What To Bring To A Conference

Although I've only been to the Her Campus National Pre-Collegiette Conference, a lot of bloggers did attend the Smart Girls Group Conference. Believe it or not, a lot of conferences do happen during the school year. I'm possibly going to one this fall (eek! There will be more information about it if it happens!), so I thought it would be fun to do a post on what exactly do bring to a conference because I felt so unprepared at the conference I went to.

one // notebook

I did bring a notebook and some pens, and luckily I was also provided with a notebook in the goodie bag I got! Conferences consist of lots of panels, seminars, etc., so it's always a good idea to pack a notebook to take some notes down. I like to physically write my notes and separate them. It's also a great way to get people's contact info!

two // business cards

Unfortunately, I didn't bring business cards with me, and I really wish I did. There were so many people I met, and I kept having to tell them my email address, Twitter handle, and Instagram handle by word of mouth. It would have been so much easier to just hand them a business card! Business cards also make you look super professional, too.

three // iPad

I almost brought my iPad, but I decided not to at the last second. I really wish I did bring it! Taking notes on an iPad is a good idea because it's usually faster to type than to write. You can also go on social media with it to connect with the other people there!

four // charger

Out of all of the things I didn't bring, this is the one I needed the most. I didn't bring my charger because I didn't think there would be any place to charge my phone. Little did I know I was wrong! So many of the girls had brought chargers, and there were outlets everywhere. I could have easily plugged my phone in and charged it while using it. Luckily my phone died right when I was leaving, but I could have used it way more if I had my charger with me.

five // water & snacks

Most conferences provide some type of drink and snack throughout the whole conference. However, it might be a good idea to bring a water bottle and a small snack to keep you fueled throughout the whole thing!

My whole experience at the conference I went to can be described by the quote "you live and you learn." At least now I know to bring all of these things for the next conference I attend! I suggest using a large and efficient bag to carry all of these things. I used my Kate Spade bag, which was perfect! A Longchamp would also be a great bag to use.

What do you bring to a conference?

A Day of Healthy Meals

As I've mentioned multiple times, I've developed a healthier lifestyle. My mom buys some junk food and some healthy food, but I always ended up eating the junk food because she always bought the healthy food that I didn't like. And every single time she went to the grocery store, I was always busy so I was unable to go with her to pick out the food I wanted. So now she gives me some money and I go grocery shopping myself!

Going grocery shopping yourself truly helps because you're able to look at all of the healthy options and pick the ones that appeal to you. This is a major reason why I've been able to eat so many healthy foods. Since I've been picking out my own food, I have been searching through Pinterest lately to find some easy, fun, and delicious recipes for healthy meals.

breakfast // avocado toast with egg

I love toast, eggs, and avocado, so this meal sounds absolutely delicious to me! I've never thought of avocado as a breakfast food before, but recently I've been seeing more and more breakfast recipes involving avocado. All you have to do is toast wheat bread, spread on fresh avocado, and place two sunny side eggs on top. Sprinkle some pepper for flavoring if you'd like! This breakfast looks super filling, so I'll probably make just one half.

lunch // grilled chicken veggie bowls

This recipe sounds so easy. Basically, all you have to do is grill chicken in whatever marinade you'd like and cook your favorite vegetables. Throw them in a bowl to mix them all up, and there you go! You have a yummy grilled chicken veggie bowl.

dinner // chicken salad

Chicken salad is so good yet so bad. When I found this clean eating chicken salad recipe, I freaked! I can't wait to make this for dinner. This recipe can also be used for lunch!

All of these meals can have a side of fresh fruits or vegetables. Wash them down with some delicious lemon water as well!

What do you like to eat for healthy meals?

Lighthouse Look

shirt: J. Crew // shorts: In the Pink (Lilly Pulitzer) // shoes: Jack Rogers // bag: Kate Spade

I got these fabulous shorts last summer, but to be honest, I kind of forgot about them until last week! I have splurged on so many different pairs of Callahans this past year that they've all been piling up, and these beauties got stuck at the bottom. I was excited when I found them because they go rather well with the J. Crew shirt I got, and my pink Kate Spade bag really brings out the dots of pink in the shorts!

