Hi everyone, I’m still here; I’m just trying to get my life together. I spend most of my days searching for and applying to jobs. Honestly, when I’m at home, it’s difficult for me to get dressed. Not physically, but mentally. Most days I sit at my desk, writing cover letters and tailoring my resume, and I do it all in my pajamas. When you have no job and nowhere to go, it doesn’t really matter what clothes you put on. So, I spend most days in PJs or yoga pants. When I’m not doing that, I’m either babysitting or volunteering.

I’ve noticed the time that I really enjoy getting dressed is when I volunteer. I spend one day a week at a public health organization that I admire and wouldn’t mind becoming a permanent part of someday. On those days, I get to dress in my office clothes.  I even brush my hair and put on makeup, two other things I never do when I’m at home all day!

This has made me realize how my identity as a professional really defines my style. When I was in grad school, I wasn’t quite sure how to dress because everyone was so casual but my warbdrobe consisted mainly of office attire. When I’m at home, unemployed, I feel useless so I don’t even bother getting dressed. But when I’m working (especially in an office setting) I’m in my element and, aside from following whatever dress code they set forth, I dress the part. My closet is full of pencil skirts, trousers, high heels, and cute tops. Since I don’t have an office to wear them to these days, they get tucked in the corner of my closet, along with my self-esteem. I’m sure something will come along eventually, but until then, I’ll just have to admire my clothes that make me feel the most like me from afar.

Here are a few photos that I’ve taken on my phone from my volunteer outfits. I’ll try to get real posts of them up soon but for now, bathroom pics might be the best we’ll get:

I took some of my babysitting money and went shopping with my friend at the outlet mall (wow, do I sound like I’m 15 years old, or what?). I bought the dress in the above photo from Loft Outlet, which I wore this week to volunteer. I also bought a few pieces that I think will make for good interview attire, if I could ever get one! I also got the casual dress below from Banana Republic Outlet. I plan on wearing it this weekend to a friend’s birthday celebration where we will drink a lot of beer and eat a lot of food from trucks!

Finally, Nick and I are seriously getting our butts back into shape. We’ve started a strength training program together, consisting of a lot of lifting of free weights which makes me feel a little awkward but really empowered at the same time. I have to admit that I love it. It’s my favorite type of work out so far, and I’m getting more comfortable with pushing myself to do more (safely, of course). I took a photo during our last workout, but it’s really blurry because I had just worked my chest and tricepts, so my arms were shaking a bit when I took it. Oops. I’m definitely going to feel that later!

Me, being all badass with the free weights at the gym!

So, that’s been my life lately. I’ve worn a lot of cute outfits that I want to put on the blog, I just have to get it together to take/post pictures. Soon, you guys. I promise!

Photo 1: Pants, Shoes, & Jewelry: Old Navy | Blouse: Gap | Sunglasses: Target
Photo 2: Dress: Loft Outlet | Shoes & Necklace: Old Navy
Photo 3: Dress: Banana Republic Outlet | Shoes: Target

Linking up with A Pocketful of Polka Dots & Charming Lucy

Y’all, I literally snapped these pictures right before the sky dropped with rain and hail. There isn’t really anything special about this outfit except that I wore it, and I knew that if I waited until another time to take photos they wouldn’t happen. So, in an effort to remian true to myself and what I want my blog to be, I braved Mother Nature’s fury to show you how I wore a cardigan with a cute dress that’s perfect for working in an office in the summertime. I chose a burgundy cardi over a black one to break up the monotony and I chose a cardi over a denim jacket because I wasn’t sure what the dress code would be in the office I wore this to. Turns out, it’s super relaxed.

I wore this outfit to my first official day as a volunteer with a public health organization in my town. I’ll be hanging out in their office about one day a week, helping with their social media campaigns and toolkits. I’m actually pretty excited about the work because it’s really interesting and I have a lot of ideas. And you never know, it could lead to a full-time position! I do feel bad, though, because I think I scared an intern into thinking there will be NO. JOBS. when she’s done with school. She has a year left in grad school (she’s basically where I was last summer) and is thinking of moving to the area when she’s done because she’s from out-of-state and says she likes it here in NC. When I told her it has been almost two months since I graduated and haven’t found anything yet, she looked a little wide-eyed and made a comment like, “oh, great.” I tried to reassure her that our fields are different and the work we each want to do is different, so she shouldn’t use my experience as a gauge of whether she’ll find something.  I hope she believed me because it’s true. I’m very picky specific about what I want to do, but I’m sure she’ll be just fine!

Dress: Target | Cardigan: Old Navy | Shoes: X-Appeal | Charm Necklace: Target | Long Necklace: Stitch Fix

I’d love to hear your experiences with volunteering. I’ve volunteered with several different organzations and I’ve found it more rewarding than I originally thought I would. Where have you volunteered and what kind of service did you provide?

The thought of wearing clothes right now is almost painful because of the heat wave. I’m lucky in that I get to stay mostly inside where there is air conditioning and cold drinks. In the event I have to venture out, it’s 100 degrees in the shade so I’m drawn to tank tops, shorts/skirts, and sandals. And white is perfect for summer! I wore this outfit to eat delicious tacos for dinner at one of our favorite taco joints, NanaTaco.

Oh, look what we have here: Nick has decided to make an appearance on the blog again, and he’s wearing summer whites, too! Nick wore this outfit to work with a tie and nice shoes, then changed into a pair of casual shoes when he got home.

