Nick and I don’t make a big deal about Valentine’s Day. We usually get each other a card and maybe a small gift and dinner at Chipotle, but we’re of the mind that we don’t need one day of the year to show our love to each other; we do it every day in little ways. For example, when Nick wakes up first in the morning and makes a pot of coffee for me, even though he hates coffee. That’s love, folks.

BUT, if we were going to make a big deal of Valentines, like a fancy dinner (not at Chipotle) or a show or something else, this is what I’d wear. This outfit reminds me of when I was in middle school and had braces and would always coordinate my colored bands around the holiday – red and white for Valentines, Green for St. Patrick’s Day, etc. However, I’m loving this outfit so much that I plan on wearing it a lot even after Valentine’s is over.

Here’s as close to a fun one as I could get because it was really cold out!

BONUS: Nick is getting in on the action. His button-up is pink-ish.

Linking up with: Walking in Memphis in High Heels // A Journey in Style // Perfectly Coutured // Everyday Fashion and Finance // Penniless Socialite // Simply Lulu Style // Streets of Gold so be sure to head over there and check out the other amazing bloggers!

I wanted a flowy blouse and found this one on sale. It was love at first site in the dressing room! Because I’m so short, I have to be careful wearing flowy tops. I make sure they’re flowy but still the right proportions for my height, which is why I decided to belt this blouse/cardigan combo. I wore this to class last week and my friend told me I looked like a teacher. So, to all you teachers out there, you’re looking good!

This beautiful mint necklace makes me long for spring. And ice cream. I’ve said before that I don’t really like pairing bright or primary colors, and I think this is a good example of how I’d rather wear muted colors. Some folks are comfortable wearing yellow and green together, but I’d rather wear mustard and mint. Also, green and yellow were my high school’s colors so I steer clear.

And here’s the fun one:

BONUS: Nick’s wearing hot, red pants! Look how handsome my husband is with that sexy smile.

On Groundhogs Day, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, signifying 6 more weeks of winter. BUT I’m not sure North Carolina knows that. We had some cold weather, then some warm weather, then cold and warm again. I took advantage of one of the particularly warm days to wear some spring-like colors and pretend that winter was over. I’m really loving the pink and navy combination, and this bright pink blouse feels very Spring-y to me, especially because it’s sleeveless. Anyway, I wore this outfit to a small gathering to celebrate my friend’s acceptance to law school.

And here’s a fun one:

Sunday, oh Sunday.

Today’s serenade is more Fitz and the Tantrums. The “More Than Just A Dream” album has been playing on repeat in my car, and we’re going to see them in May so I’ve been loading up. Anyway, this song, Last Raindrop, is beautifully poignant, but has a good beat. “Now that winter’s fallen / all of the color’s gone”. I mean, who hasn’t felt that way at one point or another during the somber winter season?

This Week’s Top 5:

1. Skype:  Commuting 1.5 hours for grad school is tough because I miss out on a lot of study groups. But, thanks to Skype, I’m able to do homework and study with my school partner (who affectionately calls me his MPH mama because I try to keep him organized) and learn the material much easier than if I was studying on my own.

2. New Phones: New things are always exciting. This week I said good bye to my iPhone and said hello to the new Moto X. It syncs with all of my google accounts, which is way more useful for me since I’m NOT an Apple/Mac person (and I loathe iTunes). I’ve only had it a few days but, so far, I’m loving it! “Okay, Google Now… find me a latte!”

3.  Being Organized. It has taken me several weeks to get back into the swing of school after my month-long winter break. But I finally sat down this week and filled in my planner, wrote out to-do lists, and organized my files and folders. I’m still working on the time management aspect of online courses but I think being better organized about the rest of my studies will help!

4. Good Habits: For a while, I turned into the stereotypical student, staying up all night and sleeing in until late morning/afternoon. It was fun for a while but then I started feeling guilty because Nick was up in the mornings being productive while I struggled to stay motivated to get dressed for class. This week I started going to bed earlier, getting up earlier, going to the gym (kind of… baby steps!) and being more productive. And it feels great 🙂

5. Parking Spaces. I don’t know why, but parking causes me so much anxiety. The other night, Nick and I went out to dinner at a restaurant that is usually packed but has terrible parking. After circling the area several times and debating whether we should risk parking acrossthe street (where there are signs literally every few feet about getting towed if you park there and go to one of the restaurants across the street) we were resigned to just going somewhere to else to eat. We drove past one last time and, boom, a parking spot opened up! We snagged it and had a yummy, anxiety-free dinner.

Photo of the Week:

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen this but it’s probably the best photo I’ve ever taken so I wanted to share it again! We were out for brunch again when I snapped it. I’m planning to print and frame this (all of the coffee photos I’ve taken, which is at least 3 at this point) and hang them in the kitchen. How fun is that?

I pulled these pants out from the back of my closet. I think I’ve only worn them twice because the color scares me and I don’t know why. They’re not that much brighter than regular denim pants and yet when I put them on, I feel like they’re screaming. I don’t particularly like wearing “Crayola”  outfits, meaning any one bright color with another bright color. I shy away from wearing primary colors together because then there’s just too much color for  me.

Therefore, I have a hard time figuring out what to wear with these pants and that’s why they ended up in the back of the closet. I do like the look of the black sweater with them but I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone (but not too much) so I added the bright fuchsia scarf. I like the balance of the black between the two brighter colors, so it works.

Weird fact about me: I hate carrying purses so I never change them out from outfit to outfit. I rarely change them out at all. The most I do is throw a few important things in a clutch when I feel like adding a pop of color or don’t feel like carrying the big purse. If I were the type to change out my purse, I would have a bunch of them (I only have, like, 3) and I would be carrying a pink or black one with this outfit. But I’m not so I don’t. I love this purse (all things considered) so I just carry it.

And here’s the fun one! I can stretch in these pants if I need to run from something.