When Bri of Work Clothes I Suppose asked me to co-host her Third Thursday Threads linkup, I was shocked, humbled, and excited to say yes!  If this is your first visit to NCsquared Life, then I’d like to say welcome and thank you so much for stopping by. My name is Nikki and I’m a full-time graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in public health. NCsquared Life is a lifestyle blog that mostly documents my daily style with a little bit of life and DIY from my husband, Nick, sprinkled in. Nick + Nikki = NCsquared. I hope you like what you see and will stick around. If you’ve been here a time or two before, it’s nice to see you again.

I’ve come to realize that I rarely dress up on the blog so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to show off my newest dress and my favorite heeled sandals. There’s a story behind these sandals that made me feel I should choose them for this post: I saw them online at Banana Republic and wanted them so badly but by the time I had enough money to purchase them (broke graduate student here!), they were gone. I continuously checked to see if they would come back and when they did, even at $8 more than their original price, I snatched them right up. The heel height is perfect and the color is great. I have no regrets! Oh, and the dress is really fun, too.

Here’s the fun one: this dress is fun to twirl in, and I like twirling!

AND because we’re huge nerds, Nick created a gif of me walking in my awesome sandals in honor of this thread!  Enjoy!

Dress: Mystree via Stitch Fix
Belt: Modcloth (came with another dress, but I wear it with everything!)
Necklace & Clutch: Francesca’s
Bracelet: Old Navy
Sandals: Banana Republic

So, with a little twist, here’s how this works:

1. Follow Work Clothes, I Suppose, and NCsquared Life!
2. Link to a specific post, not your general blog URL, and please be wearing or talking about sandals.
3. Visit the other bloggers who have linked up!

If you couldn’t tell, I really like Banana Republic. Their petite sizing fits me like a glove, and they always make me look so grown up. I would wear their clothes even if Nick didn’t work there and gets us a sweet discount. It’s no secret that I”m short so tailoring is a way of life for me if I want to look put together. But with petites at BR, I rarely have to have anything tailored, which makes life a lot easier, and kind of makes up for the prices. I’ve started to branch out to other petite departments, like Loft, mostly because they finally have them! I guess what I’m trying to say is if you make clothes that will fit me without much effort, I will love you.

Anywho, I wore this outfit to my first internship meeting and then to present in my public health ethics class. I was leary of the flair on this skirt because I was afraid it would make my hips look even bigger than they are, but it actually balances them out. It’s like perfection in a skirt.

Also, more navy.

And here’s the fun one:

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!