22 things you definitely need to STOP doing by age 22

I get it. No one actually wants to grow up and consequently give up all of the fun, young, fearless things we did in our previous years. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but by your 22nd birthday, there are certain things that are just no longer socially acceptable for you to be doing. Here are my top 22.

1. Taking mirror pics and/or selfies. I mean, seriously, does this even require further explanation? The answer is no, no it does not.

2. Over-drafting your bank account. I know this isn't as simple as it may seem, trust me when I tell you that I am not here to preach about this because I have committed this crime one too many times. But it's time to start keeping up with your online banking daily.

3. Avoiding the gym. Gaining weight is only going to become easier over time and losing it will become increasingly difficult. Now is the time to start exercising regularly.

4. Knowingly skipping commitments. Skipping classes, club meetings, and things of that nature may or may not have harsh consequences but skipping a real person job or business meeting is a totally different story. You're not a freshman anymore. Don't start and end your college career with the same bad habits.

5. Living solely by the phrase "YOLO."It is good to take occasional chances and not to live in a paranoid bubble. However, things such as reckless driving and other illegal activities need to be put behind you. "Only the good die young" may be a fun song, but dying young is no joke. 

6. Neglecting your health. Whether it's going downtown when you have bronchitis, or not going to the dentist every six months, you're not doing your body any favors. 

7. Taking inappropriate pictures that are/could end up on social media. This should be one of the most obvious ones on the list- hello, um, future job employers? But some people still aren't getting it. Save the pics of you and your friends doing shots for the cute picture frames in your apartment, not your most recent Facebook album. 

8. Being glued to your phone at times deemed unnecessary. Meaning, at dinner with your parents, on a first date, etc. It's actually really rude and I promise you can survive without it for an hour or two. 

9. Saying the word "like" WAY too many times in conversation. I know this is a hard habit to break and I'm just as guilty as the rest of us 20-something girls. But it's not cute and it's not funny and it is extremely unprofessional in terms of job interviews or in any general professional setting. 

10. Sleeping in super late on weekdays. Whether you were out on the town 'til closing time or you were up 'til the wee hours of the night binging on your new favorite Netflix series, it doesn't really matter. The 9am-5pm inevitable and quickly approaching grind is going to hit you like a ton of bricks in just a few short months. Get in a regular sleep schedule as soon as you can. 

11. Getting new piercings/tattoos. If you haven't gotten them by now, you no longer reserve the right to attribute them to simply being young and stupid when you regret them later in life. If something happens in your life that holds sincere sentimental value, still think twice or maybe ever three or four or five times before permanently inking it on your body. 

12. Driving your car around while it's running on mere fumes of gasoline. I really used to do this entirely too frequently until I realized something kind of unsettling: what if I get a job, move to a brand new city, and don't know anyone there and my car runs out of gas...well, I'd be SOL because I don't know anybody. What a bummer that would be.

13. Not fully utilizing any and all networking opportunities. Nowadays it's often times more about who you know rather than what you know. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. 

14. Ignoring your savings account. It's never too early to start saving. Any amount, no matter how small, you can put in each month is worth it. You never know when you might need some extra cash in the future. 

15. Disregarding the idea of creating a 5-year and 10-year plan for your life. While "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" seems like nothing more than a cliche question on a job application, it actually is important. Put some serious thought into this question. If you have no direction, then you have no goals to reach and no future improvement to strive for, most likely ending up at a miserable, dead-end job that you despise. Harsh, yes, and it's okay to not have every detail of your life figured out; none of us do. But, you also have to start somewhere. 

16. Spending money you don't exactly have on things that you really don't need. Your problem may be blowing way too many precious dollars buying drinks for everyone and their brother, going out to eat more times a week than you should, or worse, not even being quite sure where your money goes. Whatever it is, you're being irresponsible. 

17. Continuing to date people you know you have absolutely no future with. If you go one a date with someone and you aren't feeling it, don't waste your time or theirs on a second date. Side note: meeting for drinks at a bar or going to a party together is NOT considered a "date" anymore. You're an adult. You deserve to be wined and dined. No exceptions. Don't lower your standards for anyone. 

18. Calling adults that you meet by their last names. Now, I'm going to be honest, this is a tricky one. We've been discussing this in my friend group lately and it is most definitely a fine line. Basically, if someone introduces themselves to you with their first name, then that is what you should call them. Parents of friends or significant others can be weird if you have known them before it was time to make the "Mr. Clark" to "Steve"transition. You just have to feel out those situations. If the person in question is considered a doctor of some sort, it is, out of respect, appropriate to call them "Dr. (last name)." If future or current employers tell you to call them by their first name, don't hesitate and just do it. If you don't, you may seem young or immature. 

