Just a Peek

Since there’s still a few finishing touches left for my new room at college, I thought I’d give you guys just a sneak peek of what it looks like…

 

Hopefully you like it! Of course it has chevron and dots!

New Touches

My room at home is a never ending work in progress. Hopefully others feel this way about their space, but it seems like the to-do list for this space never truly ends. It’s like I work in little vignettes in this space, completely one fraction of it, while the other parts sit in mindless chaos.

I’ve perfected my bedding, my curtains, and other aspects. They have sat finished for a year now, while other portions of my room are just being worked on now for the first time.

On Pinterest this picture from my bedding is quite popular (it shocks me actually). I didn’t think it would be so popular honestly. The feel of my room is supposed to be a little cottagey mixef with a smidge of nautical (living in Colorado, I feel a little odd going full on nautical). It's a theme of white, navy blue, and yellow. Which is so cheerful and pretty!

The area above my dresser (and on my dresser), has been a mix match of utter disasters. This summer (the little of it I got because of summer school), I wanted it to finally be a little bit more put together. So here is the space above my dresser, the newest portion to be finally finished. 

So this is what it looks like. I didn't have a before picture, but it was pretty bad. 

On the wall I have a canvas that I just covered in chevron fabric from Hobby Lobby, painted a C and stuck it on it. Then I have a plain cheap white frame from Target filled with yellow dot scrapbook paper (Hobby Lobby), and a small round navy blue mirror from Target (last summer). 

My dresser is usually the storage spot for most of my beauty products and makeup, so I bought the cute white metal bins from World Market (14.99 each). They hold my body sprays, dry shampoo, brush cleaner, everyday makeup bag, makeup remover wipes, toner, and other odds and ends. I absolutely adore my Ikea candle holder/pencil cup to hold my makeup brushes. 

In front I have a ceramic bird tray from World Market to hold my favorite perfumes. I also have the yellow World Market Egg holder to hold earrings, bobby pins, hair ties, and lip balm (these are so handy for storage in college). And of course I have the current candle I'm burning from Bath and Body Works (Lilac Blossom). 

Overall I love it! It's functional, cute, and finished! 

Make sure to read this post the first time about my room at home! 

Apartment Mood Board

Now that I've finally purchased the Urban Outfitters chevron duvet (at a deeply discounted price thankfully!), I've been playing around slightly more seriously about what I want my apartment to look like. I'm pretty sure since most of my stuff is red, that it's going to be red, black, and white. But I've really been loving vintage and more feminine details though, so I've been working on ways to get more of a cottage feel to it.
 

I'm not totally sure how I'll incorporate that vintage/cottagey feel to the room, but here is my latest mood board playing around with some things I already have, and incorporating items that I've been lusting over. Using the Urban Outfitters duvet as a starting point, I knew I want to incorporate red into the room for warmth and to cheer it up. And of course the easiest way to do that in a dorm room or apartment is through the accessories.

 

Using the Urban Outfitters duvet as a starting point, I knew I want to incorporate red into the room for warmth and to cheer it up. And of course the easiest way to do that in a dorm room or apartment is through the accessories.
 

In this mood board you'll see the Vera Bradley Poppy Fields Ribbon Board (which sadly is discontinued, but you might be able to find it on Ebay). Not only is Poppy Fields one of my most favorite VB prints of all time, but it also is a great sort of cottagey/vintage look that I love, that also incorporates red. I see this going over my desk and holding important pictures, notes, and coupons for me.

You'll also notice the polka dot pillow. I know that somewhere polka dots are going to be incorporated. I have to PB Teen dottie bins that might live on top of my dresser or nightstand. I also have a small accent pillow that my mom made me that could reside on my bed (or I also have the Aztec pillow from Ikea, but I'm not sure if that print will look good with the chevron).

It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but at the top are these adorable twig frames with birds on them from World Market. I actually already purchased one last month because I love the shabby chic/ cottage vibe. I see this residing on my nightstand with a picture of my dog or maybe my boyfriend in it.

It's hard to miss the giant scrolly Ikea mirror. I love the vintage look of it, and I hear it's lightweight, making it potentially good for hanging in my apartment. I think it's important to have light reflecting in my drab space too. I envision this over my dresser.

