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[vitabenedetta-blog]

Recipe Eats

Lets be honest, as fun as it is to go out and enjoy a nice meal and some fancy drinks with friends, this can get expensive (especially as college students). Many times as students we resort to ordering Jimmy John’s and spending our spare cash when we are tight on time. College is hectic. Between classes, work, family obligations, sleep, exercise, and trying to have a life, grocery shopping and cooking homemade meals is usually put on the backburner. 

Thankfully, grocery shopping and meal prepping can be quick and easy with my guide to recipe eats. Being prepared before a trip to the grocery store will save you time and prevent you from mindlessly buying food that will just go bad later on in the week. Also, never go to the grocery store hungry. You will be tempted to put everything and anything under the sun in that cart of yours. I promise, it is a disaster waiting to happen for your credit card.

Every weekend I do a clean sweep of my refrigerator and freezer. I get rid of things that have accumulated throughout the week (leftover Topper’s) and certain ingredients that I am choosing not to consume (sugar). I take out a pencil and paper and write down my grocery list the old fashioned way, based on the meals I want to make for the week. Having roommates in college means sharing a tiny refrigerator. Cleaning and restocking every weekend ensures you are not wasting space with uneaten food and only buying ingredients that you plan on eating that week. I highly recommend buying meal containers on Amazon that take up the least amount of space to easily store cooked food in the refrigerator. 

Here Are Some Of My Grocery Staples

PRODUCE 

My favorite place to buy produce is Costco. The big packs of fruits and veggies will last you all week so that you will not have to make multiple trips to the store; however, I purchase my bananas and avocados at Kwik Trip since they tend to go bad fast. The awesome thing about this time of year is being able to take advantage of the farmer’s market. You can always find ingredients such as lettuce mix, strawberries and sweet potatoes at the market for cheap! 

Broccoli 

Romaine 

Lemons 

Strawberries 

Bananas 

Blueberries 

Raspberries 

Sweet Potatoes 

Avocados 

Brussel Sprouts

DAIRY 

In my house, dairy is kept to a minimum. If I do purchase dairy I am extremely cautious about sourcing. Dairy has been linked to inflammation and breakouts and overall always upsets my stomach. Instead of cow’s milk, I find dairy products that are made with almond milk; however, this is completely a personal preference. I enjoy going to Whole Foods to purchase my non-dairy products. 

Almond Milk (New Barn)

Cheese (Kite Hill) Yogurt (Kite Hill) 

Ice Cream Probiotics (Good Belly) 

Ghee Butter 

PROTEIN 

Unless going out for a burger and fries with friends, I choose not to consume red meat, so you will never find it in my refrigerator. I do not have anything against red meat, I am just one of those weird texture people. I gravitate toward turkey-based meats. 

Boca Burgers

Lean Ground Turkey 

Tuna 

Eggs 

Turkey Bacon 

GRAINS

If you know one thing about me, it’s probably that I cannot get enough of carbohydrates. I basically grew up on bread and pasta. Unfortunately as my metabolism has slowed down, this habit also did. I still love grains. Everything in moderation! 

Banza Pasta (made with chickpeas) 

Sourdough Bread 

Perfect Bars 

Granola 

Oats

Siete Tortilla Chips 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Hu Chocolate Bars 

Georgia Grinders Almond Butter 

Protein Powder Cacao Powder

After an inside look at my grocery list and refrigerator, we can begin the meal prep. Here are some of my favorite recipe eats for the school year! You can always double the recipes to share with roommates or family. 

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

These are a perfect dessert for chocoholics and pair well with dairy free ice cream. You can even make ice cream sandwiches! 

Ingredients:

-2/3 cup oats, blended to flour 

-2 tbsp. peanut butter 

-1tbsp. flax seed 

-1 tbsp. maple syrup 

-1 banana, mashed 

-½ tsp. vanilla extract 

-Pinch of sea salt 

-¼ cup dark chocolate chips 

Recipe: 

1) Blend oats, about 20 seconds 

2) Combine all ingredients 

3) Scoop onto cookie sheet, 1 tbsp. size, make round shape 

4) Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes 

5) Dip into melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt 

SMOKED SALMON TOAST 

Toast is my go-to lunch. It takes the least amount of time for when I am running between classes and homework. It is also the best for using up just about any ingredient in your refrigerator. 

Ingredients: 

-Slice of sourdough bread 

-Kite Hill cheese spread 

-Avocado

-Smoked Salmon (Aldi) 

-Egg 

-Everything But The Bagel seasoning (Trader Joes) 

Recipe: 

1) Toast sourdough bread 

2) Cook egg over easy on stovetop with butter 

3) Mash avocado 

4) Combine all ingredients on toast 

BANZA BOWL 

This bowl is a great pasta alternative, with a variety of flavors that cures my Noodles and Company cravings! 

Ingredients: 

-Banza pasta 

-Zucchini 

-Turkey meatballs 

-Kite Hill cheese spread 

-Mushrooms 

-Tahini 

-Tomato basil sauce (Trader Joes) 

Recipe: 

1) Cook pasta 

2) Spiral zucchini 

3) Cook spiraled zucchini in microwave with butter for about 2 minutes 

4) Cook mushrooms on stovetop

5) Microwave turkey meatballs for 2 minutes

6) Once pasta is cooked, combine with desired amount of tomato basil sauce 

7) Combine all ingredients in bowl 

8) Top with cheese spread 

9) Drizzle with tahini 

BUDDAH BOWL WITH JALAPEÑO TAHINI DRESSING 

It is like Chipotle but in your kitchen and much cheaper. 

Ingredients: 

-Avocado

-Olives 

-Turkey burger

-Limes

-Lettuce mix 

-Cilantro 

-Goat cheese 

-Zucchini 

Jalapeño Tahini Dressing:

-¼ cup Tahini 

-1 seedless jalapeño 

-Lemon 

-Salt 

-Almond milk 

Recipe: 

1) Cook turkey burger on stove top 

2) Spiral zucchini 

3) Cook spiraled zucchini in microwave with butter for about 2 minutes 

4) Combine lettuce mix, cooked zucchini, cilantro 

5) Slice avocado 

6) Place cooked turkey burger, lime, avocado, olives, and goat cheese on top of greens 

7) Drizzle dressing 

SWEET STRAWBERRY TOAST 

This breakfast is perfect for that weekend morning sweet tooth without having to drive to Denny’s. 

Ingredients: 

-Sourdough bread 

-Strawberries 

-Honey 

-Cinnamon 

-Probiotic yogurt (coyo) 

-Almond butter 

Recipe: 

1) Toast bread 

2) Spread almond butter 

3) Add sliced strawberries 

4) Top with honey, cinnamon, and a spoonful of probiotic yogurt 

ACAI BOWL 

A refreshing combination for a hot summer day! 

Ingredients: 

-Frozen strawberries 

-Fresh strawberries

-Frozen bananas 

-Frozen pineapple 

-Sweetener 

-Almond milk 

-Vanilla protein powder 

-Almond butter 

-Honey

-Coconut shreds 

-Granola 

-Chia seeds 

Recipe: 

1) Blend frozen strawberries, bananas, and pineapple in a blender with sweetener, almond milk, vanilla protein powder, almond butter, and honey 

2) Pour into a bowl 

3) Top with fresh strawberries, honey, coconut shreds, granola, and chia seeds 

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES 

The perfect mixture of savory and sweet for the indecisive. This recipe is even Whole30 approved! 

Ingredients: 

-Sweet potato 

-Banana, mashed 

-2 eggs 

-Butter 

-Probiotic yogurt (coyo) 

-Almond butter 

-Honey 

-Cinnamon 

Recipe: 

1) Cook sweet potato in microwave for 4 minutes 

2) Mash sweet potato with fork 

3) Combine mashed sweet potato, mashed banana, and 2 eggs in a bowl 

4) Cook over a griddle with butter 

5) Top with almond butter, probiotic yogurt, honey, and cinnamon

MAC AND NO CHEESE 

The dairy free alternative for a mac n’ cheese lover. I mean we do live in Wisconsin people.

Ingredients: 

-Banza pasta 

-1 tbsp. nutritional yeast 

-1/3 cup cashews 

-1/3 cup roasted butternut squash 

-Lemon -¼ cup water 

-Salt 

Recipe: 

1) Cook pasta 

2) Blend all sauce ingredients together slowly, adding in water until desired consistency reached 

3) Pour sauce over pasta and heat 

Finale 

I hope my grocery list and recipes help you break the staying-in stigma. Cooking is a great date idea, especially paired with a glass of wine and a movie! It is also a peaceful study break and a way to get your body up and moving from your couch on a Sunday. These recipes are easy! Trust me, I am not a whiz in the kitchen. I stick to simple recipes made with the least amount of ingredients that taste awesome and make me feel great. 

Next time you pick up processed foods at a gas station or on campus at school, turn it around and look at the list of ingredients. You will be surprised by how many ingredients you have never heard of and most likely cannot even pronounce. What we are choosing to put in our bodies matters and affects the way we feel, behave, and perform each and every day. Remember, you do not have to be perfect. No one is. Perfection is boring, but be different by caring about yourself. I cannot wait to see you recreate my recipes. 

Please make sure to send me pictures or tag me on social media. 

Instagram: @vitabenedetta 

Facebook: @ViBenedetta 

Twitter: @ViBenedetta Tell me. 

Do you prefer to stay in and cook meals or go out? Comment below.

[goldenage-beauty-blog]

All I have to say is YUMMM! That picture of your fridge is serious goals and I wish my fridge looked like that! This past year, my roommate and I had one of those meal delivery services brought to our apartment every week. This was a HUGE help because we didn’t have to plan out our meals and our grocery list was lighter. Unfortunately, I won’t have this luxury this upcoming semester, but seeing these recipes got my excited! I will definitely be trying out that smoked salmon toast and banana chocolate chip cookies! As always, awesome job! 

[myheadquarters-blog1]

This post made me nothing but HUNGRY! All of these recipes look so delicious and so easy to make. A lot of your grocery list items remind me of what I purchased when I completed the Whole30 challenge. Having no dairy was a struggle for me, but it was nice to read about all these dairy0free options that I definitely need to incorporate into my diet from now on. Great post!

[simplesnacking-blog]

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Hello hello and welcome back! This week we ar egoing to be diving into one of the biggest concerns when eating healthy! MONEY! This blog is going to talk about more ways to saving money while eating healthy AND what options are actually beneficial to buy organically and which are not. The controversy of whether organic foods are a noticeable difference has been discussed for centuries. We will touch on some of these areas and what products are and aren’t beneficial in buying organically.

