My most popular posts of 2017 + my 2017 best nine on IG!

Today, I thought it would be fun to round up my post popular/ most viewed posts of 2017, plus share my top nine Instagram posts from 2017.

Graduation photos certainly took the cake for my most popular photos on Instagram. I loved these pictures as well! It's great to look back on some of them and remember that exciting time in my life. Also, I have realized that Lilly is a popular lady because all of my top photos I'm wearing Lilly. In the new year I will for sure work to create more and more Lilly content for you guys! 

Now, for my most popular blogposts of 2017! My 6 Instagram-able Chicago Restaruants post was super popular. I'm working to create more guides like that for different places I visit or more for Chicago. I also loved doing my graduation blogposts, not only was it fun to share my graduation cap and my outfit but to also record the memories for me to look back at! So, here are some of my top viewed posts of 2017. 

6 Instagram-able Chicago Restaruants (That are worth they hype)

Life of an over involved college student

Dose of Disney: How to get Disney Japan goods

Dose of Disney: Casual Mickey Style

What I wore: Pool Day

DIY: Graduation Cap

My Graduation Photos

Dose of Disney: Why I love Disney as a young adult

OOTD: Bow Blouse

Weekend Snapshots

What was your favorite blogpost I did in 2017? Let me know in the comments so I can create more content you like! 

XOXO 

Miranda 

Sew Cute Holiday: Christmas Pajamas

Who doesn't love pajamas? No one, exactly. So, for today's post I'm sharing my favorite Christmas pajama combo of the season. When I get home from work I almost instantly change into my pjs to get comfy (no shame). This has been my favorite comfy pajama outfit to change into because it is sooooo comfy! 

First off, are these sleep leggings from Aerie. I talked about a similar pair in my cozy outfit look post, but guys these pajama pants are AMAZING! Literally the comfiest thing I have ever worn. They are so soft, warm, and everything you could want from a sleep legging (who knew those existed). I cannot say enough good things about these pants! I have two pairs of old Aerie sweatpants that used to be my go-to sweats. Now I think these are! If you don't like super tight things I would size up in these. I'm wearing an extra small for sizing! 

As for my t-shirt, it was a free gift with purchase from Jadelynn Brooke! Jadelynn Brooke is one of my favorite places to get t-shirts. They have so many adorable designs. This one is perfect for Christmas, obviously. But, they have a ton of different adorable designs no matter what you like! 

Then this beanie..... is so dang cute. I actually wont this in a giveaway! S/O to Pink Pineapple Shop and Belle of the Ball for my giveaway prize! This beanie so super warm and has an adorable pom pom on it. 

My favorite Christmas tradition is changing into our pajamas and opening presents on Christmas Eve. This year we only opened a few so we could open most of them Christmas morning. But, I'm super impatient, so opening a few on Christmas Eve is always fun! I love how everyone does it different, it makes Christmas personalized to your own family traditions. 

We also always watch Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve. We've been doing it for so long that we have to do it each year! Plus it is our family's all-time favorite Christmas movie. There are way to many great one-liners in that movie for it not to be a favorite! 

Where it's from: 

T-shirt: Jadelynn Brooke 

Pajama pants: Aerie 

Beanie: Pink Pineapple Shop

Mug: Talbots 

What are some of your family's Christmas or holiday traditions? Let me know in the comments below! 

XOXO 

Miranda 

OOTD: Day in the City

Weird weather days in Chicago call for busting out a lighter coat! A Saturday in the city calls for all sorts of fun adventures. For the first time I went ice skating at Maggie Daley park. They have a huge ice skating ribbon and winds around the park. Not going to lie it was STRESSFUL. There was a lot of down hill skating and everyone was going super fast. So, word of warning: if you can't skate real well don't skate here. My boyfriend played hokey his entire life so he basically just held my hand and dragged me around. If I was on my own it would not have been pretty. 

As for my outfit, I kept things pretty simple. Since we were walking around outside most of the day my Barbour Beadnell Polarquilt was the main attraction. To complete the look I paired it with a matching tartan scarf. Shameless plug: Barbour makes matching scarves to go with your tartan jacket cuff. I love the look it creates!

Underneath my jacket I just wore a simple creme sweater and my go-to pair of Paige denim jeans. Nothing crazy over here, but this is what I wear on a day-to-day basis! Seeing fun blogger outfits is great and all, but sometimes it's unrealistic to be all dolled up all of the time. My normal style is pretty casual now and days! This outfit is a perfect example of my go-to look during the winter. 

Location: Maggie Daley Ice Skating Ribbon 

As for accessories I'm sporting the usual: Alex and Ani bangles, Michele watch, and pearl studs. Something new to the mix is a little Christmas gift from the boyfriend is a Hermes click bracelet. I've been crushing on this bracelet for quite some time, so I was so excited to unwrap a little orange box for Christmas! 

