Spring Cleaning: Nail Polish Collection

Hey guys!

It should be no surprise that I love nail polish.

Unfortunately it's something that I've always struggled with storing. I personally have never felt compelled to invest in those wall racks you see in salons. But recently I got an idea about a cute, easy way to store my rather large collection of colors.

Hobby Lobby had these small photo boxes on sale for 50% off this past weekend and they just so happened to have this cute navy geometric print in stock. I decided that four boxes would definitely fit my collection and would make my book case look a lot more organized and cute!

I think it came out really good and I just put a few things that I had just sitting around next to them to make my shelf look a little bit more put together. Also, I think you'll notice just a small fraction of my always growing candle collection beside the boxes...

Anyway, here's a quick look in the boxes. Three of them have polish in them and the fourth is actually empty! It'll eventually probably begin to store more polish eventually though.

This box is my most full since it stores mostly my reds, pinks, and purples.

The next box holds my grays, greens, and blues.

The final box is where I put polish I just purchased, currently loving, or planning on wearing. I think it's good to have a separate box for this purpose because often times I forget about certain colors I've just purchased. I also store my nail polish remover in here too so it's out of site.

How do you store your nail polish? Do you prefer racks or having your bottles out of the way?

Spring Cleaning: My Everyday Makeup

Hi guys!

I'm really excited because right now I'm on spring break, so that makes me feel like I finally have time to take care of so many things in my life and relax!

One of the things that I've already tackled is reorganizing my daily makeup collection.

It had started to get a little out of hand and I wanted something that didn't look nearly as cluttery. This past Saturday, my mom and I were shopping at the store Garden Ridge and I found a couple of these cosmetics drawers. Although they aren't exactly the heavy quality of something from the Container Store, they were only $20 each and they fit all my everyday makeup a little more.

I love how clean and put together my dresser top now looks thanks to these drawers.

Let's take a super quick look at how I organized these four drawers:

The first one is dedicated to my liquid products. In here I have:

-Aveeno Smart Essentials Moisturizer

-First Aid Beauty Daily Moisturizer

-Urban DeSlick Spray

-Covergirl Foundation

The next drawer is dedicated to my face products like foundation and blush such as my It Cosmetics CC Cream, Smashbox CC Cream, Rockateur Blush, and Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer.

Another drawer is dedicated to my eye makeup like primers, eye shadow, mascara, and eyeliner.

And the final drawer is actually kind of empty, but right now it holds a few hair bands, lip balms, and cotton rounds.

Having my everyday makeup organized in drawers instead of a makeup bag just makes me feel so much more permanent and less nomadic, plus I love being able to see everything when I'm getting ready. Plus these cute little drawers give me a chance to display my pretty perfume bottles on top of it too, which makes me so happy!

My Senior Year Apartment

I’ve been missing here for the last few weeks. It makes me kind of sad because I’ve just been so busy with school, sorority recruitment, and basically just enjoying the beginning portions of my last semester of living away at college. September is literally my favorite month, and I can't believe it's almost over! Where in the world did it go?

For the most part, I think my bedroom in my apartment is completed and I wanted to share it with everyone! Of course all rooms are always works in progress, but so far I'm in love with all of the space I have and how it's coming together. If you follow my blog, you know that I've been obsessing over decorating this space for months, so it's so much fun to see how it's come together.

 

We'll start with the view from my door! This is my bed. As you can see, I have the black and white chevron bedding from Urban Outfitters. So far I love it. It's a heavier fabric (more of a denim) and it holds up so well. I have red sheets from Kmart (finding red sheets are so hard!).

I hung up a vinyl monogram decal above my bed, and I love the interest it gives that wall. It's so classy!

 

My mom made the three dot pillows on the bed. One of my favorite details on the red and white polka dot ones, is that they are lined with crochet lace trim!

 

Looking at the nightstand (by the way, all the dark wood furniture was included with my apartment!), I have a chalkboard that I'm attempting to do some awesome chalk art on. This was my first attempt. My lamp came from Target two years ago and of course I have my alarm clock. Sorry for the cords you see, those are my phone charger and the cord to my little mini fan. It gets so hot sometimes!

From my past rooms, you probably remember my PB Teen dottie bins. One holds my Bath and Body Works collection (wallflowers, soaps, Scentportables, and other random odds and ends). The other holds my DVDS.

 

Here's another look that shows a few of my sorority paddles.

