Hot Pink + Chartreuse

As if it isn’t already obvious, hot pink is one of my favorite colors.

This spring my wardrobe will be made up of neons, sorbet brights, black/white, navy, and more neons.

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to embrace color. Even if it is just a hot pink sweater – or a bright yellow belt, embrace it. You won't regret.

Now, lets talk affordability. 

Here's my outfit breakdown (the price is what I paid): 

Gingham Top: $15

 Chartreuse Cardy:$11.50

Pencil Skirt: $26

Flats {Me Too,E-Bay}

Bag: $34.99 {no joke.}

Necklace: $10.80

Hope everyone is having a good week! I will be posting a fun look tomorrow as well as a weekend update! 

xo.

Seasonal Staples

It’s no secret that I, Emily Gemma, am a J. Crew-aholic (like every other blogger on the block!).

The med-school budget limits my J. Crew purchases so I tend to only buy my “seasonal staples” from J. Crew (on sale, of course!).

Here are my favorite spring J. Crew staples.

 Chambray Top {sold out} || Skirt {found in store for $40} || Plaid || Shoes || Pearls

Here’s how I styled them all together.

All of these pieces are versatile and can be worn with something you already own, which is why I consider them staples. I have worn that polka dot skirt several times and it's not even spring yet, same thing with the plaid shirt!

Blog Sponsorships + Life Update

The last few days I have been getting e-mails from people asking questions like

“do you have a media kit?”

and

“what are your sponsorship rates?”

 I’ll be honest; I wasn’t quite sure what this meant!

(I never intended for this blog to have so many sweet readers!)

If you are one of those people and I didn’t respond it’s because I had to spend some time researching it! (btw, I already reserved a spot for you!)

So here’s the deal, after thoroughly investigating the whole idea behind sponsorships, etc. I have decided I'd give it a try. Can't be that hard, right?

 

Here are the details:

·         I will not be using Passion Fruit so you must have PayPal.

·         I will take five at a time, to start off!

·         The button will be on my blog for one month at a time.

·         Your button must be of the appropriate size.

To learn more, e-mail me at emilysweetestthing{at}gmail{dot}com.

This will be first come first serve and will begin the first of March.

 

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

I had another post for today but I will wait until tomorrow. Until then here’s a life update via my phone!

John got his first medical school toy! Ha! He was so thrilled to finally get a folding MD Clipboard (with cheats on the back!!!!).

John took this Sunday after church as we were walking into WalMart… I loathe grocery shopping. I always wondered why women complained about it and now I know – and we don’t even have children!

The Deans are taking Disney in T minus 17 days! We just realized this weekend that we don’t have any luggage here so we ran out to TJ Maxx to hunt some down… John made some joke about needing the biggest they’ve got because he thinks I will over pack????? Idk what he is talking about!

Welcome to my office… (kitchen). I turn it into my Poshmark office on Sunday nights! 

Starburst Jellybeans now come in a package of ALL reds. I don’t think I need to say much else…

Emerald Love

My BFF Hillary has a killer job as the assistant to one of the VP’s at LimitedBrands.

This is great because she gives me a heads up something new or exciting happens when the Fashion Board meets. She & Leland visited Bristol for NYE she gave me the dish on some upcoming trends and one was about Pantone naming emerald green the color of the year!

Of course, I was thrilled because emerald, a stunning jewel tone, tends to look great on mosteveryone!

WhenI found this polka dot peplum top in EMERALD – I swooned!

It’smega-flattering and is just easy to wear!  

Top (they take orders via FB!) || Pants || Shoes || Bag || Watch || Earrings (such a steal!) || Bracelets here, here, here,and here.

THE Lauren Conrad Noticed Me? (ah!)

Sitting here this morning, sipping on my java while it's sinking in that my blog was featured on Lauren Conrad's website.  

My little blog began simply as a journaling "tool" for lack of a better word.
It never occurred to me that it would be viewed by anyone other than my family and friends, much less, style icon, "LC". While I am speechless and thrilled, I am beyond grateful.

