They're Here: Let's Be Preppy Cruiseys

They arrived yesterday!

I AM SO HAPPY! The front side features nautical flags of L-B-P for Let's Be Preppy and the back features the name and URL if anyone asks where you got it from! (...because they will!)

I want to make them available to everyone, so you can order them

HERE!

They will be available, first come, first serve and will be shipped on the Friday of the week that they are ordered! I am so excited for y'all to see them and use them on your campuses and tailgates! 

My friends and I wore Cruiseys all night last night to the Dierks Bentley concert we attended! Left and right people were checking them out and wondering where they were from!!!!

Obviously, as you can see, there are pink Cruiseys and green Cruiseys and in the Etsy store, you'll find two listings: one for each color!

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to The Cruisey team for everything they did! Their product has been SO POPULAR that they're currently totally SOLD OUT! Check them out on Facebook for their updates!

xxKatie

You're Invited: Let's Be Preppy Turns 5!

Early next month, Let's Be Preppy turns 5! Can you believe we've been going at this since 2007!? I think that makes LBP one of the oldest blogs on the preppy block!

I hope that everyone in town can make it! If you're going to be in the best college town in the South, Columbia, SC, head on over to Pink Sorbet on September 14! Mark that in your Lilly agendas--it's a Friday!

I would love to see you and I have a few fun, fabulous tricks up my sleeve for the people who can make it! If you can, RSVP on Facebook! Girls, guys, moms, daughters, y'all are ALL invited! I can't wait to see your bright, shining faces for the big birthday!

Happy almost birthday, LBP!

xxKatie

A Gift: Amanda C. Bee

As a surprise for my sister and I, my sneaky Mom asked good friend, Amanda Bee to do a few custom pieces for us! I've been itching to show y'all!

This is a custom copy of a photo from MANY MANY years ago of my sister and I:

How sweet did it turn out?! We LOVED the Amanda Bee version! My Mom gave Amanda a few more original photos and this is what Amanda came up with:

A lot of my facebook friends will know this photo from when my sister visited me for the Auburn game!

Y'all have ALL seen this one as well before on LBP--a few of my faaaavorite Baaaaaay ladies! All us Annapolitans just swoon over these Amanda Bee portraits!

Have you wanted Amanda to do one of yours? I know she's done a few for some other fabulous bloggers--be sure to check her out for a wonderful gift or memento!

xxKatie

About.Me

Blogger

Tumblr

BlackBerry Messenger

LinkedIn

Foursquare

Yelp

Texts

Pinterest

Polyvore

Twitter

Google+

Klout 

Facebook

Wordpress

Emails

Social media, ways to connect, ways to build your brand, all of the above?

Ever question how to keep it all organized? Sometimes it's really hard. Actually, most of the time it's really hard. You phone can have about 90% of these apps if not 100% of them. I have a bookmarks bar chock full of all these different websites/applications that I maintain on an almost daily basis. Ask anyone with their own website, and I'm sure they'll say the same thing. We all have our own ways of staying organized, however, I've found a great new website to keep everything all together! Good news!!

Introducing About.Me! 

Imagine combining all your different webpages into one personal map!

About.Me keeps track of all your different applications that you might use to promote your blog, website, self, etc. It's s clean website that you can customize as much as you'd like! You can upload photos, change fonts, edit colors, and of course, showcase your social media prowess! I organized mine yesterday into what you see here. I crafted mine to be partly a resume (or similar to my resume in my bio), and partly an organization of social media. 

It would be really easy to list this as a website on a resume for a potential company to visit and see your social media exposure! You also can tailor it to exactly what you want people to see. For instance, there's no need for people to see my personal facebook page, so instead I linked mine to my facebook fan page instead! You can alter almost everything on your page...pretty cool! I encourage anyone who's spread their social media networks out online to take advantage of About.Me!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

1. I am thankful to have had such an awesome weekend at Clemson! We had a blast and I loved seeing the campus, however, I'm still PROUD to be a Gamecock!

2. I am thankful that I have a relatively easy week this week. I'm able to knock out a bunch of things that I had been wanting to! 

3. I am thankful that I will finally be able to do laundry since I don't know how long I've gone without it.

4. I am thankful that Blogger let me sign back into my account yesterday!! IT'S ABOUT TIME!

5. I am thankful that my FABULOUS Lilly Pulitzer Callahan shorts arrived last week! I was able to snag a pair in the "State of Mind" patch! If you haven't gotten a chance to see all the states up close, find yours here!

