Thursday, May 31, 2018

Lately 5/31/2018






Dress (runs big, size down)// Sunglasses (many colors)
Tote// Scarf (on sale)// Hermes Sandals (similar)
Shop the Look:
Hooray for a short week! Can you believe tomorrow starts June?! I have to admit that I love a short week, but between the holiday this past Monday and traveling tomorrow, I could have used some more work time!

This weekend I am traveling to Annapolis, Maryland to visit my big (in my sorority!).  I am so excited to see her- I haven't seen her in so long and it will be so great to get together.

Wearing: Did you catch my raincoat post last week?! I am obsessed with this rain jacket and couldn't recommend it more!

Eating: I've been loving the Skinny Pop Popcorn Mini cakes. I don't love the cinnamon ones, but the cheddar is so good! A great healthy-ish salty snack.

Eating II: Did you guys see that they are coming out with ranch flavored popcorn and chips?! YUM!

Drinking: A casual $23,000 bottle of champagne. I wish!

Reading: Did you guys hear about Talbots' Book Club?! I absolutely LOVE this! You can drop a book off at your local Talbots and pick up another that someone else dropped off. Brilliant, right? They also feature a read of the week!

Sale-ing: The Nordstrom Half-Yearly sale is still going strong (through June 3rd). It's a great place to check out some of the men's items since Father's Day is coming up next Sunday! 

Watching:
 I finally watched Black Panther and it was excellent. I'm not exactly into the Marvel movies but this was really well done and worth the watch! 

Listening: Are you guys a Leon Bridges fan?! I am obsessed! He came out with a new album and it's really good. 'You Don't Know' is my favorite... it's such an upbeat, happy song! 

Loving: Patriotic Jack Rogers sandals... LOVE.

fresh beauty black tea instant perfecting mask
Loving II: This face mask is easily one of my all-time favorites and worth every penny. I truly notice results immediately after I take it off my skin. It just makes my skin feel so calm and smooth and soft. It's a great mask to use after you use an exfoliating mask!

Wanting: Not too much this week. I didn't have too much time to browse and I tried to cut back due to the amazing Memorial Day weekend sales! Scroll through to see some of my favorites, though. 

Pittsburgh-ing: Do not walk, run to Mad Noodles in the Southside. I had ordered takeout (randomly) because I had liked their menu on Postmates and it was one of the best meals ever. So I looked it up and 11 of us went to dinner there this past Sunday night. Between all of us, I feel like I probably tasted the entire menu and everything was delicious. My favorites are Thai style fried rice, stir fry beef noodles and Singapore noodles. Could not recommend it more if you are into Thai food and noodles (two of my favorites). The atmosphere is very casual but not so much that it's a 'hole-in-the-wall'. It looked like taking out was the popular choice as we were the only people in the entire restaurant and take out orders were flying out the door. 

Traveling: First up Annapolis, Maryland and then Nantucket, Massachusetts! 

Quoting: 'Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything that it is.' - Mandy Hale // See more of my favorites, here. 

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Things I've Bought On Amazon Prime

Things I've Bought On Amazon Prime
I haven't done an Amazon roundup lately (it's been almost a year!) so I thought I would share some of the things I have purchased. It's SUCH a black hole, and I'm sure I'd save a ton of money if I didn't have Amazon Prime, but on the other hand, what a convenience! 

You'd think that a plastic coiled hair tie would be the same from brand to brand, right? I thought so, too. I got the invisibobble hair ties for Christmas this year from several people and I loved them!  I scoff at the $8 price for 3 of them- it seems ridiculous. I found a much cheaper alternative at Target and had been using those, but you know what? I truly think the Invisibobble brand is worth the splurge. They work so much better in my hair, they don't break (the cheap ones do), and they grip better. They're 5 cents cheaper on Amazon than anywhere else, ha! 

I love using these screen protectors. Mine has gotten so cracked over the past year or so and I have really needed to replace it. I finally ordered a new one and it feels like I have a new screen! 

I'll add on a goDog toy for Henry every once in a while. They're durable and while Henry still destroys them quickly, they're the best brand that I have found that will hold up for longer than 5 minutes. 

I'm pretty sure this entire package lasted me over a year! I love the dispensers because it's easy to do with one hand. Plus the tape is extra strong and durable. 

