April 30, 2015

Yellow Floral Dress





*side glare* (didn't realize my face was in the shot at the time!)

Shoes / Necklace (jcrew old) / Bag (similar)

This dress has quickly become one of the favorites in my closet.  It's unlike anything else I own, and I think that's why I love it so much.  The drop waistline is really flattering and I love that the pattern gets smaller after the hem.  I've gotten so many compliments while wearing this dress and I honestly just wish I could wear it everyday (it's so comfortable)! The greatest thing about this dress is that it can be worn very casually or dressed up.  Today, I've paired it with my good 'ole Tory Burch Miller sandals and casual jewelry but if I were to pair this with wedges or heels it would've been perfect for a night out!


April 29, 2015

Match Obsession


Ya'll, I'm literally obsessed with matches.  (Weird, right?) Not weird, when they're this cute! Honestly, I love the simple touch of having matches resting on a bookshelf.  They're each unique and tell a different story.  I'm considering getting a jar to keep all of mine in to put on my bookshelf.  Matches also make the perfect gift alongside a candle.  How fun is it to give a sweet candle and a match set with a coffee machine on it (shown below) to your coffee loving bff? They add the personal touch a candle lacks.  

When I first started looking for Matches, I had a lot of trouble finding them.  Google "matches" and you won't necessarily find the cutest ones.  But, I've found a lot of great sellers online! 


Some of my favorite places to find matches include: One Kings Lane (search: Matches), Design Darling, and Swoozies!


April 28, 2015

Recipes I'm Dying to Try

I can't browse pinterest without coming across countless recipes of anything from cupcakes to savory dinners.  This is honestly torturous since I don't exactly have a kitchen.  Living in a dorm has it's perks (who am I kidding, what perks?) but a lot of disadvantages too.  Whenever I come home I have a full lists of recipes that I'm just dying to try and either have my mom make them or I'll try my hand at them.  There are so many great recipes on pinterest, here are a few of the ones I've come across recently!



Cilantro Lime Farro (great alternative to cilantro-lime rice like chipotle's!)








April 27, 2015

Mother's Day Gift Guide



Mother's Day is just around the corner (May 10th!), and is coincidentally the day I am flying home from school for the summer.  I'm very bittersweet about the arrival of this day because it means my freshman year is almost over.  Honestly, it feels like just yesterday I was moving into my small dorm room and now I'm just about ready to move out.  

I've rounded up some of my Mother's Day picks after receiving a text from my mother to do this post (Hi Mom).  Does anyone else's mother have to tell them exactly what to do/get in preparation for mother's day? She always thinks we'll forget to get her something and texts my family weeks in advance telling us what she wants/which flowers we should get.  She hardly gives us the chance to surprise her! I've already purchased her gift (Ha, Mom!), but these are some of my other favorites!




In case you've missed it, I'm hosting a small giveaway on my instagram! While shopping at target this weekend I came across a Lilly nail file and one of the essie polishes from the Lilly for Target line.  Even though it's small, I figured it would be nice to host this giveaway in case some of ya'll weren't able to get anything from the collection! So be sure to head over to my instagram to enter!

April 24, 2015

Friday Finds

Studio DIY Donut Pumpkins
I was browsing through pinterest this week and came across a DIY from Studio Diy's website.  This was the first time I've seen their DIYs and I'm obsessed!! These pumpkins are to die for.  I can't wait for the fall to roll around again and I can make these!! They have so many fun and happy DIYs that are perfect for any day or parties!

Blindfolded Children Find Their Mothers

Pandora released this video and I just found it so heartwarming.  Thinking about it, I would 100% be able to figure out which mother was mine but seeing these little kids do it was incredible.  Everyone's mother is unique and we each know our own so well that it is actually easy to pick them out from a lineup.  Great reminder that mother's day is coming up May 10th!

Watercolor 


I purchased a set of watercolors at Michael's on a whim and I've been actually loving them! They're so fun to use and I love getting in touch with my creative side! I've been trying out calligraphy and little paintings of donuts, states, etc.  I'd highly recommend buying a set of watercolors because it's so relaxing! 

April 23, 2015

Perfect Outfit with a Baseball Cap


Shirt  / Jeans / Sneakers / Hat

Baseball caps are the best for when you've overslept and don't have time to shower, or you're feeling a little under the weather.  Pop one on and no one will know that your hair is a day old.  I have a few favorite outfits for when I'm wearing my favorite caps.  I definitely tend to go for a sportier look when I have one on so converse and stripes usually do the trick! I love this Saint James top form j.crew.  It's so timeless and chic and absolutely perfect to wear to a sporting event.  Many of you may know that I recently purchased a pair of converse after not considering myself to be a sneaker person for many years.  But, I have honestly been wearing my converse so often, I love them! I'd highly recommend buying a pair because they're so great to have! 

