(Florida) College wardrobe essentials. //

When I was preparing for college last year I would spend hours on youtube and Pinterest looking up stuff I need to pack or essentials. While 70% of everything I saw was extremely helpful a lot of it got crazy, hectic and confusing. 

You can pretty much find everything you need for your dorm room just fine. The hardest part for me was finding wardrobe essentials. I was not used to what the climate would be like in Florida so I had no idea what to pack or what to shop for. So this entire blog post is for you ladies in the southern states who're looking for some extra help. 

If you guys are attending school in the colder states and would like a wardrobe essentials please let me know. I have many friends who have college experience in the colder states and they can help me, help you guys. That way it's one less thing to stress about. Okay lets get started. 

Rain Boots:

If you live in Florida you need rain boots. I did not think they were a necessity whatsoever. As soon as I arrived on campus it rained like two or three times a day, and at completely random times?! (LOL serves me right for not listening). I quickly ordered rain boots ASAP. If you are going out of state for school packing rain boots will be hassle since they are so big and take up space. I recommend ordering some online or shipping your own to school it's just so much easier. 

     1/ Hunter tour boots    2/ Hunter short boots.  3/ Target knee high boots 4/ Target print boots. 


Utility Jacket:

In Florida it randomly gets cold (by that I mean 50-60f) especial through Nov-Feb that's why having a utility jacket is so important.  A utility jacket that also doubles as a rain jacket is also a plus.

1/ Hooded Jacket  2/ Utility jacket 3/ North face jacket (30% off)

Jeans:
I thought I never would wear jeans in florida until December. But most buildings in Florida blast out their AC so you can be sweating bullets one minute then become freezing cold the next. Jeans are my favorite go-to look for my classes.

1/ Ripped high jeans  2/ White high rise 3/ skinny jeans


Shorts:

I pretty much wear shorts (90%) of the time. Here are three different shorts you will find me always wearing whether its to class, working out, or for a fun night out.

1/ Old navy shorts 2/ Nike shorts 3/ Old navy shorts 

Random essentials:
These might seem a little weird but they are super essential for school in florida. I find that I wear baseball caps so much more than I have ever worn them before. I use them for the beach, running, bad hair day, etc... The next item is "life saver" it's like bicycle shorts kinda? Anyways I wear them when I workout and wear skirts and dresses. It gets so humid in Florida it gets uncomfortable when you thighs rub together this saves you from being uncomfortable in the humidity. Next is running shoes I wear them all the time. Some times my feet get so tired from walking everywhere it's just nice to wear something that supports my feet.

 1/ baseball hat 2 / Jockey  3/ Nike running shoes

Well I hope this was helpful? Let me know if you guys want to see more post like this. 

Lets be adventurous //

One of the things I'm most looking forward to in college is the idea of traveling and being adventurous. 

Most of the time I tend to to be very rational when it comes to the spur of the moment adventures. I like to consider all the possibilities and the pro/cons. When I had the chance to visit St. Augustine Florida this weekend I was not going to pass this opportunity up. Of course, I was hesitant thinking of staying in my cozy dorm room and working on my two papers due this week. I'm so glad I went through with it. It was a great weekend filled with adventures, friends, and delicious food. I felt like I was in Europe not Florida. It was the perfect getaway. Here's to St. Augustine adventure, and many many more. 

Life Update //

  Hey Everyone,  I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update my blog. I've been meaning to upload a blog post for the past 3 weeks but every time I go down to write I get swept up with emotion.

 Three weeks ago 30 mins before my Latin class, my mother called me. I knew it was something serious because my Mom wouldn't call me during the school day. She called to inform me that my Grandmother had just tragically passed away. Never in my life have I experienced a death so close to my heart. It quite literally was the worst feeling I've ever experienced. Right after the phone call I ran to the 24 hr adoration chapel and cried and was completely stunned as thoughts swarmed my mind.  "Why did she leave us so early? I never got to say goodbye."

