Worn: Stripes & Floral, In Maxi Dress Form

I bought this dress on our initial visit to Philadelphia. Justifying it as a sort of "Yeah! You got the job!" gift-to-self. I then proceeded to not wear it. For whatever reason. Despite all those facts, it makes me feel kind of amazing, and I wore it on Wednesday for our anniversary dinner at Twenty Manning. Three years, crazy and wonderful.

To be honest, I've been struggling a bit with self-confidence lately and I really needed an excuse to dress up and feel my best, and this dress was perfect for that. Adjusting to a new schedule, new city, new job, new everything, it's taken a small toll on my perception of myself. I started this year in a really positive headspace, so it's felt sort of defeating to take a step back mentally, in terms of how I view myself, and physically, as I haven't been able to get back into a gym routine yet. I'm working on it though. I just want to feel settled. I love our new place, really loving our new city, I love so much about our lives lately, but our place is still a disaster and I'm definitely still in the getting-to-know-you phase of meeting people. No matter how positively you go into a major change, especially a big move, it's going to be daunting in some respect. Always a few speed bumps.

As much as it causes a little mental distress, I do believe a little (or a lot) of upheaval is healthy every now and then. It gets you out of your comfort zone. With this move to Philadelphia, I've been making an effort to be more open. To try not to be so goddamn awkward and socially inept. Make note of the word effort in there. Man, are you ever just so aware of yourself? Ugh.

I've been getting rid of a lot of stuff lately, too. The extraneous stuff I've been holding on to, the clothes that don't make me feel amazing. It's got to go. Sometimes you just gotta clear up and clear out.

Get the look: Dress: Free People (on sale!) // Wedges: Flogg // Clutch: Vintage Coach //