Instagram Lately + a Giveaway

I have an Instagram addiction, which if you follow me on Insta I'm sure you know (by the way if you don't you totally should do that now).  For a little less than two months I have been participating in the 100 Happy Days Challenge  and am absolutely loving it.  It has challenged me every day to find something in that day that has made me happy whether it's something I've eaten (which let's be honest always makes me happy), a quote I've seen, or something I've done.  It's such a great thing to force yourself to stop and look at what makes you smile.  I wanted to share a few of my favorite 100 Happy Days posts here with all of you and hopefully encourage you all to join in the fun with me here!

This is from a walk that my sister and I took around a lake that we live near.  It's such a gorgeous place and I have really taken the time to enjoy it this summer more than I ever have in the past.  Sometimes you forget to take in the beauty around you, but I feel like this challenge has really reminded me to do that and I love it!

Here is my little lovebug Coco and me hanging out in my backyard.  My Mom was taking pictures of me for this post and Coco wanted to get in on the fun.  One of my favorite things about being home in the summer is getting to spend time with Coco because I miss her so much when I am at school.

If you're in Philly or NYC (or anywhere else they have a location) you need to check out Max Brenner!  This is at their Philadelphia location.  It's one of my favorite restaurants and I always order these waffles, they are to die for.

A Throwback Thursday to sitting pretty at a marina in Mykonos.  I love the scenery in this picture and the beautiful blue water that was absolutely crystal clear.  I love using #tbt to share more pictures from my trip to Greece in the beginning of the summer.

This is my sister and me hanging out in the paddock at Monmouth Park Racetrack during an event we went to at the start of the month.  We had so much fun this day and I love getting dressed up to go to the track; there's  just something about the hats and horses that is so glamorous.

When I had surgery a few weeks ago I devoured this book in a week.  It is so good and laugh out loud funny.  If you are looking for a good beach read you seriously need to get this, and the book that came before it.  Be prepared to not want to put it down!

My best friend of 22 years lives halfway across the country from me and made sure I had flowers when I had my surgery.  It made me feel so lucky that I have the sweetest, kindest, and most amazing best friend a girl could ask for.

I finally got around to getting business cards for this little space and I absolutely love them!  They make me feel like such an adult and like a more legitimate blogger.

I found this on We Heart It and am obsessed with it.  I feel like this picture very accurately describes my life; it's just complete perfection.

This picture is my Mom and me at yesterday's Monmouth Park Racetrack's William Hill Haskell Invitational that we attended with America's Best Racing.  We spent the whole weekend there and I have a few pictures on my Instagram account from it, including one with the Lilly Pulitzer Jeep!  Later in the week I will be posting about the great time I had this weekend.

This is what I've been up to lately and have been documenting it all on Instagram.  I would love for you all to follow along here and like I said above I encourage you to try the 100 Happy Days Challenge it is really something special.  Have a great rest of your day!

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Make sure to add me on Snapchat - @kthomp22!

Today I'm linking up with On the Daily Express and More Pieces of Me, MIMM, #HowISummer, Mingle Monday, and Monday Morning Gossip.

Must Haves

There are always those few things that you just can't live without at one point in time, something you use on constant repeat, and these are mine right now.  I've got crafting, sweets, convenience, and skin care covered with my must haves of the moment.

1. ScotchBlue Painter's Tape

I've been using this tape for a lot of crafts lately, and it's definitely the best out there to keep paint in its place for a clean look.  I used it to make this awesome shirt here and will be using it again soon to help me take the edges of a cork board from black to white.

2. Red Velvet Cupcakes

These babies are the best and I cannot get enough of them lately.  For some reasons I haven't been big on sweets recently (which is weird for me), but I have been craving red velvet like crazy.

3. Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel

I plan on doing a whole post about my skincare routine and I will give all the information on this then, but I had to include this here because it has been saving my skin lately.  Since I have started using in the morning and at night my skin has been much more clear and very bright, you could even say it's glowing.  

4. Havaianas Women Slim Flip Flops in Grey/Silver

I've been stuck in soft shorts and t-shirts since I had surgery two weeks ago and have a back full of stitches because of it so these have been my go to when I've had to leave the house to run errands or do anything else.  They're also good for the beach or pool when I'm feeling better!

5. Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite

I am going to be doing a full post on this because it is that amazing.  It has seriously saved the dry skin I've been dealing with lately and smells delicious. 

Do you have any must haves right now?  Anything you just can't live without?

  

                

Make sure to add me on Snapchat - @kthomp22!

Summer Dresses with eShakti

Dress: c/o eShakti  |  Shoes: DV by Dolce Vita (old, similar here)  |  Belt: Smak Parlour  |  Sunglasses: Chanel  |  Watch: Vince Camuto  |  Earrings: Vintage

I love pretty dresses for summer, there's just something so easy and classic about them.  The dress I have on here is from eShakti, a fashion design company that makes custom clothing.  eShakti is a brand with a unique take on fashion, they believe that custom, quality clothing should not be expensive.  Every time you order something from eShakti the dress is cut just for you specific to your height, which is something I have never experienced before.  I have to say that this made a huge difference in the fit of the dress  - everything from the fit of the armholes to to the length was perfect.  Beyond this you can choose to customize things such as the shape of the neckline or type of sleeve you want on your dress or top or even have a completely custom size made for you!  eShakti is really about making the pieces that you order from them exactly what you want.

I have to say the dress they sent me is just fabulous!  It's very luxe and has an overall great quality.  I didn't customize this dress beyond giving them my height, but next time I would definitely like to take advantage of the unique services they offer.  Make sure to stop over and see what eShakti is all about.  You can also find them on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

  

                

Make sure to add me on Snapchat - @kthomp22!

Today I'm linking up with What You Wish Wednesday, I Feel Pretty, WIWW, Because Shanna Said So, Ann Elliott and Pampers & Pearls, and The Pleated Poppy.

Travel Tuesday: Mykonos Part II

Today I have more pictures from my trip to Mykonos to share.  Please pardon my picture dumps, there is really no other way to do this (make sure to check out my tidbits in between the pics!).  Last week a few people had asked where on the island we stayed: we stayed at the Myconian K Hotels, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to go to Mykonos.  The rooms were great, the pool was fabulous, the staff was super friendly, the food was delicious, and like I said last week the views were incredible.  An overall wonderful place in my opinion and I believe everyone on the trip loved it as well!

I had also mentioned last week that the hotel was just a short walk from a nearby town, giving it an awesome location.  We would walk into the town for dinner at one of the many, many restaurants most nights.  There were also so many places to take in the magnificent sunsets while we were there, which I loved.  One night after dinner there was even a pelican (or I think that's what it was!) walking around town, which was so cool!

The best food I had on the entire trip was when we were staying in Mykonos.  The fresh fish, gyros, and pizza - oh my!  However the absolute best was the  homemade pasta restaurant we went to that had homemade gluten free pasta.  I wanted to kiss the people at the restaurant when they told me they  actually had gluten free pasta!  No one had gluten free anything in Greece so this was a miracle.  An even bigger miracle was that is was beyond delicious, I'm drooling thinking about it right now.  I took a picture of the business card because if anyone is going to Mykonos they absolutely have to go to this restaurant!

The day we left Mykonos was absolutely gorgeous, but the water was very choppy which I felt on the trip to Santorini!  We took our last few hours on Mykonos to eat gyros, explore the town even more, and take a million pictures because it was so beautiful out.  Then we boarded another giant ferry and made our way to Santorini, which I will start to tell you about next week!

  

                

Make sure to add me on Snapchat - @kthomp22!

Today I'm linking up with #TrendingTuesday.