What's Inspiring Me This Week...

• Autumn scenes
• Warm, muted tones
• Dainty gold hoop earrings
• Silk camisoles (love these from Club Monaco)

1. Sorority House Living 

This year I'm living in my sorority house and I absolutely love it so far. I wasn't sure how my experience would be, but I was up for the adventure and I'm so glad I took the plunge. The Sigma Delta Tau house is a beautiful, huge historical home and we have a full kitchen (with an amazing chef - such a big plus!), study room, chapter room that doubles as a big living room and even our own porch. My room itself has beautiful high ceilings and a big window and I love how my decor (most of which I reused from last year) looks in it. My roommate is a doll and it's just so much fun to live with my sisters.

2. Rent the Runway

I am so happy to say that I was recently selected to be a Rent the Runway Campus Representative! I submitted my application back in early August and was beyond thrilled when I got the email. RTR's mission of sustainable, attainable fashion for every woman is something I wholeheartedly support. I am so excited to be representing them on Penn's campus this semester, and of course, the complimentary Update subscription doesn't hurt! I had so much fun picking out my first shipment and can't wait to share what I received.

3. Prime Now

Along the same vein of innovative online shopping, can we talk about Prime Now? A friend of mine introduced me to this Amazon service and I'm hooked. I'm not sure how widely available it is, but if you're in an area that they offer it you can order fresh groceries from your local whole foods and they get delivered (for free!) to your house within 2 hours. They even send the cold items in little frozen bags to keep everything super fresh. This week one of my sorority sisters and I stocked up on essentials like cashew yogurt, apples, crackers and (my personal favorite) sweet potatoes! I was so impressed with the service and will definitely be using it again.

4. Sickness & Taking Care of Yourself

The first three weeks have school have been pretty rough for me health-wise, and especially this past week. I'm reminded of the fact that it's so, so important to take care of your health. Being sick is no joke in college, so it's always better to take some preventative measures to prevent any major illness. So, for all my fellow students: rest, relax, and take breaks for yourself! You don't need to be "sick enough" to stay in or take a day off if you feel like its necessary to protect your health.


5. Themed Mixers

Part of being a sophomore in a sorority is attending all of our social events, especially our mixers! I've actually been having so much fun trying to dress to the theme of the events. One of my favorites was an early 2000s-themed mixer we had this past week; it was a great excuse to go full-on Britney.

 What's Inspiring Me This Week...

• Summer-to-fall transitional pieces
• Jewel tones (this top from Banana Republic comes in three shades)
• Business casual attire (lol - who would have thought?)
• Beading motifs
• Snakeskin loafers (tried on this pair in-store and loved them!)

I've been dying to have dinner at The Spring House for what seems like years now. I've sat on their iconic chairs overlooking the ocean many a time, but never actually enjoyed what I've always heard was an amazing meal in their restaurant. This trip, I finally got a chance to try it out! My grandma, aunt, mom and I made a reservation and made it into a girls' night of sorts (plus my baby cousin Finn). We unknowingly arrived on Cocktail Night, and of course, all had to try their drinks - which proved to be as delicious and exotic as their names would suggest. My personal choice was the blood orange cosmopolitan cocktail, which did not disappoint! Highlights of the meal included a delicious homemade hummus plate complete with garden-fresh veggies and warm pita, a zucchini noodle entree (the best iteration of this dish I've ever had!), and summer corn pizza. I would wholeheartedly recommend it!

The dress code is somewhere between business casual and smart casual. I decided that this was the night to bring out my favorite Lilly shift dress, but kept the outfit from being too formal with a light denim jacket, and balancing everything out with my favorite platform sandals from Vince Camuto.  The jacket turned out to be a must, as it got very chilly sitting outside on the deck. It's worth braving the cooler weather, though, as the view of the ocean is spectacular! I carried my old Kiel James Patrick canvas bag; my "island bag" as I like to call it. This fits all the essentials: my phone, wallet, sunglasses and even my digital camera.

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What's Inspiring Me This Week...

• These amazing, high-waisted plaid pants (love the "rose" plaid!)
• Bee motifs for fall
• Warm caramel tones (great for the fall transition!)
• Suede skirts
• The wine-colored watch trend

If you've been keeping up with the blog, it's probably no surprise to you that I spent ~two weeks on Block Island. Even though I'm currently sitting in a lecture hall (admittedly zoning out), I want to share a few of the outfits I wore just a short week ago on vacation.

