Top 5 Tuesday: November Favorites!

Happy Tuesday Readers! 


I'm linking up with Rachel @ Just Peachy for her Top 5 Tuesday link up and this week's theme is November favorites! 


1. Changing Seasons 

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love when the leaves change colors and it is just a little bit cooler so sweaters and boots are appropriate. In my opinion there's nothing better then a big a comfy sweater, leggings and boots (actually my favorite outfit of choice aka is my OOTD today) 

2. Fall Activities (that are really only appropriate in the fall) 

Every single fall, I make it a point to go apple picking- it's one of my favorite things to do in October or November! Also pumpkin carving is another November favorite! 

3. Fall Nail Colors! 

I love switching over from my pinks and corals of the summer to deep reds and purples! 

(haha and I mean who doesn't love a little bubbly also) 

4. Thanksgiving! 

(well, obviously) 

Kind-of wrong to talk about November and not mention Thanksgiving at all. I love the food, family time, maybe even a little football, the days of from classes, and time to just relax! 

5. The official start of Christmas Season! 

I couldn't wait to get back to my apartment in Boston on Sunday to finallyy put up Christmas decorations! Not that I'm adamantly against when stores decorate for Christmas right after Halloween or anything (hey the more christmas cheer, the better in my opinion) but I always wait till right after Thanksgiving to deck out my apartment, crank up the Christmas music, and bust out Christmas cookies! 

(I guess I have a Charlie Brown thing today! 

I thought those images were cute! 

What are your top 5 favorite things about November?! 

XOXO

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving lovely readers! 

This thanksgiving I truly have so much to be thankful for! 

I'm thankful for my wonderful, loving family- especially my parent's who have been there for me through everything. I couldn't be prouder to be their daughter! 

We're spending this Thanksgiving at my Aunt's house in Long Island. Unfortunately some of my immediate family is stuck in Florida this holiday season because my uncle is not doing too well. I'm thankful that he is a bit stronger today and can enjoy some turkey! My thoughts and prayers are always with him. 

I'm thankful for my beautiful and amazing sisters. I can't imagine being at school without each and every one of them. We are such an amazing group of young women and I am so proud to have been their president for this past year :) 

I'm thankful for my best friends- girls who have been my rock since freshmen year. I can't imagine my life without them! 

(Las Vegas for my friends 21st birthday) 

I'm thankful for Blogging! I started this blog for school project and couldn't have imagined that I would really fall in love with it so much! I've met so many great and wonderful people through Pink Zin and I know that this is something that I will continue with! 

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a wonderful day wherever you're celebrating! 

XOXO

E

What I'm Loving Wednesdays + New Lilly Purchases + an Award!

Happy Wednesday Readers! Just one more day until Thanksgiving! I can't wait to spend the day with my family, relaxing and eating some of the BEST foods of the year! 

Today I'm linking up with Jamie from This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesdays! And there's SO much I'm loving about today! 

I'm loving...that my mom was my alarm clock this morning! She used to wake me up every morning from high school ( I was a bit of a princess...) and always had fresh brewed coffee ready on the stove! Such a nice change from dragging my butt out of bed in my apartment to make my own coffee while I'm half asleep...

I'm loving...the new book I'm reading on my kindle (slash I'm always loving my kindle in general)! I'm currently reading One Day by David Nicholls...it had kind-of a slow start but it's starting to pick up and I'm really enjoying it! I have about an hour commute to Lilly so it gives me some time to catch up on my reading! (And my magazines! I had 3 issues of SELF! waiting for me at home!!) 

Has anyone seen the movie? I'm waiting until I finish the book but I would love to hear your comments! 

This is my Lilly case! Technically it's for a nook but the kindle fits in just fine! 