If you're looking to show of your favorite MLB team this spring you should check out Fanatic's collection of hats! I love rocking my favorite team via a hat because most people in Dallas aren't a fan of the north eastern teams.  It's fun to be repping something different than all the others around me! 

April 22, 2015

Summer iPhone Cases

1 / 2 / 3 
4 / 5 / 6 
7 / 8 / 9
10 / 11 / 12

I'm a sucker for iPhone cases (you can probably tell by looking through my OOTDs that I have a lot...).  Different cases are a great way to express yourself as well as show of your personality on something you have with you almost all of the time.  I'd say I change my case about every season, which is why I decided to round up my favorite cases for Summer! I upgraded to the iPhone 6 earlier this month so I currently only own one case for my phone.  I haven't seen a huge difference between my old 5s and this 6, but I do like the bigger screen! I don't think I'd be able to deal with the 6+ though.  

I've also been having some pretty bad writers blog recently so please comment with some posts you'd like to see on the blog! I'd really like to hear your ideas.  

April 21, 2015

Brand Spotlight: Faithfull the Brand




So many times recently while I was scrolling through Revolve or Shopbop I've come across pieces that I loved only to see they were made by Faithfull the Brand! I really hadn't of heard much about the brand until recently, but they have so many cute items that are effortlessly chic and look pretty comfortable too!

I love the fun patterns and styles and I really think this brand has a lot of fun options for summer! I usually tend to reach for dresses and rompers when the weather is warmer because they're just so easy.  

April 20, 2015

Lilac and White Club Monaco Skirt
















top / skirt / jacket (similar) / shoes

Happy Monday, folks! This week has certainly been a crazy one.  Just about three weeks until I am home for the summer.  Finals are quickly approaching and I've been thinking about starting to pack up my stuff and I'm just not looking forward to it.  Yesterday, I went to Target to shop the Lilly Pulitzer collection so I hit the hay pretty early due to exhaustion.  (If you want to see a "haul" of what I ended up getting leave a comment on this post).  Yesterday while shooting this post I had lots of difficulties and ended up going to a park near my dorm, but it actually turned out a lot better than I was expecting! Last time I was here was the dead of winter when everything was dead, but now that everything is blooming it's just gorgeous! 

I bought this Club Monaco tiered skirt while I was home for easter.  I struggled to find the right shirt to go with it for awhile until I came across this crop top on shop bop's website.  I'm not a huge fan of crop tops but you'd never know that this is one when I tuck it in.  I was lucky enough to grab this during the shop bop friends and family sale a few weeks ago.  These espadrilles are so classic and elegant and I can't wait to wear them in Europe this summer!

I know, this is probably my 800th outfit post with my denim jacket.  Honestly, I wear it probably three times a week.  It's just my favorite thing to throw on while heading out to class because the weather can still be a little chilly.  If you haven't invested in a denim jacket yet, do it! 

April 18, 2015

Tips for Shopping Lilly x Target



Less than six hours until midnight and (hopefully) not long after that items will be available online! I originally wasn't going to do a post like this because I figured most of ya'll would see a guide to shopping the collaboration somewhere else, but I have some other tips that I haven't seen on other posts that I wanted to share with you! Also, I'm sure there's some of ya'll that haven't done that much research for your pre-shopping strategies!

What we know:

Items should be available online between 12am-2am CST.  While target hasn't officially made a statement saying when items would be released online, it's rumored that things will go on sale sometime in this time window.  I've also heard that they will be releasing things gradually and not all at once.  Apparently this would be to keep the site from crashing but I'm not sure how much this would help because people would still be refreshing the website every 10 seconds (at least I will!).

Merchandise in-store will be available in their respective sections. One of my big questions was whether everything with the "Lilly x Target" label would be in one area or if things would be disbursed around the store.  The answer: things will be in their respective department.  Meaning, clothing will be in the clothing section, home in the seasonal homeware department, beauty in the beauty department etc.

Every store will be getting Lilly x Target merchandise.  While I don't know exactly how much each store will be getting, each store will be getting something! I would assume Super Target stores would be getting more than regular Target stores but who knows!

