Welcome back to another outfit round up! This is the first round up I’ve had of outfits I’ve worn since starting my new job. Our dress code is about the same as any other nonprofit/academic institution which is business casual and jeans are fine. I’ve been trying to dress it up and get back into my professional style & mindset. These are a sampling of the outfits I’ve worn in the last few weeks that are trying to be *slightly* more business and less casual.

Loving these outfits.

Obviously bathroom lighting isn’t ideal for outfit photos and the lighting in the restroom at my new office is the worst. It’s really hard to get the color of my clothes in these photos. My navy blue pants, gray skirts, and brown tights all look darker than they actually are but hopefully you get the gist.

Sweater: ModCloth | Skirt: Ann Taylor | Loafers: Universal Threads via Target | Necklace: J. Crew Outlet

I’m back! Same cute photos, different bathroom mirror. I recently started a new job as a program coordinator at Duke University and so far I am loving it! My team is amazing, the office environment is bright and happy, and I’m excited about getting dressed each morning.

I wore a brown Tweed-esque blazer (complete with elbow patches) this morning but it was almost too much… cuteness! It’s maybe a little too soon for all those professor vibes ?

Sweater: Market & Spruce via Stitch Fix | Skirt: Lofe | Boots: Old Navy

It was a cold one when I wore this so I stayed cozy in a sweater and tights. This outfit was an attempt at me trying something trendy with a small skirt and large sweater. I like it, but I think it would have looked better if the skirt was a pencil skirt and more fitted instead of an A-line shape.

Sweater: ModCloth | Blazer: Banana Republic | Skirt: LOFT | Boots: Banana Republic | Necklace: J. Crew Outlet

I was feeling super cute on this day! New hair, new skirt, and dusting off some old boots to complete this awesome office look.

Blouse: Target | Cardigan: Croft & Borrow | Trousers: Banana Republic | Heels: via Amazon

It was almost 70 degrees in Durham the day I wore this, whereas one year ago we had 7 inches of snow. NC can never make up its mind about the weather so I wore this cute outfit with cropped trousers and new heels.

I’m hoping to keep the outfit photos coming but would love to find a way to get better lighting. Thanks for sticking with me!

Xo, Nikki

When I hit 30 years old, I started feeling like my body was falling apart. I definitely felt that way earlier last week when I broke my little pinky toe! I’ve stubbed my toes a million times and, while painful, they were no big deal. This time, however, my toe broke. Like, for real broke.

How did I break my toe, you ask? Was it doing something cool like learning how to skateboard or sliding into third base? Of course, not. I broke my little pinky toe on the corner of an ugly box in my living room that holds a stack of magazines I haven’t looked at in ages. Totally unsexy.

The culprit is the brown box in the left corner of this photo.

I was chasing after that beautiful boy of mine when I rounded the corner of the couch and stubbed my toe on the box in the bottom of the photo above. Of course it hurt and I didn’t think much of it until I looked down and saw that the toe was facing the opposite direction than what it should have been facing. Ouch! For a split second I thought I should just snap it back into place but I didn’t. I called Nick to come home and take me to urgent care where they sent me to the orthopedic urgent care. There, they set it back in place, buddy taped it (taped it to the toe next to it to keep it from moving too much, and fit me for a boot. I left with crutches. What an eventful day!

The next day I had a therapy appointment so Nick had to stay home from work in the morning to drive me. I didn’t have to use the crutches long because I was able to walk with the boot after a few days. Then, by the end of the week I was able to drive. I go back next week for x-fays to determine whether my toe is healing properly, and I’m hoping that the doc will tell me I can wear regular shoes again as long as I keep it buddy taped. Wish me luck!

Awkwardly walking on crutches down the sidewalk.

Each day I play a fun game where I find cute socks that I can wear with the boot, like these peanut butter & jelly socks!

Scroll down to the bottom if you want to see a photo of the toe facing the wrong direction right after I broke it. It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise. But I wanted to provide a warning in case you’re sensitive to that sort of thing.

Have you ever broken a bone?

