February Playlist

I have spent a lot of time driving this past month and have thus been listening to a ton of music. If you have been reading the blog for a while, then you likely know that I am a huge fan of John Mayer. He has released waves one and two of his new album and I have been listening nonstop. Julianna and I bought tickets to his concert the night the tour was released and are counting down the days until April 9th at the Garden! In addition to lots of John Mayer, I have been listening to the La La Land soundtrack. I am writing this post while watching the Oscars and am so excited to see what awards the film wins. What has been on your playlists this month?

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Oscars x SkinnyPop

The Oscars have always been my favorite award show to watch and this year will be no exception! Sunday night is the last night of my winter break, so hopefully my friends and I can all get together for a little Oscars party. Because it is on a school night, we will likely have a super casual girls night filled with lots of bakes goods and snacks (while we admire all of the gorgeous dresses on the red carpet. This year, we have teamed up with SkinnyPop to bring you a fun voting ballot for your Oscar party. While you are munching on your favorite SkinnyPop popcorn (I love the original and the black pepper favors), make your bets on what is going to win 

The only movie that I have see that is up for a lot of nominations is La La Land, however my parents raved about Manchester by the Sea and the O.J. Simpson documentary series. I am interested to see how Hidden Figures and Lion do as they are on my list of movies I want to see. 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

101 in 1001 Update

I am just over 13 months into my 101 in 1001 list and I wanted to give a quick update about what I have accomplished and what I am hoping to cross off in the near future. This is more of a reflective post for myself, but hopefully it gives you a little glimpse into what I've been up to for the past few months! Initially, I created the list as somewhat of a boredom buster but it has been a really fun way to motivate myself to do little things that I am interested in. Although some of the things on the list are more exciting then others, every one of the 101 things is something I genuinely want to do. So far I have completed 27 things. Since starting senior year back in September, a few of my highlights have included:

Going on a road trip with friends: we drove up to New Hampshire in the fall for a hike and were able to see all of the beautiful foliage that New England is known for

Setting my 5k PR: Before starting my final cross country season, I set a goal to run a 5K under a 7'45" pace. I definitely got more into running this year and was so happy when I accomplished my goal.

Hosting a cookie swap: I organized a super last minute cookie swap on a friday night with my closest friends and it was so much fun! We had a relaxing night, ate pizza, and had lots of delicious cookies to eat.

Getting into college: I applied early decision to Elon University and it was so exciting to get into the school I had wanted to go to since starting my college search. I have accepted students day in two weeks and I can't wait to be back and meet some of my future classmates.

Going to New York City at Christmas time: My mom and I went with my dad on one of his business trips to NYC back in Decemeber. It was a great little get away during a crazy time of year. I got to spend time with my parents, see all of the holiday decorations, and of course do a little bit of shopping!

What I am hoping to cross off by the end of senior year:

See five concerts: I have seen four concerts since starting my 101 in 1001 list (Keith Urban, Zac Brown Band, the Head and the Heart, Jingle Ball) and am going to the John Mayer concert in April, so I know I will be crossing this one off in the near future!

Go a weekend without checking social media: My friends and I have been talking about how we are all so addicted to our phones and I really want to have a tech free weekend before the end of the year. Every time we go out to dinner, we put all of our phones in a pile in the middle of the table so no one is on their phones for an hour or two and it is really nice to not have the distraction.

Do a half marathon: My friend and I just signed up for a half marathon in May. I am really excited to push myself and get into really good running shape for the summer.

Ski at least 50 Days: This is my last season of going skiing every weekend and I want to hit 50 days before the end of the this season. I currently have 42 days, so I am pretty confident that I will accomplish this!

Go on a senior trip: My friends and I are currently trying to organize some sort of senior trip and I really want to make it happen!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Black & Blush

 jeans | sweater similar | booties similar | necklace c/o (use code PREPPY15 for 15% off)

I am finally back with an outfit post! Over the past week, we have been hit with two huge snow storms and have had three snow days, making it somewhat difficult to shoot any photos. I wore this outfit for Valentine's Day and it was the perfect pop of pink to feel festive for the holiday. This blush pink sweater from Madewell (last year) is one of my favorite winter pieces and I love the feminine feel it brings to a more edgy look. Finally, I finished the look with my new favorite gold bar necklace from Once Upon A Stamp. If you are looking for customizable and affordable jewelry, I highly recommend checking out their products! 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

Senioritis

Throughout high school I have heard all about students suffering from senioritis and could never really understand what that entailed... until now. I like to consider myself a pretty productive person, I always do my homework, and I genuinely care about school. However, now that second semester has begun I have completely lost my mojo.  Finding motivation to do anything school related is incredibly difficult. I have known where I am going to college since the end of November, so I don't have anything college related still hanging over my head. My grades are still where I want them to be, I just am struggling to put in the extra work to get them there.

