Pinterest Tips

A few weeks back, I shared my tips for Instagram (read the post here) and I decided that it would be fun to do the same for Pinterest. Pinterest is definitely one of my favorite forms of social media and I probably on Pinterest the most out of my group of friends (follow me here). Pinterest can definitely be helpful as a blogger (I know because I have been introduced to many new blogs through Pinterest).

Organize your Boards

Every few months, I go through my boards and basically get rid of anything I don't like anymore. Just like my real closet, I get rid of older stuff I don't really like to make space (even though there isn't a limit on boards) for new pins. This helps to ensure that everything you pin is a reflection of your current style.

Clean your Captions

We all know the pins. Random captions of 800 hashtags or with random people tagged. I clean up all of my captions so if it is a picture of a Master Bedroom it simply says Master Bedroom.

Divide Boards

As y'all can see in the image above I have 5 separate boards for Clothes. I have it separated into: Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter, Workout Wear, Accessories and Shoes, and Swimwear. This helps to keep the number of pins in a given board down. Also, if someone wants just to see fall clothes they don't have to see you pin bikinis.

Post Often

The more you pin, the more people will re-pin you (and more followers you will gain).

Follow Other Similar Pinners

I typically follow other blogs I love and then go through who they follow to find more people to follow. This means more pins will be in my home feed (that I can re-pin from) that are more of what I really want to see!

Hopefully this was helpful for y'all! What are your favorite tips for Pinterest? Let me know in the comments!

Ruffles + Cha Cha

As y'all probably already know, I love, love, love Lilly Pulitzer (like, if I could only shop at Lilly the rest of my life I would be perfectly content with that). Let's Cha Cha was the print that really introduced me to Lilly. I remember saving up all of my birthday money to buy a bikini in Let's Cha Cha (which was my first Lilly ever) that I still wear to this day. During one of my first trips to Southpark Mall, one of my friends and I ventured into the Lilly store where I tried on the Let's Cha Cha Delia dress, which I absolutely loved. And it was on sale for like $75, in my size! Ugh, I still don't know why I didn't buy it then (now I would have to buy the dress on Ebay for an absurd amount of money)!

Last summer, Lilly re-released Let's Cha Cha in a blue color-way which I bought a pair of Callahan shorts in just in case I would get buyer's regret later on! And this summer, Lilly re-released the original print in short form! Originally I didn't really plan on buying them but after seeing 8 million Instagrams of them and seeing them in person during my trip to Kiawah, I decided to buy them!

Anyways, I love these shorts and they are quite comfy and cute! I paired them with a simple tank with a ruffle at the bottom from J Crew and white Jacks. I wore this in Alabama on our drive to Auburn and out to dinner and it was perfect.

Remember that braid I wore in this post? Well, when I took it out the next morning, I had perfect curls. Sadly they didn't last due to the humidity but they lasted long enough for this picture!

Tank- J Crew Shorts- Lilly Pulitzer Sandals- Jack Rogers Watch- Kate Spade Bracelets- David Yurman (similar)

Sorry for my long-winded rant of my love of Let's Cha Cha!

Packing for Long Trips

I'm so excited to share today's post because it is kind of an intro to my next few weeks. On Friday, I leave for a two week vacation up to Upstate New York. I'm super exciting but packing for such a long time is a little bit daunting. I have pulled together my tips for packing for long trips because I am sure that I am not the only over-packer who feels she needs to bring everything she owns on the trip with her.

image via

Pick a Color Scheme

I did this last year for my trip to New York and it worked out amazing! I packed mainly blues and whites and added some pops of color. It helped because more of my stuff matched each of other so I got more outfits out of the same number of clothes!

Bring the Jewelry You Will Actually Wear

I can't be the only one who does this. I bring a giant bag of jewelry on trips only to just wear what I wear the jewelry I do on an everyday basis. So to save space, bring the everyday jewelry (and maybe a few others)!

Bring a Practical Number of Shoes

Another thing that I am often guilty of. Like for a 3 day trip, I may bring 5 pairs of shoes. If you are like me, think of where you are going and what you need. I always bring sneakers, add flip-flops if it is warm, add sandals if it is warm, add boots if it is cold, add heels/wedges if you have a fancy event to attend, etc.

