2015 Recap

I honestly cannot believe that tomorrow begins a brand new year. I feel like this year just started but at the same time, I feel like so much has happened and these past twelve months have lasted forever! I love the New Year as in some ways you have a "fresh slate", 365 new days. I thought this would be the perfect time to reflect on everything that's happened this year!

Spring is always my favorite season (probably equal to summer in my book) and this year did not disappoint! I  was inducted into my school's National Honor Society, spent Easter Break in Florida with my family, celebrated my sixteenth birthday, got my license, turned 16, spent lots of time with friends, went on a college trip with my school, ran in my first Color Run, and enjoyed a few lake days! I also started my blog in March and was also featured on Lilly Pulitzer's Instagram on Easter (which I can still not believe actually happened!).

A few of my favorite spring posts:

My Chic Week: March 20-26
Lilly for Easter
My Chic Week: April 10-16
How to Be A Lady In Today's World

This summer was also not one to forget! I finished off my sophomore year of high school and then spent the summer traveling to a few of my favorite places: Florida, Kiawah Island, Alabama, and Upstate New York. I also toured Auburn and spent the end of the summer nannying!

A few of my favorite summer posts:

Navy Striped
So you want to start an Instagram?
Lilly in Freshfields
Bloggers Get Cookin' On Pinterest
Patriotic
Key Lime Cookies

I started my junior year in August and it surely has gone by fast! This fall was full of everything pumpkin, Halloween parties, college touring (I toured two different colleges, Furman and Elon), and receiving my class ring! This past semester was definitely my busiest so far and I was so glad to finish up this past month and celebrate Christmas (my favorite holiday)!

A few of my favorite fall posts:

Pinterest Dream Home Tag

A Day in My Life

Almost 8 Months Blogging + 50 Facts About Me

My Chic Week: October 23- 30

Bedroom Redesign Inspiration

Emerald + Lace

Southern Charm

If you're looking for more recaps of my year, be sure to check out my series that runs every Friday "My Chic Week"! I also want to take the time to thank all of y'all for reading my blog this year! I honestly can't do this without all of y'all's support and I'm so thankful for all of you! I am so excited for the new content to come in 2016 and another year of blogging!

Happy New Year!

New Year, New Goals

I honestly cannot believe that 2016 is just around the corner! It seems like this year was just starting and it was summer a few days ago! Each year, I always have a few goals or resolutions but since I am heading into my first full year of blogging, I have never shared them on the blog as I haven't been blogging in January yet!

I thought it would be fun to share with y'all a few of my goals for the upcoming year and so that way it keeps me a bit more responsible and may also inspire y'all as well!

School

Stress Less: First semester of junior year was definitely very, very rough for me. I'm planning on talking about this a little bit more once the semester officially wraps up but I really need to stress less in the upcoming semester and just stay calm and focused regarding my school work!

Take on a few more Leadership Roles: Second semester is really the point of the year when new executive committees are formed for the organizations I'm in! Applying for these definitely scares me as I know I'm not guaranteed the position but I'm excited to see what happens regarding this in the next few months!

Apply for College!: Kind of a given, but in 2016 I'll be applying for college (it scares the heck out of me to be saying that)! I'll keep y'all updated through the whole process once it starts in August and wish me luck!

Blogging

Grow: As 2015 was my first year blogging, I can't wait to continue to grow and expand in 2016. I can't wait to create fun, new content and continue to make Chic in Carolina the best it can be in 2016!

Post More on Social Media: I know this isn't necessarily a bad thing but during particularly busy weeks I tend to leave y'all a bit in the dark on my social media accounts (follow me on Insta, Twitter, and Pinterest). My goal for the new year is to take a few minutes of my day and keep y'all updated!

Fitness

Workout More: Oh gosh, I am going to be totally honest with y'all here! I haven't worked out in the past 6 months since junior year has started. This is definitely my biggest goal for the new year as I really really want to workout more often this upcoming year!

Have a Healthier Diet: On a day to day basis, I eat fairly healthy but I want to incorporate healthier foods into my daily diet!

Lifestyle

Travel More: I love traveling so hopefully this year I'll be able to visit a few new places with my friends and family!

