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How to create the perfect Big Little Week | LGIP Blabbers

Posted in Lifestyle
on 09/28/2016

IMG_8987-editedIMG_8975-editedIMG_8989-editedIMG_8978-editedIMG_8990-editedIMG_8993-editedIMG_8994-editedSo…. I’m now a big!! Last week was so stressful (leading to no blog post) but I wouldn’t change a thing. Creating a lifelong friendship with my littles is going to be the most rewarding thing! To break things down, I’ll go through a bit of what I ended up giving my little bits each day. Hopefully this can help y’all if you are going through Big Little week!

DAY ONE 

The first themed day was paintings. I had been scrolling through Pinterest since I joined last year, repining an assortment of crafts to make for my littles. Most of the paintings I saw were cheesy, and had bright colors and cheeky phrases on them. We all know that paintings of that sort aren’t going to be displayed for long, considering they don’t match much. My goal for the paintings day was essentially to create a few basic things that would go with any sort of color scheme or room.

Sticking to a warm/cool color scheme (each little liked something different), I made some watercolor prints on card stock. This was honestly one of the most simple crafts I had ever done, and super relaxing too. Water color and card stock can be purchased anywhere (for cheap), so this did not break the bank! I made two watercolor prints for each of my littles by simply free handing the background and the wording. To dress things up, I framed one print in a frame from Hobby Lobby (only my favorite store ever) that I spray painted gold and left the other one not framed.

I knew I wanted to include canvases as well in the baskets, so I made two. The first was a plain white canvas with the saying “let it be — Alpha Phi.” Again, I free-handed the “let it be” and I typed up “Alpha Phi” in one of my favorite fonts (download it here) to trace onto the canvas with a sharpie. Canvas number two was based on a pin from Pinterest of a gold ivy leaf print with our public motto “union hand in hand.” I mimicked that font onto a plain black canvas with some white acrylic paint (I totally free-handed it and just went with it).

For kicks, I made some tumblers with a gold “cheers!” sticker to add the basket as well.

Rounding out this basket was a simple hanging mini bulletin board. I painted one black with some acrylic paint and sanded it down to look distressed and the other I left its original beige-ish color. With metallic paint pens, I wrote “sweet home Alpha Phi” and added some ivy-like branches to the corners. They turned out so cute, and were easily one of my favorite pieces.

DAY TWO

The second day was hand-me-down themed. I gifted some t-shirts I gained throughout the year, an Alpha Phi hat, coozies, game day pins, and each little’s favorite candy. All around an extremely simple day.

DAY THREE

My last and final day of big little week was ivy themed (aka anything Alpha Phi). I themed my baskets black and white with some pops of red. At Hobby Lobby, I scooped up these amazing metal bins which inspired the days theme. I made a square canvas with “xoxo” on it (freehand) and that anchored the basket.

Square jewelry bowls with their initials, as well as a set of stadium cups with ‘Alpha Phi,’ ‘envy the ivy,’ and ‘a phi’ were made super simple by my Silhouette Cameo machine. I made some stickers as well with my Silhouette Cameo — one in a script font and one in a greek font.

I found some gold and white frames at Wal-Mart and put a super girly eyelash print in them. A little black and white makeup bag finished off the basket!

SHOPPING LIST

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Big little shopping

Do y’all have big little week coming up in your chapter? I want to hear what you’re making (or have made) for your littles!

madison

DIY gallery wall to jazz up any space

Posted in Lifestyle
on 09/07/2016

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Happy hump day! I’m sending well wishes to y’all, considering my week has already been long and it’s only Wednesday. Juggling school and sorority has me stressin! In an attempt to take a break from all the madness, I wanted to share a fun DIY with y’all! In my last post, y’all saw a picture of one of the DIY gallery walls in my room this year. Here’s how to create your own gallery wall on a budget!

If you have been alive for the past 5 years, you know gallery walls are all the rage. I could scroll infinitely on Pinterest through pictures of gallery walls, costing anywhere from $20-$500. As a college student, I strive to ball on a budget, hence this tutorial for those of you who want to jazz up your room without spending a lot of money!

