Thursday, May 26, 2016

{work the shirt | weekend edition}

Francesca's Necklace (not online, similar) // Baublebar Bracelets // Nordstrom Purse // Joie Sandals

After spending the day at the beach, outside, or on the water it can get a little chilly at night -especially after being in the sun (which obviously I have gotten none yet)! I love to throw a chambray over a tank and shorts to give it a more laid-back vibe. The oversized fit of this shirt makes it perfect for a car ride as well! Don't forget the accessories to give it your own twist :)

This whole look was found at Potomac Mills mall! Their sales end this weekend so hurry over there before the weekend (up to 70% off - wow!). You can find everything you need to dress for your next summer vacation!

So which style did you like more? Loose and laid-back or tied up and polished?





Love Always,

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

{memorial day weekend packing list}




Who else is counting down the days until they hit the road headed towards the beginning of summer?! Memorial Day Weekend always kicks off the best summers and I can't wait to pack coverups, bikinis, awesome floats, sunscreen, and sunglasses to wear for four days at the Lake! That's all I really need... plus my best friends and a boat full of boys ;) Bring on the ice cold beer and sun kissed skin!

Do y'all have anything fun planned? I've been working long days so that I can skip town Thursday night right after work! Yippee!






Love Always,

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

{work the shirt}










c/o Potomac Mills: Loft Chambray Shirt // Nordstrom Rack Tank // Loft Outlet Skirt (not online) // Nordstrom Rack Heels (not online - by 14th & Union)
Francesca's Earrings (similar) // Gigi New York Clutch c/o

Growing up I was always the girl that could spend hours at the mall. Not always shopping, sometimes just browsing around and watching my Mimi and Great Grandmother, Num Num, pick things up, look at them, analyze it, and then put it back or add it to the large stack of things they were going to try on. I remember being amazed at how easily they could pick something out and know what to wear it with that they already owned at home. I think it was at that point that I learned to memorize my closet and learn to have a staple item that you can wear multiple ways.

One of my "go-to items" has always been a chambray shirt. I probably have 4 in my closet right now (well, 5 including this dark wash one) and they all get shown equal amounts of love. The dark wash of this shirt makes it perfect to get away with at work... not that I haven't before ;) When Potomac Mills approached me about their "Work the Shirt" challenge to help promote their accessories sale (until May 31!!!) I was instantly in. We're talking up to 70% off accessories throughout the whole mall.

Fun fact: Potomac Mills is Virginia's largest outlet mall. I grew up having a mall a couple of minutes from me so having a wide variety of stores and the amazing prices (hello Nordstrom Rack, Neiman's Last Call, Bloomingdales, Loft Outlet, Kate Spade, J.Crew, Express, Francesca's... okay, you get my point) close to DC makes my heart happy! The best part had to be how clean and uncrowded the mall is - it's like nobody knows how easy it is to shop there! No lines! All sizes! I found this entire outfit (minus my clutch) at Potomac Mills last Friday!

So let's talk about my outfit quickly shall we? Tie the shirt at the waist to give it a laid-back vibe and bring up the sophistication with easy, suede heels. Add in a bright yellow punch of color in a fun summery print and then add turquoise earrings to top it all off! Grown up enough for the office but still showing some spunk with color.

PS. I have another way to style this shirt (just in time for MDW) coming to Southern Anchors Thursday! Can't wait to see which style y'all like more :)






Love Always,

Thursday, May 19, 2016

{10 best apps for bloggers}


A person's phone holds all of their deep dark secrets - and for bloggers our phone holds the key to social media and success! I always love discovering the apps that people use to edit photos or their shortcuts to sharing. I go crazy if my phone is unorganized so having apps that make my photo editing and sharing flow smoothly (and not show my anxiety-ridden self) are crucial! You would never know that an entire day of Instagram and tweeting all happened in the first hour of my day ;) Well, now you know... but sharing is caring!

Everyone has the usual Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. so I've narrowed a list down to the 10 best apps. They range from photo editing to a good ole "comes with the phone" app. I hope this helps you bloggers get more organized or just you Instagram loving gals find a new way to make those photos pop!