Enjoy the city of Charlotte More: 2016 is my last year where I will be in Charlotte the whole year (I graduate in the spring of 2017 so that fall I'll be off to college!) so I want to fully "soak in" my hometown and the city around me by trying new activities and new restaurants!

What are some of your goals for the New Year? Let me know in the comments!

Stripes & White

Happy Monday y'all! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas on Friday and a great weekend! My family and I headed down to my grandparents's house in Florida on Saturday (more details in My Chic Week this Friday!). The weather here is unbelievable, 80 degrees and sunny! Packing was a bit of a struggle but I brought along a few summertime favorites!

This sweater from Lilly is so comfy and is pretty lightweight, perfect for warmer days! While it isn't currently available online, it should be apart of the After Party Sale, which should (if following the pattern of sale dates from previous years) be next Monday! 

Sweater- Lilly Pulitzer (similar, look for the exact one in the upcoming After Party Sale) Pants- Vineyard Vines (similar) Sandals- Jack Rogers Bracelets- David Yurman (similar) Watch- Kate Spade Sunglasses- Ray-Ban (similar)

Hope y'all have a great day! Let me know in the comments if you want to see a "What I Got For Christmas" post or possibly a video!

My Chic Week: December 18- 24

Merry Christmas! I am so excited today is the big day! I'm looking forward to spending time with family, watching A Christmas Story all day (my dad insists that it has to be on for the duration of the 24 hour marathon), and wrapping things up with a delicious Christmas dinner! I hope y'all have a great day with your family and friends and let's recap on what I've been up to this past week!

Last Friday was my last day of school before the break and it was a half day so we were out of school by noon. Every year, it is more of a fun day with activities (Christmas Karaoke, anyone?) and games followed by Mass. It's always a fun day to decompress after exams and then spend time with friends before the break.

Friday afternoon, I had a few friends come over to decorate cookies (shown in Monday's post) and then to watch some Christmas movies!

Saturday morning, I slept in and then spent the morning catching up on everything blog related in bed. I accomplished some items on my to-do list in the afternoon before heading to babysit two of my favorite kiddos!

I slept in possibly the latest all year on Sunday morning after getting home pretty late from babysitting. The main mission of Sunday was tackling organizing addresses for Christmas cards and then organizing my room!

similar shep shirt similar david yurman bracelets

Monday started off with a nice walk around the neighbor with my mom and dog. We decided to spend the day finishing up our Christmas shopping so we headed to the mall (where it wasn't as crazily crowded as I imagined!). My mom and I also headed out to get our nails done that afternoon and I got my eyebrows waxed which was needed after not having them done for the longest time!

I got up bright and early (well like 8, which is bright and early during Christmas Break) for a dentist appointment and then to run to Target for some last minute supplies. Tuesday was our baking day so my mom, siblings, and I baked an INSANE amount of cookies all day. We also had our friends's puppy over at our house for the day so it was safe to say I was exhausted afterwards.

On Wednesday, my family hosted our annual Christmas Party so my day was pretty much spent prepping for that. It was super rainy and miserable that day but pretty perfect for baking the Peppermint Pound Cake for the party!

I invited one of my best friends to the party so we could hang out (since I haven't seen her in ages!) and it was so fun catching up not to mention eating way too much food!

Yesterday was Christmas Eve so I spent the majority of the day relaxing and hanging out at home before we headed to Mass later on in the afternoon. After Christmas Mass finished, we came home for a delicious dinner of spaghetti and then watched one of my favorite Christmas movies, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the animated one, not a fan of the one with people!). My dad's favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story so we had to watch that since they started the 24 hours of A Christmas Story before heading to bed!

dress pearl necklace high heels watch similar bracelets

On my Radar:

1. Christmas Day! As y'all know today is Christmas so I'm so excited to spend time with my family and for Christmas dinner with our next door neighbors!

2. These Kate Spade Euro Shams for my Room Redesign (which you can see the inspiration behind here) arrived this week and I'm obsessed!

3. Full House was one of my favorite shows when I was younger so I was thrilled to see the trailer for Fuller House!

4. I am so jealous of Mackenzie's recent trip to Maui! I have always wanted to visit Hawaii and hopefully, someday, I'll be able to visit the locations on her guide to Maui!

