Hey there, lovelies!

Have y’all started shopping for the 4th of July? 

I hadn’t even started thinking about it until yesterday. I can’t believe it’s already time to start shopping for it …. and the fact that it’s halfway through the year! I swear, the days are long but the years are short! Before I scooted off to the airport yesterday, and had a bit of a crazy travel day, I put together a bunch of options for you guys to consider for the 4th in the SHOP.

Here are a few of my favorites from the SHOP + a few extras exclusively in this post that are all under $100:

Hope you find something in there that fits your fancy!

Last month, in Positano, I wore this adorable blue and white striped set [top & bottom] one day and I actually wore a bathing suit underneath it because we had plans of starting the day at the beach. It’s literally PERFECT for the 4th! Sadly, it’s not under $100 TOGETHER but I included it because each piece is under $100. This top & bottom both run true to size. I’m wearing an XS in both. The top fits me perfectly and the bottoms are a smidge big but barely. I was obsessed with this straw bag featured in these photos that I styled so much on my last trip. I think it was because I hadn’t seen any other influencer style it. I got it the day before I left and I was so happy it came in time for me to pack it because it was so perfect and functional for travel. It fits so many items and the little magnetic clasp and double handle makes it impossible for people to pick-pocket into. Highly recommend! The sandals I’m wearing are a great buy under $100 for Summer! They come in rose gold and white, as well!

How did the week treat you? It’s been a little bit since I’ve felt ‘great’ about a week, from a work standpoint. 

On Instagram Stories, back in March, I shared how going after your dreams is something I hope everyone does but, going after your dreams and trying to reach your professional and personal goals is, a lot of times, really not fun! Ha, I mean, am I right? I wanted to make a career out of caring for peoples’ health so I went to nursing school. Well, I’m pretty sure the stress and anxiety I experienced, in addition to the lack of sleep, during those couple of years to achieve that goal took years off of my life! It was so hard and not fun half of the time. But, the reward is always so sweet. It was the best feeling to see PASS on my NCLEX exam results and be officially licensed. 

The same is true for the goal I had been working on during the first few months of this year. The blog redesign and rebrand was something I had had on my heart for a long time and after a year of working with my designer, it was finally time for my developer to code it and for me to fill in all of the photos, shopping interstitials throughout multiple pages, about me snippets, create a mission statement, re-write my FAQ’s, negotiate and purchase my domain from the previous owner, and input all of the additional information and widgets in the Travel Guides section. Honestly, that really only skims the surface of all of the things Justine and I did but the bottom line is …. we did it and the reward was so sweet. The goal was to make the site easier for you to navigate, find what you’re looking for, view posts without a slow load time, and enjoy some fun and creative features. So, when I get messages from you guys saying how easy it was to find what you were looking for on the site … I literally just smile so big. Goals are always worth stepping back from more enjoyable things and making sacrifices to see them through.

Even though we celebrated the launch on April 1st, I have still been feeling like we’re in this transitional stage and really just trying to keep our heads above water to get the most important things done. It’s required me to take a step back from fulfilling some aspects of my job that you guys really enjoy. I’ve been really hungry for getting back to those things and this week was the first week that I felt [1] relief from tasks that weighed me down and [2] like I had the bandwidth to ‘get it all done’. It has been such a great feeling and the biggest contributor to becoming a reality is having two team members who feel comfortable and competent in their roles. Stacy is still learning a lot and it’ll take time for her to feel like she’s got a firm handle on things but, even after a month and a half of her being in the role, I’m already feeling like she’s got the hang of so much. It’s so nice to have a team of gals that I work with everyday that care about this little blog of mine and making it the best it can be for you guys to get what you want from me quicker and more consistently. 

ICYMI: I shared what I learned after 5 years of blogging on the day of the launch! Check it out if you missed it or are new around here! 🙂

Okay, wow … I really had no plans to go into all that but sometimes, this blog is just my public diary so hope that’s alright and what I had to share lands on some  y’alls heart in an encouraging way! Keep pushing! The hustle and sacrifice will be worth it! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by today! Fingers crossed I make it to London today … if I get delayed anymore I will miss my flight to the next destination and … well, I really don’t want that! Praying for safe and favorable travel mercies today for me and a happy end to the week for you! Thanks for stopping by today! xo.