Plan Ahead

If you are traveling with friends or family, try to work out the who brings what beforehand. Tell a friend, I'll bring my flat iron if you'll bring your hair dryer. It works out so much better because you'll save space in both your bags!

Think of Where You're Headed

Think of the weather and what you will be doing there. If it is going to be super-warm, you may not need jeans. If you are going to a wedding, you may not need super casual clothes. Or on the flip side, if you are going to the mountains, you may not need a fancy dress.

Pack the Just-in-Case

Aka bring a rain jacket or rain-friendly clothes. Just in case!

Make a List

Lately while packing, I have made a list of what I exactly need to pack. I'll write every day that I'll need to pack for. Under the day, I'll write the different events I'll need clothes for and what items. For example: Sunday: Brunch- dress, wedges; Pool- bikini, coverup, flip-flops; Dinner- top, skirt, sandals. Doing this helps me stay organized and know exactly what to pack! 

What are your tips for packing for long trips? Let me know in the comments!

Skort the Rules

I'll be honest with y'all, if you asked me at the beginning of this year what I thought about skorts, I would say eww. My elementary school uniform consisted of a navy skort with a green polo so I think the last time I wore I skort before this year was probably the 5th grade.

Then while in the Lilly store back in May (read about it in this post), I found the most adorable skort ever in Red Right Return, which I was determined to buy something in.

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I have decided that skorts are great because they have built in shorts! I hate wearing spandex under my skirts and dresses so skorts are great since they offer the shorts without the uncomfortableness of spandex!

I found a couple, super cute, perfect for girls older than elementary school skorts that I am sure will convince you to buy (and love?) skorts! I found Lilly has a wide variety but other places have less of a selection so please share your favorite places to find them!

Do you wear skorts? Let me know in the comments!

My Chic Week July 3-9

It's Friday and y'all know that means that it is time for another My Chic Week. This week has been pretty busy but a lot of fun since it's been full of travel and a lot of pool time (definitely not complaining about that!).

I spent the weekend last weekend (Fourth of July weekend) at my grandparents's house in Southern Alabama. Last Friday started off with a long walk with my dog and a trip to the gym. After lunch, my mom, aunt, and I headed to the downtown area of my grandparents's town to do a little shopping (and I was hoping to find a Lilly store so I could get the towel GWP, we found a store with Lilly but no towels so I'm hoping to score a towel in the sale in August). That night, we had dinner at the yacht club, which had amazing views followed by a relaxed night at my grandparents.

Matching Tory Burch sandals (my nude pair are available here, my mom's are a few years old) with my mom after dinner at the Club. We tend to be shoe twins a lot 

Saturday (the Fourth of July) morning, we had another long walk with my dog. We went over to my aunt's house for lunch and we went to their neighborhood pool for a few hours. My grandparents had the whole family over for a Fourth of July barbecue that night. Sadly, it started to rain a few hours before the fireworks were supposed to start so I didn't see any fireworks on the Fourth this year!

Sunday, my family and I packed up and got ready for the 3 and a half hour drive north (which actually turned into 5 hours because of traffic) to Auburn. We spent the night in Auburn before a campus tour the next morning!

I love this picture that my mom snapped after we arrived at the hotel. Clearly, she is pretty exhausted after a few days of thunder and fireworks (which she hates)

I got up bright and early Monday morning to get ready for our tour. The campus was so pretty and I am so glad that we were able to tour it! (PS- If your planning a tour to Auburn it is pretty pet-friendly, we stayed at the Hotel at Auburn which allows dog and we even brought our dog along for the tour!) After our tour, we drove back home to North Carolina (with a stop to Chick-fil-a for lunch). Our family friends were in town while they toured southern colleges so my family spent the evening hanging out with them!

Tuesday morning, I woke up bright and early to run (for the first time in a super long time). Tuesday was pretty relaxed as I pretty much unpacked and hung by my pool. Also, I kind of forgot PLL wasn't on so that was pretty disappointing!

Wednesday I slept in and ran errands before having lunch with my neighbors and our family friends. My siblings and I got some fro-yo from TCBY before an afternoon by the pool (before it rained!). We had a quick dinner at home before heading over to our next door neighbors's to watch Big Brother (and have some Nothing Bundt Cake!).