The bird garland from World Market has been calling me for months. The birds are chalkboard and I love how fun these are. I'm not totally sure what to do with them, but one potential option could be to hand this over my full size bed in place of a monogram. Though I'm not sure if this is long enough, so we'll see.

The chalkboard from World Market sneaked its way into my monthly lusts. I love this chalkboard a lot and I can envision cute quotes, notes, and pictures on this. I'm not sure how heavy it is, but I love the white vintage-y frame. Plus the price just can't be beat.

So that's the image that I have in my head currently, but nothing is ever set into stone. Let me know if you have any ideas for my apartment!

I Love Chevron Bedding!

Hi guys!

So I finally made a decision about what bedding to buy for my apartment this fall! I know, I had quite the problem narrowing down what I wanted!

 

Part of what made me go in this direction was price. I decided to get the black and white chevron duvet from Urban Outfitters, the one that I’ve been obsessing over since February (or probably before that honestly). Anyway, last night when I checked my email I saw that Urban Outfitters was running a promo code for $15 off a $75 purchase (when I checked my email, the promo code was about to expire in less than an hour, lucky me). Which is not notable, but I’m a sucker for any time of sale so I decided to look into it. I did, and low and behold, Urban is having a HUGE bedding sale that is taking place right now! I was literally shocked when I saw the prices!

The full/queen duvet that I wanted was no longer $89 like it had been previously, but now on sale for $69! And the shams (which are ridiculously expensive for nothing in my opinion)went from $34 to $29. Then with my $15 off, the total came down to $86! With free shipping too! So when you look at it, I got the shams for free, which is pretty awesome! I can’t wait to get the bedding and decide other aspects of my room now!

Be sure to check out Urban’s bedding sale because the prices are crazy good right now!

How Incorporate Chevron Into Your Dorm!

Hi guys!

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little obsessed with chevron. I find myself wanting to incorporate the print into pretty much every facet of my life. Chevron pedicure? Dying for one! Chevron tank? I’m obsessed with mine from Lizard Thicket. Chevron phone cases, makeup bags, wallets, purses, totes, and agendas? They all call my name like you wouldn’t believe. And of course when it comes to incorporating it into my apartment for my senior year, I find it really hard to resist.

Now I’m by no means the authority on prints, and in the end I’d say do what makes you happy, but I think there are definitely tasteful and great ways to use chevron, and then there are ways that aren’t so great.

Chevron is a busy pattern. I love how graphic and clean, but interesting it is, but if you’ve looked at chevron fabric, I hope it didn’t give you a headache like it did me. The pattern needs to be broken up into pieces, or to have scattered throughout. Don’t make it look like chevron threw up all over your room.

So some chevron looks that I think are appropriate and pretty for college dorms and apartments just have small doses of chevron. Think throw pillows, a couple picture frames, a bulletin board, a blanket, a duvet cover, or a rug. But please, don’t do all of those things!

Chevron looks great for just a little pop of interest. Make sure to mix patterns! Mix it with dots, solids, ikats, or florals! But please never put chevron right next to something zebra. It never works.

Here are some of my favorite ways to incorporate this ever-popular print:

-Make DIY chevron wall art. You can either paint (use stencils from online for the cleanest lines) or fabric. My little made the one with the A and I made the one with the C below.

-Throw pillows are some of my favorite looks with chevron. This is my bedroom at home with a navy chevron throw pillow.

-Bulletin boards are great too! They can be homemade or storebought (you know when I talked about chevron making  you dizzy? Well my bulletin board made me dizzy looking at it, try using larger chevron patterns)

-Chevron bedding is adorable too! Just make sure to break it up with solid or small printed sheets, small printed throw pillows (think dots or small simple florals).


American Made Bedding

Isn't that bedding just lovely?

I hope this helps a little bit with the chevron craze. I know I want it incorporate it some way into my apartment, so we'll see what happens. Let me know what your plans for your dorm rooms are.

Are you obsessed with chevron and dorm design? Take a look at this post on some favorite chevron products, my senior year mood boards, and my apartment to-do list!

 

Apartment To-Do List

Hi guys!

I may have been only out of summer school for a couple of days, but already I’m planning for the apartment I’ll move into here in the coming months. I’m super excited, let me tell you! Mostly because I love decorating new spaces!

