Attention All College Freshman!

A few days ago, I got asked to write a blog on college essentials and advise for incoming freshman; which is such a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?

I decided that I would start with the advise part of the blog since it would consist of a lot of writing.

I had a ton of questions that I wish I would've asked before leaving for college and I faced a lot of things that I wasn't prepared for. I'm not going to lie, I was TERRIFIED to start college. I was also a little frustrated because I was already a freshman in high school and now I had to start all over as a freshman again; however, college is very different than high school. For example, you're living on your own, completely on your own. You will have to cook, clean and decide when you want to do your homework and study because there will not be anyone breathing down your neck telling you to do those things.

Starting with food, I would definitely learn some quick recipes that you can whip together before or after class. When I was going away to school I didn't even think about cooking, it didn't cross my mind, I just figured I would eat whatever I could find and whatever was quick; which is something you DO NOT want to do. Take a day to sit with your parents, or Google some easy recipes, and learn learn learn. You will ruin your body if you do not eat healthy. You will gain weight and all of the unhealthy food will run your body down and make you extremely tired; which isn't good because you need all the energy you can get in college!

Another important thing

My Day in Delaware (On A Budget)!

I am so excited to write this blog post about my day in Delaware yesterday! If you didn't read yesterdays blog post, Cody and I decided to go to Ocean City, MD because we finally had a day off together! Also, it was like an early anniversary date. I had so much fun and I've been looking forward to sharing what I did and how much we spent in total with you! So, lets get started!

We woke up around 9 am to catch the Cape May Ferry (located in Cape May, NJ) which was going to Lewes, DE. It took the jaws of life to get me out of bed because I was so tired but eventually I got out and got dressed! We stopped at WaWa to grab some morning coffee, or in my case a French Vanilla Cappuccino, and headed toward the ferry!

We intended on getting on the 10:30 am ferry so that we would make it to Ocean City, MD, with plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. However, when we got to the ticket booth to buy tickets for the ferry, the woman told us that the 10:30 ferry was full; which meant we had to take the 12:00 one! We were so upset but she told us that sometimes if there's room we may be able to fit on the 10:30 one! Annnnnnnnnnnd.. luckily, there was room! We were the last car in our lane able to fit onto the ferry!

If you haven't been on a ferry before, it's a HUGE boat that you drive your car onto! It drives through the water (obviously) from one location to another, cutting the travel time in half. It makes it really easy for commuters because it's a shorter distance and if they commute back and forth from work everyday, they don't have to worry about being exhausted and falling asleep behind the wheel! The round trip price for the ferry was $80; that included the car, Cody and me. The $80 is definitely worth it when you think of how much you would've spent in gas driving there. Each ferry is different but they're HUGE usually 2-3 floors and very spacious. There's a great view, mini food court, arcade, TVs and everything else you could possibly ask for during your mini travel period.

Here are some pictures of the view:

 Birds always seem to follow the boat and sometimes you can even see dolphins!

Cody was having a lot of fun! We were loving the breeze coming off the water and we were still a little tired so it was keeping us awake! The morning was over-cast which was making us worried about the possibility of rain during our mini vacation. After about an hour and fifteen-ish minutes, we finally got to Delaware! And there was absolutely no traffic getting off of the ferry; it was very well ran. We had a 45 minute drive to OC, MD but we were excited to see cool stuff along the way!

Like this bridge for example:

Sunday is a day for resting!

Before I start writing I would like to share that I reached 2,000 views on my blog today!

I completely intend on spending my entire Sunday resting up and enjoying my day off. So today (and most likely every Sunday) I will be writing a "mini post"!

I was planning on starting my day at 9 am but it's currently 1:20 pm and I'm still laying in bed. Well, I guess you can say that plan failed but I'm about to get out of bed now and start my day!

On today's agenda:

- get a manicure and pedicure, which is definitely needed. I hate walking around with chipped nail polish! I go to "Moon Nails" on Ventnor avenue. (Used to be "Long nails" until a woman named moon bought it) I love it there! 

- since I work almost everyday 10 am to 6 pm it's very hard for me to get to the beach, so I have to settle for the best best thing.. going to a tanning salon. I go to Island Sun in Ventnor. 

- I've been searching around everywhere for inexpensive gym clothes, so when I find them today expect a future blog on them!! I also need sneakers, which I'm kind of excited to pick out because I rarely wear athletic sneakers.

- and lastly, I need to sign up for the gym! I'm thinking either Island Gym in Ventnor or Tilton Fitness on Tilton Road.

I'll let you know how my day went in tomorrow's blog post! I hope you all have a very relaxing Sunday! 

I figured I'd leave you with a little something to think about: 

All of the places mentioned above are located in Atlantic County.

What are your plans for this beautiful Sunday? Which gym or nail salon do you go to? Comment below to share and don't forget to subscribe!

FriDIY! Make Your Own Lip balm!

HAPPY FRIDAY! The weekend is finally here and I'm sure many people are very excited about that! Since summer is here, beautiful weather comes along with it; allowing you to go to the beach, lay out by the pool and relax! Another thing that tends to come along with summer is chapped lips! I have such trouble with my lips being chapped during the summer season. Along with keeping my body very hydrated by drinking lots of water, which helps with chapped lips, another thing I am very persistent with is applying lip balm/chap stick. I am a huge sucker for lipstick because I am intrigued by all the fun colors you get to choose from. Whenever I'm in line ready to purchase my lipstick I always wish I could find a chap stick in the color I want. Then, suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head.. which led me to the idea of making my own lip balm!