How do you style blue and green together?

Keeping Track of Money

At the very beginning of the year, I had decided that I wanted to record how much money I spend in 2014. A couple of my friends did it for 2013, and it sounded interesting to me! Physically seeing how much money they spent throughout the whole year actually helped them to start saving their money, which I felt is something that I need to start doing because I'm always buying myself new clothes.

Being the lover of office supplies and organization that I am, I came up with a way that was easy and efficient for me to keep track of how much money I spend.

I use a small notebook and a divider. I got the notebook from Her Campus's National Pre-Collegiette Conference, and I got the divider from the $1 section in Target. The divider is organized by month, starting with January. Each time I get a receipt from a purchase, I put it in chronological order in the divider. I also write down each transaction in the notebook in case I might lose the receipt and to make it easier to look at.

I have each month labeled and highlighted. For each line, I have the date, how much I spent that day, and where I spent it. At the end of each month, I have a total for how much I spent that much. I included the store with each transaction because I felt that it would be cool to see how much I spent from each place at the end of the year! Especially with Lilly... sorry not sorry.

I still have about five more months left of purchases for the year, and I've already spent a ridiculous amount of money each month... it's crazy! I had no idea I actually spent that much money, or even had that much money to spend, each month. I can't wait to see how much money I spent the whole year!

Do you keep track of how much money you spend?

School Bags

With my senior year starting in a month, I'm starting to prepare for the first day of school as much as I don't want to. The straps of my school bag starting ripping towards the end of the year, but I decided to wait on getting a new bag because I didn't see a point in getting a new one when the school year was almost over. I've been looking at new bags to get, so help me choose one of the four below!

one // two // three // four

What are you using for a school bag this year?

Gym Routine

As part of creating a healthier lifestyle, I have been going to the gym almost every day this summer. I have developed a certain gym routine that I follow basically every single time I go to the gym. I use the same two machines, but I usually change the level, hardness, and amount of time depending on how I feel that day.

one // treadmill

I always go on the treadmill first. I used to hate running because I always focused on it too much when I ran, so I would always want to stop. But when I go to the gym, I turn my music up as loud as possible and watch the TV so my attention is focused on other places.

two // bike

I always go on the bike after the treadmill. I love going on the bike because I'm able to go on my phone to scroll through Twitter, check Instagram, and read emails. Doing those three things keep my mind off the fact that my thighs are burning, and it makes the time go by faster!

I also usually do crunches once I get home. This routine is something that works really well for me, and it gives me a good workout! I'm always looking for new workouts to do, so I'm open to anything.

What is your gym routine?

Pink & Green Galore

sunnies: Ray Ban // necklace: Tiffany & Co. // shirt: Ralph Lauren // earrings: Tiffany & Co. // skirt: J. Crew // bag: Kate Spade // ring: Tiffany & Co. // shoes: Jack Rogers

I used to not mix colors in an outfit that didn't necessarily match, but I have been obsessed with doing that lately! Pink and green are two of my favorite colors, and I love the way they look together. I wore this outfit to Newport, and I felt that it was perfect for the occasion!

I love the crisp look and feeling of tucking a shirt in, especially into a skirt. This was actually the first time I was able to wear this skirt, and it was super comfy. One thing that kind of annoyed me, though, is it gets wrinkly easily.

How do you feel about mixing colors in outfits?

Newport Trip

I have added a lot of new things to mine and T's summer bucket list, and spending a day in Newport was one of them! We live about an hour and fifteen minutes away from there. He had never been there, and I had been there once when I was little. So we decided that Tuesday was the perfect day to go!

We got there at around 12:15 and decided to go to Thames Street, the main shopping area of Newport. We were starving, so we decided to grab lunch first. There was a really appealing brick-oven pizzeria called Via Via, so we decided to try it.

It was delicious! We decided to split a large pizza in half. Tyler got Hawaiian, and I got Newport chicken, which consisted of peppercorn dressing, chicken, broccoli, and tomatoes. T also got a bowl of clam chowder. The pieces were so big that we could each only finish two!