Awhile back, I was visiting my little (who currently lives in that future apartment) and I snapped a couple of pictures of my soon-to-be room so I can have an idea of the space I'm working with! As you can see, I've been having quite a bit of fun with my new favorite app, A Beautiful Mess!

 

 

 

So from the pictures above you can see that I'm going to have lots of space (a full size bed, a room that is an L-shape, a walk-in closet, and a huge bathroom all to myself!). The tricky part about all that space is making a big impact without sacrificing a lot of money or style.

As of now, here's a little checklist of things that I'd like to buy, make, to do to my future college room to make it feel like home:

-I need to buy some cozy, soft bedding that makes a statement! The bed is the first thing you see when you walk in, so the more colors/impact it can make, the better!

-Lots of cool wall art/décor that doesn't fade into the plain white walls.

-Lots of fun pillows on the bed

-2-3 lamps in the room to bring in lots of light

-Maybe some curtains to bring in more color and keep some of the eastern facing sun out.

-Put the dresser back in the bedroom, and make a nice area for putting on my makeup and storage of my perfume.

-Create a relaxing, nice study space at the desk.

-Include personal touches like a monogram decal and frames around the room.

-Try to keep the room warm and inviting

-Have a set color scheme that doesn't sway too much.

-Include lots of storage in the closet and in the room for my school stuff, makeup, clothes, accessories, DVDs, and other endless odds and ends.

That's about it for the checklist right now. I'm really stuck on bedding and a color scheme for the room.

I'm stuck between a nice, clean cottage color scheme of gray, yellow and white. And between a red, black, and white color scheme. Also yellow, gray, black, and white is an option as well. I have the most things in red, black, and white, but I really love gray and white.

Let me know if you have any ideas for my room or suggestions for a color scheme! I'd love to hear!

Take a look at some of my bedding contenders and mood boards too! I need all the opinions I can get!

My Summer Dorm Room

Hi guys!

Curious as to how I decorated my single dorm room for my six week summer school stay? Well, here's a quick look!

 

I used things that I already owned from over the course of the last three years, mixing some things in and out so I wouldn't get too bored with what I was using this past school year in my sorority house. The key was not to go too overboard, since it's only six weeks, but make it feel home-y and cozy enough so it's a refuge  from being in class for four hours everyday (summer classes don't play, guys).

 

As you can tell, I used my PB Teen dottie duvet cover with my basic red Walmart sheets. I think this combination looks really sharp against white walls. I added only two new things to this room: the Ikea throw pillow on my bed and a chevron frame from Hobby Lobby on my bookcase (which is yet to get an actual picture in it haha).

 

Because I wanted to make sure my ample supply of wall space wasn't too barren, I used ribbon and hung some of my favorite Instagram pictures from them with clothespins (an idea that is waaaaay harder than it looks, seriously I cheated and used tacs on the walls...shhhhh don't tell on me haha).

 

But it came together really nice! Plus this room was a gem to begin with! It has an adorable dormer window and a slanted ceiling, making me feel like I'm tucked into a little attic apartment. Plus it has a an accent wall and the walls are actually not white, but a kind of yellow, off-white.

So that's my room for summer school! I also have my own bathroom, a long hallway, and a closet too. Seriously, I'm so in love with this room.

 

 

 

Senior Year Mood Boards

Hi everyone!

So I’m still completely stuck as far as what bedding to get for next year, but to visualize it a tad bit more, I whipped together some mood boards super fast. And I’m still completely confused.

Let me know which one you like better!

The first one is centered around the Walmart comforter with daisies, zinnias, and poppies. The main colors are going to be yellow, gray, black, and white. I'll incorporate chevron and dots into the room, as a well as a black monogram wall decal. 

The second option has chevron as a bigger focus with the chevron duvet cover from Urban Outfitters. In this option, red, black, and white are the main colors. I'll have red sheets from Target, use my Vera Bradley Deco Daisy pillows, and incorporate dots as well. 

The second option has chevron as a bigger focus with the chevron duvet cover from Urban Outfitters. In this option, red, black, and white are the main colors. I'll have red sheets from Target, use my Vera Bradley Deco Daisy pillows, and incorporate dots as well. 

Wanna see a couple of other bedding contenders? Take a look here and now see how utterly confused I am! Also, take a look at a little to-do list I made about all the things I want to incorporate in this room!

