I am currently obsessed with delicate jewelry. It can add the perfect touch to a bold print or complete a simple, sophisticated look. So I was excited to find the great pieces that the lovely ladies at A-list Greek have. Not only do they have beautiful jewelry to show off your sorority pride (woo hoo Alpha Gamma Delta) but you can personalize pieces to fit you best!
Whether you’re buying a gift for your new little or picking a sorority piece for yourself to wear around campus, be sure to check out all the great things A-list Greek has to offer!
I picked this delicate rose-gold bar necklace with Brandon and I’s initials and find myself wearing it everyday.
Want a bar necklace or bracelet for yourself, A-list Greek is offering one Simply Styled Emily readers one of their own! Click below for a great giveaway from Simply Styled Emily and A-list Greek giveaway today! (contest ends June 10, be sure to enter today) a Rafflecopter giveaway
It was a dreary and wet weathered weekend here but still lent itself to a nice relaxing weekend.
My event was cancelled on Saturday due to the no stop rain (will we ever dry out?!) so after checking the park conditions and make my ten billion cancellation phone calls I treated myself to a Target trip (and oh was it a good one!). A cancelled event also meant I was now free on Saturday evening to attend my sweet friend, Jana’s, 30th birthday dinner.
We had dinner at the new Home Republic Brew Pub at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach then went to a little dive bar down the road to hear a friend’s band play. A great night with some great friends I had not seen in a while!
Sunday I stopped by my sister’s house to say hi. We spent the afternoon catching up and playing an intense game of Uno with my nephews. Then it was back home for some Sunday cleaning and prepping for the week ahead. We are looking forward to a 3 day weekend coming up and the official kick off of the summer season!
I mean, doesn’t everyone need a good trooper mask for Sunday Funday?!
Just had to mention this adorable necklace I have been loving lately (did you the instagram post). Can’t wait to share a fun give away with the lovely ladies at A-List Greek this Friday! Stop by their shop and see all their great pieces!
I thought I would start a weekly post to keep up to date on my Thirty by Thirty list!
Now this week has been about prepping to start tackling these fun new things so nothing has been crossed off just yet!
But tomorrow, I head to the hair dresser for # 10 – Dye My Hair! Such a silly one, I know, but I have wanted to dye my hair for a long time but had this deep rooted fear that I would end up with ‘hooker orange’ hair! After a tragic experience getting a “body wave”(which ended up as full blown perm) I have been a bit hesitant on doing anything new!
So I have been scouring google to find looks I like. Now it won’t be anything crazy just some highlights to lighten up my hair (and cover the grays!). Here is the current favorite!
I have also started my attempt at Learning a New Language – # 2! I stopped by the local library and picked up a CD French lesson set. I have a 45 minute commute to work and thought the best way to be productive is to use my time wisely. I am one lesson in and well… je ne parle pas Francais (i don’t speak French)! But I am trying. I will count this one completed when i finish the 8 lesson course (but I have already done the first lesson twice… it’s a little harder than I thought!)
So cheers to the weekend ahead and accomplishing more on my 30 by 30 list!
A great weekend has led to a great week. I have been dominating the to do lists and not hating it! But oh if I could go back to the weekend I would in a heart beat…
Saturday we spent the day at home catching up on things around the house and I spent most of the day at the sewing machine work on some fun lift gifts. That evening we had some friends over to watch the UFC fight. I always love to have people over and spend a fun night in.
Sunday was my sweet friend Beth’s little girl’s first birthday! Beth and her husband just moved back to the area from Cincinnati and I could not be happier they are close! Baby Hazel was an adorable birthday girl and made the greatest mess with her birthday cupcake.
After the party I ran a few errands before heading home and I finally checked out a Whole Foods! The one in Virginia Beach always seems so packed, so I was happy to run in to one that had just a few Sunday shoppers. I was pleasantly surprised with some of their prices and products, but still need to head to the regular grocery store for the everyday basics. But the fresh flowers and candy isle made it so worth it.
Sunday night as we were prepping for the week ahead, my in-laws stopped in to drop off two heaping piles of fresh strawberries. They had been visiting Brandon’s aunt who had a full garden this year and they knew they would be just what we needed for our morning smoothies (and without having to pick them, I call it a win!).
Now back to dominating this week and crossing all my fingers and toes that the weatherin the forecast blows over!
I started to read a book, and it’s a good book, and it got me thinking…. (my husband seems to think that isn’t always a good idea!)
The book is called 30 By 30. It’s about a 29 year old coming close to her 30th birthday as her life takes a bit of an unexpected turn! In straightening her new life out she rediscovers and old list she wrote in high school about the 30 things she wanted to accomplish by the time she turned thirty, and the story continues as she works to complete that list!
Half way through the book I set it down (which was tough, it’s a page turner) and decided that is just what I need now as I creep closer to my 30th birthday, a list!
So I got to work making my own! I made a few simple rules for my list, it shouldn’t be something I have done, it couldn’t be too expensive, it needed to be a measurable item with an ending (no ‘organize my life’ type ones), and I need to get it all in by my birthday, November 2. I talked ideas over with my family and friends and finalized the list over happy hour with my sister on my “half birthday”. Which gives me 6 months to get through it!