6. I am thankful so many people liked my wall hanging!! Major props to everyone who even remembered it when I've run into them, etc.! Y'all rock! I've loved seeing it being pinned on Pinterest!

7. I am thankful for my planner this semester. It has really kept me organized. I use yellow to highlight all important school stuff and pink to highlight important extracurricular stuff. It has become the BEST system!

8. I am thankful for my Econ review session tonight. I have a feeling my entire class will be showing up for the extra help!

9. I'm thankful I saw THIS post on Pinterest too, it's taught me so much about "Beauty 101"! Here's an excerpt:

71. The antihistamines in allergy medicine dry out the skin, so skip heavy foundation during allergy season. Instead, use a tinted moisturizer.

10. I am thankful for everyone who helped transition to www.letsbepreppy.com! Thank you thank you thank you!!

xxKatie

Lash Love

Awhile back, I won a giveaway with Miss Sarah from "Too Much is Never Enough" and she was giving away tons of Mary Kay products. I won a  mascara and was pretty excited just to see what it was all about. I was totally expecting a travel size mascara, not the full size. 

Well, let me tell you, "Lash Love" Mascara by Mary Kay is easily the BEST mascara I've ever used. The only drawback for me is that it's not waterproof, but the minute that MK comes out with a waterproof version it will be PERFECTO! Anyway, I've always used drugstore brands of mascara, posting about some of my favorites here. I've dabbled in Clinique and Lancome brands from department stores and I've liked them as well. I have extremely long eyelashes so it's really easy for mascaras to get very clumpy on me. 

With Lash Love, I have had more people than EVER come up and ask me if I'm wearing fake eyelashes! It really has become my absolute favorite mascara! My Mom even said something about it so many times that we got her her own tube as a Christmas gift! 

I wear mine in the "I (Love) Black" (the "Love" is actually a heart in the name) shade but they make a brown shade for those of you who prefer brown for lashes. Anyway, I totally recommend Lash Love for anyone in the market for a new mascara or looking to switch! 

xxKatie

706: MyMemories Suite Giveaway!

I am so excited to introduce y'all to MyMemories Software Suite! It is absolutely perfect for anyone just about to get married, celebrating anything special, or maybe even those who just won a a MASSIVE rivalry college football game!

MyMemories digital scrapbooking software is all about keeping your memories in one place! 

Not only are they giving us a Suite to giveaway, but they also have a promo code for EVERYONE else who doesn't get the entire suite! If scrapbooking is up your alley and you're crafty but are looking for a way to put it all online, this is the thing for you! The official LBP code is: STMMMS90650

Feel free to use that as an extra $10 off!!

In order to enter this giveaway you have all the following options:

1. Follow Let's Be Preppy (1 entry)

2. Like Let's Be Preppy on Facebook (2 entries)

3. Like MyMemories on Facebook (3 entries)

4. Follow Let's Be Preppy on Twitter (4 entries)

5. Follow MyMemories on Twitter (5 entries)

6. Tweet at @letbepreppy and @MyMemoriesSuite about the giveaway! (6 entries)

Good luck y'all! This giveaway will run until 11:59pm on Saturday! Can't wait to see who the TOTALLY lucky winner of this giveaway is!!!

ALSO GO GAMECOCKS!!!! 3PEAT!!

xxKatie

705: Port Winsor Giveaway!

I cannot say enough "Thank You's" to Port Winsor! The gals there have been so much fun to deal with and fit in BEYOND perfectly with my 7 for 700 Giveaway!

Port Winsor is home to FABULOUS tunics and accessories for everyone!

This Wellesley Tunic is my favorite of all the choices!

The wonderful Port Winsor crew is offering a giveaway of brand new custom earrings they released LAST week that look like this:

AND a $50 gift certificate toward any tunic in-stock!

In order to win the earrings and the gift certificate, you can enter in all the following ways:

1. Follow Let's Be Preppy (1 entry)

2. Like Let's Be Preppy on Facebook (2 entries)

3. Like Port Winsor on Facebook (3 entries)

4. Follow Let's Be Preppy on Twitter (4 entries)

5. Follow Port Winsor on Twitter (5 entries)

6. Tweet at @letbepreppy and @PortWinsor about the giveaway! (6 entries)

Good luck y'all!! Also, you can keep entering all the other giveaways this week too! This one will end Friday night at 11:59pm! I hope everyone is still loving all these giveaways as much as I am!!

xxKatie

Voila: The New Let's Be Preppy!

