Move In Playlist

Well, today I'm heading to school for my senior year (which I'm refusing to acknowledge at this point). Besides a minor existential crisis, this means that today also includes a 6 hour drive and a few hours of hauling boxes due to a major case of chronic overpacking. So what's the best way to get through mindless hours on the road and jelly arms? Music obviously. Here's some tunes I've been listening to recently that are prepped to carry me through day 1 of senior year. Click through the image or the link below to follow this Spotify playlist for yourself and listen along with me!

{Click to listen here!}

Ahh can you believe school is already starting back up?! Crazy! What are you listening to?

Emily 

Get the Cool Girl Look: Silk Scarves

{via}

If there's one trend I've seen in Europe that I can seriously get behind, it's scarves. Silk scarves are back people. And with a vengeance. A simple, chic, and ultra-cool vengeance. Leandra Medine over at Man Repeller has also been rocking silk scarves in creative ways for a while now and everyone has just started to get the bright silky picture. I'm lovin' it. Throw one of these scarves over an otherwise simple outfit and you're ready for NYFW, or even better Milan Fashion Week (shoutout to the temporary hometown)! 

Everyone has a few of these square scarves tucked in the back of their closet, or their mom sure does, but with absolutely no clue how to wear it. Well, here's your guide and it's simple: Any way you can imagine. Around your neck and over a striped shirt, tied on your wrist, wrapped around the strap of a handbag, substituted for a belt, go wild. Think monochrome or mismatching patterns. Seriously everything goes. 

{1, 2, 3, 4}

I'm dying over this trend and if I bring one thing back from Italy I'm determined for it to be a bright silk scarf. Vintage scarves are all over the Milano markets every weekend and not to mention in so many beautiful store windows. So while you might not be in Europe, you're still in luck. I've got link after link here so you can snatch one up yourself! 

If you're looking to spend a splurge on one of these timeless accessories head to sites like {My Theresa}, {Liberty London} or go for the gold {Hermes}! Want something extra fun? I'm practically drooling over this square scarf {here} by Cleo. They have the spunkiest prints and are not completely unreasonably priced! See the site {here}! Otherwise... you can get the same look with a $22 satin scarf from ASOS {here}! Gosh, I love that store. Praise!

{links}

Another tip: scout your local vintage stores and summer marketplaces. Look around and you can find one-of-a-kind scarves at prices that should be considered theft! Now, shameless plug for my actual hometown of Lexington's {Street Scene} and Memphis' {Flashback}! 

So what are you thinking of this style? Have the guts to do it? If you've written a post previously showing your styling of one of these ultra-cool silk scarves link it below, I'd love to see! Go scarves!

Emily 

Blogger Postcard Travels Linkup: Ciao from Italy!

Hi guys! And greetings from the Blogger Postcard Travels Linkup! Bloggers have been doing traveling to some amazing places this summer so why not show them off?! I'm actually writing today from Rome, Italy! Actually, I've spent the whole summer living and working abroad in Italy, Milan to be exact! It's been a crazy adventure but so very worth it! Italy is everything I imagined it to be: amazing pasta, fast Vespas, beautiful buildings, slow waiters and gorgeous suits and ragazzi! But it is also so much more: incredible hospitality, views that will take your breath away, gelato that will give you life again and a constant sense of humble yet passionate Italian pride.

I've gotten the chance to do some super cool things and see coastlines that I will be dreaming about for years so today I'm happy to give you a few snapshots from my summer in the most beautiful country on earth!

Verona, Italy: Romeo, oh Romeo! Yes I shamelessly had to take a photo on Juliet's balcony!

Lake Como, Italy: There's a reason this place was just voted the "most beautiful lake in the world"!

  

Lago Maggiore: With Switzerland in the background, this is one of the prettier views I've ever seen

Cinque Terre, Italy: The colors, the coast, the pesto oh my!

Venice, Italy: Can it really be called a trip to Italy without seeing Venice? Wow, this place was as beautiful as I had imagined!

Burano, Italy: This place looks like a fairy tale, a very colorful fairy tale. Now ranked on my top 5 places to visit in the world!

Florence, Italy: I could have spent all day in the Uffizi Gallery. Oh wait, I did..

And just being in the city of Milan I've gotten to do some pretty neat things! I've visited the World Expo, eaten at Wes Anderson's cafe Bar Luce, visited the Missoni exhibit and of course climbed on top of the Duomo!

Anna Akhmatova had it right when she said, "Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life". I know this place will be with me long after I leave and I know that it will be waiting for me patiently till I return!

