College Series Part 3: Dorm Decorating

So today I have my bestie Katelyn from I Make My Own Sunshine guest posting over here so that yall can have some information about what you need for a dorm. I asked her to write this guest post  because she has lived in a dorm and I have not, so I can't really help yall that much with what essentials you need for a dorm!

ENJOY! :)

So, I just finished my first year college. I lived on campus and I am living on campus again this year. My best friend asked me to do a blog about things you need for a dorm. Not only things you need, but how to do it in a cute and fun way. I attend Texas Sate University in San Marcos, and the dorm I live in was community style.

So there are a couple of things that you should have in my opinion.

The Basics

• Bedding
• Most college dorms will have twin size beds. 
• Go in to shopping for your dorm with a color or theme in mind. 
• It helps tie everything together and make it feel like home a little more.
• If you have a roommate and you want to collaborate y'all's decor make sure you talk with them, and come up with something that you both like. 
• Yes, you both will be living there, but you also want to come back to a place that you can call your own. 
• Most store will sell sets, where everything from the fitted sheet to the and pillowcases and comforter are all in the same bag. 
• Ranging form 20$'s and up. 
• Clothing
• You will need to bring everything you will need for the semester.
• I live in Texas, so i need a wide range of clothes because the weather is so random!
• If you live in an area that has rain a lot, rain boots a rain coat and an umbrella will make walking to class in the rain a little more bearable.
• SHOES! 
• I brought all of my shoes and I were them all, you will never regret bringing that extra pair of shoes.
• Bathroom.
• There is a wide range of bathrooms on campus. It may be community, or it could be suit style.
• SHOWER SHOES! Never risk it, you do not want to get a fungus!
• More than two towels, I personally have three of each of my towels! 
• When you buy stuff for college, I suggest you buy in bulk and get it out at once so you are not going back and forth to the store every month!
• Decore!
• I brought things that make me fill at home. That way when I wake up I fell safe and at home not in a random place!
• Keep your roommate in mind when you decorate. You might not want them to be offended by something. It is better to play it safe and ask.

Back to College Part 2: What to wear and what NOT to wear to class

So I think the question a lot of people want to know is what exactly do I wear to classes? I think a lot of people get confused on what to wear because of freshman orientation. Generally at freshman orientation someone at some point will say something to the effect of, “Now make sure that you don’t wear pajamas to class because it looks bad to your teachers. You need to wear nice decent clothes all the time.” But from there that leaves us to decide our personal definition of “nice decent clothes”. So I am going to tell you my personal opinion of what to wear to class based on what I have experienced people wearing at my college (and by things that I have worn).

THE BIG WHAT NOT TO WEAR: PAJAMAS (By pajamas I literally mean anything that looks like lingerie, cartoon printed pants, footy pajamas, ect.) They make you look sloppy and unprepared, and they can even make it hard for you to focus. Professors love to pick out the student who wear pajamas to answer questions because they are generally the less prepared focused students, they are also more likely to fall asleep in class. Bottom Line: NO PAJAMAS.

What to Wear Instead: Yoga Pants with a tank top and sweatshirt, also sometimes sweat pants.

Yoga Pants are acceptable classroom wear, but I would stick with just basic black ones and then pair it with a tank top and a sweatshirt, or a t-shirt. Sweatshirts are a good choice, especially during the winter (because it’s cold), but all of the time because class rooms are generally freezing. Sweat pants and a t-shirt are also acceptable most of the time, as long as you look decent and not sloppy like you literally just rolled out of bed.

I wanted to focus mainly on Pajamas because they seem to be one of the biggest what not to wears. Then I decided to make this nifty little chart here to show you some comparisons on what is appropriate vs. what is not.

WHAT TO WEAR	WHAT NOT TO WEAR
Jeans	Leggings as Pants (Unless you legitimately think you can pull them off)
Shorts (of an appropriate length)	Pajamas
T-shirts	Shirts with holes in them
Tennis Shoes, Boots, Flip flops, ect. (almost any shoe is appropriate besides heels)	No shoes (Please wear shoes…PLEASE.)
Business Casual Dress (Polo’s, khakis, blouses, ect.)	Any dress that might be worn for a night out, a prom dress, or to the club
Yoga Pants, Sweat pants	Heels (Unless you absolutely must, and if you do be smart and take a pair of flats)
Jackets, Sweatshirts, Cardigans	Crop tops (Without a tank underneath)
College themed gear	High school themed gear (Dear freshman, this means NO LETTERMAN JACKETS.)

 And now some pictures of college appropriate dress, for inspiration!

photo via  Victoria's Secret

Photo via  Fashion Worship

 
photo via Congress Clothing                                                   Photo via  Sperry

Now I'm excited for all these cute things I want to wear to class! Comment and tell me what your favorite clothing item to wear to class is!

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Back to College Part 1: Books

Only a few short weeks left of summer and then school will be starting.

Wow I feel like summer just flew right by.

But since school is about to start I am going to be doing a series of posts on different things that can help college kids get prepared for school. WHOO.

Part One: Textbooks

Textbook prices have gotten outrageous. And as college students that is not a good thing for us becase most of us are on a tight budget that doesn't necessarily involve shelling out hundereds of dollars for textbooks that we only use for about 4 months. 4 MONTHS. Now sometimes there is a few books that are used for section 1 and section 2 of a course but since the almightly textbook publishers like to make new editions every year just to rearrange a few commas and make us pay for the new updated textbook, this is a rare occourance.

But this last year I learned about this little beauty called amazon.com and I purchased all my books for about under 100 dollars. Which is pretty nice considering sometimes a single book at a college bookstore can cost any where from 100-200 dollars (including access codes and good things like that). But this year I want to explore some of the other webistes that are out there for students to use besides Amazon. So I am going to price my books for you so you can see some comparisons.

So I will be able to get all my books this semester for $235.36 that is a savings of $309.64 from what it would cost me to buy them from my college bookstore. $309.64! That's a ton of money!

My bestie Katelyn goes to a University, and I also had her price her books for me so that those of you that go to a University can see that you can save money on your books too!

She is going to save $102.46 on her books, and only spend $289.61 versus the $392.07 that she would spend at her university bookstore! (Katelyn priced her books via local bookstore by her college, and online at amazon) Oh and her blog is here,  I Make My Own Sunshine, so feel free to check out her blog.

So I encourage you to explore other websites and bookstores that are out there for you to buy your books from so that you can save as much money as possible. Because if you look at my spreadsheet my books aren't all coming from the same place but they're all super cheap! And most websites offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount so most times you won't have to pay for shipping either!

AND, I have a template for you under my Free Printables that you can download and use to price your books!

Ahhhhh, I love the smell of saving money :D
Comment and tell me how much you are saving on your books this semester!