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Happy Birthday to me tomorrow! I can’t believe another year has gone by and that it’s time for me to share with you a few of my favorite outfits from this past year. Nick and I are spending my birthday at our nation’s capitol, visiting an old friend. Not a bad way to welcome 31.

Looking back, I see that I wore more skirts, dresses, and non-blue denim, which tells me that I’m doing a good job not automatically reaching for my jeans. In May, I graduated from my master’s program and after 6 long months I rejoined the workforce. This coming year, I plan to show my many neglected pencil skirts some much-needed love. And according to my favorite outfits, I seem to be well on my way to creating more office-worthy looks.  I feel like I’m trying to get a good grasp on what my style really is while still trying out new looks and trends. Since things are going to calm down a lot in 2016 – meaning I’ll be finding and maintaining a better routine – I believe this will be the year I really find myself.  So, without further ado, here are my 15 favorite outfits from this year.

Original Post 1: One of the best Pinterest-inspired outfits I’ve created

Original Post 2: A warm breeze in February had me dreaming of warm sunshine.

Original Post 3: For Valentine’s, Nick surprised me with dinner and a show… and I had to decide which look to go with.

Original Post 4: Sunshine and 80 degrees give you shorts weather.

Original Post 5: A gorgeous beaded tank that also *slightly* feels like a suit of armor!

Original Post 6: On Saturday, May 9, 2015, I graduated with my Master of Public Health degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University!

Original Post 7: I loved everything about this fun, spring-y outfit.

Original Post 8: In an attempt to reassess my closet, I found that I’m drawn more and more to neutral colors.

Original Post 9: I found a floral tank that mataches almost every cardigan and balzer in my closet.

Original Post 10: Here, I found a way to use inspiration photos to make the outfit my own.

Original Post 11: This is what I wear for a double date that includes lots of wine and cocktails.

Original Post 12: LBD look for day (and for night!)

Original Post 13: The Grecian-inspired dress that I wore to my friend’s Muslim wedding.

Original Post 14:  A new part-time job allowed me to dress in my office attire.

Original Post 15: I love this shirt, as evidenced by it showing up twice in my list!

I believe that 2016 is going to be the best yearyet for me, and I hope everyone has a happy New Year full of love and fun and whatever else you desire!

<3,
NCsquared

Linking up with Start the Week Stylish | Hello Monday | Trend Spin | Confident Twosday | Garay Treasures Blog

Photo by 2 & 3 Photography

As we do every year, we had beautiful family photos taken for our holiday cards. And, as they do every year, they turned out wonderfully thanks to the talented artists, Thad and Sarah, that make up the awesome duo behind 2 & 3 Photography.

Photo by 2 & 3 Photography

This year we wanted to add a little extra fun to our cards, so we changed into some tacky Christmas sweaters and dressed up as reindeer. We also made sure to get a few poses that were reminiscent of those awesome 80s photos where people stare off into the distance with awkward smiles. Check out the resulting card here, if you haven’t seen it already. Aren’t we adorable?

Photo by 2 & 3 Photography

Linking up with Start the Week Stylish | Mix it Mondays | A Lovely Little a la Mode Linkup | Hello Monday  | Confident Tuesday | The Pleated Poppy

Have you ever had a piece of clothing that you love so much that you want to wear it all the time and you almost do but you’re afraid of wearing it too often or  doing something much worse, like staining/ripping/ultimately destroying it so you talk yourself out of it almost every single time? This shirt is that piece of clothing for me. I love it. Like, LOVE IT, and I would wear it every single day if I could (in fact, I often do wear it several days in a row) but I’m *terrified* of messing it up and then I wouldn’t get to wear it ever again. But I got over that fear and wore it to the third day of my part-time office job and nothing terrible happened to the shirt, except that now I have to wash it, which is a whole other cause of anxiety that I’ll save for some other time.

The office environment where I just started working is very casual/relaxed because it’s just a few of us ladies doing some really important women’s rights work. We don’t have to meet with clients or anything like that – and I’m usually only there for about 3 hours a day – so this outfit is very appropriate.

Blouse: Joie via Nordstrom Rack | Cropped Trousers: Banana Republic | Shoes: Brash via Payless | Jewelry: Old Navy & Wal-Mart

Linking up Flashback Fashion Fridays Linkup | What I Wore to Work Linkup

Guess who’s working again? This girl! I mentioned in my last post that my friend helped me get a part-time job as the office manager of a women’s rights organization, which means I’m back in my pencil skirts. I’m not going to lie, it feels awesome to be back at work and to be all productive. I also felt really pretty leaving the house even though it was all gray and rainy, but Nick said I looked great and he was right.

The best thing is the organization understands that I’m still looking for something more permanent and full-time in my field (public health) so I plan to keep searching and interviewing for my dream job. But, in the meantime, I get to wear my pretty clothes and do awesome work with some really cool women!

This is the fun one, and my favorite one:

Blouse: Lush via Nordstrom Rack | Blazer: Banana Republic | Skirt: Loft Outlet | Shoes & Bracelets: Old Navy | Necklace: via Stitch Fix

Linking up with I do eClaire | Hello Monday Linkup | A Lovely Little a La Mode Linkup | Flashback Fashion Fridays Linkup | What I Wore to Work Linkup

A whole month has gone by and I haven’t posted a single thing. For that, dear readers, I apologize. I’ve mentioned a time or two how I’m not the greatest blogger and that’s only made more difficult when life starts to get the better of you.

We received some unfortunate news a few weeks back; Nick was informed he’d be getting laid off from his job, along with about 200+ other employees of this company. Needless to say, I had to focus on more pressing matters than taking pictures of my clothes. I don’t make any money from this blog so it was put on the backburner while we kicked up our job search, reached out to our networks, applied to every job we could find, and considered the very real possibility that we may have to give up our life that we’ve worked so hard to build in a community we love so much.

There is a bit of good news, though! I have amazing friends that have helped out in big ways. Thanks to my friend, Sarah, I started a part-time job as the office manager of a women’s rights organization that I really admire. I’ve also started a job in retail and Nick has picked up a part-time job in a bottle shop so I know we’re going to be alright. I feel really confident that more full-time opportunities in my field will pop up soon and Nick has a ton of poosibilities (not to mention a great mentor) so I just know something will come along for him soon, as well; life can’t get me down just yet!

The other good news is that I regularly get dressed for both of my jobs so that means more outfit posts! In the meantime, here are two outfit that I was planning to share before taking a break:

Blue Stripes Vol. 2:

You’re not experiencing déjà vu, I have worn an outfit almost identical to this one here. When you find a good formula, you should stick to it. I don’t have a lot to say about this one so I’ll just leave it here.

Top & Scarf: Gap | Jeans: Banana Republic | Shoes: Gap Outlet | Necklace: Loft Outlet

Palazzo Pants:

How fun are palazzo pants? They feel kind of like pajamas when I wear them. I feel like they’d look better if I were about 5-10 inches taller but these wedges make them work. I’ve only worn these once because they’re a tad snug these days but maybe this summer I’ll throw them on more often.

Top: Banana Republic | Pants & Wedges: Target | Jewelry: Old Navy

Since I’m regularly getting dressed for work, I’ll have more posts this week so stay tuned!