Loving Lately - Spring Edition (including Lilly favorites)!

Hi friends, does anyone else have spring fever?! 

I'm getting the warm weather, blossoming blooms, exposed shoulder excitement and just purchased a few wardrobe refreshers that I've been loving lately. With not one but two bachelorette parties coming up in the next two weeks, one after another, I thought it was the perfect excuse to insert some new pieces into my routine. 

It wouldn't be spring without some Lilly, here's my favs, I'll post pics on my Insta Story once they arrive!

 Del Lago Tunic Dress - I LOVE the print, bell sleeves and tassels!

Kay Lace Popover - The perfect white lace top, I love the palm print and the sleeves!

Go Bananas Earrings - You can wear them as pictured or as studs and they're under $40!

Acrylic Lo-Ball Glasses - I saw these on Heather of Sweet Tea Jubilee's Insta and knew we needed them for warm weather entertaining! 

I live in comfy dresses and shirts in the summer and snagged these from Nordstrom:

Caslon Peplum Tee - Under $40 and a super cute white tee! Also comes in 4 other colors.

Lush V-Neck Tee Dress - I have a feeling this will be on repeat and is such a steal at $42. 

Topshop Gingham Asymmetrical Top - I saw The Miller Affect in this top on her Insta and fell in love with it. We'll see if it looks as cute on me when it shows up :).

How about a few more accessories? 

JCrew Factory Sunglasses - I have been absolutely LIVING in these $20 sunglasses!

Maui Pom Pom Earrings - I've been on a hoops kick lately and love the pom pom colors and detail on these!

Romany Drops - The blush color, the tassels, the size... I absolutely adore these earrings!

I couldn't leave you without a pair of shoes, the color on these Sam Edelman heels is phenomenal and they're comfy with their sturdy block heel!

Finally, you guys were loving this LOFT Flounce Dress on my Insta and I can't blame you, it's my new staple! And LOFT is having a 30% off sale this weekend (or 40% off for cardholders)!

That's it folks!  I've got a whole wishlist I'll share too, but these are the ones that were highest on my list. 

What are you loving lately? 

Shop everything above here too:

PS: I've had so many emails lately about Charleston suggestions - I hope to do a big guide coming soon, but in the meantime, I've been loving these from fellow bloggers:

Gal Meets Glam

Charleston Weekender

Lemon Stripes Restaurant Guide

The Stripe

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Happy 23 Months Sullivan Louise!

On Sunday you turned 23 months Miss Sullivan Louise! TWENTY. THREE. MONTHS. That means that in less than a month you'll be two years old.

I looked at your Daddy tonight and explained, probably for like five minutes, how nothing has ever blown my mind more than the fact that you have been in our lives for two whole, really really full years (+10 months in my belly). Here you are at this time last year. See, mind blown!

All of a sudden this past month you have become a (finally understandable) chatter box mastering new words left and right. We walked down King Street this weekend and you could barely point and talk fast enough to tell me all the things you were seeing. You told me about the "bunnieee, hop hop hop" and the alligator on the truck saying, "awiegator, shhhomp shhomp shomp". 

This photo was for "wacky" day at school - you loved reppin your "Mermaid Hair Don't Care" glitter shirt and emoji bow. It's hard to get pictures of you these days!

Your favorite food is cheeekin (chicken) and doughdurt (yogurt). You are a total Mama's girl and never tire of saying, "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mommy, Mommy, Mommiieeeeeee". Whenever you see the bed you say, "Nugnuuules" meaning that you want to crawl up there and snuggle. You get pretty mad if Mommy tries to snuggle one of the pups instead of you :). 

When we drive over the bridge from school to home you wave at the ocean and say hi to all the fishies and dolphins and boats. Speaking of school, you love your friends and can say all of their names - we laugh at how country you say Will ("Weeeeehill") and how you have say "Shhhhaahm" (Sam). 

Daddy and I both love when he comes home from work, the dogs bark and you run to your window to see if it's him then hide giddily behind your curtains. Not longer for 6 seconds though before you fling open the curtains and run to him giving him a huge hug and yelling his name in excitement. 

You're getting really into movies and I'm proud to say that Ariel is one of your favs (mine too, baby girl), along with Dori, Moana and of course Frozen. 

Overall, you're sweet to the core in your 23rd month. There are times when you don't know the right word and get so frustrated you just scream. In those cases we just say, "Sully, use your words" and you usually can muster a "pwweashhh" and point to what you want. 

