holiday instagram giveaway!

hey y'all, happy monday! i'm hosting a giveaway over on my instagram account - @meredithnd! it's my way of thanking all my followers & to give someone a little special package for the holiday season. it's super easy to enter, so click here to check out my post & enter!

i'm planning a blog giveaway for january 2015, so keep your eyes out for other goodies after the new year. hope y'all have a fabulous week, & good luck!

insta-style: fall edition

here are a few shots of what i've been wearing lately. it's only just now cold enough for scarves, boots & sweaters here in birmingham, but i've really been loving it! on my trip to austin, it was in the lower 70's, so i got to wear my floral asos midi skirt for the first time! but of course, back in alabama i'm busting out the blanket scarves. i got mine on amazon for $20 (the price has dropped to $14 now, so go snag one! you won't regret it!). i think i'm going to need to invest in more coats this winter - we're supposedly in for a super chilly one.

follow me on instagram for more! what have you been wearing so far this fall?

the best month of the year

woah woah woah. i miss blogging. a lot. life has been a whirlwind lately and i haven't had nearly enough time to write my own posts! i'll summarize real quick.

on october 13th, i turned 24.
yay. i took the day off work & went hiking down at moss rock preserve in hoover, and then i ate a burrito, so it was probably my most adult/successful birthday ever. and then i got free starbucks and bought myself a birthday bouquet. go self. the next night i went to melt in avondale with my friends, and my bff sofia got me my favorite perfume ever that i ran out of ages ago, because she reads my mind.

beth and i went to meetings on meetings for birmingham bloggers.
our shopping party at kendra scott is the 29th, and we've got a cool collab with insomnia cookies in the works! friday, the 17th, beth and i were invited to a delicious dinner at the brand new babalu tacos & tapas in lakeview (which is uh right by my apartment btw, so i'm ready to eat here way too much) and it was amazing! super fresh, super delicious, guac made tableside, what more can you ask for?

goooooo state! (it's their time, y'all, really, so i'll let them have this season)
the 18th was molly's wedding day in starkville, complete with cowbells! the wedding and reception were gorgeous. did i mention molly had mini grilled cheeses at the reception? yeah case closed here. congratulations molly & stephen!

i got a cat. kind of, but not really.
my part-time cat lucy has been hanging out a lot lately. let me explain. lucy is what i believe to be a stray living in my apartment complex. i've fed her a few times and, well, you know how that goes. now she sits outside my door and meows. she's gotten quite comfortable sleeping on my couch and pretending to love me. i've never had a cat. i'm not sure they feel real emotions or if i'm just a pawn in her plot for apartment complex domination. anyone got cat tips?

my favorite month is drawing to a close, but i'm thrilled about the holidays approaching!

insta-style {volume 1}

it's no secret that i'm obsessed with instagram. not only is it a seamless & beautiful way to share photos, it has become a fantastic style resource for me. i follow way too many people and i feel like i find new accounts to follow every day! i'm contemplating whipping up a post listing my favorites.

these are a few of my favorites outfits i've posted as of late. as you can see, i'm smitten with my herringbone vest that i got for christmas. i've also gotten really into plaid! i need more of it! and of course, my absolute favorite flats aside from my revas, my j. crew emery bow flats. love it!

photo diary: labor day & early september

summer's end + labor day weekend have come and gone quickly, but i've had a great time the past couple of weeks. its no secret that summer isn't my favorite season - the alabama heat is exhausting, and all my favorite clothes are scarves and jackets.

i got two things last week that pretty much made my week - some beautiful roses delivered to my doorstep courtesy of corey, and my starbucks goldcard finally came in the mail! on august 27th i went to the backstreet boys concert in tuscaloosa & it was everything my childhood dreams hoped it would be, aka uhmazing. labor day weekend was spent in gulf shores with corey and family on the beach and at the wharf. i'm really looking forward to getting a few weeks to tie up some odds & ends and spend time in birmingham. its been go go go for months now. if it were possible to just wrap up in a sweater and hibernate, i might do it. with a pumpkin spice latte.

