a patriotic weekend

Published on July 5, 2016 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

You would think that living on the beach would be the perfect life, right?! Days spent at the beach and not a care in the world? Nope!
Since it was Fourth of July Weekend my family and I had to get creative on how to have fun away from the beach and tourists. We decided to visit a brewery in a nearby town and bring our friends from Alaska who are staying with us for the week.

The last place we wanted to be was at a crowded bar during the holiday so this was a great experience to try. After a “tour” we went to the rooftop and got to sample beers. This brewery has a lot of beers with very high alcohol levels. Very high! It is definitely a cool thing to do during the summer when you just want to grab a drink with a friend- did I mention it’s free?!?

A trip to the brewery was planned very last minute and I was outside sunbathing/snoozing when I was told to get in the car. I was wearing my traditional July 4th swimsuit (I only wear a one piece once a year) and threw on some navy blue shorts. What should have made me look like a hot mess and lazy in a bathing suit, I actually loved my outfit!

[Outfit details: red one piece swim suit, navy shorts (out of stock but similiar here), watch, sunglasses, lip color (out of stock but I l o v e it!), nail polish, bag (vintage)]

red, white, & a fun filled weekend!

Published on July 3, 2016July 3, 2016 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

When I say I have been planning for the Fourth of July since January, I am not kidding!
For work I will be organizing my towns Fourth of July parade, which is a really really realllly big deal! I have 58 groups, 4 marching bands, 35 automobiles and an alarm set for 5:30am for Monday morning. I have spent hours this week finalizing plans and small details for the parade day. I will be posting another post hopefully sharing my adventures on the Fourth!

Sunday is technically the only day I have off and I plan on enjoying every single moment of it. Today is the first time in weeks I have not had to set my alarm and now I am in bed blogging to start the day. I wish every day started like this!

Be sure to go back and check out my Memorial Day blog post for some party inspiration!

The week leading up to the Fourth I was very patriotic in my outfits!

I have had this dress on my wish list for a while now and even wrote about it here. It was on the clearance rack for $7 at Old Navy and it is adorable but comfortable for work. Right now they are out of this print online but I encourage you to go to the store and buy this style in every print! Right now (Saturday only) dresses at Old Navy are only $8. Keep an eye out for similar sales towards the end of summer. A lot of my favorite work dresses are from Old Navy and have lasted for many seasons.

At work on Friday I really got into the season with a dress I wear every Fourth and Memorial Day! It’s a navy blue stretch dress with poka dots making it so much fun to wear to work. It is old from Banana Republic but right now the whole store is on sale so go now to stock up on work dresses! Banana Republic always has classics to wear to work that you can wear for many years and never go out of style. I paired my dress with sandals from Gap and my red Ray Bans. It is really hard to hide my American Pride this week!

Be sure to run to Old Navy today to pick up your Fourth of July shirts! For years they just sold the white shirts or tank tops holiday shirts, but now they are more creative (and adorable!). As always, they are super cheap and make a great holiday outfit!

On Saturday I had a few hours by the pool in my new favorite patriotic bikini from Target. The best thing about Target is that they are affordable and have styles for everyones body type. While I love swim from VS I feel like my body type does not always fit in their styles. They have a whole line of patriotic swimwear in different styles to fit your body type. Mine is perfect for flat chested gals like me but they make tops for more support if you need it. This swim is adorable and will be worn for many summers to come! Hurry to Target before they are all sold out!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

When National Wear Lilly Day Turns Into Wear Lilly All Week

Published on June 29, 2016June 28, 2016 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

Monday

I work in the office six days a week so I get a half a day on Monday to make up for it. At first the idea of having to wake up at 7am six days a week sounded horrible! Saturday was the one day a week I got to sleep until noon! But now that I am few weeks into this schedule it is not so bad. It’s still bad but not that bad!! On Mondays I like to go on adventures and get some fun in! Since Monday was the first official day of summer and National Wear Lilly Day it turned into a day full of fun! My mom, aunt and I went to McCloone’s on the beach for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. I have a secret consignment store I go to to find vintage Lilly. I found it appropriate to buy a new Lilly dress and skort on the Lilly holiday! The dress was only $20 an the skirt was $14. Win! On Monday I wore a Lilly dress I got last y

Lilly Pulitzer Pink Nautical Seahorse Beach Shell Sheath Dress

Tuesday

Tuesday ended up being a humid day where it felt like any minute it would pour! I was a ray of sunshine (and bright color) in the office. I wore another vintage Lilly print to work and stole my moms green Lilly cardigan because it matched perfectly! It was a bit too short for work so I had to be careful how I got up from my office chair. Bare shoulders are a big no no at work but all of my dresses can become work friendly with the right cardigan. You may think having 20 cardigans is a bit insane but for me they are a work staple! In the winter I can add a layer and stay warm and it turns a blank boring tee shirt into a work outfit. Viola! I own a lot of dresses but shoulders are frowned upon in the work world. Everyday I wear a cardigan so it is nice to have options. I get most of mine from J Crew because they are a little more formal for the office.

