December Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpapers!)

 Hello December! I can't believe the last month of 2023 is here. This has truly been one of the best years yet and I can't believe how quickly it's flown by. I had a lovely November, and I'm even more excited for this month -- I have my first big holiday party tonight, my best friend is visiting me next week, and more! 

Happy December, Happy Holidays, and 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!!

2023 Gift Guide: My Favorite Things

My friend group is having a "favorite things" gift exchange on Sunday! I am so excited, and I thought it would be fun to share some of my own favorite things. Essentially, our friend group is all getting together and we are each bringing one of our very favorite things to exchange. Although we have a reasonable price range, I rounded up my favorite things at all price points in case you need some additional gifting inspiration.

2023 Gift Guide: In Laws

Helloooo! Happy Cyber Monday! I wasn't really planning on sharing another gift guide today, but there are so many good sales ongoing, and I know how much you guys loved the In-Laws gift guide last year, so I wanted to take advantage. When it comes to shopping for your girlfriend or boyfriend's parents, I find it's especially nice to gift something that feels personal. I love this Personalized Cheese Board and this New York Times Anniversary Book (you can pick the year, for example, their anniversary year or birth year). But, other great ideas are this fancy Rummikub set (we loveee this game), this affordable Fire Pit, and this Wine Picnic Table (on major sale!)

Happy gifting!

My Curated List of Black Friday Sales

The Black Friday sales are so good this year! I am heading out to golf today with my dad and brother, but I know I'll be crawling in bed tonight to shop the sales. I've curated the sales below from brands I love and shop at, that I think are having great deals. Happy Shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving & 10 Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving! I got to my Dad's new house in Palm Beach on Wednesday night, and it's been a fun and warm Thanksgiving weekend so far down here. I wanted to write up what I'm thankful for yesterday, but between the Turkey Trot, and honesty, finishing the Harry Potter book (couldn't put it down - I decided to start the series on Wednesday! I'd never read or seen any of the books or movies!), it was a busy holiday!

Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely day yesterday. I am going to try and round up a few of my favorite sales today, but you can shop my gift guides here if you want to get started!

Before further adieu, here are 10 things I'm thankful for this year:

2023 Gift Guide: Cozy Gifts

I couldn't help myself... I've made another gift guide. No one asked for this one, but the sales are just so good this year that I wanted to make a cozy gift guide that includes some of my favorite things. For example, my cozy robe from Lake is now 25% off, and Printfresh is having 30% off sitewide with code JOY (I love their printed PJs, I've been wearing this pair all week).

If you're looking for a cozy gift for a friend, your mom, sister, aunt, a gift exchange, or anything else, I hope you find something you love here!

2023 Gift Guide: Cooking Enthusiast

My sixth gift guide is here! If you've missed it, I've already published:

My Wishlist

Gifts Under $50

Gifts for the Girl Who Has Everything

Gift Guide for Mom

Gift Guide for Him

.

..and today I'm excited to share a gift guide I've never made before: gift ideas for the cooking enthusiast! I love to cook, and as an adult (especially living alone) I've found that receiving cooking-related or dinner party/hostess-related gifts is really, really up my alley. For example, last year I received a Le Creuset and I absolutely love it, and the year before I received my amazing air fryer (which is over 50% off right now!)! This year, I would love this chic electric water heater, or any pretty serveware for the dinner parties I love to host.

For any cooking (or hosting!) enthusiasts in your life, I hope you find this gift guide helpful!

2023 Gift Guide: For Him

I'm so excited to share a gift guide for the guys today! Joe and I have been working on this all weekend and we both think these gift ideas for guys are creative and completely giftable for any guy - whether he's into golf, cocktails, cooking, etc! We rounded up an assortment of gifts at all price points; I hope you find this gift guide helpful!

2023 Gift Guide: Gifts for Mom

Back again with another gift guide: gift ideas for your mom! These gifts are really just classic, good gifts for anyone in your life, whether it's your mom, aunt, grandmother, or any other lovely lady! I hope you love this gift guide!

Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas

If you're anything like me and you still haven't figured out what you're wearing for Thanksgiving next week, I've gone ahead and created a few outfits that I'm sharing here for inspiration! Whether your family or friends dress up, run a turkey trot, or just throw on a cute sweater, hopefully, this serves as some helpful last-minute inspiration!

