Thursday, March 28, 2013

Packing the Perfect Beach Bag

My Spring Break starts next week and although I don't have any set beach plans, I will probably head to the beach with my friends for a day! Since the beach isn't that far from my house it is important to pack all of my essentials in my beach bag! The beach bag that I have been using this year is my Miss Lucy's Monograms bag that I am giving away in the previous post!

The below image shows what will be hanging out inside of my beach bag next week and this summer!

The Perfectly Packed Beach Bag

My beach must haves include:

Sun Hat, monogrammed of course!
Koozie to keep my water cold.
Sunscreen.
Beach Towel.
Lilly Speaker and iPod.
Sunglasses.
A fun book or magazines!
Camelbak Water Bottle.
Inflatable Beach Ball.
Croakies.

If you have all of these items you should be set and ready to take on the beach! 

Want to win the monogrammed tote above? Click here or scroll to the previous post!

dWa

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Miss Lucy's Monograms Aqua and White Striped Large Canvas Tote Review and Giveaway!

I have absolutely adored teaming up with the wonderful ladies of Miss Lucy's Monograms to bring you these reviews and giveaways for the past five months! This month you have the chance to learn about and possibly win your own Aqua and Striped Large Canvas Tote! Of course, you have the opportunity to add your monogram to this piece in the wide array of font styles and colors offered!



This tote is structured and has a protective coating on the inside that makes it water resistant providing protection and durability! The handles are awesome too, strong and sturdy meaning you can use this bag for more than just your beach towel! The stripes add a stylish eye-catching detail in a fun aqua color that is perfect for summer!


I chose a large pink monogram and love the way it looks on this stylish bag! My monogram is in the circle script font in hot pink!

Want your own tote? Enter below!


Good Luck!

dWa

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

March Smart Girls Guide

Today March's Smart Girls Guide came out! As many of you know, I write the organization column and this month my post is all about storage and inventive storage containers, it is titled "Storage Wars".
I would love to hear what y'all think of it and I hope y'all are still loving my articles!


I love hearing your feedback!

Check out the Guide here!

dWa

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Advice for High School Freshman

After mentioning the potential of High School Advice posts in my last Sunday Spiel, I received many comments requesting that I post about the topic! I am so excited to share some of my advice and tips that will hopefully benefit some of you girls who are apprehensive and uncertain about high school or school in general. While I have broken this up into different grades, I see many of the tips blending seamlessly throughout the years of high school and even middle school or college!

I am no professional when it comes to giving this advice nor am I trying to be so take these tips how you would like to and apply them to your life if you please! Like I said earlier, this is geared toward Freshman Girls however could really work for any age group!

I have not yet written any advice for other grades so these posts will come sporadically and maybe I will make a video about it as well but if I decide to I will make sure to add in the link!

Instead of just typing advice, I thought it would be more fun to present it in a more visually appealing manor. If you like these tips feel free to pin the image or print it out as a reminder to yourself! Now for the explanations...

Advice for High School Freshman

(1) Make Good Grades:

I promise your mom and dad have not hacked my blog with hopes to brainwash you into doing well in school! I do in fact advise you to get on top of your grades from the get go! Your freshman year of high school is the first year of grades colleges will see when they view your transcript once you apply to college as a senior so make them stellar and a positive first impression. While transitioning into high school may seem difficult especially if you are going to a new school surrounding yourself with new people, but your freshman year is going to be your easiest academically so it is important for your grades to reflect this. If I could do High School again, I would go back to Freshman year and try harder to make higher grades. My freshman year grades definitely are my lowest over the years (not that they are low, As and Bs) and I really recommend getting your GPA up when it is easiest to do so!

(2) Try New Things:

While lots of people consider college as a time of discovery I think that High School can be a great time for this as well! You never know what hidden talent you may discover or what activity you may begin to love!

(3) Begin To Think About Your Resume:

Your resume is what you will be sending to colleges when you apply and it is a great way to show your wide range of interest and involvement which can benefit you as an applicant. My advice t you is to begin thinking about how to build yourself as a candidate but do not join things for the sole purpose of boosting your resume! I becomes a member of the sports teams I love, I got involved with clubs that interest me, and I began my involvement of both blogging and the Smart Girls Group. All of these activities are things I love and I just so happen to be lucky enough that they show variety and uniqueness when looked at as a candidate of a college. By getting involved in a few great organizations and staying committed in them instead of joining 20 different clubs and not being so committed you are showing you persistence and commitment to groups you love!

(4) Be Social But Not Clique-y:

Have close friends and be social but don't be clique-y. It is as simple as that! Leave the cliques in middle school and be inclusive. If you have ever been the new girl then you know how hard of an adjustment that is and hopefully you realize the effects of being kind and friendly may change that girls entire experience as the "new kid." With that being said, do build close bonds between friends you can really trust and rely on because they will be the ones encouraging and carrying you through High School. Also, by being kind and sweet to everyone you are less likely to get involved with drama as long as you are being genuine, and no drama is a good thing!

