So.

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I've been really hesitant to post about this, but seeing how I've chronicled basically every up and down of the past almost-year of my life, this is just another part of the story.

Remember that awesome job I moved across the country for and was super stoked about? Well, after 3 weeks of work at the company, they fired me. Flat out fired. No two weeks notice, no warnings or constructive criticism chats pre-firing. One of the owners called me into his office around 10 last Friday morning and by 11 I was home.

C. Wonder Crushing

C. Wonder is one of those places that totally overwhelms me in person, but I could buy everything on their website in a heartbeat. Lately they've been knocking it out of the park, and this fall is even better than past seasons.

I feel like the preppy-yet-modern aesthetic really works for me in particular, because so many of their signature pieces (buttondowns, driving mocs, silk blouses) are things that I wear all the time anyway. It's all definitely preppy, but not in an obnoxious, pink-and-green, embroidered critter pants way. It's grown-up preppy and all perfect for the work world or for just hanging out.

A few things I'm crushing on currently...

Camo Calf hair Loafer: One of my friends works for a menswear company that is advocating what they call "prepneck" this fall, and these slippers fit right into that aesthetic. It's preppy, but also a bit rednecky, but done in a sophisticated way. These little camo loafers are prepneck for the ladies, if you will.

Suede Watersnake Chunky Heel Pump: A perfect combination of J. Crew's Etta pump and a pair of Tory Burch Mabel pumps I was slightly obsessed with a few months back. Considering both of those shoes are sold out/way out of my price range, I think I need these! I have also noticed a distinct lack of neutral shoes in my closet and these would fill that hole without being boring.

Striped Crewneck Sweater: Fall means football, and for me, football means finding the cutest orange and navy outfits for games. This would be adorable with a navy skirt and riding boots for games when it's too cold for a sundress but not cold enough for a coat or thick sweater.

Striped Button-Shoulder Tee: Another perfect Auburn gameday top!

Silk Pocket Top: I can't get enough silk blouses in my life. I've been looking for a saturated, bright blue top that isn't outrageously expensive and this one fits the bill perfectly. If blue isn't your color, there's lots of other colors to choose from! Ps: it's under $100!

Embroidered Chain Geo Pillow Cover: I think I've finally narrowed my apartment's color scheme to navy, gray, white and coral for the living room. These pillows would look SO crisp on a white couch with solid coral pillows mixed in.

Gold Foil Coasters: Perfectly affordable, so they'd be an adorable little hostess gift. I love the patterns and the gold foil makes them a little sparkly...and when is sparkle ever a bad thing?

Pebbled Driving Moccasins: I have a pair of brown moccasins from Zara that I've practically worn out, and I'm always wishing I had a pair in black as well. These are more sophisticated and polished than my Zara flats, and would be equally as cute with trousers as they would be with jeans.

Hurry up fall! I can't wait for the weather to cool off so I can wear all the new fall things without feeling weird about it!

In The Trenches

I've had a total crush on trench coats for the last month or so. To me, they're one of the chicest pieces you can own and will always make an outfit more polished. I currently lack a mid-weight jacket/coat that I can wear when it's not quite cold enough for a peacoat and not quite warm enough to go coatless. A trench coat would fill this gap quite nicely, with the added bonus of just being such a grown-up piece. Thankfully, there are some really great affordable trenches out right now...

C. Wonder Peplum Trench

Zara Cotton Trench

Zara Trench w/ Checked Lining

Zara Short Trench

I'm totally leaning towards that first Zara one, but the navy one would be so fun and different...what do you think? Team Trench or not?

1//2//3//4

Feeling Fall

I don't know about where you are, but there's an ever-so-slight whisper of fall in the air here in Atlanta. It feels like every day I've been here has been rainy and cool, which is so unusual for August. I'm torn between wanting to squeeze the last bit of wear out of my summery clothes and wanting to break out the sweaters, riding boots and long sleeves.

Considering J. Crew came out with the majority of their new fall things yesterday, I'm right where the retail world wants me to be. I'm swooning over basically everything JC did, but most especially these things...

 

Tonal Paisley Dress: do I own basically a million variations of this style dress? Yep, which is exactly why I need another: they're super easy to dress up or down, you can belt it or not, it's equally cute with boots or heels, and it's so easy. Done.

