I'm going to be a....

When I woke up Thursday morning, I thought the highlight of my day would be seeing Luke Bryan that night. Which was nothing compared to what happened in my kitchen that morning as I got ready for work. I'm ironing my clothes, hair in a horrible bun, oversized camo shirt on, and soffee shorts that I'm beginning to wonder if they ever fit properly, when my mom walks in looking weird. She had this look on her face like she had a secret. My first thought? Oh, gosh, she hit my truck. But close behind her follows my very best friend, Samantha. 

Sam and I met on the very first day of 9th grade. I'm sitting in homeroom with my new outfit hoping it was the right choice, my new billabong purse on my desk with my highlighters (in rainbowic order), trying to hold down my breakfast. As Sam slid into the seat next to mine and plopped her purse down, I noticed, she had the same purse with her highlighters in order, too. This was just the beginning of our "telepathic" friendship. We spent the next nine months sharing old bay covered chicken fingers, coloring pictures and writing notes to each other during class, and meeting up after 4th block to talk about our current crushes. I knew when I started 9th grade that I would only be there for a year, a new high school was being built closer to me, and I'd finish the next three years there. I never imagined that leaving 9th grade would be hard. I was scared that not going to school with Sam anymore would be the end of our friendship and while I never really cared about that sort of thing before, I couldn't imagine the rest of high school without her. 

Luckily, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Our parents spent the next year and a half graciously carting us back and forth every. single. weekend. to each other's houses. Once we got our licenses, we were free women (as long as we were home by 11). This started a new chapter of life that included stalking the hot boys' houses, wondering why the heck her truck is parked in his driveway, countless Rita's trips, more Mcdonald's double cheeseburgers than we'll ever admit, buffalo wild wings literally every weekend, and never being more than 17 minutes (for me, 13 for her... lol) away from each other when we needed our other half. We spent holidays together, took family vacations together, double dated, and basically were known by our families and the rest of town as a package deal. When she left for college, I was devastated. More than devastated. A lot of things happened in college. A lot of times we were there for each other and a few times we weren't. A lot of things changed. A lot of things seemed different. But when you show up on the first day of 9th grade, twinning with a girl you never met, you don't let her go. Ever. 

Thursday morning, Sam asked me to stand next to her while she marries the love of her life. After nine years of planning our dream weddings time and time again, this is actually happening for her. And I want to cry and scream and hug her and tell everyone I know all at the same time. She is going to be the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. She and Hayley will have a gorgeous wedding because the love that is shared between them is one of the most true and precious things I have ever witnessed. I am so happy that they are allowing me to help make their day special. I am so excited to start my bridesmaid duties and pray that I can do whatever I can to make this day perfect for them. Congratulations, my best friend. You deserve all the happiness in the world! 

Here's a couple of my favorite pictures of Sam and I over the last 9 years: 

xx

Never Pay Full Price for Lilly Again

I've been collecting Lilly Pulitzer since my junior year of college and what I hear more often than not is how do you afford this or why waste so much money? The answer to both questions is easy: I'm not. I'm not affording this and I'm certainly not wasting money. Confused yet? Let me explain. Up until Memorial Day 2015, I've never purchased Lilly at full price. So, technically, I'm not affording Lilly. I'm buying at much less than retail. And I'm not wasting money because if I were to go to Target or Old Navy and buy a pair of shorts, they'd be about $25, the same as I've paid for most of my Lilly. Now let me go into a little more detail on how I actually do this. 

1. The After Party Sale- I'm sure if you know and love Lilly, you've heard of this, but I'm including it anyways because this is how I score a lot of my pieces. The APS is held at the end of the summer on the official Lilly website. Items are discounted like crazy... I'm talking less than $40 for Delias crazy! It goes live at 8am and stuff goes fast, but that's kind of part of the hype! 

2. Rue La La // website- Rue La La is probably my second favorite way to score Lilly. Although, it's almost as rare as the APS, Rue La La only posts Lilly a few times a year and you have to be FAST to grab anything. The pieces I've ordered from Rue have been dirt cheap, meaning less than $30. You can sign up for email and texts alert through Rue La La so you never miss a sale. 

3. Facebook- Yes, that's right. Facebook. When I first found out about this, I was both impressed and skeptical. Over the last year though, I have become a member of over 25 buy/sell/trade Lilly groups on Facebook. These groups are perfect if you're searching for something specific (there are groups designated just to Lilly shorts, Elsas, even specific sizes). Simply comment with your paypal and it's yours! 

