TGIF, sip sip hooray!

I don't know about you, but things have been a little crazy around here lately! Lots of late nights at work this week, but also lots of fun celebrations to balance things out :) How has your week been?

sip & skimm

I know it sounds like I'm beating a dead horse, but seriously you need to check out the Skimm! With so many things going on in the world right now, and an upcoming presidential campaign, I honestly don't know how anyone can keep up with it all. The Skimm is a great way to feel like you're at least close to knowing everything that's going on, or at the least knowing about everything that's going on. I have been a subscriber to some form of daily news email, whether it be the local paper, the WSJ or Washington Post, and I have to say, the Skimm surpasses them all, by miles. It has the most far-reaching topics, but not so many that it's overwhelming, and they are always on top of the latest news. Plus, one of the best parts is that it only comes to your inbox ONCE/ day, no exceptions, and no weekends. Unlike Gap, who I think can tell when I delete without opening, and sends me another email. I swear it's happened before.
Anyways - seriously, if you haven't checked it out yet you should, and if you are interested you can become a Skimm'bassador and take part in super fun events that are held all over the country. Last night Louisville Skimm'rs hosted a Sip and Skimm at a local restaurant and it was so. much. fun! If that hasn't convinced you yet, then surely this will - you get a shout-out on your birthday!

bachelorette party

My bachelorette party was a couple of weeks ago, and I think I am still recovering! Have you ever had a bushwacker? It might be the #1 reason that I love Nashville so much! It's essentially an alcoholic milkshake, and it can really creep up on you if you have a couple :) I would highly suggest trying one if you ever get the chance - or making one at home. I've done it, and the results actually weren't half bad! We had such a great time that now I really want all of my friends to be engaged so we can go back ASAP!

in the lobby

Despite choosing three other colors as my fall favorites from the Essie collection, I ended up purchasing "In the Lobby" last week, and I could not be more pleased! I will say it is not nearly as purple as their stock photos make it look, but more of a merlot-deep red. If you are looking for a staple fall nail color this is one could not be more perfect! Have any of y'all tried it? What did you think about the stock color vs. the actual color? [I will update with picture! I'd already repainted my nails a different color without thinking]
I swear these fall colors just came out, or maybe I was late to the game, but I'm already seeing and loving the winter colors as well! I wish it was still cool to have each nail painted a different color so I could wear them all at once!

house hunting part 3

Eventually I'm going to stop numbering these because it is just reminding me how long it takes. I know, finding a house is not a fast process. But I am a very impatient person, and when I know what I want, I really want to do what I can when I can to get it accomplished. Maybe I can call myself driven or determined, rather than impatient. That sounds a little better, right?
Well, anyways, we put an offer in last week! It was countered, and then we countered again and they accepted!!! We are still in the inspection/survey/financing stages, but we are planning to close before Christmas and I am so excited!

one year engagediversary

One year ago I got engaged! It is still surreal to think about sometimes, and I have never been happier. We are also exactly three months from getting married (!!!), which is crazy when I know there is still so much to do! The planning has definitely gone in waves of doing absolutely nothing for a month, to having three appointments in one day. But, so far it seems to be working out alright. We are going to dinner at a new restaurant tonight to celebrate, which I am really looking forward to because we've been so busy lately that we haven't had a true date night in what feels like months. Any married friends want to share some advice for these last few months of planning? I am all ears!

Have a great weekend, y'all! Go Cats! 

xoxo

linking up with:

Oh Hey Friday | Five on Friday |  Casual I Friday | xoxo Rebecca | High Five for Friday | Friday Favorites 

Wednesday Showcase | Turn It Up Tuesday

Wedding Wednesday, 220 Days to Go! {Perfect Ring Dishes}

A couple of months ago I read an article, I think on theKnot.com, but I can't seem to find it now. Anyways, it was called something like "How to Not Lose your Engagement Ring," which I thought was odd, because I hadn't really been that worried about it, until I read the article. Most of the suggestions were pretty obvious, like not taking it off in a public place, etc. 

One that I found particularly interesting though the suggestion to have a ring dish in (almost) every room in your house. This way, if you are in the kitchen and need to take it off to do dishes you don't have to just set it on the counter. Or if you're in the living room and need to apply lotion, it doesn't just end up on the coffee table. Of course all of these seem relatively safe places since you're in your own home after all, but one dishtowel or piece of mail in the way, and you'll spend hours looking for your ring. 

