Friday, September 27, 2013

Five on Friday!

Hello Blogger Friends! I hope you all have had a wonderful last week of September! Where did this month go? It is hard to believe that October is just around the corner and fall will be in full force soon. Last week I had so much fun with the Five on Friday link up that I decided to participate again. If you have never looked at this link up I highly encourage you to visit A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness, or The Good Life Blog. Last week it provided me with so many new readers and I also found some pretty awesome bloggers to follow as well. So here's my five this week:

{One}
Tonight is my last night in Louisiana and I am so excited for a girls night in/out. My sweet hosts are taking me to the Louisiana Boardwalk here in Shreveport for some shopping, dinner, and then cheesecake! We have decided to bring our cheesecake home and have a night in watching chick flicks...how fun?!?!

{Two}
I am excited that tomorrow I will get to head back east and travel for 12 days in the beautiful state of Georgia. I'll be splitting my time between Americus and Augusta and cannot wait to see what my visit there holds!

{Three}
I also have to give a little shout out to my sweet little sister Kristen who received her bid from Zeta Tau Alpha this past weekend and is now a new member at my home chapter! I am so excited for her to experience this journey and glad that her heart fell in love with ZTA.

{Four}
So for a long time I have been obsessing over monograms necklaces but never bought one. However The Plaid Barn is having a HUGE sell today where you can buy one for $9.99...so of course I just bought the tortoise shell one!

{Five}
I am also really obsessing over the new Kate Spade Beau bags, especially the leopard print one. However, I'm not loving the price of $500-$900.


What are your plans for the weekend friends?



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Trendy Thursday

Fall fashion is something that I gush over every year. Sadly with my job of traveling with a suitcase, I won't get to participate in any cute fashion statements this fall (since I'm limited to 50 pounds and trying to save money), but that doesn't mean I can't dream right? So instead I created two outfits of inspiration for you all:

Growing up, I was always told that red was a color of confidence but until this past year I didn't really like wearing the color red. Now that fall is here, red and burgundy are the two colors I am crushing over. Isn't this a cute outfit to wear to work or your next interview? Not to mention the new Kate Spade bag that I would love to add to my Christmas list ;-)

 Who doesn't love an over sized sweater paired with boots and a big bag? Not to mention I threw in a red statement necklace! This Tory Burch boots are already on my Christmas list as well!

What are your favorite colors to wear in the fall?


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Ten Things I Love About The South

This week my job has me placed in Louisiana and not only is this my first visit to this beautiful state but I am falling more in love with it every day! The girls here tell me I'm in the "deep South" now and that my home of North Carolina is just "the South". I guess I didn't know there was a difference till today! For those of you who don't have the blessing of living anywhere in the South, I thought for today's post I would do something fun and introduce you to why I love the South. So here you go, here's my list:


{One}
SEC Football: If there is one thing you learn about me today it's that I love me some football; I could seriously watch it all day! My junior year of high school I fell in love with the South Carolina Gamecocks and to this day cheer for them every game. When I was in college my school didn't have a football team, which allowed my love for the Gamecocks to grow even more. To make the game of football even better, put two SEC schools up against each other and you have my attention for hours!

{Two}
ACC Basketball: In my humble opinion, there is no better conference than the ACC when it comes to basketball. Who can deny the biggest rival in basketball being Carolina vs. Duke? Well growing up I have always been a Carolina Tarheel fan. Carolina is where my dad and boyfriend both attended undergrad and I love the atmosphere of being in the "Dean Dome" on game days!

{Three}
Our Southern Drawl: No where else in the world can you say "y'all" and get away with it! It is just something about Southern dialect that makes my heart smile.

{Four}
Southern Plantations: Words cannot describe my love for Southern Plantations...but pictures can!



{Five}
Four Seasons: I am quickly learning in my travels that it really is true when people say some parts of the country "don't have" all four seasons. I love experiencing snow in the winter, beautiful flowers in the spring, ice cream days in the summer, and sweater days in the fall. 

