Dressing For Chapter

Dressing for chapter can be a pain. I prefer dresses over slacks any day! However that cold weather can make you want to wear sweats everywhere.
          My solution? Tights!
Seriously tights are becoming such a fashion trend. I wore tights to this weeks chapter and I don't know why I didn't sooner!? Here are some of my favorite outfits from Pinterest with tights!

Greek Life Up North

Rewind to my senior year in high school, you could always find me looking up sorority life. A bunch of my friends had joined and I was wondering what it was all about. I had so many questions, and nothing on the Internet was giving me the answers I wanted. When recruitment finally came around I realized going Greek wasn't anything like it was in the pictures, or the movies, or anything that the Internet portrayed. However it made me realize "Hey, maybe Greek life can be for me!". The girls I met were so down to earth and normal it was surreal compared to what you see on TV and hear about. Greek Life is shown as a horrible thing, but in all reality it's beautiful. I thought Greek Life was glamorous; being all about meeting frat boys, wearing Lilly Pulitzer constantly, and every color of Jack Rogers imaginable. In the last few months I've truly learned what Greek Life is about. Greek Life is about pushing yourself to get the best grades you can (because your GPA doesn't only represent you) , Greek Life is about stepping up and getting things done, Greek Life pushes you to be the best you can be. Not only is Greek Life great for networking, but it makes campus feel like home. Before Greek life I never really thought about the impact I could make in the world. I may be blonde at the moment but I'm nothing close to being a barbie. I don't know anyone with a closet loaded with Lilly Pulitzer, I can't name all (if even half of) the frats on campus, and I pay for my own stuff. We do not throw huge parties, and we DON'T wear monograms constantly (even though I love a good monogram). I'm quite the normal college student. I may stay up all night at times, but it's not to party it's to get all of my class readings and homework done. Greek life hasn't changed me in any way, it's made me want to improve myself constantly. 

Recruitment Time..

Going through recruitment I thought I wouldn't actually go Greek, I rushed because all of my friends were doing it. I'm glad my friends were because I probably never would've rushed if it wasn't for them. I hate meeting strangers and throwing myself out there because I'm just a weird. First rounds came (I had to cram them all in one day), which was horrible at first but I loved it because it saved me from a lot of awkward moments that would've happened. When I first went through and made my list I ranked them based off of what they were wearing and which ones my friends were in. Apparently I didn't fit the criteria they were looking for because I literally got my last picks for second rounds, which I'm not complaining about at all it was a wonderful experience the next day.  We had a longer time to visit and really know what each sorority was about, I started to realize where I felt comfortable. I was disappointed because all the girls in my Pi Chi group (a recruitment group) had gotten asked back by the ones they fell in love with. Then it happened. That moment that you hear about when people meet their soul mates or just know something. Instead I bet my best friend, and I felt like I was home. During first rounds someone said I looked like someone else identically so they paired me with her the next day. Second rounds was the day, we sat down and everything started clicking we had the same interests and it felt like I had known her for years. I met a few other girls and clicked with them as well. The funny thing is when I first visited Pi Beta Phi everyone kept telling me "You look like Dori", I didn't know who Dori was at the time so I thought everyone was telling me I looked like a cartoon fish. Which kind of threw me off for a while, until I met her. By the time preference rounds came I had my online shopping carts filled with Pi Phi stuff and I was ready to get my bid. During preference rounds I balled my eyes out because I just knew I was home (total TSM). I was a tad nervous that Pi Phi wouldn't like me as much as I liked them and could barely sleep that night. The day finally came, I got my bid day card and opened it, I was finally home. That day I realized my Pi Chi that I loved dearly was also a Pi Phi eventually she would be my aunt. Looking back I laugh because I never said Pi Phi right, I kept calling it Pi Chi.

Getting My Big, which by the way was THE BEST DAY EVER!

Greek Life can come off as extremely stressful when you first jump in but eventually you get the hang of it, and I'm a night owl anyways so the late night stuff didn't/doesn't bother me. Greek Life made me realize the importance of keeping an updated agenda on you at all times! We had all of our special events, and then came Big/Little speed dating. I was on a mission: Dori must be my big, and I must be her little; the great thing about that was she had the same mission (I later learned). I sent in my list of the top five people I wanted to be my big as soon as I got home and it looked exactly like this...

1)Dori

2)Dori

3)Dori

4)Dori

5)Dori

I also sent in a real list but as you can tell Dori was still pretty high up on that list. Dori was already my best friend , so why wouldn't she make the perfect big for me? Those next few weeks I was so scared she didn't want to be my big. I'm glad she did though because I started crafting before big/little speed dating and I put her name on everything. She's like my big sister, my mom, and my best friend all in one.  The night came and she was indeed my big, and she even got me a happy meal from McDonald's to top the night off. I was finally in a Greek family, but most importantly I had my dream big. While being a new member I had Olivia, you can check her out here, help me with everything: she was our new member coordinator. She always had a smiling face, and was welcoming. For any chapter that doesn't have one you need one, they make the whole experience SO MUCH BETTER! 

My future big and I on bid day, 

ignore my crazy aunt in the background!

Greek life has opened so many doors for me. I ended up meeting people with the same interests and hobbies I had. I was so excited to finally have an excuse to craft. My bedroom floor will forever have glitter matted down into it. However I will have memories that last me a lifetime, sisters that I know will always be there when I need them, and a family I couldn't imagine living without. 

First Time Greek

I had one cousin who went Greek but I never really heard her talk about it, so I was new to the Greek Life scene all together. Going through recruitment my mother worried about me being hazed; she watches way to much Hallmark and LMN (Lifetime Movie Network). The entrainment industry gives Greek Life a bad representation .To this day my mom asks "Are you sure you're not being hazed?". I always laugh because I would never join something that made me do crazy and disgusting things, why the heck would anyone pay their dues and be miserable? I've heard of hazing, but I've never experienced it and I never will. It makes me sad that some individuals bad decisions can hurt Greek Life as a whole. Greek Life can seem pricey when you look at the first time membership dues, however they go WAY down after the first dues. Just keep in mind if you're going to live in a Sorority house it could be a little bit more expensive because your housing and meal plans are usually included in that. If you're the first going through recruitment your parents might have a billion concerns. I was the first in my family to go to college, so that added a few more concerns. Don't let your parents discourage you, if I did I would've given up a wonderful experience. 

Just assure them:

1) If they're going to haze me I won't go through with it. I'm not going to tell you hazing doesn't happen, but it rarely does. You don't have to join Greek life if you get a bid,  that's why you're not considered a true member when you first get your bid. There's weeks, sometimes even months, to explore the chapter and make sure it's the right fit for you.

2) You don't have to parties and/or get drunk. It's all about the choices you make. I have sisters who don't drink at all. Honestly I haven't been to a party since college started. I feel like if your going to be in an organization to better yourself you truly should. I'm not saying if you like a few beers that you're a horrible person. However if everyone associates you with Greek Life and they see you sloppy drunk or at every party it not only affects you but everyone involved with Greek Life. Then people start to think "Wow that sorority is full of people who party all the time" or "All the Greeks do is drink". You make your own decisions!

3) Trust me, I got this. By the time you go through recruitment you'll likely be eighteen or older. You're an adult!  You have the ability to make your own decisions; you do what you want to do. College kids in general have a bad reputation for partying. You need to establish a good trust barrier with your parents and you need to be open with them. You're not in high school anymore. It'd be embarrassing to call your parents from jail because you needed picked up or bailed out for underage drinking if they didn't know you drank in the first place. Some parents know what happens at college, yet again some don't. Being open with your parents is the best decision you can make. Lies turn into more lies!

4) If anything Greek Life will make you want to improve yourself, rather than set you up for failure. Greek life teaches you responsibility, commitment, and many skills you'll be able to use after college. Not only will you know girls who have went through a couple years in college and know how to do things right (such as that crazy scheduling for your first Spring semester). You'll have girls always cheering you on, making sure you're okay, and letting you know you can accomplish everything you dreamt of (like your first time going through finals week). You'll have girls that are disappointed when you mess up and expect more from you (which makes you want to improve); it's like having tons of parents in college, but they'll understand where you're coming from. In my sorority almost everyone has to do some sort of library hours, join a committee, and do community service. Greek life can show that you know how to balance things, and it has a ton of leadership positions just waiting to be yours.

If you're thinking about going Greek just try it, even if you're not thinking about going Greek just try it. Even if you don't go Greek you'll meet a ton of people and see familiar faces around campus afterwards. It never hurts to try something new. You'll probably find a place you can call home, possibly on accident like I did. Rushing can sound crazy, but once you're in the process of rushing the experience (unless you've already went through it) is unexplainable. You'll be missing out, and I'm not just saying that to be a crazy sorority girl. I may be blonde, but I'm nothing like Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde: I'M NORMAL! Those girls you see on campus with their letters on aren't wearing them to flaunt them around, they're wearing them because it's a part of them. If you've met someone in Greek life and had a bad experience don't let them ruin it for you. We're not all the same. Just try it, and I promise you'll have an unforgettable experience; you might find something that will be a part of you forever.  

Dressed to ImpVEST

I don't know if I'm the only individual who's obsessed with the vest fad that crossed America this season or not. However I thought I'd post my favorite vest outfits for some fashpiration! It's quite cold right now, but when it warms up a bit these outfits would be perfect to go to class, go shopping, and do all of your daily errands. I just can't get over how much I love these vests! 

The orange really makes this vest pop, I like the laid back look this outfit provides!

The plaid background really makes this vest pop, great color choice!

I love anything that's nude, this vest could match anything!

I'm loving this winters faux fur fad!

This was my favorite vest this season. It was available at J.CREW, and by was I mean WAS! I wish they'd re-stock it!

This outfit has so many patterns going on, I love how the vest and necklace really bring this outfit together!

I can't wait to wear a vest again to school!

Until next time,

Holiday Bundt Cake

This Christmas I came across a cool bundt cake on Pinterest and decided to give it my own twist! Looking for that perfect Holiday dessert that doesn't take hours to complete? Looking for that signature desert? Look no further you found it, I'll show you how I made my Christmas themed bundt cakes!

Here's what the finished product looks like!

First gather your basic baking supplies! I bought my bundt cake pan from my local K-mart for 9 dollars which was a steal!

You will need:

Cake Mix

What the cake mix calls for

Food Coloring (whichever colors you choose I used red and green)

A bundt pan

metal bowls

spatulas

PAM

Sprinkles (If desired- but recommended)

     I highly recommend EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) for baking, I always use it!

 Mix up your cake mix with the recommended ingredients! I love using my Kitchen Aide. 

I used both regular and gel food coloring, I prefer the red in gel form! You can find it at local places or big corporation stores such as Meijer. 

 SEPARATE THE CAKE MIX INTO BOWLS DEPENDING ON HOW MANY COLORS YOU WANT TO USE. For example I used two bowls because my cake mix was red and green! I also used my Kitchen Aide bowl though, because you HAVE TO KEEP WHITE CAKE MIX. You start the bundt cake with white cake mix and end it with white cake mix as well to hide the surprising colorful inside. 

 Here's my finished food colored cake mix! Spray the bundt pan with Pam now! If you forget spraying with Pam it will stick to the pan (IT HAPPENED TO ME) Pam worked better than anything else, I've tried other items for bundt cakes as well and they just don't work like Pam.

Put down WHITE CAKE MIX FIRST, and then you can create your inner design of the cake!

Here's what my design looked like! Layer the red and green and try to not let it touch the middle or the sides of the cake pan, because then you will be able to see the red and green and it won't be a surprise! 

Make sure you finish the cake with white cake mix on top, and make sure you leave enough white cake mix at the beginning so you have enough for this step! This was my first trial and I guesstimated under of what I needed. 

Bake your cake in the oven, my cake box said 28-32 minutes, I did 26 and stuck a tooth pick in it and it was ready!

Let your cake cool for about 5 minutes!

Now get a cookie sheet and lay it on a flat surface. Turn your bundt pan over so it's on the cookie sheet and your cake should slide right out!

This is my secret recipe to all my cupcakes and cakes, and it's not a recipe at all! Wrap the cake in cling wrap or anytime of aluminum foil and make sure air can't get in to the cake. Now keep the cake on the cookie sheet and slide it into the freezer. I freeze all of my cakes for 1-4 days and let them thaw out and they are the moistest cakes I've ever eaten! I'd definitely give this a try, and it helps the bundt shape stay solid for this particular cake! If you don't have time an hour of freezing can also help!

Take your cake out of the freezer and let it thaw (don't forget to take the wrapping off of it now)! Mine thawed for ten minutes and seemed to be completely thawed. 

Leave your cake on the cookie sheet because now we're get to the fun part! Take small cups, I preferred measuring cups because it pours much more smoothly from it's tip, and put icing in it! It doesn't have to be much icing at first either, because you can make more. Now comes the hard part.. decide what color you want to ice the cakes! My second one was wreath themed, so I chose a lime green and forest green food dye. Both of my cakes were Christmas themed so it just depends on what the baker wants! You are going to mix the dye in with the icing now (I just used a spoon in the cup it's simpler this way), DON'T COMBINE CUPS AND FOOD DYES : SEPARATE CUP FOR EACH COLOR! I put my icing in the microwave for fifteen seconds so it was nice and runny, which let me have the perfect drizzled effect on the cakes that I desired! It's all up to the baker! Now it's time to add sprinkles if you desire. I feel sprinkles really added to my cakes so I'd recommend them! Making this cake was really simple, and I'm contemplating making it my signature dish at parties, everyone needs one of those anyways! Now that you're finished icing and sprinkling your masterpiece moving the cake from the cookie sheet can look like a hard task but it's so easy! 

As you can see I removed my cake with two spatulas, it helps to move the spatulas around the underneath before you pick up the cake so it doesn't break! Make sure the container or dish you want to serve your cake on is near. Boom your cake is ready to eat and a beautiful desert for any Holiday party!

The first inside of my cake looked like this, but when you make this cake a few times you'll understand how and where to layer the cake mix for the best surprise on the inside! 

Until next time,

A Dog's Christmas

This year I started thinking of practical things to get my dog Teagle. With many months of searching I found the perfect gift. Some may think the idea of a dog playpen is crazy, however with the traveling my family does it was the perfect contester for her present this year. For those of you who don't know Teagle is my beautiful 2 1/2 year old teacup yorkie! I love her to death, and I highly recommend this bread of dog to anyone.

 Here's a picture of my little angel. 

Here's Teagles playpen she got for Christmas this year, which you can find for the cheapest price here!

Teagle enjoying her playpen!

Until next time,

Seven Days Of Love

I was going on vacation and realized how much I'd miss my boyfriend, so I started thinking of ideas to remind him every day how much I loved and missed him. I wrote little notes in each little compartment and filled it with candy. For example on the last day I wrote "I get to see you tomorrow, can't wait to be in your arms xoxo" and on Monday on I wrote "Top Gear's on today, can't wait to watch it with you next week". This idea is really easy, and really gets the job done of showing you miss your significant other and love them. If a guy did this, I'm sure he'd get extra brownie points as well, because some (not all) guys typically don't think outside of the box on how to show affection to his woman. I put the pill box in a see through baggie with Angry Birds hand sanitizer, and all of his favorite candy. This idea is sure to impress anyone, and all you need is candy and a week pill box; I bought mine at a street fair for only a dollar and to top if off it was PINK!

Until next time,

Christerest

I get most of my baking Ideas for the Holiday's from my favorite site (Pinterest). I go a little overboard organizing my boards (you can find my profile here). Here's some of my favorite pins I've seen this year for the holiday season! I'll be posting some of my personal Holiday creations later this week!

Holiday pizza! This one's perfect because you can eat it the whole month of December and it's not the most difficult thing you can make. Lots of compliments are sure to be made about this cute pizza idea!

Ice skating penguin cookies are to die for! You can find the tutorial for them here! I'm attempting these this Holiday season, and I'm excited to show them off at Christmas parties, they're just too cute.

Reindeer treats are a new take on a regular Holiday treat! I always get these without the antlers, so why not spend a little more time and make them adorable?! 

Christmas tree Rice Krispy treats look very intricate but they're not! Here's a tutorial on how to make them. I really like the way these are set up and how it looks like the tree farm has just gotten a light snow. This is my favorite Holiday pin that I've came across this season!

These cookies are adorable! The decoration skill level looks high, but if you have the patience and skill to attempt these I would. 

A healthy Holiday treat is never the wrong treat, especially if it's cute like this! These snowmen are simple and might get those picky children to try something new!

Watermelon snowman, this is another cute healthy Holiday treat! I really like this one because I'm a huge fan of the watermelon creations, and this one looks like it could be a beginner level!

There's no better way to end a blog post than with cookies. When you can virtually send cookies through the screen and eat them I'll be sure to send some your way!

Until next time,