If you read my "What's Up Wednesday" post then you saw what I was working on...and it was this post! I've been rounding up my favorite potential Easter dresses from around the internet so that I can share them with y'all!
I remember growing up, my very favorite thing in the world (once I was old enough to enjoy dressing up) was going and getting a new Easter outfit. If I was really lucky, my parents would let me pick out a cute new pair of shoes and maybe some matching jewelry as well for that Sunday.
And today, although I don't always go buy something specifically for Easter, I still enjoy dressing up and wearing my best for Easter Sunday at church.
And even if you don't go to church, we all like to treat ourselves every now and then, am I right?!
I'm one who always likes to wear either bright colors/patterns, pastels, or white on Easter Sunday-it's the beginning of Spring, it's a celebration, so why not go all out.
Below I've rounded up even more favorites (& included the links to those in the graphic above)
I tried to include something for all price ranges: Target, Lilly Pulitzer, J. Crew, some brands from Nordstrom, Old Navy, LOFT, Kate Spade, etc.
Let me know down below what you'll be wearing this Easter!
This week you get a bonus post because I decided I would do the "What's Up Wednesday" link up that so many of my favorite bloggers/ do!
What We're Eating This Week...
On Monday, it was leftover shrimp boil (SO good!). Tuesday, I made a chicken casserole because my poor hubs didn't feel too good. Today (Wednesday) I'm going grocery shopping so I'll probably pick us up something from town! Thursday and Friday, who knows. Since it's Spring Break we're playing it by ear!
What I'm Reminiscing About...
The wedding this last weekend has me feeling all romance-y and missing the newlywed days (although, we've only been married right at two years, so I still claim newlywed status!)
What I'm Loving...
Being home all week from Spring Break!
The freedom to do whatever I want clean and answer phone calls during the day is wonderful!
What We've Been Up To...
Honestly, a whole lot of nothing. The hubs has a man cold, so I'm not sure if we're going to go canoeing this week as planned...but I am going shopping today!
What I'm Dreading...
State testing is coming up soon at school, it feels like it's going to last the whole month of April!
And I also have an oral surgery scheduled for next Wednesday, so that's not sounding too exciting.
What I'm Working On...
A really fun Easter post! And also working on getting our house cleaned & decorated for Spring :)
What I'm Excited About...
I have my eye on a couple of things on Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty that I want to purchase & new makeup/skincare always gets me excited!
What I'm Watching/Reading...
I'm trying to finish up my current book (Counting on a Cowboy by Debra Clopton) and I'm watching tons of YouTube videos to pass the time while I load/unload the dishes and fold lots of laundry.
What I'm Listening To...
I'm still hooked on the Women of Country Spotify playlist, but I'm also loving Drake White's playlist as well.
What I'm Wearing...
Since it's Spring Break I'm loving being able to wear my oversized shirts and leggings all day!
What I'm Doing This Weekend...
Maybe canoeing, maybe grilling out with friends. Who knows!
What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month...
I'm so looking forward to having those state tests behind my jr. high kids as well as my oral surgery.
Then I'll be counting down the days until summer break! (Oh wait...I already am. 39 school days!)
What Else Is New...
Not much else is new, but I am loving my new blogging schedule (Tuesdays and Saturdays) and I love being able to give y'all a bonus post this week.
Blogging is my stress relief and greatest creative outlet-it's so much fun for me!
Bonus Question: What's your favorite Spring wardrobe piece?
These shoes are the most comfortable shoe I've ever had in my entire life. I have them in two colors and can wear them all day long to teach in. They are perfect for southern spring!
Statement earrings are another favorite for my Spring wardrobe. I love these,these...and omg, these!
Welcome back to another Ten on Tuesday-I'm so sorry I didn't have a post go up on Saturday! I intended on putting my finishing touches on it Friday afternoon, but we had a very busy day on Friday & left very early on Saturday so unfortunately...no post Saturday!
