Unplugging For A Weekend

I often find that social media can annoy me, make me mad, and give me anxiety. There are a lot of good things about social media, but there are also a lot of bad things about it. That's when I came up with the idea of "unplugging" for a weekend to get away from social media.

"Unplugging" can be done by not using a phone, iPad, or computer and getting away from Twitter, Instagram, etc. Instead of using those devices, you can spend your time catching up on a favorite show, reading a book, leafing through magazines, doing yoga, and basically just relaxing. This would be a perfect thing to do, and it would probably be easier, if this was done in the mountains or a place with horrible cell service! I think it would help to relieve a lot of stress and feel a lot more relaxed.

I have never fully "unplugged" for a couple of days before, but it's something I definitely want to try in the summer. I can't do it now because I need my phone and iPad for school, but summer is definitely an option!

Have you ever unplugged for a weekend before?

Drinking More Water

One thing I've really focused on this year is drinking more water and green tea. So far, it's worked! However, I realized that drinking more water is a lot easier when you spread the amount out throughout the day instead of drinking it all at once because then you'll feel like you'll explode!

I follow a lot of fitness accounts on Twitter, and when I came across the picture below, I saved it to my phone because I love it. It gives an easy plan to drinking more water, and I think it's so cool how it shows how water actually helps the body!

If you follow the amount that the picture says, it will be a total of seven glasses because there are three meals in a day. You're supposed to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, so you could add an extra glass to before taking a bath or before going to bed! You'll most likely end up drinking more than eight glasses a day if you follow this schedule anyway if you have water with your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any snacks.

I've been drinking two water bottles throughout each school day, so I'll be golden if I add this list onto it. I'm excited to try this idea!

How do you drink lots of water?

Gossip Girl Obsession

I first started watching Gossip Girl in the beginning of the summer because I heard basically every girl obsessing over it and wanted to see what the hype was. However, I was so busy over the summer that I only got two watch the first two episodes and never got the chance to watch the rest. I didn't start watching it again until school started, and I became obsessed.

The story line and characters are just so perfect, and I often find that once I watch an episode, I just have to watch the next episode! I ended up watching seven episodes on Friday before having to go to work. Whenever I see a picture of the cast on Twitter, I just have to save the picture to my phone.

I'm almost done with season four and I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself once I finish the last season! It's probably bad that I feel like the characters' problems become my problems... oops. Oh and I'm totally all for Serena and Nate being together and Blair and Chuck being together!

Do you love Gossip Girl as much as I do?

Vineyard Vines Spring Favorites

I'm absolutely obsessed with Vineyard Vines's spring line! Everything is so cute and gets me so excited for warmer weather. Since I like so much of the stuff (which is a huge problem for my wallet!), I'm only going to show a couple of items that I enjoy. Check them out below!

seersucker tunic dress

seersucker ruffle strapless dress

whale patchwork skirt

whale dayboat skirt

gingham shep shirt

sailing stripe shorts

What do you love from the spring line?

February Break Reflection

I thought it would be fun to do a little reflection on my February break to-do list! I was expecting my February break to be full of lots of free time, but it was actually the complete opposite. I was out doing something every single day, which is a good yet bad thing. I love having things to do, but I also love having a full day off to myself to just relax, which I unfortunately didn't have.

one // read four books

I didn't get to read four books, but I did get to read two! I am also on my third. When I was in New Hampshire, both nights that I were there were spent laying by the fire. That would've been the perfect time to just take out my books and read, but I was worried that would come across as rude!

two // read all magazines

I haven't touched a single magazine, which is terrible! I was hoping to leaf through the magazines once I finished my books, but since I haven't finished my books, that wasn't possible.

three // go prom dress shopping

I went prom dress shopping on Thursday and said yes to a dress! You might see a post about it sometime in the future ;) I'm obsessed with my dress and was very happy that I was able to find one so quickly!

four // schedule lots of blog posts

I wasn't able to schedule lots of blog posts in advance because of how busy I was. I was only able to write blog posts the night before they were supposed to be posted, and I didn't even get the chance to write any for Friday, Saturday, or yesterday!

five // clean out winter clothes

I wasn't able to do this one, either. However, the temperatures have been in the 50s here lately, so I'm definitely planning on cleaning through my clothes soon!

