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Nikki by example - Just a girl trying to lead by example
  • Home
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  • Health
  • Motherhood
  • Travel
  • Extras
    • DIY
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  • About Nikki
    • Our DIY Wedding
Fashion•Life

Life Lately

April 16, 2018 by Nikki No Comments

spring flowers purple

How long is it supposed to take to find one’s purpose?

I worry that it will take me a lifetime to figure out who I am and what I want to do with it, and by then, it’ll be too late. I’ve always been envious of folks who seem to have it all figured out. Those who have somehow always possessed a sense of who they wanted to be and what path they had to take to be it. Disciplined, ambitious, eager. You must embody those principles to achieve your goals. This is how I would like to describe myself but my mid-twenties seemed to knock those words right out of my vocabulary. I find that life just keeps throwing curve balls and when that happens, you have to widen your stance, maybe choke up on the bat, and stay focused. This is where I am now, trying to stay focused on what my life is and how to drive it to where I want to be.

So, anywhere, here’s an update on my life lately.

Nikki by example

When your wind-blown look is on point.

Work work work work work

It’s been four months since I quit my job. I’ve started casually looking for work again since I do have student loans that need to be paid, but if I’m completely honest, I’m not ready to go back. I love staying home with Sebastian and having the freedom to run errands whenever I want to. But I’m taking comfort in the fact that I’m trying to find something more fulfilling, making the transition a little easier.

Sebastian turned one!

Sebastian, then and now | Nikki by example

Day of birth | One year old

Sebastian turned one earlier this month. This little dude definitely keeps me busy and I’m loving every minute of it – although I do wish I were better at time management so I could blog a little more. The year has definitely flown by but we’ve had a lot of fun (and stresses) during it.

My heart is doing well

Nikki by example

Wearing red in February to support hearth health.

I’m almost a year out from my heart attack (May 27) and I’m feeling pretty good – better than I thought I would be at this point. While I still have some anxiety every now and then, I’ve learned my triggers and how to manage them, and my responses to them. My anxiety mostly manifests itself physically in the form of the heart attack symptoms I experienced last year (basically a mild form of PTSD) and it’s exacerbated when I don’t sleep well for several days and I try to make up for being tired with drinking too much coffee. So I do  my best to get enough sleep and reduce my caffeine intake, and that usually works pretty well.

Spring is finally here.

The beautiful sunshine and warmer breezes have inspired me to take more outfit photos. Getting to wear my cute spring clothes definitely helps, too! See what I mean:

Nikki by example

Crochet top, floral cardigan, and purple pants mean Spring is here!

Nikki by example

Light sweater, distressed denim, and cute booties. Hello, Spring!

I’m planning to get back to regularly posting outfit photos to don’t forget to follow along. Stick around to find out what else happens in this life of mine.

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Fashion•Motherhood

Floral Dress

February 13, 2017 by Nikki 2 Comments

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Happy Galentine’s Day! How cute is this floral maternity dress from Old Navy? It’s really comfortable, too. It would make the perfect Galentine’s Day outfit for brunch with all of my favorite lady friends. Also, I’ve worn it to two (of three) baby showers and I wore it out shopping and to enjoy the beautiful 80-degree weather we had on Sunday. The first two showers were in January, and it was slightly colder then so I paired the dress with my taupe ankle boots and looked pretty darn cute. It’s also office-appropriate so I’ll probably be wearing it a lot in the next few months as I start my new job.

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I’m 34 weeks now and the realization that in about six-ish weeks I’ll have a real, live baby is sinking in big time. We’ve had all of our baby showers and finished the nursery, and now all that’s left is installing the car seat and packing my hospital bag. March 24th will be here before you know it!

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Dress & Shoes: Old Navy | Necklace: gift | Sunglasses: Target

Linking up with Let it Shine

P.S. What’s Galentine’s Day? Allow my spirit animal, Leslie Knope, to explain:

NCsquared Life

image source

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Life

Office Casual

March 14, 2016 by Nikki 3 Comments

Office Casual | NCsquared Life

When I do office casual, I follow a simple formula: nice blouse, blazer, jeans, and flats (sometimes heels). I wore this to work on Friday becuase I wanted to be office casual and, even though I can dress down and usually do as I mentioned in my last post about working for a nonprofit, I had to participate in interviewing a candidate for a position in my unit so I didn’t want to dress down too much. I figure the blazer gave me just the right air of professionalism, especially for a nonprofit on a Friday!