When it comes to saving money and eating healthy, these two almost two can very much go hand and hand believe it or not. What was that? How? Everything I buy is so much more expensive when I buy healthy food items at the grocery store! These might be the thoughts going through your head right now… however I am going to tell you a few ways you can save money while knowing exactly what goes into your good. Can you take one of the first guesses yet?!

MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD. Simple. Whether that is cooking your own meals or making your own sauces. There is no genuine way to know what ingredients are in your meals if you are not making it yourself. This does not mean slaving away in the kitchen every night to make fresh made bread and your own almond milk, this simply means high caloric and foods of concern can easily be made in your kitchen with simple ingredients that will ensure you that you’re getting the right ingredients. 

For starters, it is so simple to make your own dips, sauces, salad dressings, condiments, etc. When making these at home there is going to be a serious decrease in sodium and fat intake from these preprocessed alternatives that are sitting on shelves at stores. These items are inexpensive and allow you to be creative with your own style. Likewise, consider making your own soups and spreads for wraps for similar reasons. One of my favorite ways to get started with these easy steps is to make dressings in my “dressing jar” (similar to below) which gives you a few healthy vinaigrettes to steer you in the right direction of trying some new flavors!

 Along with… 

Look for creative ways to add veggies, fruits and alternative grains into your normal food.

Examples:

spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes in your omelet

lettuce wraps instead of tortillas

quinoa with peppers and onions instead of rice with soy sauce and olive oil

Simple things to incorporate more vegetables are so cost savvy! Most vegetables are inexpensive and are great at filling you up!

Try alternative grains

Mentioned above to try quinoa as an alternative, quinoa is one of the many “super grains” because it has such high protein yet low caloric intake! PLUS, if bought uncooked quinoa has a very long shelf life, is inexpensive, and you can use it in so many different dishes- a savory breakfast, as a pasta dish, or with a light vinagrette mixed with veggies of your choosing. This alternative from traditional white flous products is booming into a HUGE industry because of the immense amount of benefits. 

Grow your own food!

There are so many areas or produce that you can make yourself at home with simple steps! After purchasing foods at the grocery store next time and save your scraps to re grow yourself. 

Produce is often one of the most expensive products that you are purchasing at your grocery visits. Cutting down just a little bit every week can add up and create a nice hobby along the way.

The following foods can regrow after cutting the ends or bottom base off with just water and sunlight. After a few days and noticeable growth these foods can be transported into soil to grow the rest of their potential in just a few short weeks!

Lettuce- romaine, bock choy, cabbage

Celery

Lemongrass

Bean Sprouts

Other examples of easy kitchen scraps to grow are:

Avocado- use toothpicks to suspend over a glass or bowl in direct sunlight, after a root appears plant in soil with about half of the pit above ground

Potatoes- plant the “eyes” facing up in soil for a few weeks

likewise, sweet potatoes

Pineapple- cut tip off and insert in container of water. After a week or so roots will form and you can transplant to potting soil.

Onions- cut the root off and cover lightly in potting soil and keep in sunny area.

These are just a few of the simple and easy ways to make your food from scraps at home!

As heard very often, plan.

Planning is the number one way to be able to stick to a healthy routine and schedule. It is essential to plan ahead considering your schedule and time available to make sure you have healthy options to keep you satisfied throughout the day. Before doing so, scan the fridge before making your meal plan list. See what options were thrown in the back and forgotten about to potentially use from your upcoming meals this week. Using food before it goes bad will be less wasteful and give you a unique set of meals weekly. Bottom line is to plan out your meals and snacks for the week and make a grocery list. Only buy what you know you’re going to buy! If you know you hate kale and actually won’t eat it, don’t buy it! This plan and prep will help you stick to your schedule and feel good about yourself when you do. 

Going along with how to eat healthy while on a budget, I am going to move into what foods to actually spend the money on with organic produce. Knowing what organic fruits and vegetables you can buy while still on your budget can be good to know for your next grocery store visit. 

Overall, I am going to cover what to spend your money on and what to skip. First, I will define what organic is so we are all on the same page. Organic is defined as growing a product without the use of any chemicals, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, radiation, etc. Specifically, I will be talking about produce today because meat and other areas of organic is a whole other story!

Foods to buy organic

Leafy greens- romaine, spinach, collard greens

Have a lot of surface area for toxins to stick to

Heavily sprayed with toxins and pests

Berries- blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries

Eat the whole fruit- skin susceptible to a lot of pesticides

Apples- if peeled, okay to not buy organic

White potatoes- if peeled, okay to not buy organic 

Red, Yellow, and Green peppers

Celery

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Peaches

Pears

Cherries

Foods not needed to buy organic 

Asparagus, onions, and cabbage- don’t require much spraying of pesticides to grow 

Broccoli and Cauliflower

Melons- honey dew, cantaloupe, and watermolon- thick skin= harder to get affected 

Avocadoes, bannanas, pineapple, eggplant- thick skin which are most often removed before consuming

Kiwi, grapefruit, mangoes

Carrots

Mushrooms

Oranges

Papaya

Brussel sprouts

Sweet potatoes

Most often when you’re peeling something or it has a hard and thick surface there is a high chance that you will be fine with consuming it conventionally and not organically. The foods listed above are safe to go with conventionally purchased over organically.

How to eat ORGANIC on a budget

Now that we have covered a few ways of how to eat healthy on a budget and which organic foods are worth buying we can look at combining the two. Combining the two, we will look at how to eat organically on a budget!

There are a few staple rules to go by when wanting the organic lifestyle but not wanting to break the bank. Including:

Find organic coupons

Join social media pages

follow coupon sites– Mambo Sprouts, All Natural Savings, and Organic Dates

Simply Organic, Kroger, Whole Foods, Earth Fare are stores that always have various products with coupons throughout the store

DIY and Plan

Stay organized- plan meals for the week

Budget- weekly/montly

Do it yourself- granola bars, juices, smoothies, etc.

potion and prioritize

Use your freezer

Most often your produce is going to go bad before you can eat it all, especially when you’re living on your own it is hard to shop for one.

Freeze leftovers 

Freeze homemade cookie dough or almond butter for a treat when having a sweet tooth

Buy local and freeze for when in season

Double recipes and make leftovers

Great with soups and stews

Freeze core kitchen staples- breads, cheese, butter, croutons, spinach, fruit

Buy in bulk

Take advantage of BOGO sales

Best foods to buy in bulk- oats, flour, grains, nuts, lentils

Bring measuring cups when buying in bulk to know how much you’re getting for a specific recipe or week and not over spend

Find out what foods in season and buy in bulk- so much cheaper

Buy local

Cheaper most often that food from miles away 

Utilize farmer’s markets

Be the last to leave- throughout the time of the market, farmers will continually reduce their price as it gets closer to closing time

Ask farmers about their practices- pesticides or not?

Listed above are a few of the ways we can combine the ways of eating on a budget while still being able to eat organically and healthy.

Thanks for reading (:

Facebook: @SatisfiedSnacking

Twitter: @simplesnacking

Instagram: @satisfyingsnacking

[myheadquarters-blog1]

I enjoyed your post very much this week! I never though about growing my own vegetables. That definitely makes a great hobby! Your list of produce to buy organic and ones not to buy is very helpful because I never know what is best for me (especially when I am at the store panicking!) I do love visiting Farmer’s Markets to buy local, but haven’t been to one in a while. Thank you for reminding me that I need to go. Great post!

[myheadquarters-blog1]

Decisions, decisions...

This week’s blog posts identifies ways to make decision-making easier for a 20-something. Post graduation is right around the corner, and these decisions coming up are most likely the most important.

If you’re anything like me, you can’t decide what to wear in the morning or what to order at a restaurant. And, if you have read my previous blog posts, you’ll know that all it is ever about is decisions, decisions, and more decisions. What would you classify yourself as, a decision-maker or an indecisive person? If you’re the latter like me, just know that you’re not alone. It is hard to make decisions—especially at this age where it seems like every decision you make paves the path (or ocean) for the rest of your life.

This week’s blog is primarily focused on the ease of decision-making. Post graduation is where you decide what life you want to live, and that can be stressful. What is the biggest decision you are facing right now? I’ll tell you mine.

After spending an exciting weekend with my boyfriend, his parents, and my parents, my love grew even more for him. Since we are graduating a semester apart, I have to make the decision of what I want to do. Do I stay in my college town and wait for him to graduate? Do I accept a job offer I have always dreamed of having? Do I move out of state like I have always wanted? How do you even go about deciding something so major like that? Through my research, here are some ways to become a better decision maker.

Classify your type

You can either be a satisficer or a maximizer. A satisficer is just like what it sounds—the decision is made once the person is satisfied. These people have a set criteria, and once they are met, they are able to make a decision with ease. This is an adequate solution to the decision at hand.

A maximizer takes another approach. These folks strive to reach the optimal solution. These people tend to do more extensive research, and work hard to make sure that they are making the best possible choice. While this type seems more optimal, doing extensive research can lead to over-thinking. This over-thinking does not always lead to a peace of mind or better decision making.

Takeaway: There is definitely a cost with seeking out additional information. What type am I? Definitely a maximizer. I plan out everything in my head, even if I don’t want to admit it. This can lead to me over-thinking every single decision I make. Sometimes, less is best…

Less is more

This comes with adding weights to certain pieces of information that you seek. You could search cities of where to move for months on end. Maybe even create a spreadsheet with the pros and cons of each (something I would definitely do), but ultimately, you won’t know what it is like until you’re actually there. It won’t be until you place yourself in some decisions that you know what the right or wrong one is. This leads to the idea that less is more.

We as humans are so quick to judge and use our rapid judgments to make decisions. What to most people tell you to do? Follow your heart? A better piece of advice is trust your gut. That first, initial reaction when you read something, hear something, or experience something.

Takeaway: Instincts over facts.

What is intuition?

A man by the name of William Duggan from Columbia Business School classifies intuition into three categories; ordinary, strategic, and and expert. Ordinary is your gut instinct. Strategic is a clear thought—I like to think of these ones as your “shower thoughts”. You know when you are in the shower and you think of something absolutely legendary and then you pray you don’t forget it by the time you get out? Yeah, that is a strategic intuition. It is a slow process, takes a while to make the decision, but they often lead to your best ideas.

Your expert intuition is all the patterns that you start to realize once you make all of these ordinary and strategic decisions. The expert intuition that you have makes a judgment sometimes too quick, so keep this in mind when dealing with experiences and familiar problems.

