post #64: friday five - what i've been up to

Hi friends! Happy Friday!

I know I've been gone from blogging for a long. long. long. time. So much for that New Years Resolution (which was brought to my attention yesterday by a coworker.) Oops. Blogging has taken a backseat to a lot of other things recently, as it should. Things like work, sleep, and the return of some of my favorite TV shows (duh). 

I spent the month of January going to the gym almost every day. Then there was the ice storm(s), and that dwindled a little. Then it dwindled a lot. Oops again. Another New Years Resolution down the drain.

But today's focus isn't on what I haven't been doing. It's on what I have been doing! Here are my five favorite things of the past few months...

1. Girls Weekend #1

One of my best friends from college is moving across the country with her military husband to California. We've all loved going to her house in Beaufort, SC for the past several years and having girls weekends, where we eat, drink, and play in one of the cutest towns around. We decided to have one last hoorah before her big move. We're counting down the months until we plan a girls weekend in Cali! (Maybe the boys can come too. But probably not.)

[will miss this sweet friend so much!]

2. Girls Weekend #2

I also got together in Charlotte with more besties for another girls weekend! We were celebrating the engagement of my friend Katie, and just enjoying being together - something that we don't get to do often enough since we're all in different cities. After an awesome weekend of wine, shopping, wine, mani-pedis, and more wine, we all left thinking life was great and couldn't get much better.

[girlfrands]

Then, I got a call a few weeks later from Meghan...she was engaged!! We couldn't be more excited for one of our favorite couples, and I'm thrilled for all of the wedding fun to come! I know that Katie and Meghan will be two of the prettiest brides!! 2015 is sure going to be a great year.

[2008 st. pats throwback with the brides. you. are. welcome.]

3. Greenville Wedding

We had so much fun getting to spend time with another group of our college friends at a fabulous wedding in Greenville! Stacy was a beautiful bride and the couple was so sweet. We knew the wedding would be one to remember when the bride and groom were introduced at the reception and immediately started singing a top notch karaoke rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." Congrats to this sweet couple!

[loves]

4. Carolina Cup

We had a blast at Carolina Cup again this year. Even though the weather was overcast with morning rain and we didn't have as large of a group as we have had in the past, a day of tailgating with friends and wearing sundresses in March (combined with morning drinks, a personal favorite) is always fun.

5. Milly's Birthday

This little princess turned 4. Love. 

[they just grow up so fast.]

It feels great to be back! Come back soon - I [hopefully] know I will! :-) xo

post #59 - Life Lately

The past few weekends have been so much fun! 

Two weekends ago, I headed to Charlotte for one of my besties' surprise birthday party. Her boyfriend pulled it off flawlessly, and she was actually surprised!

{beautiful birthday girl + host}

{christmas photo, perhaps?}

{favorite friends celebrating meg's 25th}

{theme of the evening}

{loves}

{little mexicans!}

The next week/weekend, we went to Seabrook Island for Thanksgiving. It was great getting to spend some time with Jordan's family! We were also able to get a little puppy/beach time in, and we took our Christmas card pictures (stay tuned!).

{isn't he the best uncle?}

{beach playtime}

{my pup is the cutest.}

{chilly beach day}

After that, we headed to watch the Clemson/South Carolina game with friends. There was only one happy camper when the day was over...our Auburn graduate! I still can't believe that game!

When we came home on Sunday, we went to get our Christmas tree. See the tree behind me in this picture? It's now in our living room - so. huge. Maybe next year, a 10 ft. tree won't be necessary. Oops! (Let's be serious...we love it!)

{not sure if this choice is a great idea...}

So, that's what I've been up to lately! See y'all on Friday!

post #54. USC v. UF

Happy Tuesday!

Ready for a photo dump from Saturday? I had a great time tailgate hopping and spending time with some friends that we don't see nearly often enough!

{ignore the gamecock colors!}

{handsome husband}

{boys before the shenanigans began}

{so glad that i got to see a few long lost law school girlfriends!}

 {things are getting weirder}

{no gamecock fans here! not so excited to see the game.}

{football!}

Then we danced like fools. And ate Waffle House. And slept into the afternoon.

A good time was had by all! 

P.S. Congrats to all of my Auburn fan readers, after pulling out one of the most exciting wins I've seen all season!

Up on the blog tomorrow - the creamiest, yummiest white chicken chili you'll ever try!

xos - Morgan

We had a great time, but want to see a football weekend I'd rather be at?? See this post!

post #53. Working Woman's Wardrobe - Long Sleeved Dresses

Happy Friday! I'm still sniffly and recovering, but thanks for all of your sweet messages about being sick last week!

