Currently Crushing On: Draper James

Have you guys seen Draper James yet? I've been obsessing over it since Reese Witherspoon first announced her new brand a few months back. Her instagram and @draperjamesgirl are a little of my daily inspiration.

I'm filing this outfit under to buy when I'm skinny & rich.

Seriously, everything about this brand has me in business-student-fan-girl mode. No detail too small, and the whole brand feels so sincere and genuine, even if it is crazy expensive a bit over my budget. Her genuine nature and southern grace & charm are why she's my absolute favorite celebrity/actress and also why Reese (along with Nell) is at the top of my baby-name list. 

These are just a few snapshots from their website, but I want everything!!

via draperjames.com

Along with the stationary, these are some of my favorites from the line:

As you can tell, I'm a little obsessed with the magnolias (having flashbacks to climbing the magnolia trees in my grandpa's front yard)

magnolia clutch / pearl studs / pearl pendant

coral magnolia dress / printed dress / navy magnolia playsuit 

southern pencils / magnolia ring 

And if I couldn't love Reese any more, the Draper James blog has a little blurb about her favorite spots in New Orleans! And guess what! Her favorite spots are my favorites, too! Soul sisters...

I'd be so happy if I could be Reese Witherspoon when I grow up. 

Here's to hoping that Draper James creates a sale section ASAP. 

A Very Nola Day

Hey, howdy, hello! Welcome back to my abandoned blog. I've missed you, too!

I haven't been up to a whole lot besides reading books and watching movies. Gotta love summer.

However, last Saturday my mom and I drove into the city to spend a little quality time together. What we forgot was that Memorial Day weekend brings A LOT of people to the cool places. 

After driving around the French Quarter for almost 45 minutes, we were able to find a parking spot and we were hangry (you know, so hungry that you get angry and not much fun). We ran to the first restaurant we saw and split a shrimp po-boy -- I know, how very cajun of us? 

I'd give Mulate's a 7/10 for food and a 9.5/10 for atmosphere. I loved their sweet tea and all the Blue Dog paintings they had on the walls! The french bread was a little too crunchy for my taste. 

After eating and drinking enough sweet tea to revive our spirits, we walked into the French Quarter, where we spent most of our time strolling around Jackson Square picking out our favorite pieces of art. 

Mom and I are suckers for art, so when we saw a man doing portraits, we were like "ooh, that's pretty cool!" Naturally, we decided it was worth the time to sit and have my picture drawn. 

Please excuse the odd soft-smile happening here. 

One thing that we couldn't miss was Cafe Du Monde! Beignets and iced cafe au lait were worth waiting in the line (for over 45 minutes *monkey-covering-his-eyes-emoji*). But my mom, never a fan of lines, was hangry again by the time we made it to the front. 

Take note if you're going to play tourist: Waiting in the to-go line is not a smarter move than the actual line. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten a table sooner than we made it to the counter. 

But the sweet coffee milk and sugary french doughnuts were worth it. (Isn't the sugar always worth it?)

{Outfit details}

Seersucker Dress: Old Navy

Shoes: Jack Rogers

Monogram Necklace: Lee Michaels 

Sunglasses: Ray Ban (mine are old, these are similar)

Purse: Antonio Melani, old (this & this are similar)

A Beginner's Guide to Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras... Fat Tuesday... Carnival... If you aren't from Louisiana, these terms might not be familiar to you. Growing up here on the bayou, this holiday is practically as big as Christmas. If you aren't from the South, I can understand how this might seem like a goofy holiday, but it's a season full of traditions, sparkles, and fun.

So let me try to break it down...

The season kicks off with 12th Night, which falls twelve days after Christmas (shocking, right?). The Epiphany is the day when the Wise Men made it to baby Jesus, and was always a big celebration with so many Catholics in the region. From the Epiphany until Ash Wednesday, everyone celebrates and feasts (since Lent is supposed to be a time of fasting). 

There are lots of parties leading up to the big day, and parades fill almost every weekend up until the big day, so that's why I say Mardi Gras is a season.

My dad and I share the same opinion on parades ("throw me something, mister" or "so done" ?). 

There are parades all over the state, in big towns like Baton Rouge and New Orleans and small towns like Thibodaux and Labadieville. Being a quiet shy child, parades were never my favorite (what part of waving and yelling and occasionally getting smacked in the face with beads is fun?), but now that I'm older, I can understand how the drive-thru daquari shops and open container drinking laws might have some appeal. 

But before the parades, there's the most sparkly part: the Mardi Gras balls! Almost all the krewes will pick a royal court and keep them secret until they are presented at the ball! 

My little was the queen of a krewe in Slidell last year! I'm so excited to see her crown the new queen at this year's ball. 

I was almost a maid senior year for the Krewe of Christopher here in Thibodaux, but decided that all that money (thousands of dollars, yikes!), would be better spent on something else. Do I regret turning them down? Not very much anymore. 

This is my roommate when she was a maid for Terreanians. Maids get to wear beautiful sparkly dresses and insane headpieces. 

My favorite part of the season? Hands down, the king cake. Second favorite part? The three days off of school! 

I'm already looking forward to the break and we still have a week left of our winter break! 

Mardi Gras is definitely a celebration in this town. Will you be celebrating this year? 

Put Your $$$ Where The Miracles Are

I'm so jazzed about volunteering in New Orleans tomorrow at the 31st Annual Children's Hospital's Telethon! 

Children's is a not-for-profit hospital in New Orleans, and fundraisers like this telethon are what ensure that no child is turned away because of a family's inability to pay. It's a Children's Miracle Network Hospital, which happens to be Phi Mu's national philanthropy. 

