Summer break, aka maternity leave, is officially over. I’m back to work today and it’s bitter sweet. On one hand, I’ll be sad to leave my little lady every morning and lose the freedom that’s come with 10 weeks off. On the other hand, I’m lucky to have a job that I love and an office full of people I genuinely like to kick it with – so it will be fun to get back to hanging and making inappropriate jokes while fitting in some work here and there. I’m not looking forward to the very loosely controlled chaos that I’m sure our at home daily routine will be but we’ll make it work.

Speaking {more} about work, I’ll be shedding the t-shirts and shorts/jeans and swapping it out for office attire. It will be nice (and practical) to start making use of the other section of my closet again. For now, I’m planning on sticking with dresses and skirts until all my dress pants fit properly again and this new bright basic from Pearl Southern Couture is coming in handy as I head back. Especially since it’s got a little stretch that keeps everything squeezed in without being uncomfortable.

While most might save this for a weekend party, it was too fun and colorful to hide in my closet during the week. Instead of waiting for a special occasion I’m pairing it with a seersucker blazer and simple accessories for a look that will brighten up any day of meetings. It may not fit the bill for gals working in a more serious office space but since we’re a little more on the lenient side, it’s perfect. Since I’m on a bit of a mint kick lately, I’ll definitely be breaking out on a Saturday sometime soon.

Mint ‘Tanner’ Dress with Mesh Insets: c/o Pearl Southern Couture (also pretty obsessed with this more casual option) ; Silver Wedges: Old Navy (they look just like the J.Crew version but were WAY cheaper); Seersucker Blazer: J.Crew Factory (old, but this boys one is similar seen before here); Cobalt Tassel Bag: c/o Galian (the perfect UK blue – seen here in green); Earrings: c/o Admiral Row; Bracelets: Lily and Laura c/o 9th and Elm

Photos by Christian Dresibach (thanks a million pal!)