Riley Carpenter

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Sunrise on the Beach in Lilly

As much as I wish I could that I'm writing this blog post from Florida, sadly, I'm sitting at home in rainy Ohio. On our last day of spring break my mom and I woke up at 7:00am and drove down the beach to catch a glimpse of the sunrise and take some photos. Shockingly, it was our last day and it was only the first time I had been to the beach. Even though it was chilly and early, the beach was pretty much empty so it was really nice to be able to walk up and down the shore without having hundreds of people surrounding us.

After we snapped these photos we headed over to this super cute little beachside coffee shop where we picked up some iced coffee's, a hot chocolate, and some pastries before heading back to our house to enjoy our last day poolside.

For our early morning walk on the beach I wore my favorite pair of navy leggings and threw on a Lilly popover overtop because it was a little chilly that early in the morning. I'll have my outfit details linked at the bottom of this post for your personal shopping pleasure :)

When's the last time you've been to the beach?

xoxo,

Monday, March 27, 2017

South Carolina Recap

This past weekend my dad and I traveled down to Columbia, South Carolina which if y'all read this post you would know that I'll be attending The University of South Carolina next fall! Saturday was admitted students day which is a day when all accepted students have the chance to tour resident halls, Strom Thurmond (our fitness complex), greek village & select sorority houses, and meet with our intended majors. I also had already found my roommate (Hey, Sophie!) so I met up with her and we spent the majority of the day together.

It was such a busy day, I was up at 6:30am and didn't go to bed until midnight so it's safe to say I was exhausted. I had so much fun getting to spend the day with my future roomie at our future home and it made me even more excited for the fall!

I was able to snap some photos throughout the day and wanted to share them with y'all. The flowers were in bloom in the Horseshoe and oh my gosh, I was obsessed! I wore a simple coral colored shift dress from Gap paired with gold sandals and I threw a jean jacket on over it because it was a little chilly in the morning! I'll include links to my outfit & similar items at the end of this post!

What did you do this past weekend?

xoxo,

Friday, March 24, 2017

Spring Wishlist

Being that I am a 4th quarter senior who has just over two months until graduation, my school work load is beginning to die down (& senioritis is in full force) so I've found myself online shopping a lot more often that usual. Spring is probably my favorite season because of all of the gingham and pastel colors.

A couple of the items that you'll see below are definitely at the top of my wishlist, specifically the navy Jack Rogers, that darling pink gingham off the shoulder top, and the stunning gold Kate Spade watch. All of the pieces I've included below are perfect for spring and are things that I would definitely love to add to my closet!

As you're reading this, I'm currently on my way down to Columbia, South Carolina for USC's admitted students day tomorrow! I'm super excited to get to explore the campus, especially now that I'm officially a future gamecock! I'm also going to be meeting up with my roommate for next year which is super exciting! If you want to follow along my trip to USC make sure you're following @northprepster on Instagram because I'm going to be posting a lot on my Instagram story and you can also search the hashtag #NorthernPrepsterTravels to see all of my travel posts!

What's on your wishlist this season?

xoxo,

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Lilly on the Bay

Today's post is yet another Lilly on the water outfit. I snagged this Lilly romper during the After Party Sale a few months ago and was really happy to find that it is so much cuter on than I had imagined. I love the way this romper ties at the waist and the print isn't one that I've seen often.

Sadly, I'm writing this post from cold and rainy Ohio and looking at these pictures makes me want to be back down in sunny Naples, Florida again. This romper will definitely be a go-to of mine this summer because it's such a quick and easy outfit to put together. All you have to do is style it with some simple jewelry and a pair of sandals and you're good to go!

romper // purse // earrings // bracelet // similar sunglasses // similar shoes

What's your favorite purchase you made during the After Party Sale?

xoxo,

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

J.Crew Personal Stylist Experience

Last Wednesday I spent the majority of my morning laughing while trying on dozens upon dozens of clothes at J.Crew. As I'm sure many of y'all are aware of by now, last week I traveled down to Naples, Florida for my spring break. While there my mom and I decided to pay a visit to the Waterside Shops, a super pretty shopping center which is home to a newly remodeled Lilly Pulitzer store (more on that later this week!), a Kate Spade, a vineyard vines, and, of course, a J.Crew.

It just so happened that the mom of one of my best friends from elementary school worked at this J.Crew! My friend and his family moved down to Florida in 6th grade and I hadn't seen them in over seven years so you can imagine how excited both I and my mom were to finally be reunited with them! I was also so excited to find out that her role at J.Crew was a personal stylist. Within minutes we had picked up armfuls of clothes for me to try on. My mom was able to snap some photos of some of the clothing I tried on so I'll include those as well as the links to all the clothing below for your own shopping pleasure.

It was such a treat to be able to work with Dori and I was amazed at how quickly she was able to pick up my style and what I did and didn't like! During the 2+ hours I spent trying on clothes, Dori introduced me to so many new ways to style pieces that I never would have thought of. She taught me how to correctly do the half-tuck as well as how to cuff your sleeves so they look effortless (I was seriously mesmerized at how easily she did it!) She also explained how to tell which size fits me best depending on the fit of something. I walked out of J.Crew with two outfits (which I shared here and here) as well as the dress that I'll be wearing on graduation day (65 days!!!)

If y'all are ever in Naples, Florida and have the chance to visit the J.Crew at the Waterside Shops, definitely stop in and talk to Dori! I promise you'll love her and her fashion sense! I'm already counting down the days until I get to see her again! Here's the phone number & address of the J.Crew in case you'd like to visit:

Waterside Shops

5435 Tamiami Trail

(239)593-4079

dress

top

pink top // stripes & gingham top // white top // navy dress // white dress

top // shorts

Thank you SO much Dori for working with me and my wardrobe! Sending lots of love from Ohio!

xoxo,

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Navy, Bows & Striped Seersucker

If I could pick any outfit to represent me it would hands down be this one.

Navy? Yep.

Bows? Yes ma'am.

Stripes? Heck yeah.

Seersucker? You betcha.

I picked out this outfit last week over Spring when I spent the day trying on outfits with a J.Crew personal stylist and I just fall more and more in love with it each time I look at these pictures. Granted I won't be wearing it again anytime soon because it's cold here but it's the thought that counts right? If you're curious to know more about my day at J.Crew be sure to check back here tomorrow morning to read all about it!

I wore this outfit out to dinner last weekend while down in Naples, Florida for my spring break and it was actually pretty chilly. It was 55º and really windy which is why you'll see me sporting a jacket in the majority of the photos.