When I say that these are the perfect shorts, I mean it. They’re stylish (I can pair them with just about every shirt in my closet), they’re comfortable (not too short), and they don’t look too bad all wrinkled! I used to hate wearing shorts in the summer because they always felt too short so I’m getting a lot of use out of these. I love them so much that I have to make myself not reach for them every time I leave the house in the evenings/on weekends.

How cute is this necklace? It was my very first Mother’s Day gift from Nick and he did a really good job, even though I picked it out 😉 I wish the chain was slightly shorter so I’ve been looking for a new one without much luck. I often have that problem with necklaces: instead of an extender, I need a shortener. Such are the perils of being a short person.

I tied my t-shirt to give the outfit a little more visual interest. I think I like tying my shirts more than doing the half tuck because the tie seems to look better on me, with the short torso and all.

Shorts: Target | Tee: Old Navy | Shoes: via Rack Room | Sunnies: Target | Necklace: Etsy

For the majority of my career, I’ve worked for nonprofit organizations. I love the work and I love that I feel good about what I do because I know we’re making a difference in the community. I also appreciate that I’ve never really had a hard dress code. Mostly, it’s always been wear whatever you want as long as you didn’t sleep in it (you know, pajamas). My current office is business casual which roughly translates to “anything but regular blue jeans” except on casual Fridays. And I really like this because it forces me to put some thought into my work wear without having to follow guidelines that are too rigid. Some days I feel like dressing up a little more than others and our business casual allows for that.

In my office, it’s not uncommon to see anything from skirt/pant suits to pretty skirts to chinos and a nice blouse. And I’ve worn them all. This is an outfit I work to work last week and it fit quite nicely. It could easily be a drab gray and white number but all of the little details take it up a notch. The tied belt and pleats add visual interest to the trousers while the sparkle of the shoe adds a little pep in my step 🙂

Who says you can’t look cute and fun even when you sit at a desk, entering data?! Now I just have to do something about that hair.

Top: Belk, I think | Trousers: Banana Republic | Shoes: Fioni via Payless | Necklace: Old Navy | Watch & Sunnies: Target

Yesterday I talked about how my go-to formula lately has been sweater (top) + jeans + boots. Here’s another example of how well that works. It was almost 70 degrees so I got to wear a tee under the cardigan and I’m not complaining.

I wore this outfit to my doctor’s appointment the other morning and I told my midwife I was concerned that I’m not gaining enough weight. She said my belly and Baby S are measuring just fine, BUT I should start eating more peanut butter, avocados, loaded baked potatoes, ICE CREAM AND COOK OUT MILKSHAKES. Pretty much all of my favorite things… and it’s doctor’s orders! This pregnancy thing isn’t so bad 😉

It was totally warm enough to not wear the cardigan but it wasn’t too warm that I was uncomfortable in it, so I mostly left it on.

You can see the tip of my sock, which I think is cute. I hate the advice I’ve seen some bloggers give that your socks should never be visible but there really isn’t anyone looking down my shoe so I see no reason to worry about it. Plus, it could give a nice, unexpected pop of color.

Tee: Gap | Sweater Cardigan: Loft Outlet | Jeans: Liz Lange Maternity via Target | Boots: BP Trolley via Nordstrom | Necklace: via Le Tote

20-week baby bump!

Sweater: Banana Republic | Skirt: Modcloth | Shoes: Fioni via Payless | Necklace: Francesca’s 

I was not camera shy as a kid. If there was a camera around, I was jumping in front of it with my cute little poses and my big smile. Like, there are a lot of photos of me as a kid and teen at birthday parties, holiday celebrations, etc. Needless to say, I always looked forward to picture day at school and getting to pick out my cutest outfit to wear. This outfit is the adult version of choosing an outfit for picture day because I wore it for our annual family photos for this year’s Christmas card.

I bought this skirt because I love the tulle look without the fluffy tutu/ballerina vibe. It feels too fancy to wear in my every day life — I mean, not many people successfully get away with wearing tulle to the office — so I put it away for a special occasion. But it’s perfect for photo opps, so it was my first choice for photos this year. I would love to wear it for Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas Eve. Right now it fits over the bump but I’m not so sure it will in a few weeks. I guess we’ll see.

I must admit, I’m delighted that this is the first outfit I’m posting since returning to blogging because I really do love this skirt so much! And this outfit feels very much like me, so I know I’m doing something right.

20-week baby bump!

Linkups: Hello Monday | Weekend Wear | Linkup on the Edge | Thursday Moda | Thursday Fashion Files | Spotlight Weekly Linkup | WIWW Linkup | What I Wore to Work 

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!

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!

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.

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