New Semester Checklist

Most of us will be starting school again next week or the week after. While we certainly aren't rushing to get back to school, it's important to check off a few things so that we are prepared when we have to get back to the grind.

• Purchase all books. Do you have every book for every class? Now is a good time to check book lists and schedules.
• Make goals for each class. I always do this at the start of each semester. I make my goals attainable. For example: Read psych notes every night. Or, Raise up APUSH grade by one point.  Or, get an A on the presidential analysis. I always write them in my notebook of to do lists.
• Check supplies. Do you have enough paper? Do you have a binder for your new class? It's good to know so you're not taken aback the night before your classes start.
• Organize Syllabi. Organize those Syllabi that you have. It's good to have everything together.
• Schedule significant dates. Do you have a day trip planned? Do you have a dentist appointment? Do you have a presentation? Schedule all of these on your calendars to avoid double scheduling!

Did we miss anything good to do before a semester starts?

xoxo,

A+C

5 Necessary Things (often forgotten) To Bring To College

This post was inspired after listening to my cousins give advice to our other cousin going away to college. Basically, this is all stuff they wish they would have had in school, but kind of forgot! I had to pass on the wisdom to our fellow readers!

1. Sewing Kit. Your button falls off of your Chambray Popover, a staple in your closet. You can't fix it unless you have a sewing kit! Also, if you don't know how to sew, now would be the time to learn. Even if you can't master the art, a friend should be able to help out!

2. A Bathing Suit (or 2). Even if you don't live on the coast, chances are that in August, someone will live close to college and have a pool in their apartment and invite you to swim. You wouldn't want to turn that chance down, would you? If you're at school near the coast, you might want to bring to for a random beach weekend!

3. A Box of Rice. Yeah, this one is so crazy. But after listening to my cousin tell the story about how her iPhone got knocked into the toilet in her bathroom, she really regretted not having this! Think about how easy it really is to get that phone waterlogged. If it gets broken, you have to deal with a logistical nightmare of replacing your phone (see next necessity)

4. Legal/Important Documents. No, not just your SSN, Insurance, License, and Birth Certificate, but things like cell phone contract info, laptop insurance, college payment information, and medical records. Why? You'd rather have these now then need them and have to call up mom to send them!

5. Headphones (x2). Why? These things tend to get lost all the time (ask me, I lose them like nobody's business!) Leave a pair in your school bag for libraries, and one on your nightstand for that loud roommate!

Hope this advice helped you like it helped my cousin! What do you think is often forgotten but needed at school?

Love,

A+C

C's School Supply Must Haves

Naturally, my favorite part about going back to school is school supply shopping! Yes, I am that crazy neurotic girl who has to have very particular everything, but whatever gets me to study, right? Here are my top 5!

1. PB Teen Pencil Case: How cute is the print on this pencil case? They have many other super cute prints, and they are super durable and a great size! Another great part? They only cost $9.50, and you can get them monogrammed!

2. Pilot G2 Pens: These are the only pens I'll buy! They are really great-thick print, but they don't bleed. They are definitely pricy, but they last a long time, as long as you don't lose them ;)

3. Five Star Reinforced Loose Leaf: Once you try this out, you'll be totally converted. It doesn't bleed through and it doesn't tear out of my binders! You can totally buy it on sale now-so stock up!

4. Jumbo Paper Clips: These are the best things ever. Not only do they look cool, they serve a purpose! Page marking in my textbooks! I just move them around to keep track of units/chapters. Also great for marking the weeks in your planner!

5. Sharpie Generation Highlighters: These last a whole year. They don't smear. They are super cute. Enough said!

Love,
C

A's School Supply Necessities

I have to be honest, one of my favorite parts of preparing for school to start is the mass amount of supply shopping that goes down. I'm a huge fan of big shopping outings to Staples or Target to buy all of the necessities. Without a doubt, my top 5 school supply necessities are as follows...

01. Planner: This is undoubtedly the most important school supply in my eyes. My planner keeps my organized and together. My planner helps me avoid being forgetful. Basically, my planner keeps my sane. The large Lilly Pulitzer planner is my go to! 

02. Index Cards: Preferably neon (just because). They're great for vocabulary and key terms. They're especially good for writing down key information when preparing for tests. 

03. Highlighters: These come in such handy if you're like me and you get overwhelmed by long reading assignments! They're great for identifying and highlighting important information in a book or long passage. 