Next to Via Via was the Pink Pineapple Shop, and all I got so excited because I found out about the shop through Instagram! So of course we had to take a peek inside. How adorable is that sign on the side of their shop?!

Pink Pineapple had the cutest clothes and accessories! It was so hard to not buy anything. I'm trying to save my money for the Lilly sale ;)

Newport has tons of adorable, preppy stores full of fabulous clothes and accessories. T and I are already planning on going back this summer, and I'm going to make sure I have lots of spending money with me!

My favorite was definitely the Lemon & Line flagship store. It had all of its collections labeled and hung up on a wall. It also had a different divider for each size under each collection: XS, S, M, L, and XL. I also freaked out when I saw the flagship store because I found out about Lemon & Line through Twitter! I wanted to buy a bracelet so badly, but I decided to wait to buy one online.

I had so much fun and can't wait to go back! Maybe next time I'll have some new clothes and accessories to share on the blog ;)

Have you been to Newport before?

Lovin' Lobstah

Ever since I got my Lobstah Roll Callahan Shorts, I have been obsessed with them! I love the nautical theme and bright colors of blues, pinks, and greens. And not to mention that I have gotten multiple compliments on them!

shirt: J. Crew // shorts: Lilly Pulitzer // shoes: Jack Rogers // earrings: Tiffany & Co. // ring: Tiffany & Co. // necklace: Tiffany & Co.

Do you have any Lobstah Roll items?

Fab Girl Bloggers

On a rainy day this past week, I got to thinking on how there aren't many teenage blogger communities or any that I like. I wanted to find a community of teenage bloggers that I enjoyed and that also benefited me. That's when I came up with Fab Girl Bloggers.

Fab Girl Bloggers is a community for teenage bloggers from the ages of 13-22. Everyone is allowed to join, but there is a "Join" page to fill out a form. The point of this community is to make new friends and promote your blog! Fab Girl Bloggers has three awesome features...

one // events

The only event I've been to involving bloggers was the Her Campus National Pre-Collegiette Conference, but that only had a couple of bloggers. I'd love to be able to attend a blogger meetup, and that is what this page is for! Anybody who would like to host their own blogger meetup in their area or who knows of a blogger meetup can have it posted in the "events" page for everyone to see.

two // brand opportunities

An exciting thing that I'm hoping to establish in the Fab Girl community is reviews, giveaways, and sponsored posts with brands! Any brand that would like to have one (or more) blogger(s) do a review, giveaway, or sponsored post can have me write about it on this page. Then I will have a form for each blogger to fill out, and the company will choose the blogger(s) that they think would be best for the post!

three // submit posts

This is probably my favorite feature. On this page, bloggers have the option to submit one of their own posts from their own blog. The post will then be copied word-for-word with proper citations into a blog post in the Fab Girl community! This is a great way for bloggers to promote their blog and writing.

This community is brand new, so there are still a lot of things that need to be fixed and added. I'm super excited for the Fab Girl community to grow! Everyone is allowed inside of the community, but in order to be a part of it, you must fill out the form under the "Join" page. If you could share this with your blogger friends, I would really appreciate it!

How to Drink More Water

Although drinking a lot of water is really good for you, it can sometimes be really hard to do that because water can make you feel really full, and the flavorless taste can get very boring after a while. I drink about five bottles of water each day, but I'm only able to do that because of these tips below!

one // add water before your daily routine

To help you get 7-8 cups of water a day, drink water while doing your daily routine! Follow the chart above to drink water after waking up, before a meal, before taking a bath, and before going to bed. If you drink two cups after waking up, one before each meal, one before showering, and one before going to bed, that will already add up to seven cups. And then you'll most likely drink more if you get thirsty during the day!

two // add fruit

I'm obsessed with adding strawberries, lemons, and limes to my water! It gives my water such a great flavor, which makes me want to keep drinking more water. Adding fruit will also help to detox and cleanse you. This is a helpful thing to do when you ate really bad meals!

via

three // create a timed schedule

Grab water bottles or a huge jug of water, draw lines, and label the lines with certain times. The goal is to drink a specific amount of water by a certain time. This is awesome for people who like to be kept on time and have a schedule because then they'll stick to this. I've found that I'm often drinking the amount of water for a certain time long before I even get to that time!

