A few weekends ago I got to celebrate being super old. Well I guess 5 years is a milestone, but Duke your weekend just reminded me that next year it will have been 10 YEARS since I graduated highschool. WTF.

Still any excuse to dress up, dance, and drink too much works for me so I decided to have a grand ol' time at Saturday's gala! I combined my J.crew dress with my Banana Republic skirt and except for looking back and maybe wanting to add a belt I'd say the outfit was a success. I'm learning as I go folks, to always look at pieces with new eyes and combine them in new ways - I'm determined to recognize my closet for the treasure trove it is dammit!


Oh, did I hear you say you wanted a pic of the event itself?

Sometimes I'll spend hours scrolling through the backlogs of Mormon bloggers. It's crazy but the blog representation of their lives (which I admit is very one dimensional) is just so damn soothing. And cute. Please tell me I'm not the only one doing this! Please?

I'm trying something a little new here and showcasing a dress in two ways - the first as a simple staple and the next jazzed up with different accessories. Both are good ways to remind myself that what I have in my closet is fantastic in and of itself and should be worn more often. (Though I admit this dress doesn't see the light of day mostly because I have to feel thin enough to wear it, lol.)


Comfy jersey knit clings EVERYWHERE and let no one try to convince you of anything different. Wear appropriate undergarments people, it is not an option.

I might have only known about it for a day but I would declare Awesome*Con DC was a rip-roaring success! Compared to Dragon*Con it was wonderfully low key and I just got to enjoy my time wandering around and seeing how DC would respond to such blatant geekery (they responded well).

I tired to pick my favorites of all the pictures to post here but if you'd like to see more let me know; I just uploaded them to FB but I'd be open to a Flickr album as well. I was a little trigger happy and didn't remember to get the names of the all the artists I admired BUT I think if you go through the links on Awesome*Con's website you should be able find everyone.

You probably think I wear dresses everyday right? Honestly skirts & dresses do make up the majority of my work wardrobe but I am trying to do new things. Trying new things comes with new hurdles though, the big one being that there are parts of my body I don't love. But hey - that's why we have pictures, to prove to ourselves that we don't always look like we do in our heads.

Yet another dress that would benefit from a petticoat. You see how nicely I'm talking myself into another purchase right? I'll let you know how that goes. Oh and note to self: wear this dress with more simple shoes next time - this is a little much.

I love when things work out - even if it ends up making me a little poorer. I tried on this dress at The Limited a while back but though I could get an idea of the fit at the time, the 14 was too big. I ordered the 12, crossed my fingers it wouldn't be too tight, and *drumroll please* it's perfect!! It's wonderfully fulfilling my need for a Kate Spade-esque dress on a single girl who lives in DC budget.

Before it got monstrously hot in DC (I'm looking at you 91*!) I got to wear one of my newer purchases, the Delft Assured skirt from ModCloth!

When I arrived at Duke University I had no thoughts about joining a sorority. Well, to be completely honest, I guess it wasn't no thoughts really, just no positive thoughts. I had been inundated by the media's stereotype of the sorority girl just like everybody else and nothing I had concluded was dissuaded by the MTV show "Sorority Life".

Freshman year came and in the Spring came Rush, which when explained to me sounded pretty horrible but so many women did it anyway! Suddenly the people on my hall had symbols with their names on the door, letters that somehow connected them to other women, and while I wouldn't say I was attracted yet I can say that watching as the 'normal' women around me chose to partake in Greek life did make me rethink my assumptions.

And then came sophomore year.

Suddenly one of my closest friends was looking into a joining a sorority; a multicultural organization with atypical women who'd found a joint cause to circle around and that WAS interesting to me. I'd already started asking some the women who'd gone through Rush Freshman year what their experience was like and while everyone considered the end result worth it, I couldn't imagine doing it myself. Thus when I was introduced to Theta Nu Xi and the idea of a process that wasn't focused on social activities or wearing the right clothes - and was founded by a multi-ethnic woman like myself - I was intrigued.


I guess you're not surprised when I say that I joined huh? Almost in spite of myself I decided that with or without my friend something about Theta Nu Xi spoke to me. The women I met became friends and people who cared about me as a person, even before I was a Sister. The tenets of leadership and service (amongst others) were ones I could support now and in the future and the social activities were almost a bonus, lol.


Time passed and from Junior into Senior year I was drawn to the leadership positions within my chapter. When I realized how much fun was to be had and the opportunities available due to the diverse platforms membership provided, I wanted other women to have that. I still want other women to have that. Membership in something you love with the kind of strong-willed, opinionated women Theta Nu Xi tends to attract is both awesome and challenging. Important life moments are like that.

These women have been there for me when I moved, when my mother died, when I freaked out about jobs or what I wanted to do with my future. I have been privileged enough to lead a team in founding a new chapter at VCU and headed back to Duke to help my chapter find its feet again. I feel like now, Nationally, we're at a crosswords.

Sixteen years is a momentous milestone for a Greek organization, but it is not the time to rest on our laurels. I want to see Theta Nu Xi thrive and become permanent fixtures on every campus it exists on and now is the perfect time to structure our future around that goal. I want women to feel welcomed and supported for who they are, regardless of race, background, religion or whatever other divisive term is most popular at the moment. But I do not believe that cannot happen without change, without responding to the needs of our membership or to the needs of women who aren't members yet.

There is no typical Theta Nu Xi woman. It doesn't matter who you are, what school you're at, what clothes you wear, or what extracurriculars you're passionate about - if Theta Nu Xi calls to you and you are committed then I want you to find a home here. I want us to listen and be proactive about how the world is changing and about the evolving place that Greek organizations have within it.


I can say without hyperbole that Theta Nu Xi has changed my life. Even when it drives me absolutely bonkers I cannot imagine a time when I won't care about its future. So while I can't map out for you exactly what my relationship will be with Theta Nu Xi twenty years from now, I know it will still be there. At the forefront of my life or in the wings, ready for me when I am once more ready for it.


My biggest hope is that with a combination open, honest communication and some of my time, attention and complete inability to keep my mouth shut that we will find a way that works for us. That works for for the women who joined in the past, who joined today, or who have just now stumbled upon the organization. The joy of a multicultural organization is that ideally we should be appropriate for all women who want Sisterhood and I can only hope we rise to the challenge.

*If my words are a little garbled forgive me - I've been struggling with how to express my thoughts while still being respectful of my organization and hopefully a little of what I meant got through :). 

Oh my goodness, these boots. I'm going to have to seriously look for their replacement soon (sad!) because they are looking ROUGH in these photos. But they've been work horses in my closet and fit my calves really well so I don't know what I'm going to do next!

Don't judge me ok? I love this belt, I love this sweater, and somehow they're finding their way onto my body pretty often.

In other news this mix of neutrals and prints managed to confuse the heck out of a Marshall's cashier who was convinced I had to work in retail. I just like patterns ok?! Sheesh.

Due to cloudy day problems you probably can't tell just how bad I've lost my mind. This outfit is a strange amalgamation of brown, black, AND navy blue which maybe in France is considered chic but personally I couldn't make up my mind. Comfy? Yes. Stylish? Maybe....?

I would probably consider this the pinnacle of my dots + strips obsession and my favorite outfit to boot. There's a high level of whimsy that works for me and the Spring colors I'm longing for. Now if only Old Navy would come out with another skirt like this one!

P.S. - I tried on a couple of these on Tuesday and they didn't disappoint!