I tried to include a lot of pieces from many retailers that have fast shipping, so if you order today, there's a good chance things will arrive by Thanksgiving. The best part? Many brands are already having sales, so even if you're shopping for occasions beyond Thanksgiving, you'll be able to snag many of these pieces for a great price.

2023 Gift Guide: Girl Who Has Everything

Welcome back to another gift guide! In case you missed it, I've already published "My Wishlist," as well as a gift guide under $50, but today I'm so excited to share the gift guide that has become my personal favorite every year: gifts for the girl who has everything! I absolutely love making this gift guide every year because I try to include truly fabulous, unique gifts for a chic, stylish girl in your life who is undoubtedly hard to shop for! I've included gift ideas at all price points, from under $50 to luxury items, as well as some of my personal favorite things.

I hope you love this gift guide!

2023 Gift Guide: Under $50

I'm excited to share today's gift guide: gifts all under $50! I create this gift guide category every year, and this year I feel like I really found some lovely, thoughtful gifts at this attainable price point. From fun cocktail accessories to skincare, there is something for everyone on this gift guide - I hope you love it!

This Week's Top 10: Recent Favorites, Fall Shopping

in love with this home tour - image via

 1. Happy Friday, hello November, hope everyone had a great Halloween, and happy holidays I guess?!? Haha, this week has been kind of crazy! I am personally a fan of Halloween and loved watching the parade here in NYC on Tuesday night. I really tried to soak up as much as I could of October before waking up to holiday gift guides and holiday party ideas all on social media Wednesday morning.

2. Now that we are moving into the holiday season, I've begun my annual gift guides! I personally haven't even started to think about gift-giving, but I know a lot of people are far more proactive than I am, so I wanted to get the gift guides going. I started yesterday with "my wishlist" to give inspiration to anyone trying to think of something to ask for when their mom, aunt, grandmother, etc. inevitably asks! 

3. Of course, I also published the November mood board this week! If you're new, I make these free desktop & iPhone wallpapers every single month!

2023 Gift Guide: My Wishlist

It's gift guide season!!! I have absolutely loved making gift guides every season for the past 10+ years, and this year will be no different. Today we are starting off with a fun one: my personal wish list! I feel like truly the hardest thing to do every year is come up with gift ideas for yourself when your friends and family ask, so I thought it could be helpful to give a few of my actual ideas to get us started. 

I really don't ask for things anymore, but I like to put together a list for inspiration, for fun, and of course, just in case ;). 

When thinking about my Christmas wishlist, there are really two categories I try to bucket things into: firstly, items that I've been eyeing for a while and just don't see myself actually buying, and secondly, items that I kind of need/want for practical purposes and don't want to buy for myself.

Let's jump into it!

November Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Good morning, November! I hope everyone had a fun Halloween & Halloween weekend! I spent the weekend at my aunt's house on Long Island and had such a relaxing, lovely time. The foliage was incredible, and I listened to 1989 Taylor's Version for three days straight, so it's safe to say I had the time of my life, haha. Last night for actual Halloween I watched the parade with a couple of friends and then had them over for a little impromptu dinner - I made my fave tortellini soup recipe!

October is always one of my favorite months; this past month I enjoyed so many of my favorite fall things in New York City: exploring the West Village and Upper East Side to see the Halloween decorations, making a chili and having girlfriends over, having pumpkin ales at my favorite dive bar in Williamsburg, and more! It was such a lovely month, and I already can't wait for next October! In the meantime, we have the holidays just around the corner (gift guides start tomorrow!), which is of course so exciting. This year for Thanksgiving I'll be heading to my dad's new house in Palm Beach, which I am looking forward to! He just moved in over the summer so I'm really excited to see it for the first time!

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!!

Fall Home Decor Refresh

I'm throwing a dinner party tomorrow and it's gotten me in such a mood to decorate my apartment for fall; I've already gotten out my autumnal candles and a few pumpkins (I mean, obviously), but I've been wanting to incorporate more candlesticks, autumnal colors, and little things like that. Of course, the dinner party requires all sorts of festive serving dishes, seasonal cocktail napkins, etc as well. Queue the round-up of a few home decor pieces for this season..!

This Week's Top 10, Fall Recipes, Fall Shopping, etc

image via

1. Happy Friday! I returned home from Dallas on Wednesday and I am so excited to spend the rest of fall enjoying New York. I had a lovely time with Joe in Dallas; we golfed, got massages, and just hung out, and it was so relaxing as usual. I also got to see my friends Louise and Claire, which was a fun surprise!

