May 2013
21 posts
10 tags
winding down
dress: Anthropologie
heels: Nine West [via TJMaxx]
earrings: Target
Today begins the epic marathon of closing ceremonies for the next four days, for which I have become the unofficial official photographer, hooray! If the stress level of this is any indication, I will never become a photographer for events like that. Literally one shot to get your shot, no redos. Looking through what I took,...
14 tags
in training
jeans: Michael Kors via TJMaxx
shoes: Target
shirt: Polo Ralph Lauren (thrifted)
jacket: St. John’s Bay via JCPenney Outlet (my mom’s)
necklace: Premier Designs
belt: Fossil
Today, I’m dreaming of casual Friday, with these shots from last Friday’s outfit. I’m in Suffolk, Va for a work conference (for federal grant compliance training - so thrilling) so, alas,...
11 tags
school is in session
skirt: Ann Taylor Loft (thrifted)
shoes: Dansko (thrifted)
top: TJMaxx
necklace: American Eagle
earrings: craft show
Happy Monday, everyone! Today, I started a Master in Education with a concentration in Higher Education program! I’ve known I wanted to continue in school since before I graduated from college in 2010, so I’m excited to be finally making it happen, while still...
15 tags
new shoes
top: The Limited
skirt: thrifted/shortened
boots: Frye
I found these boots in a consignment store over the weekend. They look like they’ve only been worn enough to get them broken in - since I brought them home and cleaned them up, they look pretty much brand new! Too bad it’s almost the end of boot-wearing weather… but that’s ok, since I intend on wearing these for a...
9 tags
dress up
dress: Michael Kors via JCPenney Outlet
clutch: Michael Kors via TJMaxx
shoes: Indigo by Clarks
necklace: vintage, my grandmother’s
I had to attend our annual Distinguished Alumni dinner last night, which is a fairly fancy event at the country club here in town. My Michael Kors outfit even made my brother’s (very successful) Instagram account. But this dress isn’t just...
11 tags
watercolors
dress: Calvin Klein [via Marshalls]
heels: Nine West [via TJMaxx]
watch: Target
earrings: gift
I originally wore this dress today in pseudo-mourning of having graduated from college two years ago this weekend, since that’s what I wore then. I always think of this as my watercolor dress, but I think I’m gonna have to rename it my compliment dress: coworkers and students both,...
11 tags
thursday
shirt & sunglasses: Target
skirt: H&M
necklace: With Your Heart Jewelry
shoes: Mix No. 6 [via DSW]
Today was one of those deceptive days where you think you’re not going to have much to do… juuust kidding! But at least it makes the day go faster :) And now all the kids in the lower school have a pretty class picture, plus or minus a few goofy faces, haha. I also got to have...
13 tags
girls' night
dress: Taylor via JCPenney Outlet
cardigan: J.Crew (thrifted)
shoes: Ruche
purse: Coach (vintage & thrifted)
earrings: craft show
watch: Eddie Bauer
Check out the cutest little vintage Coach purse ya ever did see that I scored for five bucks at Goodwill earlier this week. I kinda like it. Plus it matches my shoes. Whose black toes also happen to match my dress. Happy coincidence. I...
11 tags
business as usual
dress: Ann Taylor Loft
cardigan: J.Crew sample (thrifted)
shoes: Dansko (thrifted)
watch: Michael Kors
Today felt like one of those average, run of the mill, business as usual type days. Went to work as usual, went for a run after work, did some laundry. But sometimes, it’s nice to have a day with relatively low stress. My dad is back home, after spending over a week out of town,...
13 tags
open
skirt: thrifted
shirt: TJMaxx
belt: Calvin Klein (thrifted)
shoes: Call It Spring via JCPenney Outlet
necklace: Premier Designs
I love this top my mom picked up for me at TJMaxx! I’ve had it since late fall and very patiently waited until warmer weather to wear it. In the last photo, I’m looking over towards the house, where my dog managed to find the only open window in the...
14 tags
what's cookin'
cardigan, flats, sunglasses: Target
blouse: Marshalls
skirt: Loft
necklace: With Your Heart Jewelry
Hello again! Sorry it’s been a little while since I’ve updated - had to work this big carnival at school on Saturday, and then I’ve been enjoying having the house to myself since then. My parents took a vacation on the way to go pick up my sister from college, so I’ve...
13 tags
hectic
dress: Liz Claiborne via JCPenney Outlet
cardigan: J.Crew
belt: thrifted
shoes: Target
Here’s last Friday’s outfit - which seems like a long time ago now! I had a busy weekend between house/dog sitting, day trips, Mother’s Day, my brother returning home from college for the summer, and a mini family reunion with uncles, aunt, cousins, and grandparents. This dress reminds...
