Apparently, I have a thing for little green dresses! I have three of them so far. However, I didn’t have a fancy green dress so when I saw this one, I had to have it. I figured it would make a good holiday dress and I was right. I wore this to my graduate program’s winter social. It wasn’t very cool out, even though it is December, so I didn’t need a wrap or jacket. But I did wear sparkly tights because SPARKLY TIGHTS!

I’ve been looking for a black clutch and wouldn’t you know, during our day of cleaning house, I found this old thing! It’s pretty outdated and kind of tiny and the cell phone pocket was made for a small flip phone (that should tell you how old it is!). I don’t think I’ll be keeping it, but it’s working until I find a new one.

These stud earrings were a gift from my mother-in-law. I don’t usually wear studs because of my attached earlobe but I love their simple sophistication.

I probably like green so much because it brings out the green in my eyes!

And here’s the blooper: eyes closed

Dress: Ya Los Angeles via a little boutique in Wilmington, NC called Planet | Booties: Target | Tights: Banana Republic | Earrings: gift from my mother-in-law | Clutch: who the hell knows!

Linking up with InDUFFinitely Me | Walking in Memphis in High Heels | I Do DeClaire | Tucker Up | Because Shanna Said So | The Pleated Poppy | The Tiny Heart | Perfectly Coutured | Living in Color Style

You may (or may not) have noticed that I’ve taken a short break from blogging. That’s partly because I had a lot of work to do as the summer session and my internship came to a close, but partly because I’ve been a little unhappy with my clothes and with blogging lately.

I started style blogging because I was really inspired by the amazing bloggers I’ve been following.  I was really excited about my outfits and wanted to share that with others. I felt good, I was getting a lot of complements and, most importantly, I felt comfortable; I felt like myself. I’m sure this happens to all bloggers, especially when starting out, but soon I started to feel like I was trying to keep up with the Joneses, and that I was dressing for the blog instead of dressing for me. I was doing way too much shopping (read: spending too much money) and purchasing pieces that I didn’t really like because I thought they would look good on the blog. And that’s not what I wanted my blog to be. I want it to be about having great style with easy, inexpensive pieces.

From a recent shopping trip

So, I’ve still been getting dressed these last couple of weeks but without constantly wondering if what I was putting together was cute/trendy/stylish/whatever enough for the blog, and the result has been great: cute outfits, a few complements, more confidence and comfort. Throughout all of this, I’ve also tried to take a good, hard look at what my style really is, and I’m thinking I’ll do a closet inventory post soon to get rid of the pieces that aren’t really me so that I can show you outfits that I really love and feel completely comfortable in. So, if you’ve followed me on my journey thus far, I am so thankful to you, and I hope you’ll continue to follow along. I have some cute outfits that I’m excited to show you!

source: Pinterest

I think I’ve found the perfect dress. I wore this outfit last week to my day at the clinic and I got so many compliments from the nurses, mostly about my shoes. They kept telling me how nice they looked and kept asking if they were comfortable. I’m sure that comfort is really important when you’re a nurse who’s on your feet all day.

I really like this outfit because it’s a nice mix of high- and low-end pieces. The blazer is from Banana Republic and the dress is from Target. That counts as mixing high & low, right? This dress is so comfortable that I’m probably going to live in it for the rest of the summer. And I added the blazer as a professional touch. I felt really official at the clinic!

I love a dress that you can class up a bit and wear  to the office (or a health clinic) or you can keep it casual and wear it out for lunch or lounging around with friends. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

Dress: Target
Blazer: Banana Republic
Wedges: American Eagle by Payless
Necklace: gift from my MIL
Bracelet: Old Navy

I wore this to the food truck rodeo I posted about yesterday and it was really comfortable. The weather was just right  for lunch from a mobile cafe; it was partly sunny and not too hot, and then the clouds rolled in. Luckily we made it home (and snapped some photos) before it rained.

This dress is special because my mom has a matching one! We tried it on at the same time and we both liked it so much that we both left with one. This is the first time I’ve worn it because I had to have the shoulders taken up (being high-waisted is getting expensive!) so we haven’t had a chance to wear it at the same time, but I would totally do that because it’s cute and I don’t care!

Other than the stripes, I was really drawn to this dress because of the unique neckline. It gives this otherwise ordinary dress a little kick.

Linking up with Living in Color Style | Stylin’ in St. Louis |Mix + Match Fashion

Dress: Wal-Mart
Shoes: Target
Bracelet: Old Navy

Welcome back to another outfit round up!

This roundup feels very random because there’s a little bit of summer mixed with a little bit of fall. I’m about two and a half months into my new job (which I’m still absolutely loving, by the way!) It all depends on how I’m feeling that day, but no matter what, I don’t let myself wear pajamas because I personally have to get up and get dressed in order to be productive!

These could definitely go into my Work from Home Wardrobe Series, but in full disclosure, the middle two outfits were weekend outfits. I wore the linen shorts to the farmers market and the jeans were for lounging around on a lazy Sunday.

On to the outfits:

Blouse: One New Day (Target) | Skirt: Loft Outlet | Sandals: Old Navy

I am not great at pattern mixing but this felt cute! For some reason, I am really into yellow skirts right now and I loved the cute floral detail on this one. I decided to pair the yellow/floral pattern with a simple black and white stripe, and I think it works because of the contrast of the stripes on the top and skirt, with the flowers in the middle.

T-Shirt: LOFT | Cardigan: Old Navy | Jeans: Karrington Distressed Fray Hem Skinny Jean by JUST BLACK | Sandals: Tommy Hilfiger | Sunnies: Target

This is just a great outfit for fall wearing an adorable t-shirt that says “It’s Fall, Y’all” and has photos of typical fall things like a pumpkin, a dachshund wearing a vest and scarf, a sweater, a hat, a cup of coffee, etc. I could not resist this shirt when I saw it.

T-shirt & Linen Shorts: Old Navy | Sandals: Tommy Hilfiger

I’m absolutely loving this late summer look! And best of all, it’s so comfortable. I wore it to the farmers’ market this weekend and then we had a little picnic lunch in the shade of a tall oak tree. It was the perfect ending to summer. Now, bring on fall!

T-shirt & Cropped Pants: LOFT

It’s fall, y’all! Yes, when I first purchased and wore this shirt, September has just begun. But technically it was meteorological Fall so that totally counts. Also, it was much cooler and less humid in our neck of the woods so I took advantage of the nice weather to break out some of my fall candles and colors.

I’m hoping to keep the outfits coming and with better photos. Thanks as always for sticking with me!

Xo, Nikki