Quack Quack!

I spoiled this post a few days ago when I posted my duck boots! I've had these LLBean Boots for a few years but I hardly ever get the chance to wear them in South Carolina!

Although it probably wasn't even "cold" by most of y'all's standards, it was CHILLY for us here! Read: I actually had to wear a winter coat. YUCK!

They had been calling for rain on-and-off and so I decided boots would be the best choice.

I have the LLBean 6'' Boots and they work perfectly for my climate and usage. I didn't need lined ones nor did I need really tall ones. Mine are EXTREMELY comfortable, especially the fat rubber heel. To me, they feel more like heavy running shoes than snow boots.

If you aren't on the Bean Boots bandwagon (say that 5 times fast!) you'll need to know that if you buy yourself a pair, you'll need to go down a size(s). I normally wear a 10.5 and actually ordered the women's 9 believe it or not. They still fit with fat socks. They aren't roomy, but the fit is great in the 9. The laces will also take a little getting used to, but they're nothing a double knot can't fix!

I think Bean Boots might be the ONLY perk of it being this cold!

xxKatie

Quilted Coats

Quilted coats are a great staple for southern fall and winter. Clearly it's only STARTING to get cold here in SC, and my folks in Maryland have had a relatively mild winter as well. There's no need to break out my big North Face parka that has all kinds of contraptions that can zip into it to make it warmer. Instead I've been donning my trusty Lilly quilted coat from a few years ago that I snagged on sale:

I like to fold up the sleeves to a bracelet length so the floral underside is exposed! 

A girl walked into the store the other day with the CUTEST C. Wonder quilted coat:

It also comes in khaki, orange and green, but she looked so great in the navy! It was slightly tailored at the back and wasn't so bulky like some quilted coats can be.

I love the red color of this Barbour jacket! Barbour is an obvious choice for jackets, and this red one is too much fun. I love this for fall Gamedays too!

LL Bean is a tried and true preppy staple. Classic lines with a clean shape, Bean quality is unmatched. Unfortunately this one isn't available online, but I'd sure be hunting for this if there was an LLBean by me!

 This winter white quilted coat is the closest match I could find for my jacket--they both have belts and a diamond quilted pattern!

Do you have a go-to light jacket for before real winter strikes?

xxKatie

Outfit of the Day: Double Ruffles

I'm all about the ruffles these days! On Sunday, I wore a double ruffles outfit with ruffles on my jacket and ruffles on my skirt!

I got this skirt over the summer from 6pm but it's Lilly from spring!

My new ruffle coat from Old Navy is about my favorite newest purchase! I got it in-store, but online similar options are here and here! Check out your store as well to see if they have any Black Friday/holiday sales going on! I got mine for 40% off!

My boots are Corso Como and I am OBSESSED with them. They are so comfy, not too snug and they stay up! What more could you ask for in riding boots?! They are the Richmond design and I've already worn them a bunch since I bought them! I think I've got my mom hooked on them too!

I wore this ensemble to Church, but a bright, colorful, skirt and a black turtleneck and tights is absolutely a go-to outfit for me. If we're out shopping and I see a skirt I like, my mom and I will almost simultaneously say to each other, "Black turtleneck and tights?" in agreement! It's a good classic look and you know you look put-together.

Do you have a go-to look like this?

xxKatie

Ol' Chap-py

There are a multitude of reasons I don't really like winter. The obvious: it's cold. The not so obvious: everything GET SO DRY. I always seem to forget that. My hair gets dry and static-y, my skin gets dry and my lips get so chapped! Thankfully the wind isn't too bad at school, but at home since we're so close to water 99% of the time, it can get pretty windy too.

One of my absolute favorite, cannot go without is chapstick! I've tried a few and Burt's Bees is a great go-to. It's tried-and-true, works every time and makes your lips all tingly. A new favorite of mine is the Eos brand! I have the strawberry daiquiri flavor and summer fruit flavor and I've gotten my two at Ulta and Target respectively.

They're really funny, egg-shaped domes of chapstick but they are AWESOME! My favorite is the Strawberry flavor, but my sister swears by the mint one! I'm not quite ready to trade in my BB mint one yet, but I'm willing to give this one a chance for sure.

Have y'all ever tried these? Do you love them as much as me? I just HAD to share them with y'all if you haven't had a chance to check them out yet!!

xxKatie

Home! Home! Home!

This is my hometown. It is crab pots, Old Bay, plebes, flip flops, American flags and hot dogs in the Summer. It is boat shows, the most magnificent trees turning, and Indian Summer, knee socks, Navy Football and colonial colors in the Fall. It is chilly, frozen anchors, quilted coats, Tall Jamaicans, heat all the way turned up and high school basketball in the Winter. It is shorts, boat shoes, the annual Sock Burning, .05K, and lacrosse in the Spring.

