Back to the Grind

Hey guys! Firstly, I'm so sorry for the two week blogging hiatus. It's been a really hectic couple of weeks- between traveling home for spring break, coming back to loads of school work, and getting really sick, I just have been completely overwhelmed and haven't had much time for blogging! After taking some time to get everything in my life back in order, I decided to share with you guys a post about how I did just that!
Organization- I have always tried to keep myself pretty organized, especially when it comes to keeping up with my schoolwork and all the activities that I am involved in on campus. I keep not only a Lilly Pulitzer Agenda with all of my assignments, I also keep a smaller Lilly notebook with a to-do list for each day. I also make sure to carry a small pencil case with me all the time to make sure that I am always prepared for class, meetings, etc!
Coffee- So, I haven't always been a fan of coffee. In fact, it was just about a month ago that I discovered White Chocolate Mochas at Starbucks, and have been hooked ever since. I'm definitely not dependent on coffee, but some mornings I know I'm definitely going to need an extra boost to make it through my early morning class. Typically, instead of making the trek to Starbucks, I keep a few chilled Mocha Frappucinos in my mini fridge to grab before I head to class! 
Electronics- Finally, one of the best ways to stay on top of things is to make sure you have all of your technology in order. I use Google Calendar every day to keep all of my classes and activities scheduled and in order.

I hope this post has been helpful for you guys- I definitely was utilizing all of these things trying to get back on top of things these past few weeks! Let me know some of your favorite ways to stay organized. Hope you guys have a great week!
Xoxo,
Mandy

Carry On Essentials

As I'm sure is true for most of you, for me, spring break means a lot of traveling. I live about eight hours away from my school, and I don't have a car on campus this year, so having a family member come pick me up to bring me home is always a real hassle- not to mention a long drive. Since Spring Break is so short (only a week) my parents decided that instead of wasting two whole days of break on the road, I would just fly home. I'm pretty good with flying itself, although no matter how many times I do it, I never get over the before-flight stress of missing my flight/not being able to find my gate, etc... I'm riding with some friends to the airport who have a flight five minutes after mine though, so hopefully everything goes off without a hitch. Since I'm only going home for a week, it wasn't really worth it for me to pay to check a bag, so I'm just packing one duffel with all of my clothes, and bringing my favorite Longchamp tote as a personal item. Since I definitely always worry about forgetting the essentials, I decided to make a list of my absolute carry-on essentials for you guys! 

Headphones- These are an absolute essential for flights- especially long ones. Whether you are listening to music or watching a movie, you will definitely not want to forget these. I personally prefer my over-ear headphones to cancel out the noise from the rest of the plane. 

Lip Balm/Lotion- The air on flights can get extremely dry, so I would definitely recommend packing a (TSA size approved!) bottle of hand lotion (Soap and Glory Hand Food is the best- take my word for it) and a little lip balm! 

Tissues- Honestly, nobody likes getting the sniffles on a plane- and conversely, nobody likes listening to somebody sniffle for hours! Whether it's for you or the stranger next to you, tissues are a must. 

Reading Material- Whether its a magazine, newspaper, textbook, or novel, I love having something to read on a flight. This time I'm going to be bringing a book I have to read for my communications class, but I stuck one of my favorite easy-read romance novels in the picture above! Such a cute story, and definitely a one-day read! 

Laptop/iPad- Aside from having your phone, it's always nice to have a little bit easier-to-use technology with you on a flight if you're planning on watching a movie or doing some work. 

Portable Charger- I bring my Mophie Portable Charger pretty much everywhere that I go. Just in case the battery on my phone gets too low, it's definitely good to have a backup plan! 

I hope this helps you guys in any of your future travels- let me know what your essentials are in your carry on bags!

Xoxo, 

Mandy

Spring Break Plans

I don't know about you guys, but I am so beyond excited for Spring Break to get here. My Spring Break starts on Friday, after a very hectic Thursday of two tests and a presentation. I'm sure plenty of you have plans to be jet-setting off to a beach somewhere for Spring Break, but I decided to go low-key this year and just head home for Spring Break. A bunch of my friends from Penn State have the same Spring Break, so they'll be home next week too, which will be great! My sister also needs to buy a prom dress soon, so we'll definitely be making a shopping trip while I'm home! If you guys are looking for a way to make a spring break at home fun, look no further!

1. Take a shopping trip! This is definitely one of my favorite activities when I'm at home. It's so nice to be able to take a day with my friends or with my sister and head to the mall and just look around and shop a little bit! It's something I would never have the time to do at school, so its always great to be able to do it when I go home. 
2. Pamper yourself! My best friend and I have a day picked out while we're at home for mani-pedis, haircuts, waxing, and a trip to Ulta. We have planned the ultimate pampering day! I'm SO looking forward to it, because it's definitely another thing that you never have the time to do at school- it's so great to treat yourself when you have the time!
3. Plan something special! One of the best ways to make your trip home special is to plan a special day. At least once per break, my friends and I like to make a trip into the city for dinner and an evening of shopping, a show, or anything else going on in the city! 

Let me know if you guys do any of these things over your spring breaks! 

Xoxo, 

Mandy

Transition Style

So, I don't know about you guys, but we're getting into that point in the year where I simply do not know what to do with my wardrobe. At my school in North Carolina, yesterday it was almost 70 degrees, and then today it dropped back down to almost fifty! Honestly, its anyone's best guess what the weather will look like day to day- and that puts picking an outfit at an all-time difficulty level. At this point in the year, my biggest piece of advice is to work with layers. My quilted jacket and blanket scarves are some of my favorite layering pieces that still work at this point in the year! Also, we've reached the point in the year where you can still get away with wearing winter colors, but we can start working in spring colors as well! The outfit posted above is the perfect amount of layering for this point in the year! Let me know in the comments what your favorite transition pieces are for in between seasons. 

Xoxo, 

Mandy

Get the look:

J. Crew Toothpick Jean

Maroon Peplum Top (Similar)

Kate Spade cedar street maise

Nordstrom BP Bootie

Nordstrom BP Blanket Scarf

Welcome to My World

Hey guys! So, welcome to Preppy and Free! I'm sure a lot of you coming over from Boats and Bows are a little confused, so please let me explain why I decided to make the change. I had been previously working on Boats and Bows with my roommate from my previous school- I decided to transfer this semester, and while Rachel and I are still really good friends, it just became too difficult to coordinate schedules anymore, and so I decided to branch off to create my own blog. I decided to do a trial run with Blogger, since I had been previously working on Weebly, and I had heard through multiple people that Blogger was more conducive to easier formatting, so we'll see how this goes! For those of you who are entirely new, let me introduce myself! My name is Mandy, and I'm currently a college freshman! I typically maintain my general preppy aesthetic, so if that sounds like you, definitely stick around! You should be expecting some good material coming your way soon, I just wanted to use this first post as a little bit of an introduction. Let me know if you guys have any requests for posts you'd like, and as usual, check back in soon for some good material! 

Xoxo, 

Mandy