chameleonandgold

[chameleonandgold]

How to Study (while on vacation)

Let’s be honest – professors don’t know what a break is. And whether you have a trip that your family’s been planning for months, a getaway with your friends, or an individual self-excursion, it seems like there’s still work that needs to get done. Here’s a compiled list of tips to help make that a little easier:

Remember that getting work done a little at a time is way better than having it loom over you and cram when your trip is over.

Know what material to study, what things you’ll need, and when the deadline is!

Mentally prepare yourself and others – let people know ahead of time that you have work to do. Work doesn’t have to interfere with group plans.

Roughly plan vacation activities and days ahead of time if possible. Look at the weather beforehand – on the days where not a lot is going on or the weather isn’t great, use that time!

If you can, make a general timeline of what work you’ll get done and when. Try to shoot for half hour to an hour and a half time slots – little amounts throughout the trip is better than taking a whole day.

If you have to memorize terms, record yourself saying them before the trip so you can listen to them whenever – even subconscious info can give you a little boost.

Bring what you need but consolidate as much as you can! If you don’t need your whole textbook, photocopy or take pictures of the pages you do need. Take pictures of all your resources beforehand just in case you do need something you’ve left behind. This will also come in handy if you’re out and realize you have a bit of time to kill to try and get work done.

Make a mini pack of all your materials – you can even downsize to create a travel size study kit.

If you’re flying, pack your resources in your carry on – if you’re driving, see if you can take shifts driving. Traveling is a huge chunk of time so it’s a great time to get things done!

Be proactive – try to work more on an assignment earlier in your stay so it won’t stress you out or build up over vacation. If you’re studying, study a little bit each day. It’s more about building the info rather than binging.

If you’re reading, take notes! Doing small increments is good, but you have to make sure you’re fully engaged and make that info stick!

The best downtimes/times that no ones planned to do anything is mornings and before bed – mornings are even better bc most people will be asleep, it’ll be quiet, and you’ll get most of it out of the way!

If you know you’re doing a lowkey activity like heading to the pool or sitting in a coffee shop, even if only for an hour, take a little with you!

Use your normal online resources too – quizlet, chegg, etc. They work at school and they’ll work on vacation too.

Try to stick to a good sleeping schedule as much as you can. If you’re exhausted, hungover, etc, you’re just creating more work for yourself later.

And remember to try and relax, don’t stress, and don’t let spring break work ruin your trip!

[chameleonandgold]

New Highs New Lows

I don’t know about you but back 2 school has been hectic!!!! I’ll elaborate more later on in the week but until then, if any of you feel like your brain is an old beat up car trying to merge onto the highway and you just can’t get up to speed, here’s a playlist to make that transition just a little easier. Check it 

Artwork by Elena Odriozola

[chameleonandgold]

OOTD •• Today’s the first day of the spring semester and in all honesty it’s freezing and had a 9am so here’s a cozy ootd to get us started—

Green vans beanie gifted to me Tank top on sale at Frankie Phoenix Shearling sweater bought forever ago at H&M Tied green pants on sale from free people Sparkly ankle socks from h&m Black heeled ankle boots gifted from banana republic (Not shown) blue and grey color-blocked oversized wool jacket found at the thrift store Heart earrings from h&m Gold band gifted

❣️❣️

[chameleonandgold]

About

My name is Audrey I’m 20, in college, and trying to get it together.

I have several reasons for starting this blog –

Personally, it’s been something I’ve wanted to do for awhile and figured what better time than now. It was grouped with a bunch of my New Year’s resolutions and realized it would be easier to hold myself accountable to those resolutions if I had some way to track it. I’ve had a terrible history with journaling but also loved design and was going into art and marketing. So blogging it was.

I had relative success with a standard and personal blog during high school where I mainly used Tumblr as social media and a way to channel my creativity and curate an aesthetic space. You can check it out here. As a broke college student, this platform was the best option (and most intuitive).

