College Roadtrip 2014

Hello everyone! If you've wondered why I've been so absent from the blog world lately, it's because I just moved back to college! The last two weeks have been spent shopping for dorm supplies, packing up my entire room, and making the trip back to my school!

You may have some questions, so hopefully this will answer them!

I attend the University of Alabama, and even though school doesn't start for another 3 weeks, I had to move in early for RA training (yes, I'm an RA this year!). I'm a sophomore and I'm majoring in Art and minoring in French and Entrepreneurship.  My dorm is more like an apartment: I have three roommates and we share a living room, kitchen, and two bathrooms, but we each have our own bedroom. I will do an in-depth dorm tour when I have everything unpacked and set up!

I made the trip to move in on Tuesday. I had to have two cars to fit all of my stuff (so much for trying to pack light), so my mom drove with me. She left late that afternoon and then I was on my own! It's always hard saying goodbye to my family, and although it was slightly better than last year, it still wasn't easy. At least this year things are more familiar for me, and I don't have to figure out and get used to everything.

Since I had to move in early, I'm the only one in my dorm for a while. It was a little strange being completely on my own (because last year when I moved into college, all my roommates were already there)- but I'm actually enjoying it. I spent my first day alone unpacking. I took a break in the afternoon to walk around campus and go to the mail center to pick up a letter. I ended the day by going to visit some friends on campus that night.

I made a short video (like I did last year) to document moving in!

ps.  I have a packed schedule for RA training the next few weeks, so I might not be blogging as often as usual (but I do have a few pre-made posts that I might share). I'll be back as soon as I can! xoxoJordan

first year of college

I finished my first year of college, I am officially a sophomore now. During my last few days before I moved out, I brought my camera everywhere and filmed the things I did. Since I made a video documenting moving into college, I decided to make another one documenting moving out.

It is crazy and exciting and bittersweet and slightly frightening that I only have 3 years left until I have to figure out what I want to do next with my life. I cannot sum up everything that happened the past year in this short paragraph, but I will say that despite all the moments that I was overwhelmed with stress and wanted to tear my hair out, all the amazing experiences make up for that. I really love college, and I wouldn't change anything.

Now that I'm home, I'm looking forward to blogging regularly again. I have some pretty exciting projects planned for Stellaire, so keep an eye out for those!

Stay lovely ♥

Christmas dorm party

As our last big hurrah before hiding away all weekend to study for finals, my roommate Ashley and I threw a Christmas party in our dorm Friday night. We invited around ten of our friends, so it wasn't a huge party, but it was fun nonetheless.

Throwing a party in our dorm meant we had to get thrifty and crafty, so if you're a fellow college student like us, maybe you can use some of these ideas to put together your own Christmas party!


Ashley brought a small Christmas tree from home, it's so pretty and festive! She also brought a small Christmas village that you can see set up on the window sill. Ever since Thanksgiving, we've made paper snowflakes anytime we're bored, so we've used them to decorate our window.


We made some snacks, because food always makes it a party.


We set up a little hot chocolate basket, with marshmallows and mini candy canes! We stole borrowed some coffee cups from the dining hall so people could make their own hot chocolate.


Mistletoe is quintessential to a Christmas party, so of course we needed some for our party. I printed out a sprig and hung it above our kitchen.


Towards the end of the night when it was just a few of us left, we had a spontaneous "snowball" fight (we started throwing mini marshmallows around). It was so much fun (although we are still finding marshmallows hidden around the room)!


I really loved our Christmas party, it was the perfect end to our semester! This week is finals week, so I've spent the past few days studying like crazy. As soon as this week is over, I have some crafty Christmas posts planned, so keep an eye out for those!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful December so far, and good luck to all who have exams!

college life

I've been at school for more than 2 weeks now, and I've finally found the time to photograph a dorm tour! The lighting isn't very good, so these photos are going to be highly processed.

First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who sent me kind words these past few weeks, you have helped me more than you know! ♥

So on August 17th, I drove 3.5 hours to my university for move-in day. My family came to help me unpack and get settled into my new home. We walked around the campus a little, and then it was time to say goodbye. Just to say that it was hard is an understatement. Because once my family left, I was on my own for real.

Luckily, I already knew one of my roommates (we are friends from high school), so we kept ourselves busy and explored a little.


The type of dorm I am living in is like a little apartment. I share it with three other girls; we have a living room, a tiny kitchen, two bathrooms, and each of us has our own bedroom. I am so grateful I was able to get this type of dorm because I get the best of both worlds; I get to share it with other people, but at the end of the day I have my own room to go to.


As you can see, I chose the lavender comforter! (Remember this post?) I brought a lot of decorations from my old bedroom at home.


I have lots of string lights hanging up because it's so much nicer than the florescent lighting (it makes my room look a lot cozier too!).


There is a little alcove on the other side of my room for my desk. I've hung up some pictures and decorations, and strung some garland up above.


Here's another view of the wall above my desk.


My friend Allison gave me this adorable little kitty that sits next to me at my desk.


I've lined my windowsill with a few odds and ends.


This is our living room. We've tried to make it look a little homier by hanging up string lights, curtains, a clock, and adding a few other things like picture frames and a throw blanket.


And now about college life.

Classes started a few days after I moved in. This semester I'm taking: French, 3D Design, Astronomy, PreCal, and a fine arts class where I get to attend different art events in my city (plays, concerts, symphonies, etc...) and write about it. I really love all of my classes. I have not declared a major yet, so I just registered for classes in things that I'm interested in.

Since I moved in, I have met so many new people. Everyone is so friendly, you can just walk down the hall and become friends with whoever you pass. Most days I meet my roommate and a bunch of other new friends for lunch, it's a lot of fun getting to hang out with a big group of people. We've gone out into town a few nights for dinner, when we're ready for a break from dining hall food. My campus is huge and beautiful, I love walking everywhere. There are several artsy clubs and organizations that I'm planning on getting involved in, I'm really excited about them. I have no time to be bored here. When I'm not working on homework, there are so many fun things to do, like zumba and yoga classes at the gym, movie nights with friends, ballroom dancing lessons (yes, my roommate and I actually signed up for that!), exploring the campus/city, and so much more!

College life is great. I'm so excited for everything that is in store for me these next four years!

 
College Roadtrip from Jordan Clark on Vimeo.

And finally, here is a short video of move-in day, my university, and my new home. ♥

ps. The video is better in HD ;)

many goodbyes

Tomorrow (well, more like in a few hours since it is now midnight) I am moving out of my parents house and into a dorm on my college campus. I have spent the last few days packing away my life and I have learned one thing: do not leave packing to the last minute. Nevertheless, I finished packing everything without having a mental breakdown (thanks to my mom for guiding me through everything).

Are you wondering how the picture of those delicious milkshakes are relevant? My two best friends and I had our last night out a few days ago. Bittersweet is the perfect word to describe it. We had so much fun, but saying goodbye was hard.

Allison, Loli, and I; our last adventure... for now!

I've had to say many goodbyes lately; to my piano and guitar teachers, my friends, the sweet little children I babysit, and just to the way of life here. But of course the hardest will be tomorrow, when I have to say goodbye to my family. I've moved around so much during my childhood that starting over in a new town is not that hard for me. But I've never lived anywhere without my parents and siblings, that will take some adjusting to.



I'm trying not to be too sad about leaving, because I have so many things to look forward to. I am super excited to start college and meet new people and go on new adventures. And of course you will get to hear all about that.

And do not fret! Stellaire is not going anywhere! :) Even college cannot stop me from blogging.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! ♥