The weeks I spent on BI were filled with fantastic August weather and lots of time spent relaxing and enjoying family. I usually am one to waaaaay overpack, but this year I think I got closer than ever to striking a good balance. One of my most-worn pieces on the island (and in general) was this Club Monaco skirt that's currently on sale. I've been seriously considering picking it up in the olive color for fall. It's a faux-wrap style that goes with everything but elevates an outfit. It's also crazy comfortable! On this day I paired it with an old Lilly Elsa top, Jack Rogers (I treated myself to a new pair and opted for the bone color combination), and my KJP Block Island bracelet. The bag that got me through the trip was my old Longchamp -- although a bit well-worn, it doubled as a beach bag and added some color to my outfits.

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What's Inspiring Me This Week...

• All. Things. Block. Island.
• Mixing and matching shades of blue
• These amazing H&M shorts I've been wearing this trip
• Spending evenings watching the sunset over the water!
• New England architecture

It's been soooo long since the last Friday Roundup! I've had a few in draft form from throughout this summer, but evidently, they all got pushed aside for one reason or another. Today's post will be a little more than just a weekly update, think more of what's been going on with me throughout the second half of this summer.

1. Leading Ladies

I know I mentioned it in the last roundup, but this summer I've been recording a weekly podcast with my best friends. It's been so much fun planning, recording, and editing content and seeing the response from listeners! If you'd like to check it out, you can find it on Spotify here or search "Leading Ladies" wherever you get your podcasts.

2. My Apple Watch + Solidcore

After 6+ months of debating, I finally bit the bullet and purchased an apple watch.

Cue a lengthy story about this rather inconsequential purchase haha:

I knew I wanted to keep the total price under $200 (around the price of comparable smartwatch models that had the features I wanted), which meant going for the basic GPS model from the older Apple watch series 3.  I also wanted the rose gold color; it's not that the metal matters that much to me, but my thinking was that if I was going to drop so much money on something I wanted it to be absolutely perfect, and silver/space gray just isn't my thing! Since the rose gold series 3 has effectively been phased out, my only option seemed to be to wait until the model I wanted became available as a refurbished model. To my utter surprise, after several months a refurbished rose gold series 4 watch (a newer version than what I had initially wanted) popped up for the same price as the brand new silver series 3. At that point, I knew it was fate, so I went out on a limb and hit "checkout".

Nearly two weeks later, I feel like I can safely say that I love my Apple watch. One of my favorite features has been the activity app. I love tracking my steps, heart rate, and active minutes throughout the day. Speaking of, I tried out a new workout through Classpass - Solidcore. I'd heard good things and know a few people who've been, but I wasn't expecting it to be such a hard but amazing workout. I love the reformer pilates style they use, and can definitely see myself continuing classes when I move back to Philly.



3. Gettysburg Adventure

A few weeks ago I took a day trip up to visit my lovely friend Emma Fee. She lives just outside Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania, so we went into the town and walked around. I loved seeing all the unique places in the town (which is absolutely charming) and meeting Emma's family and friends. I also had the most delicious homemade vegan ice cream I've ever tried - chocolate almondmilk ice cream with real peanut butter swirled throughout. I just about died! It was one of the best days of my summer from start to finish, and I only wish I could have stayed longer.


4.  Reading 

So far this summer I've finished a grand total of 3 books: this might not seem like a lot to the voracious readers out there, but as someone who reads slowly like I do, this is a lot! I plowed through Becoming by Michelle Obama, Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (loved this), and reread You are a Badass. I've just started Memoirs of a Geisha and I'm excited to pull it out on the beach next week.


5. "Baby's First Delaware Trip"

Mary has been going to the Delaware beaches (specifically Rehobeth) since she was little, and we decided to drive up there and spend a day on the beach. We left at sunrise and got back that night, and had an amazing time. It was so fun to get to see the places she's loved since childhood, just as I got to show her around my childhood summer home on Block Island last year. We ate lots of delicious food and managed to avoid getting sunburned, sang in the car and swam in the ocean. It was definitely the stuff of summer memories!