5 Travel-Inspired Prints Under $80

As you may have seen on Instagram, this past Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of my engagement. My fiance and I spent the day registering for gifts at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I don't mean to complain, but it was exhausting. Luckily, we agreed on almost everything, but it was still difficult to think of what we really need to upgrade and how much of each item (e.g. dishes) would be reasonable. I also struggled with what was appropriate to put on a gift registry. Is our registry supposed to be strictly functional household items, or can I include a huge framed poster of Yosemite National Park? Your input would be appreciated!

Anyway, the point of all this is that for today's Travel Tuesday link-up, I thought I would share some of the gorgeous prints I found during our trek through our local Bed Bath & Beyond store. And after you tell me just how perfectly acceptable it is to add such items to my registry, I might choose a few. :)

Prague, $24.99 | compass, $79.99 | Grand Teton, $59.99 | Budapest, $24.99 | elephants, $19.99 each

Link up with your travel-related posts below! Feel free to grab the button, too.


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Also linking up with Nicole for Treat Yo Self Thursday.

The best type of souvenir.

Welcome to Travel Tuesday, a weekly opportunity to share your travel-related blog posts! Last week, I asked about your favorite type of souvenirs when traveling. Anyone want to guess mine?

Stocking Stuffers Under $20: The Book Lover

1. You all know I'm a huge advocate of Goodreads, but if you have a friend who stills prefer pen and paper, this library-card-inspired journal would be the perfect place for her to jot down books to add to her ever-growing TBR pile.

$10.95

Stocking Stuffers Under $20: The Travel Bug

1. A cute journal to record what she did, ate and saw each day. Unfortunately, since the time I made this collage, this specific journal from Francesca's has gone out of stock, but you can find adorable journals at Target, Barnes & Noble, Papyrus, local boutiques, etc. :)

$12 (no longer available)

Stocking Stuffers Under $20: The Organized One

I love giving gifts, but I don't love the pressure the holidays put on me to find the perfect gifts for everyone special in my life. I would much rather buy gifts throughout the year as I find things I think my family members would like than buy them something for Christmas just because I need something to put under the tree. One thing I DO love about holiday gift-giving traditions, though? The stockings!! I absolutely love finding stocking stuffers, and most of the items on my personal wishlist each year are honestly more in the stocking-stuffer category.

For the next few weeks leading up to the holidays, I thought it would be fun to create little stocking-stuffer gift guides as my own version of "Wishlist Wednesday." For the first installment, I've rounded up some smaller, inexpensive items that would be most appreciated by the organizers in your life: the planners, the type-A personalities, the paper-product junkies ... you know who I mean. :) I tried to pick items from stores that are pretty easy to find (think Target and Staples), but don't forget to check out Ross, T.J. Maxx or Marshalls for similar gifts in a low price range!

1. My original thought for this item was a cute kitchen timer, but this hourglass timer from World Market was just too pretty and classic to pass up. This would be perfect for any friends who believe in the Pomodoro method and need a cute, unique way to keep track of time.

$12.99

Patting myself on the back.

I went to Hobby Lobby tonight, and I only bought the two items on my list. Even with this staring me in the face:

I was completely surrounded. And I love The Paper Studio's Stickabilities collection.

I did pick up a few different sets of stickers and walk through the aisles with them, but ultimately I put them back. Aren't you proud of me? I sure am.

What's your shopping weakness? Are there any stores you can't visit without buying way more than you planned?

The frugal student.

So, I realize I'm not a college student anymore, but I was for seven semesters, and I was a very frugal one at that. I was the girl with Excel spreadsheets of every expense and income, categorized and sorted by month. Oh, you did that, too? Glad I'm not the only one. (Ha!) Today, I thought I'd share some money-saving tips I learned as a student, and maybe later I'll do a post-grad edition.

