I have and always will be a lover of riding boots, but sometimes they don't work with a certain outfit. The lines of the outfit may be off or they make me look totally stumpy if I have a shorter hemline. The perfect alternative and all the rage right now are booties. Also known as ankle boots, I couldn't be more obsessed. But, finding the perfect pair that aren't $400 can be tricky. The heel height is wrong, the color is too chocolate or the straps make it look too much like a motorcycle accessory. So, I have put together a few of my favorites that are under $100 and come in a variety of colors!

I just picked these up from Target and am dying over them. The heel height is a little tall for everyday use for me, but when I want to add a little pep to my step -figuratively and completely literally - I'll reach for them!

Another love of mine that I recently came across is Sole Society. Their boots are wonderfully made and while $100 may seem like a lot, they are great quality and will last a while compared to the $19.99 ones you find at Forever 21. These are so trendy and classic at the same time and come in two great Fall colors!

For those of you just wanting something fun for the season without a big monetary commitment, H&M and Forever 21 have great options for usually under $40! Happy Shopping!

Skirt: Romwe | Top: Forever 21 - similar | Shoes: Enzo Angiolini - similar 

| Bag: Michael Kors | Necklace: Dillards - similar 

One of the best things about being in the same city as Kollin is date night! While being apart four years in college, date nights were few and far between (months and months apart). So, when we would make a night of it, we made sure to make it special. Moving to Chicago provided a lot of opportunities for date nights and celebrating our anniversary was one we knew would be extra special. Because of the long distance we have never celebrated an anniversary together. Finally together and on year three, it'll be a night to remember for sure.

I love switching up from the traditional date night dress that many girls seem to grab. There are so many other silhouettes to try! A full A-line skirt adds drama to any outfit and when you add black to the equation - total elegance. When wearing all black I like to bring color into my accessories. An animal print shoe and turquoise necklace are both so fun and perfect for the end of Summer.

Whenever Kollin and I tell someone how long we've been together or our story, they are usually amazed that we made it through while attending college from across the country. One of the questions I always get  is "How do you do it?" or "Isn't that hard?" so I thought I would briefly elaborate on some things that helped Kollin and I for all you girls who are/are going to be long distance!

1) Communicate

This is important for any relationship, but for long distance it is the key. Talking everyday, even if it is just a "Good morning, I hope you have a good day," is what keeps you going. Kollin and I knew that going to college so far away from each other would be hard, but we also knew that we were the type of people that wanted to have our own paths and experiences. School always came first. Having that open communication and being upfront about what we wanted is what made us so strong and understanding of each other's wants and needs - even if that meant talking about our schedules over Skype at 1 am to find out when we could talk that week.

2) Understanding

There are going to be times when each partner is going to have a harder time than the other. Whether it is recruitment commitments, organization meetings, soccer practice or finals, each person has times when their relationship suffers a little bit for those other commitments. The important thing to remember is that life is a balance. As much as you'd like to stay up until 3 am talking to each other, life kinda gets in the way. Having that understanding will help you realize that putting your partners needs before your own is sometimes necessary.

3) Keep it positive

As much as being apart from your partner hurts, theres one thing that Kollin taught me that helped a lot. No matter how much you're hurting or missing them, spreading that around and being negative doesn't make anything better. Instead, focus on the positive and amazing things about your relationship. This will keep you in a good mindset and will honestly make the time go by more quickly. 

4) Surprise each other

Being so far apart, surprises can be harder to accomplish so you have to get a little bit creative. Even the smallest things can make a big impact. During finals I would send Kollin care packages with his favorite candy, cookies and sweets. From a young age we began writing love letters to each other. So, when Kollin would notice I was having a hard time being apart a letter would show up in the mailbox a few days later to cheer me up. Remembering to choose each other daily and focus on the small things will make all the difference. 

For those of you in long distance relationships, I hope this helped and shed some light on what you can do if you're having a hard time with it. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or just need a pep talk! Thanks so much for reading!

I've been getting some requests to talk about Greek Life and some advice so I thought I would share my outlook on it! 

Recruitment is over and you've accepted a bid to a sorority. You've met your sisters and made friends with your pledge class. You've decorated your dorm room and bought everything in your sorority's colors. But, there's some things you should know before your sorority experience continues. 

First of all, Welcome! 

