Summer Uniform

The summer is the best because I can choose to dress up or down depending on what I feel like doing. I love having options and choice. During the school year I pretty much live in business casual, so having some wardrobe freedom is quite enjoyable. A few years ago, I shared a post on the importance of creating your own personal uniform. You can check it out here. Basically there are a few things you want to know when creating your uniform.

Create guidelines

Use the theme you're looking to achieve to set guidelines for the pieces you'll add to your wardrobe. 

Summer Guidelines: I ten to stick to navy and pink, stripes, and lightweight pieces of clothing. 

Find your signature accessories and stick to them

Choose a few go to accessories and wear them continuously. 

Summer Accessories: I keep my accessories very simple.  I rotate a few pairs of stud earrings, I wear my fitbit, and a monogram necklace. 

Find items that look good and make you feel good

Don't buy something just because it's trendy. Purchase items that actually look good on you. You are more likely to wear an article of clothing that fits you well. When it fits well, it will make you feel good. 

Summer Favorites: During the summer I tend to gravitate towards items that are not form fitting. It gets to be too hot out to have your clothes sticking to you. I like to choose pieces that are comfortable but cute. 

Remember this is an investment 

It's important to keep in mind that you are working to build a long lasting wardrobe. You are not searching for the cheapest trendiest items. You want to be particular with what you buy. This might be splurging on some items here and there, which is totally okay. Quality of quantity is key here.  

Summer Tip: Quality of quantity is definitely key. For me this is especially true when it comes to summer shoes. I am particular about what sandals I purchase. 

So what does my summer uniform consist of?

Now that you have gone through my guidelines for creating a personal uniform, I'm sure you are curious as to what my summer uniform actually looks like.  Well, like I mentioned it has a lot of flexibility. Lately I have been all about the summer athleisure look- running shorts, a tank, and flip flops. This is partially due to my renewed love with my fitness journey and the fact that I spend several days a week nannying two boys. When I get a little more dressed up (think summer casual), you can find me in one of two types of outfits.  The first would be a pair of printed shorts from Lilly Pulitzer or Jcrew and a loose fitting tank top. The second option would be a cute t-shirt dress and a pair of Jack Rogers sandals.  Between these three types of outfits, I am pretty set for the summer. 

Shirt- Jcrew Factory (similar one) 
Skirt- Jcrew Factory


Dress- Gap (similar one) 
Shoes- Jack Rogers

Shirt- Lilly Pulitzer (Similar shirt) 
Shorts- Lilly Pulitzer (same shorts- different print) 
Shorts-Nike, Gap, and Under Armour

What is your personal uniform this summer?

XOXO

Adulting Update: Perspective

It's about to get real today! Last year I created an adulting series that narrated the chronicles of my entrance into adulting. I haven't shared anything like that recently, and I thought that today's post couldn't be more fitting to add to the series. So here it goes! I feel like I can say pretty confidently that life is filled with many ups and downs: good times and those you wish you didn't have to experience. Let's be honest, not everyday is a good day but you have to find the good in every day. Sometimes it takes a little perspective to do just that. Perspective is something that can be hard to find, and sometimes we don't find it until much later. This is a concept that I have truly just began to understand.  It's something that can be hard to grasp as it requires us to change how we think about life's events. 

A year ago life was pretty uncertain for me.  I had just completed a year filled with transitions: student teaching, graduating college, dealing with family issues, and completing my first teaching experiences. The transition from college to job hunting definitely was not as bad as others have it, but it wasn't necessarily a flawless transition either. I graduate college, took a month off, did some day to day substitute teaching, became a building substitute, and landed an eight week long term substitute position. However, once the school year ended I had no idea what was next for me. Last summer, I was jobless watching, what felt like, everyone move on with their life while I was stuck in a place that I had little to no control over.  If you know me, then you know that I'm a little bit Type A (control freak-esque). I had applied to 50+ teaching and coaching positions in the area, and I did not hear anything from any of the postings until late July. Many friends had been getting interviews, but it felt like radio silence for me. 

Towards the end of July, the interviews started rushing in. At one point in the matter of ten work days I had over fifteen interviews. It was a pretty intense time for me.  Stress levels were at an all time high, and the level of uncertainty increased. Some interviews lead to a dead end after round one while others continued for what felt like endless rounds. Each interview I left with a different vibe. Some places I knew I was not interested in and others I thought would be a great fit for me. For one position I had six rounds of interviews, and after all that I was offered a position that was less than appealing. At the time, I was pretty disappointed but continued to keep pursing other opportunities. The week before I left for my family's vacation, I had my final round of interviews at two schools. I left them feeling pretty confident, but the doubt was still there in the back of my head. 

