My Preppy Home Office

Flashback to a few months ago and I had a brand-new desk at my company’s headquarters. At the time, I asked y’all on my Instagram page (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!) for some office desk essentials and y’all had some pretty great inputs, too! Ranging from buying snacks in bulk off of Amazon to cute pictures on a cork board to ALLL the adorable stationary and mousepads, y’all prepped me well. Well, flash forward to a couple of weeks ago and my company decided to fully convert its headquarters to a full-time hoteling space. SO, off I went to my newly decorated desk to bring everything home, and, well, create my own preppy home office!

Fun fact: my office space used to look very different when I moved into my apartment at-first. I only had my one large white desk from Ikea with an older neon pink plastic chair (which *surprise* soon enough broke the more I used it – haha!!). At the same time, I only had one monitor and I didn’t have an adorable wall calendar on display either. Not to mention, not super cute hot pink rolling cart either. Needless to say, my office space got super messy SUPER fast, especially when I started my job back in late July. See how my office space previously looked here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2021/07/25/my-office-space-reveal/

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

Most of my office decorations were from my college years that I got out of storage or from my desk at my office. I purchased my second, connecting desk from a yard sale for only $10 that my neighborhood had back in October (and, yes, it actually sat there for MONTHS before getting a makeover and being put to good use – cringe!!!) and was initially the color black. Papa recently painted the desk white to match my white Ikea desk that I love oh so much. As for my other preppy home office decorations that I had purchased, I got them either from Walmart (mainly the Packed Party collection sold there or The Pioneer Woman collection), Target (aka The Rifle Paper Company or just stationary like the iconic Post-It notes), Rae Dunn items sold via either Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, or Home Goods, or none other than The Dollar Tree!

As for ALLL of the items that I didn’t purchase within the past few months, I got many of them from my college years. Many of these items were gifted from friends, freebies via events on my college’s campus, or simply a beautiful photo to remember the moments from both my high school and college years and even into my postgraduate years.

XOXO – Katie <3

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DIY Lilly Pulitzer Notebook Cover!

Call me crazy, but I have been a major major major notetaker at work, especially since starting my new job. I have seen myself channel a brand new intern look so much since it all began. That being said, I have discovered the bargain notebook section at Target and have been going a bunch, too. On a recent trip to Target, I needed to purchase a bunch of notebooks, and I found some for 69 cents. As great of a deal as these notebooks were, they also had Target’s logo sprawled all around them and I knew I wanted something different for mine.

I love love love some adorable and fun notebooks. I have found some at Target and Walmart, but am not willing to pay even $5 for a notebook that I will only use for a week or less to jot down information at work, whether it be from meetings, acquiring new project information, or trainings. At the same time, I cannot justify the price of the oh so adorable Lilly Pulitzer and Erin Condren notebooks of a Whooping $15+. So, I set out to create my own notebooks straight from my crafting bin! These notebook designs can also be used for the Back to School season, too, along with a variety of other purposes.

DIY Lilly Pulitzer Notebook Cover

Materials

  • Lilly Pulitzer planner paper (or your favorite Lilly Pulitzer print straight off of the printer – a Google image search can do just that for you)
  • Solid colored construction paper in the color of your choice
  • Stickers/embellishments (I went with rhinestones that I probably purchases during my tween bling-loving days – haha!)
  • Scissors
  • Tape/Glue (I have found tape as simple as Scotch tape to be very effective)
  • Black Pen

Steps

  1. First, I cut the construction paper to be the size of the notebook cover, then I taped it to the notebook cover.
  2. I cut out an old Lilly Pulitzer planner sheet into a square and then taped it over the construction paper.
  3. Then, I cut out a small rectangular piece of the construction paper and taped it over the center of the Lilly Pulitzer print. Its purpose is to serve as a label for the notebook.
  4. With a black pen, I wrote on my label what the purpose of my notebook is.
  5. Lastly but not in the least, I added a few rhinestones to bedazzle my notebook!

The best part of it all?! My notebook makeover costed $0 for me to do. That way, I could save and still have what feels like a $15+ notebook without even paying the hefty price tag!

XOXO – Katie <3

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The Luxurious Customized Tote that I Love

For many years now, I had been majorly fangirling over the Barrington Gifts merchandise. More specifically, the Barrington Gifts tote bags. But, I could not justify their hefty price tags until this summer when I *yes, finally* decided to take the plunge and purchase one of their coveted totes for myself as a graduation gift! Today, I am going to be sharing my thoughts on the Barrington Gifts St. Anne Tote and reviewing it, in case you’re interested in buying one for yourself.