I wish this had been my college budget! | Source: 123bas.com via Sandra on Pinterest 

Full disclosure: I was blessed to have parents who were willing to cover my rent and to attend a school that thought I deserved a lot of scholarships, so I'll admit: I don't know what it's like to pay my own tuition. I'm sure these tips will not be adequate for those who find themselves facing thousands of dollars of bills each month. However, these tips did help me comfortably pay for my travel costs, sorority expenses, entertainment, books and clothes during college, so hopefully you'll find at least some useful.

Advice needed!

Hi friends. Welcome back to another combined edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday. I love Wednesdays because these link-ups give me the chance to throw a bunch of random, positive and/or pretty things out there. First, though, I've decided to host my own summer book challenge on this blog, so please check it out if you like to read! :) And here goes....

First, I am loving so many things about this week!! On Saturday, my dad came through Albuquerque on a road trip, so I got to spend Saturday evening and Sunday morning with him. We had dinner, checked out an Irish pub, played some blackjack (I kicked his butt!) and had Dunkin' Donuts the next morning. (As a Southern transplant to California, my dad drinks Dunkin' Donuts as often as he gets the chance. Fun fact: There are no Dunkin' Donut shops in California. Until this military base gets one, that is.)

As if seeing my dad wasn't great enough, I'm leaving for Columbia tomorrow, which means I'll get to see this girl and this girl and this girl and so many more of my Mizzou friends! #lovelovelove

Back to Albuquerque, though.... I decided to stop by the mall and see if I could find something to match my awesome yellow skirt I bought last week. (Y'all remember how excited I was about that find, right?) I didn't end up getting anything to go with the skirt, but I did buy a really cute navy blazer at Forever 21 to add to my ever-growing "young professional" wardrobe. Also, thanks for all your comments and fashion advice last week! I've decided I want to get a charcoal gray pencil skirt suit this summer; let me know if you see a cute one anywhere! Now that that's decided, I have two more fashion questions for you:

1. What other color blazer should I get (in addition to my navy one)? I'm thinking something pastel or bright, just to be fun, but I still want to be able to wear it with a lot of different pieces.
2. What the heck should I wear with my yellow skirt? I'm thinking light blue and/or white, inspired by this fabulous outfit, but I can't think of anything else that would look good. Help! This is it:

Image via The Limited, but product no longer available

Gift Guide: Valentine's Day for Anyone

Source: m.weheartit.com via Kaleigh on Pinterest

Valentine's Day is about love, right? But who says it has to be romantic love? Here are a few gift ideas for the other special people in your life. Bonus: They're all under $30!

Gift Guide: Valentine's Day for Him

Source: bellethemagazine.com via Brooke on Pinterest

Hello again! I promised when I made my gift guide for girls that I would make one for boys, too, so here it is! As I stated in my original gift guide, I'm more of an "experience" person and not a "gift" person, especially when it comes to Valentine's Day. But, I know many people like to give gifts, and often you can't spend Valentine's Day with the one you love (boo). So here are some ideas that you can send via the mail.

Gift Guide: Valentine's Day for Her

It’s February, and you know what that means! (Besides the Super Bowl, that is.) 

Source: bakerella.com via Veronica on Pinterest

Valentine's Day is coming!

Well, ideally we would start to plan for Valentine’s Day on February 1. Unfortunately, my local grocery stores have been brimming with Valentine’s Day candy for a good month now. Regardless, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a few gift ideas with you. Now, I’m not the biggest Valentine’s Day person. Personally, I think Valentine’s Day should be an opportunity to spend some quality time with my significant other, not to buy each other gifts. In fact, that was generally our rule in high school: No gifts; let’s go do something romantic instead. However, considering this will be our fourth Valentine’s Day in a long-distance relationship, we’ve had some practice discovering small tokens of affection that can be sent via USPS.

I found quinoa!

Last week, I posted a couple quinoa recipes that I really wanted to try after I tasted the grain for the first time in Albuquerque. Alas, on my next grocery trip, I couldn't find any. Boo. So today I stopped by Sunflower Farmers Market on a tip from my fellow intern, and I was able to buy a pound! Woo! Look for a post on the success (or failure) of my very first quinoa dish later this week.