 Drapey Crepe Henley Tunic: all of my favorite clothing words in one piece! But seriously, this top is the definition of a classic. It's seasonless (I wore versions of this top all summer), will literally go with everything (jeans, leggings, skirts, dress pants, etc), and comes in the most versatile, basic colors. I've already decided that this will be added to my closet in at least one color...but really all 5 would be great.

Collarless Popover in Indigo Oxford: kind of just a cooler, different take on the now-ubiquitous chambray shirt. I'd totally wear this with skinny cords and riding boots or even tucked into a pencil skirt.

Merino Pocket Tunic: I waver between thinking this would be the absolute cutest, comfiest thing to wear to work over skinny ponte pants and thinking that it could be the frumpiest thing ever. Such an endorsement, right? But picture it with leggings and moccasins for a day off, and it's so much cuter. These are the dilemmas I struggle with.

Pixie Pant w/ Leather Tuxedo Stripe: obsessed. I would never define my style as "edgy", but I think these pants have just the right amount of edge to put a whole new spin on everything in my closet.

Keyhole Top: I'm not one to shy away from a silk tank, because they're so versatile and wearable. The keyhole adds just a touch of sexy but is still work-appropriate (for my office, at least). And the pale seascape color is just gorgeous.

Floral Diamonds Scarf: you'll find me wearing a scarf approximately never, but I love the colors in this one. I picture it over a gray long-sleeve tee dress with black flat boots, or with a white tee and jeans.

Striped Excursion Vest: J. Crew did that herringbone vest last fall that instantly sold out and then was pictured on a billion different style blogs...I loved it from the minute I saw it but never pulled the trigger and immensely regretted it every time I saw a picture of it. THIS version is striped, which means I definitely need it.

What about you--are you ready for fall or are you still clinging to that last little bit of summer?

THE INTERNET IS GREAT.

So by now you're probably thinking that I've fallen off the face of the earth, because it's been for-ev-er since I've been around blogland!

I wish I had a cool excuse for not blogging, but really I didn't have Internet in my apartment until this morning, nor did I have any free time to blog. My company was in the process of moving into a new office and setting up a new store, so we were all putting in laaaaaaate nights and working weekends and generally just being workaholics because we're all crazy.


Anyway. I have Internet back so I plan on blogging far more than I have lately! Can't wait to share snippets of my new adventures with y'all!

Chaos = The New Normal

 so serene

Y'all. My life has been completely chaotic since I've been in Atlanta. At this point, I'm so beyond ready to be settled into a normal routine, I can't even express how exciting that sounds. A boring daily routine sounds perfect.

A quick recap of what feels like a month but has really only been about a week...

Last Wednesday, my mom and I left for Atlanta. We ended up driving to Montgomery that day, crashed for the night, and drove the last few hours to Atlanta on Thursday. Once there, we toured a billion apartments (some horrifyingly bad, some overwhelmingly awesome and expensive, and one that was just perfect). The perfect apartment was available right that second, and while I deliberated, someone else snapped it up. So we spent Friday touring more apartments and ended up going back to the perfect complex and seeing what else they had available ASAP. Long story short: I got an apartment there that I'm SO excited to move into and decorate and share!

I started work on Monday and it's been totally chaotic over there as well. The company I'm working for is currently based in Athens, Georgia but they're in the process of relocating to Atlanta while also opening a second branch of the store in Atlanta as well as keeping the Athens store/company open (it's hard to explain). The ATL office/store aren't quite done yet, and the storefront won't be done for quite a while, so a pop-up location is currently being worked on. We've been working out of Starbucks and/or the Athens office for the past few days and communicating with everyone in the different locations by gChat and email. I'm still figuring out my role, they're still figuring out my role, everyone is all over the place...basically it's insanity.

However, as chaotic as all of that sounds (and is), I'm really loving this new chapter. I'm excited to finally move into my apartment and start finding furniture so I don't have to sleep on an air mattress for forever, I'm excited to nail down my responsibilities and get comfortable and situated at work. I'm definitely learning how to be flexible and open to change, since that's not one of my strong suits at all.

What have y'all been up to???