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Loving Lately // Life Update


Tomorrow I'm sharing a more fun version of my typical Top 10 post, so today I wanted to pop in and share a handful of things that I have been loving this week. After an exam on Tuesday evening and a relaxing day yesterday, I have it in me again to put together a blog post and I'm excited to give you guys a little update on what I've been into lately.

Cyber Monday Sales Not to Miss


Happy Monday! Cyber Monday is one of the best Mondays of the year, in my opinion. I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and a fun weekend afterwards. We drove back to Milwaukee on Saturday from St. Louis where we had Thanksgiving at my grandparent's house, and then I returned to school last night. Although I do have an exam tomorrow (might delay my weekly Tuesday gift guides...), I wanted to pop on and take a little study break to share some of my favorite sales going on right now. A lot are extended from Black Friday, but I was surprised at how many were upgraded 10-20% for today only. I plan to share my purchases later in the week or next week, but for now I'm still be hitting up the deals down below...

My Favorite Black Friday Sales



I'd be lying if I didn't admit that one of my favorite things about spending Thanksgiving in St. Louis every other year is the shopping we do on Black Friday. St. Louis has amazing shopping and three really big malls, which I consider a luxury coming from Wisconsin where we only got a Nordstrom as our first "high end" department store this year (not kidding). As usual, there are some amazing sales going on this weekend (you're probably just shocked to hear that ;) so below I'm sharing the ones I especially hope to be shopping!

Thankful

our Turkey at thanksgiving last year

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is one of my favorite holidays, no surprise there, not only because of the amazing food but the without-fail gratefulness that radiates around the holiday and makes me feel extra blessed for all of the little (and big!) things in our lives. It also always turns out to be a big event when I look back on the year or remember where I was at that time the year before. 

Gift Guides for Dad, Boyfriend, and Brother




I apologize that this post is going up a little later than usual! I originally had planned to come home for Thanksgiving this afternoon, but spontaneously decided to head home last night instead to celebrate my best friend's birthday. Suffice it to say I didn't get it together in time to have this post scheduled for this morning, but I have finished it up now and I'm excited to share three gift guides for the guys! Specifically, one each for dads, boyfriends, and brothers. Personally, I love shopping for guys, and all of the gifts you'll find below are items that I have either given in the past, plan to give this year, or know that my dad/boyfriend/brother loves and uses it already.

This Week's Top 10


1. THANKSGIVING IS SIX DAYS AWAY!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Pictured above is the delicious salad I made for Thanksgiving last year; I can't recommend it enough (soo good). If you need any ideas of what to wear, check out my Thanksgiving Outfit Guide with casual options, dressy options, and options in between!

2. Mango, one of my favorite online retailers, is having 30% off all of their sweaters this weekend. I shared my favorites in this blog post yesterday. I ordered this one and this one, but I especially love this one and this one too. All are under $100 with free shipping and returns!

3. I shared three more gift guides this week: perfect ideas for your mom, girlfriend, or friend who has everything! AKA: the three hardest girls to shop for :)

The Best Sweater Sale


Happy Thursday afternoon babes!! I just finished up an exam and was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorite online retailers having 30% off all of their sweaters right now. I just had to share the sale, because I love shopping online at Mango. They have an incredible selection of sweaters (almost all under $100!!) and free shipping in addition to the 30% off. For those of you who haven't shopped at Mango before, it's a lot like Zara when it comes to style, but with a much better online experience and in my opinion, much better quality too!! I just placed an order for a couple of Mango sweaters, and I have rounded up other options I love below:

Gift Guides for the 3 Hardest Girls to Shop for


Welcome to round two of my gift guides for the season! I am excited to share three more gift guides today that I think might be really helpful for holiday shopping this year: the gifts for the girls who are the hardest to shop for. Whether it be that your best friend already has everything she could want, or you don't even know where to start with your mom, or you're a guy who just has no idea what to get your girlfriend, I've got you covered. Quality, thoughtful gifts don't have to be impossible to find! In fact, I love the pieces I've rounded up below, and I think you might too...

