happy easter.

Happy Happy Easter! 

I hope your day was filled with as much goodness as these cute sweet treats! :) 

xo

spring must-haves.

When I was traveling all over NC, SC, & GA a few weeks back I had some lovely guest bloggers help me out! Natasha, Lindsay & Katie all posted about their Spring must-haves. 

I decided I'd do the same ... While at the same time sharing a secret with y'all. 

I am a shopaholic. Like really. It's bad. Disturbing. And I can't stop. 

HOWEVER, until this little lady finds herself gainfully employed again {hate you job searching} the shopping has been at a minimum. 

Notice I didn't say non-existant. 

{shopping MUST exist, right?}

So this season I came up with a list of my must-haves ... I believe you must update your wardrobe with at least a few things every season {I told you ... HUGE SHOPPING PROBLEM}

~ I am loving all things crocheted this season. And this dress is adorbs. Could go a little dressy with heels or super casual with flat gladiators? 

~ These Sam Edelman shoes are perfection in my book. Perfect color to take you all the way through Summer and closed enough to start wearing early Spring. LOVES.

~ Now y'all know I am dying for a maxi skirt ... This Free People one is too cute! Love the colors and the pattern! 

~ Totally digging florals right now too ... But sometimes they can be too busy or childlike for my taste. This Joie top is gorg. I love the muted colors and the different floral patterns! 

~ As much as I love dresses, I love to dress up a pair of shorts! And these are too cute ... Different than the cutoff denims you see everywhere! Mix these with the Joie top and SE shoes ... perfection! 

~ Do y'all love gingham as much as I do? Lindsay did a whole post while I was gone and made me desperate for some new gingham in my closet! 

~ I feel like I've been talking about flare leg jeans  a lot! Well I finally bought these from GAP when they offered me 30% off! {check it out! discount ends today!}

~ I adore fedoras! Perfect for the beach or for those days that you just don't feel like washing your hair! {every weekend day for me! TMI?}

~ ROMPERS! heart them! In big big ways! They're so easy and so cute! I love the 3/4 sleeves on this one and the button shoulders! 

So that's my list y'all! 

What's on your Spring must-have list? Or am I the only one who does this? 

Happy Saturday Y'all! 

{guest post} Keep Calm & Carry On

Well, I must admit 

... 

I'm a little sad to be wrapping up my guest posts for this week ... 

It's been TOO much fun! 

Today I'd love to introduce the ADORABLE Katie from Keep Calm & Carry On! 

She's the cutest ... I love reading her blog everyday and am OH SO EXCITED that she's sharing all her Spring faves with us today! 

It's all yours Katie ... 

Hey ladies! Katie here, from Keep Calm and Carry On. I feel honored that Lauren asked me to guest blog for her while she's off traveling making all of us jealous. With Spring right around the corner, she couldn't have picked a better topic - Spring Must Haves! Coming from a girl who can't stand winter and loves all things spring and summer time, it may be hard to narrow this list down :) 

Here's my spring must-haves...

1. Fresh flowers - at your house, apartment, work desk, boyfriends place...wherever you reside. I like to place them in my kitchen and on our kitchen table. They instantly brighten up the space and give you that spring feeling inside for when you can't be outside! Anybody else feel this way? Daisies and tullips are my favorites.

2. Light pink nail polish. I'm currently loving Essie's - Fiji worn by Emily on the Bachelor. I traveled to just about all our local Target's in my city to score a bottle of it! The color just screams spring to me.

3. A trendy lightweight raincoat. I love to have an excuse to wear a cute raincoat. I live in Ohio and the weather is extremely unpredictable (to put it lightly) so I really wanted to find a raincoat I could wear for all the unexpected rain showers we are certain to get this spring. I found this really afforable raincoat at Charlotte Russe. It's extremely versatile and I love the lace detail on the sleeves. 

4. Chiffon is huge right now and is perfect for spring time. Express has so many different options right now for fun, bright shirts that you can wear to work but also dress up for a night out.

5. A striped or colorful, comfortable blazer. Girls, I love wearing blazers. You could say that they are 'my thing'. I got the coral blazer pictured above for $35.00 and I wear it all the time. They always add extra umph (love that word) to an outfit. But I especially love them for those spring nights when it's a little chilly to be wearing a tank top or short sleeve shirt and you can just throw them on.

6. Tory Burch Revas. No other words. Comfort and cute all in one and perfect with skinny jeans! I personally am loving the silver and gold ones.

