DIY: Monogrammed Cooler Tote

So I am IN LOVE with all the new prints for Lifeguard Press giftables for Lilly!

"Chin Chin" is an entirely pink and green print (I think it was made to match LBP) with elephants that have celebrating monkeys on them! It's slated to come out in a color way that includes pale yellow and pale blue in the next shipment of clothes. Think swimwear and beach pants--hello spring and summer!

I had a monogram decal that I had originally bought to put on my Nook cover, but I measured it wrong. I figured that my Nook dimensions would need the same dimensions monogram...oops! Probably a better rule of thumb would have been 1/2 the size of my Nook. Anyway, it left me with this AWESOME repurposable vinyl monogram! It had been in my purse for quite awhile, but then it hit me: put it on a bag!

Most of the market totes had too much white in the prints themselves, so instead I put it on the insulated tote! Not only will it be a great tote bag in general, but I can store drinks and snacks in it for the beach, and ideally Carolina Cup! It has a velcro opening at the top to keep your things the coolest they can be.

This might be the easiest "DIY" I've ever posted. I'm not even sure if it really qualifies as a true DIY but more like "Semi-Homemade" by the Food Network's definition. I really just combined things I already had (ehem, after I purchased the cooler tote) together!

1. Step 1: Assemble your items. My sticker took a bit of a beating in my purse, but it didn't matter in the end.

2. Step 2: place your monogram on your bag and press 100% of the vinyl on the bag firmly. I used the blunt end of a pen to make sure I got alllllll the spots.

3. Step 3: Slowly remove the sticky backing of the vinyl. This can be tricky, so be patient.

4. Step 4: Admire your work!

I purchased my vinyl monogram on Etsy, and there are hundreds of vendors you can choose from. There are tons of colors you can choose from and match it totally to whatever you choose to add your monogram to!

I am PUMPED to use my bag and I know I'm going to get a ton of usage out of it! They are durable with great handles and now a knock-out monogram!

Happy monogramming y'all!

xxKatie

Big Girl Bags

I use this Longchamp tote currently and love it. It matches virtually everything I own, stands up well, and has survived 3+ years with minimal damage. It's a GREAT go-to bag.

The only problem is that it's not that professional when I go on interviews, practice interviews, networking meetings, business events, and other settings where you can't carry a pink purse! That has put me on the hunt for a new "professional" (aka "big girl") bag. Here are a few of my favorites:

This Dooney & Bourke bag fits the bill really well! I love the shape and the long handles allow you to schlep it over your shoulder when it gets really heavy. I also love the color!

I love the color combo of this one as well, but I'm not sure if it's as practical as the all over cognac.

This Kate Spade bag is more of a handbag, but I'm certain my laptop would fit in it easily. I LOVE the patent which really elevates the look and feel of the tote!

Satchels are too much fun! (I always think of "The Hangover" movie though!) This one in the reviews says that it's small, but it would match a ton of stuff that I have in my closet!

I always love a good quilted bag! I wish the hardwear was gold, but this Kate Spade bag would be great! Although on the pricier side of my spectrum, Kate Spade bags hold up wonderfully and would be a great investment piece for a young professional!

Last but not least, this Zac Posen bag is my ABSOLUTE favorite! It's definitely not going to be my first "big girl" bag, but it's easily on my lust-list! It has the look of a briefcase, but the feminine details make it look much more like a bag--plus it's classified as a "satchel" too!!

For my working girl followers, what do you use to tote around your daily items? What do your co-workers like best?

xxKatie

Back to School, Back to School

For the past few years, I've used a pink Vineyard Vines tote to use for school. My freshman and sophomore years I used:

Freshman year it was whales and sophomore year it was pink with white stars!

This year, I was excited to browse all the fun pink Vineyard Vines bags to see what I wanted to use for Junior year. I thought I was going to go with the pink burgees tote:

When I was at home over the summer, I found my backpack from high school with a BIG pink embroidered set of my initials on the front, I knew this would be better! I am using this year, instead of the tote, my North Face Borealis backpack:

I figured my real backpack would be a lot heartier than the totes that I've managed to nearly destroy the past two years. They only use they seem to have are beach bags since the silk is a little worn and the handles are a little less tough!

What do y'all use for school bags? Do you rely on a tote or backpack?

Keep on entering Tuesday's GIVEAWAY from The Sassy Palmetto!!

xxKatie

Shop It To Me: Round 2

Just yesterday I updated all my Shop It To Me settings and it showed me so GREAT new stuff:

Kate Spade--I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with this dress! Ohmygoodness...(remember a few days ago how I said I had a problem with shopping for fancy dresses I don't need...yeah, about that)

Trina Turk

J. Crew

Shoshanna

Trina Turk

Trina Turk

J. Crew

Trina Turk

Want to get in on the sales? CLICK HERE to start seeing your own, personalized list of FABulous sales! You get to customize ALL the settings! Be sure to snag an invite if you missed the boat last time I wrote about my picks!! I love shopping...it to me :) (I think that made sense...?) Start shopping...it to you!

xxKatie

Shop It To Me!