Read the article here.

Grateful for the following:

1. My mom, my cheerleader (and part-time editor).

2. My husband who doesn’t just tolerate, but appreciates my girlieness, maybe even loves it! :)

3. My true friends who are there when I need them. {Proverbs 17:17}

4. Most of all, I am grateful for my Lord who always provides, always loves, and is always with me. {Isaiah 41:10}

Anyway, at the risk of being cheesy and sentimental, and overly excited about the shout-out, I must stop and acknowledge how grateful I am to all of you who read this blog because your encouragement is a big reason I have continued to blog. Additionally, thanks so much to LC, for showing some love to The Sweetest Thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, to address some recent questions from readers:

1. The sunnies I was wearing in the photo on LC's website are a knock-off of the Prada Baroque. My mom and I purchased them (cheap... like .81 cents!) for a trip we will be taking. I pretty much ditched my nicer sunnies because I am so crazy over these. Click here to purchase.

2. My eyebrows (I'm beyond confused about this because I've always had terrible brows but you asked so I will give you the dish!). I swear by the following product - it acts as "glue" to keep brows tamed and I use it to "arch" my brows. If you click the "Primp" tab you can view my Everyday Makeup Tutorial to see how I apply it. If it is not descriptive enough, let me know and I can do an Eyebrow Tutorial.

Purchase here. (usually only online)

Here's a before/after photo of how it works for me. This stuff lasts forever!

Sidenote: Have I mentioned how much I love this guy????

Outfit Details from IG photos:

Spring Plaid shirt here.

Neon Coral Paints here. (last spring!)

Hot Pink Pants here. (last fall, only $12!}

Lipstick here.

Bracelets here & here.
Belt: JOHN'S CLOSET! (lol) 

Happy Friday!

Wagon Wheel

A few weeks ago I took about 50 of my old clothing items to the local Plato’s Closet. They offered me $72 for only 18 of those 50 items. You do the math, that’s averaging $4 an item. Realistically, it was $.80 an item but the two pair of premium jeans they wanted were “worth” a whopping $14, skewing the average. I recommend only using Plato's if you are about to throw away your clothing because there are more profitable ways to make money on pre-loved goods! 

 

There's more to the story. The brown jacket you are about to see was one of the items they rejected! No joke. 

Nonetheless, I decided to spend some time with my old clothing and find new ways to wear these “rejects”!

 Here’s how the look turned out...

Jacket: F21 || Navy Gingham: J. Crew ||  Sequin Top: Limited || Denim: 7FAM || Bag: Speedy 35 || Shoes: Dillards (sale: only $38.14!) || Sunnies: Burberry Cat Eye

I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags...

Have you heard the Thrift Shop song? We love it,the clean version, of course.

John introduced it to me last weekend and ever since we both have it stuck in our heads all. the. time...“Twenty dollars in my pock-eeeet!”

Anyway, these pants you are about to see {or alreadysaw on my IG} were only $22 so when I found them last weekend I told John I waspoppin’ tags!

If you have ever clicked on my Style tabfeatured above, I wrote a “Spring Trends” post at the beginning of the year. Myboss had informed me that black and white patterns are hot, hot, hot… so Iincluded them in the post. When I found these pants… I swooned. Hope you lovethem, because you know I will be wearing them often!

Top: Prabal Gurung for Target || Pants (Not online, found them in the Love21 part of F21 last weekend though! If you live near Knoxville - I am sure there are plenty left!|| Shoes || Clutch: Clearance at J. Crew Factory|| Emerald Earrings || Pearls

If you have been reading my blog for a while,you already know that I only buy clothing on sale or I try to find super greatdeals. I have to confess that my shoes were a huge splurge! I had been lusting over these Steven’s for quite sometime and after my Poshmark party on Tuesday evening I checked my balance – I hadsold over $700 of my used clothing so I decided to put part of it towards theseshoes. I absolutely do not regret this decision!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! We are getting TONS of snow right now and loving every minute of it.

