Monday Morning Plaid | Plaid Midi and Navy Heels

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! I spent Sunday having a boozy birthday brunch for my roommate! I was planning on wearing this skirt that I'm wearing here but I realized that the pencil shape doesn't leave much room for the stomach bulge I'd inevitably gain during a brunch of any kind. I ended up wearing something else instead but I'm wearing this skirt to work today (with a collared shirt and a blazer). I'm really loving the pencil silhouette of this skirt! Most plaid skirts I've seen have been pleated, giving a school uniform vibe. Nothing wrong with that but I feel like I'm a bit too old for that look now. Besides, it's nice to find something unexpected, even a classic item like a plaid skirt needs a modern update once in a while.

November 2015 According to Instagram

Happy Sunday lovelies!

This month has been a whirlwind of travel, work, and play! I think I can safely say that I very much enjoyed this month! Here's some pics from my instagram to prove it:

Pretty Woman | Mini Dress and Tall Boots

Happy Black Friday everyone!

I've always liked the idea of tall over-the-knee boots because if you think about it, it's pretty practical - they keep your legs so warm! On the other hand, they've gotten a bad rep until fairly recently. Maybe we can blame Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman for that...

That said, Julia Roberts looked fantastic in Pretty Woman and when I saw these boots, I was reminded of Vivian Ward for a moment. I think that tall boots are a fantastic piece to have (not to mention again, practical). I like that mine are suede which tones down the boldness of this piece, and they have a bit of stretch so I can pair them with jeans or thicker socks or something. The only con about these particular ones are that they are a bit too wide at the thighs. I kinda wish they would come with the lace up part like the Stuart Weitzman Highland boots do but... maybe that might be my DIY project in the future?

Turkey Day | Soft Knits and Flippy Skirt

Hello lovelies! Excuse the late post!

I hope you are all well and ready for Thanksgiving! I will be heading to New Jersey as my family is gathering at my aunt's house up there this year. I actually haven't seen my extended family in four years so it's going to be a pretty exciting week! I'm probably going to wear this outfit - colors are lady-like and family friendly while the a-line skirt offers comfort for all the food I'm going to eat!

Toasty | Burgundy Ribbons and Cozy Sweater

Good Monday everyone!

I love sweater season! I wore this dress a few times earlier in the fall because of its lovely burgundy color and the cute and whimsical bows. Now that the weather has gotten cooler, I love wearing this dress with my warm, cropped sweater! I actually wore this outfit out people thought this dress was a skirt. I've done something similar on the blog before, wearing a dress as a top or as bottoms so again, I insist that if you want to get more mileage out of your closet, repurpose your dresses!

A Mile in My Shoes: Work Day

I liked the responses I got from my last "Mile in My Shoes" post. I talked about how I spent a weekend day but this time I wanted to share with you guys what a typical work day looks like for me. To be honest, my work days aren't usually too interesting. Unless you find US politics and policy fascinating like I do, a typical weekday in my shoes won't be terribly fun. I cut out some of the 'boring' stuff and came up with this little schedule:

5:00am - Wake up and start the day with a quick trip to the gym. On nice days in the Spring and Summer I run outside but since the weather is colder and it's quite dark at this hour, I've been taking advantage of the treadmill in my building.

Knots | Printed Shirt and Navy Trousers

Wondrous Wednesday, lovelies!

I bought this shirt back in July. I LOVE popover shirts because they seem so much less stiff and more casual that crisp button-downs while still having an element of professionalism about them. I like the stripes on them as they give the shirt a more classic feel while the knots are a nautical and whimsical detail that I just adore. This shirt has been my wardrobe workhorse as of late! 

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that navy is my favorite color to wear and around a formal office, I think that navy is perfect if you want to go for a more approachable look. I tend to avoid wearing all black because I think it makes me look like I'm going for a job interview everyday and grays tend to wash me out. I like navy because it's a bit more relaxed and gives a more inviting feel. 

