My Chic Week: November 8-21

Happy Friday from at home in Charlotte! I am officially home for Thanksgiving Break (yay for my classes next week being canceled) and I am so excited to have some time to chill before the craziness of the end of the semester. I apologize for this post getting up later than usual but I have so much to catch y'all up on so let's get started!

Friday morning, I got up and went to my math class- nothing too exciting! After my class, I picked my little Nora up at her apartment and we headed back to my house so I could quickly change before going to lunch with one of our old Theta advisors!

After lunch, I dropped Nora off and then got some laundry done and hung out. Friday night was super exciting as my friend Maggie (who I met through blogging) was in Clemson so I went to dinner with her and her sweet roommate. They are both Thetas at Wofford and it was so much fun finally getting to meet her!

I then had a pretty chill night as Nora came over and we made brownies.

This weekend was pretty chill overall, which was definitely welcomed after a few crazy busy weeks! My roommate was out of town so I was able to get a lot done! On Saturday, I slept in before getting a bit of blog organization done. I then got ready and picked Nora up so we could go to Target. I needed a few random things and I always love a good Target run!

Clemson had an away game so we ordered pizza and our friend Olivia came over to watch it with us!

Sunday was a get my life together kind of a day haha! I slept in, made some pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies, did laundry, cleaned my house, caught up on some homework, and worked on some blog posts!

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all pretty typical days full of class, working on homework and projects, going to the gym, nothing too crazy!

My first two classes of the day were canceled that Thursday, which was so nice as I was able to sleep in and get a good chunk of a paper done. I then went to my 2 PM class before heading back home. I had an USAB meeting Thursday night then went out to dinner with a bunch of my friends, which was so much fun!

Last Friday started off on the early side as I had a school visit for one of my classes that was about 30 minutes away. I offered to drive a group of my friends so we went to the school and then stopped at Panera afterwards for lunch, which was a lot of fun. It was kind of strange being up so early and being dressed nicely but I guess I will have to get used to that with more field placements right around the corner.

OOTD- Top: Lilly Pulitzer (same top, different print) ⎢Cardigan: Lilly Pulitzer (similar) ⎢Skirt: Vineyard Vines (similar) ⎢Flats: Tory Burch ⎢Tote: Leather Market in Florence, Italy (similar)

My afternoon was pretty laid back as Rachel and I watched Grey's then I worked on homework. One of our friends was hosting a 21st party for one of her friends so Rachel and I stopped by for a little bit before going to bed!

Saturday was our last home football game of the season, which definitely was a bit bittersweet as I'll be a senior the next time I'm in Death Valley! We went to one of our friend's house to eat lunch and hung out a bit before walking to campus. It was a 3:30 game so we didn't have too much time before the game and we headed into the stadium with a good chunk of time to spare (after taking pictures of course!)

4 for the 4th quarter ft. my gorgeous new Clemson ring!!

The field was PACKED after the game!

OOTD- Sweater: Tuckernuck (similar, styled here) ⎢Jeans: AG (on sale!) ⎢Necklace: Vineyard Vines (old) ⎢Jacket: Barbour ⎢Cowboy Boots: Laredo ⎢Sunglasses: Maui Jim (borrowed from my mom but similar here) ⎢Apple Watch ⎢Bracelet: David Yurman

We beat Wake Forest and it was such a fun one! We stayed the whole time to rush the field and then walked back to our friend's house before getting McAlister's for dinner. The nice thing about 3:30 games is that you're done fairly early so I was able to go to bed somewhat early!

On Sunday night, Rachel and I hosted Friendsgiving for our friends, which was so much fun! I decided to make a turkey, which was quite the operation and I spent a bit of time getting it ready then waiting for it to cook in the oven! It turned out pretty well and we had quite the spread of food! The end of the semester is quickly approaching so it was fun to see so many of my friends!

Monday was a bit of an odd day as both of my classes were unexpectedly canceled. I always love when classes get canceled but I was about to walk out the door when I got the email so it made me feel a bit all over the place for the day! I wound up getting a lot of work done, which is always a good thing, and then met up with a few friends to work on a project for our reading class. After we finished, I picked Rachel up and we grabbed Chipotle for dinner. My family just got Disney+ so we watched the second High School Musical movie!

