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The Monogrammed Life

There is so much to love about the fall- cooler weather, plaid, booties, pumpkin spiced lattes, sweaters, and FOOTBALL SEASON!
                       
We're here to help you put together the perfect game day outfit, which ever team you may be supporting. Click through the gallery below to see different school color schemes!

Game Day Fashion | Marleylilly by marleylilly on polyvore.com

Friday, September 29, 2017 No comments
I am officially an art school student. Which is funny looking back because in middle school I was one of the only students in my class to get a B in 8th art class. My perfectionist tendencies always got to me and I was my own worst critic.

Despite my struggles in 8th grade art, I've always been a super creative person. Not so much in a painting or drawing way, but in a more organized digital way. I love love love graphic design and I like to joke that all my artistic skills are limited to the computer.

I'm excited to get older and start collecting pieces of art and photography that I truly love. It's my dream to own a big print of this photo one day! I've had a major crush on it for years now and I actually saw it in person in an art store on Worth Ave on Palm Beach. It was even prettier in person! One day...I'll have it hanging in my house.

I don't necessarily need to own pieces that are thousands and thousands of dollars or one of a kind pieces I just want art that makes me happy!

If it's not evident by everything else I do I love color!!!!! The brighter the better. I have a few favorite artists that I always go back to and I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.


1. Evelyn Henson


Evelyn is my favorite print artist! Everything she does is so colorful and overall so happy. She is also a fellow Furman grad so she has a special place in my heart. She graduated the year I came so our time never overlapped but I actually got to meet her in Charlotte one time. I love everything she does and have many of her prints hanging all over my apartment!


2.  Megan Carn



I'm a sucker for bright animal paintings and that's exactly Megan's specialty. I love everything about Megan's style of painting. Her Flamingo paintings are my absolute favorite but everything she does is to die for. She lives in Columbia, SC so I got to meet her last year at Columbia's signature Lilly store. She is the sweetest person ever which makes her paintings that much more special!

3. Gray Malin


I think just about everyone has a love affair with Gray's famous beach photography. Gray Malin is most known for his many colorful aerial photographs of beaches around the world. I love seeing all the colorful umbrellas and beach towels. I don't own any of his photographs but his coffee table book is one of my favorites!

4. Inslee

A NYC based artist and illustrator, Inslee's work is stunning. I have 2 of her prints (including the one above) hanging in my living room and I'm obsessed with how they look. She paints everything from fashion to butterflies to flowers!


5. Shelby Dillon

A more recent find, Shelby Dillon is basically the painter version of Gray Malin! She has beautiful aerial paintings of big colorful beach umbrellas that could brighten up any room! They are all stunning and I'm dying to add one to my collection!

Who are your favorite artists?

Remember, 
Written by Shannon for Prep Avenue
Wednesday, September 27, 2017 1 comments
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

You know when you're anticipating something for a really long time, and then it finally comes together and you just can't wait to tell everyone about it?! That's how I feel about today's post & sharing my Simplified Planner with y'all!

I take my planners very seriously, so when I went on the search for a new one I reviewed a LOT of options! I even reached out to y'all on Instagram and got about 100 suggestions- y'all are the best! I looked at each and everyone thoroughly, but ended up connecting with the Simplified Planner team at Emily Ley and moving forward with the Simplified Planner Daily Edition (in "Happy Stripe" of course!) Before I shared it with y'all though I wanted to take several weeks to use it so I could make an honest recommendation. So today's post has been awhile in the making- now let's get to it! :)


First, let's talk about the basics. The daily edition of the planner comes in 4 different color options- I have "Happy Stripe." The spiral binding is super durable (you know some bend so easily) and I love that the covers are reinforced so that if you do travel with it it's got extra protection. The paper inside the planner is also very high quality! I tried out a few different pens and nothing bled through (not even my saturated highlighters). Love that!

Each month starts out with a 2-page monthly overview and there is tons of room to write! As you can see, my Thursday's are usually packed and I can fit 2-3 activities inside the box with no problem. 

Just an FYI- I went back and forth on whether I wanted to use colored pens or do all black pen and highlight, but I ultimately decided that it would be much less stressful on myself to do black pen and highlight my different categories by color. My color-coding system is:

Pink- Personal
Green- Chelsea Gunn Designs (more on that soon!)
Blue- Work
Purple- Faith/Church
Orange- Blog
Yellow- Birthdays



Love that Emily includes fun stickers to make your planning more festive! (See the cute "Celebrate" above?)