Were you able to accomplish any tasks or goals?

New Hampshire Trip

Early Monday afternoon, I left for New Hampshire with my friend. She has a house up there and asked me to stay there with her for a couple of days! I absolutely love New Hampshire and skiing, so I was pretty excited.

On Monday night, we went out to dinner and just hung out. We got up early Tuesday morning and went to a ski mountain that's only about twenty minutes away from her house. Skiing was awesome because a blizzard went on that day, so we were skiing in freshly powdered snow! We were pretty exhausted from skiing that night, so we just laid by the fire and watched TV.

We left at about 11 yesterday morning. Although I had a good time, I was very happy to head for home because I was exhausted!

Erin is on the left and I'm on the right!

If you're on school break, have you done anything fun yet?

Smathers & Branson Belts

I am absolutely obsessed with Smathers & Branson belts. I think they're adorable and make the perfect accessory for any outfit! Although they are made for guys, girls can definitely pull them off. I would love to buy one of the few below to use this summer!

crabs

anchors

lobsters

elephant martini

Class To Gym Outfit Transitions

Hi everyone, I'm Alexandra from Fashion Reins, and I am very excited to be doing a guest post here today! I often go straight to the gym after my lectures, so I have chosen three of my favourite pieces that are stylish enough for class, but functional enough for the gym!

Lululemon sports bra: Lululemon makes awesome sports bras that are super comfortable, but are padded so they look great under anything, and the back of this bra looks cool under a low-backed shirt, or a tank top.

Wilfred sweater: I am a huge fan of these sweaters, I have one in a dark teal. They are made of cotton, so not the best for actually working out in, but perfect to put on for savsana after yoga class.

Under Armour leggings: I know there is a huge debate as to whether leggings are pants or not, but I think they definitely can be worn as pants, especially under a longer top like the Wilfred sweater. These are definitely the easiest piece to transition from class to gym.

What do you like to wear to transition from class to the gym?

Boston Trip

About two weeks ago, my Tiffany earrings broke. Tyler and I wanted to go back into Boston to get them fixed, so we went last Saturday! Copley Place on Huntington Avenue is absolutely beautiful, and I loved looking through all of the stores. Tiffany ended up giving me a new pair of earrings for free, which I was really happy about!

After we looked through Copley Place, we went to the Prudential Center on Boylston Avenue and looked through there. We went into Vineyard Vines, and I saw a couple of things that I really liked, but they didn't have my size. Every time I go into a Vineyard Vines store, they never have my size in the things that I like which is really disappointing! We then went into Lulu Lemon, and I got the Wunder Under Crops in black/quilt and the Fly Away Tamer Headband in hot pink.

I've already worn the headband, and I can't wait until spring comes so I can wear the Wunder Unders. I'm obsessed with them!

After we looked through the Prudential Center, we went to Newbury Street. There are tons of little shops all along the street such as In the Pink (Lilly signature store), Barbour, Warby Parker, etc. Of course I had to take a trip to In the Pink! I ended up getting the Cleona Skort in Bungle in the Jungle!

I'm obsessed and can't wait to wear this either!

I also loved my outfit as well...

The scarf is from J. Crew, the shirt is the Talya Top from Lilly, the vest is from J. Crew, and the jeans are from Abercrombie. I obviously accessorized my outfit with my Longchamp and Hunter Boots as well!

Overall, it was a great day and a successful shopping trip. It wasn't that cold out either, which was awesome because we walked outside the majority of the time!

Have you been to Boston before?

My Valentine's Day

I had the best Valentine's Day ever on Friday! For over a month I was dying to know what Tyler had planned up his sleeve. He told me it would be really good, and he was right!

T told me to dress nicely, so I did. Although I didn't wear the typical red and pink for Valentine's Day, I did love my outfit:

My cardigan and skirt are from Vineyard Vines, and the white shirt I wore underneath is the Talya Top from Lilly Pulitzer. I wore my Hunter boots and used my Longchamp, of course!

