Spend + Save

As you know, I've been loving shirt dresses. It's gotten to the point where I think it's all I want to wear. They're perfect for work and transition very well into dinner and drinks with friends afterward.

Now that Memorial Day (yay!) is right around the corner, I've been going through my closet to sort through some favorite white dresses and white sandals and white jeans. But I think I definitely need to just bite the bullet and get a white shirt dress!

I love both these options (Diane von Furstenberg and GAP).

SPEND // Diane von Furstenberg 

SAVE // GAP

What do you think?

xoxo

Little Indulgences

Lately, I've been feeling kind of off. Nothing terrible, but I think it's just one of those mini-funks that come with the changing of seasons. I have my health and my family and my friends... and, frankly, that is a lot to be thankful for. When I find myself feeling like my head is about to bob under the water, I remind myself of how full my cup is.

On particularly rough days, once I've accounted for everything I've been blessed with, I remind myself to just kind of slow down. To take a step back. To regain perspective. And to give myself some space for myself.

Sometimes I feel guilty about carving out that "me time." I either feel like I have something that I should be doing... or maybe I feel like I don't deserve it that day... or... I could honestly come up with forty different excuses why I shouldn't. But I really must make time for myself in order to do my jobs correctly and to the best of my ability. I need personal space so I can open up with my friends and family. I am much better after taking time for myself and as a result, which helps everyone else. (No one wants to deal with a cranky, stressed out Carly!)

Taking time for myself is always a little bit of an indulgence and it comes in different packages depending on how I'm feeling and what the circumstances are.

A few of my favorite indulgences:

Coming home from work and slipping into pajamas for a quick cat nap.

Sitting in a café by myself with a book.

Watching a few episodes (in a row) of a show on Netflix.

Doughnuts, ice cream, or macarons.

Window shopping for things I will never buy.

Picking out (yet another) bottle of nail polish.

Eating (only) chips and guacamole for dinner.

Watching as many movie trailers as I have the time for in iTunes.

Throwing in the towel on my to-do list and going to the movies.

Getting my hair blown out at The Dry Bar.

What are some of your favorite indulgences?

xoxo

Madewell | New Arrivals

The Madewell new arrivals are perfect for summer. I'm lusting over just about every single thing. But especially this Silk Bow-Back Tank!

Honestly, I'm considering buying one in every color to get me through the summer. I've been looking for good tops to wear out at night on the weekends and I think that this tank is the winner. It's not too revealing in the front, but the back is super fun!

Surprise!

Scroll through to find my other favorites from the new arrivals:

What tops do you wear out at night?

xoxo

College Prepster Book Club | Firefly Lane

I've been really, really enjoying my reading time lately. I've finally gotten myself back into the reading groove. Now I look forward to every quiet (or even not-so-quiet) twenty minute window I can scrape together. Sitting and just being engrossed in a book is the best.

I love to read all kinds of books, but it's not always the case to find a book that I absolutely don't want to end. Sometimes I'm indifferent about an ending and other times I'm ready for the next read by the last few chapters. Certain books have really captured my attention, like Harry Potter, The Help, Hunger Games, The Power of One, The Age of Miracles, and Divergent. (Ugh I really tried to keep the list short, but honestly... now that I think about it, I've loved just too many books!)

Firefly Lane is up there. Leslie and Maxie recommended it to me and I'm so thankful that I read it.  

Firefly Lane balances so many important issues in one book. I can't even begin to describe the emotional rollercoaster (in a good way) that I went through while reading this. Friendship, family, work/life balance, careers, spouses, love, sickness (and health), ambition, mothers... daughters, lost dreams... and just about everything in between.

I can't remember the last time a book had me so engrossed in the characters and the stories. Amazing.

What is on your reading list?

xoxo

PS Warning, be prepared to cry.

C. Wonder by the Sea

C. Wonder invited a bunch of bloggers to visit the Pop-up shop in Southampton. I've never been to the Hamptons before, so I was extra excited. I was also super happy that Mackenzie was invited on the trip as well. We're double trouble when we're together. It's fun!

