2016 Highlights

Happy New Year's Eve, y'all! 2016 has really been something, huh? I have been so lucky and blessed to have met some amazing people, given into my wanderlust a bit more, and really learned more about who I am as a person.

In many ways it has been a rough and challenging year, but I really want to give a big THANK YOU to all of you who have been following along and supporting TSP.

Now on to the quick highlights!

1. Life hit me hard (school, working, trying to improve TSP) and I have not posted online as often as I have in the past, but I did work to keep up on Instagram! I was not sure if I wanted to do the "Best 9" again, but I realized it is really the best way to gauge which posts y'all really liked. I will work hard to top them all in 2017 - thanks for the 17, 319 likes!

2. I was able to cross 2 amazing cities off of my wanderlust list - Chicago and New York City! In 2016, I visited Chicago thanks to Kraft Heinz (for TSP) and I visited NYC twice (once for school, the second for a family Christmas). In January, I will also be making another quick trip to Chicago (for school)!

3. TSP has seen quite a few changes this year, from a handy-dandy personal URL to a facelift and redesign.

4. Here is a quick shoutout to all of my wonderful friends, who put up with me 1) taking pictures of their food, 2) taking pictures of them, 3) me asking them to take pictures of me, 4) taking pictures with me. Sometimes I say it is all for the blog, but honestly, the pictures are because I want to save those moments with me forever. Thank you for your friendship.

 (Unfortunately, I don't have a picture with all of my friends, but here is a cute one with a couple of them!)

5. Music is a big part of my life and I knew I had to share this. I honestly did not know Spotify was doing this "Your Top Songs 2016" thing (re: this year is the year I finally gave in and started using Spotify!) and I thought it was pretty funny. I have always told people that my music taste is eclectic but oftentimes people laugh and don't believe me - well, here's a small piece of proof!

Once again, THANK YOU, my readers, for being there for me. I hope y'all have a wonderful night tonight - be safe!

xx

Catch you next year!

Go-To AZ Fall/Winter Outfit

Faux Leather Jacket (Similar - On Sale!) | Camel Colored Sweater (Similar) | Free People Halter Bralette | AEO Hi-Rise Jeans (Similar, Different Wash) | BP Booties (Some Colors On Sale!)

Fall and Winter in Arizona is a blessing and a curse! This is one of my absolute favorite sweaters and I've been wearing this outfit like crazy since the sun stopped burning up Phoenix in November. I love how lightweight this sweater is, and it's really easy to throw a leather jacket or cardigan over it when it gets a little chilly in the evenings.

xx

Catch you next time.

Chicago with Kraft Heinz and Stop Hunger Now

*Thank you to Kraft Heinz for my trip to Chicago for the meal packaging event! All opinions are my own. * Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to fly to Chicago and participate in one of the Kraft Heinz Company Foundation’s expanding initiatives to eliminate world hunger and malnutrition, especially in developing nations. Y’all have seen some of the photos from off-time spent with the other bloggers, but I want to focus on the main reason we were there: fighting world hunger! Kraft Heinz is one of the largest food companies in the world, and their philanthropic arm, the Kraft Heinz Company Foundation, which has done a lot of work within the company, is now working to invite others to take part of the conversation and action. KHCF has partnered with Stop Hunger Now for their current signature program: The Kraft Heinz Micronutrient Campaign. Kraft Heinz developed and now donates the micronutrient packets that go into every Stop Hunger Now meal pack. (How cool is that?!) These little packets give 19 essential vitamins and minerals for health and development. Our group of 8 bloggers participated with over 400 Kraft Heinz employees to pack over 130,000 meal packs. During the shift we participated in, our group packed 45,000 packs in two hours, but it didn’t seem like it because we had music blasting and we were having a great time talking to the Kraft Heinz employees, too. When I was contacted about this opportunity, I was extremely excited because y’all know I’m all over philanthropy events, especially those involving hunger! I am a huge advocate of giving back to the local and global communities, and I think events like these are a perfect and easy way to do just that. Pictured: Sarah of The Bella Insider, Olivia of A Drop in the Ocean, Jessie of HungryGrl_BigCity, Nicole of Do Stuff, Kayla of The College Dish, Megan of Bowtiful Life, Me, Alayna of Embellish Your Dish When it came time to leave Chicago, I was extremely sad to be leaving all of these amazing ladies. That being said, please check out their blogs and their updates on how the trip and packing event went! I know that we all left the city feeling inspired to help spread this movement and encourage more people to get involved. So now it’s YOUR turn! Be sure to check out http://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/ to learn more about this cause. I had an amazing time on this trip: I made some wonderful new friends and I was able to do volunteer work! When was the last time you volunteered or left somewhere feeling inspired? xx Catch you next time

Delta Sigma Pi Fall 2016 Initiation

As some of you may have seen on my SnapChat, Initiation was this past weekend! My Chapter initiated quite a big pledge class, but it included some pretty important people - like my Little!