2. While there, I made this pumpkin bread and it turned out SO delish! Just a note, I halved the recipe (except for the chocolate chips, of course) and it still made a large loaf.

3. Also, we finally watched Jury Duty and LOVED it. It had us both laughing out loud! If you haven't seen it yet, I totally recommend it. Just a light, funny, quick series.

Fall Finds

There's no debate that fall is the best time of year for outfits! I have far more sweaters than I need but I absolutely love a cozy outfit with a big knit, jeans, booties, and autumnal accessories. I rounded up some of my favorite fall finds, including a perfect suede purse, a chic jacket that comes in a few neutral shades, a classic tennis bracelet with a twist, my favorite lip gloss, a timeless barn jacket, and so many more. 

All of my picks come in at reasonable price points as well!

See below to shop my finds:

Recent Favorites

outfit linked here

It's been a while since I wrote a Favorites post, let alone a blog post sharing anything besides a travel recap! I feel like I've been in a really solid spot lately with my haircare, beauty routine, outfits, and more, and want to do a full recap of what I've been loving here.

Malaga & Marbella, Spain Recap

outfit linked here

Two weeks ago I traveled to the Costa Del Sol region of Spain for my mom's birthday trip! Joe and I flew out to Malaga to meet my mom and brother to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. My family had never traveled to Europe together before, so it was really special, in addition to just being able to celebrate my mom's milestone birthday with her. She invited Joe along and it was just such a fun trip with some of my favorite people! Let's recap it!

After traveling a lot already this year, I realized I couldn't really join in on the entire Spain trip with my mom and brother; they started in Madrid and went to Barcelona and Grenada before Joe and I arrived. We tagged along just for the second half and it worked out so well! We stayed in Malaga, but we took little day trips to Marbella, Peurto Banus, and Mijas.

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.

Wedding Guest Dresses Under $350

I have a friend's wedding next month, and the search is on to find something fabulous to wear! I have been looking around quite a bit lately and thought I'd share all of the wedding guest dresses I've come across so far, at a reasonable price range (in my opinion, under $350). 

Shop them below!

August Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Happy AUGUST! This month I really felt the pressure with the mood board. Usually, the "theme" just comes to me; it pops into my head and I know exactly what to do. This month, I wanted the theme to just be "me" because August is my birthday month, but for some reason "me" as a theme was a little difficult to fit into one aesthetic... the chaos was really showing ;) additionally, I feel like everyone loved the July mood board, and personally, the August 2022 mood board is my favorite mood board of all time. 

ANYWAY, I am happy with how this one turned out and I hope you love it. I can't believe August is already here!

Please tag me on IG if you download it- I absolutely love to see the mood board on your screens!!

Nantucket Recap!!!

I am so excited to share a full Nantucket recap with all of you!  I know this is long overdue, but who's really surprised? I truly had the time of my life on this girls' trip last month. Let's just jump in!

Myself, two of my best friends from home (Coco and Elizabeth), and six of my NYC friends all ventured to Nantucket for a long weekend and couldn't have possibly had more fun! The nine of us were all first-timers to the island and I, for one, was not disappointed. After many visits to Martha's Vineyard and years of reading Elin Hilderbrand's books, I felt like I knew what to expect and was still so wonderstruck. It may just be my favorite place I've ever been!

July Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Happy July! Apologies for getting this month's mood board up a day late! I flew into Dallas yesterday morning to celebrate the Fourth of July with Joe, and the weekend has just escaped me!

The June mood board is definitely hard to top - I think it's one of my favorites I've ever done! But there is no month quite as patriotic and summery as July, so I hope you enjoy this one! 

Please tag me on IG if you download it- I absolutely love to see the mood board on your screens!!

This Week's Top 10

image via pinterest

Happy Friday! It's been so long since I've done This Week's Top 10 but there are so many things I've been loving lately that I have to bring it back.

1. I've recently finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Happy Place. I liked both a lot, but both were pretty sad! Up next, I'm starting The Soulmate Equation from Grace Atwood's 15 Favorite Romance Books list! I've already read most of them and loved them, so I feel like I'd love the rest of the reads on the list as well.