Takeaway: Use all these intuitions cohesively. Compare what your gut feeling was, what your shower thought was, and what your experience thought was. Mesh these together and don’t over think it.

Trust experiences

When faced with a difficult decision like the one after college, when it feels like the best thing to do is push people away and make decisions for yourself, that is completely wrong. It is so important to consult with your family, friends, coworkers, etc., and compare their experiences and insights with those intuitions that you have.

Recently at my internship at Kohler Company, I had a conversation with a woman on my team for about 30 minutes after one of our meetings. Having just met her two days prior, she gave valuable insights on life after college, and it was nice to hear a perspective that was unknown to me. Little did she know how impactful her words of advice were, so I wrote her a hand written note thanking her for her time after our meeting already ran late (take note of this you future professionals, this will make you stand out).

Takeaway: When faced with a difficult decision, call your mom, your friend, and one of your colleagues. Listen to their experiences and their insights. These perspectives are more valuable than any sort of research that you can conduct to aid in your decision making process. Sometimes, all you need is reassurance that your thought process is not crazy, or an insight that makes you take a few steps back to look at the bigger picture instead of all the pixels.

Control what you can control

All of us has been at a point in our lives where we stress about something for way too long. Maybe this is a presentation for your marketing class, maybe it is picking out a dress for an upcoming wedding. Whatever it is, just know that you can only control what you can control. If something is out of your control, it is not worth stressing over. This is something my parents had repeatedly told me growing up.

You will know if a decision that you are trying to make is meaningful and worth your time. Well, maybe you won’t. But, you have to look at things from a big picture point of view and see how much it matters in the grand scheme of things. If it doesn’t matter in 5 days or even 5 years, don’t spend more than 5 minutes thinking about it.

Takeaway: Put your thought process energy towards something that is meaningful. You know what is important to you and what your values are. Keep that in mind when faced with adversity.

These five overarching pieces of advice have a lot of different branches that are important to consider as well. For example, things like admitting your mistakes is important when making difficult decisions. Not so much making mistakes but if your feelings are wrong, it is your responsibility to steer yourself in the right direction.

Another thing that I personally have a hard time with is seeking perfection. For many years, I would not stop thinking about or doing something until I thought it was perfect. In fact, this is my greatest weakness today, as I still find myself being a perfectionist. In relation to decision making, it is important to take steps to make decisions—but not too many because you don’t want to ruin that insightful intuition.

How does all this connect? While this may seem like a lot of information at once and may not make much sense right now, I am sure when you have to make your next difficult decision, you will be remembering this post and thinking “yep, she was right, I do try to control things that I can’t control”.

Any decision can be a hard one. As a marketing student, you learn the consumer decision-making process. The amount of analysis that can go into why a consumer purchases the brand of toothpaste that they use is impeccable. My brain is now wired to thing so critically and analytically about decisions. But I have to remember that personal decisions are often based off of gut, heartfelt feelings.

No matter where life takes you, what you decide today, what you decide tomorrow, or what you decide in a few months from now, everything happens for a reason. As cliché as that is, it is the truth. You are meant to be going wherever you go, and there are going to be sacrifices that you have to make along the way.

A life partner, for example, has been the biggest addition to my life, and I am prepared (or not) to make sacrifices and decisions cohesively, as my life is about to begin in a few months. What decision are you currently facing? After you graduate, will it change?

[travelwithmeslh-blog]

Traveling in the United States

I love traveling internationally and would do it every year if I could, but I also enjoy traveling in the United States just as much! Not only does this usually save money, but each state offers its own unique culture and scenery! The varying cultures from state to state can be so drastic which is exciting for someone like me who loves to learn about different cultures. There are of course the popular spots to travel in the United States like New York City, Florida, Texas, and Chicago, as much fun as these places are I encourage people to find places that are a little less well known. This way it will be less crowded and usually cheaper than the typical vacation spots. Click here to learn more about some lesser-known spots in the US that would be perfect for an upcoming trip!

I have been to 38 states so far and am hoping to visit the rest within the next couple of years. Traveling in the United States can be relatively inexpensive if you plan ahead and use the right resources to save money. Keep reading to learn about three of my favorite places to visit in the United States and some additional resources so you can visit them as well!

Montana

One of my favorite places to visit in the United States is Montana. Most people just think of Montana as a state with not much to do besides hiking. While hiking is a huge part of Montana, there is a ton of other things to do as well! Half of my family lives out in Montana so I have been visiting there my entire life. I have grown to appreciate the state and all it has to offer. I love Colorado but Montana has just as good scenery and mountains and with way fewer people. My favorite town in Montana is Bozeman which is located in the middle of Southern Montana right off of I-90. The population is about 45,600 which isn’t huge but it still has a bigger city vibe to it. Bozeman has 42 parks and 52 miles of trails just within the city limits alone.

                                               Bozeman, MT

There are numerous places to hike or bike in near Bozeman. Drinking Horse Mountain is a newer hiking venue with two trails (one easier and the other harder) that both lead to the 5,522 summit. At the top, you’ll have amazing views of the Absaroka and Gallatin ranges. Click here to read about some other great hiking spots in the Bozeman area! In the winter, check out Bridger Bowl or Big Sky Resort for some downhill skiing and snowboarding. Both of these places are great and have some amazing ski trails and views. Big Sky is a little more popular but is also more crowded and expensive. I personally enjoy Bridger Bowl since it is less crowded, which allows you more time on the mountain and less time waiting to get up the mountain. Big Sky does offer summer activities like golfing, mountain biking, and zip line tours.

Glacier National Park is located in the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern part of Montana. This park has some of the most amazing views in the United States and should be added to an avid hiker’s list. The park has over 700 miles of trails all ranging in difficulty so everyone will find the right trail for them. Glacier has multiple lakes for swimming, boating, and fishing as well. I would highly recommend checking out this park! Montana of course also is home to part of Yellowstone. Yellowstone is a great trip that everyone should try to do at least once. Yellowstone has fantastic hiking trails and areas to boat and fish. If hiking really isn’t your thing then it is just as fun to drive around the park and view the scenery and animals. You can either go camping or stay in a lodge in the park.

                                           Glacier National Park

Outer Banks, North Carolina

Another favorite state of mine is North Carolina and more specifically the Outer Banks. The Out Banks is a group of barrier islands right off the mainland of North Carolina. If a relaxing vacation is more of your thing then this is the spot for you. I personally think that the Outer Banks is a better vacation spot than popular spots like Florida or New Jersey. The beaches are cleaner and less crowded. The island also offers golf courses and cute coastal shops. Many people ride ATV’s in the sand dunes to go sightseeing and view the wild horses that can be found farther down the island. If you are still looking to get some activity in during this trip, the Outer Banks has three Coastal Maritime forests that are perfect for hiking and sightseeing. The Outer Banks is also home to the Jockey’s Ridge State Park, which is a 426-acre park that features the largest living sand dune on the East Coast. I love the Outer Banks and am looking forward to planning a future trip there!

                                               Outer Banks, NC

San Diego, California

One last place in the United States that I love is San Diego. This is obviously a well-known place to visit but I feel that it is worth mentioning. My family and I went there on my brother’s Make-A-Wish and it was one of the best trips I have been on. Just like the Outer Banks, San Diego has some of the best beaches I have been to in the United States. It surprisingly was never that busy at the beaches and the beaches were kept relatively clean. The San Diego Zoo was the highlight of the trip. The zoo is so large that most people opt to take a bus tour. This was a great way to see the entire zoo in just one day. It made stops at the large attractions which allowed people the opportunity to hop off and actually explore the exhibit. There are multiple different communities in San Diego each with a completely different feel from one another; it is really fun to shop and explore each community. I have not personally been here, but the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a large feature of the area. This park is the largest state park in California with 600,000 acres. Visitors can hike the 110 miles of trails or explore the 12 wilderness areas.

                                              San Diego, CA

Amtrak

One thing about traveling the United States is that flying can often time be very expensive. This often causes people to shorten their trip or not even consider flying somewhere. I have just recently started looking into the Amtrak for my future trips in the United States. This summer I was hoping to go back to Montana with a friend but the airfare was too expensive for me. So I instead looked into taking a train ride out west instead. The Amtrak offers vacation deals and is relatively inexpensive if you plan it the right way. For my trip, I will either take the train from Chicago all the way to San Diego or I will take the train from Chicago to Seattle. Both of these trips take about 2 ½ days and is about $250 round-trip.

This is a great way to see a large part of the country for a pretty cheap price. The Chicago to San Diego train makes stops in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and ends in California. The other option travels from Chicago to Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and ends in Oregon. The Amtrak also offers great trips out east or down south all starting in Chicago. If you are looking for a fun road-trip vacation without having to worry about gas or driving long hours, I would highly recommend looking into taking the Amtrak! Not only is it cheap, but you are able to see large parts of the country in just a short couple of days.

I love traveling in the United States just as much as I do internationally! The US has so much to offer and has many hidden spots, like the Outer Banks, that are just waiting for more people to discover! I talked about just three of my favorite spots in the US that I like to visit but each state has its own unique attractions to visit! Check below for some links to resources! Happy traveling!

Montana links:

Bozeman

Glacier National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Bridger Bowl

Big Sky Resort

Outer Banks, North Carolina links:

Outer Banks

Jockey’s Ridge State Park

San Diego links:

San Diego

San Diego Zoo

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Amtrak links:

Amtrak

Vacation & Rail Tours

California Zephyr is the train ride from Chicago to San Francisco

Empire Builder is the train ride from Chicago to Portland/Seattle

[myheadquarters-blog1]

I loved reading about all of your travel experiences! I never thought about taking the Amtrak to places to far away. That seems like a great idea to be able to stop in other states and what not. I definitely would want to visit the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Thank you for sharing the links! These are definitely going to come in handy when planning my next trip somewhere. #mkt400uwl

[mycollegediet-blog1]

The Best Bar Food - La Crosse, Wisconsin

Bar food is a special type of food. It can taste good by itself, but when you add a few drinks and a special atmosphere, it becomes great. There’s just something about having a snack or meal while drinking at a bar that makes it so much better. Sometimes you go into the night expecting to buy food from a particular bar, but more often than not, food is put in front of you that simply cannot be passed up. For me, I classify bar food as something that you can order after 9 at night. That’s usually when a restaurant turns into a bar and their late-night menu is in effect. Drinks at a reduced price and cheap food is every college students dream!

