First Day of College (8/29)

Woah. Today has been a CRAZY day. Well, not super crazy, but my first day of college was today! Yes, a little terrifying, but I was "ready" to start. I mean I was ready to start having a schedule in my life and start meeting new people, but I was/am definitely not ready for the homework, papers, midterms, finals, etc. Oh well, it had to start sometime. I love this campus so much. There is a lot of construction happening right now and construction gives me a little "anxiety." Without the construction, I am in LOVE with the campus. It is so green and the people are so friendly.

I definitely have had to step out of my comfort zone the past couple of days though. I am a sociable person and love to be around people (for the most part), but I definitely do not like having to be the first to talk to people. However, I know my true self and that is someone who is friendly and talks to everyone, so I made it an effort to smile to all the people I saw and talk to those that sat next to me in class. Still scary though. Something that is terrifying is that all grades could be represented in any class so there is little me in a class with a ton of seniors. Talk about deer in the headlights. There was me with all my notebooks, pencils, pens, binders, printed syllabi, and my agenda, and then there were seniors with nothing but a laptop and maybe a pencil. I probably stuck out like a sore thumb. With my fears and my desire to call my mom that I was coming home, I did have a good first day. It will definitely be rough, but in the end, it will be all worth it.

Today I was dressed head to toe (somewhat) in "Called to Surf." It is this adorable online store (there is one retail shop) and I love basically everything they have. A lot of the stuff that they have really similar (or the same brand) to Anthropologie, for SO much cheaper. I wore the Island Falls Elegant Top. This shirt is too cute. It fits sooo nicely and you can dress it up or down. My shoes were the Primetime Short Boot (couldn't find exact color) also from Called to Surf. I accessorized with bracelets from the actual store as well as my Kate spade watch and earrings.
Enjoy!

xoxo,
Em

Hey everyone! So... I have officially moved into my college dorm! It's a little scary to be away from home and from my parents, but I am so excited! I am so stoked to meet new people and learn so many new things. College will be a great experience even though it seems so terrifying. I have mixed feelings about starting classes though. I am thrilled to start, but it will definitely be hard. 

I have been thinking of my dorm room every since I was accepted. It has definitely taken A LOT of planning to be able to get it the way I want it. I definitely had to plan every. single. thing out. but... I AM SO HAPPY WITH IT. Ugh. I love my room so so so much. I mean as much as someone could love their dorm room. XD. The colors are just so me and I am just in love. I would probably call it more of a chic style. The colors I chose were mint, rose, gold, and navy. It is very a calming color scheme and every time I walk into my room, I just smile. I may or may not add something to where the head of the bed is, so we will see! 

 Bedspread

Watercolor flowers

(bought the "Living the Dream print at Paper Source) 

Since school will start the last week of August, I just printed out the calendar for September.

My mom had the idea of putting a curtain up where my closet is and I am so glad I did it. 

Fashion Watercolor Print

(bought the "Life is Beautiful" print at Paper source) 

Mint Watercolor Print

Gold Scrapbook paper 

Eiffel Tower Water Color from Paris 

Fashion Watercolor Print

Navy World Watercolor

 Pink City Watercolor (Ps. I did not buy this. I just printed it out) 

Gold Pillow #1

Gold Pillow #2

Hey Hey Hey! Summer is coming to a close and I don't want it to end. I'm going to miss the long summer nights and hanging with my friends pretty much non-stop. My whole life is going to change in less than a week and that is such a scary thought. My life for the next couple months will be a life of "firsts." First time living on my own, first time living in a different state, first time doing my laundry, first time living in a state with extended family, and so much more. It definitely is a little scary, but I am so so so excited to continue on this journey. I have a goal to be more adventurous and try new things so this new chapter isn't the same as the others.

So while I was visiting Jersey, we went to DC as well to see a few of my cousins that live there. This wasn't the first time I have been to DC, but it was the first time I have had a say in what I wanted to do (the other time I went with a church group). We started off our day with having breakfast at the hotel we were staying at (Hotel Lombardy). I had yogurt, granola, fruit, and herbal tea, and it was SO good. Ah, I wish I was eating that right now. We then went and walked to the Renwick Gallery. This was so cool. The art is amazing and the room I have pictures of is absolutely amazing. Stunning. The Renwick is right next to the White House so we also went and looked at that. My sister, brother-in-law, and I decided we wanted to ride bikes around the Mall, so we did just that. This is where the theme of "firsts" comes into play. I did ride bikes when I was younger, but I hadn't in such a long time and it didn't really interest me... until DC. I had a BLAST riding the bike around DC and it actually made me want to get a bike at college just for little joy rides. See, I tried something new and I loved it! My dad gave me the option to ride bikes in Paris when we went and I was so against it, but now I wish I could go back and change my mind about that. (ps. in all honesty, I mostly wanted to ride the bike to get a cute picture, but I ended up loving the ride, so it all worked out. oh and I did fall off of it once when trying to get a video, but let's not talk about that) After riding bikes, I went to M street with my Mom and Grandma. We didn't have much time, so we only got to go into 3 stores, but they were the best stores so it all worked out. I went into Vineyard Vines, Alex and Ani, and Kate Spade. I even was offered a job in Kate Spade so that was pretty great :D. After dinner, we went and rode bikes again, but at sunset so the sky was gorgeous.

