I have never been the type of girl who owns more than one pair of sunglasses at a time. Scratch that. I have never been that girl until recently. Lately it seems that every time I scroll through Instagram or read a blog post, I can't help but notice that I'm the only human being not riding the cool sunglasses train.
I purchased my first "fancy" (read: not cheap AF) sunglasses last summer, and I've been hooked ever since. Recently, I've been getting more and more into the idea of rocking different sunnies with different outfits, and I've found myself scrolling through Pinterest boards full of fun, trendy pieces that I am totally lusting after. To be honest, I'm a little obsessed.
Maybe it's the sunshine and maybe I'm just holding out hope that warmer temperatures are coming back around. I'm not really sure what it is, but whatever it is, I am all about hunting down the perfect Spring sunnies.
Hi, I'm Alli and I'm slowly turning into a sunglasses-a-holic.
Hello, everyone! If you've been following along for a little while, you'll remember my 101 in 1001 list that I started last January (literally seems like forever ago). If you're new, I'll catch you up to speed...
I have always been a huge lover of Mackenzie Horan from Design Darling. She has incredible style, she's funny, and she's inspiring (not to mention she runs an e-boutique filled with the cutest desk and bar accessories). my favorite thing to keep up with on Mackenzie's blog is her 101 in 1001 list series. Seriously it's such a cool concept - make a list of 101 things you want to accomplish in 1001 days and go for it!
Mackenzie posted an update to her list this week, and it reminded me that I should definitely revisit mine.
I originally started my list back in January of 2014, and to be quite honest with you, I was a completely different person. Seriously, so much has happened or changed in the 1.5 months since I wrote my first list ... so I might've tweaked a few things here and there. I can definitely cross off a good chunk, but I've still got a ways to go.
start date: January 1, 2014 end date: September 28, 2017 1. go one month without shopping 2. go one month without fast food 3. volunteer for a cause I am passionate about 4. read 5 autobiographies or biographies (memoirs count too) - update: 2/3 Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham, Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling 5. read 5 new classic novels
6. read for 30 minutes every night for a week 7. get a chemical peel 8. start a new blog series 9. publish 3 how to posts 10. get a promotion
11. take my grandpa out to dinner 12. run a race (5k, 10k, half-marathon) 13. take a roadtrip with my girlfriends 14. leave a 100% tip for great service 15. send snail mail birthday cards to 10 friends 16. attend 5 musicals or plays at local theatres update: 3/5 A Chorus Line in September 2015 at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, A Christmas Carol in December 2015 at Playhouse in the Park, Book of Mormon in March 2016 at the Aronoff 17. travel somewhere new and exciting update: Vegas, baby! 18. try 10 new cincinnati restaurants 19. go to a yoga class once a week for a month 20. go two months without Starbucks
21. have professional pictures taken 22. host a giveaway on S+W 23. send thank you cards once a month 24. save $20/month to put towards a Society Social barcart 25. pay for a stranger's coffee
26. go camping 27. go apple or berry picking 28. play tennis 29. go social media-less for a weekend 30. get my wisdom teeth removed
31. guest blog 32. host a guest blogger 33. Join a book club 34. send Christmas cards 35. inspire someone else to make a 101 in 1001
36. learn to drive a stick shift 37. buy a headboard 38. buy new luggage 39. run 3x a week for one month 40. get a massage
41. save $1,000 for a rainy day 42. have a pen pal 43. buy a monogram necklace 44. hit 500, 1,000, 1,500 followers on Instagram 45. host my parents for a dinner party
46. have a fully stocked bar - (tequila, vodka, rum, gin, bourbon, white wine, red wine) and all of the fixins 47. buy my dream Society Social couch 48. buy my blog domain 49. take a trip to a vineyard 50. take a bus trip to the Kentucky Derby with all of my best friends -- relive my college days
51. donate to my high school alma mater 52. try a cycling class 53. buy a nice camera for my blog 54. create my own logo - or hire someone to create one 55. Have my own business cards
56. perfect a cocktail recipe and make it my signiture drink 57. play 18 holes of golf 58. meet with other local bloggers for brunch 59. consistently update my resume 60. plan and host a fabulous 25th birthday party