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 First step is to start off with a statement piece. For my room, it was the golden deer head. After hanging that up first, we could get a feel for the arrangement of the two sides. Catherine and I had started off with some canvases that we knew we wanted to hang diagonally by each other (they spell out “alpha fleek”). We pretty much hung all of the big items first – the “alpha fleek” canvases, the abstract canvas, the arrowhead, the pineapple and the starbursts. Pro tip: draw out how you want to arrange the gallery wall first, lay out all of your pieces on the floor, and then you can hang.

Secondly, we hung up some square photos to add some color and fill in the gaps. The square prints are from Walgreens. They are a bit more pricey than 4×6 prints, but I love the uniformity that goes with them. Sticky tack (which will run you about $5) was a lifesaver! We stuck two pieces of tack to the back of each photo and they’re still up, two weeks later!

Lastly I would just check to make sure you’ve achieved what you wanted. We wanted something a little busy, but with lots of texture and keeping with our color scheme. I think we achieved it on our first wall, what do y’all say?

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For the wall above my bed, we wanted to display some photos. After seeing the square pictures, I quickly came up with this grid-looking idea. There really was no step by step process I took to create this wall, but I’ll give y’all somewhat of a run down of how this went!

I started on one side (at the bottom picture) and worked my way over. Varying the amount of pictures across and adding quotes we printed from Pinterest and Tumblr mixed the composition up a bit. Basically just eye ball it out. I didn’t want to make a perfect square of photos and quotes, so I made sure to scatter the mix of the two.

To top it off, I added this string of tassels, which I handmade for my dorm last year. It tied the wall together and added a pop color against the white wall and quotes on white paper.

Have y’all made gallery walls for your room? If so, how did you do it?

madison

4 planners to help curb your disorganization

Posted in Uncategorized
on 07/14/2016

plan it out!

ban.do // erin condren // whitney english // may designs

Well, I was expecting to post on Wednesday as I normally do but I ended up falling asleep at 6pm and sleeping through the night (whoops). My sleep schedule is extremely chaotic at the moment, y’all. In a fit of  trying to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming school year, I have been reading up on planners of every type. For the past four years, I have used the Lilly Pulitzer Planner and I have really loved it but I’m looking for something different this school year (maybe I’m getting more sophisticated or something…? Lol).

I’ve narrowed down my choices to these four and I have to say I am having a super hard time deciding. The May Designs Agenda is bound, which I love the idea of because my spirals always seem to fall apart mid year. It is a smaller size than the rest though, and I am worried I won’t able to fit it all, but it would be great to throw in my bag and take on the go. The ban.do agenda is the front runner in my mind right now. It is business on the front and a real party on the inside. One of my fave features of this agenda is that it does not have lines under each day in the week view. I’m sure y’all have heard of the Erin Condren Life Planner™ at some point or another. It’s a customizable planner with the option of vertical or horizontal week layout (which I love) as well as the option to design your own cover that can be interchangeable. It is the most expensive out of the bunch, but it sure does a lot! Lastly, the Whitney English Day Designer™ is standing out for me because it’s set up on the week view by time. Being a full-time college student, treasurer of my sorority, working a part-time job and blogging — I’m thinking a timed schedule might just be what I need!

Have y’all been able to decide on one planner out of the millions for this school year? Pretty please leave me a comment helping me to decide which I should get for this year! 

madison

Life Lately | May edition

Posted in Lifestyle
on 05/30/2016

June is just around the corner and I can’t wait! May was awfully fun and actually a bit sad because I had to leave my fave place Baton Rouge for the summer. Now I’m home and working up a storm! I’ve just been getting back into the swing of things working 30-35ish hours a week (gotta make that money so I can save that money)! Let’s recap my month of May…

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If y’all read my Freshman year recap you know I had a strong feelings towards my freshman dorm (RIP Joan, I’ll love ya forever) and my roomie, Olive. We really did have the most amazing freshman year and I could not be more thankful!

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My Alpha Phi chapter is moving into a new home next year, so I had to say my goodbyes to our temporary home. What an amazing year it was! I’ll never forget all the memories created in this house — aka pomping for 62.5 hours, eating alot of cereal, and printing a buttload of checks (lol).

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I kicked off the summer right with the 1975 concert in NOLA. They are one of my favorite bands and I was so delighted to be able to see them live with some pals. The lighting designer for their tour did a stellar job (as you can see) and every single song had different lighting to go along with it!