Now I’ve been told some of my items are lame and that there should be more exciting adventures on my list but that made me realize, I have had a pretty great life so far. I have been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, swam with dolphins, drank cocktails at a swim up bar in paradise and bought a house with my amazing husband. So maybe this list is more of a “things I have always talked about wanting to do so now I want a deadline” list, but it doesn’t quite have the same ring, so here’s my 30 By 30!!
30 by 30… with my thoughts!
Go skydiving – now ‘real’ skydiving is a bit pricey, but thankfully Virginia Beach has an indoor sky diving place that I can’t wait to try!
Lean a new language – I took Spanish in college (and I can ask ‘where is the bathroom’… and that’s about it) so now I want to try French. I will mark this as complete when I finish the learning CD’s my sister lent me!
Learn mom’s sauce recipe – my mom’s sauce is the best but when you ask for the recipe she says “just put in what you have till it tastes right“! I hope to get the actual ingredient list this time!
Host a fancy dinner party – I can put those hours I spent drooling over Southern Living to good use!
Take a cooking class – Found some great options at shops like Sur La Table and William and Sonoma
Take a dance class – An adult ballet class is what I have my eye on!
Take a golf lesson – So one day maybe I can play with the husband
Visit Chicago – It looks like such a great place and my cousin lives there now, time for a visit
Sew a dress to wear out – To put my sewing machine to good use
Dye my hair – I have never dyed my hair before and it’s time to hide the grays!
Name a star – A simple list item that is close to my heart
Go deep sea fishing – Just something fun to say I have done
Read a classic book – My little brother pointed out that I have a classic book or two at school, but this time it’s my choice (any recommendations?)
Have a fancy picnic – This is just something that has always looked fun! Bring on the champagne and bugs!
Learn to give a good massage – This was the husbands list request!
Make my handwriting a font – Something easy to do, but has always been on my list
Go para-sailing – One I plan to do with my sister in the outerbanks this summer
Do a 30-day capsule wardrobe – Love this idea, can’t wait to try
Start my own Etsy shop –I have had a blast making some great pieces for coworkers and friends so why not open up to more people!
Get a gun carrying license – A silly one, but it never hurts to have, right?
Knit a hat – Now that my little brother is a knitting pro (funny, I know) I thought he could show me how!
Take a pottery class – My uncle has so much fun with this, I would love to try it too!
Build a piece of furniture – I have the piece picked out and know I will feel so accomplished seeing it everyday on our home
Bake a carrot cake from scratch – It’s Brandon’s favorite, so what better way to get him excited about this list too!
Visit a financial advisor – Well, I’ll soon be 30… I should probably do this one!
Attend a paint-n-sip night – I went to an open paint studio, but I think the paint with direction thing sounds way more my style
Learn to use my camera in manual mode – It’s sad how long I have had this camera and I definitely need to use something more than auto focus
Have a signature drink – I mean, this will be perfect for the dinner party, right?
7 days without TV –Well if I plan to do this all by November, a days without tv will surely help!!
Start a family! – So the drinking items need to be done sooner rather than later…
So have you ever made a list like this? What would be on yours?! I have a few coworkers now making their own and I loved my parent’s idea of a 7 by 70 list (though they said with quite a few years till 70, and only a few things to complete, they are gonna be have to be good!)
I can’t wait to start!!
Thanks to the author for sending me this great book to read!
The rain finally cleared up here (after a week worth of showers) and it started the weekend off right!
The hubs had to work at the fire station this Sunday so we invited the in-laws for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day on Saturday. We finally had a proper dinner at the house to break in the new kitchen chairs and I am always excited to play hostess!
I got to gift the DIY planter to my mother-in-law and she loved it and I loved the fact the plant didn’t die before we gave it to her! I gave my mom hers when I made them, I couldn’t be trusted with the lives of 2 plants! ha
Sunday was spent at my parent’s house with my sister and brothers. It is never a dull moment with all of us together and now my adorable niece gets to enjoy it all too! (she is so stinkin cute!!!)
Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too! Now back to the regularly scheduled work week….
Summer is almost here, and while a cup of coffee is a morning must to get my day started, a hot cup just doesn’t taste the same on a hot summer morning. So while I prep my wardrobe for summer by packing away the winter clothes and getting out the bikinis I figured it was time to prep my morning routine too.
I decided I needed something a little special would make that morning routine just a little bit better so I figured what is better than glitter. So a glitter coffee cup it is! I have made a glitter cup but this time I added a customized a vinyl decal.
Here is what I used –
vinyl c/o || cup (double walled that can be separated) || glitter || spray adhesive
(not pictured, the silhouette curio for vinyl cutting)
It took some searching, but I was able to find a double walled cup that could be separated so the glitter and decal could go in between the walls and last longer… through many cups of coffee! The vinyl from Angel Crafts was a perfect fit for this project, their vinyl was more forgiving when having to readjust the image inside the cup.
Now I am ready for some delicious iced coffee as the warm weather rolls around!!
