Summer Sundays

Good Sunday morning y'all!!! There's something definitely special about summer Sunday mornings that I just LOVE. As I'm counting down the last three (don't want to talk about it) weekends at home, I really do enjoy getting an early coffee, late brunch, and a long walk on the beach with my sweet Mama.

This summer seems to have been busier than the month of May which I would have thought impossible, but seeing as it's now the middle of July and I can count on one hand the number of times I've blogged.....yeah, summer life is crazy. Internship #1 is dunzo, I'm onto #2 Thursday, and then off to Alabama in two weeks then home for my last 5 days in Virginia!

Even though I have Pure Barre in an hour and a million things to do and see and eat before I move, life is definitely good today.

xx

July

Rabbit, rabbit y'all! I can't believe that today is the first day of July and starts my last month at home! June kind of slipped away from me with interning and lifeguarding really taking up most of my time. It's been a great start to the summer, but I feel bad neglecting blogging and pushing it off.

I wouldn't say my passion and love for this has gone away, but it's almost sort of a selfish cause behind my procrastination. When I started my blog, the whole "southern/preppy/WASPy" what-have-you was nearly nonexistent, and now there are thousands of clothing companies, anonymous twitter accounts and blogs all promoting their 'idea' of the lifestyle that I, like many other people, had grown up knowing but never put a title on. 

I guess this is a bit reverse-hipster of me, but I feel like the title and content is now almost cliche, and I'm at sort of a crossroads. I haven't made any major decisions, and I want to continue to keep this up, but it's definitely not like it used to be excuse me as I click nostalgically through my high school posts. One of my greatest flaws is that I don't like to do anything halfway, and I would rather not do something at all than do it less than 150%. While this is a great asset, it means I give a lot of 110%s to a lot of things, and this is something where the gratification is not always immediate. 

I'm working hard on revamping a little and sprucing this up before I head off to school a month from Wednesday (not even talking about it), but for now, I'm still Royar, the YSP!

Happy Monday!

xx

Happy (Official) Summer!!

Happy First Day of Summer and National Wear Your Lilly Day!!

I've been a very bad blogger this month - but really, where has the month gone? Between interning, working, and trying to put a dent in my summer reading list I feel like the last few weeks have flown by!

Today I have on my murfee in toile and my beloved white jeans - what are you wearing to celebrate?

xx

The Endless Summer

So now that school is over, graduation is in two weeks, and I have no serious commitments in the foreseeable future, I'm going to take a little break.

I'm a little more burnt out than I thought I was, and it kind of hit me yesterday as I drove home from downtown after having lunch with a friend. I literally couldn't convince myself that I had nothing to do  yesterday afternoon and today. 

I went out and laid by the pool and read US Weekly. It. Was. So. Weird.

That, and the fact that I literally cannot read a page of a book to save my life right now, I'm putting myself on a little technology/blogging/etc vacation for awhile. I need to enjoy these next few weeks, not enjoy thinking about the blog posts I'm going to write about them.

The in-between life is weird, but I can't say I'm not enjoying it already!

MAY

If I had to name the perfect month, it would probably be May.

There's so much going on, the weather's warm, and it means that school is almost over!

I have so much to look forward to this month, especially Field Day at my school, my APs being over, school ending, beach and boat days, and then Graduation which finally means....

SUMMER!

Do you have anything exciting this month?

The "Go Me" Gift

Next week, I have a big interview for a summer internship, and when if I nail it, I want to get myself something nice to mark the start of my big girl career.

The other day I realized that my Brooks Brothers wallet is kind of old. And not as pretty as it could be. I have a Vera card holder that I will use in college, and I might get a new Lilly one, but I need something nice and professional. 

Enter Kate Spade. I obvs love their clothes, but I really love their purses. They're professional, clean, and don't have labels stamped all over them. 

Here are my faves:

The other possibility is a new pair of sunglasses. I thought I was sold on the Ray Ban Cats, but I tried on a pair of Gucci glasses the other day at Nordies, and I'm in love. 

So now I need to keep my fingers crossed and keep prepping for my interview, but I think I have some good motivators.

What is your "go me" gift?

xx

Happy Labor Day!

Today we bid adieu to our seersuckers, white shoes, and brightest Lilly frocks. I am a traditionalist, sans the white pants, so a good part of today will be spent packing up the summer part of my closet, and bringing out a few fall-esque items. Also on the queue today is a nice run along the beach, a bit of homework (senioritis? never), and sipping an Iced Pumpkin Latte. 

Farewell, dear summer. You were rad.

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

What Royar Read: Summer 2012

This summer I read a lot, I must say! Among my favorites were: Sorority Sisters, Glamour, Lone Survivor, and The Secret Life of Bees! To see all of my summer reading books, click here!

What did you read this summer?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Summer Recap!

Summer 2012, has been without a doubt, the best summer of my life. I'll always look fondly, with a hint of nostalgia, upon these past three months. It's safe to say I've grown exponentially as a person, both personally, professionally, and academically. I got super super tan, one of my main goals, took a ton of risks, reaped the rewards and repercussions, ran a lot, made some serious life decisions, applied to college, studied, shopped, drank a lot of diet coke, gave up Starbucks, stayed up late, woke up early, and got renewed, refreshed, and reacquired a sense of peace.

Ensley came to visit me!

My sweet CIT friend mCe

One of my swim class babies!

My Buzzard, a kind of secret santa at camp, and I!

One of my fave campers after I tied her bandana!

A trip to ATL,

Athens,

and Tuscaloosa were fun!