Right when I got into Tyler's car, there was a huge bouquet of beautiful pink roses and a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates waiting for me on the passenger seat! He told me that he just had to get pink roses instead of red roses because he knows how much I love the color pink, which made me laugh. Then he told me to open up the glove compartment and pull out the little white box. Inside the little white box was...

four Pandora beads spelling out "prom"! At my school, everyone gets asked to prom in a cute way. Boyfriends still ask their girlfriends in cute ways even if it's just assumed that they'll be going together! I was so shocked that he did this. He even told me that he came up with the idea on his own, which was really cute!

Then he said, "What's Valentine's Day without a little blue box?" AND HANDED ME A TIFFANY BOX!!! Inside the Tiffany box was...

the Return to Tiffany Heart Tag with Key Necklace! I'm in love with the necklace and was honestly so surprised that he got it for me... I never would have thought that he was going to get me a Tiffany necklace for Valentine's Day since he just bought me a Tiffany ring and earrings for my birthday!

After I opened all of my presents, we went to a steakhouse for dinner. We had to wait an hour and a half before we were finally seated, but it was totally worth the wait because the food was delicious! I got a garlic portabello sirloin while T got some type of filet.

My Valentine's Day was honestly perfect! The gifts were fabulous, but the part that made me the happiest was just being able to spend it with T.

How was your Valentine's Day?

February Break To-Do List

As of yesterday at 1:58pm, I'm on February break! I know a lot of schools don't have three breaks... my school has December break, February break, and April break, and I'm so lucky that I have those three! So, I'll be off for the next week. I'm looking forward to spending this week relaxing and hanging out with friends, but there are some major goals I have planned to accomplish this break. Check them out below!

one // read four books

I absolutely love to read, so whenever I have a break from school, I always place a ton of books on hold at the library! I got six books for this break, and I'm planning on reading at least four of them.

two // read all magazines

I have a large pile of magazines collecting on my desk that I haven't had the chance to read yet, so I'm planning on leafing through all of them!

three // go prom dress shopping

My prom isn't until the end of May, but so many girls at my school have already gotten their dresses, so it's stressing me out! I'm planning on looking at a couple of different places at least one day this week.

four // schedule lots of blog posts

I used to schedule all of my blog posts for the week every Sunday, but I've been so busy with school and work that I haven't had the time to do that. I've been writing each post the night before I plan on posting them. My goal is to come up with a ton of blog posts ideas and write all of those posts out to save myself some time!

five // clean out winter clothes

I have so many clothes that I can't keep my fall/winter and spring/summer clothes all together because they don't fit... I have to switch out my clothes when the seasons change and put them away in storage. It's becoming a problem and a hassle! I'm planning on cleaning through all of my fall/winter clothes and selling or giving away the clothes I no longer want.

Do you have major goals planned for this upcoming week?

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, ladies! To those of you who are single and are spending tonight with friends, have a fabulous night. To those of you who are in a relationship, enjoy this cute, romantic night! T and I are going out tonight. However, I have no idea what we're doing besides going out to dinner... he has a surprise planned for me, so I'm super excited to see what it is!

How are you spending your Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day Desserts

One reason why I love Valentine's Day is I look forward to all of the adorable, festive desserts. They are full of pink and red! If you are looking to make some desserts for tomorrow, check out these cute and yummy desserts below.

pink yogurt popsicles

valentine heart whoopie pies

chocolate-covered pretzels

misty mint peppermint patties

Are you planning on making any of these?

Treating Yourself On Valentine's Day

If you don't have a valentine this year, buying something for yourself on Valentine's Day is always a good idea. It can be something expensive or inexpensive - whatever you would like! Check out some adorable possible gifts for yourself below.

Jack Rogers // coin purse // wallet // scarf // necklace

Are you planning on buying yourself anything for Valentine's Day?