61. buy and organize an address book and fill it with the necessary information 62. get up early and go to a coffee shop for work purposes once/week for 1 month 63. cook/bake 10 things from pinterest 64. go to a wine tasting class 65. attend a wine and painting class for a girls night out
66. complete a month of the blogilates workout calendar 67. buy a desk for my apartment 68. (finally) paint my bedroom furniture 69. collect 10 fashion and style related coffee table books update: 2/10 celebrate by Lauren Conrad, Grace and Style by Grace Helbig 70. blog a "10 favorite things to do in Cincinnati" list
71. use my library card 10 times 72. make my bed every morning for 1 month 73. create a collab series with my bff Elizabeth 74. attend the local farmer's market in my neighborhood at least 5 times each summer 75. buy a new dresser
76. perfect 5 "go to" recipes update: chicken Parmesan 77. introduce myself to my neighbors 78. read the newspaper every day for 1 month 79. find doctors that I like and make appointments for the future 80. go to a Red's game
81. watch 15 TED talks 82. Monetize my blog 83. attend a final friday in OTR 84. subscribe to a monthly box - ipsy, birchbox, naturebox etc.. (January 2015 - Birchbox) 85. drink 8 glasses of water every day for 30 days
86. buy cute desk accessories 87. buy new glasses 88. host a "stock the bar" party for one of my friends -- new home, engagement, etc party 89. buy a pair of Hunter rainboots 90. go two weeks without dessert or sweets
91. keep fresh flowers in the apartment every week for 1 month 92. see a movie in Washington Park in the summer 93. go out to sing karaoke with friends 94. take a weekend trip to Chicago 95. take a beach trip
96. bring donuts or bagels into work to say thank you 97. plan blog posts out for each upcoming month by the 15th of the current month 98. spend a weekend at a bed and breakfast 99. go cabrewing 100. make a new spotify playlist each month 101. save $5 for every goal accomplished (#84)
Thanks for catching up - I'll check in on my goals again (now that I'm refocused) at the end of each month to let y'all know how I'm doing!
What goals do you guys have on your list? If you have a 101 in 1001 of your own, I'd love to check it out!
Happy Tuesday, y'all! I hope your week is off to a great start. It's panning out to be a busy but exciting one over here.
It's been a goal of mine for a while to start a tiny series on my blog, and I thought this week would be the perfect week to do just that! So... Every Tuesday, you can stop by S&W to find a random list of ten things. These ten things could be anything from things I'm loving to little brief life updates and everything in between. I hope you enjoy!
one // baseball season is finally here
THANK GOODNESS baseball season is back! I don't know about you, but to me Opening Day signifies the start of warm weather, acceptable day drinking, hot dogs, and an excuse to partake in the "athleisure" trend. Any excuse to rock my converse while wearing red lipstick is a good excuse. Even though my team isn't supposed to be very good this year, you can still expect to see me in the stands munchin' on some cotton candy and soaking up some sun.
my favorite pieces for game days:
two // book club
I'm officially an adult, friends. That's right, I joined a book club. I had attended women's networking event a few months back with a friend and we left with a plan to start a book club with a brand new group of girl friends. We had our first 'meeting' two weeks ago and I had just the best time. Seriously all you twenty-somethings.... If you're feeling a little bored post grad, start a book club! Set out some cheese, open a few bottles of wine, invite friends (and friends of friends to meet new people), and pick a book - believe me, you will have a great time! Bonus: you'll totally make new friends and who doesn't love new friends?
what we're reading:
three // best way to catch up on the news
If you're anything like me, sleep is precious. (ps if you're a natural early bird, please share your secrets) I have been loving the skimm. It's a quick little daily dose of news delivered right to your email inbox each and every morning. It's great because I feel like I can sleep an extra 15 minutes every morning without missing out on the news. It's a great feeling to be informed, and I highly recommend checking it out.
four // amazing race
Okay, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I am totally obsessed with the Amazing Race. Sadly, all of my favorite teams have slowly been getting eliminated, but I'm still holding out hope that #TeamTylerandKorey can go all the way. If you've been watching, I'd love to know who your fave team is/was this season! Personally, I loved Erin & Josilyn (probably because of my love of Cheat Day on Clevver TV) and Scott & Blair Fowler the daddy daughter team that had me sobbing during their elimination.
