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Happy Birthday to me tomorrow! I can’t believe another year has gone by and that it’s time for me to share with you a few of my favorite outfits from this past year. Nick and I are spending my birthday at our nation’s capitol, visiting an old friend. Not a bad way to welcome 31.

Looking back, I see that I wore more skirts, dresses, and non-blue denim, which tells me that I’m doing a good job not automatically reaching for my jeans. In May, I graduated from my master’s program and after 6 long months I rejoined the workforce. This coming year, I plan to show my many neglected pencil skirts some much-needed love. And according to my favorite outfits, I seem to be well on my way to creating more office-worthy looks.  I feel like I’m trying to get a good grasp on what my style really is while still trying out new looks and trends. Since things are going to calm down a lot in 2016 – meaning I’ll be finding and maintaining a better routine – I believe this will be the year I really find myself.  So, without further ado, here are my 15 favorite outfits from this year.

Original Post 1: One of the best Pinterest-inspired outfits I’ve created

Original Post 2: A warm breeze in February had me dreaming of warm sunshine.

Original Post 3: For Valentine’s, Nick surprised me with dinner and a show… and I had to decide which look to go with.

Original Post 4: Sunshine and 80 degrees give you shorts weather.

Original Post 5: A gorgeous beaded tank that also *slightly* feels like a suit of armor!

Original Post 6: On Saturday, May 9, 2015, I graduated with my Master of Public Health degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University!

Original Post 7: I loved everything about this fun, spring-y outfit.

Original Post 8: In an attempt to reassess my closet, I found that I’m drawn more and more to neutral colors.

Original Post 9: I found a floral tank that mataches almost every cardigan and balzer in my closet.

Original Post 10: Here, I found a way to use inspiration photos to make the outfit my own.

Original Post 11: This is what I wear for a double date that includes lots of wine and cocktails.

Original Post 12: LBD look for day (and for night!)

Original Post 13: The Grecian-inspired dress that I wore to my friend’s Muslim wedding.

Original Post 14:  A new part-time job allowed me to dress in my office attire.

Original Post 15: I love this shirt, as evidenced by it showing up twice in my list!

I believe that 2016 is going to be the best yearyet for me, and I hope everyone has a happy New Year full of love and fun and whatever else you desire!

<3,
NCsquared

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Have you ever had a piece of clothing that you love so much that you want to wear it all the time and you almost do but you’re afraid of wearing it too often or  doing something much worse, like staining/ripping/ultimately destroying it so you talk yourself out of it almost every single time? This shirt is that piece of clothing for me. I love it. Like, LOVE IT, and I would wear it every single day if I could (in fact, I often do wear it several days in a row) but I’m *terrified* of messing it up and then I wouldn’t get to wear it ever again. But I got over that fear and wore it to the third day of my part-time office job and nothing terrible happened to the shirt, except that now I have to wash it, which is a whole other cause of anxiety that I’ll save for some other time.

The office environment where I just started working is very casual/relaxed because it’s just a few of us ladies doing some really important women’s rights work. We don’t have to meet with clients or anything like that – and I’m usually only there for about 3 hours a day – so this outfit is very appropriate.

Blouse: Joie via Nordstrom Rack | Cropped Trousers: Banana Republic | Shoes: Brash via Payless | Jewelry: Old Navy & Wal-Mart

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Guess who’s working again? This girl! I mentioned in my last post that my friend helped me get a part-time job as the office manager of a women’s rights organization, which means I’m back in my pencil skirts. I’m not going to lie, it feels awesome to be back at work and to be all productive. I also felt really pretty leaving the house even though it was all gray and rainy, but Nick said I looked great and he was right.

The best thing is the organization understands that I’m still looking for something more permanent and full-time in my field (public health) so I plan to keep searching and interviewing for my dream job. But, in the meantime, I get to wear my pretty clothes and do awesome work with some really cool women!

This is the fun one, and my favorite one:

Blouse: Lush via Nordstrom Rack | Blazer: Banana Republic | Skirt: Loft Outlet | Shoes & Bracelets: Old Navy | Necklace: via Stitch Fix

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You know what’s delicious? Indian buffets! You know what skirt isn’t a good choice to wear to one? This one! I wore it to lunch with Nick where we went to our favorite Indian restaurant/buffet near his office, and I left with a food baby that this skirt didn’t conceal very well. So, I think this is an adorable outfit but the skirt is on the chopping block, meaning I’m thinking about donating it. It’s slightly too big and doesn’t fit exactly where I want it around my waist and because of that, it makes me feel like I lose what little bit of an hourglass shape that I have. Nick said it looked fine and these pictures look great, so I can’t decide if I want to keep the skirt or not.

This top is the same as my gray polka dot top but in solid green. I’m a big fan of buying multiples when you find something you really like, so I got this top in the two colors and I love wearing both.

Blouse: Target | Skirt: Loft | Belt: Target | Shoes: Gap Outlet | Necklace: Old Navy

So, here’s my question for you, my fellow fashionistas: How do you decide whether to keep or donate an item? I still wear the skirt every now and then but I find that I don’t reach for it as often because I don’t feel great in it. But I do wear it. I just can’t decide!

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*I’m devoting this week to dresses in an attempt to motivate myself to actually wear the dresses I have in my closet.* You may recognize this cute little number from my instagram post a few weeks ago. It’s another dress that I wore to the office where I volunteer. The women there probably think I only wear dresses, which is funny because I don’t wear dresses all the time, hence this week’s dress theme. But it’s a nice opportunity to wear my dresses so it works out. I got this one at the Loft Outlet near my house. I thought it would be easy to dress up with a blazer or cardigan, or to dress down just like it is. I believe I was right!

Here’s the fun blooper: I think I was adjusting my bracelets.

Dress: Loft Outlet | Wedges: Old Navy | Gold & Silver Bracelets: Old Navy | Blue Bracelet: Light Years

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