***Disclaimer: Please note that this post is in no way sponsored by Barrington Gifts. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

Barrington Gifts St. Anne Tote Review

Just for a bit of background information, Barrington Gifts provides personalized craftsmanship, innovative designs, and every product is made from luxury materials and has done so for 25+ years. Every product on the Barrington Gifts site is personalized and customized to the consumer’s liking. Let me just tell y’all, I LOVED getting to use the site’s customizer to customize my tote. The best part?! Every product is customized using their customizer AND their products are made at an affordable cost to the consumer, especially for what you’re getting! Along with tote bags, Barrington Gifts carries duffel bags, wallets, travel accessories, and men’s accessories as well. Now, when I say affordable, I do not mean going into your local Walmart or Target and finding comparable prices on the Barrington Gifts website. But, I mean the affordability for a handbag that includes personalization and extensive luxury craftsmanship. I mean, that customizer though makes it so worth it!

The St. Anne Tote bag comes in a zippered and un-zippered style, either with a monogrammed patch or print on it. Depending on which combination you choose (patch and zippered or print and un-zippered, etc.), will determine how much your tote will cost you. The cost ranges from $170-$200. There is even a Diaper Bag in this style, too, at a similar cost. Personally, I chose to go with the St. Anne Tote without it being zippered.

Now, y’all the customizer is AMAZING! You not only get to pick the color and print of your tote, but you also get to select what color and size/style your monogram is too! You can even add a stripe to your tote with your monogram to make it pop, like I did. Lastly, you get to choose the color of your tote’s leather, which is a super unique asset that I have only seen at luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton with their Neverfull tote. The options are endless!

Upon my tote’s arrival, I got many notices from Fedex that I would need to sign a slip to ensure that it arrived safely to me. I truly admire that Barrington Gifts did this for me and I assume all of their customers along with myself. Knowing that my tote would get to me safely made my feel extremely reassured, especially with the growing number of packages stolen in front of people’s own homes these days.

I have owned my St. Anne Tote for almost two months now, and it has been my most-used bag since receiving it! Not only is the tote still looking brand new despite it going EVERYWHERE with me, but it also gives me an extra boost of confidence. I know I am carrying a luxury bag that is uniquely mine, but that I also purchased at a fraction of the cost. My only regret is that I didn’t buy it zippered. Not to fret though, I will probably purchase another Barrington Gifts Tote in the coming times!

Shop the St. Anne Tote!

XOXO – Katie <3

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Mixing Prints in a Patriotic Fashion

Today, a lady approached me at the AT&T store and was so excited at the way I mixed my Lilly Pulitzer “It’s All a Dream” Ophelia shift with my custom-designed Etsy monogrammed tote in the Peel n’ Eat print about how I mixed the prints in a stylish fashion. Little did I know when I simply grabbed my tote and wore a super cute dress that I would be stylish mixing prints – I did it without even thinking! However, last weekend, I traveled all the way to Bethany Beach, Delaware and, on a day trip to the nearby town of Lewes, Delaware, I intentionally mixed some prints for a Memorial Day look.

Today’s Katie’s Confetti Style is ALL about how I styled that look. The best part?! Each piece in this look I have owned for 2+ years or was gifted secondhand!

  • Top: J Crew Factory (purchased in Summer 2017 and it’s actually a pool cover-up!)
  • Necklace: Kendra Scott (gifted!)
  • Skirt: American Eagle (given to me from my friend Kaylee in a clothing swap)
  • Clutch: Kate Spade (got it at my local outlet and it’s actually a wallet!)
  • Sandals: Kate Spade (got them at a Marshall’s in Spring 2017 while on vacation)

Little did I know, shopping my own closet can provide me with a super stylish look while also providing a story to each and every piece in it. Summer 2021 brings about some exciting and patriotic holidays – Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day – without as much worry about COVID-19. In order to save some money for some exciting plans I have coming up over the next two patriotic summer holidays, I am glad I could find something cute to wear straight from my closet!

The question that now awaits us is: what cute finds are sitting in YOUR closet?! Go find out!!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

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DIY Monogrammed Lilly Pulitzer Notebooks

Hey y’all! As a new school year approaches, it just may be time to upgrade your typical notebook to start it off fashionably strong. This past semester, I decided to spice up my notebooks with my own preppy twist that I wanted to share it with y’all!

Materials

  • 1-5 subject spiral notebook (I usually buy mine at the cheapest price from either Walmart or Target)
  • Modge Podge (I got mine from the Dollar Tree)
  • A computer with Microsoft Word

Directions

  • Look up your favorite Lilly Pulitzer prints online and add them into a Microsoft Word or Google Docs document and create a collage out of the prints online the size of a page or one print per page (whatever your liking may be!). I decided to use Postcards From Positano, Peel N’ Eat, Hangin’ Around, & Who Let The Fronds Out.
  • Add a text box into an existing document and place it over each printed page (or create text boxes in a new document if using old planner pages). Proceed to type your information in the text box and customize the font and size of the font to your liking.
  • Print the pages and prepare each page to place on each notebook.
  • Using modge podge, seal each page onto its corresponding notebook.
  • Place each monogrammed decal on each notebook; I purchased mine from a classmate of mine Destiny Eudy). However, there are many great deals on Etsy too!
  • Enjoy!

Bravo! You have made your own monogrammed Lilly Pulitzer notebook! I hope you enjoy going back to school/class in a bright and bubbly fashion.

XOXO – Katie <3

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