Happy Saturday + September Lusts

This was supposed to be a "Happy Friday!" post but I didn't get around to posting it, so happy Saturday everyone! I hope ya'll had a good week.

It's restaurant week here in Charleston. I'm not sure if this is something that happens in other parts of the world, but it happens every year (September 9th-20th this year). Participating restaurants will create a special Restaurant Week menu which includes X amount of courses for X amount of dollars. The prices vary depend on the restaurant.

If you live in Charleston and you live under a rock and haven't heard of Restaurant Week, check out the menus here. John and I went to The Green Goat last night which has 3 courses for $25. That place is a hidden gem in West Ashley. West Ashley get a little shunned restaurant wise because all of the "good" restaurants are downtown, but there are some restaurants West Ash that are way better than downtown and cheaper.

I had:
Appetizer: Mac Balls (fried Newcastle macaroni and cheese balls drizzled with house made ranch)
Entree: Local Shrimp Scampi (onions, tomatoes, and herbs tossed with linguini in a garlic, lemon butter sauce),
Dessert: Peanut butter cup cheesecake that I haven't eaten yet. I also took John's dessert home with me because he has to avoid eating wheat, so I also have an Irish Carbomb Cake waiting for me in the fridge.
Those Mac Balls were so freaking good. 

Anyway, enough about Restaurant Week, I have created a Lust List for September because I have a couple of things that I am eying this month.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

Fur vests (faux of course) and knee-high/over-the-knee boots have been on my radar these past few weeks. I'm also going to try to perfect winged eyeliner, god knows I need the practice. A white button down shirt under a faux fur vest, and some dark green skinnies with black knee-high boots and a clean cat eye might be my fall uniform. Add a scarf in there some days, too. 

Well that's all for today. If you are in Charleston or around the Charleston area, you should check out some Restaurant Week menus and see if anything catches your eye. I hope ya'll have a good weekend! 

What's on your September Lust List right now? 

Local Designer: JLINSNIDER

When you hear South Carolina, you might invision nice country folk that wear camo, drink beer and moonshine, and hunt whenever they get a chance.

When you hear Charleston, you might invision Lilly Pilitzer/Vineyard Vines/Polo/Jack Rogers/Sperry-wearing people with a dash of southern charm. I'm not hating I promise! 

But the beautiful thing, or at least one of the beautiful things, is the ever growing number of local designers; designers you'd never guess came out of Charleston. 

I'm starting a local designer series, starting with JLINSNIDER. 

Designed and created by Jamie Lin Snider, JLINSNIDER features one of a kind modernized vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories. And when I say one of a kind, take it literally. If you buy a something from her, it IS the ONLY one. It's all wearable vintage and very, very unique. A little hidden gem in the Charleston scene.

Jamie Lin Snider grew up in Anderson, South Carolina and went to school in Las Vegas. She moved back to Charleston in 2011 and founded her store on upper King Street. Upper King used to be a area you wouldn't really want to visit, it could be dangerous and sketchy. Now it's a must visit if you're into the fashion scene, or even if you're not. Upper King now is "up and coming", I guess would be the correct term for it. Mostly college kids and all the cool kids. Just kidding, kind of. But really, she started out with her Etsy store and it blew up and now she has all of this! 

That's our girl right there! She is such a sweetheart, I've talked to her twice and both times she was so kind and cheerful and very passionate about what she does.

Here are some images from Charleston Fashion Week runway from years 2011 through 2014

all images from JLS runway portfolio

There are some dresses in there that I cannot for the life of me figure out what kind of fabric she used. You can probably guess which ones, let me know if you figure it out. I'm so curious. 

As far as I know, the only places you can buy her clothes right now is at Holy City Consignment, King Dusko, or her Etsy page. 

Her clothes are pretty expensive, as expected. Somehow, the stars aligned for me perfectly and I was able to get my hands on three shirts I wanted. I was walking down King Street on a Tuesday or some random day like that, full paycheck, and decided to walk in because I had never been in before. This was a year or two ago when she had her own retail store. She happened to be having a huge sale on everything in the store if I remember correctly. I was surprised that there weren't more people in the store, but one of the girls working there said that Jamie Lin would randomly decided to have unannounced sales. 

Outfit posts with said shirts will come later this week. 

Here are some cool photos from her portfolio: 

And last but not least, some awards she's won:

Best of Charleston 2011- Best Risk Taking Designer 

Charleston's 50 Most Progressive People, 2012

Best of Charleston 2012- Best Designer Boutique 

Best of Charleston 2014- Best Place For Leopard Print Suspenders (really random and specific award?)

Best of Charleston 2014- Best Local Designer

I wish there had been some mens clothing on the runway for fashion week. I don't really remember seeing any mens clothing when I went in the store, but that might just be because I was too excited about the sale to look. 

Like I said, I'll do outfit posts later this weekend/week with the shirts that I got. 

Also don't forget- I'm doing a giveaway soon! 

What do you think? Do you like vintage clothing or do you prefer more modern clothes? Would you wear any of these risk taking designs? Let me know what you think! 

Have a good weekend loves! 

Lovely Links

I usually used to do these on Fridays to kick off the weekend, but I figured I'd do one on a Monday to kick off the week!

Having trouble picking the best nail shape for you? Beautylish guides you through, square, oval, squoval, round, etc., and how to get your desired nail shape!

If you also live in the Holy City that is Charleston, SC, then you're lucky like me. If you don't already have 4th of July plans, here is a calendar of events going on around the lowcountry.

Speaking of this national holiday, not sure what to wear? Here are some subtle and chic ways to wear red, white, and blue without going all out.

Again, if you're going to be out for the 4th, make sure to wear plenty of SPF that's right for your skin!

I'm sure you all have a favorite band or artist that you never get tired of no matter what. Well mine happens to be Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks. Watch her evolution of style (I LOVE #21) and steal it too. You can find Stevie Nicks-esque items on Etsy, Gypsy Moon, Jolly Chic, and get some more inspiration from Pinterest. She's the goddess of bohemian style and I love it. (I'll be doing a Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac inspired post soon, I've just decided).

Note: If and when I have kids, I WILL be decorating and doodling on my kid(s)'s lunch bags like this. So cool!

Never read/seen the Harry Potter movies? Here are some Harry Potter words and names pictured by people who have never seen or read them. These are actually pretty hilarious.

And just for shits and giggles to kick off a good week, here's some adorable motivation to get you through the week! If he can do it, so can you. Hang in there!

Mmmm...Donuts

I've always loved doughnuts (donuts?), but for some reason lately I've been obsessing over them. I discovered a doughnut shop downtown that makes THE best donuts I've ever had in my life.

If you're ever in Charleston, stop by Glazed downtown. They only make about 7 of whatever donuts they are selling that day, and when they sell out they close the shop. They're pricey, but so unbelievably worth it. They make weird flavors like maple bacon and lemon pistachio. My favorites are the raspberry glazed, raspberry Nutella, and berry cobbler.

Anyway, hopefully this will inspire you to treat yourself to something yummy today. You deserve it :)

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^Definitely going to do this. Instead of a wedding cake, have donuts! All of those are from Glazed :)

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^seems easy enough, right?

I hope you enjoyed this and sorry if it made you crave a donut! What's your favorite donut flavor? Where is your favorite place to get donuts?