7. How could I leave out Easter candy? They are most definitely a spring must have. From Peeps and Reese Cups to Starburst Jellybeans (clearly this girl doesn't discriminate with candy), I just can't escape the aisles of them at the grocery store. It's like they are yelling at me "you know you want to...you know you want to" so then I...cave into the sugar love/misery.

Well...those are my spring must haves. What are yours? I would love to hear them! I hope you enjoyed reading and make sure to stop on over at my blog and say Hi!

Katie

THANKS KATIE! 

I too love TB Revas ... Perfect with any outfit! And Easter candy ... 

Oh my! I cannot EVER resist a Reeses Easter Egg!! E.V.E.R!!!

Y'all be sure to stop by Keep Calm & Carry On and tell Katie 'HEY!'!!! :)  

I hope you ladies have had a PHENOM week! Can't wait to catch up when I get back! xo! 

{guest post} Schue Love

Ahhh! I'm LOVING all my fab guest bloggers this week! 

{thanks for helping me out ladies!}

And I'm so excited to introduce Natasha from Schue Love ... I am SO SO happy to have met this lovely lady! 

She's the sweetest and always has the most incredible recipes, house pics, and clothing must-haves to share! 

I won't make y'all wait any longer!

 ... 

Take it away Natasha! 

I can't tell you how excited and honored I am to be guest posting for Lauren today!  She is such a lovely little lady and I always look forward to reading her blog and seeing what she's up to!  And readers, how fabulous is her wedding story??  *Love!*

  Lauren asked me to post on spring which officially started this week and I hope the weather quickly follows (at least in the Tahoe area!).  In the meantime, here are all the things I'm flinging over for spring:

 {via}

Nothing says spring to me like bright and sunny daffodils!  They epitomize the season and I can't get enough of them!

{via}

I'm a huge fan of pinks and corals in the spring!  It just seems appropriate to bust out the bright colors...though the grays and browns definitely help to anchor an outfit.

{via}

Ok, really?  I cannot get enough of these cute little chick pops!  They are adorable...too cute to eat!

{via}

I cannot wait for the day I can start my garden up again!  I am always envious of those who have gardens all year long...there is something so enchanting about them.

{via}

I just die over this design...all the bright yellows and greens...contrasted of course with the stark crisp white furniture.  Totally in love!

{via}

What's better than spring flowers and cupcakes?  AND jellybeans!  Done and done...these are sure to be a show-stopper for any spring party this season.

{via}

I think this sums up spring nicely...and definitely inspires me to want to garden.

Thanks for having me Lauren!  I'm now officially looking forward to the arrival of Spring!

xo natasha

{all images via Pinterest}

Thanks Natasha! I'm so glad you came over to visit today! :) 

And can I please have those chick pops?! And of course the cupcakes! 

Ok! EVERYTHING on this page!! :) 

Happy Tuesday Y'all! Be sure to pop over to say 'HEY!' to Natasha!


*** Oh! I'm going to Charleston Fashion Week tonight and could not be more excited! Hopefully I'll be able to snap some Twitter acceptable pics! *** 

{guest post} Vineyard Loveknots

As I'm sure SO many of you now know 

... 

I'll be doing some SERIOUS traveling this week! 

As I started thinking about being gone {and with not much access to y'all!} I realized that I am SO SO lucky to have met so many fabulous ladies through blogland and even MORE lucky/thrilled that some of my FAVES have agreed to guest post for me! 

First up ... 

The FABULOUS Lindsay from Vineyard Loveknots! I've just recently 'met' Lindsay and instantly fell in love with her & her adorable blog! 

{you'll think that sounds less creepy once you meet Lindsay too!}

So no more delays ... 

Readers, Lindsay ... Lindsay, Readers! 

Hi all! Lindsay here from Vineyard Loveknots. Excited to be filling in for Lauren today while she has a blast in Charleston! I can't wait to hear all about her trip.

One of my favorite spring prints is gingham. 

Here were a few pieces that caught my eye. 

L.L. Bean

Fabric Belt Toroise, Gingham in China Blue $24.95

Vineyard Vines

Banyan Gingham Tucker Shirt in Peony $98.50

Lilly Pulitzer

Franco Dress in Lush Green Glady Gingham $198

Top Shop

Gingham Top Frame Flat Top Sunglasses

Throwback! 

Does anyone remember this perfume from Bath & Body Works? I think it was one of the first I ever owned.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

~Lindsay

I  ADORE gingham too! 