I was lucky enough to volunteer at a telethon at Children's last fall, where we helped raise over $32,000! It was so great! 

Our philanthropy is one of my favorite parts of Phi Mu, and I know my sisters love it as much as I do. 

If you're in the New Orleans/South Louisiana area and tune in to WDSU tomorrow afternoon, you may see some of my sisters on TV. Who knows, I might even answer when you call to donate! 

But the beautiful thing about this digital age and internet? You don't even need to be from around here to donate! 

It's so easy to donate online! 

After all, it's all for the children! 

GEAUX Saints!

Truth be told, I'm not even watching the game tonight, but based on the volume of my mom's screams downstairs, the Saints aren't doing very well against those Seahawks. 

I've never actually been to a game in the dome, but I'd definitely wear some of these fun accessories on game day -- especially if our boys could make it to the Super Bowl!

Clockwise from 12 o'clock:

Tory Burch flats / Kate Spade watch / Sara Ott bracelet / nail polish in "As Gold as it Gets"  / cardigan / Jack Rogers sandals / Kate Spade purse / Water Meter ring (similar) / Baublebar necklace

And if you just can't get enough NOLA love, check out FleurtyGirl.net! The fleurty girl herself, Lauren Thom has all sorts of fun items in her creative shop that scream New Orleans! 

A Year in Review!

I know, we're already a week into 2014, but a review of last year seemed appropriate. 2013 was a year full of excitement and change! It will definitely go down in my record book as one of the best years of my young life. 

High School Graduation

I finally graduated! High school was definitely a journey, and I couldn't be happier to be starting another chapter in my life. And after spending 14 years (counting pre-k and kindergarden) in Catholic school wearing pressed white shirts and plaid skirts, college has been quite a change!

Theater

I discovered my love of theater in 2013, specifically musicals. 

I had the time of my life in my school play, Annie. I also got to see two spectacular Broadway musicals in New York this summer, Annie and Wicked. I can't say enough good. If you ever have the opportunity to see a broadway show, JUMP AT IT! You won't regret it. 

I also saw the The Book of Mormon when it came to New Orleans! Such a fun time! 

New York City

With my adorable little cousin.

On my trip there this June, I had an absolutely amazing time! I could do a whole post on my love of New York City and another on my trip, so for brevity's sake, I'll make this quick:

I LOVE NEW YORK. I know I need to live there sometime in the future. The city has a sort of pulse that you can feel as you're walking down those crowded streets. It's like it has a beating heart and the scurrying people are like the blood in it's street-veins. 

I've spent most of winter break obsessing over exploring NYU and Columbia Law. Why must they be sooo expensive?

College

Soooo excited on move-in day!

I'm having such a great time in college! I definitely wasn't one of the girls who peaked in middle or high school (still don't think I'm actually peaking yet? That sounds silly...), so being able to have a fresh start with college has been great! I honestly think I'm learning to come out of my shell (I was such a shy and quiet kid) and have made some new friends as a result. Finishing the semester with a 4.0 was icing on the cake of a lovely first semester.

PHI MU

As an only child, the opportunity to gain over a hundred amazing sisters really appealed to me. I knew from the first day of recruitment week that I needed to be a Phi Mu lady, and I love so much about Greek life. My school is small compared to most, but having a family group makes it much cozier and certainly puts me at ease. You're never going to be able to like all of your sisters, but I can really feel the bond between us. Any Phi Mu readers out there? LIOB!

I'm excited to see what 2014 has in store for me! I love January because it's like a new beginning. Life starts over a little bit every time the seasons change. Although I'm absolutely loving this cold weather, before we know it, the snow will have melted (figuratively in Louisiana) and spring will have sprung! 

Will 2014 be your year?

A Night with John Mayer!

It's the middle of finals week for me and I may or may not be going a little crazy with two finals tomorrow and two Tuesday (this post = #procrastinationstation). However, yesterday I took a study break entire day off from studying and went to New Orleans with my mom to see John Mayer in concert! 

We had such a good time! We spent most of the day shopping, had dinner at Acme Oyster House (yum!) and then made our way over to the New Orleans Arena for the show! 

And what a show it was!! Phillip Phillips opened and did an awesome job! I absolutely love the sort of folk/rock/pop combo thing he has going on. You should definitely take a second to check out some of his music (his two big hits are Gone, Gone, Gone, and Home)

As for Mr. Mayer, there was no doubt in my mind that he would put on a spectacular show. He didn't let me down. His guitar skills alone are incredible, and I loved every song he sang. 

Our seats were pretty decent, too. (The last concert I saw at the arena was Taylor Swift and our seats were terrible in the very back and at the tippy top) This time, we were in the first level off the floor and off to the side. 

I'm pretty sure it sounded just as good from where we were as it did in the front row, too ;)

I apologize for the less-than-sub-par pictures. I'm still mastering the art that is iPhone photography and I took mostly videos anyway. 

But pictures don't really do that stage justice anyway. There's no way to capture the way the lights all came together to make your feelings from the songs feel stronger. The images in the background of the night sky and the desert just added so much. I loved the hippie vibe and I think it really matched his two newest albums, but I was over the moon that he played so many of his oldies too! 

Here's a clip of a video I took of John singing Gravity (one of my absolute favorites!). Again, apologies for the terrible video quality. At least it sounds amazing :)

If you've never heard of John Mayer, do your ears a favor and check out his music. Same thing for Phillip Phillips!