Orange Crush

 Today I went for a lovely stroll around the Orange Circle. For Chapman students and Orange residents, this is pretty much the center of town and Orange County's antique shopping equivalent to Mecca. Being a polite young lady I asked permission before taking any photos of shops. Some shopkeepers politely declined and others were blatantly rude (I'm talking to you Laurenly) but hopefully you will find Orange just as charming as I do!

The famous Old Town fountain. Chapman University students frequently reminisce about the 'good old days' when Undie Run actually included splashing around in the historic pool. Nowadays the fountain is just a great place to sit and eat a cupcake from the Perfect Circle or sip a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (there are two in the Circle!). 

Heavenly Hostess is one of my favorite shops. They kindly allowed me to photograph their products and I absolutely love their whole tongue in cheek homage to the Stepford Wives!

The Heavenly Hostess specializes in hand made aprons, tunics, and house dresses! They are flirty and girly and so much fun!

For the dorm room, obviously.

Cute cupcake decoration sets! I hate that having DG on our campus has made wearing anchors illegal for anyone not affiliated. I love nautical nonsense!

Don't these look cute?! My roommates and I are cupcake and baking fiends! 

What a great idea for a birthday party! If they had this set in a mermaid motif I would have walked out with it on the spot.

A cute little sitting area outside of Fresh Produce!

The Filling Station is one of the most popular breakfast spots in the Circle. Chapman students usually only eat here when parents are in town because it's a little pricey for a casual breakfast but it always seems to be full of customers.

I'm super bummed that the Perfect Circle Cupcakery didn't allow photo shoots becuase their interior is divine. Imagine if you will Tiffany blue walls, fancy scrolled cupcake artwork, and a whole homage to Audrey Hepburn! The Perfect Circle was featured on Food Network's Cupcake Wars and makes some pretty delish treats at about 3 bucks a cake.

XO She Wolf

Tuck it In, Show it Off

Kiel James Patrick Guilford's Obedagget Docks

Kiel James Patrick is like your wardrobe's new boyfriend. You just can't get enough of him and you kind of want to bring him home to your parents because you think he's cute and wonderful and they'll like him. Everyone is jealous of your boyfriend. And he makes you feel good about your butt.

Needlepoint belts. Is there any better look for pastel pants and button down shirts? The more playful and personal the needlepoint pattern, the more dashing the gentleman!

Smathers and Branson Mermaid Needlepoint Belt
Yes I am obsessed with mermaids. I want this belt SO badly. 
Note to all readers who have oodles of cash to buy me unnecessary accessories: This belt is at the top of the list!

Smathers and Branson Navigation Needlepoint Belt

I found this fun nautical rope belt this summer at Monelle on Church Street in Burlington, VT. The whale hook is a fun little accent that works well with all of my summer gold pieces. 

Two of my favorite belts. The gold bow belt was a great find at Nordstrom and the skinny blue belt is a remnant of my Abercrombie and Fitch fashion faux pas. The leather fasteners make it a classic prep piece so I don't feel so much like a high school student.

Classic and braided brown leather belts. I wear these every single week. Paired with jeans or white shorts. Practically my pants' best friends.

My loud and fun collection of printed belts. Although they don't "go" with any outfit per se I still seem to find ways to work their magic into my closet. Madras and lobsters--need I say more?

Ralph Lauren Rugby Leather Pouch Belt

As fall strolls on over to the city of Orange, I contemplate what kind of belts folks with real seasons wear in cooler months. My intuition (and a lil bit of RL research) nods toward leather and earthy colors.

Ralph Lauren's très chic Collection Polo Match Brass Buckle Belt 

Equestrian elements are always in for autumnal ensembles.

I just want to play around with boots, belts, blazers, and scarves right now! Oh to have real seasons! Some day!

XO She Wolf

You're Invited to a Tea Party

While I'm working on my next post (belts!) I thought this would amuse and inspire a few of my blogging chums. 

Don't forget to send an RSVP my way in cursive!




Thanks are due to one Sammi Muther who reminded me just how much I love this video! I learn so much every time I watch it!

Champagne Wishes, Chaptown Dreams

This post is dedicated to all of my Camp Dudley at Kiniya friends who will probably never come and visit me in California. Here's to the next four years playing dentist on your campuses!

Memorial Hall is one of Chapman's most recognizable buildings. It's been featured in several ads and was used in the movie Accepted.

The Chapman Arch

The campus side of the C.C. Chapman statue. The oranges on the orange tree are fair game!

Inside of Beckman Hall.

A little taste of just how many posters are up around campus. We definitely don't lose too much sleep over deforestation.

The Atallah Piazza and the Leatherby Libraries.

Inside the new Student Union. I doubt I'm the only one who thinks this place is going to need a makeover in 10 years. The designer picked a look that is way too trendy and will start to show it's age faster than more traditional designs. That's Chapman for you.

All around campus are busts of famous individuals and a ridiculous amount of sculpture. Seriously, if great universities were chosen based upon the number of fountains and sculptures/sq ft we would be the best school in the world.

Our fountain has a water show and a light show at night. What else is our ridiculous tuition for?

The big steel ball fountain across from the pool. Inspired by the big ball fountain in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. Most days there are students swimming and lounging in the water. 

The view from the Hashinger Science building. I absolutely love the rose garden outside! It always smells so great around campus!

Not such a bad place to go to school, I think.

