Relevant Magazine and What Preppy Wore Day 2

Hello Lovelies,


Here is Day 2 of the What Preppy Wore Challenge (go here to read all about it).


we're calling this look... Ruffles, Roses and Bows!

White Ruffle neck, tie waste shirt - TJ Maxx Summer 2009
Brown Favorite pants - Gap Spring 2008
Red rose slingback - by Madeline Stuart Ross Spring 2010
Watch - Skagen Gift from the Preppy Boyfriend Holidays 2008
Earrings - large light pink pearls... gift 2008


Here's a better shot of the watch:

This is a gentle warning... as you may know faith plays a big part in my life, and this post is about my faith... sort of... so if this sort of post puts you off of this little blog, or offends you... just skip over it in your reader, and we'll happily see you back tomorrow! :)


Yesterday, I mentioned Relevant Magazine as one of the many magazines I had yet to read... and it occurred to me that you might not know what Relevant Magazine is... so I thought I would enlighten you!

The easiest way to describe relevant is to say that it is Rolling Stone for the Christian. The magazine focuses on relating Christianity to our modern culture in a way that proves that Christians can be open and kind to those of different view points while still being devoted to the truths we hold so dear! Their moto is: 

Relevant has featured everyone from Lil' Wayne, to the Weepies, to Al Gore, to Zachary Levi of Chuck fame (he's a Christian did you know?) on the cover. During the last presidential election they did a fantastic job of highlighting the key issues of all parties that Christians should consider without ever leading you to think one side is better or worse than the other, and without ever telling you what you should think/feel about it. They often feature articles by well-renowned Christian authors like John Piper (Desiring God and Don't Waste Your Life and Let The Nation's Be Glad are my favorite Piper titles) and Don Miller (of Blue Like Jazz fame). 


They also strive to do music reviews that are 20% Christian music reviews and 80% reviews of all other genres. I have found many a great new artist thanks to the relevant team.  They also review new movies, and include fantastic and weird facts from all over such as "According to newly-discovered library records George Washington checked out two library books he never returned. His fines, adjusted for inflation: $100,000."


One of my very favorite features of the magazine is that in every issue they feature at least one (but more often two or three) organizations that are making a difference (or as my theology professor would say "are bringing about God's redemptive purpose") in our world. One of my very favorite things about humanity is how creative we can be when we reach out to meet the needs of someone else. So, I find it very inspiring to always be introduced to new people and organizations that are creatively bringing about redemption to this broken world of ours.


Much of their content can be found online at relevantmagazine.com, but I love having a print copy so I can give them to other people and give my eyes a break from staring at the computer screen all day! Also, the magazine doesn't come out monthly... I think it comes out every 3 months? with an extra issue somewhere in there.... anyway... if you're interested definitely check it out I found many a great Christian author, organization, and artists (both Christian and non) by reading it's pages.


My favorite features at relevantmagazine.com right now are:


 a Q&A with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell

God vs. The American Dream: How do our cultural goals line up with God's commands?




She & Him's perfect Harmony (on a side note via this article I just found out that Zoey Deschanel also sang... did you know that?)


**Just a side note we will be having our Preppy Monthly Blog share at the beginning of May (really where did April go?)... so please submit your favorite post from your own blog in a comment on my blog... between now and the morning of May 1st. You are all so talented I know you have written some beautiful, funny, charming, inspiring posts... so now is the time to share your great work and let preppy Elle brag on you! 

What Preppy Wore Day 1 and Post Share

Hello Lovelies,


So in case you aren't already absolutely tired of hearing me go on and on and on about it ad nauseum, I am moving to the San Francisco Bay Area to start medical school in only 11 short weeks. That's right folks only 11 weeks. One of those weeks I'll be in the Bay Area house hunting, which means I have only 10 weeks of work left!

I'm in the awkward phase of it being too far away to start tying up loose ends and packing away my life, but it being close enough that I feel like I should be doing something.  Maggie from Random Occurances blog, who also happens to be an in real life friend and co-worker, and I have come up with a fantastic challenge for my next 10 weeks at work. We have decided to see if I can go the next 10 weeks, or 50 work days without wearing the same thing outfit twice. We're going to be taking pictures to document each outfit and then after I wear each one I will be packing at least one part of it up for the big move.


The rules are that I can wear a blouse, skirt, or pair of pants more than one time, but not more than one time together. Dresses count as an entire outfit, so once I wear a dress once then I cannot wear it again.


We will be documenting each day's outfit in photo, and I will post each photo on the blog the following work day. The challenge started on Friday.... so here is my outfit for the What Preppy Wore Challenge Day 1! I know there are lots of bloggers who do something like this ever day, but in my experience most of them have closets full of designer goods... and I for the most part do not... so you'll find that a lot of my stuff comes from TJMaxx, Ross, Marshall's, Macy's... etc. One other thing to note... I work in a very, very casual office. There are only 9 of who work out of the office. Half of them are "the boys" our programmers who work from home about 65% of the time... leaving us girls to have the run of the office all to ourselves. When I say it's casual... I mean super casual.. as in my boss (the CEO) wears sweats about 80% of the time.


