Recap My Month: Follow Me Around Ohio!

Hello lovelies! Long time no blog. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to Ohio with my second family (otherwise known as my cheer team). Let me tell you something about traveling with a group of teenage girls that big: it’s nearly impossible to get everything together and organized. 29 exhausted teenagers, plus chaperones, parents, and coaches.

When my team and I found out we were going to be traveling to Ohio, all of our reactions were the same; “Ohio? Really? Even Arkansas was better than that.” Yes, I know what you’re thinking. We really did go to Arkansas last year. But despite all of our complaints and worries, we all enjoyed Ohio immensely! Even though our itinerary was absolutely jam packed and crazy, I had a ton of fun and wanted to share my trip with y’all!

Day One

This is our first day here. We all had to meet to get on the bus to go the airport at 4 in the morning. Yes you heard that right – 4 AM. 30+ people trying to get together that early in the morning is just never a great idea. After we all met up, we said goodbye to our parents and headed off to the airport! By time we got there, it was around 6-7 in the morning and we arrived just in time for the sunrise which was gorgeous!

We left from

Back to School Essentials!

Hey y’all! I’m oh so excited to share today’s post with my lovely followers because it’s a collab with Jillian (a_classic_touch)! Personally, my favorite part of going back to school is getting to pick out all the cute (and brand new!) school supplies!

Having a backpack that is big enough to hold all of my books that I need for the day is a major factor that contributes to what backpack I pick. Since I don’t get a chance to stop back at my locker throughout the day, I was so excited when I found this adorable backpack from Jansport! It fits everything that I need perfectly, PLUS there’s even a little extra room!

Practically my entire life is on my MacBook Pro, which is why it’s so important to me to have a good case that will protect it! This case from Casetify fits my computer perfectly and does a great job of keeping my laptop safe and it’s super cute! Also, what’s a laptop without an adorable Vineyard Vines whale? 😉

I would be completely lost if I didn’t have my Lilly Pulitzer agenda. I put everything in there from my class schedule to my personal schedule! This planner is great because it has space for things such as birthdays and trip planning, but it also offers a ton of room to write in the actual agenda part.

Notebooks and folders are easily one of my favorite things to pick out. I love color-coordinating my folders to my notebooks depending on what color my teachers assigned the class! This notebook from Zazzle.com is adorable, and not just because it’s monogrammed! These notebooks are super cute and I love the saying! I think it’s especially true because there’s nobody else like y’all!

My pencil case is one of the most important things in my bag, other than my phone. This pencil pouch from Lilly Pulitzer fits everything I need! It’s small enough that I can just throw it in my bag and reach for it when I need to. I love filling my pencil cases with super cute supplies like these Lilly pens and adorable pencils!

Speaking of my phone, I might as well live on it. I have the iPhone 6 in space gray and I’m absolutely in love! I found this super adorable phone case and I knew I just had to have it! Nothing says back to school like an iPhone case that matches! This is the cutest accessory that gets me in the mood for fall!

I don’t like using plastic water bottles. I feel like every time I recycle one, even though it is recycling, I’m hurting the environment. That’s why I love using the Camelbak water bottles! They’re super cute plus you’re helping the environment by not throwing out the plastic ones! You can find the monogram sticker here!

Other things that I can’t live without are my monogrammed necklace, pearl earrings, eos lip balm, and my Vera Bradley i.d. tag!

That’s all for today lovelies! I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to check out Jillian’s post at http://aclassictouch.blogspot.com!

Travel Advice – A Guest Post

Hello lovelies! A while ago, I asked my good friend Katelyn to write a guest post on traveling advice. I know Summer is coming to a close, but I wanted to share it with y’all!

Hey guys! I’m Katelyn and I’m going to be giving you guys some advice about well… everything! From seasonal tips, beauty tips, getting through school, and getting through life! First thing I definitely want to talk about is getting through the summer, going on vacations, and hanging out with friends. I just recently came back from Italy, and let me tell you it was AMAZING, but sadly I was dragging my luggage everywhere because I couldn’t control what I packed… The one thing I DID learn about though while traveling is that you have to pack light while still packing the necessities. The secret to that is making a list somewhat like this:

1. X amount of shirts
2. X amount of pants
3. X amounts of underwear
4. Toothbrush
5. At least Three pairs of shoes
6. Accessories (but not that much, at least two pairs of necklaces and a pair of earrings)
7. Your charger
8. Toiletries
9. Head phones
10. Hair ties
11. Makeup
12. A small bottle of perfume

XOXO – Katelyn

Well there you have it! The first of many guest posts from Kate! Enjoy your night lovelies and remember to make the most of whatever break you have left! Stay preppy ♥

Social Media & Surprises

Hello lovelies! Long time no blog huh? I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things with school and football season. I feel like I’m much more organized and on schedule during the year. That being said, let’s get into today’s post!

