Staying Classy on Vacation: A CL Guide!

Summer’s not over yet and there’s plenty of time for some vacations. If you’re heading off to the beach or traveling across seas, every CL girl should know her vacation etiquette! Here are some tips for when you’re traveling with a friend’s family instead of your own.

1. Be helpful!

Whether it’s packing up the car or carrying bags into the hotel, make sure you offer to help! Extra hands can go a long way during a vacation, especially when trying to save some time for more relaxing and fun activities!

2. Be Polite!

Minding your manners and saying please and thank-you are always good gestures. Your friend’s parents will also be impressed with the added gesture. Being polite can be the deciding factor between being invited to go on vacation again next year or not. Being polite also keeps the mood light and happy. Rudeness tends to add tension to the environment. Plus, being polite is just the classy thing to do!

3. Be Yourself!

If you’re not familiar with your friend’s family, you might feel a little bit uncomfortable or awkward when you first arrive. Being yourself is a great way to ease your own discomforts as well as allow the family to get to know you (I’m sure they’re just as nervous meeting you too!). Talking with your friend’s parents and siblings will also diminish some of the beginning awkwardness. Getting to know them and showing interest in them will allow you to fall into a routine with them. Once you feel comfortable around them, they’ll feel comfortable around you and you’ll be able to enjoy the vacation better!

4. Be Gracious!

At the end of the vacation thank your friend’s parents for taking you with them. Also it’s always nice to send them a thank-you card in the mail after the vacation. If you feel comfortable enough or know the family well, giving a thank you gift at the end of the vacation is also a nice gesture!

Following these few tips will surely help you have a fun care-free vacation with your friend and his/her family! Plus you’ll be classy and every CL girl wants to stay classy!

Do you have any vacation etiquette tips or advice? Have a story about vacationing with a friend’s family? Comment below!

Nicole Savitsky is a junior at DeSales University majoring in English and Communications. She loves going to the beach during the summer, especially with friends! She can usually be caught reading a book, trying to get a tan, or swimming in the ocean when she visits her favorite vacation spot!

8 things Co-eds Love about “Staycations”

College is fun, but sometimes you need a break. That’s what Spring Break is for! Whether it be a sweet escape to the Bahamas, a ski trip to Colorado, or a week-long stay at home, set your studies aside and forget about the stresses of everyday life. This is a vacation…enjoy!

Here are 8 things co-eds love about “staycations“:

1. You can sleep till whenever (in your own bed). There are no clocks to punch, no 9am classes to wake up for, no office hours to go to, so just sleep in and savor the comfy-ness of your very own bed, blankets, and surplus of pillows.

2. You can watch trashy TV reruns all day long. Think The Real Housewives, Millionaire Matchmaker, and Desperate Housewives.

3. You can eat delicious home-cooked meals. Start the day right with a plate full of chocolate-chip banana pancakes, indulge in homemade lasagna for dinner, and enjoy freshly baked cookies before bed.

4. You can catch up with your high school friends. Find out who’s dating who…go to the movies, go shopping, go bowling, etc.

5. You can bond with your family. Have family dinners, play scrabble, watch movies together, enjoy each other’s company.

6. You can take a trip to the beauty salon. Get a haircut and then a mani and pedi to match your new do.

7. You can do fun miscellaneous tasks. Make collages, print pictures to hang in your room, color, walk the dogs, write your favorite quotes on fancy paper…

8. You can do absolutely nothing. If you want to spend the entire day in your pjs, now is the time to do it! Sit back, relax, and live in the moment.

Erica Avesian is an intern at College Lifestyles (TM). She is a a communications major at the University of Michigan. You can find her at the gym, on the elliptical, reading Cosmo and listening to her “Look Good, Feel Good” playlist.

Packing my Suitcase the College Lifestyle’s way for ΔΔΔ’s Biennial Convention!!!

I LOVE traveling and going on trips and vacation, but I HATE packing.  The process itself is always frustrating, and I always do it incorrectly, and end up with multiple bags for just a one night trip, or I end up with a suitcase full of wrinkled clothing.  Now that I think of it, everyone I know hates packing.

This is what I normally look like as I pack for a trip.

Stressed. Confused.  A general mess.

But next Wednesday, I am leaving for ΔΔΔ’s Biennial Convention in Florida, and I am NOT going to let myself get to the point where I feel stressed out or crazy, and I am not going to pack too much, or not pack enough.  I am going to follow my list of packing tips that I have (unfortunately) learned the hard way.  You should too!

Christine’s Packing Tips:  Learned by Trial and Error

1. Make a list of exactly what you need
This avoids just throwing random clothes into your suitcase the night before, or forgetting to pack anything.  Plan each day of your trip, complete with shoes, accessories, and cosmetics.

2.  Choose “basic” items so that you can pack less
Basic items can be reused throughout your trip, so you can pack less!  Instead of bringing multiple pairs of shoes, bring just one pair of black heels that will match all of your outfits!

3. Pack dresses
This works if you are going to a business casual convention, like I am, or if you are going on a relaxing vacation!  Essentially, bringing dresses takes up less space, and they are easier to fold!

4.  Bring a purse with a long strap

While running around in the airport, it is hard juggling pulling a suitcase, holding a boarding pass, all while holding onto your purse, making sure that no one steals it.  For my trip, I am going to be using a purse that I can wrap across my body, so I won’t need to worry about it!

5.  Pack light…literally
Do not pack heavy items, such as boots, that will weigh down your luggage, and take up unnecessary room.  If you do need to pack something heavy, wear it on the trip!

6. Section items properly in your bag
I have experienced this in many trips:  on the first night of the trip, it comes time to go to bed, and I am too tired to unpack, let alone search through my luggage.  I just want put pajamas on, brush my teeth, and go to bed!!!  So, pack your bags so you can find what you need!  Put your panties in the compartments on the side of your bag, keep all outfits together, and for that first night, put your pajamas on top!

