A Year in Review: 2018

2018 has been a truly amazing year. My sister got married, Ben and I were able to travel near and far from home, and I turned 30! Here are some cute pictures I actually remembered to take this year:

Our Disney World/Universal Studios trip for our 1st Wedding Anniversary/10 years together

Summer Adventures:

Visiting the Isabelle Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston

ISG Museum in Boston, MA

Phantom Gourmet Beer & Wine Festivel

PG B&W Festival with my girls

Red Sox game with Ben

Red Sox game

My sister's Bachelorette party in NH

Our adventure to Connecticut:

OEC Brewery

OEC Brewery

Seriously amazing Breakfast!

Two Roads Brewery

"Here's to taking the road lass traveled" Two Roads Brewery

Stony Creek Brewery

The view from Stony Creek Brewery

Stony Creek Brewery

Our trip to Vermont:

Lunch one day at Misery Loves Co.

Visiting the Flavor Cemetery at Ben & Jerry's 

Visiting Ben & Jerry's

Fall adventures:

Visiting the Cemetery in Hocus Pocus!

Visiting the Cemetery in Hocus Pocus!

Spooky Salem

Spooky Salem

My Favorite Murder Live show!

The only picture from Friendsgiving this year

My sister's Wedding Day:

 



And there were so many other moments that weren't captured in a picture. So grateful for such fun amazing adventures and milestones. I cannot wait to see what 2019 has in store!

Pinspiration: Fall Floral Arrangement

Today's Pinspiration is something I didn't think I'd try to make until I had a house. I always imagined cute little flower boxes at all the windows of my future home. But until recently, I never thought about making a small faux flower arrangement for my coffee table or for various holidays.But when I saw this, I was inspired.

Here

Here's what you'll need:
3-5 types of faux flowers (depending on the size of your arrangement)
1-2 types of "fillers"
A vase or container to display the arrangement in
1 square or rectangle of floral foam (here or here)
hot glue
wire cutters

As you can tell from the Pinspiration, they used real flowers. But I wanted mine to last longer than a few weeks, so I went with faux flowers. In my picture, you can see I bought a TON of faux flowers. In reality, due to the size of the floral foam I ended up buying, I would have been fine with one stem of each color/style.

I started with the green flower cluster, right in the center of the square. Since it was larger, I knew I wasn't going to use more than one of these. Then I put four red flowers in the corners of the square, followed by filling in the tops and sides with the four yellow/white flowers. Lastly I took two stems of the faux leaves and put them in the opposite corners.

To secure them, after placing them in the spots I knew I wanted them, I took them back out and then hot glued them in. I got this container from an Edible Arrangement and thought it would be the perfect container. It was longer than the square floral foam I used, so I filled the sides with some pine cones to add to the fall feel. Great for center pieces or regular fall decor. :)

Knot and Buttons

I have seen so many people with this top, I knew I needed it too. I'm not normally one to follow trends too closely, until I know it'll be worth spending some money on. Yes, I of course have fallen for some, but they tend to last for more than one season (bell sleeves anyone). I like investing in my clothes, knowing I be able to wear them for a few year.

I'm still not sure how long this trend will last, but I'm totally obsessed with this top. It's a little baggy, so it feels like a hug. It's lightweight, but long sleeves, so it's a perfect transitional top. And the color! It's sooo pretty!

Because it is a pretty causal top, I like to wear it with jeans. I really like it with these dark jeans, but I've also worn them with my lighter destroyed denim. Either way, I'm probably wearing these booties too (since they are my favorites). I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this top this fall!

Black and White Stripe Sweater

I really don't wear too many crop tops. This shouldn't be too surprising, since I am 30 after all. When I do wear them, though, it tends to be with higher waisted bottoms--which I also don't wear too much of (unless it's a skirt). Sometimes I'll find one that's really cute and I'll take a chance on it.

Well Target recently has had a TON of crop tops. So many of them are adorable, but I really can't wear them to work. But this crop top, wasn't too short, and I think because of the colors, I found a way to make it appropriate.

Because of the large black and white stripes, I decided to wear a black tank underneath, making my tank look like the next stripe. I also paired it with black jeans and booties to stick with the colors. I also added these round white earrings, to keep it from being too casual. It's a perfect lightweight sweater for these cooler days.

I've worn it a few times and I've added statement necklaces with some color or even color dangle earrings to add a little pop. But sometimes I like to keep it simple, like today.

Burgundy Button Up Tank

I apparently did a lot more fall shopping than I realized earlier this summer. I realized that as the weather was getting cooler, I don't have a lot of options for the in between days. I mostly have spring/summer styles and then heavy winter sweaters. I'm not sure if I layered more last year, but this year it seems like I need more light weight tops to get by. So that's been my focus when going shopping.

I gravitated to this top because of the color. I love jewel tone colors, and this definitely falls into that category! Because it's a tank, I started wearing it in August, but a few people told me I looked too much like Fall. And let's be honest, no one wants to rush the end of summer more than me. So I waited.

And NOW it's time! Although, now it's also cooler out, so I have to wear a sweater with it too. Regardless, it's perfect for those days that start out really chilly and end up being closer to 80. Because it has the buttons down the front and the tie, I really don't want to add too much accessories. I did add this thin chain necklace with a moon and a star. But it's the thickest chain I would wear with this. But I've worn it a few times and every time I tend to lean toward different stud earrings.

I also wore this top with my darkest jeans and black peep toe booties. The color in the tank is pretty deep, so I thought it looked funny with lighter jeans. I have, however, also worn this outfit with my caramel colored booties. I think the caramel and burgundy goes really well together. And finally I added this sand colored sweater. As I mentioned, it's getting cooler, so I'll freeze wearing just a tank.

Black and White Stripes with Flowers

My hunt for new dresses continue, at the same time as my obsession with wrap dresses. I think this one might be my favorite one that I've found. The black and white stripes have toned it down a little from my bright colored wrap dresses. But the added flower prints make it a little girly.

Since there's a lot of cute details to this dress, I don't want to add too much jewelry or accessories. I tend to wear simple studs, but today I didn't even wear anything. I did however, add these heeled sandals, because they've been my favorite all summer.

Pinspiration: Football Field Coasters

Football season is finally back, and Ben and I could not be more excited. We love the Patriots in our house, but will watch all football equally. A few years ago, after one of our Superbowl wins (ok yes, totally bragging a little here), I found this adorable football field coasters. It was right after the Superbowl, so it was a little late to make them. And when football season came back that fall, I had  forgotten about it.

Well after going back for ideas for the Fall, I found this an thought it would be the perfect time to make it!

Inspo found here

Here's what you'll need:
Squares of terf (here)
White paint

I ended up going to Lowes to see what size artificial terf pieces were sold in. I was prepared to have to buy more than I wanted or needed, because I assumed they would be larger pack size. When I went in, there was a section in the flooring of small samples, in case you wanted to take a few home to compare before committing and buying a lot of. I was very excited about this, because they were the exact size I needed! I can't promise all Lowes have this particular flooring available in samples, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I originally planned on using paper for the numbers, but changed my mind

A few pieces weren't completely straight, so I used scissors to cut off the extra. Then I painted the lines from the field. While the paint was drying, I realized it would be just as dark to paint the numbers. So that's what I did. This way it was all one level, since ya know...it's a coaster, to hold drinks. I think this is a great way to kick off Football season!