Welcome to the new Let's Be Preppy! My wonderfully talented sister Grace who is applying left and right to college for graphic design has made ALL of the fabulous new changes you see here! I look forward to all of the new tidbits that y'all get to see!!

Out with the old...

...and in with the new:

WELCOME to the new Let's Be Preppy!!

Major thanks to Grace for all of these great pink and green designs! You are the best sista I could ask for!!

I hope y'all like the new look!!

xxKatie

Are You Ready to Be Smitten?

Smitten Magazine!

Smitten is the new "it" magazine for all things fabulous, wedding, and southern! What a triple threat, huh?!

From the fun, whimsical design to the amazing features in this "e-glossy" you can't help but flip on through!! I was lucky enough to read it on an iPad which was an even BETTER experience if you can even have one!

Chock full of fun inspiration you're bound to find something you love in this sweet little package! There are fun additions for brides, bridesmaids, wedding lovers and just the normal magazine browser. The site was so easy to use and "flip" through, it was a breeze to read. My favorite section(s) was all the different features on the individual brides from so many areas up and down the Southeast! 

These bios and fun snapshots of all the different brides were great fun!

Another one of my Charleston favorites, LulaKate was featured! 

You MUST head over to be Smitten!

xxKatie

Giveaway: Smathers & Branson: WINNER!

Many celebrations are in order!

First: the winner of the Smathers and Branson Giveaway! I am proud to announce that in the 674 total entries, our winner is:

Palm Trees, Pearls, and Everything Southern!

After compiling all the facebook, comment and email entries, there were 674 total! I was so excited to see the final number in the HUGE Excel spreadsheet! SO exciting to figure out and input the final details into random.org!

Dearest Palm Trees shoot me an email at letsbepreppy@gmail.com and we'll get you in contact with all the right people!!

SECOND, today's post is my 600th post! SO many fun things happening today!!

I hope y'all enjoyed this giveaway and there's ANOTHER one coming up soon so keep your eyes peeled! This next one is with a VERY creative friend of mine...hint hint! Should be just as much fun as this giveaway!

xxKatie

Giveaway: Smathers & Branson

For those of you who've kept up with me even while I'm away are in for a TREAT! A giveaway with Smathers and Branson has been in the works for awhile and y'all finally get to reap the benefits!!

We are teaming up to giveaway a needlepoint belt to one lucky winner!

Check out the entire line of Traditional Needlepoint Belts here!

Dear every college boy I know, I'm sure you'd like to be donning this guy!

Y'all know this is my favorite!

In honor of Shark Week, of course!

A great classic to go with anything!

Bowties, I literally do not need to say anything else.

In my heart of hearts, I am a lacrosse loving girl and I will be as long as I live.

Nothing says Annapolis like America's Cup!

Now, for this entry I have more ways than EVER to enter!

1. For 1 entry become a fan of Smathers and Branson on facebook

2. For 1 additional entry (2 total) become a fan of Let's Be Preppy on facebook

3. For 1 more additional entry (3 total) follow Smathers and Branson on Twitter

4. For 1 more additional entry (4 total) follow the Smathers and Branson Blog (super easy for any blogger users!!)

5. For 1 more additional entry (5 total) tweet about this giveaway!

6. For 1 more additional entry (6 total) post about this giveaway on your blog!

7. The fine print: the winner can pick an in-stock, non-monogrammed or custom belt!

Leave all your entries in 1 (ONE) comment here! I will be tallying the totals and getting back to everyone with a winner on Tuesday August 9! GOOD LUCK!

This post will stay live until then (as in no more posts until then) so keep your eyes out belt-lovers!!

Can't wait to see WHO WINS!!! Good luck y'all!!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

Yet another week I hardly remember...this next coming week is my last full one at home! CAROLINA BOUND SO SOON! I can't wait for what the rest of the summer has in store for me!



