blonde rosie

Celebrating National Sunglasses Day + Sharing How To Get Designer Frames At Low Prices

Published on June 27, 2017June 27, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

In honor of National Sunglasses Day, I put together my favorite a blog post about my favorite sunglasses. When your mom is an eye doctor and your dad is an optician…. you own a lot of sunglasses! It’s embarrassing, but I own dozens of sunglasses! I am lucky enough to own a lot of higher end designer sunglasses because my parents see buying sunglasses as protecting my eye health, therefore worth the purchase! 😉 Scroll down to the bottom of my post to find out how I am able to get designer sunglasses for a ridiculously low price!

I have the links to my favorite sunglasses as well as what I wore them with. The best part about designer sunglasses is that they dress up any outfit you have on! I cannot leave my house without sunglasses so now I have a pair in my purse, car and in my beach bag!

My favorite sunglasses for summer!

Can’t go wrong with these designer tortoise sunglasses!

Classic Ray Bans! Mine are very vintage, but they never go out of style making them worth the investment.

Sunglasses to splurge on! And I also bought these too!

And finally my secret to getting inexpensive designer frames is…. to buy them at Costco! Yupp! The same store you buy your paper towels and cereal in bulk is where you can buy designer sunglasses for very low prices. All of my glasses (including my recent Tory Burch frames) are from Costco! So the next time you want to buy some sunglasses, head on over to Costco and see what they have. Their inventory is always changing too so I browse at least once a month to see what is new!

favorite lunch boxes

Published on June 26, 2017June 20, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

My college was a bit obsessed with recycling and protecting our planet that after four years, I too became a bit obsessed with preventing waste and recycling. At my first job after college, I enforced recycling efforts and put recycling bins in everyone’s offices. If I saw someone throw out a water bottle, I would ask if they were going to recycle it to nudge them a bit. I am sure I was really annoying, but after a few weeks the office cleaning staff had a lot more recycling to cart away than they ever did before.

Now post college I don’t have signs up everywhere reminding me to recycle or the appropriate bins to throw out my aluminum cans or water bottles. While it may take me an extra few steps to recycle something or to bring it home with me to recycle later, I still am committed to protecting our planet.

One of my biggest life changes is no longer using plastic bags to pack up my lunches or dinners if I am working late. I bought Sistema plastic containers to pack up my lunches and most of the time I just bring my entire bag of goldfish with me instead of putting it into an extra plastic bag.

I also bought a few small bags that I can bring my lunch into work everyday, no cartoons are included! I walk into work with my purse and lunch bag everyday, and sure I look like a bag lady, but I know I am doing the right thing for my planet.

Head on over to Target and buy yourself some tupperware and a cute lunch box. Homegoods always has cute ones too and it is a great way to help the environment!

Friday Favorites

Published on June 24, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

That awkward moment when I get home from work and realize it was Friday, but I had no idea. Oops! This post is a little late to go up but that also describes the type of week I am having. Always lots to do and very little time to get everything done. I recently took on another job so now I am balancing three jobs, sleep, personal hygiene and sleep as well as a Netflix episode or 20!

Here are some of my favorites this week….

One of my goals this week was to take more walks. I spend so much time going from place to place, but rarely take the time to just go on a walk with no destination. I came across this sign on one of my walks in town and fell in love with it.

What I Bought

Victoria’s Secret Just a reminder that it is the Semi-Annual Sale at Victoria’s Secret and while all of us gals stock up on undies for $3.99, now is the time to pick up a new traveling case as well. I went in this week to buy underwear that I didn’t need, but saw that their traveling cases were on sale. I purchased the classic pink stripe one and while it is sold out online, it should still be available in stores. I usually have to pack more than one travel case when I go on trips, but I love how handy this is because I can use one bag with two compartments to store my products.

Target Every trip to Target begins with the intention to buy one thing and leaving with things you don’t need! I went to pick up a new razor and hand soap…. and scored in the clearance section. This palm print is perfect for summer and I am so happy it finally made it to clearance! Also, their monogrammed towels finally went to clearance so grab them quick!

placemats // pillow // towel

Kate Spade Okay, so I didn’t actually purchase these items but I had to share on the blog! I went into the Kate Spade Outlet on my lunch break this week and look at how cute these summer bags are!! Ugh if I had money I would totally buy that pineapple!

My Favorite Products

As always, my week would not have been made possible without dry shampoo. I opened up my cabinet to realize I had 3 full bottles of Batiste. Ha! I found a bottle on clearance at Target and I always get mine at TJ Maxx because it is always less than $5. You can read my full post about it here.

Still obsessed with all of these products from last week’s Target haul.

What I Wore

dress // shoes

tank // jeans // shoes

summer to do list

Published on June 23, 2017June 20, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

It was a cold and rainy spring, but then over night the sun and summer heat arrived! With all of this sunshine it makes going to work everyday a little bit more difficult. I have a lot I want to get done this summer. So I made a list and hope I can get it all done!

Here is my summer to do list!

Go through my wardrobe and purge
Every season when I bring out new clothes out of storage and I have to justify putting it back into my closet. Since my days are spent in the office, I donated a lot of my going out or casual summer clothes because they only collected dust in my closet.

Update Your Resume
Now is a good time to update your resume so it can list all of your accomplishments and skills.

