Taking Care of Business...

Short post today. Just two small "housekeeping" items for ya:

1.) There's only three days left until the Happily Ever After Book Club kicks off with our very first read: Tim Gunn's Guide to Quality, Taste & Style. There's nine chapters in the book and four weeks in November--that's two chapters the first three weeks and three chapters the last week.

During November, I will devote one post per week to a discussion of the chapters we have just read. You can either email me your thoughts ahead of time (jennprentice@gmail.com) or you can post something in the comment section below each entry. "The club" will meet every Monday, with the first meeting being November 7.

2.) Thestylegeek.com is almost ready for consumption!!!!!!!! If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think of the colors, the widgets (calendar, blog roll, Twitter updates, etc.). I'll be working on it this week and desperately want your feedback!

I've already ported my current blog entries over to the site, but I won't officially stop posting on here until midweek next week. Don't worry! I'll let you know!!! If you're a current follower of this blog (for which I cannot thank you enough) you can subscribe to the posts I make on thestylegeek by clicking the subscribe button in the top right corner of the site. The button will ask you where you'd like to "subscribe" at, and I would suggest "Live Bookmarks."

If you choose "Live Bookmarks" you can find a list of my posts by clicking the "Bookmarks" menu at the top of your web browser. Thestylegeek.com should show up in the drop down list. Mouse over the site name on that list and a number of my posts (newest to oldest) will appear. Click one and start reading! (It sounds complicated to explain, but I assure you that it's not hard to do.)

Ok... I better get going...My co-workers would probably appreciate it if I showered before work today!

Until Tomorrow,
Jennifer Lynn

Introducing the Happily Ever After Book Club

I was trolling the internet, looking for something to write about tonight, when low and behold, I found Nina Sankovitch and her quest to read one book a day and blog about it for an entire year.
The entire story can be found here; but it seems like the intellectual's version of Julie and Julia. (I loved that movie, by the way.)

My friend Maggie sent me an article called Born Cheap a few weeks ago. The article's author asserts that whether you are a spender or a saver is a genetic trait you inherit from birth. While the entire article extols the virtues of being cheap, it ends by encouraging the reader that "whether you’re a spender or a saver, you should accept this trait rather than struggle against it—then find a way to live a financially manageable life." I guess I'm still grappling with my genetic makeup to figure out the best way to do that...

I love reading articles like these, and to be quite honest, Mrs. Sankovitch's year long reading binge has a certain amount of appeal to me. (Or maybe it's just the fact that she had to hire a maid to help her out with the housework...) Unfortunately, reading is a lost art in today's society. The death of print media is one of the biggest indicators of this fact. We read to grab the information we need and then flip the page (or more than likely, click through) to the next page.

So, in my own personal crusade to bring reading back (not to be confused with bringing sexy back...though I'd gladly do it if JT was my partner) I am starting the Happily Ever After Book Club. Every month I will announce a new book, divide the number of chapters in the book by the number of weeks in that month and commit to writing about what I'm reading about once a week. Additionally, I'd love it if you guys would join me in my venture, suggest books you'd like to read--and read with me!

Let's start our first book in November, and let's start "small." I'd like to read Tim Gunn's Guide to Quality, Taste & Style. There's nine chapters in the book and four weeks in November--that's two chapters the first three weeks and three chapters the last week. I know that November is the start of the holiday season, but come on, guys: It's fashion, not rocket science!

I'll be writing my book report every Wednesday, starting November 11, and I expect to hear from each of you who choose to read along as well. The book is available at Amazon for $12.98.
So get ready, get set...READ!!!!

Fast Flip, Fast Company and Scientific Retweets

I'm so behind the curve on this whole internet thing. People are writing entire books about the power of a viral loop and I'm still trying to figure out how to re-tweet. I've always thought of myself as an intelligent person, but I just can't seem to stay on top of what's going on with the world-wide-web. That being said, I'm also not one to quit something because it's difficult. Furthermore, if I were to give up, it would only be for my own lack of trying, not a dearth of information.