Merchandise should be replenished.  I've heard that there are a few shipments that will be coming to Target stores within the next few weeks so definitely check back if you missed out on something you really wanted! Also, on Lilly x Target products there is a 14 day return policy so things could be coming back in through returns!

Some of my tips:

Set up a game plan.  What time are you going to leave? Which Target will you be going to? How much are you planning on spending? (the real question!).  What items do you really want? (are these items online only? You can see on the look book if they will be available in stores!)

"Like" items from the look book.  The look book gives you the option to like items.  I'm not exactly sure what impact this has once you're able to start purchasing things but it can't hurt.  Hopefully you'll be able to purchase things straight from there to make it easier!

Make an account on Target.com and input credit card info and addresses! Having all this info saved at the beginning will make it so much easier (and faster) to shop on the website and ensure that you get the items in your cart!

If you're up for it, check out the stores late tonight.  I was checking out a Target today and was wondering if they started putting out some merchandise really late tonight.  One of my tumblr followers (madrasgypsy) said she's seen this happen before.  If you're up at around 11:30 tonight and feel like heading to target it could be worth a shot!

Shop online first.  My biggest recommendation would be to check out online before heading to the store.  I'm planning on shopping online to get the things that I really want and then I'm going to head to the stores. I'm not exactly sure how smoothly the site will run or how lucky I'll get online, but it would be way nicer to shop from the comfort of my own bed if I can!

Be patient and considerate.  There's absolutely no need to be rude, obnoxious, or inconsiderate to those shopping around you.  Don't shop out of another person's cart, keep things organized and be patient!

Some people got to attend the pop up shop in NYC this past week and have already posted their hauls! It's definitely worth a look because it shows what some time look like in person rather than in the lookbook!





If you have any tips for shopping Lilly x Target leave them below! Good luck shopping!


April 17, 2015

Friday Finds


No Memory Card


If you follow me on Instagram then you might have seen the hugely annoying thing that happened to me on Wednesday.  I was so excited that Wednesday would be the only nice day to shoot an outfit photo so I waited all day for "golden hour" so I would be able to get the perfect shot.  Ya'll, I was literally so excited for this shoot.  I got ready 2 hour early and sat in my bed waiting for the minute I could leave and head out to the location.  I had my camera, remote, and tripod, found a decent parking spot after stalking a man back to his car, and hiked up a path for a few minutes before coming to my destination.  The park that I was going to is around a huge lake.  Honestly, the lighting was so nice and it was just a perfect day! Until, I turn on my camera to see the message in the photo above! I forgot my memory card! All that excitement and preparation for nothing! I was so disappointed but I will definitely be heading back this weekend on a nice day to get the pictures!

Lilly x Target Launch! 

via
I finally here! The Lilly x Target collaboration launches on Sunday and I am so excited! Watching the Lilly Pulitzer snaps and other blogger's posts of the launch party in NYC has made me so jealous that they already have their hands on the products! Are ya'll planning on heading to the store early in the morning? What's the #1 thing you want from the collection? I can't wait to post more on the collection once I (hopefully) get my hands on a few products.  

Not for Plebs

*this is our friend Kendall
My friend Mary posted her first post on her blog this week! Her blog is mainly focused on the Dallas area but it's definitely worth checking out.  She's still in the process of setting everything up but so far she has a few posts on some of her dining experiences! Definitely check out her new instagram too!




April 16, 2015

Cover Ups for Summer

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 
6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

As summer quickly approaches (only 4 more weeks for me), it's time to start thinking of heading to the beach! I never hit the pool/beach without a coverup.  Some girls wear shorts and a shirt but I just love my cover ups too much! I'm always on the search for the cutest cover ups which probably explains why I have too many...

The turquoise cover up with pink trim has been on my wishlist for a few months now because it is so unique and, just gorgeous really! The white club monaco "poncho" is my most recent purchase.  I'm so excited to wear it this summer in Italy! You can't go wrong with any of these cover ups.  They're perfect for traveling to and from the beach but also for catching a casual lunch while still in your suit.   


April 15, 2015

Freshman Year Dorm Room Tour

Today I have an exciting post! I think this is much overdue (and highly requested).  It's my official dorm room tour! I originally wasn't going to film a proper "tour" video, but I decided I wanted to film it for a few reasons.  First, it's just so much more exciting to watch a dorm/room tour than it is to view photos.  Second, I wanted to be able to have this as archival reference for myself.  I think it will be nice to be able to look back on this video next year when I'm moving into a different room and even in a few years to look back on my college experience.

