth a pounding head today, but that’s the payoff of going out with the boss and coworkers… Everyone is in rough shape too. This morning when ever we would see each other, we would just start laughing while remember the good memories of last night. Its times like this when I like to say "Man, I love my job!"

Anyone else a wine drinker and has recommendations... I love trying new ones! Any good summer ones? I've always wanted to try to rate new wines and maybe keep a journal of them all. Mmmm maybe.

Ugh.

Okay, it has been one of those mornings when you want to throw your hands in the air and say “I am done!” Haha. I woke up this morning at 4:30 am to get into the shower and start my day. Well in my daze of trying to wake myself up, I accidently grabbed my brother’s body wash instead of my own. I didn’t notice the mistake until I was fully lathered up. Yeahhhh, now I smell like Old Spice High Endurance… I tried to comensate the boy-ness smell by spraying my daily amount of Daisy perfume by Marc Jacobs, but I think its just made me a weird smelling combination.  

VS

Once I got into work at 5:30 am, things didn’t get any better. I have had 2 Diet Cokes already today {trying to cut back lately too} and it still hasn’t lifted me out of this stupor. Not to mention, the weather is dark and rainy making it even harder to stay awake.  I decided to crank up my iPod and walk a few laps around the office, get the blood flowing. 

Luckily, the Casey Anthony trial starts back up at 9 am. I have become glued to this case for months now and its the first case in which I have paid attention/watched from the beginning. While working on my engineering fixtures during work hours, I have a news website pulled up that is a live video feed into the courtroom so I can listen to anything and everything related to the trial. The only downfall is my poor co-workers are now subjected to me saying “oh my gosh, now the attorneys are playing games… blah, blah, blah” or all of a sudden I will let out a gasp or cheer for the prosecution. I am sure once the trial gets going for the day it will be a huge energy boost for me. Anyone else watching/glued to the TV about Casey Anthony’s trial?

Or do you have any good ways to get energized for a work day? I will take any ideas you wonderful people have! Sorry for being such a downer... usually I am a morning person but I guess we all have our days! Haha.

Co-Workers Perception of Me.

So I just recieved this little gem of a comic in my work's email inbox. Gotta love the guys I work with... Just because I have a social life and stay up later than I should, I have become the outcast. Every morning after we exchange "hellos" and "good mornings" they usually hit me with this next statement of "did you go out last night, Sarah?" So I should have expected this...

After laughing when I first read it, I quickly decided to start pouting to get sympanthy. So far, its not working.

If The Shoe Fits...

...Buy it!
It is safe to say, I live in a pair of wedges. I could totally live in heels if my job and lifestyle would permit it, but honestly wedges are my godsend. I am 5’5” so I love the extra height, full support, and of course the sass it can add to any outfit.  So lately I have been scrolling through pages of shoes online, looking for my new pair of summer wedges. The only limitation for work is the shoe needs to cover my toes, due to the heavy machinery I am around all day. *I should wear steel-toe boots… But I can’t fully commit to it because I am not able to pull it off. {Haha, now I am picturing myself in a skirt with workboots…sexy. Quite the visual.} But now for attractive visuals, a.k.a the wedges that I am torn about purchasing:

Steve Madden

Micheal Kors

Tory Burch

Coach
{Yes it has a peeptoe,
but maybe no one will notice}

Some of these wedges are "wishful thinking" items but... my first payday is this Friday. I hate to say it, but its not looking good for my banking account! I am trying to justify it by remembering that I have been a poor college student for the past few months and been counting down the days until I had extra money. So here's my logic. I am going to allow myself to spend half of my paycheck and save the rest. I promised myself I would be really good with money this summer, but I am seriously drooling over these shoes. Plus, I bet at least one of these pairs would brighten any 10 hour work day. I am going to reward myself! Now I have to choose...

A Girl's Workspace in a Greasy Man's World.

I am currently working for an aerospace engineering firm as the only woman engineer on staff, so I thought I'd show how I am able to bring some girlie-ness into a man-dominated field. Since I wear earplugs and safety glasses most of the day, I find it extremely important that my outfit/makeup are at least fashionable to try to even out the dorky gear. As for my desk, you can totally tell it belongs to a girl who loves the color pink and lots of busy prints. Whether it’s the things on my desk or the bright & bold computer background, it totally stands out amongst the other desks covered in fixture prints and manila folders. I can’t help that I am firm believer that colors change your attitude and lookout, so at least my desk makes me happy even though working at 6 am doesn’t.

But don’t get me wrong… I can definitely hang with the boys.  For example, my co-workers laugh at how I can be dressed up and put together then be able to roll my sleeves up and get my hands arms covered in grease. I’m caught in between two worlds... which definitely makes it fun. So here's a look at my desk and the items that are ALWAYS present:

On Tuesday, I was given that pile of work and told "well that should keep you busy these summer months." Yeah, he wasn't lying. I haven't made much of a dent yet. But hopefully I will be able to finish all those projects by August in order to surprise them with my efficiency. Let's hope so!

One of my favorite things and would be totally lost without is my Blue Jacket’s calendar… Yes, I am a diehard Red Wings fan, but this little gem holds my hectic life together. My best friend Emily received two of these calendars at a Columbus game awhile back and was nice enough to share. Thank goodness for that because now every month I get to see a new professional hockey player’s action shot. Of course I made it color-coded, so at a quick glance I am able to decipher my little brother’s baseball games vs. my summer plans. What is sad is I rely on this calendar more than the planner in my bag or the app on my phone… it was the first thing I put up in my office space. It’s the only form of artwork I have at work… for now.

Don't you love the silver smiley face at the top of my calendar? My coworker Jordan drew a face on the cupcake foil wrapper as a thank you/compliment of my Red Wings cupcakes earlier this week. I had to keep it because its stinkin' adorable. I am sure my desk will reflect more about me throughout the summer... so I will post if there is any new changes. Its definitely a work in progress!