Friday Five

Happy Friday, people! Somehow this 4-day week seemed to be the longest week ever.
UConn Homecoming. While I may have worn inappropriate shoes and not enough layers to last year's homecoming game, I'm sad I'm going to miss it tomorrow! And, we've actually won games this season, which is new! So, to all my husky homecoming goers tomorrow, have a drink (shotgun a beer - sorry mom) for me! 

Buffalo Check Hat. I love buffalo check, and I love a good hat. If I still lived in the north, I would absolutely snatch this guy up, especially for under $35! But I have a feeling it may be a tad aggressive for Tennessee... 

Burberry in AdWeek. Since I work in advertising, I'll scroll through sites like AdWeek to stay current on industry happenings. I love when brands like Burberry pop out at me while I'm browsing titles and headlines, which is exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago when I saw this Burberry scarf ad (an item that has forever, and most likely will forever be on my wishlist..). Not only did it make me realize just how much goes in to this beautiful accessory, it made me miss Ireland so much (yes, I know it was in Scotland)! 

This Quote. One of my favorite bloggers, Kerrie at Rarely Taken Seriously, also happens to be one of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow. When she posted this a few days ago, I laughed out loud, because it is so true. The power of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie is real... 

Listening: Blaire Hanks - Take It Away 
Be sure to follow me on Spotify (username: Colleen O'Flynn) and check out my constantly updated monthly playlists! 
Reading: There's Cake In My Future - Kim Gruenenfelder I just finished this last night and immediately downloaded the sequel, which I can't wait to start! This is a really easy beach read type of book, but completely addicting! 
Also, the Kate Spade Friends & Family event started today and ends Sunday! Enter INDULGE at checkout for 25% off your purchase! 
I hope everyone has a great weekend and thanks for reading! 

Football Ready

In honor of the start of September and UConn's season opener football game tomorrow (humor me and pretend like UConn football is good), I thought it would be fun to put together a game day look. No, I am not a huge football fan, but yes, I love tailgating and live sporting events, even if I have no idea what is going on. I will honestly miss going to UConn tailgates so much this fall. But, I can only assume that football season in the south will not disappoint; I'm actually going to my first Titans game tomorrow night! In reality, I'm lucky I even know what the team is here in Tennessee.... 

Outfit Details: Hat | Shirt | Jeans (old, similar) | Sandals | Bag (old, similar) | Watch (50% off!) | Necklace (similar) | Sunglasses

While I do love sporting a branded t-shirt with the team/school name or logo, I love having the logo on the hat and just wearing a plain loose tee to be comfortable. Luckily UConn's colors are navy blue and white, so that's pretty easy to accommodate for! But it's super easy to recreate for any color combo. And let's be honest, I will definitely trade in these jeans for some jean shorts in the 90+ degree weather. And, full disclosure, the zipper was down on my jeans this entire shoot, haha! :) 

Also, I know I need a haircut more than anything, but I am so afraid to go to a new place and coming out with a mullet (not only because I'm in the south, but because that has actually happened to me before!!) So, if anyone has some good hair stylist suggestions in the Nashville area, let a girl know! 

Are you excited for football/tailgating season?! Thanks for reading! 

Friday Five: College Edition

Since I apparently gave myself a little summer vacation from blogging, I figured it would be appropriate to make this Friday Five back to school themed! Between being nostalgic (aka sad to have real life responsibilities) at the now dwindling "back on campus!" posts I've been seeing on social media and the slight hint of fall in the air, I thought I'd put together the top 5 things I learned in college. Also inspired from one of my favorite bloggers, Nicole, over on Pumps & Iron who recently did a similar post :) 

Make Your Assignments Fun. One of the best things I learned in college was when the opportunity was given, mold your assignments and projects into something enjoyable for yourself. Especially with a Communications major, we were given a lot of open-ended projects with a lot of room to be creative. I did an entire presentation on the Real Housewives of Orange County and wrote a 20+ page research paper on Ellen DeGeneres. I learned to be creative and stretch the boundaries a little which my professors really appreciated. Since I was working on something I enjoyed researching and learning more about, I ended up getting great grades and excelling in my classes. Plus, any paper where People Magazine is used as a legitimate reference is good in my book. 
Go Out On Weeknights.  I think my greatest memories from college come from Thursday nights and a little thing we UConn alums refer to as Nickel Night. Don't be afraid to go out on weeknights - in fact, DO IT. Because while I've had my share of fun weeknights post-college, more times than not I am in bed by 9pm and completely regret it the next morning if I went out the night before. Or stayed up past 10pm for that matter. So, enjoy it while you are somehow invincible to hangovers and ready to do it all over again in a few short hours.
Work Out. Staying active is way more popular now than it was when I was in school (a whole 3 years ago..), but I went from playing sports and going to the gym to not really working out my first semester, mostly because I was unfamiliar with the gym on campus. Don't be afraid to explore or take advantage of on-campus group classes. I definitely wish I took more advantage of the free classes, because those are completely unheard of anywhere else! 
Find Your Bridesmaids, Not Your Husband. This saying is so cheesy, but so true. I was talking to my best friend the other day, who I met in college, and were talking about how there have been so many weddings this summer and joking around saying we did something wrong where we didn't meet the loves of our lives in college. Luckily, we came to our senses rather quickly and came to the conclusion that we in fact did college right, and had so much fun spending every waking hour with our friends, which is something we would never get to do again. Don't worry about finding a guy, enjoy your time essentially being young and dumb ;)

Can you tell bodycon skirts with the thing to wear? 