I'm (not) loving...my blackberry (insert angry face here!)...I've basically had the WORSE phone luck over the last 2 months and BOTH of the blackberry's I've been using aren't working :( I literally want to rip my hair out- it is SO frustrating! And the T-mobile customer service it SO unhelpful! I've finally given up on Blackberry and I'm thinking about getting a Wildfire. Does anyone have any suggestions/tips? I'm waiting till I graduate/am employed to get an iphone because I want to be able to pay my phone bill on my own! (Ending rant here...) 

I'm loving...how AMAZING my kitchen smells right now! My mom is preparing for tomorrow (stuffed mushrooms, homemade cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies...photos and recipes to come tomorrow) and she is cooking my favorite pasta dish for tonight- orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe and bits of sausage! I'll upload a photo once it's all done! It's very filling but since there's no heavy sauce, it's not so so bad! 

OKAY now on to bigger and better things- since I was back to work at Lilly today I got to indulge myself in some purchases! Here are a few: 

I bought this for my sorority formal! I'm usually not a fan of a one shoulder but this one looked very elegant! Now I just need to find a pair of fun earrings to go with it! Any suggestions?

It's difficult to pass up anything with a bow...

I thought this was a good balance between being a bright Lilly print but still appropriate for the winter months since it has a black background! 

How useful is this?! It unzips to fit cards, cash and change and even has a holder for lip gloss on the inside and a pouch for cell on the front!

Adorable holiday cards! 

Perfect for iced coffee in the mornings! 

This picture doesn't do this sweater justice! It's so so cute and has a little gold zipper up the back which is the perfect touch! It'll be great with black dress pants for my internship next semester! 

And now for my blog award! I so love Loving Life and Lilly for giving me this lovely award. 

Liebster means "favorite" or "dearest" in German. This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers! In accepting this award, I agree to;

1. Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to their blog.

2. Copy and paste the award to my blog.

3. Reveal the 5 blogs I have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blogs.

4. Pay it forward to 5 blogs.

Thanks so much for passing on this great award :) I SO much appreciate it! We fellow Lilly lovers have to stick together :) 

Here are some of my daily reads that I would love to pass this little award on to: 

Ally from La Mia Bella Vita

Caitlin from Peaches and Pearls

Emily from Life of Emily

Turtles and Pearls

A Sweet Simple Southern Life

Hope everyone had a marvelous Wednesday! 

XOXO

E

Top 5 Tuesday: Thanksgiving!

Happy Tuesday Readers! Today I'm linking up with Rachel from Just Peachy! I'm loving these link ups and a big thanks to their hostesses! 


This week is your top 5 favorite things about Thanksgiving! Is it possible to choose my top 5 things about Thanksgiving this year? Well let's see...


1. (Obviously) the FOOD! I think Thanksgiving's menu is by far my favorite holiday menu! Christmas is a close second though...since my family is Italian we traditionally only eat fish on Christmas Eve- can you say beer battered fried shrimp YUM...


Here are some photos I found on Pinterest this week that show some of my favorite Thanksgiving foods! 

Mini Pumpkin Pies! Such a cute idea! 

Sweet Potato Casserole! One of my favorites! 

I think these are so cute! I might try to be ambitious and make them as my contribution to Thanksgiving! I usually try to contribute a sweet, last year I made pumpkin oatmeal cookies :)

2. Thanksgiving Day Parade! 

My mom always puts the parade on in the background when she's making her dishes for our Thanksgiving feast (stuffed mushrooms and pumpkin pies!). I love to watch the performances on all the crazy big floats! 

And the very best part of the parade is when Santa and the Christmas float comes out! It means that it is officially the BEST time of the year! 

3. Blogging, Pinteresting, and SLEEPING

I plan on spending quite sometime preparing blog posts for next week so I can have them in advance and will most definitely spend/waste a few hours on Pinterest (sorry, but I'm not sorry) 

4. Being back at Lilly Pulitzer!

Can't wait to be back and pick up a formal dress, a gift for my blogger secret santa, and start some Christmas shopping! 