2. I bought this NUXE Moisturizer in Italy when I was running low, and I've already gone through the entire tube - I love it! It's about half the price in Europe, so if you're not heading there this summer, you could skip it (although it does smell great!). I also recently tried a few samples of the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask and loved that as well - great gel consistency, perfect for summer. I'm planning to purchase it this weekend at Sephora when I'm in Dallas and inevitably in need of a moisturizer restock. Would highly recommend either of these if you're looking for a new moisturizer!

3. Speaking of skincare and beauty, Merit recently sent over their concealer and bronzer stick for me to try! I've been a longtime fan of their Brow Pomade, and I really, really love these two products now as well. The concealer is kind of a foundation/concealer in one so it's all I really need personally for a base, and then I love how the bronzer just melts into my skin. I went with the shade "ochre" in "the minimalist" (product name for the concealer) and "clay" in the bronze balm.

Italy Recap #4: Florence & Tuscany

I just got back from the best girls' weekend in Nantucket, but first, I need to finish recapping Italy! I can't believe it's taken me over a month to get this post up, but I really don't want to forget to document the second half of my trip to Italy with my boyfriend, Joe, at the end of May. If you've missed the initial recaps, check out the Rome Recap, Cinque Terre Part 1, and Cinque Terre Part 2 blog posts!

Current Wishlist

Yesterday on my Instagram Stories I shared some of the cute pieces I've recently ordered, or are on my current wishlist. I've been doing a lot of shopping lately for summer in general, and also my first trip to Nantucket (next week - can't believe it!). I thought I'd round up all of the pieces here as well to keep them in one spot.

Italy Recap #3: Cinque Terre (Part 2)

I am definitely drawing out this Italy trip but I know if I don't recap the whole thing on here I'll regret it! So, I am back today with Part 2 of our time in Cinque Terre. Hopefully, after this, I can fit our Florence recap into just one more post!

If you missed Cinque Terre Part 1, check it out here!

Italy Recap #2: Cinque Terre (Part 1)

Hi! I'm back with my second Italy recap: part 1 of our time in the Cinque Terre. We spent four days in the Cinque Terre, and it was probably the highlight of the trip – at least in my opinion. The days were packed, so I’m splitting the Cinque Terre recap into two parts!

My outfit above: sunglasses (only $13) // top (under $100) // shorts // basket bag (under $100)

Italy Recap #1: 24 Hours in Rome

Hiii! I'm excited today to share the first recap post from my trip to Italy last week with my boyfriend, Joe. We planned this trip in December, so it's hard to believe it's already come and gone after months of anticipation. However, we had an absolutely amazing time, and I'm so grateful we could go, enjoy fabulous weather (it'd been raining for weeks all over Italy before we arrived), and spend 10 days together since we're usually long-distance. So let's get into it!

For the sake of readability, I'm including many of the photos at the bottom of the post! Note to self: redesign this website, LOL.

June Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Hello June!!! Happy summer, everyone! May flew by for me, with a trip to Nashville for the Eras Tour, and then 10 days in Italy with Joe. I'm planning to do all of the Italy recaps soon, but in the meantime, I'm so excited to share this moodboard for June - I think it's one of my favorites (if not my favorite....?) I've ever done!

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

May Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper)

Happy May, Happy Met Gala Day, and happy mood board day! I've extended my trip here in Chicago since I had such a great time this weekend with my girlies celebrating our bestie Elizabeth's birthday. We plan to watch the Met coverage tonight before I head home tomorrow! April was a wonderful month, with trips to Paris, Dallas, upstate New York, and Chicago, but May is going to be one for the books as well with the Taylor Swift Era's tour in Nashville next week, and then (!!!) my trip with Joe to Italy for 10 days!!!!

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

Everything I Wore in Paris

Back again with another Paris post, this time sharing the details about everything I wore on my trip last weekend!

It may come as a shock (to literally no one) that I was a bit last minute pulling together my outfits. I purchased a couple of things for the trip, but for the most part, I just kind of winged it! I usually find outfit planning to be so stressful, but when I think of Parisian style, it's so simple and effortless, and I really tried to channel that energy. I think it worked out well- I was pretty happy with what I came up with!

Let's recap the outfits:  

This Week's Top 10

1. Good morning, Friday! I can't complain about this week at all because I spent the first half in Paris, and the remainder here in sunny, 80-degree NYC! This morning I grabbed coffee with my friend Emma, and tomorrow I head to Dallas to see Joe! It really feels like we've officially turned a corner with the seasons and I am absolutely loving it.

Hope you're all having a fabulous start to your weekend as well. 