And I feel a DESPERATE need to add those shades to my wardrobe! :) 

Thank you SOOOOO much Lindsay for kicking off this week of awesome guest bloggers! 

march daydreams.

With March LITERALLY just around the corner, I've been doing some SERIOUS Spring daydreaming ... 

I know we're still 22 days away {yes, I'm counting} and even though NC has been known to have snow in March ... 

When I flip my calendar page to March 1 ... Spring is here {in my mind}! 

Weird? I just hate Winter ... there I said it ... I.HATE.WINTER! 

Here's what I've been daydreaming about: 

{grill}{patio}{skirt}{sweater}{vegetables}{flowers}

~ Grilling! Dear Weber, I have missed you so ... Y'all, I cannot describe how much I love grilled food ... Of ANY description! And I cannot wait until I can send hubs out back to throw some yumminess on our dear old grill! :)

~ Outdoor eating! Doesn't it go right along with grilling? Now I know that some people have an aversion to dining outside because of the pesky bugs that can come with it ... But it is one of my all time favorite things to do! I could sit around an outdoor table with friends for HOURS! 

~ Short skirts ... with NO TIGHTS underneath! I will admit that I am one of the firsts to start wearing shorts, skirts, and dresses come Spring-ish weather ... I think it's my way of boycotting Winter in its final days! And don't y'all just love this little mustard number from GAP?!

~ Lightweight cardis! Now because as I said I like to wear shorts, skirts, dresses when the weather isn't ALWAYS warm enough, my closet MUST be fully stocked with things to layer up top! And this ruffly cardi from GAP would be the perfect addition! :) 

~ VEGETABLE GARDEN! I love planting vegetable gardens and ever since I started planting my own {instead of just helping my Dad plant his} I've become more and more daring each year and added more things to my garden! That being said, this will be the first year I actually get to plant one IN THE GROUND! {weird right? read here for more info!} I've already started preliminary plans for some Spring 'crops' {first time for that too!} and I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt! 

~ Who doesn't love Spring flowers? Tulips ... Daffodils ... I love them all! 

So that's what I've been daydreaming up ... What are your Spring daydreams? A must have outfit? A veggie garden? A flower garden? A nice "Spring Break" trip? {geees, I wish I still had SB!}

Happy Saturday Y'all! Hope everyone has a great one! xo! 

{serious} case of the mondays.

And I blame the weather! 

I don't know about y'all but I am O-V-E-R winter! This has been SUCH a cold one! Since B & I have moved back to NC from Charleston, it's snowed THREE times! I never remember winters being like this ... And I was only gone 4.5 years ... I couldn't have forgotten THAT much! :) 

So today ... I've been online shopping and blog-hopping to cure my very serious case of the Mondays! 

And y'all there are some CUTE things out there! 

I'm loving the new Spring looks ... What do you think? 

via GAP

via GAP

via Piperline

via Piperline

via ShopBop

What are y'all loving for Spring? 

Spring!!!

Ok, Ok maybe I'm exaggerating... But it was gorgeous in Charleston today! (Could have been slightly less windy and maybe a little warmer, but beggers can't be choosers!)

So Tux (our dog) and I spent much of the afternoon outside planning our garden! After all, it's about time to start planting some seeds. Bryan and I live in a townhouse and our EXTREMELY strict HOA says that we can't plant ANYTHING in our yards... I don't usually complain because they do all the upkeep in our yard but I do love fresh veggies in the summer. So last year, I planted some peppers, tomatoes, lettuces, and herbs all in containers and let me tell you... I was VERY happy with the results!

This year we're upping the anty... Here's what I (with the help of my friendly assistant Tux) decided on today..

- tomatoes
- peppers
- carrots
- squash
- cucumbers
- strawberries
- lettuce
- spinach
- and a variety of herbs!

I am so excited! Now... I'm on a mission for more pots and of course all my seeds! Here's to hoping my green thumb continues to prosper!

Oh spring, where are you?

One of the latest trends this season are rompers and jumpsuits... And I personally LOVE the idea of a grown-up onesie! I am desperate for a romper, however, a new spring wardrobe is not really in our bugdet right now! But a girl can dream right? Well that's what I was doing today... And let me tell you, my dreams started out BIG!

With Trina Turk at Bloomingdales to be exact...


This one is also from Bloomingdale's and was a LITTLE more affordable...


I LOVE this one and I think I could convince the hubster that it's in the budget!It's from Forever 21!


And I've never shopped at Lulu's (Does anyone know what their quality is like?) before but I found this one there... It's called 'Lawn Party'... How cute??