Back to School: Nautical Dorm Decor

Decals are perfect for dorm walls, desk, etc. So easy to put them around your room and instantly personalize! My favorites:
Seahorse and name decal:


Anchor and monogram decal:



Wire Starfish hooks (make sure you can put nails in your walls before putting these up!):


Storage boxes from Scout (this one has dividers but there are so many different options-open, underbed, etc):


Whale throw blanket (also available in starfish):


Anchor pillow:

Back to School: Nautical School Supplies

Jonathan Adler Whale Notepad:


Lilly Pulitzer Agenda:


Lilly Pulitzer Note Cube:


Magazine Holder:


Collapsible File Tote:


Blue Japanese Paper Pencils:

Back to School

Ok I'm not going back to school (yet) but it's almost that time of the year! I am doing a whole week of back to school posts so get ready! I decided to do my back to school posts a couple of weeks before school actually starts so that you have time to order any of the things I feature in time for your first day!

It still feels weird NOT to be getting ready for school. Sometimes on sunday nights I get this feeling like I'm forgetting to do my homework. And then I remember I don't have homework! I don't need to go buy new uniforms (from k-12 I wore a uniform) or make the trek to Bed Bath and Beyond with my dorm wish list. I do still buy school supplies. I LOVE when stores put out the school supply displays.

I've always planned on going onto graduate school so I know that papers and exams and all that (not) fun stuff will be part of my life again (that is going to be TOUGH!). Until then I will just live vicariously through my readers who are off to school in just a few weeks.

Are you off to high school? College? Graduate school? Are your kids starting school? Leave a comment and let me know!

Preppy Cards

I've seen Preppy Cards on some other blogs and I instantly fell in love with their designs! Even better: there is now a Preppy Cards blog!

I strongly believe that you can NEVER have too much stationery! Preppy Cards offers flat cards, gift stickers, return labels, bookplate labels and LOTS MORE!

Choose between a variety of collections including critters, monograms, shoes, and more. My favorite collections are below

Palm Beach Collection:


The Bag Collection:





The sporting collection has some fun nautical designs!

The Dahl House Nautical Hooded Towels promotion

What's sweeter than a baby splashing around in the water? Wrapping him or her up in the Dahl House's new hooded towels! I think these nautical themed hooded towels would make the perfect baby gift! If you order a towel by Friday, August 12th, the $10.00 personalization fee will be waived. No code needed!

Pink whale:


Pink and green sailboat:


Navy whale:

Party Like a Sailor! Kind of...

Let's remember that summer is NOT over and there is still plenty of time for your favorite summer activities! Today North Shore Prep is guest blogging for me. Enjoy!

Hey there! I’m so happy to be guest blogging at Nautical by Nature. I’m relatively new to the blogging scene, so check me out at my blog, North Shore Prep. Here on the North Shore, boating and yachting are huge (we’re right on Lake Michigan, for the love!). And while my family doesn’t own a boat, many of my good friends do, and I’m proud to say I loved staying on their boats. And while I may not have a boat of my own, I sure know how to party like I’m on one!

As always, the first thing that needs to be considered when throwing any party is your guest list. Once that’s been taken care of, it’s location, location, location. I am such a sucker for a good backyard or patio party, bonus points if your place backs up to a lake :)

Plenty of seating is crucial to a good patio party--no one wants their legs getting too tired. I love these rockers from Grandin Road, they have a very beachy and summery feel to them.

I think that these rockers would look great with these Blue Knot Pillows from Home by the Seashore. The rope detailing is oh-so-nautical, and the navy would really pop against the white chairs.

As far as food goes, I am a firm believer in standing by your seafood. One of my favorite dishes for a summer party is Frogmore Stew. A good family friend introduced us to this recipe many years ago, and it’s been a hit at every summer party I’ve attended. It’s super easy to make and can be scaled up or down, depending on how many you plan on having. But remember, no forks! This is finger food at its finest, so make sure you have some great napkins.

And Frogmore Stew goes great with an Arnold Palmer (1 part iced tea, 1 part lemonade, served over ice), and if you wanted something with more of a kick, well, I can’t legally tell you how to do that...But these people can.

As darkness falls, light up the night with a bonfire or a fire in a firepit. Keeps you warm, keeps the bugs away, and hey, s’mores aren’t too bad either!

XO, North Shore Prep

Staycation!

Last week I took (had?) a staycation. H and his family went back east to visit family so I had the week off. I decided to stay in Los Angeles since I had just gone to San Francisco and Mexico. The week FLEW by! I did have to watch H's dog so I was up early every morning which meant I got quite a bit done. How cute is the dog sleeping on my (empty) laptop bag?


