december in instagram

happy 2014, folks! hope you all had a fun (and safe) night last night and enjoyed ringing in the new year. anthony and i stayed in with some red box movies and cosmopolitans :) we made homemade pizza, hot wings, and jalapeño poppers. a very delicious and super healthy way to end the year. this month has been so crazy and so much fun. i finished college, moved out of pittsburgh, moved in with anthony, spent time with my family, and had the best holiday season i could've asked for. and i know this month is going to be even better. i'm heading to cancun next week and when i get back, i start my new job! 2014 is going to be a good one, i can feel it! here are some of my favorite snapshots from december.

1. nothing like coffee and cookies on a snowy day
2. anthony and i sent out handmade christmas cards this year and i love how they turned out
3. so many fun christmas parties this month-- i love a good excuse to dress up
4. our tiny little studio apartment sized christmas tree was the perfect fit for us
5. anthony's mom and i made so many delicious cookies for our christmas eve celebration
6. when there's 6 kids + a little baby-- you get a lot of presents under the tree!
7. i love spending time with my pretty sisters (and wearing matching pajama pants)
8. my little niece savannah in her monroe & harlow headband i got for her
9. pink champagne is the only way to bring in a new year :)

you can follow me on instagram at nikkiwilliams11 <3

xxoo,
n

happy holidays

i can't believe that christmas has come and gone and in a couple short days it will be 2014! i swear the end of this month always flies by at lightning speed. between visiting with family, opening presents, and eating ungodly amounts of food, life doesn't get much better than the last week of december. this christmas was definitely a crazy one, but i'm so glad that i got to see anthony's family and all of my family in one day. there was a lot of driving involved, but it was totally worth it.

i always love dressing up for the holidays, so when i saw this lacey dress at forever 21 i pretty much ran right out the door with it. the back of it is just beautiful, and the tulle skirt is perfect. paired with some maroon tights, i couldn't have been more in the christmas spirit. i'm usually the one that's overdressed at all of my family functions but my gorgeous sister's were all dressed up this year as well and they looked stunning. you can check out a pic of all of us on my instagram!

after christmas, i spent the rest of the week at my mom's house. my stepdad made so much good food, we played lots of games, and i got to spend time with my adorable little niece savannah. she is growing up so fast and i swear she gets cuter and cuter by the day. i love my family more than anything else and am so thankful to have them. <3

now that one holiday is over, it's on to the next-- new years! aka the best holiday. ever. yes, new years eve is my favorite holiday. i love watching the ball drop and making new years resolutions and drinking pink champagne. it's such a fun holiday. this year, anthony and i plan on staying in, making a ton of food, and playing monopoly. haha, it may not sound that exciting, but it sounds perfect to me :)

besides the new years festivities, this week is full of running errands and packing because... we are flying to cancun, mexico for a vacation next sunday!!!!! it still hasn't really sunk in that in less than a week i'll be lounging on the beach, drink in hand, soaking up the sun in the middle of january. we booked this trip a couple months ago to celebrate my graduation, anthony's birthday, our anniversary, and christmas. ha! we're knocking out all of the presents for these big life events with one awesome trip. woot woot!

i hope you are all enjoying your holiday season. good luck ringing in the new year.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress/earrings: forever 21

tights/shoes: target

christmas eve 2013

merry christmas, everyone! i’m writing this post from my dad’s house where anthony and i stopped to visit for a couple hours. we left his hometown of ellwood city this morning bright and early and spent our afternoon in the car driving from pennsylvania to maryland. it’s been a busy week so far and the rest of the week is going to be hectic as well. we got to anthony’s family’s house on saturday and stayed all week just hanging out and relaxing.

we did a lot of christmas shopping, present wrapping, and cookie baking and it couldn’t have been a better few days leading up to christmas. i always enjoy hanging out with anthony’s family and this visit was no different. there is nothing better than escaping the real world and just hanging out with family.

this was my first christmas eve away from my family and anthony’s family made me feel so at home. his parents and siblings were all there, and his aunt, uncle, and grandma stopped by to visit and exchange presents. anthony and i got an air mattress and a crock pot! its always awesome to get new things for the apartment. his aunt and uncle gave me a beautiful necklace and a cool collection of spices for cooking. they were all way too good to me and i am very thankful to have such a great second family.

we spent the remainder of the night playing card games and drinking wine and we all had so much fun. the holidays truly are such a great time of the year. this morning we woke up and ate breakfast and watched a bit of the christmas story on tv before we said our goodbyes. i was sad to leave, but can’t wait to spend the rest of the week at my mom’s house! i can already tell that this christmas is going to be one of the best yet.

 i will be back soon with a post about christmas day with my crazy family. i have another holiday outfit to share with you guys! i absolutely love dressing for the holidays. pretty dresses and lots of red. i even got a special christmas manicure with anthony’s sister to amp up the festiveness.