Recently, it has really started to sink in that I only have about 3 and a half months of school left. Because of this I have found myself being far more spontaneous and trying to do absolutely everything that comes up, resulting in me avoiding school work. I've gone to concerts, the Model UN trip, gone on long walks with friends and their dogs, participated in senior skip day, skipped again for the Patriots parade, hung out with friends to watch the Grammys and the Super Bowl, and enjoyed a couple of snow days. Maybe my priorities are a little bit backwards right now, but I think that it is important to take advantage of opportunities to be with friends in the last few months of school.

Unfortunately, I think that this whole senioritis thing has carried over to my blogging habits which is honestly just so frustrating. Because my school work is starting to lighten up, I have way more time to write blog posts, but I just cannot come up with any content ideas that seem to excite me. I plan on shooting more outfit posts once all these snow storms wind down, and share some recipe posts, but please comment anything that you are interested in seeing as I really want to get out of this funk and want to post what you want to see!

Senioritis is no new phenomena. I think most seniors have experienced some level of this mentality, especially second semester and it is just something we have to except and try to get through. My advice is to have some fun, don't completely abandon the books, and power through it. After all, there are only a few short months until graduation!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! As I am writing this, I am refreshing the list of school cancellations in hopes for another snow day... so today I may or may not be in school. This week has probably been the craziest week of the year, Monday was senior skip day, Tuesday my friends and I went to the Patriots parade, Wednesday I was home sick, and Thursday we had a snow day. Needless to say second semester is already living up to its reputation.

One: Senior Skip Day

After the Super Bowl on sunday night, it was so nice to have senior skip day and sleep in on Monday.  Majority of our grade participated and it was a great way to start off the semester. 

Two: Patriots Parade

On Tuesday morning my friends and I took the boat into Boston to go to the Patriots Parade. Although the weather was horrible, it was so much fun to see the city come together to celebrate winning the Super Bowl and see all of the players up on the duck boats. We ended up running into a ton of people from our school while we were there which was so much fun. Rumor has it about 40% of kids at my school were absent for the parader #onlyinNE 

Three: Snow day

Yesterday was our first snow day of the year and we ended up getting about a foot! I was out sick on wednesday with a fever so it was really nice to have an extra day off to catch up on sleep and relax without having more makeup work to think about. 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

shirt | sneakers | necklace | slippers | pajamas | nail polish set | candle | face mask | bathing suit | candy

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Smile Brilliant + GIVEAWAY

Teeth whitening is something that I have always been interested in, but I have not throughly experimented with. Last year during prom season I punched the crest 3D white strips and I saw a very subtle difference in the whiteness of my teeth but nothing too crazy. So, when the Smile Brilliant team reached out to us to try their at home whitening kit we knew it would be a great partnership. 

The first teeth whitening kit arrived very quickly and the packaging was so cute! The first step in our teeth whitening journey was to create a mold for our customized teeth whitening trays. Inside the kit is a catalyst and base paste that you mix together and place in a mouthguard type thing to make the mold. I was nervous that the paste would taste bad and be messy, however it was completely painless. After finishing the molds we put them back in the prepaid envelope and mailed them back to Smile Brilliant to have the custom fitted teeth whitening trays made (see the benefits of custom fitted trays) . The completed trays arrived about a week later and we were able to begin whitening. 

Before starting whitening I was slightly nervous about experiencing sensitivity. Personally, I have never had sensitive teeth and did not experience any sensitivity throughout the whitening process, however I know many people have. Smile Brilliant discusses how to handle whitening with sensitive teeth in depth. They explain the causes, how to fix, and how to minimize teeth sensitivity during the whitening process. In my experience, the desensitizing gel used after a session of whitening works very well to create a somewhat numb feeling in your teeth. You can also opt against whitening every night if you have sensitive teeth and just do it a few times a week. 

The recommended whitening time is 45 minutes to 2 hours followed by 15-20 minutes of desensitizing. You are not supposed to eat or drink for 30 minutes after whitening, so I found that it was best if done after dinner and before bed. Over the course of about a month of whitening, I was able to make it part of my nightly routine and was excited to see the results continue to improve throughout the process. I am a big coffee drinker, which obviously is not great for keeping your teeth white and I would 100% recommend Smile Brilliant to anyone in the same boat. Both Julianna and I agree that you can really see the results right after a whitening session. It is definitely a gradual process but after using all the whitening gel you can see the difference.

A Smile Brilliant kit retails for $119.95 versus $400+ from a dentist. If you are interested in trying their whitening kit, make sure to read what to know before buying, and any other reviews & videos if you are looking for multiple perspectives. 

After having such a great experience with Smile Brilliant, we want to give one of you the chance to win a free kit! Make sure to enter our giveaway this week and maybe you will be the lucky winner! Let us know if you have any further questions about our whitening experience, we would be happy to answer them! 

Enter the giveaway here or use the code preppybythesea5 for 5% off your order! 

xoxo,

Catherine & Julianna 

Professional Teeth Whitening