This weekend was for...

...furniture shopping and soccer games and wine and some of the best sushi I've ever had and a quick trip to Urgent Care (everyone is fine) and preseason football and time with Garrett's family and packing and would you believe I didn't take a SINGLE picture?

This is my life. Having too much fun and forgetting to take pictures. My life is hard, right?

Anyway, coming up on the blog this week: my thoughts on Friendship, a goals check-in and a plan for the remainder of the year, and an Ode to Blogging!! Good things are happening, my friends.

Have a great Monday!!


Check out one of the sweetest (literally! get it?) bloggers I know, Leslie!

A Totally Unsponsored, Totally Unbiased Post About Things That Are Awesome

1. Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids

I had been wanting to try the bright lip trend for a while. when I started to do research on the best bright lipsticks out there, MAC lipstick was far and away the most highly recommended. I don’t have a problem spending money on higher end makeup (buying the Naked2 palette was the best thing I ever did ever), but since I’m not a huge lipstick wearer anyway, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on something I knew I might not use that often.

This lipstick is amazing, you guys. I’ve never used Mac, so I provide a comparison, but I can’t imagine that MAC is any brighter than these colors. I purchased Vivid Rose and Brazen Berry and love them both. They last a long time and the color payoff is just AMAZING. See?

If you’re looking for something bright but you're not ready to splurge, you should definitely give these a try. And then come visit me and we can have a bright lip party and be Those Girls when we go out that night. 

2. SO... Eyelet Shorts

I had been on the hunt for some white shorts for a while, but as I've said before, I wanted them to be pretty cheap because white clothing just doesn't last more than a season or two. I stumbled upon these at Kohls a few weeks ago and INSTANTLY fell in love. They're comfy and exactly the right length for my short body. I might go buy a few pairs, just so I can stock up for the next few years and and you should too, because for $9, why the heck not? BONUS: they are almost IDENTICAL to these Lilly Pulitzer shorts that retail for $94. That's a big deal, you guys.

3. Jergens Gradual Tanning Lotion

I’ve actually been using this for a while, but they recently changed the formula so it’s much less stinky. It maintains the color that I got at the beach without turning orange or ridiculous, which is no easy feat on my normally fair skin. 

4. French Bull Sleigh Tray

I actually got this for free because I had a ton of Birchbox points saved up, but I think for $23, this tray is a steal anyway. When I saw the bright colors and the chevron, I knew I had to scoop it up for our living room. It’s totally normal to plan your entire living space around a serving tray, right? 

It's not available on Birchbox anymore, but I found it at Macy's for only $3 more here.

5. Ralph Lauren Aimon Sandals

I ordered a few pairs of boots at Christmas, so I had a $30 rewards certificate for DSW. (If you’re not a member of the DSW rewards program, you most definitely should be.) I had been looking for a new pair of gold sandals anyway, so when I saw these in my size, I knew I had to have them. They were on sale for $50, so I was only going to have to pay $20. Not too shabby for a pair of gorgeous Ralph Lauren sandals, right? When I got to the register, they were an additional 40%, so my grand total was…. one penny. ONE PENNY! Can’t even deal with how awesome I am at shopping. I really can’t, you guys.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

Have you gotten anything awesome lately? Anything I should go scoop up immediately? Tell me all about it.

Weekend Recap (mostly in pictures)

I didn't post it until late, so if you didn't see my post about my dad, you should go check it out!  This weekend was good. And you know the saying: if you do fun stuff but you don't talk about it on the internet, did it ever really happen?

 Pool lounging with my second favorite dog (and family) on Sunday

Vietnamese iced coffee downtown on Saturday afternoon with Meredith

 

Trampoline Jumping

Someone took initiative and bought his own Fathers Day present this year.
(Don't worry, we got him something too)

And OBVIOUSLY, plenty of time with my favorite puppy. (and some Son of a Peach, duh) I hope you guys all had a GREAT weekend too!! (Linking up for Sami's Shenanigans, Monday Mingle, The Collective, I Love Bloglovin' and This Weekend, I...)

Sunday Social

I decided to link up for Sunday Social today, just to switch it up a little bit! Also because it's about your pet peeves, and I loooove complaining about stuff.

1. What is your biggest driving pet peeve? At stoplights, when people pull way past the stop bar. That huge white line is NOT A SUGGESTION, people.

2. Biggest Blogging pet peeve? Any posts about what you're pinning on Pinterest. Sorry, but I hate them. If I want to know what you're pinning, I'll go look at your Pinterest. (This doesn't include pins that you've actually done yourself. I love those posts.)

3. Biggest general pet peeve? People who don't get the "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" philosophy. Just shut up, man. You don't need to insert your opinion on every little thing. Ya dig?

4. What is your most irrational fear? I'm always afraid my car is going to explode when I start it after I'm done pumping gas. I don't know where it comes from, but it's always freaked me out.

5. 3 celebrities you’d want to have dinner with? John Krasinski, Jennifer Lawrence and Stanley Tucci. How's that for variety?

I have a separate post planned for today about my dad, but I can't find any of our good pictures, so that's on hold for right now. I hope you guys all have a great Sunday!

Quick Weekend Check-In

So I know I already did one quick beach post, but on Friday at the last minute, I decided to head to the beach with my parents. It was a relaxing weekend full of lounging + reading

Son of a Peach-ing

Lowcountry boil-ing

and selfie-ing

If you follow me on Twitter, you already saw this, but there was a group of guys who watched me take about twenty pictures of myself. It's HARD seeing your screen in such bright light, OKAY?