photo diary: july & august edition

floral frocks is now on facebook! if you're a reader, mind giving it a like? click here!

hey hey hey. life's pretty great around here. while i'm already prepped for scarves and boot weather, i've been trying to enjoy the the remnants of summer, which includes the amazing weekend i just spent in fairhope + pensacola beach with corey & my parents. living in central alabama has reminded me that i took the beach for granted. just looking at this photo makes me want to move to florida.

it truly is that stunning and perfect every day there. we battled through some thunder showers on the way from fairhope into florida, but they passed quickly and left a gorgeous day in their wake. 

i saw beyonce in concert on july 13th. i had a great time in nashville and ate at some fabulous places (i review things on yelp now, ugh, i need a life): watermark in the gulch, and city house near germantown. so good. i'll be thinking about that southern belle cocktail from watermark for a looooong time. and queen b of course.

i actually had some out-of-town business in nashville the week following the concert, so i spent a week in brentwood exploring the area. i stopped by green hills mall, opry mills, the parthenon and bits of downtown. i need to plan an nashville girls trip one of these days - i'd forgotten how fun it is!

i've also spent some time in tuscaloosa & huntsville. bingo night at houndstooth will always be a favorite - where can i hit up bingo/trivia in birmingham?! i miss lots of people but i'm lucky enough that t-town is only 45 minutes away. speaking of which, i've got tickets to see the ole miss game on september 28th - stoked!

photo diary: may & early june edition

♥ i attended hangout fest in gulf shores during may 17-19, and i had a blast! before the festival i stayed with my parents in fairhope for a few days (see henry the pelican at the fairhope pier) and spent time with family. the gulf was gorgeous for the entire weekend! i saw macklemore (surprisingly amazing), passion pit, the shins, kings of leon and countless others. i can't wait to go back next year. and yes, it's better than bonnaroo. beaches > field. click here to read my post about hangout fest from last year.

♥ stocking up some items for my summer wardrobe has been a lot of fun. i'm a huge fan of lightweight collared shirts, and it's kind of becoming a problem with how much i'm wearing them recently. i've scored some great finds at loft and express!

♥ aside from job hunting and working, i've been spending a lot of time enjoying my last months in tuscaloosa. i will probably have to write a whole post about this, y'all. i love this place so, so much and i'm sad to have to leave eventually. the thing is, while i love it so, i'm ready to move on and experience life in a new place. my lease expires at the end of july, and after that i'm moving on to a job or back to fairhope until i can get something worked out. so, needless to say, i've been spending as much time enjoying tuscaloosa's beauty as possible - i spent a wonderful evening on lake tuscaloosa with friends, and i'm eating at all my favorite restaurants. 

♥ i've got a lot of things planned for the blog in the upcoming months! blogging while in college was always difficult for me, but now i truly want to devote more time to it. i'm working on a few different types of posts, and i can't wait to see where it goes! 

laissez les bons temps rouler

♥ the semester has gotten off to a great start, & i'm both happy and sad to say its my last. i have a lot of great plans for spring that i hope come to fruition, and i'm really thrilled about all of the positive changes in my life recently. i feel pretty awesome.

♥ i traveled to fairhope this weekend! as you can see from the photos of tulips, azaleas & mobile bay, fairhope is as beautiful as ever. it's rough growing up somewhere so lovely - you have THAT to compare your future homes to forever, haha. i still can't get over how gorgeous it is.

♥ my reason for traveling to fairhope aside from visiting my parents was to attend the order of osiris mardi gras ball with my friend nick. if you don't know anything about mardi gras culture, i'm sure it looks pretty strange from the outside. mardi gras has been a part of my entire life, so the parades, krewes, secret societies and moonpies are a pretty standard part of early spring each year. for those in the united states who might be familiar, here's a fact: mardi gras was not first celebrated in new orleans, louisiana. in fact, it originated in good old mobile, right across the bay. mobile is truly home to the original mardi gras celebration, thank you very much! we had a great meal in mobile and then made our way to the ball for cocktails & dancing. it was a great night & i'd definitely like to attend another ball next year!

