Blogger Spotlight - Ashley

I'm trying something new and having a blogger spotlight or feature or whatever you want to call it. I might make this a regular thing. For my first spotlight, I asked Ashley some questions. Ashley is awesome because she takes her photos in a different location all the time and tells me all about her day. I'm very nosy and I like hearing all the details (she says she is nosy too so that's probably why we get along so well. I mean it's like we're best friends with all the reading we do about each other.)

Where did the name of your blog come from?

I wanted something simple and catchy that made it clear what my blog was about - Ashley Getting Dressed it was!

When did you start your blog?

My first post was June 4th, 2010

Was it always an outfit of the day blog?

Yes, although I do talk about my day to day happenings in it.

How many hours per week would you say you spend blogging?

Including taking my pictures, I probably spend about 8 hours a week.

Do you spend more time reading blogs than you do writing your own blog?

I absolutely spend more time reading blogs than writing my own, but with so many great blogs out there, how couldn’t you?

How many blogs do you read on a daily basis?

I subscribe to almost 300 blogs in Google Reader, with about a hundred of them being outfit of the day or fashion blogs. I read most of those posts.

What is the main goal of your blog?

I love the feedback from readers, and I love getting to know new people. My blog has also encouraged me to try new trends that I would otherwise maybe be a little scared of (like brightly colored tights)!

Do people email you often (like I did) because they read your blog?

I get emails fairly regularly from readers. I love emailing with my readers and other bloggers and it’s something I hope to do more of in the future!

What is your inspiration?

I mostly inspired by other bloggers. While models in magazines are great, there’s something about seeing an outfit on a real, live, not airbrushed to perfection person that makes bloggers so much more inspirational to me.

Do you choose your outfit locations based on what you are wearing, just what you are near, or something else?

A little bit of both. With there being so little sunlight this time of year I’ve been taking my pictures close to work so I can catch the sunlight, but in the summer I try and look for locations that will help my outfits pop.

Do you have any siblings? How do their ages relate to yours?

I do! I have a little brother named Lewis who is 20!

From the past six months, what is your favorite outfit that you’ve worn?

Of geeze, this is so hard. I’ve had a lot of favorites recently just because I like layering and fall weather is much more conducive to that. If I had to pick just one, I would say this post just because I really liked all the pictures from that day - any time I can see 20 pictures in a row of myself that I love I consider it a victory! Plus my necklace looks like the hororux in the newest Harry Potter movie which is cool (hehe, dork alert!), 

What is your favorite picture (of you, others, or scenery) that you have taken recently?

Haha, he’d kill me if he read this, but recently my boyfriend fell asleep with his head on my lap - I took a picture with my phone and even though it’s grainy and dark, I love how sweet he looks!

From July - When I first discovered Ashley's blog

So if you haven't done so already, you should head over to Ashley Getting Dressed and read it daily like I do.  It's funny that when I looked at what her favorite outfit was, that it was something I clearly remembered.

A Day's Worth of Twitter

08:43:47 AM - hahaha. RT @TENroaches: Honeys on Facebook ain't gonna stalk 'emselves....
11:27:39 AM - My temporary home. http://plixi.com/p/60131580
11:32:14 AM - My 5th temporary home for the day. Also I'm sick of rain and having soaked legs. http://plixi.com/p/60132166
12:33:06 PM - Maggie got engaged. Maggie was supposed to be my bridesmaid but then backed out because she couldn't afford to come to the wedding.
02:00:21 PM - at lunch I was told I looked like I was going to have a heart attack. this stress is going to kill me.
02:01:29 PM - hopefully me sometime. RT @katy_rose1: Sending emails out to line up my next set of Fashion Bloggers to profile for the Monday series.
08:19:47 PM - I went downstairs to put laundry in while Dave watched his lecture. I did dishes and when I went upstairs he was asleep.
10:47:18 PM - tomorrow I can relax. I already have 3 scheduled posts for tomorrow.
10:53:12 PM - debating waking up early to run on the treadmill at the gym. highly unlikely. maybe a run after work?

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Impromptu 5k - Treesdale (November 27, 2010)

I have not been running at all but I don't pass up a race. I especially don't when people discourage it.
So I ran a race.

Well it was my worst race ever.

I updated iMapMyRun and it won't get a GPS signal. This was very annoying before the race and is still annoying now. Everything I try is nothing but trouble anymore. I don't know why I even bother. Oh I bother because I'm obsessed with data.