 

I've learned that I am most definitely not a handy person when it came to hanging my curtains. Keeping the intense eastern sun out of my face in the mornings were a huge priority, but hanging these curtains was way passed my limited about of DIYer skills. But, they are still hanging, not too crooked, and hung almost perfectly where they touch the floor. I bought them from Walmart.

 

 

Looking at the other wall beside my bed is familiar wall art: IKEA Wildflower wall decals! I had them in my room last year and adored them, so this year I bought another set. I just love them! You can also see Dottie, my ladybug Pillowpet hanging out on my red storage cube.

 

Turning around, here's the look at the other side of my room. I have my dresser and desk over there. And in case you are wondering, the leopard print box underneath my dresser is my nail polish collection! This proves to be the most convenient hiding spot for the box!

Here's a closer look at my dresser:

 

 

My TV is a Christmas present a few years ago from Target. I hung up chalkboard bird garland from World Market (I think they are adorable). I have a mason jar with fake fall flowers, a pumpkin candle from Bath and Body Works, my bird tray with my favorite perfume. And a bird from with a picture of my dog (also from World Market). In case you are curious about my dresser organization, the top drawer is dedicated to underwear and socks. Second drawer is pajamas and camis. Third drawer is shorts. Fourth drawer is jeans and pants.

 

Beside my dresser is my desk. Of course I have my laptop and my printer. But I also have a couple of Vera Bradley magazine holders that hold my textbooks. A red desk lamp, a couple decorative cupcake photo holders, chevron frame, Anthropologie mug with pens, and my Victoria's Secret mini dogs hanging out on my printer. Of course I also have a Pumpkin Cupcake candle too!

 

I also have above my desk my Vera Bradley ribbon board in Poppy Fields (boy do I miss this print!). I just have some photos and important things displayed there.

 

 

Beside my desk I put up my full length mirror, bought another storage drawer set to hold my school supplies, and on top of that I have my makeup collection. So essentially, this is my makeup area.

 

I'm lucky enough to have a walk in closet too! Here's a quick look. It's not the most organized, although I do like the hanging shelves for my cardigans and shoes.

I'm also lucky enough to have my own (huge) bathroom. I seriously don't even know how to handle this much space.

 

 

I absolutely adore my shower curtain from Ikea. I wanted to match my red dottie rug and towels that I bought from Walmart a couple of years ago. No matter where I looked, nothing matched. But Ikea had this super cute one.

I also really like having my wire shelf in my bathroom too. It hold three dottie bins that hold haircare products, makeup removing things, and body washes.

Overall I love my room! It's so spacious and it's fun to have a room to myself. I love having a walk in closet too.

What are you loving about your dorm room?

 

Agendas: Lilly Pulitzer or Vera Bradley?

Hi guys!

I know it may seem a little early to be thinking about things such as agendas for next school year, but because Lilly Pulitzer recently started pre-orders on their agendas, and Vera Bradley came out with a trio a month or two ago, I think it would be fun to compare them, especially since I’ve used a Vera agenda twice and a Lilly agenda once.

Last year I struggled with this seemingly easy decision for months, trying to decide which adorable agenda to get for my junior year in college.

I absolutely loved my experiences with my Vera Bradley agendas the two years before it, always loving the cute prints, adorable little notes about how today is something like National S'more day (they have lots of those scattered throughout the month-long views. I received tons of compliments on them, and was super willing to pay the $18 (I just looked that up and I'm sure I paid along the lines of $25 for it, or am I just going crazy?). The cuteness level is sky high on these little gems.

Then last year I learned about Lilly Pulitzer (hey, I'm from Colorado, the nearest store is in Dallas as far as I know), and heard about the massive following of those agendas. So I decided to do something different and buy a Lilly one. I totally loved it, and still use it for my summer classes. Not only is it adorable, but I love how the months vary in different designs, that there are lines to write on for the day/week views, and that once again, the cuteness can't be measured. I received tons of compliments on it as well.

So if you are thoroughly confused now as to what agenda is better or what will make your college life easier and more colorful, don't worry. I don't think you could make a wrong decision. But from a person that has used both agendas, here are the positives and negatives to each agenda.

Lilly Pulitzer Large Agenda

New Green Coronado Crab

 

I Loved:

-The variation month to month in design. I liked how October had pumpkins, May had flowers, and February had hearts in last year's. Maybe this is weird, but it made me look forward to every new month.

