Hi Guys! Whoop whoop! Another work week almost donezo! Can't you tell I'm excited for the weekend? This past weekend I was able to get off work early and lay out by the pool, totally needed it! On Saturday we enjoyed some fun in the sun on the lake with great friends. 

Here is our "pre-lake" pic…

Poor Corey, he is a ghost but he did not fry and we were out in the sun the majority of the day. I was a proud wife. ;)

Being in the sun and outside always puts me in a better mood no matter what the case may be. It would be amazing to live somewhere near the water, maybe one day. 

Of course we had to get Mexican after being on the lake all day. Le duh. 

On Sunday, we went to church and then celebrated one of my best friend's 24th birthday. You have probably heard me mention Hannah in previous posts before. She was my old roomie throughout college and probably one of the only people who will put up with me.

I also had this cuddle buddie on Sunday. We discovered a new TV series together. I am now officially obsessed with Mad Men. Just what I need - another TV show to make me more worthless. Ha oh well. Sophie wasn't that into it. 

Memorial Day we enjoyed good food with family and friends. We cooked out with Corey's family for lunch and then with a sweet couple who is actually getting married in a couple of weeks. I absolutely love grilling out and have been making Corey do it more often since the weather finally permits. 

Here's my Memorial Day outfit. 

Top: Lauren Conrad - Kohls

Shorts: Vineyard Vines 

Shoes: Tory Burch 

Stack: Michael Kors, David Yurman &
some bourbon and boweties inspired bracelets I made myself. ;) 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and here's to almost the weekend after tomorrow! Gotta love a 4 day work week! 

Thanks for reading, let me know if you're doing something fun this weekend!

Graduation Gift Ideas

Happy Hump Day Everyone! I wanted to share some gift ideas for "the graduate" in your life. I should have posted this earlier since most college grads have already graduated but better late than never. Our high schools however, graduate in two weeks so here are some great gift ideas if you're feeling stumped. 

  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Monogrammed Acrylic Pencil Cup - great for your dorm room desk or at the office

Charlotte Wristlet Phone Case - this wristlet is great because you can keep your phone, cash, cards, etc. all together when going out

Gigi New York All in One Bag - perfect accessory for day or night

Gold Flecked Cork Jewelry Box - to keep all your grown up jewelry organized

ABD's More Sugar Mug - you'll need this for your morning coffee before class or work

Kate Spade Silver Street Let's do Lunch Business Card Holder - Great for when you snag your own business card; you never know when you will need to give one out so this will help you always be prepared

Greek Key Monogrammed Stationary - you'll always need a stash of lovely monogrammed thank you cards handy to show your appreciation ;)

Favorite Looks

I wanted to share some of my current fashion trends I have been obsessing over. 

First on the list is the chambray/oxford with skirt. 

There is just something about this look that feels effortlessly chic. I could go on and on with more pictures I've pinned but I'll stop with these for now.

Next is the strappy lace up heel. 

I found some that I absolutely love from H&M. (see above)

You can find them here. They have already sold out once and they just restocked. Yippee!

Last but not least, I am currently still loving neon. I know it has been around for a while but I have just started really loving it more and more and starting to embrace it with a lot of my outfits. I love doing neutral with a pop of neon. Here are some of my favorite styles incorporating this hot trend.

Like I said earlier, I could go on for days but I won't. Thanks for reading and please let me know what fashion trends you're currently loving now. 

DIY Gel Nails - No UV Light Required

I am so excited about this post. I have been in search of some gel nail polish that would look like the shellac nails that you get when you go to the salon. I saw where there were some products online but if I get something on my mind, I want it right then…therefore I did not want to wait for it to come in the mail. 

I went to Walgreens and scouted their selection but all the polishes I came across required a UV light. There was a Sally Hansen's kit with a polish that included the light but once I saw the price tag that was a no. 

I searched on my phone 'gel polishes that do not require UV light' and came across a great site you can check out here.

All you need is one product from Sally's and you probably have everything else. 

1. GELOUS - can be found at Sally's for around five dollars. 

2. Nail polish of your choice. This is awesome in the fact that you don't have to buy all new "gel polish" to get the gel look. 

