TGIF, Welcome to the Long Weekend!

Can y'all believe it's September?? I have been stocking up on fall decorations for the past couple of weeks and I fully intend on decking out the house over the weekend. It is September after all, that's close enough, right? 

Long Weekend Ahead

I am so excited for this long weekend! It has been a rough week at work, so even though we don't have an real plans for the weekend, it will be the perfect time to relax. And drink coffee all morning. Once again, we are going to take advantage of that extra day to do some house work and paint. But this time the painting first involves wall paper removal. Yikes. Luckily the area is a very small entryway/foyer, so there shouldn't be too much wall paper to remove and hopefully it won't take nearly as long to paint as the bedroom did. Plus, we're pros at this point (kidding, of course!).

Whole30 Update

DAY 21. Well, I've made it three weeks and I only have one more week to go. [I'm only doing 28 days because Battle at Bristol. Don't tell.] I'm honestly not sure what to think about Whole30 at this point. I obviously haven't started the reintroduction, so I can't speak to that benefit yet, but I'm not going to lie, I am not feeling as great as I'd hoped. Especially since I am still hungry/getting cravings a. lot. Don't get me wrong, I have seen some benefit. My energy is every so slightly improved, and I've had a little less of the un-explained 3 p.m. crash, but I still don't feel as good as I would like to. On the bright side, I have lost almost 10 pounds, so there's that. 

Have any of y'all done Whole30 with less than expected results? I have considered stopping a few times, just because I don't know that it is really giving me what I was hoping for, but at this point I'm so close to finishing, I feel like I owe it to myself. And for finishing, I will be rewarding myself with a nice big glass of wine. 

Essie Gel Couture

If you are comfortable with painting your nails, but wish you could get that salon shine that lasts for a week, you seriously need to check out Essie's new Gel Couture. They've been marketing it forever, and a few weeks ago it finally hit the shelves and I bought a beautiful bright red, Rock the Runway, immediately. I had used their gel setter before, but after using about half of the bottle, it got a little clumpy. The Gel Couture is so much better. It is a little more expensive, and you need the color and the gel top coat. But you use the same top coat with all of the colors, so it's not that bad. Plus, I think of it as how much less it is than going to get a manicure. Even just one bottle of nail polish is only half of the price of a manicure, so you are saving a lot of money! This coming from a girl that never gets manicures, so I wouldn't have been spending the money in the first place, but still. If you are looking for a small splurge, look no further!

Plum Paper Planner

After it taking much longer than expected arrive, I finally received and have been using the Plum Paper Planner for about a month now, and so far so good! It is definitely a different layout to get used to, but the list capabilities on on the left-hand side is so convenient and so perfect for what I need. I always feel like I have these never ending to-do lists, and I hated assigning them to a specific day in my Emily Ley Planner because, well, stuff happens and you don't get to it, and then you feel like  you're back tracking. With my new Plum Paper Planner, I can put all of my "to-do" items on one page, in one spot and it's visible for the entire week. I realize the lessened space for the actual days might not work for everyone, but for me, I think I have finally found my perfect planner - at least for now. 

Gift Ideas for My Sister-in-Law

My sister-in-law is turning 23 and I am at a complete loss for what to get her. As of last night, I think we finally decided on a FitBit Alta that she had been eyeing - and that my mother-in-law confirmed she wanted, but Christmas isn't far away. What do y'all do for people that are just impossible to buy for? She is a graduate student, so she is still living in student housing, which makes fun household items a little less practical, and she tends to be pretty picky about anything she wears. Seriously, difficult. Any thoughts, or great go-to gifts?

I hope y'all have a great and relaxing weekend! Let me know what you've got planned!

xoxo 

linking up with:

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

TGIF: Happy 4th of July!

Happy Friday, y'all! I thought this week was never going to end. I think knowing that  a long weekend is ahead makes for a longgggg week. 

Morning Brew 

I recently discovered Morning Brew and I love it! Morning Brew is a dpart of the business world, bur still would like to know what's going on. I think lately it has been a solid read and kept me well informed with the ups and owns of the market because of the Brexit Vote. (If you don't know what the Brexit Vote is, Morning Brew is definitely something you should read!) This quick morning read is definitely easier to follow than the front pages of the Wall Street Journal. Check it out and let me know what you think! 

aily (weekdays only) email that gets to your inbox around 630am and gives you the rundown on all things business going on in the world. Sounds similar to the Skimm, I know. But, the biggest difference is that the concentration is more business/finance geared than just a general news report. As someone who has always been interested in the business world, I think it is a great resource. However, I think it is also great for those not necessarily

Fourth of July

I just love the Fourth of July. Summer is one of my favorite seasons because I LOVE warm weather, and the fireworks, and all of the love for America. Okay. I know, you get it. I am just so excited about this weekend, and not just because it means an extra day off work! Plus, we're heading to the local Minor League Baseball game, which really just tops off the weekend! What plans do you have? 

