Birthday Wish List!

So my Birthday is coming up in December and I started thinking about what I would ask my parents for and what I wanted to buy myself. Birthdays are my favorite holiday since I don't like to be the center of attention but I like having a day where I can do as I wish and no one can can say anything!! 

Tortoise watch: Target, Bangle Watch: Target, Tory Burch Flats, Typewriter: Etsy, Black and Brown Boot: Forever 21, Smoky Coral Coat: J.Crew, Chrysoprase Ring: Etsy, Smoky Topaz Ring: Fantasy Jewelry Box. 

I also LOVE this Marley Lilly monogrammed vest! 

It is the perfect color and great for these chilly fall days! 

Every day I go to work I drool over this gorgeous Orange bag that is only $49 dollars! 

I may have to purchase it as my gift to myself! 

I found these necklaces on an Etsy Shop: Louun! 

I've hinted at boyfriend that I would like the two hearts for my birthday! 

At $20 dollars I think it is a perfect beautiful gift!  

Happy Monday! I hope you all have a fabulous week! 

xoxo

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's my favorite day of the week and I am so excited to share what I'm loving this Wednesday. 

So lets not waste any time and jump right in.....

1. Taylor Swifts new album RED

Oh my God. Could this CD be any more perfect!? I am such a fan of Taylor Swift and not one bit ashamed to admit it. So needless to say I was super pumped for the release of RED. All of the songs are just so catchy and perfect for getting ready, hanging out on Sunday, or when you're feeling pissed at the opposite sex. It is just great, I urge you all to go and give it a listen. 

2. Fiore Boutique

I am loving that I started my new job at Fiore Boutique today! 

Believe me when I say the clothes and jewelry are to die for (and I am not just saying that because they help pay my rent.) They have beautiful pieces from sequined skirts, to Jack Rogers, to Everly dresses, to home goods and nic nacks. 

Some of the great skinny jeans at Fiore. 

Chevron on chevron on chevron at Fiore. 

3. Time with my animals. 

This is how I usually spend my days off at the Dog Park in Cleveland Park. I could sit all day and people and dog watch the people who come in and out. It is so fun to watch Grigsby romp around and play with all his new friends. 

Princess Minnie lounging in the sunshine. I love that I live in an apartment that has such a great outdoor space for her to explore. She is strictly an inside cat but loves being brave on the porch and soaking up the rays. It makes me so happy to see her like this. 

4. Starbucks Hot Cocoa 

If you've never had Starbucks Hot Cocoa you are missing out. My mom sent me this and a pack of marshmallows and it is so delicious. I usually have to stop myself from having more than one cup! It's $12 for this tin but its HUGE and a little goes a long way so it lasts forever. 

What are you loving today!? 

xoxo 

Steals and Deals

I have always loved finding good deals but since I have been on my own I really love finding them. I've posted about some of my finds previously and I hope that it has inspired you to look in different places to find style steals and deals. Lately I have been hitting the deal jackpot at Charming Charlie and Old Navy! ( I swear I went to ON 4 times last week...)

So on Sunday I took a little trip home to see my momma and of course forced her to go shopping with me. I am always trying to get my mom to let me dress her, not that she doesn't have great style, but I just love getting her to try things she would normally never think of. I drug her to ON and grabbed everything I liked for her and forced her to try it on after much of a fight from her. She found so many great things that look great and work on every age and body type.

For under $100 dollars she got:

White tank, black Sweetheart skinny jeans, bootcut Sweetheart jeans, polkadot chambray shirt, blue sweater, white basic tee, black ruffled henley (in red), and black ballet flats. All available at Old Navy.

How adorable is my mom in her new clothes!
I got her to use an old Pink quilted jacket
that she didn't know how to wear  over this chambray shirt! 

Charming Charlie also had some great deals again and for $34 dollars my mom and I got 3 purses, 1 necklace, and a bracelet. I found two bags that I just fell in love with. I think during the fall and winter it's still important to use bright colors and what better way than carrying a bright bag! 

This bad I saw at Jcrew and have seen others like it around Pinterest and Instagram.
 This little gem is $178 dollars and a little steep for me! So here are my alternatives....

I am in love with the bright yellow and classic pink! I think these are great fall staples and the gold handles give it more of a classic and expensive look. I got BOTH of these bags for under $15 dollars!