As an art major and hopeful MBA with a concentration in marketing, I felt this was a good place to work on an aesthetic and graphic presence for future portfolio use and to get into a less-personal social media-sphere. This allows me to combine all my interests into one project (which is the best kind of project really).

Lastly, I wanted to create a fun, visually pleasing resource for college students or young adults or whoever who identifies with trying and starting new things. I wanted it to be realistic and actually accessible – and offer solidarity as a girl who’s also just trying to get it together. I’ve originally focused on design (clothes and home/dorm design), campus (college resources and hacks, finding and becoming a part of your surrounding communities, new music finds and general college-related news and info), and health (physical and mental/emotional health, encouraging and empowering resources, and place to put the recipes I try out as I learn how to cook haha). I’m sure as time goes on, these categories will change and evolve, but either way, we’ll be figuring it out together.

Hope you enjoy, laugh, and try something new. No matter what age or life stage we’re in, we’re constantly learning.

If you have suggestions or feedback let me click the Ask link and if you like what you see follow our Instagram @chameleonandgold :)

((And keep an eye out for new playlists found in our Spotify link)).

[chameleonandgold]

Review: Lush Sleepy Lotion and Twilight Shower Gel

Let me start off by saying: yes, Lush can be pricey and some of their products seem counterintuitive (toothpaste?? as a tablet?? why) or overdone (not gonna lie I still appreciate a good bathbomb), but I do appreciate their strides in fighting animal testing, using fresh ingredients to create handmade products, acquiring their ingredients ethically, and being an environmentally conscious brand. They also make sure to pay their employees living wages. All of these factors contribute to pricier items, but I mainly have received Lush products as gifts -- which is nice because my budget wouldn’t handle the splurge.

I recently received Lush’s Sleepy body lotion and Twilight shower gel (both lavender-scented) as gifts and fell in love.

I had actually run out of the Sleepy lavender body lotion earlier that week and it was by coincidence that I was gifted it a few days later. It was one of my favorites of 2017 -- as someone with dry/sensitive skin who lives in the northeast, I’m constantly slavering myself in lotion. This body lotion was thick but not too oily or sticky and the all-natural lavender scent was super calming in my stressful day-to-day life. I personally love the smell of lavender, but if you’re not big into strong scents, this lotion isn’t for you (and let’s be honest, the entire Lush store probably isn’t for you). The container is relatively small compared to most lotions I use but the consistency is so concentrated that you only need a very small amount of the pastel lavender. It literally makes me feel luxurious to use it.

This has been my first week using the Twilight shower gel and I like it as well. I haven’t had as much time to fall in love with it, but it does keep me well moisturized and makes my bathroom smell like a calming lavender spa. It’s a little runnier than other shower gels I’ve had from Lush so I keep using too much, but like other Lush shower gels it’s pretty concentrated so the small bottle should last you awhile. Unlike the fittingly-lavender-colored body lotion, Twilight is a dark purple. As an artist, I find the colors of both to be very fitting and very calming -- integrating the lavender into my sleep routine has been super helpful in falling asleep.

The Twilight shower gel is currently sold out online but the Sleepy body lotion is still up on their site! I highly recommend both, and if you’re feeling thrifty and you’re in the minority of people who live near a Lush store, grab a free sample if you can (grab as many samples as you can) and treat yourself to a little luxury and calm as you head into the new semester. 

[chameleonandgold]

Happy New Year!--

Woke up to a new day, a new week, and a new year and I’ve never been happier to see it. With so any beginnings, it seems like now is the time to start something new. I’ve included a taste of what I hope my 2018 brings.

So this is my start. I hope that this blog not only gives my personal life a new rhythm to fall into but provides me with a more structured method of reflection and record keeping (since I’ve had bad luck with journaling in the past lol).

Keep an eye out for more posts soon, but until then, enjoy this playlist to help start your year off right and keep you warm :)