1. Thanks to rain. I think you're coming around and fingers-crossed with knock out alllllll this INSANE heat. I would prefer the state of Maryland to not be "white hot" on Weather.com.
2. Thanks to the Market House for FINALLY OPENING. Woo, it's sure taken a long time but these vendors are pretty yummy and I hope they stay!!
3. Thanks to the South Carolina State Fair for posting their performers!!!! It's like I can FEEL being back at school already!!!!
4. Thanks to everyone's patience last week with all the emails--I PROMISE I will get back to you as soon as I can!!
5. Thanks to knocking another book off of the book list! #anotheronebitesthedust
6. Thanks to my floor for being such a great shelf for stuff. With all of our family in town, we "joked" (as in said in a joking tone but really meant) that no one wanted to stay in my room. Well, humph, my room wasn't looking for any new tenants! Take that y'all!
7. Thanks to ALL the packing I've done for school. Not.
8. Thanks to my job, internships and getting ready for the next few weeks for keeping me busy. A friend of mine from school, (Timmy, I'm not sure if you read LBP but here's your shoutout) and I were talking that we've just about hit the ready-to-go-back point. Both of us were glad to have been home for the summer, more than thankful, but we're both ready to see everyone!!
9. Thanks to my fabulous friend for being able to talk me down this week! It's been one of the most hectic I've had all summer--and I'm not even in school ANYMORE!
10. Thanks to everyone who participated in my boots poll! I'm excited to post more--kinda a fun reader input option on facebook! Feel free to let your opinion be known! Not a facebook fan yet--JOIN THE CLUB!

xxKatie

"I Will Stay With You..."

"Stay With You" by John Legend is my vacation song right now! Last night I did a ton of work emailing, replying, getting back to (thank you EVERYONE), tumbling, everything getting caught up on a lot of the summer! This song was on full blast/repeat because I'm lovin' it these days! John Legend is great for summer easy listening for sure!

Best part, check this tweet from last night.

Do y'all have a working playlist? Good songs to listen to while you're knocking things off your "to-do" list? I usually use Pandora but could seriously build up a good "let's get down to business" playlist!

xxKatie

Store of the Week: The Pink Crab!

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE LILLY'S STORE OF THE WEEK!

This is such a fun honor to have for the week! And in OUR week we even got to have National Wear Your Lilly day! 

Have you ever shopped at the Pink Crab? Heck, have any of y'all been to Annapolis? If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop in and let us know you're a fan! We had all kinds of goodies for Wear Your Lilly day even though it was quite hot considering it was the first day of summer!!!! We are having a blast being featured on the Lilly blog--thanks for all the love y'all!!

Pink Crab Love and All of Mine,

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

So somehow I forgot to do this last week. RUDE. Here we go making up for it all!

1. Thanks to Amanda, Amy and Skyler for all having birthdays this weekend. Y'all RULE.

2. Thanks to all of them having a Lilly-esque theme. It was great to get dressed up and have everyone lookin' great!

3. Thanks to Bayside Bride for providing me with so much these past two weeks! So much to work on, look forward to, and plan for the rest of the summer.

4. Thanks to Scotty McCreary for recording "For Once in My Life". It's slowing becoming one of my American Idol faves!

5. Thanks to the Lilly Warehouse sale--you got me a bunch of steals to be proud of for the rest of the summer and into the school year since I got a few transitional pieces too!

6. Thanks to Country music for being better in the summer.

7. Thanks to all the Etsy shops that have made this birthday season fun. I don't want to give anything away yet since it hasn't arrived, but thanks in general.

8. Thanks to Costa del Mar for reaching out to me. Y'all look for a post coming up soon to hear all about it! Doin' big things this week!

9. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this week. I think we're all SO busy and the comments and tweets me so much!!

10. Thanks to Polyvore who told me I've been in both the 77th and 74th most viewed profiles on the site!!! SO exciting!!!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitue

Already almost a month under my belt here at home. The weeks are flying by--I seriously do not know where my time is going these days!

(Picture, see WG #4)

1. I am thankful for the Naval Academy. It has a special place in my heart and will have one forever. I've had so many sponsor brothers and sisters (my number is in the teens) and I'm lucky to have met all of them. Just the other night my "youngest" (and by youngest I mean newest) brother had a few of his company-mates over and they had a wonderful time. It was great to meet them all!
2. I am thankful for new blog friends. You never know where they pop up and I know I have a few close ones.
3. I am thankful for this hot weather. With hot weather it brings sunshine, pool openings, and lots and lots of barbecues! Is there even a better way to spend the summer?
4. I am thankful I work in a dog friendly store/town. I've learned so much about different kinds of dogs just from letting them walk in!
5. I am thankful for eBay. I've been having way too much fun browsing their selections. I may or may not be online browsing for formal dresses that I don't need but it's still a heck of a lotta fun!
6. I am thankful for weddings. Weddings are giving me the best opportunity to work this summer in a capacity that I never expected!
7. I am thankful for Pinterest! It is the coolest online live thought board. I am beyond obsessed. Still...
8. I am thankful for hot dogs. I eat them for dinner if we're grilling, and sometimes for lunch from Pip's (my favorite place to eat when I work in Annapolis). I have eaten so many recently, there are few foods that say summer like hot dogs!
9. I am thankful for Facebook and Twitter (probably one of only a few people who are actually "thankful for it"...). They are allowing me to stay in contact with lots of my close friends in a more fun way than emails, texting or phone calls!
10. I am thankful for all the new experiences and friends that I'm getting and making this summer. I know I say it, but I really believe that Summer 2011 is set to be the best on the books for me!

xxKatie

"Abandon all hope, ye who gaze upon these pants..."

