Spring 2014 Wish List

First day of Spring is finally here and I am excited about the possibility of warmer weather being on its way! Even though I gave up shopping for lent, here are my top picks for this spring that you best believe might be waiting in online shopping carts to come my way the day after Easter!

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR // FIVE // SIX
What spring trends are y'all loving right now?

Sephora Favorities

Happy hump day friends! We are halfway to the weekend and what I hope will be some warmer weather up here in the North. If you visited me yesterday you saw that I've paired up with 4 other amazing bloggers to host a $75 gift card giveaway to Sephora! Today I'm sharing with you all seven of my favorite products from Sephora in hopes that you can find a new favorite product. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below!

one// Naked 3 by Urban Decay ($52): If you've been following my blog for a while, you've probably seen the numerous post I've done on wishing this Naked 3 eyeshadow palette could be mine. While at first it might seem a little pricey, the money I spent on my Naked 2 palette was the best money I've ever spent. I bought mine last spring and I have not even used half of it and it is a makeup product I use everyday. The Naked 3 is on my list because it has more of a pink palette that could brighten any face! two// Tsubaki Deep Hydration Sleeping Mask ($34): Anyone else out there suffer from super dry skin during the winter? No matter how much moisturizer I lather on my face, the dry skin always seems to pop back up halfway through the day. I was introduced to this product a few months ago and my life has been changed. You leave this mask on over night and wash it off in the morning. Not only is the dry skin gone, but your cheeks are left feeling smooth as a babies bottom! three// Be Legendary Lipstick ($20): Every young women needs a nice shade of red to wear out once in a while and this shade by Smashbox is my all time favorite. four// butter Nail Lacquer ($15): One of my favorite colors to paint my nails in the spring is a mature light (baby) pink. Besides Essie, butter is my go to polish and I love the way this beautiful polish adds color to any spring day! five// Pure Beauty Blender ($20): The shade of my face changes with the seasons but I'm not a huge fan of always having to buy new foundation. This blender works magic and allows me to keep my favorite two foundation shades throughout the year while making the transition from my face to my neck look natural.  six// Pout-o-matic Spa Powered Lip Treatment ($48): Okay, this one might be 110% completely random but I love it. I do not like dry, cracked lips...eww! I used to use a scrub almost on a daily basis but this treatment will last for a week! It doesn't hurt one bit and literally makes your lips so smooth and kissable! seven// Stay Flawless 15-hour Primer ($32): Primer became my best friend about a year ago and I'm not sure how my makeup stayed on before I started using it. I love this 15-hour primer because it literally last as long as it's name states. 

Life Could Be a Dream // The Modern Tulip // Southern Abundance // 

Denim & Daydreams // Ready or Not

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Valentine's Wish List

Oh my goodness gracious, can y'all believe it's already the last week in January? I feel like every month for the past year has flown by and I'm always left wondering where time has gone. This past week has been crazy with job travel and delay after delay in airports with the southern snow but I have finally made it to New Jersey!
With January on the way out, I've turned my focus to the holiday of love. Aka Valentine's Day! Now don't get me wrong, I love any excuse to get dressed up and have a fancy meal out with my hunk of a boyfriend, but I also feel that the way we treat someone on February 14th should be how we treat them all year. Anyone else agree with me? This is even a more true feeling with me this year as I'm on the road and won't be anywhere near Josh to celebrate, so I guess we will be having a good ole' Skype date! 
Even though I don't like to go super overboard for this holiday, I still have my eyes on a few favorite things that I wouldn't mind having shipped my way. I mean a girl can dream right? So here are my 2014 Valentine favorites:

1: Kate Spade Be Mine Pave Stud Earrings: $48 2: NYX Matte Lipstick Pale Pink: $14 3: Naked3: $52 4: Kate Spade Polka Dot Phone Case: $40

Five on Friday

Happy Friday sweet friends...we made it! I've been looking forward to Five on Friday all week as I missed it last week due to my short notice visit to Nashville.  So without further to do, I'm teaming up with April for this week's post. Let's get started: [ONE] I am finally caught up on all the Bachelor episodes from this season. I may have stayed up way past my needed bedtime last night to finish watching them on Hulu Plus and thank goodness I am back on track! Luckily this week I don't travel till Tuesday so I'll be able to see the episode on Monday night AND the thing I've been looking forward to for days months.... Sean and Catherine's wedding! I cannot wait to see what her wedding dress looks like. 

[TWO] So one thing I'm looking forward to when I get off the road is purchasing a "big girl camera" aka a DSLR camera. But, I need some help! Those of you that have a DSLR, what brand/style do you use? Are you happy with it? Any other recommendations you might have would be great! 

[THREE] Last night I submitted my North Carolina teaching application and I can finally mark that off my list as one step closer to being a teacher! While I love the job I have now and would not trade the experience for anything, my little heart has been waiting to have a classroom of its' own and I cannot wait till I get off the road to find my teaching position!