 I hope you're as excited for the weekend as I am! This weekend, we have a few friends coming in town and *brace yourself* we are attending the South Carolina game! It's going to be difficult to wear garnet, but after a few cocktails I don't think I'll mind so much. 

I got a text from a friend recently that sparked this post. She asked if I'd seen any cute long sleeved dresses for work - her boss had several, but they were all designer. Or sweater dresses (quite possibly the most unflattering thing I could ever wear). For those of us just starting out in the real world, it can be tough to wear stylish and professional clothes to work every day without repeating too frequently. I find this especially true in the winter, considering the only thing I want to wear in the morning is leggings and wool sweaters. Not exactly workwear.

I scoured the internet to find this week's Friday Five - Five dresses, winter and work appropriate, under $150. 

1. Ann Taylor 3/4 Button Shift Dress - $149, currently 30% off {buy it here}

2. Ralph Lauren Suede Trim French Terry Dress - $129, on sale for $90 {buy it here}

3. Michael Kors Draped Wrap Effect Stretch Jersey Dress - $120 {buy it here}

4. Zara Dress with Front Seams - $60 {buy it here}

5. Nanette Lepore Rabat Two-Tone Ponte Dress - $249, on sale for $148 {buy it here}

Which dresses are your favorites?

Xo - Morgan

(P.S. In other exciting news, I think my blog design is finally almost ready! It took longer than I expected, but I'm so excited for the makeover! Get ready for a big reveal next week *crossing fingers*)

post #50 - Washington, DC Review

50 Posts!! Is this a milestone? I think so!

As I mentioned in post #49, I spent Wednesday-Sunday of last week in Washington, DC. I hadn't been there in many years, and when I found out that I was going for work Wednesday-Friday, I decided to stay the weekend and hang out with my college roommate. We had such a great time!

Friday Night -

Went to an awesome tapas dinner, then drove around town.

{beautiful capital}

Saturday

Went for a walk through the awesome fall trees to Georgetown. We got coffee & a cupcake and chatted.

{best. pumpkin. ever.}

{cupcake deliciousness from baked & wired}

{coffee can be beautiful, what?}

Then, we headed back, got ready, and headed to Disco Brunch at Level One. We saw this man along the way - only in the city!

{yummy, cheesy hash brown casserole with chopped applewood bacon, sour cream, scallions, a whole bunch of cheese, and a fried egg on top. i also added guacamole.}

I had the bottomless mimosa (are you surprised?) and the "Gurl, It's a Brunch Bowl." Seriously, one of the yummiest breakfast items I've had in a long time! Our service was great and I had a fun time getting to know Polly's friends.

After that, we hopped around to a few fun places. We ended up going to a wine and cookie tasting called Cookies & Corks. Best idea ever, right?! By that point, we had been running around the city for most of the day. The tasting paired different wines with different cookies, and all were delicious!

All in all, we had a wonderful time! It was so much fun hanging out and catching up. Is it possible to still be recovering?

I'm definitely still catching up on sleep!

Check back tomorrow for my Five on Friday! Don't forget to follow along on Facebook, BlogLovin, GFC, etc! :-)

xo - Morgan

post #49 - Mountain Weekend + New Car!

Hi sweet friends!!!

Did you think I disappeared? I practically have! It has been a crazy few weeks!

Remember on my last post (a week and a half ago) when I said I'd been super stressed? Well - it's because last Friday, we found out the Bar results! And guess what? I PASSED!! Friday was quite possibly the longest and most stressful day of my life. I was in panic mode all day, and was going on no sleep.

When I found out that I passed, we decided to head to the mountains with Jo's group of best guy friends. We had such a blast! I did a terrible job at taking pictures, but here is an idea of our trip...

{friends in hats}

{house discoveries}

{take 2}

{our house had the best props!}

{bro'ing out}

{food.}

{entire table of food. and daytime lounging}

{beautiful}

{mountains}

{hunny}

{clemson football}

{handsome hubby}

{besties}

Also - I can't believe we forgot to take a group girl pic! I guess it will have to wait until next year!

In even more news...

Last Monday, we got a new car!!

We found a great deal on the one we wanted and decided to go take a look. We found a 2012 with only 4000 miles on it (who drives a car for 2 years and only puts 4000 miles on it??) and got a real steal! We unexpectedly pulled the trigger and purchased it!

After that, I promptly went to DC for work, letting Jo drive our new car by himself all week. 

Want to hear about DC? Stay tuned later this week!

Until next time!

Xo -

Morgan