Running home on Bid Day is still one of my favorite memories and I am so happy for each of you to experience everything thousands of girls before you have and more! A sorority is one of the best decisions that you can make in your life and will help you excel in all the ways you want to. I hope you're ready for the best time of your life because it is happening right now!

Soak it in.

This experience is overwhelming for even the most outgoing person. Being brought into a house with almost 100 other girls and finding over 200 more girls inside that house to be friends with is actually pretty insane (ha). But, soak in every single experience and try to say no as little as possible! Some of the best times I had with my sisters were the ones I never expected - like spending 2 hours at the sorority house dining room table talking about TV shows and who preferred Serena Van der Woodsen to Blair Waldorf (Queen B always!) 

So, even if it seems awkward or something you wouldn't immediately jump into - give it a try. The worst that will come out of it is you'll learn a sister's name and have something funny to laugh about when you're reading your senior spotlight in four years.

Learn from the older girls and get to know them.

Being a new member can give you the motivation and inspiration to conquer the world - and you can. College, in general, is full of new experiences and opportunities. Who better to talk to about those opportunities and classes than the girls who have been in your place before? Some of the best relationships I made in my sorority were ones with the girls in the pledge classes above me. They became such role models for me and pushed me to become the woman I wanted to be. Coming into a sorority with the attitude of respecting the older girls and wanting to learn from them will take you far. You'll learn so much not only about your sorority, but college and life and general. Those girls will want to help you in any way you can and what's better to have someone to look up to and be your role model? 

It may seem corny now, but it is real.

During recruitment I'm sure you got a taste of the sisterhood of your sorority and some of the topics brought up might have seemed awkward. Seeing girls have a strong bond and talk about how much they love each other may have been weird, especially because you only have four days to decide where to join. I know it freaked me out a little when I went through recruitment. 

Being a new member is all about learning and finding a piece of that sisterhood for yourself. It takes time. I know countless girls who walked into their sorority house on bid day so upset and then a year and half later were President or held executive position. Don't expect to understand and accept everything right away - some girls might and that's great, but don't give up on it because you may not be there yet! Put yourself out there and your sisters will love you for exactly who you are - remember, they handpicked you to join their sisterhood for a reason!

Joining a sisterhood was honestly the best decision I have ever made. My sisters became my absolute best friends who I could turn to for anything, whether that was at 2 am crying over a boy or just to walk to grab pizza. Your sisterhood is what you make it - so make it count.

Congratulations to all of you who have pledged and joined the best thing that has happened to you!

                                                                                                     Image via Pinterest

1. I want that, but not yet.

I've been dating the same guy off and on for almost nine years. Most people say "When are you getting engaged!?," when they hear how long we've been together and that we're living together in the city. Well, to be honest... no time soon. Whenever someone I know from school or my sorority gets engaged I am so happy for them and think how great that moment for them is. Kollin and I have always been so open to the idea of marriage and planning our lives together, but engagement has never been on the forefront of our relationship. We are both so excited for that day to come, but we also are so excited for the amazing things that will happen in between.

2. I'm exactly where I want to be.

Every couple is different. When you know, you know. Sometimes it takes 5 years or two months. Kollin and I have a "plan" you could say, but for the time being we are completely content just being excited over going grocery shopping together. Don't compare your relationship to someone else's and think that one path is any better than another. Every couple has an idea of what their plan should be and finding that plan will let you know where you are most comfortable. 

3. It's okay to put my career first.

Growing up in the South I was always surrounded with women who had the idea of the "American Dream" being going to college and finding a great guy, getting married after graduation, having children soon after and finding a career somewhere in between. While there is nothing wrong with that plan, I personally think the "American Dream" is accomplishing your personal dream - whatever that may be. I've always been very career driven and to be honest, it is my first priority in my personal "American Dream." In a world where women are idealized as homemakers and caregivers, why can't we add CEO to that description? 

4. Jealousy will happen.

When logging onto Facebook and seeing a girl I know showing off her amazing ring or an Instagram post of her bachelorette party, I'll admit I'm jealous. What girl doesn't want to plan her dream wedding and experience all the amazing things that an engagement brings? But when thinking about why I am actually jealous, I realized I was jealous of the experience and idea rather than the reality. 

5. I'm not ready.

When someone the same age or even younger gets engaged I think, "I'm I supposed to be doing that now?!" 