Recently (well a while ago), I made an Instagram connected to this blog. Between cheer practice, summer assignments, and vacationing, I haven’t had time to update the blog or the Instagram much until recently. But since things are winding down due to it being the end of Summer, I finally have some time to focus on the blog and I’m posting on Instagram almost regularly. In case any of you want to follow it, my Instagram name is @the_preppy_diaries, or you can find that here. I also have a Tumblr that I made way before I decided to begin this blog. I haven’t updated that much, but if y’all want to check it out, you can find that here. It would mean the world if you could follow both for me and check out what I post!

Now onto the exciting part of today’s post! My surprise for my lovely followers ♥ Once I get to 75 followers on Instagram, I will be hosting a giveaway with a few other accounts! The details are still being worked out, but if you want to participate in it, let me know in the comments and make sure you follow me! I’m not sure when all of y’all go back to school, but if you haven’t gone back yet enjoy your last few days of summer! Stay preppy!

My Busy Schedule

Hello lovelies! Long time no post! Y’all should expect updates to start coming regularly starting next week! Everything has been so hectic lately from diving and cheerleading. I promised myself I would buy a planner to sort all my blog essentials in! I’m leaving it to y’all to hold me to it! Enjoy the heat and try to stay cool!

Florida Updates and Why I Haven’t Posted

Good afternoon lovelies! I know for a lot of you, today marks the first day of summer, how exciting!

For those of you who have seen my new overview tab (for those who haven’t, you can find it here) you know that I should have been posting a whole bunch of new things this week! I apologize for the fact that I haven’t, and I promise the updates should resume next week! I’m going to try to post a new Follow Me Around Friday later, but I apologize in advance if I don’t! Things have been pretty busy down here in Ormond By The Sea and I’m oh so excited to share all the pictures I took with y’all! Stay tuned for a post series called “My Adventures In Florida” (creative name I know) showing all you lovelies what I did while on my vacation!

Sorry for the short post today I’ve got to get back to the beach now! Have a great day lovelies!

On The Runway

Good morning Lovelies! Right now I am either running out the door to catch my flight, or speeding down the highway to make a 9:30 am flight that’s almost two hours away. I feel so bad for not posting these last few days when I had scheduled posts! Things have been pretty hectic here in New Jersey with school ending and the entire weekend essentially being one big party! Let’s get started.

When I travel, I like to be comfy yet practical, and dressed for any event possible. My outfit of choice for my almost three hour flight is all three of those! Currently, I am wearing black workout pants (the ones that end right after your knees), my red Ohio State t-shirt, my navy and white rugby from cheerleading, and Nike sneakers!

We’re scheduled to land in Orlando sometime around 12:30. It’s beyond hot and humid today, and will be that way the entire time I’m there which is crazy! We’re going to try to run to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to do a two day trip! Meaning, of course, that I have a change of clothes in my carry on backpack that consists of Soffe shorts and my Slytherin t-shirt! So excited!!

That’s all for today! Have a great day lovelies!

How I Decorated My Laptop/Free Stickers!

Hello lovelies! After months of collecting stickers and constantly saying “I’m going to put these on my laptop after I have a case!”, I finally have! During a much-needed study break, I put my favorites on and I love it! Without further ado, let’s check out my laptop!

I got almost all of my stickers from e-mailing companies and just simply asking for them! You can say something polite such as “Hi! I’m Name and I love your company and your products! I would love to get some free stickers to use on my instagram, agenda, etc.” Remember to say thank you! I got my case and keyboard cover in a bundle type thing off of Amazon and the color is “Sea foam Green”; you can find that here. The companies that sent me stickers are:

Vineyard Vines – tieguys@vineyardvines.com

Southern Lure – http://www.southernlure.com/pages/contact-us (fill out the contact form and they’ll get back to you!)

Simply Southern – http://www.simplysoutherntees.com/index.php?route=information/contact (same for this company) 

Coastal Provisions Co. – Chriss@serggroup.com

Jadelynn Brooke – https://atxmafia.wufoo.com/forms/q1gorj321x2mpdl/ (all you have to do is fill out this form! It’s super easy)

Summer Ties – staff@summerties.com

Sperry – customerservice@sperrytopsider.com 

All of the other stickers I bought myself! They’re from The House Boardshop, Mount Snow (Vermont), Sunday River (Maine), Block Island (which is one of my favorite places ever!), and then just other small stickers I had to fill space. Try emailing some other companies and see what they say!  The worst you can get is a no! Good luck, and happy sticker requesting!

