Rec Room/Lobby Bulletin Boards

Okay so I am in charge of the TV Guide board in the Rec Room next to the tv, and I needed to put together a bulletin board for the Lobby! Here is each one with some tips on how/why it is the way it is!!!

So the theme for our hall this semester is Superheros! So this is what I put together for the TV Guide board! I started out by putting up some navy butcher paper, die-cutted out yellow star boarders, die-cutted TV GUIDE, and die-cutted the citty boarder in black (I know, I love die-cuts). Then I traced the Batman symbol on my tv (hooked up to my computer) and colored it in with paint markers. I also added all of the TV channels in our area, but I thought that this poster showed it best.

This board was a little more fun for me! I used this blog post (that I did not tag in my last post, you can read why there) to do the boarder, but basically I posted the question and die-cut a bunch of coffee cups for residents to write their answers on!

Cuddle Sutra...A Valentine's Day Bulletin Board

Okay so this bulletin board was inspired by a board that I saw my freshman year in the Res Halls! It is from the book The Cuddle Sutra and I took screenshots from the online book and basically put it up on my board. It is super simple but it looks incredible. The boarder was inspired from a post I saw on Pinterest! But I will not be linking to that post because my residents ripped the boarder down, so I am sure most of you other RA's will understand residents vandalizing your boards and whatnot...So here it is, I hope you are inspired to do a cuddle themed board!

CVS Haul and Extreme Couponing: Makeup Edition

Okay, I know that I have said it before, but I cannot pass up a good deal! For those of you that are unaware, when you sign up for CVS's ExtraCare program, you can earn ExtraBucks when you buy certain products, they work as CVS money. So when I was at CVS last weekend and I got three coupons:

$3 off Almay

$3 off any Revlon purchase of $10 or more

$1 off Maybelline

I made my total purchase in three transactions, so stick around! Coupon craziness is about to begin!!!

First transaction:

I bought this Almay Intense I-Color eyeshadow for my friend Ashley's birthday! She will love it, I own the one for green eyes and I love how it makes my eyes pop!

Originally Priced: $7.79

On Sale For: $5.99

Coupon for $3 Off Mean I Paid: $2.99

PLUS when all was said and done, I got $3 ExtraBucks back for my next transaction.

Total Cost with Tax: $3.44

Total Cost for Haul: $3.44

Second Transaction:

I bought the gel eyeliner because I have wanted one for forever, and the reviews on this one for Maybelline were awesome! And the color tattoo is rumored to be as awesome as Mac's Paint Pot line--so I had to get one of those too!

Color Tatto: $6.99

Gel Liner: $10.79

Subtotal: $17.78

$1 Off Maybelline Coupon: $16.78

$3 Off Because of ExtraBucks: $13.78

Total Cost with Tax: 15.11

AND $5 ExtraBucks because I spent over $15 on Maybelline!

Total Cost for Haul: $18.55

Third Transaction:

Okay, this is where I am going to blow you all away. Sometimes you have to comb through the aisles of the store in order to find the best deals. Some of the Revlon Colorburst lipsticks have been discontinued so they are 75% off at CVS! Which means that regularly priced $9.99 lipsticks are a whopping $2.49!!! I bought two of the Rosy Nude ones because I needed to go over $10 for my coupon to work! And get this--because of the $3 off, I spent less buying five than if I had just bought four!

Revlon Lipstick: $9.99 x 5

Subtotal: $49.95

Lipsticks 75% Off: $2.49 x 5

New Subtotal: $12.45

$3 Off Revlon Coupon: $9.45

$5 Off Because of ExtraBucks: $4.45

10% Off Coupon Because of CVS Beauty Rewards: $3.20

Total Cost with Tax: $4.04

TOTAL COST OF HAUL: $22.59

For those of you that are wondering what the 75% off lipsticks actually look like--check this out!

My Couples Bucket List

Okay, so let's just be honest, this will probably be the most personal post yet. I started making this list the Summer after Chris and I started dating. And I just showed it to him the other day, because I wanted to give him the heads up that with his permission I would post it! Of course being the wonderful man he is, he gave me the go ahead and here goes nothing!

