Inspired

shirt, belt, and boots: Target, sweater: Old Navy

I finally took pictures of this outfit that I'm happy with! Thankfully I'm not wearing it today, I changed right back into my jeans and favorite Ohio State hoodie from college and plan to go to campus and meet up with friends. It's kind of a shame that I did my hair just to put on a hat to stay warm, but it'll be worth it!

So I have to admit, when I saw Marion's Boots and Booties outfit for her Trend of the Month Link-Up, I was inspired. Clearly it's not the first time. :) I stuck to the idea of a skirt paired with an almost over-sized sweater and booties. The outfit left me feeling professional, stylish, and even cozy (that must've been the sweater). It's definitely a look I'll be trying again!


Linking up with Marion!  Visit her blog to see how everyone styled their boots or booties!

Monochromatic

jeans and shirt: thrifted, boots: Target, scarf: World Market

My scarf and shirt were close enough to the same color today that I decided to give a monochromatic look a try today.  I've liked that it's been cool enough to opt for boots everyday this week, but it reminds me that I need to finally transition my closet into fall mode. I'm far too lazy to be walking to the closet in the next room over every morning just to complete my outfit...

Reunited

shirt and shoes: Target, sweater: thrifted, pants: Shopper's World

You guys - I'm thinking this week may kick my ass. Work is really busy because class registration just opened up for us. The good thing is that it's meant increased student contact which is helping me feel more confident, the bad news is that I'm super tired already!! 

This outfit isn't even from this week, it's from Saturday. We picked the halfway point between where I grew up and where I live now, and I met my mom, an aunt, and a great aunt for lunch. It's pretty sad, but I realized it was the first time in awhile that my Saturday involved an outfit that wasn't my running clothes or my sweatpants! It felt good to be reunited with my red jeans and it let me show my Buckeye pride without resorting to an Ohio State hoodie. :)

Linking up...

CopyCats

shirt: Two Birds, SF, CA, vest and shoes: thrifted, pants: NY&Co.

original look from Marionberry Style

How adorable is Marion? As soon as I realized I had the pieces to recreate her look, I jumped right on it. The one thing I won't be copying from her? That baby bump! She rocks that look so well that I think I'll leave her to that one! :)

Linking up with with Sarah...

Talk of the Office

necklace: my grandmother's, shirt: Target, vest: some boutique in Healdsburg, CA, pants: Old Navy, booties: Payless

Our advising staff is divided into teams by majors we advise, and in a training today, a co-worker told me that her team was talking about me. Good things of course, I'm sure she wouldn't have told me if it was negative! :) She paid me such a compliment though - she said that they were discussing that I put outfits together with pieces they never would've thought of, and I pull the outfits off so well. She said that they thought maybe it could be contributed to my height, or maybe my glasses, but said she thinks the key to pulling it off is my "sparkle". I thought that was the sweetest thing to say to me! It reminded me of something my manager at my previous job told me: Surround yourself with those who inspire you to be better. That got me thinking...

I did just that in the blogging community. I've surrounded myself with others, like you all reading this, whose personal style has inspired me to try new looks I never ever would've consider before "meeting" you, to be confident, and to develop my own sense of style that works for me and my lifestyle. It worked! I'm a better person in that respect than I was last year before I had this blog - because of you all. I'd like to send a huge, heartfelt thank you out for that!

After seeing that concept in effect, I'm that much more excited about my new job. (Am I still allowed to call it new after 2 months?!) I work with an incredibly intelligent group of advisors   who have a lot of wisdom and experience to learn from and I'm looking forward to learning more and applying those things to my own advising. In addition, there's so many opportunities for personal and professional growth! I've felt so challenged already in this position, but in a good way - in a way that causes me to think a lot more critically about the work that I do and the environment of higher education.

Whew! That felt like some deep thinking for this little blog of mine. As much as I talk about enjoying my job, I'm so thankful tomorrow is Friday! Who's with me?!

Late

I may be a day late to the 5 for Five party, but yesterday I was home from work recovering from the race and I didn't even have the energy to open my computer, let alone write a post. Better late than never though, right? :) Before I get into this weeks goals, lets recap the ones from last week.

I finished! Whoop Whoop! :)

1. Don't skip a workout in my training plan. I skipped one run and cut another one short by .75 miles, but you know what? I finished the race on Sunday! That 26.2 hurt so much and I'm still walking funny today, but I don't think that extra 2.75 total miles I skipped last week would've made the race any easier, so I'm letting this one go. :)

2. Stick to my weekly budget. I went a couple of dollars over in two categories, but looking at overall dollars spent I was under budget so I think I could consider this successful.

3. Spend no more than 1 1/2 hours on my computer or phone each night. I need to pay closer attention to this one. I paid more attention to my husband this week, but doubt I stayed off my phone enough to stay under 1 1/2 hours each night. I'm saying it was a fail.

4. Do household chores for at least 20 minutes 3 times this week. Does throwing all my extra stuff into the unused spare bedroom count? ...didn't think so. :)

5. Blog 4 times this week. Looking back I can see that I didn't do that either!

Now for this weeks' goals!

1. Be a responsible home owner and do some dang landscaping. I'm the worst honestly and even after mowing the lawn yesterday, I still need to do some more work!

2. Do my hair the rest of the work week. Isn't it pathetic that I have to make that a goal? I'm quick to use the "but i just ran a marathon" excuse, but I think the past two days of messy ponytails just about covers that.

3. Maintain my weekly budget - I'm sure you'll see this one every week. Sorry to bore you, but it's the only way to hold myself accountable!

4. Find and try at least one new recipe. I'm getting bored with what we usually eat and need to bring in some new options.

5. Drink at least 60 ounces of water at work each day. I was good about this through the last 5 months of marathon training and need to keep it going.

Cheating?

sweater: Old Navy, scarf, tank & boots: Target, jeans: thrifted

My outfits are usually posted the same day I wear them, so I feel like I'm cheating because I didn't wear this outfit today. It's actually from last Friday, but when I saw Bri's link up, I couldn't resist posting about this outfit. Check it out to see how everyone styled their boots! I've liked the way rolled jeans look with booties on other bloggers, but this is the first time I tried the look myself. I have to say, it made an otherwise uninspiring outfit feel a little more unique for me, so I'll be trying this look again! What's your favorite way to wear booties?!

Of course the week before the marathon would be the busiest! I was out to dinner two nights this week, then it's the one weekend that somehow my mom ended up with free OSU football tickets. I really wish it was a different weekend so I could enjoy a few beers and the Danger Brothers (local band that plays on campus every game day and my mom loves them!) with my momma, but I know we'll still have fun. Not only is my mom going, but so are my in-laws and my husband's aunt and uncle. I'm so excited to have them all here and to hang out, but they'll just have to accept my 9pm bedtime tomorrow night since the race is early the next morning! :)

I also wanted to say thank you for the kind words that were left on my blog earlier this week. I'm so grateful to have such thoughtful blogging friends! Thanks for letting me have my mini-breakdown and putting my thoughts out there - it really did make a difference to me!