Ever since college I've started shopping at CVS. They have GREAT prices and you can sign up for their "Extra Care Card" which offers you coupons and "Extra Bucks." The coupons are great and the more you spend the more you get rewarded with Extra Bucks. Extra Bucks is CVS cash that you can put toward your purchase lowering the price! After every purchase at CVS, you'll get your receipt with sooooo many coupons attached to it as well as how much "Extra Bucks" you've acquired. It also informs you of the great sales that will be going on next week! I highly suggest that you get all of your DIY needs for this project from CVS and get your own "Extra Care Card!"

Here's an example of what Extra Bucks look like:

Okay moving on! The items you will need for this DIY is vaseline, your choice of lipstick, and a small container to put your new lip balm into!

Pictured above are the items I purchased from CVS and in total it came to around $10.00. The 5 piece travel kit contained perfect containers for lip balm! I didn't mind buying the travel kit because I know it will come into use later and it was only $5.99! 

The lipstick is called "Blossom" by NYC. It was 99 cents and I fell in love with the shimmery pink color; so perfect for summer!

I decided on a small container of Vaseline and it was only $1.75!

Time to get started on the DIY!

Go On A Blind Date With A Book!

I love reading; almost as much as I love writing. There has been countless occasions where I completely disregarded a book sitting on a shelf because of it's cover art, which is totally judgmental of me. Now that I've started a blog, I realized how upset I would be if someone disregarded my blog post based off of the title. The picture on the outside of the book shouldn't matter as much as the material written inside of the book. The picture we paint for ourselves inside our head while reading the book is more prominent in our minds than any cover page ever could be. A book is suppose to make you feel something, anything, and these feelings can differ from person to person; which is why I think it's ridiculous to judge a book by it's cover. One person could fall in love with a piece of art, while another hates it; the same goes for cover art. It's nearly impossible to choose artwork that satisfies everyone, so why not just pick a book based solely on the content? 

I've heard of one person blind dating another person but I've never heard of a person going on a blind date with a book! It's something that a few book stores and libraries have been picking up on recently. It's simple! The idea is to make sure the person buying the book CAN'T see the cover. You can use any kind of paper (brown paper is used here) and decorate it in any type of way that interests you (they added a simple bow as seen above)! You could find these simple, inexpensive, items at your local CVS or Dollar Store! Once the book is all wrapped up, remember that you have to put the price on it as well as a few descriptive words for the book; so try not to over decorate! The few words will grab the readers attention and have them interested in the content of the book as opposed to the cover. It will also arouse their curiosity regarding the "blind date" process. If you're thinking about hosting your own "Blind Date With A Book" it would be a great idea to test it out at a yard sale! Books are usually huge hits at yard sales! 

Birthday (On A Budget)!

My boyfriend Cody's birthday was on July 16, he turned the BIG 2-1!

Here's a picture of the big, bad 21 year old eating the BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST I cooked for him!..

It was definitely an exciting time for, not only him, but every member of his family and his friends as well! We threw a "Christmas in July" themed party which turned out GREAT. We even rented a Sno Cone machine that was in the shape of a polar bear. It couldn't have worked out better! Now, I originally intended to fill up this post with details of the AMAZING dinner we had last night at Carmine's in Atlantic City, New Jersey, (located in the Tropicana Casino) but I'll save that for the next post!

So, let's start off with the food! My mom owns a restaurant in Ventnor, New Jersey, Called Domenico's. Luckily, she catered the party which saved me a very big amount of money! I was so relieved that I could put some of the food funds toward the decorations.

Here's a picture of the way we had the food set up:

I also picked up some snack food from Sam's Club. If you do not have a Sam's Club Card, I highly suggest getting one! They sell large quantities of food at (almost) wholesale prices. It's a great way to shop because it allows you to buy things in bulk for a cheaper price than if you were to buy them individually! I picked up a huge box of Capri Sun juice, lemonade, chips, dip, hamburgers, hot dogs, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, lollipops, those red candy-cane looking mints that remind you of Christmas :) and I also picked up this really cool iced tea pitcher! In total I spent about $150 there which was great for the amount of stuff I got, especially because everything came in such large quantities!

Now, onto the biggest hit at the party, the Sno Kone machine! It cost around $60.00 to rent the machine and then when you arrive at the store you have the option to buy the Sno Kone Juice and cups for the ice to go into. All together I spent $75.00 renting the Sno Kone machine. I got three packs of cups, the Sno Kone machine and two different flavored juices. Everyone LOVED it and it was well worth the money! I rented it from AC Party Rental located on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, New jersey.

 Here's a picture of the Sno Cone machine and their website: http://acparty.com/

My friend, Brittney, was REALLY liking the polar bear head.. Can you tell?

However, the thing that made my night wasn't the Sno Cone machine, it was the fact that everyone really took the theme of the party serious and got all dressed up for it! We had a green, red and white dress code and it made me so happy to see that people cared enough to acknowledge the theme!

Here's a picture of one of my favorite outfits from the night!

All-in-all the party was a HUGE success. It [the party] got us all in the Christmas spirit! Here are some more pictures from our very own Christmas in July celebration!