♥ soooo i'm really into blazers now, boyfriend blazers specifically, and i want one in every color! i snagged this black one from urban outfitter's on sale, and i'm really eager to pick up a teal, white and pink one for spring. they're very comfortable & versatile. lets hope i don't try to wear one every day and become "blazer girl" (which might happen).

♥ i picked up two new juicy charms at the outlets while i was at my parent's place. i got both for $20 - how could i say no?! the key is really beautiful & very lightweight, so it's certainly a charm i'll get a lot of wear out of. so many of them are way too heavy. the pave hummingbird was also too beautiful to pass up!

goodbye 2012 & hello 2013!

visiting bellingrath gardens christmas lights in mobile, rollerskating double date in birmingham, my awesome wrapping skills, 2012 memories, my favorite b&bw scents, my parent's christmas tree, my new juicy pizza charm (after christmas sales, yes!) & my new bracelet.

long time no blog! after over a month, i've finally got the time to sit down & write. i never intended for this blog to be a routine, scheduled thing - after all, i am a busy student & i have to put other things first. but i still love writing, & it makes me really happy when i have the time to do so.

the end of the fall semester was the most stressful of my life. i shed blood (literally, thanks to my clumsiness & nearly taking a finger off with an x-acto knife) for the sake of my classes, but it all paid off! my grades were awesome, and i'm going into my final semester of college excited & optimistic. i've spent the majority of christmas break relaxing and recuperating - trust me, i needed it - and focusing on me. it always feels good to say that. last semester, i let my health slip for the sake of time & convenience, but i've done a wonderful job getting back on track and taking care of myself, which i will undoubtedly continue in 2013.

anyway, it's 2013?!?! how did that happen?! 2012 was a major learning year of my life, full of fun, love and adventure. i learned a lot about myself & about other people. 13 is also my lucky number, so i've got good feelings about the year to come. i'm not normally one for resolutions, but i'll summarize, briefly, what i hope to accomplish in 2013:

• graduate in may with my bachelor's degree, of course! but before then, focus on my classes & enjoying my last semester of college.
• get a real job. oh boy.
• remind myself who my true friends are & give them my all.
• keep negativity out of my life & maintain my health.
• i don't want to jinx it - but i'm planning a big, important trip this spring, & i'm crossing my fingers that it works out. i don't even want to talk about it because i'm scared of getting too excited & then it not going as planned - BUT LETS BE HOPEFUL!

i miss baking, y'all. i just bought THE cutest cupcake liners the other day, & i'm so excited to use them. this weekend i'm going to visit some old friends before i go back to tuscaloosa after the national championship game. i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season & new year, happy 2013!

make this place your home

 this month, i completed the most taxing & difficult project of my college career thus far. it was draining. literally. night after night in the library doing calculations & writing... i felt like a zombie for a week or two there. and i didn't procrastinate, oh no. it literally consumed about two weeks of my time. in between all of that, i got a cute tray from target for my perfumes, picked up my first "red cup" of the season from starbucks, and spent some quality time with my parents when they came into town for the texas a&m game.

they couldn't have picked a worse game to come for, unfortunately. it was our first loss of the season, and shot our national championship hopes out of the picture. but now, as i write this, we're back in the running thanks to kansas state & oregon losing. silly how football brings us all together, but here in alabama, it honestly does. regardless of the game, i had a wonderful time with my family and i'm glad they came up. they don't get to often enough.

last weekend i spent time in huntsville with corey. it's absolutely breathtaking up there, as you can see. the seasons are just now physically beginning to shift here. and, dare i say it, i'm actually kind of ok with all the christmas stuff popping up right now. i think thanksgiving deserves it's moment, don't get me wrong. but people already have trees and wreaths up, and it's not as ridiculous as it usually seems. the christmas music already playing in the mall? that's another story.

candlelit autumn nights

♥ i visited fairhope during the first weekend of october and spent some time with my parents. the weekend included an early birthday dinner with my grandparents, hanging out at fly creek cafe with mom and dad, and saturday lunch with my grandmother and brother. i hadn't been home in a while and i had a really relaxing weekend, only to return to, you guessed it, crazy things to do! i won't get into all the work i've had to do - just trust me, it's lots. but aside from that, i've been enjoying the change in weather, even though it's minimal. it's getting into the 40s at night!