Tuesday was a full day of classes and then I had lunch with friends in between. I came home, attempted to pack, did homework, and then watched the 3rd High School Musical movie haha!

Wednesday morning was pretty typical as I had my two classes and then headed home. I made lunch and decided to do my hair before heading back to campus to film a video for my reading class. We managed to get it done fairly quickly, which was such a relief!

Wednesday night was really exciting as Rachel, our friend Madison, and I decided to go to the Jonas Brothers concert in Charlotte! We literally bought our tickets Wednesday afternoon and then drove to Charlotte. The concert was so so fun and so worth the late night and 6 hours in the car!

OOTN- Sweater: Anthropologie (borrowed from Rachel) ⎢Jeans: bought in Italy this past summer (which you can read about here) ⎢Wedges: OTBT ⎢Necklace: Kendra Scott ⎢Earrings: Sheila Fajl

Getting up on Thursday morning was a little rough after going to bed so late the night before but thankfully my 11 AM class canceled so after my 9:30 AM, I was able to go home for a bit. I put off packing to the last second and was glad I had time to do that as well as tidy up my house before leaving for a week! I then went to my 2 PM, which actually was the last time that class meets in person which is crazy to think about!

I drove Nora to the airport, which I drive by on my way from Clemson to Charlotte, so I picked her up at her apartment before stopping at my house to get all of my stuff. We were then on the road and thankfully traffic wasn't bad at all! I had dinner at home with my family and then went to bed early, which is always welcomed!

On the Blog:

My Chic (Past Few) Weeks ⎢Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas ⎢How to Create an Inspiration Board ⎢DIY Tassel Banner ⎢A Day in my Life: Fall 2019 ⎢What's in my Backpack

Happy Friday!

What's in my Backpack

Am I the only one who finds "What's in my Bag" posts absolutely fascinating? Since I usually don't use a purse most days I have class but use a backpack everyday, I wanted to share with y'all what I keep in my backpack for a day of classes.

First off, let's talk about the backpack. I have this Northface and have used it all throughout college. I was a tote bag girl in high school but realized I needed something a bit more substantial for lugging things all around campus all day. I've used it for three years now and it has held up amazingly well- worth every penny!

Laptop- I think this may be the most obvious thing to keep in my backpack given that I need it for all of my classes haha! I have a MacBook Pro and absolutely love it!

Laptop Charger- On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm on campus from 9:30 AM till 3:15 PM and am on my computer for a good chunk of that time so I definitely need to bring my charger with me (or my 2 PM class would be a bit harder with a dead computer).

Binders- I am definitely a binder kind of a girl when it comes to organization. Each class (minus my math class that requires a composition book) has its own agenda and I find that it keeps everything so much more organized as I can keep everything in the order it needs to be in to make sense. Let me know if y'all would be interested in a blog post on this!

Agenda- The one item I don't think I could survive college without! I rely a bit too much on my agenda and bring it to class to keep my to-do lists updated and to update any dates that come up!

Pencil Pouch- My pencil pouch is looking a little rough but does the job of carrying around the million pens and highlighters I insist on bringing to class with me!

AirPods- A bit extra but I love my AirPods! They connect so easily to all of my devices and the fact that they're wireless makes things so much better as you aren't restricted to sitting in one spot. I keep these in my bag for studying as well as going to the gym after class.

Hand Sanitizer (different scent)- I didn't bring any hand sanitizer with me to Italy this summer and was constantly using my friends so after that trip, I always keep some with me. As an education major, I'm around a lot of germs thanks to those sweet tiny humans so I try my hardest not to get sick. My mom sent me this fun foam one from Bath & Body Works and I love that it is not as boring as regular hand sanitizer (the little things y'all!).

Lip Balm- I always keep a lip balm in my bag and now that it's cold out, I find myself reaching for it more! Mine is by Fresh Cosmetics and while it's on the pricy side, it's worth the splurge!

