Apricity Dress + Modcloth Heels

Though things will undoubtedly take a while to feel "normal" again (and I don't think they necessarily should), it's certainly back to the grind. Work has been busy, and everything else has been great. My parents are moving back to Orange County, which means that they've been in town more often while they gear up to move. My family got together on Saturday for an afternoon of playing with my niece and nephew and eating In N' Out. I also got to see my "other" family that night, as a few of my friends got together for drinks and games. We crashed at our friends' apartment and woke up to have waffles, coffee, and a lazy Sunday. I'm a little bit in denial that the weekend is ending, but what else is new?

In terms of the outfit, this is definitely a new favorite. I wish I could live in this dress, but since I can't, I'm constantly trying to find different ways to wear it. I always kind of forget about this white tee, but I'm really happy about how it worked under the dress. I'm also a fan of this pin and these shoes,, but that's besides the point. 

In all honesty, I started watching Jane the Virgin, and I'm very distracted watching it while I'm typing this. So if what I write doesn't make sense or feels like I'm not paying attention, it's because I'm not. But I feel like TV is a valid excuse.

Red Collared Dress

This is officially my last weekday off, and I could not be happier about that. I start training for my new job on Monday, and I am so ridiculously excited. In all honesty, I'm just pumped to have a routine again. I've been working four days a week at my restaurant job, plus a bunch of freelance work, but I just miss having a set schedule and knowing what I'm doing every day. I get to feel like a real human being again!

In the meantime, I'm settling in quite nicely to my temporary home at my brother's house. I really love their house and the the newly converted guest room that I'm staying in, plus I love getting to see my niece and nephew every day. It's strange living in a different part of Orange County, especially since all of my friends are mostly still in Anaheim Hills, but I'm in a pretty awesome area now with one of my favorite downtown areas. I wore this dress the other day when I went into my new office to fill out paperwork, and I decided that I loved how it looks with the leather jacket later. One things I'm especially grateful for in my new job is that there's no dress code and the office is laid-back, which means that I don't have to buy professional clothes and stick with my wardrobe of A-line skirts and Peter Pan collars.

Cutout

Is it Monday already? These weekends (and just weeks in general) have been flying by too fast. But anyway, here's a fairly simple outfit I wore yesterday. I got this top recently, and I love how the cutouts are done in a classy way. It's such a good, versatile piece that will go with everything, but is completely unique. It makes for a perfect "winter" piece right now while I'm living in 70-80 degree weather. I guess tights weather is gone for good, but it was nice while it lasted.

I wore this yesterday to hang out with two of my best friends. I'll be honest, having everything change in my life suddenly isn't getting any easier. In addition to my parents selling the house I grew up in and dealing with potential buyers coming in while I'm home, I also have to deal with one of my closest friends, Jon, moving. He's moving to Washington today, so I pretty much spent my entire weekend with him, putting off saying goodbye for as long as possible. It was tough. I'm not a particularly emotional person, but goodbyes always seem to get me. I can already tell that I'm going to be a wreck when I have to say goodbye to this house this month. Is it too much to ask for everything to just stay the same forever? That's a reasonable request, right?

Sorry Not Sorry

I feel a little bad posting these photos of me with bare legs and only a light sweater to deflect from the fact that it was 80 degrees when I took these photos yesterday. Everywhere I turn on social media, my friends are posting photos and statuses of snow storms and negative temperatures as I complain about how short lived tights season was.

Okay, fine. I don't feel that bad. After four years in the Midwest and living through the hell that was winter last year, I'm pretty damn happy to spending this January in Southern California. I miss the seasons, and I'm glad that it's going to be a little colder next week, but I can't deny how great it is to not have to worry about my face falling off every time I walk out the door. Sorry, guys. But not really.

I got this dress from a J. Crew Factory sale a couple months ago, but I didn't love how it looked on me so it sat in my room forever. I decided that I was being crazy and that a polka dot print this good deserved to be shared with the world. I still prefer an A-line skirt, but it's nice to try something a tiny bit different every so often.

Mustard

If this weekend was any indication, I think it's safe to say that Christmas is this week. I spent both Saturday and Sunday wearing and being surrounded by ugly sweaters, which I think is a pretty fun way to spend a weekend. On Saturday, I went to two Christmas parties, one that was hosted by my parents for a group of close family friends and one for my own close group of friends. My brother and his girlfriend also came back into town that day, so on top of getting to eat cookies and participating in a white elephant exchange, I also got to spend time with them. After getting hardly any sleep the night before and working at 7 a.m. that morning, I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but I can't even complain about work. We all wore Christmas sweaters at the restaurant I work at and exchanged Secret Santa presents, so both of my shifts this weekend were more enjoyable than usual. It also gave me an excuse to get a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sweater (you can see photos on my Instagram) and a T-shirt with Yoda dressed as Santa, not that I needed one.

Let's talk about this outfit though. I showed you my Aggie top from Fleet Collection last week, and I mentioned that I got the skirt version as well. I really just want to never take it off. It paired perfectly with this mustard thermal that I picked up from Urban while I was doing my Instagram takeover for Brea Mall. I normally would never spend $35 on a thin top that's pretty plain and casual, but when I tried it on because of the color and ended up loving the way it looked on me, I had to get it. Of course, it was easy to justify since I was shopping on the mall's dime. I've already gotten a ton of use out of it, and it's one of the most comfortable things I own. I'm also excited to debut these sunglasses. Zero UV kindly sent me three pairs of frames, and I really love them all. Plus, Zero UV is based out of Huntington Beach, and I'm all for supporting Orange County brands.