19. Having an unprofessional appearance. While this obviously varies based on your specific career field, you should know what is considered professional or not. While neon-colored hair could be perfect and edgy for an aspiring hair stylist, it may or may not exactly scream investment banker. Neither does a wrinkly ensemble or hoop earrings that are big enough they could be bangles. Details matter and are more memorable to those interviewing you than one may think. 

20. Not promptly sending hand-written thank you notes when applicable (i.e. post Christmas,  birthdays, graduations, weddings, and job interviews). Manners are timeless and greatly appreciated. Order yourself some nice personalized stationary as soon as you get a chance. 

21. Expecting people to come to you. This goes for keeping in touch with friends, following up on emails and interviews, and things such as that. This is a two-way street and sometimes you must be the one to make the first move. 

22. Refusing to listen to your parents' advice. They really do know what's best. Take the time to listen to them, I promise it'll be worth your while in more ways than one. 


Working on all of these (and then some) is definitely a daily struggle for me. However, I know I am getting better each day and that's all that matters. Practice makes perfect. 

Happy Tuesday! To those specifically in Tiger Town, have fun at TDs while I slave away in Club Cooper, 

XOXO 
Lex

It's Wish List Wednesday!

I'm weirdly a big fan of (semi) cheesy alliteration. Hence, "Wish List Wednesday." Here are three items that I am currently lusting over and would absolutely love to have in my possession! (hint hint anyone who doesn't know what to buy me for my birthday, Valentine's Day, graduation, etc.) Also note that these are not in any particular order, I love them all equally for different reasons. 

1. A Kitchenaid Mixer
Okay, okay I know what you're thinking. What am I, an 80+ year old grandmother who wants to bake delicious yummies for her grandchildren? Well, the obvious answer to that is no. So before you judge me, hear me out. It does so many cool things and has various attachments that can take your cooking to a whole new level. How often do I cook? Not that often but you can bet your bottom dollar that if I had this beautiful baby in my possession, elaborate, home-cooked, five-course meals would be coming your way on a regular basis. According to my mom, this is something you get for your wedding, but since there are no signs that I will be saying, "I do," anytime soon, it looks like this purchase is going to have to be made prior to my future walk down the aisle. 

2. Kate Spade Keds
Who ever thought that Keds would make such a trendy comeback?! I don't think I would've predicted it, seeing as the last time I owned a pair was circa 2nd grade. But, it's happening. They're back and better than before. As per usual, Kate Spade can do no wrong and this time is no different. There are a variety of prints to choose from and that are available online. My personal favorite is the black and white polka dot pair with bright pink accents. So classic, so chic, and somewhat surprisingly, so Keds. Also, don't forget so affordable, with a reasonable price tag of $75. I feel like they would be a super fun and slightly funky addition to my spring wardrobe and would look great with pair of ankle-length city fit pants from JCrew and a cute and colorful top. These are currently in my online shopping bag on the Keds website and hopefully they will show up in a box on the doorstep of my apartment soon! *fingers crossed*


3. Samsung - NX2000 20.3-Megapixel Digital Compact System Camera with 20-50mm Lens - White
Look at it. Just look at it. It's so pretty!! I love how clean, crisp, and modern the white makes it look. Not to mention the fact that it takes absolutely amazing pictures. Maybe even a little bit tooooo amazing, if your skin isn't looking super flawless at that moment in time. But regardless, I still want it to be mine mine mine. I mean, come on, it can capture every single detail in a picture, making the memory literally last a lifetime. I need to be able to save all of these moments because time really is precious, and the time seeing my best friends every day and getting to hang out at kinda crappy bars, go on fun little last-minute weekend trips, attend themed sorority functions, is coming to a close. I may or may not be tearing up just thinking about this. SO, I need this charming camera in my life as soon as possible so that I don't miss a minute. With its $450 price tag, I'm really hoping that I get that on-campus job I'm interviewing for tomorrow...

Happy Hump Day, 

XOXO Lex  

How to: Prepare for a Fraternity Mountain Weekend

It's that time of year again. And by that time, I mean the time of Fraternity Mountain Weekends. Some of them are in the fall and some are in the spring, it just depends. I did not go on one in the fall, but I will be heading to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to participate in the  festivities this weekend! I am actually going with a guy friend who goes to another university in the state along with three of my best girlfriends. Based on my personal past experience, it should be a super great time. I mean, what's not to love about being in a nice log cabin in the mountains with your favorite people for a long weekend? My point exactly. So, what's a college girl to do if she gets invited on one? It's pretty simple. All you really need are four basic essentials. 