My Couples Bucket List

1. Build a fort in our living room
2. Build a treehouse in our backyard
3. Watch a meteor shower
4. Have a food fight
5. Walk everywhere for a day
6. Throw a black tie dinner for two
7. Take dance lessons
8. Get lost on purpose
9. Preform feng shui to our house
10. Write a note to our future grandchildren
11. Kidnap each other for a play date in the park
12. Book a trip and travel in the same day
13. Campout close to home
14. Do something touristy in our hometown
15. Burry a time capsule in our backyard
16. Set a world record in something
17. Spend the night in someplace haunted together
18. Cook something we grew
19. Go on a hot air balloon ride
20. Build a house of cards and then run through it
21. Build something that will outlast us both
22. Volunteer at a soup kitchen on a holiday
23. Go white water rafting
24. Test drive a car we will never be able to afford
25. Skip out of work and go bowling
26. Make our own pasta from scratch
27. Donate blood together
28. Carve our names into a tree
29. Watch 26 movies in 26 days, each starting with a letter from the alphabet
30. Send a message in a bottle
31. Watch the sunrise and set in the same day.
32. Pay for the next person’s toll on the highway
33. Go for a ride on a scary roller coaster
34. Ride cross country on the train
35. Take a cooking class together
36. Build a bird house
37. Plant an herb or vegetable garden
38. Volunteer at the ASPCA
39. Put together a giant jigsaw puzzle
40. Split a milkshake
41. Go to the aquarium
42. Kiss in the rain
43. Get matching outfits
44. Ride a Ferris Wheel
45. Go on a road trip
46. Stargaze
47. Go to the zoo
48. Watch fireworks
49. Read a book together
50. Look at Christmas lights

So of course we have done some of these things, but the majority of them we have not. And I printed out a copy and put it in a Willow Tree box that Chris's Grandma gave me for Christmas. It is the Embrace box:

I am not going to lie, it is probably one of the most beautiful and perfect gifts I have ever received. 

As we make our way through this list I plan on dating each completed activity or task, maybe even adding a memorable moment! I will definitely keep an update on here as we go. But for those of you out there that have maybe been working on a list similar but have not shared with your better half, do it. Sharing this list with Chris made me want to complete it and actually feel motivated to start doing some of those things. I can promise you that when I go and visit him this weekend we will for sure do at least one!

The Couple's Bucket List is a good idea in my opinion because you can put things on the list that are out of your usual routine of dates or activities. I am especially excited for the 26 movies in 26 days, but I know that will only be possible once we are able to see each other on the daily. And the Ferris Wheel will be an experience because I am terrified of heights. But watching the sunrise and set in the same day is definitely a possibility for the near future. I wanted to mainly focus on things we can work on this year, and leaving the big ones for our future together. But I love my man and I cannot wait to get this list started. 

So grab a pen and paper and get to work on your Couple's Bucket List!

Work OOTD

Again with the work outfits!

So today's outfit of the day consisted of:

-My black bow ballet flats

-Red jeans from Walmart

-Blue peaplum top from Target

-Black sweater with pearl buttons from McCaulou's.

I love this outfit because it is super cute, and easy to move around in! Oh and did I mention that the mall I work at is freezing! So it kept me warm too!

How to Maintain an Organized Binder

I know that a lot of college students have the New Year's resolution of staying organized at school, in fact it is a goal for most students at the beginning of each semester/quarter. And as a college student it took me my first four semesters (so two years) to figure out a system of organization that works well for me. I tried multiple binders for each class, binders for Monday/Wednesday classes and Tuesday/Thursday classes, accordion folders, and keeping individual notebooks for each class with folders to hold handouts. None of these systems worked, and I still somehow lost papers and homework assignments that I needed for my classes. So I am going to share with you all the secret to maintaining an organized binder in college.

I used templates from this blog to make my cover for my binder. I just added the words!

So here is what you need to start making your rockin' binder!

-Heavy Duty Binder (any generic binder will do, but these have the special rings that will allow you to easily open and close your binder if you are in a rush! Also, I choose a 1 inch because it fits in my bag and I do not need a larger one)

-Binder Dividers (Again, any will do, I get the 5-tab ones because I usually average five academic classes a semester)

-College Ruled Binder Paper (self-explanatory)

-A three-hole-punch that fits in your binder (Probably the most important purchase of all--GET ONE!)