I hope y'all all had a wonderful weekend, we surely did! And now I have the week off for Spring Break so I have that to look forward to :)
Let's jump into the Ten!
ONE
Number one has to be celebrating Chris' step-brother's wedding this weekend at the beautiful Ritz Carlton resort at Lake Oconee in Georgia.
Cody and his beautiful bride, Alex had a stunning wedding & we wish them the most happiness!
Coming home on Sunday we only made one stop in Douglasville because I was so stoked to get home to this guy!
If you've been reading here long, you know I love Forrest, our labrador, so so much.
He was staying with my parents who take care of him like he's their own, but I still think he was really excited to see me ;)
THREE
When we stopped at the mall in Douglasville on our way home I visited the Bath & Body Works/White Barn store there. While I didn't buy any candles, I did fall in love with this scent...and this one smells good, I think? It's a confusing one! Let me know if you've tried that one out!
FOUR
I've started a whole Pinterest board dedicated to our New Orleans trip this summer, so if you're going there you might want to check out what I've pinned...and if you have any suggestions for hotels to stay at, places to eat at, fun things to do...I'm interested in it all!
Speaking of Easter, I think I already have my Easter dress picked out (but after looking up a ton of dresses for a post idea...that might change) this one, this one, and this one are on my radar.
SEVEN
Now that I'm on Spring Break, I'm working on finishing up my current book and am looking for recommendations on what to pick up next...if you have any, leave them in the comments!
EIGHT
Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty is happening right now; here are a few picks for the next few days with their sale prices:
I already picked up these from an earlier day, but I really do have my eye on the Mario Badescu stuff (the whole line will be 25% off on April 1st) and I really need a spot treatment so I'm thinking of picking up the Proactiv one while it's only $10 on April 7th.
For a full list of all sale products and what days, check here.
NINE
I'm going to be real with you girls for a second, because since I've been posting more regularly I've gotten more questions about where I get products to test out and review.
One of the websites I use is Influenster and you absolutely do not have to be a blogger to use them and get free stuff. If you have any type of social media (twitter, Facebook, instagram, etc.) that's all you need.
I have gotten lots of things from them; makeup, hair care, food, drinks...basically everything.
The link is above, if you'd like to sign up-it's totally free and the only thing I get in return for you signing up with my link are "impact points" meaning that I have points showing how many people I can share products with.
It's a great program and I've found lots of new brands there that I never would've tried out on my own!
TEN
Number ten is actually part of my to-do list this week...but it's finally getting out my Easter/Spring decor!
I am so excited to pull out all of my bright spring colors and fresh scented candles...it's my favorite time of the year to decorate (although I think I say that for every season when it comes around!)
I hope y'all enjoyed another week of Ten on Tuesday!
Let me know down below your book suggestions & any suggestions you have for traveling to New Orleans if you've ever been :)
Here's to being two days into my last week before Spring Break begins!
In all seriousness, I couldn't be more excited for a few days off of school to do boring things like clean the house & catch up on my Hulu shows.
Without further adieu, let's jump into my Ten on Tuesday.
ONE
I have seen so many of my favorite Vloggers on YouTube getting this palette sent to them in PR, and y'all I'm just dying over how pretty it is.
They say it smells amazing too, so how could you not want it?!
TWO
When I was shopping around for Lunch with Lilly last Saturday, I stumbled upon this bag and y'all-I need it for beach and lake trips this summer.
From the pattern to the size...and then those tassels, it's just a must-have.
THREE
One of my favorite ways to cook lately has been to grill, which I know seems odd since grilling is usually a "man-thing".
But y'all, the meat comes out so much better & the clean up is so much less.
I'm living for these warmer evenings we have coming up so I can cook a whole lot more outside!
FOUR
I recently stumbled upon Spotify's Women of Country playlist, because I love listening to music while I work on these blog posts & this song has become a serious favorite-I fell in love with these two from the beginning of Nashville!
They round up articles from all over the internet on topics like recipes, lifestyle, inspirational stories, DIY...basically everything!