10 minutes of the course were downhill or level. That was not fun for someone who hasn't been training. I hear it also wasn't fun for those who had been training.

I thought the Race for Grace had an awful course. This is worse because it ends with the worst hill instead of ending on a downhill. I want to map this course and tried and then realized I don't remember a thing about where I ran.

A Day's Worth of Twitter

08:04:04 AM - What a great start to a Monday. http://plixi.com/p/59924969
10:12:11 PM - I just spent time on google and learned how to fix imapmyrun. http://plixi.com/p/60036699
10:58:54 PM - the evening disappeared. Now it's time for bed. First to pack my clothes for tomorrow and set my alarm to get to body pump bright and early.
11:18:41 PM - In packing my clothes for tomorrow I had to scrap 3 outfits because certain things weren't clean :( and I still need to iron my khaki skirt.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

30 for 30 Outfit 14: November 20, 2010

Shirt: Old Navy
Sweater: Express
Jeans: Express
Shoes (athletic shoes not shown): Famous Footwear
Earrings: Kohl's
Belt: Target (probably)

This was the first time I wore a ruffled or textured cami of any kind under this sweater. I'm not sure if I like how it looked since the sweater had a texture itself.

I'm wearing a belt but the sweater covers it. The belt was for holding my pants up purposes not for fashion purposes, but I've noticed that when I wear a belt and you can't see it, I just look rounder and guttier. Perhaps I should quick covering up my belt.

I had a Stampin' Up Class in the morning. It was kind of a reschedule with people that have been to my house before so I did not feel the desire to clean up. My entire pampered chef order was on the kitchen island and I didn't care.

Poly really thought she could stamp too. I had to keep removing her from the table. I was afraid she'd step on an ink pad or something. There were only 3 people total at this class. The fewer the people, the messier the table ends up. Let me just say all that mess is never fun to clean up.

Class went a little long. Well it started late and started with lunch. So as soon as it was over Dave wanted to go to the mall to buy some jeans. We only went in one store in the mall and only looked at jeans for him.  I didn't shop at all. I mean I would have if Dave didn't say no or that he'd kill me when I suggested it.

We went to Steak and Shake after. We were starving.

It was great. I love the cheese fries. I think I love them too much. I'm putting on some weight. My problem is I notice putting on weight and getting guttier so then I just want to eat more and so I do and it's a vicious cycle.

After dinner we went to Giant Eagle. I didn't want to buy anything. I just wanted to throw up when looking at food. It is a bad idea to go shopping after eating a ton.

When I was in bed, I asked my husband to get me some game to play on my phone. He asked what kind. I didn't care. He got me some train game where you have to move trains to the correct track without crashing the trains. Well I plained for a few hours and unlocked all the cities. Then I went to sleep. [Now I need a new game.]

Run - November 23, 2010

I ran at work. I ran during lunch. I wanted to run 2 laps but I hadn't run in ages AND I was extremely busy at work so I got out to run much later than I wanted to.  It was a little chilly but not cold and it was windy. When I started the run it was 59 degrees and the wind was 12 mph.  This workout did remind me that I need to take my inhaler before I run outside now. It was just cold enough to bother my asthma.

WORKOUT STATS

Pace:	30:10 (min)    10:01 (avg)    05:55 (max)
Speed:	1.99 (mi/hr) (min)    5.99 (mi/hr) (avg)    10.11 (mi/hr) (max)

It took me 20:28 to do the loop 1 time. The loop is 1.55 miles (I used to think it was 1.6 miles but iMapMyRun tells me differently than the trainers told us when they first put in the trail. Granted if you round 1.55, you get 1.6.)
May 28, I did the same workout in 20:46
On April 7, I also did the workout in 20:46.

Most of the time I ran more than one loop and all summer I didn't run the loop. Since to and from the trail is over a quarter mile, I feel it's only justified to compare 1 loop to 1 loop.  I either only ran 1 loop twice or I didn't document all the times. I know when I was running 4 days a week I didn't document all my details. Then a month later, I really regretted it.

