j. crew holiday style guide favorites & a throwback

i love getting holiday catalogs in the mail and of course, j. crew's is my favorite. as usual, its a work of art. just like with their last style guide, they debuted their holiday style guide on Pinterest. all the plaid, tartan, wool and cashmere is getting me so excited for the holiday dressing season! many items from this collection will be making their way onto my christmas wish list! here are a few of my favorites that hopefully i will be warm and cozy in this season! 

sleepshirt in bright cerise plaid flannel

plaid lodge moccasins

shirttail mini in sequins

crepe boatneck dress in modern red 

(a must for christmas eve!)

collection cashmere tunic, gold stripe mini skirt and the chevron checker snood

 boyshirt in deep ivy plaid, Collection trouser in royal duchesse and the Riviera earrings

jeweled starburst sweater, stretch perfect shirt and the Collection Café Capri in berry bouquet

boyshirt in rock salt plaid, stretchy toothpick jean and the colorblock wool baseball cap

(all images via Pinterest and jcrew.com)

today kicked off birthday weekend! i took some "personal absences" from two of my classes and headed home this morning after class. i got all my homework done before i left so i am really looking forward to a mostly school-free weekend. i was actually happy to see my cat and can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight (not to mention happy to see my parents too). caroline came by so we could exchange 21st birthday presents (so strange that we are 21) and megan also stopped by! for her birthday, i got caroline a kate spade idiom bracelet. even though they market it as a bridesmaid gift, i think it is perfect to give someone that has been my best friend for literally my whole life. i am so happy i got to see both caroline and megan while i was home! i am glad i have been able to keep in touch with them after high school.

tomorrow is busy busy full of birthday weekend celebrations! i am going to body pump, lunch at goodness gracious with mom and phillip, green hills and christmas village! needless to say mom and i will be on the go all day long! i promise tomorrow's post will come with a full day recap, an OOTD and a recipe that has become a favorite here at the Parsley house!

xoxo,
clp

p.s. since my birthday is just 2 days away, here is a special throwback thursday picture from my very first birthday!

gamma chi gifts

this year i was asked by our vice president of recruitment to be in charge of gifts for our gamma chis during recruitment. if you don't know, gamma chi's are members that have disaffiliated with our chapter for the recruitment period to serve as a sort of counselor/mentor for girls going through recruitment. we are not allowed to communicate with the gamma chi's at all during recruitment and retreat in order for them to remain unbiased to the PNM's. since we miss them so much, the chapter gives them gifts to show how much we love them during recruitment week. i immediately said yes when cassie asked me to be in charge of the gifts because i knew how much fun i would have shopping and making crafts for them over the summer. i had a budget of course but i feel like i did a pretty good job with the gifts! the gamma chis receive their gifts after the conclusion of each round at what is known as roll call. roll call happens three times so they get showered with gifts three times!

the first round of gifts were for the pool girl! i put a beach towel, beach ball, sunscreen all in a little beach pail. i also threw in a clif, bar, peanut butter crackers and some cookies along with their new letter shirts to round out the day!

roll call #1 gift bucket

roll call, sha-boom, sha-boom

the second round of gifts for the gamma chis had a little bit of everything in them. in an adorable reusable shopping bag, they each got a movie, an AXO tervis tumbler, popcorn (the good kind that has its own bowl!), movie theater candy, their chapter philanthropy round t-shirt, gum and mints, a diet coke, and a "hangover cure" goody bag (filled with tylenol, travel size toothpaste, travel size shower stuff, etc.). i also baked them some cupcakes and had the entire chapter sign posters saying how much we miss and love them. 

roll call #2 gift bag

cupcake towers for the lovelies!

the last round of gifts i put in a bucket. they received their bid day shirts, senior tanks if they were seniors, skit round nametags, goldfish, water, fruit snacks, crackers, a UT pom-pom, power-t face tattoos and a lily and laura bracelet. i also mod-podged lilly pulitzer paper onto their first initial and made them UT themed coasters. for a treat, i iced lyre and power-t shaped sugar cookies for them!

roll call #3 gift bucket 

power t and lyre cookies

anxiously awaiting getting to see our gamma chi's 

our beautiful gamma chi's after skit round

last roll call in TBA

i actually had a lot of fun preparing gift baskets for the gamma chi's this summer and i hope they enjoyed each round's gifts. however, as fun as it was, i am glad to have my sisters back! not being able to talk to them was super difficult, especially in class. they are now back where they belong: the lyre lair.

xoxo,
clp