How do you get yourself to drink more water?

Lululemon Loves

Although I love Lululemon, I don't always get my workout clothes from there because everything is so expensive! However, I've been planning on saving up my money for a big splurge from there because the clothes are high-quality. I'm hoping to buy at least one of these below!

groove pant in black/quilt

wunder under crop in black/su14 quilt 12

run: inspire crop ii in black/pipe dream

What are your favorites from Lulu?

In the Pink Visit

Of course I had to visit In the Pink while I was down the Cape! I have to buy the majority of my Lilly items online because the closest In the Pink to me is about 45 minutes away, whether I go to the Boston location or one of the few down the Cape.

This wasn't my first time going to this In the Pink location. I met with the manager, Courtney, and she was so nice! She had me pick out any clothes that I wanted to try on, and then she picked out the most popular picks of the summer for me to try on as well. Her and the other two employees were so helpful and sweet!

Although I tried on many pieces of clothing, I only took pictures of one of the popular summer picks and two of my favorite items. My best friend, Alex, was my fabulous photographer that night!

Courtney had me try on the Delia Scalloped Hem Shift Dress because it was a popular pick of the summer! Although it's a cute dress, I do prefer it in white. I wore the McKim Wedge Sandals with the dress, and they looked fabulous! They would go perfect with the dress in white as well. The dress hanging up in the background is the Delia Shift Dress in Watch Out, which was another popular pick!

The Marigold Lace Trim Skort in Hotty Pink Forgot My Trunks is something that I picked out, and I wore a Tabby Tank Top with it in white. I am obsessed with this skort! I had to use all of my willpower not to buy it because I have so many skirts/skorts and dresses that I don't get to wear a lot. Maybe I'll pick it up at the ESS if they have it ;)

I ended up buying the Buttercup Scallop Hem Shorts in Hotty Pink Get Crackin! This is my first pair of the buttercup scallop shorts, and I actually really like them. I was planning on getting a pair of Callahan shorts because it's my favorite style of shorts, and that's what all of my Lilly shorts are! However, this In the Pink location didn't have many Callahan shorts in my size that I liked. So, I broke my normal routine, tried on a pair of the buttercup scallop shorts, and really liked them!

Overall, I had a great experience shopping at In the Pink. I always love visiting the store whenever I get in the chance because shopping in the store is so much more fun than shopping online!

Have you visited In the Pink before?

Vacation

The week of the Fourth of July, my family and I rented a Cape house for a week! It was my parents 25th anniversary in October, and to celebrate, they decided to rent a house for a week in the summer. I felt that it was such a good idea on their part because we all love the Cape.

The first day we got there was June 28th, so that day was spent settling in, unpacking, and preparing ourselves for the week ahead. My cousins came the next day, and that day was spent at the beach and grilling food for dinner! My best friend, Alex, came from Tuesday-Thursday, and Tyler came on Wednesday. Wednesday was the day that we all went to the Vineyard, and it was so much fun!

Although a good amount of my time was spent shopping (who can pass up Lilly, VV, and the amazing TJ Maxx there?!), I also spent a lot of time relaxing. The house we rented was two houses down from the beach, which was awesome and convenient! It was so nice to sit on the porch with a good book or read while on the beach. I ended up reading seven books while we were there, which basically averages to a book a day... oops!

I had so much fun on the vacation, and we are most likely renting the same house next year. I can't wait!

Have you been on vacation this summer?

Giveaway :: Little Problems

Little Problems is a fabulous business that creates products for sororities. All of these products are cute for bigs and littles. Little Problems started out as a Twitter page and is now an awesome business! Portions of each order placed are donated to a charity, which is amazing.

I'm partnering with Little Problems, and I'm so excited! One lucky winner will receive an adorable "Like Big, Like Little" koozie. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!