Not a Blogger: A Corporate Fashun Blog

As much as we like to think of ourselves as grown ups, we do "on occasion" (read: frequently) spill. And we write on ourselves. And we drop things. Which has lead us to learn a few tricks when it comes to removing stains from our clothes. Because if you're going to spend your entire budget on a killer dress you can't live without, you want to make sure that it lasts more than one wear. Am I right? Ink The fastest way to get ink out of a piece of clothing (hello, carrying a pen without a cap) is to use alcohol. Don't waste your Kirkland vodka (seriously, that stuff is legit)- instead, try hand sanitizer or hairspray. Seriously. Lay the item flat and add the alcohol-based product. Be careful, as it works so well that sometimes the ink can pull out of the fabric and spread to a wider area if you're not on top of it. If the stain is particularly troublesome (and the fabric isn't too delicate), use the tip of the sanitizer bottle/hairspray to rub the alc...

We haven't been to Nordstrom in a while (as a group), and we were jones-ing for some meatballs . Plus, last week marked the release of one of our favorite workout brands at select Nordstrom stores. So we decided to hit up Nordstrom last week.While there, we thought we would "quickly" peruse Nordstrom's "new" 1901 line and give it the ole' Working Girl Review. 1901 isn't really a new line, it has been around exclusively for men for a while. But Nordstrom has just debuted its first women's collection this spring. Katie 1 and Katie 2 made a bee-line for the stuff when we spotted some amazing skirts and dresses. In fact, we didn't even know we were dashing for the 1901 stuff until we got there. Quick down and dirty on our thoughts? First, a disclaimer. We didn't actually try anything on. We were in a flighty mood and wanted to shop quickly in order to get to the bar faster. Plus, Katie 1 was getting extremely hangry so time was of the es...

No, we don't have a day where we can wear jammies to work (but that would be awesome). It is a day when we want to talk about spring pajamas. You may be the type of person that puts on an old ratty t-shirt for bed, or maybe you go all out every night with a full matching pajama set. Either way, we are of the opinion that you should have at least some "can be worn in 'public'" pajamas for things like work trips, family get-togethers, bachelorette parties, and the like. By this point you probably know the drill: we're going to recommend some spring pajama options that we like.  Rather than our standard "here are some options at a variety of price points", we're going to group our recommendations by pajama type. Traditional Pajamas: Think old school pajamas here. Long button up top with matching pants or something like that. Here are some spring options that we're loving. You can't get more classic than these Lauren Ralph Lauren c...

Orangetheory Fitness is all the rage. When high intensity internal training (HIIT) came onto the scene with a vengeance, OTF was one of the first studios to really gain traction. Around our office, several women rave about it. As does Heather Dubrow. So we decided to try it for ourselves, since Orange Theory locations are everywhere. We each went separately, so as to not impact the other's opinion with our own. Our experiences were fairly similar, and surprisingly we all ended up with very similar opinions. A quick note to start: Orangetheory offers a free class your first time, but this offer is only available at your local studio. For most people that isn't an issue, but it was a little annoying for Katie 2 when she wanted to try the class when she went to Michigan to visit family for the weekend.  You can go online to get information or you can just show up at the studio and tell them you want to try a class. They will let you know what class is available. Once you...

As our recent posts have been indicating, spring is in the air. We are all adjusting to the time change (daylight savings is a bitch) and the official start of spring is a week away so the thought of any vestiges of winter are currently abhorrent to me (Elizabeth) even if the weather is still in the 30s most of the time. One way to telegraph “spring” even when you can’t choose a flowy dress and bare legs (because you would freeze to death), is to change up the colors you are wearing and your makeup.    OK, so spring makeup trends. I have been told it is not good enough to suggest lighter brighter colors, even though that really is the simple truth. ("Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.") I assume that also means I can’t just tell you that the Pantone color of the year is Ultra-Violet and send you out to buy purple everything. So this weekend I attended one of my favorite Nordstrom events (which we have discussed before ): the Beauty Trend Show. H...

The weather is (finally) changing for the better. If you need some advice on dressing for the mercurial temperatures, go back and take a look at our post on winter workouts because Katie 1 did a great breakdown of what layers you should be wearing. Today we want to talk about rain. After many months of indoor workouts, we are finally ready to feel the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces. But it seems that every time we schedule an outdoor run, the skies open up and and drop a bucket of rain on our heads. Katie 2 is preparing for an April race, so outdoor runs are a necessity at this point. But how can you make it bearable to be outside? Here are some of our tips: Stay away from cotton. Period. But especially when it comes to your feet. Wet feet make everything miserable, but wet socks will make your feet miserable long after the workout ends (hello blisters!). We recommend these UnderArmour no show socks that are 97% polyester and 3% elastane. They are Katie 2's go-to ...

