Happy Friday, everyone! How’s this for a cute, summer-y office outfit? I’m declaring this summer the summer for dresses because they’re the first thing I reach for in the morning.  I previously wrote about how I have a closet full of dresses that I never wear (which is a lyric from a Shakira song, btw!) and even devoted a whole week on my blog to dresses in an attempt to motivate me to wear them more often. Nowadays, I can’t get enough dresses. Funny how the pendulum swings.

I love the colors in this dress. They’re so bright and happy! I think that’s why I wore this outfit to the office specifically on a day when we took our new intern out to lunch.  Do y’all do that, too? Plan to wear a specific outfit on a certain day because you’re going to be engaging in a particular activity? I do it all the time! I think “Oh, I have this new dress. I’ll save it to wear on X day because we’re doing Y thing.”

I love the flats with this dress but next time I’m going to dress it up with heels. I can’t wait!

Dress: Target | Necklace & Shoes: Old Navy | Blazer: Gap Outlet | Sunnies: Target

And when I’m not dressing it up with a blazer and flats for the office, I’m dressing it down with sandals for family time!

My little family

I made some amazing friends when I was in grad school. After graduation, I resumed my life here in Durham while many of my favorite ladies stayed in Greenville. We keep in touch and try to visit as often as possible, since we’re only about an hour away from each other, but unfortunately life tends to get in the way. A few weekends ago, however, a couple of my favorites came to visit me and we had a wonderful girls’ day out. We started with brunch & margaritas, then went to a wine tasting, then shopping, had “hipster” coffee, and ended the night at the best sushi place in town. And this is what I wore. It was much warmer that day, so I wore flats and changed into a cute pair of nude heels I purchased during our shopping spree, but since it’s cold and snowy now, I tried it with ankle boots and really like the outcome.

BTW, these friends convinced me to join Snapchat, so there’s that. I’ve used it a few times, but I feel like I’m an old dog trying to learn new tricks! We’ll see if I can stick with it long enough to master it.

Blouse: Gap | Blazer: Banana Republic | Jeans: Banana Republic | Ankle Boots: BP Trolley via Nordstrom | Jewelry: Old Navy 

Linking up with Hello Monday | Confident Twosday | Start the Week Stylish | The Pleated Poppy | Tucker Up

I really like this dress because it’s comfortable, warm and stylish. I’ve worn this outfit several times, mostly to the office and probably even to the grocery store a time or two; it’s quickly becoming a go-to. It snowed here in NC over the weekend, as you can see, (and I love snow so I was really excited) but I also got to test out this outfit in really cold weather. That’s how I know it’s the perfect winter dress!

Even though this dress is office-appropriate, I added the blazer to make it feel more “office chic.” I got a lot of compliments on it!

And here’s the fun blooper: adjusting my tights!

Dress: Gap | Necklace: via Le Tote | Fleece-lined Tights: gifted | Sunglasses: Target | Ankle Boots: Old Navy | Blazer & Coat: Banana Republic

Linking up with Hello Monday! | Start the Week Stylish | Confident Twosday

Where are you, winter? There was a week or so here in North Carolina where the temperatures dropped to seasonally appropriate levels but then it warmed back up. As much as I’d like to be wearing sweaters and scarves in January, I took advantage of  the warm up to wear this cute blazer. I don’t wear it very often because I’m still figuring out what colors I like pairing it with, but this blouse was definitely made for it, with all those cute colors and patterns. In full disclosure, before I left I for work, I unrolled my jeans and wore them long. I think both ways looks great, but unrolled felt better for the office. Next time, I’ll wear the top and blazer with a cute pair of trousers.

So, I see now that you barely notice the necklace I paired with the shirt, so next time, I’ll skip the necklace altogether. Also, straight hair don’t care. I really need a haircut!

Blazer: Blazer: market & spruce via Stitch Fix | Blouse: Target | Denim: kensie via Stitch Fix | Shoes & Necklace: Target | Bracelets: Old Navy

Linking up with Hello Monday | Thursday Fashion Files | Start the Week Stylish | Garay Treasures | Confident Twosday

I’m finishing up my Master’s program in May and with graduation comes a new job and… office wear! As crazy as it may sound, I’m actually really excited about getting back to working a 9-5 and wearing my pencil skirts on a regular basis. Office wear is much easier for me than casual wear, and I’ve talked a little bit about how difficult it was for me to figure out how to dress for graduate school. I worked in an office for about 6 years before going back to school, so I have a lot of practice with office wear. Plus, I’m really comfortable in it. All that to say that I’m starting to put together more work-appropriate outfits because I’m on the hunt for a real job, a career. This outfit is really simple: black shirt, black skirt, textured blazer and fun, sparkly shoes. It makes me feel like a realtor, which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not what I’ll be doing.

How cute is this little doggie necklace? It was a birthday gift from a friend; they know me so well!

And here’s the fun one: Maybe I’m a plane?

Top: Old Navy | Skirt: Target | Blazer: Banana Republic | Shoes: Fioni via Payless | Necklace: gift