I think it's also better that I filmed this now as oppose to when I first moved in because a lot has changed since then.  I figured out what worked and what didn't and was able to make adjustments to make the most of my space.



Next year I am living with the same room mate but in a slightly different (and bigger) room! I think it will be fun to share a tour of that room (hopefully earlier in the year) after I move in!

Posts mentioned in the video: 


April 14, 2015

Tassel Love




I'm obsessed with tassels.  Anything is instantly cuter with a few tassels.  A plain white dress wouldn't be one of my favorites but with tassels on the hemline? Gorgeous.  I wear my tassel bracelets from LovesAffect  all the time.  I have my eye on the clutch from this post after seeing it in Krista Robertson's (Covering the Bases) Instagram.  It's so cute and perfect for summer.  Tassels can make any outfit or piece of clothing instantly more fun and youthful. 

What are your favorite tassel pieces?





April 13, 2015

Black and White Dress on the Highline









dress (similar) / bag / shoes (older style on eBay) / tassel bracelet 

When I went home for the easter weekend I only brought home two outfits assuming I would have something in my closet at home.  Little did I know that I only had summer dresses that just wouldn't be appropriate for the cold weather.  Thank god for club monaco for saving my life that weekend! I would've been outfitless without the beautiful store.  I swear it's too dangerous for me to step into club monaco because I love everything! I'm pretty bummed that most of these pictures are a little out of focus.  I'm still adjusting to the new lens so bear with me! 

This dress is definitely out of my comfort zone.  The pattern and silhouette is so chic and trendy.  I can't believe how comfortable it is.  If you read my blog regularly, you'll know comfort is everything for me.  I can't even say how many times I've written about an outfit that is comfortable AND cute! I'm pretty sure this dress is an in-store exclusive because I can't find it online, so check your nearest store if you're looking for it, but, I've linked some similar styles available online! I paired this dress with my favorite Tory Burch Eddie flats to dinner in the city with my family but can't wait to pair it with wedges for going out.  


April 10, 2015

Friday Finds



I've been using Neutorgena makeup wipes for as long as I can remember.  When I got sent the wipes from the Naturals line I was excited but really didn't think that it would be much different from the ones I always use.  But, I've found that I really love the Nautrals version! It smells really nice and I feel like my face gets a lot cleaner with those.  (plus, it's cleared up some of the acne that I've been struggling with on my forehead!).  The goal of the line is to be more environmentally friendly (save some water by using the wipes!), and to be effective skincare from nature (no harsh chemicals).  I'd highly recommend using the wipes! 

Nike Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy

I love this ad! If you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth the watch.  I think it's so amazing that Rory McIlroy grew up idolizing Tiger Woods and now he plays alongside him.  I think most people wouldn't be able to admit that someone they look up to is their opponent.  Also, did anyone else see that Niall Horan from One Direction caddied for him the other day? Very cool.

Blue Eye Brown Eye 

via

I have decided that I really want to take a calligraphy class.  I love trying out different lettering with my sharpie and know I would probably love calligraphy just as much.  I found Blue Eye Brown Eye while searching for a cool class online and I'm dying to take it.  I'm so sad that I won't be able to make any of the available dates.  The class looks amazing and so much fun.  Have any of ya'll taken it?



April 9, 2015

How to Decorate a Dorm Room

via

Washi Tape
I've loved washi tape ever since I was first introduced to it about three years ago.  The colorful tape is perfect for any dorm room because it's an easy way to add color.  I have a whole wall of pictures and prints next to my bed that I've hung with colorful washi tape! I love this wall because I can look at pictures of great memories and it makes the room seem like a cozy space!

via

Prints
Having fun art to hang on your walls can really add your personality to the space.  I have 3 gold foil prints on my wall hung with the washi tape.  I found them all on etsy.  Etsy is my favorite place to find prints alongside evelyn henson and design darling!


Pillows
Having a lot of pillows on your bed can make it more inviting and comfortable.  We all know dorm mattresses are not the greatest, but having lots of pillows can make it a little better.  I probably have way too many on my bed.  Between 4 full sized pillows and 5 throw pillows my bed has become so comfortable.  I have two pillows that I made from Lilly Pulitzer fabric and they add so much color to my bed.  I also have a pillow with my hometown's zipcode on it which always reminds me of home!


Books
I have a few little, yet colorful books on my hutch over my desk right now.  I have open space and they look so great sitting on top of the space.  I love that they add color and still reflect my personality.  I have the Kate Spade Style book as well as a Lilly Pulitzer entertaining book that I found on amazon!

How have you decorated your dorm room?

 

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