Dorm Room Necessities

Happy Monday beautiful girls! I hope your weekend was lots of fun and filled with great Instagram-worthy pictures. How basic am I? Given that I ate macarons, went to brunch, and then took a stroll through Whole Foods over the weekend, I’d say I’m pretty basic! At least I’ll admit to it right?

Since it’s almost back to school season and so many lovely ladies are headed to college this fall, I wanted to focus a blog post on dorm room style. Thanks to Pinterest, the dorm rooms our parents might have had are being made so much more stylish with fun, inexpensive decor. When I was shopping for my first year of college, I headed straight to Target and took advantage of their college geared collection called Room Essentials. My dorm room was so cute that year! Take a look below!

Since I graduated college recently, I’m going to impart some of my dorm room function wisdom on you! First, don’t spend a fortune on bedding or towels. Living in a dorm simply isn’t compatible with luxury, fluffy linens. You will spill coffee and mac n cheese on everything and regret it when it won’t come out of your bedspread. Second, bring something that makes noise like a fan. I can’t stand hearing doors slam and thudding footsteps going down the hallways at all hours of the night. You’ll thank me for this tip later. Finally, get a wall calendar! I like to keep my schedule on my phone and in a planner of some sort. Plus, it can be helpful when coordinating schedules with your roommate!

Style and function go hand in hand when you’re living in confined quarters. Target dorm room stuff always seems to cater to both of those things. Before going out and buying new things though, check out the layout of your dorm room online to see how much room you will have. I was surprised at how big my room was compared to what I was expecting! 


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Spring Break Basics

 

Happy Friday beauties! I hope some of my college followers are gearing up for spring break this year! When I was in college, I never really did spring break other than going skiing once on a very cold day in February with a few friends. Miami was not on the radar for this girl! Although I’m glad I missed out on the inevitable hangovers and casual “encounters” with the opposite gender that are synonymous with this annual event, I can’t help but think that I missed a few fun beach days with friends. If I could do it all over again, here’s what would be on my list of things to get for my spring break!

1. Casual Romper- They’re perfect beach cover ups and can still be worn in the evening. Find one in navy blue that will go from day to night even if you’re wearing your bikini from earlier in the day!
2. Water Bottle- The beach gets hot and so does the pool. Stay hydrated and back away from anything that will make you bloat (aka alcohol or soda.)
3. Turkish Towel- Light weight and easy to fold up without much bulk. Plus, they’re really soft! It can stay in that beach bag you’ll inevitably tote around all day.
4. Jack Rogers- Splurge on a pair of Jack Rogers sandals (or look-a-likes) for your spring break. Check eBay for pre-worn Jacks for less! Go with a neutral color so it will match more and you won’t have to take so many pairs of shoes in your luggage!
5. Portable Charger- Everyone’s iPhone will lose battery power by the end of the day. Bring a charger to power up before you go out to dinner.
6. Beach Bag- Find one with a summery print or woven style. Make sure it’s light weight to lug around all day. Most importantly, be sure it’s cute!
7. Spring Nail Polish- Find a great color to wear during your spring break! I love the light green Essie polish featured above because it’s neutral enough to go with most everything but it still stands out!

Leave a comment with a spring break basic!

How to Know if an Interview is Going Well

Happy Monday! I love this beautiful time of the year. Everything smells like peppermint and gingerbread, sleigh bells literally ring, and the deals at my favorite stores are aplenty! How can you not like this time of year? Despite the difficulties everyone has with job hunting, the general merriment of the season keeps me smiling.

Since I have so much experience interviewing for jobs, I figured I’d share a few tips on how to know if an interview is going well. There are several things I look for when I’m talking with a hiring manager and all of them have provided me with good insight into the company and the position.

Gauging an Interview

1. Laugh- Has the interviewer laughed or smiled at all? Even if it’s just over something simple like the crazy weather the area has had, a smile or laugh indicates that they are comfortable with you.
2. Confidence- Do you feel and sound confident? I’ve walked into interviews where I was on top of my game and felt amazing and then I’ve had a few that made me crawl back into my shell.
3. Compatibility- Are you and the interviewer compatible? You’ll be able to tell almost immediately and that will have a lot to do with how the interview goes.
4. Interest- Do they want to talk about things besides your resume? For example, has the interviewer asked about your personal interests? Last week, I was asked what I like to do for fun. That’s a good sign. They want to know who you are as a person, not just who you are as a professional.
5. Follow up- Did they communicate to you what happens next or simply say “we’ll be in touch?” In my experience, if they’re talking to you about the next steps before you’ve even left, they’re interested!

