Gracefully Sassy

The Perfect Beach Day + Must Have Summer Sequins Floppy Hat

June 28, 2017

Now that summer is in full force my mind can’t seem to get out of beach day dreams. Sadly, Galveston doesn’t have white sands and crystal blue water, but it is still relaxing and one of my favorite things to do in the summer. First things first on a beach day are: sunscreen, Sequin Beach Hat, pop-up tent, comfortable tan worthy chair, and a cooler filled with all my favorites!

When you’re as white as piece of paper with very little tan insight, sunscreen is your best friend in the summer. My favorite right now is this Copportone sunscreen. I promise it won’t leave you sticky, it will protect you from those harmful rays, and it’s not pore clogging whatsoever. Sunscreen Winning!! Now what beach day is complete without that summer umbrella drink in hand?! There isn’t one! Wellllll for me there isn’t one anyways. My current favorite refreshing beach beverage is what I call the “Blueberry Day Dream”. I’ll leave you with the recipe below.

“Blueberry Day Dream”
2 shots – Stolli Blueberry Vodka
10 oz (1 small bottle) – Club Soda
2 lime wedges- squeezed
Shake well, and serve in your ice filled tumbler for refreshing beach bubbly!

Ladies, you totally know what I mean when I say that those cooler bags your handsome hunkster generally carries on your beach or pool days aren’t typically what we would refer to as cute! BUT this adorable Francesca’s “Chill Out” insulated tote will totally change your mind about that. Oh yeah, this baby comes to every water related event I go to now! And no cute beach day look is complete without a Summer Sequins Floppy Hat! I am obsessed with all things sequin and when Yanita with Summer Sequins said she could customize my hat with my favorite saying, I think I fell out of my office chair! I definitely Sip & Sass my way through every day with a smile. Her designs are flawless, price point perfection, and totally customizable! You need to check her out before you head to your next summer soiree.

I’d love to hear all your favorite summer drinks, and beach day must haves. Leave a comment below of your favorites and I will get back to you ASAP lovely!

Photography By: C Wright Photography
Hair Stylist: Cattleya Hair Studio

*This post was in collaboration with Summer Sequins. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own*

My Favorite Frayed Denim & Overcoming Failure with Grace

June 23, 2017

Frayed Denim: Nordstrom [under $30] // Off the Shoulder: Shein // Wedges (similar): Marc Fisher // Summer Earrings: Charming Charlie // Pineapple Tote (similar): Target

As you may or may not know, my family experienced a tragic loss a week ago today. A beautiful soul we loved was taken to be with God and dance no longer in pain. I am not going to go into detail about out loss, but I wanted to explain my absence on social media and here on the blog. I did have a small Instagram posting Wednesday broadly making some of you aware of this, and your prayers, love, and support mean more than I could ever say in words! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY SASSY HEART. Days prior to our loss it was my hubbie’s birthday week and we had many days of celebratory things planned that I took time away from the blog to focus on for him!

That leads me to my real subject of this post. Taking time for yourself, life, and loved ones is immensely important! I personally put a lot of pressure on myself to keep up with it all. Heck, most of us women are go getters trying to do it all to the best of our abilities. And I love being a woman and all the strong, but graceful abilities we have. I can’t say I am graceful when I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off, juggling 6 different things in my brain, and 4 others in my hands. But the point is I am strong, and I TRY!

I feel guilty when I am not constantly posting a wonderful blog post on my regular scheduled days, or even when I don’t get my Instagram post out some of those days. I love all of you my readers, and I pour my heart into all aspects of Gracefully Sassy. With that, the perfectionist side of me takes it hard when I have to place this lovely piece of me on the backburner to tend to my emotions and physical health, or even the beautiful other parts of life with my husband and family. And I am coming to realize, that is A Okay!

Unplugging from the online social world is what I have to do when trying to regroup or focus on my loved ones. So here I am admitting, I can’t do it all, BUT I do try my hardest to make it all work to the best of my ability. I am not at my best when I am run down, typing with one eye open. So now you see why I take time away. It’s to your benefit I promise! Hahaha, if you think my typos and grammar are bad now… just imagine if I was doing this half asleep. It would be unreadable for sure.

No one is perfect! We all mistakes, take two steps forward and one step back, but remember you’re still one step ahead of where you started. Celebrate all of your successes Small & Large! The failures are not where your focus should be. For explain, my “failure” in not posting because I needed to care for myself and my family led to this blog post. All in all, I feel that is a success as it may be helping some of you in some small way to see your worth celebrating.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I would love to hear your feedback on how you deal with similar things in life! Well, until next week.. signing off to have some girl time sipping Rose while watching Beauty and the Best.

Photography By: C Wright Photography
Hair Stylist: Cattleya Hair Studio

Palm Print Obsession – UNDER $30

June 8, 2017

This is the start to my palm print obsession that you will be seeing lots more of. Just a little sneak peak: tops, swimwear, dresses.. it’s a real obsession I tell you! Not only are these pants a show stopper for their beautiful palm print, but they’re like heaven to wear. They stretch for days, but not like saggy pants over 8 hours of wear. Be sure to use code “SWEET” when checking out to receive 20% off making these under $30! Something you most likely don’t know about me, I worked for Old Navy for close to 3 years when I was in high school. I was adored their baby clothing and how stylish they were, as well as the very trendy maternity wear and a reasonable price. They have since revamped their women’s line and I am in love all over again. If you like these ankle pants, they also created these shorts in the same palm print. You may just find your self purchasing BOTH!

