lifestyle Archives - Page 4 of 10 - Louisiana Girl in Pearls

Seein’ stars

Posted in Fashion

on 08/23/2017

So long summer… and hello school.

It’s been a long two weeks of silence (LSU sororities have to be silent the week leading up to recruitment and the week of recruitment) but I am happy to be back! My first day of junior year was Monday (dang I feel old). But before I dive into fall fashion on LGIP, I wanted to do a lil sign off to summer featuring my favorite sweater + short combo.

This MuMu sweater has seriously been one of my go to’s this summer. It’s so lightweight and I love wearing it with jean shorts. I’m seriously so sad that this star print is sold out, but I linked it’s matching striped one and a few for y’all below.

Jean shorts – my best basic during the spring and summer. I snagged this pair from Abercrombie (yeah you heard me right) for $40. Seriously consider heading over there if you’re in the market for jeans/shorts/skirts because they’re always having a great sale!

I’m seriously so excited to start giving y’all a peak into my fall closet (something I feel like I dropped the ball on last year). Any suggestions for posts? Leave me a comment!

Madison

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, beach, fashion, lifestyle, ootd, show me your mumu, summer

Life Lately | July Edition

Posted in Lifestyle

on 08/02/2017

Hey hey, happy August! I’m headed back to school this month and I can’t say I’m mad about it. I absolutely adore being on a set schedule so I’m so pumped to get back into the swing of things! Before I jump into August, I’ll recap my month of July for y’all.

When you’re home and have to make your parents take your insta pics for you >>> It makes me chuckle asking them, but hey #doitforthegram right? This sweater arrived right in time for the fourth (after I had been lusting after it for about 2 months) so of course I had to wear it for two days straight. It’s really comfy and I love it with jean shorts, but I’m sure y’all can catch me styling it in the fall with some flares.

LGIP turned two this July! I wrote an ode to my trials and tribulations over these past two years. Read it here. But on the real y’all, it’s been rough keeping up with everything but I am proud of myself for somehow managing?

When it’s your besties birthday, ya gotta celebrate like there’s no tomorrow. We hosted a lil party in honor of Cara at our apartment and of course I took it upon myself to decorate (Photo Booth and all). Man do I have so much fun getting dressed up and going out with my friends! Anyone with me on this?

So I was bad a few times this month (I’m talking to you ice cream, cookies, and trail mix with 50000 M&Ms in it) but this time was soooooo worth it. Pinkberry dates when I’m home are a must.

Just checking in to say I’m still obsessed with this t-shirt. Yes, you’re reading it correctly, it does say FRIES. And it’s stinking comfy. No shame here. You can 100 percent catch me wearing this one every chance I get.

When I have the chance to head to NOLA to see my bestie, I gotta take it! It had literally been forever since we had been able to see each other so we had the best time catching up and gossiping (as always) :-)

Our family beach trip this year was this week/last weekend but sadly I could only stay for two days. I was in my happy place sitting on the beach reading a nice book. This one piece is so fun and I love wearing it whenever I get the chance (which is rare).

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My music favorites for this month:

Birthday by Kings of Leon

(Nice to meet you) Anyway by Gavin DeGraw (an old BOP. Listen and you’ll love it.)

How not to by Dan + Shay

The Fighter by Keith Urban

My beauty favorites for this month:

I seemed to run out of half the products I own this month, so I went a little crazy on my Ulta run. I’m loving these drugstore gems currently.

I’ve been lusting after this month:

Superga platforms (I am dying for these… they’ll be the perfect class shoe and they’re under 100! Too good to be true.)

Free People cropped jeans (Bout to hop on this train with a little apprehension, but nonetheless they’ll be so fun for fall.)

Free People thermal (Once again, another find for class. Can you tell I’m ready to go back?)

Kendra Scott earrings (Got these in my RocksBox and I swear I wear them at least 4 times a week. They’re the best.)

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Cheers to August!

Madison

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, alpha phi, college, fashion, first impressions, going out, insta, instagram roundup, lifestyle, makeup, on my radar, ootd, school

Happy second birthday, LGIP!

Posted in Lifestyle

on 07/19/2017

Two years, too many cups of coffee and a little bit too much online shopping later… and the day is here! It’s Louisiana Girl in Pearls second birthday! What an insane ride this has been. Especially this past year. With work, school, and Alpha Phi — it’s been challenging. I have to admit I’ve not always been the most consistent with blogging. But that’s a factor I’d absolutely like to improve on going into my third year as a blogger!