15 tags
andalusia
cardigan: H&M (thrifted)
shirt: Ann Taylor Loft
khakis: J.Crew
shoes: Target
watch: Michael Kors
necklace: Golden Thread
I’m so confused about the weather now that when we finally have a warm and sunny day, I still wear an outfit that could literally be worn on any day of the calendar year. I’m reading a book right now about Flannery O’Connor, which is set in...
10 tags
spectrum
blouse: Anthropologie
pants: Charlotte Russe
flats: J.Crew
earrings: Target
The rain finally went away! And it so kindly left in its place humidity-free skies and pretty green pastures full of buttercups, which I took full advantage of during today’s photo session. I love all the colors of spring… fall is pretty with its fiery leaves, but spring uses every possible shade of...
15 tags
highs and lows
dress: TJMaxx
shirt: Gap (thrifted)
belt: thrifted
shoes: Target
Well, hello! I accidentally haven’t blogged in six days. Oops. My grandmother was in a serious accident last week, so our household has been out of sorts. She’s still in the hospital, and needs another surgery, but she’s going to be ok. In other news, it’s been raining. A lot. And my mother had a...
13 tags
yup... it's still raining.
blazer: The Limited [thrifted]
dress & scarf: Target
leggings: Hue
boots: Zara
earrings: gift
My outfit matches the weather… but the scarf is me hoping that the sun will decide to come back asap! All this rain is definitely putting a damper [heh look at me making puns] on taking outfit pictures. At least today has downgraded to a light rain vs the downpour/intermittent hail that...
14 tags
rain, rain, go away
blouse, belt, watch: Target
dress: Matty M [gift]
wedges: Forever 21
earrings: vintage
Going with a pretty heavy nautical theme seemed appropriate for today’s monsoon-y at times weather. Today would have been a good day to drink tea and read all day long… so after I finish this, I’ll probably do that for a couple of hours to make up for lost time :D
16 tags
friday
cardigan, pants, shoes: Target
blouse: Marshalls
earrings: vintage
It’s finally Friday! Today actually went pretty quickly, I had lots to keep me busy and I got to go in late since I was at that trade show last night. Yearbooks are halfway passed out and we’ve made some good progress on ideas and organization for next year, which is exciting! Now I have one last email to send out...
13 tags
happy, happy
skirt: thrifted
shirt: TJMaxx
cardigan: Eddie Bauer
shoes: Target
necklace: Premier Designs
bag: Aigner via TJMaxx
cameo & class rings: gifts
watch: Michael Kors
Cait & I met up for lunch today, and let me tell you, nothing brightens up the middle of a cloudy, stressful work day like one of your best friends + Mexican food. And can we talk about how every night I ambitiously lay...
11 tags
thursday
sweater: Cable & Gauge [via TJMaxx]
dress: Loft
flats: Seychelles
purse [Fossil] & bracelet: gift [via Marshalls]
Today was another busy day, but made better by getting Mexican for lunch with SB, and again for dinner at a trade show I had to work tonight! Any day with multiple Mexican meals is a good one in my book :D Also, any day involving spontaneous dance parties at said trade...
12 tags
delays
shirt: New York & Company (thrifted)
cardigan: Zara via TJMaxx
pants & tank top: JCPenney Outlet
shoes: Target
earrings: craft show
Another stressful day at work but I made it through and worked off some steam on a really long walk followed by a really fast paced run. Also, I had a grilled chicken quesadilla for dinner so I basically can complain about nothing now. And how sad is it...
13 tags
balancing act
skirt: Worthington via JCPenney Outlet
shoes: Nine West (thrifted)
shirt: Forever 21 (thrifted)
pin: thrifted
watch: Eddie Bauer
I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, particularly with this one grant for work, that changed their minds after we submitted and increased our required match from 10% to 50% (what?!). So basically we had to come up with several hundred thousand dollars in...
15 tags
tuesday
top: H&M
skirt: thrifted/made over
wedges: Forever 21
scarf & watch: Target
earrings: gift
Everything is finally all pretty and green outside! And I think the pollen might be mostly washed away after the rain we’ve had over the past couple of days… fingers crossed. I’m excited for my day off tomorrow - I went to JoAnn’s after work to get some fabric for my...
April 2013
36 posts
14 tags
longevity
dress: Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit via TJMaxx
cardigan & shoes: JCPenney Outlet
belt: thrifted
necklace: gift
I had the privilege of having lunch today with a great supporter of our college, who just happened to celebrate his 96th birthday yesterday. He’s a WWII vet and his grandmother was born in 1806. He told us stories about his war experiences, what it was like growing up in North...
13 tags
victory
blouse: Marshalls
pants: JCPenney Outlet
flats & watch: Target
earrings: gift
I am very pleased to announce that our yearbooks have arrived and have been sorted and partially given out without tooo many mishaps! Well, except for people who paid for them but didn’t turn in a form so they didn’t get ordered, and people whose orders were inaccurate…. but those crises have...