5. Mia familia!

I haven't seen my dad since August so I'm super excited to see him again, (and of course my mom aka my bff also!) I love being home and spending quality time with them! Shopping, movies, dinners, whatever! 

What are your favorite things about Thanksgiving!? 

XOXO 

E 

It's OK Thursdays!

Happy Thursday Readers :) 

Today I'm linking up with Neely @ A Complete Waste of Makeup for It's Okay Thursday! There's a lot of things I'm okay with this week (especially today..)

Hey it's ok...

to have woken up this morning at 9:01am when I had to be at work at 9am..(um hello freaky internal alarm clock) 

to run to work in yoga pants, a t-shirt and my glasses (ew) but to skip my first class just to go back to my apartment to put normal clothes and makeup on (good thing I only live two blocks from where I work!) 

to be going home in less than a week! I cannot wait to sleep in my old bed and see my family! And especially to get back to work at Lilly Pulizer! 

to be accepted into both of the internships that I applied to for next semester, when I didn't think I would get either! (gives me a ray of hope for real-life job applications!)

to be overly obsessed with the french onion soup from Panera...I order it at least once a week!

to carry around my Lilly planner, Lilly mini-notebook, and Lilly post-it book everywhere I go...hey! when I girl likes to make lists- she likes to make lists! 

to sport my Vineyard Vines pullover today since it is such a yucky fall day :( 

to be excited that it's Thursday and that means it's the official start to the weekend! If you read mypost below, you know that I have a very exciting weekend coming up! 

to be continuously working on my Christmas list and send my mom 10 emails a day with new ideas only for her to respond with "aren't you too old for Christmas lists Elena?" NOO...a girl can never be too old for christmas lists right?!

to be planning my first GIVEAWAY for next week! I would like to reach 30 followers by that time :) Seasoned bloggers, any advice for going about planning this?

What do YOU say is okay today?

XOXO

E

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day Readers! 

I'm linking up with Jamie from this kind of love for the first time and I'm so excited! I'm so happy to join in on all the fun!  I think Wednesday's are a tough day to love because you're so close to the weekend but not close enough that you can give up on your responsibilities just yet! 

I'm loving that... I don't have classes on Wednesdays! I only go to my part time on-campus job for a few hours and then can spend most of the day catching up on my to-do list! I always have sorority meetings later at night but I still have most of the day to be productive (homework, projects, gym, maybe squeeze some tanning in there...don't judge!) 

I'm loving that...Thanksgiving break is in less then a week! I cannot wait to spend 5 days home with my family! AND...I'll be working at Lilly Pulitzer! I guess that means I won't have THAT much free time but it also means I get to pick up my formal dress! I'm thinking this:

or maybe this:

What do you think? Any other dress suggestions?!

I'm loving... this jam-packed weekend coming up! Tomorrow night I'm being "jailed" at Alpha Phi's annual Jail N'Bail! All sorority and fraternity presidents get put in jail and then their members have to come "bail" them out! All proceeds go towards the American Heart Association! The Alpha Phi ladies have a little get together planned for all of us before the event and then drive us over to the Hard Rock Cafe! I love hanging out with my fellow greeks! On Friday night, I have my sorority's date party at a local bar (and who doesn't love a date party?!) And then on sunday my sorority is hosting our own Thanksgiving dinner! We're getting most of everyone's favorites catered and then girls are going to bring their own desserts and side dishes! I was thinking of making this sweet potato dish. 

Does anyone have any other ideas? I would love to hear them!

I'm loving... this monogrammed ring from Marley Lilly! I'm definitely adding it to my Christmas list (another blog post to come about that!). I've been looking for a simple everyday ring that I can wear that wouldn't get in the way and I think this would be perfect! Typically during the week I stick to my simple staples: a watch, my David Yurman bracelet, pearl bracelet and pearl earrings and I think this would be a great addition! 

Has anyone purchased a ring from Marley Lilly? Are they good quality? 

What are YOU loving about Wednesday? I would love to know! 


XOXO
E