Oh, the other frustrating thing for Mama and Dada... you are now very opinionated about your clothing and shoe choices. You must always be wearing a bow, you only want to wear your gold glitter shoes and you are especially particular about what pajamas you wear to bed. We're so in for it with you little one. 

I'm sure going to have a hard time with you turning two. Everything has been measured in months leading up to this. Now your life will be measured in years. And oh how years fly by sweet girl. If you've come to learn anything in this short little life of yours so far, I hope you've learned how MUCH your Mommy and Daddy (and all your family and friends) love, love, love you.  

Fun at The Cloister with J.McLaughlin

Have you guys ever been to The Cloister in Sea Island, GA? If you have, or even if you've just seen photos, you know it is an absolute dream. I can't shake the place y'all, I'm already planning my next visit because I feel like I only saw such a tiny slice in the few days I was there for The Southern C Summit. 

When the Charleston Weekender asked if I would join her and J.McLaughlin in a fun little shoot while we were there, I quickly jumped on the opportunity. With Fashion Week about to kick off here in Charleston, I thought this was the perfect time to share these fun photos with you taken by the oh so talented Kathryn McCrary. 

The dress I'm wearing is the beautiful Rosewood Dress in Inkwell Stripe. In some of the photos you'll see I paired it with the Tapestry Scarf in Navy  and my favorite - the Mia Tote in Market Paisley. I also brought along my Le Specs Sunglasses and Jack Rogers Monogramed Sandals. 

On Liz, you'll see her #EveryDayImTasselin Asha Poncho in Blue. I love the way she styled this poncho, especially with her Canvas Weekender as an accessory!

After the hustle and bustle of the Summit, it was really fun to climb into some comfy clothes and goof off in this gorgeous setting!

Not pictured above, how cute are these Petal Scallop Shorts in Winter Navy?! Of course I brought my little pink camera along for the ride as well, which paired perfectly with Liz's Turkish Towel in Pastel Pink. It all made for a perfect combination and fun shoot!

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Thoughts from a Working Mom to Working Moms

I read a stat yesterday that stated 71% of Moms are working Moms. WOW! 71%. Really?! I'm not going to lie, I was a little taken aback by that number. 

Why does it not feel this way? It feels a lot like a lone island sometimes a lot of the time.

I had a whole plane ride without working wi-fi to ponder this question and my initial reaction to that stat. I felt guilty y'all for feeling this way! 

I tried to justify my reaction, I thought of things like, well... I live in the South where it's traditional to stay at home with your little one. And maybe I feel that way because all the time people assume I don't work (#annoying) and only write this little blog, but then again I don't talk a lot about my full-time job on social and in person so why would they know?

Next I had to wonder how they quantified "working". I mean heck, I always say I'm the selfish, weak one in the world of Mamas. I spend all day by myself working away when a stay-at-home Mom's work is 24/7 with not even a bathroom break to themselves. That's more work than any "working" Mom does any day. 

When Sully was born, Ry and I sat down and talked about what life after baby would look like. He said to me that he was fully supportive if I wanted to stay at home. (Have I ever mentioned how I have the best husband in the whole entire earth?!) My head filled with days of love and cuddles, yoga and consistent, quality blogging. 

Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe that just wasn't my path. I had worked so darned hard to get where I was currently in my career at one of the best companies in the US (ranked in Fortune's top 200). I landed my first office paying gig when I was 13 and did four internships in college. If you count babysitting, my working life goes back even earlier. 

Well wouldn't ya know it, a few weeks into Sully's little life I knew I owed it to my daughter to work. For my sanity, for hers, for my husband's, heck for my dog's!

I'm not saying it's the easy route. And I'm definitely not saying it's for everyone. 

Just yesterday morning as I was on my way to the airport I realized I was walking out of the front door holding my daughter's blanket for goodness sake. The thought of not holding her, even a piece of her, for three days made my whole body ache (if you're wondering, I did up turning around and putting it back so she didn't go without).

It sucks leaving, it sucks waving goodbye every morning as she goes to school, it sucks realizing you missed her say her first full sentence because she said it at school (I cried off and on about that for hours, not even going to lie). 

But you know what's great? The moments we do have together are soooo full of love and play time on the floor and cuddles, no devices, no computers, no distractions. Just us. Just me and my Sully girl. She gets all of me for 5 hours a day and all weekend. Not enough time, but it's what we've got.

