Brunchin'

So I have this new fave place called the Oxford Exchange. It's a bookstore/restaurant/coffee shop/lounge/knick knack store and all things wonderful! Yesterday I went with a few of my Tampa gal pals for a little brunchy munchy. 

Hannah, Danielle and I got the nutella french toast with caramelized bananas on top! I may or may not have scarfed this deeeeelish dish down in 5 minutes...

After brunch we had a photoshoot together! The OE is SO so so photogenic and so are my girls! Am I right or am I right??

Is Danielle the trendiest girl ever or what?

And of course I had to get a pic with the two gals that started our whole friendship!! 

I'm starting to go AT LEAST once a week just to take a looky at all the cool things the OE has. Stay tuned for more adventures! 

What's your fave brunch spot? 

Xo Steph

Tampa!!!

^^^my school!!^^^

Hey peeps! I'm back and better than ever. I know it's been a while, so let's bring this blog up to speed shall we? 

A week ago I moved to Tampa. Hurrah! Tampa is GORG!!! I find myself taking snaps of pretty much everything I see (sorry I'm not sorry for all the instas!). Everyone here is SO nice too. I seriously can't get over all the happiness + kindness. Smiles all around ovah here!

A lot of people have asked me about my new digs... Well, I am currently living in an old hotel. Why you ask? I kind of have no idear friends! Things got a tad bit complicated but it's slowly becoming a crazy adventure for me / a new story to tell. I like to think of it as The Suite Life of Steph instead of the Suite Life of Zack & Cody (hehe). 

I am one busy bee and that is just the way I like it! I love my classes + teachers + classmates so so much. Also, the food is the bomb.com! Who woulda thunk it? 

Anywho, recruitment is coming up soon + so are some important due dates but I hope to be able to post more regularly. Pretty please bear with me while I get into the swing of college things. I promise more posts will come soon. What's new with you? 

Toodles!

Xo Steph

Want.Need.Love

Hello peeps! How are you on this sunshiney day? Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Just stopping by to give you a little heads up. I can't believe I'm moving into college the day after tomorrow! Cue the last minute shopping and packing! (oops hehe). Once I'm in Tampa my cray cray hectic schedule goes as follows: move in day, orientation, presentation, peace corps volunteer party, an afternoon of volunteering, a beach party and then classes begin. Can you believe all that is within a 5 day period? I think it's safe to say I'll be one busy little bee, so I'm going to take a little break from the big world of blogging. I can't wait to fill you all in on my new adventure! With that said, I'm sending you off with a bit of virtual sunshine.

Hot Stuff Thermal Mug // Blue & Blue Teardrop Earrings // Ta Da Iphone Case 

Chartreuse Hunter Boots // Classic Winchester Lady Watch // Anchor Tote Bag

Emily Necklace // Pompom Pillow // Pom Pom Cocktail Napkins

DKM Monogrammed Cosmetic Case // Essie 'Good As Gold' Nail Polish

Catch up with ya soon!

Xo Steph

Picking Your Dream College

Almost a year ago I took a little road trip with my best friend Amanda to South Carolina. At the time, we both had our hearts set on attending the University of South Carolina. We visited USC but it turned out NOT to be our dream college. We liked it but we didn't love it. Ya feel?

Lesson learned: Don't pick a school based off it's website - visit first! As amazing as some college websites are, it's more important to get a feel of the city the college is located in and the campus of course! We saved a lot of time and money on college apps by visiting the college to make sure it was a school we were really interested in. 

After visiting the 2 colleges we were adamant about we felt kind of let down until Amanda's sister suggested we check out the College of Charleston! The minute Amanda stepped on campus she fell in love with it. It has such a beautiful campus! And it's right smack in the middle of Charleston which was where Amanda wanted to live and work when she graduated so it turned out to be the perfect fit!

Amanda's school: College of Charleston

A similar thing happened to me. After returning from our little vacay, I was still completely unsure of what college I wanted to go to. My friend Kaila suggested I check out the University of Tampa but when she told me about it I shrugged the idea off because I thought she was talking about USF - a school I wasn't considering at the time. I didn't realize that UT and USF were totally different schools! I am thrilled to say that now I am a UT Spartan! Hooray!

