7 things to do during the fall

1. Fall Themed Pictures

Originally posted by caterville

The world is your perfect studio during the fall; grab your camera and some friends and head out to a local park and rake up the leaves and take fall photos!

2. Spending any time outside while you still can

Originally posted by amazingphil-gifs

Last minute Frisbee on your Library Lawn, a jog around campus, biking around your college town, bonfires at your local lake. Use this Fall to spend quality time with friends and be thankful for the cooler weather.

3. Go to home football games

Originally posted by thegameswelove

4. Find a new indoor hobby for the winter

Originally posted by shawnasgonnagif

Take up reading, start a blog and document your college career, take more naps, binge watch Netflix, maybe, if you’re bored enough, start studying for finals

5. Speaking of Netflix, catch up on new seasons and episodes you missed while studying

Originally posted by lovingjazzy16

6. Go on a last minute road trip before traveling takes an icy turn

Originally posted by dreaming-globetrotter

No one likes to be shut in during the winter and we all love getting off campus every once in a while. So while it is still safe, take a trip to nearby state parks for camping or amusement parks for one last hurrah.

7. Make plans for winter break

Originally posted by a-night-in-wonderland

We have almost a full month with no classes, no school responsibilities (unless you’re taking winter classes, in that case I’m sorry and you’re winning) so why don’t we go ahead and plan something awesome for every week or for the whole break; I hear NYC, California and Europe are wonderful vacation destinations.

Let me know what you’re up to this fall by tweeting me @maddywritesalot

Christmas List: Guide to Friend Buying

We all know the horror of trying to remember everything your best friend said about something they wanted. We wrack our brains trying to remember the thing they want most while maintaining our budget, except we’re in college and we don’t have budgets but whatever. So we think and think and pry and cry because we can’t even remember their favorite color at this point and so we ask our other friends if they have an idea on a super awesome present only to come up blank. Well this post is to help make it a tad easier for you to splurge your (parents’) hard-earned money on your friends for sticking with you for yet another semester.

1. Starbucks Gift Card

Somewhere in the World Wide Web there is a coupon for a $15 Gift Card for $10. That’s a deal to me.

2. Any Gift Card

Panera, Sonic, Walmart, Target; I think I would shed a tear if I got one for Target because Target is a utopia in itself where I have to spend at least $80 every time I walk in the door.

3. Their Favorite Candy

No explanation needed, just pry or if you’re a true friend you’ll already have a stockpile of their favorite candy/food for when they show up at 1am wanting to talk.

4. Scrapbook of your friendship

Scrapbooking is a cute way to show your love. It’s crafty and shows you care. Just print out pictures of each other that you took (or if there aren’t many of you together, you and them separately) and throw them in a scrapbook; Hobby Lobby has some cheap cardboard ones that you decorate and get super crafty with!

5. Candles

This may come off offensive for some but I think it’s a kind gesture especially if you know a specific one that they want. See the previous post about candles if you’re going in blind.

6. T-Shirt/ Something that is Sentimental

Did you go to a concert together? Get them a shirt of that band. Do you watch a weekly TV show together? Get them an action figure. Give them anything that means something to both of you and that you can always remember those days and times together.

7. Socks

Awesome gift for the ones that have perpetual cold feet. Cute and fluffy ones always work for the winter season. Urban Outfitters also have awesome socks that are pop culture references or just interesting in general and they usually have deals for them.

8. Movie/Concert tickets

Is your friend dying to see the new installation of their favorite franchise? Get them a movie ticket, you should probably throw in another one for you, you wouldn’t want them to go alone right? Same if their (and your) favorite band is coming to town, snatch up those tickets and wrap them in a big box to throw them off. Remember to use tons of tissue paper!

9. Gift Basket

Hand make a gift basket for a movie night in. Fill it with their favorite candy, popcorn, soda and a DVD. Or you can buy one and make someone else put it together and be creative for you.

10. Jar of Pickles/ An Inside Joke/ Something Simple

I would usually get my best friend in high school a jar of pickles as her gift. We both had a love for pickles so I thought it would be fun. It became a usual thing and she loved it, or at least pretended she did. Sometime it’s the simplest thing that matters most.

11. Print out Pictures of You Two (or Three etc)

Be crafty with it. Find a letter for their initial and cut the pictures and glue them to fit onto the letter. It’s personalized, decorated and sweet.

12. Paint Them a Canvas

Show your artistic eye by getting a canvas and some paint and going at it. Splatter paint is super easy (you shouldn’t do it in a dorm room unless you cover everything in plastic), or you could paint them a motivational piece for their room. It’s fun, easy and different.

Six Winter Smells to Help Keep Jack Frost at Bay

I am an avid buyer of candles. I love when my room/ house smells like a completely different place, like a winter wonderland for example.

My all-time favorite winter season fragrance is Winter Candy Apple, it’s perfect. It’s sweet, not too overbearing and the perfect touch for the holiday season. I have everything in this scent, lotion, hand sanitizer, body wash, spritz, you name it I got it. It’s a classic at Bath and Body Works.

Next on the list is Flannel. It’s manly, manly and, oh did I say manly? It’s the perfect smell for when you want to cozy up with your favorite flannel (get it?) and binge watch chick flicks or superhero TV shows. I don’t have the full line of this product yet but I do have the mini candle and it is a wonderful change from the flowery sunset smell that my room had.

 Mahogany Teakwood is my next favorite. Like the previously mentioned smell it is manly. Flannel is punchier and has a higher pitch in sense of smell while Teakwood is more musky and earthy. It’s very pleasant, so much that I have the car scentable holder for this scent and every time I open my car door I get a whiff of it.

 Cozy Cabin is next on the list. It’s a beautiful wintery blue color and just the look of it is calming. The smell is also a very calming aspect about this line. It is incredibly fresh and it smells like you’re in a secluded snowy cabin paradise without responsibilities or finals.

