Katie Rudder South Carolina I'm a Senior Marketing major with a minor in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior at University of South Carolina! Go Gamecocks! In addition to writing Let's Be Preppy, I am active in the Carolina community, work at a South Carolina Lilly Pulitzer store, serve as an marketing intern for the American Red Cross and lead tours for prospective students at USC. Any questions or comments? Email me: katie@letsbepreppy.com
Followers
Sassy Sponsors
Interested? Email katie@letsbepreppy.com
Your Ad Here!
Email katie@letsbepreppy.com with inquiries!
Sassy Sponsors: Nava NY
Sassy Sponsors: Jessica Marie Design
Sassy Sponsors: Nancy McGinty, The Girl with the Pearl
So a week ago today, I attended a wonderful event, The Carolina Ball! It was a great time and I ended up running into a bunch of people I knew.
My fabbbbbulous date Hannah and I were able to go to the ball! We both wore floor length dresses, taking the night to get all dolled up! How often does that really happen!?
I got my dress from Tradesy online! I felt like I was channeling my inner Rachel from "Friends" with this 90s-loving choice. I never, ever, ever want to take this dress off. I LOVE it!
The band, Blind Manifest, was great! They amped up the crowd, danced and interacted and really kept us going. I really enjoyed listening to them, and gave us an awesome variation of music: slow songs, fast songs, beach music, covers, everything!
The decor at the venue was minimal, but it didn't need to be very fancy. The venue, 701 Whaley, is a beautiful spot on its own and really doesn't need much to make it look good. There were simple swags throughout the main hall we were in and it looked perfect.
All in all, we had fun at the event! I hope that this continues to be an annual event and grows bigger and larger for Palmetto Health Children's Hospital! FTK!
If you said "How I Met Your Mother" then you were correct!
On a more serious note, I went suit shopping right around this time last year after going through some mock interviews and wearing a dress instead of a suit. Realizing my mistake, I knew I had to change my choice and go big and buy a big girl suit. After doing some research, my final choice was a Banana Republic staple lightweight suit:
I chose the Banana option over plenty of other choices for a few reasons:
1. They have tall, petite, and regular options for all different shapes. You can look at the size guides and have a better idea of what to buy for your (ab)normal shape!
2. Reviews are posted. I do a lot of online shopping via reviews. I think you really can get a good idea of the fit and quality of pieces from shoppers. Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic also do a great job of highlights repeat shoppers who really understand the fit of their clothes.
3. I could return it easily. Ordering online makes me nervous especially with big purchases like this because if it doesn't fit it will HAVE to go back. I have always had good experiences with this shipping!
4. Advice. My dad made a great point in telling me that I'd probably never (note: not finite, but more of a suggestion/guess) work anywhere I would need a HEAVY wool blazer. Or at least not in the short-term. A lightweight wool was perfect and black was an obvious choice. Our business school suggests buying a skirt suit first and a black suit before any others, so combining this advice, I went with the lightweight, black skirt suit.
When making your purchase keep in mind what shoes you'll most likely be wearing with your new ensemble and if you'll be more comfortable in pants or a skirt. I am by no means a suit expert, but I figured as a job applicant, I'd share MY decision process!
The long-awaited OFFICIAL announcement was made a few days ago by ESPN and College GameDay! They are en route to Columbia, SC!
If you live under a rock (or just aren't of the football persuasion) you wouldn't know that the USC-UGA game will be among the biggest, most important football games that us current Gamecocks will ever attend in our Gamecock careers.
This ESPN College GameDay marks the 5th time that they will be in GAMECOCK COUNTRY!
I say this every year because every year there's a BIG game that somehow gets topped the next year, and I swore it wouldn't happen this season, but NO, the Gamecocks are at it again:
Freshman year: USC vs. Ole Miss (biggest upset we'd had until...)
Sophomore year: USC vs. Alabama (officially crushed #1)
Junior year: USC vs. Clemson (I've never been a part of a more energized student section)
Senior year: USC vs. UGA
I love that this series of different games has also been a different opponent each year. Traditionally, we've played UGA much earlier in the season, but I am so excited!
