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My Fall Wishlist

The weather has gotten rather chilly here in Milwaukee as of late, meaning I've had to pull out my sweaters already and the calendar hasn't even officially switched over to September. With this wardrobe shift comes the mindset of chai-latte-necessary and riding boots required and it really has me itching for fall. In that spirit, see below what I'm loving for this season!



What's on your wishlist for fall?
xoxo

PS- Have you entered my giveaway going on right now?! Only a couple days left!

This Week's Top 10


1. I officially started my account for the Common App... it is a lot worse than I imagined. If anyone has any suggestions for survival in the college application process, I'll take all the advice I can get!

2. Kate looks fabulous in this outfit!

3. J. Crew Factory is really on point right now. I may or may not have snagged one of these...

4. I've had my eye on this book for a while, but after reading this review on it, I need to pick it up ASAP. Any other good book recs for me?


6. I'm a little skeptical of ordering off this website, but I love this dress and it's such a good deal. Do any of you have experience shopping on She Inside?

7. This home tour makes me so envious. Give me that pink ceiling!

8. If you have me on Snapchat, you may have seen my excitement over opening this up when it arrived in the mail!

9. ^ See a similar product for under $50 here! Amaaziinng deal

10.  Don't forget to enter my giveaway going on here!

xoxo

Maybooks GIVEAWAY


Did you see my May Design's planner review the other day?! You're going to want to check it out because... you can enter below to win your own! It's been a while since I've done a giveaway but I'm super excited for this one because the winner will be able to customize their very own journal, notebook, planner, address book, or whatever they want in whatever patterns, prints, or colors they choose! That's pretty fun if you ask me...

Some of my favorite cover designs below:
And enter using the following widget! The giveaway will run for one week, good luck!


xoxo

Printed Shorts











Sweater (similar here and here) // Shorts // Sandals // Necklace c/o // Cross bracelet c/o
(shorts, sandals, and jewelry are all under $30!)

Do you have one of those outfits that makes you just feel so good in?! This is probably mine... These sandals and shorts are both absolute staples in my closet (I wore the shorts a million times this summer), and that blue sweater is my favorite color on me! Not to mention, the fun back really adds something, too. And, how fabulous are these dainty little gold additions to my wrist and neck? I am in love with these two pieces that Bling Jewelry kindly sent to me... I wear both almost everyday! I suggest checking out their website... They have a million products, I swear, and the prices are fabulous. I've noticed both the necklace and bracelet are pretty well made, too! Neither have tarnished or broken or disappointed me at all.

xoxo

My Maybooks Agenda


With school starting yesterday and the academic year starting of in full swing, I'm super excited to begin using my Maybooks academic planner. The girls over at Maybooks were so nice and let me custom make my own planner, and I couldn't love it more! I ended up going with a simple kraft background, and of course mint accents, and I'm obsessed with how it turned out! (This was a close second choice, however)




If you're not familiar with Maybooks, I really suggest you check out the site. It's such a cool concept. Basically, there are a ton of patterns/colors to choose from and then a million ways to customize the cover with your name, monogram, short phrase, or whatever you want with different colors, fonts, and borders. Another bonus? Every "book" can be made into a notebook, planner, coloring book, address book, journal, and so much more.




I'll keep you updated on how it works for me in terms of sizing and amount of space to write down all my activities and assignments.. Transitioning to this from a Day Designer is a big change! That had so much room and this is a lot more compact.

Stay tuned to snag one of your own in a few days!
xoxo

Senior Year + Senior Picture Surprise


Starting senior year today is so bittersweet. Everyone knows it's your last "first day" of a lot of things... packing your lunch and driving to high school, living at home, and so much more. But, it's also something I grew up never imagining I'd actually be here one day. I have so many memories of myself waiting for braces (shocking, I know), waiting for prom, excited for my first kiss, imagining myself on a varsity sport... In a way, senior year is just the end to a lot of memories that I've already had, and I never grew up imagining where I'd be after all those things happened. In a sense, that means I have no expectations of myself. I don't have that vision of what my year will be like compared to junior year; I get a clean slate in my own mind. I'm excited to begin the end and make the most of my senior year.

xoxo

PS- Coincidentally, my senior pictures came in yesterday! Below is a little sneak peek. More will for sure be on the blog in the weeks to come!