So, after reading that, I went on the search for the perfect ring dish(es) that I could place around the house without having to worry too seriously about messing with the decor - i.e. small and simple. Here are a few of the ones that I came across and fell in love with! 

Kate Spade

Etsy

I would love something like this once we finally get a house and are sharing a bathroom and of course, both have rings!

Etsy

Kate Spade

My aunt actually gave me this Kate Spade dish as an engagement present and it is perfect to keep in the bathroom. Because it is a bit larger and more bowl shaped than the others, it works great to hold other miscellaneous pieces of jewelry I need to take off before I get in the shower or wash my face. 

MudPie (via Swoozies)

I found and purchased this ring dish while I was on vacation and it is the perfect size! 

Two's Company (via Bed Bath & Beyond)

Both of these sets already come with THREE dishes - how perfect! 

Lenox (via Bed Bath & Beyond)

Do y'all have any secrets to keeping your favorite pieces of jewelry safe? 

Have a Great Day, y'all!

xoxo

linking up with 

Wednesday Showcase | Wedding Wednesday | Merry Monday

Wedding Wednesday, 346 Days to Go {How I Asked My Bridesmaids}

Let me be clear, I do not think it is necessary at all to do anything but call a girl up and ask her to share in this day with you. However, in law school I don't get nearly as many chances to craft as much as I would like to, so I decided to take full advantage of this opportunity! 

After scouring Pinterest for a clever, but not overdone way to ask my bridesmaids, I finally concluded that I would just have to come up with something on my own. I ended up incorporating a few different things that I'd seen, and eventually just let my creativity get the best of me and this is what I ended up with! 

I knew I wanted to do something clever without being too cliche, but everything I kept finding on Pinterest just seemed over the top. After some brainstorming and flashbacks to Big/Little reveals with Kappa, I settled on including a few different items, each with a cute note attached. Below are the notes I attached to each item, and then I put all of them inside a large mason jar. I also included the girls' names on the top of the mason jar. I tried to choose the shades of nail polish and type of candy for each one specifically, so they were still personalized. 

Inside of the mason jar I also included a card that said "Will you be my Bridesmaid?" and one said "Will you be my Maid of Honor?" I included a small personal note on the backs of these cards. 

To make all of the cards I typed up what I wanted to be on the card in a word document. Then I cut down scrapbook paper so that it would fit in the printer (8.5 x 11). I don't hate my handwriting, but I knew I was going to need to make seven (!) of these jars, so I thought it was more efficient for my perfectionist self to let the computer do the work. If any of y'all are interested in this let me know and I can send it your way!

After I'd printed the cards, I cut them out and glued them to some glittery scrap book paper and cut them out again. For each of the "item" cards, I attached them directly to the item itself. Then I put the "Maid of Honor" and "Bridesmaid" cards on another piece of glittery paper to really frame it and make it stand out. 

To present it to each of the girls I put the jar in a cute chevron gift bag from Target with a piece or two of tissue paper. I also placed a piece of tissue paper directly inside the mason jar before placing everything in just to make it look a little nicer and also so that it wouldn't be banging around inside. 

What do y'all think about these? What are some of your favorite ways you've seen brides ask their bridesmaids? 

Have a great day, y'all!

xoxo

linking up with: 

Wedding Wednesday | Celebrate Southern | Humpday Happenings | Merry Monday | Wow Us Wednesdays

TGIF, bye February

It is February 27 - one day, ONE day away from March. I get that February is a short month so technically it does go by faster, but I truly feel like this February has flown by. Of course part of that could be the fact that what seems like the entire eastern United States has had at least a solid week of being snowed in.
Here are a few things I've been up to this week - how has your week been?

1. DietBet

Have y'all ever heard of DietBet? I feel like for a while it was popping up in a lot of fitness magazines as one of the "great ways to motivate yourself" options. I had personally ignored it because I wasn't sure I trusted actually betting money on the internet, and conceitedly thought I didn't need to lose enough weight to warrant the risk. I. Was. Wrong.

