2018 Recap

How on earth is it almost 2019? 2018 feels like it has been a million years long so it almost feels strange to be starting a new year. As always, 2018 was filled with ups and downs and I wanted to share a quick recap with y'all of my year by each month!

January

In January, I rounded out Winter Break at home + started my second semester of college + took a day trip to Greenville, South Carolina

February

In February, I traveled to Charleston + dressed up as Blair & Serena with my roommate for a mixer + went home for the weekend

March

In March, I had my sorority's formal + found out I'm going to Africa in 2020 + spent Spring Break at home in Charlotte

April

In April, I spent Easter in Florida + turned 19 + had my sorority's spring function (Thetas in Paradise)

May

In May, I finished my freshman year + moved out of my first dorm room + nannied + had one of my college friends visit for Memorial Day Weekend

June

In June, I spent the weekend at the beach in Florida + nannied

July

In July, I spent the Fourth of July in Hilton Head + went to Bald Head Island with the family I nanny for + visited my family's lake house in Upstate New York

August

In August, I prepared to head back to school + had recruitment for my sorority + moved onto my sorority hall + started my sophomore year + participated in First Friday with my sorority

September

In September, I watched Clemson beat Furman, Georgia Southern, and Syracuse in football + had my family visit for Family Weekend + added my little to my sorority family!

October

In October, I spent a weekend at home + planned a service day for my sorority + had my sorority's Fall Band function + helped build a pomp for homecoming + had my parents visit for the homecoming football game + dressed as toddlers and tiaras with my friends for halloween

November

In November, I spent Fall Break at home + watched Clemson beat Louisville, Duke, and South Carolina at home + had my sorority's semi formal + celebrated Thanksgiving

December

In December, I went to the ACC Championship game in Charlotte + finished out fall semester + celebrated Christmas with my family!

Happy New Year's Eve!

I'm Back + Exciting News!

Hi friends and welcome back to Chic in Carolina! Or should I be welcoming myself back as it's been a while since my last post on here (or on Instagram or Twitter oops!). I had no intention of taking a blogging break between Thanksgiving and now and had quite a few posts half done to share with y'all but honestly stepping away from the blog for a bit allowed me to focus on school work, which was much needed for the craziness that is the end of the semester and finals week.

I absolutely hate that Chic in Carolina was put on the back burner many times this semester- I feel like every other post I write starts with a "hey it's been a while" and my perfectionist self feels like it's failing to not have posts consistently up for y'all. It's easy to compare myself to bloggers who aren't in college who blog for a living and say well if they can get x number of posts up a week and I'm not doing that so I must be failing. But it's not as yes I am a blogger but I am also a full-time college student, which eats up enough of your time. This semester has definitely been my hardest yet. I had to put a lot more work into my classes and had a lot on my plate at times. I applied for positions that I thought were perfect for me that I desperately wanted, only to get turned down. As y'all read in this post, this semester brought the news that my sorority experience in college will be ending at the end of the year. And not to say that this semester was completely horrible because that would be a lie, but some of these things hit hard and I felt like it would be ingenuine to myself to be posting content on here and on Instagram that makes my life seem rosy and perfect when in my mind, it doesn't seem that way (and I know it's all relative as losing your sorority or not getting a position you wanted is a very first world problem to have).

Blogging in college is hard as there is constantly so much going on that it's hard to dedicate time to it. I know that sounds horribly lazy to say but I feel like in high school I definitely pushed myself to get it all done, including stuff on the blog. I've relaxed a lot in college (still very Type-A) and have realized that it's ok not to do everything.

I definitely am planning on continuing to blog in 2019 although I don't know if that means cutting down from my 5 days a week posting schedule that y'all are used to so there's less breaks or not! We'll see and I would absolutely love your feedback (my email is chicincarolina@Gmail.com or feel free to Insta message me or on Twitter as well!).

Now that I got "deep" with y'all on why I haven't been posting, I want to share some quick snaps of what I've been up to plus a few life updates at the end!