SIX
Y'all know my obsession with all things Southern...well this Southern Living article takes that obsession to a new level.
It covers all of the South's best shops-including a personal favorite of mine; Draper James in Nashville.
SEVEN
Speaking of Nashville & 12 South, which is the neighborhood where Draper James is located, I was so sad to read this article last week about the "I Believe in Nashville" mural being vandalized.
Apparently someone threw black tar on it and covered a good portion of the mural.
Thankfully, they are planning to fix the mural because soon it will be the 5-year anniversary of the mural being there on the wall.
It's literally right across the street from Draper James-I'm so thankful that they're going to be able to repair the mural!
EIGHT
Last year I snagged a super cute bar cart & have been obsessed with decorating it for each new season. This one is on sale from Target and is SO cute (& here's an HGTV guide
for decorating it!)
NINE
On Saturday, my husband and I went to the SLE Rodeo in Montgomery & had a great time!
We've been going to this rodeo since we first started dating, so it's so much fun to see it year after year and get to see some of our friends that we don't see very often.
I hope this week has treated you well & that you enjoyed my "Ten on Tuesday" post that I've decided to start doing weekly.
Also, just another little update-today is "Lunch with Lilly" and you can shop Lilly Pulitzer's newest releases in store or online with free gifts with purchase (and y'all, I want them all!)
I'm going to link several of my favorites that are available right now at the bottom of this post, so check them out!
Today's post is all about my favorite drugstore products; because let's be honest-as much as I love designer and high end finds, oftentimes you can find great options right at your local Target, CVS, Walmart, or Walgreens.
*Some of the links below are affiliate links-thanks for supporting Southern & Style!
Y'all, I'm always up for trying new hair products (I have absolutely no brand loyalty when it comes to hair care), so when I got the opportunity to test out the moisturizing shampoo and conditioner from Finesse, I jumped at it.
The ends of my hair are so dry and fried because of using my flat iron way too often, so I always need to add more moisture.
While the conditioner worked pretty well, the shampoo was the best part for me. It balanced my hair without weighing it down and left the best scent ever.
This is the lip balm that I keep by my bedside and I love it so much.
It's got a great minty scent and it moisturizes your lips without sucking the other moisture out of them like other lip balm products have a reputation of doing.
My husband even likes it so much that he tried to steal it from me the other day, and that's saying a lot!
This may be cheating, because even though you can buy it at Target (technically making it drugstore in my eyes) it's still pretty pricey.
But here's my two sense-you need to invest more in skincare than other things because if your skin doesn't look good, makeup and everything else won't help it.
This eye cream is just over $20, but a little goes a long way and it keeps my under eye area so hydrated and combats my dark circles.
Covergirl sent me a couple of new mascaras to try and honestly, I have a ton of mascaras that I haven't opened yet because I don't want them to dry out before I can use them up, but I was so curious about the brush on this one that I had to open it up and test it out.
The mascara was really, really wet when I first opened it...so I hated it.
But after I let it dry out for a week or two, I really like it.
It's hard to work the brush on my left eye, but I work with it because it holds a curl so beautifully and adds both volume and length without adding clumps.
It also layers well with my Mary Kay mascara over it, so that's always a bonus.
I hope y'all enjoyed this post!
Let me know if you have any drugstore favorites below-I'm always looking for new items to test out & honestly, I'm always looking for a bargain 😹
As promised...here are a couple of my Lilly favorites for today's Lunch with Lilly...
Well guys, that's all for today!
Until next time. . .
xoxo,
A big thank you to Finesse for providing me with product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands who support Southern & Style.
This week I'm trying to bump up my posting to twice a week!
I'll still be having my regular Saturday post go up (it'll be something random, like usual), but I'm shooting for Tuesday's posts to be a top ten type post where I share ten things I'm loving or thinking or doing.
It could be funny videos, my favorite songs, interesting articles...anything!
Check out this week's Top Ten below:
1. I have loved reading this book lately! I'm about halfway through, and I'm dying to get to the end so I can have my (hopefully) happy ending with it.
