Oh, How Pinteresting: Dorm Room Edition

For the third straight year, I get to live in a dorm room during the school year. The good thing about becoming an upperclassman is that the dorm rooms suddenly get a lot bigger. Does that mean I'm going to get more organized and decorate my little corner of the dorm room more? Probably not. But I can dream, right?

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This is my college bedding (yeah, things just got weird, my dear followers...you now know where I sleep.) So if I had a million dollars and more time on my hands, here is how I'd decorate my dorm...

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I'd spray paint a cheap doormat hot pink, just like in this picture.

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I'd paint my old animal toys pink, black and white, then put them on top of jars like they do here. They'd hold all the odds and ends on my desk.

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I'd have this awesome Daschund bookend set...

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...and this lamp.

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I'd make something super organized like this, only wrap it in Lilly Pulitzer fabric.

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All my chargers would stay on my desk via this little DIY contraption.

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This would be hanging on my wall...

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And this as well.

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But above all, I can't forget the rubber chicken. It's a long story. But I can't live in a dorm room without it. It's kind of a tradition by now.

There you have it, my perfect, organized dorm room! 
--Becky

Hexipuffs

I teased in my previous post that I've been up to something very crafty, and here it is!

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I want to knit this Beekeeper's Quilt, which is made up of TONS of tiny, stuffed hexagons sewn together at the end.

Here are a few of my first hexagons (or, as the knitting community calls them, hexipuffs):

How many do I need to make before my blanket is finished?

...um....about 300. But we're not going to talk about that right now.

During every Olympics, the knitting community at Ravelry.com puts together something called the Ravellenic Games. The idea is that, during the course of the Olympics, you're supposed to go on a knitting marathon and make something amazing.

Last Winter Olympics, I beat my goal by making not one of these Llama Hats, but two of them.

My goal for this Olympics? To make 50 hexipuffs!!!


Wish me luck, guys. I'm going to need it!

5 Things to Do Before the Olympics!

The Olympic Opening Ceremonies are TONIGHT! 6:30 pm for those of us in the states watching on TV. I'm so excited, but trying to keep my hopes down...the opening ceremony for Beijing was so amazing that I have to keep telling myself that nothing will ever top that. But I did hear that Lord Voldemort is making an appearance...not even kidding. Harry Potter is gonna be in the opening ceremony!

I've been doing it up for the Olympics, and I made a list of the Top 5 Things you absolutely MUST do before the games begin!

5 Things to Do Before the Olympics by preppypremed featuring essie nailpolish

1. Download Olympics-Related Apps on your Smartphone
--Check out this infograph for a list of the best Olympic apps. I already have a bunch of these on my phone.

2. Write down a list of all the events you MUST watch
--For those of us in the U.S., go to NBC's Olympics website to check out the TV schedules. I made sure to write down all the nights I wanted to tune in at primetime, as well as what events I want to stream live on my laptop.


3. Paint you nails in your nation's colors!
--I'm alternating my nails in red and blue to represent the U.S., then painting my ring fingernails with white and a gold-sparkling topcoat. I'll be sure to show you all pictures!


4. Make an English meal for the Opening Ceremonies:
--I'm making fish and chips (out of a box...sorry, my cooking skills are below par) and this English trifle to celebrate the Opening Ceremony like any Londoner would.


5. Pre-program the Opening Ceremony on your DVR:
--Since the Opening Ceremony of Beijing was so amazing, be sure to record this year's Opening Ceremony as well. Odds are, it's something you'll want to see again and again.

Are you all excited as I am? Let the games begin (I want to pull from The Hunger Games and say "and may the odds be ever in your favor!")

Prep for Less: Red Ballet Flats

Flats are always a fall essential, at least for me. This year, I think ballet flats specifically will be big. They're casual, comfortable, feminine and are perfect to wear with skinny jeans or boyfriend jeans.