Valentine's #3

3 years ago yesterday John sent me this text!

At the time we had been best friends for over a year. We were in two different states, Skype’ing often, totally into another, and I was wondering if we’d ever get together! Fortunately, the week prior to Valentine’s we finally made our relationship official! I remember getting excited when I saw this text. John didn’t have an iPhone at the time so I had to screenshot all of my emojies and text it as a picture. Anyway, to this day, it is still on my phone! Lol. I don’t know that I’ll ever delete it. Clearly, I was thrilled to be his Valentine and I’ve only become more thrilled as the years have passed by!

Last night, we really didn’t plan on doing anything. In fact, I was going to attend Zumba – but towards the end of the day I realized it was important to spend our first Valentines as a married couple together.

I rushed home (in my Zumba ponytail) and we got ready and walked down the street to one of our favorite spots for dinner. Very low key, per usual. With our busy schedules, we have learned to appreciate the little bit of time we actually get to spend together.

My V’Day get-up!

Our Weekend

Phew! The first surgery rotation is complete. We celebrated that & John’s birthday this weekend by spending Saturday together. I work every Saturday and John is usually working or studying so it was wonderful having a day dedicated to spending with one another.

Saturday morning I got some of the best, most exciting news! 

One of my best friends from college, Paige, got engaged on Friday night. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more thrilled about an engagement before in my life! 

Paige is a one-in-a-million.  

Not to brag or be cliché, but she really is a rare jewel.

Her wisdom, advice, character, style, & smarts have changed my life in so many ways. Paige positively impacts everyone who comes in contact with her, I've watched it happen time and time again! I’ve learned so much from her in the last 4 years of our special friendship. And not to mention, she facilitated John & myself getting together! 

When I met her fiancé, Zach, I was hooked!

 In November they drove through and stopped to have breakfast with us (I had yet to meet this Zach fellow!) Paige left the table and Zach stopped eating and looked at me and said “is this the part where you grill me?” It made me giggle because in the first few minutes of being around him I knew I was going to love him! He's a no-grill-necessary type of guy.

Here are some photos from their weekend...  

Check out that ring!!! Attaboy Zachy!

In other news, here are some photos from our weekend! We went to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Knoxville, just taking in all we can of this area before we move away. 

Not a fan of this deal.

After church bagel trip!

Happy Monday!
In preparation for my Virtual Posh Party tomorrow night, I am spending the day adding more to my Poshmark Closet! My party theme is "Everyday Glamour" I hope everyone will join me! 

(p.s. have I mentioned that I have sold over $500 worth of pre-loved clothing in the last 2 weeks?)
@emilyanngemma

As Close To Chanel As I'll Ever Get...

Besides my favorite perfume, Mademoiselle.

I'm not much of a graphic tee type of gal but when I saw this on Blackbird's Facebook page for $28 I had to have it! It's kind of cropped but I figured it'd be good for transitioning into spring... it's lightweight and very cozy, yet has long sleeves.

I wasn't planning on putting this on my blog, but I had so many people ask about it so I wanted to share the links where I found it.

Blackbird is running low on sizes but Mason's just got a shipment. I recommend buying a medium or large no matter what... the shirt is cropped and splits down the sides so I have to wear it with a vest or high waisted jeans/shorts!

Hope everyone has a fanastic weekend! John & I somehow managed to get a Saturday off so we are spending the day celebrating his birthday! 

Kelly from Messy Dirty Hair | Lindsey from Peace Love Sequins

Checks + Dots

Outfit Details: Sweater || Shirt ($15 in store!) || Pants || Shoes (c/o) || Bag

When OASAP sent me these adorable shoes… Icouldn’t believe it!

Not only are they adorable – they are comfortable!

Unfortunatly, my size was not available so I ordered a size down and these didn't fit too well. But, on a better note, they have a new owner! I listed them on Poshmark and they sold very quickly!

Speaking of, my username isemilyanngemma & I’ve been invited to host a Posh Party on February 12<sup>th</sup>– I hope you will be there!