five // Serial
I don't know how I'm just getting around to listening to Serial, but here I am. I binge-watched Making a Murderer in like a week, and I was left just craving more. I googled the case and read a few articles here and there, but I'm just fascinated with these types of things. I was at happy hour with a few girls from book club when the conversation went from Making a Murderer to Serial, a podcast that opens up the facts, opinions, and case in general of Adnan Syed, a man convicted to a life sentence for a crime he may or may not have committed. I am fascinated. (I'm listening to the final update as I type this...but looking ahead there are three updates to look forward to). If you're into this kind of stuff (murder mystery, court cases, unsolved mysteries, etc), I highly recommend checking it out here.
six // tassles & pom pom trend
I am absolutely dying over the tassles and pom pom trend that I'm seeing everywhere! It's so happy and perfect for warm weather and be achy getaways.
A few pieces I'm loving:
seven // Ellie Goulding
The obsession is real and I can't wait to see this lady live in May.
eight // sweet tooth
I am a dessert fiend. I would pass up chips and snack foods 100% of the time for donuts, cake, cookies, or candy. Forreal, it's been out of control lately. My roommate and I have made a couple late night donut runs (#noregrets) and I have constantly been keeping a pint of ice cream stocked in my freezer for those nights I just need a spoonful of something sweet. If anyone has any recipes I need to try for anything sweet, let me know!
nine // new Jacks!
I finally replaced my old Jacks this week and picked up a couple new pairs while I was at it. I think that Jack Rogers are just the quintessential spring and summer sandal. I tend to stick to the platinum color because they match everything, but I have been lusting over pinks and navys and whites lately. I replaced my basic platinum Hampton Javks and then picked up the platinum Georgica sandal and the Lucciaa wedge in white - can't wait to break these babies in!
Jacks I'm loving:
ten // the return of the unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
I know what my Friday night plans are going to consist of - blankets, white wine, snacks, and Netflix! I seriously cannot wait to savor every goofy episode season 2 is promising to deliver. Who else is watching?
Sidenote: did anyone else hear about the Pinot Noir being made by the man who plays Titus?!?! Has anyone tried it? Read about it here!
OH MY GOODNESS... Have you heard of rocksbox?!? I can't even begin to tell you just how freaking obsessed I am with this monthly box of goodies. Monthly subscription boxes are very in vogue these days and with so many options (I seriously think there's a box for everything) it can be a little intimidating to try one on a whim....which is why I'm here to tell you all about my experience with rocksbox (and there's a little surprise for you)!
The premise of rocksbox is pretty much the same as every other box ... but with a twist !! For $19.99/month you get unlimited premium jewelry rentals delivered right to your door. After becoming a shine insider, you get to fill out a style profile and then add all of the beautiful pieces you love to your #wishlist. Seriously, you get to borrow/try out/wear as much as you want 3 beautiful pieces picked by a stylist from brands like Kendra Scott, Loren Hope, Sophie Harper and more !! I mean, what's not to love?! I have a serious Kendra Scott addiction and rocksbox helps to fuel it in a way that my wallet appreciates and approves of. I love being able to refresh my jewelry wardrobe without having to buy pieces full price or feel guilty for splurging on a piece and then rarely wearing it.
One of the best things about rocksbox is how incredibly easy. When you're ready to get a new box in your mail, all you have to do is put the pieces you don't want to keep back in your rocksbox, reuse the shipping envelope, and stick on the return label that's provided for you. In a little over a week you'll have a brand new box of goodies waiting at your doorstep. Find something you just can't live without? Rocksbox will charge your card on file for any pieces you chose to keep or you can go online and shop from your box...literally the easiest try on/shopping experience ever. Best part? You get a $10 credit each month to put towards a piece or two just for being a shine insider and you get to shop the pieces at a member only discount...which is incredible.
So what did I get in my first box? Well, let me just tell you it was so amazing that I totally had to keep a piece to add to my permanent collection. For my first box, this set was spot on !!. I was so giddy when I opened my box to find these 3 beauties. I had added two of the pieces to my #wishlist and my stylist added the third on to really complete the look.
The Elisa necklace by Kendra Scott (in iridescent druzy)
This necklace is my absolutely favorite piece from the box...so much so that I just had to have it for myself. Best part? It was FREE. How? Well, first I was offered the members only discount which brought the necklace down I price and on top of that I had my shine insider monthly spend to apply. Top that off with referring a few friends to check out rocksbox and then being rewarded for sharing something I love (hello, no-brainer), and you've got yourself a FREE Kendra Scott necklace.
