Take a Bow

Warning: This post is very heavy on pictures!

I honestly swear by this, and have for years. Whenever I feel like an outfit is missing something, I add a bow, and everything just seems to fall into place. Bows are the perfect preppy hair accessory, and I can't help but add to my collection! Like, all the time. It's like an addiction. Like my sweater addiction. Maybe worse. Bows Anonymous, anybody?

I get all of my bows from a little store in my town called Country Classics, who get their bows from a supplier called Bows Arts.

Some of my bows hanging on my wall!


I'm always on the lookout for more of what Bows Arts has to offer.

They have so many different colors...

And patterns...

They've got headbands too!

Love the teeny little polka dots!

They have a whole nautical/patriotic line. I'm particularly fond of the navy and white stripes.

More dots!

And colors!

And stripes! I spy some pink and green :)

This headband reminds me of J.Crew's Blackwatch Plaid shirt.

Like I said before, I love putting on a bow to add a little something extra to an outfit.


I wear them to Poms parties,

on gameday with my uniform,

on local TV at the telethon (it's peeking out on the left!),

last year's Variety Show (please excuse the braces),

and I even got my whole junior high cheer squad to wear them when I was captain in 8th grade!

Lately, I've been sticking mainly to smaller bows just to pull back my bangs, but sometimes I love to pull out my bigger bows or even my Poms competition bow when I wear my hair half-up, like at the telethon.


How do you wear your bows?


XO

North Shore Prep

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope y'all have a lovely Thanksgiving with all of your loved ones!

XO

North Shore Prep

Get Physical

You know that when you work out, your body releases endorphins, which make you happy? This totally explains why I come out of boot camp and dance classes sweating bullets and still feel like a million bucks.

I love working out. I love the feeling of accomplishment after completing a particularly hard kickboxing or Pilates class. I love that time shortly after, when every muscle still feels engaged and taut.

And I love my cute workout wear. Because let's face it, when you look good, you feel good, and you stay motivated. Which leads to you working out harder and feeling better in the short term and the long term.

I love Target's adorable (and affordable!) sports bras. I'm pretty sure I own one in every color. Not a joke.

Mama just brought home two of these for me (yay!), in this heather gray and in a darker purple. When you actually look at it, it actually appears to be a sparkly sort of silver, even though it's completely matte. Not sure how that works...but I like it.

I usually wear the cami-type ones like the one above for dance, yoga and Pilates.

I even rhinestoned one for Poms!

For boot camp and other more strenuous activities, like running or the elliptical (or even our Poms routine for Nationals), I like to wear a more supportive racerback like this one, also from Target.

I also really like the Victoria's Secret VSX line of workout wear, especially sports bras.

LOVE this one!

On the bottom, I'm partial to spandex dance shorts like these by Balera from Dancewear Solutions.

And of course, Nike Tempo running shorts!

XO

North Shore Prep

The Coat Post-2011

It's that time of year, when we pull out our coats from the back of our closets and bundle up. Maybe you'll be relying on your old favorites, or looking for some new ones to add to your collection.

My favorite type of coat, by far, is the peacoat. I love that peacoats instantly make an outfit a touch more sophisticated and timeless, while still remaining fun.

The Majesty peacoat from J.Crew is absolutely perfect in every way. It comes in a ton of fun colors, as well as basic navy and black. It's also well constructed (you don't drown in it!) and super warm.

Alright, so not really a coat, but I love my vest from The North Face. It's super warm and easy to just throw on when i'm heading out and won't be in the cold long.

Also from The North Face, this down jacket is perfect for those (frequent!) days it reaches close to–or below–zero temperatures.

I got this longer length coat last winter from Nordstrom in navy, and am looking to snag another this season. I'm thinking this white would be a good choice? Or that yellow...Choices, choices. While this coat isn't the warmest, it's super stylish and a great price.

And my ultimate favorite coat-I-don't-have, Burberry's quilted jacket with pleated pockets!

So nice, I'm posting it twice.

This one's definitely on my wishlist...like for life. Or really, until I get a job and can pay for it myself.

XO

North Shore Prep

What I'm Thankful For

As Thanksgiving approaches, I thought it would be nice to do a post on things I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful that Daddy works so hard to provide for all of us. I'm thankful that Mama runs the house so efficiently and makes sure we're all on the right track. I'm thankful for Little Sis, even though we have our disagreements and differences. I love them all so much.

I'm thankful for my maltipoo, Lola.

I'm thankful to live in a nice, safe neighborhood where I don't have to worry about being in much danger.

I'm thankful to attend one of the country's best public high schools and for all of the opportunities my school gives me.

I'm thankful for my Poms team and my dance studio for being pretty much my entire life.

I'm thankful for my Broadcasting class and teacher, which give me opportunities to gain on-camera experience early and often.

As silly as it sounds, I'm thankful that Mama tells me, "No, you can not have a third slice of cake/pie/whatever." She has taught me self control and how to curb my sweet tooth.

I'm thankful for the winning streak of my LSU football team.

I'm thankful for my followers, on my blog, Twitter and my Tumblr. Y'all have inspired me to continue to write about things that interest me.

What are you thankful for?

XO

North Shore Prep

J.Crew Sweaters

I've said it before, I'm not the biggest fan of fall and winter. I love the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer more than the average person. I love being barefoot at the beach and biking with friends to the neighborhood ice cream stand.

But one thing I do love about the cooler temperatures is that it's time to bring out all of my favorite sweaters. In the fall and winter, it's rare to not see me wearing a sweater on any given day. I wear sweaters with jeans, sweaters with skirts, long boyfriend cardigans with leggings...you get the idea.