04. Paperclips: They just make organizing so easy! Especially if you don't have a stapler on hand, they make it easy to group different papers and files together easily. 

05. Post Its: Post its can really serve so many purposes. Personally, I like to use post its as reminders. I stick them all over my desk and my laptop to remind myself of everything from project deadlines, lunch dates, birthdays, and even KAK posts! 

What are your school supply must haves? 

C's top five is tomorrow! 

xoxo, 

A

Guest Post: Back To School Essentials

Hello, everyone! It’s Grace from Smile Couture and I am so thrilled that the fabulous A & C are letting me borrow their blog today! I thought I’d talk about my back to school essentials, as it is getting to that much-anticipated time of year. I’ve grown up with a strict uniform (even riding boots aren’t allowed!), so my choices are a bit limited, but I also place a lot of importance on keeping it unique, because it’s really just no fun to feel lost in a sea of girls with the same purse and planner as you. Here are my picks to keep it fresh and classic:

A headband: I’m not advocating stocking up on super wild/first season of Gossip girl style ones. However, it’s great to have a few plain ones in your repertoire so you can look put together on those days when you have no time to put any real effort into your hair!

Good flats: I’ve learned the hard way that cheap ones just aren’t a good idea for trekking across the school (and I mean that; the cute Urban Outfitters flats were SO not worth the blisters freshman year). Get them broken in and in a quality fabric, and you’ll really be set. The authentic original topsiders are also a great and comfortable alternative. A pencil case: This one is unavoidable! In years past, I’ve come to prefer using a cosmetic pouch (they’re lined and so adorable!), so this year I love the simplicity and practicality of this Sea Bags one. Be sure to fill it with all of the necessary gel pens, printed pencils, and neon highlighters!

Light jacket: I think it’s a universally recognized truth that a light jacket is a fall essential. Patagonias and North Faces are both nice options that really withstand a lot of the wear and tear that accompanies school, but I also think Barbour’s a great option because it’s waterproof and really elevates an outfit to something Alexa Chung or Olivia Palermo would wear!

The bag: Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a tote fiend (I’ve used J. Crew, Kate Spade, Longchamp, and Vineyard Vines in years past), but they’re not the best for transporting heavier textbooks (if that’s not an issue, though, go for it!). This Madewell one is a great example of fashion-meets-function, and I’m getting mine monogrammed. I would steer away from script monograms, though, as I don’t think they lend as classic of a look.

Planner: I feel as though I’m not as reliant on my planner as most, but I still think it’s great to have for keeping track of assignments and such! I’m currently using a Lilly, but I plan on switching to Erin Condren because I think they’re a little more functional and still offer nice designs!

Best,

Grace

Perfectly Preppy Backpack

A new school year calls for a new (monogrammed) school bag. After doing some research on the internet, I (A) figured that with the mass amount of books I'm going to be carrying from class to class, a backpack made the most sense for me...especially in the interest of my shoulder/back health. Throughout high school, I always carried my books in a Vineyard Vines tote, but I decided that with the big change coming up (COLLEGE!) I wanted to change up my bag as well!

Let me tell you- I could not be happier that I did! My new bag is from Monogram Chick and I am thrilled with the finished product!

How gorgeous is it?! I am so so so happy! Monogram Chick did an absolutely fabulous job. The backpack measures to be 16 inches tall x 12 inches wide x 5 inches tall. It has one big pocket, one medium pocket, and one small pocket to fit all of my books perfectly. I can't wait to use this for school! 

Sarah even included a personalized note in the bag, which I thought was an incredibly sweet touch! I am a sucker for wonderful customer service. 

xoxo, 

A

School Bags 101

Oh my gosh, the school bag! I don't know how many posts on tumblr we see asking about the ever so important everyday school bag. We're going to tell you about 4 of the popular choices with what we've found works best for different scenarios!

1. The Vineyard Vines Tote: This is a classic tote for sure. They cost about $95, but are made very well. The canvas is very durable and holds its shape well while carrying textbooks. This is probably not the most practical for the high school student carrying 4 textbooks, 3 binders, and 2 notebooks home. We see this as more practical if you have less books to carry. Bonus: they come in cute patterns of many schools. Con: the light color shows dirt, and cleaning the silk is not easy.


