I made some amazing friends when I was in grad school. After graduation, I resumed my life here in Durham while many of my favorite ladies stayed in Greenville. We keep in touch and try to visit as often as possible, since we’re only about an hour away from each other, but unfortunately life tends to get in the way. A few weekends ago, however, a couple of my favorites came to visit me and we had a wonderful girls’ day out. We started with brunch & margaritas, then went to a wine tasting, then shopping, had “hipster” coffee, and ended the night at the best sushi place in town. And this is what I wore. It was much warmer that day, so I wore flats and changed into a cute pair of nude heels I purchased during our shopping spree, but since it’s cold and snowy now, I tried it with ankle boots and really like the outcome.

BTW, these friends convinced me to join Snapchat, so there’s that. I’ve used it a few times, but I feel like I’m an old dog trying to learn new tricks! We’ll see if I can stick with it long enough to master it.

Blouse: Gap | Blazer: Banana Republic | Jeans: Banana Republic | Ankle Boots: BP Trolley via Nordstrom | Jewelry: Old Navy 

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I really like this dress because it’s comfortable, warm and stylish. I’ve worn this outfit several times, mostly to the office and probably even to the grocery store a time or two; it’s quickly becoming a go-to. It snowed here in NC over the weekend, as you can see, (and I love snow so I was really excited) but I also got to test out this outfit in really cold weather. That’s how I know it’s the perfect winter dress!

Even though this dress is office-appropriate, I added the blazer to make it feel more “office chic.” I got a lot of compliments on it!

And here’s the fun blooper: adjusting my tights!

Dress: Gap | Necklace: via Le Tote | Fleece-lined Tights: gifted | Sunglasses: Target | Ankle Boots: Old Navy | Blazer & Coat: Banana Republic

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In the title of this post, cold refers to temperature in NC this week, and gray refers to my denim. On Monday I asked where’s winter because it was warm enough to wear a light blazer and, this week, winter came calling! I took these photos on a very cold day. So cold, in fact, that I wanted to get more/better photos but I just couldn’t handle it and ran back inside. Now, as I type this on Thursday night, we’re awaiting the snow. I’ll probably wake up tomorrow to snow before this post is even published.

Anyway, I wore this outfit mostly chilling – literally – around the house on MLK Day, watching Angie Tribeca. I did run out to get lunch so the only folks that saw me were the guys as Jimmy Johns. As for the jeans, they’re gray. Not really much to say about them except that the knee patch hits right below my knee instead of on it. #shortgirlproblems

Sweater: Old Navy | Scarf & Denim: Banana Republic | Shoes: Gap Outlet

Sometimes you like an outfit better in your head than you do on your body. This is one of those outfits for me. I wore it several months ago to my part-time job and I wasn’t going to post it but it’s a real-life outfit so here you go! I can’t quite articulate what I don’t like about it, but I think it has something to do with the leggings. Also, that bun could use some work. The reality is that there are days like this where you make it work until you get home and change into your pajamas!

Blouse: Banana Republic | Leggings: Old Navy | Shoes: Mix No. 6 via DSW | Necklace: via Stitch Fix

Where are you, winter? There was a week or so here in North Carolina where the temperatures dropped to seasonally appropriate levels but then it warmed back up. As much as I’d like to be wearing sweaters and scarves in January, I took advantage of  the warm up to wear this cute blazer. I don’t wear it very often because I’m still figuring out what colors I like pairing it with, but this blouse was definitely made for it, with all those cute colors and patterns. In full disclosure, before I left I for work, I unrolled my jeans and wore them long. I think both ways looks great, but unrolled felt better for the office. Next time, I’ll wear the top and blazer with a cute pair of trousers.

So, I see now that you barely notice the necklace I paired with the shirt, so next time, I’ll skip the necklace altogether. Also, straight hair don’t care. I really need a haircut!

Blazer: Blazer: market & spruce via Stitch Fix | Blouse: Target | Denim: kensie via Stitch Fix | Shoes & Necklace: Target | Bracelets: Old Navy

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