My Saturday in Cola

Hey y'all! So last Saturday, July 16th, I spent the day in Columbia, South Carolina with Hannah! Hannah is one of my closest friends, and I met her through blogging! Hannah owns @scusemysouthernprep on Instagram (check her out!). If you'd like to see how I spent my Saturday with Hannah, feel free to keep reading! 

So to start off the day I took the 45 minute drive to Cola (another name for Columbia) from my small town in South Carolina. I went and picked up Hannah from her house so we could start our journey! Of course Hannah wasn't fully ready when I got there, so I had to wait. But when she was finally ready we took the short trip to the Tropical Smoothie that was near her house. I had never been to a Tropical Smoothie before so I was pretty excited to try it! I ordered the strawberry kiwi smoothie which was delicious! Hannah decided to get the mocha madness smoothie and it was surprisingly pretty good. We sat down and caught up on our lives since we hadn't seen each other since the 4th of July. 

After our smoothie break we were both craving a snack. And what better snack than Chick-Fil-A nuggets! I mean come on, Chick-Fil-A is the bomb.com! 

Since the best time to shop is after you've eaten some food, we decided to stop by Pink Sorbet, our local Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store! I loved looking at all the new prints and styles they had! Sadly, Hannah nor I was able to purchased anything, because you know, we're just broke High School students! (LoL) I was able to add some things to my wish list though! Here are some pictures that I took while there! 

Hannah then wanted to show me this small boutique that was filled with gifts, jewelry, and purses! It was called Just The Thing and it was located on Divine Street near Pink Sorbet! I actually purchased something at this boutique. Only because I knew I would regret it so much if I didn't!! I bought this beautiful tassel necklace and matching bracelet set which will be pictured below! 

After our shopping spree is when the real fun began! We decided to take pictures at the West Cola River Walk. The river walk is on the Congaree River. The trail contains a few small bridges and hills. The scenery is beautiful! Hannah and I decided to take pictures at three different locations along the river walk. We would have done more, but here in SC we're known to be famously hot. And that held true that day. 

The first location we took pictures at was at this cute little bridge towards the first part of the trail. There was green everywhere! The next stop was at the river. There are rocks all along and in the river. So of course we had to jump to the rocks that were in the river to take pictures! (I mean duhhhh, who wouldn't!) This part of the river was also under a bridge and it was actually very cool to stand under. Here is a picture of some of the scenery from our second locations.

 After we skipped on some rocks, and we both almost fell in, we decided to move on. The last location was along another part of the river. There we took pictures with bubbles and confetti! I know you've been waiting to see, so I'll finally show y'all some of the photos from the shoot below of Hannah and I! (The beautiful candles featured are from Bridge Water Candle Company! They smell and look beautiful!)

Before we ended our time together, we made a quick pit stop to see one of our mutual blogger fiends, Cathleen! Cathleen's Instagram is @cathslagle! (She takes amazing photos!) The reason we went to meet Cathleen is because Hannah needed to drop off a rep package from her business, @simplygoldaccesories on Instagram! We even got pictures with Cathleen!

So that was my Saturday with Hannah! I hope y'all enjoyed reading my story! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at @theofficialprep to see more photos from my day in Cola! 

Xoxo, 

Samantha 

Rules to being a Great Snail Mail Friend

Hey y'all! Ever wanted to be a great snail mail/pen pal friend? Well I have made my own set of rules from experience. First off, if you don't know what snail mailing is i'll tell you. Snail mailing is when you sent letters or cards back and forth to a friend by mail! Usually people talk about their interests or what's going on in their life! So let's get to the "rules"!

Rule #1: You must be willing to respond to your snail mail buddy! 

This is very important, because if you don't respond, how will this ever work? 

Rule #2: You must have the means of getting stamps. 

If you don't have stamps how will you ever mail the letter?

Rule #3: You definitely should be willing to give out your address! 

If you can't do this, don't expect any snail mail buddies. If you have a P.O. Box this is perfect because it's not your actual address. 

Rule #4: Everyone's address is confidential.

Never every give out someone's address. This is just so wrong on so many levels...

Rule #5: Be creative! 

No one wants to receive dull mail. Be creative and ad a little color or flare to your letters! Your snail mail buddy is sure to love it! 

Rule #6: Be fun!

Don't talk about boring stuff that no one wants to hear about. Be sure to find a common interest with your snail mail buddy. Then you'll be able to carry on a conversation that both of you will enjoy! 

Rule #7: You should probably love to receive mail! 

This one isn't a must, but it's kind of important! I love to receive mail with my name on it. It just brings me so much joy! 

Rule #8: Be prompt! 

Try your best not to wait a long time between receiving and then sending out your snail mail. Write back as soon as possible! 

So that's all I have for right now! If you're good at the majority of these things above, I would love to have you as a snail mail buddy! Just direct message me on Instagram (@theofficialprep) and ask if I'm open for a snail mail buddy! I hope y'all enjoy these "rules" of snail mailing! 

Xoxo,

Samantha

(@theofficialprrp)

The Cutest Wallpapers Ever

Hey y'all! Do you need some wallpapers to brighten up your phone? Well I have some just for you! I've searched everywhere to bring you some of the prettiest, cutest, and most inspirational wallpapers for us girls. If you find one you like, all you have to do is hold down the image and save it! Then from there you can set it as your wallpaper! These are for phones and not desktops. 

I would also like to note that none of these wallpapers are mine. I found them all on the Internet. 

That's all I have for now! I hope you found some new wallpapers for your phone! Stay tuned for more new posts soon! 