Finally, the updated countdown! So, how many days are left?

1. 1 day until the last day of school! (Can’t believe I’m going to be a junior!)

2. 1 day until Sweet 16 number 1

3. 2 days until Sweet 16 number 2 – NYC here I come!

4. 5 days until I leave for Florida!

That’s all for today lovelies! Check back soon for a post on my sophomore year in review!

Study Tips

Hello lovelies!

Wow almost two days in a row I’m posting I think this is a new record. I would love to say that the weather is absolutely gorgeous up here in New Jersey, but it really isn’t. The weather has been crazy today! Earlier this morning, it was raining, and now only a few short hours later it’s warm and sunny (with rain still on the forecast though). But that’s okay because I’m going to be inside studying all day anyways. I know I was supposed to post a new “On My Radar” yesterday because it was Monday, but I decided it would be best to forgo this week since I am currently focusing on finals (and nothing else it seems)! But with that, let’s get started with some study tips!

Work with your friends – This has been one of the most helpful things for me! I make Google Docs with my friends and we all add to the study guide and compare answers. It’s one of the best ways to study, because you’re not doing everything on your own and you’re less likely to get overwhelmed with the material.

Remember to take breaks – Important! You can’t just sit there and cram everything into your mind. Take five to ten minute breaks every thirty minutes or so, come back, and quiz yourself. I promise it will help!

Write things down – This is actually something that has been proven to work. I find that it works well for me too. If you write something down, it could make a world of difference.

Make flash cards – This goes along with writing down what you’re trying to learn or memorize. This is my go to study method for memorization because it’s easy and does really help!

Avoid distractions – Honestly, this is one of the hardest things for me and probably why I procrastinate oh so much. You just need to learn to block out distractions and focus on the task at hand. But if you can’t, a great service for that is SelfControl, which is an app for MacBooks that blocks any website that you put into its list for however long you choose. You can find that here.

Sleep – If you’re running off of very little to no sleep, getting anything done is going to seem absolutely impossible. Even if you can only get a little bit (say 4 hours) that’s better than nothing. If you’re finding that you can’t stay focused at all on what you’re doing, take a power nap! It’ll make a world of difference.

Reread your notes – This is good to do before you start studying the topics more in-depth. If you have a basic overview of what you have learned throughout the year (or semester), it will be so much easier to do the study guide and answer the questions! Also, you can pick out what you don’t understand and get clarification.

Believe in yourself! – Most important of all, believe in yourself! If you believe that you can do this (and survive finals) you’ll have a much more positive outlook on the situation at hand!

That’s all for today my lovelies! Make sure you check back soon for an updated countdown, and to see how I (finally) decorated my laptop!

Finals, Video Projects, and My Countdown

Good morning lovelies!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Things at school have been winding down, and we’re on to the final week! So, what does that final week have to do with anything in this post? A lot actually. Starting tomorrow, I have 6 finals that span over the course of the next week – and you know what that means. I can honestly say that I haven’t left my house all weekend because I’ve been pushing myself so hard. So what are my essentials to get me through this weekend?

1. Multi-Colored Index Cards – these things are an absolute must for studying large quantities of information all at once. Although the all white ones are good, I prefer the packs with 4 different colors. I find it easier to break the information up between different units, and it’s so much easier to figure out what cards go with which set!

2. Pretzel M&M’s – nothing motivates me to finish a chapter like these do. As bad as that may sound, bribing myself with food is really the best way for me to get things done as quickly and as efficiently as I can! It’s all about being on task and staying focused. That’s the best way to do things.

So, what about those video projects? This semester I chose broadcasting as my elective. We learned how to film, edit, set up, and use the professional cameras, as well as working in our schools T.V. studio and producing a talk show and several news shows. Let’s just say that filming, editing, and finalizing 3 videos over the course of a week is not an easy task – but I won’t get into that rant now because they’re all done and submitted!

And last but not least, the countdown! So, what exactly am I counting down to? A few very exciting things actually.

1. 5 days until the last day of school!

2. 5 days until Sweet 16 number 1

3. 6 days until Sweet 16 number 2

4. 9 days until I leave for Florida!

I am beyond excited to start my Summer off right in Florida! We’re going down to Orlando first and going to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to get my adrenaline rush on, then stopping in Ormond Beach for a few days for some much needed beach time and relaxation, then finally to Jacksonville to visit my new baby nephew and play with my niece! What are your summer plans?