Featured: Chatham Ivy & The Initialed Life


Christmas came early this year! I had 2 packages arrive in the mail from two amazing shops that I got the opportunity to work with. They were from Chatham Ivy, and The Initialed Life, my two newest shop discoveries. Let me just say- it was a preppiness overload. I styled both of the shirts, and the photos are below!
The first shirt I styled is from a relatively new company called Chatham Ivy. Like their slogan says, they are "wicked preppy!" Shop their products here.
The design of the shirt was brilliant, and the shirt itself was fitted and soft. I would definitely give it as a gift.
Here are the graphics of the tee- they are hand painted!

The second shirt is from a super cute company called The Initialed life that specializes in all sorts of monogrammed shirts. Shop their products here.
I love this shop because there are endless color and design combinations that are left up to you. Plus, I got my shirt super quickly.

Hope you enjoyed the post-- now go check out those shops!
XX,
Meg
DISCLAIMER: Although the views expressed in this post are actually the views of the writer, the writer may have received some sort of compensation from the companies mentioned.

An Outfit for Every Holiday Party


                              
Before we know it, we will be spending evenings wrapping presents, making cookies, and, of course, going to parties. I absolutely adore holiday parties, especially because I love to get dressed up. It wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet and I had all my outfits picked out... sorry not sorry. Read on for a sneak peek and follow me on Instagram @ASunnyStateofMind for more little Christmas posts. For information about where to buy the clothes featured in this post, you can follow me on polyvore.
{MY OUTFITS}
The first outfit I already wore for Thanksgiving and it was really inexpensive and SO Blair Waldorf. It was a ruffle neckline, flowy, peach dress that I paired with brown tights, a brown belt, riding boots, and a monogram necklace.



Okay so next on the agenda is a Christmas party at the country club I belong to that is filled with twinkly lights, Shirley temples, crème brulee, and a ballroom that turns a girl into a princess. So, you have to dress the part, of course. I’ll be styling my short cream tulle skirt with a plaid shirt and pearls.



The Christmas eve scene for me is catching up with family, running around with the little ones, eating lots of yummy food, then going home and crashing as soon as possible. I’m leaving this outfit as a surprise and you can find it on my Instagram on Christmas Eve!
After a Christmas Eve party, you have to get some good sleep so you can wake up and do the same thing all over again… here are my snuggly picks!

And… the moment we’ve been waiting for all year long… CHRISTMAS DAY!
I’ll be wearing a J. Crew Factory bow dress with a twirly skirt, bow flats, black tights, red cardigan, and Kate Spade clutch.

Here’s my secrets with this outfit…
·        The dress is from crewcuts… cheaper, cuter, less boxy fit
·        The bow flats took plenty of searching through crop tops and unitards but I eventually found them at forever 21, surprise surprise,
·        The clutch was intended by Kate Spade to be a pencil case- but I think it’s too pretty to keep in a backpack


I hope you all have a FABULOUS Christmas season, good luck with your outfit planning! XOXO

















Snacks for Exams

Ok, so it turns out stress eating is a thing. Who knew:)? And if anything brings out the stress in me, it's exams. If I'm going to be snacking all day, it might as well be kinda healthy. So I went to Trader Joe's to try and find some things  that were healthy but were seriously yummy...and Trader Joe's never disappoints. ;)
Here are my choices:
-freeze dried raspberries
-pistachio toffee
-candy cane green tea
-zesty nacho kale chips
-holiday macarons (not healthy but so worth it)
-lemon water
-chocolate raspberry trail mix

{Pink & Navy} Collab with Abby (@BelleoftheBall45)

I am super pumped to finally get to launch the collab that Abby and I have been working on forever. (See her post here!) I absolutely love Abby's style and I was thrilled to link up with her. Also pink and navy are my all time faves, if I could wear them every day without being weird I would. So... without further adieu I bring you... 2 ways to wear pink and navy!



We didn't even plan it- but we both ended up in leggings, a vest, and bean boots! 

Vest: Old Navy// Gigi Pants and necklace: Jcrew//Duck Boots: Llbean// Top: Target
Hope you enjoyed it! Remember you can never go wrong with navy & pink.
xx,
Meg

Christmas Gift Guide for the Preppy Girl

Christmas Gift Guide for the Preppy Girl

Christmas Gift Guide for the Preppy Girl by meggray featuring Lilly Pulitzer
Yay! It's the 2nd installment of my holiday posts: the chicest little gift guide. I've compiled some of my favorite pretty things and sorted them from high to low price, with stocking stuffers at the bottom! Take a look and I'm sure you'll find something for you, your sister, and even your bestie.

