Last day of September!

one of my favorite months is almost here and one of my favorite seasons is slowly settling in. i am so unbelievably excited for this season and everything that's in store. i won't go into details of everything that i love this season-- no one wants an overdose of pumpkin and halloween yet but i did bake some tasty pumpkin cupcakes this weekend with a cream cheese frosting for the abundance of guests we had staying with us this--to enjoy.

weekend is over-- cleaning up has begun from our fun, entertaining weekend. 

hope your week is awesome.

a beautiful day.

last sunday was an absolutely beautiful day--on a golf course patio overlooking endless green while the sun was shining and a slight breeze was brushing everyone's faces--my mom put together the most intimate and perfect afternoon bridal shower with all the important women and girls in my life!

i can relish in it now -- looking back--it was an overwhelming day and i think the majority of the time i was either tearing up or wiping away tears...happy tears people! it was the best.

David came afterwards with my dad and brother to help bring the gifts home--we were so overwhelmed and thankful for everyone that spent the day with us and that love us. We are so unbelievably blessed. 

2 months to go : ) 

I will be posting more photos from this beautiful day in later posts : )

De-clutter quest and the weekend.

I've been in reorganization mode this week...of my entire house. That is my project this week. It's proving to be a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be. Who knew we had so much junk? Yikes. I swear this is good for the soul sometimes--just to get rid of all the clutter. I've started in the kitchen, migrated to the pantry, and today it's the linen closet and guest bedroom. 

 Initially I did not begin this re-organization quest to de-clutter my home and soul...We are actually having some visitors in the next couple weeks and I can't have this cluttered mess welcoming people.

Anyway, that was my excuse for being away from this here ole blog this week. 

I figured I'd share a little bit of our weekend since our weekends will be pretty jam-packed for the next couple months! 

We took a mini road-trip this weekend and went to State College to visit my brother and go to the Penn State football game. We packed the car and Romeo (our pup) and drove to Penn State. My parents and my uncle's family made the drive as well--so it was one big family reunion in State College. The best part we thought was that Romeo could come as well--because he loves his Uncle Pete (my little brother) : )

Some photos from my iPhone from our trip!

 

Driving to State College at 6am--we are happier than expected. 

Romeo and his uncle -- so happy to see him. 

 

We spent most of the day tailgating for the football game. Barbecuing, playing games, dancing, eating, and enjoying ice cream. The day was absolutely beautiful and the sky was unreal! Look at some of these photos. Excuse my appearance - the weather went from freezing to warm to uncomfortable hot -- fashion nightmare ; ) 

My dad - manning the grill.

 

The kids played games and beat almost everyone in this game. It was a sight....and pretty sad.

We spent the day in the sun and then the rest of the day back at my brother's house: eating, laughing, dancing, playing games, and just hanging out.

That night my brother took us out for some fun -- dancing for me...the entire night. 

As you can tell - we had a great time : ) 

Romeo slept for the next two days...guess he had a good time as well. 

Hope your weekend was fun : )

Woman Crush Wednesday::: Jenna Lyons

(Image from google)

Jenna Lyons, executive creative director of j crew AKA fashion goddess AKA the one woman whom has perfected the tailored pant look in many of our books--has been one of those " fashion celebrities" if you will, that I have googled one too many times, read her bio, scan/PIN/bookmark her outfits, etc.

 I even googled articles on her home (oh wait, you don't do that with celebs you love? Don't give me grief people - I know you've watched celebrity cribs in the past!). By the way her new home- an apartment in soho-HELLO- is beautiful. Can we switch lives for a day? Please?

Anyway, Jenna Lyons is my woman crush as of lately and perfect timing/backdrop-being that NYFW has spread its wings this week. From her brilliantly chic outfits to her trademark deep black-rimmed glasses--she is one of a kind and I'd love to just be her shadow for one day (if I could keep up!). Her days are somewhat busy according to her interview with Harper's Bazaar--check it out.

One of my favorite blogs, Manrepeller posted an article featured in GQ with Jenna Lyons' top essentials. It was quite entertaining and totally reignited my borderline obsession with the fashion mogul. I'll pass it along as well-- HERE 

(Image from google)

If a woman can pull off sequin pants during the day and high top nikes at night-she is a bonafide fashion genius in my book : ) Times Magazine did rank her on their 2013 100 Most Influential People List for a reason, right?!

While I toot her horn a little more - did you see j crew's lineup this week? They were already debuting spring 2014 looks---but they were gorgeous! Some of my favs:

xoxo

Helllllo Hair.

I'm dying over these hairstyles lately. I don't know how else to put it. If only I had the stylistic expertise to be able to create these works of art.

My creative hair styles extend themselves to 10 minute youtube tutorials on how to create a side braid for those days you really just don't feel like washing your hair. (yes I'll admit it. Come on you've had those days too.) I watch the youtube about 4-5 time before I can master these hairstyles and by "master" I mean - complete them to the best of my ability with only a few mere bobby pins shoved in the mass of hair on my head to keep said creative hair experiment from falling out. 

Which also brings me to the matter of the bobby pin mysterious disappearance movement. Have you heard of it? Millions of bobby pins and hair ties disappear from bathrooms, handbags, cars lately with no trace. Story for another day. I'm waiting for the day the bobby pin bandit dumps buckets full of missing bobby pins on my doorstep : ) 

Anyway on to the hair styles that I currently drool over....which all surround the braid...I'm obsessed. 

      

                Side view of this beauty.

                    And the front. 

      A braid headband and not one of   those you buy that never quite matches the color of your hair....yes I'm guilty of such an occurrence. 