-It's super girly and fun. This can't be denied with all the flowers, pink, and cute little designs.

-It comes in hard-cover, which I didn't have last year. I think this is good and bad. As far as a good thing, I think it's more durable and easier to write on.

-There are so many views of days, weeks, and months in this, it's ridiculous. There's at least three different ways to view things, whether you are a big-picture person, or a day to day person.

-The stickers that come with it hard adorable. And there are additional sticker sets (Ummm...like the really cute Greek Sticker kit) that you can purchase usually for $6.

-This is a huge thing, and probably my favorite thing about this agenda: it has lines on the day view. I hate when my writing is crooked. Plus it kept it organized and less messy looking.

-There are four different sizes available, so there's one for everyone!

Didn't Love So Much:

-It doesn't come in soft-cover this year. If you are like me, and overpack your backpack, hardcover can be obnoxiously heavy when mixed with a Bio book that weighs ten pounds.

-Since I live in Colorado, the shells, lobsters, crabs, and beaches seem a little weird.

-I feel like with the cover print I had to settle last year and would have to settle this year.

-More expensive.

-There's a lot of features in it I didn't use.

-Too much white space in the day/week views. That's me personally though.

Now let's move on to Vera Bradley's...

Vera Bradley Student Agenda in "Go Wild"

 

I Loved:

-Of course the prints. If you love a print, you get a lot of it. My current favorite is Go Wild, which looks so cute!

-The cute little pictures of what special random day it is. The illustrations are the cutest.

-How colorful the day/week views are. I loved it.

-Available in soft-cover

-Inexpensive (compared to Lilly)

-Smaller in terms of thickness. Both are the same in other measurements. But this is lighter

-Cute stickers that coordinate with the print.

-New agendas have slightly more variation.

-Comes with a bookmark to keep place.

-Month tabs on sides make it easier to see

Not So Lovely:

-Usually there's only three colors. This year because they came out early with a spring 2014 agenda, there might be six.

-Previously, there was hardly any variation between months. They would just take the primary print, and then it's secondary print (like the little print inside of the VB bag or wallet) and alternate. The spring ones now have slightly more variation. So if you buy a Go Wild agenda, you will also have a few months with Lilli Bell and Plum Crazy. I like having my December be kind of Christmasy and so on, so this was the biggest draw back for me.

-No option for hardcover.

-There's one size, which maybe too big for some and too small for others.

I'd like to add that the newest Vera agendas now do have lines to write on the for days, so that's a huge addition! It's super cute!

 

So I hope that kind of breaks down my thoughts on them. I think you can't go wrong either way, and both make fantastic agenda for college students. While Target has some super cute ones, and of course many Universities give away free ones, I think you can't beat a Lilly Pulitzer or a Vera Bradley!

As for me, you may be wondering which one I'm picking up for my final year of college. In that case, I'm definitely leaning toward the Lilly Pulitzer Large Agenda in True Navy Tiger Lilly:

True Navy Tiger Lilly

 

Feel free to tell me which agenda you prefer and why? Any specific print you are loving?

Be sure to take a look at my full review of my large Lilly Pulitzer agenda for more details!

 

 

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!

What's in My PB Teen Boxes??

Hey everyone! Remember seeing these from my post on Friday?

I thought I would share the few things that I ordered from Pottery Barn Teen for my dorm room! I have less than a month (!!) until I move in, and I can't believe it. As you've probably already guessed, I loved PB Teen, especially when it comes to dorm decor. They are timeless, classy, fun, and have items that I consider to be extremely high quality.

These items may be pretty familiar, as I have talked about them quite a bit.

The first box that came brought this little cute guy:

While he may look slightly brown in the picture, he's actually black, and he has ASPIRE written across him. Which, is absolutely PERFECT for my Alpha Sigma Alpha themed room in my sorority house. Why, you may ask? Well, because our motto is "Aspire, Seek, Attain." So it's quite the catch (and luck) to find a pillow that reads aspire (they also had words like SMILE, LAUGH, LOVE) in a color that goes perfectly with my room theme.

