Meet the Magnolias

Ladies, when the afternoon starts to drag and you know you need a little pick me up don't go for another cup of coffee, grab your blush! Slapping a little bit of color on your face can help you look and feel more refreshed. A tip to finding your perfect blush color is to get as close as possible to the color your cheeks are when they are naturally flushed so go for a quick workout and make sure to check out your cheeks after. When applying your blush start at the apples of your cheeks and sweep the brush along your cheekbones. To find the apples of you cheeks just give a little smile to yourself in the mirror and use that as your guide. That being said play around with the different kinds of blushes and find which one works best for you. photo credit: Ladyzona.com

(In case you're new here, Favorites with My Favorites is exactly what it sounds like! I'm lucky enough to get to talk to some of my favorite people about some of their favorite things! Enjoy - you never know who will be featured next!!) I'm a blog-a-holic. If I find a blog I really like, I tend to want to be best friends with whoever is behind all the posts. When I stumbled on a pretty pink blog called Fash Boulevard, it was no exception. She mixes fashion and celebrity into the most fabulous posts. Needless to say, I'm totally addicted. This post is all about Anna James , the face behind the blog! 1. Who is your favorite artist/ musician/band? I'd have to say Adele is my current fave! But Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Hanson are always on my playlistl! Yes, Hanson! I'm not ashamed to  admit the childhood crush never died. :) 2. Where is your favorite place to visit? My favorite place to visit is Destin, Fl. Growing up, my family and I w

I don't know about you, but I get so tired of seeing polls on the pages I frequent comparing thin girls to those with curves. Who wore it best? Who looks better? Who is more beautiful? All of them are beautiful! (I've been wanting to write this for a long time, so here goes nothing!) Here is a list of some of the ladies I find to be the most beautiful! Some of these are constants in my life while others are ladies I thought deserved a mention! (All pictures are from Pinterest !) I've been a fan of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen since Full House. We are less than a month apart in age, and I feel such a loyalty to them! They have come such a long way in the fashion game. They started being big in magazines in about 2004, right as we all graduated high school. In eight years, they've come to dominate the fashion industry! Win! Christina Hendricks is one of the ladies always pitted against other ladies in those silly polls. She's amazing. She's a curvy

If you know me then you know that, buying a new outfit puts me in a better mood than Ben and Jerry's "Half Baked" ice cream (its a close race, but a new outfit wins none the less). So it's not surprising that a new workout gear fuels my motivation to make it to the gym. As a matter of fact, to be technical, nothing gets me more pumped to hit the gym than a new Nike outfit. I love Nike gear. I am basically a walking Nike billboard every time I break a sweat.  So to help you find a little extra motivation, I have put together a few workout suggestions.  Let's start with the sports bra. This sometimes overlooked, sometimes unseen, part of your outfit is the most important. Every lady needs a little extra support, whether blessed or flat, when it comes running, jogging, or even walking. That is why I suggest….   The Nike Victory Shape Sports Bra. No more flat chest! It has actual cups that help you keep your shape and lift. It provides comfortable sup

Back to the Basics Do you ever see a girl in a totally cute outfit, but you can see her panty line? Or even worse the exact print of those panties? I have the solution. It is an old solution that you probably had several fights with your mother over while growing up, but it is the only solution.  Meet the nude slip… Wait! Do not roll your eyes just yet, hear me out first. 1. It gets rid of panty lines. No longer restricted to that certain pair of panties for a certain dress. 2. No more worrying about being able to see through your dress in different lighting situations.  3. It has an overall smoothing effect on an outfit.  A few tips for buying a slip: 1. You have options. You can purchase a full slip or a half slip. I recommend having both.  I love this slip! It is thin, feminine, and vintage too. This slip is perfect for a see through shift or lace dress this summer without making you feel like you have two dresses on at one time. I will ad

As we all know yoga is a great form of exercise, stretching, and it can help lower anxiety. That being said, I thought I would share a few of my favorite poses with you guys. Please don’t push yourself to do more than you are comfortable with. My yoga instructor always says “respect your edge, but don’t be afraid to go to your edge”. A few good, basic poses are down dog and child’s pose. Down dog is great pose with many variations. Down Dog can be done as seen in the picture, but for more of a challenge, come down on to your forearms. A great strengthening pose that can be done from the basic down dog pose or down dog on forearms is plank; this pose will strengthen your core. Child’s pose is a great position to relax in after or before down dog as it is easy to transition from child’s pose to down dog due to the out stretched arms. In addition triangle and warrior pose are great for strength building and stretching. Have fun with the poses by putting them in your own sequence or s

Katelyn and I were at Anthropologie on Saturday night, and the cashier who rang up Katelyn's purchase had a gorgeous arm party! She was kind enough to be the first one featured on Meet the Magnolias! If you make it into the Anthropologie at Renaissance, look for Sarah-Anne's arm party! Be sure to tell her you saw it on Meet the Magnolias! Apparently now, I'm on the lookout for fantastic arm parties...Maybe I'll spy yours next! Xoxo, Jessica

Ahhh, SUMMER!!! Longer days and warmer temperatures, also known as, no excuse to not get up and get active. As promised I am here to help keep you motivated for your summer workouts. No matter where you are or what your summer plans involve there is a workout for you.   Babysitting all summer? Great. Instead of laying by the pool soaking up melanoma, get in the pool! Considering the nearly unbearable heat and humidity of a southern summer, the water is a great place to beat the heat and squeeze in a workout. Swimming laps or even treading water is a very effective way to work your cardiovascular system. Your shoulders, back, and obliques will benefit from this type of workout. Don’t really know much more than the “doggy-paddle”? That’s ok. Check out this link from Women’s Health Magazine for step-by-step descriptions for the basic swimmer strokes. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/swim-workout?page=2 If you are stuck in an office all day, getting off work and hitting

the outfit I wore to my first wedding shower!!! It happened to be a wonderful JcPenney find on Friday afternoon! Leave it to me to wait until the day before to decide I want something new to wear! Dress is MNG by Mango; necklace and earrings are a set from Charming Charlie. Magnolias! (Me, Katelyn, and Karson!) My precious bridesmaids!