spring trend: mirrored sunglasses

As you've probably noticed, I've been LOVING my blue mirrored Ray-Bans (which can be seen in these outfits here, here, and here). To mark my one month-a-versary of having these sunglasses, I thought I'd do a quick post about the trend that's becoming more and more popular as we head deeper into spring.

Here are some styles to shop:

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Oakley

Ray-Ban

Personally, I absolutely love this trend right now. At first, I was a little wary - I hadn't seen anyone in person wearing sunglasses like these, and I knew I'd look crazy! But I went with it anyways and thought, "who cares!" The only downside is that when taking photos you can definitely see the photographer in the reflection, haha.

There are plenty of styles and colors to choose from, from aviators or wayfarers to shades of purple, green, blue...so many ways to add a fun pop of color to an outfit.

What do you think about the mirrored sunglasses trend?

xo-ally

friday's fancies - hit the slopes

This week's Friday's Fancies theme with long distance loving is Hit the Slopes ("your best apres-ski outfit!") I've never skied ... being a dancer, skiing is high injury risk - I've even had to sign dance team contracts saying I wouldn't ski. However, sometimes I go with a group of people to my friend's cabin up in the mountains. (See this post and this post!) While only some of us ski, the non-skiers hang out and relax. Here's an outfit I would wear if I had these pieces in my wardrobe:

cardigan, tank, coat, jeans, socks, boots

xo-ally

highlighters

I am a visual person when it comes to organization. I like to have all of my lists laid out and color coded if possible. Each of my classes has a different designated highlighter color in my planner, and the same goes for work and other activities outside of school. Color coding is a visual way to look at how much needs to get done for certain things.

Here are some great highlighter options. My preferred brand is Sharpie, but there are some other good highlighter brands too!

shopping link

Simple. To the point. Extra colors in case the first one dries out. I bought a pack of these this school year and they are wonderful.

shopping link

I got a 2-pack of these recently. They are great for highlighting notes! The small Post-It flags are very convenient and I am currently sticking them in some library books I am using for a research paper. The Post-Its will bookmark the page and won't leave a rip when I take them out to return the books.

Lilly Pulitzer (left) and Jonathan Adler (right) brand highlighters! The fun prints will brighten up the un-lively task of taking notes.

shopping link

I found these Dylan's Candy Bar highlighters on the same website as the Pulitzer and Adler ones above. These highlighters not only come in fun prints, but are scented too! It's like the grown-up version of Mr. Sketch Scented Markers.

Highlighters are a great way to color code notes, lists, calendars, and schedules. They're also fun to have on hand if you go to a neon or black light party! ;)

Enjoy the rest of the semester!

xo

colorful neutrals

Jacket: Vivid Plaid shirt: Madewell Striped shirt: Nordstrom Pants: F21 Boots: me Too Ring: Kate Spade

Olive, brown, and navy are all neutrals, but when paired together, they work and mix things up! These colors basically match anything, so I added the red in the shirt and ring to liven up the sort-of dreary colors.

Short post today, I need to head to class!

xo

Spice up your space!

Last fall, I wrote an article for the pilot issue of Sweet Lemon Magazine about decorating tips on how to add color to a room without painting the walls. 

I photographed my room at home for the magazine, but since moving into an apartment at school, I've had to work with different furniture and space. Here are some photos of how I set up and organize my new dresser - I hope this provides some inspiration to those of you who want to spice up your space!

Here are three ways to add color:

1. Jewelry! I have a lot of big, trendy, colorful pieces, so I use a jewelry stand to organize it and put it on display. I got this jewelry stand from PB Teen many years ago, but they have newer versions. Urban Outfitters is usually another good place to look for jewelry storage as well. 

To the left I have necklaces hanging on thumbtacks to draw the eye up and keep them (mostly) untangled. The more necklaces you hang, the less you can see the actual thumbtacks!

2. Board of inspiration! I have a leopard-print whiteboard from Target that I learn up against the wall and place papers on with magnets. I ripped out an article that I liked from ELLE magazine, put up a clipping from The New York Times style section, and a couple other little notes from friends.

3. Stack of books! I love stacking a few small "coffee table" books on a tabletop. Depending on the type and number of books, you can play with size, color, and height. Since you don't actually need a coffee table for displaying books, this would be perfect in a dorm as well!

Here you can see the necklaces better (and part of my Fiorentina soccer scarf hanging below!)

A closer shot of the top of the dresser

Small dishes for watch, bracelets, and lip gloss

I like to keep daily essentials separate, so I put the watch/bracelets combo I often wear in this dish I got from American Eagle last summer. On the right, I have lip glosses and balms (from M.A.C. and Benefit) sitting in a dish I made at one of those paint-your-own-ceramic places. What I liked about painting my own dish was that I could choose whatever colors I wanted! I used brown, red, and purple colors to match my room.

xo