4.28.2014

Monogram Monday


I am so excited about these Sweet Tea Monograms bright pink tees that have just arrived to the STM shop! On the back is our fun Amanda Bee mason jar logo and the front is blank- just waiting to be monogrammed. The shirts are nice and lightweight for these warmer temps and can be easily accessorized (especially with Lilly!) which is always a plus! ;)

Sizing note: these shirts run a little big... I'm wearing a small in these pictures. I haven't laundered it yet, but I'm assuming it will shrink a little bit after I wash and dry!

4.23.2014

Easter & Heritage Weekend in Hilton Head



It has been such a fun tradition in my family to come to Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage golf tournament that happens every April. I love when it coincides with Easter too, like it did this year! My boyfriend and I were able to leave Charleston Thursday night to come down, which was also a nice treat since we had off on Good Friday!


Friday morning we woke up nice and early to enjoy a full day of golf, despite what the weather forecast was telling us. When we got to the course we posted up under a tent on the 15th green with some delicious Bloody Mary's, just what we needed to make it through the rainy day!


It wasn't too long before the rain really started coming down, so we resorted to watching the golf from the window with binoculars... not ideal, but it worked!


Since the rain limited our options for outside activities, we went to explore the brand new Sea Pines Plantation Club that Robbie's brother has been working on for the last 15 months. The club was so gorgeous inside and I was so excited to see what they had done! I can't wait to come back in the summertime and eat out on their beautiful veranda overlooking the course. The Sea Pines Plantation is owned by Bill Goodwin, a Richmond businessman (and Virginia Tech alum) who also owns the Jefferson Hotel and Kiawah. I've actually never been to Kiawah, but from what I hear, the Plantation Club has been done in a very similar style.


We had a team effort in the kitchen for dinner Friday night, since my brother had just gotten in town from college. We put together three of my all-time favorite salads, including a Caprese salad, quinoa avocado salad, and Nappa cabbage salad with tuna- yum!


One of my favorite things about being home, is being able to "shop" my mom's closet! We wear the same size, which makes it very convenient! The weather turned out to be a whole lot colder than I had hoped (and packed for) so after the first day of wearing one of my monogrammed pullovers, I didn't have many other options. Good thing Mom has great Lilly taste like her daughter! ;)


On Saturday, we headed out to the course again and were pleasantly surprised by the weather. There was a light mist in the air all day (hence the hat) but it really wasn't so bad compared to the downfall we had the day before! We followed a few guys and were able to catch up with one of our favorites, Matt Kuchar, and his group- Chesson Hadley and Matt Every. We have followed Kuchar in the year's past and have met his mom and seen what a great demeanor he has. He had just finished up tied for 5th place last week at the Masters, and had started off the first day of the Heritage in the lead so we knew he'd be a great contender to win a plaid jacket this week!



For dinner, we headed back to Harbour Town and ate at the Quarterdeck, where they are usually some great sunsets (not Saturday though, it was all clouds!) It was a great dinner though, with some great company! :)


Easter morning we woke up nice and early for sunrise Easter service out on the 18th green. It was a great service, with a testimonial from one of the golfers we had watched the day before, Chesson Hadley. Harbour Town wasn't looking it's best that morning but it still was great to be out there with everyone. We had our traditional breakfast at the bakery and went home so we could head up to Beaufort to spend the rest of our Easter with Robbie's family.


We enjoyed some delicious strawberry shortcake and lots of laughs as always! :)


We watched the final round of the tournament on TV, and I was so excited to watch Kuchar hole-out for birdie on the 18th to win the tournament! 


On the road again... until next time. Thank goodness for Easter candy to keep this girl occupied!

4.22.2014

Most Popular Lilly Pulitzer Prints

Today on Town & Country, they have a slideshow of the 9 Most Popular Lilly Pulitzer Prints from the last 13 years. It's no secret I'm a huge Lilly fan and my favorite thing about their prints is how happy they always make you feel when you wear them! I'm pretty convinced that it's hard to be sad or gloomy when you're wearing bright colors with happy designs... don't you all agree?!