Blue Light Glasses- I spend a lot of time on my computer and honestly, my eyes were starting to hurt because of it. I bought these blue light glasses last semester and love them!

Water Bottle- I always try to keep a bottle of water on me and my favorite is my Yeti as it keeps ice cold forever! I bought a lid that closes it completely, which lets me tuck it into my water bottle pocket in my bag for walking to each class.

Sunglasses (similar)- A bit silly but I can't go anywhere without a pair of sunglasses! I'm currently borrowing this pair from my mom but I love a good pair of aviators!

Wallet- A lot of my friends use phone wallets and love them but I just use a regular wallet! Nothing too crazy!

Umbrella- One of my friends freshman year kept an umbrella in her bag all the time and I thought it was the smartest thing ever. I really need to get better at checking the weather before walking out the door but in the mean time, I'll always have my umbrella in my bag ready to go!

Keys- Kind of a given now that I drive to campus everyday but I always have my car keys on me! Even last year when I wasn't driving as much, I would keep them on me as I would have my dorm key on them and keeping everything in one spot made things a lot less complicated!

What do you keep in your backpack? Let me know in the comments!

A Day in my Life: Fall 2019

Happy Tuesday! My favorite type of posts to read on other blogs are ones that give you a peek into the blogger's day-to-day life, you know not the glossy Instagram version but real life. I love seeing day in my life and peeking into someone else's schedules (in a non creepy way!).

Now that we are close to the end of the semester, I am definitely feeling settled into my routine. This semester my classes are a bit more spread out so I have 2 classes on Monday/Wednesday/Friday (but only 1 on Friday!) and 3 on Tuesday/Thursday.

My Tuesdays and Thursdays start on the early side as I have a 9:30 AM class. Now that I live off campus, I can't just leave my dorm 10 minutes before class starts and be on time so a bit more planning goes into it now! I have 3 out of my 5 classes on Tuesday Thursday, and my schedule is nice as it does give me a break for a lunch. I have my PE class then Digital Media (learning how to use different digital resources in the classroom) before I have an hour and a half long break. I typically eat with my friend Caroline as we have the same schedule so we decompress from class and I usually can't help but grab Starbucks. My roommate and a few other friends have this break so sometimes we'll go eat with them across campus!

I then have my 2 PM class and I'm done for the day. I have been going to a 6 PM barre class at our gym on campus but if I don't go to that, I'll typically go to the gym right after class as it's on my walk back to my car. Then, I typically work on homework or hang out with friends before going to bed!

for more day in my life posts, check out:

sophomore spring

sophomore fall

summer 2018

freshman spring

freshman fall

summer 2017

senior year of high school

summer 2016

junior year of high school

What does a typical day in your life look like? Let me know in the comments!

DIY Tassel Banner

Happy Monday! I am so excited for today's blog post as it is a fun (and easy) DIY perfect for your college dorm or apartment. After moving in, Rachel and I realized we had quite a bit of empty space on our walls that we wanted to fill and not drop a ton of money on (check out our living area here, my room here, and Rachel's room here). I decided to make a fun tassel banner (using these instructions) and I absolutely love how it turned out. I think it's perfect for birthday party photo backdrops or just everyday decor!

We typically have one that is pink, orange, and old with gold dots (featured in the last picture) but I decided to swap out the pink and orange for red and white to make it a bit festive for the holidays!

Materials

- Tissue Paper in desired colors (1 piece of tissue paper per tassel)

- Scissors

- Stapler

- Washi Tape

- Twine (or something to string the tassels together)

- Command hooks (to hang on wall)

1. Take one sheet of tissue paper and fold in half

2. Take a pair of scissors and cut through paper up until about 2 inches before crease

3. Unfold the tissue paper and lay completely flat

4. Roll the tissue paper tightly among the uncut middle portion

5. Twist the rolled piece and fold to make a loop

6. Staple the loop to hold together

7. Cover the staple with washiest tape

8. Repeat steps until you have the number of tassels you want (I have made it using 6 as well as 8)

9. String tassels through the twine

10. Hang on wall using command hooks

Thanks for reading!