12 tags
technology fail
pants: Dalia Collection via TJMaxx
shoes: Indigo by Clarks
sweater: Ann Taylor Loft
shirt: Gap (thrifted)
necklace: Premier Designs
Aside from several hours when I was in meetings, I spent the majority of my day trying to input a grant narrative I had written into an online form that kept giving me error messages. Trying being the operative word. Irks me to no end when you end up spending...
14 tags
thursday
dress: H&M [thrifted]
shoes: Kelly & Katie [via DSW]
earrings: vintage
necklace: Charming Charlie
watch: Target
Today was another day that felt like Friday all day… also another pretty busy day - they seem to be getting marginally less busy by the day, though [marginally being the operative word]. As long as that continues to be the trend I think I’ll make it, ha....
11 tags
pink is in the air
dress: J.Crew (thrifted)
scarf: thrifted
shoes: Call It Spring via JCPenney Outlet
My neighbor’s azalea bush was in full bloom, so I sort of helped myself and borrowed the landscape for these pictures. I actually wore the jacket from this post most of the day, but it was finally warm enough when I left work to ditch it for the ride home. I had a really nice evening involving Mexican...
14 tags
flowering
shirt & shoes: JCPenney Outlet
skirt: thrifted
cardigan: J.Crew (thrifted)
earrings: craft show
necklace: Groopdealz
Well, looks like I’m falling behind because this is my third post in a row that is of an outfit I wore ages ago. Those flowers are no longer in bloom, unfortunately. I had my Duke University Nonprofit Management class today so I was out of town and didn’t...
13 tags
progress
top: H&M
pants & flats: Target
scarf: thrifted
earrings: DIY
Another super busy but somewhat productive day… I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s pretty much gonna be a marathon until exams, but at least that’s only two weeks away. I can’t believe how fast this school year has gone! So crazy.
15 tags
out of storage
skirt: JCPenney Outlet
shirt: Gap (thrifted)
scarf: thrifted
shoes: Target
belt: Banana Republic (thrifted)
earrings: handmade
It was a chilly Monday (temps have been down in the 30s at night!) but I actually wore this a couple weeks ago and never got around to posting. This skirt was one of my favorites last year and I think that will continue to hold true this season. My grandparents...
12 tags
running out of time
top: thrifted/made over
skirt: Banana Republic [thrifted]
wedges: Forever 21
earrings: vintage/DIY
Whew, today was entirely too busy… you should consider easing back into the week a little nicer in future, Monday, please and thank you. On the bright side, since today was such a blur of cranking out projects it flew by - at one point I looked at the clock to find it was about 1:30 and...
12 tags
minty spring green
shirt: L.L.Bean
jeans: Target
shoes: Call It Spring via JCPenney Outlet
belt: Target (thrifted)
This was my casual Friday outfit, and when I took these pictures Friday afternoon, a storm was rolling in, thunder was booming in the distance, and I was urging mom to hurry because it was going to start pouring before we get any shots. And because, you know, we could get struck by lightening....
4 tags
long sleeved top > peplum top
Making more progress on my pile of thrifted stuff to fix up… this is probably my most involved Goodwill makeover to date, and I’m so excited about how it turned out! Too excited to wait till tomorrow to combine it with my outfit post :D
The original: love the color, love the pleats, but they just kinda dissolve into a weird unflattering ruffly mess at the bottom. Seems like it...
15 tags
friday
dress [worn as blouse] & heels: Forever 21
skirt: vintage/made over
earrings: gift
It’s finally the weekend, hooray! I’ve got a whole list of things I feel really compelled to get done over the next couple of days. That always happens when I’m sitting at work trying to get stuff knocked out - I’m thinking of all this other stuff that would be so much fun to be...
19 tags
traditions
dress: Ann Taylor Loft
cardigan: Banana Republic (thrifted)
shoes: Target
necklace: Groopdealz
bag: Aigner via TJMaxx
Mexican night with my girls tonight! I can’t think of a better way to kick off the weekend than a Thursday night dinner out - which is why it’s a good thing we get dinner almost every Thursday night :) Is anyone planning anything fun for the weekend? I’m...
14 tags
slow going
tshirt: Loft
skirt: J.Crew [thrifted]
sandals: Kelly & Katie
necklace: My Name Necklace
One day closer to the weekend! SB, Meg, and I all met up for our more or less weekly Mexican night, which was a definite improvement on my day - trying to track down loads of information from loads of different people to put together a brochure by next Tuesday is a little stressful, but hopefully...
11 tags
real beauty sketches
dress: Karin Stevens via JCPenney Outlet
cardigan: Worthington via JCPenney Outlet
belt: Levi Strauss (thrifted)
shoes: Ruche
necklace: Premier Designs
I had three long meetings today, including one with the CEO of the hospital, so I didn’t actually accomplish much of my desk work. Also, have you guys seen this yet? It’s so true that we’re often our worst critic. I love...