La Crosse, Wisconsin, is a place that is known for their bars and drinking. They have been named the 10th Drunkest City in America, had the most bars per capita, and broke the Guiness Book of World Records for the most bars on one street. That being said, there are plenty of different places to visit in La Crosse if you’re looking for a drink. I have lived in La Crosse for over 4 years and have experience everything the city has to offer. I have also spent more time than I am probably willing to admit in different bars. That being said, I have come up with a list of the best bar food around the city for college students. This food is cheap and delicious, and I’m sure you have experienced them if you have ever visited La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Chips and Salsa – Senior Villa

Senior Villa is a relatively new Mexican restaurant right next to the UWL campus but their chips and salsa are legendary. This is a classic at most Mexican restaurants but Senior Villa gets it right and understands us college students. Once you are seated, you’re greeted with warm chips and a large bowl of salsa FOR FREE! You can also get as many refills as you want for no extra charge. They even have another sauce for your chips that is hard to recognize but tastes fantastic. As a college student, there’s not much more you can ask for; free chips and salsa. Add a margarita, or 3, and you have a great night ahead of yourself!

Nachos – Howie’s

Picture this – You’re playing Bingo, 2 tall Bud Light’s deep, and you suddenly get a craving for food. No need to worry, Howie’s on La Crosse Street has you covered with their $5 nachos. These aren’t just any nachos, these are some of the best nachos I have ever had. They are covered in lettuce, onions, and cheese served with a side of jalapenos and banana peppers. It is served on the biggest plate in the restaurant and it towers almost 12 inches tall. This is more than a snack, it’s a meal, and I have fasted for up to 5 hours in excitement for this food. Nachos from Howie’s is a great late night meal from one of the best bars in La Crosse.

Popcorn – Who’s on Third

Popcorn is an all-time classic bar food no matter where you live. It’s light, filling, and the perfect complement to a few drinks. I’m sure there are a few more bars that have popcorn but the one I am most familiar with is Who’s on Third. My first step when I walk into the bar is towards the popcorn machine, even before I get a drink. The smell is overpowering and I can’t help but grab a cup while I’m there. Popcorn is also great bar food because it’s free, and as I mentioned in my first blog, there’s nothing better than free food. You can never go wrong with popcorn, especially when you’re at a bar!

Wings – Brothers

Across the country, there are Brothers Bars serving wings and providing good times for college students. The bar located in La Crosse is arguably the most popular bar for college students in the city. Many of these people don’t know about their 25 cent wings on Wednesday nights. This is the best deal for wings you will find in town and they are surprisingly good for being from a bar. Even though you can only get this deal on Wednesday’s, it is worth the wait from week to week. With a variety of flavors, you will never get bored of going to Wing Wednesday at Brothers. It is said that there is nothing better than beer and wings, and Brothers Bar doesn’t disappoint on either.

Burger – Eagles Nest

The Eagles Nest recently re-opened after about a year of being closed and the new management has made this a popular spot for food and drinks. Not only do they have $1 drinks, but they also have buy one, get one free burgers. This is another favorite phrase for college students and we will go out of our way to find similar deals and save money whenever possible. It’s hard to mess up a burger and the Eagles Nest delivers with a quality burger at a great price. With their buy one, get one free deal, you and a friend can get 2 burgers for around $5 each. This is a great deal and you can wash down the burger with some $1 Miller High Life’s at a new bar.

Cheese Curds – The Old Crow

Cheese curds are a popular appetizer for the people of Wisconsin because of our love of cheese. The Old Crow has been known to have the best cheese curds in all of La Crosse and I can agree with that. Their unique square shape and light coating make for the perfect snack, especially when you’re there late at night. On our senior bar crawl, I stopped at the Old Crow around 9 p.m. and it was the perfect snack to share with friends. They are constantly making their cheese curds so it’s not uncommon to get the curds before your drinks, which is never a bad thing. As a Wisconsin resident, it doesn’t get much better than beer and cheese for dinner.

Ice Cream – Twisted Moose

Many of you that go to school in La Crosse my not be familiar with this treat at the Twisted Moose. I have only seen them serve ice cream one summer but it was definitely one of the best snacks I have ever had downtown after 10 p.m. This isn’t your typical bar food and it’s completely different from everything else on this list. Having said that, I have never been happier than I was when I saw the ice cream machine as I walked into the Twisted Moose. It’s the classic soft serve vanilla or chocolate swirl cone similar to what you would get from McDonald’s for only $1. There are few things better than an ice cream cone on a hot day in the middle of the summer!

Conclusion

This is just a short list of my favorite bar food in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As you can see, there is a wide variety of bars that have great food for college students. I’m sure that there is more great food from different bars in the city, but as I mentioned before, there are a lot of bars in La Crosse and it’s tough to visit them all. I recommend trying to visit as many different bars and restaurants as you can wherever you are. That will allow you to experience something new and maybe discover a new favorite spot for burgers or wings. After living in La Crosse for 4 year, I can say that I have a great understanding of the city and I have a favorite place for every kind of food. I’m excited about my semester because I have another opportunity to eat all these different kinds of bar food one last time.

I believe my favorite bar food on this list are the chips and salsa from Senior Villa. The fact that they are free and you can get endless refills is tough to compete against. The addition of the mysterious sauce puts it over the top even though no one really knows what it is. It kind of tastes like ranch but all that matters is that it goes great with tortilla chips. There are plenty of times where my friends and I have gone to Senior Villa solely for their margaritas, chips, and salsa. We will spend hours eating all their chips and salsa and knocking back around 3-4 margaritas. Whenever someone mentions eating there I always get excited and it’s an offer I can’t pass up. Senior Villa has become one of the most popular spots for the college student of La Crosse to enjoy a meal and a few drinks.

Is there anything I missed? Would you take something off my list? Let me know what your favorite bar food is in La Crosse!

The diet every college student can relate to!

[myheadquarters-blog1]

Wow, reading this post definitely made me hungry and wishing I was in La Crosse so I could get one of these favorites! I think Rudy’s is also great to put on the list as well. The fact that it is a seasonal restaurant and only open during the summer months makes it that much better when you have it-- and their soft serve is amazing and cheap! All of this sounds really good, I like how you incorporated places downtown as well as ones closer to campus-- great list! #mkt400uwl 

[myheadquarters-blog1]

Not so little anymore...

The following post dives into factors that become part of your plate after you graduate. Keep in mind, the status quo is not always the way to go…read these tips for organizing your jumbled thoughts!

Society has painted and encrypted this picture in our brains of what life is suppose to be. You grow up, go to college, get a high-paying job, work your way up in the corporate world, and then retire at age 65. How does this path guarantee fulfillment and lifelong happiness?

Growing up, my supportive parents allowed me to paint this picture for myself, and make decisions based on what I wanted to do. However, it seems as though the culture of education and society makes it seem like if you don’t follow this path, you’ve ultimately failed.

This gets into my main topic for this week’s post; don’t get too ahead of yourself. As the people who are closest to me had to repeatedly tell me this before I believed it—you can only plan so far in advanced. Life is an ocean more so; the movement of it changes daily. It’s wavy and unpredictable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead and still do some research and ride the waves.

If you’ve read my most recent blog post (https://bit.ly/2L3xJoe), you found yourself reading about the four different options on where to go after college. Little did you or I know that this list is far too short. There are so many more options that you can find and read about in this fellow blogger’s post about nine individuals who did not start a full-time job after college (https://bit.ly/2LZFgG3).

So while I say don’t get too ahead of yourself, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a million thoughts going through your mind when thinking about life after college (I know I think about a hundred thoughts a day about what I am going to do after I graduate this December). This is a guide to help you think about certain factors, besides location, after you get your diploma. What expenses do you need to think of? What if you get a dog? What if your car breaks down? This hypothetical list of different factors will hopefully make all these factors floating around in your head a bit more organized.

Job Search

You have studied your future career content for the past four years, and you are ready to go out and apply your knowledge in the real world. It is recommended that upon graduation, you plan on applying for full-time careers around four months in advance. This gives time for the application to be screened, as well as the interview process to be completed.’

The importance of this factor comes with being clear on your career path, even if you want to experiment with different job opportunities. Your first job won’t always be your last, so please keep that in mind. This is a great factor to consider even prior to graduation, as you want to be independent and start making your own money. Sometimes, getting an internship or job right after undergrad is a great segway into applying and going to graduate school.

Tip: Create a @LinkedIn profile and start building a community of connections. Connect with your professors, people at work, your current classmates and colleagues, and anyone in between. This first step can create great leads to get your foot in the door with a company. Use it as an interactive tool to communicate with professionals and land opportunities. You can even download the app for more instant notifications!

Create a credit history

If you haven’t done so already, it is a great idea to start building up your credit upon graduation. To do this, apply for low-interest rate credit cards to use for regular expenses. Some regular expenses can include rent, gas, groceries, etc. The more you use this card, the more credit you can build. If you pay on time or in full payments, this can also increase your credit score.

The reason that this made the list of factors to consider when moving on with life after college, is because student loans can be a handful. Building this score can help dedicate you to paying something regularly.

Tip: To manage your credit history, download the app of the current provider of your card. This way, you are able to view the five factors that are used to calculate credit scores—payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and types of credit. This app can remind you to make payments online and in time.

Budget

From talking about credit above, one thing that is also good to consider is creating a budget plan once your graduate. Since you will most likely be completely independent with many more expenses, planning out a monthly budget is going to work in your favor. Having a budget plan is a great way to tell you what you are able to spend money on and when.

This planning tool is most utilized when created before graduation. Hopefully at some point during your last semester, you will have an idea of where you will be living, what you will be doing, or what your plans are for the next chapter in life. Creating this plan earlier on can save you mistakes when the money and bills start adding up.

Tip: If you use Microsoft Office, creating a simple excel sheet is the best way to manage this. They already have a template that you can use and customize for your needs. This makes it easy to manage and definitely sharable for a partner or significant other that you can both manage together.

Bills

Living at home really makes us oblivious to the expenses that go into maintaining a house and cost of living, simply because we are not responsible for dealing with it. However, after college, when we move out completely from the nest, these bills become ours.

Rent is one that most of us are use to paying, and if you’re lucky like me, your college rent for the past few years has only been about $350 a month. This is relatively cheap when comparing other college towns and other cities as well. One way you can budget and manage this is maybe looking for a place where the heat, electricity, and water are included in the rent price. This would save you monthly bills that start to add up during the cold and hot months of the year.

