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

There isn’t much color in this photo. Some days are just like that. There’s a pop of red in the lining of my trench, which you can see in the bottom photo, and there’s green/mint in the necklace, but I went straight up neutral. If I had red flats, I probably would’ve put those on instead. I wore this outfit on Sunday to meet up with my group to prepare for a presentation this week, and I wasn’t really inspired to wear color, especially since I was just going to be sitting in the library for a few hours.

BUT. There’s more to these flats than meets the eye. They have little, shiny studs that catch the light and sparkle. So I may not be wearing color, but I’m technically wearing sparkle, and in my opinion, that’s the true spice to life!

And here’s the fun one! Does this photo make anyone else think of a flasher? Ooops!

This is the first outfit that formed in my head when I saw this shirt. I’m still afraid of pattern mixing but it’s getting easier, and more fun. And what I love about this outfit is that it has a little bit of everything: it’s fresh, feminine, floral, stripes, pink, drapey-shaped shirt, form-fitting pencil skirt, pearls AND pattern mixing! I think it is one of my new favorite outfits; I want to wear it everywhere. If only the weather would cooperate again, I would wear it everywhere.

 And here’s the fun one: who doesn’t love sitting on a bench all pin-up style? Oh, just me? Alrighty, then.

I cannot get enough of this cardigan. It’s probably the best purchase I’ve ever made in my life because I wear it All. The. Time. And it looks great with a leopard scarf! Last fall I wore this white tee/mustard cardi/leopard scarf combo with jeans and boots, thanks to Audry at Putting Me Together. But jeans and boots didn’t seem appropriate in the warm weather so I went with a striped skirt and oxfords. Not too shabby, eh?

And here’s the fun-ish one: I’m trying not to blow away in the wind!