 

Let me know which one you prefer! 

So I Need a Little Bit of Help...

With my bedding choices.

If you know me, I’m incredibly indecisive. Especially when it comes to bedding. And even more so when it comes to finally deciding if I’m going to have bedding that has red in it or yellow (for reasons that would take too long to explain, I’m not a fan of red and yellow together…it instantly makes me think of McDonald’s).

So I need some help.

You know how I was planning on doing the chevron duvet in black and white from Urban Outfitters with pops of red?

Urban Outfitters

 

Well, then I saw this comforter (at Walmart of all places), and was instantly drawn to it. The cool thing about this on (besides being about $150 cheaper), is that I could still use a black and white chevron in throw pillow and other details around the room).

 

Which would you pick?

Decorating Your Dorm Year to Year

Hi guys!

So earlier this week you saw some of my early brainstorming for my senior year apartment I’ll be living in next fall. I’m super excited for it, to say the least. Anyway, it got me to thinking about some advice I have for college students that are preparing for their living situations next year. After having gone through like three multiple times before, these are things that I have done or wished I had done before moving into my new space from the old year.

1.      Have a Plan

It’s so important to know where you are living for the next year. Sign up for your new dorm, house, or apartment early so you can start to plan what kind of things you’ll need, and what you want to decorate. If possible, find a floor plan of your space (many colleges and apartments offer floor plans of their rooms online, so be on the lookout). This will help you prepare for about how big your space will be, where windows, doors, and closets are located, and any other notable things to plan for.

2.     Decide the Theme

If you are matching your room décor to your roommate’s, figure out a theme (nautical, Victoria’s Secret, flowers, etc). If you are just planning your own space, decide on the colors and feel you want it to be. Find something that inspires you and then design around it (usually for college spaces, I’d recommend centering it around your bedding, since that’s the biggest element in a small room). For instance, I have my heart set on the Urban Outfitters chevron duvet in black and white, so I know that I’ll have a black, white, and pops of red theme.

3.     Make of a List of Things to Buy

Once you know what your space will look like and what theme you want your space to have, make a list of things to buy. My advice to poor college students is to try to pick a theme that allows you to use most of the stuff you already have. It would break my bank to decide I don’t want to use any of my red stuff anymore, so I know I should stick to my same colors I’ve used the past three years. If you know you’ll need new bedding, pots and pans, plates, and other kitchen items, break it down into several months of buying things. Don’t save it all for August right before school because that can kill your budget. For example, I’m planning on buying a duvet and an insert here in the spring, and then buying the rest of my apartment items throughout the summer. If you are moving from a dorm to an apartment or house, make sure you discuss with your roommates who is purchasing staples like pots, pans, kitchen utensils, bathroom shower curtains, TVs, coffee makers, and big things like that.

4.    Pack Efficiently

I know this is harping on this subject early, but remember at the end of this semester when you pack up your stuff you currently use, try to pack intelligently. Pack your kitchen/eating items together (don’t forget to label!!), bathroom things together, bedding together, and so on. Pack the things you will want to use over the summer together too, so you don’t have to go through each box looking for things like your iPhone charger. It makes next fall when you go back to school so much easier!

5.     Watch Sales!

If the bedding you’ve been eyeing goes on sale in April, jump on it. Don’t always wait until school starts because that’s when things get picked over. However, if you don’t absolutely love it, know that new things will come out over the summer just for kids that are going to college.

Do you have any advice for preparing for next year? What’s the biggest decorating changes between living in a dorm versus an apartment or house?

Senior Year Apartment

Hi guys!

I don’t know about most colleges, but at my school, the time to decide where to live for next year has come and past. It seems like the rush for housing seems to come earlier and earlier.

Anyway, I love planning what my room will look like. As you probably already know from previous posts, I love trying to come up with new fresh looks for my dorm rooms. It’s something like a fresh slate that always gets me super excited!

For next year, my living situation will be much different than years past. Next year I will be living off campus in an apartment with one of my littles! I’m super excited for this change! Seeing as how it will be my last semester at my college campus (I’ll be student teaching next spring, hopefully in my hometown), this will be a great transition into adulthood. The other things about this that I can’t wait for: my own bedroom and bathroom! Guys, this will be the first time in my life that I’ll have both!