2. Sometimes you just need to try something new, so I keep this Pinterest board close to hand so that on weeknights when I need a side dish I can whip something up quickly. I want to try this and this sometime this week.
4. This Facebook video is SO cute; it reminds me so much of my lab, Forrest.
5. If you're a blogger, you need to see if you're a "no-reply" blogger! Sarah (who also shared #3 on this post) helped me out so much by telling me that I've been "no-reply" for no telling how long. Thankfully, the girls over at the Millennial Blogger Network really helped me get things straightened out; especially this really helpful post by Caro! If you blog, go check out her post & make sure your blog is working properly.
6. Lilly Pulitzer's new line recently released & I'm dying over this piece, but if Alabama decides to stay the temperature that it's currently at I might need to wear this instead.
7. Y'all, if you haven't watched Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix yet, you're seriously missing out. I love Drew Barrymore so much & although I don't normally love comedies (I'm more of a drama girl), I love this show. It's so funny & the episodes are short so it's easy to watch.
8. I'm so excited to be another day closer to Spring Break! Having breaks off of school is a huge perk of being a teacher, I have to admit. When is everyone else's break? (if you're lucky enough to get one!)
9. Okay, I don't usually like Sam Hunt's music but this songreally makes me just want to go driving around with my windows down. It's so darn catchy.
10. I recently saw someone talking about these jeans and I couldn't believe that Topshop even carried them...thoughts?
Let me know what you think about number ten (or any of these top ten!) below!
I hope this Saturday post finds you well & I hope you're enjoying my Saturday posting schedule that I've had going on here lately.
I know that only posting one day a week isn't ideal, but I also hope you understand that this is an incredibly busy & tiring season in my life and I'm doing the best I can with what I have...and of course I want to love blogging & not have it become burdensome!
But today isn't about that, today is about sharing the behind-the-scenes of some of my instagrams & any products that I might've used with y'all.
I hope you enjoy this post-let's just jump in!
Some of the links below are affiliate links; if you purchase using one of the links I get a small percentage. Thank you for supporting Southern & Style!
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My china cabinet/hutch in our dining area is one of my favorite parts of our house.
Chris purchased it for me as a surprise and it sat in our basement for a long while because it needed some TLC; then one of our good friends redid it in white while leaving the wood that backed it original and now I love it and it's probably my favorite piece of furniture that I own.
These china pieces that you see were wedding gifts to me from my Gran (my mom's mother) and they are the most precious heirlooms that I have.
I love displaying them and telling people the story of how they came to be-they mean so much more to me than china I could've registered for at any store!
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This shot reminds me of why I love being a part of the farming & agricultural industry...because we get to own land that looks like this, with these incredibly old oak trees and beautiful sunsets.
I cannot wait to put roots down on this piece of property one day...just thinking about sitting on my future porch with that view thrills me!
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I take about a million photos of our lab, Forrest, every week because he's such a photogenic dog & seems to enjoy having his picture made.
I took this one of him on Christmas morning because we had an unseasonably warm day & he got new tennis balls for Christmas, so we took him to play in my parents pond.
He was soaking wet, exhausted, and so happy when I took this shot & it's one of my favorite memories.
This is another shot of my hutch, but from a different angel so you can see even more of my favorite details!
I wanted my design for the new year to have a true farmhouse feel to it, light and airy with pops of the 2017 Pantone color of the year...greenery.
I added links for some of my favorite products like the Farmhouse Rules sign that was purchased on our way home from a beach vacation. It's by the brand Primitives by Kathy and she has the cutest tea towels (which I love), wall-hanging signs, pillows,home decor pieces, and more.
The Unity Cross is the type of Unity ceremony that we did at our wedding & I love that it's so easy to display, such a sweet memory.
And the plant even has a sweet memory-my mentor who helped me become the teacher that I am today gifted me this plant on the day of my graduation. It's the only thing I've ever been able to keep alive for more than a few months (we've almost made it a year!) so that must mean it's extra special!