This Week's Top 10


1. Thank you so much to everyone for all of the birthday wishes yesterday! So thankful for each one of you!

2. This healthy and easy quiche-type breakfast recipe is perfect on the go and I'm dying to try it!

3. This sweater (which comes in 5 colors!!) needs to get in my closet for fall.

4. Knock, Knock! Marilyn Monroe is that you? I love your apartment!

5. This post on Damsel in Dior gives me life.

6. Everyone needs this skirt, under $50, in their closet. Comes in both black and white!


8. This jacket from Boden is seriously so cool.


10. School starts Monday... please send prayers my way #notkidding

xoxo

17


This year's birthday is kind of a funny one. I grew up never having my birthday during the school year, and then for the past two years of high school it happened to be on the second or third day of school. However, this time around, today is "check-in" day at my school, and this is the same as it was freshman year. It's funny to me that I'll be 17 today when I know there are a few girls in the junior class that are already 17 (I'm seriously super young for my grade!) and I'm just now getting to see an R-rated movie legally when half my friends will be able to vote in a matter of months! 

I celebrated with my dad in Rhode Island after a fun day in Block Island (more on my trip to come) on Tuesday with my favorite banana ice cream from Brickley's in Narragansett for dessert. I got home around midnight last night from the airport and today I have our team's first field hockey game of the season (beyond excited to be playing varsity this year!!) in the evening. To me, 17 isn't too special of a birthday, but of course it's always a fun day of the year for me and I'm grateful for every year I get to enjoy and tuck under my belt. 16 was fabulous, and I can only wish that 17 is half as fun! Perhaps senior year and beginning college will top my junior prom and driver's license, but we will just have to wait and see :)

xoxo

Closet Must-Have: Stripes


There's no better time to stock up on the basics than the end of summer; a new season, and for most of us, a new school year. One department I'm lacking in is my supply of striped tops, or striped pieces in general. I, like everyone else who writes a blog with the word "prep", "preppy", or "prepster" in their title, fantasizes over navy and white stripes and quite literally has dreams of donning such attire in parks with iced coffee in hand alongside a fabulous little pooch in a pretty city somewhere warm. So, when I can't pull my weight when it comes to my closet and my stash of navy sailor-inspired garments, I know there's only one thing to do. Shop, and shop fast. Shop my striped picks below!



What are your striped necessities?
xoxo

Summer Colors










Something I love most about a summer wardrobe is that it's so easy to mix and match everything. This pair of shorts with that shirt, and vice versa, in a million combinations, and you've got yourself set for two and a half months of hot weather and endless events. What I love about this outfit in particular is that it definitely doesn't match, but it still totally works. The print and the bold color contrast each other just enough to make this a workable ensemble, and I think that's always a nice surprise.

xoxo

This Week's Top 10


1. As you're reading this, I'm either dreading my layover in New York (although I really shouldn't be complaining), or landing in Rhode Island! I'm excited to spend the week with my dad's side of the family in my favorite place.

2. Soo, field hockey tryouts went well! I found out last night I made varsity! I cry every year (freshman and junior year were sad tears, sophomore and senior year have been happy tears) when I find out my team, and the coaches thought this time was too funny... I think it's just embarrassing for me :)

3. Wonderful post written by Sammy.


5. Warby Parker sunglasses at Nordstrom!!! I love this pair. (Under $100, too!)


7. I'm getting my senior photos done by the cliff walk on Monday... I have no idea what to wear. Suggestions!?

8. Omg... The cutest striped t-shirt dress and only $13!

9. We all want to eat cake for breakfast, right?! How about popsicles? I support it. 


Have a great weekend!
xoxo

Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Room



This whole moving thing has gotten me into such a whirlwind of interior design fantasies and has left me itching to add a few fun pieces to my room to make it the best version possible. Some easy ways to make your desk sparkle? Add fun and bright accessories like a colorful stapler, a chic pencil cup, or practical-but-cute storage bins and a lamp. Want to make the whole room a little cozier? Add a rug, toss a cute pillow on your bed, hang your favorite quote on the wall and light up your favorite scent. There are so many easy ways to make your room a little more "you" without having to restyle the whole scene.

xoxo

White on White in the Hamptons











Sweater (seriously might be my favorite thing in my closet & comes in navy, too)

Okay, I know by this point I have completely stretched out and totally over-extended my vacation to the Hamptons, buuuut, I think this might be one of my favorite outfit posts I've ever done. Not only am I donning one of my favorite trends, white on white, but I also love how this little shoot that Carin and I did on the beach in Sag Harbor is so me. I debated back and forth between using some of the more portrait style shots from that afternoon in Sag for my senior pictures, but ultimately decided to go with a Rhode Island photographer next week when I'm on vacation. However, I still think the whole casual, beach waves (literally- my hair was air drying the whole time because I'd just gotten out of the shower and ran down to the beach) and barefoot get-up really encompasses how lowkey east coast life is really what I live for #noshame.

