Back to School Style Guide!

I'm not here to tell you what to wear or presume to know what's cool and trendy. My primary goal with this post is to guide you to achieving the look you want! There are just a few things to remember when picking out new fashion:

1. Thrift shops are your friends. I can't stress this enough. Sometimes, thrift shops are associated with gross and worn out clothes, but that's not always the case! If you're living on a college kid budget, like I am, then clothing is not on the top of your shopping list. However, a thrift shop can mean the difference between a $25 sweater and a $2 sweater. Still not sold? Okay. That's not the only way to find affordable clothing. Places like Marshals, TJ Maxx, or Plato's Closet are all stores that sell clothes at lower prices than retail. The things you find will give you a unique look and, trust me, you will look fresh (and not like you've been dumpster diving.)

         


 2.Find a pattern or print you adore and make it your thing!! I mentioned in a previous post about my love for Hawaiian prints, but I also love tribal prints and anything with giraffes on it! These have sort of become my "thing" that I wear; almost like my trademark! Even though some of what I wear is not what's "in," I still love wearing it! It is very important to love and be comfortable in what you wear. Fashion is for yourself, not others.

     

3. Find versatile pieces! Ask yourself when you're shopping, "How much use will I get out of this?" If the answer is "so much!" then buy it! Find items that can be dressed up or down and worn with lots of different colors. Of course, there will occasionally be a unique piece that you just can't live without, but that won't go with much and that's okay. However, you don't want to always be filling your closet with items that need other specific items to complement them. The other day I was in a shop and I literally thought to myself "I love these shorts, but I'm going to need to buy a shirt to match them." I realized then that I was not shopping smart. Buy things to match what you already have and that can be worn many different ways.

    

These three points don't stand alone, but work all at once! Look for affordable pieces in prints and patterns you love that are also versatile. It's actually quite simple: pick a max price for single items and then just know what you want! Again, I don't really know what's in, but I know how to dress myself in a way that makes me feel good. This school year, find a style you love and don't let it go for anything!

Peace and love. XXX.

Back to school!

For many people, school is starting back in just TWO DAYS.  While part of me is excited the other part is dreading this necessary evil. Whether it's college, highschool, or middle school: school itself is  just plain stressful. We, as students have to deal with buying books, meeting deadlines, working with difficult project partners, and just trying to keep our grades up. But that's just the academic side. Then there's keeping a job, making friends, nourishing and taking care of ourselves. People wonder why students all claim to have depression or anxiety, but it's not the least bit surprising.

I don't think I'd go so far as to say I'm an expert at being a student, but I've figured out many ways to keep myself calm, (sort of) cool, and collected during these trying times. It only makes sense for me to write a "Back-to-school survival guide" (of sorts).  I'll break them up into a series of posts starting with:

1. Back to school style guide.
2. Back to school guide to low stress.
3. Back to school study guide.
4. Back to school health and wellness guide.
5. Back to school guide to social lives.

Again, I'm not an expert, but rather an idiot who's made enough mistakes in life to fill a book. The good thing about mistakes is that, more times than not, we learn from them. I've discovered a lot of valuable tips and tricks to surviving school simply by doing the wrong things. Education is an awesome thing, but also can put you through the ringer. On the first day of school, just a take a deep breath and go into the new year with a clear mind!

Peace and LOVE. XXX
(and good luck!)

My Favorite Things from MAY

The spring has been crazy and May has been the craziest month so far. I haven't blogged hardly at all lately so I'll re-cap this month with my favorite things that came about during it!

I absolutely love this dress! I needed something to wear for an event the next day and wanted something classic and floral. Goodwill had already closed, so I was hunting at JCP for the perfect frock and discovered this gem! I wore this floral shift dress with an old pair of my mom's shoes (which she will never see again.) I Painted my toes orange because it went too perfectly with the flowers on the dress. For the accessories, I mixed metals: gold elephant bracelet, copper zodiac sign necklace, gold arrow earrings, and silver rings! All in all, this one my favorite outfits (this month!)

Ahhhhh, baby pears. They were just begging to be poached! This month I poached four pears in Chardonnay and Ginger Ale! I added a lemon peel, cinnamon stick, and 3 whole cloves to the mixture along with a bit of sugar. When the pears were done poaching I fished them (and all the spices) out of the pot and let the liquid reduce. Meanwhile I candied some pecans by dipping the tops in melted butter and then brown sugar. I used my cooking torch to melt the sugars. The yellow stuff in this pic is just cold vanilla custard spread out on half of the plate. Once the liquids had reduced to a kind of thin syrup, I drizzled it on the other half of the plate. This dessert was heaveeeeeen and my best creation this month!

This month I had a pickup installed in my guitar and I was so nervous about it. I was worried that look of my beautiful acoustic Takamine would be distorted. Luckily the guy at my local music shop said that nothing would show on the outside of the guitar and he could put the dials inside! She came back beautiful, so the next step was to find an amp. I stopped at my friends pawn shop to look for an amplifier and they had a Marshall Mini Stack in great condition! Not only did it have a great and clean sound, but they had it priced at $150! Normally these run $400-$450. This good investment in May will benefit me forever (or until I accidentally blow the amp.) The moral of this story? Pawn shops and thrift stores before retail!

I was at World Market about a week ago going absolutely crazy buying coffee and cookies and such when I came across this organic sparkling drink. I had the Lemon Flower Sipp soda and it had such an interesting flavor. It was lemony and grassy and floral and just really really delicious. If your looking for something refreshing I think this is it! I need to get back around to World Market just for these sodas! Also, Bon Appetit Magazine was especially wonderful this month of May. It focused on travel, and while I'm missing my sister who's exploring Italy now, it was a perfect read. 

I was having lunch with a friend this month, and she suggested a place called "Slim Chickens." As I was looking at the menu, I realized that I had never had chicken and waffles and couldn't quite call myself a real southerner until I had. The fact that the waffles were shaped like Texas was the deciding factor. I actually (much to my surprise) really liked the chicken and waffles! There was no sauce that came with them so I just used ketchup, which was not bad, but I think maple syrup would've been better. This was one of the best discoveries of May for me!





Peace and love. XXX