HOW IS IT THE END OF JULY ALREADY?!?!?! Apologies for yelling first thing in the morning on a Monday, but it needs to be asked. Like, how? When did this happen? We’re on family vacation right now, and the whole gang is living it up in honor of Liv’s first time at the beach. Keeping this intro short n’ sweet since there’s sun to be soaked up, but sending nothing but sunshine your way for your week ahead. This month’s favorites included adorable affordable pajamas, Golden Goose sneaker lookalikes, a cute bikini, the Kartrite resort + MORE…hope you find a new favorite for yourself from mine. 🙂

1.)

My planner was up in June, so it was high time for a new one – and after seeing reviewed on Instastories, I was sold. My previous planner was fabulous, but I realized that my method of planning my days had evolved a bit, and an hourly breakdown wasn’t necessarily working as well for me anymore; I was finding myself writing brand new lists on separate pieces of paper to plan. No bueno! This planner has a few lines for each day, and I can work it more checkbox-style with less spaces per day, which I actually NEED in order to not totally overschedule myself out. I can jot down my key priorities for each day on the left, and any addendums or edits on the right, and it works.

2.)

WOW, what on earth was I doing in my pre-vanity days?! It feels like the stone ages – I was using a little stand-up mirror and relying on the grace of natural light alone to get the job done. And anyone who has a brain can see why relying solely on natural light may post a problem for your makeup needs – ha! When I was at Taylor’s house in June for her baby shower, I did my makeup at her vanity and fell in lovelovelove – and ordered it on Amazon before flying back to Philly. The lighting is *perfect* for a perfectly applied face everytime. I did a little damage at IKEA, too, to add some additional shelving units (I already had one Alex drawer set and ordered a second to better organized everything and clean up my vanity area). And now I’m pleased with the finished product, which feels totally glam every time I’m doing my makeup. 🙂

3.)

This style of bikini is SO STINKING POPULAR, and for good reason. It’s fun, it’s flattering, and it won’t break the bank…IF you get the designer lookalike version. 😉 I’ve shared designer lookalikes of it before on Amazon, but wanted to pass along this one that I got from a boutique since it’s similarly/affordably priced, too. I got size S on top and M in bottoms. Also comes in red!

4.) My Sister’s Closet Boutique

If you follow along on Instagram (@ericaligenza), you might remember me mentioning a fun, new-to-me boutique that I discovered this month thanks to my BFF Chelsie, who is the social media manager for it! I shared four pieces on Instastories – including this rusty tiered top – and you all loveloveloved as much as me (not surprised). MSCB is fabulous for quite a few reasons. Everything is cute, yes, but everything is also a bit more on the modest side. I wholeheartedly appreciate this as a new mama, since I don’t want to be worrying about boobs or butt showing – ain’t nobody got time. Ha! But really though – sometimes you just want to be cute AND comfortable without having to fidget or pull on clothes. So lovelovelove them for that – also BIG fan of the pricepoints. Some boutiques have totally absurd markups, which I also know firsthand after having interned at a boutique my freshman year of college. Which is also why you can find some *exact* boutique pieces on Amazon for a third of the price at least – scary! But is reaaaaally reasonably priced (like, everything under $30). AND my discount code was extended for you guys (yay!), so if you use ERICA10 at checkout, you’ll get another percentage off your order. WOO.

5.) Trader Joe’s Jalapeno Limeade for homemade spicy margaritas

If you know me well, you know I’m actually a margarita queen. I make the meanest marg on the block – of that I’m convinced. I’ve had us on a margs kick and wanted to shake things up by added some spice. Turns out, Trader Joe’s Jalapeno Limeade is the ULTIMATE spicy addition to your Taco Tuesday margarita. Classic margs call for lime juice, obviously, so I substituted this instead of that and it WORKED. Like a charm, really. Not too spicy, but a definite kick. I just made ours then classically – with tequila + triple sec. And salt on the rim, of course!

6.) Eliza J fuschia dress

I couldn’t stop raving about this dress in this workwear post from this past week, and for good reason – it’s SO. DANG. GOOD. For workwear, yes, but also for weddings, events, or really any other occasion on your social calendar that necessitates a stylish step-up. The fit is just SO beautifully flattering, the flare is fun, the color is the most gorgeous jewel tone, and it’s made so incredibly well. I also lovelovelove that you can wear it by itself and it’s still professional for hot summer days, or rock a blazer or cardigan overtop come fall. Really, an absolute winner. We’re going to a wedding in October and I juuuuust might have to wear this bad boy with my sparkliest heels – I can’t wait.

