August Playlist

I am in complete disbelief that today is the last day of August. This past moth has flown by and I can't believe that I will be back in school in a week. Though it has been a quick month, I have enjoyed so many amazing days on the beach and with my friends which calls for a good playlist. I listened to a lot of Zac Brown Band this month before and after the concert- I'm convinced they have the best songs for the beach! Also, like everyone and their mother I have had Closer on repeat all month! What have you been listening to recently? 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! This summer has absolutely flown by and I am in complete shock that we have less than two weeks before returning to school. That being said, the weeks leading up to school are always insanely busy and this year is no exception. My schedule this week has been jam packed and next week is going to be 10 times crazier between preseason, senior pictures, meetings, and my last day of work. Having a busy schedule keeps me productive, however I am looking forward to enjoying as many more lazy Cape Cod beach days as possible! 

One: Zac Brown Concert

Last Saturday night Julianna and our friends Lea and Colleen went to the ZBB concert at Fenway and had a blast! We purchased our tickets kind of spontaneously at the last minute but ended up having really great seats. After going to his concert in 2013 we had high expectations for the show and it 100% lived up to them, if not surpassed them. He played so many of our favorites and put on such a great performance! 

Two: Driving

Like I said before there has been a lot going on at home that I need to be back for before the first day. At this point in the summer I have driven back and forth from the Cape to home more times than I would like to, but it has become such a breeze- plus the view over the Sagamore Bridge never gets old :)

Three: Boston

On Wednesday night my friend Clare and I drove into Boston to go to dinner and do a little bit of shopping. We love Sweetgreen and there isn't one in our town, so its always a treat to get it in the city! After dinner we walked two miles to get JP Licks (#dedication) which was amazing. Black raspberry is my favorite flavor and I highly recommend trying theirs if you are ever there! I asked for your advice on snapchat (preppybythesea) and ended up purchasing a fun top which I am so excited to style this fall on the blog! 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Summer Favorites

eos Shaving Cream // During the summer I shave my legs so much more frequently and they always seem to get super dry. The eos shaving cream has shea butter in it so it keeps them moisturized. It comes in a few different scents, but the pomegranate raspberry and the vanilla bliss are my two favorites, plus how adorable is the bottle!?

Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray // One of my favorite things about the summer is the way my hair feels after being in the ocean all day. Back in June my friend had this sea salt spay and I gave it a try and loved it. My hair is stick straight, so I don't get super noticeable beachy waves from this product, however it definitely gives my hair some texture and it smells amazing!

CVS Spray Sunscreen // This is probably one of the more random favorites of the summer, but this sunscreen is amazing. I went to CVS a few weeks ago to pick up new sunscreen and was in a rush so I grabbed this off of the end isle display. The bottle sprays so nicely and can cover so much more area than your typical spray sunscreen. The SPF 30 works for a long time, prevents burns, and still allows you to get tan. 10/10 would recommend.

Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer // I have very sensitive skin and have always been hesitant to use any kind of liquid make up for fear of breaking out. When I found this oil free tinted moisturizer with SPF I was so excited and was willing to pay a little bit more than I would for something at the drug store. Needless to say this stuff is amazing and has been my go to product all summer. The formula is super light (would not recommend if you are looking for high coverage) and you don't feel like you're wearing any makeup, which is what I am always going for. I have had no problems with my skin reacting to it, and it keeps you protected from the sun during the summer without having to wear sunscreen.

Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter // This summer I have spent a lot of time at the beach all day in the sun which always proves to dry my skin out. My typical lotion was not moisturizing enough, so I decided to try out a body butter instead. The coconut scent screams summer and has made my skin so soft. Also, the body butter is not super greasy and dies fast!

Essie Fiji // I kid you not when I say this is the only color that has been on my nails all summer. The light pink tone highlights your tan and matches with virtually everything.

