Recent Outfits

When I first started this little blog, my intention was to get at least one outfit post up a month, if not more. Turns out 1. I will never be able to wake up a few extra minutes to take pictures before I leave because I just love sleep an my bed (and the lighting in my room is terrible so early in the mornings), and 2. the first thing I do when I get home from work is put on comfy clothes, so I totally forget about the picture. Oh well. Here are a few work outfits that I've managed to get a picture of recently:

Tank (old, Banana Republic outlet) / Cardigan / Pants / Boots (old, Nordstrom) / Necklace

Shirt / Cardigan (similar on sale!) / Pants / Boots (old, Nordstrom) / Scarf (gift)

Shirt (old, Loft) / Pants / Shoes / Necklace (old, similar on sale!)

Sweater / Pants / Boots (old, Nordstrom) / Necklace

Shirt / Pants / Shoes / Scarf (on sale!)

DIY Flower Girl Proposal

One of the reasons I couldn't wait for my baby niece to be born was so I could officially ask her to be our flower girl! I made my own proposal gifts for my bridesmaids, so of course I had to do one for the baby, too. I scrolled through Pinterest over and over, but there were very few ideas for babies and none of them really hit me. Then I started thinking of things babies would actually use, and it came to me... socks! I had seen these sock bouquets around for baby showers, but I thought it would be absolutely perfect to make for a flower girl proposal. The best part? The whole thing cost me less than $20.

Supplies:

• Baby socks (color of your choice, I chose this pack with different shades of pink)
• Popsicle sticks
• Fake flowers
• Tissue paper
• Small vase
• Ribbon
• Scrapbook paper
• Marker

Steps:

1. Make your sock flowers by laying the sock flat, rolling the sock from the toe up, and folding one side of the opening over the rest of the sock. Check out this tutorial for pictures. 
2. Stick the popsicle into the bottom of the sock (like the stem of the flower). 
3. Stuff the vase with tissue paper (this helps the popsicle stocks stay in place).
4. Arrange the sock flowers in the vase.
5. Fill in any empty spots with fake flowers.
6. Design your card on a small piece of scrapbook paper, and tie it on with a bow.

Christmas Decor

Aside from gift guides, Holiday House Tours are one of my favorite things to see in the blogging world around Christmas time! As I've mentioned before, we've only been in our house for about six months now... but decorating it for Christmas for the first time was one of the things I was most excited about since we signed the closing papers!

Of course, the bar is my favorite place to decorate. I will automatically pick up any little trinket that involves Christmas and wine. I can't help it - note the ugly sweater wine bottle topper! I've also accumulated a collection of Christmas wine glass charms over the years, which I have displayed in the snowflake bowl I picked up from Dollar General. I got the cocktail napkins from the Dollar Tree and the "Merry" sign from Hobby Lobby. The silver and gold trees and the Santa decoration are from the Target dollar spot. I needed something with some color to put in the giant champagne glass, and these little light bulb ornaments from Target did the trick.

To add some Christmas cheer to our dining room, I filled my centerpiece platter with mini silver and gold ornaments and wrapped some garland around it. I also added the Joy pillow to the chair in the corner. I got the ornaments from Walmart and the rest from the Target dollar section (noticing a trend here?). Next year I'm hoping to get some Christmas placemats, too.

This manger scene was one that I got from my grandma's house. I wrapped some LED string lights around the top to give it a little something extra.

Since we don't have a mantle, we opted to hang our stockings on the counter that separates our living room and kitchen. Worked out alright for now! Our next house will definitely have a fireplace.

I had my heart set on some small Christmas trees in pots for either side of the front porch, but I had the hardest time finding them! I originally found the PERFECT ones in Walmart (a set of two for only $20!), but they were sold out. After looking everywhere, we ended up buying these two trees from Dollar General and wrapped lights around them. In the future, I'm going to try to put them in pots to give it a more complete look. We added some candles in the windows, and I'm proud to say that we were one of the first ones in the neighborhood to have lights up!

How do you decorate for Christmas? Let me know in the comments!