Fall Break

It's absolutely crazy that I haven't caught y'all up since Fall Break as that seems ages ago! I went home for the break and it was pretty low key as I hung out with my family, my mom and I had a shopping trip, I nannied one afternoon, went to a few barre classes, voted for the first time (!!!), and got my hair cut!

dress (on sale!) ⎢heels ⎢hoops

Theta Semi

Right after Fall Break was my sorority's semi-formal! It was super fun and was the perfect excuse to get dressed up!

similar sweater ⎢similar necklace ⎢similar crossbody bag ⎢barbour jacket ⎢hoops

 Clemson vs. Duke

Right before Thanksgiving was the Clemson Duke game! It was super exciting as it was our first night game of the season too!

similar tee ⎢barbour jacket ⎢leggings ⎢sunglasses ⎢sneakers

Thanksgiving

I decided to go home early for Thanksgiving on Sunday as I was heading back early for the Clemson South Carolina game. This gave me a longer break, which was amazing! All of my extended family came into town, which was super fun. This picture is from the Turkey Trot my family did on Thanksgiving!

similar sweater ⎢similar necklace ⎢similar crossbody bag ⎢barbour jacket ⎢jeans ⎢cowboy boots (not pictured)

Clemson vs. South Carolina

During Thanksgiving Week, Clemson fans have turkey on Thursday and then chicken on Saturday when we beat South Carolina! It was our last home football game of the season and it was even better that we beat South Carolina for the fifth year in a row!

ACC Championship Game in Charlotte

The Tigers went to the ACC Championship again this year (#4inaRow) so a bunch of my friends and I made the trip up to Charlotte and stayed at my house for the weekend! The actual game was a wash out weather wise so I didn't wind up taking any pictures but my parents hosted a tailgate then we watched the Tigers beat Pitt!

Snow Day Before Finals!

The Friday before finals week it snowed (a little haha!) so I had to snap a picture of the hall in the little bit of snow we got!

Finals Week

The most dreaded week of the year for college students...finals. I'm so thankful that it is over (haha) and absolutely love this picture of Tillman that I snapped walking back from my last exam of the semester!

dress (on sale!) ⎢hoops

Christmas

After finals came Christmas! My break has been so relaxing so far, which is just what I needed after a crazy semester! We spent Christmas Day at home in North Carolina and are currently at my grandparents's house in Florida!

Now for a few updates!!

1. I'm studying abroad!! Elementary Education at Clemson is a hard major to study abroad for an entire semester with as many of our courses involves a field work experience in a local school but I am so excited to be doing a May-mester this summer! I will be going to Italy and am so so excited about it!

2. I signed a lease for next year! My current roommate, Rachel, and I will be living together again in the cutest little house. I am so excited to decorate and, of course, share it with y'all!

Thanks for reading and all of y'all's support! xoxo

What I Wore for my Field Placement: Fall 2018

I am so excited for today's post as it is more of an inside look into my major here at Clemson! As many of y'all probably know by now, I am an Elementary Education major at Clemson University in South Carolina and hope to teach in an elementary school classroom after graduation in a few years. One of the things that I love about Clemson's education program is how quickly we get into the classroom. I had a field placement my first semester at Clemson and then had another one this fall in a local kindergarten classroom.

Since I honestly wear leggings and an oversized t-shirt 99% of the time while at school, I thought it would be fun to share my teaching outfits with y'all in case you are an Education major too and are looking for some outfit inspiration or just want to see what I wore!

Top: Anthropologie (similar) Pants: Loft Flats: Tory Burch (similar) Necklace: Kendra Scott (on sale!)

Top: Ralph Lauren Pants: Lilly Pulitzer (similar) Sandals: Jack Rogers Earrings: Sheila Fajl Fitbit Bracelet: David Yurman

Blouse: Lilly Pulitzer (similar) Skirt: J. Crew Factory (similar) Necklace: Kendra Scott Flats: Kate Spade (similar) Fitbit Bracelet: David Yurman

Dress: Loft (similar) Flats: Kate Spade (similar) Earrings: Sheila Fajl Fitbit Bracelet: David Yurman

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer (similar) Riding Boots- Tory Burch (similar) Fitbit Bracelet: David Yurman

Sweater: Lilly Pulitzer (same sweater, different colors) Pants: Loft Flats: Tory Burch (similar) Fitbit Bracelet: David Yurman

I hope y'all enjoyed reading this post and please let me know if y'all would like to see more teaching related posts here on Chic in Carolina!