Tarte Bronzer // Brozer has never really been a huge part of my makeup routine (honestly I only wear mascara and chapstick most days), but I decided to start using it a little bit this summer. Truth be told I purchased this Tarte bronzer two or three years ago and had barely touched it until now. I have gone to a few events recently where I needed to actually do my makeup, so this has really come in handy! It is not super pigmented which is awesome if you are looking for a natural look and the shade is perfect for all year round.

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Freshman Year Advice

Exactly two weeks from today I will start my senior year of high school. People have always said that your four years fly by but I never really believed them until now. In my mind I still think of myself as that little nervous freshman getting dropped off on the first day of school, but things have changed and somehow I'm now applying to colleges and will be the oldest in the building. With that being said, I have learned quite a lot over the past three years both in and out of the class room and thought I would share a few things I wish I knew before starting my freshman year. I am the oldest in my family so I never really had someone to tell me what to expect, what classes to take, etc. so now I want to try and help some of you that are in the same position I was in three years ago.

Your GPA is Hard to Change// Academically freshman year is crucial. As a freshman you likely don't know a lot about how GPAs work and how they fluctuate so I'm here to fill you in. During your first year of high school you more or less establish your GPA for the next four years. Unless you do horribly and then all of the sudden change your ways, or do really well and then stop doing your work it is extremely hard to move your GPA up or down by even one tenth. Freshman year is an adjustment, but do your absolute best- your senior year self will thank you!

Public Speaking Gets Easier // My freshman year there was absolutely nothing I hated more than public speaking, my face would turn red, my hands would shake, and I would lose my train of thought so easily. I promise you, it gets better. Public speaking is a big part of high school, and quite frankly your entire life, so try to get used to it as soon as possible, maybe even take a class if it is offered at your school!

Go to Bed Early // I was horrible at maintaining a normal sleep schedule during my freshman year and it is one of my biggest regrets. As I mentioned before, adjusting to the work load of high school can be difficult at first but try to plan out how you want to manage your time early on in the year. I didn't really figure this out until last year, but I basically retain no information after 11:00. Don't waste sleep time aimlessly staring at a sheet of paper "studying', and try to go to bed around the same time every night as it makes getting up so much easier. Also, don't go to bed at 3 am on the weekends, it throws off your entire sleep schedule for the rest of the week. Unless you're actually out doing something, get to bed by midnight on Friday and Saturday night.

Try New Things // At freshman orientation all the sports and clubs usually have tables with information brochures and a sign up list. I highly recommend checking out a variety of clubs and going to the first meeting to see what it is all about. When you're new to a school, it will be tempting to do everything with your friends, however I recommend going out and doing something by yourself if you are interested in it. One of my friends joined debate by herself freshman year and made lots of new friends and ended up loving it. If she didn't do it just because none of her friends did she would have missed out on something that played a huge role in her four years of high school. My freshman year I did crew during the fall and ended up not doing it again sophomore year, but that led me to start cross country which I have stuck with and really enjoy. So, even if you realize something isn't for you, it can lead you to new opportunities.

Invest in Basics // This final one has nothing to do with academics, but rather your wardrobe. Freshman year I purchased so many bold and expensive pieces that I barely wore and ended up seriously regretting. You don't need to go binge ordering Lilly Pulitzer clothes or super trendy items that won't be in style in a year- a little goes a long way. I highly recommend purchasing a nice pair of jeans and a few basic sweaters that you know you can style in so many different ways and wear for years to come.

Good luck to the class of 2020!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Oh Shift

