December 31, 2014

New Years Eve

Silver nails, sequin tops, New Years Eve is in full swing! This was not one of my brightest decisions, seeing as it is 12 degrees out and I am blogging in a short sleeve shirt, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Although I love skiing and spending vacation in Vermont, I would love to be in New York City tonight to participate in all the festivities, but for now it will remain on my bucket list! I went to Burlington with my mom yesterday while the rest of my family skied and there were lots of great sales. I got these black cords at Gap for $14 and this sequin top from Loft for $18! Unfortunately, these pictures are not great but I wanted to share my NYE look! Looking forward to a great 2015! 







shirt- Loft | pants- Gap | shoes- gap (old) similar

Happy New Year! 

xoxo,
Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

2014

 How is another year coming to an end? 2014 has been a great year for Preppy by the Sea and we want to thank you for helping us grow the blog. Last summer we were lucky enough to attend the Smart Girls Group Summit in New York City where we learned a lot about the blogging and business world, along with meeting other bloggers! We spent yet another beautiful summer on Cape Cod and were able to capture the beautiful scenery in many summer posts. This fall we went to Washington, D.C. for a few days for a mother daughter birthday trip. In addition to all of the amazing adventures we were lucky enough to go on, 2014 brought big changes for Preppy by the Sea. We made the layout of the blog much cleaner (still trying to figure out how to change to a .com) and have become much more consistent. As we close in on 2014, we hope that 2015 will be even better and bring lots of new opportunities!
Some of our favorite posts this year 

January 

Feburary 


March


April


May 


June


July


August


September


October


November 


December


Enjoy the last day of 2014! 

xoxo,
Catherine and Julianna

Preppy by the Sea 


December 29, 2014

L.L. Bean & Barbour

Over Christmas break, I like to keep my outfits relatively casual and super comfortable. My L.L. Bean norwegian sweater is mens, so it is over sized and is so warm to put on after a long day of skiing. For my birthday, I received a Barbour jacket and have been wearing it nonstop since I opened it! I got the "classic beadnell" style which is slightly more fitted then the "beadnell" style but not super tailored which I adore. I love the look of the two classic pieces paired together with some simple jeggings and bean boots. How beautiful is this mountain scenery!?









jacket- Barbour | sweater- L.L. Bean | jeans- Nordstrom | boots- L.L. Bean | socks- Old Navy (in stores) | glasses- Kate Spade

xoxo,
Catherine 

Preppy by the Sea 

December 27, 2014

Post-Holiday Plaid

Can you believe the holiday season has already passed us by? It seems like Christmas should be months away considering that it has not snowed once! Having a 55° Christmas certainly seemed odd, but was actually kind of nice; a change from annually snow covered ground at this time of year. Snowy or not, December is the perfect month to start wearing flannel shirts. I love plaid, and you can definitely dress these shirts up or down with the right accessories. I was lucky enough to receive this adorable flannel from Madewell for Christmas and I absolutely love it! I guarantee I will be wearing this WAY too much to school these next few months!


Obsessed with this necklace that I got at a Yankee Swap. I shocked no one took it from me!


Whenever I wear a collared shirt and sweater together, I always roll the cuffs over the sleeve of the sweater. I think it makes for a very polished look.

My favorite shoes ever. They are perfect for the range of muddy to sunny days in New England!

Not too shabby for December

Shirt: Madewell | Sweater: J.Crew Factory | Necklace: Madewell | Jeans: Anthropologie (similar) | Shoes: L.L. Bean

xoxo,
Julianna 

Preppy by the Sea


December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope Santa was good to you and no one made the naughty list :) I way beyond happy to spend my morning in my cozy plaid Christmas pajamas with a cup of coffee by the fire! Christmas lights, big bows, fun wrapping paper and a yummy breakfast are all the reasons why I am a morning person on December 25th! When it comes to leaving my house on Christmas day I like to keep the look festive and comfortable. This tartan paper bag skirt from J. Crew is on of my favorite holiday pieces and perfect for this super warm december day! I received my first turtleneck (since I was five) and am excited to jump on the bandwagon with this trend... you know what they say, everything old is new again! Enjoy this lovely day filled with lots of red, green and Christmas cheer!









skirt- J. Crew (old) similar | sweater- J. Crew Factory | shoes- Old Navy | bracelets- J. Crew Factory & Forever 21