9 most popular prints according to Town & Country

1) See Ya Later, Spring 1998
2) Jumbo Lilly, Summer 1998
3) Scuba Monkey, Resort 1999
4) Orange Blossom, Spring 2001
5) Checking In, Resort 2009
6) Taboo, Spring 2003
7) Stuffed Shells, Summer 2010
8) Cherry Begonias, Summer 2011
9) Let's Cha Cha, Summer 2013

A few of my personal favorites (See Ya Later, Stuffed Shells, Let's Cha Cha) made the list but there a handful of others that I also love! Here are some of my personal Lilly favs from the past:

1) You Gotta Regatta, Summer 2012
2) Worth Patch, Spring 2003
3) Coral Cascade, Resort 2012
4) Reef Madness, Resort 2013
5) Just Add Mint, Spring 2013
6) Spike the Punch, Resort 2012
7) Coral Me Crazy, Resort 2009
8) Beverly Hills Bubbly, Summer 2008
9) Gimme Some Leg, Resort 2012

A lot of my favorites are the summer prints, so I'm very excited to see some of the new prints coming out later this week! Here's a preview of some of the cute prints that are coming:

I'd love to hear what some of your favorite Lilly prints are! Are any of your favorites one of the Top 9?

4.21.2014

Spring & Gingham

 

Top: Vineyard Vines (similar) / Pants: Lilly Pulitzer / Belt: J.Crew-old (similar)  
Bracelet: J.Crew-old (similar here, here) / Sandals: Tory Burch / Necklace: Moon and Lola


Earlier last week, the spring weather was just perfect and I was excited to break out some spring-y clothes (i.e. white pants!! I usually wait until Easter but I figured it was close enough!) I have been cleaning out my closet recently, really trying to stick with great basics and just mix them up or add some fun accessories. I found this elephant bracelet in the back of my jewelry box and thought it would be fun to add a little pop to this outfit!

4.18.2014

RBC Heritage in Hilton Head


It's that time of the year ago! From today until Sunday we'll be in Hilton Head following PGA golfers at the Heritage in Harbor Town!

4.17.2014

Naples: Day Three

My quick get-away to Naples was such a fun little trip- I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to go down! I love that it was pretty spontaneous and gave me a chance to channel my creative vibes when I was out exploring and trying to capture some great photos. The last day we were there was a beautiful, sunny day and I finally got to spend a little time at the beach! The photos say it all, so enjoy!



















See earlier Naples posts:

4.16.2014

Hokie Love

"While 32 of our friends and classmates are in heaven trying to explain what a Hokie is, I stand here sure in the fact that I wouldn't want to be anything else."


Seven years ago I woke up on a cold April morning in my little dorm room in Blacksburg, VA to go to Statistics class with my roommate and our friends on the hall. I looked out the window and it was so cold that it was snowing, so weird for April! Little did I know this was going to be the most "normal" thing about that day... I received a text from a friend who was already in class at the time saying she was seeing a ton of police outside her classroom window. I started hearing lots of sirens outside rushing down Washington Street, and looked out the window to see more police like she had mentioned. This was right about the time we were supposed to head out to class. In my gut, I knew something wasn't right and I tried to convince my friends to just skip class that morning just to be on the safe side. They still tried to go on without me and were stopped at the door by the police and told to stay inside. Yep, something's definitely up. I sent a quick email to my parents just to give them a head's up that something weird was going on. Looking back I'm so glad I did that as early as I did, before anything broke out on the news they already knew I was safe and sound in my 4th floor dorm room in Lee Hall.

The events from that tragic morning unfolded before us, as well as the rest of the nation, throughout the day. My roommate and I spent the day on our computers, connecting with our loved ones that were far away, and watching the news on our little TV in shock of what was happening on our wholesome campus out in Southwestern Virginia. I remember receiving an email from a sorority sister whose roommate's dad worked for the police department, "things are a lot more serious than they're telling us."

It was an awful, terrible, tragic day but one that with be in any Hokie's heart forever. What happened to our campus after this was the most amazing thing I've seen though. A coward that tried to bring us down, only make the "Hokie Nation" much much stronger. We all became more than just a community of Virginia Tech students,  staff, and faculty... we became a family. We saw that the 32 Hokies we lost that day were living their lives with a purpose, and we wanted to honor them the best way we could. "Live for 32."



"I ask each of you to take the time to be a Hokie this week. Appreciate life a little more, take in every moment around you, count your blessings, tell the people around you that you love them, slow down, remember what's truly important in life … And live for those 32 that do not have that chance anymore."