thanks for checking in and hope you all have a very merry christmas!

xxoo,

n

outfit details

skirt/shoes: urban outfitters

top: tj maxx

necklace: forever 21

a day in nyc

last wednesday anthony and i hopped on the megabus and headed up to new york city for the day. the city is just so beautiful around the holidays we thought a day trip would be a perfect way to kick off our christmas break. it was only a 24 hour trip, but it couldn't have been more fun. we started our day at 5 am and grabbed some coffee for our bus ride up to new york. the weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining, and the temperatures were way higher than normal. we had no complaints. 

we still bundled up in layers to fight the winds and i wore my lovely (and extremely puffy) steve madden coat i picked up from burlington in pittsburgh when the weather started getting colder. burlington is truly the best place to buy a coat-- i mean come on, it is called a coat factory for a reason, people. i got this baby for quite the steal; only 50$! i love the color and it's perfect for keeping warm and dry in the winter rain and snow.

we arrived in the big apple around 10 am and our first stop of the day was a cute little bakery to pick up some breakfast. i got the most delicious almond croissant ever. they are one of my fave morning treats. we then reviewed our plan for the day. anthony had already made us an itinerary (he loves plans and scheduling if ya can't tell haha) and we had so many fun places to visit. next, we made our way to chelsea market to do some christmas shopping. we had quite a few little presents to pick up for some family members and were extremely successful. the inside of the market was beautiful all decorated for christmas.

i was glad i was wearing my favorite rain boots because the streets were super slushy and i was able to keep my feet nice and toasty. i got these from payless last year for a great price and they have served me very well. i always pair them with some knee socks, and these army green ones are awesome. i kept my outfit all neutral colors with a thrifted grey striped sweater and a patterned infinity scarf. to top it all off, i borrowed anthony's green messenger bag to carry around all my purchases for the day. and by the time we left, it was full to brim. who woulda thought? 

next on our list was the union square holiday market. we perused all the aisles while i restrained myself from buying every cute little knick-knack and trinket i came into contact with. there were mini buddhas and sugar skulls and hats and scarves and it was pretty much my own little personal heaven. after the market, we stopped off at a pub to grab a beer before hitting up some awesome vintage shops. i may have gone a little over board with shopping but hey, i was in new york city! what did you expect? ;)

after our shopping adventures, it was dinner time. we went to brother jimmy's barbecue and got a feast of yummy ribs, brisket, and chicken wings. moral of the story: we were two happy campers. the final stop of the trip was making our way over to madison square garden, to see the broadway version of a christmas story. it is anthony's favorite christmas movies of all time and he found an awesome groupon deal for two tickets to the show. we've seen a couple other broadway shows together, and this one definitely did not disappoint. all of the kids in the show were so amazingly talented and we were laughing so hard we were in tears. bravo!



after the show it was time to head back and catch our megabus home. we were so exhausted at this point we couldn't wait to sit down and take a nice long nap until we were back in baltimore. we had such an amazing trip, i honestly couldn't have asked for it to have gone better. we saw so many beautiful christmas trees, did so much holiday shopping, and just enjoyed taking in all of the breath taking sights that new york city has to offer.

we definitely want to keep up our yearly tradition of making a trip up to new york. the energy and beauty cannot be beat. 

xxoo,

n

outfit details

boots: payless

sweater: thrifted

jeans: american eagle

headband: forever 21

coat: steve madden via burlington

knits for days

it's my first monday post-graduation and i've spent my day cleaning and organizing the apartment! yay! how exciting. moving out of pittsburgh and moving in with anthony has been quite the adventure, that's for sure. we got the car all packed up and left friday afternoon. we were almost home, about 40 minutes away, and our car started acting up. it was stalling out and we had to keep pulling over and it was quite the disaster. luckily we were able to find a mechanic close by who helped us manage to get home without a tow truck. the cars in the shop now, and it took a few trips in another car to get all of my stuff out, but i'm finally pretty much settled in. it's just been a little on the stressful side, but hey, that's life.

i've got a pretty exciting and busy week this week and i couldn't be more excited. yesterday i got to visit with my grandparents, which is always nice and our stay was full of yummy and delicious food. tonight i'm going to my mom's house to hang out with my siblings and we're going christmas shopping tomorrow. wednesday anthony and i are heading to new york city for the day!! we try to go every year, and the holidays are the perfect time to be in the city. we're gonna visit some cool vintage shops, record stores, and restaurants (food is a given with us). it should be a great day!

i've been living in this navy infinity scarf lately. i just can't take it off! it's so warm and cozy and i got it from this great little boutique in pittsburgh before i left. i just love me some layers. a comfy knit sweater, a long tee, and a scarf to top it all out is my favorite outfit. i would totally wear a variation of this look everyday. and well, i kinda do. ha. oops. it's just been so cold lately the more layers the better!

