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

On Sunday, we went for brunch at one of our favorite spots, Parker and Otis, a little restaurant and giftshop in the historic downtown area of Durham. We love that they use fresh, local ingredients. That’s very common in Durham, though; it’s very much a wonderful foodie town. Parker and Otis have so much wonderful stuff that it’s almost overwhelming. But you can go in and order a yummy breakfast or lunch (or in our case, brunch) and then browse through all of the candies, knick-knacks, cards, wine, and cooking paraphernalia while you wait.

They have lovely seating inside and out. Sunday was a bit gloomy as far as the clouds go, but it wasn’t too hot or humid so we were able to comfortably sit outside and enjoy our meal.

I got a grilled pimento cheese with bacon on sourdough bread. Their homemade cole slaw is the default side, and it’s delicious. If you’re not familiar with pimento cheese then you are missing out. It’s an indulgent spread made of various cheeses, mayonnaise, and pimentos. Everyone has their own recipe and most are very delicious. Parker and Otis’ pimento cheese is also very good!

Nick got a grilled banana, peanut butter, and bacon panini with a side of fresh fruit.

We had a visitor while we ate: this cute little guy!

Lots of scrumptious candies and food stuffs. And a coffee bar

I told Nick that I want to make a chandelier just like this. I mean, really, how amazing is this? I think it’s just beautiful!

Cook books galore! And plenty of pots and pans and other cooking utensils.

The area around Parker & Otis is very industrial because the majority of the buildings in the area were warehouses used for tobacco processing.

This is what I wore for our little outing. Can you think of anything more comfortable than these drapey pants? They looked great when I wore them out and were super comfortable when I got home and kicked off the wedges to sit at my computer and get some school work done.

That’s it for our little outing. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the cool things Durham has to offer!

Shirt: Gap (old)
Cardigan: Old Navy
Pants:Old Navy
Wedges: American Eagle by Payless
Necklace: Hawthorne Collection (online)
Handbag: Franco Sarto via Ross

An earworm is a snippet of a song that gets stuck in your head and repeats over and over.  Over 90 percent of people suffer from this debilitating condition at least once a week.  Studies have shown that one possible cause is our mind’s being in a “low attention state”, which explains why I always get an earworm when I’m walking Mia in the morning.  I’ll be sharing these Morning Earworms with you every morning (that I remember to) because misery loves company.  Enjoy!

I love how random some earworms are.  Today we’re going back to 1992 with Arrested Development’s “People Everyday”, off their debut album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of…..  I wasn’t really big on hip-hop at the time, but I remember seeing their video’s on MTV and being drawn to the more funk and jazz inspired style of hip-hop than more traditional rap.  That’s still my preferred style of hip-hop today.  The line-up has changed a bunch over the years, but Arrested Development is still touring and putting out new records.

An earworm is a snippet of a song that gets stuck in your head and repeats over and over.  Over 90 percent of people suffer from this debilitating condition at least once a week.  Studies have shown that one possible cause is our mind’s being in a “low attention state”, which explains why I always get an earworm when I’m walking Mia in the morning.  I’ll be sharing these Morning Earworms with you every morning (that I remember to) because misery loves company.  Enjoy!

Another concert I was disappointed to miss was Durham’s own Sylvan Esso.  Amelia Meath’s melodic voice layered over Nick Sanborn’s inventive beats make any song off their self titles debut album get stuck in your head.  I imagine their shows are full of dancing energy after watching some of their video’s.

Update – they’re playing the Haw River Ballroom on Halloween, maybe I’ll try to catch that show.

I’m hoping utility vests never go out of style. I got this one online last summer thinking I would wear it all the time but then when I put it on, I would get anxious that it looked too big. It’s much longer than I anticipated, and I’m sure that’s because I’m so short. It probably fits just right on an average person. It’s also more gray than green/olive, but I really liked all of the extra details like the leather patches on the shoulders and the studs around the pockets. So, whether it’s big or not, I’ve decided to embrace it.

Nick was at the U.S. Open all last week so I decided to treat myself with new shoes. Hey, he gets what he likes and I get what I like. It’s a win-win. This was the first outfit I thought of wearing with them because it’s simple enough to let the shoes and the vest pop. I like the way it turned out.

Here’s the fun one:

Linking up with More Pieces of Me

Shirt: Old Navy
Jeans: Kensie via Stitch Fix
Vest: Conversation Pieces
Wedges: Target
Necklace: Hawthorn Collection (online)
Bracelet & Earrings: Old Navy
Sunnies: Target