Fall MuMu on Monday

Whether the weather is on board or not it is officially fall! 

Last week My Kind of Lovely got in all their fall Show Me Your MuMu pieces and this blue tunic immediately caught my eye. This piece is so versatile you can dress it up with booties and a hat or keep it casual with boots and a boyfriend cardigan. 

This might become a staple in my fall wardrobe! 

Fall New Arrivals with My Kind of Lovely

Raise your hand if you're dying to break out your fall chunky sweaters but would literally die if you did with this heat. 

Okay, me too. 

My Kind of Lovey launched their fall new arrivals including new MuMu online this morning and they are all so cute. 

Pumpkin patch, oversized sunglasses, chunky sweaters. This shoot had all the fall feels going!

I am personally loving Campfire Cutie, the MuMu Wisteria Wonder knit, and Cold Snap in caramel. 

Hurry on over to the site this afternoon and load up because Hocus Pocus, hot chocolate, and hay ride weather is coming!

Lately: September

Reading:

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero

We got dad this book for Father's Day more than a couple years ago and he passed it back to me this past weekend. Roberto Clemente had such an impact on his life, I can't wait to read it.

Anxiety about Nothing 

This book has been all over my social media lately and I was so intrigued I put it on hold at Barnes and Noble this week. This will be a great balcony read when the fall weather rolls in.

Wearing:

After years of wearing foundation and battling skin problems, I have kept a strict "less is more" mindset.
Enter E.L.F.'s Blemish Control primer and Illuminating Mist and Set. 

I don't feel like I'm wearing a mask but I also don't look like I've been through hell and back by 2pm.

Watching:

Friends from College on Netflix.

With only eight episodes at 30 minutes long, this is an easy watch for more than one reason.

Listening:

Wild Cub's new album Closer on repeat.
This album is amazing and I cannot get enough. 

Celebrating:

Miss Lottie Gillem!!
50 days until this sweet pea joins the My Kind of Lovely girl gang.

Going:

Sam Hunt and Maren Morris this weekend with Sara and Ashley.

Then LANY and Ed Sheeran in the SAME week with Sara!
I cannot wait.
Amazing concerts with the best friends.

Five on Friday

1.

THE DAY HAS COME.

THE NEW TAYLOR SWIFT IS HERE. 

Oh, look what you made me do...

2.

Tomorrow is the first baby shower for My Kind of Lovely's newest [soon-to-be] addition to the girl gang! This week has been an all My Kind of Lovely this is the perfect way to round it out!

3.
SET YOUR ALARMS: Lilly Pulitzer's After Party Sale starts Monday morning.

4.
Wednesday was bid day at the University of Tennessee and the My Kind of Lovely girl gang killed it.
All bid day baskets were out the door less than an hour after bids were opened!
#GoGreekGoVols

5.

Next week is SEPTEMBER! 

How did this happen? 

Up next in life: Labor Day weekend, mom's birthday, and cooler days!

Lately: August

The past two weeks have been a blur of celebrations, Sunday night drives back to Knoxville, laughter, and a very full heart!

Listening:

Another Friday, another Thomas Rhett song!!

Each song becomes my new favorite and Grave is SO good.

Running:

Third 5K back since my half marathon in April and I am happy to say my black toe is back along with my sub 27 time. With cooler weather hopefully coming looking to finish out the year with a 5K a month. 

Opening:

MY KIND OF LOVELY KNOXVILLE IS OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!

Tuesday we opened the doors for the first time and it has not slowed down since. 

Heading into Bid Day week hot!

Celebrating:

Warren turned TWO and we PAW-ty'd it up!!

I have never laughed so hard or felt so much love in one room!

It still blows my mind he's two and my best friend is a super mom!

Going:

Sara and I continued our concert tour of 2017 with Dashboard Confessional, All American Rejects, AND The Maine last Saturday night in Nashville and it was incredible. 

Tyson Ritter is hilarious, Dashboard encored with Hands Down, and The Maine will have my heart forever.  Next up: Sam Hunt and Maren Morris!

Counting Down To:

Caroline's baby shower next weekend

Mom's birthday

Sam Hunt and Maren Morris

FOOTBALL!

Five on Friday

1.

Thomas Rhett released another single off his upcoming album Life Changes and no surprise here, it's so good. I cannot wait for the full album to come out next month! 

2.

SAVE THE DATE: My Kind of Lovely's Knoxville store opens next Tuesday August 15th!

3.
If you want to get some shopping in before next Tuesday, new MuMu and game day hit the website this week. Fair Warning, you are going to want it all.

4.

Steeler football is unofficially officially back with the first pre-season game tonight against the Giants!

#blackandyellow

5.

NINE years ago this summer Sara and I discovered The Maine.

Saturday we'll get to see them for the second time this year and I cannot wait. 

Going Greek with My Kind of Lovely

Bid day is less than a month away at the University of Tennessee and My Kind of Lovely has everything you need to make it unforgettable! Greek went live on the website this morning serving all 13 sororities on campus along with four different bid day box options ranging from $50-$200. These will go fast and are filled on a first come, first serve basis so hurry and preorder today! 

And ladies, it doesn't stop there. We have all your recruitment outfit needs as well, from dresses to the perfect accessory for preference night! Go Greek! Go Vols!

Summer MuMu with My Kind of Lovely

After what seemed like the longest hiatus ever, I finally got to shoot with My Kind of Lovely this past weekend. A new round of summer Show Me Your MuMu went live yesterday and I am loving every print and piece. Also, those terry cloth pool bags are everything. Hurry and shop now, limited sizes in each piece will go quickly!