Celebrating Valentine's Day With Your Valentine

You should always show the person you love that you love them, but Valentine's Day is the one day that you should go over-the-top with showing your love that you love them. Valentine's Day can be celebrated in many different ways, so here are some ideas below!

one // dinner & a movie

Since it's Valentine's Day, go somewhere nice for dinner where you can dress up. Romance movies come out every Valentine's Day, so you can see Endless Love, which is coming out this Valentine's Day, after dinner if you'd like! Dinner and a movie is always a good idea because you get to have a really nice dinner and then go and see a really good movie.

two // takeout & Netflix

This is similar to dinner and a movie, except you're bringing the food and the movie to your house. If you don't feel like going out on Valentine's Day because you're tired or it will be too busy with other couples, you could always get takeout delivered and watch a movie or your favorite TV show on Netflix. This gives you a chance to have fun and celebrate while also being comfy!

three // walk & shop

Go somewhere that has stores and walk around. If you live in Massachusetts, you can go somewhere like Boston, the Cape, etc. It's always a lot of fun to walk around these places because they're so pretty at night, and you can even window shop if you'd like!

How would you celebrate Valentine's Day with your valentine?

Valentine's Day Outfit

On Valentine's Day, I always like to dress in the valentines color scheme - red, pink, and white. I'm not sure what I'm going to wear this Valentine's Day, but I am definitely planning on making it festive! I'm obsessed with this outfit below.

cardigan // pumps // necklace // dress

You can never go wrong with J. Crew for a holiday ;)

What are you planning on wearing this Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day Presents for Friends

If you want to get your group of friends more than just a goodie bag full of candy for Valentine's Day, check out the following ideas below! These gifts are very inexpensive because you'll most likely be buying things for a whole friend group. These items are still fabulous, though!

monogrammed tumbler // Alex & Ani // phone case // hat

Valentine's Day Presents For Parents

When it comes to Valentine's Day, I usually get one present for both of my parents so that they can use it together. It just makes things a lot easier, and it will give them something to do together!

restaurant gift card // movie gift card // spa gift certificate // hotel room

The restaurant gift card and movie gift card aren't too expensive! The spa gift certificate might be a little expensive, but it won't be too bad. A little weekend getaway at a hotel would be a really good gift if you had some siblings to split the cost between! You can also make something for your parents because parents LOVE homemade things ;)

What are you thinking of getting your parents for Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day Presents For Guys

The next gift guide is for guys. Guys can be hard to shop for because they usually have a "whatever" attitude and don't know what they want for a gift. Just like with the gift guide for girls, I chose items that weren't too expensive or weren't too inexpensive. So if you want some ideas of items that are more expensive or less expensive, feel free to email me!

candy hearts tie // arrow bracelet // needlepoint belt // Beats // hat // socks

What do you think are good gift ideas for guys?

Valentine's Day Presents For Girls

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I'm going to do a little series on gift guides for different people. Keep a look out the next couple of days for some awesome gift guides!

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Girls are either really easy or really hard to shop for; there is no in-between. So, I thought I would make a gift guide for girls to help out any boyfriends that are struggling to find Valentine's Day presents for their girlfriends! I tried to make sure these items weren't too expensive or too inexpensive, so if you would like some more ideas, feel free to email me!

monogram necklace // coin purse // phone case // Valentine's Day bangle // be my valentine ring // love bracelet

What do you think a girl would like for Valentine's Day?

Valentines

Instead of buying valentines, I thought it would be fun to make my own. I think the candy hearts whale that Vineyard Vines made is absolutely adorable, so I decided to use it! Feel free to print some out to pass them out. I'm planning on passing some out to my friends!

Tweet a picture to me (@privateschprep) if you decide to pass some of these out!

Are you planning on making your own valentines this year?

DIY :: Valentine's Card

For Valentine's Day last year, I wanted to make my own card for T instead of going out and buying one because I felt that it meant more. After searching through Pinterest for ideas, I took a couple of ideas that I liked and used them in one card.

For the front of the card, I printed out a whale on a piece of computer paper. Then I wrote the words on it with a skinny Sharpie. I took a red piece of construction paper and cut it so that it was the same size as the piece of computer paper. Then I cut a heart in the middle of the construction paper and glued the construction paper to the computer paper. Using a Sharpie, I wrote, "I love you so much" and doodled some designs around the heart. The card wasn't hard to make, but it took me a while to make it!