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For the majority of my career, I’ve worked for nonprofit organizations. I love the work and I love that I feel good about what I do because I know we’re making a difference in the community. I also appreciate that I’ve never really had a hard dress code. Mostly, it’s always been wear whatever you want as long as you didn’t sleep in it (you know, pajamas). My current office is business casual which roughly translates to “anything but regular blue jeans” except on casual Fridays. And I really like this because it forces me to put some thought into my work wear without having to follow guidelines that are too rigid. Some days I feel like dressing up a little more than others and our business casual allows for that.

In my office, it’s not uncommon to see anything from skirt/pant suits to pretty skirts to chinos and a nice blouse. And I’ve worn them all. This is an outfit I work to work last week and it fit quite nicely. It could easily be a drab gray and white number but all of the little details take it up a notch. The tied belt and pleats add visual interest to the trousers while the sparkle of the shoe adds a little pep in my step 🙂

Who says you can’t look cute and fun even when you sit at a desk, entering data?! Now I just have to do something about that hair.

Top: Belk, I think | Trousers: Banana Republic | Shoes: Fioni via Payless | Necklace: Old Navy | Watch & Sunnies: Target

I returned some Christmas/birthday gifts and with the extra cash, I headed to Target to shop for purses and instead found this scarf. I was drawn to it immediately because of the beautiful colors and floral pattern, and I knew I had a lot of stuff I could wear it with but especially these cobalt flats. Like most of us, I usually try to match or coordinate my accessories and this combination was surely a match made in heaven.

this combination was surely a match made in heaven

I wore this outfit to tour a few day care centers near my house. Why was I touring child care centers, you might ask? Because on Thursday I accepted a job offer to work in the Development unit of a local women’s health organization as their development and program coordinator! I can’t tell you how grateful (and relieved) I am that they hired me knowing I’m 8 months pregnant AND knowing that they’re giving me maternity leave when I’ll have only been there for, like, a month. It only took me three months, which was only half the time it took me to find a job when I graduated from my masters program. This is definitely going to make life easier for my little family.

Back to the outfit: It was so nice in NC yesterday that it got too warm for the scarf. In fact, I removed it completely when I took Mia for her late afternoon walk. Now that I’m going to be working again, Nick and I did some shopping over the weekend for office-appropriate clothes should be able to wear both now and after the baby (with the help of my trusty belly band) and I can see myself wearing this scarf with most of the outfits that I bought. That means you’ll probably be seeing it a lot more on the blog!

Sweater: Banana Republic | Jeans: Mavi maternity via Stitch Fix | Scarf: Target | Shoes: Old Navy | Earrings: Spencer’s

I’ve been blogging for several years now — even thought it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s been that long — and I was curious as to just how much my style has changed over those years, especially now that I’m pregnant. It was really interesting to go back through the blog to see my outfits and the way I’ve evolved from year to year.

Reflections: I see consistent uses of a completer piece and denim. As much as I want to have a well-rounded wardrobe of jeans, dresses, and skirts, and non-denim bottoms, I always find myself reaching for the denim because it’s quick and easy to style. Also, I went through a phase, mostly when I was consistently working in an office, of wearing blazers ALL. THE. TIME. I still love blazers but it seems as though today’s style trends have started to move toward a more casual look, and blazers don’t feel that casual to me. I’m more interested in vests and sweater cardigans these days. Perhaps if I find another office job, I’ll be more likely to bust out my blazers. The biggest change I see is that my style and outfit formulas have gotten slightly more simple, which I think is a trend we’re seeing everywhere.  I don’t have a ton of time to plan what I’m going to wear so keeping it simple will also keep me sane! Do you think about your style evolution? Is it different or similar to what you were wearing 4 years ago?

2017 Original Post: Tee + Jeans + Boots

I wore this outfit to my doctor’s appointment and learned that I should be eating more peanut butter, avocados, loaded baked potatoes, ICE CREAM AND COOK OUT MILKSHAKES.

2016 Original Post: Girls’ Day Out

A couple of my grad school friends 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.

2015 Original Post: Distressed Denim and New Loafers

Flats in the winter because it felt like spring. NC just can’t make up it’s mind on whether or not we have seasons!

2014 Original Post: Winter Pink

This was a January day when NC decided it actually was winter and gave us 20-degree weather. Some of you might laugh at me because you regularly deal with negative temps in the winter but this was really cold for us!