Spicing up life

No, not that kind of spicing…though, clearly that was a good time.  Halloween circa 2010.

And, I’m also not talking about this kind of spicing…

Though, that right there was the BEST jalapeno, artichoke, spinach dip I’ve ever had in my life and it was super simple to make: whipped cream cheese, about a cup; 1 jalapeno, chopped;  1 can of non-marinated artichoke hearts, chopped; 2-3 heaping handfuls raw spinach, chopped; some grated parm and cheddar to sprinkle on top.  Bake 375 for 20 minutes, broil for 2-3 minutes…DONE.  I ate it with bell peppers and celery, Mr. Pi opted for traditional tortilla chips.  Dip along with kale chips made for tasty SuperBowl snacks!

Okay, onto my real point.  I work in a “business-casual” (sometimes formal) environment and get into a wardrobe rut.  I end up wearing the same 5-7 outfits and never change them up.  Enter quarterly naked lady parties with my fellow spice girls from above and the wardrobe gets a little spicing up.  However, something else I’ve been trying to spice things up both--on the cheap and to help aid in simplifying my on-the-go lifestyle--- is by creating  wardrobe ‘theme-weeks.’  So, far I’m three weeks into my “themes” and already have a theme picked for next 3 weeks.

Picking a wardrobe theme for the week does several things:

1. It spices things up!  I have put new looks together from my own stash of items based on the theme I picked for the week.  It is helping prevent my wearing the same outfits every week.  Honestly, there may have been a couple of weeks where I literally wore the same boring outfit every Wednesday. Now, once I pick a theme, unless it’s an easy one, I have to be creative in putting things together.

2. I can set out an entire week’s worth of outfits ahead of time, which is key now that training is kicking up and I spend several mornings getting ready somewhere other than my house.

3. It’s FUN!  A few in the office know about my theme weeks and now come ready by my desk to scrutinize my outfits and come ready with their guesses as early as Tuesday.

Here are a few outfit pics from weeks 1-4 (shhhhh, on week 4 that’s coming next week). I’m not sure how long I’ll continue but for now, I’m having a blast confusing my co-workers and spicing up my wardrobe life!

Week 1: Blue week!

Navy apparently shows up black in photos.

Week 2: Spring colors week (this was a fun one b/c it was more subtle than blue week and I loved wearing bright orange in January!)

Week 3: Jacket/Blazer week (I don’t wear my jackets enough and thought this would be a fun way to show off my blazers without having to wear full on suits everyday)

I do work 5 days a week despite these pictures not having 5 outfits.  I either forgot what the 5th item was or it's being washed =).

Week 4: Next week...take a guess from this photo…

It's not the best photo to showcase the theme but there is one I promise!

I've already thought of week 5 and 6...and since I'm pretty sure I'm not giving anything away by telling all of you...weeks 5 & 6 (dress week and black/white week).  I bet everyone reading this could do black and white week.  

I highly recommend trying this with your wardrobe it's a fun and cheap way to get organized and spice things up!