If you have not heard yet, today is the first day of the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale! Twice a year (one in August and one in January) Lilly Pulitzer holds a huge sale on a ton of their products. I went on a few minutes before 8:00 and got in around 8:20 and there was still great inventory left. As I was shopping I screnshotted a few of my favorite products. Unfortunately, when I went back to link them all I was signed out and put at the end of the virtual line, so for now this is juts a preview of what the sale has to offer. Most of the items that I have my eye on are from the fall line so I am waiting until the New Years sale to stock up on some new items, however I am obsessed with the coral tunic and sailboat shorts! Did you purchase anything this morning? 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! This past week has been so much fun and now I am excited to have the next two days off for more adventures. Julianna and I are driving up to visit our friend Alison to go watch fireworks on the Vineyard tonight. After that, we are going to the Zac Brown concert at Fenway on Saturday night with two of our other friends! I saw ZBB three years ago and it was hands down the best performance I have ever seen, so I can't wait to see them on stage at Fenway as concerts there are supposed to be spectacular! The next 48 hours are going to be quite busy, but I am exited to see my friends, especially the ones leaving for college soon. I have been hooked on the Olympics all week so  hopefully I am off on Sunday night and can settle in to watch the closing ceremonies. Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend? 

One: College Applications

Yesterday I spent the entire day in my pajamas working on college applications... the reality of senior year is officially here. I have made so much progress on everything and now I just need to get all of the supplemental essays out of them way. The application process is so stressful and overwhelming, however getting majority of it done during the summer will make first semester seem much easier. 

Two: Brunch

A few days ago my friends and I all went out to breakfast at one of my favorite places on the cape, Hangar B. I had the most delicious challah french toast with berries, but everything coming out of the kitchen looked amazing! 

Three: Friends

This past week a few of our friends were on the Cape staying at a rental near Julianna and I. Being away all summer can sometimes be hard as we rarely see friends from school, so it was so much fun spending days at the beach and catching up!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Computer Clean Up

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I don't know about you but it seems like I get a notification about my computer/phone storage all the freaking time. As much of a pain as it can be, cleaning up your computer and freeing up storage on the start up disk is so important. During my freshman year my computer crashed and I lost everything on it... a week before exams. Thankfully I was able to send it to a data recovery center and they recovered it all, but that did come at a hefty price. After that debacle I really learned my lesson about managing storage and backing everything up. So, here are a few of my tips that will help you effectively manage storage.

Get a hard drive // I think that this is the most important thing that you can do because if your computer was to crash all of your photos and files would be recoverable. Also, once you back up your computer, you can delete things as they are saved on the hard drive.

Use Google Drive // Google docs are amazing, period. We have been using google drive since my freshman year at school, but it wasn't until my junior year that I abandoned word, PowerPoint, and excel completely. Not only is it great to have everything available from any computer, but you can have your friends make edits on the document and share it with teachers to submit it.

Clear Your History // I never knew that your computer stores all of your internet history and that it took up a ton of storage until about a year ago when I was looking at the break down of my storage usage. This simple task can quickly clear up lots of space, especially if you were like me and rarely ever cleared your history.

Delete/Unsubscribe From Emails // Managing your email inbox can be quite the challenge, so I suggest taking this step gradually. Recently I have been unsubscribing from emails every time I get one from somewhere unnecessary. Additionally, I delete all of my emails once I have read/responded to them or if they are junk.

Organize iPhoto // One of the best things that I have ever done on my computer is organize my photos. I have an album for each year of high school, summers, big vacations, and blog pictures. This helps you quickly access images, and manage the photos. I try to only keep my favorite images on my computer as pictures take up a ton of storage. Also, make sure to delete duplicates that may be in random folders on your desktop, along with lengthy videos.

Empty Trash & Power Down // Nothing is gone until you empty the trash on your desktop.

I hope this post was helpful and gave you a few new tips for clearing up storage before the new school year! On a side note, if anyone has nay idea what "other" is on a mac storage please let me know because I have 55 GB of it and have spent over a year trying to figure out what it is. Has anyone else had this problem?

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea 

Striped off the Shoulder

top (sold out at zara) similar | white jeans | shoes similar | necklace | earrings

 I'm back! The past two weeks have been hectic (when is life not?) and unfortunately my posts have been fairly inconsistent. I have been staying up late watching the Olympics with my family every night, working on summer work and college applications, and enjoying any time off at the beach. Finding the perfect balance between it all can be hard, and I'm still trying to figure it all out so bear with me over the last few weeks of summer... hopefully I can maintain my 4-5 post a week schedule. 

