My Favorite View in Rhode Island

Top: Meadowbrook Blouse || Pants: Pilcro Hyphen Chinos || Shoes: Slide Sandal || Hat: Straw Fedora || Sunglasses: Aviators || Watch: Classic York 36mm || Earrings

I grew up visiting my mom's side of the family up in Rhode Island each summer and this past weekend we were able to visit for just a short time! It's such a unique place. You have to visit to really understand how beautiful it is. You get a panoramic view of the ocean there are rock cliffs overlooking the water. Last Saturday, we woke up extra early before family gatherings and we drove out to one of our favorite views!

Coastal Summer Wear

maxi cover-up: c/o Jarrett Bay || hat: straw fedora (similar)

A few weeks ago, we took a quick trip down to Isle of Palms and spent a little time at the beach on the most gorgeous sunny day. June is, by far, my favorite month of the year to visit the beaches of NC and SC. Why? Not everyone is out of school and the beaches aren't quite as crowded as July and early August! Plus, the weather is just right. As I was packing for a day at the beach, I made sure to pack a cover-up and a hat to keep me from getting burned the day before our engagement photos (that would've been bad). I packed this maxi cover-up from Jarrett Bay, a company based in North Carolina! 

A Peek Into Our Living Room + Gallery Wall

One of my favorite things to do in my free time (what is that?) is decorate my apartment. As much as I love going out to eat, seeing friends, and going to events around town, I will never get tired of a relaxing night at home and a home cooked meal followed by a movie with TJ and Colbie. I've wanted to completely redecorate our living room for quite some time since it never really had a solid theme or color scheme going on. As you look through these photos, you'll see a new gallery wall I created with Minted framed art, a whole lot of white and grey, with a bunch of pops of blue. 

What To Do In The Outer Banks

As I mentioned last week, I visited The Outer Banks a couple weeks ago with TJ and we were determined to become OBXperts! You can follow along on the hashtag #DareYouToOBX on Instagram to see more photos of what the entire group did that week. The Outer Banks is truly a special place that is not only rich in history but also rich in adventure! These beautiful islands off the coast of NC are home to several unique landmarks including numerous lighthouses and fishing piers, Jockey's Ridge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, wild horses in Corolla, and beautiful beaches to relax or do all types of water sports. It really is the perfect summer spot for just about anyone whether you like to relax and not move from your beach chair, explore, swim, fish, drive on the beach, see horses, ride horses, or eat some really good seafood.

Today I am sharing a list of things I would consider some of the best activities to do while visiting The Outer Banks. All of these activities are outdoors so they'd be perfect for a sunny day. It rained a couple days we were there so maybe next week, I'll talk about my favorite things to do on a rainy day!

How To Wrap a Bouquet of Fresh Flowers

Dress: Tasseled Halter Maxi Dress (on sale!) || Shoes: Slide Sandals || Bag: Coach Dinky Crossbody in Chalk c/o || Watch: Daniel Wellington c/o (get 15% off with code 'PRETTYINTHEPINES) || Sunglasses: Aviator Sunglasses in Gold

It seems the older I get, the more I become more like my mom in the way that we love flowers. I usually have to control myself in the grocery stores (especially Trader Joe's!) but I just can't say no to soft pink roses, peonies, hydrangeas, and all the greenery! It is the best piece of home decor you can find... thanks Mother Earth! Fresh flowers also are a perfect gift to bring to a friend or loved one but the plastic wrapping at the grocery store can sometimes take away from the natural/earthy vibes. So, today I'm showing you a super quick tutorial on how to wrap your flower bouquets to make them look even more beautiful! 

Ocean Blue Beach Essentials

When I was packing for the beach a couple weeks ago, I made a list of a few important things I didn't want to forget: a beach-cover up, swimsuit, hat, casual sandals, sunscreen... the list goes on. I like to try to plan well in advance and also try to throw in a couple new summer pieces for fun! When I came across this blue banana leaf cover-up by Escapada Living, I knew it had to come with me along with this blue high-waisted bikini. 

Summer Day in Manteo, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk

June has always been one of my favorite months of the year. It usually involves the most traveling, boat rides, beach trips, marks the start of summer, and I go into a summertime state of mind. I feel the most alive this time of year, while the anxious thoughts of work and life fade away. So, you could probably imagine I was beyond excited to partner with The Outer Banks this month and become an #OBXpert!