{Six}
Pearls: I am sure that you've heard it before but almost every girl in the South owns a set of pearls. I am a little obsessed with mine in the fact that I wear my pearl earrings probably 5 days a week! But hey, I mean they go with any outfit :-)

{Seven}
Sweet Tea: No explanation...all I can say is when I landed in Louisiana after spending the last two weeks in Philly, first thing I got was a large sweet tea.

{Eight}
Food: Chick-fil-A, Cookout, Bojangles: If you ever visit North Carolina, you must go eat at these three places. Yes, they are all considered fast food but your life will forever be changed. Chick-fil-A is quickly expanding around the country but Cookout and Bojangles will forever be a southern staple. 

{Nine}
Pace of Life: While I love big cities, I don't know if I could fall in love with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Here in the South we take things a little more slow, and as I like to say I just love looking around at life. Families and communities mean the world to us southerners and play a huge part in our upbringing. 

{Ten}  
"Bless Your Heart":  Only in the South will this phrase be heard. And really the phrase says it all!

What are some of your favorite things about where you're from?


Saturday, September 21, 2013

A Southern Wedding

There is something about a wedding that just makes my heart smile! I love the way a groom looks at his bride and I love the way that two families become one. Two weeks ago Josh and I were blessed to be part of the wedding party for our dear friends Shelby and Kellan. Josh went to high school with Shelby but I did not get the chance to meet these two wonderful people until December 2010 when we traveled to Nashville, Tennessee for a UNC bowl game. It was an instant friendship and one that I will forever cherish and hold close to my heart. 

Kellan proposed to Shelby in May of 2012 in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. When they asked Josh and I to be part of their special day we could not have been more excited! Not only are Shelby and Kellan very grounded in their faith but they have spent their entire time of dating and engagement long distance...just like Josh and I. To see the two of them become one and celebrate the day with them was something I will never forget. I loved all the little details of this Southern wedding that was held in North Augusta, South Carolina and hope you will enjoy them as well! 


Josh and I at the rehearsal dinner. The beautiful pennants were individually cut out from fabric by Shelby's mom and sewn together by another bridesmaid, Larkin! Mixed with lights, they made for the perfect ceiling decor. 
All the bridesmaids wrote Shelby a letter to let her know how much she meant to each of us. We had her read the letters right before she put on her makeup and of course we all cried together!
One of my favorite details in every wedding is the dress. Isn't Shelby's beautiful? I had the honor of being in the fitting room when Shelby tried this dress on for the first time and realized it was "the one"! She could not have looked more beautiful! 
Not only were the bouquets beautiful, but I loved that Shelby randomly had Dogwood flowers placed among the pink roses. A wonderful reminder of her home in North Carolina. 

Shelby's something blue and something old. The pearl necklaces belongs to Kellan's sweet grandmother. 

Waiting for the right time to go out for her first look!


I have never seen a first look in person until I saw Shelby and Kellan have one. Three of us bridesmaid's could not stand to miss the moment so of course we found the closest window and crammed in! I started crying the moment I saw Kellan wipe tears from his eyes when he saw his beautiful bride! 

We took bridal party pictures at the beautiful Rosemary Inn in North Augusta. 

Seriously this moment made me bawl like a baby. After Kellan's grandmother saw Shelby at the church she asked me if I would take her to find Kellan. The minute she saw her grandson all dressed in his suit this beautiful moment happened and I just had to document it! 
With Shelby moments before she walked down the aisle. I am seriously in love with our bridesmaid dresses. Not only were there ruffles around the full collar but the dress had pockets!  
Now this was original! For their cocktail hour, Shelby and Kellan had a sno-cone truck come and make sno-cones for all the wedding guest on their way to the reception!  
Don't y'all just love the way a groom looks at his bride during their first dance?
Of course I had to sneak in a picture with my handsome boy! The groomsman wore gray suits with navy blue ties! 
Kellan performing a beautiful song that he wrote for Shelby!
To the bride and groom: thank you for allowing Josh and I to be part of your special day! We are so blessed for the friendship we share with you both and look forward to seeing Christ work through your marriage in all the years to come! We love you both!

What aspects of a wedding do y'all just love to pieces? Oh, and Happy Saturday!





Friday, September 20, 2013

Five on Friday!