We are longingly remembering the days when February meant spring break. When the monotony of every day life was interrupted by trips to far off places full of sunshine and tequila shots. Even if you didn't ever go anywhere spring breaky, that week off during the dreary days was a welcome distraction from the dull, grey every day.  Last year at this time, Katie 2 was doing some last minute shopping for a trip to Hawaii. She pulled Katie 1 along and the two of them passed the time looking for the perfect nude wedges/sundresses/sun hats. This year, there is no trip to warmer climates on the horizon for any of us (Katie 1 is taking a ski vacation), but we still like to break the monotony of winter blues by shopping for the must-have shoe for tropical vacations, the espadrille. We also think this post is a great Shoes Day Tuesday/Travel Tuesday crossover. Win win! Frugal (Under $100) There are a ton of cute options in the frugal price point. For starters, these come in...

It’s pretty great working for a bank. For one, banker’s hours. Another? Vacation time. We have never worked jobs with more vacation time per year than banks offer. Third: federal holidays. In addition to our generous vacation benefits, bank employees get to take off the occasional odd day throughout the year (January, February, May, July, September, October, November) in addition to traditional holidays. There are all kinds of people and therefore plenty of different ways to take advantage of a day off of work. Maybe you're the type to take a little  vacation. Maybe you're the type who wants to sleep in and watch the Price is Right in your pajamas like when you were a kid. Or maybe you're the person who gets up at the same time as you would if you were going to work and you run a million errands and put the rest of us to shame. But if you're like us and don't have glamorous plans to go out of town (or you're not dying of the plague like Katie 1 and Elizabe...

We have a very special Shoes Day Tuesday for you today. Why? Because the Lunar New Year is this Friday, February 16th. Many moons ago (HAHAHAH, see what we did there?), Katie 2 had a friend who explained that it was tradition to wear new shoes on the Lunar New Year, as a way to avoid carrying the dirt from last year into the new year. We went online to try and find confirmation of this tradition and found none. But we decided to write about it anyway. Why? Because it's Shoes Day Tuesday. Because we love the idea of celebrating a holiday with new shoes. Because when we asked an Asian friend of ours if this was in fact a thing, she said "That sounds like an Asian thing to do, so I say 'yes'!" Because apparently it's bad luck to buy said new shoes too close to the actual holiday. (Don't ask us why, but apparently it's bad luck to do a lot of stuff too close to the Lunar New Year, such as clean your house or cut your hair.) So our post today is ...

This was a topic that we have wanted to write about for some time. For one, we know quite a few people that work out during their lunch hour (and not just men) and we've always been impressed by their ability to do so. We also know that working out in the morning  either is your thing or it isn't (for us it really isn't, as much as we try). And getting your sweat on after work can be difficult either because you end up working late, or you have to get dinner on the table (or, let's be honest, you just want to have a cocktail instead). We starting asking ourselves if we could possibly get in a workout on our lunch break, so *we decided to try it. (*The Katies. Elizabeth chose not to participate. We will explain below.) Why are we trying it? Because we like The Try Guys. Oh, and because we are #dedicated to answering all your questions that we make up ourselves because you don't really ask us any. (We know you're out there! We see the page views!!) We've ...

I (Katie 2) hate Valentine’s Day. When I was single, people always said I hated it because “I had no one special”, which always pissed me off. Now that I am in a relationship, I can unequivocally say that I still hate it. Why? I don’t want someone to show their affection for me because the calendar says they should. If you love me and want me to feel special, please send me a card, or buy me a present, or take me to dinner on a random day. I acknowledge that some of you may disagree with my sentiments and are searching your brains and the internet to find the perfect Valentines plans and/or gift for your significant other. Look no further! I have compiled some date ideas and gifts that don’t make you want to gag. DATES I’m going to say dinner, but don’t pick someplace romantic or typical. Use a website like The Thrillist to find a place you’ve never been and is a little unusual, either in terms of the type of food or the location. If it’s good, you have a new place in rot...