Hers – Blouse: miami via Francesca’s | Shorts: Gap | Shoes: impo via Ross  | Sunnies & Handbag: Target | Necklace: Banana Republic

His – Shirt: Slate & Stone via Trunk Club | Pants: Banana Republic | Shoes: Clae via Trunk Club | Sunglasses: Oakley (prescription)

Linking up with Mix & Match Fashion | The Tiny Heart | Tucker Up | Walking in Memphis in High Heels | I do deClaire

I’ve never had a good plan for taking pictures of my outfits. To be completely honest, I still don’t but I’m closer to figuring it out now that I’m not commuting every day or out of town for weeks at a time. I’ve read that some bloggers will plan their outfits on the weekend and take their photos in bulk. I’ve tried this and it gets exhausing for me. Some bloggers are able to take photos the morning or evening they wear them. I’ve kind of tried this and wasn’t at all consistent, but I feel like I’m in a position to give this a more successful attempt. In the meantime, I’ll share some outfits that never made it to the blog, mostly because I was never able to take “good enough” photos of them. The good thing is that I *did* actually wear all of these outfits. Enjoy!

1. This one never made it to the blog because I didn’t think it was good enough. I wore it to work over the winter while I was a graduate research assistant. I think what turned me off to it was that the front of the white blouse lays funny in the front.

2. I’ve worn this outfit (or some variation of it) so many times that there really isn’t any excuse for not getting good pictures. I probably didn’t think it was good enough for the blog either, even though it totally is. This was back when I felt immense pressure to “dress for the blog” instead of dressing for me. I’m getting much better at dressing in what I like instead of what I think will look good on the blog. Anyway, It’s a floral skirt from Old Navy that is really pretty and feminine and comfortable.

3. This is actually the Part 2 to my Birthday Outfit Part 1 post. I turned 30 last year and to celebrate, Nick and I had a nice spa day in the morning and then went out to a fancy dinner that night. I wore this dress for dinner, and we were going to get pictures before we went out but it never happened. I hadn’t planned on wearing the wrap or the black pantyhose, but it was so cold out that I didn’t have a choice. I don’t know what I was expecting though, because my birthday is in December! *Please excuse any mess or four-legged furbabies in the background!*

4. Okay, full disclosure: I haven’t worn this exact outfit yet. BUT I’ve worn the pants with a different shirt for a date night and it was sooo cute that I’m determined to get photos of it for the blog, so please stay tuned. However, it was this outfit that I put together in the dressing room that convinced me to take the plunge and purchage these pants, since they’re slightly out of my comfort zone.

5. This was an outfit I wore several winters ago! In fact, that shirt was in my very first Stitch Fix box. I think I’ve gotten rid of the blouse and the boots since then, but this was a really cute outfit that warmed up a cold day.

6. Another winter outfit that I probably felt was too plain for the blog. But I’m coming to terms that I have a really simple/somewhat minimalist sense of style and that’s okay. This is an outfit that was put on repeat that winter so, again, there’s no excuse to not have gotten a good photo of it.

7. Chambray and orange, it’ll never be wrong.

8. This was a spring break outfit two years ago. I did wear this blouse/cardigan combo with white jeans, but I like the casual feel of the darker denim, so maybe I’ll break this one back out and wear it again soon.

9. I wore this to a concert one evening, and the crop top was way out of my comfort zone but I went for it. The outfit is really cute but the skirt was really uncomfortable so I got rid of it.

10. Now we’re going old school. This was when I first started grad school in the fall of 2013 and decided to start style blogging. I didn’t have a nice camera, all I had was my old iPhone 4 – I’ve since divorced Apple and have a happy marriage with my Android devices – but this was my real life and were real outfits that I wore!

Maybe I’ll eventually get it together and take really good quality of some of these and repost them. But until then, I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a peak of the outfits that never made the blog!

2008 was a really good year for me: I had graduated from college, got a pretty good job, and met & moved in with a girl that would become one of my best friends. She taught me to a lot of awesome things like how to appreciate a glass of wine, the importance of quality friendships, and being brave enough to follow your dreams. I’ve always planned to go graduate school, but it wasn’t until I watched Maria face all of her fears and complete a graduate program that I was inspired to finally achieve my own goals of earning a higher degree. Now that I’m all finished, our other friend, Karen, is starting her journey through graduate school.

All of that to say that I wore this dress to a party in honor of Karen starting graduate school. It was hot as all get out that day so I wanted to be covered as little as possible, so I wore this cute little dress. I can’t believe I haven’t shared it on the blog before because it’s a nice go-to. It’s casual enough to wear to a party but it’s nice enough to wear to a nice event (which I did several summers ago: I wore it to an anniversary event for the organization I worked for). The only problem I have is it often feels shorter than it looks, so I get a little self-conscious.

The dress is from Ross, which I find to be less expensive than TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. Even so, I don’t shop there very often because I like to take my time to look everything over and I rarely have that kind of time. But I got it a long time ago (at least 6 years ago) and it’s still one of my favorites.

Here’s the fun blooper: Cleaning off my sunnies is hilarious!

Dress: BeBop via Ross | Hat: Banana Republic | Shoes, Necklace, & Sunnies: Target 

By the way, I’d like to wish my mother a very happy birthday today! She’s the best and I love her very much. Happy Birthday, Denise (aka mom)!

Linking up with Mix & Match Fashion | The Tiny Heart | Tucker Up | Walking in Memphis in High Heels | I do deClaire | The Pleated Poppy