J.Crew has a really great selection of sweaters this season, many of which have ended up on my Christmas list. My favorite is this cable-knit V-neck.

I absolutely love it in this creamy color, but every other color is gorgeous too! My only complaint is that it isn't available in navy:(

I think a sweater like this would look really great over a crisp oxford. With the cream, I'd go with a light pink, definitely!

I'm also loving the Cable-stitch Sweater, also from J.Crew. Yep, partial to cable-knits.

I can really see this being a year round staple. It's super cozy for fall and winter, and would be great to throw on when the summer nights get cooler.

A classic crewneck like J-Crew's Tippi Sweater is a must-have in any closet–in multiple colors! I love it in navy...

...heather dark grape...

 ...and monterey pine.

Who am I kidding? I want it in every. Single. Color.

Let's face it now, there are some days we just don't want to get dressed for class. Instead of having a lazy day in yoga pants and a huge sweatshirt, opt for black leggings, boots, and a long boyfriend cardigan like the Eden Cardigan. It's just as comfy and cozy as a sweatshirt and yoga pants but looks instantly more pulled together.

And finally, just like we all need a classic crewneck, we all need a classic cardigan. I love the Jackie Cardigan. It comes in a million colors and looks fantastic over any shirt or dress. My favorite colors? Navy (of course), Maraschino Cherry, Saddle, African Violet, and Neon Azalea (shown here).

The J.Crew Factory site also has some awesome sweaters for ridiculously low prices, like this v-neck,

and this adorable cardigan!

Are you loving J.Crew's sweaters as much as I am?

XO

North Shore Prep

Titan Telethon

I've been meaning to post about this forever, but haven't had a chance to get around to it. My apologies.

November 4th and 5th, I was given an absolutely incredible opportunity from my school. Just a week after we were awarded NBC's Prep Destination, South hosted a 24 hour telethon for our local Youth Services organization.

My Broadcasting teacher asked me to work on TV Crew for the event, which was shown live on our school's public access TV channel and streamed live here. (You can still watch some of it online!!) I agreed, nervous at first that I would be with a ton of older people from the Advanced TV Production class, figuring it would be a great way to get experience being around a live show. At my teacher's urging, I signed myself up for a 12-hour shift: from midnight to noon the next day. I was assigned to do studio camera operation for two two-hour blocks in the early morning and be on call the rest of the time for whatever they needed.

However, I was far more involved in this telethon than I expected to be. With Poms, I was in the school's AWESOME Lip Dub (Seriously, so great. Watch it.) that kicked off the whole thing. I was also recruited to answer phones for an hour and a half and even got interviewed while working the phones.

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, my friend who was watching at home took it off of her TV when she saw me on air!

I wasn't needed for TV until around four in the morning, so I went to the auditorium, where we had a glow-in-the-dark dance party, salsa dancing, and general merry-making going on. Heading back to the studio around 3:45, I hosted the show for about forty-five minutes, filling in for our Assistant Principal (the real host) who was off napping. That was such a cool and unexpected experience that really happened by accident, going down something like this:

(I'm sitting at the desk on set, waiting for the Assistant Principal to come back so I can mic him)

Some Random Adv. TV Guy: Where is he?

Show Director: I have no idea. Put a lav [lavalier microphone] on her [ME!] just in case.

*Guy comes over, mic's me, and hands me copy for the top of the hour announcements*

Guy: Who are you, anyway?

Me: I'm in Intro to Broadcasting.

Guy: Alright, cue Intro Girl.

Next thing I know, I'm hosting the whole show and interviewing people from Youth Services. It was pretty great to learn about the organization and get on camera experience at the same time. When the Assistant Principal came back, I jokingly asked my TV teacher if I could be "Vanna White over at the total board." He said yes, I got a mic, and started doing the top of the hour announcements and donation updates from the board in the studio. (You can see that on the first video that pops up in the queue here. I pop up every 30 minutes for the first hour and a half, and from then on I'm there more frequently.)

The telethon ended up raising over $80,000 for Youth Services, topping our original goal of $50,000. It was really such a great experience, knowing I was helping an organization so close to home, being involved with TV, and seeing our whole school really come together for the event. I met so many great people that night, and made some really good new friends from it.

I hope we do another telethon before I graduate!

XO

North Shore Prep

Falling for Fall

(via)

Whatever. I've always called it Fall, and will continue to do so. Forever. So deal. :)

Summer will always be my favorite season. Sun, Sand, my birthday...Summer is colorful, and carefree, and relies on spontaneity. Winter means holiday parties, hot cocoa, and time spent with friends and family. Spring is for new beginnings, for starting over. 

But so is Fall. 

Each Fall, we begin a new chapter of our lives. A new school term, a return to deadlines and routine after the uninterrupted freedom of Summer. I had never really thought like this until shortly after the beginning of this year's first semester. For the first time in my life, I was finding school difficult. I realized that I needed to make a change in my study and time management habits if I wanted to maintain both the grades and the social life that I was used to, without one (or both!) deteriorating. And I realized that January 1 isn't the only time we can make resolutions.

Fall's colors--the reds, the yellows, the oranges, and browns--had always signaled to me the beginning of the end. The end of long, warm days, the end of seeing the sun shine down, the end of days without coats and boots. It's not the end, they always come back, but we may as well enjoy the change while we can.

Ralph Lauren

J.Crew

The Frye Company

Coach

Anthropologie

Francesca's Collections

Nordstrom

Madewell

Urban Outfitters


XO

North Shore Prep