Lilly Pulitzer Juice Bar Dress with Lilly Pulitzer Cardigan

Wednesday

This is the dress I found at consignment for $20 and I love it! The one thing I wish Lilly dresses had was pockets! On Wednesday I was running around town working on projects and working in different buildings. For work I need to have my phone on me at all times because someone always is asking me questions but I had no where to put my phone! Dear Lilly, make pockets on your dresses! And surprise, another cardigan!

Lilly Pulitzer Multi-Print Dress

Thursday

I found this dress in Rumson while shopping with my mom this past spring. Thursday was a full day of meetings and chaos at work! There was an event in one of our facilities but they forgot to hire someone to do sound and run the projector. I learned one thing from the business school in college and that is how to hook up a projector! Thanks, Dr. Dufresne! I was dressed in an adorable dress crawling all of the floor hooking up wires and such to get the projector to connect with the laptop. It was an experience! Later that day I was pulled away from my desk to help present a Homeland Security presentation. Sometimes I wonder what my job is because I do not know anymore! It was a long day so I love that Lilly dresses are so easy to throw on but you still look put together. A little bit of color greatly improves my day!

I am currently obsessed with all of the hydrangeas in town lately. I may have to sneak out one night and steal some of my neighbors!

Some Lilly Pulitzer gingham sandals!

I woke up late Friday morning and barely got to work on time. I was so grateful to see this dress in my closet, grabbed yesterdays cardigan off of the floor and ran out the door! There is an event in town that is bringing in 10,000 people so this outfit was not the most practical for all of the running around! At least I looked cute in all of this chaos!

Hello, Weekend!
I am SO ready for you!

Saturday

Working on Saturday mornings means I get to dress a little more casual and makeup free. I kept the Lilly theme going in a Lilly skort and a polo.My weekend begins NOW!!

I wait ALL week to sit by the pool on the weekends. Just a little more Lilly and some sweet tea with enough reading to last all day! Just two more short years before the family and I leave for the south! I cannot wait to spend every day like this!!!

I had so much fun wearing Lilly for the whole week that I hope to keep this colorful wardrobe going next week. Check in next Wednesday for another round up of my work outfits!

When life gives you lemons…

Published on June 26, 2016June 26, 2016 by blonde rosie1 Comment

A friend of mine gave me a present because when she saw, it she immediately thought of me and was she correct! When I saw it, I squealed! It was perfect! I needed it! It was this tiny lemon pitcher and it so cute! I found one on Etsy so you can purchase one yourself. It is perfect for summer lemonade and decorating. I think lemons are going to be my new theme of the summer!

I feel like lemons are everywhere lately!
In the summers I love to grab a big bag of lemons from Wegmans and fill clear canisters with them. It is an inexpensive way to bring summer into my kitchen and lemons usually last a while so I do not have to change them that often.
I am happy to see this lemon trend popping up everywhere!

In my guest bathroom, we have the lemon soap and lotion set from Bath & Body Works becomes it smells delicious and the bottle is so cute! The bottles from Bath & Body Works makes the bathrooms look so cute too!

Food themed pool floats are in and now I feel like I need a lemon pool float to carry on the summer theme! You can purchase one at Target or Amazon. I have a tiny pool but if I had a million dollars, I would have all of the different kinds in my giant pool!

NY&Company had a dress last season with lemons on it which was adorable! It is currently 50% off and I regret not getting it the last time I was at the store.

Reese Witherspoon has her new Southern Lifestyle company called Draper James and she uses lemons as her inspiration. This lemon print dress is adorable and very Southern. She uses this print multiple times in her online store.

I am inspired by this party for the Draper James Anniversary Party thrown by Reese Witherspoon herself. The theme was lemons since that is her main print for the brand and I am in love!

Make yourself a glass of fresh lemonade (recipe here) and enjoy summer! In the summer, all I drink is iced coffee and lemonade. I’ll spend hours by the pool lounging and drinking lemonade because it is so refreshing on a hot day!

Yellow is usually a color we are told to stay away from because it is a very bold color that few people can pull off. I feel like in 2016 that fashion rule needs to be broken! From beach cover ups to work outfits, this summer the color yellow is in!