Local & Small Businesses to Shop for Gifts

Monday, December 7, 2020

(image source: sent from an employee)
This is a beautiful boutique in downtown Savannah. They have a stunning collection of clothes and accessories. I highly recommend them if you are looking for a gift for you fashion loving friends!


Sun-Kissed Clays:
Created by one of my sorority sisters, Sun-Kissed Clays sells beautiful handmade clay jewelry. Any of her pieces would make an amazing gift this Christmas. If you are interested, contact her via @sun.kissedclays here!
I was fortunate enough to visit this little shop on a tour of The Alida Hotel in downtown Savannah. It was such a wonderful idea! Downstairs in The Alida, they have this as their 'gift-shop', but instead of being a traditional gift-shop they carry products from local makers, artists, and designers. I highly recommend visiting if you are in Savannah and looking for a unique gift idea.

(image source: sent from the shop)
This was created by another sorority sister of mine. She makes the cutest customized goods! Every year I typically get my mom some sort of customized linen, bag, etc. and this is the perfect place to find inspiration! You can shop by contacting her via Instagram here or her Etsy shop.


One Fish Two Fish:
I love this store located in downtown Savannah! One of my friends introduced me to it a long time ago during a shopping day, and I fell in love. They are perfect to find a gift for tons of different people since they have such a wide variety of products. 

This is a leather store located in downtown Savannah. I absolutely love their products. They are a completely made in house brand. My fiancé loves their products as well so if you are looking for inspiration for a nicer gift for the men in your life, they would be perfect. 

Thanks for stopping by!


Gift Guide: Recent Grads

Wednesday, December 2, 2020



I am going to be honest with you guys, gift guides are one of my favorite blog posts to read from other bloggers. Less because I need ideas for gifts (I plan early), but more because I have a personal shopping problem.

These are gifts you could really use for a lot of different people, however the general theme seemed to fit 'recent grads' the best. Some of these items I already have and have been using for years and a few are on my shopping list 😉.

Ice Bucket: 
Totally on my shopping list. I have a gold bar cart with simple décor and think this would match perfect.

Candle:
Wouldn't this look perfect in an entryway or on a coffee table? Chic and definitely a statement piece. 

Dyson Hair Dryer: 
I do not have this hair dryer, however my friends that I have spoken to about it rave about how amazing it is. It is definitely a long term investment tons of people would love.

Summer Fridays Mask:
I love this line of face masks. A great way to relax and they have never broken me out which is a huge plus! This is a great more budget friendly gift.

Luggage:
Another great investment. I travel with my fiancé and we love hard shell luggage because of their durability.

Wine Glasses:
Do these need an explanation?

Plates:
I have these plates and love them! White dishes are convenient because they are easy to mix and match with other sets and pieces.

Earrings:
Simple diamond studs make a great gift! They will last forever and are timeless. 

Ring:
A great 'twist' on a class ring. Class rings don't seem to get worn for long after a graduation, however a piece like this is still symbolic while being slightly more timeless.

Key Fob:
I have the same key fob in a different pattern and love it! A more affordable, while still very practical gift. 

Tan Jacket:
I have this jacket in the orange color from a few years ago (if you love Breakfast at Tiffany's, you know) and I wear it all the time. It is so comfy and high quality, while being a fraction of the cost of the one from the full J. Crew.

Black Jacket:
Jackets like this last forever when they are taken care of and are so practical. I love the simplicity of a classic black jacket.

Jewelry Box:
I received this years ago myself as a Christmas gift and it is still in perfect condition. It is beautiful in person and such a useful gift.

Necklace:
Another timeless piece. If a natural diamond is too expensive, I highly recommend a simulated one which costs a fraction. They are just as beautiful!

Cups:
A practical and affordable gift! When I moved out of my house, I literally owned no cups haha. My fiancé and I have started a collection of Tervis's. I love them because they will repair cups if they break and fall under their warranty. I can personally attest to the fact they do this since I have now had two repaired! It was super easy and my cups look good as new. We try to get our Tervis cups from different trips or local shops so they are more sentimental.

Cocktail Napkins:
On my shopping list, I adore these! These are hand embroidered  and from a small business on Etsy.

