August 16, 2014

Summer Recap

As I prepare to head halfway across the country tomorrow, I've become very nostalgic over this past summer.  I've been lucky enough to spend the summer in amazing places with amazing people.  Yesterday I said goodbye to all of my good friends but even then it didn't hit me that we'd be heading our separate ways over the next few weeks.  Today, while I packed up all my things, I knew if I shed one tear I wouldn't be able to stop the tears to follow.  I am completely excited and ready to start college but it's definitely bittersweet to think about the little things that I'm leaving behind (like my dog!!).  It's weird sitting here in my room tonight because I know that after I step on that plane tomorrow my life will never be exactly the same.  It's frightening to realize that your life is changing, but I know that I'm ready for what's to come.

This summer has been truly amazing.  I spent many days traveling into the city, hanging out at the beach with friends, in Martha's Vineyard with family and friends, and simply enjoying the warm days.











August 14, 2014

Dorm DIY #2: Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Ever since I started shopping for my dorm I knew I would want a bulletin board to hang over my desk. A bulletin board is such an easy way to stay organized and to store cute keep sakes and memories.   I always hang up concert tickets or photo booth strips on my bulletin board af home and love looking at them and thinking back on the memories. 

I ordered Lilly Pulitzer fabric in the pattern She She Shells to have pillows made when I realized I could use the same fabric to make a bulletin board, and since I had so much fun crafting while making my letters, I jumped at the opportunity to do something else! 

What you'll need: 
*canvas (mine came from michaels and was about 12''x18'') 
*fabric (mine came from ThePinkPalmettoShop! Make sure the dimensions are about 2 inches bigger than your canvas)
*batting 
*cork squares 
*heavy duty stapler 
*flat push pins 
*buttons 
*ribbon
*hot glue gun 

1. Start off by taking your cork squares and cover the entire front of the canvas. You may have to do some cutting so that the squares fit perfectly over the front, then glue them using a hot glue gun. 
2. Next, place your batting down on a flat surface and then put your canvas face down on top. Cut around the canvas leaving about 2 inches on each side so you'll have room to staple the batting to the back. Once you're done cutting start stapling the batting to the back of the canvas. 
3. Now repeat the previous step but with you're fabric. 
4. Once your fabric is secure you're ready for the ribbon. It took me awhile to figure out the right configuration but once I figured out how to place the ribbon properly it was really easy. Start by running one ribbon from one corner to the other (in a diagonal) then staple the ends to the back to secure them. Next, repeat with the other two corners ( you'll now have an X).   Now measure out the center of the top side and staple one end of a ribbon there. Run that ribbon to the center of the left side.  You're going to now run a ribbon from that place to the center of the bottom, another from the center of the bottom to the center of the left and finally from the center left back go the center top. At this point you'll have a perfect lattice pattern with your ribbon (hopefully this even made sense!) 
5. Next place a push pin in wherever two ribbons cross. This'll be where you'll glue your buttons but I like to put a push pin down so that the button can hold something you place under a ribbon. Next simply glue all your buttons down on too of the push pins. 


And voila! You have a cute fabric bulletin board! Enjoy!

August 11, 2014

Applying to Colleges: Advice and Tips!


As many of you know I will be moving into a dorm in just about a week for the first time ever.  As I've just completed the whole applying to college process I thought I'd share some advice for those of you who are just beginning! Applying to college, for me, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I ended up being accepted early decision to the only school I wanted to go to and couldn't be more thankful.  I think a big reason I got accepted was because my college counselor worked so hard to get my supplement essays where they needed to be.  I remember the question asked something about why I wanted to go to that school and originally I rambled on about how I loved the greek life and the potential to do a double major, etc.  But, I could've done that at any school.  My counselor told me to be more specific, and it took me about six more drafts to get there but when I finally did I was so proud.  I wrote about how I wanted to continue things I had already been doing (guitar, tennis, etc) but added details that were specific to that college.  I wrote things like "I could see myself playing guitar on the steps of X Hall while meeting new people".  Including little details that were specific to that school helped the reader imagine me at their school.  I think it's really important to have them see you there as much as you see yourself there!

Now onto my tips...

1. Don't let the process consume you.  It's easy to get caught up in the whole process because it is exciting.  You're trying to decide where and how you'll be spending the next part of your life.  So many people get caught up in who got what score or who is looking where, but it just isn't worth it.  In the end everyone will end up where they're meant to be so don't let what you're class mates are doing concern you.  

2. Don't let others affect your decision.  I know a lot of people end up applying places because of what their parents want them to do, or where their counselor told them to look.  In the end, where you go to college should be your decision.  My family has a very strong legacy at a particular college and I know they would've been happy to see me go there, but it just wasn't for me.  It was only about 45 minutes from home and for me that was just too close.  I knew I wanted to take this opportunity to live somewhere outside of my comfort zone and thankfully my family allowed me to do that.  

3. Apply early.  I ended up only applying to three schools.  One early decision and the other two early action.  I heard back from an early action school first and was deferred which honestly surprised me because I thought of that school as a safety.  It got me nervous to hear back from my Early Decision school because at that point I didn't have anything to fall back on.  I wish I had applied to more schools early just so I could've hopefully known I was going somewhere. When I eventually heard back from my ED school (on christmas eve!!!!!) I was absolutely thrilled, but until that point I was insanely nervous.  I was so happy to know where I'd be attending so early in the year.  

4. No "safety" is 100% guaranteed.  Throughout the entire process I hated hearing people say that "Blank University" was their safety.  There are so many factors that play into the decision process that even if you're scores are perfect, you may not be accepted.  In the case of my "safety", I found out that 8 other people from my school applied (and I went to a very small school), as well as 40 people in my town.  My application was compared to the other 48 people that essentially came from the same area as me which made the chances of being accepted much lower.  Another reason I hate the term "safety" is because it can be very offensive to call a school you're "safety", especially if someone listening is trying their hardest to get into that school.  

5.  Senior year counts.  The first semester of senior year is wildly important.  At that point you don't know what the verdict on your applications will be.  Many schools will defer you so that they can see first semester grades.  You may also need to apply to more schools come February and will need those grades to support you.  It would be also to let everything slip just because you gave up on senior year.  

Good luck to everyone beginning the college application process!!!

Emma 




August 10, 2014

Invade my iPhone

A few weeks ago I received a question on tumblr asking how I organize my phone and what apps I use so I figured I would make a post about the organization of my iPhone rather than posting right to tumblr.


Page 1: Starting at top (l to r), Mail, Calendar, Photos, Camera, Weather (iPhone weather app and The Weather Channel), App Store, Maps, Youtube, Notes, Photography (see below), Snapchat, iTunes store, FaceTime, Contacts, "Stuff" (everything iPhone makes you have and you can't delete but you never use), settings, tumblr, Facebook, twitter, and instagram!


Photography: This is definitely my most used area of the phone! I'm a sucker for all things photography so I love all my editing apps! Starting at the top (l to r), Afterlight, Pic Stitch, 8mm, Picfx, Phoster, Facetune, Retrica, Papelook, and Cuptakes!


Second Page: Guitar Tuna, Travel (nj transit apps!), Newsstand, Pinterest, Starbucks, TurboScan, Rue La La, Go Pro, USAA, VSCO Cam, ISnapxRemote, Kardashian (lol), Messenger, and Spotify!


 

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