Merry Merry!
xoxo,
Catherine 

Preppy by the Sea 

December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve

I cannot believe that today is Christmas Eve! There is nothing I love more than having an occasion to get dressed up for. Today my family is having brunch, going to church and then to a christmas party, so I am getting plenty of excuses to get all dressed up! Last year, I saw almost the exact dress at J. Crew and fell in love with it (but not the $250 price tag), when I saw this show up on their factory kids site I was thrilled! I adore the black and gold for the holidays, plus this year is is surprisingly warm here in Massachusetts, almost sixty degrees (and rainy) which is completely different from our typical white Christmas. Anyways, what I am trying to say is that the warmer weather is perfect for this sleeveless dress. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve spent with friends and family- only a few more hours until Christmas!







dress- Crewcuts Factory | shoes- Target | necklace- Etsy | bracelet- J. Crew Factory | earrings- Kate Spade

Merry Christmas!

xoxo,
Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

December 23, 2014

Christmas Pinspiration

I love a good boxwood wreath! 

Christmas in Boston... perfection


The big apple & the most wonderful time of the year


Old L.L. Bean Christmas magazine covers are always so fun to look at!

Tomorrow's Christmas Eve... let the festivities begin! 

xoxo,
Catherine 

Preppy by the Sea 

December 22, 2014

Peppermint Brownies




I honestly cannot contain my excitement for Christmas, only 4 days left!! Around the holidays I feel like I always get into the baking mood, cookies, pies, and any other festive treat are all thats on my mind. That being said, anything peppermint is my all time favorite, so today I am sharing a holiday twist on the classic brownie. Whenever we make brownies, we use the Ghiradelli double chocolate mix. The chocolate chips make it so delicious, plus it's super easy! While the brownies bake, crush up two or three candy canes. After the batch has cooled down, coat them in chocolate frosting and sprinkle the candy canes on top. This simple recipe will most definitely be a crowd pleaser, perfect to bring to a friends if you are in charge of dessert or serve on christmas eve with some yummy peppermint ice cream! What is your favorite holiday treat?
xoxo,
Catherine 

Preppy by the Sea 

December 17, 2014

Styling Red & Green

We are counting down the days until Christmas and what better way to get ready than styling some red and green!? Today we are doing a collab post with Mary Kate from The Prep Nxt Door to share some of our more casual, yet still festive, holiday looks. Pairing red and green together can sometimes get a little overwhelming... unless you are going for the full on tacky Christmas sweater look. We think the easiest way to accomplish this is to select one color as the main focus and add a little pop of the other with jewelry or accessories. Both Julianna and I opted for a more red look. 

I was in Vermont last weekend when I took the photos for this post, so don't mind the excessive amounts of snow in the background. Unfortunately, the lighting was horrible and I only came out with three decent photos. Sorry! 

I ordered this cabernet colored cable knit sweater at the end of the summer from J. Crew Factory. Last weak I unearthed it from my bottom less sweater drawer (sweaters definitely my weakness) and wore it to school and again this weekend #sorrynotsorry. Unfortunately, it sold out on their website but you can still find lots of similar sweaters that are oh so cozy like this one! 

Is anyone else shocked about bean boots being backordered on L.L. Bean until March? I got mine three years ago and wear them practically everyday from Decemeber-March. If you are hesitant about waiting, don't be! I would order them, in fact last year the same thing happened and my sister's were backordered but they came a month earlier than expected! 

 sweater- J. Crew Factory (sold out) similar | Jeans- Joe's Jeans | Scarf- Forever 21 | Boots- L.L. Bean | Socks- J. Crew (old) similar

I received this dress from Anthropologie for my birthday and am completely obsessed with it. It's a perfect winter color and a great dress for the holiday season (even though it is sleeveless :). Although I'm wearing a dress, I still consider this to be a fairly casual and comfortable holiday look.

What's a better sign of Christmas than holly?

I also love that the skirt is somewhat full and the length isn't that short. I like that it's different from the dresses that you always see on department store shelves. Sometimes theres a better alternative to short and tight.

How cute is this neckline!?
Dress- Anthropologie (check local store, not online) | Boots- Frye

Make sure to check out Mary Kate's post here for more holiday inspiration! 


xoxo,
Catherine and Julianna 

Preppy by the Sea