Location: The Waldorf Astoria 

Where it's from: 

Jacket: Barbour 

Scarf: Barbour 

Jeans: J. Crew 

Boots: Michael Kors 

Bracelets: Alex and Ani, Hermes 

Watch: Michele 

What is your go-to daily look? I'm living for a great pair of jeans and a sweater! Let me know in the comments below! 

XOXO 

Miranda 

Sew Cute Holiday: Christmas Eve OOTN

Merry Christmas! It's the most wonderful day of the year and I feel so blessed to have spent yesterday and today with family. I hope you had a magical Christmas morning with your loved ones. Hopefully Santa brought you some goodies as well!

Today, in honor of Christmas, I'm sharing my Christmas Eve outfit of the night for our Christmas Eve celebration. This year we mixed things up and dinner at home. Usually we go to a Brazilian Steakhouse, but we changed it up and made my favorite dinner for Christmas Eve. AKA a roast beef, twice baked potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding. 

As for my outfit, I knew I wanted to wear this adorable Lauren James plaid skirt for Christmas Eve or Day. It is the perfect festive plaid with hints of green and red. Plus this adorable wrap design features the cutest bow on the side! Just like a perfectly wrapped present, it really doesn't get much better then that. I paired a simple black turtle neck to complete the look. This turtle neck is actually from Target! If you go towards the end of the season you can get Target clothes for super cheap. This turtle neck was under $10 when I got it last year. 

For accessories, I paired the look with my uber-festive KJP velvet bow bracelet. I love this bracelet for the holidays! It compliments any Christmas look perfectly. Then I also wore my shiny new gift from my boyfriend, a white Hermes click bracelet. I've been eyeing this bracelet for a while so I was so excited he gifted it to me this year. I also can't forget my trusty Alex and Ani bangles. This year I snagged a few new ones that I am very excited about. 

Where it's from: 

Shirt: Target 

Skirt: Lauren James 

Shoes: Tory Burch 

Bracelets: KJP, Alex and Ani, Hermes 

What did you wear this Christmas? Let me know in the comments below! 

XOXO 

Merry Christmas 

Miranda 

Sew Cute Holiday: My favorite ornaments!

On my Instagram stories I asked if you wanted to see some of my favorite Disney ornaments! I got a really great response so here they are! Most of these ornaments are from the Disney Parks from a span of many years. Our family is super into ornaments. I have bins and bins of ornaments I have been gifted over the past 22 years. Every year we pick out ornaments and exchange them, so they all have added up over the years! I love looking back at all of my ornaments and remember who gave them to me or what trip we picked them up on. 

In today's post, I'm going over my favorite Disney ornaments. This year we decided to create a whole Disney tree as a family. As of right now the tree is basically completely filled with just my mom and I's Disney ornaments! I know we are crazy, but we just love Christmas and ornaments, and of course Disney. 

First up, are some of my favorite Beauty & the Beast ornaments. Belle is one of my favorite Princesses and I loveeeee the movie Beauty and the Beast. So I have quite the little collection of Belle and BATB ornaments. I love this little Belle in her yellow dress and this enchanted rose. The enchanted rose is a Lennox ornament, which is also a huge tradition for my family. My mom loves Lennox so every year we almost always get a Lennox ornament to add to the collection. They always have the best Disney ornaments as well! 

Here are some of my favorite Lennox ornaments you can shop now! Most of them are on sale too..... 

Olaf Snowflake | Olaf | Princess Aurora  | Zootopia  

I love this collection of hat ornaments from the Disney Parks. I have a few different characters but I love this Belle one! The best part of these little collections Disney has is that you can get all of your favorite characters, but in a cool different way!

Here are some other super cute hat ornaments..... 

Snow White | Steam Boat Willie | Jasmine

Then there is the shoe collection..... aka the best collection EVER! I love these ornaments! I also have to pick up new one when I go to the parks. These three are my favorite. I love the three good fairies from Sleeping Beauty so this one was a must. Then of course I have Belle and Elsa. 

Here are some other cute shoe ornaments.... 

Anna | Tinkerbell | Mary Poppins | Jack Skellington 

I danced my whole life so I love anything ballerina related! I have a few Minnie Mouse ballerina ornaments, but this one is my favorite. The best part of picking our ornaments at Disney World is that some of them can be customized. This ornament is customized with my name and the date of our trip! 

Tinkerbell plays a pretty big role in my collection as well. This one on the right is from 1999! The greatest thing about collecting all of these ornaments is that I can look back on all of our trips and memories. The Cath Kidston ornament on the left is a new addition from their recent Peter Pan collection. 

Dopey is also one of my favorite characters! I have a few Dopey ornaments, but this one is for sure the cutest! Then of course there is my Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley ornament. Monsters Inc. is my favorite Pixar movie, and also one of my all time favorites. I think this one is just too adorable! 

Where it's from: 

Belle: Disney Parks 

Enchanted Rose: Lennox 

Belle Ears: Disney Parks 

Belle shoe: Disney Parks 

Elsa shoe: Disney Parks

Sleeping Beauty shoe: Disney Parks

Minnie ballerina: Disney Parks 

Peter Pan bauble: Cath Kidston 

Tinkerbell: Disney Parks

Dopey: Disney Parks (similar)

Monsters Inc. Ornament: Disney Parks 

Minnie in teacup: Lennox 

What are your favorite ornaments? Let me know in the comments or DM me on Instagram! 

XOXO 

Miranda 

Dose of Disney: Let's talk about ears!

Minnie Mouse ears are one of my favorite park accessories! They can really transform an outfit, or even inspire a whole look. Today, I'm taking you through the ears I own and telling you a little bit about why I love them. Not to mention, here is a peek at my ear wall my dad set up for me. Not all of them could fit up there, but they all look so cute up and displayed! Now.... let's break down my favorite ear shops! 

Wicked Ears | Into glitz and glam? Look no further then Wicked Ears! Her ears are really hard to get your hands on, so be sure to follow her Instagram closely if you're looking to snag a pair. This silver pair is her signature pair of ears, but she also has Christmas designs, Marie inspired ears, and more! 

Enchanted Ears by K.T. | My best friend's sister creates her own ears on Etsy and I love my Toy Story pair from her. They are super big and fluffy. Want to know the best part? Her ears are so affordable! Most of her ears are under $25! Such a steal, and she has a ton of cute Disney fabrics available. 

Floofy Arts | I ordered two pairs of Floofy Art ears when she was having a buy one get one free sale! So now I have 4 pairs of her ears for the price of 2 (aka craziness). The cheetah print and Mickey mouse ears were my free ears! But, I paied for the blue and pink sequin ears (in the center) and a pair of floral ears, which she is most well known for. Although she is most known for her floral ears these fabric ears are sooooo cute. I love all of the little details in them. 

The Mad HattEar | I got this crotchet pair of ears in the fall to complete a Animal Kingdom outfit I am working on and I love these unique ears. Mad Hattear does crotchet ears, which are unlike any other ears I have seen out there. My pair (in the upper left hand corner) are pretty neutral, but she offers a ton of different colors and designs. These just happen to match my outfit I'm planning perfectly! 

Aloha Ear Design | Aloha Ear Design is for sure my favorite place to get ears EVER! I own 3 pairs of their ears (not including the ones I ordered on Black Friday.... #oops). Their ears are seriously so comfortable, stylish, and sturdy. Out of all of my ears theirs are by far the most comfortable. I wore them all day in the parks on my last trip and they never felt uncomfortable. They put their ears on really comfy headbands which makes a world of difference. Not to mention, their ears are 3D printed which makes them super sturdy and durable. 

Disney Park Ears | Inside the actual parks themselves also have some great ear options! I picked up a pair from Flower & Garden last year that are super adorable! They also have the rose gold ears that have been selling out like crazy recently. So, if you get to the park and need some ears, there are great options there as well! But, I love shopping small and finding unique ears outside of Disney. 

Sail Bows | For the Lilly print enthusiast, look no further the Sail Bows! She has a ton of different Lilly print ears that are super adorable. I paired mine with a matching dress and it was so darn cute to wear to the parks! 

Shop House of Mouse | I picked up a pair of her denim patch ears on Small Business Saturday and I can't wait to get them in the mail. You can pick what patches you want on your ears, plus customize your own bow. All of her ears are gorgeous! She also has great velvet ears and even holographic velvet. Not to mention, her IG is so fun to follow! Her colorful girl gang is seriously #goals. 

What are your favorite ear shops? Let me know in the comments below! 

XOXO 

Miranda 

Dose of Disney: How to get Disney Japan goods in the U.S.

I'm obsessed with Tokyo Disneyland merch, and Asian Disney merch in general. I've always been fascinated with the Japan pavilion in Epcot because I love Japanese culture. So, naturally watching Tokyo Disneyland vlogs on Youtube I have become slightly obsessed with the park, and all of the amazing merchandise you can get there. And when I say slightly I mean insanely obsessed, of course. Unfortunately, I am in no position to take a trip to Tokyo Disneyland or to Harajuku to visit the Disney Store Japan anytime soon. 

But, I have discovered Instagram accounts that will be personal shoppers for you in Japan and even Shanghai! These personal shoppers pick up merchandise for you and ship it to the U.S., or wherever you are in the world. 