I have this friend who is on and off a new diet every other week, not in an unhealthy way, but more in an "I love food" kind of way. I get her. But, recently she's decided to really take things under control so she signed up for DietBet and was telling me all about it, and after the aforementioned week long snowday spend mostly eating and drinking, I thought maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. So I signed up, for two different bets. They have the option for you to lose 4% in 4 weeks or 10% in 6 months. I thought to jump start the process, I'd do the 6 month one as well as the 4 week one. I am so excited! My official start date on the 4 week one was February 24, so I have until March 24 to lose 4% of my body weight. I am so looking forward to feeling better (and lighter) and will be happy to share any information about this with any of you who might be interested. Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first, but I am really hopeful in the end results. [not sponsored, I'm just legitimately this excited that I had to share it with y'all!]

2. Composites

So we had law school composites this week. Let me just say that sorority and high school senior pictures were way easier. You just had to show up in a tank top, put the cape on, and make sure your hair, makeup, and pearls were in place. Law school composites comparatively were such a hassle having to actually wear a suit jacket and blouse. I know it probably looks nicer, but after four years of something four times easier, it was just slightly on the annoying side. Okay, end rant.

3. Registry

So you know how last Friday I mentioned we were going to register at Belk on Sunday? Well, thanks to all of the snow that came last week, and the fact that the South is sorely unprepared for more than a few inches of snow, the roof caved in. I didn't even know that was possible, except that one time it happened to an NFL dome. But seriously? When my friend called to tell me I almost didn't believe her.
Luckily there is another one about 45 minutes away and since I was so determined to get the process started we headed up there and luckily were able to at least get our feet wet. I had no idea there were so. many. thing to decide. Not only do you have to decide how plush you want your towels to be, but also what color, and how many. Then, in addition to regular dinnerware and china, there are serving dishes and platters to choose from. I am looking so forward to this because it means we are planning what our future home will be. However, next time we head out to mark a few things off the list we're definitely going to do some research before we get to the store. Do y'all have any registry tips?

4. Free Weekend

This is the first weekend since school started back in January that we have no plans. Zero. And I couldn't be happier. The last two months have been a whirlwind, and I'm so excited to know that we are going to get to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday, and I can finally get some things done around the apartment that I've been dying to tackle. I'm one of those people that needs to have a huge block of time available to complete a big task. I totally see the benefit of just cleaning up 15 minutes a day or whenever you have time, but sometimes I think it's just time for a deep cleaning and I need 6 hours to do that. This might be the first time that I am this excited not to have plans!

5. Contouring

Okay. So I am not trying to look like Kim K., but I would like to figure out how to contour just to make my face look a little brighter and less tired looking. You know what I mean? A few months ago I received the perfect highlighter in a Birchbox and have been obsessed since. Of course when I wasn't looking, it seemed like there were contouring tutorials everywhere I looked. Last weekend I was trying to find one before Barristers to try out and couldn't find anything that I felt comfortable doing - i.e. that was simple. So here's my plea, if y'all come across a relatively easy/well explained tutorial please send it my way!

BONUS: I think I've mentioned it before, but if you don't already, you should seriously consider subscribing to The Skimm. I'm not even sure anymore how I first found out about it, but it's a news outlet of sorts. They send an email to you every morning with the prior day's top stories and the most concise (and witty) explanation you could ask for. It seriously takes less than 10 minutes to read, but you get so much quick news. Plus, it his my inbox no later than 7am, usually earlier, so it is perfect to read on your commute to work (assuming you aren't driving!) or while you're enjoying your morning coffee. Seriously, sign up. You won't regret it!

Just in case you aren't enticed already, here's an excerpt from earlier this week:

The Skimm

Have a great weekend, y'all!
xoxo

linking up with:

|  Oh Hey Friday | Friday Favorites | Five on Friday | Friday Favorites | Casual Friday | xoxo Rebecca
Mix it Up Friday

Wedding Wednesday, 367 days to go

7 Things No One Tells You About Getting Engaged

1. You Might Not Cry. And that's okay! 

I'll be honest. I was a little sad that I didn't cry when he was down on one knee. I mean this was supposed to be the moment, right? But then I realized, that it was okay. I'm not always the "happy crier" and I was actually speechless - which for me says a lot! Apparently I didn't even say "yes" immediately, but instead just nodded excitedly because that was all I could get out. You can read all about it here. Seriously though, everyone reacts differently, so don't worry if you don't produce what you think is the expected or usual reaction. I can tell you that it was still very clear to him just how excited I was and that my nod was just as good as a blubbery yes! 

