OOTD: Green Lake

It's one of my favorite times of year: the weather is warm enough that I can wear a dress without tights, but not so warm that I get overheated wearing a light jacket. We took the dogs on a walk around Green Lake, which was especially beautiful in the light of the setting sun.

OOTD: Urban Wonderland

I've been waiting to wear this outfit for at least a month, and it's finally warm enough outside for me to go without tights or a jacket! This green dress is one of my favorite layering pieces: I wear it over pants, dresses, and leggings. It's also one of my favorite semi-neutral colors to wear; I have so much olive green in my closet.

What to Wear: to the Airport

Of all the occasions I dress for, dressing to travel is one of the most difficult. Balancing style with comfort and practicality is a hard line to walk. Luckily, I've been flying since I was 13 days old, and have picked up a couple of tricks to doing so in the appropriate clothing. 

Photos via: Vanilla Extract, Cara Loren, Thirty Something Fashion, Seeking Sunshine, and The Teacher Diva.

Whoever said leggings can't be pants just didn't want you to be comfortable. Leggings are ideal to wear when traveling because they're the perfect layering item and are simply comfortable enough to spend an otherwise uncomfortable day in.

Photos via: FIGTNY, Southern Curls & Pearls, Fashion Me Now, and CollegeFashionista. 

If you're traveling somewhere a little chillier, a scarf is a must-pack. Save room in your suitcase and give yourself a built-in pillow by wearing a scarf on the plane.

Photos via: The Fox & She, Creators of Desire, The Quarter Life Closet, My Style Vita, and Prosecco & Plaid.

No one likes airport security. Make the process a little easier on yourself by wearing shoes that are easy to slip on and off. Just don't forget to pair them with socks: you definitely don't want to walk barefoot through the metal detector!

Photo via: By Olina, Creators of Desire, Looks by Lau, Lindsay Marcella, and Somewhere, Lately.

Layering is essential when traveling for two reasons. First of all, wearing as much as possible leaves that much more room in your suitcase. Second of all, layering will help you adjust to the temperature changes from one place to the next; especially if you're traveling somewhere cold or if you get chilly on airplanes.

Photos via: Natalie Dressed, Mimosas and Manhattan, Lucitisima, Brooklyn Blonde, and Sweet, Short & Stylish.

This is essential when dressing comfortably to travel. Lightweight and loose-fitting clothes let you look cute without sitting in a seat for hours on end with your clothes digging into you.

Confessions of a Dye-Job Mermaid (ONYX by Blair Brown)

In my 21 years on Earth, I've only ever dyed my hair a handful of times. I went red-brown in middle school and rocked turquoise tips for a hot second my sophomore year of high school, but other than that, I've gone au natural most of my life. So, the decision to go surreal was a pretty big one. I've been lusting after pastel mermaid hair for years, and when my friend Coley told me her hair stylist was looking for new clients, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to take the plunge.

The stylist, Blair Brown, had just left a salon to make a name for herself on her own terms. As a young, driven woman, I really admire the hard work that Blair has put into owning her own business (Onyx by Blair Brown), developing her brand, and honing her craft. I love supporting local women-owned businesses, and Blair is certainly worth supporting!

As someone who didn't know what the dye experience would be like, I was super lucky to have Blair as my guide through the process. We initially met about a month ago for a consultation. Even though I was set on colorful hair, Blair was careful to make sure I knew what the look would entail. She got to know my hair history (as minimal as it was) so as to get a better understanding of what she'd need to do to help me get my desired look. She warned me about the bleaching process– it would require much more care than anything I'd done before, and I'd need to be prepared for the work I'd need to put into it. She talked me through purple shampoos, conditioning treatments, and touch-ups. I was initially worried that she thought this was a bad idea, but I soon came to realize that she was doing the best thing possible by preparing me for the entire experience.

So, I prepared for the plunge by investing in some coconut oil, purple shampoo, argon oil, deep conditioner, and dry shampoo. It took a while to finally make the appointment with Blair– after all, she was in the process of developing her own business– but when the day finally came, I felt prepared to make such a big change.

The entire process took about six hours. Blair was really thorough, making sure each strand of hair was coated in bleach, then conditioning treatment, then Olaplex, then shampoo, then dye. As lengthy as it was, I'm really grateful for the care Blair took to make sure I'd get the best look possible. My hair feels so much smoother than I thought it was going to, and the color is super thorough throughout my head. If I had to spend six hours with a stranger, I'm lucky it was Blair: we kept the conversation going, which really contributed to the experience.

I am so thrilled with my hair. I can't stop looking at myself, and I'm addicted to the compliments I keep getting. I'm so grateful that my first big hair experience went so well. If you're in the Seattle area and looking for a stylist, I strongly recommend Blair Brown! She has an amazing student discount that makes her especially perfect for students looking for a stylist. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, and see more of her services and work on her website.

DIY Review: Wine and Beer Bottle Vases

Last weekend, I hosted a craft night to turn a couple everyday recyclable items into treasured pieces of decor. I invited some friends to come over with any glass bottles or jars they had to color and glitter them with a little Pin-spiration. 

The supplies:
Martha Stewart Crafts® Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Craft Paint– I got a couple of these in a Her Campus Survival Kit a couple months ago, and this was the perfect opportunity to use them. They were a little too thick for this project, so I'd recommend using a lighter body brand of paint or watering this paint down.
Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paint– I use this paint for everything from crafting to painting. Water it down just a little bit to create the ideal texture.
Gloss-finish Modge Podge glue– This is some of the best crafting glue out there, and worked perfectly for applying the glitter.
Like, way too much glitter– Pros: glitter is amazing. Cons: our apartment now has glitter everywhere. Even the dogs are still shaking glitter out of their fur.
Glitter glue– We used this to glitter-ify the candles and as a 3D effect on the bottles.
Tapered candles– Make sure you measure the width of the wine bottle opening to make sure the candle will fit! We had to whittle ours at the base because they were too big.

Step 1: Remove the stickers from the bottles. We did this by filling the sink with hot, bubbly water and leaving the bottles to soak for 10-20 minutes. It worked on all but two of the bottles.

Step 2 (colored bottle): Following a tutorial from SITSgirls, we poured the paint into the bottle and swirled it around to spread it out equally. Pros: Picking up the bottle didn't smear the paint, and it made for a cleaner-looking finish. Cons: It took a lot more paint than we were expecting (don't listen when the tutorial says "a couple tablespoons"). Plus, it was hard to get it to spread evenly!

Step 2 (glittered bottle): Following a tutorial from Hustle + Halcyon, we coated bits of the bottle with Modge Podge, which we then covered with glitter. Pros: This was super easy and worked really well! Cons: There was glitter everywhere.

Even our dogs got in on the fun!

The final products! We used a combination of both DIYs on all but one of the bottles. I love how unique each one ended up looking; especially with the mixture of colors.

All-in-all, our first craft night was a huge success! It was so much fun and a great way to reuse something we all have lying around.

OOTD: Ivy Green

In case you couldn't have guessed, the Ivy League architecture of Harvard is the perfect backdrop. I wore a lot of layers when I was in Boston, and this was one of my favorite layered looks. I'm actually selling this collared top on Poshmark if you want to steal my look!