Houston, Here We Come

thrifted skirt, Gap tank top and denim jacket,
Seychelles wedges from PB&J (giveaway win), gifted necklace from Matt

This is our last official weekend as Austinites. It feels weird knowing that next weekend, we'll be Houstonians. When I was about 18 years old, I used to think I'd move anywhere other than Houston. I'm not sure why I felt that way. All I knew about Houston was that it was big and my mom used to live there when she was younger. I had only been to Houston a few times before Matt started interning for ExxonMobil and I spent every other weekend there. Here are the few things I've learned/realized about Houston:

1. Driving in Houston makes me want to crap my pants. Six lanes = scary.

2. There are more jobs in Houston than in Austin. But, there are also a lot more people vying for those jobs.

3. Thrifting is waaaaay better in Houston.

4. No allergies in Houston. I hope.

5. We'll be close to a beach again!

6. There are food options other than Tex-Mex. Say what?!

7. Our neighborhood will not be overrun with college students. In fact, it's very quiet and quaint.

8. Austin definitely influenced my style for the better and I'm excited to see what Houston does for me.

9. There's an H&M in Houston. Enough said.

10. Starting a new life in a new city is always exciting.

Now that I think about it, I listed more good than bad things about Houston. That's definitely a good sign!

Puppy Love

thrifted blouse, Urban Outfitters skirt, Sam Edelman sandals, Target earrings

We took Charles for his first walk earlier this week. He still doesn't have his last vaccine, so we're not potty training him yet. We just want him to get used to being outside and having distractions other than his squeaky toys and Angus. We only walked him to the corner store near our apartment, but you could tell he was tired by the end. We took him about three times that distance the next day and he was so happy. I think he just really likes being with us, rather then him being left alone at home.

Having a puppy is too much fun.

A Ray of Sunshine

Gap skirt, Banana Republic tank top, Forever 21 earrings,
belt from Wish (now closed), Seychelles wedges from PB&J Boutique
(won through a giveaway hosted by Kate from O My Heart!)

I spent the last six months working almost every Saturday and Sunday. Other than a few weekends I requested off because of something or another that I needed to do, I haven't had a whole weekend off just to hang out since before I started working at the bridal salon. This past weekend was the first one I had off without any plans. It was awesome. We barbecued on Friday, slept in on Saturday, and went to the lake on Sunday. Even though I usually had two days off during the week from working at the bridal salon, it wasn't always in a row. Plus, there's just something not as fun about trying to do weekend-type stuff during the week.

Hopefully, I won't have to work weekends again anytime soon.

Outfit Remix

thrifted Isaac Mizrahi for Target dress, Forever 21 lace bolero,
necklace from Langford Market, Banana Republic wedges

I've been trying my hardest to "shop" my own closet and use what I have to create new outfits. This is one of those attempts. I've had all the pieces of this outfit for awhile, but have never worn them all together before. I really like the result. If you ever feel like you don't have anything to wear (let's face it, it happens more than you'd like to admit), have a few drinks and spend the evening putting outfits together. Maybe you don't need the drinks, but a little alcohol always gets my creative juices flowing. The point is to mix and match pieces that you wouldn't normally wear together. I try to do this at least once a month and always end up with tons of great outfit ideas. I've got about five outfits, including this one, waiting to be worn from my recent "dress up" session.

In more exciting news, I'm officially done at the bridal salon! I am beyond relieved to be done with that part of my life and looking forward to upcoming changes. In fact, I start training for my new month-long job at Texas Monthly today. Wish me luck!

She's a Lady

vintage dress from Cream Vintage, necklace from Langford Market,
thrifted vintage belt, thrifted Nine West wedges

This outfit is made up of things that have been sitting in my closet for quite some time. I've had this dress for at least six months, but hadn't worn it because I needed a slip to wear underneath. The entire lower half is sheer and I finally got around to buying a nude-colored slip the other day.  I wish I'd bought one sooner because I'm absolutely in love with this dress!

I've had this belt for even longer than I've had the dress. Even though I couldn't think of anything to wear it with when I bought it, I loved the color. I was recently considering getting rid of it, but I decided to wait because it only cost about $1 and I had a feeling it would eventually come in handy. After putting this outfit together, I decided that this belt isn't going anywhere.

Last but not least, this necklace had been sitting in my jewelry collection untouched for almost three months. I must have bought it for a reason because it completed this outfit perfectly.

Needless to say, this has become one of my favorite ladylike outfits that I've worn recently.