2. The Longchamp Le Pliage Large: First of all, if you have any intentions of carrying books, binders, or notebooks, you need the large! This is a popular choice among high school and college students. It's very durable but won't hold a shape as well as the Vineyard Vines tote does. I personally find that this hurts my shoulder if I'm carrying a lot of things. It will also set you back about $145, so it's on the pricier side.

3. The North Face Jester: Perhaps the most common backpack around, it has a good reason! It's durable and comes in many colors. I've had mine for four years, and it's still going strong. I think that backpacks are the most practical for carrying a large load of classes-definitely think backpacks are better for high school and college if you have a lot! I always carry a backpack/purse to class. It's reasonably priced at $65.

4. The Vera Bradley Vera: These bold Vera Bradley totes are very popular. They hold up fairly well, although I did notice fading when I used mine in eighth grade. I think I'd shy away from them, because I thought it hurt my shoulders! They run about $86, so they are the least expensive of the tote options. They are great because they are washable, however, it's easy to get sick of such a bold pattern!

That's our blow by blow of school bags! Let us know what you use!
Love,
A+C

Simplify Your Hair Routine

Hair. We all have a love/hate relationship with our hair. It can be really high maintenance and time consuming to take care of. There are so many days where we simply don't have the time or energy to spend perfecting our hair. Here are ways to save time and still look chic!

• Find a good dry shampoo. This will become your best friend once you find one that you love. It's not good for your hair to wash it everyday, but we don't want to look greasy either. This is when the dry shampoo comes in. I love the KMS California Hair Play Dry Touch Up, but the Tresseme one is also supposed to be wonderful! (haven't tried myself, so I can't say from personal experience.)

via

• The shower cap. Call me a grandmother, but this is my best friend when I don't want to get my hair what but still want to shower. You can get them at Target for a few dollars, and they also have disposable ones for travel (I always take the ones from hotel rooms.) Also, Nordstrom Rack has cute ones (random, I know.)
• Microfiber Hair Towel. I'm on my second one of these and I love it. I use it every single time I wash my hair, and it cuts drying time in half.

Diva Darling via

• Headbands and baseball caps. Need I say more? We've already done a post on baseball caps here, and they really are great on lazy hair days or when you know you'll be outside. Plus, we all know I (C) am obsessed with headbands. There will be a full headband post soon!
• The sock bun. Oh my goodness, how I adore this hair style. It's been great all summer, remember when I posted on trying it earlier? I did, and love it. However, it works much better using a mesh donut than a sock.

via

How do you save time on your hair? Let us know!

Love,

A+C

Keeping Up With Current Affairs

Current events. We may not all be news junkies, but,  I (C) happen to find it super important to keep up with what is going on locally, nationally, and internationally. 

Here's Why:

• It's something to talk about. Whether it's with your parents, professor, peer,  or the lady checking out in front of you at Target, the news is all something relevant.
• It's impressive. Not many young people can say that they do keep up with the news at all, and our elders love concerned and aware youth.
• It's bound to come up in your classes come fall. If you're in a history class, it's going to come up for sure. History repeats itself, and you can always make a past connection with something that is happening today. 
• Do it for yourself! It's necessary to be aware of the world around you and beyond your school and family. It's great practice for later on!

But, we know it's not necessarily going to be easy to start this habit. So, here our some tips:

• Subscribe to a news email list. USA Today offers a free letter everyday, and you can select your choices! It's super easy to check it out on the way to class or as you drink your morning latte.

Sign Up Here!

• Make a habit of watching at least part of your local news once a day. Normally, the most important things are first, so even if you only get 10 minutes in, you'll get most of the significant stories covered.
• The same with the national news. Try to catch a few minutes everyday!
• Follow news stations/newspapers' twitter accounts. You check twitter all the time, and probably are already following Perez Hilton, why not throw in FoxNews or NBC to the mix? 
• Make a habit of bringing the news up in conversations; your parents will love this!! Come fall, you'll be able to talk to teachers about the news, which is great practice for the workforce where you'll be expected to know what is going on.

Do you keep up with the news? Let us know if you have any other tips.

Love,

A+C

The New And Improved YOU!

Hello dear readers! We know that none of you are remotely ready to think about school, and we aren't either! But, we want to make the transition easier by getting into some better (read: school mode)  habits. So, between now and August, we will be posting ways to revitalize and improve you! (not necessarily as a series, though.) From healthy snacks to perfect school looks, we have you covered! 

Watch out for our posts like this in the next month!

If you have any topics you want us to cover, let us know!

Love,

A+C