Friday Favorites

Swim Top: Floral Border Print Top || Swim Bottom: Floral Border High Waisted Bottoms || Hat: Straw Fedora || Umbrella: Striped Beach Umbrella

It's Friday and today I'm sharing a few recent favorites in all things fashion and life! I got back from the Outer Banks last night and had the best time. I'll share more photos from the trip next week. 

Let's get started...

1) Dillard's Swimsuits. When I was searching for a cute swimsuit to bring to the OBX, I stumbled upon the cutest high waisted swimsuits at Dillard's (who would have thought?!)... a place that I haven't really shopped at lately but that will probably change now! Shop some of my favorite ones:

2) Caprese Pasta Salad. I tried this recipe a week ago and ate the entire thing way too quickly. It was delicious, so fresh tasting, and my favorite pasta salad I've ever made. You have to try it this weekend!

3) TJ! My fiancé is an all-time favorite of mine but TODAY marks our 1 year countdown until I get to marry my best friend. June 10th, 2017. We are heading to Charleston this weekend to get some wedding to-do's completed. We're looking forward to some food tasting on Monday! I'm also very, very excited to have engagement photos taken next week with our wedding photographers, Jake + Heather. I haven't shared much wedding planning details since I was thinking, "well, it's over a year away and I have plenty of time" but that is no longer the case! Over the next year, I'll be sharing plenty of wedding planning details in hopes to help some other future brides-to-be.

4) New friends. I met a bunch of awesome people on our trip this week and I hope you'll check them out. Each one of them taught me something new and even TJ learned a ton! It is so much fun getting a bunch of people together who have things in common yet also have their unique talents! Here are their sites: Meg Biram | Lavin Label | Feast and West | Spicy Candy DC | Kelli Boyd Photography | A Lacey Perspective

I hope y'all have a wonderful Friday and weekend! Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for a new website design sometime very soon. I can't wait to share the new logo & design.

xo, Shelby

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What to Wear to a Summer Wedding

Dress: to rent: Halston Heritage Lilac Disco Maxi Dress c/o || to buy $: Halston Hertiage || Shoes: Sam Edelman || Clutch: GiGi New York || Earrings:3-in-1 Flora Chandeliers

I'm sure some of you all might have a wedding or two to attend this summer. We went to a beautiful wedding of a friend of mine this weekend at The Duke Mansion in Charlotte. It was gorgeous and although it isn't officially "summer" for a few more weeks, it sure felt like it this weekend at 94 degrees! As I sat there in the ceremony seeing the men in their jackets sweating their faces off, I felt SO happy that I had decided to wear this flowy, breathable, and fun maxi dress. It was probably the most comfortable dress I could have ever found for a summer wedding! You can rent it here or if you're a millionaire, you can buy it here. 

Tropical Vibes

Anyone else feeling those tropical vibes?

You know you're due for a beach trip or a vacation in general when you keep finding yourself drawn to anything and everything beach-related, or in particular, palm-print covered. June is typically the month when my family would take a week off work and go stay at an oceanfront home somewhere on the coast of NC or SC. We're not doing that this year but TJ and I are going to the beach next week for a super exciting trip and we can't wait. If you aren't already following along on Instagram, click here! In preparation for that, I felt it would be the perfect time to share this palm print swing dress with you all! It is under $100 and has the prettiest island-y color scheme going on. 

Dress: Palm Print High-Neck Swing Dress || Shoes: 'Odynna' Pointy Toe Pump || Bag: 'Dinky' Crossbody in Chalk c/o || Watch: Leather Strap Watch || Lip Color: in 'Syrup'

May Pretties

How is it already June?! 

The first day of each month is always so eye opening to me. I like "firsts" in general... first day of the year, of the week, of the season. I like not knowing what the month will hold but hoping that it will hold a lot of great things. While new months may also bring some not-so-great things, in between the unknown, there will always be the good parts or "the pretties". Today, I'm taking a look back at all of the great things I enjoyed about May! Most of these are photos I've shared on Instagram over the past month but since not everybody uses that app, I'm transferring them to the blog in the form of "May Pretties"!