Shop Prima Donna

 

Today I’m excited to be guest posting for Shop Prima Donna’s blog!  Y’all probably know by now that I love my accessories from Shop Prima Donna.   I’ve styled many of their pieces on CBL before and I could list them all but I’ll spare you the flashback overload.

It’s been such a privilege to work with the Prima Donna team and today you can hop on over to their blog for more photos and details on how you can snag the fabulous and affordable accessories in this outfit!  Even better?  Use the promo code CBL10 for 10% off your purchase.

top – eBay, similar here | skirt – Anthropologie (on sale!) | bag – Shop Prima Donna (c/o) | heels – Shop Prima Donna (c/o) | necklace – Shop Prima Donna (c/o) | hand bracelet – Shop Prima Donna (c/o) | earrings – Kendra Scott, similar here and here | turquoise bracelet – Love Poppy Jewels (c/o) | bubblegum chainlink bracelet – INPink (c/o)

Thanks so much for reading and be sure to check out the full post here.  Don’t forget to use the promo code CBL10 for 10% off at checkout!  XO –

8 Comments|See Comments

Friday’s Five

– beautiful strawberries at our local farmer’s co-op –

– the most perfect pair of vegan leather shorts 40% off –

 

– playing in jacaranda petals with Bailey in my Shop Bush python maxi –

– a date night to Lemonade –

 

– pink peonies and wine & cheese for a quiet night in –

I had a short week with the Memorial Day long weekend and leaving Thursday for a work trip to Raleigh, NC.  This is actually my first trip back to the South since we moved out here in June of 2013 and while I won’t see any family members, I am meeting up for a dinner with my North Carolina blogger babe Amy of Coffee Beans & Bobby Pins.  A long-awaited get together!

I’ve been looking forward to this quick trip back to the South to bask in the friendliness and “hey y’alls” that I’ve missed in Cali-land.  What are your weekend plans?  Thank you so much for reading! XO –

PS – if you have a few minutes, this article on 20 Things I Wish I’d Known in my Twenties is an incredibly inspiring read – my high school bff passed it on to me and I felt so personally touched by so many of the pieces of advice!

4 Comments|See Comments

San Francisco

Today we reach the finale of our fun-filled road trip along the California coast.  Christian and I had the pleasure of spending three days in San Francisco visiting my brother’s family and playing in their city. Christian visited SF in college, but I hadn’t been since I was a sophomore in high school and it was so much fun to return to this unique and historical city with such a big personality.

 

I wanted to share some photos of our visit and my brother’s adorable family.  I know they are going to miss the charm of SF when they move to LA this summer, but we are so thrilled to have them closer by!  We love these three (you know I had to share a photo of their adorable pup, Miss Pollack)!

Ike’s Place sandwiches & soda – oh. my. gosh.  Crazy delicious!

 

The prison cells in Alcatraz.

The view from the small windows in the hallways of the prison.

Thank you so much for reading and sharing your love and recommendations with us for our little road trip!  Your support and guidance is truly so helpful and I can’t thank you enough.  XO –

PS – You can see our other stops along the way here, here and here.

6 Comments|See Comments

Tie Dye Off the Shoulder Top

 

If you follow me on instagram you have seen some snapshots of this ensemble – possibly the most comfortable pairing in my closet!  When I first laid eyes on this off-the-shoulder top I knew it had to be mine.  I am in love with the relaxed feel of the off-the-shoulder look and can hardly ever find them, so I think this top might be on full rotation this summer.

These purple jacaranda trees are all over Orange County right now and I am so in love with them.  We snapped these photos across the street from our apartment in the neighborhood park before going to Laguna to a Serene Sky Boutique trunk show hosted by my fabulous girlfriends behind Itsy Bitsy Indulgences – love those gals!

