*I’m devoting this week to dresses in an attempt to motivate myself to actually wear the dresses I have in my closet.*

I’m not sure why but I have a closet full of dresses that I never wear. I love them all, which is why I have them, but dresses often feel too formal to me; I used to only wear them for special occasions. I keep finding really cute dresses with the intention of wearing them casually, but after wearing a dress once (usually for a special occasion) it starts to feel too formal. So I’m going to devote this entire week to wearing the dresses in my closet!

I picked up this dress on a whim while shopping with my friend. And when I say “on a whim” I mean I was literally walking up to the register when it caught my eye and I grabbed it. I didn’t try it on, I just grabbed my size and continued on my way to the register. I never do that! I figured I’d end up taking it back but when I got it home and tried it on, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. I wore it for the first time to have coffee on a lazy Sunday morning with my BFF and then later to do our weekly grocery shopping. I’m feeling a little self-conscious about my tummy these days, so I added this pretty scarf to take attention away from my midsection. The colors in the scarf – pinks, grays and olive – were a perfect match for this dress. I can’t wait to wear these same pieces in the fall with tights, booties, and a jacket!

This cute little shoulder detail keeps the dress from feeling boring.

Dress: Banana Republic Outlet | Scarf: Loft Outlet | Necklace: Old Navy | Sandals: Target

Linking up with the Hello Monday linkup with More Pieces of Me and Sincerely Jenna Maria | Still Being Molly | A Lovely Little Wardrobe

Is there any better color combination than coral and blue? Maybe there is, but I sure like this one. I wanted more loose, flowy tops and I automatically paired it with this coral and blue scarf. Then I realized I wore this color combo with the same scarf here. This top looks great with other colors, too. I’ve also worn it with a floral scarf and cognac flats but I don’t have photos of that one yet. The weather has been so nice lately that I’ve worn this outfit to school, and out to lunch, and to the grocery store. I’ll probably even wear it again soon!

Can we talk about these flats for a minute? I wear them with everything because they look great, and I get really sad when it rains because I don’t want to get them wet. But they’re pretty much perfect. PERFECT!

And here’s the fun Blooper: Nick always takes pictures of me fixing my pants/shoes/something on my outfit!

Top: Tresic via ModCloth | Jeans: Old Navy | Scarf: Target | Shoes: Old Navy | Earrings: Old Navy 

Let’s hear it for Spring Break!

This week is my last spring break ever, which is awesome because that means school is almost over forever. It also means that Nick and I are heading to Savannah, GA tomorrow for a nice little four-day vacation. I’m really excited to get away for a romantic week with my lovey dovey. It’s been a really long and difficult two years of graduate school for us because I’ve had to spend most of it away from home, commuting to school (which is almost 2 hours away). This trip will give us a few days to ourselves, without having to worry about school or work or who is going to load/unload the dishwasher after an exhaustingly long day. The only thing I’m NOT looking forward to is packing because I’m a notorious overpacker. For as long as I can remember, I’ve overpacked for every single trip I’ve taken. I’m not even joking. One time we went to the beach for a week and I had at least three different bags full of clothes. As I’ve gotten older, however, I’ve gotten a little better at planning out a full itinerary so I will know what we will be doing and can pack/dress accordingly.

This trip is no different. We’re planning to eat at yummy restaurants, go on a nighttime ghost walk, see the sights, do some shopping, and possibly take a moonlight riverboat cruise. That all sounds easy enough to pack for, but the one thing throwing me off is that it’s supposed to rain all week. Boo, rain! Anyway, I’ve challenged myself to pack light for this trip. Everything has to fit into this weekender bag I purchased from Target:

I’ve chosen four shirts, two pairs of pants, and two pairs of shoes. I’ve only decided on one accessory (for now) which is a scarf. I’ll throw some jewelry in there last-minute, like usual

I also plan to pack my rain gear (e.g. trench and/or rain coat and rain boots) and a skirt or dress in case we make it to a fancy dinner or that riverboat cruise, but I haven’t decided on which dress yet because I still have to get my spring clothes out of storage.  Here are some of the outfits I’ve put together with my chosen items so that I have some options and can work with the rain.

I know these photos aren’t exactly Pinterest-worthy, but I took them  as I was putting outfits together and figuring it all out. I think they serve their purpose. Maybe next time I’ll be a little more organized and get better photos. I will say I’m actually really glad that I decided to post about this because it has helped confirm some of my choices!

Yes, that is my dog, Mia’s little butt/leg in the corner of this photo!

I can’t make any promises that I won’t add a bunch of stuff at the last minute (my brain is already screaming at me, “oh my gosh, you forgot to include a cardigan in case it’s a little chilly!) but I will do my best. I’ll try to get lots of outfit photos while I’m there so you can see how it all came together. I hope everyone has a great week and you all are enjoying the great thaw 🙂

Shirts: Pink sweater: Banana Republic | Gray tee: Target | Striped tee: Old Navy | Beige sweater: Banana Republic
Jeans: Both from Old Navy
Shoes: Canvas sneaks: Target | Cognac flats: Old Navy
Scarf: boutique from Wilmington, NC
Necklace: Stitch Fix

Brrrr, you guys. Brr. It’s been ridiculously cold here this past week. We got snow and ice, and schools closed, and North Carolina was just out of order. Which is fine with me because ice is no joke. I grew up in the mountains so I’m used to driving in the snow but I don’t mess around with ice because NO ONE can drive on ice, I don’t care what they say! So, with the miserable chill, I needed to keep all of my skin as covered as possible to avoid frostbite. I really like the look of wearing tights with socks and ankle boots so I decided to try that look with my skinny jeans; I think it turned out really well. I went with gray socks to match the gray/blue in the scarf. I still had to throw on my red coat and gloves but I stayed fairly warm.

I’m still loving the boots; I wear them almost every day!

And here’s the blooper: Seriously, I’m tired of the cold and the wind!

Sweater & Vest: Old Navy | Jeans: kensie via Stitch Fix | Scarves & Socks: Target | Booties: BP Trolley via Nordstom | Necklace: gift from my MIL

Linking up with More Pieces of Me | InDUFFinitely Me

If you’ve spent any time at all in North Carolina, you might know that the weather can get a little unpredictable these days. One day it’s warm and sunny, then literally the next day it is snowing. This is a true story and I’ve experienced it a few times, actually. That’s kind of what happened with this outfit. I wore it to work and to class on a Wednesday about a week or so ago, but it was a warm, sunny day so I opted for cognac flats and had no need for tights. It was in the upper 70s so I ended up taking off the scarf and jacket because I got too hot! Fast forward to about two to three days later when I was able to take a photo of it, and it’s almost frigid outside so I had to add the tights and boots.

Since then we’ve had several more ups and downs with the weather. Just yesterday it was so nice out that I took the dogs for a walk in just a shirt and yoga pants. I don’t remember it always being like this in NC but I have to admit that I’m not loving it now because it makes dressing (and packing for my commute) extremely difficult. I wish I would just pick one and stick to it for a while!

Here’s the fun Blooper: The wind says, “Oh, you’re trying to pose? Allow me to play you the song of my people.”

This cartoon sums up NC weather pretty well these days! 

Image found via Facebook

Linking up with InDUFFinitely Me

Jacket: Gap
Top: Old Navy
Skirt: Target
Belt: Old Navy
Scarf: Banana Republic
Earrings: Old Navy
Tights: gift
Boots: Steve Madden