More on the outfit details, I scored both the sweater and shorts that day while shopping around Easthampton, and I'm so pleased with my purchases. The sales that weekend were incredible and despite dropping my ice cream cone in J. Crew and getting myself into a very sticky situation (ha, ha, get it....?) I snagged these shorts for, like, $10. A little good comes out of a bad situation, ammm I riiiiight?!

How do you do white on white?!
xoxo

My Top 3 Social Media Strategies


Lately I've been really trying to increase my social media presence. Whether it's posting more on Instagram, or making my tweets a little funnier, I've really been aiming to up my game and expand my networking skills! I've established a few strategies that are working for me, and I hope you can learn a little thing from at least one or two of them!

1. Buffer // Tweeting is not my strong suit. I'd say I'm fairly funny in person, but I can't compose a non-awkward tweet if my life depended on it. Fortunately, sometimes my humor can accumulate in bursts and I discovered Buffer, which lets me schedule and space out my tweets in advance. I don't use it too consistently, but when I do I think it really helps my twitter game, and it's especially nice for scheduling promotion tweets to share a blog post or a product I've found (particularly if I discovered a cute shirt at 2 AM and want to tweet at a more timely hour).

2. Instagram Editing // This has taken a lot of trial and error for me, but slowly I'm beginning to discover what works and what doesn't for my Instagram feed. You can see my post here on how I edit my pictures (I've changed my ways a little bit since posting that, but it's the same for the most part), and I constantly tweak my shots to help my photos all flow together. My tip: come up with a method and stick to it, but don't be afraid to change up a filter or adjustment if an individual photo looks better under a different light!

3. Pinning Blog Images // I can't stress how important this is. I try to shoot and post mostly vertical pictures for my blog, because I know that's what makes a Pinterest picture typically more likely to be re-pinned, and my goal in general is to post content and photos that are Pinterest worthy and eye-catching. Think of it this way, every time you re-pin something, there's a fair chance you could go back and actually click on that picture and discover the source. If someone clicks on one of my pictures they re-pinned, it's an automatic pageview for my blog! A win, win for the cute pin and blog traffic.

What are your social media tips? Was this post helpful? I always have more tricks up my sleeve that I'm willing to share!
xoxo

This Week's Top 10




3. Show Mackenzie some love on her birthday and shop the Design Darling sale. (20% off with code: PARTYTIME)

4. In need of a good book... Any recommendations for me?

5. This Instagram post from Bess was so inspiring. She's amazing!

6. Fun fact: I'm obsessed with Rach Parcell and her precious little girl, Isla. These photos are gorgeous (can I please join their fam?!)

7. These rainboots are everything.

8. Madeline and Company has launched!! You absolutely must check out Madeline's products.


10. Keep following along on Snapchat (@franacciardo) to see more updates of the new house, what I'm up to, and how I'm soaking up my last days of summer.

xoxo

Mexican Fiesta: Stuffed Pepper Recipe











Last week Carin and I had dinner plans but decided to swap out a night downtown at one of our typical restaurants for a healthy DIY meal at her house! We were both in the mood for a little Mexican, but still wanted to make something healthy and not too over-the-top. Um, safe to say, this recipe is one of my new favorite things ever. Honestly, it tasted so beyond good, and it's so customizable and easy to make that you could basically mix together random ingredients from your fridge, toss them into a pepper, and enjoy! Here's our version of a mexican stuffed pepper...

Ingredients (Makes 6-8 stuffed halves... All measurements are just suggestions)
2 Cups, Chicken
2 tbsp, Cumin
2 tbsp, Lemon Juice
1 can, Black Beans
1/2 cup, Shredded Cheese
2 cups, Brown Rice
3 large Red Peppers
1/2 bag, Frozen Corn
1 large, Tomato

1. We used Trader Joe's chicken strips (they come in a frozen bag), so it was super easy to toss what we wanted into a pan. Season your chicken with lots of cumin and lemon juice for a flavorful taste!
2. Dice/chop your tomato and drain your beans, and throw them in a bowl with your cooked brown rice. Mix together.
3. Prepare corn according to package directions and add corn and chicken to the bowl of rice/beans/tomatoes and toss all together
4. Slice peppers into halves and clean out the middles
5. Fill your pepper halves with the mix and top with cheese
6. Bake on 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and peppers are cooked to your desire.

We topped our peppers with even more cheese after they came out of the oven, but the melted cheese is the best part (in my opinion!). As you can see, the recipe really is just a hodgepodge of ingredients, but the stuffed peppers turned out delicious. We used approximately the measurements above and only two peppers and had so much leftovers, so I suggest using 3 or even 4 peppers if you make as much food as we did! I was full after one half, but that's probably just because I was snacking on the chicken and beans while we were still cooking (oops!)

Have you tried anything similar?
xoxo