april in instagram

guys. it's may! like it's almost summer. WHAT. i can't believe how fast time flies sometimes. as each month goes by, i fall more and more in love with 2014. this year has been just amazing and keeps getting better and better. as you can tell by all of the pastels in the following photos, april was perfection. my days were full of (mostly) blue skies and blooming flowers. it finally started to feel like spring and the tights got put away for good. i spent lots of time with friends and family and i couldn't feel more grateful than i already do. may is going to be full of lots of running outside and packing up our apartment. we have to be ready to move into our new place on june 1st and are nowhere near ready (hellooo procrastination). but i'm excited none the less. here we come, city living. :) check out some of my favorite snapshots from last month! how did april treat you?

1. yellow flowers might be best type of flowers. 

2. my midi ring obsession continues.

3. cherry blossoms FTW.
4. dc has the prettiest trees in the all the land.
5. found this bad boy on side of the road. it was love at first sight.
6. there is no such thing as brunch without a bloody mary.
7. strawberry + raspberry + blackberry smoothie. my new favorite.
8. can you ever be too old to dye easter eggs? i think not.
9. tulips for dayz.

you can follow me on instagram at nikkiwilliams11 <3

xxoo,
n

maximum fun

hello everyone! i hope your week is off to a great start. i've definitely had better tuesdays considering i had a dentist appointment at 7 am this morning. it's just not right to have someone looking at your teeth before the sun comes up. i'm on my third cup of coffee today so that should tell you how much i am not a morning person. but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. yay for being a grown up (insert sarcasm here).

this weekend was one of my favorites. my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on saturday. 50 years. it's crazy! all of my family and their friends threw them a big surprise party and it was so much fun. there was food, wine, and lots of dancing. i should've gotten a video of the two of them on the dance floor because i don't think i've ever seen anything cuter in my entire life. it's such a special thing, especially in this day and age, to stay married for so long. i feel privileged to have witnessed their love for my entire life. 

i wore my new maxi dress from h&m to the party. i'm not kidding when i say i've been on the hunt for the perfect black maxi for over a year. i'm not sure why but i just had the worst luck finding one that i loved. then bam! i saw this one hanging in one of my fave stores the other day (for 18 bucks, no less) and i snatched it right up. paired with my fave chunky sandals and turquoise accents (typical me) i was good to go for a fun night with my family. 

thanks for checking in. enjoy the rest of your day, folks.
xxoo,
n

outfit details
dress: h&m
vest: thrifted
sandals: buffalo exchange
necklace: c/o chicnova
wristlet: target

90s chick

happy hump day, folks! i hope everyone is doing well. this month has been jam packed full of fun things and i can't believe april is already nearing the end. last friday i got to go out with a bunch of my coworkers and celebrate everyone who has an april birthday. we got pizza and my dad made a cake and it was so fun! working with people that you love definitely makes your job more enjoyable.

i hope everyone had a great easter! it was nice to go home for the weekend and get to spend time with the fam. we got all dressed up for church on sunday and my step dad made a huge dinner for everyone that night. there's nothing like tons of good homemade food! and i even stuck to my no candy rule even though my dad gave me an easter basket! but safe to say i'm keeping it in a drawer for emergencies :)

i'm all about the pastel nail polish colors right now. i bought blue, pink, and purple the other day and have been rotating through all of them! i usually gravitate towards darker colors, but there's something about spring that makes having powder blue nails seem like the right thing to do. what's your go to nail polish color for spring?
this lace dress is one of my favorites. i got it from tj maxx a while back and it stays in constant rotation in my wardrobe during the warmer months. i usually pair it with a belt, but i decided to switch it up and tie this thrifted plaid (men's) shirt around my waist. it's a great way to layer for in between temps when it's not quite hot out yet. also, who doesn't love a good 90s vibe, amiright?

i hope you all enjoy the rest of your week! thanks for dropping by.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress: tj maxx

shirt + bag: thrifted

boots: groupon

earrings: kensie

9-5

this week is officially the three month mark at my new job! it's so exciting to think that i've been working full-time for three whole months. it's honestly gone by so fast and i've enjoyed this "adult" life more than i ever thought i would. yes, i loved college and roommates and eating pizza all the time and going to bars on weeknights, but i've found there's something so awesome about getting into a routine and focusing on myself. 

now that the temps are warming up, i've (hopefully) put the tights away for good. and i feel like a whole new world has opened up! don't get me wrong, i sometimes do like wearing tights, but nothing is better than a dress with bare legs. and it feels as though it's been forever since i was able to do this! i can wear bright colors and focus on simple layering, rather than bundling up and stomping through a foot of snow. 

one of my fave work combos is layering a dress and a cardigan with a belt cinching the waist. i'll take any excuse to wear more accessories and sometimes just a dress seems a little plain to me. nothing spices up a gray dress like a highlighter orange (neon, if you will) sweater. it's light and breezy and added just the right amount of oomph to this office outfit. plus, it's thrifted! woot woot.

thanks for stopping by! happy almost weekend!