This sounds incredibly fun to me, and I am super excited... hopefully it doesn't bore ya'll to tears!


Outfit: Red Dress - by Max Studio purchased at TJ Maxx Christmas 2007, Black Ruffle Wedges - by Rue 21 purchased at Ross Winter 2009, Gold Necklace - by James Avery it has a medallion that spins, and when it spins you can read je t'aime. Excuse the lame face... Maggie and I just couldn't take ourselves seriously! Oh yeah... and my hair sucks... I got rained on that morning and I have two inches of roots showing... don't worry I'm getting it colored on Tuesday!

Also, please remember that we will be doing the Preppy Monthly Post share the first week of May, this is your opportunity to get featured on Completely Preppy. Did you accomplish something great this month? Did you write a wonderful post? Put together a gorgeous photo collage? Share a funny story? Learn something meaningful? What are you the most proud of from your blog for the month of April? Leave it as a comment on my blog with a link to the direct post, and you'll be featured as part of the preppy monthly post share!


Also, this super cute Lilly Pulitzer Alegra dress is on sale today at Rue La La for $99 (normally its $328). Click the Rue La La link on my left hand sidebar for an invitation if you don't already belong to the members only site... it's free to join.

What is Preppy Wanting to Read

Hello Lovelies,


Lots of my darling bloggers have recently done great book reviews... Now I would like to say that I was organized enough to A) finish a book and B) write a review... but I'm just not. Plus, lately I have fallen behind on even my magazine reading... I have yet to read the January, February and most recent issues of Real Simple,  the sept/oct issue of Relevant Magazine, the Nov/Dec issue of Relevant Magazine, the Jan/Feb/March issue of Relevant Magazine, the March and April and May issues of Bon Appetite, the April issue of Women's Health (a subscription I did not renew so each month I am surprised to see it land in my mailbox), The March and April issues of Runners World, the March, April, and May issues of Martha Stewart, The May issue of Southern Living... and I'm sure were I to look around my living room I would find many many more (perhaps it's a sign that I subscribe to one too many magazines). 


So, instead of a book review I thought I might publish a list of the books that I want to read, and hopefully I can check most of these off of the list by the time medical school starts! (Especially since we all know that I am unfortunately a TV bug, and during the summer months most of my favorite shows go to re-runs... re-runs = lots more time to read, read, read!)


First on the list The Parasol Protectorate Series, the oh so southern and dahling Tale of a Southern Belle recently wrote about these and now I'm intrigued! Don't these seem like they are just perfect for these spring time days of rain showers and day time flowers? Plus, the author keeps a super cute blog that I am just in love with! 

I recently obtained a lovely hardbound copy of this book (mine has gold lettering on the binding and is fabric bound). I must confess that although I have a deep and ardent love for victorian fiction, I have not read every single one of Jane Austen's works. After watching the Jane Austen Book Club on Netflix I thought it would be a great idea to read my way through all of Austen's works. I am especially curious to read Northanger Abby. Truthfully, in my heavy reading days of high school and college I was far more drawn to the three Bronte sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne. I have almost every single one of their works, there are  a few I haven't read, but that's a list for another day!

The Pilgrim's Progress - When I was much, much younger I started reading this book and was completely engrossed and then I believe I lost it at a swim meet or there-abouts. Needless to say I don't remember much of the story, but I do remember my deep sorrow at losing the book and never finding out the ending so I thought perhaps I should finish it now.

Med School Confidential -- I have started this book and aim to finish it rather soon. This book is written by recent medical school graduates and includes all the information they wish they had known as they were going through the process. It has so far proven to be very enjoyable and light hearted, and it's also made me feel a great deal better about starting school in the fall. It turns out that I'm not the only almost medical student who after working for almost a decade to get to this point suddenly feels like I'm the greatest con-artist of all and will of course be promptly laughed off of campus on my arrival in August! Who knew there were other crazies in the world like me :) Also, they make a law school, grad school, and business school confidential. Which I can only assume are as essential to those fields as this book is proving to be to me... 

There are oh so many more... but perhaps this is enough for one little preppy to start with don't you think?


**Just a side note we will be having our Preppy Monthly Blog share at the beginning of May (really where did April go?)... so please submit your favorite post from your own blog in a comment on my blog... between now and the morning of May 1st. You are all so talented I know you have written some beautiful, funny, charming, inspiring posts... so now is the time to share your great work and let preppy Elle brag on you! 


***Also, I'm adding a fun new daily feature to my blog starting on Monday... I'm super excited to share it with you. It's a silly little experiment!