Sorry for the delay in writing another post! I have spent so much time trying to read other blogs and spruce mine up for y'all that I got behind in writing However, I promise to start doing better!

I'm super excited to be joining my first link-up party and of course it's "Five on Friday"...hope you enjoy!



[ONE]


Y'all, fall starts this weekend! Can you believe it?!?! I am such a fall girl that it isn't even funny. Want to know why I love fall so much? Well fall contains the following: my birthday, anniversary with my wonderful boyfriend, unlimited college football, colored leaves, apple cider, brisk weather, Thanksgiving, pumpkin carving, sweater weather...I could seriously go on forever! 


[TWO]


The food here in Philly is to die for! I mean just look at that french toast above, who could not love that? My joke has been it's a good thing I'm leaving Philly Monday or else I might soon go into a food coma! 

[THREE]


Loving the fact that I got to spend the day with my sweet sorority sister (Katie) and experience the history of Philadelphia with her. Being a history minor in college I just die inside when I get to visit monuments that are so important to our country's history. Today I finally got to visit the Liberty Bell! 

[FOUR]


While I have really loved my time in the North, I am excited to get back down South on Monday! I've never been to Louisiana before but that's where my job has me headed for next week. Here's to lots of shrimp and good times :-)

[FIVE]


And last but not least on the list today, my thankfulness for this handsome guy! Spending the past four years with him has been such a blessing and I am so lucky to have someone who supported my decision to take a year off after school to travel and challenge myself with my dream job. Thank you Josh for being the world's most amazing and supportive boyfriend <3



Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Fall at the Ivy

As I believe I mentioned in my last post, my job has me stationed at the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) through next Monday. For those of you that don't already know, UPENN is an Ivy League school and being here has just blown my mind. Campus culture is so different here from the public university I attended in North Carolina, but at the same time I love it! If you are ever around Philadelphia, I highly encourage you to take a walk through the UPENN campus. From the moment you step foot on Locust Walk, you feel as if you've been transported back in time and thrown into a movie. The buildings are old architecture and every walkway is lined with big oak trees.

Today I had the chance to attend some classes in the fashion design program, which of course I could not turn down. We were each given the challenge of creating an outfit in 30 minutes using clothing from three different name brand stores. Catch was the entire outfit had to cost between $500-$750. We also had to use neutral colors and pick one accessory to add a pop of color too; hint the orange clutch! Now while I am no where close to having the money to buy this outfit, I'm hoping it might give you some inspiration for an upcoming fall shopping trip! Let me know what you think!




Jeans: J.CREW ($168)
Top: J.CREW ($98)
Jacket: LOFT ($108)
Heels: Anthropologie ($158)
Necklace: LOFT ($34.50)
Bangle: LOFT ($16.50)
Clutch: J.CREW ($158)


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade

Okay, so something you all should probably know about me right off the bat is I love me some pageants...okay maybe, I am obsessed with them! Growing up I was in a few pageants here and there and truly loved every moment. My dream since I can remember was always to see the Miss America in person. Well, today that dream became a reality. 

My job currently has me in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania for another week and the group of women I am doing leadership development with has a dear friend (and sorority sister) that won Miss Idaho this summer. Since Miss America finally returned home to Atlantic City, New Jersey we are only an hour away. I was telling them all about the famous "Show Us Your Shoes" parade and we all agreed that we had to go. It was my first time ever to New Jersey and even though we were only there for about five hours, I already want to go back! 

Let me just tell ya'll...I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning. I took 328 pictures over the span of a 2-hour parade and could not stop smiling. Not only did we get to see Miss Idaho, Sarah Downs, but we also got to see Miss America, the beautiful Mallory Hagan, herself. Needless to say, I was a little starstruck. After the parade I went and took a dip in the Atlantic Ocean. In case you arn't aware, a long standing tradition is that the morning after the new Miss America is crowned, she takes her first "official" photos running into the Jersey ocean. 

Take a look at some of my adventure today and let me know what y'all did this weekend!



Miss America 2013

With Miss Idaho, Sarah Downs 
My home state, Miss North Carolina