A Day's Worth of Twitter

11:41:38 AM - The liquor store doesn't open for another 20 minutes :(
11:57:51 AM - It is too crowded at giant eagle.
03:09:18 PM - Vanity Sizing: I finally wrote about how I hate it. http://scrapandrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/vanity-sizing-dislikes.html
03:43:24 PM - What a game so far. Good thing I'm only half paying attention.
04:03:22 PM - No wonder I bought my dad a Polamalu jersey. Great interception. He dove and actually caught that ball.
05:37:51 PM - Peanut butter fudge made. Onto Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies.
07:46:31 PM - 78 of one kind of cookie and 41 of another.
08:17:19 PM - On Undercover Boss the guy is telling us how he had an alcohol problem. Then Dave says "I'm having a Scotch." and gets up.We bought it today
09:31:49 PM - Peanut butter RT @briecs: @SmilinColleen scotch is awesome! What were the second kind of cookies?
10:33:47 PM - my right inner shin hurts. I knew this would happen and even mentioned it 4 days ago. I didn't want it to hurt though.
11:45:19 PM - I was tired ages ago. :( Still up and now excited to plan what races to run. need to go to sleep though.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Thanksgiving (30 for 30 Outfit 18 - 11-25-10)

Dress: Athleta
Cardigan: NY&Co.
Tights: Target
Shoes: Famous Footwear
Necklace: Kohl's
Earrings (can't see but are hearts): Gift for Valentine's Day 2007.

Well guys I wore tights again and still think they look stupid.

This outfit was really comfortable for eating. The shoes aren't that old and they are awful for walking around in. I bought them on October 1 and think I'll throw them away after this challenge is over.

I was originally going to workout before the Thanksgiving festivities started but since I stayed up too late, I slept in until Dave woke me up saying that my parents would be here in 15 minutes.  He was off by an hour but close enough.

Once I realized I had additional time before my parents showed up, I thought I should clean. I did not do that. My BodyMedia Fit won't work on my new desktop. I keep getting the blue screen of death. I am beyond mad.

Lunch plus 1 more piece of pie and minus half that gravy

We went to Houlihan's for lunch.  I didn't eat a lot but was full.

 As soon as we got home, my brother and husband were already relaxing before the rest of us got in the house.  I think their shoes were off within seconds, too.

Later we snacked on vegetables

Then came the pie. We had 2 kinds. There were 5 people. Two pieces of coconut cream pie got eaten.

Poly was uneasy with addition people around.  After a little while, she sat on my dad's lap.  She didn't stay for long but at least she looked cute on his lap long enough for a picture.

Finally she jumped up on Dave and took a little nap. My dad was in Dave's seat so I think Poly was confused. Dave was also in my seat.  I was in 4 different spots because I don't sit still.

My brother played with my camera. I think he was bored.

Yoga pants so I could wear shoes

My brother dresses like an 80 year old man.  That's a member's only jacket.  The sweater is from Goodwill.

Consider this my brother's daily picture ;)

My family left at 8:30 and I ate a small dinner. Then I tried to figure out my computer and getting BodyMedia to work.  I didn't post at all so I failed at my goal for a post a day. I did make up for it over the rest of the weekend though.

Vanity Sizing: Dislikes

What measurements relate to what size number has varied over the years for women.  I only recently learned that this also varied for men.  Men sizing is a little worse because what dimensions it should be are in the size of the pants.   I hate this vanity sizing.  I hate it for multiple reasons and I will get to them all.

The Style Blog wrote a piece on this a few months ago:

Your pants have been deceiving you for years. And the lies are compounding:

The pants manufacturers are trying to flatter us. And this flattery works: Alfani's 36-inch "Garrett" pant was 38.5 inches, just like the Calvin Klein "Dylan" pants — which I loved and purchased. A 39-inch pair from Haggar (a brand name that out-testosterones even "Garrett") was incredibly comfortable. Dockers, meanwhile, teased "Leave yourself some wiggle room" with its "Individual Fit Waistline," and they weren't kidding: despite having a clear size listed, the 36-inchers were 39.5 inches. And part of the reason they were so comfy is that I felt good about myself, no matter whether I deserved it.

However, the temple for waisted male self-esteem is Old Navy, where I easily slid into a size 34 pair of the brand's Dress Pant. Where no other 34s had been hospitable, Old Navy's fit snugly. The final measurement? Five inches larger than the label. You can eat all the slow-churn ice cream and brats you want, and still consider yourself slender in these.

This is science, damnit. Numbers! Multiplication tables don't yield to make us feel better about badness at math; why should pants make us feel better about badness at health? Are we all so many emperors with no clothes?