I am on a bargain/steals and deals roll these days (I hope it stays that way!!)
I start my new job tomorrow and I am so excited to share with you all the great stuff they have! 

xoxo

Tanger Outlet Trip!

Today I ventured to the Tanger Outlets in Gaffney, SC with boyfriends mom! I have been wanting to visit the outlets since I moved here since they always have such great deals! Boyfriends mom was looking for a new sofa at the Pottery Barn Outlet and she asked me to go with her, so of course I said yes! I really didn't have a lot of money to spend but there were a few things that I just really didn't want to pass on. Our first few stops had some good deals but when we got to the LOFT I wanted so many things. Everything in the store was 40% off and their prices are already pretty affordable! Here is what I went away with... 

Okay so these were actually at Ann Taylor and I didn't end up buying them but I wanted to share so you could all go get some! How great are these flats! They are so classic and chic but really fun with the snake skin and black toe. They were 50% off and would have ended up being only 35 dollars! GO GET THEM! 

I ended up getting a plain black long sleeve tee which I love to wear on a Saturday downtown or just laying around. But the Loft had these really great clips for your hair or whatever and I decided to add it to the collar of my tee! It takes it from plain and boring to a little more dressy and fun! ($19 tee, $15 clip, both 40% off)

I am such a sucker for sparkles and studs so I had to scoop this cuties at 40% off they were only around 5 dollars. 

This was my favorite purchase of the day and of course the picture just doesn't do it justice. This little gem was $44 dollars originally and so beautiful. I love the sparkles at the top which are rose gold and silver and it is so soft and cozy. Perfect for these cold fall days coming up. 

I also picked up this bow headband that I thought would go great with my new sweater. It ended up only being around 8 dollars! And I got everything for 60 dollars!!! 

Hope you are having a great weekend and finding some deals of your own! 

xoxo 

Time to Mix-it-Up (and a tribute to Shadow)!

The beginning of the week I decided that I was stuck in a rut. I needed a quick pick me up and a fun project to get my mind off things. I turned to Pinterest for some Halloween inspiration! I kept seeing all these cute pumpkins decorated in a non-traditional way. I decided to get out my paints, ribbon, and steady hand to create a Pinterest inspired pumpkin....this is my finished masterpiece. I love the way it turned out, even if it didn't turn out as perfect as everything on Pinterest! I am so obsessed with monograms and what better place to put one than on your pumpkin for all your neighbors to see! 

After my craft project I was still itching for a change. I started dying my hair in the seventh grade and haven't stopped since! My hair has been every color from blond, to brown, to red, to pink and blue (trust me when I say the pictures are terrible and I will never dye my hair on my own again.) I love changing my hair because it's the one thing that you can change all the time and it just keeps growing! I made an appointment about 3 weeks ago with a new hair dresser and I had a million ideas. I got to the Mia Alexander Salon and told Jillian that I wanted to look more Fall and that my hair was in her hands.... I love how it turned out! The color, the cut, the bangs, just everything. What do you think?? 

I'm so glad I was able to mix it up this week and make some changes. It has been a rough week since my mom and I decided it was time for our sweet old man Shadow to leave the earth. I cried an ocean of tears thinking about not seeing him again and being there as his soul left us. My mom promised she would tell him how much I loved him and that I would miss him forever. Today I feel so happy knowing he is at peace and smiling in the sunshine. It was the perfect week to try new things and not get stuck dwelling on the past. 

Our handsome boy. 

So lucky I was able to spend so many years on his shoulder. 

One of his favorite places. 

I'll always love you Shadow! 

I hope you all have a great weekend! What are your plans? Have you mixed it up lately!? 

xoxo

Fall Finds on a Budget

Every weekend I like to explore Greenville and walk around shops just to get ideas and inspiration from displays. I recently discovered The Shops at Greenridge and can't seem to stay away! They have your regular stores like J.jill, Ulta, Home Goods and more specialty stores like Hand Picked, Fabrik and Swoozies. One of my favorite stores ever and at the shops is Charming Charlies, if you have never been you must go right now. It is literally accessory heaven all color-coded and beautiful. This weekend I wandered in and couldn't resist their 5 for $5 SALE! Here are some of my finds and really great staple pieces for fall! 

I love clutches and wallets and I thought this one looked so unique and just cute!
It's perfect for a casual night out and I couldn't resist for the price! 

