Style Inspiration: Part 2

As promised, this is the second installment in my "Style Inspiration" series. The first part was my fictional fashion inspiration (you can read about it here), and this is the real people equivalent.

Here we go!

First up is everyone's favorite bride-to-be, Kate Middleton. Her chic, youthful, yet classic and pulled-together look, among other things (think: he's tall, blond and beautiful), make her the envy of millions of women around the world.

 And I just had to throw this one in here, because, how adorable are they? 

P.S. Check out this InStyle article on Kate's style secrets!

Speaking of princesses, I've sort of had an obsession with Princess Diana since I was in the 4th grade... She was so beautiful and always looked classy.

(Can you tell I have an affinity for British monarchs?)

Next is Welsh beauty Catherine Zeta-Jones. While her style is a bit different from my own, I admire the risks that she takes (think: slits up to here) and the woman clearly knows how to dress her body.

And, I just had to include one last close-up. I think she is just absolutely exquisite.

You know, my grandpa tells me I look like her. I just smile when he says that, genuinely flattered. I wish I did.

And of course, what prepster can forget Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? The woman who made American fall in love, not only with herself, but also with present-day preppy staple brands like Jack Rogers and Lilly Pulitzer.

Confession: Sometimes, I wish I lived in the 60's.

Here she is in her Jacks.

And a little Lilly.

And, a little montage.

So those are the lovely ladies I turn to for help when I feel like I'm in a style rut. Do you have any famous style inspirations? I'd love to hear about them!

xoxo,

Bee

Favorite Music Videos

I don't usually like watching music videos; I'd rather just listen to the song while doing something else, but these are a few that I adore. Take a minute and watch!

1. King of Anything-- Sara Bareilles.

2. Our Song-- Taylor Swift

3. Voices-- Chris Young

4. You Belong With Me-- Taylor Swift

5. In Color-- Jamey Johnson

6. Only Prettier-- Miranda Lambert

What are some of your favorites?

xoxo,

Bee

I think I have a problem...

I'm done with all my exams!!! Ah, what a relief. Now I have a three-and-a-half-day weekend to just relax and enjoy being stress-free, if just for a little while.

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So yesterday I realized that I'm obsessed with sweaters. Pullovers, cardigans, cable-knit, ribbed, you name it. It's getting to be a problem.

But, I have an excuse: my school is FREEZING. All. The. Time.

I swear they keep the thermostats on like, 53 degrees at all times. And sometimes the AIR CONDITIONING comes on. Yep, that's right. Cold air blasting from the ceiling. In January.

Can you tell it's something I'm passionate about? It sort of bugs me.

Even in normal temperature situations, I'm that girl who's always cold. So you can imagine that school is a bit of an issue for me, temperature-wise.

My Patagonia has been the best solution for this problem, except it does have to be washed occasionally, and I really don't want to wear a variation of the same outfit every day.

So, sweaters are the only way that I've found to be able to stay warm during class without wearing my peacoat constantly.

Okay, rant over. I digress. 

My sweater collection is getting out of control, and I have no intention of holding myself back. Why should I? They're wardrobe staples, right?

Oh, and that's not all. I have a whole drawer-full as well... See what I mean?

My favorite place to get sweaters is Old Navy. They have so many different styles and colors, and you can't beat the prices. Here are some of the ones they have on their website that I love:

Also, earlier this fall, I was on the hunt for the perfect sweater vest. I looked and looked and looked and couldn't find one anywhere. I finally found one in the little boy's section of Kohl's... and it's perfect!

But now, L.L. Bean has one in lots of great colors that I may have to look into!

I love this blue! It looks like the perfect shade of Carolina blue.

Navy's a classic as well.

Hmm... Anyone else borderline-obsessed?

Have a great Saturday!

xoxo,

Bee

Midterm Essentials: Day Five

Last day! I only have one test today; it's Chemistry and there's NO MULTIPLE CHOICE. Just 45 equations, conversions, etc. So I'm kinda freaking out.

Before this week, I didn't really realize that I needed essential #5, but now I know it's a definite must-have for when I have exams again in May and June.

Because of the way the exam week schedule is at my school, we only have a half-day on the day of the exam. Test #1 is from 8:45 - 10:35, then we have a break from 10:35 - 11:10 and test #2 is from 11:15 - 1:00. So there's no need for all the binders, folders and notebooks that I carry around with me on a regular basis.

I could empty out my L.L. Bean Deluxe Book Pack and take just the things I need in it, but that's really too big. The ideal solution?

A small tote bag or backpack.

This monogrammed one from The Monogram Chick looks like the perfect size.

Of course, you can't go wrong with a Vineyard Vines University of North Carolina classic tote, either!

