Thursday, September 25, 2014

I Ain't Sayin' She A Gold Digger


Fall is an ideal time for fashion and making subtle changes like adding layers to your outfit and making traditional homemade recipes. It's a time of oodles of joy, pumpkin carving with friends, oversized sweaters and cute boots to name just a few of the good things! Every fall I find myself making wish lists chock full of fashion must haves and statement pieces. I just can't help it! Anywho, here are some of the goods I've been eyeing.


Toodles!
Xo Steph

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Shake It Off

shake it off

Happy hump day people! This week has been nothing but stress out the wazoo. But I digress.
 These days I'm taking T Swizzle's advice and shakin' it off! (the stress that is). 
Anywho, how catchy and fun is this song?! It sure puts a smile on my face when it
 pops up on the radio!

Toodles!
Xo Steph

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Fall Closet Checklist

Kate Spade polka dot nails

After months of wearing bright hued 'fits and fun sandals, it is time to embrace fall with open arms. It's the perfect time to accessorize with abandon and create varied layered looks! Let's make a list of some basic necessities shall we?

1. Leather riding boots / L.L. Bean bean boots / Hunter boots
2. Statement jewelry
3. Leather skirt
4. Thick rimmed sunglasses
5. Silk blouse
6. Leopard flats
7. Knee socks
8. Long sleeved shift dress
9. Oversized scarf
10. Black skinny jeans
11. High-waisted pants/trousers
12. Pencil skirt
13. Puffer vest
14. Gold watch
15. Chambray button down
16. tights
17. Leather shoulder bag/ totes/ clutches
18. Floppy hat
19. Chunky sweaters
20. Cardigans


What are your go to pieces this fall?
Xo Steph

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Hello MTV and welcome to my dorm

Why hello there! Welcome to my side of the dorm :) 
Our dorm only has one light for some reason so sorry for the darkish pics in advance! (Oops) anywho, I made a gallery wall to make my dorm a bit more homey. 
From left to right: Rifle Paper Co. Print, Peony painting and Lilly P letter S both made by yours truly, Giant Heart from Design Darling, Mirror from Tar-jayyy, my name sign from bid day, and a beyonce quote made by one of my besties! (Its our inside joke)
Pillows: West Elm & Anthropologie - I like to splurge on cute pillows. Ain't nothin wrong with that!
I used bed risers to fit more under my bed so now I have this elephant step to get up to my bed. It might be a little childish but I like it aaaand it was a total steal at Home Goods so I couldn't pass it up! Don't judge. My fab little rug is also from Home Goods!
Love my little desk area:)
Another painting I did for the dorm, some London pics and my dry erase board 
And this is my roomie Taylor's side! Isn't it adorbs? My other roomie Katarina isn't finished decorating her side yet, so that's the end of my little dorm tour! Hope y'all liked it

Xo Steph

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Currently

Sorry for being kind of MIA lately folks! I've been über sick these past few days. No bueno. Anywho, here's what I've been up to lately. 

My roomie Taylor and I went exploring through downtown and discovered these two gems! All the cobblestone and brick made me feel like I was in South Carolina say whaaaat? So pritt. 

Walking along Bayshore Blvd. has so many perks! From dolphin sightings to finding the most amazing houses like this one!^^^ I want to live here. #futuregoals 

It's no secret Tampa has the prettiest sunsets! Pic #1 is a sunset behind the chapel on campus and pic #2 is a sunset view from my dorm. 

Speaking of my dorm... I finally moved out of the hotel and into a REAL dorm on campus! Hurrah!! I'll do a blog post on my whole dorm soon I pinky promise.

The fambam came up this past weekend and we ate at Edison's Food + Drink Lab with some friends and it was amazeballs! Each dish was so creative and fresh. The top is their ham board which came with biscuits and apricot jelly and the bottom pic is butterscotch putting with marshmallow cream on top! It's safe to say I licked the plates clean. And it's right down the street from my school! I'll be coming here more often. YUM.

Ciao for now, eyebrow!
Xo Steph


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

ΑΧΩ

Ya girl is a new member of Alpha Chi Omega! I am so happy and blessed and excited because my AchiO girls rock! 



Can't wait to see what's in store for this year! 

Toodles!
Xo Steph


Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Real Me


I recently stepped out with a few of my girls for brunch and my friend Em brought up a good point. Us blogger girls were discussing  hashtag just bloggie thangs (you betcha I'm making that a thing!) when Em pointed out that a good amount of bloggers kinda sorta say the same things when it comes to typing up posts about themselves: "I'm obsessed with netflix!" "I love to workout!" etc. etc. etc...Instead of just naming a few cliches why not let readers in on our quirks? Ya catch my drift? 

If you know me, you know just how big of a klutz/dweeb I really am. Don't be fooled by my merry insta account. It's not always sunshine, smiles and chic outings! Okay so, similar to Em's post I'm gonna give you a little glimpse at what REALLY goes on in the life of Steph on a day to day basis!

MANIC MONDAY: I woke up bright and early feelin' good, ready for another day of classes. I hopped off the shuttle that takes me from the hotel I'm living in to campus and made my way to my 8:30 a.m. writing class. Only when I walked in, it wasn't my class. I stumbled into the middle of a spanish class (awk) that just so happens to be in the same room as my writing class usually is. Confused, I checked my email wondering if my professor canceled class but there was no email. In a tizzy, I ran into the class registration office to figure out what happened to my class. There were a few people trying to help me but finally one woman found my schedule online said "Umm...your writing class is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays..." and then BAM it hit me like a truck. I realized then and there it was TUESDAY and in fact NOT Monday because Monday was Labor day! Tomato red and uber embarrassed I quickly apologized to everyone for all the trouble and scadaddled out the door. Nothing worse than forgetting what day it is!

