October Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Hi October! Apologies for getting this up late today; I had the craziest, most fun, but busy weekend! On Friday I attended the absolute most fabulous wedding ever for my gorgeous, lovely friend Taylor, and yesterday went to the ballet with my high school bestie Lauren and our boyfriends. Ohh my gosh, what a weekend, what a month! September began for me in Raleigh, NC visiting my mom, followed by a weekend in Chicago, a week in Spain, and then this final whirlwind wedding weekend. I'm feeling so grateful for all of the lovely people in my life, but also ready for a relaxing, cozy fall ahead.

I think I'm finally done with travel for the year, for the most part. Of course, I'll travel for the holidays, and I think I'll head to Dallas to see Joe once or twice before the end of the year as well, but all of the little trips and vacations are over (for now). I'm happy to spend more time in NYC over the next few months as it's my favorite time of the year, especially here.

Anyway, I hope you love this month's mood board as much as I do. Please tag me on Instagram if you download it- I absolutely love to see the mood board on your screens!!

September Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Hello September! August slipped away (thank you Taylor Swift), as it always does, along with summer, my birthday, and so many fabulous memories. This month is sure to be another fun one, however, as I am in Raleigh this weekend visiting my mom, I'll be in Chicago next weekend visiting my besties, and then I am heading to Spain for my mom's 60th birthday before attending a friend's wedding at the very end of the month!

This time of year always gives me fresh vibes... cozy, clean sweaters, crisp air, and back to routines. I love a light sweater, jeans, and ballet flats moment and I feel like that just screams September. I love the clean, crisp feeling of "back to reality" and "end of summer" energy and the subtle coziness of a sweater draped over the shoulders, not too hot and not too cold.

I hope you love this month's mood board as much as I do. Please tag me on Instagram if you download it- I absolutely love to see the mood board on your screens!!

25th Birthday Recap!

I turned 25 last Sunday, and had the loveliest weekend celebrating with some of my favorite people! My dad was kind enough to plan a special weekend for my birthday and flew out to New York to celebrate with me, Joe, and my aunt & uncle. We spent the weekend in the Hamptons and then came back to the city on Sunday for the Yankees vs. Red Sox game!

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I am a big birthday person. I really, really like having special plans for my birthday, and that usually includes seeing people I love or traveling somewhere special. My birthday weekend this year was absolutely wonderful and I've been feeling just so happy and lucky ever since. Let's recap the weekend!

This Week's Top 10: Birthday Weekend & Currently Loving

image via pinterest

It's been a few months since my last installment of "This Week's Top 10," which is a Friday series of blog posts that I created years ago to share weekly favorites and discoveries. This week I found myself just loving and sharing so many things that I had to bring it back!

1. I think the highlight of the week is undoubtedly that I published my first vlog of 2023! I hadn't vlogged since December, and I know many of you missed the vlog content, so I did a mini "week in my life" last week. If you haven't watched it yet, you can find it here! Hope you love it!

2. In the vlog, I talked about some of my favorite skincare products, including this Vitamin C Serum, Retinol serum, and moisturizer. I did not, however, show you my new *obsession:* this Summer Fridays lip balm. Oh my gosh, it's so fabulous. The color (I have the vanilla beige) is surprisingly stunning and the product is soo juicy, shiny, and hydrating. Love it.

3. I received both the moisturizer & the lip balm in my Fab Fit Fun box, which I have a discount code for: FRANCESCA20 for 20% off! The price of the box ends up coming out around the price of one of the items in the box, making everything else an added bonus. Such a great deal and so much fun!

My Delusional Birthday Wishlist / Gift Guide

My 25th birthday is this weekend and I thought it might be fun to make a delusional/unrealistic wishlist and put it out into the world!

In my family, my parents have made milestone birthdays really special. As a Leo, it's something I do not take for granted and means so, so much to me. In exchange, we don't really do birthday presents, and I love it that way! I have more than everything I need in life and really all I want every year is to spend time with the people that I don't get to see enough now that I'm an adult.

A few favorite birthdays were: my 18th birthday when my dad surprised me with a sunset sailboat ride in Maine, my 20th birthday (my golden birthday) when my dad took me to Palm Beach for a weekend, and my 21st birthday when my mom took me to Napa for a week of wine tasting. 

This year, I am turning 25, and I'm looking forward to spending the weekend in the Hamptons with my dad, aunt and uncle, and Joe! I feel so grateful for them and the fun experiences they've given me! In exchange, as I mentioned, we don't really do physical gifts, so this list is completely just for fun!

Also - I already own a few of the items on this list and absolutely love them, so I thought this could be a fun mini-gift guide if there's anyone fabulous in your life with a birthday coming up.