I see her mimic things I do and things I say and faces I make all the time. Just the other day I listened to her try to sing "Jesus Loves Me" in the car, slip on her shoes standing up and struggle to "put on" mascara (with the lid on) all in that same day. Pure Mama joy. Gah I'm so proud of that kid you guys. 

It also helps that she absolutely adores her school and loves seeing her teachers and friends - all of which she knows their names - each day. 

I know she'll grow up seeing her Mama provide for her family. She'll see her Mama run a boardroom and a home (or at least try). She'll see me struggle and she'll see me succeed. And most of all, I don't ever doubt that she'll know how much I love her.

So for all you working Mamas... you do you. Don't feel guilty. Don't feel like you're a lone island. 71% of us are right here with you. Take that stat with comfort, not with disbelief. Ok? Okay. Now let's go raise some amazing kiddos!

5 on Friday: Seeking advice, Shopbop sale favs + More!

This is my first 5 on Friday post of 2017 you guys, which seriously blows my mind! How is it March already? I've been having grace with myself here at the beginning of this year when it comes to blogging, which y'all might know from this post. Plus, I have some big exciting news coming y'alls way in a month or so, stay tuned :). 

Now though, I'm ready to jump back in to 5 on Fridays and all the blogging goodness, here we go!

{ONE}

How do you keep hydrangea bushes alive?

I have been digging ;) the warmer weather lately, so I was inspired on Sunday to make a Lowe's run and plant two small hydrangea bushes in tall planters on my front porch. But y'all, I feel like I'm already starting to kill them. Do you have any tips for me?

Rug // Shoes // Jeans // Top (on sale)

Let's just say I can't keep these guys alive... what are some sturdy, pretty, fit for a tall planter flowers for people who aren't savvy gardeners? 

{TWO}  

Google Flight Map. 

Have y'all seen this?! You can enter in where you're flying from and then multiple flight destinations and it shows prices for your selected times, plus those of surrounding areas. 

It's perfect for anyone not sure exactly where they want to go. I even found flights in the August timeframe for $350-$500 all over Europe. It was so tempting to be spontaneous and just book it, but alas, I refrained. 

{THREE}

Help - what kind of sandals do kids with fat feet wear?

I feel like teenage Sully would be so embarrassed of this post in the future (sorry boo!). So she has super fat, thick feet which right now is adorbs, but we're having trouble finding sandals that fit her! Our go-to Salt Water Sandals from last year are too tight and she cried when I put them on her, I even went with a size 6 when she's a 5. 

Then I went to order the new toddler Jacks and realized they probably wouldn't fit her either?

Any suggestions on cute sandals she might fit into? Even her Native's are getting really tight, but the next size up slips off her foot from the length. Help me out Mamas!

{FOUR}

I'm really into Spotify again.

I used Spotify years ago and just now got back into it after wanting a more tailored option for listening to music. Plus, I love Emily Ley's monthly playlists so it got me back on the bandwagon. Follow along to what I'm listening to here. 

{FIVE}

Only one more day left to shop the Shopbop sale - my favorites under $200!

There is so much good stuff in this sale you guys, I separated out the first things I gravitated towards in accessories first and then clothing. I'm ballin on a budget right now, so I included my favorites under $200. Let me know your favorites and if I missed anything good!

I also love these blogger's picks for this sale if you just can't get enough...

Sweet Southern Prep

Look Linger Love

Sequins & Stripes

Hello Happiness

Southern Curls & Pearls

A. Straw Tassel Bag // B. Pink Heel (more sizes here) // C. Illesteva Tortoise Sunglasses

D. Tassel Sandal Heels // E. Jeffery Campbell Wedges // F. Knotted Tassel Earrings

G. Red Espadrille // H. Joie Sneaker // I. Orange Floral Sandals

1. Blue Floral Swing Dress // 2. Scalloped Chambray Dress // 3. Lace Bell Sleeve Dress

4. Collared White Dress // 5. One Sleeve Ruffle Dress // 6. Madewell Overalls

7. Lips & Lashes Tee // 8. Striped Off The Shoulder Top // 9. Tiered Sleeve Top

Wowza! This is a huge post. Thanks for sticking with me y'all! What did you enjoy reading about the most? Any gardening or little sandal tips for me?

PS: Coming soon... my Southern C Summit recap! 

This post contains affiliate links. Meaning, if you click on some of these links I may get some $ thrown my way, no expense to you. Thank you for supporting this blog!