The Oscars: Best Dressed!

My most favorite TV night of the year is The Oscars. I love movies, I love glamour, and I love guessing what some of my favorite stars are going to wear. I was actually very surprised at how many amazing dresses there were this year!! It was so hard for me to narrow down my favorite looks to a top five list, but somehow I managed to do it!

Number 5: Gwyneth Paltrow in Ralph & Russo Couture

Number 4: Reese Witherspoon in Tom Ford

Number 3: Sienna Miller in Oscar de la Renta ( the PERFECT Oscar de la Renta moment to honor his life this year by the way… this gown is so perfectly representative of him).

Number 2: Julianne Moore in Custom Chanel. Stunning.

Number 1: Rosamund Pike in Givenchy… unexpected, classic, beautiful, and a million times better than her Golden Globes look.  Perfect hair and makeup too!!

What were some of your favorites?

xo,

Grace

Lent!

Since Ash Wednesday two days ago I've been really trying to figure out something meaningful for me to do this year for Lent. Every year I do give something up (usually food related), but this year I felt like I needed to do something that would really and truly challenge me and apply to this quote that is my lenten guide this year--

So I gave myself some time to think about it, read this article which gave me a lot of inspiration, and decided on doing a two part 40 day preparation for Easter this year-- the first focused on preparing myself on the interior, and the second on helping others. I struggled about whether or not to blog about this but have decided to mostly to give myself motivation to stick to it! If you all know about it, you can help me stay on track!!

Part 1 (Interior): I am "giving up" being uselessly negative or critical about people, circumstances, or things in my life. I notice myself too often complaining about things, which really means doing nothing about them except sitting around and talking about them. Being negative or complaining fruitlessly just ends up making me feel bad. If there is actually a serious issue that is upsetting to me, I will do something proactive about it -- sitting around lamenting about things that are trivial does no good.

Part 2 (Exterior): I saw people doing this last year, and I think it is perfect for this season… the 40 bags in 40 days Challenge! So everyday from February 18- April 5 (Easter) I have to fill a bag with things to give away to charity (I'm going to give to my favorite, Goodwill). It doesn't always have to be a big bag or anything like that, it can be a sandwich bag! But the act of giving something that we don't need anymore to someone who will appreciate it, every single day, I think will be a great reminder about how we should be living our lives.

I really credit my Mom and Dad for, as long as  I can remember, encouraging me to give old toys, books, clothes etc to charity multiple times a year-- as it became something I love doing-- that is definitely something that Ben and I want to instill one day in our future children!

*I know that not everyone practices a religion or Christianity but, regardless, I hope this can be of interest to you! It is always fun to challenge yourself and give to others! 

Have a great weekend!!

xo, 

Grace

New York Fashion Week!!

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to travel to NYC for NYFW for the first time ever!! I am really thankful to my husband for encouraging me to go when I initially didn't think it would be possible with our schedules and new pup!

As you know, I am huge fan of Elaine Turner, and I was able to attend a party at her Madison Ave store ( so gorgeous by the way), meet some really incredible bloggers who truly have it together, and see some stunning accessories-- while sneaking a peak at the soon-to-come apparel line!

Here I am with the amazing Jenna of Lilly And Grant (check out her post featuring much more beautiful photos here), and Jessica of The Steele Maiden, and of course Elaine in between us all.

It was such an fun experience not only to meet a designer that I so admire, but also to see first hand the energy and excitement that the world of blogging can bring. Meeting people in person that you have enjoyed following and getting to know online is a very surreal experience.

Embarrassingly, and typical of me, those are the only two photos I took during my short New York Fashion week experience, but it was so much fun and I am seriously grateful for the invite and the opportunity!!

Check out this preview of Elaine's Apparel Line:

On a side note, I wanted to share a few pics of what "working from home" has looked like for me recently… our new little pup has become (what he believes to be)  my assistant in every little thing I do. He has a big personality for sure and loves to "help" me work on my laptop.

While I know I will really miss this in a few months when he is much bigger, it definitely makes getting things done a process! I wouldn't have it any other way, though!

xo, 

Grace

New Puppy!

As I mentioned last post, my husband and I just got a new puppy!! His name is Brutus and he is a 9 week old English Bulldog. Picking him up and bringing him home was a huge process as he was in North Carolina and we live in Florida, so we ended up driving 8 hours after picking him up… he did great though!!

Here are some pics:

There were two puppies in the litter, and my sister ended up buying Brutus's sister! Her name is Rosie and she is a sweet little princess!

So far, Brutus sleeps a lot, likes to play with toys, and is definetly teething. He loves to snuggle, and enjoyed going for walks for a grand total of two days when he decided he hated walking. Anytime we try to put a leash on him now he just sits down and whimpers! Hopefully it is just a phase. 

We love him so much!! If you want to see more pics you can follow the pups on insta: @brutus_and_rosie or me if you're not already: @gracie_mcd

Have a great President's Day and I'll be back Wednesday!!

xo,

Grace

Valentines, Galentines!

Hello!! It has been ridiculously long since my last post, and since then I have gotten married! This winter has been such a whirlwind but I can't wait to share all the details of our amazing wedding with you. Things have been so crazy recently, but in a really good way, a really great way actually! I was talking to one of my best friends on the phone yesterday about what was going on in our lives, stress about jobs, "real world" fears, and we suddenly, at the same moment, had the realization that it was all stuff we should be excited about, not stressed about! We are only in our early 20's for so long and life is too short to be negative.

That being said, one of my most favorite holidays is coming up-- Valentine's Day! I am so thankful for my sweet husband, family friends and Valentine's day is such a happy day to take time and show love!

Case in point, I am coordinating my Valentine's socks with my Valentines donut this morning. 

For those of you who know me personally or have been reading my blog for awhile, you already know that I have an obsession with hearts, so when Valentine's "stuff" starts hitting stores I have to physically restrain myself from stocking up on every single heart sweater, mug, purse, sock, earring etc. out there.

So let me do your galantine's shopping for you this year with a VERY edited down list of some of my favorite treats!!

1. Heart Sunglasses 2. I Heart You Pillow 3. Fossil Coin Purse 4.Striped Key Chain 5.Heart Measuring Cups 6. Ceramic Nesting Bowls 7. Travel Mug 8. Metallic Heart Magnet Board 9. Heart Travel Duffle

Have a great weekend!!

xo,

Grace

PS: we are getting a PUPPY this weekend !! I look forward to introducing you to him soon :)