On the first day of my family's vacation, I woke to a phone call with a job offer. It was the highlight of my summer and such a great way to kick off our trip.  I was able to finally relax for the first time in awhile.  

The day I found out I was hired!

Upon coming back from vacation, I signed my contract and was in total prep for school mode. I was hired as a year long substitute position with the possibility of a contract at the end. Essentially, this past school year I  had a year long interview. The pressure was a lot at first, but eventually I forgot about it.  It was a great motivator to push me to constantly become a better teacher, co-worker, and role model for my students. 

So here I am a year later... I have a full contract at a wonderful school, I am a field hockey coach, and I'm in the midst of obtaining my masters degree. f you would have told me I would be where I am now this time last year, then I probably would have laughed at you.  I feel so lucky to have a job working with people who are inspiring, wonderful collaborators, and who help me be the best version of myself on a daily basis. 

(Here's a little shout out because I know some of you are kind enough to read my blog posts- Thanks for being so great!)

Heading into the upcoming school year I am fortunate enough to hold a leadership position that will allow me to continue to grow in my school community. Not  only do I have a full time teaching position, but I have also found a paid field hockey coaching position as well. This Fall I will certainly be juggling quite the schedule: teaching, coaching, being a grad student, and maintaining some sort of sanity. 

Long story short, the purpose of this post is to shed light on the fact that things truly do happen for a reason.  Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade and that's much easier said than done. However, after awhile you come across of a sign for why things played out the way that they did. It is so important to always maintain a positive attitude and have a little faith in life.  The past year has been such a whirlwind for me, but there is not one single thing I would have changed because each little thing has helped shape me into the person I am today. A little time and space can help  you learn a few things about yourself and life. 

Check out some posts from my Adulting Series:

Adulting Month 1

Adulting Month 4

Adulting Month 5

Adulting Months 6-8

XOXO

Finding Balance

Sometimes I feel like I am great at juggling the million things I have going on in life, and other times I feel like I am the worst at it. Balance is such a big concept.  Have you ever sat down to think about what it truly is. We hear about it often- there are tons of articles, videos, news talks, etc. about balance. We frequently hear about work-life balance, significant other-friend balance, emotional balance, the balance of living a healthy lifestyle, and the list goes on... But what truly is balance? Is it living life by spending equal amounts of time on each of the facets? Thinking about it seems nearly impossible to spend equal amounts of time with friends and family, work life and personal life, rest time and forward momentum. Essentially, I think it is fair to conclude that balance does not equate to equal parts time.  This is something pretty big to recognize because I think it is one of the reasons why we are sometimes so hard on ourselves for not maintaining that balance. 

Recently I spent ten whole days relaxing on the beach with friends and family. This break from reality gave me some time to do a little self reflection. It was the first time in awhile that I had a completely blank calendar for a lengthly amount of time. After a few days, I felt rejuvenated and ready to go. The sense of calm that I had was a feeling that I had not experienced in over a year. It got me thinking how I need to start providing myself with more balance in life.  The older I get, the busier and more exciting life gets. This is not a bad thing, but I think sometimes I forget to take care of myself in the midst of my busy lifestyle. While reflecting, I came up with three important things to remember when striving for a balanced life. 

One: Acknowledge Where You Are

It's important to stop and do a little self check in. Acknowledge where you are are mentally, physically, and emotionally. Simply checking it helps you take note of the distance between where your current state is and where you want to be.  Notice the areas you are excelling as well as the areas of life that need a little improvement.  You'd be surprised to find out that some things might be going better than you realized. 

Two: Provide Yourself With What you Need 

After doing a check in, figure out what you need to do for yourself to get to that better place you want to be. If you need rest, then allow yourself to take a cat nap. In order to find balance, sometimes you have to stop and provide yourself with whatever your have been deprived of. Do not feel guilty about this. 

Three: Stop the Struggle

Seriously stop! Don't spend any more time throwing a pity party for yourself about how unbalanced your life is. Gradually allow yourself to take time to find that balance and go with it. It's important to recognize that life ebbs and flows, and it is your job to do what you need to do for yourself in order to live a healthy lifestyle. 

What are your tips to living a balanced life?

XOXO