There will be so much going on during the day and weekend and I think I can speak for most Gamecocks in saying that we are SO ready for it to already be SATURDAY! Too much waiting and anticipating (considering we've been waiting for this since oh, last season ended...) to even believe!
If you will be in town here's a schedule of game-related events:
1. Southern Proper & Gridiron Belles/SoLeague Magazine Shows at Pink Sorbet on Devine Street Friday
2. Vineyard Vines Tailgate (location, TBD but check facebook!)
3. Jason Aldean/Billy Currington Concert @ 5:00 day of game at Gamecock Walk
Since I did a post yesterday on my rings, I figured I'd do a post on my nail color today! My nails were very grown out, and I definitely was in need of a new color. It might sound crazy, but since I work in such a colorful store and always wear pretty colorful outfits, I decided I'd go with a neutral for a little while. Y'all know how often I do hot pinks, fuschias, reds and corals, and even glitter now and then! I have 3 coats of OPI's "Passion" on my nails and I really really like it.
"Passion" would make a perfect wedding/bridal color. It looks like a perfect natural, polished, manicure color. I am sure I will go back and get this color again when I'm in search of a good neutral. I recommend "Passion" if you're in the market for a really nice looking professional base.
On the good news front, I got a really cool email last night that I posted on facebook so you might have seen it:
I've watched Fashion Police on E! more times than I'd like to admit, so I was pretty pumped to see them following little old LBP on twitter! TOO COOL! Cue goofy cartoon starstuck eyes...
I hope everyone's weeks are going by well! I feel like my week has gone by SO slowly...I think because it was very backloaded with two big assignments due today. Yikes! Glad to see them turned in and DONE!
While I'm not entirely referring to one of the Barney Stinson catchphrases, I'm more talking about finding a suit. Today I have a mock interview for one of my assignments for a business class, and it's basically a staged, practice interview with a real company but it just has no real job! It's supposed to be a great way to practice for real interviews and a HUGE career EXPO we have coming up next week. I'm wearing this great structured black, tweed Tahari dress that my mom picked up for me a while back:
I'm adding black tights and plain black heels to make it dressier. It runs a little longer on me than this model, but you get the idea. Anyway, I am now a junior in the business school which means that it's officially time to start looking at REAL business wear: AKA SUITS. I've found a few that are more "me" and less "suit-y" than most:
So to all my fellow business scholars out there, do you just stick to structured dresses or have you gone with a skirt suit? I have friends who have done both, but nearly everyone owns at least one of both just to make sure that she's covered in every situation! This is one of the ONLY times I wish I was a boy because getting ready would be so easy!! To my business power women out there, what do you recommend?
Please let us know! This is very real life for many of us!
I know with Christmas in T-minus 2 days, everyone's brains are on that, but I'm referring to "New Year's Eve" the movie! I saw it as part of a work Christmas party (so that counts as Christmas-y, right?) and wanted to share--without spoiling--it with y'all!
This was my favorite storyline of the movie! It was sweet and silly and fun to watch. Zac Efron is as cute as ever however in a few parts he looks a little over spray-tanned! Anyway, tan or not, I loved watching these two go back and forth for their plot line.
Although sometimes annoying, the Katherine Heigl/Bon Jovi (random?) was my next favorite plot line. They were the funniest pairing of people and the fact that Bon Jovi was even in the movie was funny in my opinion!
Third favorite wasn't this pair, but just the idea of Ludacris being an actor. This rapper-now-apparently-actor had a total of maybe 20 lines in the movie. It was just surprising to see him as an actor in a movie like this! Here's to a big cast, right?
Have you seen NYE? Did you like it? For me it was a fun way to kick off the holiday season!
Every week as I either get ready for class or work at the store, I always tune in to watch the Today Show! I like Matt, Money 9-1-1, the Friday concerts and even Hoda and Kathie Lee. Sometimes they can be kinda annoying, but sometimes they're fun!
One time I did like them was the day Hoda introduced us to "Colder Weather" by the Zac Brown Band!
It describes my trek back up North to a tee! I could feel it during my drive get colder and colder and colder until today when I was a PREPSICLE! (I can't take credit for that one though, I wish! A girl I went to high school actually called me that!)
