Tag: love

  • If the Shoe Fits

    Monday, August 17, 2026

    It’s been a few months since I’ve posted. Not because life suddenly stopped giving me things to write about. If anything, quite the opposite. Sometimes you have to step away long enough to live through something before you share the story, and more importantly the lesson.

    The Meeting

    Recently, I was sitting in a staff meeting when my supervisor announced that he had decided to come off his compressed work schedule and return to working a regular eight-hour days. He explained that based on his workload and what he needed to manage, the compressed schedule was no longer working for him.

    Fair enough.

    Sometimes something stops working and you make an adjustment. I actually respect that. Recognizing that something isn’t working and changing it makes sense.

    What caught my attention was what came next, and how quickly it came.

    His decision to change his own schedule almost immediately created a cascading effect. He told the rest of us that we needed to look at our schedules over the next few days and essentially prepare to make the same adjustment, unless we could explain why we needed to remain on a compressed schedule.

    And that made me pause.

    Not because I believe schedules should never change. I’ve spent enough time in the workforce to know that the work comes first. There are meetings, deadlines, emergencies, events, and periods when the job simply requires you to adjust. You do what needs to be done.

    But there was no time between this isn’t working for me and everyone else needs to reconsider what is working for them.

    His schedule wasn’t working for him, he had no backup or alternate person identified to cover down, so he changed it. That part made perfect sense. What I couldn’t immediately connect was why his individual adjustment automatically became the starting point for everyone else’s.

    Enter the Shoes

    And because my brain has a habit of connecting almost everything back to fashion, I immediately thought about shoes.

    Imagine I’m wearing heels and halfway through the day I realize they’re not working for me. Maybe my feet hurt. Maybe I can’t move as quickly as I need to. Maybe I simply realize that flats would work better for what I have to accomplish that day.

    So I change my shoes.

    Makes perfect sense.

    But imagine me changing into flats and then turning to everyone else and saying, “I’m changing into flats, so everybody else needs to take their heels off too.”

    Wait.

    Your feet weren’t hurting.

    There is nothing wrong with my decision to change into flats. They may genuinely be the better shoe for me. But what doesn’t work for me doesn’t automatically stop working for you. That’s what kept bothering me about the conversation at work.

    We are supervisors, but more importantly we are leaders. We manage different areas, different people, different responsibilities, and different workloads. Some of my peers had already changed their schedules because they assessed their own work and determined that another schedule worked better for them.

    That makes sense to me.

    My leadership philosophy has always been that if I’m responsible for an area, part of my job is making sure it can function whether I’m physically there or not. A leader establishes direction, priorities, expectations, accountability, decisions, and systems. Good leadership shouldn’t require the leader’s constant presence for routine work to continue or subordinates to be able to answer questions on what they are working.

    That doesn’t make the leader unnecessary. It means you’ve planned, set expectations, and equipped people to cover when you’re unavailable. Because whether it’s a scheduled day off, vacation, training, or something unexpected, there will be times when you’re not there.

    The reason for the absence may change, but the work doesn’t. It still has to continue.

    That’s why I kept coming back to one question.

    Why are we talking about this now?

    This type of business as been around for ever, nothing new regarding how things operate. If there is a particular issue, timely address it by properly communicating to the appropriate person(s). But suggesting everyone change their schedule simply because one person’s schedule no longer works for that person is something different.

    And maybe that’s another lesson fashion has understood for a long time. The same shoe doesn’t work for every woman, and the same heel height doesn’t work for every occasion. Sometimes an adjustment is necessary. Sometimes it isn’t. The important part is knowing why you’re making it. Sometimes the shoe doesn’t fit you. That doesn’t mean everybody needs to change theirs.

    To be continued…

  • Assembly Required

    Monday, May 11, 2026

    There’s something both exciting and slightly dangerous about deciding to assemble furniture yourself. Especially the beautiful wardrobe systems online that look so clean, organized, and effortless in the photos. You see the finished vision immediately. The soft lighting. The neatly arranged shelves. The aesthetic storage boxes. The perfectly placed handbags and shoes. In your mind, the hardest part is already done…paying for it. Because let’s be honest, most of us choose the self-assembly version for one reason, it’s usually less expensive. A little more work upfront in exchange for the hope of getting the same polished result in the end.

    Then the box arrives.

    Suddenly there are wooden panels spread across the floor, hardware in tiny unlabeled bags, and instructions that somehow manage to say everything and nothing at the same time. And if we’re being honest, those picture-only instructions feel a little disrespectful. One tiny diagram is apparently supposed to explain an entire construction process while you sit there holding two identical pieces wondering why neither one fits the way it’s supposed to.

    And that’s exactly what these last few months at work have felt like.

    I was given a vision by leadership. A direction. A sample organizational chart showing what they wanted the division to eventually become. The assignment sounded exciting because I could build something from the ground up. The only problem? Somewhere between the vision and the actual building process, the vision and instructions started changing. Approvals slowed down. The division I’m supposed to establish started becoming the place where unresolved pieces, floating responsibilities, and “we’ll put this here for now” assignments quietly landed. The expectation to continue building the division in this dynamic never stopped and neither did the work.

    And that’s where flexibility enters the conversation. Not the polished, motivational speaker version of flexibility companies love to advertise, but the real version. The version where you’re adjusting in real time while still trying to the vision and produce something functional and polished. The version where communication matters because unclear instructions can change the entire outcome. The version where patience quietly becomes one of the most important tools in the room.