Weekender.
One of the most used things I own. I received mine as a gift from Marley Lilly a few years ago and use it multiple times a month. This is awesome for quick trips and as a carry-on. The convenience of it being fabric as a carry-on is it fits a lot easier above your seat!

Thanks for stopping by!


Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Photos

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

To start with, I want to give Izzy + Co a huge thank you. She and Hannah were able to capture Sean and I perfectly (despite the crazy wind that sprung up! haha).

Sean and I are very laid back people. We love being outdoors, hiking/camping, low-key dates, etc. We wanted our engagement photos to reflect this. We chose the beach because it felt very us; it wasn't fussy and we could be ourselves and goof off. Sean was pretty nervous because he hates having his picture taken, but Hannah made it so much fun for both of us! We literally goofed off the whole time and felt like it was more of a beach date than a photoshoot. 

 I am so thrilled with how the photos turned out! We chose Izzy + Co because we loved the personality in her photos. When I was browsing online, her photos were all so cheerful and colorful. In addition, all the people in her photos looked like they were enjoying themselves rather than posing. 

 I hope you all enjoyed! I cannot wait to share more Wedding Wednesday posts. 


 

Current Wishlist

Sunday, September 20, 2020





 
Long time, no see! This was the first weekend in Savannah that the temperature wasn't blazing hot so needless to say I got pretty excited for fall weather. I wanted to share with you guys what is currently on my shopping list (and a couple things I already purchased!)

 I absolutely love this vase! We currently have it on our counter with hydrangeas and it is so pretty in person

I don't love pieces with large logos, but I am a sucker for Tory Burch, I love the vintage vibe of this crossbody.

3) Sweater: 
This is an old sweater from Tory Burch that I have been on the lookout for at resale shops! They have semi-similar ones this season, but I'd love to find this one for the fall.

4) Jeans: 
I used to hate jeans, but since I started buying them at Madewell I wear them all the time. They are crazy comfortable and really high quality.

Recently purchased this dress and cannot wait for it to arrive!
 
These earrings are so classic and dirt cheap! They will match almost any outfit.

It is currently hurricane season and has rained every.single.day here. These are perfect because they are practical while still being work appropriate.

Currently sold out, but I am hoping J. Crew will restock. I have had my eye on it for a few weeks and if they don't restock it seems Madewell has a similar one!

 

Wedding Wednesday: How I am Planning Our Wedding

Wednesday, July 1, 2020


I feel like this is a pretty important one since we are not using a traditional "wedding planner". A lot of people recommended to me that we use one, but when I emailed to get quotes I could not justify the cost of a wedding planner. Some were upwards of $10,000 for a full wedding planner and for just a day-of planner I have already done all the work myself I may as well just do the whole thing. I am very fortunate that I have LOVED the wedding planning process, but I know for some people it is a million times worth it to use a planner. I have a friend who is going to be my coordinator the day of so that my family and I do not have to worry about making sure vendors and everything else is in place.

This may be a common question for any of you who are planning your own wedding: you may have been told that vendors would not talk to you unless you were going through a planner, but so far this is not the case. And a little known tip that no-one told me is that some venues come with a "day-of" planner. Which they typically actually help with month of coordination.