Are you planning on making your own card this year?

"Covert Cupid"

I love having and going to Secret Santa parties, so it's a disappointment to me that they only happen once a year. When I was thinking of fun ways to celebrate Valentine's Day, I thought of Covert Cupid... the same idea as Secret Santa, except this one is for Valentine's Day! This is a fabulous way to celebrate Valentine's Day with all of your single friends. Check out the ways below to make your Covert Cupid party a success!

one // assign cupids

This is the same exact thing as Secret Santa. Put all of the girls' names in a hat and have each girl pick a name. The names stay a secret until the actual party when each girl tries to guess who their Covert Cupid is! Figure out who will host the party.

two // create party favors

The most cliche items that girls receive on Valentine's Day from their boyfriends are teddy bears, roses, jewelry, and chocolates. Put together a party favor for each girl that consists of a rose, some chocolates, a small teddy bear, and a small piece of jewelry such as an Alex & Ani! You can put them in Valentine's Day-themed party favor bags.

three // plan food

On Valentine's Day, most couples either go to a nice restaurant or just get takeout. If you want to go with a "fancier" option for food, you can make a large amount of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and salad. If you want to go with a "take out" option for food, you can get pizzas and salad. Make sure to have little dishes around the house full of various chocolate candies!

four // make a playlist

Make a music playlist consisting of love songs. Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars would be two very good artists to have on this playlist! The songs can be about heartbreak, unrequited love, falling in love, etc.

five // set up games

Come up with fun games to play! They can be "pin the bow and arrow on the cupid" (similar to pin the tail on the donkey),  "hot or not" using people you know or celebrities, and more! Search through Pinterest to see if there are any good ones.

six // set aside a movie

Every year on Valentine's Day, a romance movie comes out to theaters. Have a little "love story" movie marathon if you want to see some tear-jerkers - such as The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Vow, etc. - or watch comical romance movies - such as Crazy, Stupid, Love - to watch with your friends.

These are just some ideas, but there are definitely plenty more! Remember that Valentine's Day is about spending time with the ones you love, in this case your friends, so make your Covert Cupid however you like it.

Are you thinking of having a Covert Cupid party?

Connect With Preps

After realizing how many preppy bloggers, Twitters, Youtubers, Instagrammers, etc. there are, I tried to think of a way that we could all connect and share our love for one thing we already have in common: preppy clothes! That's when I came up with emailing. Emailing is fabulous because you can easily have a conversation with someone! I started emailing Sammy about a month ago, and now she's become one of my best friends.

Here is my idea: I'd get all of the preppy bloggers that want to join and pick out partners using a random generator. Those two girls would then start emailing each other! I would just need each person's social media handle and their email address. If you want to email more than one person, feel free to do so!

I think this could turn into something fabulous. Feel free to share this post with any preppy bloggers, Twitters, Youtubers, Instagrammers, etc. that you may know!

Do you want to connect with preps? Feel free to tweet to me (@privateschprep) or email me (ash.mas19@gmail.com) to sign up!

#blogbreakfastinbed

When I saw the fabulous idea that Dorothy came up with on Twitter, I was so interested and wanted to learn more. After I read her email, I knew I just had to participate in #blogbreakfastinbed! Connecting with other bloggers is one thing I love doing, and I thought this would be a great opportunity.

This is typically what my lazy mornings consist of: watching Netflix on my iPad, reading through a magazine, planning the upcoming week in my agenda, and reading a good book!

one // What is the first thing you do on a lazy Saturday morning?

The first thing I do is make myself a cup of green tea and cuddle up with a good book!

two // What would your ideal breakfast be?

My favorite is eggs, wheat toast, home fries, and tea.

three // If you could have woken up this morning and been anywhere, where would it be?

I would have loved to have been down the Cape!

four // What is your favorite Instagram filter?

I love Inkwell!

I'm looking forward to meeting some fabulous bloggers and reading through all of the #blogbreakfastinbed posts!

What do your lazy mornings consist of?