Flying Solo

Gap shirt, denim jacket, shoes and thrifted Anne Klein pants, Forever 21 necklace

I feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster. Everything is on the verge of changing: my job, our apartment, the city we live in...basically my whole life. I get anxious every time I think about it. I might just be in a strange mood because Matt has been gone for a few days and won't be back until next Saturday. It feels like forever away. I've being doing a pretty good job of staying busy with work the last couple of days, but I'm already starting to feel lonely. Luckily, I have Angus and Charles to keep me company.

My Adult Life

The last four days of my life have been crazy. For starters, I got a new car! My beautiful, dark grey Toyota Corolla is a huge step up from my falling-apart Jeep Cherokee. Matt and I drove the new car to Houston on Friday to test it out over the weekend. To be truthful, he drove and I sat in the passenger seat almost the entire trip. I like being chauffeured.

We went to Houston to hang out with some good friends as well as check out potential neighborhoods for our future move. Neither of us know the area that well, so we wanted to drive around and see if anything caught our eye. We really liked the Museum District, Downtown, Montrose, and even Midtown. It's going to be a seriously hard decision choosing a place to live. It looks like we'll be going back a couple of times over the next few months to decide. Wish us luck!

Weekend Recap

thrifted Izaac Mizrahi for Target dress, Old Navy trench coat,
Forever 21 necklace, Gap wedges

Oh boy, what a weekend. Instead of relaxing like everybody else did, I worked my butt off at the bridal salon. We were understaffed and overbooked on Saturday, so I spent most of the day running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. On top of that, I had to work all day Sunday. Even though I worked both days, I still managed to have some fun in the evenings.

Matt and I hung out with my best friend, Jackie, and her awesome family on Saturday night. It reminded me of the get-togethers we used to have when Jackie and I lived together. Then on Sunday evening, we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with Matt's family. It's one of their favorite places to go and I always get the same thing--the Chicken Madeira. It's freaking delicious and there's always half left to take home. Basically, it was a long weekend full of working and a whole lotta eating. Here's to a new workweek! I'm definitely looking forward to sitting at a desk for a few days.

A Very Good Friday

Old Navy shirt, Gap jeans and wedges, Forever 21 earrings

I haven't worn these pants since last summer and I was pleased that they still fit. Not that I really thought they wouldn't, but it was definitely reassuring. I really wanted to showcase my awesome floral wedges and figured white jeans would do the trick.

I'm so excited about this weekend because I finally have a day off! I've been working every weekend at the bridal salon since I started in January (minus the weekend I took off for the Texas Style Council during SXSW). I'm so ready for a weekend day off and it's finally arrived! Now all I need is a whole weekend off, but that's probably not happening anytime soon.

Have a happy Friday and enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Stripes & Florals

Gap tank top, thrifted skirt, Bakers sandals, Forever 21 necklace

This outfit is my second attempt at dressing in patterns rather than my usual solids. The tank top was one of my final purchases with my Gap discount and I can definitely see myself remixing it a lot this summer. It's a basic and neutral piece, but the stripes make it a little more interesting. This was the perfect, comfortable outfit for a day off before I started my new job.

My first day at Texas Monthly was awesome. It was pretty short, but I spent the few hours that I was there organizing and getting ready to actually start fact-checking today. I was so excited to find out that I have my own office with a desk, computer and phone. I'm super pumped to decorate! I'm taking a couple of things to spruce up my office and I'll be sure to post pictures soon. In the meantime, here's a quick peek at the project I'll be working on for the next two months.

 I'll be sure to post outfit photos from my first day of work tomorrow!

Old Dress, New Shoes

J. Crew dress, Gap wedges, Forever 21 earrings

I finally saw The Hunger Games! Even though I had to wait all weekend until I could see it with my best friend, Jackie, it was totally worth it. I loved the books because they were so intriguing that I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The movie did a really good job of making me feel the same way. Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, I still found myself anxious in all the right parts.

If you haven't read the books or if you don't know anything about the story, all you need to know is that it's AWESOME. In fact, my second post ever on this blog was about The Hunger Games trilogy. Read it here if you're interested in learning what it's all about.

Has anyone else seen the movie? What did you think?

Computers & Cotton Candy

jacket from Langford Market, Gap shirt, thrifted skirt,
Forever 21 earrings, Banana Republic wedges  

I got a MacBook! I finally bit the bullet and spent a ridiculously large amount of money to own this beautiful machine. My new computer is so sleek and fast and I absolutely love it.

OK, I'll try to stop drooling.

I bought this jacket at Langford Market during the Texas Style Council. I don't usually go for jackets and cardigans at stores, but I've been really drawn to them lately. A third piece is the perfect way to finish off an outfit and make it look complete. Without this pink jacket, it would have been a pretty boring outfit. The end result looked like cotton candy to me. What do you think?