5 for $5 finds:

Not sure if I can pull this one off yet, but I am going to try!
I really like the look of these necklaces and bracelets but they can be a bit pricey.
This one is clearly plastic but it can be dressed up and paired
with more expensive pieces so it doesn't' come off  too cheapy. 

Orange is my favorite color and I love a good stud!
How adorable are these little gems? 

I've seen these stackable kinds of rings on Instagram and finally
found one I thought I could pull off! 

I love love love love this ring!
Spikes are so in right now and this is just enough to spice things up.

Fell in love with this statement piece the second I saw it!
How could this be on sale!? 
It was perfect with one of my plain black sweater and complementing bracelet!

What do you think of my finds? Have you found any good buys lately!? 

xoxo

Weekend Recap Ya'll

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! This weekend was Fall for Greenville downtown and the weather was so perfect for it! Friday I decided to start some decorating projects that I had been debating for awhile. I headed out to the Habitat Restore in search for a few small pieces to make my living room complete. I hit the JACKPOT! Then Friday night Boyfriend and I went out for date night to one of our favorite spots Trio! Saturday afternoon I met up with my friend Megan for mani/pedis and then we headed downtown to see what all the talk was about! Fall for Greenville is where a lot of the restaurants set up tents in the street and you buy tickets to go and try whatever you want! They had everything from vegan cupcakes, to wine tasting to truffle tater tots (my personal favorite)! 

Before. 

Before.

Before.

After!! So happy with how they turned out! 

After!!! 

What did you do this weekend? Any decorating tips!?

xoxo

Adjusting My Sails

Have you ever had a week where literally everything that could go wrong does? You feel like you just want to stay home in your comfy bed and not face the world because it's too hard. That was my week last week. When I moved to Greenville I didn't have a job or any idea what I was going to do to make money when I got here. So the first job offer I got I accepted it and hoped that it would work out for the best, the end of that job came last week. 

No one wants to be newly graduated, in a new town, and unemployed. (Hello and welcome to my current life!) The flip-side to that is that no one wants to be newly graduated, in a new town, and miserable every single day either. I had to make a decision last week that I knew wouldn't be an easy one, it wouldn't be easy to tell my parents, it wouldn't be easy to take a huge pay cut, and it wouldn't be easy to face my boss and tell him it wasn't working out. I made myself a promise when I graduated that I would never end up stuck in a job I hate just because the pay was good or because I got a free gym membership. I decided last week that's where my life was headed and I just wasn't ready to let that happen! 

So here I am newly graduated, in a new town, happy, and completely okay with being temporally unemployed.  I of course headed straight to Pinterest for some words of wisdom to keep my spirits up, my favorite "We can't direct the wind but we can adjust the sails." What a perfect way to look at the world when things aren't going your way, you're having a tough week, or when you need to make a big life decision. Here are some other little gems I found for encouragement! 

I love this one so much! 

Worlds most perfect job ever. 

I printed this one out and taped it into my planner so I see it every day.

I hope you all had a great week and if you need any encouragement that these words will help you keep your head up!

xoxo

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What a long long week it has been and a not so fabulous Wednesday. But here are a few things I'm loving that have brightened my day!

I am loving that Grigsby will be here SUNDAY FOR GOOD!
Today I set up Grigsby's interview with Camp Bow Wow
so he can go to day camp some days while I'm at work!
(I am so so so so excited) 

I am loving that tomorrow night kicks off Fashion On the Town! It's a local event in Greenville and all the cute boutiques downtown! I am really excited to go and shop around and drink wine!
Boyfriends sweet mom invited me to go with her and I am really excited to hang out!

I'm loving that Monday Stella & Dot released their Holiday 2012 line and
Breast Cancer Awareness Collection! I love everything in this picture from the denim to the color to
the dainty ring! I went ahead and ordered the Suzanne Cocktail Ring and Bryant Park Scarf-Poppy!  

I am really loving that Saturday I will be back in the high country for the day to  celebrate Homecoming!
I really miss the Boone weather, football games, and most of all my sisters and friends! I can't wait to see my littles, my family and all of the new phi babies! 

All of the Alpha Phi Seniors at Greek Games 2012!
Can't wait to see them Saturday! 

What are you loving this Wednesday? 

xoxo