How to Create an Inspiration Board

Happy Wednesday y'all! I am so excited for today's blog post as it is actually a guest post! My sweet little Nora graciously agreed to share a post on how to create a cute inspiration board. She has the cutest inspiration boards in her bedroom in her apartment and let's just say the memo board in my bedroom (which you can see a tour of here) needed a bit of help. She is super creative (unlike me!) and helped me out with the project! I asked her if she wanted to share how to do it on the blog to help y'all create cute inspiration boards.

For a bit of background, Nora is my little in my sorority (I introduced her to y'all in this post) and is a sophomore at Clemson! She is a Marketing major from Boston and we both bonded over our love of preppy blogs. Here's a picture for reference even though I'm sure y'all know her from My Chic Week posts.

Hi everyone! I am so excited to be sharing a post on Katie’s blog today about making your own inspiration board. It’s a super easy, personalized, and cheap way to decorate your room or apartment! I love looking at mine everyday and everyone who comes into my room always compliments it. It’s a great way to share the things and people you love without breaking the bank (and you can change it whenever you want!).

Things You’ll Need:

· Corkboards/bulletin boards (I used two of these but you can find them anywhere or even DIY some!)

· Printed photos (I ordered mine from Shutterfly and Katie printed hers at home – both ways worked really well)

· Push pins/tape (I used these to add a pop of gold)

After you have all your supplies, it’s quick and easy to make your actual inspiration boards! I started by going through my photos and grouping certain ones together. Most of my photos were either 4x6 or 4x4, but I cut a few of them down to be even smaller. I found the graphics/quotes on Pinterest (here’s my board of all my inspiration board ideas) and VSCO, and then the rest are ones of me/ones I took! After I went through my photos, I started hanging them onto the boards. I found it easiest to start in a corner and work my way across the board. I think it looks the best to have the photos layered and not evenly spaced out. On my boards, I used a lot of nature photos and prints in the background as a way to fill the space. There’s really no right or wrong way to do this, just play around with it and see what you like the most! When photos were layered on top of each other, I made sure to tape them together using double stick tape. They’ve all stayed up so far (I put it up in August) so I’m hoping it’ll last all year! After all your photos are pinned/taped up, you’re done!

You can personalize your board even more by adding old notes/tickets/memories. I’m thinking of adding some of my football wristbands from this year or some of my plane tickets from the summer and last school year.

Thanks so much to Katie for letting me share this post today! I had so much fun writing it and I hope you all enjoyed reading it!

Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas

It's crazy to think that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I'm not too big of a Halloween girl so I am always relieved once November arrives as love Thanksgiving. I mean who doesn't love yummy food and the opportunity to break out a cute fall outfit? I decided to pull together a few cute looks that will be perfect for whatever your Thanksgiving plans hold!

dress ⎢booties ⎢earrings

My go-to outfit for Thanksgiving is always a cute and casual dress that is loose enough where you don't feel too constricted after dinner! This outfit looks super cute for all the family pictures but isn't uncomfortable where you're dying to take it off by the end of the day.

top ⎢jeans ⎢flats ⎢earrings

I love how festive this top is and these jeans are seriously the comfiest thing (sensing a trend for these outfits? haha). This outfit is perfect if your family is more laid back for Thanksgiving but you still want to look cute and pulled together!

top ⎢skirt ⎢flats ⎢necklace ⎢bracelet

This outfit is perfect if you want to be a little more dressed up for Thanksgiving but still want to be comfortable enough to enjoy all of the food! This top is stunning and I think it would be such a wardrobe staple plus I love how dainty the pendant necklace is!

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

My Chic (Past Few) Weeks

Happy Monday y'all! I absolutely hate starting off blog posts with the "omg it's been a while" but the semester is just flying by! My semester has had most of our big assignments and tests in the middle of it rather than the end, which is kind of nice as we are starting to slow down a bit but I have not had hardly enough time to stay on top of my blog work!

I decided to get back into the swing of things, I would share a big MCW post with y'all! My last MCW post left y'all on October 24 so I decided to pick up from there and catch y'all up!