4. eBay- Of course, eBay is on the list. I almost hate to include it because eBay creates money hungry monsters who sell things 10x their retail price, buttttttt. You can also get the flip side to that and score pieces for a fifth of their retail. 

5. Instagram- This is probably the easiest way to buy discounted Lilly, but it's pretty hard to search for something specific. Just type in the hashtags: #lillypulitzerforsale, #relilly, or #buymylilly and be prepared to be amazed. Thousands of posts will pop up, now all you have to do is scroll. 

6. Rent The Runway // website- Rent the Runway is such a perfect invention. It's literally what you think: renting dresses. If you have a wedding, formal event, or you just want to have some fun, you can type Lilly Pulitzer in the search bar and rent gorgeous dresses for four or eight days for as cheap as $20. You can also rent accessories to complete the look. Whoever invented this was a pure genius. 

There are tons of other apps and sites you can use, but since I've never personally used those, I don't want to comment on them and steer you wrong. I've used all of the resources listed above to purchase almost all of my Lilly (I caved and bought two pairs of full price shorts...eeek!) and I will continue to use them over purchasing full price. Let me know if you use any of these listed above or if you have a great site/app I should check out! As always, happy shopping! 

xx

Harbor Fest

In my opinion, nothing quite beats Harbor Fest. Everything about Harbor Fest is appealing to me-- the hot weather, the crowds, the food, the boats, the fireworks, the vendors, the concerts. It's the kick off to the summer. 

Although the festival seemed smaller this year, it was still a blast. I got to wear my new sailboat Lilly (obsessed with RRR!), I won tickets to the racetrack, met a sorority sister of mine all the way from Florida, and I got to meet a real life mermaid! It was such a great day. 

Harbor Fest is the biggest and longest running maritime festival running for three days on the Elizabeth River. It celebrates nautical history and provides fun for the whole family. Historical ships are brought in from all over the world and attendees are given the opportunity to explore the vessels. Booths upon booths line the downtown Norfolk waterfront selling everything from homemade jewelry to nautical home decor. Companies rent spaces to promote their brands and products through fun games and activities. That's how I won tickets to the racetrack! Food vendors line waterside drive selling delicious fried foods and even more tasty drinks. There's various concerts, shows, even a performance by the United States Coast Guard to keep you entertained throughout the day. To top the day off, a beautiful fireworks show illuminates the Norfolk sky. If you've never experienced Harbor Fest, you have to add it to your 2016 Summer Bucket List! 

xx

Bridal Shower Gift Idea

decals // tumbler // koozie // tank top // makeup bag // tote bag

Saturday I attended a bridal shower for my beautiful friend and sorority sister, Kelsey. It was the very best shower I have ever been to. Seriously. It was at a beautiful river house with a killer view. The food was delicious, the games were a lot of fun, and the love for Kelsey was perfectly abundant. There was sangria, a tray of cupcakes, and enough chevron and teal to last Kelsey long into her happily ever after. The day was ideal. 

When I was deciding what to get Kelsey for her shower, I couldn't settle with a toaster or some kitchen towels. Those kind of gifts are obviously so much more practical and probably more of what she was hoping for (or else she wouldn't have registered for them, lol), but I wanted to do something specifically for her. Something that celebrated only her. For her birthday, her future hubs bought her a few things with her new monogram on it and I remember how much she LOVED that. Being our sorority's very own Miss Monogram (thank you very much), I knew that this would be the perfect gift for her.

I knew that I was going to get too excited and buy everything I could, so I tried to keep a price limit per item and get her the "monogram essentials". I tried not to spend more than $15 per item, of course that didn't happen, but there were a handful of things less than $10, so that counteracts.... right? This was so much fun to put together and I looked forward to opening the mailbox everyday and seeing the newest addition to the basket waiting on me! Of course, I ran into some items that were less than perfect and ran into some shops that could also be described as less than perfect, or just down right rude. But I also found some really incredible shops that produced really awesome products. I had a minor crisis 10 days before the shower, but a couple of these shops really helped me out and were so wonderful to rush my orders. Check out my favorite shops from this project (listed above) and tell them I sent you! I will definitely be ordering a few of these items for myself in the future! 

I'm so happy that Kelsey loved her gift and I am beyond thankful to have been included in such a special day for her. The day was classy, eloquent, and beautiful, just like her! Kelsey is one of the most special people I have ever met. Her heart is kind and caring, her personality is easy-going and determined, she is extremely giving and patient and understanding, and she is hilarious. These things and so much more tell me that she is going to be an incredible wife. I am so excited for her! Only 47 more days! I love you, Kels! 

xx