living in sunshine

Top (on ebay): Anthropologie, Skirt (remixed): LOFT, 
Earrings (remixed): Ruche, Booties: Urbanog, Ring (similar): Ebay

It's amazing how working in a space of sunshiney natural light can quite literally illuminate you.
Your soul, your well-being, your general happiness.
It seems like a small thing, but there's a certain power to the sun that gives me a whole new respect for like...coal miners. And Alaskans. And subway workers. And sunshine-less people, like me, up until last month.

My office used to be a windowless closet that sapped me of my energy and it was such a huge surprise to me when I moved into the new building and sat staring out my window for hours, feeling like -- I'm alive. 
I felt a renewed sense of self, like I could do anything, go anywhere. I felt productive and excited.
There's a new heartbeat to this building, and I can feel it!
There are terraces and windows galore, so much light and activity and newness.

It has been really easy for me to get used to, but I will try my best not to take it for granted. 

It makes me realize what a difference joy can make in the midst of the daily grind. Having pride in your work and feeling like you're a part of something special.

Where do you find your joy? 

It's a conscious effort, but it shouldn't be easily shaken. I hope I'm always able to find joy in my work, whatever it may be. Whether it's becoming an author like I sometimes (always) dream about, or working at a cafe. 

All I know right now is that I hope there's sunshine there.

polka cats

Last week was all about the polka dots.
I wore my polka dot dress, and these same polka-dot loafers with a blue dress.

On Thursday I opted for more casual workday attire, and sported my fanciest cat top (I can say "fanciest" because I have more than one...) with my purple pants and the aforementioned polka-dot loafers.
This week will be a little different, because I lent out my camera to some friends who were having issues with theirs right on the brink of their departure for an Alaskan Cruise.
I gave in, acquiescing that their reasons for taking quality pictures were much better than mine.

Thus, my picture quality will be significantly lessened this week, as it shall be only my quick-fix iPhone on hand.
My nifty little device that serves as my camera, my social media connection and my pizza-orderer all in one.

Top: Ruche, Pants: Old Navy, Shoes: Gap, Ring: (similar on Etsy)

I love my back porch.
I take a lot of pictures back there because it's deceptively private, except in the winter when all the houses on the other side of the shallow forest become visible again.

It's a shared porch with countless other apartment tenants, but whenever I go out there it's a ghost town.
There was one time I walked out to take photos and was accosted by a tiny white yapping dog (which nearly caused me to scream-choke in fright), and one other time when a little boy was sitting on our patio furniture staring at me.
I simply backed away.

Despite those little bits of crazy, for the most part, it's just me. 

Enjoying the summertime with the weather, the patio furniture and my husband working at the grill.

5to5: weekday remix

I've seen several fashion blogs do remix posts to showcase a particular item of clothing in multiple outfits.
Remixing is a great way to challenge yourself to draw inspiration from the items in your closet!

Elizabeth from Delightfully Tacky has some great "Remixology" posts that have served as my inspiration for this "5to5" project.
I reference her blog often, because it's one of the only blogs I check on an almost daily basis. I love her unique style and her thoughtful posts.

In any case, I decided to grab 5 standard items from my closet and see how I could create 5 different outfits out of those items.
I've learned a lot over the past year or so about how to utilize one item for many purposes, and I'm always intrigued by new challenges.

Yesterday my barista at Starbucks said, "Okay, I have a question for you: do you ever wear the same thing twice? I've served you for a while now, and I don't think I've ever seen you in the same outfit."

I took this as a pretty great compliment, because I've tried my best to keep my wardrobe fresh!

The Five: 
1. A neutral blazer
2. A maxi skirt
3. Colored denim
4. Lace top
5. Polka-dot dress

I chose items that I feel like everyone has (or maybe should invest in, if not!) in their basic closet collection.
These items are great staples for the spring, and are easily transitioned into other seasons as well.

Accessories: classic sunglasses (similar!) from Ruche / bow belt from LOFT / white bow flats / lavender crossbody bag (similar) from Target / mint crossbody bag (similar) from Primark in London / Cookie Lee necklace + bracelet / Noon earrings (shop!)

Outfit 1:
Dress (shop!) / Blazer (similar) : LOFT

This is classic workday attire.
It completely slipped my mind until I started working on this post that this entire first outfit is from LOFT!
While I bought/received all of the items at separate times, they work pretty well together!
I love this new polka-dotted dress, it reminds me of 101 Dalmatians. The dots are imperfect, with a smudged quality that reminds me of the art throughout one of my favorite Disney movies!

Outfit 2:
Dress: LOFT (shop!), Top: Ruche

I love the idea of layering a lace top over a dress.
It's so feminine, and adds a lot of opportunity to dress up a few casual dresses for a more elaborate look. Add a belt at the waist for some more silhouette definition and you're good to go!

Outfit 3:
Skirt: Primark in London, Top: Ruche

I also used a solid navy tank to wear under the lace top.
I'm still unsure how I feel about maxi skirts/dresses. They always feel a bit too dressy for me, and that's possibly because my work is so casual.
I picked this skirt up on our trip to London because I'm a sucker for stripes, and I also am eager for more touches of navy in my wardrobe. I look forward to experimenting with more remixes of this one!

Outfit 4:
Skirt: Primark in London

I absolutely love the idea of using a longer skirt as a dress!
It may not work for every long skirt (and I'm not a huge fan of strapless anyway) but I think playing around with colored cardigans and big necklaces would be so fun with this striped pattern.
It would be so easy to transition this look from workday to date night out with just a few accessories. So many options!

Outfit 5:
Colored denim: Ruche, Top: Ruche

Outfits 1 and 5 are probably my favorite out of them all, and seem to be the most "me".

I really love my coral pants. They were my first pair of colored denim, and every time I put them on I remember how much I love them. They're so comfortable and bright. I look forward to wearing them more and more this spring!

This was my first attempt at taking my own pictures via tripod, and I was too scared to venture outside of our apartment (these were taken on the strip of balcony behind our row of apartments).
I'll hopefully be attempting 5to5 posts every couple of weeks, so until then:
What are your thoughts on some of these outfit ideas?