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Like I mentioned in my Grad gifts under 40 post, graduation season brings crawfish boils galore! My cousin graduated from LSU and had a crawfish boil to celebrate! The whole fam had a great time, even my siblings, who I had to force to take a picture with me :-)

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To-do lists are my thing no matter the time of year. During the summer, I work almost everyday and alot of my free time is devoted to Alpha Phi so I have to keep myself organized. This adorable to-do list is a savior.

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My everyday makeup has been pretty simple this month. I’ve been sticking to the basics with my tried and true products. Here’s a sneak peek of what I use. Would y’all like to see an everyday makeup post?

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Officially obsessed with this fun effect for my Instagram pics. It’s an app called YouDoodle and you can draw on your pictures. This editing took me a solid 45 minutes, but it turned out so stinking cute I thought it was worth it. This picture is from my post on 2 ways to style summer sneakers. PS: get you some Steve Madden slip ons — they are super comfy!

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Another look into my 2 ways to style sneakers post. I would have never dared to mix patterns like this a year ago, but my style has evolved so much! This dress and tied shirt combo was perfect for running errands around town because it was so breathable and comfy, but at the same time it looked really put to together!

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The Wedding Managers coming at ya! RGW (one of my close friends from high school) and I had the opportunity to help run our former theatre teacher’s wedding reception! We helped to set up the space and just generally make sure everything ran smoothly while having fun of course! Here’s a sweet lil pic of us channeling our in theatre kids (we miss it)!

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Another pic I doodled on! The gals and I took a day trip to NOLA last week and ended up taking some super cute pictures on the streets! We went to the Verti Marte (amazing food) and ther Odgen Museum of Art to try and find the “Before I die…” wall but it unfortunately had been taken down three days before (just our luck)!!

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NOLA adventure again! I was really digging  the architecture of this hotel (all white is one of my loves for interior/exterior design). The palms reminded me a bit of LA. Not sure why I included this in here, but hey why not!

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We (Catherine, me, and our Mamas) went to dinner the other night because my Catherine is leaving me for two months to go work in upstate NY /-: I’ll miss our dumb adventures this summer but I can’t wait to room with this babe in the fall! A Phi house here we come!

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My Sunday off was well appreciated this week! Mama and I relaxed by the pool and enjoyed our reads! I’m currently into “The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith (I know I’m about two years late to read this book written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym but better late than never right?). The weather was great and I always love getting to lay out!

 What have y’all been up to this month on May? Give me some updates in the comments!

xoxo-lgip-jpg

Congrats Grad! | 10 grad gifts under $40

Posted in Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle
on 05/18/2016

Graduation season is among us! I literally remember graduating from high school like it was yesterday! It’s crazy how time flies! Graduation season brings a lot of crawfish boils (if you live in LA like me), and lots of gift giving. While money is always appreciated, sometimes it’s nice to give a physical item to show how much you care. So I’ve scoured the internet to bring to you 10 grad gifts under $40! 

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// ban.do portable charger //

My portable charger saved my life this year. Seriously. I took it with me for long game days, nights out, or as a “just in case.” I loved the charger that plugged straight into my phone so I didn’t have to carry around cords! This one from ban.do is adorable, yet so functional!

// coco and the little black dress //

Forever wishing I had a coloring book freshman year to relieve stress. Coco Chanel + coloring — it can’t get any better than that. Take this bad boy to the library for a study break, or just keep in your room to unwind at night.

// ban.do passport cover + luggage tag //

This little duo is perfect for a traveler! You’ll never misplace your luggage with this luggage tag, and this passport cover is just the cutest.

// voluspa candle //

Voluspa has THE BEST candles hands down. The packaging is so aesthetically pleasing and there’s such a wide variety of scents offered. Burning a candle in my room is one of my favorite things to do at night before bed — aka making this the perfect gift for a grad!

// bauble bar coordinates necklace //

This year I purchased a bar necklace and it’s become one of my favorite accessories. This bar necklace is customizable with coordinates! I’m thinking coordinates of home or maybe school would make it really special.

// alex + ani bangle //

Another one of my basic pieces that I can pair with anything and everything! Alex + Ani bangles are a sweet, yet simple gift that will be put to good use in any girl’s stack.

// s’well bottle //

Y’all know my thoughts on S’well bottles — love, love, love! I toted mine around all of second semester and I loved how stylish it was, while keeping my water cold. This is a great gift for an entering college student to use on campus, or graduating college student to use at the office.

