The Oprah Winfrey Show is almost over, and I’m a little disoriented. As many of you already know, I admire Oprah deeply.

Last week I was in Chicago with Laura, Margaret, Elizabeth, and 14,000 close friends to attend the taping of the Oprah Farewell Spectacular.

Y’all, I’ve had narcotic-induced dreams that were less surreal. Stevie Wonder! Aretha Franklin! Diane Sawyer! Queen Latifah! I kept waiting to find myself on stage in my underwear for the Algebra Exam Segment. (Laura is doing a recap of the whole thing, so check in there for details.)

I was weepy through most of the show, thinking about everything I’ve learned from Oprah and her team, and I know a lot of you feel the same way. The last show is Wednesday, and I’d like to celebrate by posting about what we’ve all learned over the years. If you’d like to play along, take a photo (like the ones below) of yourself holding a little sign with something you’ve learned from the Oprah Winfrey Show. And then:

- Post your photo to the Thanks, Oprah! Flickr Group.
- Tweet your photo with the hashtag #thanksoprah.

I can’t wait to see them, and again I’ll post a roundup of my favorites here Wednesday. For now, here are mine.

Ten Things I’ve Learned from the Oprah Winfrey Show

Your turn.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with. If you’re not feeling photo motivated, comments are welcome too. Tune in Wednesday when we’ll discuss our collective wisdom and what to do next with our DVRs.

Gah! I have so much to tell you, but no time. A few things you should read in the meantime:

The Trephine got rid of everything that didn’t fit in her car: “All I can tell you is that I, personally, as an individual, was deeply unsatisfied with the way things were. I spent far too much of my time dusting my crap, arranging my crap, painting my crap, finding more crap I needed to go with my other crap, and suffering under the illusion that I would feel fulfilled and satisfied and happy just as soon as my life looked like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog and I were wearing the right pair of ballet flats and the most whimsical brooch.” (via Sarah Brown)

Tina Fey’s A Mother’s Prayer for Her Child: “And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.”

The Thingist’s Nerds, We Need to Have a Talk, “My fellow nerds, geeks, hackers, designers, makers, builders, and DIYers, there is something very very wrong with out culture right now. We’re jackasses to one another.” (via Tim Ferris)

How about you? What have you been reading that we should be reading? See you later this afternoon.

Refraining from sending Ke$ha my teeth,
Maggie

Hello team, please welcome my lovely, kind friend Roxanna from Every Day Treats. I saw her recently at Mom 2.0, and she always looks so smashing that I asked her to do a packing light for us. We were halfway through the trip by the time I asked, so she did an “unpacking” light when she got home instead. Enjoy.

Take it away, Roxanna:

DAY ONE

My flight landed at the exact time the opening cocktail party started, so getting dressed was a rush. After checking in, I went into my room changed out of my travel outfit (yoga pants, tank top and a cardigan — all in black) and slipped into this dress. It took five minutes. We all know that little black dresses are magic, and this one is stretchy and comfy, so wearing it feels exactly like wearing a T-shirt without pants.

Dress: Calvin Klein, purchased at TJ Maxx. Calvin Klein dresses fit me well, and TJ Maxx always has them in stock. Therefore, I never pay full price for them. Awesome.
Necklace: A find at a preppy little shop in Wellesley, MA. It cost $15 and I love it so.
Shoes: Naturalizer. These strappy heels are a gold/platinum color and go with everything, so they usually come with me on trips.

This is what I wore on the first day of the conference. I chose a purple top and yellow heels as a nod to Mardi Gras. I don’t think anyone noticed, but it was fun for me.

Unfortunately, I regret wearing jeans. I love skirts and dresses, and since winters are so cold where I live I don’t get to wear them as often as I’d like. So when I walked into the conference the first day and saw so many women in dresses, all I wanted to do was go change. But I didn’t. Instead I gave longing looks to anyone in a skirt and kicked myself for not taking advantage of a chance to wear what I like.

Even worse, I wore jeans so I wouldn’t stand out too much on my first day. I thought that’s what most people would be wearing. What a mistake! I’m always telling people that they should dress for themselves and I didn’t follow my own advice. Bad style blogger! Don’t be like me — pack things you love to wear and nothing else.

Top: Nordstrom, bought off season, so it was 60% off!
Jeans: Joe’s Jeans, also from TJ Maxx.
Shoes: Seychelles purchased at Saks…Off 5th. And they were on sale. Again, I don’t pay full price if I can help it.

NIGHT ONE

After a busy day bummed out by my too casual attire, I was so happy to change into something dressier. We had plans for an evening of misconduct on Bourbon Street. This was my favorite outfit from the entire trip. The night started at Pat O’Brien’s and ended at Galitoire’s, and I was comfortable at both places because I dressed for myself. Lesson learned!

You know how those makeover TV shows tell you to mix textures to “add interest” to your outfits? I think that this is what they mean. I love this skirt because it’s shiny and you can’t tell if it’s made of leather or fabric. People can’t help but touch it — which means that I was petted by many lady bloggers.

I would never pair this skirt with flats at home, but my feet were tired from wearing heels all day at the conference and these were my only other option. Limited choices force you to be creative, and in the end I loved how the whole thing came together.

Top: AK Anne Klein from TJ Maxx! (Are you sensing a pattern? I have an awesome one right by my house.)
Skirt: J. Crew, bought off season and on sale.
Shoes: Aldo

DAY TWO

I’m obsessed with personal style blogs and this is me trying to look like a style blogger. I could use some practice. I was going for sultry, but the expression on my face is actually me noticing that I need to mop my floor:

Housekeeping aside, this outfit is so comfortable. This skirt is better than wearing yoga pants, because it’s missing the pants part. I take it with me on almost every trip. You can also wear it as dress, and while I prefer longer skirts it’s nice to have options.

Tee: Banana Republic (I paid $5 for it!)
Skirt: J. Crew
Shoes: Jack Rogers (these never go on sale, but I live in them in the summer so they’re worth it.)

NIGHT TWO

I wore the same dress with different jewelry and shoes (the black flats) to the reading at the Eiffel Society. I actually had another skirt and top to wear, but it turns out I didn’t even need them. If you travel a lot, invest in a black sheath.

And that’s it! Other than my travel outfit and another set of workout clothes to sleep in, this is everything I brought to the conference. Everything fit in a carry on and it was more than enough. See you next year!

Thanks, Roxanna. You are a peach. If you’d like to read more on Roxanna’s packing light philosophy, you might like this short post from her site. Please let me know in comments if you’d like to see more Packing Light features from friends (maybe a guy friend?), or if there’s anything that’s been perplexing to you about how to fit everything in a carryon. I’ve been getting a lot of requests for packing lists for people who have tough trips ahead of them. Is that something you care to see, or too personalized to be of use? Let me know.

Lunch at the recently opened Mission Cheese with Mai.

Go, little cheese shop, go!