July Purchases

1. J.Crew Merino Wool Crewneck Sweater in Olive (formerly the Tilly Sweater)- $75 on sale for $17
2. J.Crew Factory Gingham Button Down Shirt- $65 on sale for $25 (purchased by brother :) )
3. J.Crew Factory Sketched Cotton Tee With Vertical Stripes- $40 on sale for $9
4. J.Crew Factory Long-Sleeve Striped Boatneck Tee- $50 on sale for $11
5. J.Crew Lookout High-Rise Jean in Grady Wash- $125 on sale for $25
6. J.Crew Dannie Pant in Dark Loden- $90 on sale for $16

TOTAL: $106

Hello friends! I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon and participate in the budgeting bloggers link up because I am about to become a college student with a very limited budget. I've never been one to really adhere to a budget, but I rarely spend more than $20-30 on any item and I try to buy things I know I'll get a lot of wear out of. I'll admit that all these purchases were bought on the spur or the moment, but I'm trying to make my closet feel a bit more cohesive before I head out to college!

If this month's purchases had a theme, I'd say its J.Crew, stripes, blue, and shades of olive. Seriously, when did I become such a J.Crew snob? I blame their near daily sales for that one. I picked up a few shirts to wear casually to class or out and about and a lightweight sweater partly because I can't resist a cropped sweater, but mainly because people have been bashing this sweater left and right and I just had to try it out for myself.

Pants are a bit finicky for me so I picked up another pair of Dannie pants to replace my cheap and thin olive pants from H&M and I decided to try out a pair of J.Crew jeans because the price was right and they actually had my size!

I'm trying to make a list of some closet essentials that I want to pick up before I move out and i'm hoping to stick to my shopping list next month! With my 18th birthday coming up very soon, I feel like I should have a little bit of extra spending cash for the month of August. I haven't figured out what my monthly clothing allowance will look like, but I'm hoping that if I can make some key purchases next month that I'll be able to shop a lot less the rest of the year and only have to buy super basic essentials like thick socks or leggings to get me through winter.

I've always loved reading Nicole and Fran's monthly budget posts, so I'm excited to start doing them myself!

Life Lately

Life is busy. I feel like the last few weeks have been slow and easy yet fast and jam-packed at the same time. There's so many big changes happening in my life right now and I've just been going with the flow and seeing what happens next. I figured if you like me enough to read my blog, you might like me enough to want to know what's going on in my life currently!

p.s you can see this entire outfit here!

p.p.s can we please acknowledge how nice my eyebrows look in this pic??? I plan on doing a little review on a new brow product I picked up recently!

Life lately has included LOTS of avocados. Funny enough I hate the taste of avocado, but I love it paired with other things. I was inspired to add avocado to my breakfast by Fran, but I think i'll substitute it with some bacon next time ;)

However, avocado on a salad is MY JAM. Seriously so delicious. I've turned into the person who makes a salad as a midnight snack instead of reaching for the entire thing of oreos. We buy a basic garden salad mix as Sam's, and then I add some avocado, some salt and pepper, a bit of ranch, and some bacon because why not? 

Fourth of July came and went, and like every other year I pigged out on barbecue and missed most of the fireworks.

I bought a one way ticket to New York which is CRAZY BECAUSE THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING AND I AM STILL A CHILD.

I packed up all my stuff...

...and unpacked them in our new house! After what seemed like forever, we finally moved into our new home and I've been spending the past week trying to get settled in and adjust. The last time we moved, I was two years old so I didn't realize how exhausting this entire process is.

It feels weird to see my old room and house so empty and bare, but I took plenty of pictures and video so i'll always remember my childhood home.

For the past few weeks, every Tuesday. I've been hitting up Starbucks for my weekly meetings for my job (which feels really weird to say). I'm the Social Media Director for The 234 Project (go follow us on twitter!)  and I'll probably talk about this a bit more in the future :)

The first of my dorm stuff came in the mail yesterday which is making me even more excited for school to start! I finally got to know who my roommates are and I get to live in an old hotel with large windows and hardwood floors on 5th avenue this upcoming school year!

I love our new neighborhood because I'm only two streets away from my best friend! We spent some time at the pool yesterday and came back to my place to make a ridiculously delicious lunch.

So that's my life lately! What have y'all been up to?

Made Ok

I would like to point out that the title of this post is not a comment on the quality of the clothing items that are featured in this post, I can understand your confusion and I'd like to say that so far everything I'm wearing has held up quite nicely and is in fact of quality. Now I can imagine that you are all sitting at your desks wondering why is this post called "Made Ok"? We'll you see, I put this outfit on my body and the second I looked in the mirror I thought "I look like I stepped straight outta a Madewell catalogue!" but here's the catch–– nothing I'm wearing is Madewell but it looks like it could be, so I guess you could say it's Made ok...