The bus ride over completely reminded me of crew days... minus the anxiety associated with a looming race. Mackenzie (and her assistant Eddy) and I chatted the whole way. Then we had the most amazing lunch at Chris Burch's home. I've never wanted to move into a place more so than I did that day. His house is beautiful and his backyard is incredible.

Meeting other bloggers and having the chance to talk in a super relaxed setting was wonderful. Normally, when bloggers go to events, it's always crazy and loud and people are in & out. But this was just a fun opportunity to "play" some croquet, capture fun Instagrams, and make/eat s'mores together! It was kind of like blogger heaven when you really think about it.

You know I love a good photo booth!

How beautiful is the backyard?

We're not very skilled.

I'm wearing: Sunnies // Sweater // Dress // Loafers c/o Bass

(thanks Kat for the fun picture!)

I had so much fun! Thank you C. Wonder :)

What's something fun you've done recently?

xoxo

PS Shop some of my favorite housewares from C. Wonder!

The Beginning.

special places necklace from Sydney Buchanan

I graduated from Georgetown exactly one year ago. On one hand, it feels like just yesterday that I was walking around the Hilltop, eating at Booey's, staking out places to study in the library, and feeling the warmth of the community that comes with undergraduate life. And on the other hand, it feels like years have passed since group project woes, cramming for finals, and struggling through "required" classes that you have absolutely no interest in.

In short, I would say that I miss college, but I don't miss college. It's a strange thing. While you're in the middle of college, it seems that all you can think about is the stress (and, yes, the weekend fun). This final is due in a week. I haven't started writing that ten page paper due in three days. Why isn't anyone in my group project pulling their weight? My professor gave us the hardest exam ever. We've walked past the front gates of campus so many times that we simply don't notice the wrought iron anymore. The fight for forks in the dining hall is such a distraction that we forget to recognize how wonderful these giant family meals are every single day. The pressure for that perfect grade casts a shadow on the beauty of learning and knowledge.

 Admittedly, I wasn't the girl at graduation in tears having to leave my friends. I was excited. I was ready to leave. After putting an end to my coxing career, my senior year was kind of the best year ever at school. For once, I had time to devote to my classes (and even TA for one!) and I had time to travel every weekend. I felt like I was straddling the lines of collegiate life with real life. Every weekend I was in NYC meeting with companies and people and just doing awesome things... and then I'd have to get back on the train (or bus) and go back to finals, papers, and group projects. By the time May rolled around, I couldn't wait to check college off my list officially and jump (head first) into the Real World.

I graduated without a job, having turned down nine offers. It was the first time in my entire life where I didn't have my next step planned. I felt like I was free-falling. It was scary and exhilarating. That roller-coaster feeling in my stomach both worried me and gave me a new sense of life and purpose. The idea that I could literally pick any place in the world to live was eye-opening. The world was completely mine. Of course, I settled on New York City as my future home and then hit the ground running securing a job.

I didn't look back.

Now, being a year out, I can look back fondly on my years at Georgetown. The jagged edges of my memories of stress, anxiety, and breakdowns have smoothed over time. The visions of the campus (the front gates, the chapel, the river) have heightened. George Bernard Shaw once said, "Youth is wasted on the young." I feel like this kind of applies to college... College might be wasted on the collegiate.

Graduating from college seems like the very end of everything. It does, in a sense, signal the end of a few things. The safety and security of a set track is gone. (But the whole world now opens up to you!) The house parties and socials are over. (But "grabbing drinks" after work is just as grown up and awesome as it sounds.) Scheduling your classes as late into the afternoon as possible is no longer an option. (But... well, sorry, can't help you there. Early mornings are your new future!)

Graduating is not a door closing, but the turning of a page.

Your life is yours to make now.

xoxo
PS Georgetown Forever... College Prepster Forever.