And my favorite to end! I love this hairstyle. I love the big braid and...wait...are there a few bobby pins in there?!? Keepin' it together Julianne! 

This may be my next project. 

I'll be sure to post tutorials on how to work these master pieces - that is if I ever "master" them which will be unlikely...but I'll try : ) 

xoxo

Things I love - Thursday

1. I have gotten myself out of bed early early each morning, gotten dressed, brushed my teeth, and driven myself (yep) to the gym. That is a major feat for me. Don't get me wrong - I like working out - at home. I love working out in the privacy of my own home, I walk A LOT with Romeo, and just try to keep in shape but...sometimes that routine gets boring - and so I decided to hit the gym this week. Major points for me- for actually leaving my house early early to be around others-sweating. Woo hoo?

2. I have cleaned/dusted every window, shelf, knick knack, and corner of this home. Talk about an arm work out. I am ashamed to say this but my back sliding doors had been severely neglected lately (I know, gross). They are clean now, thankfully. 

3. Kelly Ripa's new hair cut. I had to add this one in here. Since I have been waking up at the crack of dawn and spending the entire morning at the gym- I have missed Kelly and Michael - so I record it. I watched some of it today and her new hair cut is pretty spectac-ular. I wish I had the guts to do something like that - although my head would most likely look like an oversized cantaloupe with that haircut. A girl can dream I guess. 

 

4. That I had a Starbucks date today with my long lost friend Lex. Iced latte, coffee, breezy sunshine-y weather, and girl talk/gossip/hair color talk/fall boot talk = perfect day and timing. 

5. One of my favorite months is coming up and my favorite season is here! Chilly weather, almost time for boots!, caramel apples, pumpkins, hayrides, flannel, HALLOWEEN (I have already started planning our Halloween costumes for this year...), candy corn ( I have already bought a bag) and ginger snaps (almost have gone through a box already....sadly), and I'm sure I'm missing a ton of things that I'm excited for but you get the idea!

6. Being impulsive AKA my impulsive nature. I know the stigma - being impulsive can lead to bad decisions and even worse consequences BUT sometimes...being impulsive can lead to great outcomes...so I am choosing to embrace/love my impulsive nature this week. Just go with it - I've been telling myself. 

7. Shoes. I have caught myself daydreaming about shoes one too many times this week. Signs of a problem? Probably.... You would be daydreaming about shoes too if you saw the shoes I just chose for my wedding. Ahh, Manolo has stolen my heart and my mind this week. 

8. Romeo and David. Duh for the sake of being cheesy...but honestly how cute are they?

 And...on that note... I am done : ) 

Happy Thursday- week is almost over!

xoxo

My favorite dress shop.

One of my favorite shops online is .... Free People's dress shop.  I have a severe love obsession with a lot of their clothes but mainly their dresses. Whimsical, bohemian, comfortable, angelic....I can keep going with the adjectives...but you get it. I jumped with joy when I received their fall catalog in the mail the other day. I couldn't contain my excitement or my bank account for that matter when I hit the online shop and found the prettiest dresses a girl could imagine. If you want to be pretty, shop at Free people - no I'm just kidding (that's kind of mean)....but I'm in love and so I am sharing some of my favorite dresses. 

With so many fun events coming up this fall - I have been an online shopping freak trying to find the perfect outfits for each and every one of them. I have nailed the rehearsal dinner outfit (I know, I am planning ahead!). I am now on to the bridal shower outfit, as well as a few other events coming up. My goal was to "window shop" online today but I ended up spending more than my bank account can handle at this point - it's at the expense of looking pretty, so YOLO - right? 

Here are some pretty dresses Free People has to offer and I am salivating over until I get them in the mail! 

 

This Floral Maxi is by FAR my most favorite. Stay tuned for an outfit/styling post once I receive this bit of happiness in them mail.  The dress is named "The First Kiss Dress". How unbelievably fitting/adorable is that? 

 

The Paqueta Island Dress.  I am starting to see that I have a thing for long dresses lately. I am not exactly sure why but there is something so demure and elegant about a long, whimsical dress that elongates the body --worn with the right shoes--  and creates this classy look. The great part about this dress besides the subtle polka dots and the fact that it's on SALE right now - is that it can be dressed up or down! Love it. 

The Eyelet Indian Enchantment dress. This dress is simple and long...again, I know. You can dress it up with jewelry and shoes or simply through sandals on.

These are just a few of my favorites. There are TONS more and so many beautiful options on sale as well. Go crazy!

New season, new look.

September is here! I absolutely LOVE summer time; being outside, barbecues, swimming, ice cream, etc., BUT I love love love when September comes. Going back to school always used to be exciting/scary for me. I was super excited to wear all of my new school clothes and shoes (of course) but was always nervous to go back to school all day and get back in the mode. I distinctly remember lying on my bed the night before the first day of school- just looking at my outfit options for the next day. It was the first day of school - you had to make a good fashion impression - am I right? I'd pick out my outfit, take my shower, go to bed with butterflies in my stomach - unable to sleep most of the night. 

I miss those days (sometimes), so I decided that since I am not starting school and didn't have the opportunity to pick out my new first day of school outfit- I decided my blog needed it's own new outfit. So..... VOILA - new face on the ole blog over here. I decided it needed some life, colors, and a sprucing up. I found this awesome template from Bella Lulu Ink - please check their etsy shop out - it's awesome! I couldn't contain my excitement last night as I sat there editing my page for hours. David thought I had gone a little crazy.

Here's some new life to my blog. Hope you like it as much as I do : )

Oh and Happy September : )