(5) Make The Most Of It:

Being a freshman may not be the most appealing experience ever, but do make the most of it! Yes in sports teams you will be the one carrying the gear and cleaning up but all of the girls ahead of you went through the same thing at your age and it isn't that bad! This year can be really fun socially and it is the easiest academically so enjoy it!

(6) Learn How You Handle Stress Best:

This may not seem like a pressing thing to do at the time but you will be thankful later on if you go ahead and discover this! By doing this freshman year when your stress level is low, you will be better off in the future. Whether working out, taking a short nap, or painting your nails distresses you, then figure out when to step back, take a breathe, and engage in one of these activities.

(7) Get Organized:

Y'all know this is one of my favorite things to do (I mean you are hearing this from the Smart Girls Guide Organization Station article writer) and I highly recommend you jump on board with this from the get go. School work will be completed so much faster if all of your assignments and notes are easily accessible and arranged!

(8) Don't Change To Impress Others:

People changing just to impress others is one of my pet peeves! People will like you better if you are yourself and not trying to be someone else. No one likes a copy cat or a shadow so define yourself and embrace who you are! Don't be afraid to be different and unique if that is being yourself!

I really hope this advice helps any girls who are freshman or who are apprehensive about their freshman year! I really enjoyed writing this post knowing that it will be beneficial to others and their comfort level. I will have more posts like these up for different grade/age levels but this advice can really be applied across the board! I know I wish I knew some of this stuff earlier on but I am so happy that by experiencing some of these things then I am better able to share my advice with y'all!

Let me know what you think, it would be greatly appreciated!

dWa

Do you have any advice for freshman year? Please share below!

Friday, March 8, 2013

College Decision Week: I'm Going To....

I hope y'all have enjoyed this week and the guessing game it has been as much as I have. This week has probably been my favorite week of posting in a LONG time because having decided is such a relief!


So after all of the stress and worrying about not knowing I am ecstatic to announce that:

Furman Bound

WAHOO!

Furman has been my top choice school all along and to be able to attend the University in the Fall is truly a dream come true! I received some scholarship money which really sealed the deal! Congratulations to everyone who correctly guessed Furman and I will be emailing y'all soon to get your address so that I can send you your prize!

I can not wait to keep y'all updated with posts about dorm room preparation as well as preparing for college and anything else that has to do with the topic!

I am so excited for what's to come!

dWa

Thursday, March 7, 2013

College Decision Week: Your Turn To Guess Givaway

I am thrilled that it is almost Friday because I can not wait to share where I am going to college with you all! Today, I wanted to give y'all the opportunity to throw in one final guess for a prize! Each person who correctly guesses where I am going to college will get a small prize. Yes, you read that right, I did say each. Don't get your hopes up because it is a small prize but fun and free nonetheless!

Remember, these are the college I was accepted to!


You may only guess once and if you already know for sure, be sure to guess but don't give anything else away!

So where will it be?

SMU? Rollins? Ole Miss? Furman?

dWa

(In order for me to send you your prize, please include your email address so that I can contact you in order to know where to ship your prize!)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

College Decision Week: Where I Got In!

Today you get to see which colleges I was accepted to!

(SMU, Rollins, Ole Miss, Furman)

You may notice that the image above looks oddly similar to yesterdays Where I Applied picture and it is! Crazily enough, I was accepted to all of the colleges I applied to. I was ecstatic to be accepted to each school however that made narrowing down which college to attend incredibly difficult.

I have LOVED hearing y'alls guesses this week and can not wait to reveal the big news on Friday!

Keep Guessing!

dWa

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

College Decision Week: Where I Applied

To begin, I apologize that the school names appear backwards. Sadly, I am not a computer whizz and I have no idea how to fix it so this is how it will remain.

Today is all about where I applied to college!


Clock Wise:

The University of Mississippi: AKA-Ole Miss. Located in Oxford, MS.

Furman: Located in Greenville, SC.

Rollins: Located in Winter Park, FL.

Southern Methodist University: AKA-SMU. Located in Dallas, TX.

I applied to each of these schools and tomorrow you will get to find out which schools I got into!

Any Guesses?

dWa

(If you already know for sure where I am going please do not ruin the fun for others. Feel free to comment with the schools name however, do not state "I know this for a fact" or any other statements of the sort).

Monday, March 4, 2013

College Decision Week!

I am so so excited to announce to y'all that I officially know where I will be heading to college next year. This indecisive girl has made a decision and y'all will be hearing all about it this week!

I am sure many of y'all have heard the saying that people can wear many hats, meaning they are able to do a lot of things. Well, in todays post, I am wearing many shirts since at this point you don't know where I am going yet. As the week goes on I will narrow down the number of college shirts per post and on Friday you will find out where I will be next year!


I decided to find a few college shirts and put them into a college collage (see what I did there) so that these posts won't bore you with solely text.


Names on shirts from left to right. These are just some shirts I have from different colleges, they may or may not signify anything.
(Sewanee/Ole Miss/UVA/Millsaps/University of North Carolina/University of Alabama/Princeton/Furman)

I hope you are as excited about this week as I am!

dWa

What's to come:

Tuesday: Where I applied.
Wednesday: Where I got in.
Thursday: Your Guess: Where do you think I am going to school next year?
Friday: College Reveal!

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