So you can imagine my excitement!

Another reason I’m really excited: that means I have lots of planning and decorating to do! While it’s still early on, here are some things I’m hoping to see in my future space! Here are some things that are bringing me inspiration for next year:


Sources: Duvet, Monogram, Home Print, Inspirational Poster, Chalkboard (Urban Orchard Interiors), Dottie Mugs

Spring Semester Room Updates!

Hey everyone!

I just finished up my first week back from Christmas vacation, and I wanted to share with you some new room updates I made!

I don’t know about you, but I hate looking at the same stuff for months on end. When it comes to decorating, I like change, I like incorporating new things into my space so it’s less stagnant and it keeps me interested and excited. The changes can be simple (my new scent for my Wallflower: Frosted Cupcake!) or more major like a bedding switch. But what I want you to keep in mind, is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to put a fresh new look and energy in your old, tired space! Something that I know college students can struggle with! 

The first dramatic change to my room at school is my bulletin board! If you remember, I had some picture frame decals and a bulletin my big made me. While it was lovely, I wanted something that didn't have so much white space! Something more dramatic and interesting to look at! 

Here's a little reminder of the before!

And this is what it looks like now! 

Pretty dramatic, right? So the picture before doesn't illustrate it really well, but behind my bulletin board and frame decals, was a cork board that they painted white. I guess in older homes (like my sorority house), it was pretty common to just build cork into the walls, since they are plaster and pretty much impossible to put nails or tacs into. 

Over break I saw this picture on Pinterest of a chevron board. First I love chevron, and I love bulletin boards, and I like the look of having like an inspiration board. 

From AnntheAdventurer

And I got to thinking about the cork on my wall, so I decided to change it up a bit. I bought this fabric from a local fabric outlet (it is a black chevron from Riley Blake, though if you want to search for it). I basically bought two yards (I just had a enough!), used push pins to cover it, then simply lined it with red ribbon! So far it's holding up nicely! And while the pictures and things on it are a work in progress, I put up some of my favorite pictures and notes and other things I love! The chevron is so perfect!

There were other changes I made too. Since chevron plus damask would equal a major migraine from all the busy prints, I decided to change out my bedding. If you know one thing about me, it's that I love bedding. Because I love the combination of dots and chevron, I decided to use the PB Teen dottie duvet I purchased last spring! 

I like how it grounds the chevron and isn't as visually crazy as my damask comforter last spring. Plus, if I have to recommend bedding for a dorm, it would definitely be PB Teen bedding. It's definitely worth the price! I arranged the pillows a little differently, I eliminated some as well, but overall, the all were things I already owned, so the change was free! 

You'll also notice in this picture that I brought in a different lamp as well. Since zebra and chevron are like weird cousins of each other, I thought I'd give my eyes a rest and exchange the zebra lamp for this plain black one I bought at Target a couple of years ago. 

Here is another shot of the lamp and my bedding. 

Other changes I made her all sort of little, but they are definitely fun ones! 

 On the shelf beside my bed I added this cute little cupcake picture holders from Big Lots. I love cupcakes, and I love Valentine's Day decor, so I thought these were a cute little addition. Plus the have red and dots! 

 On the mirror on the back of my door, I added some cute little window gel clings for Valentine's Day. I love the little ladybugs (Hobby Lobby) and the little cupcakes (Target dollar section!). 

And then a really fun addition to my dresser area (which is where I put my makeup on), is Max. My little ceramic doggie that holds my makeup brushes. I saw this idea on Youtube, and loved it! Basically, I filled up Max with glass beads (mine were from Joanne's and I bought three of the little mesh bags), and then I just stuck my brushes in there. I love him! Max came from Target's Valentine's Day table decor area and was $14.99. 

Those are the changes so far to my dorm room, but I love them! All were very inexpensive, but definitely help get this spring semester off to the right start! 

The Reveal: Junior Year Room!

You may have wondered when I would finally reveal what my room in my sorority house looks like. And honestly, I have no excuse for why it took like six weeks to get pictures up. But, I think it’s time.

Sorry for the blurry iPhone pictures, but you know, that’s how it goes sometimes.