 

Sunflower Market also had surprisingly cheap spices, which I had been avoiding buying because of their ridiculous price tags. I bought cilantro, garlic, olive oil and pesto (which I plan to use for this and this), so I can do some real cooking now! The market is pretty close to where I work, so I think that will be my go-to store from now on when I need to pick up just one or two ingredients for an intriguing recipe. The staff was also really helpful. (I had no idea where to look for the pesto, what it was sold in, etc.)

Note: I apologize for the image quality. These pictures were taken on my phone.

Sweet vending machine, yo.

I found a list on Conde Nast Traveler earlier this week of the Strangest Vending Machines Around the World. I personally favor the ballet flat machine (slide one, pictured below). How smart is that? Vegas needs some of those. So does every establishment with a dance floor, actually.

 
Two British companies, Rollasole and After Heels, sell dainty (and comfy) ballet flats to tired clubbers

with anguished feet. | Photo courtesy of Rollasole

Plus: This vending machine operates on the honor system and allows you to donate used items and get something else you want! Cool.

Things for my apartment.

Source: lovelyundergrad.com via Megan on Pinterest

Not my apartment - obviously - but it sure is cute, right?

You might remember my "Things for my apartment" posts (#1 and #2) when I was dreaming about the possibilities of living on my own. Well, that time is finally here, so here's an update on which of those dreams were realized (or not):

• Bigger bed: Check! I now have a queen-sized bed, and I honestly don't know quite what to do with it. I end up sleeping on one side the whole night anyway, but I use the other half as a place to store my television remotes, Kindle, etc. :)
• Candles: Check! I already have two candles (a small Glade candle in the bathroom and a decorative candle on my dresser) and am planning to get more soon!
• Kitchen: Semi-completed. I don't have an oven, but I do have a four-burner stove top and a slow cooker, so my cooking possibilities have vastly improved since living in the sorority house.
• Art: Semi-completed. I don't want to put too many holes in the wall, especially because I'll only be here for six months, but I have already hung my study abroad photo contest prize above my stove! (In addition to the $100 prize, I also received a framed, enlarged photo! That was almost better than the money.)
• Coffeemaker: Check! I already purchased some coffee and am experimenting with Coffeemate's White Chocolate Caramel Latte flavor. It's pretty good!
• Own bathroom: Check! It doesn't have a medicine cabinet, but it does have a nice glass shelving unit that provides more than enough room for my toiletries. And, I'm storing my toothbrush upright in an ADPi cup! Woot!
• Wine: Check! I bought two bottles on my first grocery shopping expedition: Barefoot's Moscato and Turning Leaf's Sweet Riesling. I've yet to buy a wine stopper, but I'm hoping to get one when I visit the Plaza.

Stay tuned for pictures!

Things for my apartment.

Note: I wrote this post on October 26, intending to add more items to the list before I published it, but that hasn't happened thus far. So, I'm publishing it now! With a quick addition at the bottom.

I recently made a list of things I can't wait to have when I live in an apartment and not in a totally-fun-but-slightly-restrictive sorority house. Since then, I've thought of several more items I'm itching to purchase/enjoy. Enjoy part two of the series:

Source: wanelo.com via Mallory on Pinterest

A coffee maker! Luckily, we have decent coffee at my sorority house, but it is unfortunately not out yet when I leave for work at 4:50 a.m. When I have my own coffee maker, I can caffeinate myself whenever I need/want! And though I might need to stop by Starbucks once a week or so for a delicious peppermint mocha, having my own coffee maker will drastically cut down on my spending.

Source: bhg.com via Anna on Pinterest

I can't wait to have my own bathroom. Well, I'll probably still share with a roommate or two, but it will be glorious to have a medicine cabinet and not be limited to a little metal cubby under the sink with 20 other girls' stuff. I'll be able to store my toothbrush upright instead of in a travel toothbrush holder, and I won't have to carry my less-than-daily cosmetic products back and forth from my room! It really is the little things in life.