Office Casual | NCsquared Life

This top is from Le Tote. I’ve been using it for a while now and really like it because I get cute tops like this one. At first I struggled with wanting to keep every single piece because I think I was stuck in a Stitch Fix mentality where I had to buy it if I was going to wear it. I don’t feel the pressure to buy like I did in the beginning. I’ll only purchase now if 1) it’s a closet staple and I’ll wear it over and over again or 2) I fall in love. That’s only happened a few times, and this piece was one of them!

Office Casual | NCsquared Life

Office Casual | NCsquared Life

How awesome are these cobalt heels from Old Navy? I wasn’t sure I would wear them very often because they’re BRIGHT BLUE but I actually wear them with everything! I love them.

Office Casual | NCsquared Life

Blouse: Le Tote | Blazer: Banana Republic | Denim: kensie via Stitch Fix | Shoes & Jewelry: Old Navy 

Linking up with Hello Monday | Let it Shine | Start the Week Stylish

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Hobby•Life

Sunday Morning Serenade

March 13, 2016 by Nikki No Comments

Happy Sunday! Welcome back to my weekend series where I attempt to put you in a good mood and set a positive note to the coming week by serenading you with songs I can’t get out of my head and showing some happy highlights from the past week.

This Sunday’s serenade is Addicted by Morgan Page featuring Greg Laswell. I don’t really know much about either artist except that Greg Laswell has collaborated with Sara Bareilles (my #2 favorite female artist of all time) on a song called Come Back Down (google it!). Anyway, I was checking out some of the curated playlists on Spotify when I came across this song and recognized the artist. I really like the beat of this one so I listen to it a lot while I’m editing documents at work. I dare you to listen to it without humming along.

Top 5 Awesome Things:

1.  Voting. The NC primary is March 15, but Nick and I voted early so we missed the lines and the crowd. When I was younger, I didn’t care for or understand politics but as I’ve gotten older I realize how important it is to elect representatives that will make policies for your state (and our nation) that will lift people up instead of tearing them down. If you’re 18 or over, register and vote! It’s your civic responsibility.

Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life

 

2. Spring. I’m so excited for Spring! Since I’ve been trying to put more effort into my health, I started taking 15-minute walks around the block where I work each day. Not only is it good for your body to get up and walk around, but it helps clear my head so I can regain focus on my work when I get back to my desk. The weather has been gorgeous for my walks this past week, and I snapped this one because of the beautiful sky and bright daffodils. Yay, spring!

Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life

 

3. Date night. Spring weather means patio dinners on date night. This was a newer restaurant that we’re just now getting around to trying called Juju Asian Tapas, and as you might have guessed, they serve small plates of asian-style food. It was really good but we were more excited about sitting outside on the patio by the fire. I love date nights!

Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life

 

4. Chico. I love this baby boy and this picture looks like it could be a painting so I wanted to share. <3

Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life

 

5. Selfie. Nothing wrong with a little self-love and a cute picture!

Sunday Morning Serenade | NCsquared Life

That’s it. I hope enjoyed my serenade and have a lovely week!

-Nikki

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Fashion

Daffodil Yellow

March 23, 2015 by Nikki 4 Comments

Daffodil Yellow | NCsquared Life

It’s finally Spring! The trees in my neighborhood are blooming with beautiful pink and white flowers and there are daffodils are everywhere. I love daffodils because they remind me of my grandmother. Her birthday is March 21st, which is right around the time that they start blooming. When I was a little girl, I would go out and pick a huge bunch to give her for her birthday. As an adult, I often try to visit her but I was too busy with school this year, so I called her and talked to her for a while, which was really nice. I don’t know if they’re her favorite flower or not, but they sure hold a special meaning to me! So, while some folks may call this shirt mustard yellow, I’m calling it daffodil yellow in honor of my Granny Annie (yes, that’s what we’ve always called her!).

Daffodil Yellow | NCsquared Life

I wore this outfit to work on one of the nicest days we’ve had in a while. It was sunny, bright, and warm. I thought about wearing a light scarf with it, but worried I might get hot and take it off and what’s the point in that? Instead, I layered a bunch of necklaces with it, which I think look better than a scarf because you can still see all of the pleating details at the top. Add simple neutral flats and cute headband and voila, you’ve got a cute spring look!

Daffodil Yellow | NCsquared Life

Daffodil Yellow | NCsquared Life

Blouse: ModCloth | Denim & Flats: Old Navy | | Long necklack: gift from my MIL; WalMart; Old Navy | Headband: Target

Daffodils for reference! 🙂

o-DAFFODILS-570photo source

Linking up with Carylee at More Pieces of Me

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About Me

Hi, I’m Nikki. This is where I blog about my life and personal style. I’m a wife and mom, public health professional, sushi lover, wine enthusiast, and coffee snob. Welcome to my little corner of the world where I try to lead by example!

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