mismatched suit.

agora blouse & axcess blazer {both via thredup*}   

express slacks {thrifted}   ·   merona mollie booties

hi everyone!  this is an outfit i wore a week or so ago - i'm so used to posting the exact same day i wear something that it feels a little bit like i'm cheating to post this now!  even though this outfit looked pretty subdued, i loved the crisp straight slacks with the blazer and a flowy, patterned blouse underneath.  you'd think i lived in a different hemisphere by the way i dress but i assure you, it is indeed summer in minnesota even though i'm always in layers!

i feel a little burdened by this here blog o' mine and just wanted to address my absence as of late.  i feel like i'm letting too many things work against me and it zaps any interest i have in blogging.  there's been ongoing stress over my recent move, including battling with our former apartment manager because we had to break our lease to move into our new place, and dealing with the quirks of our new place and working with a new landlord, especially to address issues right away.  that's definitely been an adjustment!  

it's also been hard finding a new place to take my pictures, which has really affected this hobby because if my pictures don't meet my expectations (even if those were low to begin with - i know i'm not the best photographer and my pictures aren't the greatest quality) i lose any interest in writing a post and just figure i'll try again the next day to get a halfway decent shot of what i'm wearing.

i've also had a lot of house guests and extended company lately, which is fun, but i have had to adjust my daily routine to that and i don't want to be holed up in my room trying to put a post together when i could be (and should be) hanging out with my company!   i guess i am not the superwoman i would like to be because i don't feel like i'm paying enough attention to everything i'm juggling and this blog is definitely the ball that gets dropped... but i feel better letting it out and talking about it.  i still feel like i have something to contribute to the blogging world and things to learn about myself and my fashion, so i am going to keep at it - even if its not on the same timetable that i'm used to.

thanks for listening & have a great week!

* join through my referral link and we both get $10!

day one.

mossimo slacks {thrifted target stock}
mossimo ultrasoft sweater   ·   merona mollie booties

today was my first day at my new job!  i was told i would be in orientation all day but i didn't know what the schedule for the day would be, how formal it would be (ex: a classroom setting vs computer module trainings), etc.  with so many unknowns, i wore something that would pass as business-casual but wouldn't leave me feeling completely out of place if others defined "orientation" as an opportunity to dress casually.  these slacks used to get a lot of wear a couple years ago and were the easiest item to build an outfit around because they indeed are dress slacks but the fabric almost looks like fancy denim rather than a shade of navy.  i figured if some people were wearing slacks and others were wearing jeans, i'd land somewhere in the middle - and that's actually exactly what happened!

even though i'm gaining more confidence with my personal style, i wanted to wear something that allowed me to fit in more than stand out, which i may have if i'd worn one of my normal bold printed skirts or colorful shoes.  i've been trying to put into words why this made sense to me and i think i just wanted to focus less on myself and what i was wearing so i could focus entirely on learning about this new organization i'm now a part of.  does that make sense?  of course, i may totally change it up tomorrow.  how do you approach first days at new workplaces in terms of what you wear?  do you always play it safe on day one?

oh, and i finally got my hair cut to donate to pantene's beautiful lengths program.  how crazy different do i look?  whoa!  it's been pretty easy to draw a parallel from the date on the calendar to these new changes... new year, new you.  new job, new hair.  but they're good changes.  i think we should open ourselves up to recognize small, good changes all the time.  i'm trying  hard to keep this in mind & am wishing the same for you at the start of this new week.  thanks for visiting!

get the look:  exact sweater / similar button-down / similar slacks / exact booties  / similar necklace

monogrammed.

 

 

j crew shell & skirt {both thrifted}   ·   lauren conrad blazer
merona booties   ·   onecklace monogram necklace (c/o)

today there was a holiday party over the lunch hours at my office building and staff were encouraged to wear an ugly christmas sweater.  do you guys get into this type of holiday party theme?  i didn't even put it on my calendar because i knew i would have no interest in participating, and since i worked form home yesterday i kind of forgot it was taking place today.  i'm not sure why ugly sweater parties are so popular these days but the potential of winning a prize for wearing the ugliest christmas sweater wasn't enough to draw me in.  so, don't mind me in my floral blazer and wool skirt.  what i really want to draw attention to anyway is my necklace that onecklace recently sent me!

i've long admired similar necklaces on some of my favorite bloggers and thought this was the perfect opportunity to add one to my jewelry collection.  i chose the small silver monogram necklace and i love that the size isn't overwhelming and just looks like a pretty, delicate piece of jewelry.  if i'm not wearing a statement necklace, i like to wear a simple chain (like this initial necklace from lisa leonard - no longer available, sadly) and i think the monogram necklace looks great layered with it.  and now i'm twice as likely to remember what my name starts with, haha!

thanks for visiting!

commence, tights.

​j crew pilar paisley cami {thrifted}   ·  j crew shirred wool skirt {thrifted}

merona cardigan {thrifted}   ·   merona mollie booties

oct 15th / it feels so odd to be wearing tights today.  it almost seems like once you go for the tights there's no going back -- the temperature has finally reached the average for the time of the year in which it could really go either way.  i think i have just been anxious to wear some shorter skirts that i only feel comfortable wearing with tights and my ankle booties... so, even though i was trapped inside all day and wasn't feeling the effects of the cool temperature outside, i still went for the tights.

thanks for everyone's response so far to the pantone-inspired fall color challenge marissa & i will be hosting next week.  hopefully i answered everyone's comments in yesterday's post, but look for my post tomorrow for a more thorough breakdown of how we hope this challenge to work -- but don't worry, your color interpretation can be loose!

get this look: this season's cardigan / similar skirt / exact booties