5. I am loving this outfit from Carly! Makes me want to go buy a cashmere wrap ASAP!

I have quite a few posts from this past week, so be sure to check those out if you haven't already!

Gift Guide: Under $50, #BloggersBakeChristmasCookies: The PERFECT Cut Out Cookie Recipe, Blue (and Green) Christmas + Gift Guide Roundup, Merry & Bright Collab: Peppermint Pound Cake, Cream Lace & Black

Merry Christmas y'all!

Cream Lace & Black

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is my family's annual Christmas Party for our neighbors and family friends. It's so fun to catch up with family friends I don't see very often and also to eat all of the delicious food that everybody brings. I honestly cannot tell you when we starting throwing the party but I always look forward to it every year.

Typically, I dress pretty causal in jeans and a cute top but this year, especially since it's very warm outside, I decided to wear a cute (yet really comfy) skirt and a fun, lacy top that I borrowed from my mom (thanks mom!). I have worn this statement pearl necklace from J. Crew so many different ways since purchasing it a few months ago and I love how it added a little "something" to this neutral colored outfit!

I know it's a little late in the game to order your Christmas outfit (especially if you go to Church on Christmas Eve like my family does) but hopefully this serves as a bit of inspiration if you haven't decided on your outfit quite yet!

Peppermint Pound Cake

Top- Anthropologie (similar) Skirt- J. Crew Factory Flats- Tory Burch Pearl Necklace- J. Crew (currently 30% off with code HOLIDAY) Watch- Kate Spade Bracelets- David Yurman (similar)

I hope y'all have a wonderful Christmas Eve and then Christmas tomorrow with your friends and family!

Merry & Bright Linkup: Peppermint Pound Cake

Merry Christmas Eve Eve y'all! How is there only 2 more days until Christmas? Hopefully y'all finished up all of your shopping (if not check out all of my gift guides in one post right here) and are baking away making all of your favorite treats for the big day!

Cathleen, Cristina, and Rachel are hosting their #GalPalHoliday Linkup today (check out my previous posts for Halloween and Thanksgiving) and, of course, it is Christmas themed! One of my family's favorite traditions is hosting a Christmas party for our neighbors and family friends. For the past couple of years, I have picked a recipe to make for dessert so I decided to share that with y'all today!

After looking through my Christmas Pinterest board, I decided to make this yummy Peppermint Pound Cake that I knew would be perfect for the party!

This recipe also includes a yummy peppermint glaze so I included that as well!

The Peppermint Pound Cake

 Ingredients

Sugar, Softened Butter, Eggs, Flour, Milk, Peppermint Extract, Vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Grease a bundt pan

3. In a large bowl, blend sugar and softened butter

4. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition

5. Alternate adding flour and milk to mixture, blending well

6. Add peppermint and vanilla extracts, and stir until blended

7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 70 to 80 minutes (the exact timing depends on the size of your bundt pan, check the cake with a knife or toothpick and if it comes out clean with no batter on it, the cake is cooked!)

8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes

9. Remove the cake from pan and cool completely

The Peppermint Glaze

Ingredients 

Powdered Sugar, Milk (or half and half), Peppermint Extract, Candy Canes

Instructions

1. Mix the first three ingredients together, blending well

2. Crush the candy canes (I like to do this by placing them into a Ziplock bag and then crushing them with a wooden mallet)

 3. Drizzle over cooled pound cake

4. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and let glaze set

Peppermint Pound Cake

Ingredients
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 sticks butter, softened
- 5 eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 to 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (depending how strong you want the peppermint flavor to be)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease a bundt pan
3. In a large bowl, blend sugar and softened butter
4. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition
5. Alternate adding flour and milk to mixture, blending well
6. Add peppermint and vanilla extracts, and stir until blended
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 70 to 80 minutes (the exact timing depends on the size of your bundt pan, check the cake with a knife or toothpick and if it comes out clean with no batter on it, the cake is cooked!)
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes
9. Remove the cake from pan and cool completely

Peppermint Glaze

Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons milk or half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 3 crushed candy canes, for garnish

Instructions
1. Mix the first three ingredients together, blending well
2. Crush the candy canes (I like to do this by placing them into a Ziplock bag and then crushing them with a wooden mallet)
3. Drizzle over cooled pound cake
4. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and let glaze set.