Source: etsy.com via Linnea on Pinterest

I can finally buy wine! Of course, campus and sorority rules prevented me from having wine in my room up until this point, but I'm probably more excited about the possibility of adorable wine stoppers (see above) than I am about the wine itself.

Favorite purchase: Infinity scarves.

Remember when I really want this scarf from the Gap, but I just couldn't justify the $30 price tag? Well, thanks to a combination of sales and an awesome coupon, I was able to score even better scarves from Express this weekend for the low, low price of $26. (That's two scarves for $26, which originally rang up for almost $80. Genius.)

I already wore one yesterday and the other today. I love them so much! And I don't have to worry about the ends awkwardly sticking out of my jacket or anything like that. The first one was metallic silver:

Sheer Lurex Infinity Scarf, Express, $29.90

I couldn't find the second scarf I bought on the Express website (maybe it's already sold out?), so you get a lovely picture of me wearing it at dinner with some friends. It's a floral print with little butterflies and some subtle metallic touches (that's me on the far right, by the way):

Scarf, Express, $34.90

Things for my apartment.

I feel like I've been blogging about my friend Kiki a lot lately, but what can I say? She's a big part of my life. So, she inspired this post in two ways:

1. She came to my room to cuddle briefly tonight.
2. She bought candles at Marshalls when we went shopping last weekend.

Now let me explain what these two things have in common.

1. I live in a twin bed. Which also happens to be a top bunk. Which makes cuddling with two grown women a little difficult.
2. I live in a sorority house. Which means candles are prohibited.

So, that leads me to the topic of this post: Things I can't wait to have when I live in an apartment! Here's the short list for now:

Source: None via Megan on Pinterest

A double bed (at least!). I have always lived in a twin. My sister and brother (who is three years younger, mind you) both had double or queen-sized beds in high school, but I - the middle child - slept in a broken old-top-half-of-our-bunk-bed-from-1997 twin until my mom sold the house last month to move to Switzerland.

(Don't even get me started on my mild-to-severe middle child syndrome. It's quite traumatic.)

Source: mycottageofbliss.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Pretty candles! These are especially gorgeous for autumn.

Source: whitekitchens.blogspot.com via Rhonda on Pinterest

Somewhere to cook. I currently have access to a microwave, but no oven. This isn't to say I actually can cook, but I'd like to have the option. Or at least be able to broil my leftover French fries in the oven instead of microwaving them to a soggy temperature. Yuck.

Source: None via Nicole on Pinterest

Great art! I'm limited right now to hanging decorations from the wooden strip around my room, and I'm also limited to hanging things that are light enough to be held up with 3M adhesive. I just can't wait to put some nails in the wall! The Creed of Alpha Delta Pi will be the first thing to be framed and hung.

I'm sure I will think of many more material things to look forward to as graduation approaches, but that's all for now!

Lattes and scarves and boots, oh my!

I just love fall. (Haven't you heard?) One of my favorite things about fall is the scarves! I was planning to grow my scarf collection a little this season, so I went to the mall with my friend Kiki on Sunday to shop around. (Also, Express was having a sweater sale. Sweaters are another thing I love about fall.) During our excursion, I found the perfect scarf at Gap. Unfortunately, it was $30. Thirty. Dollars. Is that a lot? I thought it was! (But let's face it, I've never bought a pair of jeans for more than $40, so I have some pretty low standards when it comes to the price of fashion.) I went online to find a picture to share with you, and the scarf was already sold out! Geez. So I did a Google search and found this image on Polyvore:

Scarf, sold out, The Gap.

I have a feeling Polyvore is another one of those really popular sites I just didn't know about yet (like Etsy). But anyway, underneath this picture were several outfit suggestions using the scarf. I was immediately drawn to the boots in this particular outfit:

 

Outfit via Polyvore.