My go-to shopper is Ballpens and Etc. (@ballpensandetc) on Instagram. I have now ordered from her two times and I have had such a great experience shopping with her. She speaks great English, which is awesome, because it is so easy to communicate with her and ask questions. She has a great system of ordering your products, and her shipping is usually only around $14 to ship to the U.S.. It does depend on what you purchase, but my first order everything was pretty small and everything shipped with tracking for $14, which is pretty affordable for international shipping. 

Not to mention, she has a great team of people working with her! They send you a photo of all of your items before they pack it up and ship it. Plus, she keeps you well updated with your order status. Basically she sends you a picture of your order, you check it over to make sure everything is there, then she sends you an invoice. You pay her through PayPal, which is super simple to use. Then she ships out your order! 

Both of my orders shipped fairly quickly to the U.S. (Chicago area to be exact). The first one took about a week 1/2 but the second one was super quick! I think it all depends on when it goes out and when the next plane is heading to the U.S. from Japan's shipping site. Shipping is so hard to understand, (like how a package gets all the way from Japan to the U.S.....) but both packages came pretty quickly considering the circumstances! I recommend getting the tracked shipping for the extra cost. It really helps you know when to expect your package, obviously. When they drop off the package you have to sign for it, at least the one with tracking, so it is a lot easier knowing when the package will arrive so you can properly sign for it! 

In my past orders I have gotten a wide variety of Disney merchandise! From actual items from Tokyo Disneyland to Disney Store merchandise to other Japanese stationery brands. Ballpens and Etc. is mainly a stationery shopper, but she occasional does other things as well. But, there are a TON of different personal shoppers that do pick-ups at Disney Store Japan and Tokyo Disneyland. 

Other personal shoppers: 

@happyshopping_tokyo | @wendysdisneyland | @usshoppingsos

So, that is the main gist of ordering merchandise from a personal shopper! This is just my experience with this one personal shopper, so I can't speak for the others. But, I know other Disney Instagrammers who have purchased from these other accounts and it seems like they have also had good experiences! 

Let me know if you have questions about these personal shoppers down in the comments below! Also, let me know if you'd like to see hauls of the merchandise I have picked up from Tokyo Disneyland and my other Japanese goodies! 

XOXO 

Miranda 

Sew Cute Holiday: Cozy Christmas Look

Let's be honest, who doesn't love getting all comfy and cozy, especially during the holidays! So, I created this fun comfy and cozy look to share with you all! I am living for these Aerie sweatpants right now. I picked them up for 50% off (score!) and they are so soft it is ridiculous. To be honest, I am NOT a Victoria's Secret fan. I am team Aerie all the way. They have such great deals on all of there stuff all of the time. You can normally score a deal if you wait around for the best promotion! Also, my adorable beanie is also from Aerie, also scored on sale. It was under $12! The best part? You can switch out the pom poms on the top of the beanie. So fun! 

Now, let's talk about this adorable tee! If you have been following me for a while you know I was a campus rep for Jadelynn Brooke in college. So, I am a huge fan of their t-shirts! When I saw this Holiday Cheer Meister tee I knew I had to pick it up. The Grinch is one of my favorite Christmas movies so naturally it was meant to be. They have sooooo many cute Christmas tees this year! During Black Friday I picked up this tee plus received a free tee with my purchase. Jadelynn Brooke is also so great about running awesome promotions. From mystery tee packs to gifts with purchase they are always offering something fabulous. Plus, I love supporting smaller brands like Jadelynn Brooke. 

Christmas mugs are the best kind of mugs. This Cath Kidston mug is sold out, but it is so darn cute! Cath Kidston mugs are honestly the best kind of mugs. I picked up a bunch of their mugs while I was studying abroad in London. But, they also ship to the U.S.! I also have a ton of their Disney mugs from past Disney x Cath Kidston collections. You can still get a lot of mugs on their website if you are interested in checking them out! 

For a fun Disney Christmas touch I love this throw blanket from the Disney Store. It is so fuzzy and soft. Also, we can't neglect this awesome Disney sock advent calender. I included this in my Cozy Gift Guide, but I had to show it again! This is the perfect gift for any Disney fan. Target also has a ton of different sock advent calendars, so if Disney isn't your thing there is still a sock advent calender for you! They are also only $15 so that is a for sure a gift win!

Other women's sock advent calendars: 

Harry Potter | Disney | Winter | Forest Animals | Star Wars

Where it's from: 

T-shirt: Jadelynn Brooke 

Sweatpants: Aerie 

Necklace: KJP 

Mug: Cath Kidston (sold out)

Beanie: Aerie 

Blanket: Disney Store 

Sequin pillow: Kirkland 

What are your favorite cozy pieces? Let me know in the comments! 

XOXO 

Miranda