Step One: Type up (or handwrite) each of your classes on the white tabs provided in your dividers, possibly tape them too so that they do not move when you are pulling your binder in and out of your bag. This is a very important step, and I recommend that you put your classes in order of when you have them, so the first class is the first class you have on Monday and so on and so forth.

So here are my tabs with my classes!

Step Two: Put in the three-hole-punch. I say that this is the most important part of the binder because this is how you will stay organized. If you get a handout in class, you do not have to shove it in your bag to three-hole-punch later, if you remember. If you can quickly just put it away in the correct place then you are more likely to know where it is for studying and reference!

I love this thing, I was too rough on my last one and it broke, so I had to replace it.

Step Three: Put in your binder paper, I like to just put an entire package of binder paper in my binder because that will usually be good enough for the semester. I plan on writing another blog post on how I take notes and organize them later on when I am back at school and taking notes again. But basically the idea is to take notes, staple the notes for that day together (or the section you are taking notes on), and put them right into the correct section of your binder. I even keep a mini-stapler in my pencil pouch for this exact reason!!!

Binder paper!

Step Four: Admire your hard work and promise yourself that this semester/quarter is going to be different and you will stay organized! Hope these tips helped!

It is pictures like this that make me excited to go back to school. What can I say? I am a nerd at heart.

Claire's Mini-Haul!

So here is what I got at work the other day!

Fuzzy Black Scarf--On Sale! $4

Black and White Boquete Flower Earrings--On Sale! $1

Apple Earrings--On Sale! $1

Feather Barrett--On Sale! $1

New! Leopard/Beige/Brown Elastic Hair Ties--$4.50

I want to start with the earrings I bought! I had my eye on the black and white boquete earrings since summer, and I finally caved and bought them. They are so cute and will look adorable come spring!! The apple earrings I bought to wear when I work my 40 hours at an elementary school this coming semester! I just cannot wait to work with those kids!!

The barett I bought because I love wearing my hair half up, and you can never have enough clips to do that! The hair ties are the only type I wear anymore because you can wear them all day or sleep in them and they will not leave a dent in your hair! I have been meaning to learn how to make them myself, but for now I can get them for $2.25 with my discount and it is worth it!

Sometimes I feel like I buy something every single time I work. But usually it is a great deal, discount or not! So if you are in need of some accessories stop by your local Claire's store because there is always a great, great sale!

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Photo courtesy of Scholastic

So I am re-reading The Hunger Games for what I think is the third or fourth time, and since I did not want to bring my Kindle to work with me I decided to check out a copy from the library. I love this whole series but the first book stands out to me in a way that the second and third cannot hold a candle to. If you have not read The Hunger Games I highly recommend it, the emotions that you feel when you become engrossed in the characters opened up my heart to a book in a way that had not happened since I finished the final installment of the Harry Potter series.

But the reason why I posted this is because we put out our St. Patrick's Day shipment at Claire's and I found this hat, that made me look a little ridiculous. I also look like I arrived at work directly from the Capitol (read the book to understand that statement!).

I hope these sell! Not necessarily for St. Patrick's Day, but maybe for Halloween! They would work well in a Capitol-inspired Hunger Games Costume!

Another Work OOTD

After spending the last three days working day camp for 8.5-9 hours straight (crazy!) I am back at Claire's today. I enjoy doing something a little special when I work here, I like picking out a cute outfit and opening the store.

My outfit today consists of Tuggs (the name I have given to my Target "Uggs" in case I haven't mentioned that before), jeggings from American Eagle, a sweater from a local department store McCaulou's, and a scarf my best friend gave me for my birthday/Christmas present!

Enjoy this first weekend in January, everyone!

Long Distance Lovin'

First off, Happy New Year! Now on to the good stuff...

I am a dork, and he loves me.

I am so glad that even though Chris and I are doing long distance for a bit we both know how important it is to keep up with a "Date Night." When I am at school we both keep Monday nights free, but being back home has caused for a few hiccups for Monday Date Night. But we still try make time for each other via webcam. It is not the same as being able to watch a movie and snuggle, but watching the same TV show together or playing a game together is pretty darn cool too. I do not think Christopher realizes how special our date night is, even over Skype. Sometimes it is the only thing pulling me through a slow Monday. When you love someone, you will go to the ends of the earth to spend a tiny bit of time together, and I would clear any schedule to spend time with my guy, even if it has to be a Skype Date!