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An ode to sophomore year | LGIP Blabbers

Posted in Lifestyle
on 05/17/2017

I always dread the end of the year. Saying goodbye to Baton Rouge, my friends, and all LSU’s little quirks (I’m talking to you traffic, Tigerland, hella good food) just makes me sad. V descriptive of me, I know lol. I thought I could take a hot minute to do a little soul searching/reflection on my sophomore year of college (peep my freshmen year post for reference).

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Same pose, different year.

I had the privilege of living in my sorority’s chapter house overlooking the LSU lakes, and let me just say I think it’s become one of my favorite places in the world. Having 52 other roommates had its ups and downs, but man did we have the best freakin time. There was always someone awake to study with, watch chick flicks (10 things I hate about you became our favorite movie of all time), or go grab some late night snacks too (lol that happened way too much). How lucky am I to have been able to share so many memories with such a fabulous group of gals and even more lucky to be able to call our chapter house home for another year! If you ever have the opportunity to live in the house, do it. There’s plenty of time (the rest of your life) to live in houses and apartments, but to live with 52 other girls — there’s only one time and place for that!

School beat me up a little bit, but as I said last year I have gotten so much affirmation that I am in the field I love. Getting a job at Hemline and starting to gain valuable experience was one of the best things I have done thus far. I also think I finally figured out how to study for tests lol. In high school I didn’t have the best study skills, but once I got to LSU I knew I needed to gain some. After taking some challenging classes this year (@Econ @Costume history) and coming out with good grades, it feels like I finally got it down.

Much like freshman year, I learned life is about balance. Having to juggle school, a job, and Alpha Phi made my life nonstop chaos, but that’s the way I like it. Having limited free time for homework and studying actually makes me get focused much faster. I mean, I was constantly running from one thing to the next, but I would rather be busy making choices that will aid me in the future than hanging around watching Netflix all day every day. The key to balance: my planner, alarm clock, too much coffee, and a mimosa every so often (hah!).

As another school year has come and gone and I am still single I just can’t help but laugh. The words “where is my man?” have come out of my mouth too many times to count this year! Boys will come and go, but the girlies are forever (I’ll be living by that for the rest of my days). Maybe next year I’ll actually find a man but until then catch me on the couch watching corny rom-coms with the gals.

Some miscellaneous musings…

I also learned I like t-shirts and jeans a little too much.

I’m really really bad at checking/replying to texts.

Having a 17 year old car is awesome because it teaches you way too many life lessons (how to jump start a car, put coolant in it, fill it up with gas too often, go without heat etc).

LSU parking is my least favorite thing on this planet.

It’s never too late to make new friends.

I needed to step out of my comfort zone (and I honestly still do). This was probably one of the hardest things to learn this year. There’s only so much fun in playing it safe!

Shout out to y’all for sticking with me (as weird as I am) for another school year. I do not want to accept the fact that I’m growing up so quickly!!

GEAUX TIGERS!

madison

Life Lately | April Edition

Posted in Lifestyle
on 05/03/2017

Howdy friends.

I’m coming to you mid finals week to share my April Life Lately. I’ve been totally off my game lately, but dang there’s just something about the end of the school year that does it to me. Everything goes wayy too fast. April was one heck of a month — spring break and my last few weeks of sophomore year (can I get a WTF).

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Maria’s birthday was this month so we celebrated with some Mexican food (always the best way). In classic Maria fashion, a photo shoot had to follow, so here’s the outcome. Honestly my face 99.9% of the time. My fringe top makes an appearance once again, along with my favorite pair of jeans (under $40), and TKEES (I wear these everyday).

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Spring break was such a great break from school (even if it was only for a week)!! As I chatted about in my spring break posts (here and here), I went to Sea Brook, SC for the week! We hung around at the beach and took a day trip to Charleston.

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Charleston (as I talked about in my most recent post) was life changing! Everything was just so charming. I’ve discovered that I love traveling to historic cities and I seriously hope I can visit there soon. The pops of color on mailboxes, doors and walls stole my heart!

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As soon as I got back from Spring break, it was nonstop preparation for finals. In fact, I had a test the day I got back from spring break and a project due that Wednesday (life is rough). As I always say, my agenda can get my through anything and everything. I swear that thing has been glued to my hip since I got back. Lol, it’s seriously my life saver. My motto: write it down!

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Our last social event of the semester was this month. The theme was Hangout and we had it at some sand volleyball courts about 20 minutes from LSU. Y’all, it was seriously so fun. I think I went a little too crazy on the hair and makeup. My swimsuit says “Champagne Campaign” and it went perfectly with my cutoffs. For funsies, I wore my tassel choker. I put glitter in my part (so fun) and some jewels on my face. An in-your-face matte pink lip finished off my look!