these fun little socks were totally stolen from anthony. he definitely has an obsession with weird and quirky socks. every year for his birthday and christmas he always gets tons of interesting and colorful socks. so it's always fun to raid his sock drawer and steal a pair to match my outfit and that's exactly what i did here. and these army green boots are from target last season and they are great to wear out for a day of walking around in the fall leaves.

i hope you all are having a great start to your week and are keeping busy this holiday season. 9 days til christmas! ah, i just can't wait. 

xxoo,

n

outfit details

sweater: forever 21

scarf: figleaf

tee: urban outfitters

jeans: tj maxx

socks: happy socks

boots: target

cheetah girl

i officially had my last college final yesterday night. it's so hard to believe that i'm done. after three and half long, hard, and challenging years i am completely done with my undergraduate career. i truly can't believe it. tomorrow is my last day at work, then anthony is driving up to move me out. we're planning on going out with some friends on thursday to celebrate before i leave the city. i don't know what it's going to feel like not to live in pittsburgh anymore because i've grown and accomplished so much since moving to this city as a silly little 18 year old high school graduate. 

when i was in high school all i wanted was to go to college in new york city. i wanted to move away from my small little hometown and go to a college some place fun and exciting and study writing. but in case you weren't aware, new york city is a verrrry expensive place (who knew?) and pittsburgh is a tad bit (a lot) more affordable. i applied to my school here because the application fee was free and i thought, what the heck? a few months later, i was touring the campus, exploring downtown, and falling in love with my university and pittsburgh. i moved in that fall and never looked back.

i have learned so much in the past three and a half years, not just about school and what i'm studying, but about life i've learned that some friendships are meant to last forever, while some are more temporary because people change and move on and there is nothing wrong with that. i've learned about living with roommates and how it can be crazy, annoying, and fun all at the same time. i've learned that everyone makes mistakes, but it's best not to dwell on the past. i've learned that if you love someone enough, it doesn't matter how far away they are or how often you see them, you will make it work, because they're worth it.

there's so much that can be said about your college experience and i wouldn't change a thing about mine. i've worked at gold's gym and starbucks, i've taken classes i've loved and classes that made me want to drop out, i've had internships all over the city that taught me more than i ever could have expected. i learned about my love for graphic design, social media, and web development and couldn't be more ecstatic to have actually gotten a job in my desired field. as i move on to the next stage in my life, i will close this chapter with nothing but kind words and satisfaction for the last three and a half years of my life.

i'm happy and sad to be moving away from this amazing city, but am excited to live and experience washington, dc and have the opportunity to fall in love with a new city all over again. sorry to get all sappy and personal on you, it's just been a whirlwind lately and i'm so happy that i have this little corner of the internet where i can share all of my thoughts with you guys. as always, thanks for reading (and i hope you like my outfit).

xxoo,

n

outfit details

sweater: old navy

chambray + pants: tj maxx

necklace: c/o chicnova

sneakers: target

bracelet: culture shop

autumn fallin'

i'm attempting to hold on to every last moment of fall that i possibly can. the winter temps are coming in way too fast for my liking. all last weekend in south carolina it was freeeezing and that was even farther down south than home! i was hoping that i at least wouldn't have to wear my huge puffer jacket, but nope, still needed it. but it was so beautiful down there i almost didn't care about the weather. almost.

my hair finally grew out a little bit so i can put it up in a little mini ponytail now! yay! i totally love the low maintenance of short hair, but i definitely miss the easiness of throwing it all up in a top knot when i haven't washed it in a day or two. since my hair is so thin it's get greasy really easily and i never know what to do about it. any other thin-haired gals out there experience this problem? help!

this is my most favorite pea coat. i got it after christmas last year for a steal at target. if you really want some good deals on winter wear, just wait til the day after christmas! sales galore. this beauty was half priced, so i did what any normal person would do and found another pea coat that was half priced as well and bought both. ha!

i wish the fall leaves could stay on the ground all winter long because i'm not quite ready yet to see bare trees and snowflakes yet. i very much prefer the beauty of fall over the craziness of the christmas season, but i think i'm probably the only one. christmas is a little bit too stressful sometimes! thanksgiving is more my speed-- food and family. two of my fave things ;)

it wouldn't be autumn without over-the-knee socks, am i right?! these brown ones are so warm and cozy and are perfect for pretty much any outfit. i wish i could buy about 38478 more pairs but that might be a tad bit excessive. i'm surprised i don't already have these in every color because that's just what i do when i like something. if i like it in brown, then i'll probably like it in black, blue, grey, green, red, etc. you get the point. i have a problem, people!

hope everyone is having a great thursday. one more day til the weekend! we can do it, y'all.

xxoo,
n

outfit details
jacket: target
scarf: urban outfitters
jeans: tj maxx
boots: dwds
sunnies: charlotte russe