Now, let's chat about the daily plans! I was so worried that I wasn't going to like planning day-by-day, but it turns out that I kind of love it! Here's why: say in a normal week I have 15-20 items on my "to-do" list- that can be overwhelming! But now I can take that same list and break it up in to 3-5 manageable tasks to tackle each day. So I'm still getting everything done in my week, but I'm not overwhelmed looking at a massive to-do list! Instead, I feel a sense of accomplishment at what I am getting done each day. 

Even though I use a work calendar from 9-5 on my Outlook, I do love putting in my hourly activities for my "off time" because it also helps me to figure out the kind of time I have to accomplish the tasks and to-do's explained above.




In my "notes" section of each day I list my bills that are due or anything that has a deadline or needs to be accomplished by!


I feel like my Simplified planner has made planning fun again for me and really has made the process easier and well, simpler! 

{SHOP SIMPLIFIED PLANNERS}

So let me know, what planner do you use? Have you tried the Simplified Planner? If there is anything else you want to know, leave me a comment below!

Written by Gentry for Girl Meets Bow
Monday, September 25, 2017 7 comments
This past week it felt so much like fall out. I wanted to spend every moment outside of the classroom outdoors enjoying the nice breeze and lower temperatures. While I am not quite ready to take all of my summer clothes out of my closet I would be lying if I said that I wasn't looking forward to all things fall; hikes, the changing colors of the leaves, hot coffee, and pumpkin flavored things dressing for the in between of summer and fall can prove itself tricky. 

I couldn't believe my luck when I stumbled upon one of fall's biggest trends for under $25. This trumpet sleeve white blouse has proved to be a closet essential in the short time I've had it and have loved finding ways to mix it up. Although it looks so cute with dark wash jeans I've been finding myself reaching towards these fun purple/grey jeans (last seen  here) instead. I've also found it to be cute with a flared skirt to wear to work. With a couple of different color choices and a variety of ways to wear it from dinners to work this is one of those items in my closet that I know will be worn nonstop. 





top // pants // necklace // watch // bracelets ( 1 & 2 ) // rose gold bracelet

The best way I've found to make it look like I'm not overbearing this shirt (because I definitely am) is by accessorizing with different jewelry. I have been a fan of the Starfish Project for a while now but started ordering some of their pieces this summer and am hooked. Not only do they have the prettiest pieces of jewelry on their site but they also have a great mission. The Starfish Project restores hope to  women escaping human trafficking and exploitation in Asia. The brand provides life changing opportunities through their Holistic Care Program that allows women training and skills while building authentic relationships. What could be better than cute jewelry and a wonderful cause? I'm including some of my personal favorite Starfish Project products I own as well as some I'd love to add to my collection soon!

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Written by Dorothy for Prep In Your Step
Friday, September 22, 2017 1 comments


Fall is my favorite season by far. But as a college student, it can be easy to get so sucked into school that I end up not doing anything I love during the fall. It's no secret that I love making lists to keep me on track (to do lists, bucket lists, my 101 in 1001 list, etc), so I decided to make a new fall bucket list for this fall. This list definitely applies to college students, but it really can be great for anyone!


I am most excited about making some cute fall decor and eating alllll the pumpkin flavored food. 

Do you have anything else that you want to do this fall? I would love to hear your ideas! 
xo, Scarlet

Written by Scarlet for The Trendy Chick 
Monday, September 18, 2017 8 comments

 monogrammed tunic (c/o) / black lace up leggings (similar) / black tennies 

With all the weather craziness across the country right now, it's no surprise that the weather here has been a little weirder than normal. Last week it really cooled down here for a few days, and if we're being honest, I sort of loved it! Nothing makes me happier than a) getting to cozy up in a big sweatshirt and b) not be dripping sweat walking to class. Ever since coming to college, I've become a huge sweatshirt girl. I think it's because I had to wear a school uniform for a good amount of my life and I missed being really comfortable in class. Whatever it is, I can't help myself but add a few more to my collection each fall and winter, and this Marley Lilly tunic is one of my favorites yet! I love that it's a slightly dressed up version of your typical sweatshirt, and it's a tunic length so it has a more feminine look. The heathered gray is so pretty - it totally looks like the Patagonia version a lot of people have. And of course, the monogram adds the perfect little personalization. I've been wearing it with these black lace up leggings and my new favorite shoes - a super cute, athleisure look that I can't wait to wear all of fall. 