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Embarrassingly enough, I think I have worn these jeans shorts at least 15 days of this month. I just looovve them. Sadly they’re 2 years old, so I don’t have a link for them :-/ But I am on the hunt for a new pair of cutoffs so if ya have recommendations, comment below! I actually made one of my work girlies take the pic of me since I was obsessing over this outfit. My tassel choker and white lace up top was the perfect mix of basic and fun!

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In celebration of the end of the year, we went roller skating last week. Oh my gosh y’all, it was so freaking fun. I was a little shaky on the skates (I think the last time I roller skated was probably 7 years ago), but once I got comfortable again I was making laps and doing all sorts of fun stuff! I brought my camera on the rink (risky I know) but I had to capture a roomie pic. I’m gonna miss living with these girlies next year. RIP Coz :-/

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FUN BRUNETTE strikes again, haha. Our seniors went out in Tigerland for the last time last week so Catherine and I tagged along! I decided to whip out the Fun brunette shirt, cutoffs (are you surprised) and funky earrings.

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My mom, Bruce and I headed to Mobile this past weekend to see my brother in his last game of college baseball (so sad). The weather was awesome but a little windy (hence my crazy hair). I went simplistic with a white tee and cutoffs (see? I’m wearing them again). My huuugge monogram necklace is also making a comeback.

My music favorites for this month:

There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes

Papercut by Zedd

Stay (with Alessia Cara) by Zedd

My beauty favorites for this month:

NARS blush in Torrid

Smith’s Rosebud Salve

I’ve been lusting after this month:

I’m shoe espadrille crazy right now, so forgive me.

Espadrille sneaks

Espadrille flats

Espadrille sandals

At this time next week, I’ll be out of school! That means more fun posts to come :-)

madison-bronze-foil

Explorin’ Charleston

Posted in Fashion
on 04/19/2017

Happy hump day friends!! This week’s been a hard adjustment getting back to real life. *sigh* Spring Break was just too good to me, y’all. Speaking of, here’s a recap of our time in Charleston. Ugh, if you haven’t visited you need to. The architecture is so beautiful and the food is 100. I hope I can go back soon because I seriously fell in love.

We went exploring and I made sure we headed straight to Rainbow Row to look at the beautiful houses! We strolled along the Battery and then a bit in the “French Quarter” area (paging home) for some market shopping. Dinner was amaze. We went to Stars Bar and Rooftop Grill (I literally felt so adult-like) and it was sooooooo bomb.

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This set from Free People has been so fabulous this spring, I think I’ve worn it as separates three or four times. I paired the skirt with this open knit distressed sweater. I have always loved the look of a skirt and sweater so I was dying to recreate it with this set! My pearl on suede cord, MK watch and Jacks rounded out the look.

I’ll be sharing a few more pics from the trip in my Life Lately so stay tuned :-) See y’all next week!

madison-bronze-foil

Life lately | March edition

Posted in Lifestyle
on 04/13/2017

Wellll I assumed it was better late than never to get my March Life Lately up. So here goes nothin. :-)

I love when I can actually have a lazy Sunday; it seriously makes my week so much better. Flipping through a magazine and jamming to Ed Sheeran’s album makes for the perfect day.

 Are y’all tired of me talking about this fringe top yet? I swear this is last time for a while… But I’m just so in love with it. Such a risky purchase on my part, but I’ve been longing to stray from my basics tees and tanks.

Honestly, we all need a little motivation sometimes! I’ve been getting my monthly dose from my planner. Each month’s got a cute illustration/quote — they make the perfect insta pics.

I’m a firm believer that all you need in life is a good taco!! Life is better when ya have a lil Mexican food in ya. I always love grabbing some tacos to satisfy my craving!

Our chapter’s annual Red Dress Gala was this month! I ended up rocking my dress from last year since time crept up on me this year so I wasn’t able to buy a new one. My Dad came to support me and we had a fab time hanging out with my gals and their parents.

Since our Red Dress Gala was this month, we ended up making a family weekend out of it! Sunday was a mom’s tea and pop-up shop event. I had to work the Hemline pop-up so my lovely Momma (who was the best sport) came to help me. We caught up over some lunch after, making it an overall chill Sunday.

Songfest (an LSU signature Greek Life event) was at the end of this month. I was so so sad I wasn’t in it this year, but I had to go to support my girls! We came armed with low sticks and signs galore. Hard work paid off and our girls won third place!!

Here’s an outfit of the day pre Songfest. I’ve found myself doing adult things on Sundays lately, so cute clothes have been needed lol. I styled my OTS top (part of my new FP set) with some white flares (did I mention how excited I am that they’re back??) and my TKEES. Shoutout to my pal LJ for the fringe hoops!