Anyways, I am so excited to share one of my favorite outfits that I have posted today on PBTS! White jeans have always been one of my go to items for the summer, especially on cooler nights on the Cape. I have had the same pair for such a long time and this summer I finally decided it was time for a new pair as the cut was just getting too out of style. My previous pair were from True Religion and I wasn't ready to go spend $150+ on a pair of pants I could only wear in the summer, so I hit up Old Navy. The Rockstar Skinny jeans fit like a glove (I'm in a size 2). They are skinny all the way to the ankle, the mid-rise cut is so flattering, and on top of that they are only $25!! I paired my jeans with a fun blue and white striped off the shoulder top and my favorite nude chunky heels to create the perfect summer look for virtually any event!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Book Review: The Royal We

One of my goals for this summer has been to read a lot more for pleasure and I have been so much better than in previous years. A few days ago I finished The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan so I wanted to write up a quick review since I have moved onto all of my summer reading books and won't have another book review up for a while. Like many Americans I have quite the obsession with the Royal Family and ever since my friend Clare recommended this book I knew I needed to read it.

The Royal We is essentially a spoof on the story of Prince William and Kate Middleton that is a bit more dramatic and a total page turner. The story follows Rebecca Porter, an American student at Cornell, who has done an exchange program at Oxford. She unexpectedly befriends Prince Nicolas on campus and finds herself amongst a core group of students with royal ties. The two friends hit it off instantly; they meet up at the bars by their university, binge watch TV while enjoying American food, and escape the body guards to free Nicolas of royal realities. As their relationship progresses from friends to a serious couple, Rebecca faces overwhelming scrutiny from both the media and the royal family. Her life is exploited in tabloids and she loses herself in learning to cope with the spotlight and manage her complicated relationship. Despite the national controversy of the future King dating an American, Nick gains a new senses of trust and opens up to Rebecca in a way he has never done before, leading Great Britain to grow fonder of him and the rest of the royal family. Though the book is rather long (477 pages), you will quickly get hooked on the royal romance, family drama, and extravagant planning for the royal wedding of the century! I highly recommend reading The Royal We, especially if you are on the hunt for a good beach read for the end of the summer.

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

2016-2017 Agendas

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Now that we are nine days in to August (so crazy), it is officially time to start thinking about agendas for the upcoming year. I don't head back to school until September 6th, however I know all the colleges and some high schools are heading back really soon making back to school shopping a reality. As much as we all dread the end of summer, there is something so fun about getting all of your school supplies and being super organized for the year ahead. For the past three years I have used Lilly Pulitzer agendas for school and loved them, however I wanted to mix it up a little bit for my senior year. When Target released their collaboration with Sugar Paper, I instantly knew that the blush pink and gold agenda would be my pick for the 2017 school year. There are so many adorable options available so I rounded up a few of my favorites ranging in size, pattern, and price. Let me know if you would be interested in an updated agenda organization post once school starts as I know it will be very detailed with all my classes and college application deadlines! 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Week Recap

I'm back! This past week my best friends from camp flew in to visit me so I put blogging on the back burner to spend time with them (regular posts will be back on monday). After picking them up at the airport on Monday night, we went over to Newbury Street to do a little bit of shopping and avoid the rush hour traffic. On the drive back to the Cape we had so much fun blasting the music (Closer, the new chainsmokers song and H.O.L.Y are our go-to picks) and playing catch up as we haven't seen each other since our trip to Colorado in February!