In that vein, I thought I'd share with you guys some of the cool new sites, gadgets, apps and info I've recently discovered. It won't be news to my tech-savvy readers, but for anyone who's also trying to play virtual catch up, you might want to check this stuff out:

I'm always looking for websites that will give me a variety of information on multiple subjects, in one location. I've found that place in Google Fast Flip (http://www.fastflip.googlelabs.com/)--a cornucopia of interesting articles from reputable sources like The New York Times, BBC News, US Weekly (reputable might be a bit of a stretch there) and Elle.

Fast Company.com and Fast Company newsletters. Whether you choose to peruse (cheesy rhyme intended) the website or sign up for one of the site's seven newsletters, you can't lose. but Best of Fast Company and Tech Weekly newsletters are my personal favorites.

Read this article before you download it, but the Viral Loop Facebook widget is pretty sweet. The link to download the widget is at the top of the article.

Speaking of re-tweets (mentioned above), here's an article about Nine Scientifically Proven Ways to Get Retweeted on Twitter.

*Note that most of these articles came from Fast Company, which I discovered as a result of Google Fast Flip. THAT must be why they call it the INTERnet.

I'm sure you're wondering when I became such a geek, and the truth is, I think I always was. Working for an IT website has simply harnessed my inner nerd.

Until Tomorrow,
Jennifer Lynn

When It's Ok to Mix Business with Pleasure

Most days, I struggle to find what those of us in corporate America commonly refer to as "work-life balance." However, there are rare instances when my personal and professional worlds come together in perfect harmony. For me, Vogue's feature article about Google executive Marissa Mayer was that ideal merger of life, love and work.

As everyone in the tech community already knows Mayer is quite a remarkable individual. At 34, she's accomplished more in her career than most women hope to achieve in an entire lifetime. Even more impressive--at least in my opinion--is the fact that the woman who's largely responsible for the launch of Gmail, Google Health, Google Chrome, Google Maps, Google News and iGoogle wears Manolo Blahnik heels, Carolina Herrera blouses and Oscar de la Renta dresses to the office. In fact, De la Renta says she's one of his biggest customers. (Question: When does she find the time to shop???)

I think there's often an unspoken perception that pencil skirts and code snippets don't mix. As one who works in the world of technology, I'll be the first to admit that it's difficult to dress up for work when most of your peers are, as the Vogue writer so aptly put it, "brainy men in baggy shorts." All the more reason to give Mayer credit for what she does. Hopefully, all you other women navigating your way through the male dominated tech-world will read Mayer's story, be encouraged and proudly don those four-inch wedges before walking out the door tomorrow morning.

For all you fashion lovers on E-E, check out the full article about Mayer and enjoy the nirvana of mingling business with pleasure.

My Favorite Things About 9/9/09

1.) Rediscovering old music I'd forgotten about. (Thanks Pandora!) Check out "A Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz

2.) Buying the earrings I've been wanting from my friend Beth's jewelry company, Lillian Ray.

3.) Learning new things at work. "The Presentation Cookbook" will help all of my fellow right-brained thinkers and "What's With All the Dates?" will be of service to you left-brainers.

4.) Listening to online sermons from my old church in Raleigh, Providence Baptist. I highly recommend the one on Biblical Romance.

5.) Receiving my first Shop It To Me sale alert email.

Until Tomorrow,
Jennifer Lynn

Top 12 Most Annoying Facebook Friends & Other Recommended Reading

For those of you who have (and somewhat regularly use) a Facebook account, you will find CNN.com's recent article about "The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers" very entertaining. If you read the article thinking you'd never post something like that, think again--and re-read some of those status updates. Chances are there's a little "self-promoter," "town crier" or "sympathy baiter" in all of us!

Ever wondered what the authors you read are reading? Google's recent post on their Reader Blog might be of interest to you. The article gives the top six or eight websites that writers like Arianna Huffington and Michelle Malkin frequent. Let me give you a hint, though, you won't find celebrity gossip sites on any of their lists. I know! I was sad too!

My apologies for the short post. Monday nights are Bible Study nights. (Until next week, when Bible Study moves to Wednesday.) If you're looking for a little more, check out my tech blog. It won't be nearly as informative as the Google Reader post, but there is a link to People.com!

Until tomorrow,
Jennifer Lynn