At one of my stops near the exit to Boone, NC, I even saw my breath!!!! I got out of the car in yoga pants, sneaks, and a long sleeve t-shirt to get gas and nearly FROZE! Quite the homecoming for this girl who wore shorts to her Friday final. Craziness!
What's the weather like for you at school vs. at home? Just like me? Totally the opposite?
As a busy college kid (which many of us are, but if not "busy person" works JUST fine) I don't have much free time. I'm usually studying or thinking about studying or preparing to study, in meetings, working or actually in class. There isn't very much time for "extra" stuff. I do, however, have a few guilty pleasures that I will indulge in every now and then when I have the time. Here are a few of them:
1. Toddlers & Tiaras
I know, I know, crazy Moms and kids, but at 10:00 on a Wednesday night, YEAH, I'm gonna tune in if I don't have a test the next day. NOT sorry. It is fun to watch, I like to see if I can pick who wins and laugh at the Moms. Plus I love MAAAAKENZIE!
2. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Again, I know they're so bad for you but that's why they call them "guilty" pleasures. There are 2 KK's within a respectable distance from my house and JUST so happen to have late-night hours.
3. Sunglasses
I love sunglasses. They're my accessory of choice. In SC, 8 or 9 out of 10 days are sunny and the sunny mornings are the worst! Talk about bright and early!
4. iTunes Songs
This one my Momma hates, but music is something I rely on daily. I like Pandora but sometimes I'm just in the mood for ONE specific song. I also don't illegally download. Pretty much every song on my iTunes is from a burned CD from a friend or purchased by me. Music helps me calm down, get excited, work on my moods, I think almost anyone would agree!
What are your guilty pleasures? Now you know a few of mine!!
You're probably asking yourself, "Well, isn't every year the year of the birthdays?" Well yes, but this year I'm a junior which means the birthday that everyone gets the most excited about in college: turning 21! I often get questions about what to get for your friends for their 21st birthdays! Here are some of my suggestions:
Customized shot glasses: I got these for three guy friends last year and they all loved them! They all got 2 glasses: 1 personalized with their monograms and 1 personalized with something funny between us!
A season of their favorite show or a DVD of their favorite movie! This is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser!
Monogrammed Wine Glasses from The Cooler Girl (a fabulous friend of mine!)
Food gift cards! I know gift cards have a bit of an impersonal stigma associated with them, but give them a book of coupons and say you're taking them to the specific place. Need a reason to take this certain someone on a date? ...Sounds like a perfect plan to me!
The Bubbly! This gives you a fun reason to toast (or roast!) your friends at their birthday bash!
Local concert tickets! A bunch of my friends have birthdays the week before THIS GUY comes to town. Too bad I don't give away ANY birthday surprises! I do expect to see y'all all there though!
I saw this concoction on Pinterest a few days ago and it sparked my idea for this post! Too funny! Seems like something a Grandma might do!
What did you give your friends for their 21st birthday? Anything fun?
Summer is gearing up and I haven't made a playlist in awhile! Saturday nights during the summer are prime time to do just about anything: sit and chat on the back deck, hang out by the pool, pop in a movie and snuggle, go out, eat a delish dinner, pick crabs, I could go on forever...in that case, here goes the playlist for the beginning of my summer!
To note: I've mostly been listening to "The Drifters" station on Pandora recently. That's my playlist BUT there's no good way to track do what I've been hearing on there. I find myself thumbs-up-ing everything!
(Miracles, see #3)
1. Oh, Tonight by the Josh Abbott Band: this is just a great all around song. Love it for driving, listening to while blogging and rockin' out to. Thanks to Miss Skyler for the heads up.
2. 1,000 Faces by Randy Montana: I heard this on the new country night on my local station. 93.1 WPOC plays a lot of new country and I love hearing it! This talks about the thousands of faces of love...so sweet. Check out the music video too!
3. Miracles by Norwegian Recycling: This is from the "What's In My iPod" list from @CollegeTownLife on twitter. They featured a Memorial Day Weekend playlist and this is by FAR my favorite song on that list! It mashes up 16 songs...I had to look it up!