♥ last week i went to birmingham and tried flip burger, and was pleasantly surprised. the whole concept is a "gourmet" selection of burgers - shrimp burgers, lamb burgers, and of course, the basic beef. i'm not really sure what i was expecting, but it surpassed my expectations. because of course, let's face it, gourmet burgers are right up my alley anyway. they put dry ice in their cocktails, which was sort of unnerving... but i'm alive, so i guess it's alright. i wish the summit weren't the only place around "these parts" with a chic array of eateries to choose from (check out my foodie speak...)

♥ sooooo... i got a starbucks card. this has been a long time coming. i've also learned to enjoy paying with my card via passbook, thanks to iOS 6. the starbucks card makes me feel special, but it also makes my marketing senses tingle. sometimes i hate buying into little gimmicks (like this) that really don't provide astounding returns for my unwavering loyalty, but regardless, i like aspiring to being a "gold member". see, it even has a nice ring to it. meredith, the gold member at starbucks.


♥ i turned 22 on the 13th. 22 is not an exciting age, it just means i'm one year older and closer to graduating. just a few of my birthday goodies - a new ID holder for my keys, a pumpkin buttercream (!!!) candle, a nintendo 64 (+ zelda ocarina of time, pokemon snap & mario 64) from my sweet boyfriend, beautiful flowers, a bracelet from bauble bar & a new watch! i have been dying to have a nostalgia fest and play the game console from my glory days - i'm already in love with zelda all over again, it's quite literally one of the most fantastic games ever created in my opinion.

♥ i carved a pumpkin! corey, charla and i got to work on saturday night carving pumpkins - it had been years since i'd done it and it was super fun. i love fall. speaking of which, i've got a fall baking list that keeps getting bigger that i need to tackle soon!

welcome changes

 celebrating my best friend charla's 21st, tango videochatting with corey, deliciousness at cheesecake factory, opi's coney island cotton candy + seche vite topcoat (current favorites), returning my empties via back to mac in exchange for my free lipstick - 'hue', the 161 miles between rival universities that make my relationship long distance, building pokemon decks, my new hair!, cupcakes from twist cupcakes for my grandfather's birthday, chicken salad at mary anne's, & my new dress from kintage.

at the beginning of august, i went to six flags in georgia with corey and we had a great time. i surprised myself. i'm kind of a theme park wuss (though i've gotten better in recent years), but i ended up riding four rollercoasters, including batman! needless to say i didn't carry my phone around so i have no photos, but it was a great way to celebrate classes being over. also, ALWAYS get the flash passes - waiting in the 90 degree heat in half a mile long lines would have been a waste of a day.

ok, as lame as this sounds... this is the biggest change in my life recently. i guess i'll start at the beginning. in highschool, i cut my hair into a pixie cut after having long hair for my entire life. i grew my hair out to my shoulders, then cut it off again. having short hair is positively freeing, by the way. i could make it look awesome with minimal effort and it never got in my way. well, after experiencing these extremes, i vowed to grow it out during my senior year. and that's exactly what i did - until now.

i grew my hair as long as it would go. i loved it, but it was beginning to become a drag. too much upkeep, too much shampoo/conditioner, just too much hair. so, i decided to get a trim to my shoulders and add a few longer layers. it's the biggest hair change i've made since i was about 18. i love it so far. for a few minutes i kind of felt like it made me look 16, but i got over it.

i've just recently gotten back from spending a few days in auburn and fairhope. i visited corey from the 15th to the 18th, then headed to my parent's house for family time and relaxation. classes start on the 22nd, and though i'll regret saying this when i have a mountain of work due next month, i'm welcoming the change.