Preppy is Looking For

Hello Lovelies,


I am on the shopping hunt and I need your help. I am looking for a ruffled tube dress similar to this one from Revolve Clothing

 and this one from Old Navy. 

Only the kind I'm looking for is long like a maxi dress, and has a cute pattern. They had them at my local Target last month for oh about ten seconds and then they sold out... and the preppy boyfriend's sister wore one last fall while we were on vacation in Mexico. I wasn't crazy about them at first, but now I can't find one anywhere and I would love to buy one for this summer... 


Can you help me? Have ya'll seen anything like them anywhere around?


If no such article can be found... I may have to settle *wink* for this darling dress from lulus.com

Preppy Princess Grace

I found these photos on the lovely Neo-Traditionalist blog and here and here... and I was reminded yet again, how timeless, chic, and stunning Grace Kelly truly was...

Did you know that? 


1. Princess Grace's father was a two time olympic medalist, her brother was also an olympic medalist, both in the sport of sculling. 

2. Her mother was the first women's coach in the Ivy League, she coached a basketball team.


3. Princess Grace met Prince Rainier at Cannes, and they kept in correspondence. A few months later he flew to the U.S. on a diplomatic tour and spent only a few days with Grace and her family before he proposed. (Imagine... they had spent maybe two weeks together face to face when they got engaged... crazy) Kelly's parents had to pay a 2 million dollar dowry in order for Grace to be married to the prince.

4. When Princess Grace broke her arm she used a variety of Hermes scarfs as slings to hold it up. Seriously, even wounded she was too chic for words!

5. Grace Kelly was a great friend of the Kennedy family. Before her marriage to prince Rainier (1956) Jackie snuck grace into the hospital dressed as a nurse to visit Jack and raise his spirits while he was hospitalized for a back problem (1954).

This charming autographed photo of the royal family was up for auction a few years ago. I love how classic Grace Kelly looks here.

(Excerpts taken from this blog and from the Neo-Traditionalist)

Preppy Loves Burn Notice

Hello Lovelies,


Have you heard that USA has agreed to renew Burn Notice for two more years... we were turning cartwheels over this news. I foster a rather high amount of 'affection' for Michael Weston... I mean... he's ALWAYS in a suit... always... men just don't wear suits enough anymore in my opinion... and who doesn't love a good spy story? I have a deep and enduring love of James Bond!

Plus, I get a kick out of Fiona (the PBF calls her Skeletor b/c she's so skinny- I agree she's skinny, but still I love her). For the most part I think it's a well written show... and in the second to last episode of the winter season I saw one of the extras wearing one of my favorite sundresses... so that definitely proves that the show is preppy right?

*PS this promo poster is a prime example of photo shop gone awry, they both still look preppy and delicious though! (I'm not sure about you but my calves sure don't bend in at the ankles that weird way... and my goodness aren't they awfully shiny compared to the rest of her?)

Do you watch Burn Notice? I cannot wait for the summer season to start... and as I'm still reeling over the cancelations of Lipstick Jungle and Dirty Sexy Money I am tickled that Burn Notice has been renewed!

Google's Goats and Mad Men Ends

Hello Lovelies,


This little story made me smile. I love Google truly I do. The Preppy Boyfriend received a job offer to go be a sous chef at the Google campus (it's a standing offer - as long as the head chef remains there), and we have tried a million ways to make it happen, but we always seem to end up too far away for him to work there. In the meantime Google, I admire you from afar... and am wondering since the PBF is traveling so much this month, can you send the goats over to mow my lawn?

On a much sadder note Matt Weiner the creator of Mad Men has announced that the show will conclude after six seasons in 2012. AMC says that there is no intention of ending the show, but they trust Weiner with his vision... whatever that means.... In Mad Men good news the new season is set to kick off on July 25th (which also happens to be the day I'll be running the San Francisco Marathon!) Just for the shear pleasure of it, lets have some mad men eye candy shall we? *All of the images came from a search on google images

*On a happy note this little preppy is finally over her bout with bronchitis... which means that after running a half marathon and taking three (yes three) consecutive weeks off of running or working out... she finally strapped on her running shoes again! Hurray! And with only 16 weeks (including this one) until the San Francisco Marathon not a moment too soon. I ran one mile to re-calibrate my foot pod (as we learned during the Zooma Half Marathon, my foot pod was one tenth of a mile over for every mile I ran). So the first mile I ran without timing myself b/c I was calibrating... the second mile I ran a 9:08... and yes I verified, triple checked even that it was a full mile before using it to calibrate my foot pod. I took it easy because today was my first day back, so I just ran the two miles and then enjoyed a pleasant walk... but it sure felt good to be running again! And might I add with only two weeks until Girl's Weekend At The Lake I need the positive body image boost that I get from running because all those crazy ladies are sure to take loads of pictures of us in our bikinis and they're the sort who post them on Facebook ASAP! So Facebook world, be ready to see my pale, fluffy, self in a bikini in only two short weeks!