For any of you who didn't know, Brooks Brothers writes a wonderful blog called "Of Rogues and Gentleman" (for all my fraternity readers out there, you BEST start reading this ASAP.) I recieved many comments about these pants via Twitter (P.S. edit: most notably that from Miss Skyler Elizabeth inquiring why there hadn't been a post about these yet. Well  sCe, consider this YOURS. I moved it up a few days just for you!) and email. As a native Annapolitan and transplant South Carolinian, these pants are nothing out of the blue for me. I'm used to critters all over, various colors like you wouldn't believe and the shirts that match. A boy in colored chinos or critter pants already has my heart--cue swooning.

Here they are, the infamous "Go to Hell Pants":

They have critters--and for those of you who don't understand the idea of critters, we don't mean bugs; it's a collective term for small embroidered "critters" on preppy paraphernalia, like these:

The "critters" can be anything from whales to rowing oars to skull and cross bones to life preservers. The chinos can vary in color too. I've seen green, pink, khaki, white, you name it!

My favorite section of the Brooks Brothers post was toward the end of the post titled, "WHY YOU’D WEAR THEM":

Usually this would be a “where to wear them” section, but the wearer of go-to-hell pants is usually more concerned with “why” than “where.” That’s because, aside from the fact that wearing them is just plain fun, wearing go-to-hell pants can be treated as a game of style chicken with your friends. Except instead of going over a cliff in a ball of flames, you’ll be seen as the most daring dresser around.

...And I couldn't agree more!

xxKatie

Pinterest!

New favorite thing. I'm slightly stunned it too me this long to hop on the bandwagon and get started. (Note: It was on my summer to-do list so now I can officially cross one off!)

This little app is the bee's knees!

Who's on it? I started following some people from Twitter, but I want to know who else to follow?

Also, for all you pro's out there--where do you get your stuff? 

Pinterest is like a live inspiration board that you can literally copy or "Pin" images from wherever you are online and never forget about them! 

It's a better version of tumblr and more interactive than Twitter because  you can save things you see, not just retweet them. 

So much fun! If you want an invite, send me an email at letsbepreppy@gmail.com and we'll get you squared away!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

My first full week of being home is just about coming to a close. Here goes nothin':

1. Thanks to the lady who came into the store from Augusta, GA. While we knew a bunch of the same people, she left me with lasting words after I used the cliche "What a small world!". She goes, "It is a small world. That's why I've taught my children to always be respectful because you never know who's around." Amen, Augusta lady. That is sincerely a lesson and phrase I will never forget.
2. Thanks to my store for taking me back. I work with seriously the BEST people in the world and have been looking forward to coming back to our Crabby Pink Palace for months.
3. Thanks to my family for welcoming me back with open arms, open hearts, and well, an open snack drawer.
4. Thanks to all the performers who sing Beach Music. It is full of good, funny, goofy messages and a light-heartedness that connects me with South Carolina and allows me a lot of freedom while I'm home. Talk about the best of both worlds.
5. Thanks to everyone who keeps telling me junior year was their favorite. I can't wait! 21st birthdays, really knowing your way around, not getting lost (or maybe getting lost more), roadtrips to away games, football season, the Navy-USC game, everything. I absolutely can't wait.
6. RE yesterday's post, thanks Amazon Prime. I appreciate a big ol' company who's willing to look out for college students. You're awesome...we'll take any kind of deal we can get.
7. Thanks to summer for being optimal reading time. I can't wait to see how many books I can read this summer. Contest: officially on. If there's anyone who'd like to take me on in a book reading contest, let me know. We can start it easily...
8. Thanks to while I was packing to not bringing any pants back home except white jeans. While some people may look at that as silly, it's a great reminder of the FABULOUS weather that's ahead of me. Bathing suit season, hit me with your best shot!

9. Thanks to all my home hot spots for still being there. Lemongrass, CPK, Downtown, Robeks, the Amish Market, City Dock, all of them. Nothing says home like a big iced Jamaican.
10. Thanks to all my favorite blogs. You know who you are. You keep me writing, seriously.

xxKatie