Let's be honest, we would all love to wear stretchy pants and a sweatshirt 24/7 if we could. Unfortunately, many of us have jobs that require us to look professional and, often times, business wear does not equal comfort.

Restricting skirts and stiff blazers repeatedly end up being thrown on in an effort to satisfy the boss, while spending the day re-tucking our shirts and rubbing our sore feet becomes the bane of our existence.

While at Arcs Value Village last month preparing for my Thrift Stylist Instagram Takeover (you can see my takeover posts on Michelle's page here), I found all of these pieces and constructed a look that I believe would satisfy both the need to be business casual while also remaining comfortable.


I compensated for the ankle length, tie waist, unstructured pants by dressing up the other pieces in the outfit. My pink jacket provides structure to the look while the faux velvet loafers add an element of class to this ensemble that it would not have had otherwise. For a finishing touch, I tucked the turtle neck into the pants for a tailored fit.

For warmer times, you could also do a dressy sleeveless top instead of the turtleneck or do ballet flats and have your jewelry be the main attraction.

How would you create an office appropriate look with lounge wear? Comment below!

All images taken by the incredibly talented Angi Klepnev. 
If you're looking for a photographer for your blog shoots, senior pictures, family pictures or wedding, I would highly recommend her. She is very detail oriented and can always find breathtaking locations.

Some days I wake up and I do not feel like doing anything. Sometimes this comes from a place of laziness, but most often it comes from a lack of motivation or inspiration. There are just times where we can feel stuck in a rut and do not know how to get out of it and get motivated. That's why I am sharing a few tricks I've learned for increasing productivity and spiking your motivation:

1. Get physical. 

This could mean a multitude of things, but for the purposes of keeping this blog PG, I am talking about physically moving. You can walk, play an instrument, dance, etc. When you are mentally stuck on something or when you don't feel inspired, moving often helps me spark new ideas.

2. Do a Brain Teaser.

This could be playing Sudoku or knitting or solving a puzzle or just doing something that challenges you. When we put our mental energy into something other than what we're stuck on, it allows our brain to refocus. Then when you come back to what challenged you in the beginning, your ideas will be fresh and your brain will be powered up and ready to go. 

3. Take time to recharge. 

Often when I feel under productive, it is because I have not let myself relax or recharge in a while. Stress can squelch any inspiration you have. If you are an extrovert, go grab coffee with a friend and just chat for an hour. If you're an introvert, take some time by yourself and refresh. 

4. Push through. 

When nothing else on this list works for me, which is rare but does happen, I have to give myself a tough love pep talk and push through. Emotions can be a wonderful thing, but if we allow our feelings to guide us 24/7, then we may never get anything done. Even if you cannot put 100% of yourself into something, the fact that you've pushed yourself through it and began to tackle that hurdle is progress you should be proud of!

I hope that these tips and tricks will be helpful to you. I know January has been a particularly challenging month for me. It has been so cold in Minnesota and all I want to do is stay in my bed all day in relax. But we're girl bosses (and guy bosses), so we need to get s**t done!

My tank top and jacket are from Arc's Value Vllage, a big thank you to Michelle for allowing me to do an Instagram takeover on her page. To see my photos, go to the Thrift Stylist Instagram page here. 

Thank you to Kelly Kwong from Sweet Petite Photography for these beautiful photos. Kelly is an absolute joy to work with and she always has ways of making photo shoots fun!

***ED WARNING: I recognize that some of my beautiful readers may struggle with eating disorders or body dysmorphia. Since many people decide to make resolutions about weight loss, conversation about that and dieting are included within this post. I try to write about it in a way that is health focused, not number or size focused.***

I know what you're thinking: "Kaylie, it's only a week into 2018, why are you writing a post about keeping our new years resolutions?" 

To be blunt, because most of us have already ditched our intended efforts for the year. 

It's hard to make changes in your life, even if you know they will be for the better. In an effort to encourage you (and myself), I give you three ways to make sure that you keep your goals for 2018:

1. Start Small and Focus on Current Goals. 

I think it can be attractive to make big goals for ourselves because we desire to see big change in our lives. Try not to do this though, because it will be discouraging. Try to take it week by week. For example: Instead of saying "this year I will loose 100 pounds," make the goal "this week I will loose 2 pounds." In the end you will have the same result, but you will have a greater chance of being encouraged by your goal. In the same way, try not to focus on what life will be like when you are at your goal weight or have blemish free skin or when your life is "perfect" in your mind because it will get you down now. Instead of focusing on the goal before you this week, you will end up focusing on where you feel you are deficient. 

2. Switch from Goal-Setting to Habit Forming.

Some of this comes naturally (like your body getting used to a new way of eating or getting used to a workout regimen you've been doing for a few weeks), but other parts of this point have to be intentional. You may have a goal of only being on Netflix for one hour a day, but if you don't put in the effort to turn off the TV, or if you don't make a list of other things you can do with that time instead, you may find yourself binge watching for hours. In the same way, if your resolution is to put 15 minutes a day away for a quiet time, and then don't actively put time aside and fill up all of your time, you'll never meet your goal. Be intentional and switch from thinking about how great it would be to reach you goal, to actually doing it. 

3. Don't Forget to Reflect.

There's this cultural idea that the end of December is the only time we can reflect on our resolutions, but this is only 1/365 of your year. Every week you should reflect on what you did, where you could improve and what you will do to better yourself for the next week. This will help you to refocus and will (hopefully) encourage you for the upcoming week. 

I hope that this blog post is helpful! Remember that change takes time and that every journey to self-betterment is different. Don't compare your goals or achievements to anyone else's. 

Thank you Anna T Photography for these amazing photos!