Today we're gonna do a little shopping and a little more relaxing, and I'm pretty excited about it!

How's your long weekend going? Tell me everything!

(Linking up for Monday Mingling.)

Beach!

Happy weekend, everybody!!

Happy Mother's Day (a mostly pictures post)

It was a beautiful day

for lots of food

and lots of sunshine

 

and lots of fun.

I meannnnnnnnn....

We ended the day at my aunt's house for homemade strawberry ice cream and some quality time with my two favorite teenagers.

And since I looked really freakin' cute, here are some pictures. The detail on the back of this top may have solidified it as my Favorite Shirt Ever. And I got it from Kohl's for $11.99. So that's awesome.

 

I'm a fashion blogger now, right?!

And finally, some comedy:

Hope everyone had a great day!!!!!

(For the record, this post went up at 11:59pm. Still TOTALLY OWNING this blog every day challenge.)

A Recap + A Question

I lost it yesterday when Garrett left. Long distance is exhausting, you guys. It's exhausting and awful and unfair and horrible and I hate it and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Ever.

Okay. That's enough whining. For now.

But now I have a confession: we didn't do a single Cinco de Mayo OR Kentucky Derby related activity. Not a single one. I know. I know. Despite all that, our weekend was good. Friday we didn't do aaaaaanything, except cook an amazing dinner of spinach ravioli with alfredo sauce and cheesy biscuits. Wonderful, delicious, etc.

Saturday, we looked at a few apartments, then met Kelsey for coffee! She was in town from Baltimore for a night so we met up with her and some of her friends for a quick coffee.

After that, we went to Garrett's cousin's house, where we ate dinner and then played this game called Wits and Wagers. Have you ever heard of it? I hadn't, but it was fun! Also FYI: I suck at it, so you should definitely play with me if you want to win big.

Here, Garrett and I wrote the same answer, and so did his cousin and his cousin's wife. So funny, right?

And now, a question: What do you do?

I gotta tell you guys: I love this prompt because it really bothers me how much stock we, as a society, put into the question "what do you do?" What someone does for work is only a tiny portion of who they are as a person, you know?

So obviously, I've been thinking about this for a while. And this is what I do, in list form because:
I'm a list-maker. This is obvious, right? Lists are the only reason I ever get anything done, I gotta be honest. And sometimes, when I have a lot to do, I'll write down things that I've already done so I have a few things to cross off before I get started. It really helps. Who else does that? I know I"m not the only one.
I'm a nurturer. I love taking care of people. Are you sick? I'll bring you soup and crackers. Do you have a hangover? I'm on my way with the Gatorade. Going through a breakup? I've got the wine and chocolate. Taking care of other people is something I'm really good at. (Because of this, sometimes I don't take care of myself. But that's a different post for a different day.)
Because I'm a nurturer, I'm also a worrier. I worry about everything. I know it doesn't help anything, and I try so hard not to, but sometimes I just can't help it. I'm going to have gray hair by the time I'm 30, I swear.
I'm a leggings wearer. I'm just saying, if I have to wear real pants on a weekend, I'm not going to be happy camper. I would prefer to take my pants with buttons and zippers off at 5pm on Friday and not put them on again until Monday morning. Not sorry 'bout it.
I'm a corny joke teller. You guys, I love dumb jokes. I love them. I'm always ready with one. Example: why doesn't a chicken coupe have four doors? ..................because then it would be a chicken sedan. Amazingly hilarious, I know. I'll be here all week.
I'm an advocate. I have a dual degree in Elementary and Special Education. Even though I'm not teaching, I take advocating for people with disabilities very seriously.
I'm a coffee drinker. We all saw this one coming, right?

I'm also a fiance, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a wannabe fashionista, and a blogger. And I think I'm pretty great.

[Linking up with Sami + Jenni]

Sunday Currently + Blogger Love

Reading through the Brides magazine I got yesterday.

Writing uhhh this post, duh!

Listening to soccer on TV. You can tell the tall guy is here, right?

Smelling coffee, again. Also, sausage balls in the oven! Yummmmmm

Wishing Garrett didn't have to leave in a few hours. =(

Hoping the wind slows down a little bit for his drive. I worry!!!

Wearing pajamas and a hoodie. Cozy. Soooo cozy.

Feeling a little hungover, I gotta be honest.

Loving that we went to look at apartments yesterday. It's getting real, you guys. 

Clicking around, looking for a new iPad wallpaper. People post amazing freebies all the time, but now that I'm looking for them, of course I can't find them. 

Also, the May challenge prompt for today is to declare your love for one of your blog friends. And I have a few, because I'm a rule breaker and stuff.

The first beautiful lady I have to talk about is Stevie. Stevie is the best. She's funny, and sweet, and only five hours away! A blate is a real thing that's going to happen. Like, for real. 

The second is Adriana. Homegirl is FUNNY, you guys. I think she's the first blogger person I met over here, so we've been able to bond over our newness (and awesomeness).

The third is Mandy. Mandy and I were paired for Bigs & Littles, and she's been so helpful so far! She's also just as bad at returning emails as I am, so I know she's never going to get frustrated at me for not returning an email fast enough. 

Obviously, I've met so many great ladies. I feel so blessed!!!! 

[Linking up with Lauren and Jenni, of course]

An Outfit + A quote

(via)

I've gone back to this quote and its reassuring words more time than I can count. I love it.

And now, an outfit. I looked pretty freakin cute last night, you guys. I swear, I LIVE in my white jeans in the spring and summer. I love them.

Happy Saturday, everyone!!!!!