 I collected myself and went to class. I needed to be distracted. I went into class with my eyes bloodshot and swollen. The crazy part was while in class we had the most intense rain storm. No, it's not unusually for Florida to rain everyday. But, this rainstorm was like no other. It was as if the world was mourning with me.

 I felt a huge lump in my throat and held back tears during the entire class. Right after class, my brother and I went to Mass which probably was the most healing experience. So thankful to have him with me this year for all the love and support. 

The rest is kinda a blur honestly. My brother and I flew to Michigan for her funeral. Being able to see my family was the best thing in the entire world. Yes, it was under terrible circumstances but family was exactly what I needed. 

The whole weekend in Michigan was beautiful. It was exactly what Grandma would've wanted.  Anyways going to her funeral put me behind in schoolwork which I feel I've finally just caught up on. It's been hard getting back in the swing of things. But I miss blogging and I miss you guys. You guys are so important to me and I feel I offer it to you guys to keep you connected with my life. There will be more blog post coming. I promise I haven't left you guys. 

The past three weeks have made me appreciate my time in college and just how beautiful life is. And the importance of family.  I love you all. 

 If you want to read more up on my Grandma you can read the beautiful blog post my sister wrote right here.

                                                    My beautiful, Grandma.

                                      Thanks for reading! Now, back to studying for midterms...uck.

Present Moment //

So thankful for my beautiful roommates. And their intoxicating love for God. 

Such an amazing witness in my life and many others. 

Today marks the 3rd week of school. You would think I would have the whole college routine down. But no, I don't. Everyday in college I learn something new.
 Obviously from my courses, but also new life experiences. This past week I learned how to swing dance, and that homesickness never really goes away.
 The friendships I make grow stronger everyday. My spiritual life has grown tremendously these past three weeks.
I've come to realize that my faith and spiritual life will be my strongest anchor the next four years and my whole life. Going to daily Mass during the week has taught me to take each day one at a time. Worrying about the future will get me no where. I have to learn to be completely content with whatever God's will is for me that very day.
Life is beautiful my friends. Enjoy the present moment.
And be thankful for another day to live out His will.


Skirt // DownEast basics
Shirt // Forever 21
Sandels // Payless

New beginnings //

I've been in Florida for almost a whole week now.  Today, was the first day of classes. It's so completely weird to think I'm now a college student. It quite amazing knowing how far my education has evolved.   It feels like I was just in middle school, like yesterday. Now I have to make big girl decisions. For instance going to bed at a good time, and making sure I have three meals a day.

I'm looking forward to the next four years at Ave.
I'm completely confident this is where God wants me.

Dress // Dorothy Perkins (similar) Shoes // Converse

Until next time!

God Bless,
Marisa

Guest Post // How To Get Ready Faster (And Still Look Fabulous!) - A Guide For College Girls

Hey Ladies, special treat for you today! Maria from the Orange Purse has agreed to guest post for A Beautiful Mystery.. A lot of us will be going back to school in a couple of weeks and Maria has given us some very great and practical tips. Please enjoy you guys. 


"I know how it goes. You wake up and you have to be at your early morning English class in 25 minutes. But you hate starting your day in sweatpants and a hoodie. You want to look fabulous but you don't think you have the time. I am here to tell you you can look GREAT in 25 minutes or less if you focus on these six tips.

1. Make looking good a priority

I always say that the days that you just want to wear sweatpants to class are the days you need to put a little extra effort into looking fabulous. It's good for character and it will turn your day around. So if you really want to look put together and polished during your busy day, you have to make it a priority.

Waking up 15 - 25 minutes earlier than you normally would and putting out that little extra bit of effort can make the difference between a productive, happy good day and a crappy, slouchy day. I can personally guarantee it. 

2. Plan outfits ahead of time

I generally don't lay my outfits out on a chair before I go to bed. The only time I would do that is if I am unsure how an outfit will turn out and I can't visualize it it my head.