EVIL ELEVATOR: Coming back to my hotel after a long day of class, I was determined to get on an elevator as quick as possible. As I walked into the building I noticed an elevator door starting to close so I bolted and stuck my arm out thinking the elevator doors would sense it and open up again. Boy was I mistaken. The old elevator doors closed on my arm and I started panicking and so did the group of boys about the same age as me that were inside the elevator. I was screaming, they were screaming and finally one of them pulled the doors open and said "That was close I was so scared." Once again I was red in the face totally mortified. Remind me to never go near a closing elevator every again.

PACKAGE PROBS: My birthday is tomorrow, so my family ordered my fave cupcakes all the way from NYC and had them shipped to me in Tampa as a surprise. I picked up the package but I was already running late for class so I had to carry the package with me. I kept telling myself not to drop the package but what do I end up doing? Dropping the package in my math class. Thankfully they were in little plastic containers so only half ended up smooshed in their plastic on the floor of my class. Did I get weird looks? Absolutely. Did I still eat these cupcakes? HECK YES! They may have been squished but they were still clean thanks to the container they were in! Thank goodness for no cupcake stains on the classroom carpets.

I could go on and on blabbing about my series of unfortunate events but I think y'all get the point. Don't worry I'm totally laughing it all off now! 

Xo Steph

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

It's Fall Y'all!

 
spray painted gold pumpkins
 
I am happy happy happy because it's FALL which means football, cozy sweaters,
 leaves changing colors, chilly weather and all the good pumpkin flavored things!!!
 And who can forget Halloween and Thanksgiving? It's time to carve some pumpkins, sit around a fire, make some s'mores, eat lots and lots of yummy food and give THANKS people! Yippee!
 
This fall I'm thinking about making (and posting of course) a bucket list ending with a big surprise celebration in November. There is much in store for this teeny tiny blog o' mine so keep your eyes peeled! I think you guys are gonna lalaloooovveee what you see.
 
What are your plans for fall? Give me all the deets! I'm itching to know.
Happy fall y'all!
 
Xo Steph
 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

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

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

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

Sunday, August 17, 2014

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.


Catch up with ya soon!
Xo Steph

Friday, August 15, 2014

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!

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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!

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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

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Summer Reflecting

hand-drawn love | designlovefest

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

Saturday, August 9, 2014

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

Monday, August 4, 2014

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

Friday, August 1, 2014

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

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

See Ya Later Alligator


 In about a week and a half I'll be on my way to Sanibel Island for vacay. 
Yippie! Sanibel is our family happy place. I'm not exaggerating when I say we all look
 forward to our favorite trip to this cutesy island year round! 

Little mom & pop type restaurants and supermarkets, adorable boutiques, quiet beaches, bbq's, paddle boarding, kayaking, cruisin' around town on our bikes, boat rides and lots of nature! What more can a gal ask for?

This year will be different though. Our cousins couldn't make it this year and instead of staying in our usual condo we are going to stay at the hotel we stayed at the very first time we visited Sanibel! The only thing I remember about this hotel is accidentally standing in an ant pile when I was a little one and getting red ant bites all over my legs! No bueno. I have faith I won't make this mistake again though!

Currently dreaming of beach days + Pina colada in hand. Can't wait for our weekend getaway! 

Cue Madonna's "Holiday" 

What's your favorite family vacay spot?
Xo Steph








Saturday, July 26, 2014

Wynwood Walls

My forever friend Amanda and I LOVE to explore. Ever since our freshman year of high school we have been attatched at the hip and always up to something super funzo! Today we were feeling artsy fartsy and decided to take an impromtu trip downtown to Wynwood. 

Snapchat or it didn't happen ;)

For those of you that have never been, Wynwood is the artsiest little area chock full of street art and vibrant colors everywhere you look! Even the sidewalks are covered in art. Perfect for photo ops!


Our walk through Wynwood was cut short by a freaky little mishap so pardon the lack of snaps! After Wynwood we hopped a couple of streets over to Gigi in Midtown for a light dinner. We love us some steamed buns with an asian + southern cooking twist. Soooo delish!

What's new with you, buckaroo?

Toodles!
Xo Steph

Friday, July 25, 2014

'Gram Slam

Howdy m'dears! I know I promised only 2 blog posts per week but I guess I just couldn't stay away! Writing, photoshopping and expressing myself leave me over the moon happy happy happy! As I was going over a few bloggie shenanigans I had a stroke of genius. BOOM! A new post idea just hit me out of the blue. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but many of my readers don't have an instagram account so I thought I would introduce "Gram Slam's" to you all! In addition to my "Want, Need, Love" and "Something Borrowed, Something..." posts I am pleased to say "Gram Slam" posts are here to stay as well. That's right I'm bringin' the insta party on over to ze blog for a little snap recap. So without further adieu, here's what's been happening in my neck of the woods via my 'gram account.

 

Hoping these snaps are just the right amounts of virtual sunshine to kick start your weekends. 
Happy Fri-yay!

Ta-Ta for now!
Xo Steph