2. In case you missed it, I recapped my Paris trip in yesterday's blog post (broke down our entire 4-day itinerary!), and answered all of your questions in Wednesday's blog post here!

3. This warm weather has me switching over my wardrobe and wanting to stock up on tennis skirts and tanks for all of my HGWs on the West Side Highway. Loving this tennis skirt under $50, and this one + the matching top (both pieces add up to just around $50!)

4-Day Paris Itinerary Recap

Welcome to the official Paris recap! If you're curious about where we stayed, and general Q&A regarding the current scene in Paris, highlights of the trip, and more, check out yesterday's post here! 

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I never skimp on the details, so sit back and relax because this is a long one! At the bottom of the post is a map with all of the places we went!

Be sure to come back on Monday for everything I wore in Paris!

Paris Q&A: Where We Stayed, The Strikes, Shopping Haul, and more

Bonjourrrr! This past weekend in Paris was absolutely lovely. My friend Katie and I decided to do a quick trip for her birthday / Easter weekend, and we had a great time. We really didn't do anything crazy, just explored, shopped, ate and drank, and enjoyed our vacation. We'd both been to Paris twice before, so it was nice not feeling pressured to do a lot of the touristy things. We did a lot, so I think I'm going to break up the blog posts into (1) this Q&A post, (2) day by day recap, and (3) everything I wore!

The first two times I visited Paris were actually within a few months of each other, in 2015. I studied French all throughout middle and high school, as well as half of college, and always planned to study abroad in Paris, but unfortunately, after transferring colleges, it was off the table. Additionally, my last trip to Paris was canceled due to Covid, so just a long way of saying I really was excited to get back! 

Because it had been about eight years since my last trip, I didn't really remember much of the city. I was so shocked this time around to realize how big Paris is. It felt like every day we explored new neighborhoods and all of them just felt huge! I mean, New York feels so small once you live here, so it makes sense that anywhere with a little breathing room feels giant. But four days ended up being a great amount of time, and I'm just so grateful for the time we got to be there. 

Let's get into the Q&A!

Q1 Favorites

Every month I think about sitting down to do a favorites post, and then I inevitably get lazy and don't end up sharing. So, today, I am going to share my favorites across Q1, aka January, February, and March, and try to make it worth your while!

HIGHLIGHTS

I thought this would be a fun new category to start with! Highlights from Q1 included:

- heading up to Vermont for a ski weekend in January with some NYC friends. It felt really special not only because it was my first ski weekend in a couple years, but also, as an adult, sometimes new friends don't quickly feel like "real" friends, and this weekend away really made my new friends feel like real friends :) 

- visiting Telluride, CO in February with my friend Katie and her parents! this was my first time in Colorado and we had a lovely, relaxing week in the snow at her family's house. We did so many fabulous activities, like skiing, snowshoeing, riding the gondola up and down from the mountain village to the town, and we even had a spa day!

- my mom came to visit me in NYC in March, and it was such a lovely weekend. my mom had only visited me once before, around Christmastime two years ago, so it felt like her first "true" visit where I got to truly show her around and share some of my favorite spots. We had a great time. 

- went down to Palm Beach for a mini spring break with my family! I got to spend some quality time with one of my aunts & one of my cousins + see my dad who recently moved to the Palm Beach area, and it was just a truly fabulous five days. No other word can describe the pink and green pure luxury that is a trip to The Colony hotel, where we stayed.

- the Lake Pajamas X Atlantic Pacific launch party where I got to see and meet some of the bloggers I've followed forever

- visiting Joe in January and February, and him visiting me in March; every moment we get together is a treat! 

and so many smaller moments in between! I'd say Q1 would be hard to beat, but some of what might just be the highlights of my life are coming in Q2, so I'm not too worried ;) (Paris, Taylor Swift concert, Italy, Nantucket... how did I get so lucky?) Feeling so, so grateful for such a happy life lately, and so many friends and family to love. 

Let's get into the favorites!

The Real April Moodboard (Desktop & iPhone Wallpaper Downloads)

 APRIL FOOLS!

(If you saw the mood board published earlier this morning)

I thought it would be funny/ironic to create a mood board with images that pop up when you literally google "april," "spring outfits," "easter," etc. It was the "hello spring" for me.

ANYWAY, above is the real April mood board, and I am in love with her. She's gorgeous, she's springy, and she is not cheugy! You'll also find the iPhone version below.

