Savannah, Georgia: Part 2

More pictures of Savannah, Georgia!

Chippewa Square, my favorite square right next to my favorite coffee shop, The Gallery Espresso. Apparently this is the square where all the bench shots in Forest Gump was filmed :)

The Crab Shack on Tybee Island. I personally don't like sea food so I wasn't impressed, but I feel like ever tourist on the island has to eat here once. They have huge sea food platers and a trash can under the table with a hole over it so you can throw away all the shells and what not. It is outside and they have a gator pit that's entertaining!

Sweet Potatoes! An amazing southern restaurant off of Waters, home of the world's best banana pudding according to the Food Network show, Man vs. Food!! 

Another must do while in Savannah. Mrs. Wilkes is a family style restaurant where you sit a table with a group of around 10 people. All the food is served in bowls and on platters that are passed around the table. It's delicious southern food and it's really fun talking to the other people at your table!

Bonaventure Cemetery is a little drive outside of downtown, but it use to be home to the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil statue that's extremely famous to Savannah!! The statue has been moved to a museum, but the cemetery is still worth a visit. John Mercer and other significant people to Savannah are buried there, but it's located right on the water with a pretty view!

Like I said, I had a bucket list to do while I was here. Here's my list, the one's with a strickthrough are places I've been, including all the photographed ones already posted plus places I didn't take pictures at. There are some places I haven't gotten to and hope I can in future visits!

• Old Town Trolley
• ShopSCAD
• Ghost Tour
• The Breakfast Club on Tybee Island
• Savannah Bee Company
• Chippewa Square
• Forsyth Park
• Huey's on River St.
• Vinny Van Go-Go
• B. Matthews Eatery on Bay St.
• Gallery Espresso on Bull St.
• The Cotton Exchange on River St.
• The Cookie Bar
• Gryphon Tea Room
• Kayak on Moon River
• Back In The Day Bakery on Bull St.
• Leopold's Ice Cream
• Wormsloe Plantation
• Bonaventure Cemetery
• Ice cream in a Square
• The Lady and Sons
• A Sand Gnats Game
• SCAD Museum of Art
• Bluff Drive
• Old Pink House
• Scad Theater
• Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum
• Tybee Island Light Station and Museum
• Ogeechee Canal Trails
• Fort Pulaski
• Broughton Street Bistro
• Sisters of the new South on Skidaway Rd.
• Sweet Potatoes on Waters
• Palm Avenue: A Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store

I may have to edit this post after this weekend since it's my last weekend here! Until then, stay sweet & sassy! xx

Savannah, Georgia: Part 1

For those of you who don't know, I have been lucky enough to spend the whole summer living and interning on Skidaway Island, an island just below Tybee Island and about a 30 minute drive from downtown Savannah. I had only visited Savannah in my middle school years for the Georgia state swim championship , therefore I spent more time at the aquatic center than roaming the city. At first I was really excited, then super nervous about moving to a city where I didn't know anyone or really anything about. Luckily, I am 1 of 8 interns from my school out here and since the institution I'm working for provided housing, they threw us all together to live under 1 roof. Although we are stuck out here on an island, we have figured out ways to entertain ourselves. I started doing some research and reading tourist pamphlets and made a list of things I wanted to do during my time here in Savannah. Luckily I have been able to accomplish most of this list! I figured I could break down the list into a few blog posts to give people a glimpse at some possible things to do in the Savannah area.

For starters, here's where I lived. A 4 bedroom, 3 bath bungalow on my institution's campus.

Here's a view of Moon River from the campus. This river is literally a 1 minute walk from our front door. Pretty cool!

The first week we were here we did a group dinner at The Cotton Exchange on River Street. I wouldn't recommend the restaurant, but of course River Street is a must see for anyone visiting.

One thing I do remember about Savannah from my previous trips is the candy stores. Also on River Street, they smell soooo good and make their candy right there! Free samples are always given out when you walk around the store which will only tempt you more to buy something! :)

Tybee Island! One of the few beaches in Georgia and not a far drive from Savannah! We frequented the beach all summer, sometimes even leaving work early for a beach day :) 

So this is a little embarrassing, but I googled Paula Deen's address on Wilmington Island and boyfriend and I drove by her house one day. It's gated and there's lots of plants around the fence so you can hardly see anything, but she has a beautiful piece of property right on the inter coastal and across the street from the island's golf club!

