Alternate title: “Most Pictures of Myself in a Blog Post Ever”

Just about a month ago (on the 23rd of September, to be exact), I started a new job. An amazing opportunity that God truly opened up for me. I’m now the Web & Publications/Communications Coordinator for a local church. I do mostly graphic design work–designing/formatting/printing the Sunday bulletins, the quarterly magazine the church does, various invitations for different church programs and events, brochures, flyers, directories, reports, devotional booklets, etc. I also manage the website, (currently also working on a website re-design), create and send out weekly e-newsletters, create digital display ads, do some copy writing/editing, and manage social media/marketing, amongst other things. I really, really am enjoying the work I do and the people I work with are great. It is definitely a position in which I get to use my artistic/creative side, my English/copy editing side, and my graphic/web design skills. It is the perfect place for me right now.

One big change about leaving the house to work (all summer I worked from home for our business), is not only getting to talk to real people during the day (YAY for social interaction!), but actually having to get dressed up for work. The part of a daily routine where I wear put-together outfits, do my hair and actually apply make-up, is one that had taken a backseat for the last four years. College was just such a busy/stressful time for me, full of several health issues, sleep deprivation, and a lot of worrying about things more important than my daily appearance. I’m a pretty simple, low-maintenance girl when it comes to that type of thing (If I’m not going to work, some sort of event where I need to look presentable, or getting my picture taken, this girl has naturally wavy hair and no make-up on whatsoever). I’m totally not one of those people who are too afraid to leave the house or go to the grocery store without being dressed-up.

So anyway, when my first day of work rolled around, I got out my camera and tripod and set it up so that I could take a picture (to document the fact that I curled by hair and put make-up on for the first time in months) and that sort-of turned in to a month-long photo project documenting my business casual attire.

Behold, the most amount of selfies you’ve ever seen of me:

Photographing my outfits every day made me start to push them a little outside my normal boundaries as well. I’m totally a “recipe” dresser by nature. My normal daily outfit (during school or before I was working) went something like this: favorite pair of jeans, favorite pair of flats, gold watch, simple gold necklace, plain tank top, fitted top, coordinating cardigan. Other than switching it up in the winter with scarves and the summer with sandals, my daily clothes-wearing didn’t ever differ much. Now that I’m in a more professional setting where blue jeans and flip-flops are a no-go, and since I was taking pictures everyday (and didn’t want every picture to look the same by wearing practically the same thing), I’ve really gotten back into thinking more about putting together outfits that look nice, while still being cute and comfortable.

Another added benefit–getting a lot more use out of some pieces in my closet that I haven’t worn much! I did still keep several aspects of my typical outfit recipe: wearing mostly flats, plain tank tops, gold watch, fitted tops, cardigans, but I’ve switched up the pants I wear quite a bit (instead of pulling out my favorite pair everyday–although I did wear my fav tan corduroys more than the others), I’ve varied what shoes I’m wearing more often (even wearing some short wedge heels sometimes), I’ve been more thoughtful about wearing different necklaces/jewelry (although I’m still a pretty keep-it-simple jewelry wearer, I like gold and pearls!), and given more thought to other accessories like belts. I even wore a dress or two!

I’m actually quite enjoying (and dare I say, looking forward to) getting dressed up and ready for work!

P.S. I’m not including outfit sources on here, since a lot of my clothes aren’t new and still in stores. I usually shop at Dillard’s, Macy’s, Target, Gap, Old Navy, & Banana Republic though. If you have questions about a specific item, feel free to ask me in the comments!

P.P.S. I’ve been blogging for over three years (September 4th was my 3 year blogging anniversary) and this is my first fashion post. (That might tell you a little about how high of a priority it was in my life!)