Some other bills that you might be forgetting are your wifi, student loans, transportation, groceries, insurance, and cable (although this one may seem a little out of date). Don’t let these bills stack up, and see what offerings they may have for bundle packages.

Tip: Pay your bills online! A lot of companies actually give you some sort of incentive if you use paperless billing, and it is definitely beneficial so all these bills just don’t add up in a pile and you forget about them. You can set reminders on your phone and alerts when bills are due and this makes it so everything is in one place. Also, it is better for the environment too!

Living Expenses

Once you have that steady income from your first big girl or big boy job, it may be more tempting to go out to that happy hour once a week, buy those concert tickets, by a new outfit for the concert, and who knows, maybe even adopt a dog from your local shelter.

These personal living expenses are a luxury to a new graduate, as you have never seen a monetary value that high on a paycheck before. If you’re like me, you’ll want to spend money on other people as well; paying for their dinner, buying them a drink, sending your mom flowers, or buying your boyfriend that thing that he has been talking about forever. Keep in mind that this can also start to add up—so be smart and balance what you spend on yourself and what you spend on others.

Tip: Make a list of three additional personal expenses that you can make every month. For me this month, it is going to be something for my boyfriend, concert tickets, and a nice dinner. These things are out of the ordinary bills and just over personal expenses. Change it up every month so you are rotating what you buy!

So here are just some of the factors to consider when graduating. Did I miss things? For sure. You can’t expect to have a solid list of everything that is going to be on your plate as soon as you graduate. All of these factors are different for everyone, and certain expenses may be more or less depending on the situation at hand.

To come full circle, don’t let the idea of what a perfect life is make you plan these things out so cut and dry. All of these things listed above are variable, and you can only plan so far in advance. To tie in my other posts, follow your heart. Your brain has the picture of what it’s suppose to be, your heart has a picture of how it’s meant to be.

One last tip to leave you with: Write down three gratitudes that you have every day for the next week. You will find that in this short amount of time, you will know what makes you happy. Keep these gratitudes close to your heart, and all these expenses, decisions, and new pages will come easy.

[travelwithmeslh-blog]

Traveling & Volunteering: The Perfect Combination

If you were to ask me what my two passions in life are I would tell you that volunteering and traveling are the two things I truly love to do. My younger brother was diagnosed with cancer back in 2011 when he was just 11 years old (he made a full recovery and is doing great now!). I had a hard time dealing with this and needed something to distract myself from all of the emotions surrounding his diagnosis. This is when I turned to volunteering. I spent some time at the local food pantry and eventually signed up for my first big volunteer trip: building homes for poverty-stricken families in Mexico.

The trip was through a local church that I had never attended before. I knew almost no one going and was honestly pretty terrified to go. While in Mexico, we built two new homes for families and installed electricity and new drinking wells. Their homes were made of old, rusty metal sheets and had a cloth for a door. The family I helped build a home for had to have 8 family members live in a home the size of a living room. There were only two full size mattresses so some of them had to sleep on blankets on the ground. These families had absolutely nothing, yet were still the happiest people I had ever met. Even though they were scraping by to feed their own family, they made us food everyday and even offered to help build the homes.

It was great to see my volunteer group and the families come together to accomplish one goal of building the homes. Even when some of the people were not able to communicate with one another due to a language barrier, you could still see the deep connection that everyone was making with one another. This was one of the most life-changing experiences I ever had. I was in a pretty bad place before my trip and in just a short week I felt like a new person; I had a renewed sense of self and a better outlook on life. It was an amazing week that I will never forget and I’m grateful for the experience and for the people I met. When I came back from my trip I knew that volunteering was something that I was passionate about, especially international trips.

I was eager to get back out on another volunteer trip so in 2013 I traveled to Guatemala. It was through the same church and this time I knew a few more people so I was a little more comfortable heading into this trip than my first one. On this trip I wanted to continue to grow as a person and really try to learn some more leadership skills. We were able to build three homes in Guatemala and once again install electricity and drinking wells for the families. Prior to this trip I had injured myself in a skiing accident and tore some ligaments in my left shoulder. This meant that I could not participate in all of the construction of the home and had to sit out. There was a family with three children living next door who would come over and watch us build the homes. When my shoulder started to hurt I would take breaks and play with the kids. I was currently studying Spanish in high school and was able to communicate with the kids and get to know them more. This is my favorite memory that I will cherish forever.

There was also a school near by and when the school let out in the afternoon the kids would walk to our construction site and watch us build the homes. Some other kids from the trip and I played soccer with them every afternoon in the street. Once again, even when these families had nothing they still were the happiest and most giving people I had ever met. A moment I will never forget is on our last day of building the little girl from next door came over and gave me her teddy bear. A while later after the school let out, the kids came to me and gifted me a small bouquet of flowers that they had pooled their money together to buy me. I have honestly never cried so much in my life. These families in Guatemala touched me just as much as I touched them and that’s something that I will never take for granted.

On our last full day of being in Guatemala we were able to explore Antigua, which is a beautiful old city. The city is surrounded by scenic farmland and volcanoes. The view is honestly unbeatable. There was such a stark contrast between the countryside and the city. Their way of life is so different from one another and you can see the visible difference in their income levels from the way they dress to their homes. One thing I like about traveling is learning about different cultures and also how these cultures differ from region to region in the same country. It is amazing to be able to immerse yourself in the culture and have local families teach you about their way of life.

My plan for future volunteer trips is to go back to Guatemala next summer as a group leader. The people there are just so welcoming and I want to be able to give back. I also have plans to volunteer in the Dominican Republic and possibly Honduras. My ultimate goal would be to volunteer somewhere in Europe possibly with the refugee crisis or some other volunteer trip similar to that. Not all international volunteer trips have to be building homes. One of my roommates volunteered in Costa Rica and Nicaragua by rescuing animals and providing care for pets when their owners could not afford to take them to a vet. I have also had friends volunteer to help the environment and other similar trips!

Volunteering abroad (and nationally) is a great life experience! I cannot speak highly enough of my experiences and how much of an impact they had on my life. Volunteering abroad is something I would highly recommend for everyone to try at least once. I know people who went on their first volunteer trip when they were young and others who went on their first trip when they were older and they all agree that volunteering abroad is an amazing trip that is sure to change your life for the better. The life skills I learned while on these trips are something I feel that I would probably not learn somewhere else. I am hoping to eventually have my whole family travel with me to another country to participate in a similar volunteer trip like my previous ones. It is great to combine my two passions into one unforgettable experience. As much as I love vacationing and relaxing on a trip, I believe that volunteering abroad is more rewarding than a regular vacation and you are still able to travel and have fun!

There are numerous organizations out there to go through for an international volunteer trip. I have provided some links below to check out if you’re interested in learning more about volunteering abroad!

The organization I went through for my trip to Mexico: Amor

The organization I went through for my trip to Guatemala: Casas por Cristo

Other international organizations to volunteer through:

Plan My Gap Year

International Volunteer HQ

Maximo Nivel

Love Volunteers

And of course not every volunteer trip has to be international! Here are some national organizations to check out!

Habitat for Humanity

Wilderness Volunteers

Sierra Club

Global Citizens Network

One volunteer experience that I would like to quick mention is the Make-A-Wish Foundation. My brother was granted a wish a year after he went into remission and it was a very humbling experience to see so many people come together to create an amazing experience for a kid they had never even met. Even though this is not a volunteer experience that involves traveling, it is still an organization that means a lot to me. There are multiple ways to volunteer for Make-A-Wish including their annual Walk and Run for Wishes which is held all over the country. Click here to learn how you can volunteer with Make-A-Wish and change the life of a child battling a life-threatening illness!

I truly feel like I would not be the same person without my volunteer trip experiences and I believe that everyone should go on one of these trips to not only give back to others but also to yourself!

[myheadquarters-blog1]

I loved reading about your experience in Guatemala! Being able to communicate (especially with kids) in another language is so cherishing. I studied abroad in Spain and had a 3 year old little brother. This was a great way to practice my speaking skills, and definitely one of my favorite cherished moments as well! Your story is inspiring, and just by reading this, I definitely feel more encouraged to volunteer. The benefits it has are endless, as you said, and it can help so many people. I hope you plan to travel to other countries and volunteer, because you are inspiring and motivating! #mkt400uwl

[goldenage-beauty-blog]

Hello Summer and Hello Summer Makeup

As we all know, summer is FINALLY here! This means being outside more and getting a nice tan. For my Midwesterners out there, this past winter season dragged on for what seems like forever. Not to be dramatic, but it has felt like years since we have experienced warm weather! Fortunately for us, the warm weather is just around the corner and it can get pretty hot. It can be pretty tricky to find makeup and skin products that work for you AND work during hot weather! During the summer, my skin can get pretty bad if my makeup is sweating off and if my pores are clogged. Here are some of my tips and tricks to help your skin stay as clear as it possibly can!

Starting off with the most important products – skin care! Your skin care products should be your holy grails. They should be products that you can always rely on to help revive your skin. If you live in states where the seasons change throughout the year, then your skin care products should change along with it. The products you use during the winter months should be different from the products you use now, during the summer months.  The best products to use during the summer are products that will help protect your skin from the sun and will help clean your pores out after a long day of being outside. Here are a few of my tips and tricks to help protect and clean your skin!

1. Sunscreen, sunscreen, and more sunscreen! This should be your best friend during the summer. Technically, you should always wear sunscreen no matter what time of the year it is, but especially during the summer since the sun is at its full potential. Choose a sunscreen that has a broad spectrum, that is waterproof or water-resistant, and has at least a protection level of SPF 30 or higher. There are a lot of brands out there, but here are some my favorite brands of sunscreens!

2. Along with protecting your skin, you must also protect your lips! This product always seems to be forgotten by many, but trust me, having sunburnt lips is honestly a pain in the butt! A little chapstick with a protection level of SPF 15 or higher will do just the trick. Don’t forget to reapply it every few hours.

3. Let’s talk about toners. Toners are a type of skin product that help hydrate and cleanse your face. Just like many other products, the type of toner you use all depends on what type of skin you have. As I mentioned previously, don’t be afraid to experiment a little. When purchasing a toner, be on the lookout for certain ingredients that you DO NOT want to touch your face. For instance, avoid toners with alcohol in them since alcohol soaks up all the hydration from your face.

4. Moisturizing your skin is always important no matter what type of skin you have. I use two different types of moisturizers for my body and face. For my face, I use daily moisturizers that keeps my face moisturized all day and has no fragrance. For my body, I use moisturizers that give my skin a healthy glow. I recommend using moisturizers that already have SPF protection in them. Use moisturizers that work best for your skin type. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little! It will take some trial and error to find the best moisturizers.

5. After a full day of being outside, your skin might be feeling a little dirty, especially if you’ve been sweating all day! A nice body scrub will help you exfoliate your skin of all the dirt. There are a few things you should consider when choosing a body scrub or a face scrub. Most importantly, what type of skin you have.

a.     If you have sensitive skin, there will be certain scrubs that may be too harsh for your skin. Try using sugar scrubs since they are a little gentler on the skin.

b.     If you have dry skin, choose a scrub that has moisturizing ingredients in it.

c.     If you have acne prone skin, I suggest choosing a body scrub that has ingredients that will prevent it.

Personally, I have a mixture of normal and acne prone skin. I sometimes get acne on my chest and face, but everywhere else my skin is pretty normal. I use a mixture of both moisturizing scrubs since I like to have healthy, glowy skin, and body scrubs with salicylic acid. Due to my acne prone skin, I like to exfoliate on a regular basis. I start off by washing my face with warm water to open up my pores. I then apply a dollop of the scrub on to my hands and gently massage it into my face. After about a minute or so, I rinse off my face with cold water. The cold water feels amazing on your skin and it also closes up your pores!

Now that our skin is protected and moisturized, we can move onto the makeup! I personally like to wear less makeup during the summer months, especially if I plan on being outside all day. But there are moments when I like to throw on a full face of makeup. When applying makeup, it is important to keep in mind that you want your makeup to last you as long as it possibly can. However, you also don’t want to feel like your makeup is weighing your skin down. Here are some of my tips and tricks on how to choose makeup products that are wearable and durable!

1. Let’s start with the basis of the face – foundation. The type of foundation you purchase and use all depends on YOU. Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing a foundation.

a.     What type of skin do you have? Oily, normal, or combination skin?

b.     Do I want light coverage, medium coverage, or full coverage?

c.     Do I want it to be long-lasting or will I only wear it for a few hours?

d.     Do I want it to look matte or dewy?

After answering these questions, look for foundations that meet every aspect. Personally, I have oily skin, so I look for foundations that have a matte finish. I prefer medium to full coverage and I like my foundation to be long-lasting. It took me a LONG time to find a foundation that was perfect for me! It was a lot of experimenting and some experiments turned out BAD. Sometimes it can be difficult to match your skin color to the foundation. I recommend visiting makeup stores like Ulta or Sephora. The employees are very helpful and will help match you to your color.

2. Before you even consider putting any makeup on your face, you must think about what type of primer you should be using! Just like foundation, the type of primer you use all depends on you. The same questions to ask yourself when choosing a foundation apply to primer as well – except for question b. Primer has many different uses. It can help your makeup stay in place and it can help give your makeup a certain look. I like to use primers that give me a mattifying look since I have oily skin. I also like to use primers that help my foundation stay in place. But as I mentioned before, it all depends on YOU.

3. Moving onto the eyes, your makeup for the eyes doesn’t really have to change during the summer months. The only to keep in mind is to use waterproof mascara and eyeliner, especially if you are prone to having raccoon eyes.

4. During the summer months, I like to experiment with bright colors on my lips. I am definitely not the kind of person you would see wearing bright colors anywhere on my body, but it’s nice to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while! Try experimenting with bright purples, reds, and oranges. I try to stay away from those bright, Barbie pink lips since they never look good on me. If those bright pink lipsticks look good on you, then go for it girl!

5. After you finish applying your entire makeup, it’s important to finish it off strong. The type of setting sprays you want to use all depends on what type of “look” you are going for. If you want more of a mattifying look, then I suggest using a mattifying setting spray. On the other hand, if you want more of a dewy look, then I suggest using a hydrating setting spray. If you just simply want your makeup to last you all day, then I suggest using a setting spray that ensures that your makeup will stay in place all day.

As I mentioned before, I personally like to rock the no makeup look during the summer, so I can let my skin breathe and get a nice tan. But there are times when a girl needs to rock some makeup too! It can be kind of a drag sometimes, especially if it’s SUPER hot out one day, but I hope that my personal tips and tricks will help your makeup journey during this summer be a little smoother.

[myheadquarters-blog1]

This post was super helpful, so thank you for that! Personally, I have oily skin as well, and I definitely try to go for a more matte look with medium to full coverage. I like how you talked about using sunscreen and matching the shade of your foundation to your skin...in the summer, I feel like this changes a lot since your face gets tanner but also fades really fast! I need to exfoliate my skin more for sure, and your tips about different types of skin and types of scrubs to use will definitely come in handy when planning out my next spa day. Great post! #mkt400uwl

[myheadquarters-blog1]

...to which house do you go?

This week’s blog post tackles the four major options of where to live after you graduate. Further analysis and personal experiences described throughout this entry may enhance your thoughts on what to do once you receive your diploma.

After my first blog post, “Over the river and through the…”(https://bit.ly/2ILbfYe), it daunted on me that some people may not realize the numerous options they have after college. I thought I would touch base on the most realistic options for after you graduate. After brainstorming and researching, I came up with these 4 viable options on where to live:

1. With your parents 2. To a new city 3. Stay remote near your college town 4. Abroad

Okay, so let’s start with the first option: living with your parents. As most of you already know, talk about a HUGE money saver. This by far is the biggest plus to this option. Definitely not the most appealing option on the list, but could very well be the smartest. Although no kid truly wants to live with their parents after they graduate, living with them to save up money to afford a place of your own may be your best option.

This is a good idea if you are still applying for jobs and are unsure of where your career will take you. You are able to look and interview without signing a permanent lease that may not be close to your job. Take this option as an idea for your final safety net—the last time your parents will truly hold your hand.

This being said, adjusting to a non-independent lifestyle is going to be the biggest challenge. We all know that our parents love us, but boy do they drive us crazy! Can you handle 6 months living with them before you figure things out? I do not recommend trying, as these other options can outweigh the cons of this one.

So maybe moving back home does not necessarily give you a sense a joy, so you want to try to move to a new city. Most college students already make the transition of moving away from where they grow up when they attend their first year of college. That makes this option less stressful and maybe makes you more willing to spread your wings even further.

You and your friends could gravitate towards the same place, or maybe a significant other has this influence on you as well. This option is extremely exciting, but also very expensive! Consider spending your last year of college saving up to move come graduation.

If you get a new job offer in a new city and that is the only thing holding you back from taking in, my advice is to just go for it. If you don’t try you will never know if you don’t like it. You can always move back! We are at the age in our lives where these opportunities to relocate do not always come up. Just think, when you start having kids, and get settled, it is harder to pick up everything and just move. Take the opportunity while you are young and independent to try something different.

Money can be an issue, as moving and relocating makes you more financially independent, and bills and other expenses will start adding up. Like I said, start saving up your money, maybe even investing a little bit (I love the app Acorns—it has been a really valuable tool to save up and invest!).

Ultimately this is a good option if the job market in the location you are moving to is HOT. With the recent economy boost, the job market is the hottest it has every been—having the most jobs available of all time. So if you graduate come December (like me!) or May, you are in a perfect position for relocation.

Make sure that this location is relevant to your interests, the weather is accustoming to your needs, and your parents are still willing to help you out just a little. Build up your savings and take a change with this option, you’d be surprised where it takes you.

Maybe the idea of leaving the place you now call home, your college town, would just be way too hard for you to do. Depending on where you went to college, this idea may seem to make total sense. You fell in love with this new area, all your friends are here and maybe settling in this city as well. You definitely won’t be the only one who sticks around after graduation.

While this option is good, don’t just choose it because it is the easy way out. Say you graduate in December, and have a lease for your apartment or house that goes until June. Do you just stay? The answer is no. Be sure to stay if you have a valid reason, or truly want to start your career life there. You may have gotten a job opportunity from an internship you have had there since your sophomore year. In that case, it would be a great opportunity to keep growing within a company and city you are familiar with.

If you aren’t sure where to go next, and maybe don’t have the motives to just pick up and move everything to start a new life, this may be the option for you. You can stick around for a year or two, but keep in mind that your body and mind will soon outgrow that college life party stage. Being surrounded by people who have your old habits may come annoying, or at least it would to me.

If you’re like me, the thing making you want to stay is not necessarily something, but someone. Recently finding my other half, the thought of having to move far away from my boyfriend after I graduate a semester earlier than him, puts a hole in my heart. Currently living apart from him during the summer as we both pursue internships on opposite sides of the state, is already hard enough. Do I stay for the semester and just work and apply to jobs? We will see, but no matter what, follow your heart!

Okay, so maybe all these options sound okay but nothing is jumping out at you, it sounds like you are ready for the next kind of adventure. Going abroad might then be the option for you. If your like me, your recent study abroad experience has made you crave more adventure.

Post-graduation is a great time to travel and see the world. This can also be a great thing to put on resumes, and to talk about in your interviews. Employers love to here about how you are more culturally diverse and just lessons that you learned in general from seeing another country or place.

Don’t just keep travelling on your mind, as now that you have your degree, it can be much easier to work in a foreign country. Maybe you want to put your second language skills to the test and work in a country that can you can benefit from in that way. However, there are many other options for work in English-speaking countries as well. Find a job that has some sort of relation to you or what you want to end up doing. What if you’re not sure of what you want to do? Going abroad and trying different jobs, or even just immersing yourself in different cultures can totally influence what you may want to do with your degree.

It wasn’t until I studied abroad in Spain during the summer going into my third year of college that I realized I wanted to work with housing design in some sort of way. The architecture and the delicate detail in every inch of that country inspired me to look for an internship that I can put my creative mind, along with my Marketing skills to the test. Landing an internship with Kohler Company as a trade and design service intern exceeded any expectation I had in getting into this field.

This option of going abroad, might be the one for you. If you are unsure of the job you want, and you have travel funds, then go. My advice is to just travel with a friend or someone who is in the similar position as you. This can make this less scary and more exciting.

You are given these ultimate four options (although there are probably many more that I am just forgetting), how are you going to choose? This goes back to my first blog post, the most important thing you can do is research. Look up your different options, read different blogs (and mine of course), to get inspiration for what to do next.

No matter what, do what your heart is telling you to do. Now is the time in your life where you are able to make mistakes, and maybe poor decisions. The thing is, sometimes you don’t know the outcome of a decision until you actually make it and go out and do it. Take this opportunity of being young and free to put yourself out there! I promise you won’t regret it.

What option will you choose?