Yes, I am in love and feel I've found the person I want to be with forever, but why does that mean it has to happen because I've realized that? To be honest, I'm not ready for a wedding until all parts of my life are ready - finances, career, law school for Kollin, and just time to grow as a partnership. In a nutshell, yes I could marry Kollin tomorrow and be so very happy, but what am I giving up for that just because I love the idea of getting married? Many people who marry young say they gave up nothing and accomplished all they wanted to while married. But, like I said before every couple is different and it is okay that finding the perfect booties for Fall is higher on my priority list than getting engaged lol (kidding, kinda ;) ).

Rug - similar | Coffee Table - similar | Sofa | End Tables | Pillows - Target find | Lamps - similar

I have a love-hate relationship with Mondays. I always dread waking up on Mondays because, you know, it's Monday... but then I always get the urge to be really productive a few hours later so that I can prepare for the week ahead. This productiveness usually turns into me cleaning and organizing the entire apartment (which doesn't take long considering we live in a not so large place). 

But, a clean and organized home always adds to my productivity so win-win. I'm finally in a place with decorating that I'm okay with the idea of sharing some pictures that have been requested! So, we have the living room & bedroom! 

Flowers - similar | Candle {Home Goods} | Table Tray {Home Goods} | All three books available on Amazon

When thinking about how to decorate I wasn't sure what to do because I have always lived with girls so pink and glittery was never a problem. When designing what Kollin and I wanted I always found things on Pinterest and if I liked them and they were girly (99.9% of the time they completely were) then I would either do one of two things:

1) Change the color scheme to a more gender neutral tone

2) Stay completely neutral

The end result ended up being a pretty neutral apartment with some touches of color throughout. My best advice for designing a room is to start with the neutral color you want. I was dying to have white everything, but Kollin and I both knew that that idea wasn't practical for our first place. So, we decided that gray was the next best option. Then choose the colors you want to accent the neutral color (we chose black, yellow/gold and white). 

When it came to the bedroom we didn't have many options for decorating because the bed took up the entire room (no exaggeration there). Because of this, we got creative with artwork and made a gallery wall that portrayed both of us and the things we love. Green is Kollin's favorite color and I love navy and already had the bedspread so it all worked out pretty well! 

Bedspread {on sale!} | Frames are from Home Goods!

Over the past 7 years I've given Kollin numerous paintings as gifts and we knew we wanted to involve them in our decorating. Above is a Jimi Hendrix I painted him in 2008 for Christmas, which is so special to both of us. While I normally wouldn't have planned for Jimi to be hanging on the bedroom wall, he does match pretty nicely and adds an edgier flair to the room! 

When finding prints for the artwork I really wanted something that tied in both of our interests and styles, while also making the room about us. So, we have the trendy palm leaves print for me and the mountains print for Kollin with our anniversary date to tie it all in and have as a reminder of choosing each other everyday. Check out these free art prints so you can add some to your next gallery wall!

My last tip of the post is to scope out some more expensive pieces that you want and then go straight to Home Goods or TJ Maxx. These stores are always on trend with decorations and current home decor, but you pay sometimes less than half of what you pay retail. Personally, I think saving some cash on decorations so that you can invest in other items like artwork or a nice rug is the perfect solution and you don't even feel like you're giving something up because the quality and trend are both on point there! 

Thank you so much for reading and letting us share a little bit of us with you! 

This Summer has been a lot of firsts and changes for me including moving in with my boyfriend, Kollin. Our move in process and relationship is a bit different than the "norm" because we went from dating from 8th grade to high school, 4 years apart in college and now, bam, moving into a less than 500 square ft apartment in Chicago.

To be honest there were important people in our lives that asked if this was the right step, what we really wanted and if it was best for both of us and our relationship. Kollin and I didn't have much hesitation because the four years apart has really proven we've come over large hurdles that made thinking about even being in the same state a no-brainer. 

So, it's been two months and I thought I would share some things we've learned about each other, ourselves and our relationship that we love, surprised us, that we don't like and things we want to change together. Most of these are from my girl-perspective, but some of them are things we both found. 

1. You have to give up some of the girly.

This is almost a given, but going from living in an Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe themed dorm room, pink and green and glitter covered sorority house and a five-bedroom house with five other girls to a 490 sq. ft. one bedroom with a boy is a big change! 

