|The Monday Post| #9

March 4, 2019 by MP

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand

One of the hottest trends of the spring season is hair accessories, and this episode of The Monday Post has you covered. I’m also sharing desk decorating (because you spend like a million hours a week at your desk, or is that just me who feels that way?) And I’m concluding our Healthy Work Habits discussion with everyone’s fave – stress relief. Grab your glasses and a cup of joe because this week is a great week and I’m here to get it started for you 🙂

Reminder: You can shop my insta pics by going to Toasttopost.com/instagram

Reminder #2: Check my stories for the deal of the day. I usually give a preview of some of the items on my stories with the full post at Toasttopost.com/deals

Hair Accessories

Ok, so I know I wrote about hair last week (here), but hair accessories are so in right now, and many of these would be perfect paired with your cute pony tail (whether at the office or home.) You might be questioning yourself as to whether or not you’ve fallen into a dream and are waking up back in the 90’s/early 2000’s. Well, no, but some of these styles are definitely taking me back – like junior high back. Like always wearing a scrunchie on my wrist back. And if I see someone walking around with 20 butterfly clips in their hair, then I know I will be back in the 90’s/early 2000’s because I rocked the butterfly clips like none other 🙂 So, here’s to an older and more mature version of your junior high hair accessorizing self!

Desk Décor

Have you ever thought about how much time you spend at your desk? Sometimes I feel like I just leave my desk to go take a long nap and grab a bite to eat when I leave for the day. When the company that I work for moved office buildings a couple of years ago, some of the girls and me decided to decorate our desks a little bit with cuter office supplies, framed pictures, etc. The following are actual pics of my desk at work. Apparently I was super into errrr-thang being gold at the time. I still love the décor, but I didn’t realize how much gold I had at my desk until I was taking these pictures last week. Also, I have an obsessive amount of dachshund things and of course, pictures of the twins. Which, if you think about it, you want your desk to be a place where you are comfortable and feels home-like, so dachshund things, twin pics, and shiney accessories all make me happy 🙂

One of the promises I made to myself when I decided to really take blogging seriously was to be transparent and truthful. I want to show REAL LIFE examples of my life – work wear and life, motherhood, home life, etc. Would a picture of a white desk with pink peonies and a big Mac screen with candles and more decorative things look prettier? Yes. But would it be truthful and be the desk that I sit at every day when I go to work? No. Obviously I did stage some of these pictures, but all I did was rearrange the products that were already there.

When I said all gold, I meant it.

I like printed and framed pictures. One of the downsides is that you cannot rotate them to see multiple pictures. Other options would be to get a digital picture frame. Most of my picture frames (here and at home) come from Home Goods.

These dachshund book ends came from Home Goods several years ago. Too cute!

I thought I was being so chic and stylish when I ordered this white keyboard and mouse. But, several years later, it is discoloring. Some of it is make up (I promise I clean my keyboard and mouse,) but I think some of it is from aging. So keep that in mind if you are wanting white. If I were to do it again, I would probably go with the keyboard in the widget below; however, this wireless keyboard is so small it fits perfectly in a backpack or bag when traveling.

Because having regular hanging file folders on you desk isn’t cool enough. And for containers, I love the clean look of clear acrylic. I bought a lot of this stuff when Nate Berkus had his line out at Target, and since then a lot of the products are no longer available. I linked a really cool hanging file folder stand below with black folders, which I’m kind of thinking about purchasing and replacing these mint folders.

My mom gave me these canvases for Christmas. They are from Wal-Greens and really good quality! People always comment on the twins when they walk by my desk, and it does make me smile proudly 🙂 The dachshund coffee mugs are pretty much sold out everywhere except Bloomingdale’s (linked below.) They were a Kate Spade Christmas-time special a couple of years ago – and guess what? I just happen to have the matching ornament.

Having a desk fan is a must. After our daily walks, getting back from the gym, or just when the temp in the office is a little on the toasty side. I also have an approved floor heater as well.

My mouse pad is from Shutterfly and is of my precious Lola Mae. She was my first baby, you know.

Things to keep at your desk: chap stick, lipstick, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, and some sort of not too strong perfume/spray/oil. And when I say not too strong, I mean it. No one wants to be in the elevator with you when your perfume (or cologne) is so thick you feel like your inhaling it with each breath.

Oh you fancy, huh?

Click on any of the pictures below to shop the item. I bought a lot of this stuff years ago, so some of it isn’t available anymore. To make up for it, I added in a lot of really cool and chic items that I would love to have at my desk.

Healthy Work Habits, Part IV

Stress Relief

Stress is something you deal with every day. It can be self caused or the effect that someone else has on you. How you handle stress is what could possibly determine how far you advance in your career. It is natural that the longer you are in a position, the more responsibility you take on, which in turn equals more stress. Stress can play a major role in your overall health and it’s best to have a good handle on it and how it affects you. There are many different ways to deal with stress at work, including practicing deep breathing and mindfulness. If that doesn’t work for you, a nice long bubble bath at home usually does the trick for me. I also wrote this post, Positive Mind, Positive Vibes, about destressing a while ago – it still has some really good tips for de-stressing (I’m also cracking up because I feel like my writing style was much different back then.)

To practice deep breathing and mindfulness, you can turn to the item that is probably glued to you for most of your day, your iPhone. Apps such as Breathe, Calm, and Headspace are all great for stress and anxiety. I have the Breathe app on my watch and use it quite often. If I am feeling stressed out, anxious, or kind of down, sometimes all it takes is 1 minute of sitting still and focusing on my breathing to really calm me down and bring me back to present.

Calm is an app made for meditation and mindfulness. It offers guided meditations that have many benefits such as managing anxiety, lowering stress, and sleeping better. It also has music and bedtime stories. AND, Calm has partnered with XPress Spa in airports – I’ll be on the lookout the next time I travel for one of these.

Headspace is another app that offers guided meditation. You can customize the sessions based off of your mood and lifestyle. According to the Headspace website, “Happier and healthier employees have been shown to be more productive, resilient and creative.” Well, when you put it that way, sign me up! Headspace is not only an app for meditation, but it has also spent a lot of time and money in studying meditation as a science, not just as an ancient practice.

Rent the Runway

The bonus topic for today is Rent the Runway. I attended a black tie optional wedding Friday night and needed a nicer gown than what I have in my closet. The tricky part for me is the length because I’m 5’2″. I feel like I’m always taking a gamble with a floor length dress. I decided to go safe with a high low length, knowing there was no way the front would be too long. This was a very classy and elegant gown that retails for $300 and I rented it for $45. Isn’t that crazy? You can rent dresses by Jason Wu, Donna Karen, Naeem Khan, and Nina Ricci. I’ve had mostly good experiences with Rent the Runway, and even rented for my rehearsal dinner dress and my second reception dress at my wedding. Enjoy!