Looking For a Job When You Already Have One

As some of you may remember, I left my old job I was with in August to start working somewhere that was more up my alley. One of the questions that came up during the interviewing process was "If you already have a job, why are you applying for this position?" It's a good question, and at the very least it's a fair question. I linked above to a post back in September detailing that I was quite unhappy in my previous position and was experiencing burnout. I want to state for the record that the association I was working at is a very fine place to work and I loved all my co-workers and my former boss (I'm still in touch with them, in fact! We text each other often even now!). I had to leave, however, because of a conversation I couldn't stop thinking of: On my first day of work at my old job, my boss told me that she had been at that association for 30 years and that that place "was her calling." The longer I stayed, the more I felt that that place wasn't my calling and I wanted to be somewhere that was my calling.
I'm hoping there are some of you guys out there that can relate to my experiences and I want to share with you some tips on how to go about looking for a job when you already have a (seemingly) perfectly good one already.

Humpday Mesh | Mesh Skirt and Dotted Shirt

Why hello there, readers!

As much as I'm trying to incorporate more color into my wardrobe, I always go back to the basic colors - black and white (and sometimes navy). Part of it is due to the fact that I work in an office with a somewhat conservative dress code and DC in general tends to gravitate towards neutral and muted colors so I can't help but try and fit in. Still, I think the interest is all in the details. Take this skirt for example - it's got a mesh overlay and is midi-length. It even has pockets! Thank goodness for pockets!

Book Recommendations for Millennial Working Women

Good Tuesday afternoon everyone!

As an avid reader and a hard-working millennial, I am always on the hunt for a good book to read during my downtime, and I know many of you guys out there are as well! In the spirit of this month's career-related theme, here are a few books my friend Jen (also a brilliant woman with a fantastic career) and I absolutely recommend for all young women who are currently in (or about to enter) the workforce. #Hustle girls!

• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg: Filled with anecdotes about women in the workforce, this book inspired me to not be afraid to ask for what I want and work efficiently. Sandberg is someone I greatly admire and seeing her insight was incredibly eye-opening. I can't recommend this book enough to all of you smart ladies out there!
• The Little Black Book of Success -  Laws of Leadership for Women by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haywood, Angela Burt-Murray, Rhonda Joy McLean: This book follows three successful black female executives and discusses their strategies, wisdom, and how they deal with stereotypes. As a young white woman at the start of my career, I found their advice and tips to be universal, interesting, and good conversation pieces with coworkers. Leadership comes in many different shapes, sizes, and directions - I recommend this book because it is important to have perspective and diverse sources of mentorship.
• The Good Girls Revolt -  How the Women of Newsweek Sues their Bosses and Changed the Workplace by Lynn Povich: This book looks at Newsweek between the 1940’s to the 1950’s, in which a large cultural shift led a group of apolitical women to take a stand for their own civil rights. This book discusses feminism, discrimination, and many other difficult topics with respect, humor, and perspective. This was a wonderful book to read and I recommend it to everyone.
• Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office - Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers by Lois Frankel: This is not my favorite book about women in workplace, but I recommend it for the valuable self-examination it promotes regarding professionalism and confidence. I recommend this book, because it explain how women can learn “to play the game,” how to act professionally and with confidence, how to brand and market yourself, how to speak with clearly and with confidence, and how to respond to people and difficult situations. We could talk about feminism until we are blue in the face, but at the end of the day we all still want careers and make it to the point in those careers where we can affect change; this book will get you there.
• Woman Up! - Overcome the 7 Deadly Sins that Sabotage Your Success by Aimee Cohen: This book provides a fantastic outlook about certain behaviors women are more statistically likely to do and how they can harmful to ourselves. Cohen gives real world examples uses shared experiences to provide context to advice and tips for women who want to take control of their careers. This book isn’t asking its reader’s to change to win at a man’s game; rather Cohen asks us to see ourselves as we are and how our actions are effecting our outcomes as players. 
• The Power of Habit - Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg: This book is all about how the science of personal habits and how to understanding personal habits is the key to success. Duhigg uses CEOs, cultural leaders, and communities as case studies providing example routine, reward, change, success, and failure. For women in business I suggest this book because as we aim to be successful it is important to understand the science and habits that will either help facilitate or disrupt either or personal or professional success.
• Creative Confidence - Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley and David Kelley: Creativity isn’t just for artists, hipsters, or young people. Creative people make effective and innovative leaders. For woman, statistically we are more creative than men, so I suggest this book as way to optimize our statistical advantages…. plus its just a great read for everyone!