Work Out
Since all of my free time is spent on the beach or at my pool, I need to make sure my body stays in shape! With the warmer weather, it makes it easier to go for a run on the boardwalk or long walks on the beach after work.

Visit Other Beaches
Even though I do live on a beach in Jersey, my family and I rent a beach house every summer in LBI to feel like a tourist on a beach. There’s a long list of beaches I want to visit in Jersey this summer and I hope to cross them off the list!

Ice Cream
I don’t know how I don’t gain 100 pounds because of my ice cream consumption every summer.

Farmers Markets
This may be my favorite part of my summer. There is a farmers market that is in walking distance from my house and I could spend hundreds of dollars on fresh veggies and fruits.

Start a Project
When the summer temperatures prevent us from going outdoors, have a project you can work on indoors. To be honest, that is how I got most of our home renovations done because I was bored and couldn’t go to the beach. One summer, I was able to organize all of our family photos and last summer I painted and redesigned our second floor.

Explore Your City
Take advantage of those summer days and walk around your town or city like a tourist. Go to a restaurant that only the tourists go to and spend time walking around.

Try a New Fruity Drink at the Bar
To be honest, I am a little intimidated by the drink list at bars. This summer I hope to just go down the list and try a few things to see what I like. Obviously, not all at once, but throughout the summer I hope to check them off my list!

Drink More Water!
With the warmer weather, your body needs more water! I just bought a new tumbler from Starbucks so now I can carry it wherever I go so I can keep up with this goal.

Wear More Lilly
It is officially summer for me when I take my Lilly Pulitzer dresses out of storage!

It’s not about the dress you wear but the life you lead in the dress

Published on June 21, 2017June 22, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

dress / shoes / necklace (old from J. Crew Factory)

Good morning, everyone! Working two jobs with very different schedules really messes with my sleep schedule. At one job, I often work until 10pm and then for my other job I have to be in the office an hour away by 9am. Luckily, I have it worked out with my boss that I can make my own schedule and clock in when I want as long as I get all of my work done. (Thanks, Tara!)

Most mornings, I sleep through my alarm and have to rush out of the house to get to the office. Yesterday morning, I once again slept through my alarm, grabbed this dress from my closet and ran out the door. One of the reasons I love summer is because I can wear cute dresses everyday. Most days I just throw on a dress, wear my Jack Rogers or Tory Burch Miller Sandals with a statement necklace and poof, it’s an outfit!

I recently bought this dress from The Loft and now it is on major sale! It is super comfortable and soft so it feels like I am wearing pajamas to work. It is office appropriate, but I can also wear it as a beach cover up or a simple day dress. Best part is… did I mention it has pockets?!?

I had a dozen people ask about this dress when I wore it to work yesterday and it is a must have for summer!

Celebrating Jeffy on Father’s Day + A Gift Guide

Published on June 13, 2017June 13, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

I love my family so much. I know a lot of college graduates who moved home after college, jumped through hoops to move out of their parents house so they could get their own apartment. This is my third year after college graduation and I am still living with my parents, but at the same time I am not trying that hard to move out either. My family is the world to me. I was blessed to grow up in such a supporting and loving family. I am taking this new phase in my life, being an adult living with my parents, as this opportunity to get to know my parents better as people.. For years our parents drove us places, made a home for us and did a million things on the side for me to grow up as a happy child with everything I ever wanted.

When I was a little kid, I never really understood the significance of Father’s Day. I would get a card, a gift and we would do a family breakfast before heading to the beach. When someone is in your daily life everyday, I think we don’t realize how much they do for us. When I went away for college, I would call or text my dad when I needed someone to listen. He would always respond with something corny or a classic dad quote. I called him crying one day because I got a B+ as a final grade in my Management course, and he told me that “a B is for beautiful like me”. I was sobbing, but had to cry because it was so corny. He never cared about the grades I got because he knew the pressure I put on myself. He wanted to know how much fun I was having in college and tease me for being in the library insisting I go out and have fun.

When I moved back home after college, my family and I went through a rough few months dealing with my dads health. There were days we had to rush him to the hospital and there were times I was hyperventilating on the hospital floor afraid he wasn’t coming home. My dad was hooked up to wires after heart surgery trying to make me feel better when I should have been the one reassuring him that. My dad always puts the needs of others before his own. While he was on bed rest in the hospital after his stroke, I remember climbing into bed with him and my mom had to pry me off when the nurses had to do his checkup. I never took my dad for granted, but when I saw my dad sick I realized I needed to show him more how much he means to me. He is the strongest guy I know with the biggest heart. Always willing to help out and always giving me money before I walk out the door in case I need it. We still walk together and hold hands even though I am all grown up. That is one thing that will never change between us.

The funny thing is that we bicker a lot when we are doing projects together because we have the same exact personality. The bickering quickly turns into us laughing I promise! I get my reckless driving and parallel parking skills from him along with his sense of humor. I am my father’s daughter in every way!

I made a goal to tell my dad everyday how much I appreciate him by saying good night before I go up to bed or putting his shoes away. It is the little things that show someone how much we really care. However, you cannot just say you love your dad on Father’s Day and show up empty handed. So I put together a little Father’s Day gift guide to inspire you to run to Target and grab a card as well as get a little something that dads need.