This time of year in DC is very hot and humid, so finding something cool to wear was necessary. I wore my black and white striped tee from J Crew Factory with my royal blue shorts from Tommy Hilfiger. For my shoes, I wore my black sandals, and to match my shoes, I wore a black belt. So halfway through the day, I switched my necklace. The first part of the day, I acessorized with a black necklace from Charming Charlie, and the second part of the day, I wore a hot air balloon necklace from ModCloth.

Enjoy!

xoxo, Em

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Hey everyone!! It's giveaway time! This is my first giveaway and I am super super stoked. I have teamed up with an Etsy shop, PurePureColor, and we are giving away a free watercolor painting! I just have to say, watercolor is probably one of the most beautiful art creations to exit. Watercolor makes my heart smile every time I see it, so I am excited to share my love with you! I recently bought the "watercolor flower girl print" for my dorm room (post later will be up for my dorm room once I actually move in) and I am so obsessed with it. Definitely one of my favorite purchases. (I will put a link to it down below)

What will be given away, is the "New York Large Abstract Watercolor." This print is so beautiful and it can be used in a bunch of different ways, like hanging it on a wall, putting it in a frame on your desk, having it as a wallpaper for your phone or computer, the list goes on. If you are the winner, you will be emailed a free digital copy of this. There are 2 mandatory things to do to enter and 2 extra things you can do. 

MANDATORY
1. Follow both me and PurePureColor on instagram
2. Tag 3 friends in the same comment

(Both of these combine to equal ONE entry) 

OPTIONAL FOR MORE ENTRIES
1. Tag additional friends in each comment (make sure each additional friend is in a separate comment)
2. Repost the original giveaway picture and tag PurePureColor and me (one repost is worth 3 extra entries. only one repost per account)

I am so excited to be doing this for you all!

Giveaway ends Sunday night at 7 pm (west coast time)

xoxo, Em

Link to Etsy Shop

Watercolor Flower Girl Print

Hey everyone! I am so so sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I just got back from vacation and I only have a week left before I head up to college, so it has been a little bit crazy! 

Like I said, I just got back from vacation. I went to New Jersey to see my family and I just have to say, I absolutely adore the east coast. Ever since I was little, we went to Jersey basically every summer, but every time I go, my love for it grows stronger and stronger. Just the overall atmosphere is something that can not be experienced on the west coast. The one thing I do not really enjoy is the humidity and boy is there a lot of it. Oh well, I still love the east. 

One of the first days we were there, we wen to Ocean City, NJ. I have been here so many times before, but it is still one of my favorite places to go. We walk the boardwalk, and I enjoy every second of it. Oh and let me just tell ya, the food is amazing. There are pizza places every where you look, candy stores, fudge shops, ice cream (Kohr's is the best), lemonade, soft pretzels, you name it, it is probably there. Beware though, the seagulls might steal your food. My sister, brother-in-law, and I also did a mirror maze where all of the walls were mirrors and it was a blast. 

So because it was hot and also humid (however it wasn't as bad as last year. Last year's weather when we went was pretty miserable), I needed to go with something light, but obviously cute. I wore my romper from J Crew. This is probably one of my favorite pieces of clothing I own (I know I say that a lot, but I seriously love this romper). It is so light and perfect for the heat! I paired it with my tiffany blue necklace and my tiffany blue Kate Spade purse. My shoes were my gold sandals. I accessorized with my Kate Spade "wink" bracelet and my unicorn Alex and Ani bracelet. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo, 

Em 

https://factory.jcrew.com/womens-clothing/dresses/romper/PRDOVR~E9850/99104250892/ENE~1+2+218+22+4294967294+216+205~~~0~48~all~mode+matchallany~~~~~Romper/E9850.jsp?isFromSearch=true&un_jtt_v_pdp=yes