4 Cute Halloween Costumes from Your Closet

Published on October 30, 2018 by kendallshea221 Comment

Guys, it’s the day before Halloween, and we all know what that means. You’re still scrambling to come up with a costume in less than 24 hours, because you decided to wait until the last minute. To make matters worse, you need to spend as little money as possible. Don’t worry, this is a judgment free zone. We’ve all been there before, and sometimes procrastination still gets the better of us.

As someone who has most definitely been in the situation before, I have equipped myself with an arsenal of last minute Halloween costume ideas that I can put together with the contents of my closet. Below, I have selected four of those costumes to show you. So let’s get the creative juices flowing with some inspiration!

Holly Golightly – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

This is by far one of my favorite costume ideas, inspired by one of my all-time favorite movie and character! If you haven’t seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s, then stop whatever you are doing and watch it immediately. It is a cinematic masterpiece starring Audrey Hepburn as the darling Holly Golightly, a sophisticated women with a troubled past and a tendency to never put down roots. For this costume, which recreates the iconic opening scene, you need a little black dress, black heels, lots of pearls, and the biggest sunglasses you can find. Bonus points if you wear a tiara, long white gloves, and carry a coffee and breakfast pastry.

Lydia Deetz – Beetlejuice

This costume was so fun to put together, and it fits the Halloween theme so perfectly! Beetlejuice is a Halloween classic (at least to me it is) and this costume seemed only fitting considering it is the 25th anniversary of Beetlejuice. Lydia Deetz is played by a young Winona Ryder (one of her first movies, actually). She is the epitome of a goth queen. From her outfit, hair and makeup, and her witty one liners, recreating her look is simple! For this costume, you need an all black outfit, black choker, grunge makeup, and big teased hair. Bonus points if carry a vintage film camera, the Book For the Recently Deceased, or slick your bangs like Lydia.

A Hogwarts Student – Harry Potter Films

If you are a Harry Potter fan like me you probably know your Hogwarts house, and own the corresponding tie/scarf (no shame). If you do then this costume is a no brainer, and if not, don’t worry! This costume is still fairly easy to create, you just may need to buy/borrow a tie or scarf. For this costume, I went with the typical Gryffindor school uniform which consisted of a black skirt, black tights, black shoes, a white button down, and the Gryffindor tie. Bonus points if you add a gray sweater, school scarf, wand, or Harry Potter glasses and scar!

Edna Mode – The Incredibles

Okay y’all knew when I dyed my hair dark and cut it into a bob that I had to recreate a look by the Queen of Fashion herself, Miss Edna Mode. Honestly, if she’s not your favorite character in The Incredibles then I question your judgement. But for real though this look was so fun to do and I truly think she is a fan favorite this Halloween. For her super chic ensemble I wore another all black outfit, but this time with a skirt, collared shirt, and blazer. You can’t forget the black shoes and tights, and a red accent around the neck. I opted for a statement necklace, but a tie or ascot would also work. Bonus points for the Edna hairstyle and a rolled up magazine to beat some sense into your friends while screaming “GO, FIGHT WIN!” at them.

I hope you enjoyed my second Halloween blog post. What can I say? It’s my favorite time of the year! Now go run to your closet and create your own Halloween costume, whether it is inspired by my creations or something completely your own. Have a fun and safe Halloween! Boo to you!

Love, Kendall

Today’s Look: Floral Jumpsuit + Facing the Unknown

Published on May 5, 2018 by kendallshea222 Comments

Hello guys! Well it’s almost here. I can hardly believe it. Exactly one week from today, I will be graduating college.

While this time of my life has been full of congratulations, there has also been a lot of fear and anxiety. As a soon to be college graduate, I feel like I should have my life together, be moving out of my parent’s house, and working at a real “grown up” job. A lot of my friends are doing these things as I am typing this. And here I am faced with the unknown.

Jumpsuit: Old Navy Jacket: Old Navy Purse: Kate Spade (similar here) Shoes: Rampage Necklace: Kendra Scott Earrings: Lane Bryant Sunglasses: Old Navy

I’ve never been good at dealing with the unknown. I’m the type of person who has to have everything planned out. And if you had asked me a year ago I would be graduating without a job in line, I would have told you you were crazy. I had seen it happen to other people, and I just knew that I wasn’t going to let that happen to me. And yet here we are.