7.  Pack a cosmetic bag
It is always difficult finding all of your toiletries when they are thrown around in the black hole that is your luggage.  Putting your make up, tooth brush, and lotions in a separate bag makes it much easier to find everything!

8. Pack a bathing suit!

They do not take up that much room, and you never know when you will need it!  Chances are, even if you are going on vacation in the middle of December, the hotel you are staying in may have a pool or hot tub!

9. Keep accessories minimal
Think of bringing a few simple pieces that can be worn with many different outfits!  For example, pack pearls and plain gold earrings.  Leave those crazy magenta earrings that only work with one outfit at home!

10. Pack Febreeze and Anti-Wrinkle Spray

This is not an alternative to washing your clothing!  But no matter how carefully you fold your clothing, wrinkles while packing may be inevitable.  Also, while sitting in a suitcase for hours, your clothes may smell musty, and a little Febreeze can help!

Check out these cute, affordable BUSINESS CASUAL CLOTHES!!!
(And click on the picture to find where to buy them!!!)

The “Don’t Forget This” List:

You can always pick up a toothbrush at a drug store, but these are items to NEVER forget!

1. Cell phone (and charger!)

2. Medication

3. Identification (driver’s lisence, passport)

4.  Insurance card (Thank God I had mine when I got an ear infection while visiting Ocean City, MD  L)

Have a great trip!  Happy packing!!!

Christine Palaski is a proud sister of Delta Delta Delta at Adelphi University, where she is a nursing major.

Diary of the Traveling CL Interns: Lake Edition

I’ve been vacationing in Sun River, Oregon for the week and as part of our vacation, we decided to drive up to Crater Lake. It was such a cool experience, I had to share it with you all! Here are some fun facts about Crater Lake:

• Crater Lake gets its name because it was created by a volcano that erupted and left this giant whole in the Earth pretty much. Since it is surrounded by mountains that get lots of snow, that is where the water comes from, and also a small percentage of the water comes from rain.
• Crater Lake was discovered about 770,000 years ago. The first guys to discover it had to lower a boat down with a crane to the water from the top of the mountain since there was no trail to get down to the lake.
• At Crater Lake, you can hike down the trail and take a boat ride tour of the lake.
• Crater Lake is unbelievably blue & unbelievably clear. You can look off the boat into the water and see the bottom of the lake. It’s that clear.
• Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, and the 7th deepest lake in the world! Its deepest point is at  1,932 feet. The tour guide gave a great visual of just how deep the lake is: If you take the Eiffel Tower and put it on the bottom of the lake, then put the Empire State Building on top of that, and put the Statue of Liberty on top of them, you would still have about 100 feet left of the lake.
• The lake has a lot of really cool landmarks including Wizard Island, Llao Rock, and Skell Head. All of these were created from the volcano eruption which created the lake.

This is the view from the top of the mountain before you hike down!

This is the view from the side of the tour bus! Isn’t it beautiful!?

So, if you’re ever in Oregon you should definitely go check out Crater Lake! The hike up from the lake is kind of exruciating, but it’s well worth it to see this beautiful lake up close!

Miss Your College Friends? Great Ways to Keep in Touch this Summer!

With the summer finally here college kids across the country are packing up their dorm rooms and apartments that only leased through May and heading home for the warm months. While thoughts of the bright sun and a break from classes certainly sound exciting, the idea of leaving behind the great friends you have made over the past nine months definitely isn’t. One of the biggest adjustments young women have to make during college is learning how to balance your college friends with your home life. Here are some tips and suggestions to help maintain those friendships over the summer months.

 1. Letters, cards, and postcards!

Don’t ever underestimate the power of snail mail! While a status update or a bumper sticker on FaceBook proclaiming how much you miss your college girls is sweet, it just doesn’t quite have the same sentiment as a cute greeting card or a handwritten letter. Snatch up some cute stationary (I always rummage the $1 bins at Michaels Crafts stores for cute blank note cards!), stop by the post office and pick up a pack of stamps, and get writing! To make it extra personal, create your own greeting cards with a picture of you and your friends at Kodak.

 2. Care Packages

Along the same lines, but a little pricier, pack up mini care packages and send them to a few of your closest friends. Put in inexpensive things that would bring back memories of your times together. For example, one of my sorority sisters is interning in NYC this summer so I sent her a package of Oreo cookies with a jar of peanut butter to dip them in (one of our favorite not-so-healthy snacks!) and a package of cute post it notes to help her stay organized. I spent less than $10 on items, and it meant so much to her. Beware though, shipping can get expensive. Try and keep your items pretty light-weight. Jars of peanut butter, while delicious, tend to get heavy!

 3. Plan a Mini-Vacation

Have a free weekend? Look for cheap airline tickets on sites like www.expedia.com and www.travelocity.com or pack up your car and road trip to a college friend’s hometown for a couple of days. Spend the weekend getting to know a little more about your friend by meeting her family and friends and seeing her house and town. Or, if you’re strapped for cash and can’t afford travel expenses, invite a couple of your friends to come spend the weekend with you and your family in your own hometown.

 Helpful Tip* Be cautious in mixing new college friends with old friends from home. Be sensitive to the fact that there could be some jealousy. Not to say you shouldn’t introduce them, but make sure it’s in a situation where no one is going to feel like an outsider. Give equal amounts of attention, and steer clear of titles like “best-friend.” You’re lucky to have such fabulous friends, don’t let any of them feel like they’re less important than another!

 

How do you keep in touch with your friends when you’re away from them?

Anyone have any cute ideas you and your friends have used to stay close?