In an effort to be more frugal (I have a major savings goal I am trying to meet by the end of this year) I am trying to cut back on the amount of mani/pedis I get. I ordered two of my favorite polishes so I could touch my nails up at home in between appointments: Big Apple Red and Bubble Bath. 

I've ordered a bunch of music from Amazon but I really love this scale book. As much as I try to dive right into playing, I am trying to make sure I am reminding myself of the proper scales and rhythms and this book is a great practice. 

This is the second book in the Thousandth Floor series. I am obsessed. It's such a great YA beach read!

I'm always buying SD cards. This is one of my favorite brands. I usually buy them in 64GB because it's just enough but not too huge! 
My cord that came with my MacBook finally stopped working. This was just $5 on Amazon and I thought it might be too good to be true. I was very pleasantly surprised because it works perfectly!

I wanted to include this one again because a lot of people have asked me for the link. Henry loves this little treat game. He's gotten way too good at it but he really has fun. It helps them to feel like they're 'working' and also helps strengthen their brains! 

This is something that some of you had suggested that I try! It's a very bold blue liquid that you add to your load of whites in the washing machine. It really does help to brighten dingy whites! 

These are so inexpensive and just as good as the much pricier ones! 

These are the BEST! They are so sharp and can tackle pretty much everything. I buy them for gifts because they're that good. 

My mom and I saw people with these clips when we were on our cruise and we thought they were so clever. They're essentially oversized clothespins that hold your towel in place on a lounge chair. 

Shop the Items:

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

My Cornflower Blue Bedroom


Look at his cute little glance!







Printed Shams// Blue Throw (under $100, comes in tons of colors)
Shop the Room:

Back in February, I shared that I wanted to add some color to my bedroom. Specifically, I wanted to incorporate cornflower blue. I didn't want to do anything that was going be super pricey and I was still happy with white being the main color. But I just thought some pops of color would be interesting for spring/summer. You can also check out this blog post where I talked about pillows

So today I'm sharing what I did! You can see my bedroom that I revealed back in October, here. I still really love that look and what I changed can easily be changed back once I get bored of the cornflower blue! 

What I bought new:
- Monogrammed Pillow: This is the pillow that started the entire thing. I love how long it is! It's like a bolster pillow but better. It's really high quality and while it's expensive, it's handmade so it's really special! 
- Printed Shams: I am obsessed with this print. I really like a white bed, so I wanted to keep the color and print minimal and I felt like that this was the perfect print to do that!
- Custom Coasters: These are just so cute and I think that they would also make a really nice gift for someone who has everything! 
- Monogrammed Tissue Cover: I use these covers on all my tissue boxes and I think it just makes it look more refined and tailored! It's a great wedding gift idea, too!
- Throw: This is Matouk so you know it will be good quality- but I was shocked at the low price. It is SO soft and just the right shade of blue. It comes in a bunch of other colors, too. I'm considering getting a neutral one for my living room!

As you can see, I really only bought a few new pieces and it changed the look in a big way! 

Mattress Update:
Also, I thought I'd update you on my Pangea Bed mattress. You can read about it, here. I have been sleeping on this mattress for about 6+ months and it is still SO good. I honestly could not recommend it more if you are looking for a great mattress. I have terrible knees (skiing and gymnastics/ cheerleading growing up) and this mattress has totally improved my joint pain and I sleep soundly. I used to get SO hot in my old bed and I really think this makes for a cooler more comfortable sleep. This is not at all sponsored, I just thought you should know how amazing this mattress is! 

Friday, May 25, 2018

Memorial Day Weekend Sales 2018

Memorial Day Weekend Sales 2018

Memorial Day Weekend is here and so are the sales. I compared the sales from last year to this year and a lot are exactly the same, but also some are way better! I honestly feel like these sales are as good as Black Friday! So shop while you can- a lot of the items in these sales are in limited qualities (the retailer does this on purpose) so the best deals will sell out quickly!

Scroll through the widget above to see my favorites from all of the sales. Out of ALL the sales, this 18 piece knife set is probably the best value/deal. I bought it for myself because the one thing I didn't have in my kitchen is a nice/adult knife set! 