But anyway, this picture shows my little corner of the room. I decided to arrange my massive amounts of pillows like a daybed, which I actually really like. It makes it feel less dormy and more cute. As you can see, there was a slight change of plans when it came to bedding. See, the white and black damask 5 piece bedding set cost only $39. Yes!! You read that right. A five piece set: comofter, bedskirt, sham, and two throw pillows for less than $40. With fast shipping (less than a week from Canada). And I love it.

 

Here’s a closer look (still blurry, sorry) at all my pillows. Normally, I would tell college students that this many throw pillows is slightly annoying. But, I’m addicted. I love all of them. Maybe it’s because my mom made four of them (the dottie, zebra, and two Vera Bradley ones) and my big made the other. So all of them have emotional ties to them. But I think they really are adorable. You'll also notice on the far right of the picture is the paddle my sister made me! I love it! And some frame decals with pictures of my family, boyfriend, and pets are there too!!

 

Here’s a slightly closer look at my dottie bulletin board (Hobby Lobby $5!), the sorority letters I made, and my Keep Calm and Carry On poster. I love this wall. And my zebra lamp.

 

 

And here is my metal shelf next to my bed. Because space is a premium in my small room, I decided to forgo the desk and just to a shelf, since there are a plenty of places to study around the house if I need a solid surface (although I’m usually the type of person that likes to sit on the floor or in my bed to do homework). So you can see my laptop and next to it a couple of Vera Bradley magazine holders that hold my school notebooks and folders. Below on the bottom shelf, are my two PB Teen dottie bins. The one on the right holds DVDS, and the one on the left holds all of my beauty sprays and lotions. The top shelf is home to a cute dottie frame from Hobby Lobby, a mug full of pens and pencils, alarm clock, and my lamp!

 

 

Across the room is my closet, which houses my dresser as well. Ignore the fan and my roommates random blue chair. The black curtains came with the room, so I just took some ribbon I had and tied them back. The space above the closets was the absolute perfect place for me to put the wildflower wall decals I bought from Ikea. That maybe my favorite part of my room.



Here is a closer look at my dresser. I knew when moving in that this area was going to be my dressing area. So I bought the red egg crate from Target to hold earrings, jewerly, bobby pins, and hair ties. I also have two more Hobby Lobby frames on display (I promise they do now have pictures in them! The one on the right has a picture of my boyfriend and the left one has a picture of one of my guinea pigs). I have a red mug that holds my makeup brushes, a fake orchid (the only kind I can keep alive), my pin box, and my Vera Bradley makeup pouch.

And here is a picture of our decorated door and you can see more of the clothes side of my closet.

So overall, I'm in love with my room. I think it came together really nice! My storage sysem is working great (which I'll probably go into more detail here soon in another post). And I got rave reviews about it during recruitment's house tours.

I hope you all enjoyed!

How to Dress Your Dorm Desk

Hey everyone!

An important aspect to every dorm room, without a doubt, is your study space. It's where you are going to write papers (hopefully not all night), do homework, read, make projects, Facebook stalk old high school friends, and procrastinate for hours on Pinterest. Or paint your nails if you are like me. It's a place that also can serve as your eating station as well.

So, clearly, it's a space that needs to be versatile and organized. First, let's take a look back at my first two dorm rooms.

My freshman year, my desk served my main computer space, my study area, and my nightstand. So, as you can see, I have my yellow lamp, three dottie pencil cups, and my printer. I dressed this space mostly to serve as my study center. The key to it being a successful place to study, was keeping the accessories and stuff around it to a minimum. My ribbon board held important pieces of paper (like the code for my universal remote for my TV haha), which was also a great utility piece above my desk. By not covering the entire desk surface, it allowed me to spread out my important papers and assignments as I worked, a must especially for big projects and papers. The lamp is something that also helped me a lot. It not only gave me good light to read, but if I were stuck working as my roommate went to be, I could work in our bedroom without disrupting her.



This is my desk at the beginning of my sophomore year. As you can probably instantly tell, this desk has a lot in common with the desk above: like the memo board, the lamp, my laptop, and printer. But some new additions included the crate (which held my textbooks, such a good idea when you are short on space!), my sorority pin box, earring holder, and some fall smelling lotion. This desk space was definitely a busy one. Since my sophomore dorm was not suite style, this was home to everything!