Dress: Lexington Mini Dress- Palm Flings ; Shoes: Target ; Earrings: My Kind of Lovely

MuMu Bonfire Sweater

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend at home in Hendersonville. Saturday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland with snow showers and this afternoon I ran in a tank top... gotta love Tennessee in March. 

The constantly changing weather makes getting dressed in the morning a real task. This MuMu bonfire sweater is the perfect middle.  You'll be good for work when it's in the 40s and happy hour after work when it's in the 60s. And the print is perfect for spring. Win, win!

Sweater: Show Me Your MuMu  Jeans: JCrew Factory  Wedges: Target

Poppy Maxi

Let's be honest, maxi dresses are not a petite girl's best friend. However this poppy maxi dress from Show Me Your MuMu is a dream [with the right wedges of course.] This dress would be the perfect spring wedding or Easter Sunday outfit; and the slide slits make walking in this flowy number a piece of cake. I am a maxi dress convert. 

Dress: Show Me Your Mumu Choker: Shira Melody Wedges: Steve Madden

Spring MuMu

I don't know about you, but this 70 degree weather in February has me craving spring bad. 

Luckily the new Show Me Your MuMu that launched this week over on My Kind of Lovely can fill your spring void until the weather catches up for good! We shot over eight pieces but this navy tunic was my favorite. And it might have come home with me afterwards...

Tunic: Show Me Your MuMu. Necklace: Shira Meldoy. Jeans: JCrew. Wedges: Target. 

Baby, baby

Last week My Kind of Lovely launched their new Friday x Saturday girl power themed line of tees. I was lucky enough to be part of the shoot downtown at Maple Hall. The recent weather this weekend, 78 degrees in February what?!, has had me craving Spring and bright colors. I absolutely love the pink and yellow combo in these shots. And the bowling shoes really complete the look don't you think? 

Babes Support Babes

This past Wednesday My Kind of Lovely had a very special photo shoot to officially join the #celebratethebabes movement. We were feeling the girl power and even an occasional Spice Girl-esque peace sign was thrown. While I could go on an on about this awesome brand and hashtag

I think My Kind of Lovely's words say it all, 

"Our mission at My Kind of Lovely is to not only to provide the latest + greatest clothing + gift items and bring them all to our hometown, which is the heart of our brand, but even more so, we strive to empower women. We believe that you can do anything you set your mind to; that a dream doesn't have to be just a dream; and that with courage, grit, determination and a whole lotta passion, women can do business better than anyone out there. We are so proud to have 12 hard-working, beautiful, powerful, & ambitious women as a part of our #MKLGirlGang, and we love seeing what other women in the industry are doing when they're out conquering the world. That's why when one of our favorite girl brands at Friday x Saturday designed this new tshirt line, we were eager to jump on board. We think they said it best when they said: "as girls, we traditionally focus on one another's flaws, but what if we all chose to celebrate each other's victories!? it's not too late to start now...Now more than ever, we need to compliment rather than compete with our female counterparts." We can't wait to #CELEBRATETHEBABES and see how you all also support all the #girlbosses out there! Let's do big things bc together we are so much better!" 

The line went live at 2p EST so hurry and order one for yourself today!

And don't forget to #celebratethebabes!

Risk and Champagne

I began putting the phrase "Big hair, bigger mouth" on my social media in college and have strived to live up to it every day since. But if you really know me, it would come as no surprise that I often use my big hair or bigger mouth as a wall to keep my fears, emotions, and insecurities at bay. I started this blog when I was 21 years old and over the past six years it has seen many changes much like myself. The more I blogged the more blogs I discovered. I would sit in bed after work and scroll blogs such as The Sweetest Thing, Southern Curls & Pearls, Pink Peonies, and Sequins & Things for hours. I began to imitate their outfits with pieces I already had in my closet and eventually developed my own adult style. About two years ago I started posting #ootd Instagrams from the work parking lot and the likes and comments started rolling in. That was the first time I toyed with the idea of photographing my outfits and launching Monograms and Media into the world of fashion blogging. But I got scared and chickened out. The word FAILURE flashed before my eyes. What if no one looked at my posts? What if rude comments were left? What if, what if, what if. 

When I moved to Knoxville I turned one of my "social media" friendships into a real life friendship with Katie Lee from Pearls and Twirls [and Caroline Gillem too!] Katie is a co-owner of My Kind of Lovely and by total coincidence ended up being my downstairs neighbor.  This past July I was asked to join the My Kind of Lovely #girlgang handling the marketing for the Greek line they carried. I was over the moon! These are the kind of women that radiate confidence and success and in September I was in my first My Kind of Lovely photo shoot. As soon as the pictures went up the comments and texts started rolling in. I once again toyed with the idea of posting outfit pictures but work went into overdrive and took priority over passion projects. 

A couple weeks ago when I was home sick I received a text message from an old friend who said "The Sweetest Thing is you." For some reason this comment stuck with me for the whole next week. So, I took a night and scrolled my Tumblr and all my go-to blogs and pulled outfits from my closet that were similar to what they were posting. With momentum [and confidence] on my side, I texted Katie and asked if she would be willing to guide me on this adventure and take some pictures for me. And here we are. Am I nervous? Yes. Am I seeing FAILURE flash across my laptop screen? Maybe. Am I more excited than anything? Completely. 

There's a "catch all" dish that sits on my coffee table that reads "She who doesn't risk never gets to drink champagne." So in a sense, here's to risk and drinking champagne.

Dress- Peach Love CA, carried at My Kind of Lovely  Choker- Bourbon and Bowties