Orange Polka Dots

Since starting college at Clemson last year, orange has slowly taken over my closet. When I committed to Clemson, I didn't have a single orange piece in my closet but it has slowly taken over as let's be honest, game days are one of the only times a college girl dresses up outside of the oversized t-shirt and leggings uniform (which I'm wearing as I type this).

Before the Clemson vs. Louisville game last month, my roommate and I were walking through downtown Clemson and decided to pop into my favorite boutique in Clemson (All Inspired) to find something for gameday. I found this adorable polka dotted dress that isn't just perfect for Clemson football but other fall occasions too! Since I bought mine in-store, I was not able to find it in orange online but it's on sale in another color!

I wore it with my cowboy boots (which are currently on sale!) for the game but wore it again for Thanksgiving last week, which it was perfect for as it is flowy! One thing to note is that this dress is a bit on the shorter side (I'm 5'7) but I think it is still really cute!

Dress: Easel (same dress, different color- I bought mine from a boutique in Clemson) Riding Boots: Tory Burch (similar & on sale) Earrings: Moon & Lola Purse: Louis Vuitton (less expensive here)

Thanks for reading!

Black Friday Sales

Happy Black Friday friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready for some crazy deals today and throughout this weekend! Even though I'm not planning on heading to the mall to shop in person, I'm definitely planning on taking advantage of these deals to get ahead on some holiday shopping!

So grab a cup of coffee or maybe a leftover slice of pie and let's get shopping!

Anthropologie- 30% off everything

Draper James- 25% off with code GATHERROUND

Emily Ley- Up to 50% off everything

Evelyn Henson- 20% off with code GINGERBREAD20

J. Crew- 40% off with code TOGETHER

J. Crew Factory- 40-50% off with code ADD2CART

Kate Spade- 30% off with code GIVECHEER

Lilly Pulitzer- Gifts with Purchase

Loft- 50% off with code FRIYAY

Lulu & Georgia- 25% off with code BESTEVER

Madewell- 25% with the code DEALWITHIT

Moon & Lola- 30% off everything with code TGIBF

Nordstrom- Up to 60% off

Tory Burch- 30% off orders of $250+ with code THANKS

Tuckernuck- 20% off everything, 25% off orders over $500, 30% off orders over $1000 with code GOWILD

Vineyard Vines- 25% off full-priced items and 40% off sale items with code HOLIDAY18

What sales are you planning on shopping this Black Friday? Let me know in the comments!

To Delta Phi

Hi friends! So sorry for my lack of posts around here lately. I feel like most of my recent blog posts have started off with that lately but trust me there has been a lot going on in my life lately that blogging unfortunately had to take the back burner for a while.

One of which being that I just found out that my sorority will be closing in May at the end of the academic year.

If you been following along with Chic in Carolina over the past year and a half, you know how large of a role Theta has played in my college experience. I served as our Service Director this past year and recently was elected to serve as our Fundraising Director for this upcoming year. I know it sounds silly to get upset over something like my sorority when there are much more tragic events happening in the world but it has been such a large part of my college experience and I know it will be hard to let it go.

I'm not going to go into the details of why my chapter is closing or anything like that but I thought I would share what I wrote on my personal Instagram last week.

I’m honestly heartbroken and in shock in receiving the news that Theta will no longer be a chapter at Clemson. 

Coming from out of state, I could count on one hand the number of people I knew at Clemson. I always knew I wanted to go through recruitment and began that process the day after move-in. I think any sorority girl can tell you recruitment is hard but as the week went on, I found myself being more and more comfortable in Theta. Even though I wasn’t yet a sister, I felt like I belonged. 

As time went on, Theta became more and more of a home to me. I made friends in my member class, gained the most amazing big and little, and could not tell you a negative thing about my experience in Theta. 

One thing about me is that I put my full effort into everything I do (a strength and a weakness at times). From the day I joined theta, I knew I would put my full effort into it. I got as involved as I possibly could, I got involved in the Panhellenic community, and I even took on the incredible honor of taking on an officer position as a freshman. I have always been so proud to call myself a Clemson Theta.

