May Favorites!

Hi everyone and happy FRIDAY!

In honor of this beautiful Friday in May I thought I would share some of my favorite things from this month.  May has been a busy month for me… moving from NC to FL, graduating from college, and starting to tackle the world of job finding.  It has been a month filled with fun and change, welcoming spring and looking forward to summer!

So, with that said, here are my favorite random discoveries from the month of May!

1. Birthday Cake Oreos.  These things are SO GOOD. I have a huge sweet tooth and love all things having to do with cake, and this Oreo tastes exactly like birthday cake with all the satisfying crunch and deliciousness of an Oreo. AMAZING.

2. Clarisonic Mia 2 in pink. My amazing finance surprised me with this as a graduation present and I am so impressed with it so far. After just one use my skin already felt incredibly smooth and clean. Plus, I love the pink color!! I know that this has been out for a while now, but if you don't have one, you should seriously consider getting one.

3. Uncommon Goods. This website is awesome and they sell the coolest gifts. My aunt got Ben and I a super cool roadsigns print as an engagement gift from here, and also gave me a beautiful bracelet for graduation from the same site. I had never heard of it before, but just scanning through I already have found lots of potential gifts for other people   things i want for myself. 

4. Anne Taylor Lemon Drop Sundress.  My sister and I always used to go to Anne Taylor with my mom when we were little so that she could buy work clothes and I always thought it was such a boring store.  I don't know if it is because I've gotten older or if they've re-invented themselves, or maybe both, but recently I've been loving it!! I just bought this Lemon Dress the other day at 40% off and I am obsessed with it! Perfect for summer and so cheerful! 

5. Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue.  To me this is the perfect summer scent, fresh, light, and airy. It makes me feel happy when I wear it and puts a smile on my face!

Have you had any fabulous discoveries this month? Do you love any of these things as well?

Have an amazing weekend!

xo, 

Grace

College Graduation Style!

Hi friends! So sorry I missed Monday's "Moving Monday" post, but I graduated from college that morning and had a very busy day celebrating with family and friends! It was a great experience and I am so thankful that my family came out to support me and share in the festivities.

Former New York Times editor Jill Abramson, who was fired only days before our commencement, was our graduation speaker.  I was unsure whether she would address the issue or not, as there has been some contrevorsy about her dismissal. She ended up facing it head on and framed her speech around resilience. I thought it was excellent and one of the best speeches I've heard.
If you want to read more about it, here you go: Jill Abramson at Wake Forest University 

I knew I wanted to wear white for the baccalaureate and commencement ceremonies, so I've been looking for white dresses for months now.  I had such a hard time and didn't end up finding anything new that I liked, so I ended up wearing two white dresses I already had.

For baccalaureate, I wore this Morning Dew Dress from Shabby Apple. My mom introduced me to Shabby Apple and it is one of my favorite places to online shop. It has a fun vintage feel, unique pieces, and excellent quality.

I don't have any solo shots of me where you can really see the dress, but here I am with family and then on the right, a shot of the dress from the website.

For graduation, I wore the same dress my sister had worn two years earlier when she graduated from Duke.  The brand is Muse and we found it in a boutique in Charleston SC.  It was perfect because it was very comfortable to sit around in for the 4.5 hour ceremony, simple, and easy to move around in.   Plus, it made me really happy to know that my sister wore it too!

For shoes, I wore some of my favorites:  Elaine Turner Ariel Wedges. They were the perfect pop of pink, comfortable, and fabulous. 

Happy graduation to everyone else who graduated or is graduating this May/June! And THANK YOU to my family and friends who made this dream a reality for me! I love you!

xo, 

Grace

Currently Coveting: Animal Print Interiors!

Hi guys and happy Friday! Woo-hoo we made it to the weekend!

As promised, here is my first Freestyle Friday post. Today, I am going to share with you what I am currently coveting in the decorating world. I am a big fan of animal prints in general, but have never really branched out into incorporating them into my personal decorating style and am feeling more and more tempted to.

When I see an animal print used in a room or in an outfit (especially cheetah or leopard) I associate it with a neutral.  For that reason, animal printed furniture and accessories are really fun to pair with prints and colors as they are overall less attention demanding than busier prints.

From accent chairs, to accent pillows, recently I just cannot get enough.

Do you love animal prints as much as I do?! Do any of you have them in your home and if so, how?

xo, 

Grace

Updates Updates: A Long Time Overdue!!

Hi Everyone! So I realize my absence recently has been unacceptable.  That being said, I have been busy recently with some very EXCITING things (cough cough Moving) and this post is a crash course of all that I have been up to recently, as well as a new start to my commitment to posting every Monday, Wednesday, Friday starting TODAY :) Here is the schedule:

Monday: Moving Monday- New life in Florida, adjusting to a new city, home decorating progress, etc.
Wednesday: What I Wore Wednesday- Style, Fashion, Remixing my closet, Steals and Deals
Friday: Freestyle Friday- A surprise category of whatever I happen to be inspired by that week

I hope you enjoy the new structure and I look forward to connecting back with you guys! Thank you for being patient with me!

