Basic Suit: Skirt and Blouse

Basic Suit: Skirt and Blouse by carryonstyle featuring a polyester shirt

H M polyester shirt, £20
Hugo, $140
MICHAEL Michael Kors high heel shoes, 100 CAD
Levi Strauss Co fold over clutch, $48
Kate Spade flower necklace, $498
White House Black Market nickel free jewelry, $28

Basic Suit

Basic Suit by carryonstyle featuring blue jackets

HUGO blue jacket, $510
HUGO blue pants, $270
Hugo, $140

One suit can be 4 outfits.  Have you ever found out that you are going out of town, hours before your plane leaves?  This may not be common to you, but for many consultants, this is the story of their life.  How do you handle this quick turnaround to pack light enough that it can be a carryon, but still be fashion forward?  It’s called a three-piece suit.  The three piece suit gives you the flexibility to be professional while showing your style.  You should be particular in purchasing this suit.  It should be of a good quality (so that it can be worn and cleaned multiply times), structured, and tailored to fit (nothing looks more unprofessional than a suit that is made to fit someone else’s body).   Grab two button downs (solid white and a pin stripped would be nice), a camisole (white with a laced top), a scarf (black, white and grey,) and you have 4 outfits.  Outfit pairings could be:

·         Skirt and Button Down (Stripped)

·         Skirt, Jacket and Scarf

·         Pant, Jacket and Camisole

·         Pant and Button Down (Solid) with or without Jacket

Most conferences/trainings are 4 days long, but if you need a 5^th outfit, go for a solid color tailored straight or A-line dress.  The dress should be a bold color, like red so that it can be paired with the suit jacket during the day and the replaced with a thin belt for night wear.  As for shoes, a simple high healed black pump works, but if you want to jazz it up a bit, a pewter or nude shoe works for all outfits.  Remember that stockings for this should be flesh toned and jewelry can be silver/gold hoops.  A necklace can be a single stone on a silver/gold short to medium length chain.  Don’t try to do too much with your jewelry; it can become distracting in that business meeting.  Always take a pair of cute flats with you, so that when your feet are crying for a relief, you still look fashionable.

So the next time you are in a hurry to pack for that week long business trip, remember to grab your 3-piece suit.

- Cheney

Workout Wednesday: Treadmill Interval Workout

Treadmill doesn't have to equal DREADmill!  This is a favorite treadmill workout that takes 30 minutes (without warmup/cooldown) and burns approximately 300 calories.  Its a hardcore, sweaty workout, but 300 calories in 30 minutes? Totally worth it!!

*It is always recommended to do a 3-5 minutes warmup before and after workout to avoid injury.

% Incline	Speed	Minutes
0	6.0	3
2	6.5	3
4	6.5	2
6	6.5	1
0	6.5	3
2	6.5	3
4	6.5	2
6	6.5	1
0	6.5	3
2	6.5	3
4	6.5	2
6	6.5	1
0	6.0	3

Adventures in Immigration Land

This week I have had a travel lesson reinforced.....always, and I mean ALWAYS carry food with you.  And not just any kind of food.  Food that you can just unwrap and eat, because lets face it, you never expect to get stuck at immigration.

I haven't been out of the US since 2009 and all those trips were personal vacations, this was my very first business trip in another country.  Ok so it was Canada, but still its not the US.

I should have known it wasn't going to be a normal day, when what should have been a 19 minute flight from Baltimore to Philly was preceded by a 30 minute sit on the tarmac.  Despite the 30 minute delay we managed to land in Philly about 5 minutes late, which wasn't too bad, it would give me 25 minutes to get to my next gate.  However, when we got to the gate in Philly we couldn't get to our gate because there was a truck parked right in front and they couldn't find the guy with the keys!  Seriously!?!

Finally, 15 minutes later they were finally able to get the truck moved (I think they towed it), we were allowed off the plane.  10 minutes to get to my next gate and if I missed it, I would have to wait another 6 hours for another one, so I started running.  While I was running from A14 to B16 three things occurred to me.

Timberland Earthkeepers

     1) I was SO GLAD I decided to gate check my bag to my final destination at Baltimore, because I would not have been able to run with a laptop bag, purse, and a roll-aboard bag

     2)  I was glad I decided to wear my warmer winter boots instead of my usual high heels. I knew it was going to be cold in Halifax and it was easier to run in these :)

    3) I need to do more cardio.  I don't know if it was because I was running in winter boots and a down-filled parka or I just haven't been exercising like I used to, but I got winded!!

I managed to get to gate B3 when I heard my name on the announcement asking me to please go to B16...I was trying!!  Did they not see the maniac running through the terminals in a parka?  I finally made it to my gate, sweaty, out of breath, and  absolutely the last one on the plane, but I'd made it on my last connection everything else would be perfect. I would get land around noon, grab lunch, check in to my hotel and congratulate myself on making all my connections.  Right?

Well you know that little customs form you have to fill out where you have to declare, fruits, veggies, and what your purpose is for visiting the country?  Well I marked business, because well that is what I was going to do.  Apparently that little check mark sets off all kinds of flags. Next thing I know I find myself sitting in the immigration area answering all kinds of questions like, Who do you work for?  What do you do?  Why are you here?  Where are you going?  over and over and over again.


