Stripes X3!

Yesterday was my last day at my old job and my new job starts Monday.  I feel such a sense of relief and excitement!  With this new job comes a lot of changes, but I am ready.  One of the bigger changes is that I will now be taking public transportation to work.  It is definitely going to take some getting used to.  Ben and I went on a a little journey today to figure out the best route for me to take.  I am terrible with directions and get lost very easily, so I wanted to do a trial run.  It went well and was actually pretty easy.  For those of you who commute via public transportation, do you have any tips for me?  I am looking forward to catching up on my reading and NOT dealing with rush hour traffic!  I am a little bit worried about the rainy season starting up soon.  I'm sure I will be shopping for gloves/hats/rain coats/etc. in the very near future. 

I have been wearing a lot of stripes recently.  It seems like stripes are everywhere again this season and that makes me happy:)  Here are 3 recent outfits that all feature stripes of some sort:  

This is what I wore today.  The skirt is from last year.  I am getting a lot of wear out of my new J. Crew Polka Dot Chambray top - love it!

Tee:  J. Crew

Top:  J. Crew

Skirt:  Anthropologie Seamingly Maxi Skirt

Shoes:  Dansko

I bought this J. Crew factory knit blaze a couple of weeks ago.  It is fabulous!  It is so cozy, but still looks put-together and can definitely be worn to the office.

Top:  J. Crew

Blazer:  J. Crew Factory

Jeans:  AG

Shoes:  Gee WaWa oxfords

One last outfit featuring on of my favorite Jackie cardigans:)

Top:  J. Crew factory

Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie

Jeans:  AG

Shoes:  Gee WaWa Oxfords

Necklace:  Etsy

Birthday Weekend (+ new shoes!)

I had the best birthday weekend!  My actual birthday was on Saturday, but I started celebrating on Friday and stretched it out as far as possible:)  It was wonderful in so many ways, but the very best thing about it was that my brother was here (he came all the way from NC!).  He and his girlfriend flew in last Wednesday evening and they left yesterday.  We had such a great time and I loved being able to spend time with him.

We went out to Doug Fir on Friday night to see Sallie Ford.  She was amazing.  Her music is very interesting, quirky and fun (and conducive to lots of dancing:).  I had such a blast!  On Saturday, we went out to brunch at one of my favorite spots (Petite Provence) and then spent some time outside at the park.  Later that night, I got dressed up and we went out for a nice dinner at another favorite, Pok Pok. 

Sunday we took a day trip to the coast.  We ended up doing the Cape Falcon hike at Oswald West state park.  It was a lovely, sunny, beautiful hike.  When we reached the top, we sat down to have a little picnic overlooking the ocean.  We soon discovered a whale right down below us, hanging out around the cliffs!  We spent a good long time just sitting there, watching the whale swim around and come up to spout every few minutes.  It was magical.  All in all, I had a beautiful, fun, and very special birthday weekend.



Ben has been talking about my birthday gift for weeks.  Apparently, he purchased the gift a while back and he has been so excited about giving it to me.  I think he was even more excited about my birthday than I was!  On Saturday morning, the wait was finally over.  I rolled out of bed and was still in my PJs when he insisted it was time to open my gift.  I tore the paper off to find a box I have grown to love - a CHIE MIHARA SHOEBOX!!!!  I was shocked!  I still cannot believe that my sweet husband bought me a pair of Chie's.  He even did his research before purchasing and ended up finding this post over at Will Work 4 Shoes, which reassured him that he was making the right purchase (thank you!).  I could not be happier with my new shoes.

Chie Mihara Olivan

       

I 

Dress:  Anthropologie
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  Chie Mihara  Olivan
Bracelet/hair clip:  Anthropologie



Here are some other shots from the weekend:

Me and my brother

Sallie Ford at Doug Fir

Brunch

Cape Falcon  - whale sighting

Whale

Whale

A perfect end to the day!

What I wore to quit my job

Yep, I quit my job today.  It felt SO good.  I have been with the same company for the past 7+ years.  While the majority of my time there was positive, the past year or so was filled with frustration and stress.  I decided that enough is enough.  Ben recently mentioned this quote to me, "how you spend your days is how you spend your life."  I have been thinking about that a lot lately and I decided that I do not want to spend my life frustrated and stressed.  I accepted a new position that will start in 2 weeks (more on that later!).  While I am nervous and scared about such a big change, I am also proud of myself and very excited.  

 

Dress:  Clair Vintage Inspired via Adorn
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  Dansko

Sunset

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend!  Mine was very productive (lots of laundry/ironing, organizing, cleaning, dog walks, grocery shopping, yoga, etc.).  Friday after work, we had a picnic outside and watched the sunset with friends.  It was stunning.  I'm so excited and ready for fall, but it's also a little bit sad to say goodbye to summer (especially around here, because I know that the rain is on its way!).     

Here is an outfit from last week.  I think it may be a repeat, but I'm okay with that:)  The cost-per-wear of the skirt has got to be down to pennies at this point. 

Top:  Urban Outfitters

Skirt:  Urban Outfitters

Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie

Shoes:  Camper

Necklace:  J. Crew

Change

This is something I desperately needed to hear today.

Via French By Design

Diamante

I'm just dropping in to post a quick outfit from today.  I added this skirt to my anthro wishlist when it first came out, but I never got around to purchasing it.  It sold out pretty quickly after it hit sale and I kind of forgot about it.  I recently came across it again while browsing ebay and I snagged it for under $20.  I love it!   

Top:  Anthropologie
Skirt:  Anthropologie Diamante Skirt via ebay
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  Dansko

Powdered Pigment

I hope you guys are enjoying the weekend.  I'm having a quiet, still-in-my-PJs kind of day:)  We ended up with free tickets to see Jim Gaffigan last night.  I'm really not a fan of going to see comedians.  Every other comedy show we have been to has been very cheesy/lame, but this one was actually pretty fun.  We definitely laughed a lot, so I will count it as a success! 

Last weekend, we celebrated Ben's birthday.  He is a whole 3 weeks older than me, so for the 3 weeks following his birthday, I like to really rub it in :)  It was especially fun last year when, for those 3 weeks, he was 'in his 30s' while I was still 'in my 20s'.  For his big day, we went out to dinner at Bollywood Theater, out for drinks at Bin 21, and then we made our way back home to enjoy some dessert I picked up from Papa Haydn.  It was a fun and delicious evening, plus I finally got to break out my Powdered Pigment Dress!

Dress:  Anthropologie Powdered Pigment Dress (Plenty by Tracey Reese)
Shoes:  All Black via Anthropologie

Double Scoop

I hope you all are having a fabulous long weekend!  Today was the perfect mixture of fun and relaxation with a little bit of productivity thrown in.  Ben's birthday was on Friday and we have been  in celebration mode since then.  We went out to pick up some dog food and ended up  making a pit stop for burgers and beer.....and ice cream:) 

Top:  J. Crew
Jeans:  AG Stevies via Anthropologie
Shoes:  Birkenstocks