*ba dum tss*

Anyways, enough with me trying to be funny let's talk about this outfit. I am 110% certain that this look has been featured in a Madewell catalogue or will be in the near future. Y'all know about my deep love for J.Crew (including the sweater that may lead to their demise), and one may think that my love would transfer over to their sister company Madewell too. I love Madewell and their aesthetics and styling but it just doesn't feel like me. Every once in awhile I think it's good to try something different and that exactly what this outfit is. 

I ditched my boxy shirts and button downs for a more feminine and organic black tank top. My trusty pink cross body bag was traded for a canvas backpack from TOMS, and for the first time in a long time I wore a belt (which was taken from my brother, but that's irrelevant right now). It's simple and neutral which it right up my alley, but it made me realize that a loose top with a loose pair of shorts does not work on my thin frame. If I'm gonna repeat this outfit in the future, I'll definitely have to pair this top with a pair of more fitted shorts or some skinny jeans. 

I've told myself that I am a strict "t-shirt and button down" kind of gal, but this silky tank has totally changed my mind. I don't see my closet becoming overloaded with silky tanks and pretty blouses anytime soon, but it's a style that's kinda new for me and makes me feel really pretty and feminine which is hard to do when you have the body shape of a lanky 12 year old boy. I'm seriously considering picking up another silky tank top in white, and maybe a fun color like a rich emerald or a punchy orange? I can't wait to wear this top with an outfit that feels a bit more like myself. To all my fancy ladies out there, what are some of your favorite ways to wear silky tank tops? I need some inspo!

Top: H&M // Shorts: J.Crew Factory (Similar) // Backpack: c/o TOMS 

Amazon Prime Day Wishlist

Amazon is my bff. Being able to order anything, and usually for a lower price is always great in my book! I used my student email to get a free trial of Amazon Prime which gives you access to free books, music, movies and FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING (!!!!) and it just so happens that tomorrow is Amazon Prime Day! I'm not 100% what gonna be on sale or how good the deals will be, but they're supposed to have more deals that Black Friday so that's a promising sign. I have a few needs/wants on my list, so I thought I would share them with y'all.

1 // Toshiba Canvio Connect 1TB Portable Hard Drive

I have a 500GB external that is quickly running out of space, so it's about time that I get a new one. I'm trying to make sure I back up my computer more often and I know with college coming making sure I have copies of everything will be super important.

2 // Crucial 8GB Kit RAM for Mac

After having my macbook pro for 4 years, it's starting to show some signs of slowing down. I have to take it in for repairs a few weeks ago and they replaced some major parts, so I'm hoping to double my RAM so I can run more programs at a time without my computer making noises like it's about to blow up.

3 // Denman Cushion Brush
I have heard wonders about this brush and I'm hoping it will help me detangle my hair faster.

4 // Paper Mate Flair Porous-Point Felt Tip Pen
Word on the street is that these are the best for color coding notes. I was never much of an intensive notetaker in high school, but I know that I'm gonna have to try a lot harder in college and these pens come in tons of fun colors that will make studying a bit more fun!

5 // Columbia Women's Benton Springs Full-Zip Fleece Jacket
Over the past couple of months I've slowly started growing my winter wardrobe and buying items on clearance that I can wear in NY this fall/winter. People always rave about fleece jackets and this one on Amazon is half the price of the same jacket from the retail store!

I know this list may not seem super exciting, but at least it's not another Nordstrom's Anniversary sale post ;) Do you have anything you hope to scoop up from Amazon tomorrow?

Trying to Be Cool

Clothes are a wonderful thing because they can trick people into thinking that I, an awkward, shy, rambling human being am actually a super cool and chic human being. Ever since I started blogging, my style has become more refined and I can now put together outfits that look good and make me feel good in a snap.  My style is pretty simple so I really depend on textures, interesting details, and pops of color to make my basic outfits feel a bit more special. I love this shirt from Gap Factory because it has a quilted texture and it's crazy soft. It's a bit too cozy for a summer day, but great if you're stuck inside with the AC 24/7. I added a necklace because who am I if I'm not wearing a necklace, right? And to top it all off I delicately and carefully draped a denim jacket across my shoulders because it makes it really difficult to move your arms to do anything productive but all the cool kids are doing it and it makes for a nice pictures so it's totally worth it in my book. 

Top: Gap Factory (on sale!)  // Jacket: Aeropostale // Jeans: PacSun // Bag: H&M // Necklace: J.Crew Factory 

NYU and FAQs (Application tips and Getting in)

For starters I want to say that there is no magic recipe for getting in to NYU, or any school for that matter. Being apart of X, Y, and Z or having this test score or that GPA can't guarantee admission to a selective school like NYU. With that being said, I've recently received a handful of questions asking for tips about the admission process and what my stats were and I know that when I was applying I was obsessed with comparing myself with students who had been admitted to see where I stood. I don't want this post to discourage anyone who may have lower scores or fewer extracurriculars, but I hope that this can be used as a motivating force and help you work towards your goal of getting in to NYU or where you want to go! With that being said, let's get into what you're really here for.

SAT: 2000 (710 math, 670 reading, 620 writing) I took a prep class with revolution prep and it's a bit pricey, but I did see a significant increase in my score from when I took my first practice to when I took the real thing (I went from a 1600ish to 2000).

GPA: 3.90 unweighted 4.82 weighted. I was ranked 4 out of 55 in my class. 

PRE-AP/AP CLASSES: I took 8 Pre-AP Classes and 6 AP classes. My school is small and doesn't offer as many advanced classes as a typical school and I took as many Pre-AP/AP classes that my schedule would permit. The only things worth noting about my classes is that I was a year ahead in math and doubled up my sophomore year so I graduated with 2 extra math credits.

EXTRACURRICULARS: Key Club (2 years), Yearbook Editor (4 years), Blogging (3 years), Latin Dance (1 year), Breakfast club (2 years), Austin Youth Council (2 years), NHS (3 years).

Really the only notable things I had were being yearbook editor for 4 years and being in my city’s youth council and being elected as a representative during my second year. Don’t join clubs or do things just for the sake of adding on to your application. Make sure to do things you are active in and enjoy! I would have done key club all four years because it’s easy and looks good, but I wasn’t active nor did I really care for it so I dropped it and tried to focus my time on other things.

If your school doesn't offer anything you're interesting in, then start something for yourself! Honestly, if I didn't have my blog then I would have had nothing to write about in my essays. Starting something yourself shows ambition, passion, and helps set you apart from the rest.

ESSAYS: NYU, like many schools, uses the common app and has their own essay that you must write for your application. The prompts vary year to year (I think) so I can't give any specific tips. I will say that my common app essay was average at best, but I think I really nailed my NYU essay. I highly recommend looking up how to write an application essay and what admission officers are looking for. For all essays, regardless of the prompt, I think you should really strive to answer these questions: What makes you special, why do you want to be there, and how is the school going to benefit from someone like you. Look up the schools philosophy or see what they talk about incessantly in their brochures. For NYU that means honing in on being "global, urban, inspired, smart, connected, and bold"

In my essay I started off with the typical "NYU is my dream school blah blah blah" It's not bad to do this, just make sure it doesn't take up most of your essay! I used how I was raised by Nigerian Immigrants to connect to the idea that I'm a global thinker and I'm excited to go to a school that connects me to various cultures, ideas, beliefs, etc. I also used this as a time to briefly mention their international studies program which shows that I've done my research into the program I want to be accepted into. I would totally recommend that you take the time to scour the website looking for any interesting tidbit or program that isn't well known or promoted because it shows that you've taken the time to research every aspect of the school which in turn shows dedication and passion about that school. 

I'm pretty lucky in the sense that I feel pretty strongly about what I'm majoring in, so with that knowledge I was able to work it into my essay. I want to major in marketing and I tied that in with my blog that has exposed me to the marketing side of business already. This is a little excerpt of what I wrote:

"Through my blog, I have been exposed to the inner-workings of marketing, and my experiences from marketing and blogging put me above the rest. At NYU, I can only improve. I want to motivate and challenge others, and I am fully capable of taking my acquired knowledge and experience and applying it on a global scale."

Once again, I tied in the whole global aspect and made sure that I wrote with confidence. Your entire application is basically you bragging about yourself and your accomplishments but try to do so in a way that doesn't seem cocky. They already know your accomplishments from other parts of your application, but the essay is where you can really show your passion and drive.

Wow. This post is long as hell. I know that this is a lot to take in, but the best advice I can tell you is be active in things in and out of school, challenge yourself academically, edit your essays ruthlessly (and have other people edit your essays as well), and don't worry too much. You will end up exactly where you need to be.

If you have any more comments, questions, concerns or need some motivation feel free to leave a comment, or reach out to me on twitter/instagram (@toyosioyelola) or tumblr!