Wait, You Live Here?

So, lets talk about residence hall rooms... or dorms for my non-student affairs folks! They are bland, usually tiny, and can be kind of gross. But, regardless of how the room looks you have to live 6 months+ of out of the year in it and its important you make it a space that you can call home. 

So, that is exactly what one of my good friends and fellow RA, Abel did. Below is an image of his room that looks like it was just taken from a magazine... but, seriously this room is beautiful. In my opinion it should receive Bed, Bath, and Beyond's Most Creative/Organized dorm room of the year!

 So, here are some words from Abel on where he found the inspiration for this masterpiece. 

"Everything about life should be glamorous, but things get complicated when coming to college where the dorm room is off white and the furniture is an awful birch, the challenge is especially difficult. The black fridge posed the greatest threat to my design scheme because black takes away the appeal when working with softer tones of color. So instead of hiding the black, I made it a feature throughout the room in the mirror, carpet, television, bookshelf and chair. This took away from the burden of working around it. I am obsessed with chevron patterns so I also wanted to feature it in the room as well, in a way that was not overwhelming. That is why I chose the design to be shared among the futon, ottoman, and bedding. Next I used my favorite color of “Tiffany Blue” to accent the room and take of away some of the morose feeling the wall paint offered as you can see with the hand sown curtains, pillows and various other accents. I chose the icicle lights to coat the room with just the right amount of lighting so that the hideous florescent would never have to be used. I finalized the room’s design with a few personal items from home to make it feel more welcoming. In the end, I achieved my goal of making the room an environment that is glamorous and balanced. My room is nowhere near finished and I hope as the year continues I can add more décor to enhance the rooms personality."

I am honored and pleased that you liked my room so much as to blog about it.

Thank You,

Abel

And an added bonus for y'all is this adorable little bench that Abel spiced up for his hall. This could

be a fabulous reading nook and (or) a place to just relax with friends. 

So, I think its safe to say that I want Abel to come decorate my room and make it look just as beautiful as his. But, seriously this is a college res. room success story right here!

Feeling Stressed Out? Hall Program Goodies

So, this past Sunday some RAs and I did a much needed craft! We made stress socks.

Now, what is a stress sock some of you may ask! Well, I'll tell you with these awesome step by step instructions: 

Step One: 

First, y'all need to get a knee high sock! They sell knee highs almost anywhere and you can get a ton of adorable patterns. Mine has baby penguins on it... {insert adorableness here}

Step Two:

 Then, you need to add rice into the sock. I would fill the sock about 60-70% up... Which would be about two inches over the heal depending on your sock length. 

Handy dandy paper funnel... very useful in the pouring rice in sock process. 

Step Three: 

Roll down the sock so you can see the rice, which will make pouring the lavender onto the rice a lot easier. 

Step Four: 

Make your stress sock smell heavenly with a tablespoon of lavender oil that you pour directly over the rice. 

 Step Five: 

Sew the end of your sock together. You can hand sew or use a machine but make sure you double up on the thread so there is no way that your rice will spill.

And voilà... microwave for a minute or put in the freezer and you have yourself a wonderful stress reliever. This has definitely been one of my favorite hall programs. It was so easy to do, not that expensive, and makes a lasting product for my residents to enjoy! 

#hallprogramming101

Weekend Recap

It was a fabulous weekend! Unlike most college students I didn't spend my weekend getting drunk and dressing up in the least amount of clothing possible for Halloween... Instead I went to a Halloween party where we played taboo and had a costume contest. I went to Zumba which turned into a private class for my friend and I... I guess Zumba at 9am was not what every college student had on their mind.

Anyways Saturday was seriously the perfect day.
After Zumba I had a great brunch with my friend, then the event I co-hosted was a smashing success! The society that I am the president of sponsored the Trick- or - treat event for the professors and faculty's children! I got to see the two little girls I babysit and we had a wonderful turn out. Then my parents came up and took me out to dinner. It was great seeing them and we discussed potential study abroad plans that I will hopefully be announcing later this week. I also took my parents to Mr. G's a homemade ice-cream shop! They loved it and it was so nice just spending time with them and talking about the upcoming holidays and our favorite past holiday traditions. And as if the night couldn't have gotten any better, Lord of the Rings 2-- The Twin Towers was on TNT and I got to watch that while I did laundry and went to the gym. It should probably be a sign that I'm a boring person if that was one of my highlights of my weekend... But, whatever I'm a sucker for cute guys fighting for the good! 

And well, Sunday I don't even consider a weekend day because usually all I do is homework. But, this Sunday I also had two meetings and a hall program which was an added bonus!

So, it was a terrific weekend and I'm so glad I got an opportunity to see my parents and enjoy some quiet time!