Back to the Grind Stone

As the sun rose this morning,  I realised that our holiday had officially come to an end and it was time to head back to The Office and the reality of earning a living. Luckily for me, I love work and the people I work with so I was quite excited to be heading back. I'm sure my plan to debut a new outfit recently purchased over in Hawaii helped too! Hooray then for my new navy and white polka dot shift dress from Tommy Hilfiger. By the end of the day, I realised just how easy this dress was to wear and how super-comfy too (just like a beach dress only corporate!) and after only the first wear, it has now become my new favourite work outfit. Paired with my Jimmy Choo patent flats and a navy Zara cardigan, I was ready to hit the desk running on Day 1 post-holiday.

In other news, our renovations started this morning with prep work being the key aim for the builders today. So when Honey Boo, the cutest puddy in the world and I came home this evening, we found the carpets and skirting boards had been ripped up, the balustarding on the stairs had been ripped out and a water-proof membrane painted on the downstairs floor which can't be walked on until tomorrow morning. It is messy and dusty and a tad inconvenient but also very exciting! And the best thing ever about the builders? After taking Honey Boo to work with me today so she wouldn't get in the way (she was a terrible flirt with John Paul, one of our builders, when he came to do his measurements. It was really quite a shameless spectacle but he seemed to fall for it hook, line and sinker!) and knowing we couldn't access the kitchen to get to her food, the builders left a selection of puddy treats on the stairs for her dinner. Who says flirting doesn't pay?!!

  

Hobart Conference - Day 1

The last part of this week has seen me conferencing in the beautiful surrounds of Hobart. It has been a fantastic experience, I feel I have learnt so much already - it has broadened my view on a number of different management issues and given me more then a few tools to take back to The Office. The networking has been very good too. The conference was restricted to around 90 attendees so there has been plenty of opportunity to meet and have quality discussions with everyone that I wanted to. There sure are some very inspiring people out there!

As for the dress code, it was business or smart casual on Day One. I decided to play it safe and wore business dress in the form of my new J. Crew dress (thanks NAP, this dress was a bargain buy in your sale!) accessorized with a black jacket, patent black shoes and belt and my Coco necklace from Red Phoenix.

Back to Work for 2012

Today was my first day back at The Office after our Christmas in the UK. After dressing in civvies suitable for winter in the northern hemisphere for the last few weeks, it was time to get back into 9 to 5 dressing for summer in Sydney. The dress code at The Office is best described as relaxed, where being identified as "A Suit" means that you are out of touch with reality and lacking in some serious NFP credibility. Aaaaargh, the pressure! I wanted to make an effort i.e. not immediately resort back to jeans, sandals and singlets of my pre-Christmas wardrobe but not so much of an effort that I came over all corporate. Gosh, no wonder my brain was tired before I even left home! With all of these priorities balanced in my mind, today's 2012 debut outfit turned out to be:

My top is from a cute little shop in Surry Hills, my skirt from Country Road and new Jimmy Choos fresh from London (the flat version of my heeled favourites which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!) accessorised with two necklaces, the white one of which was a Christmas present from my SIL, Beady. Even though I did get a lovely compliment on my outfit today, I am already feeling tempted by the ease of dressing in denim so we shall see what tomorrow brings...

A Quick Update

My, how time flies when you're having fun! It has been quite some time since my last blog post - 3 months to be exact. So how did 2011 end up? Well, work-wise, I started a new role in a new company in a new industry back in July. It has been an incredible experience and I have loved every minute of the new challenges and experiences that these changes have brought with them. I had a major KPI due before the end of 2011 and I am very excited to say that a few late nights and a bit of craziness meant that this was actually achieved at the end of November - woo hoo! There is obviously some personal satisfaction that results from coming in ahead of time on major deadlines but more importantly, now that I have left the dark corporate side and joined a Not-for-Profit company, it is the benefits that our target audience will receive that really drive and motivate me. My days are spent working to directly benefit people with a physical disability, as opposed to making money to buy the CEO's second private jet(!). Trust me, overtime is so much easier to handle when there is an altruistic reason behind it.

As for Eady, he was offered a very exciting promotion in his company back in October. Now a CFO for an Australian retail company, he needs to keep a very tight rein on spending within the company amongst other accountant-y type things. Apart from the obvious pride I have, the fact that he scrutinises company bank balances all day has meant that he has had less inclination to scrutinise home finances which I have taken complete and unashamed advantage of over the last couple of months. The plus of this is that the global economy continues to be sustained by internet shopping purchases linked to one particular IP address in Australia that may or may not be connected to my ipad/Mac/iphone...However, I do acknowledge that I need to be more fiscally responsible especially now that we have a new addition to the household - our tabby/tortie cross, Honey Boo! She is the cutest puddy, she never cries, is quite independent but still loves a good cuddle too. She was abandoned at about 3.5 weeks of age when she had only just opened her eyes and hadn't yet been weaned. A work colleague found her on a roundabout in a busy Sydney street and we all took turns to do her 4 hourly dropper feeds in our very pet-friendly office and then taking turns to look after her at night. When it was my turn, she just never left! She has even won over very anti-cat Eady too, which is no mean feat.

On the home front, all is well and life in Sydney's lower North Shore has continued to be nice and relaxed, albeit on a much cooler scale then we would like given the time of the year. Our home suburb is undergoing quite the metamorphosis at the moment, all thanks to Clover's new liquor licensing laws and we now have a veritable selection of local bars and new restaurants to eat at, all within a 5 minute walk of home. Apart from sheer convenience, this also means we no longer covert the lifestyle on offer in the Eastern suburbs or in our old home town of Melbourne :)

On a final note, Eady and I spent Christmas and New Year with my family in London which was wonderful. More to follow on that topic in later posts once the jet lag has cleared!

New Work Eve

Tomorrow morning is the first day in my new role and I have to say, I haven't been this excited about Monday to Friday time since I started Grade 3. And just like my 7 year old self, I have some new supplies to take on my first day - pink notepads, pink Hello Kitty pens, a pink drink bottle and a pink lunch box.

As Eady wisely commented, he is very unlikely to use my new lunch containers because they are hot pink. Considering he has half a Tupperware catalogue sitting in his desk drawer just waiting to be brought home, washed and put back into use, some might say that this is is mission accomplished on my part - I will always have a lunch container available now (just not a clear one!).

Big Changes for Cole

It might seem from my recent posts that I haven't really had time to attend to things at The Office what with all of my shopping, eating and travelling. Well, that is kind of true. You see, I have recently finished at my previous company and come Monday 11th July, will be starting a new role in a whole new industry, woo hoo!

I have been involved in science-related things since graduating from university a number of years ago. Doing this type of work has enabled me to work, travel and live around the world whilst giving me lots of opportunity to be involved in fantastic projects, work with some incredible people and gain experience in a number of different management positions. But a couple of years ago, I came to the conclusion that I really wanted to broaden my experience to other industries whilst being able to continue on the management path (including starting an MBA) but also help people in a much more direct way. After some investigation, I decided that I wanted to work for a Not-for-Profit company that would allow me to do all of this whilst utilising my prior experience and knowledge and so I set about looking for the right opportunity. It took some time but eventually the right role presented itself and following a quick but intense application and interview process, I got my dream role! I can't wait to start and whilst I know there are going to be many challenges in adapting to a new company, industry, team and role, I am really looking forward to it.