Thursday morning I ran some errands to Target and the Gap before having lunch at Whole Foods (oh my goodness y'all, their burgers are amazing!). I spent the afternoon by my pool (see a theme here? haha) and my neighbors and family friends came over for a dinner of barbecue (my favorite) and to watch Big Brother (can't you tell this is one of my summer guilty pleasures?).

a few pool day essentials

tumbler cup (similar) sunglasses (similar)

What have you been up to this week? Let me know in the comments!

Patriotic

Even though the Fourth of July has come and gone I thought it would be fun to share what I wore. I definitely take a more nautical approach for dressing for the Fourth and nautical style can be applied, in my opinion, to outfits all summer long.

For the holiday, I wore a tank top, Piko-style dress with a fun scarf that I got for my birthday and Tory Burch Millers. I bought this dress a few weeks ago at a local boutique while shopping with a friend and we both loved it. My friend actually texted me a few days ago saying she bought it in a different color. I love, love, love this dress and it was perfect for a hot day in southern Alabama (where I spent the Fourth this year).

The street that my grandparents live on is next to another street that I have always loved since I was young. Big tall magnolia trees hiding gorgeous houses on the whole entire block. Ever since I started my blog, I knew it would be a perfect outfit post location so I knew I had to take pictures during my trip!

 #nofilter

 love this house!

Dress- Local Boutique (similar)

Scarf- Black Lion (birthday gift) 

Sandals- Tory Burch

Watch- Kate Spade

Bracelets- Lilly Pulitzer GWP, David Yurman (similar)

 Sunglasses- Ray Ban (similar)

In these pictures, you can see that my mom braided my hair which was perfect because 1: I stink at hair and can't do anything with it 2: it kept it out of my face on a super hot day. I love this outfit (with and without the scarf) so I will definitely be wearing it a lot this summer.

On another note, this my 100th post! I want to thank all of y'all for reading and following along! (UPDATE- I looked at my post count this morning and it turns out my 100th post will not be until sometime next week! Sorry for the confusion!)

Do you wear nautical-inspired outfits during the summer? Let me know in the comments!

Bloggers Get Cookin' on Pinterest

The big day is here y'all, it is time for Bloggers Get Cookin' on Pinterest. Many bloggers have linked up with Cathleen (of Classy Cathleen) and I to share recipes that they made from Pinterest. 

I was so excited because I have so many food pins (follow me here) but I never seem to make any of them and this gives me an excuse to try one! I made Clean Chocolate Chip Scones from Amy's Healthy Baking (you can find the original pin here). I love scones (especially the chocolate chip ones from Trader Joe's) but I definitely don't love the calories that come along with it. Amy took your classic scone and replaced it with healthier ingredients!

The Ingredients:

flour, non-salted butter, baking powder, salt, plain greek yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla extract, milk, mini chocolate chips

Step 1: Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt (forget to take a picture of this step)

Step 2: Cut the butter into small cubes and blend into the flour mixture using the back of a fork

 Step 3: Stir in the yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and milk

I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer to do this step

Step 4: Mix in your chocolate chips 

Step 5: Transfer the batter to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten the batter

Step 6: Pour the remaining milk over the batter 

Step 7: Press remaining chocolate chips into the batter

Step 8: Bake for 17-20 minutes in 425 degree F oven

Step 9: Once the top is golden brown, remove from oven and let sit on pan for 5 minutes

Step 10: Transfer to cooling rack and then enjoy! 

Ingredients
- 1.5 cups flour (I used all-purpose but you can use white whole wheat or gluten-free)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
- 0.5 cup (1 small package) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp + 2tsp nonfat milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2.5 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (I used parchment paper)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt
4. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork (I used a fork) until the mixture resembles fine crumbs(I mixed until it was mixed it)
5. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla
6. Fold in 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips
7. Shape the dough into a 3/4" tall circle on the prepared baking sheet
8. Brush with the remaining milk
9. Press the remaining chocolate chips on tops
10. Cut the scone into 8 parts (I didn't do this and they didn't cook properly!)
11. Bake at 425 degrees F for 17-20 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden
12. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack

Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating in the link-up by checking the links below or using the hashtag #bloggersgetcooking on Instagram and Twitter!

A Southern Heart, The Audacious Queen, Prep on a Budget,
Sincerely Syd, Pursuit of Prep, Lots of Lys, 
SmileShineInspire, The Trendy Chic, California Belle Blog

Also check out Cathleen's post over at Classy Cathleen!