[FOUR] Tuesday I head back up to New Jersey and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will see some snow. You would think with all the traveling that I've done that I would have seen some but nope, sure haven't! I already told the girls to get a big bowl of clean snow from this last storm and save it for me in the freezer. I think I'm going to teach them how to make snow cream!

[FIVE] One thing I just can't stand about winter is how chapped my lips always become. Like y'all,they get to the point sometimes where they are so dry they crack. Any one else out there suffer from this? Well my sweet friend A. Bax introduced me to Aquaphor last weekend and I'm obsessed now. You can find it in the lotion aisle at any drug store and it has worked wonders on my lips! You can also use it as lotion but I tried it once on my hands and it was way too greasy. My lips though, they are as soft as a baby's bottom!

 

Stylin' and Profilin'

With winter in full swing across the country, I constantly find myself day dreaming of warm spring weather and days weeks spent by the ocean this summer. Anyone else with me? A fashion obsession that has come about in me the past few years has been sunglasses. Okay, who am I kidding? Sunglasses used to drive me nuts! When I traveled overseas in high school I refused to wear sunglasses because I always thought they would get in my way of "seeing the world". It was not until recently that I found a style of sunglasses that I loved! I've started researching the style and brand that I would like to buy when I come off the road in May and I can now officially add Warby Parker to my wish list!

 Palm Canyon Collection

When I discovered Warby Parker, I fell in love with their new line of eyeglasses and sunglasses that have just been released in their Palm Canyon Collection. They've refreshed some of their best-loved frames in a Palm Springs palette of mesquite, acacia, ironwood, and sand. The design and constructing of the patterns took over a year to perfect and no two pairs are alike. Currently I am swooning over their Winston style sunglasses in Cognac Tortoise and would do anything to add them to my spring and summer wardrobe! Aren't they just darling? And don't worry, for those of you that need prescription lens in your sunglasses, Warby Parker offers that in any of their shades for both men and women. 

Winston

I'm also eying their Preston Red Canyon eyeglasses and wishing something this beautiful was around in elementary school when I had to wear some not so stylin' lens of my own!

Preston

One thing that makes me love this company even more is their mission to "build a company that does good in the world". For every pair of sunglasses and eyeglasses that they sale, they provide a pair to someone in need. Did y'all know that a pair of eyeglasses can improve someones productivity by 20%? As an educator, that just blows my mind! 

Warby Parker

Oh, and did I also mention that with both their sunglasses and eyeglasses you can pick five pairs, have them shipped to your home, and for five days you can try them out to see which ones you like best? You then select the style you want, pay for it, and the rest are shipped back to Warby Parker for free! How cool is that?

Home Try-On

Now that I am done falling in love with this company, which design is your favorite? I also want to remind you all that my first giveaway ends tonight at 11:59PM EST. Don't forget to enter for your chance at winning your very own copy of the awesome book, Blog Inc.!

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Stocking Stuffers for Her

Over the past few years, I have really fallen in love with Christmas stockings and the goodies that can fill them! Josh's grandparents have a long tradition going of hand making each grandchild a stocking when they are born and then filling them throughout the year with gift cards and small items. These are then part of the gifts they receive on Christmas day. I've been lucky enough to have been added to the stocking receiving list two years ago and now get my own beautiful stocking full of goodies every Christmas. I decided to create a post for things that any girl would swoon over if they landed in their stocking this year... and better yet, they are all $25 or under! 

1. Kate Spade Thermal Mug: $18
2. Kate Spade Tickled Pink Card Set: $25
3. Coach Poppy Rollerball: $22
4. Essie Nail Polish: $8
5. Victoria Secret Color Drama Lipstick: $14

What's on your stocking stuffer wish list?

Wishful Wednesday

Hey blogger friends!

Happy Wednesday :-) Apologizes once again for no post the past few weeks! I have been traveling to a new school/state every 4 days so once I catch my breath it's time to move again. However, I'm currently enjoying my last week on the road before Thanksgiving in beautiful Alabama! 

With Christmas (and my birthday) upon us, I decided to show you all some of the top things I'm being wishful for this year! Let me know what you think:

Lilly Pulitzer: Shopper Tote

Marley Lilly: Monogrammed Vest

Nars: Blush 

Mint Julep: Good as Gold Top 

A trip to the Baltimore House 

What are some of the things you're wishing Santa will bring to you this year?

Currently Loving

Currently I am loving pink items that support Breast Cancer Awareness. With so many companies selling "pink" items, I figured I would feature a few of my personal favorites that actually donate back to breast cancer awareness. Check them out and let me know what you think!

1. Aveda Hand Relief ($24.50 and $4 goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation) / 2. Bobbi Brown's French Pink Set ($45 and $10 goes to the The Breast Cancer Research Foundation) / 3. Estée Lauder Evelyn Lauder Dream Solid Perfume Compact ($49.50 with 100% of proceeds donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation) / 4. Tweezerman Precision Slant Tweezer ($22 with $1 going to Susan G. Koman Foundation) 

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?

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)