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

Audrey at Putting Me Together always has great style advice and one that I’ve used on multiple occasions is winterizing a spring or summer dress. As she says, the key is adding layers: tights, boots, and a cardigan. I’ve done a similar look with the tights, boots, and a cardigan before here. It’s really feeling like winter these days in NC so I wore this outfit to class and to work last week. Everyone said I was adorable! I went with my thick, sweater cardigan because this thing is extremely warm, and I would also add that, depending on how cold it is, you might want to add a few extra layers like camisoles or even a slip. I wish I had done that with this dress because it’s very light and airy, which allowed the chilly breeze to make its way through. Brrrr!

Oh, and in case you can’t tell in the photos, my tights are brown.

Sweater Cardigan: Annabelle via Francesca’s | Dress: mystree via Stitch Fix | Belt: Francesca’s | Tights: christmas gift | Boots: Steve Madden | Necklace: Target

Oh, look, I’m wearing my sparkle sweater again. Sometimes I’m not really sure about a clothing purchase I make, meaning I have ideas about how I’ll wear it but, in the back of my mind, I worry that it’s far enough out of my comfort zone that I won’t really wear it as often as I plan. I felt that way about this sweater when I first bought it. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about it and thought it was really cool and looked great, but at the same time, the open back  scared me. However, quite the opposite has happened: it has become my go-to when the whether is cold. I love that I can dress it up or down and wear practically anything under it. This is one of my favorite ways I’ve worn it so far. It’s cool and casual, and edgy. And I like it a lot! I wore this outfit to lunch with Nick and to run errands and to the grocery store.

Sweater: Banana Republic | Blouse, Denim, & Boots: Old Navy | Earrings: Old Navy

Linking up (a little late) with InDUFFinitely Me | Penniless Socialite | Lauryn Cakes

I thought about not posting this outfit because it felt so plain and simple that it couldn’t possibly be blog worthy, but I did some shopping recently and this was the result. I really like the look of distressed jeans but I’ve been apprehensive of them until now. I decided to try these Rockstar skinnies from Old Navy and they’re not too shabby – I was afraid they would be too tight. I need to have them hemmed because they didn’t have any short sizes, but in the meantime I just rolled them under. I’ll have to remember to tell the tailor to take them in a little as well, so they keep their skinny shape. I wore this outfit to run errands and then to dinner with friends.

I also fell in love with all of the pretty flats Old Navy has out for Spring. I ultimately chose these because they feel like springtime in winter, even though NC can’t make up its mind as to whether it’s going to be warm or cold. We’ve had a pattern these last few weeks of cold, rainy days followed by sunshine and high 50s, rinse and repeat, so loafers were actually pretty appropriate footwear for a few days. I can’t wait to wear them with skirts and shorts in a few months.

Here’s the fun one: Life has been pretty good lately so enjoy this big, beautiful smile!

Jacket: Banana Republic | Shirt, Denim, & Shoes: Old Navy | Clutch: Etsy | Earrings & Neckace: Store in Savannah, GA

Linking up with Carylee of More Pieces of Me | Molly from Still Being Molly

You guys, I had my eye on this jacket for a while but it was a little more than I was willing to pay, but I recently found it on sale so I did what any girl would do: I snatched it up! I’m still learning how to choose outerwear for my outfits. I started out with a denim jacket but I don’t like wearing it with jeans, and then I finally got a trench coat but I can’t figure out when it’s appropriate to wear (only when it’s raining? can you wear them with jeans? it can’t be too cold out because it doesn’t keep me warm, etc.) but I was convinced that I needed this jacket and now I have it and I’m wearing it with everything! I don’t even care! Also, let’s talk about this sweater. I got it on sale at Target recently and I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be a cropped sweater for an average-size person but I’m so short that I feel like it hits at this awkward point around my belly button. I really like it though, so I’ll make it work.

Here’s the blooper: I have no idea…

Jacket: Banana Republic | Sweater: Target | Jeans: kensie via Stitch Fix | Boots: Mix No. 6 via DSW | Jewelry: gift from mother-in-law

Also, did you catch the reference of my title?

GIF source

Linking up with Bri over at Work Clothes, I Suppose for Third Thursday Threads