2. People Will Expect You to Have a Date Set.

Crazy, I know. You will be surprised how many people that you call immediately after, I'm talking within the hour, will ask you if you've set a date. My advice here - maybe have a date in mind if you know that you are only going to be engaged as long as it takes to plan a wedding, or just say, "we just got engaged! Of course we haven't had time to set a date yet!" Do whatever you think is best, just be ready for that question - it'll get asked! 

3. Phone Calls Take Longer Than You Think.

My fiance had done a lot of research on how to approach an engagement. (I had no idea such a thing even existed.) He said he read a lot of things about making sure that I had time to call everyone between the engagement and dinner (how he planned it), and I still ran out of time. He finally had to tell me to start getting ready for dinner and I actually called one of our friends on the way to dinner because I wanted to tell everyone as soon as I could. You might have a list of people that you know you'll call as soon as it finally happens, but there will always be a few others you think of along the way. Plus, when you haven't called your grandmother in a few weeks, she's going to want to talk about how everything else in your life is going too. Just embrace it, it's great. I was so anxious and excited with every call that I made. I was so happy and I wanted everyone to know, just plan accordingly and be ready to call your girls on speaker phone while you're still trying to put on some make up :) 

4. Unfortunately, It Does Come with Some Stress.

See #3 above. There suddenly seems to be 100 decisions that need to be made. How many bridesmaids? How many guests? What colors? What kind of food? You get the point. While there are certain things that do need to be decided relatively soon after you get engaged, i.e. a date, there are plenty of others that can wait. Within a week of getting engaged we already had our date and church picked out and just knowing that, it meant we also knew we had over a year to plan and were able to relax about everything else for a while. Let yourself enjoy being engaged before you start stressing yourself about everything that you're eventually going to have to do. 

5. Everyone Has an Opinion. 

Again, see #s 3 & 4 above. It was amazing to me how soon the ideas started coming to me via Pinterest, and else where. Initially it was great because I had absolutely no idea what to do or what I wanted. However, as we have started making some firm decisions, any other opinion makes me feel like my idea wasn't good enough or wasn't right. Those feelings have a lot to do with me being sensitive and generally indecisive, but either way the opinions still seem to come in like a flood - so just be prepared. 

6. He Was Probably More Nervous Than You Realized. 

Girls, give him a break. Tell him you love him, tell him it was perfect, tell him to breathe. Right after he popped the question and I had finally regained my ability to talk, I told him that the ring was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and if it was exactly what I would have picked out. He told me that was the second most relieved he'd been that day! They are nervous. They are scared. We might think that's silly because of course you want to say yes, but they might not realize that, so make sure they know because it will go a long way. 

7. You're Still Going to Have Some Fights. 

See #4. Immediately following the engagement is pure bliss. You want to tell everyone and they all want to know. You are showing your ring off so much that you get offended when the guy bagging your groceries doesn't ask to see it. It's great. But then the planning process starts, the future in-laws suddenly are more opinionated, and nothing seems to go how you want it. It's okay. Things happen, you don't always agree, and an engagement isn't meant to fix that. Just keep in mind that you are planning one day, and what is really going to matter is the rest of your lives. So maybe you can't have the sage napkins and have to settle with mint? It's. Okay. Y'all love each other and you have eternity to plan a dinner party with sage napkins. I think fights are okay because as passive aggressive as I might be, I'd much rather (eventually) get something out rather than let it all build up in side me because one way or another, it is going to come out.

For any newly engaged brides-to-be, or those planning ahead, I hope this helps. I was honestly so surprised by most of these things and wish I'd had some kind of heads up!
What are some things about engagement or even newlywed life that you weren't expecting?

Happy Wednesday, y'all!
xoxo 

linking up with:

Wedding Wednesday

the Proposal 11.20.14

Thursday, November 20, 2014. We'd already made dinner plans for the night and he was going to pick me up from class. When I got out of class he wasn't there yet, which made me a little annoyed because it was about 30 degrees outside! When he finally arrived, only 3 minutes late, he had the AC going full blast and said it was because he had been so hot - which I thought was ridiculous since it was SO cold. So we headed back to his apartment because it was a little after 5:30 and weren't quite ready to eat yet.