Please leave a comment if you’ve observed similar things or have other tips on things to look for!

Tips for Moving Home

Happy Monday morning my friends! It was a wet, dreary weekend but I still found little things to make me happy, such as a hot coffee and my dad’s homemade fried chicken. As a new day begins, one of my favorite things to do is sit outside on my balcony and sip my coffee while browsing through some of your blogs. I hope my blog offers the same kind of happiness that many of yours do!

In other news of mine, I’m moving back to my mom and dad’s next week. I moved out 5 months ago after I got my first job and unfortunately, the contract on it expires in November. My roommate and I signed a lease for 5 months only because neither of us had strong job security. While I’m happy that I have a place to go and a few kitty cats waiting for my return, it’s a little difficult to go from having tons of freedom to having a tighter schedule. This isn’t the first time I’ve moved back home. Summer breaks during college and in between internships have brought me back several times.

Four Tips for Moving Home

I’ve learned several things about this process that I’d like to share with you. In a world where more and more college graduates have to move back home because they can’t find a job, I feel as though there’s a few things they (or we) should know.

1. Have no expectations– “It’s going to be awful. My parents are going to drive me crazy. It’ll be like being a child again.” No, not necessarily. My dad used to say “expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed”. He’s absolutely right. If you have a bad attitude going into it, then you can’t expect everything to go swimmingly. In fact, don’t expect anything. Having a vision in your head (whether good or bad) about what it’s going to be like is the fastest way to be shocked when your vision wasn’t realistic.
2. Remember it’s temporary– Living at home won’t last forever. It just won’t unless you sit in your basement all day playing video games. Looking for a job is a full time job in itself! You’re moving home because you can’t find work and the goal is to find work. What do you think you’re going to do all day? Apply for jobs so this living situation is in fact, temporary.
3. Create a routine– You need a sense of normalcy in your life or you will go crazy. Living at home is the new ‘normal’ and the faster you embrace it, the better off you’ll be. Humans crave familiarity, so having a schedule to work off of daily will really help you be comfortable with your life. My routine will probably be somewhere along the lines of wake up, have coffee, shower, clean room, apply to jobs, get lunch, go to gym, apply to jobs, blog, dinner, and relax. Create one that works for you.
4. Find ways to make extra cash– As a way to pay down my credit card, I started selling unwanted clothes on eBay and believe me it works. Are you going to become a millionaire? No. However, an extra $200 or even more a month really helps so you have a bit of spending money to go get dinner with friends or catch a movie.

Feel free to comment with your own tips! I really love hearing what you all have to say! ‘Like’ my Facebook page too for updates!

6 College Necessities for the New Freshman

In the next few weeks, some of you will be headed to college for the first time! I remember my first few days at school, it was so exciting! My parents dropped me off the morning of move-in day. My dad hauled all of my stuff into my room and my mom helped me make my bed. I met my roommates for the first time and our parents exchanged numbers in case of emergencies.

Before I got to college though, I enjoyed stocking up on stuff I’d need there. I wish I could go back and give myself a few hints as to what I needed and what I didn’t. Believe me, I spent a lot of money on things I never even ended up using (besides textbooks). Here’s six things that I wish I had known to buy my freshman year.

1. Room diffuser- You can’t burn candles in your dorm usually but you’ll still need something that smells nice
2. Watch- So old school, right? Wrong. Wear a watch during the day to be on time for classes and other activities. Plus, if you have strict professors, cell phones will be a no-go in class. You’ll need something to make sure the time is actually passing and the clock isn’t at a stand still.
3. Coffee tumbler- Do I really need to explain this one?
4. Agenda- Whatever you do, don’t rely on your phone to keep things straight. Writing things down helps you remember them.
5. Dorm shoes- The floors in your dorm will probably be hard and cold. Keep your feet warm and cozy with some slippers that have fur on the inside and tread on the bottom so you don’t slip (I’ve done that).
6. Pencil case- My boyfriend laughed when I told him about this one. I didn’t use it just for pens and pencils, I put everything in there- loose coins, lip gloss, mascara, basically anything I didn’t want rolling around in my backpack that I’d have to dig for.

For my post-college readers, leave a comment about your college must-haves!