 

My music favorites for this month:

Hearts Don’t Break Around Here by Ed Sheehan

Rock City by Kings of Leon

All my Love by the Beatles

I’m linking my best playlist for y’all here.

My beauty favorites for this month:

Two Faced Born This Way foundation

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Philosophy Purity Made Simple

 

I’ve been lusting after this month:

TKEES in Sweet smoke (gloss)

Tie front tops

Quay sunnies

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madison-bronze-foil

Things I’ve bought recently | Edition 1

Posted in Beauty, Fashion
on 03/15/2017

Hey ma ladies. How’s this week treating’ ya so far? I know I am just getting started lol. After an extremely hectic Monday, I was able to have a chillish Tuesday and now it’s hump day so things are picking back up. I got to thinking about this week’s post- scrolling through my instagram feed, reading my favorite blogs- and it came to me… a shopping roundup?! I’ve been doing a lot of shopping lately. I’m not sure what it is… I’m just in a spending mood which my bank account is not thanking me for. Good thing payday is coming up this week (thank you, thank you)!! Well, without further ado, let’s get into it…

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bauble bar tassel earrings

Statement earrings are definitely here to stay this spring. I recently picked up this pair from Hemline (shouts!!) and I am in love. Often times, I find myself wearing a simple outfit so some fun earrings like these will dress it up! I’m linking some other earrings I’m lusting for below.

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pink ray ban aviators

Y’all know my undying loyalty to the Ray Ban aviator, so when I shattered a lens over Mardi Gras break I needed to replace the pair asap. Luckily, my roommate had a pair she was wanting to get rid of. They’re a pink lens with a gold frame and different from anything I’d seen before! I styled them in my last post and they honestly made me feel like Hyde lol.

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steve madden platform espadrille sneaker

If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I have been on a sneaker kick!! Every time I get ready for work, I reach for them. They literally go with everything in my closet, I swear. I’ve paired them with a fringe top and skirt, denim dress, chambray shirt and black shorts… the options are endless.

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two faced born this way

I was in the market for a new foundation, so I ran over to Sephora last weekend. With some coaxing, I settled upon the Two Faced Born This Way foundation. It’s oil-free, medium coverage, and good for combination skin, which is what I’m about to have since I’m starting Accutane in a month or two (wheee!!). So far, so good.

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benefit hoola

In the height of my makeup obsession stage (sophomore year of high school), I used this stuff religiously. The shade is perfect for my coloring anytime of year and I always have great experiences with Benefit products. When the mini size caught my eye; I knew I needed to go back to it!

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philosophy purity made simple

I go back to this cleanser time and time again. I think this is my fourth bottle #noshameintherepurchasegame so if that tells ya anything.. I use my  Clarisonic Mia (which is a literal dinosaur) with it and I would recommend to any skin type!!

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denim shift dress

Pay day had me feeling on a high for about a week. I ended up scouring Asos and stumbling upon this little number. As a working gal, I am always looking for easy dresses I can wear for work. This one is sooo cute with a sneaker, chunky heel, or even sandal for the spring. It runs true to size. I normally wear a XS-S and went with the XS, which was perf.

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fringe top

Refer to my previous post for more on this top, but I am in looovvveeee and I can’t stop talking about it. Fringe is just so fun. It’s a nice change of pace for me with my basic tees and jeans every dang day. The top runs pretty true to size (I got a small for reference). I’m gonna link some more fringe pieces because I feel like spring/summer are the time to rock it!

Is it just me or have any of y’all been on a shopping kick lately? Leave me some comments with some stuff you’ve recently bought!

madison-bronze-foil

Feelin’ fringy

Posted in Fashion
on 03/08/2017

You guys! You guys!! I cannot believe the moment has come for me… You’re probs wondering what in the heck I’m talking about right? Well, I’m just coming to a  realization I’m getting a lil #edgy with my looks. Platform sneaks, fringe jacket and tank, and some pink shades…. Jeez. I’m too much.

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Photos were taken by Catherine Quant.

I was feeling hella fun when I got dressed. I mean- a fringe tank was enough, but to add a shag jacket on top? I’ve gone crazy… I actually centered this entire look around my new espadrille sneaks (those of you that follow me on Instagram are fully aware I am obsessed with them. I only posted about them about 5 times… so there’s that). They’re so fun and honestly out of my comfort zone. While I was at it, I figured I’d go all out and throw some fringe on too! This tank was another sale rack find and I’d been trying to figure out what to pair it with, but then it hit me.. a jean skirt (obvi)! Since it was chilly, I opted for a shag jacket (another sale rack find wahoo). And y’all these pink Ray Bans are my new favorite thing… they make me feel like Hyde from that 70’s show lol. I thought they went pretty well with this 70’s feeling look!