Then of course my Gran's china, which I've already covered 😉
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This palette was a gift from my biggest big sister for Christmas this past year & guys, it's literally the palette I use almost every day to get ready.
It's the Lorac Pink Champagne Palette & it's got great pigmentation and the highlight is seriously so buttery and beautiful.
It's an Amazon exclusive & limited-addition item though, so keep that in mind if you're thinking about purchasing!
Other than my hutch, my entry way is my other favorite vignette to decorate for each season.
After Christmas, I really wanted to go simple and not to over-the-top for each season (at least until Easter...I do love decorating for Easter!)
So I kept the same white & gold plaid table runner out, used a couple of antlers and dried hydrangea for a natural touch, and of course my copper mercury glass vases that work well any time of the year.
The chicken platter is a hand-painted piece from Portugal that one of my mother-in-law's dear friends (who is from Portugal) gifted us for our wedding. I just love those special touches.
Then in my crude, sad hand-writing I did a little chalk-art for the season of love (& a good year-round reminder).
I have really loved having fresh flowers and working on my arranging skills lately; especially since we seem to have stumbled upon an early Spring here in Alabama (hopefully!)
These daffodils mixed with greenery came straight from my backyard & were a beautiful addition to my deck while I read a little Southern Living on a pretty afternoon.
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This picture represents one of my favorite things to do with my husband (& also has a pretty nice story behind it as well).
So for Christmas my husband wrote me a letter gifting me a couple of different things; one of those things were three free dates for us to go wherever I wanted to go & do whatever I wanted to do.
Well, I've waited patiently & I finally cashed my first one in mid-February.
We headed to Auburn and stopped by J&M Bookstore and purchased the cutest & comfiest sweatshirt, walked around Samford park (where this gorgeous shot was taken), had dinner at Acre (which is the best restaurant in the history of forever), and finished with desert at Krispy Kreme.
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Last weekend Chris & I attended the Alabama Young Farmer's Conference in Montgomery, which we've attended for the past three years together.
This year instead of sitting through seminars and listening to speakers, they decided to take all the Young Farmers on farm tours around the Montgomery area.
Chris & I got to go to Pursell Farms and then Pinthlocco Plantation which is a private wild quail preserve...and y'all, this place looked like something straight out of Southern Living magazine-it was stunning.
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Although I wouldn't toot my own horn & say I'm a fantastic photographer-I do enjoy playing with my camera & my phone and taking fun pictures along the way.
Just the other day I was in my horse pasture waiting on my three to come up for their afternoon feed & I spotted this gnarled piece of wood and vine on the fence line.
While some farmers might call it a nuisance, I called it a photo opportunity for my favorite subject; my wedding set.
So yes, I was standing in the middle of the pasture holding feed buckets while I got this shot..but it doesn't make it any less pretty 😉
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Love Bears All Things by Beth Wiseman is a book that I just recently finished reading, and y'all if you have any interest in the Amish way of life (which I'll be honest, I think it's my love of history and sociology that have me so interested in them!) then this series is perfect for you.
She somehow blends the English & Amish worlds into one and makes it so easy to understand. I highly recommend her books for an easy, quick read.
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And last but not least guys...I cooked something & it looked pretty, so you know I had to document it.
The Fiestaware that this meal is on was also a wedding gift (I did mismatched Fiesta dinnerware and I love having all the different colors!)
The meal consists of parmesan garlic toast, bbq marinated pork chops, Mexican street corn (that was grilled on the cob, but I cut it off before I ate it), and my newest favorite recipe find-garlic butter smashed sweet potatoes with parmesan.
I stumbled on that last recipe on Pinterest & we had two sweet potatoes I needed to use up, so I tested it out & it was SO good, y'all.
Go try it immediately.
Well...I hope y'all had a good time looking through my latest Insta posts-if you're not following along already, please go give me a follow @SouthernAndStyle
I would love to have you join me over there-I post daily and it's just like this post, a little bit of everything!
