Hi, dear readers! I didn’t mean to disappear for a month, but life has been hectic. Between travel, work, toddler needs, and life, time just got away from me. Let’s catch up, shall we?

Travel

At the end of September, Nick and I traveled to California. It was a dual-purpose trip: My best friend was getting married in Carmel-by-the-Sea and asked me to be in the wedding on September 29th, to which I couldn’t say yes fast enough, and then, because her wedding was two days before our own wedding anniversary on October 1st, Nick and I decided to head up to San Francisco for a few days to celebrate our own wedded bliss.

The wedding was stunningly gorgeous. I’m so jealous of how beautiful everything was but I’m honestly not surprised because it simply matched the beauty that is my best friend, both inside and out. I was so busy helping with and prepping for the wedding that I didn’t get to take many photos, but I can’t wait to see the photos that the photographer took. I have a feeling they’re going to be top notch. In the meantime, here are a few that I managed to snap when in the little bit of downtown we had.

Big Sur, California. This was basically the background of my friend’s wedding!

Happy bridesmaid!

Obligatory Golden Gate Bridge picture

Fashion

In North Carolina, we had about a week of “false” fall in mid-September where the temperature cooled down to a beautiful 68-75 degrees, but then quickly heated up again. In California, it was “true” fall with temps in the 60s-70s every day. I think that was my favorite thing about California aside from the wedding. Anyway, NC’s false fall allowed me to wear a few fall-like outfits, which was exciting. You can find them on my Instagram and I shared them on Nikki by example’s Facebook page, but here’s a recap.

Fall outfits, finally!

Outfit 1: Blouse: Loft Outlet | Cardigan: via Stitch Fix | Jeans: LOFT | Shoes: H&M | Necklace: Old Navy 
Outfit 2: Sweater: ModCloth | Jeans: Wit & Wisdom via Stitch Fix | Shoes: Banana Republic (old) | Necklace: J. Crew Factory
Outfit 3: Sweater & Trousers: Banana Republic (old) | Shoes: H&M | Jewelry: Target | see outfit post here.
Outfit 4: Sweater: ModCloth | Jeans: LOFT | Shoes: Madden Girl | Necklace: J. Crew Factory | Belt: Target

Family

In mid-August, Sebastian started potty training and he’s really been rocking it! We’ve gotten super lucky in that many of his friends at preschool are also potty training so I think he picked up on it really quickly from seeing them go to the potty at school. He’s very good about peeing on the toilet on his own and is slowly overcoming his fear of pooping on the toilet. This is pretty common with kids from what I’ve read and heard. I feel like it has been incredibly easy learning/training process, and that for that I am eternally grateful! This kid is truly the best.

The “baby potty” as Sebastian calls it.

Work

I just accepted an offer to work as a research coordinator in the Department of Population Health at one of the large universities in the area and I start next month. It’s a welcomed change that will come with more responsibilities and more pay, so I’m really excited to start this new career journey. I will miss working in adolescent sexual health but the time has come for me to move on and move up in my career. And don’t worry – the building also has a big mirror in the restroom so you’ll still get regular outfit updates 😉

I will soon be a university employee

I think that’s it for now. Lots of stuff going on and many changes to work through, but overall, life is great! I hope all is going well for you, too.

Yesterday was my seventh wedding anniversary and I was going to take a look back on the day by posting photos and little stories about the day. My plan was to write it up and post it while on a break at work. However, my mind and body had other plans.

The past few weeks have been really rough. I was in charge of a week-long work retreat that was cut short by Hurricane Florence and we were left scrambling to figure out how to reschedule several days worth of work. I also had to navigate a major transition at the office as our CEO prepared to leave, all while worrying about preparing my home and family for the storm on top these regular work responsibilities. On top of that, in the last week or so, Sebastian decided to go ahead and have his 18-month sleep regression, waking us up several times a night. As you can imagine, I was one tired woman. You can see how not enough sleep and too much caffeine became the norm.

Unfortunately, it all culminated yesterday in a small panic attack at work where I spent about 20 minutes in my office with the door closed, crying and trying to ground myself. My anxiety is mostly post-traumatic, really starting after I experienced a heart attack last year, and it’s exacerbated by lack of sleep and too much caffeine, the two constants in my life for the past three-ish weeks. So, instead of blogging, I focused on breathing and making it through meetings without completely breaking down.

Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.

We were invited to my friend’s wedding in Wilmington, NC over Labor Day Weekend this year and decided to turn it into an end-of-summer family vacation. We brought Nick’s mom, brother and sister-in-law with us. We played in the ocean, had a date night, went to the aquarium, and attended the wedding, and a great time was had by all!

It’s too dang hot out here.

We spent Saturday morning at the beach. It was Sebastian’s first time, but he loves sand and water so we figured he would have a blast. At first, he was not having it. You can see in the photo above that he thought it was just too damn hot outside. He’s very much like his father that way. He wasn’t sure what to think about the ocean or the waves, and he was a little afraid at first, especially when the tide would roll out and his feet would sink into the sand. He was not a fan of that at all. However, he liked the water when it wasn’t knocking him over, and of course he loved the sand. The beach is one giant sandbox, after all. Toward the end of the morning, he was feeling much more brave and started running toward the waves!

Our Awesome Wedding Party. We couldn’t ask for better friends!

Thursday, October 1st, was our 4th wedding anniversary. You can read all about it and see more photos on our wedding page here.

My smile was this big the whole day. It really was the best.

It was definitely one of the happiest days of our lives. Things have been a little crazy in our lives lately, however, so we didn’t really get a chance to celebrate. After working most of the day, we went out for celebratory tacos and a small glass of cava from our favorite local taco joint, Nanataco.

Calamari taco, fried oyster taco, rice, beans, and chips. And a litle cava on the side!

Then we came home and cuddled on the couch, watching episodes of Dexter. It was actually kind of perfect, when you think about it. We got to spend some quality time together, and really, isn’t that what really matters?

Happy October, everyone!

The Dress

Several bloggers I follow either already have this dress or want this dress, and I wore this Grecian-inspired dress to my friend’s Indian wedding! I picked it up several weeks ago because it’s beautiful and absolutely perfect to wear to a summer wedding. You see, my friend, Waseem, is Muslim so as soon as I was invited, I knew I wanted to be respectful and cover up. The long skirt is obviously perfect, the flowy material was light and airy so I wasn’t sweating the whole time, and it looks great with a cardigan! But perhaps the best thing about it was that IT WAS AVAILABLE IN PETITE!

Dress & Shoes: Banana Republic | Cardigan: Old Navy | Clutch: Nordstrom | Charm Necklace: Target | Layered Necklace: Claire’s (old) | Bracelets: Old Navy

The Wedding

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. It was my first Indian wedding so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was great. As you might expect, it was almost completely different from a traditional Christian wedding, but there was plenty of prayers, well wishes, and Waseem walked down the aisle with her father. Also, the food was delicious and everyone was so happy for the couple. In true NCsquared fashion, Nick matched his tie to my dress. Oh. My. Goodness. we are the cutest couple ever!

These are my awesome friends, Kristin (left) and Aarti (right). They specifically requested to be on the blog, so here you are ladies, this one is for you! *wink*

This is Kristin, me, Aarti, and our other friend, Leigh. We all met in my master’s program and graduated together. I absolutely love these girls. They’re incredibly smart, talented, funny, and I know I wouldn’t have made it through without them. Kristin just moved to the Triangle, so we’ll get to hang out all the time now. Our new mission is to find jobs for Aarti and Leigh in the Triangle so we can be together again. Unfortunately, Waseem is leaving for the midwest and we’re going to miss her!

Also, fun fact: Aarti and I went to the same high school but not at the same time because I’m 5 years older than her (I did, however, know her older brother because he was in my grade). After we discovered this, we bonded over our stories about our hometown and the people there. Now we’re the best of friends!

The decorations at the wedding were beautiful. This one little picture just doesn’t do it justice.

Ok, maybe I’m a little biased but I think my friend, Waseem, is the most gorgeous bride that has ever existed, even more beautiful than I was as a bride! She’s also really sweet and super cool, so I’m extremely happy for her and her new husband.

Congratulations Waseem & Ahsan!

Linking up with:
Start the Week Stylish | Still Being Molly | Mix It Mondays | Fashionably Employed | Garay Treasures | Trend Spend | C appuccio and Fashion | The Pleated Poppy | Tucker Up | Rachel the Hat | Charming Friday