New Planner 

I've recently been introduced to the term "planner peace," and I hope that one day I can get there. Sometimes I think I just need to design my own planner, until I realize that a. I don't have a lot of time for that and b. I'm still not sure I know what I want. I have really gone through the planners. I've tried Moleskin, Lilly, Emily Ley, and I've just ordered my first Plum Paper Planner. I cannot wait for it to arrive! Now that I'm not in school and work pretty much 8am-6/7pm every day, I don't need a ton of room for hourly events. However, I am still very much a planner and like to have plenty of space for my to-do lists. I am hopeful that the planner I order from Plum Paper will satisfy (almost) everything I am looking for. I will be sure to update y'all when it arrives! I've posted a few photos of my Emily Ley weekly layouts over on Instagram if you want to check those out. Do any of you have a planner that is tried and true? 

Orange is the New Black 

I finished Season Four and I am just so sad. I do not want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but holy cow. I do not know if I can wait another year for Season Five! 

Painting our Bedroom  

In addition to celebrating this great country we live in, we are also planning to paint our bedroom this weekend. We bough this house about 6 months ago and have s l o w l y been working on updating it to our tastes. The master bedroom has this weird light orangey/pink/peach color on the walls and I had finally had enough of it. It obviously doesn't match any of our stuff and I certainly wasn't interested in trying to match to it. [note - there are also a lot of patches and poor touch ups, so it needed a repainting, of any color] So last weekend we went to Lowes and chose a few paint samples - all shades of grey - put some of the swatches up on the wall, and have looked at them all week trying to decide which one we like the best, and I think we've made a decision. My mom loves to paint and at this point has probably painted every room in our house at least twice, so I feel like I know what I'm doing for the most part. However, I learned as we were choosing samples that my husband has never painted a room, so he was very hesitant to get the process started. We thought if we started with our bedroom and it went well we could tackle some of the other rooms in the house. If not, we'll get a few quotes from the pros. As much as I think I know what I'm doing, I am always open to suggestions if any of y'all have a story or tips to share! 

Have a great weekend y'all! Happy Fourth of July! 

xoxo

linking up with:

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

TGIF, oh hey August (almost)!

THE BAR EXAM IS OVER (And I promise that is all I will say about that until we get results). I hope y'all have had a great week and have a great weekend ahead. I am so excited to just lay out at the pool before I head back to work on Monday - hopefully the sunshine will cooperate :)

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I finally moved out of the apartment that I lived in all three years of law school and it is so weird. I have been more or less living with my finance for about 6 months, but as of today I no longer have my own apartment. It's kind of a weird feeling, but it's also freeing knowing that now that we officially live together I have a say in a few things around the house more - at least I think I do.

two

My Emily Ley Planner officially went into service this week! I purchased this planner in May and have been dying to use it since the minute I picked it up. If you haven't heard of Emily Ley, I would encourage you to check her out. Her goal in life is to make things Simple in the prettiest way. I had been using the Lilly Pulitzer Planner, which would have lasted me until the end of the year, but with a wedding in February, I really wanted a planner that started in the Fall and went through next year so I could truly plan ahead for all of the events in the coming months. I am really looking forward to using this planner, and will definitely be sharing some of my favorite features. What kind of planner do y'all use? Are you loyal year after year to the same one?

three

I started an Instagram for the blog- see some of my posts on the right - so if you want to add me I would love that. It's a little sad right now, but bear with me and hopefully it gets a little more exciting. Plus it will give you a peek into a bit more than whats here on a weekly basis.

four

The success of this diet has been really great, so much better than I could have imagined. I'm not sure the last time (if ever) I lost more than 5 or 6 pounds at a time, so it usually was just enough to make my clothes a little loose or in most cases, they just fit better. This time around however I have found that a lot of my clothes no longer fit after losing almost 20 pounds. I mentioned last week that I have placed a shopping freeze on myself, just as a measure of self control, but if this trend goes on I might have to make an exception. I stopped working during the last month of studying so I hadn't really been wearing anything but norts and tee-shirts for the past few weeks and I guess hadn't noticed such a big change. Then earlier this week I was packing and trying on outfits for the bar because we have a certain dress code and none of my skirts fit. I'm hoping this weekend to pull out my sewing machine and figure out if I can tailor some of my clothes, or if I just need to donate them and repopulate my closet. Have y'all been in this situation? Any suggestions?