xxoo,
n

outfit details
dress + belt + mocassins: target
sweater: thrifted
bag: h&m (only $35)
necklace: forever 21

walking on sunshine

this weekend was positively perfect. the weather was in the 70s everyday which automatically makes me a happy camper. plus, anthony couldn't have made my birthday any more special if he tried. when i walked into our apartment friday after work, he had all my favorite things sitting out on the table. i'm talking mint chocolate chip ice cream, a bottle of merlot, some gorgeous flowers, AND he vacuumed the apartment. i think i just about died and went to heaven. he is the best. we spent the rest of the night eating some delicious seafood in downtown baltimore and coming back and popping some champagne! ha. there's never a celebration too small for champagne ;)

saturday morning i met up with my lovely friend katie for brunch in dc. i wanted to check out an apartment complex in the area, and it was a good excuse to eat waffles and catch up. it was the cutest little neighborhood right downtown and i fell in love. the apartment was great and we're all crossing our fingers over here everything falls into place. living in the heart of dc would be amazing! a summer in the city sounds like just what i need. being in the middle of downtown pittsburgh for four years in college were some of the best times in my life. nothing beats walking to your favorite restaurants and bars, being close to work, and having easy access to fun things to do all the time.

i couldn't help but bust out my new favorite shoes for some brunching. i got this sandals at buffalo exchange in georgetown last weekend and i think i'm in love. i would first like to point out the fact that they were only $24 (!!!) because OMG what an amazing deal. i'm also wondering who in their right mind would ever give these shoes away. i'm trying not to dwell on that too much because i don't like the thought of wearing the shoes of a crazy person, but that's the point of thrifting. someone's trash is someone else's treasure. ps. just look at them again because they're so pretty.

well now the weekend's gone, but thankfully the sunshine is still here. wishing you all a happy monday!

xxoo,

n

outfit details

tee: target

jeans: american eagle

scarf + shoes: buffalo exchange

purse: studio c

sunnies: doubledutch boutique

cherry blossoms

this past weekend was one of the best weekends i've had in a while! we had some friends in town and on sunday we hit up the cherry blossom festival in DC. this is usually the peak time of the season, but (i'm assuming) since it's been such a cold winter, the blossoms are a bit behind schedule this year. you could tell they were thisclose to looking their best. but oh well, we still had so much fun walking around the tidal basin, snapping some pics, and enjoying the sunshine. 

we had the most picturesque day in the city. the blue sky set the perfect backdrop for the beautiful monuments and it was a great day for lots of walking around. all you needed was a light jacket and you were good to go. i can already tell that them denim number is going to be a closet staple this spring. i got it for steal from avalon exchange in pittsburgh last fall. i'm so glad i was thinking ahead!

besides visiting some big monuments, we also went to the botanical gardens. i don't know if i'm a huge nerd or what, but i love that place. a huge greenhouse full of every kind of plant you could imagine. the theme this month is orchids, so they had what seemed like hundreds different variations of orchids all more beautiful than the next. but the cacti were still my faves. i wanted to steal one of these little guys for my apartment!!

visiting the botanical gardens and seeing the cherry blossoms seemed like the perfect opportunity to wear one of my favorite floral dresses. i got this one from h&m a while ago and it's just so pretty. i swear, i could live in floral dresses alone. they're so feminine, yet can be dressed super casual as well. as spring continues to slowly enter the picture, i see many more floral dresses in my future. and moccasins. lots and lots of moccasins.

thanks for stopping by, y'all! i'll be back later in the week with a fun birthday wishlist. i turn 22 on friday! woot woot.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress: h&m

jacket: avalon exchange

purse + shoes + tights: target

sunnies: doubledutch boutique 

open spaces

it's friday and it's spring and life doesn't get much better than that! this month is off to a good start. i'm trying to stay motivated with my healthy eating and exercising. it's been a few months and this is usually when i start to fall off the wagon and slip into my bad habits. but i'm starting to think this is the most important time to stick with it. i've always been one that's constantly trying to lose weight, but i'm working on changing my perspective from being on a diet to living a healthy lifestyle. it's much more important to focus on what you're eating than how much. 

this month, my best friend brittany and i decided to challenge ourselves to give something up for the month. she came up with the idea of tweaking something about our daily lives that puts us in a more healthy mindset. i, obviously, decided to do without candy for this month. and considering april includes easter and my birthday, it's going to be even more difficult than usual (but also more necessary!). i have no idea why i was cursed with the sweet tooth of a 6-year-old, but i just can't resist a handful (or whole bag) of sour patch kids. so wish me luck with this challenge!! and feel free to join in if you're thinking about getting healthy! comment below with what you plan to give up :)

so, back to the clothes. mixing prints is where it's at everybody! when i miraculously saw this dress hanging next to this shirt in my closet it was like i had an epiphany. i put them on immediately. they're complementary without being too similar-- which i believe is the key to mixing and matching two different patterns. plus, the weather here isn't quite ready for short sleeves (not by a long shot) so throwing a long sleeve tee under a dress is the perfect layering technique for spring!

this weekend we have some of our favorite friends coming to town! i love having people come and stay with us (if you haven't noticed) so i can't wait for them to get here tomorrow afternoon. we have a fun night out in baltimore planned for saturday and a day of sight seeing in DC on sunday! i'm looking forward to warm weather, good food, and great conversation. oh, and maybe some shopping too ;)

happy weekend, y'all! get outside and soak up some sun.

xxoo,
n

outfit details
dress: urban outfitters
shirt: thrifted
necklace: thrifted
tights: target
boots: groupon