PS: I just started using Lightroom to edit my blog pictures.. how do y’all like it? I think it’s a lot easier to manipulate photos than on Photoshop. I’m still getting the hang of things, but I’m pleased with my first real round of edits on it!

shop this look

madison-bronze-foil

Life Lately | February edition

Posted in Lifestyle
on 03/01/2017

I’M BACK (as I always say after a hiatus). I could go through thousands of excuses, but frankly my inspiration was shot the past few weeks. Time slipped me by with a few tests and projects due, so blogging fell to the back burner. That’s definitely something I need to work on moving forward haha. Well, I guess I should let y’all know where the heck I’ve been this February while I haven’t been working on LGIP. Let’s get it….

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We jetted off to Dallas, TX at the beginning of this month for Alpha Phi’s leadership conference! The weekend was full of learning with workshops nonstop! I got to bond with my gal pals as our new exec board and we made some hilarious memories.

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Alpha Phi’s formal went down this month as well. I took Catherine as my date (not in the mood to deal with boys lol) and we went for a black and white color scheme. My dress was a serious steal at $20 off the sale rack at Hemline! I paired it with some black chunky heels, a black choker, and some hoops. I think the choker and hoops are quickly becoming my signature look.

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If y’all know me, you know I am a sucker for a hamburger. On my lunch break one day, I headed over to Five Guys to indulge in my guilty pleasure. Man, was this burger fab!! 10/10 would recommend.

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THE FGL CONCERT WAS LIFE CHANGING. I used to be a big fan of them when I was a sophomore in high school. I hadn’t really listened to country too much in the past few years but once their new album came out, I was brought back. I’ve been bumpin’ nonstop since the concert. Seriously, the best $80 I’ve spent in a while. I’ve seen FGL before but they stole my heart that night!!

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Holy cow, are Mardi Gras balls some fun! One of my pals from Alpha Phi was in Krewe DuMonde so she invited a huge group of us to celebrate with her at the ball! This red dress is from Asos (my sister’s from senior prom) and I loved rockin the red!

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Due to the fact I had work in Baton Rouge allll weekend, I was only able to hang in NOLA on Monday and Tuesday. Nonetheless, it was a great time! Monday we went to the night parades on St. Charles and on Tuesday we just hung around the house. Overall, a super laid back getaway.

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Kay, so I just think this picture is cute so it needed to be included. On Fat Tuesday, Catherine and I met up with my sister down in the Irish Channel area. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and hung around for a bit. No outing is complete without a picture to document, right?!

My music favorites for this month:

I’ve gone back to my country lovin days with my new found obsession — Florida Georgia Line.

God, Your Mama, and Me by FGL

Anything Goes by FGL

My beauty favorites for this month:

NYX gloss

NYX powder

Marcelle mascara

I’ve been lusting after this month:

 Marc Fisher wedges 

Steven Madden platform sandals

Ray Ban aviators

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Alright peeps, we can do it! Let’s take March by storm!

madison-bronze-foil

How to rock a sweater for spring

Posted in Fashion
on 02/08/2017

How’s it going girlies?! Is this week treating you well? I know I’m about knee deep in school work (considering I have two ginormous tests next week). So I feel y’all, but let’s finish this week strong! I have faith we can do it!

This week’s post goes out to styling sweaters for the spring time.

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Photos by Madeline Dunbar.

I got this coral chunky sweater recently so I had to break it out and style it for this warm LA weather we’ve been blessed with :-) Sweaters with shorts/a skirt is one of my favorite looks when you want to look warm, but it’s actually 75 degrees outside (thanks LA!!). Jean cutoffs def make the outfit a little bit edgier. Fun story about the cutoffs I’m wearing… they’re a pair of mom jeans from Goodwill I cut into shorts when I was in eighth grade (do y’all remember when DIY shorts were all the rage? Lol #tbt). I’ve been paring down my accessories lately so I focused on necklaces and layered a gold choker with my Alpha Phi bar. Ok wait, I almost forgot to talk to y’all about my booties! They’re so stinking’ fun! I have a taupe pair and Catherine (my roomie) owns the black. If you’re going for an edgy-er look, I would highly recommend you snag a pair! They’re currently on sale in a few colors!

I’m linking some adorable chunky sweaters (all under $50!) along with the rest of my outfit deets.

shop the look

I think that just about wraps up this week’s post. How do y’all like to style chunky sweaters in warmer weather? Leave me a comment below, I love to chat!

madison-bronze-foil