// target reversible tote //

A big tote is a must for me at anytime of year! I love this one from Target because of the price and the fact that it’s reversible. This would be a fantastic over night bag, carry on, or even just everyday purse (if you have lots of stuff to tote around like me).

 

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Is there anything on this list you would add?

xoxo-lgip-jpg

An ode to freshman year | LGIP Blabbers

Posted in Lifestyle
on 05/10/2016

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Honestly, I dreaded writing this post because it would mean that it’s over. My freshman year of college is over. As depressed as it makes me, I absolutely cannot wait to experience what the rest of my three years at LSU holds for me. Freshman year was one hell of a ride. To take in every single moment would literally make this blog post go on for years on end :) So, I’ll save y’all some trouble and recap it in a few words.

Living on campus at LSU was ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER DONE FOR MYSELF. I met so many friends from living in the 7 floor shack known as Miller, or the Miller Mansion. It was the classic all girls dorm — old, loud, and dirty (not surprised that over 600 can’t clean up after themselves). My roomie, Olive,  who has been featured on the blog and I were complete randoms and things could not have worked out any better. Olive, if you’re reading this please know I am hella thankful that we somehow found each other. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have had a shoulder to cry on, someone to eat with me at any hour of the day, a ride home from TL, or a second opinion on every outfit and every boy. Forever #535!

Recruitment was honestly something I had always assumed I would be partaking in, and I sure am glad about that. Rushing Alpha Phi, as corny as it sounds, has been one of best things to ever happen to me. I have met lifelong friends, mentors and I’ve become a more passionate leader. To my home away from home, I thank you for giving me memories to last a lifetime. I am so humbled to be able to take a part in something bigger than myself. Getting involved in Alpha Phi from the get-go was so instrumental in my wanting to run for executive board. I currently serve my chapter as our Director of Finance (aka Treasurer aka M-Money as I wish I was called lol) and while the job is a very large responsibility, I have such an amazing time giving back to Alpha Phi what it has given me in this short time I have been a member. I hope to continue to serve my chapter as a member of our executive board and hopefully when I graduate, apply to be an ELC. If you have the chance to rush, I would 10/10 recommend it.

Starting freshman year, I was so nervous about the leap from high school classes (even though I had taken some dual credit and AP courses in high school) to college ones. Going in, I had about 27 credit hours which got a lot of my basic classes out of the way. Second semester I was able to take major classes, and they have me really excited for future classes. I have decided to add a minor in Theatre to my college career, to complete my major in Fashion Merchandising and other minor in Business. I really enjoy school because it is challenging (Accounting killed me but thankfully I finished with a B- #blessed), and next semester should be interesting since I’ll be in some more major classes as well as some minor classes too! The course load in college definitely requires effort, but I think the jump is doable if you come with a good work ethic. I quickly learned I had to form good study habits, and learn the ropes of the library (club Mid) in order to be successful at LSU.

A huuugggeee part of LSU is gamedays/going out, and as much as I focus on my academics, I love a fun night out or gameday as much as any other LSU student. Tiger land is unlike anything I had ever seen before coming to LSU. Who knew that a run down group of bars would hold some of my favorite memories from freshman year? There is ALWAYS something to do at LSU whether it be a night out, gameday, fraternity party, or philanthropy event. Getting ready to go out is always such a fun time because I spent my days in norts and t-shirts so I loved getting dressed up to show people I don’t always look like a homeless sorority girl (lol). Gamedays never failed to be a literal shiz show. The gameday culture at LSU is a tradition I was so excited to be able to experience. I wrote one post a little bit about it here. The pride that comes with being an LSU fan is indescribable. Gameday really sealed the deal for me, confirming that LSU is where I am supposed to be.

I have learned a lot about myself this first year of college. I am more passionate about leading than I ever have been before. I’ve learned not to take anything too seriously. I’ve learned to cherish the moment because college only happens once and it will be the best four years of your life. I’ve learned not to let boys ruin my day. I’ve learned to talk to anyone you can — they could end up being your best friends. I’ve learned that the friendships that matter can withstand the test of anything. I’ve learned to take my studies seriously, but not to be afraid to have a fun night out. I’ve learned how to juggle school, sorority, and a social life. I’ve learned that I just gotta keep doing me and things will fall into place (with hard work and determination of course).