My beautiful Little, Sydney, is officially a Brother of our Fraternity! I am so happy she made it through the process. I have seen her grow quite a bit over these past few weeks and I am very excited to see how she continues to grow in the future.

This paddle took quite a bit of time to do, but it was definitely easier thanks to some help from Campus DIY! There will be a Featured post on what came in the kit, but if you're in a hurry, be sure to use "SouthwestPrep" for 20% off your order!

I bought my Little a flag (I know, I know, it's pretty basic) and everyone kept asking to borrow it for pictures, so I think I would call it a necessity for Initiation pictures! Yvana and I could not help ourselves but take a few pictures and reminisce on what our own Initiations were like.

Riggs is one of my best friends and all-time favorite humans. When he told me he was finally considering rushing my Fraternity, I think I might have stopped breathing because I was so happy he gave in after my constant nagging. Now that he is a Brother, I have yet another way to annoy him!

Would it be a life event if I didn't take a few Polaroids? After Initiation, which took up most of our morning, we foot-trekked our way over to a favorite nearby restaurant and somehow convinced them to still serve us brunch food. 

This day was definitely one for the books. Er, blog.

xx

Catch you next time.

Birthday Dinner

I am so incredibly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life: yesterday I turned 20, and everyone kept the "You're such a youngin'!" jokes to a minimum! That's true, but absolutely not the smallest reason! I wish I had more pictures, and had thought of taking more, but three hours of intense laughter and memory-making are to blame. The food was great (if you're ever in the mood for some AMAZING fish and chips) and the atmosphere was very cool (it kind of reminded me of some of the restaurants I visited in Europe). The name of this place that I could continue raving about? Rúla Búla, It's an Irish pub and occasionally, they have Trivia Night! Oh, and did I mention the desserts? I will just save that for the next time I go, and I will be sure to take pictures for y'all.

Thank y'all so much for all of the wonderful birthday wishes!

xx

Catch you next time.

Chicago in the Fall

Pretty short post here but I have been looking at some of the photos I took when I was in Chicago a few days ago and I couldn't help but think that I had to share them - Chicago in the Fall is just gorgeous, isn't it?!

xx

Catch you next time.

My Clarisonic Mia 2

*This post is sponsored by Clarisonic and HerCampus Media. All opinions are my own.*

Blogger Confession Time: I have not taken care of my skin as well as I should. I know, I know, it's pretty bad. But the thing is, I am a college student. I jump out of bed in the morning, get ready quickly, rush to my slate of class and meetings, go to work, and sometimes hopefully remember to eat. Usually I don't return home until late, when I am extremely tired and just want to sleep. This means that my typical skin routine used to consist of just washing my face and using some spot acne medication when necessary.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to update my skincare routine and try out the new Clarisonic Mia 2 device. Before trying it out myself, I had heard of Clarisonic because of their large presence in the skincare industry - having the #1 most recommended skin cleansing devices in the country tends to do that for a brand. In all honesty, I had been scoping out the Mia line for a while so when the opportunity to collaborate with Clarisonic came up, I was really excited to work with them!

My Clarisonic Deep Pore Mia 2 set came with a Mia 2 device, Deep Pore Daily Cleanser, Deep Pore Clay Mask, and a Deep Pore Brush Head. Sounds like a lot? It really is! I was overwhelmed when I saw everything in the box, but as I began to read the instructions and look at the products, I realized that it just goes to show how serious Clarisonic is about helping people like me cleanse their skin more easily.

My skin is a bit more sensitive than the average person's so I was really careful to try small amounts of the cleanser and to use the slower speed on the Mia 2, and it worked out pretty well. I integrated the device by using it every other day out of both convenience and concern for my skin, and that is what seems to work best for me.