Check out where other bloggers have been traveling to this summer! Click below to find the links to the rest of the posts in the Blogger Postcard Travels Linkup! Also use the hashtag #bloggerpostcardtravels to see all of their photos on Instagram! Ciao ragazze!

An InLinkz Link-up

Friday Finds: Links I'm Loving

Hey hey hey it's Friday! Start it off right and click around from some Tom Hanks motivation, Tina Fey and Beyonce and the cutest print shop ever! Then tell me, what's up your sleeve for this weekend?!

{Link} // Tom Hanks is the coolest. Read this letter he wrote when he was 18 trying to get his "big break". Seriously how driven was he? It's no wonder he's a star. Rock on Hanks, rock on.

{Link} // Cara Delevingne, I'm feelin' for ya. On a recent interview with Good Day Sacramento, Cara got a brutally unfair treatment. Give the girl a break, we all get a little tired sometimes! I still love you Cara, and I'd like to think that counts for something!

{Link} // How many times do I post a Tina Fey link on Friday? Not enough! Well she's back and lip-syncing to Queen Bey. And it's #Flawless.

{Link} // Earlier this week I featured a print by Old English Company on my Instagram account {photo here}. I'm drooling over their original prints with sharp fonts and snappy quotes. Check out their site and get some for yourself!

{Link} // Speaking of Insta! I'm in Florence, Italy today and LOVING IT! Follow me on the gram to get a peak of the travels!

So some big weekend plans for you guys? Fill me in!
Emily

5 Reasons: Why Summer Internships are a MUST!

Today is my last day at my internship for this summer and it's definitely bitter sweet. It's also bitter sweet to look at this day as my last day as an intern hopefully ever. Now a rising senior in college, I've spent every summer since freshman year in high school interning for companies. I acknowledge this is pretty nerdy but I am admittedly a go-go-go kind of person who likes to be working and creative so for me, I've found internships to be incredibly rewarding. As I've continued year after year, I've gotten to see my own evolution as a working adult. (Scary!) But it really is truly incredible to see all of my previous experiences and the skills I've learned, both in internships and in the classroom, come full circle and apply in ways I never would have imagined. So while it may seem like a sacrifice to give away some of those precious, pressure-free days of summer, I have 5 reasons why it is absolutely worth it!

{Via Emily & Dot Instagram}

1. Build and develop your skills! // Throwing yourself into the work environment is the best way to start to develop practical and necessary skills for your future! My first week in my first internship I was learning how to cold call, code website pages and even file financial reports, all things I would have never been able to learn outside of the work environment. You also get the chance to apply knowledge that you've learned in the classroom and see the ways that these lessons apply to the real world.

2. Learn what you love, or more importantly, learn what you don't love! // Internships allow you to figure out what you like without the pressure of a sense of "career permanence". You can start to determine what industries you like to work in, what areas of business you enjoy or even the specific tasks that you find most interesting. This has been one of my biggest take aways from my wide array of interning experiences. One summer, I found myself interning in an industry that I wasn't exactly enthralled with but I realized that I loved all of the advertising and promotional projects that I was thrown every once in a while. I kept working hard through that summer and the next year looked for a job in the marketing sector and I couldn't have been happier, with both experiences! If it weren't for the first internship, I would have never learned how much I liked marketing and now I get to do it every day!

3. Get the most out of your summer! // It can seem like a sacrifice to give away some of your much deserved pool-time but for me, I've learned that summer internships actually help me take advantage of my summers. Internships force you to balance your time between work and play and I've found that it makes me much more productive! On my off-days I still get up in the morning, eat breakfast, take a run and truly start every day with a purpose rather than taking any of those precious sunny hours for granted. If you're truly worried, balance your summer with a part-time internship and get the best of both worlds!

4. Land hard to reach jobs! // It can be almost impossible to land an internship with a big name brand or an international company, but internships are your glimmer of hope! A lot of companies may not be hiring but many are very open to bringing a driven and enthusiastic intern on board. While you most likely won't be getting the benefit of a consistent paycheck, you're getting unparalleled experience and the chance of a lifetime!

5. Prep for your future! // It's all about experience and the only way to gain work experience, well, is to work! The easiest way to get your foot in the door is with an internship and many can result in the opportunity to continue climbing on up the ladder! Even if you don't see yourself in the company longterm, think about what you're gaining along the way: the great skills you're adding to your resume, all of your new networking contacts and even references for future job opportunities!

Are you interning this summer? What do you think about summer internships? Are they worth it?
Emily