3. Lastly, you need a clear top coat of your choice. 

Here are the instructions directly from Reese Kistel: 

1. Apply one coat GELOUS onto clean, smooth, dry nails. Let it set for a few minutes. 

2. Apply another coat. Let it set for a few minutes. 

3. Apply one coat nail polish. Let it dry. 

4. Apply another coat GELOUS. Let it set for a couple minutes. 

5. Apply another coat nail polish. Let it dry. 

6. Apply one layer clear top coat. Let dry. 

I did exactly as it says and she was right! They are just like the gel nails you would get at the salon but a lot less expensive and way more convenient. I'm excited to see how long they last without chipping. I will keep y'all posted. I hope y'all enjoyed this little tutorial and would love to hear all your nail tips and tricks! I'm so glad I came across Reese's page. Please check her out! She has a lot more awesome DIY, beauty, style, fitness and many more tips and tricks. 

Mother's Day Weekend

Hey everyone! Hope y'all are having a good week so far. I was excited about this past weekend for two reasons. One, it was mother's day - duh, but two, I completed one thing off my list! If you do not know about my "101 things in 1001 days" - you can check this post out here. 

Anyways, Friday night Corey and I just hung out - we decided to have a last minute date night involving Mexican which is always a good choice. I was so excited for an excuse to wear these new babies. I think I might have found my new favorite brand of shoes - Dee Keller. I ordered my off Last Call and got 40% plus another promo they were having. 

You can get them here. 

Saturday we went hiking with our Sunday School class and we had so much fun. We drove up to Oconee County and hiked a 3 mile hike to a waterfall. I was beat by the end of it but loved doing something new and different. 

Oh, and it wouldn't have been a Saturday without a little cheat milkshake for the ride there. ;)

We then went up the road a little bit to check out another waterfall and a cave. 

 The cave was an underground railroad where the people dug with their hands. It was pretty cool - literally. When you walked in the cave it instantly because 20 degrees cooler which was a nice relief after a long hike.  

Here's a picture of the cave walking in. It was completely black. Luckily, we brought flashlights and used our iphone's - what would we do without technology?

Now I can mark this off my list. Check! 

For Mother's Day, we went to church and out to eat with Corey's parents. We went to Capri's and just about everyone got their famous Lasagna. It was my first time getting it and it was delicious! 

Later that day it was off to the grocery store to get some food to cook for my parent's that night. 

I couldn't leave the store without some fresh flowers for my Mom...

My mom loves playing with our two rug-rats but I think they enjoyed it more. I sometimes feel they love her more than Corey and I. They love going to stay at Grandma's when we go out of town. 

That was our weekend. I hope everyone had a blessed Mother's Day. 

Organizing one drawer at a time.

I have been going crazy every time I walk into my bathroom it seems. I've been so unorganized and rushed lately. I know I need to get my life together. ;) 

Anyways, I made it a goal of mine to purge all of my clutter throughout my house one cabinet/drawer at a time. 

Here's the before. I know you might be thinking, what is this girl talking about. But it was way worse, I promise! I remembered to start snapping my photos half way through. 

Anyways I started by taking all of my contents out and cleaned out the drawer. 

Voila. I couldn't believe how dirty it was. Gross! 

I found a clear acrylic makeup organizer at TJ Maxx. 

I added all my makeup and arranged it just perfectly. All mascaras, face, eyes are all grouped together. This was the fun part, and now there is no more frantic digging through my makeup drawer in the mornings. Hallelujah! 

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I absolutely love this quote. I find myself more and more quoting some of my mother's most memorable sayings growing up as a child...

"It is what it is"

"Don't make me tell you again"

"I love you more" 

This was at my Rehearsal Dinner. Isn't she lovely? 

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you! 

Weekend Recap

We are so close to the weekend and I'm so behind on my blogging - Ahhh! I am finally posting my weekend recap from last week, oops! It has been crazy lately but that's a good thing I guess. So without further ado…

Last Friday we cooked out with my old time bestie and her husband. Luckily, they are just down the street from us so it is not hard to plan things on a whim. 

We decided on steaks and veggies on the grill. I'm finally trying out our cool flexible skewers we got for a wedding present. 

Corey made some bacon wrapped dates and hot corn dip. Yum, my favorite! 

We know who the high maintenance one is out of the two. She always wants to be held. Poor Tate.

Been living together since 08'! She is even so kind to stay with me in a few weekends while Corey goes on a bachelor trip. Slumber party here we come! 

The next day my Mom and I headed off to Augusta for some shopping. I had to get my car serviced and we always love to check out their antique shops.

I found another topiary (go figure - my obsession continues) and a cute ginger jar at one of our favorite consignment stores. 

We decided to check out the mall next since I needed to return some things at Victoria Secret. We went to Sephora and I got some awesome new make up that I cannot wait to try out! I'm hoping to do a blog post/review on that, so stay tuned.