I'm planning on sharing a "Day in my Life" post for this semester soon on the blog but my schedule worked out where I only have one Friday class, which is nice as I only have to go to one but is kind of annoying to have to drive and park on campus just for one class lol! I have the afternoon free on Fridays, which I love though!

Three Fridays ago, Rachel and I decided to deep clean and re-organize our whole house, which was much needed haha! One of our friends (Rachel's big and my big's roommate) recently turned 21 so she had a party to celebrate, which was a lot of fun!

The next day was our Homecoming football game against Boston College, which was a lot of fun! It was a night game, which is always a favorite, and the weather said it was supposed to be raining all day (hence everyone wearing not as cute gameday outfits with boots ready for the rain!) but thankfully it didn't rain until we got home! My parents and some of our family friends came and it's always so fun seeing them!

Jersey: Nike ⎢Jeans: J. Crew (old, similar) ⎢Camp Socks: J. Crew (similar) ⎢Duck Boots: L.L. Bean

My parents left pretty early that Sunday but brought by bagels for breakfast. I then spent the rest of the day getting my life together before another busy week!

This was a week full of classes and homework honestly! I had a big project in my PE class so one of my friends and partner for it came over a few times so we could get it all done!

Friday was a pretty typical day as I went to class and then hung out at home afterwards. My friend Madison and her roommates had people over to celebrate Halloween, which was a lot of fun! I got to see a lot of friends and then we went to Cookout afterwards, which is always fun!

Jersey: Nike ⎢Leggings: Alo Yoga (similar) ⎢Sneakers: Nike ⎢Apple Watch ⎢Bracelet: David Yurman

Two Saturdays ago (November 2), Clemson played Wofford and my parents also came into town for this game! I slept in before quickly getting ready and heading to campus. We tailgated for a bit and a lot of my friends were able to come by, which is always so fun!

Sweater: Anthropologie (on sale!) ⎢Skirt: Free People (similar) ⎢Cowboy Boots: Laredo ⎢Sunglasses: Maui Jim (similar- borrowed from my mom!) ⎢Hoops: Sheila Fajl

I wound up leaving the game at half-time, but it was a fun one and I always love seeing the sunset in Death Valley! My parents and I went to dinner by their hotel and then I came back home!

Sunday was an exciting one as I got my Clemson ring! I got my hair done then met my parents for lunch. Usually when my family visits, they leave fairly early on Sunday to go back home so I was glad to spend some extra time with them in Clemson!

The Clemson Ring Ceremony is a big deal at Clemson and it is when students receive their class rings. You have to have 90 credit hours to order your ring (so senior standing) and I was so excited that I had enough credits to get mine early (most people get their rings the spring of junior year!). A lot of my education friends received their rings as well and it is such a wonderful ceremony that truly reminds you why you love Clemson! I'm so excited to finally have mine and will probably never take it off!

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer (old, styled here)⎢Wedges: Lilly Pulitzer ⎢Hoops: Sheila Fajl ⎢Bracelet: David Yurman

Monday was quite a busy day as I headed to campus early since we had an event for the Undergraduate Student Advisory Board for the College of Ed, which I'm a member of. We had coffee and donuts in the lobby of the education building, which was such a fun way to brighten up a Monday!

I then had my two classes and did some homework in the afternoon before an initiation ceremony for an honors society, which is pretty exciting!

I had a big project due in my PE class on Tuesday (we had to create song lyrics about a historical figure and create a video, which doesn't sound horrible but it took a ton of time to complete) and we watched all of our videos in class on Tuesday, which was quite entertaining. I then had my 11 am class and my friend Caroline and sat in Starbucks for a bit to eat lunch. I had my 2 PM class then went home to work on a paper for my math class.

Wednesday started off on the early side as I had to register for my next semester of classes at 8 AM. I then had my two classes of the day and went to the gym before heading home.

Thursday was a pretty typical day of classes. I opted for a barre workout video instead of going to the gym as it was about to pour and my umbrella snapped in half the last time it rained. I got a few things done and went to bed early, which I always love!

Happy Monday!