Sunday, September 22, 2019

fall wishlist 2019



ahhhhhh yes, it's finally fall.... well at least it is for the rest of the county! It's once again that glorious time of year for all of us Floridians where we really have to use our imagination to the fullest. I'm talking about "imagining" that even the slightest rustle of wind through the palm trees sends us  to pull out our *one* sweater from our closets and raid the grocery stores of all things pumpkin spiced. Even though it still is summer time down here in South Florida, I thought I'd share with you all some items I have to get my hands on this fall! Like always, click the highlighted links below to shop each product if you wish!

2019 Wishlist

One: Ditch the drab boring nail color pallet that's just "excepted" to wear during fall and add a pop of color to your look! Maybe it's the name "positive vibes only" that's drawing me into making this OPI purchase!

Two: Not gonna lie, but I kinda want to get back to some of my "preppy" roots when it comes to my wardrobe, especially for this fall. Lets face it, the classics never go out of style. I don't care what the "not being able to wear white" after labor day law, I've been loving white on white and I want to be wearing it even more this fall! Ohhh imagine how cute this sweater would look with the pop of that nail color... *droll face*

Three: You know that pair of jeans that look great on anyone? That skinny leg, right in between mom jean and certified "cool girl" jean?! Yeah, I need a pair ASAP and think I found the right fit, here!

Four: It's almost hard for me to believe that I do not own a simple yet versatile pair of white sneakers. It seems as if now's a suitable time to toss my flip flops in for a real shoe for fall. After searching high and low, I found the perfect pair!

Five: The midi cheetah skirt is the first clothing article I loved so much, I need the same thing in multiple colors! The blush satin midi skirt is so chic and is perfect to throw on with an oversized sweater for this fall. 

Six: When I first saw this candle featured on one of my favorite instagram accounts, @things.i.bought.and.liked, I was in so happy it existed I was almost in disbelief. Not sure if it's a new things, or I've just been sleeping on anthropologies pumpkin spiced fall inspired candle for a long time now. Time to light that bad boy, turn my thermostat to 65 degree, break out my ~ugg boots~ and pretend i'm up north.


Tuesday, September 10, 2019

my recruitment experience!




 Man, life sure does have a funny way of panning out. In high school and honestly up until my first year of college, I was so closed off to even the slightest idea of myself going through sorority recruitment. Even though my wardrobe definitely made it seem as if I walked straight of a sorority house, (to paint a picture for any new readers, I had a strict vineyard vines, lily pulitzer type of wardrobe lol.) I cultivated this toxic, cynical, mindset to something completing unfamiliar to me and in my mind this whole thing  was something I would NEVER do. Not in a million years.

 A huge chunk of why I felt the way I did back then was due to the fear of being "stereotyped" as this one particular girl. I'm sure each and every one of us could easily generalize a version of what we think a sorority girl is like. Also, thanks to all memes out their, it may be easier then ever to do just that. Overtime, I slowly yet surely began to get off my high horse and realize maybe this whole thing isn't all that terrible, I should give it a shot. After all, I've had several friends who have been apart/are currently apart of greek life and only have positive things to say about it all. And hellooooo, women should stick together and be each others biggest support systems anyways!


Flash forward to today, I now find myself as new member of Alpha Xi Delta! It's still kinda shocking to hear myself say that! With that all being said, I can't wait to see all that is in store with sisterhood! Today I wanted to share with you all a bit of my experience of the whole insane recruitment process to help anyone who may be going through recruitment soon or in the future!


In the Words of Julie Chen, Host of Big Brother, Expect the Unexpected.

Any Big Brother fans out there catch my reference? yes? no? One of the biggest clichés that you will hear tirelessly during recruitment is "tRuSt tHe pRoCeSs." While is 10000% true, there is so much weight to this phrase. I'd like to replace that phrase with "expect the unexpected." Each day you never really know what might happen, even when you may think you do. You may walk out of a chapter with the most incredible and moving connection with some girls within the chapter and start to believe that "it's the one for you" only to find out that you were BOOM! DROPED! Or, like in my case, a hurricane might roll through and cancel two of the most important days but you just gotta roll with the punches! Please, please, please, stick to being open minded. Wherever your mean't to be, you will end up.

Be Authentically You

I like to resonate this mantra wherever I go, and during any stage in life. During the recruitment process, I would even tell the girls recruiting me that i'm doing this full in authenticity of who I am. Let's face it, i'm not one to "fit a certain mold" of a group and pretend i'm someone i'm not just to get the "clout" of being apart of it. *I even told some girls that, whoops, I have no control lol* I want to always be unapologetically me because hello, this is where i'm going to meet my friends, it would be way to exhausting to keep up some act personally! Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Sorry for being complete cheese ball by throwing in a Dr. Suss quote, I just thought it is  extremely pertinent to the situation that i'm speaking about! So to wrap up, be transparent, be unapologetic, be you.


Can't wait to keep you all posted with all that this journey has in store for me!! I'm so excited!






Thursday, September 5, 2019

apt tour.. a work in progress!!




Since moving into my apartment a hand full of weeks ago,  I've been back and forth on the idea of whether or not I should share with you all my apartment as it is, or wait until I have the final touches in place and then share the "big revel." Not sure why I decide to keep my interior such a secret, considering the fact that I'm the worst when it comes to keeping a secret. Whoops. I'd have to admit, it's something I need to work on!

In classic Jillian fashion of spoiling surprises, I unintentionally *teased* you all on Friday when I posted the little glimpse of my coffee table display. Whether you noticed it or not, I obviously felt as if it's time to share my apartment with you all, even without all the finishing touches! After all, isn't their that saying that a place starts to feel more like "home" once you starting finding pieces along the way, or am I just making that up?


 R O O M  B Y  R O O M






Living Room: Colorful. Chic. Costal. These three adjectives helped me build the framework of what I envisioned when it came to styling my first place! Even though this is still parallel to having a college dorm, I still wanted to make the small space my own. After all, If i'm gonna be living somewhere I would want it to make me feel happy!

P.S: MAKE IKEA YOUR BEST FRIEND! I found the best pieces (my coffee table, end tables, rattan chair, fuzz throw, t.v stand, couch, legit most of my stuff) at ikea for such great prices! Like I said, if you just moved into a dorm/apt. in college, this isn't your "forever home" or "hot shot" apt. just yet. Take advantage of places like Ikea and target for simple pieces that are functional and half the price of some home furnishing stores!!



Bar Cart: How on brand is the whole set up for me?! Can't wait to dress it up for the holidays!





Kitchen: Angled this photo juuust right so I can crop up the giant blank space above my kitchen table, lol! Slowly and surely things will come together. In the mean time of finding the right print to frame above my table, thought i'd add some color to my kitchen with a jar of citrus. A very cheep and easy decor tip!




Bedroom: The star of the show is my bright, hot pink, obnoxiously adorable rattan headboard that I snagged at a none other than a local THRIFT STORE! Yes, you heard me right! Odd Ball's thrift store in Fort Lauderdale to be exact. If your in the area, I highly recommend checking it out, it's worth the visit! It's kind of a funny story of how I found this magnificent piece, actually.  It was the classic "i'm going to the store to get one thing and leave with something completely far fetched from what I came for! In my case, I went in looking for a coffee table, and walked away with a headboard!

Not sure if you all are aware of it, but bedding furniture is hella expensive. So to cut cost, I packed up what I had at home and "u-hauled" it up to my place! Highly recommend doing if you have the means to do so! 




Hope you all enjoyed this little tour of my place! More updates to come along the road!
 

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