College Fitness Update

image via jess's post on how to stay fit during the fall and holiday season!

A reader requested I share an updated workout routine, but I want this two be more of a discussion today than just me ranting on about what I like to do at the gym. What are your favorite workouts and how do you stay motivated to get in a good sweat? I'm chatting about my typical health and fitness schedule but I would love some inspiration from hearing yours!

This Week's Top 10


1. Happy Friday! Not much is going on here this weekend. The Iowa vs Wisconsin football game is tomorrow, but I'm feeling so unprepared for a game day in 30 degree weather!! Last weekend I ended up spontaneously heading down to Chicago and I had just the best time (as always).

2. I am so excited that I kicked off some holiday posts this week. In case you missed it, I shared gift guidea for the traveler, the adventurer, and the hostess, as well as a Thanksgiving Outfit Guide. What was your favorite? Not holiday related, but I also shared links to shop my Insta Stories in this blog post too.

3. My holiday shop is finally liveI am dying to smell this scent!! The bottle is gorgeous and the notes of tuberose and jasmine are right up my ally. I need to get myself into a Nordstrom over Thanksgiving break so I can see if it's worthy of going on my Christmas list :)

Thanksgiving Outfit Guide




I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is two weeks away. I feel like I say that every year, but the holidays are just so anticipated all year long that when they finally arrive it's like a dream come true! Thanksgiving is, of course, one of my favorite holidays. I'm excited to spend it with my mom's side of the family at my grandparent's house in St. Louis this year. Our Thanksgiving celebrations in St. Louis are always super casual, but I love wearing something cute and festive for the holiday. Below I am sharing casual, semi-dressy, and dressy outfits to indulge you in the ultimate Thanksgiving Outfit Guide (warning: lots of velvet, denim, and leather down below!)

Shop My Insta Stories


I have been getting a lot of Instagram DM's recently asking for links to items I share on my Insta Stories. I love getting messages, comments, and questions, so I'm always looking for ways to actually be helpful and useful in my responses! I used to be able to use the swipe up feature on Insta stories to easily link to products, but it no longer works for me. My easy solution: I am rounding up the products from recent shoppable posts all in one place... keep scrolling!

3 Holiday Kick-off Gift Guides


Hello, hello! Today I am so excited to kick off a weekly gift guide series to take us into the holiday season. I know it's early, but I got excited (I may or may not have stayed up way too late doing this last night...). After spontaneously venturing down to Chicago this past weekend, I came back to school feeling refreshed and inspired, albeit a little exhausted. Nonetheless, here we are already in the second week of November, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't started to think about revamping my holiday playlist and ogling over holiday gift ideas. Too soon? Sorry about it ;)

This Week's Top 10


1. Happy Friday! For the first time in over a month between visitors, midterms, and heading home/to Chicago last weekend, I have nothing on my calendar. It's not even a game day! Both of my roommates are leaving though, and I'm not sure how I feel about being all alone for a weekend...

2. Thank you to everyone who was so kind about my experience with withdrawing from my sorority. In case you missed the post, you can read what happened here.

Winter Coat Lust List

lol, I wish ^

It's kind of funny how long the weather managed to stay warm here this fall, and then the day it turned November first it was automatically 30 degrees. That is the Wisconsin I'm used to, but I can't exactly say it has me excited. Maybe winter took a while to get here, but it always seems to drag out until the last possible minute. Heading to classes yesterday in a Patagonia jacket reminded me that I definitely forgot to bring my actual winter coat to school and it has me scouring to purchase a new one. Ugh, why is coat shopping so tantalizing?!

Why I'm No Longer in a Sorority



On Insta Stories on Monday I was surprised to discover how many people wanted to see more lifestyle posts and just how many of you are interested in college content! I used to share so many more posts that were on the personal side, but I put them on the back-burner for the past few months. Today I really want to talk about something that I know a lot of you are interested in, being in a sorority. Even if you are opposed to Greek Life, sororities, or just generally uninterested in college content, I am sharing some valuable lessons I learned in the process of letting go of Alpha Phi.