Mary Clare and Emily hadn't been to the Cape since they were little, so on Tuesday morning I drove them around and showed them the beaches and took them to all of my favorite shops down town. That night we got dressed up and went to dinner at a local sushi place that has such a cool modern vibe, which was the perfect way to end our crazy day! After our day of exploring town, we pretty much spent the rest of their visit on the boat or at the beach. The weather was so beautiful and every day seemed to be the perfect summer beach day- maybe a little too nice since we all got pretty burnt :)

Everyday we went on a beach walk and one afternoon we stumbled upon this shack that someone had made far down the beach. The small wooden structure is completely covered in junk, from old hats and cans to funny signs and buoys. We brought my camera with us to the beach everyday, so naturally we decided to climb on top of it and take pictures in attempt to get some new insta pictures. This little adventure could have easily resulted in a run in with some rusty nails and broken glass, but thankfully we made it off safe and sound.

After going to dinner on our last night, we drove around town and then went to the beach. You really can't beat the peacefulness of the beach at night on the Cape; all of the tourists head home, the water is so calm, and you practically have the whole place to yourself. I am so happy that we were able to see each other for a week this summer before heading back to school for our senior year. Having some of your best friends live plane rides away can really suck, but there's something special about planning these trips and having everything pick up right where we left off a few months ago!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

What's In My Beach Bag

my beach bag (under $40)

When you spend the summer on the Cape, a spacious and durable beach bag is a necessity. The salt water, sand, and back and forth between home, the beach, and the boat will likely result in some serious wear and tear, making this sturdy L.L. Bean boat and tote bag a clear cut winner. I have grown up using these bags my entire life (I still have one my mom bight me when I was a baby), but just recently purchased the medium size this summer. It is really quite the bottomless pit and can hold a change of clothes, a towel and any other beach day essentials. The other day I tweeted asking if there were any posts you guys would like to see and one of them was a what's in my bag post. Because we are right in the heart of summer, I thought I would do a beach bag edition! I usually bring this bag and a cooler if we are going out for the whole day, so there is not a lot of food included in this post because on a hot day I would want it to stay cold. 

Sunscreen // I burn pretty easily (shout to to my Irish side) so I always have lots of sunscreen with me at the beach. My dermatologist recommended using baby sunscreen for my face after I had a weird reaction to the Neutrogena break out free kind a few summers ago. I absolutely love it because it doesn't feel super oily and doesn't make me break out. For the rest of my body I just use SPF 30 spray because it is so much easier to apply and allows me to still get some color. 

Hat & Sunglasses // In the summer I rarely leave my house without a baseball hat. They are so easy to just throw on if you are having a bad hair day or if you're really in a rush and didn't have time to shower. At the beach I like to rotate my hat and sunglasses so I don't get raccoon eyes or have a super pale forehead. 

Book // Having a good beach read in your bag is always a must. I typically go to the beach for a long time and it gives me something to do while still relaxing. I'm currently reading the Royal We by Jessica Morgan & Heather Cocks and loving it. Also, I like to bring my summer reading books to the beach because if you have to read something you're not psyched about you might at well do it on the beach! 

Towel // I always like to bring a really big towel with me to the beach so that sand doesn't get on me when I lie on the ground. Also, if it starts to get chilly in the afternoon, a big towel can double as a blanket to keep you warm. 

Snack // I always have some sort of snack on me whether it's in my purse, my car, or my backpack because let's be real you never want to get to the hangry stage. Parmesan goldfish are one of my go-to beach snacks because they're small enough to fit in your bag but can definitely be shared with friends once you get there!

Drink & Koozie // I am a seltzer water addict and never leave my house without a can or a bottle, and the beach is no exception. Personally I like cans better because I think they stay cooler longer, but just incase I like to keep a koozie in my bag to ensure they stay cold. 

Phone & Headphones // Whenever I am relaxing and not reading on the beach, I like to listen to music. I always toss in a pair of headphones and then listen to my favorite Spotify playlists. Also, if you're going with friends to somewhere a little bit more isolated, bring a speaker! 

Flip flops // This is pretty self explanatory, but if the sand is super hot or the beach is rockier than you expected you will be happy you have shoes! 

Hair elastics // After I go in the ocean my hair gets pretty knotty and messy. I always like to keep some extra hair elastics in my bag so I can put it up in a bun or braid it. 

What do you keep in your beach bag? 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea