Trend Spotter: Back to School

Back to school is upon us and whether you are back at the books yet or not, I'm here with some style tips to help make the transition smoother!

(All you freshman out there, I'm wishing you a warm welcome to college! This advice is mainly geared towards you and I hope you find it helpful!) 

1) First off, campus temperatures right now are always awkward. The classrooms can be freezing but outside is still pretty warm. Keep yourself satisfied by bringing along a sweatshirt or pullover to class but avoid wearing long sleeve shirts. If you can't take it off, you'll end up being miserably hot later on. 

2) Even if you skip bringing along the sweatshirt, always be prepared for weather. A rain jacket and/or umbrella are must haves for your book bag. You never know when the weather will change! 

3) Think twice about footwear! Sandals or flip flops may seem like a good idea, but college usually involves a lot of walking around. Tennis shoes are your best friend. 

4) People aren't judging you like you may think. There's no need to wear fancy clothing or uncomfortable outfits to class. (Forever Loving Norts!) Let yourself live easier and dress down a little bit. But also don't lean too far the opposite way. Walking into class looking like a slob is disrespectful to the teacher. Find the good balance! 

5) "Dressing Down" doesn't have to mean completely casual. I loved rocking my Norts/Tee combo with various accessories. Do a bracelet stack or a watch and some studs! You'll still feel dressed up AND be extremely comfortable! 

6) Backpacks are not for geeks. Purses are cute but by the two week mark, you're going to be dying to rest your shoulder. Find a good backpack and dress it up, stylize it, monogram it, whatever! Just make it yours and rock it. 

I'll finish up by saying this. College is an amazing time to find yourself. Even though I love clothes, sometimes purpose has to come before vanity and I am telling you now, don't ever feel like an oddball for making that choice. That being said, it's also an amazing time to find your personal style and make it yours! So have an amazing first day of classes and get ready for an amazing adventure! 

Why Fall Cleaning Should Be Your New Spring Cleaning

Your life will be a bad TV infomercial if you don't do fall cleaning (trust me)

Many of you reading this post are probably back at school (I’m so sorry SEC recruitment) or planning to go back to school in the next couple of weeks. Or, you’re like me, and you have a month and a half before classes start and you need something to do instead of jealously stalking everyone’s Facebook photos of #fratparties and #friendsforever. At first thought, fall cleaning sounds like a horrible way to pass the time and a few steps above hanging out with your Great Aunt Marge at this year’s family picnic. However, it is one of those inevitable things that you should probably learn how to do now because that’s what being an adult is about - learning to clean up after your own mess. 

I recently learned the tough way that if you don’t do routine cleaning things start to build up. Like my middle school chorus notebook. And my 11th grade English project. And all of my AP flashcards from high school. It was time to let go and fall is the perfect time to do so. Why? 

1. You can start your school year off fresh. Instead of pretending like you have a new start because of your crisp school supplies, you can actually buy ALL of the school supplies because you finally got rid of your 8th grade Kookie Pen (yes, I am ashamed). You’ll also just have more room to spread out and feel far less overwhelmed. 
2. Less junk to come home to at the holidays. The thing about stuff is it never really goes away. During the holiday season, especially, you can feel things being all over the place because they actually are. Streamline your life and get rid of the old to make way for the new before it just ends up in a pile in your bedroom. 
3. You know exactly what summer clothes you can get rid of and what you should keep. You just spent three months wearing your favorite pair of shorts, so why are you keep the two pairs that don’t quite fit anymore? I find that waiting until the spring to clean out everything leaves me with very few winter clothes and a lot of summer clothes because I don’t remember what I actually wore the summer before. Take the time to clean everything out now so you don’t end up with 5th grade camp teeshirts.  
4. Cleaning out your makeup is just sanitary. I feel like my makeup bag is an endless hole and unless I make an effort to dump the whole thing out on my floor, I’ll have old mascaras and eyeliner stuck at the bottom for years. While spring cleaning is great for this, most makeup has a six month expiration date, so a twice a year clean out is good for both your sanity and your skin.
5. Less stuff means less to pack and bring to school. Oh, how far we’ve come from the days of the bumbling, overpacked freshman year (if you’re starting college, take notes). Your dorm room will never be as big as you'll think it will be and you will inevitably bring way too many things. You’re going to be dorm shopping as it is, so why not get rid of your old stuff before you think to pack it too? Clutter also accumulates during the school year and no matter where you are Amazon.com can get you what you forgot at home. 
6. Fall deserves excitement too. I love fall - the oversized sweaters, fuzzy socks, hot mugs of tea, leather riding boots, and muted colors. Why shouldn’t fall get the same love that spring does? Spring cleaning is meant to help you get excited for warm weather by shedding the layers of winter. Fall cleaning can make you feel warm and cozy by focussing on what matters in that moment and not the piles of stuff around you.

If anything, the moral of this post should be that if I’m let to do so, I will become a crazy hoarder. While I would love to be on TLC, my real calling is as a crazed pageant mother, not a junk collector. Do yourself a favor and add fall cleaning to your final to-do list before leaving for school this year. Your closet, mind, and mother will all thank you for it.   

Happy Fall

With Pumpkin Spice latte season in full swing and Halloween right around the corner I thought I'd share some festive fall things with you all! These are all fabulous Pinterest finds.


1. The costumes: if you're looking for a unique costume for your group of girlfriends, this social media themes costume is super cute and easy to make! 









2. Boots: I've been looking for some comfy combat boots and these just might fit the bill. Combat boots seem to be everywhere this season, definitely something to try if your looking to mix it up with your riding boots.  







