16 Beach Bag Essentials

May 23, 2017July 28, 20175 Comments

*Hi there! Super excited to have a guest post~ here on Ampersand. Just like how I love sharing cool new things with you, I love when people share awesome ideas/tips/events with me! Meet my friend Sam–blog enthusiast & fan of Ampersand. Y’all can follow her blog here on Instagram.

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Sam is a marketing professional in the Philly suburbs. When she’s not writing or working, she’s probably watching Grey’s Anatomy (or Villanova basketball #gocats) or online shopping.

Summer is coming! Life has finally slowed down enough to start planning some beach trips and really, really work on that summer bod. I’m excited to be doing my first Ampersand guest post and sharing what I pack in my beach bag! Currently packing up for a destination wedding in Cancun as we speak. You’ve gotta make sure you have all the essentials to have the most perfect, sunny trip.

The Bag

First and foremost, you’ve gotta have the perfect bag. My mama scored me the most adorable Isola monogram bag online. They’re hard to come by, but this Marley Lilly monogram bag is a close second. I also love this bag from Etsy–I wish I bought it for my trip to Cancun.

best beach bag essentials

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The Smile Tag // I’m Happiest When…

May 18, 2017July 28, 20177 Comments

One of my favorite things about being a blogger is meeting other awesome people who love to blog too. I was recently nominated for “The Smile Tag” from one of my favorite bloggers, Kali from Ink On My Hands. (Definitely check her out–she always features the best beauty/style trends & I love her honesty and authenticity!) The Smile Tag was originally created by Ciarra Loren, and all you have to do is share a picture of you smiling (which is easy for me because I have TONS of smiley photos). I figured this would be a nice chance to share all the things that make me the happiest. Hopefully this will make you smile a little bit too!

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15 Things College Grads Wish They Knew Before Getting to the “Real World”

May 15, 2017July 28, 20177 Comments

The night of my college graduation, I found myself sobbing to my dad in a parking garage. Despite the tears running down my face, I had been extremely happy all day–graduation was by far one of my favorite college memories. But after I had changed out of my cap & gown, opened all my graduation gifts and put away my diploma, the overwhelming reality hit me like a ton of bricks: I’m not in college anymore & the real world is right around the corner.

Graduating from college is pretty f*cking terrifying. Yes, it’s extremely happy and exciting, but there is this staggering realization that your life is suddenly a clean slate. Up until this point, you’ve had school to dictate your routine, yet now you’re being thrust into the unknown (literally) and have to make sense of it. And that’s really scary.

My transition from college to “the real world” has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster of self discovery. I can’t even begin to describe it other than you’ll understand it once you actually do it. But that idea got me thinking–what’s something I wish I knew at graduation that would have made my life a little easier? What advice do I wish someone had told me when I was embarking on this crazy new chapter?

So I started asking my friends. And we started reflecting on our real world experiences and had some great conversations. Such good conversations that I wanted to share it with all you recent college grads out there. You’ll get a mix of everything–the good, the bad, the ugly & the beautiful. It’s just honest advice of what the real world is actually like. Hopefully it’ll dissuade your fears a little bit or maybe it’ll make you more excited for what lies head. Whatever you’re feeling, just try to enjoy the ride. I promise, life doesn’t end after graduation–a lot of new things are just beginning.