Abercrombie// 40% off everything! See this post for my favorites!
Ann Taylor// 40% off code: SOREADY
Anthropologie// Extra 40% off sale, discount applied in cart, no code needed
Banana Republic// 40% off entire purchase and free shipping on $100+, code: BRSHIP
Bauble Bar// Up to 70% off! 
Brooks Brothers// Additional 25% off sale
Club Monaco// 25% off any purchase, code: WARMWELCOM
Bloomingdales// Save up to 20-50%, save an extra 40-50% on already reduced items. 
Kate Spade// Extra 30% off all sale styles, code: GREATFIND
Jack Rogers// Up to 50% off! 
J.Crew// 40% off your entire purchase plus up to 50% off women's swim, shorts, tees, and more. code: GETAWAY
J.Crew Factory// 50% off everything, an extra 50% off clearance. Use code: WINWIN
J.McLaughlin// Up to 50% off, no code needed\
L.L. Bean// 20% off your order, code: SUMMER20 (includes sale items!)
LOFT// 40% off everything, code: LONGWKND
Madewell// 20% off dresses, code: PRETTYPLEASE
Mark and Graham// 20% off sitewide, code: SAVE20
Nordstrom// Half-Yearly Sale, up to 40% off everything, no code needed. 
Pottery Barn// Up to 30% off, code SAVEMORE
Ralph Lauren// Extra 30% off select styles, code: MEMDAY
Saks Fifth Avenue// 40% off designer selection (no code needed)
Shopbop// Up to 40% off, new sale items added!
Talbots// Extra 40% off one item, Extra 50% off two or more items, no code needed
Tory Burch// up to 40% off!
Tuckernuck// New items added to sale (300+ items!), their 50% off section is SO good. I am loving the Edit dresses, too (not on sale, but I'm just OBSESSED!). 
Vineyard Vines// Up to 50% off!
West Elm// Up to 30% off, code SAVEMORE
Williams-Sonoma// Up to 75% off clearance event (100s of items). 

Items On Sale That I Have:
(only items that are on sale are linked)









Pink and Green Cardigan (comes in a bunch of colors, under $50)


More Colors:
Cashmere Travel Wrap// Sandals// Leather Woven Tote (with tortoise handles)

Dress (under $20!)// Sandals


I know you probably think it's crazy to buy winter slippers in May, but these are THE BEST and 20% off is a big saving with these!


Boatneck Sweater (a bunch of colors!)// Original Post



Tote (comes in 4 colors)// Sandals



The Best (Functional) Rain Jacket

the best womens functional rain jacket

Australian cattle dog blue heeler

athleta elemental rain jacket

athleta elemental rain jacket

athleta elemental rain jacket
Rain Jacket// Tee (sold out, similar)
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You guys. This is the BEST rain jack ever. Ever since spring started, I have been searching high and low for a cute but functional rain jacket. I have a few that are cute but not functional enough. I specifically needed a jacket for walking Henry. 

The only annoying thing about having a dog is that you have to take him out regardless of the weather (I mean, duh). So I needed something lightweight but that I could wear in a torrential downpour. I was looking for a neutral color so I could wear it with anything. I was looking for something lightweight because then I could layer in the colder months and not get super hot in the summer months. 

I looked at SO many jackets at all different price points and this one was the best for the price with the most functionality as well as style. It is wind-resistant, waterproof and breathable. Beware of rain jackets that say 'water resistant'... a lot of them say this and that means that if it's pouring, the rain could potentially soak through your jacket. I have a few that are like that and it has driven me nuts! This jacket truly keeps you dry. It's also impeccably made. 

It has a bunch of pockets, including an interior pocket that I can put my phone in and then a hole for headphones! The hood cinches as does the waist for a flattering fit. The length hits right above the knees in the front and then is longer in the back for more coverage. It also has extended sleeves with thumbholes for a bit of an athletic feel. 

I love that it looks streamlined and simple. It runs big. By that, I mean that I got my usual size small and there is plenty of room to layer during the colder months (which was exactly what I was looking for). Sometimes, when you size up in pieces, they just look too big, so I was glad that this rain jacket was cut for layering and comfort. It is also machine washable. As crazy as it sounds, this jacket actually makes me 'excited' for rain!

If you're not sold on this one, I've found a bunch that are on sale! Nordstrom's Half-Yearly sale is going on right now and there are SO many cute rain jackets included. Scroll through the widget above to see my favorites. I tried to include all different price points! 
 

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