1 // ColorStory - I've mentioned this app before but I still can't believe how great it is at editing photos. It's the only app where you can edit the "curves" just like in Photoshop. It comes with basic editing features and then tons of free filters where you can control the amount you add on. The best part is that you can save the steps you take and create a new filter to use the next time you edit!





2 // Bitly - Since Twitter only lets you have 140 characters this app is crucial for tweeting out links! It quickly shortens the url into a "bit.ly/" link and you can easily copy and paste into a tweet, instagram, email, etc. All of your bit.ly links get saved in the app so you can go back and copy a previous shortened link if needed - you can also track how many people have clicked the bit.ly link (that's not visible in my photos right now since they were slow to load)!




3 // Diptic - You know how people always have those cute birthday collages for their friends? Or bloggers that will create an instagram with 9 photos of their past outfits for an "insta lately" post? This is the app for that. You can control the borders, frames, create curvy edges, add text, and round out corners. Photos are easily swapped in and out with an added feature to manipulate brightness, saturation and contrast.




4 // Google Drive - After I shoot with a photographer all of my photos are uploaded into Google Drive so that I can download them on to my computer. I like to use the app to access some of the high res photos for Instagram or sharing purposes. I've run out of space on my phone more times than I can count so keeping my favorite photos on here for easy access is key.




5 // PicFX - You know those pretty little white and gold dots that are on some photos? That's with this app... I really only use it for this :) you can even change how strong they show up and which side of the photo they're put on.




6 // Hootsuite - I can never remember to tweet out my post for the day or share a fun giveaway that's happening on my blog so Hootsuite helps me schedule everything in advance. A lot of the time I'll schedule my tweets right when I wake up in the morning and I'm still laying in bed. It's an easy way to make sure I'm promoting my blog and I don't have to remember to do it during the afternoon! (I also use my bit.ly links when I schedule!)




7 // Reward Style - So obviously this app is primarily for bloggers. But being able to link everything I'm wearing in a photo helps the reader out too! I've explained how it works in this post!




8 // Afterlight - Have you ever had the cutest photo but when you put it into square mode it crops off your best friend on the end or your adorable shoes? Or maybe you want your photos to fit perfectly in the Instagram square and don't want to choose the expanded horizontal/vertical size... I use Afterlight primarily for the frames. It has editing capabilities but I like taking a vertical photo and knowing it will fit (with a white border) into the perfect IG square!




9 // Bloglovin' - Confession: I rarely have time to read blogs anymore. Does that make me a bad blogger? Maybe... but when I do get the chance to glance at my phone before I lose service on the metro I love to read my favorite blogs through this app. It's puts them all at my fingertips instantly!




10 // Notes - At this rate, everyone knows how important hashtags are. Tagging a company's slogan or name can result in a like or even a coveted regram! Most people also don't want a long list of # in their photo caption. My solution is to keep a list of my "favorite" hashtags in a note and then copy and paste them into a comment on my photo immediately after posting. Some people will copy in page breaks so that you instantly see an ellipses and not any tags but I just go for it and hope that people will comment on my photo to make them hide ;)




What are your favorite apps to use? Is there one app that you can't live without? Let me know if you have any questions about how something works or a question about an app! My email is always open to you - southernanchors@gmail.com :)

Love Always,

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

{purple boho}















With 15 straight days of rain it was a pure miracle to have a pocket of sunshine this weekend! My mom and I managed to snap a couple of photos before heading out to do some damage at Ulta ;) I was lucky I had my trusty jean jacket because with all of the rain it has been freezing!

Now let's talk about this pretty purple number... I have been obsessed with Tobi since I was a junior in college. I will take full credit for introducing my entire sorority to the website and getting lots of girls hooked on it too! Almost all of my formals, date party, and graduation dresses were from there! They have a variety of casual dresses, long sleeve dresses, white dresses (for all you brides and graduates), and my favorite - the skater dress fit! With MDW right around the corner I'm ready to buy a new bikini and pair of cutoff jean shorts too. One of my favorite parts about this site? New customers get 50% off their first purchase and all new arrivals are 30% off for the first week!! Who doesn't love a great deal like that?







Love Always,
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