XO She Wolf

Little WASP Desk

My bulletin board has an assortment of memories rather than anything particularly useful. Note the little seahorse at the top right corner. My friend Taylor gave me this little guy as a gift for Christmas one year and apparently it is an actual seahorse that has been sheathed in metal!

Next to my desk is my bookshelf. Clockwise from top left: all of my text books for the fall semester; my personal shrine to the one and only Lilly Pulitzer; my roommate's sole square of storage which I begrudgingly allow; my serious documents and career aspirations corner; my pleasure reading and lifestyle guidebooks; and my sudoku games/notebooks/recent copy of Martha Stewart niche.

A close up of the Lilly Shrine. Notice the photo album which actually holds snapshots from Summer 2011 at Camp displayed inside!

In a cute room, a cute trash can is a must, natch. I found this treasure at the one and only Home Goods.

Chapman University provides sturdy wooden desks for all of its apartments residents and I've done my best to splash a little bit of personality on its industrial style. On the left is a cherished photo of my Grandpa and me (he's quite a looker!), next is my little stack of preppy gospel, behind is my Lilly Pulitzer magnet board with my Tri Delta initiation certificate (for an Alpha Class member, it really should be framed, but for now Lilly will suffice), and in front is a tin of (likely inedible) lobster pâté from my roommate (Thanks Kelsey!).

I believe the above reading should be required for every young lady aspiring to be fabulous and a functioning member of society. From the bottom up: Take Ivy is essentially photos of classic prep style photographed at our nation's finest universities during the peak of prep culture, The Camp Dudley at Kiniya Hymnal holds fond memories of sunday nights at camp (who knew singing hymns would be everyone's favorite camp tradition?), True Prep by Lisa Birnbach should be read cover to cover and committed to memory, Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers was a gem my dad found in his library and I still love thumbing through the illustrations, on top is a recent addition to the list which I received last night from my Little Chloe and I can't wait to read!


Thanks are owed for allowing me to deviate from my master "7 Days of Accessories" plan. I feel bad just using photos stolen from Google so I thought a little personal touch would help remedy this lack of personality!

XO She Wolf

Punctual Prep

Alliance Chronograph

My very first big girl watch was pretty similar to the Victorionox Swiss Army watch above. I spied Lindsay Lohan wearing a classic timepiece in The Parent Trap and took some serious notes. My first foray into preppy accessories was definitely a success! I love the twist featured in the Alliance, the watch that I have has a dark brown leather strap whereas the honeyed tobacco hue above just screams "I eat my lunches al fresco, thank you."

Red Monkey Lambskin L7 Double Wrap-Beige

Back in middle school, my older and cooler high school brother purchased a Red Monkey strap style watch. Envious as I usually am, I trolled the site for more feminine styles and fell in love with the skinnier strapped L7. The Beige goes with everything and actually is a pretty nice piece that I would feel fashionable wearing on either coast.

Red Monkey Lambskin Triple Wrap L7-Orange and Baby Blue

The Orange and Baby Blue L7 is a bit of a crazy midsummer's night dream for fashionable preps. I love love love the triple wrap and the colors are so South Beach summertime. Whenever I see this watch I just imagine it popping off of a nice tan wrist against a clean white button up. Divine.

Timex 1600

Quite the trend at Chapman U. is the boyfriend watch. Classic faces and leather straps are certainly reminiscent of daddy's watches, but when paired with a lovely shift dress (as I see so many of my sisters do at Sunday meetings) it can be a quite feminine accessory.

Michael Kors Oversized Tortoise Watch

Michael Kors Round Horn Glitz Watch

This season's staple has to be horn and tortoise Michael Kors. If I had a dollar for every girl on campus I've seen with a MK tortoise watch, I'd probably have a few more MK watches in my personal collection. What I don't understand (which I won't even dignify with a photo) is the whole Rose Gold trend. Tacky. Gaudy. Awful.

Dear Chapman ladies, please refer to the gospel of Lisa Birnbach and refrain from such fashion atrocities. You should know better.

My own little Michael Kors lovely. Unfortunately I am so last season with the white and gold, but honestly, I still love the effect on a nice tan arm! And as we all remember from The Blind Side, white watches are an exception to the "No white after Labor Day" Rule. Thank you Sandra Bullock for keeping my fashion faux pas stylish!

Most days of the week I sport a sporty little Timex ironman. I've gone through about 15 of these watches in the past 10 years or so. Honestly, with the number of hours I'm in the pool or sweating my buns off in the gym/on the field, I don't have the luxury to wear any schmancier time pieces. I just need to know the time and I need to know it doesn't mind getting wet.

XO She Wolf

Scarves!

My personal scarf collection is an ode to the pashmina. As far as I'm concerned, scarves and pashminas are for all seasons and for all outfits. Obviously they can keep a cold neck warm and pull together a fall ensemble but they also add a splash of color and a little bit of sass to a spring or summer look.

My personal favorite is the Lilly Pulitzer Tri Delta Murfee scarf. I am so proud to wear my letters in such a classy and fashionable way! I probably don this beauty once a week and never get tired of it. Plus it is soft! Totally a worthy sorority investment! (Yes, that is totally me skipping like a little girl on Bid Day just a few weeks ago!)

Finally, is the often underrated silk scarf. One of these days I'll be making a boat load of money and buy a real Hermès. But for now, I'll stay satisfied with my fabulous little collection.

XO She Wolf