Later in the year, I moved my above bed shelf over it...(sorry for the super blurry picture and the massive amounts of stuff on my desk)

So see how I placed this shelf over it? I actually liked this set up better mostly because it felt more built in, plus having my DVDs, lotion, and books in those bins above my desk made it more organized and easier to get to. As you can see from this picture, the dorm room desk has to serve not only as a study space, but it also serves at my eating space (Girl Scout cookies, Pringles, and Dr. Pepper) and I have my nailpolish there too.
 

Some desk ideas:

-A cup/mug/holder for your pens and pencils.
-Easy access to your laptop and printer
-Lamp (I prefer the yellow drum shade lamp over the red desk lamp)
-Memo board/bulletin board
-A houseplant, fake flowers (on my printer above is my fake orchid and to the left of my laptop is flowers I got for Valentine's Day)

Inside your desk, try to organize them in ways that make sense. For instance, for the longest time I stored my food and snacks in my desk. However, that doesn't really make sense. So I moved them out and place my textbooks in the drawers, and moved my snacks into one of the red crates. In the middle desk drawer, I always put EVERYTHING I own in there. So think about investing in one of those little jewery comparment/holder things.

Find a system that works for you, if you really like doing your makeup at your desk, have a mirror on hand, or a drawer dedicated to some of your makeup. If you are like me and paint your nails or eat at your desk, put food or nail polish in a drawer too.

Some people prefer studying on their beds, so then change accordingly.

Just remember to have fun and to try out new accessories. I love having my desk space me a clean, organized, and fun area because studying isn't always that fun.

What are your desk must haves?



Back to School...Bath and Body Works Style!

Hey everyone! The days are counting down until I go back! Only 13 days! That's less than two weeks!!

Anyway, I'm steadily buying more necessities for going back to college! Now, I think I'm probably in a small number here, but Bath and Body Works is always one of the places that I must go for my college shopping. I'm sure you're probably thinking that I am insane. Why is that one of my must-have back to school places?

First, I love their wallflowers. And if you have been in very many dorms, you know that they are kinda smelly. Even if you don't have rotten food, lots of trash, and dirty clothes everywhere. So in my book, they are a complete must-have. I like their wallflowers (essentially plug-ins) because they are have the best selection of scents, in my opinion. From the ones I picked up (ahhh I can't wait to show you them!) to their Christmas, they are the very best. Plus, from my two years of experience, they last the longest, are the strongest, and they are the cutest (the bulbs are often coverd in little prints...so like snowflakes for Christmas time, leaves for fall, etc. And the plug in portion comes plain, like a flower, or in special season themed shapes like pumpkins, ladybugs, or Christmas trees).

So for my back to college collection, I picked up a plain white plug-in (they do have all sorts of shapes and colors. They also have ones with nightlights, which work fantastic for bathrooms or vanity areas!) along with three bulbs for $20. Of course, I was so excited and happy to see that they were getting in their fall scents, which are without a doubt, my favorites! I had such a hard time deciding, but I opted for Leaves, Marshmallow Fireside, and Pumpkin Cupcake (seriously, go out and smell this! It's amazing!).

Since I just couldn't resist all those amazing fall scents, I also picked up some for my car!

I love their scentportables! Not only do they have adorable little holders, but once again, those scents are just my favorite! Currently I have a ladybug in my car, but I decided to switch it up with this cute little skunk holder. Isn't he cute? I also picked up three of the refills in Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Leaves, and Marshmallow Fireside. I can't wait for my car to smell like fall! Of course Bath and Body Works had a deal on these too: it was buy 3 and get 1 free.

I also stocked up on a few other college must-haves: a loofa, mini lotion, and a Pocket Bac





I personally love loofas for showering, and I know they harbor all sorts of germs and things, but I used the one I bought before school last summer, all year. By far, Bath and Body Works has my favorite ones. The Pocket Bac I got is in Pink Daisy (I mostly got it because I liked the ladybug) and the mini lotion in Country Chic (my favorite year-round scent!) are staples for my backpack!

I know that this school year I don't want to visit the health center as often (five times last year! Compared to zero my freshman year!), so having the Pocket Bac is perfect after being in class.

So I know that wasn't your sterotypical college shopping trip, but I tell you, these things are a must! Or at least are fun to have!

So...do you love the fall scents as much as I do? What are some of your shower must-haves for college?

Thanks for reading!