Since aspire isn't exactly the most popular option among their pillow, it was on sale. And I consider it to have been on a major sale, since it was only $13.99. With free shipping. If you are at all familiar with PB Teen, a cross-stitched pillow for less than $20 is unheard of. Plus free shipping, which is both extremely rare and a god send, since they're shipping can be absolutely ridiculous! Originally, the pillow was $35, which I feel is extremely over-priced. Not because it isn't made well or not perfect. It's actually because is more of lumbar pillow (measures 7x15). But everything, size, shape, word, color, and most definitely price, were perfect for me. I love it. (If you wanna check it out, or it's lovely sisters that are all the original $35 price, go here!)

Here's what the next box that came carried:



Look familiar? Well, they should because I blogged about them (and have been drooling about them ever since) a little while back.

On the right is the zebra sheets that I have been dying to get for months, and on the right is my new greatest love, the dottie bin. I actually bought two dottie bins, even though one is just pictured.

Here is a closer look at the Funky Zebra Organic Sheet set. They are actually a brand new item to PB Teen, as they used to have a zebra sheet set that was a smaller print. They are usually $59 for the Twin/Twin XL size, but I bought them for $49. I'm honestly been lusting for some PB Teen sheets, especially the organic kind, for a long time. This past school year I actually used the zebra sheets from Target. While they were soft and comfy, I disliked how much they faded and grew fuzzy (hopefully you know what I'm talking about. The nubby feeling fabric gets?) after only a wash or two.

Another thing I particularly liked about these sheets, is that it is a good, classy zebra print. I know that may sound strange, but not all zebra prints are created equally.

I also splurged with those cute dottie bins:

I couldn't resist. I love PB Teen and I love dots. And I love bins. Put all those three things together, and it was a match made in heaven. I bought two for medium sized bins for $45 (on sale from $50, plus free shipping!!). I was very worried that they would discontinue them, not that I have word they will, but I always have that fear.

And with a looming deadline of free shipping on both the bins and the sheets, I felt like I needed to buy them before they could sell out. Or I'd have to pay shipping (have I mentioned how ridiculous their shipping costs are?!). These are bigger than I thought (even though I knew the measurements before buying). They are definitely going to come in handy in my tiny little room this fall. I'm planning on one holding all my DVDS and the other all my lotions, body sprays, perfumes, and makeup brush cleaner.

Here's an example showing that they are quite large. It's currently holding my MAC brush cleanser and my Vera Bradley small notebook.

 I love them so much.

So that's the goodies that I recieved this past week. Like I said, I love all of PB Teen's products, and when they are on sale, like all three of these items, it's really hard to resist.

What dorm room decor items are you lusting over? Anything you've ordered lately?

Thanks for reading!

It Came!!!!

My Lilly Pulitzer agenda, that is! It came and I'm so excited!

See, there's me excitedly hugging it! And I am completely in love with it.

In case you are wondering which one I got, it's the new soft cover version in Multi Floral Punch. I love the colors and all the flowers. It's so girly and pretty and just makes me want to go to school!

There is so much about the planner that I already love, but I think the pages that show the month, with the little sayings are by far my favorite! Here are some of the months that I think are the cutest:

September

It is the month of my birthday after all! And the whole cheers theme is perfect since this year is my 21st birthday. It reads (in case you didn't whip out your magnifying glass to read it): "Cheers to never saying goodbye to summer." Awww!

October

Words cannot describe how much I love the pumpkins for October. And I know there's no way you can see it, but there's a tiny little mouse right in the middle. Adorable. The saying is: "Pick me! I'm the prettiest pumpkin in the patch."

December

The floral is so pretty, I can't even describe it. I'm gonna have a fun first semester with all these cute prints. It says: "Buy me presents...Pretty please!"

February

February just makes me so happy! I absolutely love the hearts with chocolate and the little envelope!! Awwwwww, so sweet! Of course, the saying is just as sweet: "Chocolate covered anything, please."

May

I love the Lilly roses, to say the least. And I've already said the little saying outloud like five times because it's so fun. "Hooray, hooray it's the first of May... Outdoor parties can start today!" While I'm sure this is correct for many places in the country, I know it's not very true of Colorado, but whatever! (If this were Colorado themed it would have bitter cold wind and a snowman, honestly...not that cute. At least not in May).

July

Finally, just look at July. If this doesn't make you long for the 4th of July, I don't know what will. "Lilly in the sky with diamonds."

I can't wait for school to start to use my planner. Not only is it great for scholarly purposes, it's so freaking adorable!! I'm 100% sure I made the right decision when it came to Lilly vs. Vera this year. And who knows? Maybe I'm forever gonna be a Lilly agenda convert....