A visit with the original Royar!

Many mornings with my toes in the sand

Posin' with Stonewall Jackson's Arm

And new and old friends at ISLC Georgetown...

My friend from Kenya!

SGG love!

Summer 2012, you were the ish. But I can't lie, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are calling my name.

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Lilly ESS Loot!

And stilll trying to wrestle a cassie in Worth Blue into my cart!

I really with I could have gotten an Adelson in the State of Mind print, but there's always FB and ebay!

What did you pick up?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Lilly Summer Sale!

The greatest day of the summer is upon us! Today at 8 a.m. the Lilly sale will begin!

Something I'm really stoked about this year is that there will be flash sales on Lilly P's FB page!

Have you shopped the Lilly sale before? Read all about my first year experience, and last year's!

Happy shopping y'all!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Summer, Kind Of Crazy

Hello again y'all!

I feel like I have been such an awful blogger this summer! Honestly, I've been suffering hard core from writers block! I have so much to catch y'all up on from the end of Junior Year, to camp, to my week in Georgetown for Operation Smile, to all the crafts I've been doing, to my getting ready for Senior Year!

In true Royar fashion, I've spent exactly fourteen nights at home this summer. Fourteen y'all. Fourteen days I've spent in my house, my city, driving around where I live. A part of me is completely okay with it, because my city has never truly felt like home to me. I love Virginia, don't get me wrong, but I've spent a lot more time away from home than normal teenagers.  But another part of me realizes that in less than a year, I'll be starting college, and I'll never live at home for an extended period of time again. 

My senior year is fast approaching, aka cross-country starts next Monday, something which I've barely prepared for.  I've also read approximately 1/6th of 1 of the 6 books I have to read for summer reading. I'm clearly chomping at the bit for school to start, right?

I've already applied to one college, and hopefully will have some good news come the end of August right as I head back.  I also have senior pictures next week. Crazy, right? I've been working really hard to tan out my lifeguard suit strap marks since we just do a formal drape pose. 

I wish I could say my life is way more exciting than tanning, scheduling appointments, and reading books, but it's really all I've been up to this week. Other to-dos involve consigning some clothes, volunteering at a race I'm unable to run in (boo-hiss foot injuries!), and writing college essays!

What are you up to this week?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

College Tour: Tuscaloosa

Thursday, July 12 was casually one of the greatest mornings of my life.  Although it was a little lot rainy (note to self: buy hunters before attending), it didn't dampen my mood as I finally set foot in Tuscaloosa! Parking next to Bryant-Denny was unreal, as well as going into the visitors center inside! I absolutely fell in love with the campus and the school, and I'm so excited that my application is currently being reviewed! 

Tuscaloosa is a great town as well, and thanks to some amazing recs from my twitter followers, my Mom and I had a delicious lunch at Buffalo Phil's and we popped into The Locker Room, The Shirt Shop and Expeditions! 

It was a great trip, and I hope to make another trip down this fall! Also, if you're wise, don't be like my Mother and I and have the only umbrella in your car be Orange and Blue...

Roll Tide!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

PS My amazing cousin, Ensley, has been nominated for a Best of the Web award! If y'all could vote for The Preppy Vegan by liking/pinning/Google +ing here:http://tinyurl.com/78f655j I would love y'all forever!

What I'm Loving: July

Monogrammed Sunglasses from DKM Accessories

My iPad, now that I actually have time to play around on it! 

Comfort Colors tank from TuskWear Collections picked up from Expeditions, aka the best store ever, in Tuscaloosa. (But really y'all. I'm going to have to avoid going in there if I end up going to Alabama. Such an amazing store!)

Essie's Bikini So Teeny

Lilly Pulitzer Alexi Dress

What are your favorites as of late?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

College Tour: Athens

After my five weeks of camp, Mumsy and I set off for USC, UGA, and Alabama! Sadly I didn't get any pictures at USC but I loved it!

We stopped and visited my Aunt and sweet cousins in Atlanta before heading to Athens, and we went to lunch at the Swan Coach House!

Lunch was so lovely - I highly recommend the pimento cheese and chicken salad sandwiches!

Isn't the Swan House gorgeous?

After our delicious lunch, we visited the Beverly Bremer Silver Shop! Oh my word y'all, if I can picture heaven, I want it to be this place.  I narrowed down my race for choosing a silver pattern and received some great tips, which I'll share in a later post!

Ensley even stopped in for the evening and made us a yummy vegan dinner!

The next morning we woke up, and were off to Athens!

Sidenote: If you ever go from Atlanta to Athens and need a Starbucks, do not wait until you're half an hour into the drive to start wanting one.  It's either ATL or Athens, there's no in between to stop in! Mumsy and I learned this the very hard way! Sadly, I didn't think to snap any pictures on the tour (Blackberry problems!) but after our tour and browsing around Clayton Street, we drove out to the new University of Georgia Health Science Campus! It used to be the Naval Supply School, and Royar Square is located there, named for my Great-Grandfather. 

I absolutely fell in love with UGA and would love to keep being a bulldog for another four years!

Have you ever visited Athens? What's your favorite place to go?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Summer, Part I

Where in the world have I been? After a whirlwind Junior Year, I sped off to the lake for five wonderful weeks of lifeguarding, lake-swimming, and camp counseling! After Mumsy picked me up from the Lake, we took off for a trip around The South: Columbia, Atlanta, Athens, and Tuscaloosa!

I can't wait to get back into writing and catch y'all up on my life! Happy Monday!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}