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Gift guides: Monogram, Home, and Traveler

The holiday season is in full swing with decorations going up and holiday shopping. This year I made a few gift guides that I hope you enjoy and are able to find something you like!

  • Monogram Gift Guide
  • Home Gift Guide
  • Traveler Gift Guide

Monogram Gift Guide

We all have a friend that loves a good monogrammed gift. Here are a few ideas ranging from earrings to stationary.

1  Bauble Bar | Alpha Ice Pendant
2  Bauble Bar |Block Acrylic Monogram Coaster Set
3 Marley Lilly | Monogrammed Reversible Disc Earrings
4 Mark & Graham | S’well Water Bottle
5 Amazon | Kate Spade New York Women’s Initial Thermal Travel Mug Tumbler, 16oz, S (Pink)
6 Paper Source | Monogram Border Stationery
7 Mark & Graham | Dreamy PJ Set, Navy
8 Mark & Graham | Blanket Scarf with Fringe, Ivory and Charcoal Window Pane
9 Mark & Graham|Travel Jewelry Case
10 Marley Lilly | Monogrammed Jewelry Tray read more

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Home Office Redesign

I had a blast changing the guest bedroom into a home office and craft room. My only regret was not doing before/after photos! This room used to be the guest bedroom and had more or less turned into my extended closet. We weren’t using the space so Justin wanted to make a more usable space and turn it into a home office.

 

We raised the curtains all the way to the ceiling to “expand” the room. Older houses or condos have the curtain rod right at the top of the window. However, if you raise the curtain all the way to the ceiling it really expands the room. you can still see the holes in the wall where the curtain rod used to be… cleaning those up next weekend. 🙂 read more

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Winc Wine Night

It’s no secret that I love a good glass of Chardonnay. Lately, I’ve been sticking to the same wine labels and haven’t tried anything new until I found out about Winc. Winc is a monthly wine subscription service that delivers 4 bottles of wine right to your door.

Try your first month for $40.

To start, you take a quiz to determine your Palate Profile. Then Winc recommends four bottles of wine for the month. The recommendations improve each month based on your feedback. There is a wide selection to choose from including a variety of “classic blends to obscure, single vineyard fringe projects”-Winc.com read more

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Guest Post: Kelsey Barnes – Classy Outfit Formula

I’ll be starting a guest post series on Simply Sheppard to feature other bloggers that I’ve connected with and I’m inspired by. I hope you enjoy this series and enjoy following new bloggers.

For my first guest post I’d like to introduce Kelsey Barnes. I first met Kelsey while at SMU back in 2010! Fast forward to 2018 and we’ve reconnected through blogging. Since our Freshman year at SMU Kelsey has started a career in NYC, and now moved to Amsterdam and is living the expat life. In addition to blogging Kelsey does freelance work and is training to become a spin instructor! read more

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Life update: Puppies and Holiday Plans

Thanks for following along as I continue to grow my blog. This is my first “life update” post. Comment below if you enjoyed it and want to see more. Today I’m talking all about life as a “Dog Mom” and my holiday plans.

Dog Mom Life

If you’ve been following along on Instagram you know I adopted a puppy in August and since then I’ve had my hands full. Literally full… Like picking up Reagan, the puppy, or picking something out of her mouth lol. She is a sweetie, but a lot of work. We adopted her from Shasta Flat-Coated Retrievers out in California. She came home to Dallas right at 8 weeks and that is the minimum age to be separated from the litter. She was 10 pounds in August and is now 30 pounds! Fully Grown she’ll be about 50 pounds. read more

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Website and Social Media Analytics: How to Use Them to Achieve Success

Hey everyone, you might know that my day job is in website analytics and this blog is my hobby. I’d like to share how to analyze your website and social media analytics to achieve success for your own business or blog. “Success” is a broad term and is different for everyone. So the first step is to define “Success” for you. Most people would define success in terms of revenue, but if you’re blogging for a hobby, success might be defined as a number of blog post views. Here are a few definitions. read more

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Review of Rent The Runway Update

Rent the Runway

I started using Rent The Runway Update back in August when I would walk into my closet and feel like I had nothing to wear. No matter how many clothes you have, everyone gets this feeling from time to time. So instead of heading over to Nordstrom and stocking up on clothes, I decided to try Rent the Runway Update.

To start, there are 3 different options you can choose from Rent the Runway:

  • One time rental (Get $30 off your first rental)
  • RTR Update
    • $89/Month
    • 4 pieces for a month
    • You can only exchange once a month
    RTR Unlimited
    • $159/Month
    • 4 pieces that you can exchange whenever

    I decided on RTR Update because that made the most sense for me. One thing I really like about RTR is that you can browse all the clothes before signing up so you know if their selection will match your style. I know $89 is expensive, but comparing it to the $300 I spent on 2 dresses for my birthday and knowing I only wore them each twice, the math added up and RTR was a good deal for me. read more

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Best of T.J. Maxx Online Deals

This week I found out that you can shop at T.J. Maxx online and of course I wanted to share some of the amazing deals I found. You’d be surprised to find some of your favorite brands at discount prices online. My favorite surprises were Free People clothing, Gucci handbags, and OPI nail polish. Here are my some splurge-worthy finds.

Be sure to follow along on Instagram and Pinterest ! Also, don’t forget to sign up for my email list to get notifications about the latest blog posts.

Best,
Rachel read more

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Fall Decorations: It’s Fall Y’all

It’s finally Fall! For those of us in Dallas, you know it means we’ve survived the blazing hot summer. I’ve been feeling inspired by Pinterest crafts and decided to make a few fall decorations myself.

This weekend I bought pumpkins from Trader Joe’s and added my own personal vinyl decals. I made a monogram pumpkin, a pumpkin with the Dallas skyline, and two cute little pumpkins. I used my silhouette cameo to cut the vinyl. I hope you enjoy the fun fall decorations!

XX,
Rachel read more

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Game Day Appetizers

Football Season is just getting started and I’ve been using Pinterest to get crafty! My friend Olivia had people over this week, so I thought I’d seize the opportunity to make some fun appetizers.

I went to SMU in Dallas, TX so I decided to make some SMU game day appetizers. PONY UP! I love using my silhouette cameo to make fun decorated toothpicks. The appetizers were super easy to put together and the decorated toothpick added a perfect touch.

Appetizer #1: Cantaloupe, prosciutto, and a blueberry
Appetizer #2: Watermelon cube, feta cheese cube, and a blackberry

Have fun this football season tailgating or hosting your own football party! read more