1. A cooler 

Depending on your date and the situation, the cooler can vary. Most likely, younger guys are going to want/expect a painted cooler. For anyone who is unaware, this is a very time consuming process. It is fun to pick out what you want to paint on the cooler, but once you're about half-way done with painting it, you are ready to throw it out the window and swear that you will never agree to paint a cooler ever again as long as you live. Just power through it, ladies. Your date will be eternally grateful (and if he's not, he sucks and just ditch him when you get there and hang out with your besties instead). The easiest way to do it is to print out some designs that you like, you can never go wrong with beer logos, mountain scenes, and their fraternity letters, just to name a few. Then, you trace them with pencil and paint them afterwards. Most importantly, do not forget to buy a product called Mod Podge to help seal the paint and prevent serious chipping of the paint. Above are examples of coolers I have painted in the past! 
2. Beer and Champagne 
If you and/or your date are planning on consuming alcohol during the weekend, these are two things that are crucial. You are going to want champagne for some early morning mimosas because for some reason, everyone wants to get up at the crack of dawn every morning. Beer is just for the obvious reason that almost every guy loves it and is going to want it for possibly some beer pong game sort of thing. 
3. Flannels, Flannels, and more Flannels 
And leggings and boots and scarves and frockets and maybe a vest or two. It is going to be cold. Depending on where you live and where you are going, it could be EXTREMELY cold. You are going to want to be comfortable but not so incredibly frumpy that no one wants to be seen with you, if you get what I'm saying. So, I would suggest bringing a few pairs of your warmest, preferably fleece-lined leggings, your favorite long-sleeved t-shirts, any kind of vests that you own, button down over-sized flannels (which can honestly be purchased from Goodwill because who cares, it's mountain weekend), boots that don't kill your feet and didn't cost over $100 dollars because they might get ruined (it's safe to say that my Tory Burch babies will not be making the trip), and anything else that is plaid you might own. Here's an example of an outfit that I think would work perfect for the occasion! 
4. Friends 
Now, for some of you, going on a mountain weekend without any of your girlfriends would be viewed as a fun and exciting adventure. However, I feel differently. It sort of depends on the situation, as in, if your date is your serious, long-term boyfriend, that is obviously a totally different story. If you're getting set-up or if you don't know your date all that well, you are going to need some backup, just in case. Wonder if your date ends up being creepy? Or mean? Or just all around terrible? If you are all alone, you will have no one to send an "SOS COME SAVE ME FROM MY CABIN/DATE ASAP" text to when you really need it. Trust me when I tell ya, don't put yourself in that situation and you are guaranteed to have a good time. 

If you keep these four factors in mind, you should have a great Mountain Weekend experience! And, your date may even turn out to be cool enough to buy you the function t-shirt. *fingers crossed*

XOXO 

Lex 

It's Save vs. Splurge Sunday

(Sorry this is a day late but I was out of town!)

Should you go for the cheaper option or risk running your bank account dry for a certain coveted item? Here's what I think. 

A pair of pumps. 
SPLURGE. 
Pumps can be so versatile. They can also be so uncomfortable that even the thought of wearing them ruins your day. With that being said, this is something you don't want to go cheap on. While price does not always equal comfort, it most definitely does make a noticeable difference. However, by "nice pair of pumps" I don't mean neon pink sky-high platforms that you could most likely not wear to work or couldn't even wear out that many times because they are so memorable and so limited in coordinating with multiple outfits. I am referring to nude or black, but I am also a big fan of a calf-skin cheetah print pump because I feel like there are so many ways to wear them and cheetah is really making a comeback these days incase you haven't noticed and I don't hate it. Having a nice pair of pumps can make you feel more confident when parading into a job interview or can even put extra sass in your step while strutting your stuff around downtown on a Friday night. See how much use you could get out of them? The possibilities really are endless, ladies. Trust me, it'd be worth pinching pennies from a few paychecks in order to save up for these little beauties. 
My personal favorite: Christian Louboutin, you really cannot go wrong with those red soles. 

A leather skirt.
SAVE.
At first I was kind of sort of on the fence about the leather trend this season. But in the past month, I have seriously embraced it with open arms. I guess you could say that I had some sort of leather (or should I say pleather) epiphany. I'm talking, I bought a leather skirt, a leather jacket, and black platforms with leather detailing within a 3-week period. A little much? Maybe. I just couldn't help myself. Most importantly though, I did not pay over $75 for each of those items. Why? Because I can't promise that I'm going to be that obsessed with leather, say, this time next year. Also, being in college, I am not exactly strolling down the streets of Paris on my way to class or when I am out with my girlfriends on the weekends. Chances are I'm going to get rained on during my walk to at least one of my classes and it's even more likely that someone will spill a Bud Light or Vodka Soda on me at the bars. Personally, it's just not worth it to buy super pricey leather anything that I will probably end up donating to Goodwill at some point in the not-so-distant future. 