I've been looking for black riding boots for quite some time now. I have some slouchy black Steve Madden boots that I love, but I wanted something a little more professional-looking. Although there are a plethora of black riding boots out there, few fall within my price range (see above) and are of good enough quality to last a few years. I clicked on the boots out of curiosity, and sure enough, they were $148.95 at Nordstrom. Through clicking on some "suggested" boots in the website's sidebar, I found this pair pretty quickly:

They are only a little cheaper than the first pair, but they don't have a buckle and are 1/2 an inch longer up the leg (I like tall boots). I sent the link to a few friends on Facebook to see if they approved, and then I really wanted them. But I didn't quite want them $119.95 worth. So, what did I do? Asked Mom for a little early Christmas present, of course. And she said yes! So the boots are ordered, and all I need to do is give them back to Mom in December so she can wrap them up. Good deal, right?

Now if only Dad would shell out $30 for a scarf this weekend....

Newest discovery: Etsy.

As I was perusing my Google Reader yesterday, I found several posts that mentioned "Etsy." I was curious, so I asked a friend what this "Etsy" was, and she showed me immediately. It seems I was one of only a few people on Blogspot who hadn't discovered this adorable shopping site yet, but I almost wish I hadn't. To introduce me to Etsy, my friend suggested I search things like "Mizzou" and "Alpha Delta Pi." Good thing I'm saving up for graduation in December, or I'd be expecting several packages over the next few weeks. On the other hand, it's given me several ideas for decorations I can make myself for my apartment next year.

Here are some of my favorite finds:

$12.50 from bandaprints - Possible graduation present? Hmm....

 $25.00 from LilyGene - When I live in Carolina one day, I will have this on my wall.

$19 from LilSeeds - I love the Harry Potter one!

$15 from daintyhippo - I don't know how I thought to search for "book coasters," but I did,

and this was my favorite result.

$10 from BlackBaroque - I have a strange obsession with turtles, and I also love books.

There are a million other things I could have included, but I'll save those for later. Etsy away!

I went shopping.

For those of you who only know me through this blog, that was probably not a very exciting title. For those of you who actually know me, you probably thought, "What on Earth did Megan need so badly that she couldn't just buy online?"

Well, we Alpha Delta Pi women have a very exciting Grand Convention this month in Phoenix, Ariz., which of course requires a few new additions to my wardrobe. The other interns and I took advantage of our day off Monday to visit Atlantic Station for some serious shopping.

My favorite purchase of the day? This floral sweetheart dress (above)!

I'm not sure if it will be up to par with my fashionable sisters' "semiformal" wear, but with the right heels and attitude, I think I can make it work for the opening banquet! Bonus points: It was on sale (of course), and it is something I will actually wear again!

Extra bonus points: It has pockets!!

I also needed a cocktail dress for the formal awards dinner (cross your fingers for the women of Alpha Gamma!) and white shoes for the opening processional. Diana (luckily) found an appropriate formal dress for me (also on sale!), but the white shoes proved a little trickier to decide on.

The first pair I found (to the left, in white) had a low heel and was cheap: two big pluses for a girl who's used to wearing sneakers on a daily basis and likes to keep her wallet full. However, after some consideration and peer pressure (and a few laps around the store to practice walking in the 4-inch heel), I splurged an extra Jackson for some "sensible" shoes (below) that I can hopefully wear into my first real job in the spring!

With my bags and boxes in hand, I felt relieved that I was able to get everything I needed for Convention so easily. (The three extra pairs of eyes really made the decision-making process a lot easier for me. My fellow Pi sisters also consoled me when I experienced buyers' remorse. Thanks, girls!) And the shopping was well worth it when I finally got the chance to eat at Moe's Southwest Grill (a chain resembling Chipotle and Qdoba)! The Homewrecker burrito with chips and salsa for only $5 made my day that much better.

Sorry for the incredibly detailed blog. And sorry it was all about women's apparel (and Mexican food). I'll try to include some more scintillating details about my internship in my next post!