One of my new favorite websites is called "Shop it to Me". You sign up and click all your favorite brands, stores, sizes, styles and everything. You then sign up for how many emails you want. How great is that? YOU control how often you hear from them! I chose a BUNCH of different brands and here are some of the SITM suggestions I've gotten recently:

Anthropologie

Kate Spade

Banana Republic

Ralph Lauren

Laundry by Shelli Segal

Kate Spade

Trina Turk

Definitely sign up for Shop It To Me if you like sales! It'll guide you to the stuff you actually like without harassing you with 8,000 emails per week! Win-win if you ask me!

xxKatie

Marley Lilly Present!

The wonderful folks over at Marley Lilly sent me this FABULOUS polka dot tote! I was lucky enough to get the brown/green combo personalized with a K just the other day! I can't wait to make this my absolutely perfect pool bag. The round top handles are so much fun to carry around and make it super sturdy. You can check them out here! Some of my other favorite ML products include:

LOVE these personalize-able croakies! Anyone who is Greek should definitely look into the dual monogram/embroidery with Greek letters!

Not a fan of that Clemmy orange/white combo (GO GAMECOCKS!) but I love the big script font and the idea of a monogrammed scarf!

I actually have this exact bracelet but not from ML. My sister gave it to me as a Confirmation sponsor gift and I LOVE it! I would highly suggest snatching one of these bracelets up while you can. Plus they're only $36!

Have you made any Marley Lilly purchases? I'm a huge fan! Thanks again for my new tote!!

Spring Break: The Bag

I love packing, but for beach vacations, a good beach bag is essential. How else would you cart everything that you need AT the beach TO the beach? Carry it, I think not. I have a few bags that I consistently rely on as beach bags!

L.L. Bean Boat and Tote, Open Top, XL

These bags are great. You really can't go wrong with any of the Boat and Totes from LLB. I have the XL and it's great for fitting towels, snacks, books, everything that you'd need for a quality day at the beach with you!

Victoria's Secret Leopard Tote

I got this tote for FREE! Using the FREESWIM coupon code I found online, I snagged this tote along with free shipping (now you can't combine codes...sorry). It's a canvas bag that's been treated with a plastic outside so it's great if you're plopping in the sand all day. All you need to do is brush it off and you're good to go!

Vineyard Vines 

I use one of my VV totes that's pretty old on vacations. It's almost 6 years old and is fraying where the straps hit the silk. The inside has all kinds of pen marks inside, and I don't feel bad lugging it around on the beach. If it was brand new, I certainly wouldn't waste it with the salty air and sandy surface!

I know I always bring a ton to the beach, so I have to be well prepared! Do you  have any good bags for the beach??

xxKatie

Christmas Recap

The fam and I had quite the Christmas! First, Christmas Eve rolled around. We went to 6:00 mass (which was packed more than I've ever seen in Church).

My sis and I got pretty dressed up (excuse my no shoes...) and I wore a ruffle top from J. Crew and a shirred metallic skirt from H&M--they're having FAB sales so hop over there ASAP. I wore tall black heels (the ones I've worn for birthdays) that have trendy little zips on them. After Church we went to dinner with some family friends (and a future Gamecock!!) that lasted until almost 11, so we were all pretty tuckered out from it being Christmas Eve and all!

On Christmas morning, we got up around 9 and everything was unwapped by 9:30! All of us were extremely excited with our gifts! Here were some highlights:

Monster Mile NASCAR Tickets for Daddy!

+

Nook and matching Lilly case for Momma

My sister and I got some great stuff too! I got sunglasses (Tortoise shell Wayfarers and Costas!), a Patagonia fleece, the cutest retro bathing suit from VS, Lilly (of course...), pajamas, a VV shift and tote and long sleeve t-shirt and croakies, and lots of other stuff! I was so thankful for all of it and can't wait to add it to my existing wardrobe! 

After the unwrapping process, we headed North to New York for (what we thought would be) three or four days. We went straight to the family Christmas party at my mom's oldest sister's house (there are 7 sisters and 1 brother...) and met everyone there. It was a blast to see everyone, all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and all the relatives. We crashed at another sister's house after hearing all about the snowpocalypse that was about to hit the entire east coast. 