Theta has changed me into a better version of myself and I will always be so thankful for the women of Delta Phi! DPLAM always

Thank you so much for all of your love and support during this time!

Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas

I honestly cannot believe that Thanksgiving is only a little more than two weeks away! The last few months of the year are always my favorite as they are so festive and I absolutely love Thanksgiving as it is so cozy and who doesn't love eating enjoying food as well as reflecting on all they have to be thankful for?

Regardless of your plans for Thanksgiving, I have the perfect outfit for you that will be perfect for the festivities and comfortable enough for the nap on the couch after the big meal!

dress ⎢heels ⎢earrings

sweater ⎢jeans ⎢riding boots ⎢necklace

top ⎢skirt ⎢flats ⎢hoops

What are you planning on wearing for Thanksgiving? Let me know in the comments!

Life Lately

Hey friends! Long time, no blog post! I feel like just about every time I post I start off with that but honestly this semester has absolutely crazy! I have Fall Break this weekend (Clemson has it super late this year so it could include Election Day) and it has been so nice to be at home, take a break from homework for a bit, and hang out with my family.

It's been a while since my last "My Chic Week" post (you can read all of them here) so I wanted to do a quick recap of what's been going on lately and share lots of pictures!

A Weekend at Home

At the start of October, I decided to go home for the weekend as Clemson had an away football game. It was so nice to have a chill weekend at home and spend time with my family and puppies!

Day Trip to Greenville
A few weekends ago my roommate Rachel and I took a little trip into Greenville (about 45 minutes from Clemson to go to brunch and do some shopping. We went to Tandem in Traveler's Rest, which is one of my all-time favorite brunch spots and then went to Target and Trader Joe's. We then went to an outdoor shopping center to go to Clean Juice (one of my favorite places in Charlotte) and to Home Goods!

Fall Band
A few weeks ago, we had our first big function, Fall Band. I went with my friends plus some of our friends who are different sororities at Clemson and some who aren't involved in Greek life and we had such a fun time. We took pictures in front of Tillman before the sun set and then the venue of the function was too cute as it was at a barn not too far from campus! I wound up wearing a dress from Anthropologie borrowed from my mom with my cowboy boots and go-to hoops.

our finished float!

outfit: similar dress ⎢bralette ⎢cowboy boots ⎢necklace ⎢sunglasses ⎢similar purse ⎢earrings

Homecoming + Family Visits

One of the biggest traditions at Clemson is Homecoming week. All of the fraternities and sororities work all week to pomp a float on Bowman Field and they all turn out incredibly. My parents wound up visiting for the game that weekend against NC State, which was so much fun! My parents arrived in Clemson around 11:30 so Rachel, Olivia, and I headed over to their tailgate. We hung out at our tailgate for a bit and then did some tailgate hopping with our family friends as well as stopping by Bowman to see all of the finished Homecoming floats before going into the game.

My little and I both had hill tickets for the game so we sat together and wound up staying until halftime. We headed back to the tailgate and hung out for a while with my family and a bunch of our family friends. My little wound up leaving to go to another tailgate and then my big stopped by and went out to dinner with us after the game. We went to a pizza place a little outside of the main part of Clemson, which was a lot of fun!

The next morning, my parents picked me up from my dorm fairly early so we could move my car and get breakfast before they had to drive back home to Charlotte!

Halloween

My Halloween plans were pretty much nonexistent as I had an exam in my 8 AM class the next day so I spent all of Halloween studying (spooky am I right?). Earlier in the weekend, my sorority had a Halloween function, which was so much fun! A few of my friends and I did Toddlers & Tiaras by wearing tutus (a sorority essential) with sashes. It turned out super cute and we had such a fun time!

Clemson vs. Louisville
As I mentioned earlier, Clemson's Fall Break is this weekend but we had a home football game on Saturday. We played Louisville and it was a great win so I'm glad I stayed for that before heading home for the weekend.

And here's a few pictures of Tillman to round out this post- I am so so lucky to call Clemson home!

I hope y'all have a great Monday and I am so excited to get back to posting regularly around here!