One of the fun things I really love about the Mia 2 is that it's waterproof. Washing my face can get messy, but I love the fact that using an electronic device doesn't mean that I need to worry about accidentally electrocuting myself (I mean really, who needs that?). It is super easy to use in the shower if I'm taking one at the end of the night, and it means I can get into my bed and fall asleep that much sooner - it's really a win-win situation.

Ready to get your own?! Here's a tip: use "HERCAMPUS" and get 15% off until November 20th! The Holiday Season is coming up quick, so this could even be a good idea for a gift.

Thanks for supporting the brands that make TSP possible!

xx

Catch you next time.

Meet My Little

At the end of last week, we *finally* had Big/Little Reveal and I had the opportunity to meet my perfect one! She's sweet, funny, and I swear sometimes we are the same person. I am so excited to get to know her more and more, and as long as she doesn't hate me too much, you'll probably be seeing a bit more of her here on TSP.

xx

Catch you next time.

Happy Birthday, Carissa

Today is my little sister's 16th birthday! This weekend I flew home to surprise my sister. Twice.

First, our parents actually told her I would not be able to come home to celebrate her birthday because I had a really big test coming up. Second, they told her we would just be having a nice, small family lunch before I had to get back to the airport (unfortunately, I was only home for about 27 hours) but our Mom actually tracked down some of her friends to make it a surprise party!

My mom is so cute - she knows my sister is not a huge fan of parties, so she kept my sister's party kind of low-key with a few small games (I forgot how competitive Carissa and her friends can be!) but she did find those adorable stickers and stuck them all over everything. I wish I had more photos to show y'all, but the lighting was not the greatest in the restaurant and I was a little busy taking part in all of the fun.

As you can see from some of the pictures, my sister and I are basically incapable of taking cute/normal photos together! She's crazy, goofy, and almost my complete opposite, but she's my baby sister and I love her. Happy Birthday, you crazy!

It was a lot of fun to surprise my sister! When was the last time you surprised someone?

xx

Catch you next time.

Bid Day Fall 2016

This past Friday was Bid Day, y'all! I was so incredibly excited to see the looks on all of the Bids' faces when they found out. I have been on the Recruitment Committee every single semester, not only because I love talking about my Chapter and what amazing things we do, but to search for new potential Brothers who belong in a Home like ours.

You might recognize the beautiful lady in these photos with me - this is Diana, my APPLE Little! I actually hardcore recruited her for APPLE after I met her through Delta Sigma Pi and I am so happy to have her in different parts of my life. Can't wait to get to know our Bids more over the course of their pledge semesters!

xx

Catch you next time.

Delta Sigma Pi Fall Recruitment 2016

Hope everyone has been having a great week after Labor Day Weekend! This week is the Rush Week for my Chapter and it has been an exhausting but wonderful couple of days so far. I have my eye on a few prospectives, and who knows, maybe in a few weeks you'll be seeing pictures of crafts and gifts for a Little - fingers crossed!

My friend Ruth was super kind and willing to do some photos for me to use and I am forever grateful! Ruth and I met at Arizona Girls State 2013 and we have luckily stayed in touch ever since. She is incredibly artsy and I definitely recommend checking out her stuff.

xx

 Catch you next time.

TSP Birthday Facelift

Hi all, it's been a while. Before we get into me, how are you? Have you treated yourself lately? This is a short post so I suggest you get some ice cream after reading this.

Okay so I know this is really late, but last month TSP officially turned 2 years old! It has been an incredible journey and I really wanted to do something that could reflect the changes that have happened to TSP and my life.

If you have been following TSP for a little while, you might have noticed that TSP got a belated birthday facelift! My new design is courtesy of Eve at Fearne Creative Design. Eve is super easy to work with and has been very helpful in the course of my mania and slight perfectionism.

So, what do you think? Do you like TSP's new look?

xx

Catch you next time.

Camp Carey 2016

Over the past week and a half, I have been really busy but ever so grateful. One of my many blessings was that I was able to be a facilitator (read: camp counselor) at not just one, but TWO camp sessions! I met so many wonderful incoming freshmen and I am so glad I was able to share some of the things I have learned so far. Unfortunately, I can't find any non-blurry photos from the first session, but here are some from the second one. 

My co-facilitator and I!

How creative is this group photo idea?! We didn't win "Best Photo", but we did get an "Honorable Mention"!

My APPLE Mentee is perfect.

From the APPLE Fam: Have a great school year, everyone!

xx

Catch you next time.