 

denim – Forever21 (DIY distressing tips here), similar styles here and here | top – L.Mae Boutique (c/o) | heels – Boohoo | tassel necklace and bracelets – Love, Poppy Jewels (c/o) | gemstone necklace and cat ring – Serene Sky Boutique | delicate necklace – Bip & Bop | earrings  L.Mae Boutique (c/o) | quartz ring – Nashelle (c/o) | sunnies – Silvano Apparel (c/o)

 

 

Thank you so much for reading! XO –

10 Comments|See Comments

Memorial Day Sales

 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

 

 

 

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!  I wanted to share some of my favorite sales going on this weekend – talk about great steals.  I think that’s definitely something to celebrate!

 

Gap – 40% off with code EVENT
Nordstrom – half-yearly sale – up to 40% off
Serena & Lily – 20% of with code SUMMER20
J.Crew – 30% off with code WEEKEND
Intermix – additional 40% off all sale items
Neiman Marcus – up to 40% off
Lulu & Georgia – 25% off with code MEMORIALDAY25
Max & Chloe – 25% off with code MEMDAY14
Piperlime – extra 25% off

 

Cheers! Have a fun a safe weekend – XO –
No Comments|See Comments

Friday’s Five

– getting to show my sister and her hubs around our beautiful city –

– the most fabulous package from Love, Poppy Jewels –

 

– a sunset dinner on the beach –

– a box of goodies from one of my favorite accessories sites, Shop Prima Donna –

 

– my pre-paddleboarding cronuts thanks to Christian’s neighborhood obsession –

This week was extra fun for us because we had my sister and her husband in town.  I had not seen my sister in a year – a YEAR!  That just seems entirely too long for sisters to be separated, right?  It was such a treat taking them to all of our favorite spots – Strands Beach at Dana Point, the shops at Laguna, Old Towne Orange, Newport Beach, Balboa Island, the Wedge (this spot where surfers catch scary huge waves), Fashion Island, the list goes on and on.  We had so much fun visiting and shopping together. What’s interesting living 1800 miles away from your family is that you learn to appreciate them 100x more.  I think my sister and I actually talk more now that we are so far apart than we did when we were only 170 miles apart. Learning to appreciate our families more has been one of the many gifts this experience has brought us.

This weekend we are headed to San Diego to meet up with some of my Mississippi and Alabama relatives who are visiting.  We are going kayaking and I actually can’t wait!

Y’all have a beautiful weekend – XO –

 

5 Comments|See Comments

Monterey & Carmel

One of my favorite stops along the way was the darling towns of Monterey and Carmel.  We stayed at the Intercontinental The Clement Monterey and loved spending our time walking around the darling shops on Cannery Row.

We had dinner at the Sardine Factory and sat in this beautiful green room, eating seafood while watching the sunset – it was just dreamy.  We also hopped in the car for the famous 17-mile drive and couldn’t believe the beautiful views of Pebble Beach.  We even stopped to watch a mule deer cross the street – it reminded me of Mississippi!

A delicious wine and champagne tasting with my girlfriend Bernice of Bernice the Shoe Addict before a double date to Mundaka.

– more details on this outfit here –

Thank you so much for reading! XO –

4 Comments|See Comments

Feminine Boho Outfit

We spent our last day of our road trip in Carmel, walking around and wishing the vacation wasn’t ending.  On our walk (and inevitably on our way to a tasting room) we passed this darling little park and popped it to snap some photos of this bohemian Windsor Store top that I can’t get enough of.

denim – Forever21 (distressing details here), similar styles here and here | top – Windsor Store (c/o) | flower crown – Forever21, similar here and here | heels – Zara, similar here and here | bag – Louis Vuitton | necklace – handmade | delicate necklace – Bip & Bop | sunnies – Ray Ban

 

Thank you so much for reading! XO –

5 Comments|See Comments

California Road Trip – Views Along the Way

Those who know me well know that I am not a great car-rider.  After about two hours I get fidgety and and uncomfortable, so a “road trip” is not an appealing idea to me.  Christian and I knew we wanted to visit my brother and his family this year while they were living in San Francisco and I initially thought we would fly in and split our time between San Fran and Napa.