In case you missed in, last week on Instastories I talked about doing a Blogger Closet Sale. I would love, love, love to know if there is anything you would like to see be apart of the sale. I will be working on this sale this coming week so stay tuned into Instastories OR you will be able to find all the items on my Poshmark here . Most of the time these items go quickly so be sure to send me a DM if you have any questions so I can answer them promptly to ensure you get the item before it’s gone.

Next week I will have a total Fiesta on the blog so until then, Adios Loves!

Hair Stylist: Cattleya Hair Studio
Photography By: C Wright Photography

Galveston Staycation & Floral Swimsuits

June 1, 2017

Hair Stylist: Cattleya Hair Studio
Photography By: C Wright Photography

The hubs and I were semi-sad about not being able to take a full on tropical vacation somewhere this summer. He started a new job in the fall of last year and has very little time in his training months (this summer) to take time off. Not to mention, this new job came with a temporary pay cut so after contemplation, STAYCATION was what we decided to enjoy this year.

I’ll be quite frank with you, I am not a fan of the Galveston water. I typically only walk along the beach and get in no further than ankle deep. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a million other fun, and tropical things to do on the island. I made a whole list below of places to eat, things to do, photo op places to visit, and my favorite swim-up bars around Galveston.

Before you splurge on all the Staycation details can we just talk about Floral Swimwear for a second. Floral is everywhere this year and one of my favorite timeless trends. These pieces are worth your investment because they never go out of summer style. I linked below my favorites from bikinis, high waisted 2-pieces, one piece wonders, and more. These are all in decent price points that you can probably grab a couple while you’re at it 😉

Staycation To-do’s & SwimUp Bars:

Touring the historic parts of the island on a double bicycle! This has to be one of the funest day dates we have had in a long time. As long as it’s not in the middle of August heat it is truly lovely!

If you’re feeling a little boardwalk thrill ride is up your alley, well the Galveston Pleasure Pier is your place. You can enjoy a bite, watch the kids enjoy some carnival time, or have a dreamy ferris wheel ride with your love. It’s fun for all ages, and Kyle and I enjoy doing whimsical things like this.

Who would have ever thought it, a bar that sounds the center attraction.. THE POOL! The Float Pool & Patio Bar is located along the seawall. Whether you’re looking for a place to enjoy drinks while watching the ocean or take a dip while swimming up to the bar this is a fun take on island bar life.

Another great SwimUp bar is located inside the San Luis Hotel. This hotel will give you all the resort vibes for a true Staycation experience. They have gorgeous tropical atmostphere in their resort pool area that is adorned with cabanas, and you guess it, a SwimUp Bar! Kyle and I like to take a weekend getaway here in the summer to relax and enjoy ourselves as if we were in the middle of Caribbean sipping margaritas. It won’t disappoint any Staycation expectations you may have.

Photo Ops:

If you’re like me, then you probably have a color obsession. Have you seen the insanely gorgeous colorful hotel in Palm Springs, CA? This is an iconic place many bloggers visit to capture all their summer fun images filled with more color than you can dream up.

Well, if you’re looking to visit Galveston and stay on the island I found you the perfect condos that mimic the Palm Springs beauties at half the cost. You will have more photo opportunities that your memory card can handle. Trust me!

Be sure to visit historic downtown Galveston on your Staycation. There is so much character to capture it will give you ALL the heart eyes! Not to mention, if you enjoy antiques then you will love coming to shop here.

Grub!

Gypsy Joynt will have you dancing on the tables from taste bud happiness. Kyle pretty much makes this a MUST when we go to Galveston, evening if we’re just going for a beach day.

RedFish Pool Bar, although they don’t have a SwimUp bar, they have a huge pool that is family friendly! They food is decent casual food, with large bar menu and great cocktails. The atmosphere is loads of fun and right along the seawall let’s you enjoy the beach without having to deal with Galveston sea water.

Viva La Brunch, Mosqito Café in Galveston is where my island brunch heart lives. Hubs has learned not to even ask if a brunch opportunity presents itself because there is where we’re headed, no questions asked!

Summer Weekend Vibes

May 26, 2017

houston blogger, style blog, fashion blogger, francesca's boutique, american eagle, nordstrom, bow mules, louis vuitton, houston photographer, pravana, summer style, summer trends
Hair Stylist: Cattleya Hair Studio
Photography By: C Wright Photography

I mentioned yesterday on Instagram how every time I have along weekend ahead, that work week seems to drag a turtle’s pace. Do you have any tips/tricks to help a lady off of that struggle bus? I tried very hard this week to just focus on dreaming of weekend in this floral, open back, bustier, off the shoulder top. << See how many tends are covered in just this ONE top? Lol, figured you might like that. Francesca’s online is actually sold out of this print, but I have linked the solid colors they have in stock. Good News for You is that most of the Francesca’s boutiques I have visited lately still have this floral number in stock! For me, this look can go to Brunch, and later on Wine Tastings, followed by a upscale Casual Dinner all while looking fabulous at all of these outings. And these bow mules from Nordstrom will never have your dogs barking due to the amazing comfort they offer alongside the cuteness they are.

Speaking of Nordstom, if you missed it I let everyone know on my Instastories & Snapchat about the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale that is going on now through June 4 ( I have already purchased the most perfect summer wedges from the sale!!). I have ALL of my favorites from the sale linked here. There is something for everyone from clothing, shoes, accessories, and even swimwear linked for your shopping pleasure. Please let me know if you have any questions or want help on sizing, I totally got you lovely!

Now I am off to make a cocktail for all the weekend vibes… wait! Who am I kidding, I still have until 5pm before I can make that happen. Happy FriYay!
Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend!