Tag Archives: college

College Costume Parties

February 27, 2014 by Sydney

My costume for a recent neon/blacklight date party.

I know that I have a lot of readers who are currently livin’ up their college days. One of my favorite aspects of being in college is the theme party. I am all about getting that one great idea that you think no one else has thought of, hitting up Goodwill and Hobby Lobby to make it happen, and then relishing everyone exclaiming “OMG I looooove your costume!”. (Wait, that only happens at sorority parties? Oh…)

Some of you may not be as…creatively ~~insane~~ inclined as I am? That’s okay! Here are some tips for making the most of your Disney/stoplight/Halloween party costume.

My DIY Katniss Everdeen costume.

1. Check Pinterest for cute ideas. College ladies know all about this treasure trove of party ideas. Usually, you can just enter the theme of the party in the search bar, like “stoplight party” or “Oscar party costumes”, and lots of ideas will pop up.

2. Don’t be afraid to DIY! Do-it-yourself costumes are usually pretty cheap and not terribly time consuming. It took me about $7 to make my DIY Katniss costume, and people told me I really did look straight out of the Hunger Games.

My and B’s first ever date party costumes! We look like little babies.

3. Think out of the box. I guarantee you that everyone at that Halloween party you’re going to has already seen 8 people dressed as a sexy referee. Think of creative costumes, like Miley Cyrus and her wrecking ball (no lie, I have seen this executed so well), or word play costumes, like a “cereal killer” (tape tiny boxes all over you and carry a toy gun).

4. Have fun with it. I know, I know, cheesiest ending EVER, but there’s no point in finding that perfect lace-up corset to make you the perfect “naughty” angel if you can’t breathe and you have a weird muffin-top all night. If you aren’t having your neon glitter bow fly off your head while you joyfully execute a dance move, you’re doing costumes wrong. (And that actually happened to me multiple times a few weeks ago.)

Me and B at a mathletes and athletes party. We were the athletes.

The Problem with Stuff on Sale

January 11, 2014 by Sydney

I can hear all of you saying “But, Sydney, you love sales! Literally every time I see you, you are talking about something awesome you got on sale!”.

To that I say: “Whoa, some of you I have never seen before, be right back while I go into Witness Protection.”

But I digress. If you’ve never met me before, I can assure you that I am usually blabbering on about something that I got at a ridiculously good deal. A $10 J. Crew sweater, a $300 iPad (a lot of cash money, but that’s actually a lot off the list price), a $6 iPhone case (also thanks to the Crew that I love so much) are some of my spoils. But there’s a problem with loving sales so much.

Beautiful heart shirt that I love so much, I would never have you if I didn’t tear myself from the sale section!

It came to me in a J. Crew Factory store, of course. I was there with K (I think) and I tried on all of these things that lived on the sale rack. Truth be told, I was only looking at these items because of their low price. Which explains why I wasn’t really satisfied with any of these things. I was about to settle for something that I only halfway liked but wouldn’t break the bank when I saw it…the above shirt.

Silky smooth and riddled with a fun heart pattern, it cried out to me from the full-price section. (Actually, I didn’t even end up paying full-price for it thanks to my student discount, but it was still far more expensive than anything on the sale rack.) I was so torn. I tried it on and loved it, of course, but it was slightly out of my usual price range. I wouldn’t go hungry if I bought it, but it would make me feel awkward to plunk down my plastic for such a big ticket item.

But you know what? I shoved those not-“me” clothes right back onto the sale rack and bought the Heart Shirt. And I am so happy I did! I wear this shirt once a week almost. It looks great with army green jeans and riding books for class and with black slacks for work.

If I had bought the sale items, they would have ended up on the floor of my closet, not being worn. That’s a waste of money, plain and simple. So, really, buying the more expensive item that I wear ALL OF THE TIME was the better economic decision.

Too bad they never gave me word problems like this in my high school econ class.

Ikea EKTORP TULLSTA + Me: A Craigslist Adventure

January 8, 2014 by Sydney

To cure boredom during my last long Christmas break, I’ve been perusing Craigslist to find furniture for the apartment I will (hopefully!) be moving into in May. When hunting, I usually search direct store names that I’m hoping to find goods from, like “Ikea”, “West Elm”, or “Pottery Barn”.

So, I popped in “Ikea”, and this popped out….

Two Ikea EKTORP TULLSTA chairs for $50?!?!

I quickly emailed the seller because this was just too good to be true. For reference, the Ikea website lists them as retailing…

….$129 A PIECE!

Yes, kids, that’s a savings of over $100 a chair. This was a deal I just couldn’t pass up! The seller lived a mere 20 minutes down the road, so my stepmom and I drove our little SUV up there to fetch these two beauties.

I was scared that the seller would be some creepy serial killer because CRAIGSLIST, but he was totally nice and normal! The chairs were pristine and pretty darn comfy for Ikea products. We carted them home and I now walk into the spare bedroom twice daily to sit in them and admire them.

I plan on reviewing these chairs soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Grocery Shopping Revisited

December 9, 2013 by Sydney

Last time we talked about groceries, I told you my couponing tricks of the trade. Strangely enough, I’ve completely abandoned couponing. I’m just too busy to take the time to hunt around, and I found myself falling into the trap of buying unhealthy things and buying things I don’t need.

But cheap groceries without couponing is still possible! Here is an example of what I buy each week and how much it costs.

The total for these groceries was $23. And this is what I got…

organic spinach
celery
baby carrots
4 sweet potatoes (small)
3 apples
cucumber
2 packages of sliced mushrooms
a loaf of freshly baked bread
small log of goat cheese + honey
frozen butternut squash ravioli (SO GOOD OMG)
3 pork chops

With the lunch meat I had leftover from Target, this food definitely lasted me a week. I even still have the ravioli left to eat tonight! You can see that I am still buying food that I think is good for me to eat (less Cheetos, more mushrooms) but not spending an insane amount of money.

Unfortunately, my budget for the week got a bit…derailed by my fear of the impending winter storm that Oklahoma got. I went and bought extra food for the weekend for me and my roommate. Oops.

In a future post, I will try and provide you guys with an example of my meal plan!

5 Things You Need to Know About Football Time in Oklahoma

August 30, 2013 by Sydney

1. On gameday, we wear crimson and cream.

2. Avoid traffic and paying for parking by parking at a friend’s house or apartment complex and walking up to the stadium. It’s not that far. You’ll survive.

3. You will walk into every game saying, “I’m not going to buy any food, I’m just going to wait, we’re getting Cane’s after the game” and then you will find yourself with cheese fries and a lemon chill in your hand. Plan your bank account accordingly.

4. If you’re sitting in the student section, you will be standing for all 4 quarters. Don’t wear your brand new cowboy boots unless you want to be openly weeping while walking home. (I wouldn’t know anyone who has made that mistake…cough cough).

5. Yell, scream, mug for the cameras, boo the other team, catcall the cute players, sing all the songs (including the requisite playing of Sweet Caroline in the 4th quarter), and resist the urge to leave early. Because you won’t be a student forever, and even though someday you’ll be a rich alum with box seats, there’s nothing like being sandwiched between a drunk sweaty frat guy and the next OU head coach who loves critiquing every play.