Intern. I was fortunate enough to have three internships throughout college, and I started interning early - during sophomore year. There is no doubt that these internships helped me land a job right out of school. Take advantage of your school's resources as well as  your own resources and connections. Even if you end up interning in a field you realize you don't want to be in, you will learn professional skills, and help pave the road to figuring out what you do want to do! 
Well, that's enough of me thinking I'm wise and insightful. But it sure was fun going through old college pictures! I hope everyone has a great weekend, and thanks for reading! 

Friday Five

Happy Friday, loves! Not only does the happiest girl in the world work at the coffee shop I tend to go to on Fridays, but she also upgraded my medium latte to a large today and I am about to start a four day weekend! Woohoo! Small victories, people. 
Here's what I've been watching, reading, doing this week... 
1. Shake It Off. No, I'm not 2 months late to the game with this song, but this 80s aerobics video is something everyone needs to watch immediately if you haven't already. 

2. This Proposal. I'm a sucker for a good marriage proposal, and this video and story is too sweet not to share. Read the full story here.
                                                                       Our Engagement Video - Aaron + Makenna from aaron McReynolds on Vimeo.
3. This Post. I've been a fan of Cupcakes and Cashmere for a couple of years now and was so excited to find out Emily was pregnant (isn't weird how we start to feel like we actually know these people and get genuinely excited for them?! No? Just me?). Anyway, this article written by her husband about his future fatherhood is seriously adorable. 
4. NYE Dresses. Granted, I have no plans yet, and would be quite happy sitting on my couch, but every year I rush at the last minute trying to find a New Year's Eve dress. So I've started early this year. Well, at least starting pinning in anticipation (check out my full board here). Now I actually want to do something just so I have an excuse to look like somewhat of a disco ball. But don't think I won't sit on my couch and drink champagne out of the bottle in a sparkly dress if need be. These are my favorites right now: 

Atmosphere Beaded Sequin Dress 

Dress the Population Mia Black and Gold Sequin Dress

Arc & Co Under The Affluence Sequin Dress

5. Jimmy Kimmel. Sleepover at Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's, anyone? This video cracked me up. I think Jimmy Kimmel is hysterical as it is, throw in Tim and Faith and that's one great segment. Plus, check out Tim and Faith's house and farm. In. Love. 

I'm headed into NYC tomorrow to go see UConn vs. Army at Yankee Stadium which will be so fun! Do you have any fun weekend plans? 

Halloween

As promised, here is a short hump day post dedicated to my Halloween shenanigans and a little weekend recap. Friday was spent mostly dedicated to setting up our Halloween Happy Hour at work (I swear I did some work..). I love planning a good party and love it even more when it's not my my money being spent! I scoured Pinterest for a few weeks and gathered up the easiest ideas that could be executed in the office, and even put together a Halloween playlist! Some may say I have too much time on my hands.. 

We have an office costume contest every year and this year I decided to go as a pineapple. Seriously, easiest costume ever. I had this bright yellow dress already and just made the leaves by using a toilet paper roll and hot glued some construction paper cut out as leaves and rolled them down a bit to give them a staggered and realistic look. My genius mom suggested cutting slits in the bottom of the toilet paper roll to make tabs and bobby pinned the tabs in my hair and voila! It was a hit all day. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have gotten a sneak peak. 

I obviously couldn't wear the same costume to two events, so I had a different costume planned for the Halloween party I was going to - a mermaid! I've always wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween and with a little encouragement from a friend, I decided to create a handmade mermaid ensemble. I hot glued and sewed some shells, pearls, beads and sequins on a strapless bra for the top. I found a turquoise pencil skirt and my mom assisted (who am I kidding, she did the whole thing) in sewing a blue sequin fabric I found to the bottom of the skirt to create a mermaid effect. We ended up turning the skirt around and stitched up the slit that was in the back to make the "tail" be in the back of the skirt. 

Saturday was UConn Homecoming which meant waking up bright and early for some tailgating and reliving the glory days of college. What did I get out of this? I am old. And always remember to bring a hooded jacket and completely closed shoes to a cold and wet tailgate. And remember to bring tickets for the correct game. But it was fun to see a bunch of college friends for the day! 

Well, that was quite the opposite of a short post. Sorry! All in all, it was a long but fun weekend. What did you dress up as for the Halloweekend? 
P.S. In honor of the CMA Awards on tonight, here's a little hump day treat :)