Now that I have my general life resolutions all set for 2016, it’s time to think about my style & blog resolutions. I recently read an interesting article by Kristy Ellington for ModCloth, featured on PopSugar Fashion titled I Let a Fashion Editor Dress Me For a Week, and Here’s What Happened. I figured it would be the typical I-was-pushed-outside-of-my-comfort-zone story, and it was, but what really struck me was the author’s realization that her fear of stepping outside of her fashion comfort zone was creeping into how she viewed her everyday life. The entire article is worth reading, but here’s where it really gets good:

“And it was there, in this unlikely outfit on a random Thursday, I realized something very important: “I could never pull that off” was creeping into how I thought about other things in my life and totally holding me back. […] Not being able to “pull that off” was becoming my excuse, my crutch, my limitation to avoid failure. But it was also keeping me from growing and learning new things. So I made a promise to myself to stop trying not to “pull things off” and just do it.”

Whoa, you guys, that’s deep. Especially when I’ve heard tale of so many ladies feeling like fashion is frivolous and unimportant and that they can’t “pull it off.” But I can definitely relate because not only have I said I can’t pull off some cool fashion trend, but I’ve also said I can’t pull off some aspect of my life. Like, I could never pull off that job because so I won’t even apply or I don’t know how to network so I could never pull off that event. Taking a cue from this astute view of “just do it,” I’ve decided to make some style resolutions for 2016. As for the blog, I resolve to post 3-4 times per week. I’d like to incorporate more life and writing posts along with my outfits, and I’m going to work on my photography skills.

Style Resolutions

1. Determine my style. I’ve tried a few trends over the last few years and some of them worked and some didn’t, and that’s okay. But somewhere along the way I lost track of what makes me feel like me, so I’m going to figure it out this year. I think this will require a full closet clean-out but I’m up for the challenge.

Getting my jewelry organized has already been a huge help in achieving my style goals for this year!

2. Invest in pieces I love. Once I’ve determined my style, I’m going to only purchase pieces I really love and can see myself wearing over and over. I’m ashamed to admit that on more than one occasion I’ve bought pieces simply because I didn’t have anything in that color or because I thought I needed it but it didn’t fit quite right or something else was off about it so I only wore it once and left it sitting in the back of my closet. Well, I will do that no more!

Now it’s time to organize my closet, starting with these sweaters.

3. Only wear high-quality shoes. Look, we all know that shoes are awesome and it’s exciting when they’re super cheap because you can buy so many pairs. But then they fall apart or cause your knees to ache because they don’t offer enough joint support (that’s a thing, right? or did I make it up?). So, to determine my style and invest in pieces I love will include buying high quality shoes with lots of support.

It’s not that my current shoes are bad, but they could be better. I’m not going to complain about a closet full of shoes 😉

4. Get better at dressing for my age. I stopped shopping in the Junior’s department years ago but I want to get better at dressing for my age. I’m 31 years old with an awesome career at a sweet nonprofit. I’ve resolved to start acting like it, and now my wardrobe needs to reflect it, as well. The good news is we don’t have a dress code, but keeping my age and lifestyle in mind will ultimately help me really determine my style.

5. Wear more lipstick. If I see a lipstick I like, I’m going for it. Until recently, I rarely ever wore lipstick because, you guessed it, I didn’t think I could pull it off. I always notice how polished it looks on other women and wished I could wear it, too. This year, I’m just going to do it.

Stick with me and find out how I do. Happy New Year!

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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

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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

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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