The Lowery Lowdown- A Lifestyle Blog by Shelby – A Lifestyle Blog By Shelby Miske

3 Ways to style a Graphic Tee with United Monograms

August 11, 2019

Graphic Tees have been the latest trend and I am SO here for it. What’s not to love? T-shirts are so comfy and they can be styled SOOO many different ways! I also feel like they let you express your interests - some people have their favorite band, or saying, or favorite drink or day of the week on their shirt. At United Monograms we offer SO many ‘Graphic Monogram’ tees. We truly have something for everyone! We have ones (ALOT) about coffee, drinking, teaching, some disney, some lipstick - truly a mixture of anything a woman would want! You know what the greatest thing about our ‘Graphic Monogram’ tees are? Each one is personalized for YOU with your monogram! Most of them aren’t in your face or anything - they are subtle somewhere on the shirt.. Just enough to add a cute touch! I love this ‘Girl Power’ tee that we just released - it makes me feel strong and powerful and also reminds me of all the bad ass ladies in my life! Today I am sharing 3 ways to style this ‘Graphic Monogram’ tee!

Style 1: With a skirt and tennis shoes. I love that this look is in style right now! Skirts are so comfortable. They are super feminine, flirty, and freeing. This leopard one especially had me feeling so fun I just wanted to do some spins in it! This can also be paired with heels - but when an outfit looks cute with sneakers, I always opt for the sneakers. Comfort over cuteness (most of the time) for me folks! The knotted tee is my go-to but can also just be tucked in too!

Style 2: With ripped jeans and heels. Thank goodness for high waisted jeans is all I have to say. They honestly have transformed my style for the better these past few years and me and my body are grateful they have come into my life! How cute are these ripped Mom Jeans from Target? I am obsessed. Paired with a simple heel and you have yourself a whole look!

Style 3: With leather leggings and a jean jacket. Some people only wear leggings when they have something on that covers their booty. I am not one of those people. I am a PROUD supporter of leggings as pants..and I mean proud. Find yourself a pair of nice thick high-waisted leggings, and you have yourself a pair of comfy pants with great coverage! As you may have noticed - I love tucking everything in, or knotting it. Most shirts lay on my hips in an unflattering way, so this helps with that. The jean jacket adds a little extra to the outfit, and would also be cute with a long cardigan!

I hope you liked these styles! Let me know which one was your favorite!

XOXO, Shelby

Shop Graphic Tee Here

Shop Leopard Skirt Here

Shop Leggings Here

Shop Sneakers Here

Shop Heels Here

Shop Jeans Here

Why I love 4th of July??

July 4, 2019

4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not only is it a great day to stop and remember how darn lucky I am to live in America, but has a few other special meanings to me as well.

First, it reminds me of family. Growing up in a small town, the 4th of July parade and fireworks at night were BIG deals. I remember walking in or watching the parade every year with my family. One year when my mom owned her flower shop, we wore homemade red white and blue tie dye tanks and handed out red and white carnations. At night we either watched fireworks at my cousins house or had people over our house to watch, while enjoying my moms American flag cheesecake pie. 4th of July was always a good reason to get the family together and have a good time!

Second, it reminds me of my friends. As I got older, I spent a few 4th of July’s at the Jersey shore and it was always the best day of the summer. Something about grilling, drinking, and wearing patriotic colors always meant the best time. Cue the USA chants.

Third, our business was founded on 4th of July party tanks! United monograms wouldn’t exist if we didn’t start with United Tees and our patriotic shirts. 4th of July has always been our second busiest holiday! We always work out butts off the days leading up to get all of the orders out and delivered on time, then celebrate extra hard on the 4th!

Lastly, it is part of me and Sean’s love story! We got engaged on July 4th 2017. It was a very hot 4th of July when Sean sweaty and nervously got down on one knee. It was my favorite 4th of July by far!

4th of July will always be a special holiday for us! I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday. God bless America!??

Xoxo, Shelby

5 Reasons to Celebrate The Small Wins

June 12, 2019

This past weekend United Monograms reached another milestone - 100K followers on Instagram! To celebrate, we got some balloons and a fun cake - took some cute photos and enjoyed the cake with our team. As a business account, 100K may not seem like the biggest thing, but I’ve learned over the years it is so important to celebrate the small victories! We work so hard to achieve our big goals, we need to stop and celebrate the small wins along the way. Whether they are business or personal goals - it is so important. Today I’m sharing 5 reasons to celebrate ALL the small wins.

It makes you feel proud! If you are like me, you don’t like to boast about yourself often. I don’t like being cocky or over-confident but I’ve learned over the past few years it’s totally fine and necessary to say “I’m proud of myself” every once in awhile. Be proud of your accomplishments and share them with pride! I’m so proud of our team!
It allows you to look back and reflect on everything it took to get to this milestone. It has been quite the Instagram journey. Not only has our business changed a little, Instagram is always changing as well. I remember starting our business account and being excited when we reached 1000 followers! Here’s a look at some of our first posts. (Haha big gossip girl and bows guy over here) I will write another blog post in the future about growing an IG account, but consistency is key.
It builds your confidence. It makes you feel good about yourself! We are so hard on ourselves. I’m sure in the past week you’ve gotten down on yourself for something you didn’t accomplish, but have you patted yourself on the back for something small you HAVE accomplished? Start celebrating yourself more, and your confidence will grow!
It motivates you to keep going. It pumps you up! As Sean would say, “Let’s f*%!ing goooo!” After you stop to celebrate for a moment, it’s time to start planning for the next goal or milestone.
You deserve it! As I’ve said in the previous reasons, you need to celebrate YOU and your accomplishments. You deserve to celebrate. What’s the point of working hard to achieve goals if you don’t celebrate them?! You deserve some cake. You deserve a mani/pedi. You deserve a cocktail. Treat yourself when you achieve your goals!

