Layered Sandstone Maxi in Charleston

Dress: Sandstone Layered Maxi Dress || Shoes: Cece Platform c/o Rebecca Minkoff || Hat: Floppy Wool Hat || Watch: Round Leather Strap Watch

Things are about to be a little bit quieter around here for the rest of the week while I prep for a few website updates so I'll leave you with this oh so perfect layered maxi dress I packed last weekend for Charleston. I'm actually headed back to the same place at the end of this week for one of my favorite conferences ever! Follow along on Instagram to see what I'll be up to!

XO, Shelby

Stripes in the City

I spent the past few days visiting Charleston and it, honestly, never gets old. I love finding new spots each visit, staying in a new hotel each time, or trying a new restaurant. One of my favorite things to do in this charming city, hands down, is to simply take walks. Walks around the quiet sections of the city where it's a bit more residential is my favorite, favorite thing to do! I feel like I'm in another country and I never get tired of it, even when it's 95 degrees like this past weekend. 

Shop the Look:

Dress: Striped Bell-sleeve Dress c/o || Shoes: Grey Wedge Sandal, similar option || Sunglasses: Fitzroy  Sunglasses c/o  || Watch: Black/Brown Leather Watch c/o Kapten & Son || Bag: Mini Suki Crossbody

Little Swing Dress

I'm popping in for a quick post today because this week has gotten the best of me. I feel like the entire next month of July will fly by and I have approximately 80 things to do before August! Not complaining though. Just slowly but surely learning time management while still learning how to get to bed at a decent hour. I just had to share this favorite dress of mine, though. The intricate linen & cotton details caught my eye as soon as I saw it in the store and I love how the swing shape could flatter any body type!

Get the Look:

Dress: Cottonwood Swing Dress || Shoes: Jules Platform Wedges || Watch: Kapten & Son c/o || Earrings: similar

Wear Now and Later

Today I'm sharing a couple looks featuring J. McLaughlin's new Wear Now collection, inspired by high quality and timeless pieces that'll take you from cool summer nights to those breezy fall mornings. With how fast time flies, it'll be fall before you know it and I don't know about you but I've recently been going through my closet and seeing what I need/don't need/etc. One thing that every girl should have in her closet: a sweater that will last!

Get the look:

Sweater: Bora Sweater c/o || Pants: 'Jamie' High Waist Skinny Jeans || Hat: Straw Fedora || Scarf: Reese Striped Scarf c/o || Shoes: White Wedges || Earrings: Kendra Scott || Watch: Classic York 36mm c/o

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! 

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. 

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'

The Best Summer Top

Top: Off-the-Shoulder Floral Islander Top || Jeans: Wide Leg White Trousers (on major sale) || Bag: Coach 'Dinky' Crossbody in Chalk c/o || Necklace: Signature Flower Necklace c/o || Watch: Tan Leather Strap Watch || Lip Color: Lipstick in "syrup" || Shoes: Pointy Toe Pump

Have you ever walked into a store and immediately saw something you just felt like was made for you? It wouldn't feel right if you were to walk out and not get it. It has your colors, your print, your style... everything!  I completely felt that way when I saw this top! The off shoulder detail had me interested but the colors are what really had me loving it. It almost looks watercolored and it's basically my version of the perfect summer top!

Latest Favorite Swimsuit Finds (and they're not bikinis!)

I spent the weekend in one of my favorite peaceful islands, Hilton Head. Hilton Head is one of the first vacation spots that TJ and I visited together so it has always been a special place to both of us. I'll get into more weekend details later on but today I wanted to share with y'all two of my latest swimsuit purchases. They happen to both be one-pieces which I've been loving lately. 

Midweek Business Chic: Vol. 1

Work. There are a few more activities I can think of that I would prefer over work but everybody has to do it. Everybody has varying workwear requirements, some being more dressed up than others, but we can probably agree that the majority of women have days where we need to dress more business-casual. Every now and then, I've posted some work-appropriate outfits but since I spend 40 hours of my week working my full-time job, I figured I should incorporate more business-chic outfits on Pretty in the Pines. Let me introduce to you 'Midweek Business Chic' - a new series of posts where I'll be featuring a business chic outfit on a Wednesday!

It's All In The Details

Sometimes simple is best. Personally though, I think simple with some detail is best. If you can find a simple dress that you can wear throughout the season multiple ways and it has delicate details or something special about it, that's a closet win in my book. This scalloped laser-cut detailed dress is one of my favorite spring and summer finds. It would go great with almost any kind of shoe- flats, flat sandals, wedges, or pumps. 

Happy Friday

I couldn't be happier to see Friday! It's been a long and busy week with very little time to focus on the blog. For those of you who work a full-time job and have a side hobby/job, you know the struggle. Some weeks are easier than others. Friday is here, though, and that is all that matters! I'm excited to attend a fun cocktail event tonight with TJ and some blog friends as well as wedding industry friends to celebrate the grand opening of the Carriage House at Merrimon Wynne. Follow along on snapchat (shelbslv) to get some peeks at their new and beautiful addition to the venue.  

Two Inspiring NC State Graduates You Should Know

As some of you know, I graduated from NC State University in Raleigh, NC a few years ago. OK, fine, 4 years ago. Almost. How is that possible? I've been out of college almost as long as I was in college! Time needs to slow down just a little bit. It's a little weird looking back at what my plans were 8 years ago and now seeing how much they've changed. Anyways, that is a whole other topic of discussion. Today's post is very special to me because I'll be sharing two women who also graduated from NC State but have started their own inspiring businesses.

The Spring & Summer Pants You'll Want

If I had to design my perfect pair of pants, these would be it.  Palm leaf print, shades of blues, greens, and white, comfortable and free flowing, wide leg and high-waisted, ties at the waist... they are literally perfect. I first saw these wide-leg pants at a fashion show a couple weeks ago at Bevello in Cameron Village and I knew I had to have them! I love how this ruffle trim off shoulder top looks against the shades of the print! They're pretty long but were the prime length for my favorite wedges.  

Beach Weekend Packing Essentials with Dove

Each year around the end of March/beginning of April, I begin to think about when I can fit in some quick weekend beach trips.  There is something so calming and rejuvenating about time spent by the sea. Luckily, I have one planned at the end of April but until then, I'll be keeping an ongoing packing list in the back of my head.  Of course, I love to bring colorful floral outfits and flowy dresses but there are a few items that are more important not to forget while packing. 

A Must-Have Under $40 Scalloped Skirt

Welcome to a new week, everyone! I hope y'all had a happy Easter weekend.  I got to see some good friends on Friday night and visited my family at their campsite at the lake Saturday. We made s'mores and had a lot of delicious grilled food. I spent the majority of Sunday preparing for a week away in Delaware for my job. Speaking of business, today's outfit reminds me a little of a spring work appropriate outfit but also on the more casual side. This scalloped skirt is an appropriate length and when paired with a nice blouse, can really make for a great work outfit option for spring and summer.  This scalloped skirt comes in pink, black, olive, and a light beige and is priced at under $40!