It is Annapolis, MD.

I am so unbelievably, ridiculously thankful to be home for a few weeks!

xxKatie

Sidewalk Sale

Today I'm headed down to the Devine Street Sidewalk sale! It's supposed to be an unbelievably nice day today...think 63 degrees! I am so excited to see what some of my favorite stores have to offer! I know I'll be hitting up all of these guys:

Pink Sorbet (how cute is there website drawing?!)

Britton's of Columbia

Half Moon Outfitters

Just the Thing!

LaRoque

Van Jean Boutique

I can't wait to see what these stores have to offer! Check out the facebook invite and head down there too!

xxKatie

"Rain, Rain Go Away That's What All My Haters Say"

In the famous words of critically acclaimed poet, lyricist and performer Waka Flocka Flame featuring Roscoe...I'm sick of all this gloomy weather (that's an homage to my roommate, Megan). It's basically February, and yet I find myself still wearing boots, warm jackets and wanting mittens on some days. Yesterday I was so busy with homework, meetings and other random school activities, I barely had time to breathe. I no longer want to wear these few items:

All this lame cold weather stuff needs to be put in the closet, away once and for all! It's supposed to be OVER 60 degrees this weekend and I absolutely cannot wait! I'm ready to wear sunglasses to truly block out the sun and not protect  my eyes from the blistering wind! I can't wait for the South Carolina spring and sun and warmth! Just about a month left until we'll all be in shorts!!

xxKatie

Outfit of the Day: Warmer Weather!

January 19 by letsbepreppy featuring dr martens shoes

We're lucky enough to have a few little teasers of nice weather here! I am SO thankful because this week has certainly been a long one! I've done so much connecting with readers this week, and I've really wanted to thank everyone for their emails and interest. I'm getting to each of you as fast as I can! Yesterday, silly (but hopeful) me work Jack Rogers to campus...yeah, not such a good idea. I had class at 1:25 on Friday about 4 blocks from my parking garage and figured that it was warm enough to wear my beloved platinum Jacks. Well as hopeful and optimistic I was feeling, I was plain silly for wearing them! My little piggies were so cold by the time I got to my classroom! Anyway, we have really been enjoying this coatless weather and some crazy boys out there have been wearing shorts!! I love all the warm weather enthusiasm and even got a text from my dad the other day saying how jealous he was that we had such great weather and they were still sub-freezing at home!!

xxKatie

P.S.: I'm LOVING my new Murfee!!

No School for South Carolina!

Best post-birthday news ever: Because of winter weather conditions, the University of South Carolina Columbia campus will be closed Monday, Jan. 10. Please monitor this site for updates.


No school for me for a snow day! I wasn't even taking the "threat" of a wintry mix seriously because it wasn't like freezing yesterday. It's going to be a great little day before the semester starts!! Now I get to prepare my room, try to meet with teachers, and look up my future Westie all day long! I'm quite the lucky girl (along with 28,000 of my good ole' Gamecock friends) aren't I?!

xxKatie

P.S.: I was a big Peter Rabbit fan (thanks Dad!) when I was little, so I couldn't pass up this picture!

Tacky Christmas...Yikes!

So for a winter banquet for one my my organizations, we had a tacky christmas theme. It. Was. Gross. We all had VERY tacky clothes. Most girls borrowed sweaters from their moms and boys tended to match clothes together that did not match. We weren't the best looking group, but we had an awesome vibe going for the whole night!

I wore a denim shirt with all kinds of yucky embroidery that was a size 4x from WalMart and I tried to make it a little bit cute with a belt, but it's tough to make it look cute. My rookies still managed to look adorbs (love y'all) even in their tacky clothes!

Here are all the wonderful (tacky) rookies who were graduating--we are SO proud of all of you!

I had never been to a tacky sweater party or event, but this was too much fun! I made 2 boxes of cupcakes and decorated them with fabulous Wilton cupcake topper/wrapper sets from WalMart too! Everyone seemed like they enjoyed them (which always makes me SUPER happy) and they looked cute too! Some of my sets looked similar to these but had little trees and snowflakes instead, but keep an eye out for the sets, they are so much fun and look great on cupcakes:

I had a great time kicking off the holiday season this early on! It makes me look forward to finishing up exams and heading home!

xxKatie

Charleston Reviews

SO big LBP news! I'm interviewing for a potential internship over the summer in about 3 weeks and I'd love some restaurant ideas from all my Charlestonians! I'll probably roadtrip it with someone (to help me with my nerves) and so I'll need some fabulous restaurant ideas! Do any of you have any favorites? Anything I just can't leave Charleston without going to--or any meals that I MUST try? I'd really like to grab something to eat that is blogger approved!!

xxKatie

Fall & Winter Skirts on a Budget

I'm getting very into skirts for fall and winter. I'd much rather wear a skirt or dress with tights than pants. Sometimes it's not as warm and cozy, but I like the way it looks a lot! Here are a few of my choices for super cute skirts that won't kill your budget!