Christian had other ideas.

He wanted to take his Wrangler on a road trip up the Coast.  I had heard how beautiful the drive was and my parents had actually just made the drive last summer, so I agreed to go along with Christian’s plan.

The drive far exceeded my expectations.  We spent a day in Los Olivos and Solvang (shared here), drove through Big Sur and stopped to see the Julia Pfeiffer Burns waterfall and Hearst Castle and stayed in Monterey. We then spent several days in San Francisco before hitting Carmel on our way home for an evening.  Below you’ll find some photos from our drive.  To pull over on the side of the road to this beauty…wow.  Christian and I pulled over on PCH on the way to San Francisco and climbed on a rock to whale watch – unbelievable!  I fall more in love with this beautiful state everyday.

So bummed the famous Neptune Pool (featured here in Lady Gaga’s G.U.Y music video) was temporarily drained for repair.  Of course it was still gorgeous – can you imagine attending a pool party here?

I’m already brainstorming for our next vacation…Hawaii!  Neither of us have ever been and I can’t think of a better reason to visit.

Thank you so much for reading and for sharing all your tips and recommendations via instagram along the way!! XO –

10 Comments|See Comments

Los Olivos

Los Olivos is quickly becoming one of my favorite destinations in California.   This charming little town of tasting rooms reminds me so much of my college town of Oxford, Mississippi, but with California weather, palm trees and lots of wine…I mean, what’s not to love?

We stayed at Hotel Corque in Solvang and absolutely loved our stay.  We visited Saarloos + Sons (absolutely adore), Epiphany Cellars, Carharrt Winery and Stolpman tasting rooms and each had their own charm.  We had reservations at Sides Hardware and Shoes and it did not disappoint.  Funny enough, I discovered this guide to Santa Ynez and was pleased to see we hit many of the recommended spots! Next time we go to Los Olivos, I definitely plan to use this guide as a reference to see more of the area.

Do you have any favorite tasting rooms or spots in this area?  Truly, I can’t wait to go back – it was one of my favorite days on our entire trip!  Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts and recommendations – I always adore your comments! XO –

6 Comments|See Comments

Nautical Crop Top

It doesn’t get more darling than this little crop top ensemble from eShakti.  As soon as I received it I knew I had to pack it for our road trip, and it turned out to be the perfect little outfit for our day in Monterey.

I’m telling y’all, I wish I had it in red too!  The cotton poplin is so comfortable and this piece is sure to get compliments.  Plus, the skirt hits high enough that it hides that In-N-Out food baby that I definitely don’t have…

crop top & skirt – eShakti (c/o) | heels – Prabal Gurung for Target, similar here | bag – Mimic Design (c/o) | bracelet – Bip & Bop (c/o) | watch – Swatch | necklace – Etsy | sunnies – Ray Ban

 
Who else is addicted to these darling crop tops!?  Thanks so much for reading! XO –

13 Comments|See Comments

Homemade Sprinkled Donut Recipe

One of Christian’s favorite things to do on a Saturday off is to go to our little neighborhood donut shop and pick out his weekend donuts.  So a little while back I surprised my sweets-loving significant other with a donut pan thinking we (more like I) could learn to make donuts together.  Fun idea, right!?

This pan sat in our cabinet for almost a year before I took the time to find a recipe and try out some baked donuts for myself. No excuses.  Sidenote:  I like how people use that saying “no excuses” for exercise and I use it for donut recipes.  That really says a lot about me.  #CarbsForever

This recipe was so darling and I knew I had to use it for my first whirl with my donut pan.  Sprinkles!! What’s not to love?

 
This recipe made nine donuts and I stored them in an airtight container.  They stayed fresh for three days and lasted no longer. Success!  Have you made homemade donuts before?  I’d love to hear what you thought.  Thanks so much for reading – XO

12 Comments|See Comments