I don't know why I've thought vanity sizing was only for women. I guess I figured guys didn't care.  After I thought about it, I remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry changed the label on his pants so people thought he wore a smaller size.  He scratches out 32 to write 31. That episode was in 1995. 

I have thought that companies used vanity sizing to flatter their customers. I have constantly said that it does not and will not work on me. An article in the the Daily Mail provides some evidence that it doesn't work  it also doesn't work on customers.

Shopkeepers probably thought women would love it if they could still slip into a size 12... despite those extra pounds.

But it seems that vanity sizing, in which stores alter the dress sizes to flatter their customers, may have backfired.

According to research, many chains have secretly increased the measurements they allow for a standard dress size. Some allow as much as an extra 1.5in on the waist, hips or bust. 

But the ploy means shopping for clothes has become a time-consuming lottery for customers, who have no idea what size they should pick off the rail in any given shop. And nine out of ten women find it annoying, researchers say. 

The Which? study, across eight leading High Street fashion chains, found massive variations. [Refer to article for details.]

But far from feeling flattered by the size differences, nine in ten women are simply irritated by it. Almost six in ten end up trying more than one size in each dress or top they like. And half feel  they waste too much time in changing rooms because they don’t know what size to pick.

Some 82 per cent of women surveyed thought  shops should be more clear about their sizes.

I did hear on the Early Show about 3 years ago from a segment Julie Chen did that vanity sizing does work on customers. I can't seem to find data on that segment though. (If anyone finds it, please let me know.) Perhaps 3 years ago vanity sizing worked a lot more than it does not.  That segment interviewed a few people who were the same size. I believe they were a size 6 or 8 and they all mentioned that if they could buy a 4 from a certain store that they were more likely to go to that store in the future to buy more clothes.

People are aware of vanity sizing and we don't like it. Yet companies continue to do it.

I dislike vanity sizing because I'm being sized out at numerous stores. I say sized out because now their smallest size is too big for me. Many stores are trying to accommodate this by adding size 0 and then later size 00. I now fit into a 00 at Express but there is no way I should be that small. There are plenty of women smaller than me. I wonder how they can even buy clothes. I hear they buy girls sizes but that just wouldn't work for me. I couldn't find pants long enough in girls sizes in 4th grade which is why I started buying womens.  In 5th grade I purchased a 5 or 7 in juniors and 5 was the smallest most stores even had at that time. I weighed between 75 and 85 lbs in 5th grade. (My weight graph doesn't go back that far so I don't know how much I weighed but people thought I was sickly skinny up until late high school or even early college.)

Some seamstresses do not like this because patterns are still based on the old sizing so then they have a hard time handling the difference in what size they have to make versus what size they can purchase at the store.  I don't sew my own clothes yet, but sometimes I want to and so I still feel for people who dislike the difference between pattern sizing and clothes sizing from the stores.

Over the last 8 years, I have outgrown jeans from Express and had to go buy new jeans. Each time I go to buy new jeans I either get the same size or a smaller size than the ones I previously owned even though the jeans I previously owned had become too tight. I currently own a size 0 from a few years ago that are too tight and yet when I went back most recently 0 was too big and the 00 fit. I refused to buy 00 so I left without purchasing any pants.

Vanity sizing makes it extremely difficult to purchase clothes online unless you already know how that brand of clothing fits.  It even makes shopping more difficult in stores. I have learned to take 2 or 3 sizes of everything to the dressing room with me the very first time. At least then I don't have to talk to someone to bring me a different size.

The only time vanity sizing helps is when people are no longer in plus sizes and can buy regular sized clothes. The style of clothes for plus size and regular size is usually different and people I know do not like this.  It is also helpful for kids in school who want to wear clothes similar to all their friends.  But then this also makes it more OK to be heavy and kids are heavier and heavier than they have ever been before.  At one point I thought maybe they were continuing with vanity sizing because the average size keeps increasing so perhaps they want sizing to be appropriate instead of having 80% of women shopping at plus size stores.

What do you think of vanity sizing?  Does it annoy you as much as it annoys me? It what ways does it annoy you?
Image courtesy of  Life Hacker.