Stocking Stuffers

Almond Foot Mask /Hat / Makeup Bag / Nail Polish

Ugly Sweater Cat Koozie / Bracelet / Candle / Wine Bottle Stopper

Wine Glass Charms / Hot Cocoa / Earrings

Stocking are one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I always looked forward to opening the tiny gifts one by one on Christmas morning. I'm so glad that even though I'm in my 20s now, my mom still puts one together for me every year! I recently started doing one for her, too, and it's always so fun to pick up little things for it throughout the year. Here are some favorites I've found recently that would be perfect stocking stuffers!

My Christmas List

I know most people typically get annoyed with the overwhelming amount of gift guides going around this time of year, but I love them! I really enjoy picking out personal gifts for others, so I appreciate the inspiration from all of you! While I love shopping for the perfect gift, I always manage to find a few things for myself. Here's what's on my wishlist this year!

Plaid Cape

How cozy does this look? I love the look of plaid capes over a striped shirt, and I'll never complain about some extra warmth. I'm always cold.

Bean Boots

I love my riding boots so much that I wear them pretty much nonstop throughout the colder months. These boots would provide another option if I'm dressing a little more casual and still want my ankles covered. Again, I'm always cold.

Socks (1, 2)

Because you can never have too many socks, right?

Bracelet

I have a few gold bracelets from Stella & Dot that I love, and I think this would make a great addition to a holiday arm party.

Nail Polish (1, 2, 3)

Same goes for nail polish - you can never have too many! 

Flannel Shirt

Flannel shirts are my go-to for casual winter days. I love the colors in this one.

Jacket

I need a good casual jacket, and the color of this one will go with anything!

What's on your wishlist this year?

5 on Friday

Happy November! Why do I feel like the days drag on forever, but the months and years fly by? Now it's finally starting to get chilly outside, and I'm getting excited for Thanksgiving, Black Friday shopping, and the whole Christmas season.

It's been a while since I've done a 5 on Friday, so I'm happy to share 5 new finds with y'all this week!

1. Birthday Gifts to Myself
I make it a tradition to always buy birthday presents for myself. After all, it's the one day of the year that's all about you! Plus, you can't let all those birthday coupons go to waste (looking at you, Victoria's Secret and Loft!). I went shopping with my mom the weekend before my birthday and scooped up all kinds of stuff, including some new fall & Christmas B&BW goodies, two new bras from VS, and a couple new tops from Loft. Then, Jonathan's parents gave me an Amazon gift card, so I used it to buy this Kendra Scott necklace that I've had my eye on forever, which I'm really excited about!

2. Registering For Our Wedding!
I made an appointment for us to register at Bed Bath & Beyond on November 4th at a bridal show way back in January, and I'm so excited that tomorrow is finally the day! I've made a list of things that we need. There are some kitchen staples that we still don't have and some major things that I definitely want, like a Kitchen Aid mixer. We also definitely need a good vacuum (cat hair is literally everywhere).

3. Netflix
Before moving into our new house, I didn't have Netflix because our internet wasn't strong enough (the only downfall of living in a small town). I would only get to watch it when I went over to Jonathan's. Now that I have better internet at our new house, I finally finished my first series ever: How I Met Your Mother. I loved every single episode! Now I'm working my way through Fuller House; I was a huge Full house fan growing up, so naturally I love the perfectly cheesy series. I also just watched the first episode of Stranger Things - has anyone seen it? I'm kind of intrigued!

4. Monogrammed Vest
Have you ever checked out Marley Lilly's Monogram Bloopers? I've checked a few times before and never found anything good. I took another look this week to see if they happened to have anything with my future monogram, and they did! This monogrammed vest was only $10, so I didn't hesitate to buy it! Now, will I be able to wait until next fall to wear it...?

5. Wedding Updates
I just ordered our wedding favors: koozies that say "cheers to many years and cold beers!" I can't wait for them to come! We've also sent out our save the dates and decided on our wedding cake. Next up: picking out invitations. Any recommendations for where to find some less expensive ones? There are so many choices out there!

Dining Room

I don't feel 100% confident saying this (because I'm indecisive and always changing things), but I think our dining room is now complete! 

One of the things I love so much about this room is that almost everything came from my grandparents' house. They had great taste! They were collectors of all sorts of things, and they would often go to sales and auctions to buy new things. This dining room table was from their formal dining room. I love the high backs and the antique feel, but since we don't exactly have a formal dining space, I wanted to make the room more casual with some contemporary/farmhouse decor.