Employed Hippie | Patterned Shirtdress and Tall Boots

Happy Monday, lovelies!

In a post back in September, I mentioned I couldn't find a shirtdress that was flattering on me so I generally avoided them all. Well, I think it's safe to say that I'm a shirt-dress convert, as evidenced by this post, this post, and today's outfit! I clearly haven't been looking hard enough.

I titled this post "Employed Hippie" because this dress has a bit of a retro '70s feel to it, especially in terms of the loose fit and old-school print. In fact in the store, they hung this dress in a section specifically for those looking for a 70's hippie style of clothing. I'm usually more into structured looks so the 70's style isn't my usual aesthetic. This dress, however, made me want to give the look a chance. I'm gainfully employed, fortunately, but it's not going to stop me from rocking a more flower-child-y outfit!

My Office Essentials

With my new job came a brand new office! Admittedly, it's not a big office but I went from working in a cubicle to a more private space so it looks like I'm moving up! One of the big challenges was figuring out how to decorate the space so that it was still professional but not completely devoid of personality. After hanging my university diploma, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do but as I got to know my coworkers and saw what they did for their offices, I picked out a few essentials for office decorating:

Let’s Get Organized: Finances While Moving

Everyone knows that moving is expensive. As you all know, I just moved to a new place downtown and while I absolutely love my new building, getting here was not cheap. I compiled a few tips on how to save money and move on a budget, for those of you in a similar situation as myself or will be soon: 

Spot of Tea | Floral Dress and Peep Toe Booties

Hello lovelies!

When I moved in, I hosted a housewarming tea party and this was the outfit I wore! I’m not exactly the biggest partier so no loud and crazy festivities for me. Just a few close friends over for some tea (I picked up a box of PG Tips), scones and stroopwaffels. So much yum!

By the way, if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have seen my new haircut but here it is in all it’s glory. I was initially annoyed by how short it was but it’s starting grow on me now. What do you guys think?

Taking a Risk: My Career Journey Origins

I usually reserve the month of November to talk about career-related posts and even office-appropriate OOTDs. In the spirit of the tradition, I want to open up a little bit about my career journey and hopefully you guys can learn from my mistakes and my successes.

I attended college with the goal of becoming a journalist. I was the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper and I wanted to write professionally for a newspaper (print journalism ftw!). Well, I can tell you that that goal didn't exactly pan out. I wasn't entirely happy with the job outlook and I found my resolve wavering when I thought about the student loans I would have to pay off on a reporter's salary. I was incredibly disappointed with myself that I would "sell out" to Public Relations but that's exactly what I did - I switched majors where I was confronted with another challenge: which direction do I want to go with this particular field of study? 

Navy | T-Shirt Dress and Classic Heels

Magnificent Monday, lovelies!

It's no secret that navy is one of my favorite colors. It's universally flattering and a "daring" neutral - definitely my kind of color. I decided to go with a monochromatic outfit today with this simply navy dress and a simple pair of navy pumps. I added this cobalt bag to break up the navy a bit so I don't look so much like a crayon but since cobalt is still in the same color family as navy blue, I think this was a rather successful attempt at monochrome, don't you think?

October According to Instagram

Good evening everyone!

I haven't done an Instagram roundup in a while and it feels pretty good to be back!

As you guys remember, I made a big move to downtown DC and outfit posts have been pretty sporadic to say the least. My schedule is back on track now that I have a kind of routine going on so hopefully I won't have to keep writing "sorry I've been away" posts as often in the near future!

Also, in other news, I got my haircut this weekend! I usually like my hair a bit on the shorter side and I decided to go with an asymmetrical bob. I kinda like it but I'm still trying to make my new length work. We'll see how things go, shall we?

Now without further ado, here is what my Instagram looked like for the month of October: