What I Wish I had Known My Freshman Year of College

As I am entering my last semester of college, I have begun to look back on my college experience. There are a lot of things that I wasn't told in the handful of books I read about college life, freshman experiences, and what to expect when I moved away from home. I wish that I could go back in time and change a few things, but I am also very happy with how my college life turned out, I have surrounded myself with people I love and I am pursuing a career that fits me wonderfully. I know that it might be cheesy, but not only was I once a freshman in college, I was a Resident Advisor to mostly First Year students in my two years as an RA. So if you stuck around until now, here you go: some of the best advice I wish I had known as a freshman in college.

1) Self-fulfilling prophecies are the real deal. 
What I mean when I say that is if you enter college with a solid mindset, that is how your experience is going to be. I was a social butterfly to say the least when I was in grade school, but I had serious anxiety about moving away from my friends and I thought it would be extremely difficult for me to make friends. It was. I had my mind set that if I was going to make friends it would just happen, with no effort. I wish so badly I could go find my freshman self and drag her to welcoming activities or to the floor meetings I always seemed to skip. It took me years to realize that if I wanted to have friends to hang out with that weren't my boyfriend, I needed to get out of my room and make them!

2) Opening weekend activities in the Residence Halls (dorms) are stupid, but you should still go to them.
This goes back to what I was saying in my previous post, you will make friends if you go to these programs and participate. They might not be the friends that you have for the rest of your life or even the rest of college, but friends are friends, and you do not want to be eating in the dinning commons by yourself all year.

3) You do not need to be best friends with your roommate.
This particular piece of advice is one that I have given numerous times over the last two years. I did not go into any roommate-ship with the expectation of either being best friends or enemies with my roommate. The roommate world is not black and white. Sometimes you will become best friends with your roommate, but what it all boils down to is that you need to be considerate, open-minded, and able to communicate to anyone you are sharing space with.

4) Do your roommate agreement. 
Don't write something ridiculous. I heard while I was an RA these two students wrote something along the lines of "Make money. Get girls." And when real problems came up they did not have any documentation of expectations. Communicating your expectations to your roommate is very important. If you do not want them to have their significant other over every night of the week, you need to communicate that. If your expectation is that they need to maintain a somewhat clean side of the room, communicate that. I blew off my roommate agreements when I was a resident and I am thankful every day that there were not problems with me and my roommate.

5) Be nice to your RA. 
This one is personal, I have read other people's advice as saying "befriend your RA and they won't write you up as much." I cannot say if this is true or not *wink wink*, but I have had residents who just would say things like "I hate RA's so much!" or "I can't wait until I don't have to live with an RA." Trust me, there are times that your RA will not want to live with you either. But I have received a few notes from residents that tell me that they enjoy chatting with me or that I was their favorite part of moving to college, and those residents made the most unbearable nights worth it in the end. Your RA is fountain of knowledge about your school, they have taken a lot of the classes you need to take and they know about a lot of resources on campus. Go to them and ask them questions when you have them, they want to talk to you and get to know you!

6) Pursue a degree you are passionate about.
I spent two years going towards a degree in business. I did well in all of my classes, but I was just never passionate about business (accounting? business calculus?). I took a child development class for one of my general education requirements, and I haven't looked back since. I have loved going to classes, I have loved my teachers, and everything that I learn about is interesting to me. I have my heart set on being an elementary school teacher, and I will always tell my students that they should be whatever they want to be!

7) Ask for help. 
I know that I already touched on this a little bit on number five, but I am serious when I say this. Know your limits, If you don't understand material for a class you should take advantage of your professor's office hours. See what resources your school has for tutoring, my school has multiple programs that offer free tutoring for different subjects and majors. You are paying for these resources with your tuition, use them.

8) Finally, take a minute (or a few) between the classes and studying and work to enjoy yourself. People will say that college is the best years of your life. I don't know if that is the truth, but I still think everyone in college should try and make the most out of the experience and have a little fun--after you take care of your responsibilities!

You just need to make the most of your first year of college! I hope you have a wonderful experience and that college is everything you want it to be and more! 

No Makeup March: 5 Tips for Surviving a No-Buy!

I don't know if anyone agrees with me or not, but I definitely have been buying a lot of makeup lately. Every brand is coming out with their limited edition palettes and lipsticks, and they are so beautiful that I cannot pass them up. But because I am starting to budget my money better, I know that a month without excessive makeup purchases is necessary. Below are some tips that have helped me stay away from purchasing makeup since February 24!

1 -- Take note of everything that catches your eye when you are on your No-Buy
If you see that new Maybelline lipstick collection, take note of every shade that catches your eye. I know that this has helped me realize how much of a compulsive buyer I have become. How many nude lipsticks does one person need? A lot, but if you really think about the things you want, you will end up using them more. And at the end of the month I am going to reflect on my list and probably laugh at the hundreds of dollars I would have spent if I just bought everything that caught my eye. That will help me justify the haul I plan on doing at the beginning of April!

2 -- Re-organize your makeup collection
My makeup collection is nowhere ready to be shown on the internet, I plan on doing a makeup collection post as soon as I move into my apartment and have everything organized to perfection. But on that note, I re-organized to see what I have and what I do not use regularly. And there is something about looking at my collection and all of my products that is just so amazing. I cannot be the only person that feels that way, right? Makeup isn't just a hobby, it is an amazing part of my life! While re-organizing, I found some forgotten gems.

3 -- Pull out a few items you have been neglecting and use them every day
I chose to pull out one of my Hard Candy baked eyeshadows, my L'oreal Voluminous mascara, and my Physician's Formula BB Powder. I have neglected these (and many more) items in my collection as I just continued to purchase more and more products. I love my Hard Candy eyeshadows, but because I focus my money on high end palettes, they have been ignored.

4 -- Appreciate your monthly subscription box/bag
I was taken off of the Ipsy waiting list last month (before I decided on my March No-Buy), and now it is all I can do to just stand next to the mailbox until my Ipsy Bag gets here! So when it does, I will be sure to love everything in the bag as much as if I had hand-picked the items myself! Whether you are subscribed to Ipsy, Birchbox, Wantable, or the seemingly dozens of other subscription services out there, appreciate them during your no-buy!

5 -- Take a few days out of the month to go without makeup entirely
If you say the term "No Makeup March" I can guarantee you will get at least one person ask why you are still wearing makeup. So you need to explain what our community calls a "No-Buy" and how you still get to wear makeup. But on my low-key days I have just been washing my face and leaving the house to run errands or stay home and do chores. I do not feel like makeup is necessary, it is something I enjoy putting on every day and I look forward to getting ready in the morning. But I tried and make a full circle with my "No Makeup March" plan by not wearing makeup at all for a few days here and there.

Additional Bulletin Boards!

So, as promised, I am bringing you some extra bulletin boards! The Behind-the-Desk board in my building has become the Calendar Board! I think that this will be super cute to continue for the last three months of the school year. So here it is!

And also, my best friend and co-worker, Ashley thought up this brilliant idea for her bulletin board! It is for Women's History Month, but I think that you could do this bulletin board any month! Inspired by Wonder Woman she titled the board "Wonderful Women." She spotlighted the following influential women: Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony, Dorothy Komenshek, and Estee Lauder. Our school was also doing a lot of events for Women's History Month and she included information on those as well.

March Bulletin Boards

I was inspired to do this bulletin board because I read one of the facts online. Laughter is able to improve sleep quality. If you are an RA I can safely bet that you have had one or two sleepless nights. I don't know what it is about our job, but sometimes you just toss and turn for hours while that duty phone rests by your head. I write this post as I hold a duty phone. But I digress... I found a bunch of health benefits of laughing, typed them up, and put them on light blue paper. For the border I just found memes that I felt related to college students and put them up as well. Residents have been laughing as they read the memes and I have had a couple discussions on health benefits of laughter!

This board was done mostly by my coworker. So I will not be taking the credit for the idea, but I did help in the execution. Overall I think that it is a bulletin board that is pleasing to the eye.

I have a special bulletin board that I have not taken pictures of yet, but when I do you can expect to see a post on it this weekend! It is not a creative bulletin board, but I am pretty darn proud! Also, my best friend Ashley created an awesome bulletin board for Women's History Month! Look out for that this weekend as well!

Maybelline Spring 2014 Collection

This post is going to be short and sweet, I am on a very strict No Makeup March (aka my "no buy") because I was going overboard on the makeup purchases. Everyone lives outside their means every once in a while but I needed to cut back. Of course this comes right as Maybelline launches their Spring 2014 collection. Can you say "Limited Edition?" I needed to get something before they were sold out! I picked up three of the limited edition Color Tattoos and one of the EyeStudio quads. I am just going to do some pictures and then I only have a few final remarks for right now.

I was bummed to find out that "Pure Nude" is a lot like "Barely Branded." If you have already purchased the permanent color "Barely Branded" you might not even bother to buy "Pure Nude." Would you like a side-by-side swatch? comment down below and I will put that picture up.

The second color "Beige-ing Beauty" is a peachy/golden nude color, not as pigmented as the usual Color Tattoos, but I definitely enjoy the color and will use it as a base in future looks.

The final color, "Nude Compliment" is a taupe color that I think will be a gorgeous base color with any taupe shade you put all over your lid.

There were four (I believe) new quads out with this collection, but I stayed away from the traditional nudes and chose this one because I liked the purples in it! Maybe I will use it to do a smokey eye and post a tutorial!

I know that there were lipsticks, glosses, blush sticks, highlighters, and other Color Tattoos and quads out in this line--I definitely recommend picking some up if it is in the budget!

February 2014 Favorites

#1 // Olay ProX Advanced Cleaning System

I use this to cleanse my face every night for sure and sometimes in the morning as well! It leaves my face super clean and smooth and I think it is also helping my skin stay clear. If you use this make sure that you only keep it on your face for one minute, it might over-cleanse your face if you leave it on longer than that!

#2 // L'Oreal Pore Vanisher

I am officially convinced that this product does what it says it will and will shrink your pores after continued use. I found a bunch of samples and have been using them for a couple weeks and I love what this product does to my skin to help put my makeup on smoothly and even out my skin texture.

#3 // Revlon Lip Butter in "Pink Truffle"

I think that this color is a my-lips-but-better color. It is a little bit darker than my natural lip color but it is a great nude!

#4 // Lancome Juicy Tube in "Touched by Light"

This lipgloss smells just like any important high school event for me. Juicy Tubes were the THING to have back in the day and I wore this color to Prom, Ball, Homecoming, Graduation, this list goes on and on. Last October I felt the need to repurchase when I was feeling nostalgic. 

#5 // Physician's Formula Eye Booster Liquid Eyeliner in "Ultra Black"

This eyeliner has been great! I have been searching for a liquid liner that wouldn't transfer down after a few hours of wear. The product also promises to make your lashes longer and fuller, I haven't noticed yet. The product doesn't promise to be waterproof which is what I really want, but I haven't had problems with it like I had with my Jordana Fabuliner and L'Oreal liquid eyeliner pen.

#6 // Almay Eyeliner in "Black"

This eyeliner has been the best that I have found in years. I cannot tell you how many eyeliners I have tried: waterproof, smudgeproof, regular...They all smudged on the side of my eye. This eyeliner does too, but I have had the longest success rate with it (three to four hours without smudges).

#7 // Too Faced Shadow Insurance

This stuff almost never creases on me! I still want to try the Nars eyeshadow primer, but as long as I have this and it works 99% of the time, I am happy! If you need a primer that doesn't make your eyeshadow crease I would recommend this.

#8 // Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

This was an impulse purchase. It was the last palette at the store and I just needed it. You know how that goes, right? The shadows smell like chocolate, they are incredibly pigmented, and did I say almost no fallout? SO AWESOME.

#9 // Batiste Dry Shampoo

Why am I so late to jump onto this band wagon??? I didn't realize there was a difference in dry shampoos until now! This stuff is literally a magic potion for your hair. If you are trying to go a couple days between washing your hair, you need this stuff.

#10 // L'Oreal Boost It Blow Out Heatspray

I have never used a heat protectant hairspray, but I love this one. It's affordable, it creates volume, and it keeps my hair de-frizzed. If I use too much it can make my hair a little on the greasy side, but totally manageable.

Valentines Day Eyeshadow Tutorial Using Naked 3 Palette!

This post has been a long time coming. I have had a couple months to play with my Naked 3 palette and I can honestly say that I love it just as much as I thought I would. But from the moment I saw it two colors really stood out to me: Trick and Factory. The following look was the first look I created using my palette and I have used it on myself and my friends. I find it to be universally flattering and you can always use less or more depending on your taste.

1. I primed my eyelids with two products: Too Faced Shadow Insurance (Original) and my Limited Edition Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Nude Pink." I took both of these products from my lash line to brow bones.
2. Then I took the color "Limit" on a fluffy brush from Sonia Kashuk and blended that into my crease and a little above as my transition shade.
3. Using my finger I put "Trick" on the inner half of my lid (I have found this color to be difficult to apply with a brush, it is easier to use a wet brush but I like how it looks using my finger).
4. Using my MAC 139 Brush I put "Factory" on the outer half of my lid and blended it slighly up into my crease.
5. I took my MAC 124 brush and the color "Nooner" and buffed the edges of "Factory" and "Trick" out and added a little more to my outer-v.
6. Finally I highlighted my brow bone and inner corner with "Strange."
7. I used my Physician's Formula black liquid eyeliner pen and did a little wing.
8. Lined my waterline a with my Almay eyeliner in Black
9. Finished up with some "They're Real" mascara by Benefit!

January/February 2014 Bulletin Boards

Hello to my Bulletin Board Seeking RA Friends! Below is my personal hallway bulletin board along with the bulletin board I created with my floor buddy!

I was inspired to create this bulletin board by an ad campaign about sexual consent. I thought this bulletin board was relevant also because spring fever brings love to all residence halls. I found a slogan that I liked and then attached speech bubbles around the sides that were ways for residents to ask for consent or to understand when consent is not given. On the far end I included information about consent (ex: When you are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol you cannot give consent). Attaching condoms made this bulletin board extremely popular. If you search on Pinterest about Sexual Consent you will find tons of ideas.

This is not what I used to create this bulletin board, but if you are interested in re-creating I would highly reccomend giving it a look.

I saw this bulletin board idea originally with the Up! house (from the movie Up! by Pixar) and the house had balloons attached to it and residents could write about what lifts them up on the balloons. The balloon die-cuts we have are really small and I wanted residents to write a lot and have a lot of people be able to write. WARNING/UPDATE: There were a lot of inappropriate messages on this board over the month so be careful to monitor it.

January 2014 Favorites

My first "Favorites" list! I wanted to start this in 2013 but because I have not been the most consistent blogger (something I am working on!), I am starting in January. This "Favorites" list is in no particular order, so I have one coffee favorite thrown in with the beauty and makeup... Maybe next month I will do better to keep my lifestyle favorites at the end! Here goes nothing!

#1 // Clinique Acne Solutions Line

I started to use this in December because my skin was revolting against me. After a month of consistent use my skin completely flipped on me (in a good way). I plan on posting a more in depth review of the line soon, but until then just know that if you are struggling with acne you should check this out!

#2 // Stress Relief Lotion

I don't know if this lotion actually relieves stress, but it has an amazing smell that is great for men and women! I think that just applying lotion is relaxing so that might be why I enjoy it so much!

#3 // Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced is know for their scandalous names--but this one is too much! I don't know about the title, but the product is amazing. Two or three coats of this stuff and you will not even recognize your lashes! It is absolutely wonderful.

#4 // Butter Toffee K-Cups

Best. Coffee. Ever. That's really all I have to say.

#5 // Este Lauder Double Wear Foundation

This foundation is the perfect balance of coverage and not looking like cake-face. I wear the shade 2N1 Desert Beige and it is a pretty great match for me when I am in the winter months. 

#6 // Beauty Blender Dupe

This is not the right picture or a link to where you can purchase. But it is a link to Casey Holme's video about beauty blender dupes! I got mine at Marshall's!

#7 // Hard Candy Fox in a Box

These blushes are awesome! I love every one of them that I have (and I think I have all the colors), but I somehow waited until this January to buy them! they are super blendable and come in a large enough variety that any skin tone will have a blush complementing them.

#8 // Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm

These things are amazing! I own five from the line (lacquer and matte balms) and the Laquer Balm in "Ingenue" is my favorite nude lip of the moment.

#9 // Naked 3

Need I say anymore?

#10 // Gelly Roll Pens

These were such a blast from the past for me when I found them earlier this month! I cannot wait to take all of my notes for the semester with these pens!

Face of the Day: In Honor of NAKED3 Release!

Urban Decay released the new Naked3 palette today! I am so so happy to say that Chris was able to order it before it sold out! It will be my Christmas present so I do not get to play with it until then. But because I am still so excited!!

My Face of the Day features both the original Naked palette and the Naked2 palette. Here goes a little step by step instruction guide for those of you that are interested in recreating this look!

1) I primed my entire lid from eyelashes to browbone with Wet n Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer in "Take on the Day."
2) I took my new limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Matte Brown" and put it only on my lid below the crease.
3) I brought out my original Naked palette and took the color "Darkhorse" on a flat shader brush and put that on the outer half of my lid and took it a little above the crease. I also took a pencil brush and put that color on the outer half of my lower lash line.
4) Staying in the Naked palette I took sin on a different flat shader brush and put the color "Sin" on the inner half of my lid and blended it into the "Darkhorse." Taking a different pencil brush I put "Sin" on the inner half of my lower lash line.
5) I took a clean blending brush and started to blend those two colors into my crease so that there were no harsh lines.
6) I then took the color "Naked" on the blending brush and blended that into my crease and a little above the crease.
7) I brought out my Naked2 palette and took the color "Bootycall" on a small shader brush and put that next to my tear duct and blended it into the "Sin."
8) Finally I took matte highlight "Foxy" and put that on my brow bone.
9) For eyeliner I lined my upper and lower waterline with New York Color Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in "Dark Brown."
10) Then I did winged liner using Jordana Fabuliner in "Brown."
12) Finally I curled my lashes and applied my new L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara in "Blackest Black."

Some Extras (not linked):
-Foundation: Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous in "Creamy Natural"
-Concealer: Maybelline Fit Me in "Light"
-Blush: MAC in "Warm Soul"
-BronzerNew York Color in "Sunny"
-Highlight: Hard Candy bronzer in "Tiki"
-Lips: Jordana Twist and Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in "Cranberry Crush"

Be sure to sign up to be notified when Urban Decay gets Naked3 back in stock!!

Sweater Weather Tag

I saw this tag floating around YouTube and I wanted in on the action! So here goes nothing, this will be my first tag!

1. Favorite candle scent?
I am not allowed to burn candles because I living in the Residence Halls, but I use the car scents from Bath and Body Works and I loved the scent Flannel so much I bought two car scents and the candle for my mom's birthday!

2. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
Definitely without a doubt in my mind, coffee. I am an addict. It is the first thing I do on most mornings, get out of bed and make coffee. I am a gold card holder at Starbucks and I do not mind putting $5-10 on my card at any given time if I am in the mood for my coffee fix.

3. Do you switch up your makeup routine for the season?
Not really, I have been experimenting with more jewel-toned eyeshadows recently, but for the most part I stick to my neutral eyes. And every once in a while I will add a bold berry or red lip!

4. Favorite Thanksgiving food?
The turkey sandwiches my family makes three or four hours after family leaves the house. They are the best! There is something about getting leftover Thanksgiving dinner out of the fridge and just pilling stuff on to make a sandwich. My favorite combo: white bread (the only time of year I eat it), turkey, cranberry sauce (the jelly can kind), and mash potatoes. Let me tell you, if you have never had it you should try.

5. Hats or scarves?
Definitely scarves. I get serious hat hair year-round and I have an outrageous scarf collection. I don't wear them too often, but when it is very chilly you will most definitely see me with a scarf! And when I worked at Claire's I bought a ton of scarves (some still have their tags!).

6. Most worn sweater?
I have a cardigan that I bought the day after Christmas my Junior year of high school which is my go-to. My holy grail sweater if you will. I have sewed that thing more times than I can count and it is hanging on by a thread in some areas. But until I can't sew it back together anymore I will wear it!

7. Must have fall nail polish?
I do the Sally Hansen Gel Polish and my two favorite gel polish colors are Wine Not (included in the starter kit I linked!) and Commander in Chic! Wine Not is a deep red with a little sparkle and Commander in Chic is a grey-purple. Both are beautiful and very fall!

8. Football games or jumping into a pile of leaves?
Definitely leaves, when they put the leaves on my school campus in piles I have to tell myself not to just run and jump into them!

9. Skinny Jeans or leggings?
Definitely leggings. I love my skinny jeans and all, but leggings with boots and a sweater is a classic fall look.

10. Boots or Uggs?
I love how comfortable Uggs look and feel, but I think that they are sometimes glorified slippers. I will literally only wear Uggs for days if given the chance and I am working on presenting myself in a more professional way and that means staying away from my favorite moccasin shoes and Ugg type boods.

11. What is your #1 thing about fall?
Layers! I love dressing in layers. Sweaters are fantastic, you can pull out your favorite boots to wear over leggings, and no one can go wrong with scarves!

12. Do you have a song that gets you in the Fall mood or just a song you're loving at the moment?
I am currently loving "Little Bit of Everything" by Keith Urban! It isn't necessarily fall related, but it's a song I am loving in fall!

13. What is the fall weather like where you currently live?
I am so incredibly blessed to live in Sacramento: the City of Trees. Seriously. I will end this post with some beautiful pictures of my school! (You might recognize this from a post I did last year)

What I Wear to Class

This is my uniform of sorts lately. I will not lie to you, I bought out Target's clearance v-necks in black at the end of the season. But here goes nothing!

-Black V-Neck (similar): This could be any colored t-shirt, but I own about eight or nine black t-shirts, so you could say they are my favorite.

-Rolled Jeans (similar): I found a pair of jeans at a consignment store a month or so ago, they are New York and Co. and I am obsessed with them

-Grey Toms: My mom got these for me on clearance at the end of Summer! I love them so much (mine are a little dirty, I went apple-picking in them!)

-Fossil Watch: This was my gift from Chris last Christmas and I love it! I wear it every day, it goes with everything, and it is reasonably priced (perfect for anyone's Christmas wish list!)

-Cat Earrings (similar): I am OBSESSED with my cat earrings. I wear them multiple times a week. What can I say? I love cats!

Bulletin Boards

My wing bulletin board for the month of October was inspired by this Infograph that I found on Pinterest over the summer and I thought it would make an impactful bulletin board. I originally had nineteen of the facts drawn, colored, cut out, and typed up. Sadly I was only able to fit eleven on my board! If this happens to you a good idea would be to stretch the bulletin board throughout your hallway and just put the remaining facts on construction paper and post them up everywhere.

My floor buddy and I decided on an adaptation to a bulletin board I found on Pinterest (and cannot find the picture!). The board is "Do You Give A Ripppppppppp?" We found a bunch of ad type papers that you are able to rip a portion of the bottom off to get the information. I found the majority of mine on the internet but my floor buddy made all of hers.

This month my floor buddy and I made a "Goal Ball Machine" where residents could write their goals on circles. I thought for the most part it has been successful and we have only had a couple residents that took advantage of the interactive board by writing inappropriate messages.

How to Be A Successful Student Bulletin Board

When I got back to the residence halls for RA Training I realized that my staff meant business and that everyone was going to have exceptional bulletin boards. I love making my bulletin boards so the fact that I was going to have the pleasure of living in a building surrounded by fantastic boards was music to my ears. I was inspired by this picture/chart/thing I found on Pinterest and I took the idea and ran with it.

My board is broken up into the following categories:

-Living Somewhere New

-Living With a Roommate

-Managing Your Time (my personal favorite)

-Getting the most out of college

And in case I had residents that did not want to read the whole board (because those residents are everywhere, right?)

-Surviving the Year Cheat Sheet

I love this board because it allowed me to freehand and trace a ton of pictures and make the board super colorful and eye-grabbing. But if you are looking for your back-to-school bulletin board I hope mine inspires your's!

Sailboat Door Decs!

Hello hello! It is back to school again, and I want to share with all of the RAs that follow my blog my door decs for the semester! I made 45 of these things and it took weeks to complete them. I will warn you that each door dec cost me a little less than $1 so if you are interested in recreating this idea and not spend as much I will be sure to include a cheaper supplies list at the end!

What I used to make the Door Decs:

This Template

Colored Cardstock (one piece for each door dec)

Brown Cardstock (bottom piece of boat)

Lighter Brown Cardstock (main boat frame)

Flat craft sticks

Fabric for the sales

Cotton Balls for clouds

I printed the template out onto cardstock and used it to trace out the different parts of the boat and sails. You would think that would be the most tedious part of the whole thing, the tracing and cutting out of all the pieces. Nope! Gluing definitely took the longest, I would glue 15 together and be done fore the night! But once I had them all finished they looked fantastic. To make the clouds you just have to gently pull at a cotton ball until it looks like a cloud and glue it on! I think the template made this so much easier than it would have been if I was just working from scratch.

Here are some more pictures!:

 This was the first one I completed, I was super proud.

 These are the different designs I made for my residents.

My finished works of art taking over the dining room table.

Because I did not want to include a Resident's name or room number on my blog I will show you the personalized door dec I made for myself!

I used two different fonts, one to write the name of the resident and the other to do the room number.

I even included cats!

I know that not many RAs are interested in spending $1 per door dec so here are some different ways that you can make this door dec with cheaper supplies:

Instead of Cardstock, use construction paper! It is much cheaper and you get a lot more for the price.

Instead of fabric, also use construction paper, or possibly tissue paper, get creative!

Hand write your resident's names instead of using computer paper and ink to print them out.

Couple's Bucket List Update!

47. Go to the Zoo

 So in case you did not read my blog post on my Couple's Bucket List you should definitely do that, but a little while back Chris and I went to the Sacramento Zoo! This date was actually part of his anniversary present (which I still need to do a blog post on...a few months late!) but to give you an idea I made up 12 envelopes that each had a date prepared and planned for each month for a year. June's date was to go to the zoo! We had a nice time looking at all of the animals and having a delicious snack of Soft Serve Ice Cream! I do love a nice trip to the Zoo, and I was fortunate enough to be able to go to another zoo with my job! Definitely not as fun as a date at the zoo.

So whether you have been dating your man (or lady) for days, weeks, months, or years, the zoo is a wonderfully simple date that is a great way to bring out the animal lover in everyone!

 The tiger was literally on the other side of the glass. 

 When he stood up!

 Taking a break on a bench, it was almost 100 degrees!

 Trying on a hat to beat the heat!

Looking awesome!

Summer Cleaning... Under the Bathroom Sink

So when I am back home I have to compete for space in the bathroom with my sister. Love her to death but this time when I got home it was like there was absolutely no room for anything I brought! So I talked to my mom and I told her I would put in new Contact paper under the sink and clean out the stuff so that my sister and I could share the space nicely!

What you will need to achieve an organized bathroom sink:

-Containers (preferably the kind with handles so you can easily remove it from under the sink), get enough so that each person using the bathroom will have their own space.

-Roll of Contact paper--your's is probably dated anyway so just buy a new roll

-Box cutter to trim the new contact paper to size

-Garbage bags--you will be throwing stuff out!

How I cleaned out under the bathroom sink:
1) Take EVERYTHING out. I mean everything, do not leave a single bottle or roll of toilet paper in there.
2) If you have old, dated contact paper under the sink, rip that stuff out!
3) Put in the new Contact paper!
4) Organize your beauty products and bathroom supplies by category (bathroom supplies, face stuff, hair stuff, nail stuff, etc.).
5) Throw away anything that has less than 1/4 of product in the bottle (unless you use it every single day).
6) Throw away anything you haven't used in a month.
7) Throw away any products you did not like or know you will not use again.
8) Put remaining items into your bathroom container.
9) Put your bathroom supplies in their own spot under the sink.
10) Put away bathroom containers under sink.

I wish I could show you a Before and After picture, but it did not occur to me to do a blog post until I was in the middle of the mess. The first "During" picture I took is the title picture and as you can tell it was quite the mess... Here is the second "During" picture:

At this point I have separated my sister's things by face, hair, and nail supplies and she just had to toss whatever she did not want to keep anymore!

And the end result... Drumroll Please!

Ta Da! It looks so much better, once again wishing I had that "Before" picture. But my sister and I each have a container (mine is blue!) and we were able to  still have enough space so that the cupbord does not look too cluttered.

So You are Graduating High School Today...Eight Pictures to Take!

So here is Part Two of my High School to College Series that I am writing this summer! If you read Part One I wrote about a Top Ten List of things you should do before graduating high school. But today or in the next few days you will be graduating from high school (or college... these picture ideas will apply to anyone graduating!) and I have eight pictures that you need to have before you take off your cap and gown and start on your next life adventure.

Before/During the Ceremony

The "This is How I Decorated My Cap" Picture: So technically my high school did not allow us to decorate our caps, but I had already finished when they announced the day of graduation that we were not allowed to. This bad boy took me two days of spending three hours a day gluing sequins. Not an exciting job, but the end result was worth it.

The "Walking to Your Seat" Picture: this is where your parents use that zoom on the camera and try and find you in a line of people that look exactly the same. Try and wave to them (if you know where they are sitting) so they know where you are in a sea of caps and gowns!

The "I Got My Diploma!" Picture: I would also suggest if you can to get a picture of you walking to get your diploma and exiting the stage, because of terrible lighting none of my pictures turned out well when I was on the stage. You can also buy a copy if your school has a photographer taking pictures right when you receive your diploma, but I did not buy mine. Also, do not hold your diploma upside down like I did...

The "We Did It!" Picture: This is the most stereotypical picture you can take at a graduation, but I am so happy I have it! There is nothing like capturing the excitement of the end of a graduation.

After the Ceremony

The "Family" Picture: Take a picture with the people who came to show their support! They came to watch you accept your diploma and finish off high school!

The "Sister" Picture: Be sure to take a picture with your sister! I did not take a picture with my brother, which is weird because he was definitely there. Think ahead and plan time to take a picture with each of your siblings.

The "Daddy's Girl" Picture: This could be modified for one parent or both, but I just love this picture of my dad and me!

The "Best Friend" Picture: I know this picture is blurry and that is such a bummer, but I absolutely love how candid it is. We also took the staged side-by-side picture but I chose not to include that one.

So there you have it! Eight pictures you should definitely look into having on your camera before you leave the graduation! There are thousands more I hope you plan on taking, but these are the ones you will always look back on!

Spring Closing Bulletin Board

So this is my Spring Closing Bulletin Board! I got my inspiration from the border that I bought from the dollar tree! It has flowers and bumble bees! The rest was my original ideas. I thought up the title "It's Time to Leave the Nest" and printed out bird coloring pages, colored them in, and wrote all of the RA's names on them. Then I made a garden on the bottom of the board with each of the residents on the floor. Every RA was assigned a color for their residents (I thought this idea was pretty brilliant of me!). I added the closing information that the housing office gave me and that was it! So easy, creative, and wonderful!

Monday Night Date Night: Build-a-Bear Edition

So be warned: This date happened a couple months ago, so my hair is long! I am sorry for waiting so long to post, but I hope you enjoy!

So this date is sweet and simple, but not necessarily something you see couples do all the time! I only see boys going into Build-a-Bear to buy their girlfriends presents and I wanted a Chris Bear and Samantha Bear! There are better times to go to Build-a-Bear, so I would suggest signing up for their email list! And definitely when you pay sign up for a "Fluff for Stuff" or "Stuff for Fluff" card, you get coupons sent to your email!

So here is us at work (and just so you know, Chris wore almost that exact same outfit the other day! I didn't realize how perfect it was!):

Chris with Samantha Bear!

Myself with my Chris Bear!

After the date!

This lady was walking through the mall carrying a CAT. It was awesome.

Now Chris Bear and Samantha Bear live on my bed, it is pretty cute!