My school: University of Tampa

Lesson Learned: Explore your options. If you are a little bit of a homebody like me, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and look at schools that aren't in your area. Listen to family and friend's recommendations because (at least in mine and Amanda's case) they knew just what we wanted whereas we were just going with the flow and looking at the popular colleges everyone knew about. Sometimes it's the little colleges that make the biggest impressions!

Wishing all my younger readers luck as they start taking their SAT's & ACT's, filling out college apps and most importantly, picking their dream school!

Xo Steph

Summer Reflecting

Image Via

Summer flew by friends! I can't complain though. Summer 2014 has been nothing but good to me 

                               and I hope it's been just as swell for you! Here are a few highlights:

An amazing trip to London

Exploring all of Miami

Becoming an even better yogi

Making the switch from drawing to painting (and rocking it!)

Becoming a better writer

Finding a new love for spinning

Hanging out with new friends

Trying new foods/restaurants

Adopting a kitten from the Humane Society

Dorm shopping (quite the adventure)

Finished reading 10 new books I love

Spending time with all my BFF's & family

Pet sitting

Another wonderful weekend getaway to Sanibel Island

Beach days

What are some highlights from your summer vacay?

Xo Steph

On Island Time

Aloha! I've arrived at my second home. I'm on beach time people! I'll fill you in on the deets soon. Pinky promise.

Toodles!

Xo Steph

Something Borrowed, Something...

Something Cute: Yesterday my sis was surprised with a kitten for her birthday! He's 6 weeks old and the cutest little tiny you will ever see. He won't stop purring and our dog looooves him. What a happy fur-child fambam! P.S. His name is Hagrid because that was the name he had at the shelter and we are kinda obsessed with Harry Potter so it was a perfect fit for us!

Something Yummy: I tried Sugarcane Raw Bar & Grill with my amiga Alexis and it may be one of my new fave restaurants. I don't usually like seafood but I stepped out of my comfort zone and got crispy rice yellowtail sushi rolls. So.darn.good. We also got the best corn ever, edamame and chicken meatballs because everything is tiny tapas sized! Maybe I should make a list of places to eat at in Miami and put it up on ze blog.

Something Bittersweet: Tomorrow I am going to have a picnic with my best friends as our last hurrah before we go off to college. It's going to be a pinterest picnic with yummy treats, mason jars, pretty paper straws and all things cute and crafty! 

Something Techy: I finally got a new laptop! Well actually it's the microsoft surface so I don't know if that is considered a laptop or a tablet? Anywho, it's awesomesauce! And it got my creative juices flowing. I have new post ideas and can't wait to share them with you all!

See ya later alligator! 

Xo Steph

Birthday Wish List

Even though my birthday is September 7th, I couldn't help but put a b-day wish list together a leeeettle early. I blame Pinterest for dazzling me with new goodies each day! Anywho, let's get down to the deets shall we?

1. Push-Pop Confetti - The perfect little bit of happy to pop open! I'm a sucker for confetti + fun packaging!! :D

2. BKR Water Bottle - If you know me, then you know how much I'm against using plastic water bottles. BPA's are so so so bad for your body and bad for the environment so I loooove reusable water bottles. My fave BKR's are the heart ones and the Bambi colored one! S'cute, S'trendy.

3. Fatty Sundays Pretzels - I think my favorite part about birthdays is the food (hehe) I am dying to try the berry bubbly, birthday cake and sprinkle milk chocolate flavored pretzels. 

4. Kate Spade Jumper Sandal - Kate Spade, Bows, Wedges and the color pink. These are a few of my fave things!

5. J.Crew Mixed Resin Earrings - These earrings remind me of all the Art Deco things + my hometown Miami! Totally le chic.

6. Kendra Scott Skylen Ring in Turquoise - I'm on a ring and turquoise kick right now what can I say?

7. Kendra Scott Ella Ring in Iridescent Drusy - Ok actually I am on a Kendra Scott ring kick at the moment to be exact and I kinda need these two rings. I may or may not have an obsession hehe.

A girl can dream right?

Toodles!

Steph