I am by no means discrediting the hard work of people who graduate college without a job right away. However, I am still learning that it is okay to move back home after you graduate and take some time to figure it out. At the end of the day, I am worried about what people may think of me. I’m afraid that people will think I am a failure or a disappointment. But the truth is, if they think that about me then they must not know or care about me well enough for their opinion to really matter.

Through all of this, my parents have been my rock. They have made sure that I know I have a safe place to come home to after this is all over. They know me better than anyone, and they know that sometimes I am my own worst enemy. I psych myself out, and never stop worrying about things. But every time I call them crying with a new concern, they talk some sense into me and help me calm down. I love them so much, and I don’t know what I would do without them. If you guys are reading this (and I’m sure you are) you guys are the best!

Whatever you guys are dealing with, I hope you know that you don’t have to face it alone. That’s what support systems are for. That’s what God is for. I know that it can be hard to ask for help sometimes, but no one is strong enough to handle everything on their own. Reach out to those around you, and you can get through anything.

Love, Kendall

P.S. Wish me luck guys! My last finals week is coming up.

Lessons

Published on December 18, 2014 by kendallshea22Leave a comment

I’m not going to lie to you. Right now, as I am typing this, I am also watching Gossip Girl on Netflix. There, I said it. The truth is out.

Hey. After the month that I’ve had, I deserve a time to detox and relax. I am finished with my first semester of college. Finals have come and gone and I have survived (though barely). Now I get to have a month free of any stress or worry. Related to school, that is.

So, here I am going to share my many lessons that I have learned during my first semester of college.

Leave your dorm. I can not stress this enough. During your first week at college you are going to feel like staying in your room and watching movies while eating microwave macaroni. This is called hiding and it is one of the worst things you can do.

At the same time, it’s perfectly acceptable to stay in on the weekends instead of going out. The first week I was at OSU my roommate and I binge watched 3 seasons of How I Met Your Mother. Eventually we did venture out and make friends but from time to time we still stay in and have movie night or Netflix marathons.

Talk to everyone. You will never have the opportunity in your life to talk to and meet so many different people from so man different backgrounds. Within my first week, I probably met over 200 different people. Now did I develop close friendships with all of them? Of course not. I didn’t even talk to a majority of those people after the first week but some of them did become very good friends. You never know who you are going to run into so go ahead and start a conversation! Anything can happen!

Which brings me to my next lesson. Anything can happen if you take every opportunity that is presented to you. Your friends what to go play a pick up game of Ultimate Frisbee? Go. Even if you don’t play (which you should) at least go and cheer them on or watch. There’s a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween night? Go. No matter how crazy or boring or just plain out weird it sounds, at least consider going. One time there was a Coke machine in the Union that gave you a free Coke if you hugged it, and I missed out on it. Still regret it.

Here’s a big one. Don’t get stuck in high school. Did I say don’t have friends that are still in high school? No. Did I say don’t go to some of your old high school events (ex. Homecoming)? No. But there is a big difference between occasionally showing up at your old high school and saying hi to some teachers or friends, and remaining glued to the high school drama and gossip and overall lifestyle. Let it go and move on.

Homework is important. But so is your health. Sleep often and don’t push yourself beyond what you can handle. I say this from personal experience, it is not okay to cross the line between healthy stress and unhealthy stress. It is not okay to not sleep. It is not okay to not eat. Your mental and physical health is so much more important than that homework assignment.

Make memories. But don’t forget to keep those memories. One of my favorite things to do is to take lots of pictures of moments that make me happy. I print them off and hang the up all around my dorm room. It makes life feel less lonely and homesick. And those moments that cant be caught by a camera, I write them down put them in a jar. This is my Happy Little Thought Jar and on New Year’s I will open it up and read about all the memories I had forgotten about. No matter what your method is, just make memories and hold onto them.

Keep organized. I swear if I had a dollar for every assignment that I forgot about until after it was already due…well I would have two dollars. But if I had a dollar for every assignment I lost track of until something or someone reminded me of its due date, I would have a lot more money. The point is, write everything down. Get a planner. plan every day down by the hour if you have to. Get a calendar for your wall. Put it someone you will see it every day. Keep track of everything, due dates, meetings, class schedules. Everything. Whatever works for you, find it and do it. You will thank yourself later.

