This month marked two years of JGP Styled Me! I honestly almost missed this milestone until a friend called it to my attention. I guess I was so heads-down busy that it just wasn’t on my radar. But I do think it’s important to stop and take stock of how far I’ve come.

I was unusually—happily—busier than normal with clients, school was back in session (along with a new after-school activity keeping Mom’s Taxi in business) and it was the seemingly neverending month of post-holiday nothingness. Still, I continued to get up and dress myself in things other than leggings and sweats most days, making me feel like myself and putting my mind in a more productive place. As someone who’s exclusively worked from home for nearly a decade, “getting dressed” has always been a must for me.

I wish December had been cooler in Austin. It had its moments but more often than not it was mild. There weren’t really any opportunities to pull out beloved heavy sweaters from my days as a northerner (but as I type this in early January, that’s changed). Still, I found plenty of opportunities to embrace layering with light jackets, blazers (my favorite!) and festive outfits.

‘Tis the season for a lot of noise about what you should be doing when it comes to your body and your style. “New year, new you,” closet purges and the like. I can’t remember the last time I made a New Year’s resolution and gleefully, I’m no longer forced by my employer to select my word of the year.

Have you ever found yourself staring at your closet in panic, hours before a casual-ish family or friend get-together? Suddenly, your usual outfits feel all wrong, and you're wondering when dressing for something simple like a birthday party became so complicated.

Fresh off the heels of Halloween we traveled to Grand Canyon—literally, on November 1. And we saw snow! We saw the Canyon, too, obviously, but also snow! Between that and our next trip to Berlin, Germany (where I neglected to take any outfit photos 🤦🏼‍♀️), we had a few birthday celebrations, house guests and Thanksgiving. And the weather finally cooled so I could wear sweaters and all my blazers, which you know I love.

If you’re always reaching for your go-to black top, it’s time to stop playing it safe. Sure, it’s easy and gets you out the door, but does it really feel like you? Is it really what you want to wear everywhere you need to go? My guess is no.

Why is it that figuring out what to wear can sometimes be the hardest task to accomplish on any given day? You’re juggling work, family and a social life, and yet somehow, figuring out what to wear feels like the hardest task. You’re staring at a packed closet but still feel like you have nothing that makes you feel amazing for that big meeting or night out.

Here are my looks from October—the ones I remembered to capture—for a busy mom in midlife juggling running my own small business, family stuff, attempting to have a social life and last but not least—corralling two feisty dogs.

My approach to building a winter wardrobe used to be haphazard and careless. There was no strategy whatsoever. A sale email from a favorite retailer would hit my inbox and in no time I’d be down the directionless rabbit hole, seemingly blindly clicking the “add to cart” button.

“I’ve got some parties coming up which begs the, ‘what the f*ck to wear,’ question.”

You’ve been there. I’ve been there. And despite having a closet bursting with options, panic sets in. You spend hours trying on outfits, nothing feels right and you end up making a last-minute purchase that doesn’t even really feel like you.

Let me tell you a secret: I used to be that frazzled mom in the school pickup line, wearing the same tired jeans and striped t-shirt combo day after day. As a personal stylist, you might think I've always had it all figured out, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It took years of looking in the mirror and thinking, “when did I get so ‘blah?’” before I really started focusing on my style.

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? It’s the surprising statistic that most people wear only 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. And while surprising, it’s true even for the busiest of moms who often feel like they need a closet bursting with options to look put-together.

Many of us fall into the trap of thinking, "I don't have time for style," or, "Fashion isn't practical for my lifestyle." But what if we reframed those thoughts? Instead, try embracing the belief that "My style is an expression of who I am, and I deserve to feel great in my clothes, even on busy weekends." Read that middle part one more time and make sure it sinks in, “I deserve to feel great in my clothes.”

Last month I started photographing my outfits daily (mostly) again.

I did this initially when I started my styling business—albeit not daily but relatively regularly. And then I stopped really for no reason in particular. But in working with clients—women in midlife who are navigating a lot of the same experiences but are each incredibly unique—and slightly evolving my own style, I’ve been reminded how helpful it can be to look at my outfits in a photo versus just looking in the mirror. It helps me see it differently than looking at it in real-time on my body in a mirror.

Picture this: It's Friday evening, and you're staring at a closet full of clothes, feeling completely uninspired for your weekend plans. You think, "I need to go shopping again," but deep down, you know that's not really the answer. Sound familiar?

Last month, I finally checked off something on my to-do list (if you know me, you know I love a good list). I had some professional brand images taken. It’s been on my to-do list and I kept putting it off for reasons that weren’t very good.

About a year ago I had a hysterectomy and a sacrocolpopexy which I previously shared here on my blog. I don’t think about it very often anymore, the “before” times. But for whatever reason, it popped into my mind that it’s been almost a year since the surgery and over the past few weeks I’ve reflected a bit on that time—

Our last trip of summer is coming up and happily, I don’t have any Amazon emergency orders being delivered and I absolutely won’t be setting foot in a store (except Sephora to exchange a lipstick color I already bought and Target to grab a few more travel size toiletry bottles to fill). In the not-so-distant past, this often was not the case for me.

There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to summer workwear—and they don’t have to include layers. Don’t let the heat (or cold) keep you from feeling empowered, comfortable and put-together at the office this summer.