When we bought our house, there was a chandelier hanging in this area that didn't fit our tastes at all. Believe me when I say that hideous is an understatement (think Star Wars Death Star meets disco ball?). Needless to say, it was the first thing to go once we closed on the house, and I replaced it with this simple candlestick chandelier from Wayfair.

My grandparents had a HUGE collection of blue and white china. Although I had no idea what I'd do with it at the time, I definitely wasn't going to let it get away when we sold everything from their house. Most of the dishes are in my cabinets and ready to be used, but I knew I wanted to display some of them. When I found this sign with one of my favorite sayings on it from Hobby Lobby, the vision instantly came together in my head. I absolutely love how it turned out, and it's not (yet another) one of my favorite place in our house!

Halloween Decor

When we first started actually house hunting for real, one of the things I was most excited about was having my very own whole entire house to decorate for the holidays. Since we've only been living together on our own for about four months, we don't have too many decorations yet, so I've been picking up some things along the way (hello, Target Dollar Spot!). It's so fun to think that all of the decorations I buy to add to my collection will be decorating our house for years to come.

While I'm anxiously awaiting to start making this house into a winter wonderland, I've been having fun putting pumpkins everywhere!

Here are the bar decorations for October:

I made the cork picture frame myself. Each of the wineries represented by the corks has a story, and I love that they remind me of so many fun memories.

This little cork cat was a handmade gift from my sister in law. If it doesn't perfectly reflect my personality, then I don't know what does!

Napkin Holder / Napkins (Target Dollar Spot) / Pumpkins (similar)

These little pumpkins were so adorable that I couldn't resist placing them throughout the house. I love the way the look as part of our dining room table centerpiece!

Have you decorated for Halloween or Fall yet? Where's your go to for holiday decorations?

Wedding Inspiration

Give a Type A Super Planner a diamond ring, and look out! Like many girls, I've been dreaming about planning my wedding since before I ever had a boyfriend. I've always had an interest in planning events (sometimes I question if I chose the wrong career path!), and I'm a sappy romantic at heart, so I absolutely could not wait to start turning my dreams into actual plans once Jonathan popped the question. Knowing that I'm a planner, he proposed in November 2016, giving me a year and a half to plan for my dream wedding on June 16, 2018, which is also my grandparents' anniversary.

Let's be honest, lots of my plans are already done. I don't want to give away too much, but here's some inspiration I've been working with. To help you get the idea - the reception will be in a gorgeous barn with string lights and a beautiful chandelier.

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Only 264 days to go! Save the Dates are just about ready to be sent out. Next up: choosing a cake and deciding on invitations! 

J. Crew Factory Favorites

I went a little crazy shopping over the past couple months with both clothes and home items (cue No Spend September). I still have so many decorating ideas that I want to bring to life in our new house! That being said, all of these items are currently sitting on my wish list, not in my cart, but they're too cute not to share with y'all!

Double Ruffle-Sleeve Top

Pink + ruffled sleeves... what more do you need? This would pair great with black pants, flats, and some fun statement jewelry.

Chambray Shirt

I love a good chambray shirt to go with anything from a pencil skirt to colorful chinos!

Chino Pant

These would be a great addition to my work wardrobe - the olive green color would complement so many colors form any to blush.

Ruffle-Sleeve T-Shirt

Again, with the ruffled sleeves! Also, I'm a sucker for stripes.

And... J. Crew Factory currently has a buy one get one free deal on shoes! If I were to order some (which I'm trying very hard not to do), I'd get these two:

 Zoe D'Orsay Flats

Suede D'Orsay Loafer Flats

What are your favorites lately? 

Statement Necklace for Work

School has officially started, so gone are the days of t-shirts and shorts, sadly. I've gotten into the habit (at least so far) of picking out my clothes the night before (I'm not a morning person by any means), and I'm trying to keep my look professional and put-together. This outfit was one of my recent favorites.

Dress / Cardigan / Necklace / Sandals

I was recently given this statement necklace by a friend who sells Stella & Dot, and I couldn't wait to wear it! It comes apart so you can be as flashy or as simple as you want, but of course I opted for the maximum statement. 

I love the excitement it brings to this little black dress. To make it work appropriate, and because my office is always freezing, I added a pink cardigan.

How do you wear statement jewelry to work?