We are now almost two weeks into the new year and well entrenched in winter. With the holidays behind us and no vacations on the horizon, now is the time people start getting the winter blues. The number one surefire way to combat the winter blues is to escape to sunshine, but that isn’t always an option (hello real world schedules and real world bank accounts). So for those of us who actually have to continue on with our lives, we’ve come up with some suggestions to combat your post-holiday funk. Surprise! Someone that isn’t Elizabeth is going to suggest a make-up fix: invest in a new lipstick. Lipstick is a fast, easy way to brighten up your look and you will be pleasantly surprised at the compliments you will get when you go a little outside your comfort zone in terms of color. If you don’t stray too far, you can wear the color during the work day. Katie 2 suggests going with a super moisturizing lipstick to help combat chapped lips. Added bonus: if it feels nice, you will be m...

We had several great ideas for our first Workout Wednesday of the new year, including trying a new workout and sharing our thoughts. We were going to try out SWEAT, but realized that they are only offered here in Chicago, which isn't much help to those of you not here. But while perusing their website, we came across a section called "On-the-Go Workouts" . The page lets you pick from nine different categories, based on your location and what equipment is available to you.  Each category offers six different workouts. That's 54 new workout series you can try for free! So if you're on the go, or looking to jump start your fitness, or just looking to mix it up, try it out and let us know what you think! We may still end up trying SWEAT, and we will let you know what we think if we do. But in the meantime, this may be a good way to cross train.

When we first envisioned our Workout Wednesday series, we thought about bringing you real reviews of workouts that we've always wanted to try. We haven't really gotten around to that (we came close with the November Project , but we'd never heard of it before we started researching free workouts). Until now. We threw out some ideas of workouts we've always wanted to try, and you can expect to see honest reviews on all sorts of things in the coming months. One idea that came up and that I (Katie 2) was especially excited about was boxing. I kept imaging myself as Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby. (Minus the whole breaking your neck, assisted suicide thing. More the amazingly toned back in that jaw dropping blue dress, yes I realize that the dress is non movie related.) So when a boxing gym opened up right down my street, I happily volunteered to try it out. I will start my review with a caveat. There are a lot of different types of boxing gyms out there, a...

Congratulations! For whatever reason you’re hosting your first major holiday.  That’s exciting or terrifying or super stressful or something.  However you’re feeling, go you! You can do this, with our help of course.  On Friday we posted Part 1 of this guide written by Katie 1.  Now it’s time for Part 2 - Holiday Prep. Part 2 - Holiday Dinner Prep: So, you’ve taken our advice and planned your menu well in advance. It includes the perfect balance of pre-made, make ahead, and make day-of dishes. It’s traditional yet modern. That’s a huge chunk of your holiday preparation, so way to go.  Now you’re probably starting to freak out about all of the shit you have to do in order to make that menu happen.  It’s cool.  It happens.  This is a totally normal reaction. Part 2 of this guide helps you turn that meltdown into a seamless holiday experience.  As you know from Part 1 of this guide, in planning my menu for Thanksgiving, I took ti...

Congratulations! For whatever reason you’re hosting your first major holiday.  That’s exciting or terrifying or super stressful or something.  However you’re feeling, go you! You can do this, with our help of course.  As we’ve discussed in the past, Katie 1 is our resident Ina Garten and has a number of successful holiday hosting experiences under her belt (Hanukkah, a small thrown together Thanksgiving, Christmas) and has generously decided to share her wealth of knowledge with you, our dear readers in the form of this 2 part holiday hosting guide.  Hopefully it’s helpful. Part 1 of this guide will focus on menu prep.  Part 2 will focus on holiday prep (i.e. the cleaning, shopping, decorating, table setting, etc.). Part 1 - Holiday menu prep: I love food.  I love to cook.  When it comes to planning and prepping my holiday menus, most of my menu planning work is reducing the number of dishes I want to make.  Thus, I start planning...

Even though we know that working out is good for us and gets necessary as we are getting older (not us  us, the royal us. We aren't aging at all!), it sucks. But unlike those other corporate fashion bloggers and Instagrammers, we are not #blessed when it comes to having a body that rivals the Gigi Hadids of the world (P.S. we know you didn't eat that deli sandwich you're holding in your NYFW Instagram, Ms. Blogger). To that end, we must workout. But who has the time? After a long day at work followed by adulting, the last thing we want to do at the end of the day is don our favorite Lulu pants and actually workout in them. We know all sorts of people that swear by morning workouts, and there are articles all over the internet on how to become a morning workout person. Spoiler Alert: there are some of us who will never be morning people (Elizabeth). But, there are some things we here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog have found that make working out in the AM a little easi...