Finally they said before they can release me, I will have to give them some paperwork proving that I am there for the reasons I say I am (like I would make up teaching a class in identity management).  I think no problem, I'll just log on to my laptop and print out the SOW...oopps I forgot my Verizon wireless wifi won't work in Canada.  No problem I'll just use my phone email to look it up....ooops that is Verizon too and the data connection won't work....No problem I'll just call my team lead, voice mail....Boss, voice mail....Canada point of contact, voice mail....OMG Doesn't anyone pick up the phone anymore?  What could have been able to be fixed in a matter of minutes ended up taking 2 hours.  By this time I was starving and when I'm that hungry I can get  irritable, but I was trying to stay calm, because I figured one place you don't want to be irritable is immigration.

I kept calling people, kept getting lots of voice mail.  I even called the client site and of course the guy that handles all the contract paperwork was out that day.  By this time as I was digging around in my purse hoping that some sort of paperwork would magically appear that would clear me of all this.  Paperwork didn't appear but a Kashi Go Lean bar did!  It was probably the best food I had ever tasted! Finally I was able to get a hold of my team lead, who thought the whole situation was hilarious and sent over the necessary paperwork.  I sailed through immigration, picked up my car and headed to my hotel.

P.S.  My bag didn't make it on the flight at Philly but it showed up at my hotel around 10 pm that night.  <sigh>

App Review: On-the-go FitnessApp

Stay motivated by tracking your fitness and nutrition habits by using the free App called "myfitnesspal". If your phone doesn't support this App, you can still use it by going to their website www.myfitnesspal.com!

My cousin introduced me to this App and I love it.

You can track your workouts, the foods and drinks you consume for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and it will log your total calories consumed and total calories burned for the day.

It also shows you how many calories you can still eat that day and lose weight or maintain your weight. Not only that, it will also breakdown the vitamins and minerals you've consumed for the day. For example, if you've eaten 65% of your daily required vitamin C, the App will show your Total %, Goal %, and Left% for that day.

This App will create a profile for you and you input your basic information, such as current weight, height, age, and what your goal weight is. It's a huge motivator for me, especially when I'm on the road. It's so easy to swing by Starbucks and grab a coffee with banana nut bread, but when I have to add it to myfitnesspal, I think twice! Your friends can also create profiles and you can "add as friend" just like Facebook (yes, everything is like FB!) and send encouragement messages to help stay on the health track. Hope you enjoy.

Cheers to your good health!

- Suzan

Dashing from Airport to Clients

Going from the airport straight to the client site, sometimes makes it more difficult to dress.  You want to be comfortable, but need to look professional and as unwrinkled as possible.  This is a classic, minimalistic look that is suited for most business sites


Merino wool top, $160
Ted Baker double breasted coat, £125
J Crew cotton pencil skirt, $110
MICHAEL Michael Kors michael kors heels, 168 CAD
J Crew vintage leather tote, $348
TopShop silk shawl, £35

Shopping in a Winter Wonderland

Shopping in a Winter Wonderland by cnritchie featuring diamond jewelry

Boat neck shirt, $176
Victoria s Secret wrap coat, $90
J Brand low rise denim jeans, $80
Nine West dark brown knee high boots, £75
Joe s Jeans pocket bag, $138
Diamond jewelry, $20
Amrita Singh clear jewelry, $120

App Review: Stylish Girl

Remember that scene from Clueless where Cher was flipping through her closet, taking pictures of her outfits, trying to decide what to wear?  Well now you can do it from your iPhone or Android phone using the ultimate style planner.

Basically all you do is take pictures of your entire wardrobe and put them into seasonal categories as well as types of clothing, dresses, pants, shoes, etc.  This can take a while, but is so worth it!

This app allows for more than just clothes, there is also a Beauty feature that can do almost the same with your makeup and fragrances.

- CARRY YOUR ENTIRE CLOSET WITH YOU and never buy duplicate items again


- CREATE AMAZING OUTFITS anytime and anywhere; Share them with your friends; Track your outfits by date worn

- SHOP ONLINE.  Mix and match online items against your clothes and outfits; Compare prices; Add items to your "Wish Bag" for future purchases


- DISCOVER the latest fashion looks and trends from online magazines and blogs


- PACK FOR YOUR TRIP QUICKLY without forgetting anything; Pick from your outfits or include individual pieces; This is great for traveling light without looking boring

Stylish Girl - http://stylishandcool.com/stylishgirl.html
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android
Cost: FREE

- Cindy

Staying Fit on the Road

When you have a busy work schedule that requires lots of overnight travel, working fitness into the mix is always a challenge. The simplest way to ensure your workouts don't skip a beat, commit to a 30-minute cross training routine made up of 4-6 of your favorite strength and cardio moves that you can do right in your hotel room-no equipment required! Try this routine:

20 push-ups
20 jumping jacks
20 squats-tap the floor with your hands!
20 side planks each side
20 mountain climbers

Keep doing these sets until 30-minutes is up and you should be sweaty Betty! Allow a 2-5 minute cooldown by walking in place and stretching your calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, glutes, and sides.

-Suzan