I think that covers the big, general, and basic ones. Off course I have a couple of my own that I have set up specifically for myself. Like don’t piss off the roommate. Text my parents everyday and call at least once a week. Don’t overdue it on the Netflix. Save money whenever possible. If something has to be cut from my schedule it will always be leisure time aka Netflix. Do my best not to procrastinate, we all know that one is difficult. Take lots of naps, but not so long that I can’t sleep at night. Don’t wear workout clothes in public unless I am actually going to work out. Dress up as often as possible and always try to put effort into my outfit. Make good impressions on my professors. Don’t go home so often that I miss out on my college experience. And finally, be happy. Easy to say but less simple to do.

And finally. I would like to that the opportunity right now to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this stressful transition. Thank you to my parents for always being there for me. Thank you to my friends for listening to my problems big and small. Thank you to my roommate for putting up with me and making m feel less homesick. Thank you to my Chi Alpha family for taking me in and making OSU feel more like home. Thank you to my home church for reminding me that no matter where I go I can always find a home with you guys. Thank you to everyone who is reading this blog, everyone who has thought of me and prayed for me, everyone who has sent me well wishes, and everyone who has taken the time to read the ramblings of a college freshman. Whether you know me personally or not, thank you.

This is HOME(coming)

Published on November 5, 2014 by kendallshea22Leave a comment

I remember when I first started packing for college. My mom kept trying to get me to pack all of my clothes up. At this point, I (very dramatically) flopped onto my bed and refused to move. Now to this day, I don’t know if I meant I was never going to get up from my bed or if I was never going to move out of my house and into my college dorm. It was most likely the latter. I say all of this because of the reason I was so scared to move. I thought that moving to a place that I didn’t know full of people I didn’t know wouldn’t feel like home. And because I wasn’t living at home, and everything was moving on without me back home, I was afraid that home wouldn’t feel like home anymore. I was afraid that I would have two “homes” that didn’t feel like home.

Now I have realized that I have the privilege to have two homes that both feel like home. I walk around campus and feel like this is where I belong. I plan on going home on the weekends, and find myself saying how much I can’t wait to go home. When I’m talking with my friends from back home, I tell them all about what college is like and I find myself calling it home. That’s the thing about college, I guess. If you’re in the right place and make the right friends, you begin to feel less homesick and a little more at home.

Now that I’ve said all that mushy gushy stuff, let’s talk about AMERICA’S GREATEST HOMECOMING!

Homecoming is quite the event here at OSU, and it did not disappoint. The Friday night before Homecoming, they had what’s called the Walk Around. For months the Greek houses had been pomping and working on decorations to put in front of their houses. They were up the whole night before finishing them. I do not over exaggerate when I say that they put their lives into these decorations. And all that time was not wasted. As we walked around Greek Row, I gawked at the giant structures made out of tissue paper and chicken wire. (Just in case you were lost, this process is called pomping.)

I know. Amazing. Tissue paper and chicken wire. Crazy.

Anyways. Walk Around was incredibly crowded. On one to many occasions, I had to grab the back of my friend’s shirt while my friend behind me had to grab my purse strap so we wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. There were plenty of things to do besides look at the decorations. There were tons of little shops selling OSU merchandise, booths trying to raise money by getting people to play a game, a dunk tank, and food trucks galore. I actually ended up eating at this great food truck that sold fried pies.

That, my friends, is a peanut butter, chocolate, banana pie. It was delicious.

After the Walk Around we headed to the basketball arena to watch Hoops for Homecoming, a basketball exhibition/pep rally. I don’t know how they did it, but those sorority girls and frats guys had enough energy after all night pomp to be fired up at the pep rally. I suspect Red Bull might have helped there. It was fantastic.

The next day I went to the game and although it was over 90 degrees outside and I almost passed out (I kid you not), I had so much fun. I had this overwhelming feeling that this is where I belong. This is my family. This is my home. And even though we lost, I will never forget experiencing my first OSU homecoming with my Cowboy Family.

Go Pokes!