Hey, look at me, back with some pictures of the clothes I put on my body!

So, how many of you, like me, have new year’s resolutions to clean up your space and are KonMari-ing? If you have Netflix, you’ve probably seen the show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo or you’ve at least heard of it. I bought the book a few years ago so I was already familiar with the KonMari method of tidying when the show came out. If you’re not familiar with KonMari, you organize by room instead of my stuff. Then, you take EVERYTHING out of your closet, drawers, etc. and hold each item to determine whether it “sparks joy.” If it does, you keep it, and if it doesn’t, you get rid of it.

The idea of taking every single piece of clothing out of my closet at once is still too daunting, but as I’ve mentioned a few times on the blog, I’ve been taking pieces out a little at a time to ensure my style reflects who I am now, and to help me achieve my goal of living a somewhat minimalist lifestyle. Freshly inspired by Marie Kondo and her show, I’ve taken even MORE pieces out of my closet in the past few weeks and I’m still feeling great about the pieces that remain, as evidenced by the return of my office-bathroom mirror selfies!

Anyway, on to the outfits!

This is a redo of an outfit I wore on one of the coldest days in NC two years ago that I called “winter pink.” I’m wearing the same sweater and jeans, but I switched up the details just a little. My vest is more ivory than white and it isn’t as puffy, I’m wearing ankle boots instead of tall boots, and my necklace is shorter. I’m still wearing a floral scarf but it’s a different one. It definitely wasn’t as cold this time around as it was a few years ago!

So, I was going to wear this to work yesterday but I had a bad case of the Mondays. My car wouldn’t start so Nick was nice enough to drive me to work, but when I got there, I realized that I grabbed his computer on  my way out of the house so he had to turn around and bring me home to get my computer. I decided to cancel my one afternoon meeting and work from home. I’m extremely grateful that I have a job that will allow me to work from home in a pinch like that. Btw, we had to get a new battery for my car. Blah!

Sweater: Banana Republic | Denim: Gap | Vest: Old Navy | Boots: BP Trolley via Nordstorm | Scarf: Planet, a boutique in Wilmington, NC | Necklace: via Le Tote

Linking up with Hello Monday | Let it Shine | Confident Twosday | Garay Treasures | Trend Spin Linkup

In the title of this post, cold refers to temperature in NC this week, and gray refers to my denim. On Monday I asked where’s winter because it was warm enough to wear a light blazer and, this week, winter came calling! I took these photos on a very cold day. So cold, in fact, that I wanted to get more/better photos but I just couldn’t handle it and ran back inside. Now, as I type this on Thursday night, we’re awaiting the snow. I’ll probably wake up tomorrow to snow before this post is even published.

Anyway, I wore this outfit mostly chilling – literally – around the house on MLK Day, watching Angie Tribeca. I did run out to get lunch so the only folks that saw me were the guys as Jimmy Johns. As for the jeans, they’re gray. Not really much to say about them except that the knee patch hits right below my knee instead of on it. #shortgirlproblems

Sweater: Old Navy | Scarf & Denim: Banana Republic | Shoes: Gap Outlet

A whole month has gone by and I haven’t posted a single thing. For that, dear readers, I apologize. I’ve mentioned a time or two how I’m not the greatest blogger and that’s only made more difficult when life starts to get the better of you.

We received some unfortunate news a few weeks back; Nick was informed he’d be getting laid off from his job, along with about 200+ other employees of this company. Needless to say, I had to focus on more pressing matters than taking pictures of my clothes. I don’t make any money from this blog so it was put on the backburner while we kicked up our job search, reached out to our networks, applied to every job we could find, and considered the very real possibility that we may have to give up our life that we’ve worked so hard to build in a community we love so much.

There is a bit of good news, though! I have amazing friends that have helped out in big ways. Thanks to my friend, Sarah, I started a part-time job as the office manager of a women’s rights organization that I really admire. I’ve also started a job in retail and Nick has picked up a part-time job in a bottle shop so I know we’re going to be alright. I feel really confident that more full-time opportunities in my field will pop up soon and Nick has a ton of poosibilities (not to mention a great mentor) so I just know something will come along for him soon, as well; life can’t get me down just yet!

The other good news is that I regularly get dressed for both of my jobs so that means more outfit posts! In the meantime, here are two outfit that I was planning to share before taking a break:

Blue Stripes Vol. 2:

You’re not experiencing déjà vu, I have worn an outfit almost identical to this one here. When you find a good formula, you should stick to it. I don’t have a lot to say about this one so I’ll just leave it here.

Top & Scarf: Gap | Jeans: Banana Republic | Shoes: Gap Outlet | Necklace: Loft Outlet

Palazzo Pants:

How fun are palazzo pants? They feel kind of like pajamas when I wear them. I feel like they’d look better if I were about 5-10 inches taller but these wedges make them work. I’ve only worn these once because they’re a tad snug these days but maybe this summer I’ll throw them on more often.

Top: Banana Republic | Pants & Wedges: Target | Jewelry: Old Navy

Since I’m regularly getting dressed for work, I’ll have more posts this week so stay tuned!

So, you remember over a month ago when we celebrated Independence Day on the 4th of July? Yeah, this is what I wore that day so I’m playing catch up! We spent the afternoon/evening with our friends and their family, grilling out burgers, brats, and wings and drinking yummy cocktails and wine and playing fun games. I made a delicious watermelon and jalapeño salad that was a hit with everyone; I might post the recipe later. Then, after the sun went down and it was nice and dark, we set off a few fireworks in the driveway and took silly pictures. It was a really fun holiday.

There are a lot of blue stripes in this outfit, but they’re all in my accessories, so they aren’t overwhelming; I simply accessorized with stripes! It was super hot out so I don’t know why I wore pants and a scarf, but it just felt right. Probably because I was inspired by Kendi’s summer scarf outfit. We stayed inside most of the afternoon so I didn’t melt. I looked pretty good, too.

And here’s the fun blooper, which really isn’t *that* bad!

Hat: Banana Republic | Shirt & Scarf: Gap | Pants: kensie via Stitch Fix | Wedges: Target (old) | Short Necklace: Old Navy | Long Necklace: Wal-Mart

Linking up with:

Spotlight Weekly Link Up wtih Living in Color Style & Stylin’ In St. Louis

Charming Friday with A Pocketful of Polka Dots and Charming Lucy