Londoner

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I've seriously had this scarf forever. I'm thinking like freshman year of high school? One of my friends from home gave it to me as a Christmas present, and I've gotten some good use out of it the past 8+ years. If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure it also survived my trip to Europe and back. I love bringing old pieces like this out of my closet every once in a while. It makes an outfit feel "new" without having to spend the money.

To me, this outfit looks like something I would wear in London. Maybe it's the light destroyed denim with dark boots, but I'd definitely throw this on to adventure around the city. I don't know if it's this rainy LA day, but something in the air is giving me that bittersweet nostalgia I can't quite place.

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Outfit Details:

Sweater—Nordstrom BP (similar)

Scarf—old (similar)

Watch—Nixon (shop)

Bracelet—Coordinates Collection (shop)

Jeans—GUESS (shop)

Bag—Vintage Bally (similar)

Boots—Madewell (similar)

Leather Weather

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You know I love me some plaid button-ups, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood to look too preppy. On these occasions, I turn to my faux leather jacket and destroyed denim to add a little "edge" (I use this term very loosely) to my outfits. I love how simple pieces like this can completely change the vibe of an outfit.

In other news, I've been sick all week and kind of fallen off the social map. I've somehow managed to go like 6 months without any serious illness, so this was bound to happen eventually. Got some big plans with chicken noodle soup and Hulu reruns tonight! 

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Outfit Details:

Shirt—J.Crew (similar)

Jacket—Target (similar)

Sunglasses—Ray-Ban (shop)

Watch—GUESS (shop)

Jeans—GUESS (similar)

Bag—Vintage Bally (similar)

Boots—Madewell (similar)

Brick Wall Jackpot

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One of the great things about living in LA is finding random bits of art (or "art") throughout the city. I love street murals, so I was excited to find this quirky brick wall in the parking lot of a Buffalo Exchange, of all places. Luckily, I had my camera handy since I had just come from location scouting for a work project, so I insisted that my coworkers take blog photos of me in front of it :)

This outfit is a good example of how I dress down my LBD's for work. I love the lace detailing on the bottom of this dress, but without the right accessories it can feel a little too fancy during the day. So, I paired it with my favorite scarf and brown ankle boots. It's a quick and easy outfit formula to make anything more casual. (A denim jacket/vest is also always a good option.)

Hope you all had a good weekend!

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Outfit Details:

Dress—Zara (similar)

Scarf—Anthropologie (similar)

Sunglasses—Ray-Ban (shop)

Watch—Nixon (shop)

Bangle—Coordinates Collection (shop)

Bag—B. Makowsky (similar)

Boots—Madewell (shop)

The Usual

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The usual go-to: denim vest + printed pants.

Anyway...TGIF! Is it just me or has this week been the longest?

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Outfit Details:

Top—Madewell (similar)

Denim Vest—Nordstrom (similar)

Necklace—Dogeared (shop)

Watch—GUESS (shop)

Pants—Nordstrom (similar)

Boots—Madewell (similar)

Reminder

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So, I'm going to be honest with you. After writing my last post, I wasn't really planning on blogging at all this week. Things are busy...and I've been stressed. However, this morning, I noticed a huge spike in my page views and saw that I had been featured on CollegeFashion.net. Needless to say, it completely made my morning and I looked like a total weirdo smiling behind my laptop sitting alone at my favorite coffee shop. I know this little article may not be a huge deal to big time bloggers, but for me it's the big leagues. Especially since I was featured alongside Kendi Everyday—the first style blog I ever read! Anyway, it's little things like this that remind me why I got into blogging. It's nice to know that my outfits and random musings/tangents have somehow found their way to wonderful readers like you. So, thanks for the reminder :)

And now, here's an outfit I wore an absurdly long time ago on a Sunday laundry day. It was born out of necessity, since I hadn't done laundry in about three weeks and only had a few clean outfits left. I feel like I'm sort of channeling Hannah from GIRLS, but in the best way possible (I hope). And you can't really see in these pictures, but my tights have a massive run in them—which seems only fitting for laundry day.

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Outfit Details:

Chambray Romper—Ruche (shop)

Cardigan—H&M (similar)

Necklace—Dogeared (shop)

Sunglasses—Ray Ban (shop)

Tights—Anthropologie (similar)

Bag—B. Makowsky (similar)

Boots—Madewell (shop)

Unplugged

So, I've been thinking a lot lately—now's your chance, leave before it's too late!—and this whole working full-time and blogging thing is well...hard. And it's not necessarily because I don't have the time for it. It's just that lately, I haven't been able to find the energy or motivation to do it. I think my main hold up is due to the fact that I work in an office for 8 to 10 hours a day sitting behind a screen. And, honestly, when I come home the last thing I want to do is spend even more time behind a screen.

I've been making a conscious effort to "unplug" as much as a can at night after work. This can just be little things, like sitting and eating dinner with no TV or cell phone to distract me. And I'll tell you, it's amazing how many times in a 20 minute period I find myself unconsciously reaching for my phone just to refresh my Instagram feed. But, believe it or not, I'm slowly but surely learning that the Instagram of donuts that was posted 2 minutes ago is in fact the same photo 20 minutes later...

The truth is, there's a learning curve to this whole work-life balance and I'm only just starting to figure it out. Although I do think I'm doing an okay job at balancing my work and social life (I use the term "social" very loosely), finding a way to fit in my personal hobbies—like this blog—on top of that has proved more difficult than expected. While this is probably just a temporary blogging funk, I've always told myself to never blog when it begins to feel like a chore (which is why I could never become a full-time blogger, aside from the fact that you can't pay rent in free clothes) hence my lack of posts the past couple weeks.

Honestly, I'll probably be back shortly. Even writing this post is getting me back into the blogging mood. I just figured I'd send a little update on this public diary of mine :)