Plaid shirt
vineyardvines.com


Long sleeve sweater
factory.jcrew.com


J Crew puffer vest
factory.jcrew.com


Socks
factory.jcrew.com


Kendra Scott necklace
kendrascott.com


Plaid hat
amazon.com


Lips makeup
$8.63 - lush.co.uk







Forever New Cupcakes & Cashmere
$26 - forevernew.com.au


A Bajillion Reasons I am Pumped for Fall

      'Tis the season for Pinterest to be overflowing with every pumpkin spice recipe you can imagine and our Instagram feeds to be chock full of fall outfits! I present to you... A Bajillion Reasons I am pumped for fall!!    
(Ok, so, there aren't really a bajillion reasons. I mean, I might have a bajillion reasons in my head but that would take super long to type and you would probably get really bored. So let's just stick with top 10.)
Number One- Layers, layers, layers!
The first reason I am excited about fall is that I will finally be able to layer my clothing. Oxfords, sweaters, vests, cozy tees- eek!

Number Two- Pumpkin spice everything.
Pumpkin spice donuts, lattes, pies, cakes... anything your heart desires. Below are links to my fave pumpkin recipes. As you can tell, I'm a long time fan of Sally's Baking Addiction.
PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLES: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/09/01/white-chocolate-pumpkin-snickerdoodles/ (ps, these have no egg so that means you can eat as much cookie dough as you want)
PUMPKIN PANCAKES: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/08/21/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-pancakes/
PUMPKIN SPICE PUPPY CHOW: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/10/11/pumpkin-spice-puppy-chow/
PUMPKIN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING: http://www.wineandglue.com/2014/09/pumpkin-buttercream-frosting.html

Number Three- Summer sales
Almost as good as fall lines coming out (#4), the summer pieces I have been eyeing can go for a great price. For example, I recently purchased the Lilly Pulitzer Eliza Dress in "Jellies be Jammin" for 50% off.


Number Four- Fall lines
There are fewer things as fabulous as J Crew having new arrivals. I don't know about you- but seeing fall clothes come into stores makes me super happy. However, I think that coming out with fall things before summer is over should be illegal.

Number Five- Friday Night Football Games
Bundling up for chilly football games with your friends, and sometimes actually watching the game, too :-)
Number Six- Fall Colors!
Oh how I've waited to wear navy and maroon. It might still be 80 degrees on some days, but I can wear fall colors! Below is New York Fashion Week's hot colors for fall.

Number Seven- Kate Spade x Gap Kids
From the moment they announced it on Instagram, I've been looking forward to the Gap Kids x Kate Spade collaboration launching in November. It is perfect for small people like me because their sizes can go up to size 16 which is basically a women's 0/2.
Sneak peek c/o Gap

The fateful instagram post c/o @gap

Number Eight- Fall Foods
My favorite fruit is a pomegranate and one of my favorite vegetables is squash, so you can see why fall is a yummy time for me. Never tried a pomegranate? That is going to need to change. Don't know how to open one? See how I do it in the infographic below! Source: Google Images (ps just look at the pictures because it's in another language)

Number Nine- Undeniable launch!
EXCITING NEWS! Recently, I have been asked to write for Undeniable, an online magazine that is super awesome. You can see the site and some previews here, and past issues over here, but you can catch me in the November issue going up on the site! I am so pumped, it is coming together to be oh-so-chic!

Number Ten- Costumes, candy, cute little kiddos...
HALLOWEEN! Every kid's (and most teens) favorite part of fall. Below are my absolute favorite costumes that I found on Pinterest (where else?).


The cuteness level is unreal.

xx, Meg

Stylishly Sporty

I LOVE a soft tee. So when I found this cozy jcrew baseball tee, I had to buy it! Here is how I styled my tee so I could get away with wearing a t-shirt to dinner and still feel cute : )


This was a collab with Renee from Gimme Glamour. Here is how he styled hers and my notes on what I love about it!

I hope this post inspired you to wear your tees pretty:)
Xx, Meg

The Cutest Wallpapers

                     I just got my new laptop for high school! Naturally, the first thing I wanted to do was did was look for a cute wallpaper. I looked on a lot of different websites and saved all the ones I liked.  Of course, I also wanted to share my finds. They are from Sugar PaperEvelyn Henson, Lilly Pulitzer, and Vineyard Vines. Here they are!




























Thanks for reading! Comment your favorite below and share it with me on Instagram @ASunnyStateofMind.
xx Meg