#CoffeeTalk

Mat by: @kickymats

I recently enrolled in school full time and am also a mother as well as working full time, I am struggling with balancing both mainly because my place of employment is not supportive of furthering your education, so its been weighing on me whether or not I should quit school or quit my current job and finding something more flexible. In your posts you have mentioned that you worked full time as well as attended school full time, with that being said how was your class schedule and what type of work did you do? Was your employer supportive of your education goals? Was there ever a time where you had to decide which was more important?

I’d had a job that actually didn’t allow me to go to school at all, so I sat one semester out before quitting. Yes, I needed money but I never to finish college more importantly. What was I doing? Answering phones and opening mail for a paycheck 40 hours a week, while I postponed the next level of my life. I ended up as a leasing agent at a luxury apartment complex my last two years of school and loved it. It was good money, I loved working in a gorgeous space and luckily, they were so flexible with my school schedule. For the most part, I scheduled all of my classes on Tuesday and Thursdays, but would work Saturday and Sunday (along with the rest of the days) in exchange for that. As I got closer to graduation, there were classes that I simply couldn’t get on Tuesdays or Thursdays, so some days I would go to work for a few hours, leave for school, then come back to work *slaps forehead*. It was the MOST, but I was thankful that my manager never battled me on being school. Find another job. Look for businesses that are also open on weekends. For example, I also worked in a design studio of a home building company that was open on Saturday’s and Sundays, allowing me two days off during the week to go to school. It’s difficult, but it’s possible!

Any suggestions on where I can find a gown for a gala? Preferably under $200 please!

My go-to places for fancy dresses are Nordstrom, ASOS, Missguided, Revolve and Lulu’s. Search for “maxis” at Forever 21 too because you’ll be surprised what you find, especially if it’s for a one-time event! Here are some well under $200 –

One thing you always reiterate is to know your worth when working with brands. Some brands look to send free product versus actual compensation. How do you go about determining good opportunities and if working with brands that offer free product is a deal breaker?

Don’t get me wrong, if the right brand offers me free product I miiiiight just take it. I think as influencers, we set our own rates and for most of us, we went sooooooooo long working for free. Investing time into our blogs, photos, crafts and not receiving a dime, so when it’s finally time for us to start pricing our work, we feel bad. We all have circumstances that will make us bend because they’re great opportunities and that’s OK! Sometimes you will just want to foster a genuine relationship with a brand and them offering you free product means they notice you and value you.

We love us some coffee! Any recommendations on a great user-friendly cappuccino machine?

I feel like I love coffee a little too much and have been considering skipping a few days to ween my caffeine dependency. I enjoy it THAT much! I’ll make a cup even when I’m not tired just to sip LOL. With that being said, I love my Nespresso, which is currently on sale on Amazon. You just pop a pod in, lock the top and press start. It’s perfect for someone with little to no experience in coffee-making. A friend of mine has this De’Longhi espresso maker that she loves and I enjoyed, but it’s a bit on the fancier side although only $97!

Have you found any black booties you are loving for fall? I’m hoping to find a pretty pair I can wear with jeans or dresses under $200.

I live for black booties during the fall because they go with eve-ry-thing. From dresses to skirt to skinny jeans, I rotate multiple pairs of them and have my eye on a few as well. Here are some I’m loving under $200 –

How important are consistent Instagram themes? I’m wanting to purchase an Instagram preset filter, do you know of any bloggers or companies to purchase from?

That’s completely up to you! I know a lot of huge bloggers who use preset filters, and many who don’t – but go with the same “look” in all of their photos, whether they’re bright, grainy, etc. I personally don’t use presets on my photos – or filters at all because I love the real life look and brightness of them. For my one-on-one clients who do want to use presets, I suggest Marina Mcavoy’s preset and a few others we like are the Hello Fashion presets, Tezza presets, and Colormepresets.

What are your favorites from Forever 21 for fall and winter?

Don’t sleep on Forever 21 guys! They have so many cute pieces going into fall. I especially love that I don’t feel guilty buying a dozen or so pieces that I can rotate throughout the seasons. I find myself wearing less expensive items more frequently than I do the ones I paid high dollar for. Here are some items I’m loving – but look for yourself cause there are so many!

Can you recommend business casual work appropriate pieces for fall? Looking to do a wardrobe overhaul

Definitely a plaid blazer because you could wear it for work and outside of work. Love this one and this one, so classic and timeless. These pants are so comfortable (I have them and love them) can also be worn to work or on the weekends. These sailor pants are perfect for a business causal office! Love the ruffles and color of this skirt, and you could add black tights with boots for another look! This blouse is great b/c the material is dressy, but the tie neck makes it young and fun. Ok, now I’m needing all new clothes to enter Autumn correctly! LOL

Do you ever plan to attend New York Fashion Week? I think you would kill the looks!

When I first started blogging, I definitely anticipated NYFW and made it a huge goal of mine. Soon after I found out, pretty much anyone can attend and there’s an event for you at every level – beginner blogger or SongofStyle. When the opportunity arrived for me to actually attend, I was much less inclined to go. For one, I work a corporate job and have to pick and choose what I want to be out of town for. Secondly, I really don’t like to engage in things that involve tiers of status, the “who’s who” of fashion and blogging, or things that encourage being in “the in crowd”. All the women that go seem to have a really great time, but I don’t think it’s exactly my forte these days.

Congratulations on your upcoming weddings! I’m getting married too in a few months and am in need of two white dresses – a sexy party one for my bachelorette party and a gorgeous gown for my bridal shower. Can you help me please?

There are soooo many to choose from, so I’ll give you a few of every kind of style. Also, every kind of price point – from $30 and up!

I’m currently in a management position but have worked hard to transition into compliance, and the opportunity has come! I know 100% once I put in my two weeks they’ll offer me more money. It might even be more than what I have been offered from the new company. The opportunity to do what I love is more important than the “raise” that will be thrown my way. Especially since it will pay off in a year or two. What are your thoughts on those last minute pay raises to retain an employee that was undervalued.

I think last minute pay raises are always going to depend on the person being offered the incentive. I think you’ve answered your own question, boo! If the money was what is most important to you and you were only exploring because you were underpaid, then that would be the perfect opportunity for you to stay where you want, while getting paid more. It’s apparent that what you value is experience and opportunity – and it sounds like that has arrived for you. Tell your current company that you’ve appreciated your time there and that a role has come up that you can’t pass up. The money will always come! Good luck in your new role, boo!

As always, thank you all so much for the #CoffeeTalk questions! This week was a short one, but I have so much work to catch up on. As always, send over any #CoffeeTalk questions for next week via email or leave ’em in the comments below. Enjoy your weekend guys!