4. I Want Brooklyn Back by White Panda: another mashup. White Panda has an unmistakable formula...and whatever they're doing, they're doing it right. Give this baby a download and you'll rock out to it for summer. I'll never get sick of that Jackson 5 tune...toss in Jay-Z and you've got a summer JAM right there!
5. Ain't Nothin' Bout You by Taylor Swift: I featured this Brooks and Dunn cover on my facebook page a little while ago. Still love it from that B&D tribute concert that was televised awhile back!
6. Love Owes Me One by Ronnie Dunn: On that note of Brooks and Dunn, this is my favorite Ronnie Dunn solo song. It's not officially out until June 7, so check it out here on YouTube.
7. Dancin' Shaggin' on the Boulevard by Alabama: My friend have to tell me to stop shagging...it's becoming an issue. #sins I'm shagging in Maryland...I'll teach you...takers?
8. Somewhere Else by Toby Keith: I love this man. I love when this man puts out new songs. Downloaded? Immediately.
9. Dirt Road Anthem by Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert: YES, THIS IS THE REAL ONE. "Jack and Jim were a few good men..." always reminds me of the quote from Coyote Ugly too.
10. When the Sun Goes Down in Georgia by Corey Smith: Corey somehow always makes the list. This has been a feature in the past, and I still love it. Always has a little spot in my heart!
11. Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer by Billy Currington: Nothing says summer quite like this!
12. Rain is a Good Thing by Luke Bryan: Again, I never really get sick of this song. I was browsing my Summer 2010 playlist because the CD that was in my car bit the dust. I played it too much, almost everyday, gave it to too many people to copy, and ran that guy into the ground. Miraculously though, I didn't delete the playlist...what good foresight I had!
13. Shark in the Water by VV Brown: Nothing quite says "Degrassi the Boiling Point" like this song, and I probably heard it 8,000 times last summer but it's catching on again. My sister informed me I've been singing about 20% of the lyrics wrong, so it's almost like a new song, right?
14. On the Street Where You Live by Willie Nelson: You KNEW I was gonna bring out a classic. I can't help but smile when I hear this!
15. Coastal by Kenny Chesney: Really this song is just a stand-in for every single single on Hemingway's Whiskey. Also how can you not LOVE a CD named "Hemingway's Whiskey". Basically I love all the songs and this one is just so happy and summery! Catch a marlin, catch a tan, catch a local cover band...
Last night I watched Country Strong with 2 girlfriends and man-oh-man is this a sad one! We thought that it was going to be a much happier movie, but my favorite part was all the music. All of the songs were great! I had downloaded part of the soundtrack beforehand (before even seeing the movie) but I have an entirely new appreciation now! My favorite song was by Chiles Stanton, better known as Leighton Meester called "A Little Bit Stronger". It's a cover of a Sara Evans song, as you can watch here:
I'm definitely a fan of the LM version! The majority of the song had movie on top of it so we mostly heard dialogue but I was still lip-synching the words along with it!
Has anyone else seen this movie? What did you think, I'd love to hear other reviews!
xxKatie
PS: Tonight is my official Shag debut to the Shag community of Columbia. Wish me and my friends luck (and preferably, lots of it...). Thanks lovelies!!
No, it's not cold here (although I do complain about the weather often...)! I don't mean cold weather jackets. These are a different kind. They're for winners. They're usually green and highly coveted. The competition to get them lasts an entire week and resembles nothing like a reality TV show. Across the United States people (not only sports aficionados) know what they mean. They have a small yellow emblem on the pocket and are full of tradition and pride. Although sometimes they can belong to a game of a slow moving pace, these jackets aren't just given to anyone. You all MUST know what I'm talking about by now!!
It's MASTERS WEEK!
As I said on facebook yesterday, I'm so jealous of all the folks getting to go to Augusta this week! A lot of the Sports Management majors here at USC get to actually intern at the Masters since we're so close to Augusta! I have a few friends who are heading down to work it and I have a few other friends going to enjoy all the fun festivities!
Is anyone going to the Masters this week? What day? Have you ever been before? Do tell!!