[vitabenedetta-blog]

Vita Benedetta

Hey everyone! My name is Kassidy Steyer (everyone knows me by Kas) and I have a passion for capturing the perfect picture of epic eats. You can catch me running between spin class, grabbing a matcha latte, shopping at Whole Foods, or strolling through the farmers market with my mom.

I am studying marketing and communications at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. I will be graduating with my bachelor’s degree in May 2019. College has taught me the importance of balance, positive thoughts, self-care, exercise, and fueling my body. My goal is to be transparent by showing both sides of wellness. While I love me some avocado toast and going for a hike, letting loose on thirsty Thursday and devouring burgers and fries (every once in a while) with friends is part of that balance. 

I want to show you all the grub goodness that can be found in unfamiliar places from Madison, WI and beyond. Thank you so much for visiting Vita Benedetta. I look forward to sharing with you! 

You are probably wondering, “What does Vita Benedetta mean?” From Italian, translated to English, Vita Benedetta stands for blessed life. I come from an awesomely large Italian family—my mom has seven brothers and they all grew up in a two-bedroom house downtown Madison, WI. Growing up with 8 dads has been pretty rad to say the least, and for that I am blessed. As you will see, and I will reiterate, this theme is present throughout all aspects of my life. 

Inspiration 

My inspiration for this blog primarily came from my experiences in college. College, the best four years of your life: supposedly. For me college has been a challenge. A challenge to find balance. Balance between social norm expectations and what I wanted for myself. Balance between mindless fun and exhaustion. Balance between fitting in and standing out. Finding myself was a challenge. 

La Crosse—a city with more taverns per capita than any other U.S city of its size. A city where if a friend states he/she is going to the library, you can assume that person is referring to the bar. Many weekends went like this. I would watch the lights flicker off as a sign of bar close, take the “drunk bus” home at 2:30 a.m., and crawl into bed after eating a triple order of Topperstix. Mornings I would wake to the scent of a Howie’s deep fried burger and fries creeping through my window, faced with a full night of hung-over studying, notorious as the Sunday Scaries. Purely exhausted. 

Undeniably my self-esteem began to dwindle. College presented me with millions of others girls: prettier than me, taller than me, with a whiter smile than me, and much less flab where a girl doesn’t want flab. These girls portrayed their lives as if they were out of a Legally Blonde movie, attending frat parties on the weekends, and posing in pictures eating Big Macs, yet still somehow maintaining flawless figures. 

Deciding to focus on my education and health, I stood out. Contrary to what many people believe this came with consequences. In our binge drinking obsessed culture, deciding not to engage alienated me. I lost the majority of my friends, only later to notice that these relationships were solely characterized by weekends and drinking, and had no substance or depth. The hard part: finding new friends as a junior in college. Friend groups were already tightly formed. Without parties or bars to make friends, this left class, the library, and the gym, all places where college students want to get in and get out as fast as they can.   

Thanks to social media, I found a community where I belonged, where I could engage and contribute. Wonderful humans such as @shutthekaleup and @thetruespoon have shown me what it feels like to: get a good night sleep, eat whole real food (none of that toxic processed ish), and spend time with people who support me. These women portray real lives of self-care, exercise, health, balance, and emphasize fueling your body. I follow their lives for inspiration on: recipes, skin care, athleisure companies, and mainly inspiration to lead my own life—disinterested in comparing myself to others. I finally found the importance behind talking about wellness, and I gained hella confidence along the way. 

Present Over Perfect 

As I began my wellness journey I stumbled across the issue of perfectionism. Did I use the correct Valencia filter for that picture? Did the editor app take away the coffee stains on my teeth? Should I spend a couple more days trying to come up with a more creative Instagram caption? To be completely honest, sometimes I would take so long to capture the most epically epic picture of my food that my meal would be cold to a crisp by the time I ate it (whoops). Yeah I know what you are thinking, this girl is crazy! It was hard to put down my phone. 

It is OKAY not take yourself so seriously. Live in the moment. Put down your phone and go for a hike. Have a meaningful conversation with someone you love. Your phone will still be there. Three things have significantly helped me become more present and aware in my life. 

Morning and Bedtime Social Media Detox 

How many of you are guilty of the a.m. mindless social media scroll? What about scrolling until your eyes can barely take it anymore before hitting the hay? This was my worst habit. When the first and last things you are seeing everyday are other people and perfection, it is hard not to compare and get caught up in everything other than yourself. Instead, try getting up and doing something else for the first part of your day. Go for a walk, read a book, make a smoothie, DO YOU. At bedtime think about your day and what went well. Positive thoughts go a long way to becoming more present. 

Setting Intentions 

How many of you say you are going to do something and days later completely forget about it? Like on January 1st when you got a gym membership and never went back. You are not alone. Writing down intentions is important! This way you can hold yourself accountable. Intentions can be what you read in the morning or at night instead of scrolling on social media. You are able to go back to see whether or not you are achieving them and what you would like to change/adjust. I will leave my intentions below to get you all thinking.

♥ Take each day one at a time 

♥ Spend fifteen minutes a day without Internet connection 

♥ Do your best everyday. Kick a** & do not give up 

♥ Eat mindfully. Nourish your body 

♥ Reflect on the three best parts of each day 

♥ Give back 

♥ Spend more time with family members 

♥ Love fearlessly 

Self-Care 

Because we all need a little me time to be selfish. Taking time for you can seem like a guilty pleasure, but it shouldn’t. As a college student juggling classwork, student organizations, two jobs, and a long-distance relationship, while still squeezing in time to work out, sleep, eat healthy, and umm have a life is tiring to say the least. It is important to honor your body. Know when enough is enough. Know when to call it for the night, even if it means saying no to margs with your girlfriends. For me, this means choosing to walk to the farmers market on a Saturday morning instead of going out to darty. It means being in bed by 10 p.m. on weeknights to make it to my early a.m. spin class. Balance looks different to everyone; however, when the going gets tough (and it will) here are a couple of things that make me feel superbly selfish: 

☆ Cocokind Chlorophyll Face Mask 

☆ Honest Hazel Collagen Eye Gels 

☆ Reishi Mushroom Elixir (supports sleep and stress) 

☆ Watching re-runs of “The Hills” 

☆ Turning on an oil diffusor with essential oils 

☆ Putting in a coconut oil bun 

☆ Going to a spin class (get in the zone to Kayne West/Odesza) 

☆ Yoga to get your zen on 

☆ Going on a hike alone or with a friend 

Finale 

You will look silly, it will take time, but you will feel better. Finding balance throughout all aspects of my life has been my challenge. I am starting to realize that every day is a new opportunity to better myself. I cannot stress enough how much better I feel now that I have started to take care of myself. I sleep better, I have more energy, and I am more positive. Positive thoughts are powerful. Your mind is powerful. Begin. Start. Take on one small change at a time. I look forward to interacting with each and every one of you who decide to embrace wellness! 

Thank you for visiting and you will be hearing from me soon ♥ Make sure to follow my other social media handles: 

Instagram: @vitabenedetta 

Facebook: @ViBenedetta 

Twitter: @ViBenedetta

[goldenage-beauty-blog]

Hi Kassidy!

I honestly couldn’t agree more about what you had to say! I am one of those people who chooses to put her health and education first. I rarely go out, which has also costs me some friendships. But what I’ve realized is that those friendships really don’t matter because if they truly care about you as a person, then not going out to the bars wouldn’t be a bad thing. I am also BIG on self care. I absolutely love staying in, putting on a face mask, having a glass of wine, all while watching some of my favorite tv shows! Can’t wait to keep up with your blog!

[myheadquarters-blog1]

Hi Kassidy! It was so great to know about your college journey, and as with many others, it does has similarities to mind! I think once people get to college, they forget how much it is truly for themselves. The social influences that are pressed into our minds the minute we step onto campus as a freshman is crazy. As you get through college more though, I agree that you figure out more what really matters to you, like health and education. I am very excited to keep up with your blog on more wellness tips! I am going to try the 15 minutes without internet connection :)

[bizmiss1-blog]

Why ‘BizMiss’?

Well, first, let me tell you a bit more about myself. I’m a junior in college double majoring in marketing and psychology. I started college with the desire to be a psychiatrist, but quickly changed my mind when I realized the enormity of strain that came with the job. As I was entering college, I felt lost. Psychology was so interesting, but I did not want to have a traditional psychology career. I had planned on psychiatry my whole life… so now what? Through taking a variety of classes my freshman year, I realized that not only were the business classes understandable for me, they were also interesting. For a freshman in college, classes that are interesting do not come around very often, so I decided to investigate further.

I came to realize that business was not just pushy salespeople manipulating you or an accountant sitting at a desk all day. There was this thing called marketing which I found intriguing. Marketing and psychology go hand in hand, probably why I was so interested in it. To target the right group of people that you wish to market to, you need to know your audience and what makes them the ‘right group’. But what I love most about marketing is the switch from knowing what your consumers want to buy to why they want to buy it. This psychological aspect is extremely interesting to me and is what pushes me as a marketer.

In the past few years, I have gotten involved professionally as much as possible. Through joining the American Marketing Association, Delta Sigma Pi, the Sales Team, and having an advertising/branding internship, I want to absorb as much as I can about the business world before I am projectile launched into it in T-11 months (wow, ain’t that a scary fact). I’ve loved every second of the clubs that I am a part of. They all give me a different perspective to the business world that I would not have gotten otherwise.

Lately, I have been getting more interested in advertising and branding, which is what my internship is in. I would love to learn how to use Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Canva, and other design platforms in classes, but there are only a few courses at the school I attend that discuss these platforms. Through my internship I have gotten more familiar with other platforms, which has been giving me real world experience of what my possible career after college would be. Although I’m graduating soon, I am allowing myself time to figure out what’s best for me and what I truly enjoy doing.

So now that you know a bit more about me, let me tell you why I chose to create BizMiss. First of all, it’s a play on words. Come on, everyone loves a good play on words. But in all seriousness, I created BizMiss because I truly enjoy dressing professionally and helping my friends pick out what they should wear. I have so many business clothes (seriously, it’s ridiculous) because I rationalize my clothing purchases as my investing in the future since I will be needing these clothes once I start my career.

The clubs that I am a part of often require business casual or business professional dress, so I have gotten used to slipping on heels and a blazer for a long school day. Although sometimes it can be annoying to have to look nice when my friends are sitting comfortably next to me in leggings and a baggy t-shirt, generally I like getting dressed up.