14 tags
lunch break
shirt: Polo Ralph Lauren (thrifted)
skirt: thrifted
belt: Banana Republic (thrifted)
shoes: Target
bag: Aigner via TJMaxx
earrings: craft show
necklace: Golden Thread Shop
I’m always excited to have lunch with Caitlin, especially when I get to take pictures before the end of the day. I had a pretty productive day at work, which included a phone call with a guy from the National...
13 tags
field trips
blouse: Charlotte Russe
skirt: Target
heels: J.Crew
purse: Fossil [via Marshalls]
earrings: DIY
It’s been a while since SBK and I have taken mall parking lot lunchtime fotos - always something fun to revisit! Especially now that spring is here and the grass is all green and lush [so lush they should probably get on that with the lawnmower… haha] - nice color contrast! You ever...
12 tags
presenting
top: Jessica Simpson via TJMaxx
skirt: thrifted
shoes: Nine West (thrifted)
necklace: my grandmother’s
earrings: gift
Whew, it was a busy Monday. Several meetings and a presentation in front of the college board. I’m glad that’s over. In other news, I just read a book about beer. And have guys since this yet? Hilarious.
10 tags
additions
dress: J.Crew [thrifted]
shoes: Seychelles
earrings: gift
I scored this dress back in the winter and have been dying to wear it ever since, so I got my money’s worth over the past couple of days since I wore it to church yesterday and to work today [even though today was a little more chilly]. I can see this being a staple once it gets miserably hot and humid this summer because...
12 tags
lofty jewels
jeans: Old Navy (thrifted)
shoes: Nine West (thrifted)
blouse: Worthington via JCPenney Outlet
jacket: Target
bag: Aigner
necklaces: gift, Little H Torsade
I wore this yesterday for casual Friday and surprisingly it seemed like a big hit, judging from the many comments I got. We’re having lots of beautiful spring days around here! I went to a bbq cook-off briefly today and then...
13 tags
storm warning
blouse: J.Crew [thrifted]
skirt: Banana Republic [thrifted]
wedges: Mix No. 6 [via DSW]
necklace: With Your Heart Jewelry
earrings: gift
Happy Friday, y’all! And it was a pretty one, which was nice considering we had a pretty insane thunderstorm last night… there were rumors of tornadoes but thankfully the roof stayed intact over my head because I was too comfortable to move to...
11 tags
block
dress: Alyx via JCPenney Outlet
shoes: Indigo by Clark
necklace: gift
watch: Eddie Bauer
I had to go to a meeting with a group that grants the college a lot of money each year, so I tried to look a tad dressier today. I had a cardigan over this, but I ditched it by mid-afternoon because it got hot. There was a moment when I was driving home from work with the windows down and my hair...
12 tags
spring cleaning
skirt: Jones New York
shirt: Target (thrifted)
cardigan: Liz Claiborne (thrifted)
shoes: Target
belt: Talbots (thrifted)
monogram necklace: Golden Thread
watch: Michael Kors
Spring cleaning at my house continues! It feels really good to get rid of a lot of stuff. These lucky items I wore today are clothes that actually made the cut to not get donated. Also, a lady stopped me in the hall...
10 tags
tuesday
dress: Loft [thrifted]
sandals: Kelly & Katie [via DSW]
bracelet: Forever 21
You know what really makes me happy? Being able to leave for work in the morning with bare legs and short sleeves and not being cold at any point during the day. It’s so wonderful :D Two days in a row too!? I also really like my new sandals I bought last week…. get ready, you’ll probably be...
13 tags
minty clean feeling
cardigan & shoes: JCPenney Outlet
jeans: Target
shirt: J.Crew (thrifted)
I wore this outfit on Friday, and took these shots right before I hit the road to visit one of my best friends from college (hi, Caroline!!) who was visiting Duke Law school. It was so great to reminisce about our college days, and where we are three years later. In other news, Sunday after lunch I was attacked by a...
12 tags
mercury rising
cardigan: Target
tank top: Walmart
pants: Zara
wedges: Forever 21
I had no idea it was supposed to get hot today?!? I have a really awful tendency of never checking the weather in the morning… and I always forget how mercurial the weather is this time of year. I guess one way you can definitely tell it’s spring fo realz is the pollen flying around everywhere. My car legit looks...
13 tags
friday
jacket & flats: Target
tshirt & necklace: Forever 21
pants: Calvin Klein [via Marshalls]
earrings: vintage
Today was fairly busy, and involved some trips off campus, which is always good for making the day speed along! I’ve been putting together a sports brochure for the past week or so, and I think it’s mostly done as of this afternoon… hooray for progress! And now...