I tried my best to buy things that were gender-friendly, but still had the elegant look I wanted and had his style included as well. During the time Kollin and I were finally getting settled into everyday life, my two best friends moved in together and I had a moment of jealousy. What girl doesn't want an apartment to decorate completely in her style and have the ultimate bachelorette pad?! Luckily, Kollin understands my love for fashionable things and puts up with the weird reasons that I have to have the gold file folders and white silk peonies in crystal vases. Because of having to give up the girly, you're going to miss girl time.

2. You'll miss girl/guy time.

This comes with the territory of moving to a new city and making friends obviously takes time. Kollin is one of my absolute best friends and most of the time knows what I want before I want it, but every girl needs her girlfriends and every guy needs some time to do manly, guy things. No matter how many things you have in common with your man, there are only certain people that you can watch Pretty Little Liars with and talk about lipstick shades with, which leads me to my next point.

3. Have your own time.

When we first moved in Kollin and I spent every waking second together. Our tiny apartment kinda forced that (lol), but we had been apart for so long that we wanted to spend every experience with each other by our sides. During college I thought Kollin was the only person that I could never get enough of. I don't get annoyed easily and it takes a lot for me to get mad (same for Kollin), but with every relationship comes the point where you just need some alone time to do your own thing and spend some time devoted to just yourself. At first, I felt guilty thinking 'I finally have the love of my life everyday and I want time alone?'

But after a conversation with Kollin, we figured out that to be the best couple we can be we need to be the best versions of ourselves and that means doing what makes us happy - even if that doesn't involve each other. It doesn't make you a bad girlfriend or boyfriend to sit back and say, "I need some time to myself and I need to do something for me." Be upfront about your personal needs.

4. Have the hard conversations.

When we first moved into the apartment we didn't have internet or TV for 6 days (yikes, I know). Having just moved to the city, we used a lot of that time running around exploring and site-seeing. But, for the moments we were in the apartment we were found among some time to just sit and talk... and talk and talk and talk. 

I was on Pinterest on my phone one afternoon and found a link to 50 questions (similar website linked) you should ask your partner before you get married. While we aren't in a hurry to get engaged, the questions proved really important to learning more about each other. 

We spent the next three hours talking about things we didn't know about each other, some of which sparked a little bit of differences, some debate and a lot of reassurance of why we love each other. While I thought I knew so much about Kollin, it is amazing what I found out from sitting two feet away from him asking him about faith, marriage, children, friends, stories and funny memories. Some of the answers were a little hard to hear and some questions were hard to ask. But, the outcome of those conversations have brought us so close and remind us that we actively need to be devoting ourselves to our relationship daily. 

5. Choose each other everyday.

When telling people we were going to move in together or talking about our relationship in general, Kollin and I love to ask older couples what advice they could offer us. Pretty much every person says: never stop dating and communication. These two things are pretty regular relationship advice, but one night reading an Instagram post I found something that brought it all together in one phrase. This article explains the author's trouble with his relationship and not actively choosing his girlfriend everyday. What exactly does that mean?

Choosing your partner means actively choosing to focus on the amazing parts of him or her and loving that everyday, rather than focusing and pushing the things that aren't important or that are currently wrong. Focus on what you adore about each other in times of hardship or anger. Focus on what made you fall in love with them and remember that everyday. Ask yourself "Why am I choosing him/her today?" It doesn't have to be an intense or elaborate answer, but focusing on this in your relationship keeps your relationship the focus of your life and gives you fresh eyes on something that may seem like a bigger deal than it is. Choose your partner and his or her love everyday.

6. Remember the end result.

We have all had those moments of weakness where we may say something we wish we hadn't, overreacted or had a brat moment that totally didn't need to happen (totally me sometimes with that last one). I am totally the person that is a control freak and likes things the way I like them. Kollin is way more easy-going and just lets things be. So, of course, there are times where we aren't completely on the same track about everything. 

But, no matter what happens day-to-day in life, remember why you are where you are. Even if the apartment four floors above you floods and it is raining in your apartment [Yes, this really happened!], remember why you're there - the person in the crisis with you who is running from room to room with bowls trying to catch the water from getting on your new white, shag carpet (God love him).

Nothing is going to go exactly the way you want it to and that includes your relationship. So, remember the end result - you are with the man or woman you love and are luckier than millions of other people in the world for that sole reason. 

Thanks so much for reading! xx