I made a list of things I had to do and things I wanted to do (if I had extra time).
I donated a bunch of toiletries to a local shelter (thanks to my couponing, I've been able to find some great deals!), went to Target (multiple times YIKES), returned things to Gap, Old Navy, and J.Crew, mailed off packages via UPS, went to Michaels, Cabana (my local Lilly store) and Marshalls (and some other stores I can't remember), met my sister for Yogurtland (the best!), went to the dentist (I always put this off!), got my eyebrows done and ran a bunch of other errands/worked in my apartment (paying bills, organizing my closet, etc). I wish I had written down what I did every day because I can't remember now. Oh well!

It was so nice to be out and about in the morning then come home and relax in the afternoon. By 10 PM I was ready to read and go to bed. I had watched a show or two and returned emails/did all my internet surfing. During a normal work week I barely get anything done after work and finally get ready for bed at 1130 (and that's on a good night).

Have you taken a staycation? What do you like to do during a staycation or a day off of work?

Marley Lilly Winner!

The lucky winner of the monogrammed cell phone case is...


CRYSTAL! Crystal is a fellow nanny and it so nice to chat on twitter about our crazy kiddos. Congrats Crystal!

Here are my current Marley Lilly favorites!

Little Jute Tote (under $20!):


monogrammed lounge chair cover with pockets:


Monogrammed clutch:


Bracelet:


Laptop case:


Baseball hat:

My Letter Wall: Update

I'm still adding letters to my wall. Slowly but surely it's filling up! I think I am going to finish the sequence I'm on (add H) and then do one more complete set and be finished (so I'll have three sets of my monogram, KJH)!



Around the World letter J from Urban Outfitters:


Fabric Covered Letter J from Company Kids:

Twelve NYC Anchor Bags

Available in pink, blue or black, I LOVE this anchor pattern!

Card keychain:


Round cosmetic case:


Train case:


Coin purse:

Anchor of the Week

My friend N, who was the first ever Nautical Outfit of the Week, sent me this photo of an anchor on her campus (in northern California).




Want your nautical photo or outfit to be featured on the blog? Send me an email!

My Apartment: Organizing the Little Things

I keep all of my cords, chargers, camera and ipod in this box from ikea (I love the heart and gingham):



I have a small dresser/drawer thing (whatever you want to call it) in my entry way. Here's what I keep on top: pink thing to hold my mail/bills/important papers, pink and white container holds my keys (I ALWAYS put my keys in this as soon as I get home so I hopefully won't lose them!), starfish dish for random things (bobby pins, chapstick, etc), and pink bow bucket has my chalk pens for my elephant chalkboard


The photo below is from when I first moved in but this way you can see the dresser:


This bucket holds handtowels and washcloths in my bathroom (Seahorse and name decal from Decal Monograms)


This is on top of my "bar." It has coasters, playing cards, napkin holders, drink umbrellas, napkins, and place cards


When the tray isn't covered you can see this monogram decal:


This is by my phone. I keep scissors and pens in it.


I am crazy about recycling. I keep this big bag by my front door. I put anything that can be recycled into it and then take it out when it gets full.

Man Candy Monday: Ryan Gosling

I finally got my act together and wrote a post in time to link up with Leeann's Man Candy Monday!

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Ryan Gosling has always been on my Future Husbands list BUT I loved him with Rachel McAdams so he wasn't included in the official list in the past (my list doesn't include those that are married OR with people that I like-how can you break up perfect couples?). Anyway now that he isn't with her he is back on my list!

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A lot of girls (and guys) like Ryan purely for The Notebook. But I am a bit of a Ryan snob and I get slightly annoyed by these so called fans that have never seen any other Ryan movies (you know you do this with your favorite actors, shows, and sports teams too-everyone jumps on the bandwagon). Obviously the more love the better (HELLO I WANT MORE RYAN MOVIES!) so I'm sort of kidding about my Notebook pet peeve.

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My favorite Ryan movie:
Lars and the Real Girl was totally underrated and it is such a good movie! It's definitely odd (Ryan's character has a relationship with a doll) but very sweet (the people in the town "accept" the doll) and just an overall feel good movie.

If you really feel the Ryan love, checkout Half Nelson and Murder By Numbers. Half Nelson is REALLLLY hard to watch so be warned. Ryan plays a teacher with a drug addiction. The acting is amazing but the movie is sad. Murder By Numbers is another outstanding Ryan performance but do not watch it alone at night! It is scary! Ryan's character is so charming and he has great chemistry with Sandra Bullock.

I want to hear your opinion in the comments. YAY or NAY for Ryan Gosling? Do you think he's overrated? Underrated? Just a pretty face?

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