L.L. Bean Boat and Tote bags are available in all sorts of classic colors and four sizes. Plus, they've been tested to hold up to 500 lbs... That's a lot of textbooks!

Everyone's crazy about Longchamp Le Pliage bags, as well.

What do you use when you only have to carry around a couple things? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

xoxo,

Bee

Midterm Essentials: Day Four

Well, folks, we're coming into the homestretch here. Today I take exams 3 and 4, leaving me with one left... Yay!

Day four's essential is mechanical pencils. I don't know what it is about them, but I can barely use a regular pencil anymore. I know, I'm spoiled!

The only thing about mechanical pencils and big tests is you have to make sure that they're #2 lead, otherwise, if you're using a ScanTron or other sort of machine-checked test, they may not read right. Most are, but it can never hurt to double check.

Here are some of my favorites:

Are you hooked on mechanical pencils, too, or do you prefer regular pencils?

xoxo,
Bee

Midterm Essentials: Day Three

Whew! So I made it through! Two down, three to go.

Today is just Spanish, but tomorrow I have AP Biology and English: most likely two of the hardest.

Highlighters are absolutely essential when it comes to studying for these two classes. Between important concepts, formulas, names of molecules, etc. and annotation, my highlighters almost run out of ink.

I also use highlighters to mark when I'm done with things in my agenda, so a completely highlighted day means euphoria. I love getting everything on my list done!

I love all the bright, fun colors you can get, too. A good highlighter can make even the most boring subject seem fun... At least for a little while.

My highlighter jar!

This is an old page from a very light homework day in my agenda.

And this is my speaking part for my Spanish exam. I had to memorize it, so I color-coded it and learned it one color at a time. It made it much much easier!

Does anyone else find that highlighters make life SO much easier?

xoxo,

Bee

Midterm Essentials: Day Two

Today is my first exam! AHHHHHH! 

However, it is math, therefore, there's not much to study, just patterns to learn.  Which makes me a very happy camper.

But in order to prepare for my Spanish exam tomorrow, my second essential is flashcards.

Index cards, flashcards, tarjetas de repaso, whatever it is that you call them, it doesn't matter. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, right? Well, flashcards by any other name would be just as helpful.

I use flashcards mostly for Spanish, but I have been known to use them in other subjects on occasion. 

I have a whole shoebox full of old index cards. It's kind of a problem.

My favorite ones to use are the colored ones, because it helps me to break up whatever it is that I'm studying. But sometimes I'll just use the white ones with different colored markers.

Flashcards are ideal for things like vocabulary (which is why they're so popular with Spanish teachers), but I also like to use them for things like chemical formulas for Chemistry, important concepts for AP Biology, or people, dates and places for history. What other subjects do you use them for?

Here's a stack waiting to be used on my desk.

And here's the Sperry box full to the brim.

Do index cards help you study?

xoxo,
Bee

Midterm Essentials: Day One

Because I'm going to be studying like crazy for my midterms this week, (first one's tomorrow... Ahhh!) I thought I'd do my posts for this week around this theme. And so, "Midterm Essentials" was born. Not very original, I know. But I digress.

First up is sticky notes. I have NO idea what I would do without my sticky notes. I don't have very pretty ones, (think Lilly Pulitzer, Vera Bradley, etc.) but the regular colored ones work just as well. I keep telling myself that, anyway. 

Perhaps if I make it through this week alive, I'll reward myself with these little lovelies. A sticky-note-lover's dream come true.

Um, yes please!

 You can even get monogrammed sticky notes from VistaPrint!

Here are the ones I made (and want!)

But anyway, now that you have gorgeous notes, what do you stick them to?

Everything!

I stick them to my windows,

my computer,

and both sides of my folders!

Yeah, I'm a bit obsessed. But hey, it helps!

Anyone else addicted to sticky notes?

xoxo,

Bee

Keep Calm and...

"Keep Calm and Carry On" was a slogan used to increase morale in England during World War II. 

But nowadays, posters bearing the slogan have become quite trendy.

As much as I like this poster and what it implies, some of the parodies make me smile.

Observe.

Um, yeah. Pretty sure I need all of these! 

If you're interested in one of the classic posters, you can find them in all sorts of colors on Etsy. As for the others, I'm sure they have a good selection on Etsy too, but I found them all circulating Tumblr.

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This weekend, I've been buckling down for my exams next week. Hitting the books. Hard.

I'll be holed up in my room writing outlines, making flashcards and sticking sticky notes all day today, but I'll manage to take a break and see my two favorite little boys. I'm babysitting HB and WB this afternoon... So excited!

Hope your Sunday is spent doing fun things that don't involve syllabi (plural of syllabus, duh!), index cards or study guides!

One last poster for you (or, me rather.)

 

xoxo,

Bee