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That said, I'm obsessed with Tory Burch's new ballet flats for summer, the Chelsea ballet flat. It comes in a jade, black, mustard yellow and, my favorite, scarlet red. What I love most about these shoes is the little charm that comes attached to the laces. Still, are they worth the $178? Here are some similar ballet flats that I found:

Tory Burch: Chelsea Ballet Flats in Scarlet Red


J.Crew: Classic Leather Ballet Flats in Poppy


Gap: Leather Ballet Flats in Tomato


Old Navy: Women's Bow-Tie Ballet Flats in Red

I think the Gap version has to be my favorite. But what do I do about that charm that I loved so much on theTory Burch Chelsea flats?

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Many shops on Etsy sell personalized gold disks to go on charm bracelets, such as Stellar Light Jewelry, pictured here. I would buy a small gold disk with my initial on it, tie it onto the shoelaces, and viola! You've got yourself some blinged-out pair of ballet flats.

If I end up trying this, I'll let you all know. What's your favorite footwear for fall?

Friendship Bracelets

Want some new "arm candy" (aka bracelets) but don't have the cash to pony up for them? That's exactly the case I found myself in this summer, so I decided to whip up some bracelets on my own. There's all kinds of bracelet tutorials on Pinterest, but I decided to keep it old-school and simple: by making friendship bracelets.

(Today you get some lovely Instagram pictures, since my camera is at my home 150 miles away).

I've made tons of these since the beginning of summer, using up a kit of cotton thread at my local craft store that cost $4. That's what I love about these: they're so affordable and you can whip them up really quick!

Over the years, I've done many variations of friendship bracelets. I have some great memories of weaving these during summer camp (didn't we all have to make them?) Even though I'm in college, friendship bracelets have seemed to become stylish for the older crowd.

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I followed this tutorial from Honestly WTF, only I've been using four colors rather than six. Using less colors makes a thinner bracelet, which I like the look of better.

The bracelet on the top is one that I made by tying knots over and over again, creating a spiral staircase pattern. Why does it look so strange? Well, it may or may not have accidentally run through the wash, hiding in my jeans pocket. Oops.

Friendship bracelets are an easy way to add something to your stack, too! See how it looks with the other bracelets?

So, what do you think? Any of you going to try making a friendship bracelet again? They're not that hard, I promise!

Pinteresting Wednesday (2)

It's time for another week of "Pinteresting Wednesday!" For the past few weeks I've been pinning mostly DIY ideas for moving into my apartment (okay, officially it's a dorm, but calling it an apartment makes me feel more independent) next year. I've been pinning a few random things too, though!

Source: mydeco.com via Becky on Pinterest

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May Favorites

Now that I have a few weeks off, I'm going to spend them relaxing and getting ready for my trip. Here's just a few of the things I'm going to love during the next two weeks!

1. DIY Friendship Bracelets: Ever since I saw this tutorial on Pinterest, I've been obsessed with making a bunch of these colorful bracelets for the summer. They look so easy to make and cheap...embroidery floss is, what, a buck per color? There's also a bunch of projects I can make with the extra floss.

2. Harry Potter marathon: I'm an HP fan, but I haven't seen the movies in forever (even though they're on ABC Family every 3 months or so). I got the 8-disk DVD set for Christmas, so on a rainy day I want to just plop down in front of the couch and spend a day reliving my childhood.

3. Nook Color: I have tons of books loaded onto my Nook, just waiting to be read. No more Victorian Lit for me...the next two weeks are going to be filled with nothing but chick lit, let me tell you!

4. Frappuccino Happy Hour: May 4th-May 13th at 3-5pm, frappuccinos will be half off at Starbucks. I want to try their new Mocha Cookie Crumble.

5. Pinterest: I'm on that site 24/7, but I want to start making a board filled with "Bucket List" items, which I've seen other pinners do. I'll let you all know how it goes.

6. Shopping: These two dresses are from Forever 21 for around $20 a piece. I need a new summer sundress, so they would be good deals. And very in-style too!

What are you loving this May?