Blogging for me has been such an eye-opening experience. I spend hours a day on social media looking to other bloggers for inspiration — from bloggers with 20 followers to bloggers with 2 million followers. As a perfectionist, I am so hard on myself. When you’re trying to breakthrough into a world that is as visual as blogging, it gets so hard not to compare yourself to others. I’m not going to lie to you and say I don’t wish I had another bloggers’ hair, body, money, time, etc. but I think I’ve had to learn not to discredit myself. Regardless of how many followers I have, that doesn’t make my content any less valuable than another’s.

Creating content for this little corner of the web and having people read it (hey mom) has been so rewarding. Although I am no where near the point I would like to be with LGIP, I am slowly taking the steps that I need to get there. As I learn more about social media, photography, and blogging in general LGIP improves. I would love to learn more coding in this next year (I seriously think it’s so cool how everything we look at on the internet is a combination of numbers, letters and symbols).

I’ve grown so much in the past year, more than I honestly thought I could. LGIP has definitely been a safe space for me. Some days I’m serious and some days you can’t get me off a tangent talking about some random thing. LGIP allows me the space to be whatever “me” I’m feelin’ that day. Thanks for following along with me, y’all, it honestly means the world to me. So so so much love goes out to y’all who read my posts, like my Instagram pictures, reply to my stories when I ask dumb questions, take my pictures for me without complaint, let me borrow your clothes, or computer (when mine is broken… aka always). I cannot thank y’all enough. Y’all make this happen!

Here’s to TWO YEARS and many more!! (Maybe I’ll still be blogging when I’m 70, who knows?)

Here’s some of my favorite posts from this past year:

DIY choker

20 things I learned by 20 (MY ALL TIME FAVORITE POST I’VE EVER WRITTEN)

Sneaker stylin’

Things I’ve bought recently

Feelin’ fringy

How to rock the overall trend this summer

Striped right | How to style an off the shoulder top + what’s in my bag

Wednesday blues | How to add more Show me your MuMu to your closet

White on denim

Sneaker night | My favorite sneakers under $100

SO SO SO SO much love,

Madison

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, birthday, college, fashion, Happy Birthday to me!, instagram roundup, life lately, lifestyle, on my radar, ootd

Life Lately | June edition

Posted in Lifestyle

on 07/06/2017

Happy July pals! I took a quick break last week due to a lack of sleep and inspiration. I thought I’d get back into the swing of things with a little recap of June.

Brunch babes. Maria and I had a fabulous brunch with her family at Galatoire’s in BR. I got the eggs Benedict…. sooo yum. My set is from Free People (I’ve talked about it a few times on the blog before and its now ON SALE for $40 from Nordstrom Rack) and I love pairing it with these platforms.

Ok y’all, so there’s this new poke place in BR and it’s totally amazing. I’ve been twice in the past two weeks!! This poke bowl was called wild salmon and it was topped with mangos, avocados, cucumbers, and some sort of special sauce.

So my MuMu obsession has gone full blown crazy this month. I’ve been scouring the sales and have even managed to score a few items. My white jeans and TKEEs have been among other necessities for me this month. You can get my outfit details in this post.

My cousin’s engagement party was this month and for me, it was a chance to get dressed up and hang with some family! I wore this two piece set with my fave platforms (again).

My fave platforms (yes, I talk about these too much). Shop them here.

Brunchin round two. This time in NOLA at Willa Jean. I got the Hangover bowl and it was filled with goodness. My dress is vintage MuMu and it def hid my food baby that day.

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My music favorites for this month:

I’ve been all over the place with my music taste this month.

Remember I Told you by Nick Jonas

Honest by Shawn Mendes

Fearless by Taylor Swift (I listen every single day… no joke)

I’ve been lusting after this month:

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xoxo

Madison

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, alpha phi, basics, beauty, college, fashion, instagram roundup, lifestyle, makeup, on my radar

Things I’ve bought recently | Edition 2

Posted in Fashion

on 06/14/2017

Hey pals! I’m back this week with a shopping round-up. I’ve been on a real shopping kick this month. Ooops. So I thought I would go through my most recent purchases. Let’s get into it…

blush set

I picked up this blush set at the beginning of the month for my cousin’s engagement party. I’ve been on a set kick this spring/summer. I just love the versatility of them — it’s like you get three outfits for the price of one (heck yeah)! The set is so cute together but to wear as separates I would probs do the shorts with a white tank and the top with jeans.