Another thing Savannah is known for are the many squares scattered throughout the city. I can't tell you how many times I've had ice cream, coffee or just relaxed in the beautiful squares. If you go on a ghost tour they'll tell you which ones are haunted too!!

Paula Deen's restaurant The Lady and Sons is a must go to in Savannah! Be sure to make reservations at least a week in advance. Located in the middle of downtown, the restaurant offers a large menu of southern style meals including a buffet of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and other southern goodies. You will leave very full and happy!

Forsyth Park! Also in downtown Savannah, Forsyth Park a great place to walk around, have a picnic, or play a game of frisbee. Some of my roommates and I stumbled upon the park one Friday afternoon and it was busy with people walking their dogs and SCAD students just hanging out. It's in a very different part of town than River Street and we fell in love with it!

A beautiful Catholic church on Bull Street we found the same evening. I'm hoping to attend mass there this Sunday and see the inside, but judging from the outside it will be absolutely stunning on the inside too! Again, I loved this area of Savannah. Lots of small boutiques, coffee shops, art galleries. Very historic, beautiful, and very southern.

Colonial Cemetery, apparently it's haunted by a man who died from being mugged on night in the cemetery. But besides that, it's cool to see some family vaults and important people's to Savannah gravestones.

That's all I'm going to do for now :) Trust me there is SO much more!! Until next time, stay sweet & sassy! xx

Kiel James Patrick

This summer I have developed a love for nautical accessories, anything from starfish necklaces, clam earrings, and rope flip flops. The lovely products by Kiel James Patrick have only made my love for all things nautical grow! I discovered the brand through Mr. Patrick's tumblr page where I became obsessed with his girlfriend, Sarah Vickers, classic preppy style. Not only am I jealous of this couples amazing clothing collection, but I'm also jealous of their New England lifestyle that I follow on Vickers' blog- Classy Girls Wear Pearls.

KJP has earrings, bracelets, belts, headbands, bow ties and handbags all hand made in Rhode Island. Be sure to check out their website and blogs (links above). Here's just a brief preview of some of their adorable items!

Happy shopping! Until next time, stay sweet & sassy! xx

Cappuccino Chocolate Muffins

I've realized that some of the best things in life start with B: baking, breakfast & boyfriend! So the other weekend when boyfriend came to visit I decided to make him a new breakfast treat. I found a cappuccino chocolate muffin recipe in a little book my mom gave me called "Bountiful Breads" that's filled with delicious bread, biscuits and muffin recipes (therefore I'm in love with it). Well, they were amazing. This is definitely a keeper for future breakfasts. I forgot to take pictures and had sent the left overs home with boyfriend so the picture is thanks of him :)

Don't they just look delicious!! Here's the recipe straight from the book, happy baking!

Cappuccino Chocolate Muffins

Yields: 1 dozen normal sized muffins

Bakes at 375 for 15 minutes

What you'll need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. instant espresso coffee powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini-chip

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking power, coffee powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, blend milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in chips. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes on wire rack. Remove muffins; finish cooling on rack.

Sunburn Remedy

I may be a blond but I had definitely inherited the Irish skin tone from my family leaving me a nice pale white and therefore super sensitive to the sun. As I've gotten older I've learned to accept my pale skin tone and gave up on trying to be really tan since it's just not possible for me. Unfortunately this past spring I got full on sun poisoning when I attended Steeplechase because I spent all day out in the sun with no sunscreen on. I know, super stupid on my part. Fortunately, my wonderful boyfriend took very good care of me while I had multiple panic attacks from the pain and my shoulders become completely covered in blisters. Desperate for anything to help my burn heal, I started googling remedies. Although there's no real cure, there are a couple things you can do to help heal a sun burn, or at least take the sting away for a bit.

First is the most obvious: aloe.

I use this Banana Boat Aloe After Sun Lotion. I think it smells good and it's not greasy or gross feeling. I'll use it any time after I'm in the sun, burnt or not. It's become one of my summer essental since an old friend of mine recommended it to me back in high school. Although it's better to use an actually aloe plant, which actually my grandma just recently gave me one to start growing, this is a decent alternative to aloe gels which I think feel gross.