    Still, I think that’s why this whole experience made so much sense to me through a fashion lens. The most beautiful spaces, wardrobes, and even closet organization systems usually involve revisions, adjustments, missing pieces, and moments where you step back wondering if you accidentally assembled part of it backwards.

    At this point, I’m still somewhere between Step 4 and “insert wooden dowels carefully.”

    And honestly? I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this feeling lately, at work, at home, or even just trying to assemble something that looked much easier in the picture than it did in real life.

    Because so far, I’ve learned flexibility matters. Communication matters. Patience definitely matters. But most importantly, once you stop seeing the vision, there’s a problem.

    To be continued…

  • Off the Clock…or Not

    Monday, May 4, 2026

    There are certain things people don’t always say out loud at work, but you definitely hear about them. Workplace dynamics, personalities… and sometimes, relationships. I was talking to a coworker recently who mentioned how some people come to work looking for love, and in some cases, not always the kind they’re supposed to be looking for. It made me pause for a second, because where exactly is the line? Is workplace dating something that’s still frowned upon, or is it just two adults navigating life in the same place? And is that any different from couples who were already together and end up working in the same organization?

    I’ve seen it go both ways. I know a couple who worked together for years, married, built their careers side by side, retired around the same time, and even came back part-time to the same organization. For them, it clearly worked. But I’ve also seen the other side, where lines get blurred, where people are dating within the same workplace, sometimes more than one person at a time, or even looking for something outside of what they already have. And that’s where things can get complicated… quickly. Because unlike most places, work isn’t something you can just step away from, it follows you into meetings, conversations, and everyday interactions. It actually reminds me of fashion, some people follow the rules, others break them, and sometimes it works effortlessly, while other times it just doesn’t.

  • When It Doesn’t Quite Fit

    Thursday, April 30, 2026

    Have you ever been in a conversation where everything sounds clear, but somehow it still doesn’t land the way it should? I’ve realized communication isn’t as straightforward as we think. We assume people understand what we mean, that we’re being clear, and that what makes sense to us translates the same way to everyone else, but most of the time, those assumptions are shaped by our own experiences and expectations. And that’s where things start to feel off. Because communication isn’t one-size-fits-all, and you see it every day in how differently people show up, the coworker who calls for everything, the one who sends chats like chapters, and the manager who switches platforms depending on the situation. It’s almost like everyone is speaking the same language… just not in the same way.

    I’ve seen how quickly assumptions can create gaps, even in small moments. Recently, I followed up on something that was supposed to be updated but hadn’t been, not from a place of doubt, but from a place of clarity and accountability. Because sometimes the difference between assumption and alignment… is simply a follow-up. It reminds me of trying on something from last spring, something that used to fit just right, but this time, it doesn’t quite sit the same. Maybe it’s a little off, maybe it needs adjusting, or maybe it just doesn’t work anymore. Communication works the same way. If you don’t pause to adjust, ask, and read the room, you end up missing the mark without even realizing it.

    If you’re in a similar place, this might be a good time to reset how you communicate as well. Start with what you can control, how you ask, how you follow up, and how you clarify. And if you’re anything like me, trying to bring more structure into your day-to-day, I put together a free meeting notes template that’s helped me stay organized and keep things clear even when everything else isn’t.

  • This B….Means Business

    Tuesday, April 28, 2026

    A few weeks into the new role, I’m still getting acclimated. Building relationships is a necessary part of any environment, but when you’ve come from a place where trust was constantly tested (another story for another day), it can sometimes impact how easily you extend trust moving forward. That’s true in both professional and personal relationships.

    One morning an administrative assistant who had been on leave returned to the office and began catching up on emails. While reviewing something related to an event we were expected to RSVP to, she sent me an email and copied my supervisor, noting that she hadn’t seen a response from me. I suppose we all handle situations differently. My instinct would have been to simply reach out first and ask if there were any questions or concerns before escalating it. When I responded to the message, she quickly became apologetic.

    In my last post I mentioned how people tend to reveal themselves fairly quickly in a new environment. Moments like that are small reminders of how differently people approach communication and responsibility in the workplace.

    Not long after, my supervisor asked if I could connect with another colleague for what was framed as more of a mentoring and career development conversation. I was happy to do it and reached out right away. We met and the conversation flowed so naturally it felt like we had talked for hours, though it was actually just shy of one. We shared where we were from, past work experiences, challenges we had faced, and strategies that had helped us grow along the way. The connection was immediate.

    She was someone who genuinely cared about making a difference—about helping the next person succeed and speaking up when something needed to be said. Too often that kind of strength gets misunderstood as being aggressive or overpowering, when in reality it’s often the voice that helps move things forward. I found the conversation refreshing.

    This next look reflects that balance—strength paired with approachability, confidence softened with intention. Navy has long been associated with authority and leadership, which is why it’s often the color of choice for executives, presidents, and public figures. Pairing it with blush softens that power just enough, creating a look that feels both confident and collaborative.

    Blush carries a quiet kind of strength. It has the ability to soften the energy of a room while still holding its presence—making it the perfect tone for moments when partnership, connection, and confidence all need to exist at the same time. This Blush combination means business.

    Tap the image to shop the look and subscribe for more style inspiration, seasonal color trends, and effortless outfit ideas.