This week was JAM packed with work and even a little teeny bit of play. I didn't speak to my parents for a whopping 4 days (that never happens, we speak everyday.) but I still have a lot to be thankful for:
1. A friend of mine who agreed to help tutor me. Big time.
2. One of my professors who FINALLY changed a grade from last semester. Although it took awhile, I'm still oh-so-thankful that he did it.
3. My econ professor for pushing our test to the Thursday after spring break instead of the Tuesday. We were all thankful.
4. Our shag class for being moved into a room with better A/C. Nothing says hot quite like the bottom floor of our gym's lack of A/C rooms.
5. My frog. I sleep with a stuffed frog. He didn't make it to Aruba and it was weird. He makes sleeping in my bed (away from my little fam) better.
6. Allergy medicine. Enough said. #SCpollenseemsworsethananywhereelse
7. For Glee's "Loser Like Me". Again, enough said. Y'all rock.
8. For next week to hopefully not be as difficult as this week. I really hope it's easier.
9. For polarized sunglasses. You make seeing the world so much easier. Once you go polarized, you never go back.
10. For St. Pat's yesterday. Even though I didn't participate fully in the festivities, I still had an awesome time and got to see Corey Smith. For only $12. I'm lucky. He was awesome.
SO HAPPY Brad picked Emily!! She was my favorite once the pool was a little more whittled down!! I didn't have time to watch the whole episode because I was doing homework, but I managed to sneak a peek of the proposal!
Anyone else on team Emily? Anyone on team Chantal??
The Silk Charmeuse Double Loop Headband is probably the most famous design by L. Erickson. I got super excited when I saw Santana from Glee rocking her own L. Erickson design in the Valentine's episode!
She sported a pink L. Erickson double loop headband a few times throughout the episode!
Look at this snapshot of Santana sorta in the background in the top left side! Maybe she'll be our new resident Prep on Glee...step over Rachel Berry!
I'm a HUGE L. Erickson fan, as I've written about the headbands before! Anyone else spot anything fun during Glee?
It's FINALLY Top Shot Two-sday! The second season of Top Shot starts tonight! My dad and I got really into TS over the summer and I ended up making some of my friends watch it with me on Sunday nights. I have been waiting for season two to start since the last one ended!
My early choice for the winner:
Daryl
I watched a preview about two weeks ago on all of the new participants and I think Daryl is gonna win. (I'm very rarely correct in these types of predictions, so I hope I don't sabotage his chances early on! If he gets out the first day, you all can laugh!) He recreated all the challenges from last season in his backyard, so I think he's gonna be pretty good.
I'm VERY much looking forward to tonight! I only watch a few shows during the week (Glee, Say Yes to the Dress, and maybe 1 other one?) and this is being added to the rotation because it's finally back!
I know I'm not the only Top Shot fan!! There's gotta be more of y'all out there!
I know February isn't the really most loved month by folks. You're possibly in the middle of the semester, things start to get rocky, spring is right around the corner but somehow not here yet, you might be reminded of all the reasons to NOT be or TO be single, New Years resolutions might just be starting to wear off, you might be pressured to have a special date with your sweetheart, you might (quite frankly but never in my case) get sick of the color pink, there are a multitude of reasons to not really like the month of February. BUT, in an effort to start my better attitude campaign, I'm trying to get #FabulousFebruary off the ground! Think of it, for you Twitter people, as an extended #FF (follow friday) full of positivity and encouragement! We're (or whoever wants to participate) will just use the #FabulousFriday tag whenever you come up with a pearl of wisdom, delightful tidbit or just something fun you want to share! If you're in, be sure to tweet at me so I know who to tell everyone else to lookout for! Leave a comment here or tweet @letsbepreppy today!
In the words of the ever #fabulous Patti Labelle, here goes nothin':
After months of this Glee hiatus, I'm READY for it to come back!! This next episode titled "Super Bowl Episodes" sounds like quite the "Thriller"...that's right! They're doing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" song and I can't wait! Both Katie Couric and Gwyneth Paltrow will be in the episode as well!! Also Kurt's boyfriend and Coach Beiste will be returning! I'm ready to get through that Super Bowl game so I can see Glee! Such a Gleek, but who's with me!?!