So how am I planning?
  • One of the FIRST and most important things we did was to decide on how many guests we would invite. This affects pretty much every other part of the wedding because there is essentially a 'cost per guest' and almost every vendor and venue needs to know how many guests you are having to give you accurate information.
  • Sean and I then set a budget and broke down all the 'pieces' we would need for a wedding. We then guesstimated the cost of each of those pieces.
  • After that I looked up wedding timelines on Pinterest to give me an idea of when things should be booked.
  • Once we had time estimates done I started emailing vendors to get better price estimates and we adjusted budgets as necessary. 
  • One of the first vendors I started emailing is photographers since we want engagement photos as well.
  • One we picked a photographer, she and I made a tentative wedding day timeline so I had an idea of when things should happen such as: hair and makeup, deciding if a first look right for us due to the time of the wedding, and how many hours of coverage would we like.
  • I also started making appointments to go to venues in person. We knew what we wanted in a venue already so it was just a matter of finding the right fit.
What parts have we done already?
  • Photographer
  • Venue for both the wedding and reception
  • Wedding dress
  • Bridesmaids dresses
  • Plates and silverware for the reception
  • Wedding invitations (we decided to skip Save the Dates because it just felt like an unnecessary extra expense for us)
  • Bridal hair and makeup artist
  • Hotel: we are just finalizing how many out of town guests we will have before we make the reservation
  • Cake: we are not doing a traditional cake, we are having a macaroon tower
  • Bride and bridesmaids' bouquets
What parts am I currently working on?
  • Picking linens
  • Deciding on overall reception decor
  • Finalizing the caterers we are interested in
  • Picking a DJ (this is Sean's job though haha)
Some tips:
  • Pinterest has been a life saver for us. We wanted a clear picture of how the wedding day would look so that we always had that vision in mind while making decisions. It has given us such great ideas and kept us on track.
  • Etsy has been absolutely amazing as well. We have found things at such great prices and we know our money is going to a small business. 
  • We found tons of amazing photographers by searching hashtags on Instagram related to photography in our area. 
  • There are also tons of apps to help with wedding planning, vendors, and budgeting.
This all is just to show you that planning it yourself is totally possible and actually pretty fun. Thanks for reading!


The Perfect Wedding Guest Dress

Monday, June 29, 2020



You guys, this dress is seriously so pretty in person. I realized recently I did not have many formal event dresses so I have been trying to build up my wardrobe. I purchased this dress when it finally went on super sale and it's even prettier in person (p.s. I also purchased this one which I will be sharing once I find somewhere to photograph it). 

It was extremely comfortable to move around in and I loved the navy detail for the straps. The dress is so pretty I wanted to keep my shoes neutral to not distract from the dress. I would love to hear from you guys some store suggestions for more formal/midi style dresses.

On another note, last week we got a sneak peek at our engagement photos and will be seeing the rest this week. I am seriously so excited. I absolutely love how the photographer we chose edits her photos. They have a beautiful blue/green undertone without having a super stylized or filtered look. Her associate took our photos and made it so fun! Sean and I had never taken photos together so I was pretty nervous and she made it awesome. I will share more details with you guys later!



Wedding Wednesday: Bridesmaid's Gifts

Wednesday, May 20, 2020


Happy Wednesday everyone! I thought I could start a mini series on here called "Wedding Wednesday" that I have seen some other bloggers do. I won't have one every week, but expect to see more in the future!

Today's topic is my bridesmaids' gifts. My inspiration for these gifts came from this blogger's post. In addition to cute I also wanted for my gift to be practical so I chose monogrammed cosmetic bags since I felt like those could be used for a ton of different things. Bags are from Etsy, as well as the champagne labels. I purchased the boxes and stuffing from Amazon because it was 10x cheaper on there than anywhere else. If you ever get champagne labels I highly recommend watching a YoutTube video on how to properly remove the original labels - it made it was easier.

Little tip: a couple of my bridesmaids don't drink, so for them I labeled iced coffee bottles so they would still have the same gift, but it was non-alcoholic.

My Canadian Tuxedo

Monday, May 11, 2020


Hello everyone and happy Monday! This is a look I wore last week and let me tell you, these jeans were so comfy. I have said it before, but I am now obsessed with Madewell jeans. They fit me perfectly, which I have never said about jeans before, and are insanely well made.

Hope you are all still staying safe and doing well!


Apartment Decor

Monday, April 27, 2020


Good morning everyone and happy Monday! Today I am sharing with you some of the miscellaneous things I have decorated my apartment with. It is still a work in progress, and far from complete, but decorating has been so much fun.

I hope everyone is still healthy and safe!


My Comfy Dress

Monday, April 20, 2020


Good morning guys! I am excited to be back again with a new outfit today. I was a little dubious when I ordered this dress if I would like it or not, but I love it! It is super comfy which, let's be real, is all we are wearing right now. I recommend going one size up from your regular size to get the relaxed fit.

I hope you are all staying healthy and safe right now! I feel like we have been seeing more and more good news in terms of the virus and I hope this continues to be the case. I am minimizing how much I read the news and instead trying to focus on my fun hobbies to occupy my time.



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