Usually though, I think about what I have in my closet and what it would go with and plan out my outfits in my head. This is great because then I can wake up and jump out of bed and I know exactly what I want to wear.

Of course, this doesn't always work. There have definitely been those days when I try on seven or eight different outfits and leave the rejects all over my bed and room. Which leads into Tip 3. 

3. Try to keep a clean living space

If you're in college, this is probably a dorm. Look, I know it can be super hard to take to clean during your busy semester. In fact, it's basically impossible. I'm a naturally messy person, I should know.

The way I combat messiness is by owning less things. Anything I don't use frequently, I just throw away or donate. This eliminates clutter and makes the room seem clean and empty. The only other tidying thing I do is try to make my bed everyday but that sometimes doesn't happen.

The reason I bring this whole issue up is because clean living space makes for much calmer and easier getting ready. Think about it, if you know where everything is, you won't have to spend time looking for it.

4. Keep a simple makeup routine

The secret to a simple makeup routine is a good skin routine. As long as your face is fairly clear and acne-free, you really don't need a lot of makeup.

Click here to see my simple yet very effective skin routine.

My quick makeup routine is normally just foundation, eyeliner and mascara. It takes ten minutes tops and Rose is even faster at it then I am. 

4. Choose simple hairstyles

My hair is totally something I wish I did more with. I am sooo boring when it comes to my hair - it's either down, in a high ponytail or a messy bun. Once in a blue moon, I'll french braid it. These simple variations do have their advantages though; I can do my hair in five minutes or less. 

If you are trying to rush to class, it's probably not a good idea to start making plans to try some crazy-fancy braid combination you saw on Pinterest. I would love to learn how to do more things with my hair, and I plan on it, but if I'm in a rush, I stick to the basics.

5. Pack your backpack the night before

Imagine this scenario: you're rushing to class and scrambling to get everything together and yourself ready and class is in six minutes and you grab your backpack and rush out of the dorm. Once you're sitting in class, proud of yourself for actually making it in time, and your professor asks you to turn in your paper that is due. You reach into your backpack and freeze. You forgot to put it in your backpack because of the morning rush. End Scenario. 

I don't know about you, but personally I am much more able to remember to pack things like papers due, important textbooks, etc, the night before. I try to put everything that I am going to need for the next day in my backpack the night before. That way I don't forget anything I need the next morning. 

6. Take advantage of less busy days

Less busy days are the days you might want to wash your laundry, iron anything that needs to be ironed (ain't nobody got time for that!) and do longer, high maintenance things like plucking your brows or trimming your nails. 

For me last year as a freshman, my less busy day was Sunday. I would wash, dry and put away all my laundry (ick!), pluck my brow, paint my nails and do a deep cleaning of my room. I would also go through my backpack and throw away any papers, notes or handouts I no longer needed. 

This was a great way to take advantage of the quieter days when I had less going on." 

Everyone please go check out and their amazing blog, and send them some love. 

College + Life //

Long time no post everybody! Sorry, it has been a week and half since my last blog post. Life has been super hectic, but in a good way. Since, I have the greatest following for this blog and all my followers and viewers are the best, I wanted to give you guys a little update on what's been going on in my life lately. In less then 26 days I'll be moving to Florida, where I will be attending Ave Maria University this fall as a freshman. I can't wait to experience this new chapter of my life. I will continue to keep on blogging while I'm there. Right now, I want to share with you guys some photos from when I went to visit the campus in February.  If y'all would like to keep in touch with my move to Florida and my adventures at school go ahead and follow me on Instagram and Twitter. I use social media as a really good outlet to keep in touch with my family and friends, so if you would like to see what's going on with my life go ahead and click the "follow" button.

 The Oratory at Ave Maria

 The view walking out of the Oratory in the evening. 

 My older brother, Thomas, will be a senior at Ave this year. I can't wait to share this new experience with him.

I can't wait to get some vitamin "sea" when I'm out there.