I would recommend sizing up in the shorts (they’re a little short). But the top ran true to size.

marc fisher “randall”

I talked about these babies in my last post a little bit. Since then I’ve worn them to work (twice) which is a huge deal for me considering I’m on my feet for 8 hours. They were surprisingly comfy. I know the hefty price tag is a huuuuge hurdle to jump over, but take it from a college gal, finding a wedge that’s cute AND comfortable… priceless.

blue layered tassel earrings

It’s no surprise I am a super fan for statement earrings. When one of my favorite bloggers posted about these I ordered them right away lol :-) The blue is really cute with white tops and I think I’ll get a lot of use out of these babies considering my wardrobe is literally all neutral. I’m linking some other options I love below.

boohoo shorts

If y’all don’t remember from my Life Lately May post, I literally have one pair of jean shorts to my name. So I thought it was prob time to pick up another pair. I grabbed these from boohoo for $15 (crazy right).

The sizing was super weird and I actually had to send my first pair back to get another size. I ended up with a size 8 and I’m normally a size 2. They’re tight around my legs and honestly hard to get on but sending them back again just wasn’t worth it. Hoping I can break them in and make them more comfy?

j slides sneakers

These just came in the mail today so wheee! I’ve been so in love with these sneakers since I saw someone wear them last fall. I found them on sale at Nordstrom during their 40% sale and I didn’t buy them then because I literally had $70 to my name. Turns out they marked them down further (after I got paid lol) to $69 so I grabbed the black!

The size 8 was sold out, so I got an 8.5. I’m normally between sizes (but mostly 8).

quay sunglasses

Branching out from my usual Ray Ban aviators was so hard for me (I’m a creature of habit). I picked up these QUAY sunnies just to have a cheaper, fun pair for football season (I lost a pair of Ray Bans last year RIP). The blue mirror is super fun and I love how big they are. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince myself to wear them more? Lol.

gold tkees

I am a self-proclaimed TKEE-a-haulic. These are the shoes I wear to work everyday because they are so dang comfy. I talk about them all the time because I just can’t get over it. The color options are endless. I’m already two pairs in, and I’ve got my eye on a gloss pair for my next purchase.

Have y’all bought anything recently? Let me know in the comments!

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, basics, college, fashion, first impressions, instagram roundup, lifestyle, mail day, makeup, on my radar, ootd, steal

Life Lately | May Edition

Posted in Lifestyle

on 05/31/2017

Happy almost June!

Here’s to another Life Lately and being one month closer to going back to school in August (so sad but happy at the same time)! This month was extremely boring. All I did was work all day, come home, make some dinner and watch a movie… so not much is goin on over here! I’ll try to sum up some of the *fun* things I did this month (they were scarce). Here goes!!

RIP sophomore year. If you’re in the sentimental mood, you can read my sophomore year recap post here. It was the end of a true era y’all.

After getting out of school, I headed to NOLA for Kings of Leon. They played at Jazz Fest and man were they amazing. I swear they sounded better live than on their CDs. My sister and I met up with some of our high school friends and our family so we had the best time!! It was hot as Hades so I wore jean shorts (surprised?) and a tank with a neck scarf (my fave accessory)!

Happy Momma’s Day to my beautiful Momma! The day was super chill — we chowed and hung out with family all day! I wore a romper and my fun earrings for church in the morning and ended up staying in it the rest of the day (it was super comfy).

This summer I’ve gotten into a daily routine of coffee and a bagel every morning (I feel old saying that). That little bit of me time is seriously the best. It gets even better when I have some minutes to flip through a magazine.

This is the product of my roomie Maria and I having an impromptu photo shoot outside of our apartment, lol. I love jean shorts (what’s new) so I’m experimenting trying to see how many different ways I can style them. So here’s one…

Ah the classic overalls pic. I think this was one of my most daring outfits to date (honestly it’s not too daring, I’m just boring) so I had such a blast shooting it! You can check out the post here! I definitely plan on dragging my sister around to take more of my pictures from now on since she did a fabulous job!!

This month I had the opportunity to attend Alpha Phi’s Emerging Leaders Institute at Butler University in Indianapolis. There was a group of 50 of us from all across North America (some even in Canada) who were selected to attend this 5 day institute. I came in not knowing a soul and walked away with 50 new friends. Having opportunities like this one are so dear to my heart because they really help me see Alpha Phi isn’t just for four years!

My music favorites for this month:

California Waiting by Kings of Leon

Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

Touch and Go by Ed Sheeran

My beauty favorites for this month:

Since I started Accutane this month, it’s been all about skin care for me. I’ve had to revamp my entire skin care routine and I’m loving it so far!!

I’ve been lusting after this month:

Marc Fisher Randall wedges

Chan Luu neck scarf

Double buckle belt

TKEEs gloss in Sweet Smoke

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, alpha phi, basics, college, fashion, instagram roundup, lifestyle, on my radar, ootd, ray bans, spring

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).

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!

ByMadisonChurch

Tags : 2017, alpha phi, college, lifestyle

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).

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).

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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 :-/

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.

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.