Plaid Jacket (c/o) // Turtleneck Sweater // Tassel Necklace (c/o) // Booties // Jeans // Bracelet

Happy happy Friday friends! This week was an especially difficult one because it was my last one at DDB Chicago before moving onto a new agency – and to say it was bittersweet would be the understatement of the year – it was a definitely hard to say goodbye.

When I moved to Chicago 3 years ago, I was a totally different person than I’ve become today – both professionally and personally. I remember my mom driving in from Madison to teach me how to use the El and how to not get lost in downtown Chicago because I was so scared of living in a big city (granted, I was excited – but that one where you’re so excited that you kinda wanna throw up all the time, haha). I remember my first day in the office being amazed that they had a coffee machine that made lattes (that’s right, lattes!) and the fact that they game me a laptop I could bring home. Seriously, I thought I had won the lottery.And in a lot of ways, I really did. I made best friends at work when I didn’t have any in the city that dragged me out of my tiny apartment and got me through some really nasty times in my life. I got to work on an epic account of epic proportions (oh hey McD’s) and watch a team of 2 grow into an epic team of 5+ as we dazzled the world with our sweet social media skillz (clearly those are my words – but I’m sure our clients would have said that too…maybe!).

I got to work on campaigns like the Olympics, 3 Monopoly campaigns (aye!), the World Cup, and pretty much every new product to hit Micky D’s in the last 3 years (and believe me…there were a lot of those), all with their very unique set of challenges as well as rewards. It was crazy {I may have cried at my desk a few many times…, but it was a helluva lotta fun.

I’m going to miss working with my friends, internet famous influencers, and of course I’ll definitely miss those free World Famous Fries – but the time had come to move onto a new adventure filled with a lot less Chicken McNuggets. {FYI, I’m definitely not crying behind my computer screen, there’s totally something in my eye…}But I’m excited for something new, and starting in a few weeks, I’ll be working at a PR agency in Chicago called Zapwater Communications, heading up social on a few of their awesome local and national accounts! I’m excited to dabble in the world of PR, work with influencers and of course make some killer content for my new brands that I’m really excited to work with. Thankfully it’s not a totally new world, and I have some friends who work there already {I’ll still be a total newbie, but it’s nice to know I’ll have friends cheering me on!} – so cross your fingers for me! I’m excited for this new adventure, but also kinda scared {similar to that Chicago new girl so excited you feel a little barfy feeling}. It’s going to be good though 😉 I’ll let you know how everything goes, but in the meantime please send good vibes my way! And speaking of good vibes – I’m excited to be dipping out of Chicago for a few days to spend a week in Captiva Florida with my family to clear my head before starting my new adventure. I’m hoping for lots of beach time, cake by the ocean {for real though – there’s an actual restaurant that serves giant pieces of cake by the ocean…} and quality time with the family. It’s much needed {despite the fact that we just had a long holiday vacation – don’t judge me too harshly!}Now, as for what I’m doing this weekend? Chilling the F out!

I’m taking some time to explore the city with my guy, drinking as many lattes as I can get my hands on and wearing this comfy, cozy plaid jacket on repeat. It’s a piece I’ve always wanted to add to my winter wardrobe, and it was a serious steal for under $40 {for real, so worth it!} Even if the weather wants to stay freezing, at least I’ll still feel stylish 😉         Have an amazing weekend and enjoy some time off! You deserve it 🙂 xx