Now the best remedy to sunburn is: black tea!

Sounds crazy, right? Wrong! It's seriously the best thing ever. I discovered this trick after reading countless of articles online. I'm not going to go into the scientific reasons as to why this works, but it does! Here's what you do: depending on the amount and severity of your sunburn you can either take a full tea bath or just what I would consider a "tea shower". 

How to take a "tea bath": Buy a box of black tea bags, it can honestly be any brand, doesn't matter. Fill up your bath tub about half way with lukewarm water, you want it to be warm enough to make the tea but not too hot since hot water doesn't feel good on a new sun burn! I put around 10 bags of tea in mine and let the bags soak in the water for a good 30 minutes before getting in. Then, I laid in the bath for 30 minutes making sure my really burnt areas where completely submerges. You could use a cloth or sponge here to drip some of the tea of the bad areas but be sure to use an old cloth or one you don't mind getting stained because the tea with discolor it! After 30 minutes let yourself air dry for awhile before using a towel then putting on clothes. It's best to let the tea soak into your skin and if you have a really bad burn like I did, let the tea bags soak in the tub over night and take another 30 minute bath the next day! You can repeat this as many times as necessary, although I would recommend taking a really shower or bath somewhere in there so you don't start to smell like tea. When I had sun poisoning on my shoulders and arms I took a 30 minute bath Saturday night, left the tea to soak over night, took another one Sunday morning and buy Thursday my blisters were gone and I was just peeling. For sun poisoning, I think that was pretty fast!

How to take a "tea shower": Now I did this the other day because I just had sun burn on my neck and shoulders and want it to heal faster. Buy any type of black tea and make a pot or bowl of tea using 1 or 2 tea bags. Don't use until water is cooled! Take a bowl of the tea with you into the shower and using either a sponge or cloth that you don't mind getting stained, gently poor the tea over your burnt areas. Take your time, because you want the tea to soak into your skin as much as possible, therefore don't just dump the bowl on your. Let yourself air dry a bit then let the tea soak in over night. I promise that when you wake up the next morning you will be able to tell the difference!

I hope this will save one of you on your next beach vacation or trip to the pool! I know I was so happy discovering this simple trick! Until next time, stay sweet & sassy! xx

Obsession: Monograms

I am slowly but surely expanding my collection of monogrammed goodies. Starting with my silver monogrammed bracelet and matching earring studs a friend got me for Christmas, then moving on to a Marley Lilly monogrammed floppy hat, I have to start agreeing with Reece - "If it's not moving, monogram it!"

Marly Lilly is the heaven of monogrammed goodies. From floppy hats, to adorable clutches, sunglasses, and scarves I promise you will find something to add to your wish list! I was lucky enough to win a yellow cashmere feel scarf with my monogram in black (school colors!) and I absolutely love it. Also, my floppy hat was a huge hit at Steeplechase Atlanta, I got so many compliments on it and even helped a friend order one for the event! And now I've been dying for a brown luxe cross body clutch.

Our hats at Steeplechase!

I also love a good craft that includes a monogram. I'm sure you've seen plenty on pinterest (here's my craft board). So far I've made a key ring hanger out of a cheap wooden frame I bought at Michael's and painted pink using normal acrylic paint. I then picked a Lilly print and put a big M on it, printed it out, put the paper in the frame, then screwed in the little hooks! I can't wait to use it in the fall for my keys and sunglasses!

Now lately I've been on a hunt to find monogram stickers to put on everything from my laptop to car. I've found a few websites that offer different size stickers, some come in sets so you can use them all over the place!! It's so exciting!! 

I love Girly Twirly's laptop monograms! They're a great size and come in so many colors!

I also love Girly Twirly's wall monograms!

Now I'm really obsessed with these Lilly inspired wall monograms from this Etsy's shop. Check out all of her products, including Lilly pillows, towels, and wooden letters!

Ok, so tell me this isn't the best idea ever? Check out this Etsy shop where you can buy 1/2 in monogram stickers for your phone! They also have bigger size stickers that you can get in sets, and even cute personalized cups which would make a great gift!

I hope I've sparked a monogram obsession in some of y'all too! Happy shopping and monogramming!! Stay sweet & sassy! xx