A Day's Worth of Twitter

07:23:49 AM - Of course there is snow everywhere when I'm gettig ready to run a 5k
09:51:25 AM - My race was like the slowest jog ever
09:59:21 AM - This course might be worse than Norwin's in March because this ends on the uphill.
12:06:57 PM - I'm still upset that my @BodyMediaFIT doesn't work with my new computer. I'm sick of blue screen of death and trying to figure it out.
03:12:37 PM - how did your party go yesterday or is that today? RT @briecs: Today could be going a little more awesomely.
03:35:35 PM - I hacked. Check it out. Click on November 17 and 19 http://colleen.akwire.net/_clothes/
04:56:05 PM - Poly likes to sleep on my legs. I think she's getting fat though because she's weighing down my legs and then my butt hurts on this chair.
04:57:52 PM - Why canceled? Thanks (my time was awful though)RT @briecs: @SmilinColleen it was supposed to be today, but got canceled. Gratz on the race!
06:06:48 PM - 3 new posts up: http://scrapandrun.blogspot.com/ trying to make up for 0 posts yesterday.
07:09:30 PM - Technology hates me
08:36:37 PM - Because of this I can't reach my remotes or twizzlers. RT @_Poly_Kitty: I was cold so I had to curl up extra http://yfrog.com/ghw760j

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

30 for 30 Outfit 13: Friday, November 19, 2010

Cardigan: NY&Co.
Tee: Express
Jeans: Express
Necklace: Target
Earrings: Kohl's

The first outfit of the day broke the 30 for 30 but I did say I would have a freestyle day AND I was forced to wear something with our logo on it.
Pants: Express (they are too tight on me now. I keep forgetting and only seem to attempt to wear them when I go to the gym in the morning)
Shoes (that you can't see): Payless (2002)
White Shirt: Express
Shirt: Work

Another volunteer since I didn't want to put pictures of the kids on here.

I went to 6:15 yoga for the first time. Then immediately following, I went to spinning class.  I had a normal work day in the morning, but at lunch I had to head over to Butler Catholic Middle school.  I was filling in for someone for a presentation to the entire school.  Then after, I was filling in for someone else helping with an activity. Each homeroom needed 3 volunteers for the activity so a lot of people were needed. This event was the third event this week that I filled in for. I guess it could count as 4 since I filled in for 2 different people. 

After work, I went to a Lia Sophia jewelry party. I ordered 4 necklaces and 1 ring. I just looked at the necklaces on the website and can't even remember which ones I chose. I wanted too many of them and some people at the party helped me decide which ones to get and now I can't remember. 

I promised Dave I'd bring him home dinner after the jewelry party.  It was supposed to be over at 8:30 but we were having fun and I was indecisive so I didn't leave until 10:30 or so. So the only place left was McD's.  The lines were so long; I couldn't believe it.   I got some food then, too.  On my way to my to present at lunch, I didn't allot time for lunch, so I had to get McD's on the way. I got a large French Fry at lunch and the same plus chicken fingers at dinner. 

November 5, 2010

Outfit for work:
Cami: Express
Cardigan: Express
Skirt: Express
Shoes: Famous Footwear
Necklace: Target

Outfit after work (and I can't remember why I changed clothes or if I went anywhere)
Sweater: Express
Cami: Express
Jean's Express
Shoes: Famous Footwear
Necklace Sears

(Express clothing and Famous Footwear shoes seem to be a theme.)

What didn't work: The camis was too long for the cardigan and the sweater. I was constantly folding over the cami so it wouldn't stick out too far.

The outfit worked so well that I was able to pack up my cube to move buildings at work. Apparently I was supposed to assume to break the dress code at work and wear jeans. I did not do this. Lots of others did.  I was still able to pack in my pantyhose and skirt and I felt better about it.  We had to be packed at noon and couldn't work in our cubes after that.  I went and did Body Combat at lunch because of this and then I headed home to work.  I worked my full allotment. Starting around 2 I was checking who in my group and who that was moving was on Communicator (program like AIM) and well nobody except my manager was on.  I guess everyone else assumed that you had to be packed by noon and then could head home to work but not really work.  A very similar thing happened 15 months ago when I moved from Monroeville to Cranberry; nobody else ever works. I did take breaks to take these pictures of Poly but that is a very short break. It would take longer to get up and get water at work.

Dave was on vacation this day so he was home doing whatever. He read for a long time while I was at the kitchen table working. Poly hung out with him.

Dave got up so Poly stole his seat.

 A lot later that night, Poly was resting on Dave so cute that I got up to take her picture.