Now here's the best part... YOU get to try rocksbox totally FREE. That's right!! Just for being a Sparkles & Wine reader, you can try rocksbox and try out some pretty incredible jewelry totally and completely free! All you have to do is head over to rocksbox and enter the code allirbff1 at checkout and BOOM a happy mail day will be coming your way !!
If you decide to try rocksbox out, let me know what you get! I'd love to see the pieces you snag!
Special shoutout to my girl, Merisa over at Monogrammed Magnolias for getting me hooked on rocksbox.
Spring has always been one of my favorite seasons. I don't know if it's the longer days (now that I'm finally caught up from daylight savings time) and warmer weather, packing up my coats and heavy sweaters and pulling out the bright colors and sandals, or a combination of the two, but I do know that there is something about the change of season from winter to spring that has me downright giddy. I've already gotten a head start on my spring cleaning and I've replaced my riding boots with my Jack Rogers and opted for bright colored bedding accessories to replace the fur throw and pillows.
In honor of the most colorful season (or so it seems after the cold, dark, depressing winter), here are some of my favorite things about Spring!
1. Fresh Flowers
There are few things that I love more in this world than buying myself flowers. It doesn't matter if I'm picking the perfect bouquet from a farmers' market stand or grabbing a few blooms from the grocery store. Sure, flowers die relatively quickly, but it's such a small luxury that makes me feel so happy!! Tulips, peonies, and daisies are my absolute favorites (white, yellow, hot pink, or blush always) and seeing them displayed in a vase on my nightstand or coffee table is an instant mood booster. Treat yourself to fresh flowers every once in awhile and I promise you that you will get so much joy from those blooms!
2. Hunter Rainboots
I think my Hunters just might be my favorite shoes in my closet. I have always been a huge fan of the brand and the chic, classic aesthetic they're associated with, but recently I have just been obsessed. These boots are an investment, but seriously can transform your wardrobe in a major way. I have a red pair in my collection currently but am dreaming of adding a yellow pair for the spring. Yellow wellies, in my opinion, are just the perfect spring shoe. You know what thy say, "April showers bring May flowers" ... If I'm going to be jumping through puddles this spring, I want to look as chic as possible!!
(I haven't been able to get my hands on a yellow pair, but how fun are these hot pink Hunters?!)
3. Picnics in the Park
Late Spring is my favorite time to go on picnics. The weather is usually gorgeous, the sunsets are beautiful, and the flowers are blooming in the parks.... Dreamy. Whether I'm picnicking with a date or a few of my girlfriends, I'm definitely in my happy place. Good food, good company, good wine... What more could a girl ask for?
4. The Return of Lilly Pulitzer to My Closet
One of the most exciting things about Spring is breaking out my Lilly. I love the bold, bright patterns after the dark, dreary winter. I envy the girls who rock Lilly in the winter, but it's just not me. Plus, it makes it that much more exciting when I pull my Lilly from storage.
bonus: the current Resort 365 collection is gorgeous so if you're looking to add some pieces to your collection, you have some incredible options! You can find a few of my favorites below.
5. The Kentucky Derby
Whether you're going to Churchill Downs or a derby party, there is nothing more fun than breaking out your big hats and seersucker and drinking a mint julep (or two!!) I have been absolutely drooling over the vineyard vines Derby collection & man is it selling out quickly. Be sure to snag the tee, hat, or dress you want before it's gone for good! I think I might have to add this adorable mint julep hat to my collection.....perfect to relive the fun of derby day all summer (after hanging up my big sun hat of course.)
6. Going to the Driving Range
There are few things I enjoy more than good company, a bucket of balls, and a bucket of beers on a spring afternoon. The driving range is the perfect place to get out some anger and relieve some stress while being outside with friends. I'm a terrible golfer, but man it's fun.
7. Baseball Season Starts
I might be the least athletic person I know, but take me out to the ball game and I could fool even the wisest man. Opening Day is basically a city-wide holiday where I'm from, which makes it really easy to get into the baseball spirit. Just thinking about it has me craving a hot dog, a cold draft beer, and the sunshine on my shoulders. Plus, I'm a huge fan of the baseball emoji, so that's great, too!
So tell me.... What are your favorite things about Springtime? I'd love to know!!