Make sure to check back next Sunday for two more Save vs. Splurge items!

XOXO

Lex

It's only the beginning

New Year, New Me, New Blog. 
Pretty cliche, right? But, let's be honest, it's kinda true. 

Happy 2014, party people! There's nothing quite like the start of a brand new year to make you feel like there is no better time than the present to "start over." Whether you are the notorious New Year's dieter, the vower to spend more time with the fam and less on technology, or even one of those individuals who are determined that 2014 is going to be "their year," whatever that actually means, it is, regardless, a new beginning of sorts. 

As I laid in my room at my parent's new house on the morning of January 1st, surprisingly only slightly hungover from the previous night's exciting festivities, I decided to do a little bit of soul searching. Why? Because, well, I was still pretty tired and didn't feel like making any moves  out of my bed and I actually DID have some things I needed to think about. A lot had already changed in my life and there were even more changes about to take place in 2014. 

For one, I was no longer in a relationship. That meaning, I am basically free to do what I want. Weird since I spent every waking moment with another person last semester. But something about it was strangely yet awesomely invigorating and I am beyond excited to spend my last college experiences with my best friends who are seriously the most fabulous people in the history of the universe but more about them later. 

More importantly, I am going to be graduating college in just four short months. I repeat, FOUR MONTHS. How is one supposed to get their entire life figured out in that short amount of time? I wish there was a simple and straightforward answer. I also know that I am most definitely not alone. There are so many others having this same "what I am even doing with my life" anxiety. To those people who do, in fact, have everything figured out, well hooray for you, do you want a medal or something? No, I'm totally kidding and I'm quite jealous. Once upon a time, I was one of those young people who thought they knew everything and that there was no doubt in their mind about the path their life was going to follow. But, alas, I'm having one of those things people refer to as a quarter life crisis. There really is some sort of semi-condescending phrase for everything these days, isn't there? So you might be wondering what I used to think I wanted to do with my life versus what I think I might want to do now. Or, you might not be wondering at all and in that case, read no further my friend. 

Let's flashback for a moment to the glorious year of 2010 (aka the year I graduated high school). To those people who say they hated high school, I feel terribly sorry for you because I absolutely loved it. Not that I loved it more than college, but just in a different way, if that makes sense. Anyway, I left my good ole alma mater and entered the great big world of a southern, football-loving, "I bleed my school colors" type of university. I was a Biological Sciences major at the time, thinking I was going to follow my life-long dream of becoming an orthodontist. Teeth are the first thing I notice on a person and there is nothing I love more than seeing a mouth full of straight pearly whites. I wanted to help spread beautiful smiles. After one semester, I decided I hated everything to do with science and if I ever had to take another biology course in my life it would be entirely too soon. Que: quarter life crisis number one. I had to quickly reevaluate all of my hobbies and interests in order to figure out what I did want to major in. I decided on Political Science because I have always kept up with politics, I love to debate, and I am firmly rooted in my opinions. So, why not become a lawyer and argue for a living? Sounds logical enough. The past three years I have spent my time working on political campaigns, interning for a Congressman, and working on a book one of my professors was writing (I'm kind of published, so that's pretty cool if I do say so myself). I have loved every single second of it. However, after taking the LSAT and visiting various law schools, I am not entirely sure that  is what I want to do after all.

I started thinking about what exactly I do love to do and the answer was somewhat unexpected and I even managed to surprise myself. 

I really love clothes. And shoes. And purses. And jewelry. And not the items themselves per se, but putting them all together to create different looks and styles and being trendy and classic and everything all at the same time. That is really what I love. You can ask my friends, I style them on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure my closet rotates through my friend group daily. Whether it's what to wear to an important job interview, a first date, a wedding, or just a casual night downtown, I've got an outfit for you. I mean, I was voted "Best Dressed" in high school and that was a proud moment for me. Now I've just got to figure out how to translate that passion into a career. At the current moment, I'm unsure, but everything will work out in the long run, right? And if not, there's always plenty of room in my parent's beautiful new home until I do get it all figured out and hey, who doesn't love Charleston, SC and being five miles from the beach? 

Cheers to 2014 and to you just doin' you this year, 

XOXO
Lex 

[ Song of the post: "Pumpin Blood" by NONONO ]