five

If you do your own nails I highly suggest Essie's new "Gel Setter" because it. is. perfect. I had been using Sally Hansen's Diamond Flash because it made my nails shiny, it dried fast, and kept my polish on for at least 4-5 days, which is pretty good in my book. It was time for me get a new bottle because I was running low and I'd heard great things about Essie's new top coat and thought I'd give it a try. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Plus, I am currently using the same brand for my base coat, color, and top coat so I really feel like I have my life together right now! Ha!

How has your week been, any big weekend plans?

Happy Friday, Y'all!
xoxo

linking up with:

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

Creative Corner | Wednesday Showcase | Weekending | Turn It Up Tuesday

what is Prime Day? [but, really]

I'm sure y'all have seen by now - or maybe not - but Amazon has declared "Prime Day" in celebration of their 20th (!!!) anniversary. For the last week I keep seeing promotions for it, just claiming that it will be better than Black Friday, but I am yet to see any actual specifics on what kind of deals there will be. Thus - I have just filled my cart with some things that I've been thinking about getting, and would definitely be swayed if the right deal comes along.

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one

I absolutely LOVE these pens, and I am less than two weeks away from being able to use my Emily Ley planner and these are the perfect pens for that. With so many colors to choose from, it makes my color-coding heart so happy! 

two & three

Recently my FiitBit was acting a little odd, and I was fully prepared to buy another one. I'd had it for almost a year, so I didn't feel like it was that big of deal. But I emailed customer service about the issue and they sent me a replacement! So, I decided I would splurge a little on some new bands - I'm not going to get both of these sets, but haven't made up my mind yet, which one I like the best - do y'all have any suggestions??

four 

Project Life is the greatest. It's a simpler form of scrapbooking, but looks just as nice - if not better because it is so organized! There are certain pages with different formats depending on the type of layout you're interested in. I've tried a few different ones, and honestly found it best to have a variety because rarely do your pictures all face the way you want them to. This seemed like a good time to stock up on another set. 

five

Y'all. These shoes. I think I'm in love. I've been looking for a new pair of nude heels because the little rubber thing on the bottom of my last pair broke off. I have a few pairs of Jessica Simpson heels/wedges and they are always so comfortable - and another great thing about these is that they're eligible for free returns, so if for some reason the sizing doesn't quite work I can easily send them back and get a new pair in just 2 days! 

six 

Now that I've been better about losing weight, I'd really like to know that I am accurately weighing myself. One of my friends has this scale and raves about it, and it's a best-seller on Amazon, so at a price of just under $30 it's really hard to pass up! 

seven

I don't think I could ever have too many pairs of RayBans. I used to have a pair like this, but I accidentally broke them :( and I've been lusting over another pair ever since. Even at this price, it's a great deal, but I think I'll probably still end up holding off for now since I don't really need them. 

eight

How hard is it to keep up with your bobby-pins? I swear for every 2 that I find on the bathroom sink, I've lost 4 more. I know there are a dozen ways that people suggest trying to keep up with them, magnets in the medicine cabinet, tic-tac containers, etc. But that was just never enough for me. My solution - stop worrying about it and buy them by the hundreds, so that's just what I did. I bought this pack of 300 about a year ago - and I do still have about 150, but I like to keep them in my cart just in case. Plus, sometimes they're only an "add-on" item, which means to be eligible for free-shipping, it has to be part of another order of $25. 

nine

These are the water-filters that go in our coffee pot. Hey, I'm just trying to be honest, this really is what's in my cart! The change the filter light came on last week and we couldn't find filters in any of the stores around here, so naturally my first instinct was Amazon, and low and behold, there they were! 

The one thing I do know about Prime Day is that you have to be a Prime member to take advantage. I started my Prime membership when I was in undergrad because as a student you get a year free and then a discounted rate, but I will certainly continue it. You really can't beat Free 2-day shipping on almost anything, and usually free returns. I would highly suggest it if you don't already have a membership, and I think even for non-students there's a trial membership available.

-This post is not sponsored, I just really think Prime is a great service and I also really want to know more about Prime Day, so if y'all have that information - please share!

What is lingering in your cart waiting for a deal?

Have a Great Day, Y'all!

xoxo 

linking up with:
Turn It Up Tuesday | Wednesday Showcase