Forever21: $24.80

I love the mauve color for fall! It's so feminine!

Target: on sale for $17.48

I think this skirt looks way more expensive than about $18. Cute shoes too!

Old Navy: on sale for $25.00

Think of all the different tops that you could wear with this. The ruffles make it so much fun and festive!

Forever21: $19.80

How great would this be for the holidays? Lovin' that color with a black turtleneck or something!

Old Navy: on sale for $22.99

Corduroy is so great for colder temps. I have an awesome VV pink one and I wear it all the time! This brown is so versatile too! 

Forever21: $22.80

I'm such a bow fan and I this this looks great with those black pumps. Definitely an fan of this one!

Forever21: $15.80

I actually own this one and I love it! If you purchase this one though, be careful about what you wear under it (like tights) because the edges of the skirt pull a little on the material that tights are made of.

Target: $26.99

I think the basketweave in this is fabulous for winter time. I was out shopping with a friend of mine over the weekend and we saw a great jacket like this too at White House Black Market.

Agree? Where do you snag cute skirts?

xxKatie

Old Navy Outerwear

It's just starting to get cold around here...we're so spoiled. I'm sitting here watching TV as I write and an Old Navy commercial comes up for outerwear for 50% off! Here are my favorites online:

The name of this color...infuschion! So cute!

I really think this coat is adorable. It comes in so many colors! Both purple and orange for any Clemson girl, this would be SO SO SO perfect for cold football games! If I have Clemson readers, you should pick one up ASAP!

This one would be great to wear for Christmas or something formal! Imagine it over a black skirt with tights and super duper bright flats! It's like a built in outfit.

I have wanted a trench for as long as I can remember. This one is great and would look so nice with a lot! I can imagine this with a black turtleneck and jeans and maybe a pair of cowboy boots perhaps? Hmm, I might have to do that someday!!

Anyone snag any of these? Let me know! 50% off sure is such a good deal!

xxKatie

Fall Dresses...I Can't Even Believe I'm Saying That

So it's not even the end of July yet, and I'm already thinking about fall and my fall wardrobe (which doesn't  even really kick in until about November...). I feel like as soon as the 4th of July hit, my summer was basically over. I'll be back at school around the beginning of August, so my home summer is winding down. I was thinking about all the fun fall wardrobe things I can wear to class and everything, and I feel like I'm going back to elementary school because I want to wear dresses and even wear them "jumper-style".

I love this dress from VS! I think sweaterdresses are a great look for all kinds of gals. The banded bottom would be a new look for me, and I'd probably forgo the studded bracelt, but I really like the cowl neck look too.

This basic black sweater dress from Old Navy could be dressed up or down so many different ways. You could wear it with great boots and tights or flats. Add a belt or long necklace and it's a great ready-made look!

 

This dress from Lulu's would look great with black tights and a great pair of black shoes for going out. The garnet color is always a great addition too!!

This one shoulder dress from Lulu's (another one...am I sensing a trend?) is cute and again would be great for going out. It is such a fun shape and idea!

 

I found so many fun dresses on Lulu's and I'm not even a regular shopper there! The back is so much fun and would be great for going out (again)!

I'm not sure if this is ideal for fall or not, but I couldn't resist posting it. It's such a cute shape and from Anthropologie. I don't usually shop there since it's not my typical look, but this is a very cute pick!

 

Yet another cute grey dress with a great back! The back of this dress from South Moon Under would be a total departure from my style, but I adore ponte knit dresses. They're so comfy and look great on all shapes. The material isn't too clingy but still soft and stretchy!

Love this Lilly option! I'd pair this with a navy turtleneck underneath and I feel like it would be perfect! I have a great pair of brown boots to wear with it!

Target is featuring this black dress. It seems nice for something like an interview. I know it's Target, but I've recently been named the Target Mistress since I'm always there (and writing about it). It definitely seems like it would be worth trying on, plus the little button is very cute! I'd totally try the pink to wear with black tights for going out. I'd wear it with a black turtleneck to go to class and wear "jumper-style"!

This is another sweater dress from Target. I rarely wear brown, because if I'm wearing something dark, I often opt for black since I have more black than brown. This looks super cozy though and a look I've love to try!

What do you guys wear (as in dresses) for the fall? Any go-to looks? Is jumper-style too "first grader" for a college sophomore?

xxKatie