Freshman year, you’ll live on forever in my heart. I’ll never forget the growth I’ve experienced this year — whether it was the lifelong sisters and friends I’ve made, the solidity that the career I have chosen is for me, or just the general mantra that life will go on.

With all that being said, GEAUX TIGERS! Forever LSU!

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(aka the crazy loud girl who somehow manages to look like she has it mildly together but is running at a million miles an hour in her head — it’s an odd balance, don’t know how I do it)

PS: Thanks for sticking with me through my freshman year of college, I love y’all to the moon and back for it!

An ode to Shop RiffRaff… | LGIP Blabbers

Posted in Fashion, Lifestyle
on 03/09/2016

Happy Wednesday, my lovelies! I am so ready to be done with this week, and get onto the week from hell (aka four tests the week before Spring break- send prayers ASAP). I thought I would branch out of my usual OOTD posts, and life updates to take a moment to reflect on a brand I am a huge fan of- Shop RiffRaff.

Shop RiffRaff is a brand I admire because they have been able to utilize social media in such an effective way. ShopRiff Raff is a growing small chain of boutiques that are spread across the Southern US. They currently have two locations and a successful online website.

What RiffRaff does so well that inspires my social media is they are so approachable. There’s a few different instagrams that RiffRaff holds- one being their “behind the scenes instagram” dubbed @riffrafhq. This instagram is my fave because I love the fact that customers can get to know the faces behind the website, as well as have a peak into the creative process.

 RifRaff also holds another account titled @shopriffraff for their product photos, promotions and that sort of thing. They use their social media in such an affective way by posting multiple times a day with lots of different product and varying posts (some are just plain photos of a product on a model, and some take the product into more of a real life setting- like the top photo).

My only critique for RiffRaff is that they utilize all forms of social media, including Facebook. I think Facebook has such a wide range of audiences, using it regularly can be helpful in boosting sales.

Here are some of my current faves from RiffRaff right now…

// la state love tee // show me your mumu kylie mini dress – steel magnolia // #wcw stickers // lace up dress (I’m all about lace up everything) // raw edge distressed jeans // chunky spiked + jeweled necklace //

PS: this post was for one of my Mass Comm classes! Let’s go #manshipdigitalbrands!!

xoxo, louisiana girl in pearls

Gettin’ my school on | 5 Things you Should do at the Start of a new Semester

Posted in Lifestyle
on 01/13/2016

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Well y’all, it’s officially that time to get back into the school grind. Spring semester has arrived, and I am feeling motivated, ready to accomplish everything I didn’t last semester. I finally get to take my major classes and I am so excited to jump right into the fashion world and all it has to offer. At the start of a semester, I always like to get all of my stuff together. Here are five things I always am sure to take care of before a new semester…

// one / plan out my schedule visually //

The system that we use at LSU, doesn’t show our schedule to us in a block format, but just as a list of times and classes. I personally am such a visual person, I need to see everything blocked out to get a sense of what my day/week will look like. I use myEdu to do this, and it’s awesome because it actually knows all of LSU’s courses and will come up with times and professors when you enter a course number. You can also make a profile that allows you to track your degree progress and browse for jobs.

// two / syllabus, syllabus, syllabus //

As a general rule of thumb for any course, I always read through the course syllabus before going to class. I like to start putting dates into my calendar and most professors already have the whole semester planned out. The course syllabus helps me to know what to expect as far as grades go, how many tests I’ll have and what format they’ll be in, as well as my professor’s office hours.

// three / rate my professor //

I like to check Rate my Professor before I get to class. It’s super helpful to hear feedback from other students on whether or not to buy the textbook, take good notes, etc.

// four / make a rough outline of the semester in my planner//

When I know where my semester is headed, I feel a lot less anxious. Using my syllabus, I like to put some rough dates in my calendar so I can start to plan ahead. At the beginning of the semester I also pick my color pen for each class, which I use to write in my planner with.

// five / school supplies //

For the most part, I don’t need extra supplies per class, so I like to pick up some basics before the start of a semester. My first semester I used a huge five subject notebook, which I liked, but this semester I’ve decided to use a binder since a lot of my classes involve print outs. I used a binder all throughout high school and I loved how organized everything was. I always pick up some nice new pens (my faves are Sharpie pens) and some loose leaf paper too.

What do y’all do at the start of a new semester?

xoxo, louisiana girl in pearls