When we got there he gave me the key to open the door, which I thought was weird because my hands were full with my back pack and tote bag, while he was empty handed, but he kept insisting so I finally gave in and took the keys to open the door. When I walked in I was greeted with more than 50 lit candles, two dozen roses and a dozen lillies. He also had set up pictures of us on the coffee table and had a slide show of pictures on his TV. He made me set all of my stuff down (finally!) and went through his perfectly planned speech before getting down on one knee and proposing! Of course I said yes!

Y'all - I was speechless. Apparently I didn't even say yes initially, but just nodded very excitedly. It was such a perfect gesture and I was so surprised - which was really important to me. I know so many people have it in their head how they want a proposal to go, but I can honestly say I'd never really thought about what the "perfect" proposal would look like. I just always knew I wanted it to be a surprise because I love surprises. Well, let me tell you, I definitely didn't see this coming on a gloomy Thursday afternoon after class. This was my perfect proposal. 

He had purchased a few things from Marley Lilly with what will be my new monogram, which he gave to me before dinner. 

I, of course, called all of my best friends and my family and they were all so excited - aside from a few of my aunts who thought I was too young! Then he told me all about how he'd driven down to my hometown a few days earlier to ask permission from my mom and dad (like a perfect southern gentleman) and that he was almost as nervous doing that as he was asking me! 

He also had champagne chilled and waiting for us and he'd made dinner reservations for a few places in Louisville and let me pick where I wanted to go celebrate, so I chose Ruth's Chris and we enjoyed a WONDERFUL dinner, the majority of which I spent staring at my new ring :) 

thanks for following along, y'all! have a great day!
xoxo

linking up with 

|Celebrate Southern|

So. Many. Things.

Hey y’all! Wow! It has been a looooongggg time since this blog has seen the light of day. Right before my last post went live, things around here got SO busy. First – I got engaged!! Which is probably one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced. Then of course finals were right around the corner. I thought I was going to have time to catch up some over Christmas “break,” but that was the busiest break I have ever had!

Christmas was so wonderful, and then I went with my fiancé’s (!!!) family to New Orleans – my first time there. Y’all. If you haven’t been to New Orleans, you need to go – ASAP. It was so fun! Even though it was a little colder than we were anticipating (and hoping for), we had such a great time ringing in the new year there.

Soon after we got back from New Orleans it was back to class.  Despite finally being in my 3L spring semester, I have had some tough classes so far – and a moot court competition.

Also, I finally got a sewing machine and I. am. obsessed. There will be much more on this later, as I have already made my own skirt, and let me tell you - I even impressed myself on this one. The machine I got also has an embroidery feature which is awesome - hellllllo monograms!

This weekend we went to Clearwater, Florida to compete in the National Tax Moot Court Competition. It was a great time, and even though we didn’t win, our school advanced further than prior years and according to our coach and the other teams we still had a very impressive performance.

I’m writing this as I’m on the plane back to Kentucky and I am not looking forward to returning to the cold weather at all. However – at the tournament we had the opportunity to meet so many other competitors from other parts of the country and a few girls who are in law school at Suffolk told us they hadn’t been to class more than three days all semester! I cannot imagine having that many snow days. I would go crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely love having a break every now and then, but I can get so restless and to be out of school that long just sounds so miserable.

When I was at Furman we usually had about one snow day each semester. Of course, in South Carolina it only takes a 60% chance of snow for them to cancel class, but it was always a welcomed break. The only negative there is that no one in South Carolina knows how to deal with snow, so it just took a few flakes to shut down the whole city. My roommate didn’t even know how to use the dual scraper/brush. It was certainly an adventure.

Anyways – please accept my apologies for such a lengthy absence. I am working on so may posts for the up coming weeks.

Interview tips – attire, questions, etc. Professional advice – how to get a job, how to network, etc. and a few other miscellaneous law school items. I am also always open to suggestsions so if there is something specific you want to hear about please please please let me know. Either comment below or email me at legallysouthernblog@gmail.com.

Thanks for following along y’all, have a great day!

xoxo