3. Quote: This quote pretty much sums up my feelings about the season! The crisp air makes everything feels new. 






4. Soup: bread bowls are my favorite! This Panera copy cat recipe is perfect for snuggling up on fall days! 

What are you looking forward to trying this fall?

Senior Year of Formal Recruitment

     Being a senior is a very bitter sweet time, especially right around recruitment time. Fall is our formal recruitment at my school and I am so sad that it is over. We have Meet the Sisters, Philanthropy, and Preference round all happening and then it is a blur. Preference round was when it all hit me that I am a senior and this will be my last moments as a sister and college student of Kutztown University. I couldn't help but cry when my sisters were talking about what my sorority means to them and how much our chapter has grown in the years I have been apart of it. My sorority is definitely not the same sisterhood it was when I joined, but isn't that a good thing. With every new person who joins our chapter we grow, change, and mold to the people who are now part of our amazing sisterhood. We pride ourselves with this quote a lot, "Individually unique, together complete." With my chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma, Zeta Omicron I am proud to say that none of my sisters are exactly the same but we do come together for the same purposes and strive to better ourselves through schooling and being involved.
     Bid day was amazing and we got an amazing group of twenty three beautiful women to welcome into Phi Sigma Sigma. With College Panhellenic Council we also raised our total at our school from sixty five to seventy five women. I am so excited to live this last year in college to the fullest and continue to watch this great sisterhood continue to grow and thrive. All sisterhoods have their ups and downs but it is how you work through them that make the sorority stand strong and true. Together we can have it all!
     

Fall 2014 Fashion Trends

The warm summer days have slowly trickled off and it is swiftly moving into the season of crisp leaves on the ground, cool autumn breezes, pumpkin spice coffees, and of course fall fashion.  With fall officially beginning in 16 days, here is the official lowdown of all your favorite fall 2014 trends.

Chunky Sweaters: It seems the chunky sweater trend is here to stay as this fall even the turtleneck style is making a comeback. Whether you pair them with jeans, tights, or leggings a warm chunky sweater is the perfect item of any occasion.

Graphic Prints: Prints, Prints, and more prints. From fun patterned leggings, to floral print dresses, to plaid shirts, prints are here and they have taken over every article of clothing available.  So be daring and pair a print with a soild color or be daring and pair them with another print, either way, don’t forget to rock the prints this fall season.

Elements of the “Great Outdoors”: This fall, the natural colors and textures outdoors are back in style. Fringe, suede, corduroy, and fur are all back in both fashion and accessories. So add a little outdoors your wardrobe and don’t be afraid to mix and match your pieces.

A-line Dresses: For the feminine side of us, the A-line 1960’s inspired dresses are all the rage this fall season. Paired with a great pair of boots or knee-highs and flats, the a- line dress id the perfect versatile item for every woman for any occasion, classical and otherwise.

Leather: While leather has been a staple of fall fashion for many years, this year try to mix up your wardrobe and add some less traditional leather pieces into the fold. From jackets, to vests, and even skirts and dresses, leather can be paired with anything from knits to button-downs to create the perfect fall look.

Pastels: While pastels are usually found in the spring and summer season, it has now made it way into fall fashion in the form of bright colored items such as dresses, jackets, and purses. So be daring and add some pastels to your fall fashion.

Black and White Combos: Black and white combinations are always considered classic, paired with a bright color or left alone, black and white (when done correctly) can always be a showstopper.

Vests: Popular in the 90’s, the vest is back for 2014 fall fashion.  Paired with jeans or a great dress, a vest can complete a perfect fashionable outfit. Weather it is leather, knit, or crochet a vest can be the perfect warm option for any outfit.

Letter to the Incoming Freshman

               College is a whole lot more than I expected. I thought I was going to school for a degree but what a am receiving is a whole lot more! Freshman year I walked into a co-ed dorm with a car full of stuff. I met people who made a huge impact on me. I wouldn't trade living in a dorm room for anything because I had met so many people. I had a roommate who I didn't really know because we met online, I had a friend who I met at connections, and I had friends of friends. We had a group of people we would hangout with whenever we weren't in classes and it was great. That ended when one, two, three, four of them decided to drop out or transfer schools. It was the best and probably worst year having the highs and lows not so far apart. Those of us who stayed... well the three of us from the group remaining became distant, except for me and my roommate who are going on three years living together out of four.
                One of the best decisions I made my freshman year was going through Fall recruitment. I was beyond terrified but I walked into rooms of girls with open arms and I was so happy to find my home away from home. These are the girls I leaned on for the problems with friends, or a bad breakup with an ex boy friend. This is something I will never forget and always be apart of!
                Sophomore year of college I lived with 7 people including myself. This was one of the worst ideas I have made in college, because the amount of drama that came with living with some of my friends wasn't worth the friendships lost or broken. When you make a decision on who to live with the following year make sure you agree on stuff like when you go to bed, ideas on drinking or going out, and anything else that you know you value like shower time! When you have this many girls in an apartment, the hearsay it doesn't make for a great outcome. While we are all on speaking terms now one of my biggest regrets is not being as close to them or fully mending those wounds. 
                 Junior year I lived off campus in an apartment. I lived with my freshman roommate and a random girl. It wasn't half bad, we had our own place, kitchen, our own rooms, and our own bathroom! It went way better than any other year, I made new friends, I had a blast!
                 Senior year starts this Fall, my story hasn't been written yet. I am so excited to move in to an apartment off campus on Main Street with two of my sorority sisters. We may not have our own bathrooms or a gym right next door but we have each other and all the possibilities in the world. Lets see how this chapter ends, even though I never want it to!