 Twisted Peppermint is another favorite. It’s a wonderful scent that is girly, minty and it feels like you’re in a winter wonderland. I have the hand sanitizer of this product and I love it to pieces. It smells so amazing, it’s not overwhelming and it makes anywhere you’re at brighter. Feelin blue? Rub some Twister Peppermint on and get carried away to a better world.

Aspen Coffee Stillwater

Review on the downtown Aspen Coffee in Stillwater, OK.

So Aspen is a cute little coffee shop (chain) in downtown Stillwater. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, they had knickknacks, large jars of coffee beans on display (you ask them at the counter for a 1/2lb (or however much you want) bag of it and they take the giant jar and measure it for you to take home and enjoy). It was a wonderful place to study. They didn’t have a bathroom which sucked when I spilled Jacob’s (the man in the picture) coffee all over the table and his notebook. He had to go behind the counter and wash his hands.

So yeah. That happened. I knocked it over when I was trying to touch his arm to tell him that everything was okay, obviously it wasn’t when I almost ruined his phone… Thank God for Bookbook, right?

After the catastrophe we settled back down and did homework and studied. I got a lot done, more so than if I were in my dorm, because if I were there I would be bingeing Arrow.

Anyway: Aspen Coffee Downtown was fantastic and I am currently texting Jacob about how we want to make it a regular study place.

If you’re in the neighborhood we’ll be at the high table in the corner. 😉

Flannel: A Lumberjack’s best friend, or a college student’s best friend, or a ’90s enthusiast’s best friend.

Flannels are the greatest shirts for the fall and winter seasons. They are stylish, super comfortable and super warm. I wear them anywhere and everywhere. I even wear them to sleep sometimes. Flannels grew popular because of lumberjacks wearing them, but they hit their style peak in the 1990s when bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam wore them on stage. Flannels are made from a material that is soft enough to wear for long hours at a time but tough enough to withstand the elements while working.

Flannels are very versatile articles of clothing. You can wear them with the sleeves down and utilize the warmth of the long sleeves, or you can roll them up and find your happy medium. To be more like a lumberjack (costume idea?) you could just rip the sleeves off, or you could wear it around your waist and be retro.

Flannel shirts are super trendy, comfortable and relatable. I have three of my own, and I plan on expanding my collection this winter. They come in many different colors, but the fan favorite seems to be black and red.

Pistol Pete jammed with Brad Paisley on live television – ocolly.com : Blogs

Pistol Pete, my university mascot, was on TV last night dancing behind Brad Paisley! It was a really cool thing seeing him on TV! #GoPokes

Source: Pistol Pete jammed with Brad Paisley on live television – ocolly.com : Blogs

Celebrate the Thanksgiving season by volunteering – ocolly.com : Blogs

Volunteering is really close to my heart and I try to volunteer as often as I can. It brings so much happiness to my life when I see what I’ve done actually make a difference in someone’s life. You can do so many things in your community like spending time in retirement homes or your local Humane Society and Habitat for Humanity. You can make a difference in the world, it doesn’t matter how small because what ever it is it’s still a difference.

Source: Celebrate the Thanksgiving season by volunteering – ocolly.com : Blogs

Review: the Flash – season 1

Originally posted by kucistov

I really enjoyed this show. I’m not sure what possessed me to watch it but I did. I finished it in 2 days. I still don’t know how I feel about that, proud or disgusted? Either way it’s done and roughly 17 hours of my life was spent gawking over a super tall super fast uber nerd and I am not complaining. It was a little cheesy at times and I like the Arrow joined in. They had a lot in common though. It’s been a while since I watched Arrow so I didn’t notice anything until I was looking for another series after the Flash.

I will definitely continue to watch this show when the next season is up on Netflix because the last episode sucked. It was a horrible cliffhanger.

It made me want to run so that’s a plus. It also has Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell in it! If you don’t know why that’s a big deal then you’ve never seen Prison Break (which is also on Netlfix). If you haven’t given the Scarlet Speedster a chance DO IT. He’s worth it.

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#tags

Insta Faves: the top 9 most followed accounts

The most followed account on Instagram right now is Taylor Swift (with 46.9 million followers) with no surprise; the Bad Blood singer is fabulous and wonderful and just the neatest thing.

(insta)

The second most followed account is the infamous Kim Kardashian with a whopping 46.3 million followers; again with no surprise, her butt is probably 30% of those followers, maybe more you never know. Speaking of Kim, Kanye was at Fashion week and released “YEEZY SEASON2 #Nudes”.

(KimKW)

Third most followed account with 45.7 million is the Queen Bey herself; between her adventures, photoshoots, Blue Ivy and Jay-Z it’s the most dream and goal filled insta to date.

(Insta)

#4 is the wonderful and grown up Selena Gomez with 44.1 million followers, this Disney Star turned sultry princess has made a big change in music and style between her younger years as an actress and now as a pop princess who is taking over the scene.

(Insta)

Ariana Grande is next in line at #5 with 43.3 million followers, did you see her do those impressions on Jimmy Fallon the other night?

(Insta)

#6 is Justin Bieber with 38.8 million followers, no surprise he has so many because that last music video and his comeback to the music industry was GREAT.

(Insta)

The ultra-fab supermodel Kendall Jenner has 36.9 million users following her, she is a gem and amazing and I can’t continue this sentence because she is too perfect.

(insta)

36 million users follow another one of Kris Jenners’ offspring: Kylie, she has grown her fanbase so much, she may be basic but she is beautiful and wonderful and funny.

(Insta)

Bringing #10 is the Anaconda chanter Nicki Minaj, I will never forget about the shade she threw at Miley when she accepted an award at the VMAs.

(Insta)