A walk down memory lane...

Day 21 of the #blogeverydayinMay challenge is "a list of your favorite posts in your archive." I've been blogging here for a little over two and a half years, so there have been many posts! Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

Travel posts
Cruise recap 1, 2, 3, 4
Las Vegas
Philadelphia

Lifestyle
A Day in the Life...
College Graduation

Outfit Posts
The Utility Jacket
Leopard + Orange
Leather Lovin'
Neon Pink Dots

Everything Else
Travel Essentials
What Sundays Are For




 

What I Wore: B + W Striped Maxi

Maxi dresses are a closet essential for me in the spring and summer. They are so effortless and look so easily put together. But I always seem to have the hardest time finding ones that work for short girls (being 5'2 isn't always easy!) Lately I have been finding amazing maxi dresses everywhere I look and at great price points. This black and white striped maxi I found last week at Target. I tend to always shy away from black and white striped items, they make me think of prison uniforms, but I couldn't resist this thick striped dress! Add a bold necklace and you've got one easy outfit!

Maxi Dress: Target // Necklace: Groopdealz // Bag: Michael Kors Large Hamilton Tote // Bracelets: David Yurman, Michael Kors Watch (similar), S+D Gilded Arrow Bracelet c/o, Swell Caroline, J. Crew // Ring: Pandora Mother of Pearl Ring // Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

 

Struggles

Day 20 of the Blog every day in May challenge is "get real. Share something you're struggling with right now." Let me tell you, I'm struggling with this blog challenge. It is definitely putting me out of my comfort zone. Some of the topics are things I don't normally discuss on my blog. There have been a few topics that I haven't written posts for and a few that I've drafted posts for and never hit "publish" because I felt a little uncomfortable putting myself out there. It's not that I don't want to share the whole picture with my readers,  but some things are more personal and I don't want to put it online for the whole world to see! We all have our limitations!

But, I definitely struggle. Sometimes with very hard things and other times with more trivial matters. Some days it is a stressful work matter or bills and other days it's a single phone call that can set me off tilt. I am still new to the "real world" so sometimes I struggle with that. On any given day I can be struggling with a number of things.

via

I struggle with anxiety. 

I struggle with long distance.

I struggle with adult responsibilities.

I struggle with staying on task.

I struggle with fulfilling my duties as an employee, a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, and a friend.

I struggle with trying to keep up.

I struggle with trying to find "perfect."

I struggle with difficult situations.

I struggle with being judged.

I am human. I struggle.

 

Weekend Recap: Asheville Edition

This past weekend was spent in Asheville, NC with Brian! Asheville is where we met (remember this post), so it's always fun to go back! His family has a condo in downtown Asheville, so that is the area where we spend most of our time when we're there! We can walk everywhere, which is an added bonus! It was a much needed weekend away with just the two of us!!

View of Downtown Asheville from the condo!

We arrived into Asheville right around dinner time Friday night, so we decided to grab some pizza from Barley's Taproom. They have delicious pizza and a great beer selection. It was the perfect atmosphere after a long, rainy drive! After dinner we did a little bar hopping, which is always a good time! 

Saturday morning we went to City Bakery Cafe for breakfast. If you're ever in Downtown Asheville I highly suggest eating here! They have the best stuffed french toast (french toast + cream cheese + local jam). It was even better than I remembered! 

Saturday was pretty rainy for the first half of the day, so it was the perfect excuse to go see Gatsby in 3D (finally). I had been anticipating seeing this movie since I saw the previews months ago. It was good, but I wouldn't say it was amazing or everything I thought it would have been! I definitely still like the book better. If you saw it what did you think? 

The weather finally cleared up the second half of Saturday and we were able to enjoy our view on the balcony, have a nice dinner downtown, and play around town!! We did discover that one of our favorite bars had closed though. It was a favorite of mine, Brian, Bre and Jeremy's! Looks like we will have to find a new favorite spot the next time we're all there together!!

Sunday was definitely a nicer day. I really wish Saturday had been as nice! We spent a few hours enjoying the weather before it was time to say goodbye to Asheville once again. This was the first trip that I made it to the double decker bus, Double D's, for coffee!! I had always gone by it and wanted to try it, but never had! I am so glad we had time to yesterday. It may be my new favorite place for coffee in Asheville. Aside from the awesome bus, the coffee was excellent! Quite possibly the best iced vanilla latte I've had! 

It was such an enjoyable weekend with Brian, although the end of the weekend means it's back to long distance. I'm so glad we got to spend a weekend just the two of us in one of our favorite places! I'm already looking forward to next weekend.

Hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Thanks for reading!

 

Favorite Blogs

Happy Sunday, ladies and gents! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I definitely enjoyed my time in Asheville, NC with Brian. Today's topic (I'm really late, I know) for the blog every day in May challenge is "your top five favorite blogs and why you love them." Seeing as how I read a ton of blogs a day, it is extremely hard to narrow them all down to just five. That's asking quite a lot from me! And let's be honest, we all know I am very indecisive! Here are my top five blogs that I enjoy reading, in no particular order!


BEAUtiful Mess & My Keep Calm and Carry On

Stephanie and Katie are two peas in a pod! Not only are they best friends in real life, but they have two awesome blogs. Anytime I find myself going to Steph's blog, I am immediately heading over to Katie's (or vice versa.) These ladies keep it real, they have a great link up called "Saw it, Pinned it, Did it" that I am constantly getting ideas from (I will eventually participate!), and they just seem so down to earth! 

Southern Curls & Pearls

Caitlin from Southern Curls and Pearls is such a sweetheart! I've had the pleasure of meeting her in real life and she was just as cute and personable as she is on her blog. Her fashion posts, style, and amazing product finds always keep me coming back for more! Oh, and can we discuss her perfect hair?!? I want it!! 

Turquoise & Teale

Ashley from Turquoise and Teale has a fabulous blog that consists of lifestyle posts, great recipes, and things she's currently loving! I am always seeing her blog posts about cute finds. I love that she we have similar taste and her posts are very relatable! I also secretly blame her and her currently loving posts for some recent online shopping I've done ;-)

Long Distance Loving

Alison has such a great blog! Her weekly link-up, Fridays Fancies, is one of my favorites that I look forward to participating in. I love the design and look of her blog. I always go to her site and find beautiful photos, great posts, and pin-worthy images! What's not to love?! 

There are so many blogs I read, but I certainly think you all will love these!