For those of you who do not know, I recently moved from North Carolina, where I have lived for over 22 years, to central Florida! I am so excited about this move and new phase of my life.  I've been here for about a week now and its been a great one. Admittedly, I've made way less headway with unpacking than I would have thought, but I'm taking it one day/box at a time. The great thing about moving as far as I did is that it forced me to really think hard about each and every object/article of clothing I own and decide two things:

Do I LOVE it?

Do I NEED it?

If the answer was no to both of those, then I drove it straight over to my local goodwill (with the help of some really wonderful friends).

My fiancé's father was generous enough to drive down a Uhaul FULL of my life's possessions and furniture, while I trailed behind for the 10 hour drive.  We only made two stops… one to eat a delicious dinner somewhere in the middle of Georgia, and two to run out of gas less than an hour away from our destination (what's a move without a little adventure?!).

I learned two very valuable lessons during this move.
1. Loading/Unloading and moving stuff in and out can be super un-stressful if you decide not to make it stressful.  It was seriously 50 times easier than I thought it would be.  Sure, little things went wrong, but we took it all in stride.
2. Audio books ROCK. I was skeptical about listening to an audiobook for the drive down because so many people told me that they make them sleepy. I decided to give it a try and I am not kidding you, the time FLEW. Since then, I have bought and listened to 3 more audiobooks for while I'm driving, unpacking, even working out!! I am now audio book obsessed.

In the past week, I have also finished my undergraduate education!! With four finals, two presentations, and two papers under my belt for this last semester, I have officially completed my senior year of college and graduate this coming Monday. Being an almost college graduate is something that I am very proud of and even more thankful for.

And not to mention, I am also in the middle of planning our WEDDING!


I hope you will join me as I embark on many new journeys this Summer and I look forward to sharing with all of you!!

XO, 

Grace

Spring Picks: Think Blue!

In light of my last post on Autism Awareness Month, I thought that I would share some of my favorite blue spring fashions under 50 dollars! Blue is one of my favorite colors to wear and decorate with... It just makes me happy.  Plus, anytime you wear blue in April you can support Autism Awareness!

1. Tie Dye Maxi Dress 2. Flutter On By Strapless Top  3. Mesh Insert Cross Back Tank 4. Lush Lace Insert Skater Dress 5. Billabong Sea Me Dreaming Blue Anchor Print Top

Enjoy and Happy Shopping!

xo, 

Grace

Autism Awareness Month: Support Autism Speaks

Tonight's post is a bit out of the ordinary for me, but it regards something I am truly passionate about.

The entire month of April is Autism Awareness Month, a cause very near and dear to my heart.  If you do not know about the advocacy organization Autism Speaks, you should check them out and consider giving your time, money, talents, or anything else you may have to bringing awareness to Autism.  In 2013, it was released that 1 in every 50 children is diagnosed with Autism, up from 1 in 500 in just 1995.  
Let's work together to bring understanding, love, and hope to the amazing families and children who live with autism everyday.  Let's work together to wipe away ignorance.

Please consider donating directly to Autism Speaks, or reading through their website to learn more about autism and how you can make a difference.  Nordstrom is also selling a wonderfully scented candle by Nest that gives proceeds to Autism Speaks-- a great way to contribute!

Nest Candle (Nordstrom)

I will be getting involved this month by wearing all blue one day a week, and committing to donate double the amount I spend on buying coffee this month directly to Autism Speaks.  I invite you all to join me in any way you can!!

xo, 

Grace

New Favorite!

Hi Friends! I hope you are doing well! I had a great week celebrating my birthday.  I was fortunate enough to get to visit my fiancé this weekend in Florida and we had an amazing weekend. I am so excited that in just over a month I will be moving down there!!

Anyway, tonight's post serves as a public service announcement to all you ladies out there with tender scalps or long, tangly, fine, thick, or unruly hair.  I recently discovered The Wet Brush when I went to get my hair done by the fabulous woman who will be doing hair for our wedding!

To be totally honest with you guys, when stylists  start recommending me products, I basically just nod my head and smile knowing that there is no way I will be purchasing any of them.  While I love a great product as much as anyone else, that stuff can really add up!!

This was the rare time where I actually thought: "I NEED THIS!!"

The Wet Brush is like a miracle worker.  My hair is wavy, super thick, and fine; no matter how much conditioner or de-tangler I slather onto it, combing my hair out of the shower is always a battle that I do NOT look forward to.

The Wet Brush has changed all of this for me! It glides pain free through my wet, tangly, hair and it has brought so much ease to my post shower hair care routine! I highly highly recommend it!

Enjoy your Tuesday night!

xo, 

Grace