We woke up and heard that Long Island could be getting up to 16 inches of snow and decided to high-tail it back South to MD. My dad and sister left early early early on Sunday and my mom and I stayed until about 11am and then left. What normally takes between 3.5-5 hours took us almost 7 hours driving through snow and icy and slush (dear NJ, please start salting your roads.). It was scary and very nerve-wracking, so I'm glad we're finally home!!

I hope everyone had wonderful Christmases this year and are looking forward to the New Year!! Just a few days left!

xxKatie

Outfit of the Day: Traveling Home

October 13 by letsbepreppy featuring a duffle luggage

I know I just did an OOTD post, but I couldn't help this one. I wore this coming home on Wednesday and it was quite a comfy travel outfit. I never know how cold or how hot a plane/airport will be, so there's always a lot of variability. Not to mention, Maryland weather is just as volatile as South Carolina weather, so packing was an entirely different nightmare. Although, when I was packing, I realized I needed a different bag, to then discover that I packed Wellies to bring to school with me:

Foolish me forgot that I brought any with me! Anyway, I'm typing as I listen to my new Darius CD that I still love (it's very rare these days to find an entire CD that you like in the age of singles, but I'm loving jammin' out to this one).

Back to the OOTD, I love this skirt. My mom picked it up for me YEARS ago from Vineyard Vines and I wear it all the time! I love it paired with black tights and black polos especially (as you can see). It's a super fun salmon color and I must seem like a walking billboard with my tote as well. It was a good choice for traveling since traveling in a dress isn't always the best option. I was comfortable and looked appropriate to be in an airport. I don't think people realize how much goes on while you're in an airport and how many people you come in contact with. There's no need (unless you're going on vacation) to look sloppy in a t-shirt and workout shorts. There's also no need to be wearing anything low-cut because there are so many professionally dressed people all around. Also, you'll be going through security and being searched sometimes and that's no time to have a wardrobe malfunction.

I'm ready for the real fall temps to drop a few degrees so that I can break out the tights and fun boots! I'm already thinking of what I can do with my wardrobe! 

xxKatie

Bags and Bows

Tonight, for the first time since I can't remember when, I went shopping for fun. I went with three friends, Joe, Laura and Aly (shoutout!) and we all got at least 1 item that were awesome buys! While shopping around, we stopped in Charlotte Russe (if you're willing to hunt a little, they have nice clothes for going out on a college student budget that you won't be heartbroken about if it gets spilled on/dirty/sweaty/generally yucky) and I saw these adorable bags:

I snapped a few photos in "real life" of the other colors: navy and grey jersey. What's better than a big ol' bag that feels like a sweatshirt with a bow?!

So much fun and on sale!! What a combo! It was such a fun night of complete relaxation and we all left much happier! I was glad we could all hang out together for a little while!

xxKatie

Underneath It All

So I have to giggle a little as I write this post because it is a little silly, but I've come across these before and have wanted to post about them! Plus we were talking about boxers today since my sister is still at Navy working and so the topic was on my mind (I felt the need for everyone to understand why I'm writing about a pretty silly topic!)! There are so many options for undergarments for girls, but for guys, you've only got a few. And I've found the best! Preppy boxers seem like an easy choice if I was boy! Here are my top picks (if I were a boy...I mean, these are the one's I'd pick!):

P.S.: I'm only going to use the print photos, the rest are a bit, um, risque for a blog (again, giggling!)

How cute are these Southern Tide Skipjack ones?! The link shows the print a lot better, but it just wasn't a good "feature photo" to have as the first picture. With a fun stripe, I guess you couldn't wear them under white shorts, but I don't think any guy really owns white shorts...just a guess. If you're a guy and you do have them, you'd impress me, but I don't think they're all that common. 

 I love the blue combination with the ST fish and the background! So summery!

I'm loving the traditional VV whale ones too! (I even have a tote to match these ones...haha!). These ones are a bit more toned-down than the stripes, but very cute. I've seen these boxers sold in a navy store by us with nautical flags on them and they were super cute too! 

These ones are VV too with little bonefish outlines on them! I really like the pink-on-pink combo here!

I've posted about Lilly boxers a few times as well, but I can't get enough of them. The print on the far right (the very bottom print) is called Animal Crackers and I have the matching PJ set to that pair! These boxers are actually half price right now at the Sale Shack!

I had to sneak a girly photo in with all these boxers! It is way too hot out for these pj's, but the flannel is very cozy in the winter when all you want is to be bundled up.

At Brooks Brothers, you can find pairs and if you order them online, believe it or not you can even get them monogrammed:

That would make a very fun gift (for anyone)!

I don't even think that boxers just have to be for boys either! I know plenty of girls who find cute pairs of boy boxers and use them to sleep/lounge in. 

xxKatie