Xoxo, 

Samantha 

(@theofficialprep)

Jesus' Guide to Gossip

Hey y'all! I know as a teenage girl in High School I struggle with gossip a lot. Either I'm doing it or someone else is, but gossip is everywhere in High School. I admit I do it a lot, most of us do, but I wanted to know what Jesus' take on Gossip was. As well as how he says to handle it. So with out further a due here's Jesus' Guide to Gossip, told from my point of view. 

(I would like to make this known that this is my interpretation of Jesus' word. I am in no way saying that this is what Jesus actually means. Everyone interprets the Bible differently)

Definition of Gossip:

a casual conversation about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. 

Verses to look at:

*verses that stood out to me

Leviticus 19:16

Proverbs 11:13

Proverbs 16:28

Proverbs 20:19*

Romans 1:29-31

2 Corinthians 12:20*

1 Timothy 5:13

*Whoever goes around as a gossip tells secrets. Do not associate with people whose mouth is always open.

Proverbs 20:19

*I'm afraid that I may come and find you different from what I want you to be, and that you will may find me different from what you want me to be. I'm afraid that there may be rivalry, jealousy, hot tempers, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly conduct.

2 Corinthians 12:20

My Interpretation: 

From reading the verses Jesus blankly says that gossiping is wrong, and we all know that. In Proverbs 20:19 Jesus says that we shouldn't associate with people that gossip. If we want to follow what Jesus says we must part with the people that bring gossip in our life. 

My Reflection:

Gossiping is very easy to do. I do it almost everyday. Sometimes it's hard to realize when I do it because I've gotten so used to it. One question I still have is it really gossiping if it's true? Either way, always remember that if you wouldn't want that rumor spread about you, then don't spread it about someone else. 

I hope if you are struggling with gossiping that this Guide to Gossiping helps you at least a little. Please remember I am no way trying to persuade your views or am claiming that this is exactly what Jesus is saying. 

XOXO,

Samantha 

@theofficialprep 

What's In My Purse?

Hey y'all! Welcome back to my blog! This post is all about what's in my purse! (if you couldn't tell by the tittle :P) So I recently bought a new Kate Spade purse from the 75% off surprise sale! I absolutely LOVE to carry my purse around and when it's not with me I feel lost. So now you'll get a little inside scoop about why I love my purse so much!! So lets get started! 

So that's a picture of my new purse! And below is a picture of what I have in it! 

As you can see my purse is full! In my eyes you can never be over prepared. So here's a list of what is included in my purse:

- My Kate Spade wallet.

- My lovely piece of technology that I call my baby, my IPhone.

-  My trusty set of headphones.

- Bath and Body Works Strawberry Lemon hand sanitizer.

- Two amazing and absolutely beautiful Lilly Pulitzer printed hair ties from @_prettysouthern on Instagram. 

- My trusty tide 2 go stick. Perfect for a little spill.

- Stickers that I pass out to certain people.

- Business cards that include my social medias and coupon codes! 

- My keys featuring a beautiful key-fob from @preppybowsandsass on Instagram and a cute key-chain from @sgprep on Instagram! 

- My cake batter chap stick.

- Some lip-gloss, which I got from Bath and Body Works.

- Vineyard Vines promotional sunglasses. Just in case the suns out! 

- A Lilly pen.

- Mascara for when my eyelashes are not on point.

- Bubblegum for when I need to freshen up my breath or when i'm hungry.

- And last but not least my little pick me up pouch that holds all my favorite pick me up quotes that I pass out to people who seem to need a little pick me up.

And here's a close up of my phone and case and my Kate Spade wallet!

 Thank you all so much for reading! I will include links for each small business item below and along with them I will include a discount code for you to use! 

Lilly printed hair ties- www.shopprettysouthern.etsy.com

{discount code: theofficialprep for 10% off}

Monogrammed Lilly key-fob- etsy.com/shop/PreppyBowsandSass
{discount code: THEOFFICIALPREP for 15% off}

Southern Girl Prep key-chain- www.southerngirlprep.com

{discount code: SDay10off for 10% off}

For more discount codes be sure to look under the discount code tab above! 

Thank you so much for reading and have an amazing day! 

Xoxo,

Samantha

@theofficialprep

My Pink and Green Garden Review

Hey ya'll! So I recently received some products from My pink and Green Garden. And let me just say, they are amazing! I received two pillows and one memo board. All three in Lilly prints of course. So now on to the actual review!

Overall Appearance:

The overall appearance of the pillows are gorgeous. The appliques have the perfect print placement and are the perfect size. The pom poms on the side are so cute and add the perfect touch to each pillow. The fact that My Pink and Green Garden has so many options of appliques, Lilly prints, and pom pom colors is great! Overall I think the pillows are absolutely gorgeous and so worth having. The pillows are the perfect accent to add to your dorm or bedroom.

As you can see my memo board has gone to good use. I love my memo board so much especially because of the print! (its not a common one) I highly recommend getting a memo board. They help you stay very organized and allow you to display some of your favorite things. And plus who wouldn't like to stay organized with something that looks so amazing?!?!


Overall Owner:

The owner, whose name is Irene, is one of the absolute sweetest people ever. Just by talking with her a little you can tell she loves what she does and truly has a passion for it. By all the giveaways she host you can tell that she really cares about her customers and brand. I don't think there could be a better business owner to purchase from!

Overall I give My Pink and Green Garden a total of 5 stars! I highly recommend purchasing something because you know the products are going to be super cute and arrive on time!

Here are some more photos:

Here is the direct link to purchase your own pillow or memo board!
Click here!
Or follow @mypinkandgreengarden on Instagram!

Also, an amazing surprise to all my fabulous followers on Instagram, I will be hosting a giveaway with My Pink and Green Garden! You could win a pillow of your choice! It will be posted on Valentines day so be sure to check it out on my account, @theofficialprep!


Xoxo, 
Samantha
@theofficialprep