My internship also requires business casual dress in the office. I feel as though it promotes a sense of knowledge and professionalism that would not be achieved if any kind of dress was allowed in the office. When I wear business clothing, I am more confident in myself and what I’m saying because I look the part of a professional. Our boss, the CEO of the small company I intern at, always chooses to wear a suit. No matter the day, even if we’re just at the office, he wears a full suit. His decision to wear a suit reflects his power and confidence in the office. Although it’s just clothing, I feel as though I respect him more since he is dressed more professionally than I am.

Maybe there’s something to be said there. If you think about it, whether it’s business clothes or sweats, why do some clothing gain us more respect that other clothing? I wonder if it has to do with the material it is made out of. Sweats are comfortable, soft, and easy to move around in while business clothing like blazers and slacks are tightly wound with a higher thread count. Perhaps since business clothes are more uncomfortable, the people that would wear them are seen as more serious and are automatically given more authority?

Or maybe it is because of how expensive it is to create business clothes. Because they are typically made with higher quality fabric, it could be a status symbol to wear these clothes. For example, if you wear Lululemon apparel, which is extremely expensive athletic clothing, you automatically are viewed with more prestige than someone without name-brand athletic clothing. Perhaps people in business clothes are similarly viewed with prestige because of the clothes’ generally higher price tag. But, I digress.

My love for clothing stemmed when I was in high school. I always enjoyed fashion and keeping up with different clothing trends. Of course, like the typical high schooler, I was nervous to stand out too much, so I would never wear the fashionable clothes that were too ‘out there’. However, I did experiment with clothing and would often wear clothing that my friends would never wear.

Now that I am in college and could care less what others think of my clothing, I am free to experiment and wear whatever clothes that I enjoy. I used to do this mostly with everyday clothes, but as of the past year I have branched out and begun to wear business clothes that is fashionable, but not always normal. Personally, I like looking different than everyone else because it sets me apart and (hopefully!) is another way to make me memorable to others.

Last year I spent the first 3 weeks of summer in Italy for a psychology study abroad trip. It was my second time in Europe but was the trip that I cherished the most. My first trip to Europe, I was too young to appreciate everything around me, especially the fashion. Last year I was in complete awe at the sophistication and boundaries pushed with clothing in Italy. I found my new favorite store, Zara, there. This is one of the major stores that most Italian woman visit to find everyday clothes. However, since the fashion in the United States is much different, most of the clothing at Zara is perfect for business clothes. Italy taught me to appreciate ‘wacky’ patterns and flared sleeves in a way that I never thought that I would before.

Not only do I want to use this blog to promote different business clothes, but I also want to give insights and tips to my readers. I am lucky that the clubs that I am in do a fabulous job of preparing us for what to wear in the business world and what is and isn’t acceptable to wear. However, I know that many students that are going into the business world did not get the same opportunities and help that I did. My goal is to arm my readers with the insight to know what is acceptable to wear to each type of career they may encounter.

What took me the longest time to understand was the difference between business casual and business professional clothing since most business clothes can either be dressed up or down to reflect the specific look you are trying to achieve. I personally enjoy dressing business casual more so than business professional as there is more room to experiment and more options to try. However, business professional clothing is what makes me feel the most confident and professional. Overall, there are pros and cons to each type of dress.

You might be thinking, this girl is just a college kid, why should I listen to her? I’m sure that I could learn just as much from you as you might from me. From what I’ve learned in my experience, the business world is constantly growing and changing so why not use each other to gain a bit more knowledge into the field that we are all going into? I would love to hear your feedback and thoughts in the comments so let’s make this interactive and fun for the both of us!

If you decide to keep up with my blog, I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time out of your probably hectic life to read my tips and tricks on business dress and etiquette. I was extremely grateful for all of the knowledge that I gained from my clubs and internship and hope that you get a little something out of reading my blog as well. Ladies, let’s take this leap and dive into the BizMiss world together.

[clarisecocktails-blog]

I think this article is very interesting. There’s always a blurry line between what is considered business causal and what’s considered professional. Some people think jeans and nice shirt is business casual and acceptable to wear. However, my work says their business casual but doesn’t allow jeans. I’m excited to read your future blogs to learn more about Bizmiss!

[myheadquarters-blog1]

This idea is genius. I think it is becoming more popular now to align fashion with confidence. If I dress in professional clothes, as I do every day for my summer internship, I am able to walk into the office feeling confident and ready for the day. Also, I liked you analysis of different types of clothing and the prestige that goes along with them. If you are dressed professionally, I believe you are more respected by viewers. Respect in business is key!

[myheadquarters-blog1]

Over the river and through the woods...

This entry introduces the first decision post graduation—where to live and what career to choose. It dives into the factors that influence relocating after college and breaks down the difference between choosing a location or choosing a career first.

Some people say that high school years are the best ones of your life. Others argue that college tops that. I, myself, argue that it is possible to continue the best years of your life into your 20s and even 30s. Part of forming an ideal lifestyle after college is simply where you live.

Here you are today- a college student settled in a city with comfort and knowledge with a useful education. How did you get there though? You were once a high school student, living wherever your parents or guardians resided. You then got a chance to choose- where did you want to go to college?

As some people travelled states and miles away from their hometowns to start a new chapter, others may have just travelled down the road. This decision at 18 years of age may have been the most difficult one you had to make thus far. But, what about after you graduate? Do you plan, visit, or tour new places or new cities that could be your future home?

Especially being a resident in the cold, wintery Midwest, moving outside of the state after graduation has always been a thought that has crossed my mind. This post is to inspire you to stimulate ideas of what you want to do after you graduate. Will graduate or medical school pave a new path for you, or will your diploma create an open road ahead?

Some factors to consider after college are:

• Student loan debt

• Career path

• Rent expenses

• Cost of living

• Relationships

• Taxes

• Living expenses (taxes, medical, car)

•      Location

These factors ultimately relate to how one can determine their next chapter in life. This blog is going to define the importance of planning on where you want to live after graduation. Doing research with consideration of all these factors can be broken up in a variety of ways.

Location and Career

These two words together can create conflict for a lot of people. Which do you choose first? A location, or a career? There should be a point or definite line that establishes these two different avenues.

That definite line is HAPPINESS. People have different definitions of happiness. Some people are happy with a sufficient income, a nice car, and a nice place to live. Others have the type of happiness that makes them smile before the fall asleep and smile as soon as they wake up; a point of absolute contentment. But, like most people, you don’t know what absolute happiness or contentment is just yet.

Being a Marketing major, with endless possibilities as graduation approaches this December, defining what type of marketing career I want is near impossible with the little experience I have. This relates to my prior statement above; you are able to attend, tour, and visit different universities to obtain a Marketing degree. To what extent do you search for a city that you are able to obtain a successful career?

This is the aspect that many people override in their planning and preparation for the future. Individuals that let their career determine where they live are not content with the real world. I believe you truly need to love the city, place, and environment of the place you obtain a career. It will be hard to enjoy where you live if you’re only there because your job is.

The other argument would note that some individuals fall in love with the city they end up having a career in. I would love to see a percentage based on statistical survey evidence for how high this number truly is. Planning and research will help you be absolutely sure about your decision; whether that be first career or location.

Influence

All things considered, what actually inspires or encourages you to move to a different place? I know that my friends and peers at school talk about how they “want to move out of state after college and then eventually move back and raise a family in the Midwest”. That right there is a perfect example of a social influence. Since your friends are talking about it and that phrase seems to be common amongst the people you hang around with, you are inspired to do it too.

There is a family influence as well. Maybe some distant family lives in Seattle and you have always loved visiting them in the big city. Moving closer to them would make a location change less intense as all change comes with a few pounds of stress.

For me, it is the fact that my parents are moving to Florida come September, and two of my three brothers live there as well. My closest brother lives in Milwaukee but his recent engagement has him wanting to move south for warmer weather and in preparation for a family. Originally, this influence was the strongest. After graduation, I would go live in Florida with my parents for a year (as they are getting a beach house on the beach) to save money, and then flee to find my own place. However, one other influence recently took the number one spot.

Relationships with significant others plays a huge role in your post-graduation lifestyle. Recently falling in love, this new life partner has the biggest influence yet. Long-distance is hard, as I am experiencing it now with him this summer, and once life really speeds up and begins, it will be even harder. Graduating a semester apart also puts a pause button for my willingness to just go anywhere as soon as I am handed that diploma.

How do all these influences weigh in your life? It is hard to say, because it is different at different points in people’s lives. No matter what, all these influences have something to do with LOVE. These influences love you, what you do, and wherever you’re going. That is something to keep in mind.

Maybe for a long time you put other people first and made decisions in hopes it would make things easier for others. This point of your life, this is a decision for YOU. You need to make it. And never forget all the love that you have supporting your every step as you pave this new path.

Action Plan

Here is all this talk of a plan for how you are going to begin researching and planning your post graduation life. What are the steps to get you there? Here’s where to start:

1. Know yourself. Make a wants and needs list of things you would look for in a new location. The most effective advice here is to be honest with yourself. Know that if your cheap and want to save money, looking into the cost of living versus salary is something to consider. If you hate the cold climate, maybe consider this as a factor when looking at locations outside of the Midwest. Ultimately, find a city that matches your lifestyle, habits, hobbies, and WANTS.

2. Plan, plan, and plan more. Set aside time to read about certain cultures and trends of different cities. You are not going to get the “Midwest nice” culture in every state in the U.S. Is that something you value? When planning, remember your values. Simply searching on google and reading other blogs about different cities is a place to start. If your career is important to you, search for certain headquarters that are established in that city. Imagine yourself working for them. The planning period is about researching, remembering, and editing all of your thoughts. No matter what, plan what your values dictate.

3. Don’t waste time. It is crucial that you think about this big move well far in advance before you graduate. With only one semester left and the summer to plan, I have been researching constantly different cities and even watching certain YouTube videos about the cultures of certain cities. No matter what, I want it to feel like home. That is my value. Wasting time and scrambling to plan a month or so before you graduate is a mistake. You do not have to research something every day, but look here and there, and most importantly, TALK with someone about what you’re finding. It is always good to get support from someone and a second opinion on certain ideas.

4. Be open-minded. This one speaks for itself. Don’t shut ideas out completely. However, be realistic. You won’t be able to afford a mansion and a nice car a month out of college at an entry level position. That’s okay. This new path can have that down the road a few miles.

This decision impacts an unplanned future. No one can predict what will happen. You will have to trust in your heart, in your influences, and in your plans that this is the right path for you. When planning, keep in mind this idea of location-centric thinking. Location first, career second (if you are up for the challenge). Would you take it on?

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