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah

XOXO, Shelby

Shirt: United monograms

Skirt: Free People

Balloons: Cannonborough Collective

Earrings: Tiny Tassel

United Monograms Summer Collection

May 29, 2019

We recently released our new summer collection at United Monograms and I am obsessed! Being a very small business, our product department is pretty much a 2 man show – myself and Rachel, who is also our amazing photographer among many other things! Sean helps out too, more so making sure we have everything done in a timely manner and overseeing the collection as a whole. All of us are very hands on in the product planning and designing. That being said, sometimes it is hard coming up with and designing new things! We try to come out with at least 4 seasonal collections (each having anywhere from 40-100 items), and also new collections for certain holidays. Some collections are better than others, and some collections or products we personally like better than others. This collection is definitely one of my favorites so far and think my personal style shows through it!

My favorite product that I’ve been wearing the most the past few weeks is our Monogrammed Retro Coffee Sweatshirt. Who doesn’t love a comfy, classic crewneck? The colors in this design are so fun! It can match so many different bottoms too. I am wearing a small in this. I usually do smalls in sweatshirts for the summer since I’ll wear them with shorts, and usually want my fall/winter sweatshirts in mediums to wear with leggings!

Top ♥ Shorts

I posted this look on my feed and y’all seemed to love it! I was so excited when I got this skirt in the mail and thought long and hard about which one of our tops I wanted to pair it with! It came down to this Rainbow Striped tee or our Big Print Leopard shirt. I chose the rainbow striped tee because I think it is the perfect summer look! If you are going on vacation or planning a weekend brunch, this look will be so cute. It’s also SO comfy!

Top ♥ Skirt ♥ Shoes

How cute is this Lobster crewneck?! I’m not sure why but something about it is just adorable to me! I definitely think the red thread against the light blue is so pretty and really pops! It reminds me of being at the beach or on a boat which are both very pleasant vibes!

Top ♥ Headband

Lastly is the ultimate summer vibes tee! It has all of my summer favorites on one shirt. I love all the pretty colors in it, you can really pair it with so many different bottoms! I had these light purple shorts that matched perfectly.

Top ♥ Shorts ♥ Purse

I hope you check out our new Summer Collection and love it! Let me know what you think!

XOXO, Shelby

Amazon Dresses Under $25

May 5, 2019

Amazon has become one of my go-to sites for clothing this year! When I find an item that looks designer but costs much less AND it’s prime - jackpot! I found these three dresses that are perfect for spring and summer! I think all three can be dressed up or down and worn to many different events.

dThe first is this Grey Ruffle Swing Dress. This is one of those finds that looks and feels like it should cost much more. It looks a little boxy right out of the bag, but the tie-waist belt feature brings it all togehter! Anything that cinches in at the waist is a plus for me and my body type! The bell sleeves are so fun too. I really love this dress, I want to purchase it in another color too! I am 5’4 and it is on the shorter side, so keep that in mind if you are taller. It comes in 4 colors, is only $21.99, and IS PRIME! I am wearing the size medium.

Next is this Navy Polka Dot Maxi. I was superrrr skeptical of this one at first because it was ONLY $11.99… like WHAT?! I was pleasantly surprised when I received this one. I love the off the shoulder feature, as well as the tie-waist belt! I wasn’t sure if the polka dots were going to be too much with it being a maxi and long sleeved, but I think the polka dots are so fun! It’s also super lightweight. If it’s not too hot where you live, I think this would be so cute for 4th of July with a red headband or sandals! I am wearing a size medium. It is out of stock right now in the navy in most sizes, but I will keep an eye out for a restock!

Lastly is this cute and simple Light Blue Sundress. I love the ruffle features and the color blue is so pretty! I have it paired here with heels but it is also cute with a casual pair of sandals. Although the tied bows are so cute, one thing I do love about this is it can be turned into a strapless or halter dress as well! Spaghetti straps don’t always work for me - they fall down constantlyyyy which is so annoying! Later on in the day, I untied the bows and tied the front two straps into a halter and tucked the back two straps into the back of the dress. This dress is comfortable and very well made! It has a slip underneath so it is not see through at all. It has a smocked stretchy top that is helpful with sizing. The length of this is a little more wholesome and hits right at the knee, so is very appropriate for church or a more family-oriented event. I just ordered it in the mint color too! I am wearing a size medium. It comes in a few different colors and is only $23.99!

I wore my Sam Edelman nude heels with all of these dresses. I also think all would look great with flat sandals as well! I tried out the pearl hair clip trend and think it added a cute touch! I will say, amazon is usually hit or miss when it comes to clothing - but that’s why I love when items are Prime. You can get it quickly, try it on, and return it all within a week if it doesn’t work out! I can’t wait to wear and style these dresses this spring and summer!

XOXO, Shelby