April Moodboard!!

Happy April!!! It's a new month, and that means a new mood board! When I think of April, I think of Easter, tulips, rainy days, and bringing back out the fun colors in my wardrobe. Hope you love this one as much as I do!

xoxo

This Week's Top 10

image via harlowe james

1. Happy Friday and last day of March!! Q1 flew by this year. From Vermont to Dallas, Telluride to Palm Beach, both my mom and Joe visiting me in NYC, and shooting my apartment in NYC last week, it was a really fun few months full of time spent with my favorite people in some fabulous places!

2. Last week specifically was really busy for me; I had two influencer events + a birthday party for friends, and for some reason, it just felt like a lot. I took this week off of social activities (with the exception of going to book club, because I adore my book club) and it felt so nice to cook, watch Daisy Jones, lay on my couch, and relax every night. I didn't even read (I do need/want to get back into my reading, though)

3. I loved Daisy Jones & The Six. If you haven't watched it yet, I'd totally recommend it! I feel like it's getting mixed reviews, but I thought it was great (I am pretty easy to please, though). I read the book a couple years ago and loved it (I think I gave it five stars). With any adaption, I always think it's best to not only read the book first (duh) but to read it significantly before watching the show or movie. Like, you can't finish a book and start the show the next night and think you're going to enjoy the show; I feel like your brain needs to forget about the way you imagined the book in your head in order to appreciate the show on the screen. 

Easter / Spring Dresses (All Under $250!)

Growing up, Easter was always one of my favorite holidays. I grew up in a family that went to church every single Sunday together, so we took Easter pretty seriously! It usually meant a new dress, an Easter egg hunt, brunch, and sometimes even seeing my grandparents (which, of course, was always special). I have such happy memories with my family on Easter Sunday; I always think of a sunny, spring day, with tulips, easter baskets, and dressing up for church before coming home and enjoying a delicious spread by my mom. It's a nostalgic holiday for me, and a day that I really look forward to celebrating when I have my own family.

Anyway, as I've gotten older, I feel like it's lost a bit of its sparkle... in college, and even now, it's not necessarily a "big enough" holiday to "go home" for, so I don't feel like I properly celebrate it how I used to, although I really wish I did!

This year, I am heading to Paris for Easter, *hopefully*. Since Easter is next weekend, it's creeping up quickly, and with all of the unrest in Paris right now, I'm just hoping we won't need to cancel our trip last minute. If we do make it, we have plans for mass, followed by brunch. I'm going with my friend Katie whose birthday is actually on Easter Sunday this year, too, so we of course have some fun evening plans as well!

While I'm not spending a traditional Easter with my family this year, I couldn't help but round up some pretty spring dresses for the occasion. I picked a variety of price points (including options under $100), but all of them are under $250. 

2 Years in NYC

shop my pajamas here

Two years ago yesterday, my brother drove me from Wisconsin to NYC in a U-Haul, and two years ago today we rolled up to my sight-unseen, crazy covid deal, 400 square foot one-bedroom apartment in SoHo (with a dishwasher!). The past two years have been some of the happiest years of my life so far. I feel like myself more than ever, and I really, really like my life. 

This Week's Top 10: So! Many! Exciting! Things!

photo via Atlantic Pacific X Lake Pajamas

1. Hello and happy Friday! What a week! I had two influencer events this week, tonight I have a joint birthday party for two of my fabulous friends, and tomorrow (drumroll please!) I am shooting my apartment with a fellow blogger. To say I've been a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement, but all good things!!!

2. The highlight of the week so far was undoubtedly the launch party on Tuesday night for the LAKE Pajamas X Atlantic Pacific collaboration. It was simply surreal to me that I was included in an event alongside so many of the bloggers I grew up following. Not to mention, the pajama collection could not be cuter! 

I have this pair of PJ's and this robe from the collection and I can't stop wearing them. Also, love this set for the pool/beach!

I just... I'm really at a loss to describe how excited I am about this. I actually made three tik toks exclusively from Tuesday night, haha! Blair could not have been nicer, more beautiful, or more humble in person. I really do check her blog every single day (there are very few blogs I check anymore!), so it was overall such a pinch-me opportunity.

3. I was pretty proud of my outfit on Tuesday night; I linked everything here, including these perfectly pink slingbacks (fabulous for spring!), my favorite feather bag, and this striped top (on sale!) that I purposely wore to match the collection!