How gorgeous is the beading on this tank? I fell for it as soon as I saw it. It’s a little heavier than a normal tank with all the beading and it *kind of* feels like I’m wearing a suit of armor (or at least that chain/mesh hand glove they use at restaurants when cutting meat), but it’s so pretty.

I wore this outfit for dinner at our house. Nick invited his coworker and coworker’s girlfriend over for dinner because they are in town from Argentina. It was such a fun night, and I really enjoyed learning about their culture. It’s so different and yet so similar to our own here in the U.S. It also made me realize how much I miss speaking Spanish and learning about other cultures so I might start taking some classes and make more of an effort to immerse myself so that I can be fluent again. It’s true that if you don’t use it you lose it. Stay in school, kids.

Cardigan: Banana Republic | Blouse: search for sanity via Nordstrom Rack | Crop Trousers: Karen Kane via Stitch Fix | Shoes: Old Navy | Jewelry: Old Navy

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! My professional paper/thesis is almost complete and my presentation/defense is this week so I’ve finally had some time to 1) actually get dressed in a new outfit and 2) to snap a few pictures of the outfits. This last week it got up to 80 degrees, which is definitely shorts weather, and I don’t wear shorts all willy nilly. But these are so comfortable, so I couldn’t wait to wear them. They’re the perfect length, as well.

I wore this outfit to class and to the office, and out to dinner with friends.

Top: Old Navy | Shorts: Gap | Necklace: Banana Republic | Bracelet: Old Navy | Shoes: American Eagle via Payless

What it feels like when writing your thesis.

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Hey eveyone,

I’m sorry for my absence but I’m alive and well, if you consider being completely stressed out to be ‘well’! I have about 4 weeks of graduate school left – and exactly 32 days until graduation – so I’m in the final stages of writing my Professional Paper (which is like a thesis but slightly less intense) and preparing my presentation (which is like a thesis defense but slightly less intense) and finishing up all of the other little assignments that stand between me and a Master of Public Health degree. These last few weeks have been filled with late nights, last-minute writing, and even some tears. For that reason, I’ve been repeating a lot of outfits and keeping it pretty simple since all of my creativity is going into writing for school. The photos in this post are to give you an idea of what I’m wearing, which is basically anything that is remotely comfortable, like jeans and t-shirts. But feel free to scroll through and see some of the outfits that have been on repreat.

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I did have a presentation this week so I wore this outfit, but switched out the purple cardigan for a green one.

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Aww, do you remember my long hair? I do!

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It was pretty chilly out one day last week so I had to break out the sweaters. It wasn’t that cold, so I wore a cropped sweater.

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I wore this maxi skirt but with a different tee. That’s one of the best things about this outfit formula, you can switch it up as much as you want!

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I actually got rid of these gold flats because they didn’t fit that great, but I did wear this outfit with different flats to run to the grocery store.

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Haha, I love Calvin and Hobbes, and I think this is the cutest little comic ever!

Calvin, on writing a thesis.

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It’s finally Spring! The trees in my neighborhood are blooming with beautiful pink and white flowers and there are daffodils are everywhere. I love daffodils because they remind me of my grandmother. Her birthday is March 21st, which is right around the time that they start blooming. When I was a little girl, I would go out and pick a huge bunch to give her for her birthday. As an adult, I often try to visit her but I was too busy with school this year, so I called her and talked to her for a while, which was really nice. I don’t know if they’re her favorite flower or not, but they sure hold a special meaning to me! So, while some folks may call this shirt mustard yellow, I’m calling it daffodil yellow in honor of my Granny Annie (yes, that’s what we’ve always called her!).

I wore this outfit to work on one of the nicest days we’ve had in a while. It was sunny, bright, and warm. I thought about wearing a light scarf with it, but worried I might get hot and take it off and what’s the point in that? Instead, I layered a bunch of necklaces with it, which I think look better than a scarf because you can still see all of the pleating details at the top. Add simple neutral flats and cute headband and voila, you’ve got a cute spring look!

Blouse: ModCloth | Denim & Flats: Old Navy | | Long necklack: gift from my MIL; WalMart; Old Navy | Headband: Target

Daffodils for reference! 🙂

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Linking up with Carylee at More Pieces of Me

It’s time for this week’s Friday Four, a fun survey I’m doing so that my readers can get to know me a little better. This week I’m talking about four places I have been.  Nick and I love traveling and seeing new places, and I try to write about it as often as I can. Two of our favorite traditions are 1) to take daycations, or small vacations that we can do in one day and 2) when we take long road trips, we research restaurants en route that have been featured on Food Network, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, etc. and make sure to stop at them on our way. If you’re a new reader (or a regular that missed some of these earlier posts) please check out the following pages on my blog!

I just wrote about our Mini Vacation to Savannah, GA so I won’t include that one here, but be sure to read about it if you haven’t already.

1. Middletown, RI.

My first flight ever was for a daycation to Rhode Island to eat at Flo’s Clam Shack. This is the trip that started it all and you should read all about it and even watch my videos here. It all began because my job was sending me to a conference in Denver, CO, and I had never flown before; I’d never even set foot in an airport – hard to believe, I know! I was so scared about taking a 3-hour flight for the first time all by myself, and Nick suggested we take a short flight together before the conference so I would have some experience. He found some really cheap tickets to Rhode Island and off we went. It was a fun and exhausting experience but one I’ll never forget.

This blog post was when I first started blogging so please excuse the different sized photos and weird pull quotes; I was still trying to figure it all out.

2. Atlanta, GA.

I’ve actually been to Atlanta several times but most recently was almost two years in August 2013, right after I started graduate school. We wanted to take a daycation before I got so busy with school and we couldn’t do anything for a while. We went to The Little Tart Bakeshop for breakfast, then explored the Historic Oakland Cemetery, followed by chocolate at Cocoa Atlanta Chocolate Shop, and finally lunch at Bone Garden Cantina. Read all about it here.

3. Illinois.

Nick is originally from Illinois and still has a lot of family that lives there. We’ve taken several road trips to visit for various birthday celebrations, weddings, etc. I documented most of the last trip we took to Illinois and the different places we stopped along the way. The first was the Parkette Drive In restaurant in Lexington, KY, and then we stopped again in Champaign, IL to eat at Fat Sandwich Company, where they put everything but the kitchen sink in their sandwiches and they’re so good! Read all about it here.

4. Puerto Rico.

Nick and I went to Puerto Rico for our honeymoon in May of 2012 and I fell in love with the ‘isla de encanto’ or island of enchantment. For the past three years, I’ve been working on a page about it but I barely have enough time to get outfit photos up so it’s been really difficult to finish that post. I’ll make that my goal for this summer! Anyway, we did so many fun and amazing things like take a walking food tour, swam in the ocean in a spot that only locals knew about and then ate at a delicious road side food stand, we explored a beautiful cave, climbed a waterfall and zip-lined back down, played in the bioluminescent bay, and explored the city. I loved every single thing about Puerto Rico and I cannot wait to go back.

*All photos by me.

Where all have you been? What is/was your favorite place to visit?