Happy Fall, Y'all!

First of all, I hope you like the new blog layout! I don't think I'm going to keep it necessarily, but I was ready for a change, and I'm probably going to experiment with more styles in the next few weeks.

I think this may just be officially my favorite time of the year. I love how the weather turns crisper and the leaves start changing colors and you can stock up on pumpkin everything, from candles to lattes. I am planning to go to Bath and Body Works tomorrow for the big autumn shopping trip to get fall candles, fragrances, and soaps. It's time to get this apartment festive for the season!

This week has been really good for a number of different reasons. For one, I've just in the past few days been feeling like I have several good friends here and that lots of community is being birthed in a lot of different ways, and it feels so good. My social life is still slower than it was in law school, but I've also only been here for a couple of months, and it takes time. I'm helping to head up a Christian female attorneys' small group and am meeting several people through that, and I've been getting really involved in my community group at church and meeting a lot of good people that way too. I've also reconnected lately with someone from law school who lives here now, and we've become pretty close even though we never really hung out much when we were actually in school together. I've also been really connecting with a couple of the attorneys I keep seeing at seminars and events, and I am planning to reach out to those women more in the next few weeks to get to know them better, professionally and also personally. One of those attorneys asked me to head up a campaign among my colleagues to raise money for legal services for indigent clients in our community, so I've been jumping into that lately too. And I go to bar events all the time, so that's some prime friend-making opportunities there too. But this week was the first time since moving up here that I felt really comfortable and happy with the state of my friendships up here, and that makes a big difference.

For another thing, I was able to get some much-needed clarity on what, exactly, would happen with my employment in the event--however unlikely it may be--that my bar results are not good. To my great relief, I was told that we can work something out to allow me to keep working there and take the bar again in February--I would not be immediately done with my job if I fail the bar, and that's the biggest relief ever. But I think they like having me around at the office, and I'm pretty much at the point where I am totally comfortable with everybody. My paralegal was on the phone with someone the other day, and I overheard her saying, "Our new associate [me] actually comes in to the office on Mondays AND Fridays! And she actually works while she's here! It is so great, and we love her!" I almost burst out laughing right then because I guess not every associate she's worked with in the past has found it necessary to do those things? Haha. But really, just being professional and doing your job goes a long, long way.

My next week is booked up already with events pretty much every night--church event on Monday, family law banquet on Tuesday, small group ladies' dinner on Wednesday, and a wine tasting with the volunteer lawyers' group on Thursday, not to mention hearings and meetings and stuff like that during work hours. But that's all good, because staying busy will make this time of waiting that much easier.

Today I went to what I will probably hereafter be calling "the rich people Goodwill." It was this really swanky Goodwill in the wealthy part of town (who can afford to give away a like-new Ann Taylor top? Apparently, people who donate to this Goodwill! Thanks guys!) I made out like a bandit, seriously. Here is the haul of cute clothes I got for the whopping price tag of $22:

Above, the necklace is one I already had, but that's just an example of how I would style it. 

The lighting is a little weird in that photo, but you get the idea. I'm really excited about the fact that all of these tops are 1) work-appropriate if worn with a blazer, and 2) cute just on their own with a pair of jeans for the weekend. I need clothes that do double duty like that because it's not practical to have to basically have two wardrobes, one for work and one for the rest of the time. 

And I am really liking my jewelry and accessories rack in the bathroom! It's so easy for me to pick out what I need for each day. 

Well, that's about it for tonight! Have a great weekend!