Are you as excited for the weather to cool down as I am?!
xoxo
Written by Caroline from Citrus and Style
Friday, September 15, 2017 69 comments


It seems like just yesterday I was hopping on a plane to Barcelona for the trip of a lifetime with my family! But alas, it’s been over two months and I’m still reminiscing on what a great trip it was. I realized the other day that I hadn’t shared much from our trip, other than on Instagram, so today I wanted to share a photo diary from our trip to Spain (better late than never, right?!) I’ll be back next week with posts from France & Italy.
P.S. Happy weekend! Anyone have any fun plans? Nick and I are heading to our alma mater this weekend to go to a football game. This is our last “real” weekend that doesn’t involve showers or wedding stuff, so we’re taking advantage by getting out of town and having some fun! I’m excited to stay at one of our favorite hotels and go to some old favorite spots. I hope everyone has a great weekend.To give a little back story about our trip, we went with a family that we met on a cruise about five years ago. For the past few years we’ve gone on vacation together and last year they came to visit us for three weeks. We decided to go visit them this time around, so we researched and planned a trip through Spain, France & Italy.
They are located along the coast, in Calonge, Spain, which is about 60 miles from Barcelona. We spent eight days in Calonge in the cutest little villa. Our villa was located right across the street from their home and had 3 bedrooms, a pool, and so much charm (I loved the lemon tree in the back yard!) It was so nice to have the extra space as we adjusted to the six hour time difference.Kate Spade Maxi Coverupc/o | Brixton Hat | Kate Spade Scallop Swimsuitc/oSince Calonge is located on the coast, there is no shortage of beach. There are quite a few beach towns around Calonge and each is more charming than the last. We spent a day on the Mediterranean and these photos don’t even do the water justice. It was really breathtaking. The beaches, Sant Antoni de Calonge and Palamós, have a lot of beachfront restaurants, so it was really easy to grab lunch and hit the beach anytime we wanted to.One day we took a day trip to Girona to explore the historic city. It’s about 45 minutes from Barcelona, so it’s a really easy trip to make by train if you don’t have a car. Around every corner there was amazing history and charming alleys. It was a really gorgeous city. Fun fact: parts of Game of Thrones was filmed there, so seeing that was really neat! Some of my favorite spots were the Cathedral, the Bathys Arabs (Historic Arab Baths from 10th century) and Sant Pere de Galliants. I loved hearing and reading the history of it all. If you’re in the area there are a lot of really cute outdoor cafes and pubs. I really liked Artusi for coffee/espresso and a quick breakfast. 

We also stopped in Besalú, which is a quaint little town like out of a book. It’s filled with history (I learned SO much just reading about it on the signs) and is breathtaking. It’s off the beaten path, but a great trip to take nonetheless. The city is filled with bridges, cobblestone streets, and bougainvillea every where you turn. We were there during Siesta, so a lot of places were closed (they take their siestas very seriously!) but it was great to walk around and explore a bit.
Fast forward nine days and we landed back in Barcelona after exploring France & Italy! We stayed at Hotel Granvìa Barcelona for four days and absolutely loved it. It was centrally located to restaurants, tourist spots, and a lot of shopping. It was really easy to walk everywhere from our hotel. The provided a daily buffet style breakfast, including delicious fresh juices and coffee, and had mid-day tea and snacks out too! The hotel itself was so darn cute! I loved the aesthetic and the rooms were really spacious (which is hard to typically find through Spain/Europe).
While we were in Barcelona we did the Hop Off Hop On bus. It was the easiest way to be able to sight see and get from place to place. It was nice to be able to hop off at any stop and explore a different area. We did a lot of historic sights, went to a few different beaches, and were able to see a lot of the city over two days on the bus. I highly recommend it… much more affordable than taking taxis everywhere. They stop at all the major spots, including the Cathedral de Barcelonawhich was breathtaking. P.S. they require your shoulders, knees AND feet covered (aka no flip flops!) to tour. This was surprising since the Vatican didn’t even require your feet covered! Anyways, on our last night in Barcelona we celebrated my step-dad’s birthday at 9 Reinas. The food was incredible and 10/10 would recommend. They were very accommodating and were able to answer any questions in English (which most restaurants can’t/don’t). 

























 Written by Emily for Life With Emily 
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 1 comments
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Welcome to The Monogrammed Life, a fashion and lifestyle blog owned by Marleylilly - Monogrammed Gifts! Thanks for stopping by! We hope you'll stick around and find some inspiration here. Peace, love, and monograms!

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      • FASHION FRIDAY: Game Day Fashion by Marleylilly
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