7.) RISE Conference

Oh, RISE. What a mindblowingly life-changing 3 days you were. I could say SO much, but instead I’ll keep it short n’ sweet so you’re not here until next week. 😉 If you’ve been on the fence about attending Rachel Hollis’ RISE Conference…get off the fence and go. There are four RISE’s coming for 2020 (two have already been annouced with sign ups starting!), and they’re sure to be just as incredible. I went all in and pulled the biggest #TreatYoSelf ever because I had never been to a personal development conference like it before, and I’m so glad I did; my life was truly changed. SO many of those changes will be coming to CUR oh so soon, but until then, just know that my whole heart is being poured into so much goodness for you guys, that I hope will have the same sortof positive impact on you as Rae Rae Hollis has had on me. Stay tuned… 😉

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A post shared by Erica // Coming Up Roses (@ericaligenza) on Jul 19, 2019 at 6:29pm PDT

8.)

I’m SUCH a jammies girl. If I could live in my PJ’s, I would in a heartbeat. There’s just nothing like the feeling of being done with a hard day at work and immediately changing from your “work clothes” to your “comfy clothes” before pouring a glass of Cab Sav. AH. But here’s the best part about these jammies: the pants. These ain’t your ordinary pajama pants – oh no. They’ve got elastic banded bottoms, which is a total GAMECHANGER if you’re like me and haaaaate when you wake up in the morning and your PJ pants are all bunched around your thighs and your ankles are cold and everything is all outta whack. Problem solved here, folks. You wake up with your pants right where you left ’em – on your body and all in place. 😉 A Christmas in July miracle.

Also they’re SO AFFORDABLE – $9. The bottoms are linked above, and the top is here – they come in more colors/prints, too. I got Smalls on both pieces!

9.) Kartrite Resort

J + I had the awesome opportunity to take a little new parent getaway for a weekend at the new Kartrite Resort in the Catskills. We had no clue what to expect, expect for a whole lot of fun. The Kartrite Resort is New York’s largest indoor waterpark, and they’ve got all sorts of other activities there, too – laser tag, rock climbing, ropes course, massive arcade, spa, outdoor games and fire pits, multiple restaurants + bars, etc. We had a total. blast. We screamed our faces off on water slides. We made an entire spectacle in the arcade freaking the freak out at ~our game~ (called Down That Clown, we broke the record multiple times because we are obsessed – ha!). We got a couple’s massage at the spa. We did the climbing activites; rather, J did the ropes course and battled his fear of heights as I videotaped from safe down below ;). We had just the best time. We were glad we didn’t take Olivia this time justbecause of how young she is; the waterpark area would’ve been too warm for her, especially since she’s not big or old enough for actual water rides yet. But in the future, we 100% want to go back to Kartrite Resort with her, because it’s just *such* a good place to take the whole fam for a weekend adventure!

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A post shared by Erica // Coming Up Roses (@ericaligenza) on Jul 1, 2019 at 5:22pm PDT

10.) Glitter Golden Goose lookalikes

You guys, for the actual life of me, I cannot understand the hype behind $500 sneakers that look dirty. That is what “Golden Gooses” are – designer tennis shoes with a star on the side that intentionally look like they’ve taken a walk or two through the streets of Manhatten. And I. do. not. get. it. Why someone would drop half a thousand bucks ON SNEAKERS is beyond me, first off. And the fact that they’re intentionally made to look scuffed up is REALLY beyond me. It’s slightly reminiscent of Kanye’s clothing line, and it’s too much.

These, on the other hand, are where it’s at. For many reasons.

A.) They don’t look dirty. Bless up.

B.) They come in all sortsa fun options, like my silver glitter, gold glitter (just bought those, too!), and non-glitter options (ha!).

C.) They’re COMFORTABLE. I wore these the *entire* time I was at RISE, all day long, and no blisters, no soreness, nothing. People were complimenting them left and right, too. Such a fun way to look cute while still being comfy AF, so you don’t feel like you’re wearing NIKEs with a dress.