Bedding on a Budget: College and Beyond

This is a sponsored post. All opinions, however, are my own and that of The Caro Diaries. 

Every Spring, I get a little itchy to clean up and pack up my room, especially since I've been at college. This year was no different, except I had 10x more things. You don't realize just how much stuff you have until you start packing it up during your spring cleaning.

I moved my things out of my dorm room and into a storage unit towards the end of the summer, and I can't tell you how many trips I had to make. It's scary just how much stuff accumulates over the years. But this spring, I was fed up of seeing my room looking the same. I looked around one day and it just looked drab, boring. I've had the same grey, red and white DKNY bedding since freshman year, and I was ready for a change. And that means new bedding and new crafts, like those Lilly letters above my bed (I'll be sharing how I made those soon!).

As a college girl on a budget, the last thing I wanted to do was shell out the big bucks for new bedding. I love the look of Pottery Barn's white duvets, but at that price, it wasn't exactly college budget friendly. So when I discovered Bedding Style, and saw their wide selection at all different price points, I knew I hit the bedding jackpot. 

I found the perfect duvet cover (also available as a comforter!) (c/o) that checked off everything that I wanted: budget-friendly, white, comfortable, and not too boring. The pleated design on the bedding gives it a little something extra, but still looked clean, classy and young. I also snagged one of Bedding Style's down comforters (c/o), and to tell you the truth, not sure how I get out of bed every morning. 

I didn't trust myself too much with the white bedding though, and stuck with my grey Calvin Klein sheets from my original bedding set, because white sheets and white comforter is just an accident waiting to happen. 

Adding the perfect navy Vera Wang pillow (c/o) and a red quilted pillow that I picked up from Home Goods, it was the perfect way to start Spring. 

I wish I had known about Bedding Style when I was an incoming freshman because it probably would have made my move-in a whole less stressful between my constant trips to Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Goods and every other store that carried bedding in a 15 mile radius of my campus (#internationalstudentproblems). 

The nice thing is that it isn't just for college students, and I can see their selection fitting in everywhere from dorm rooms to new apartments to my parent's house. There really is something for everyone - even boys! 

Now let's just hope that I manage to keep this clean for the next year, and finally steam out the wrinkles in my bedding (how embarrassing!) at some point when I get back to campus for senior year (ew vom!). 

Have you heard of Bedding Style before? 

DIY Engagement Basket

Whoa. Hey there. Remember me? Well, my name is Caroline and I occasionally blog over here. I say occasionally because apparently I don't do it often anymore, but I promise I'm working on that.

Anyways, you may have noticed that I'm the maid of honor for my sister's wedding. He proposed over Christmas break and we celebrated their love, but the tradition in my community is that the girl doesn't wear her ring until it's blessed by a priest at their engagement party. So three months later, I found myself on a plane flying home on a Wednesday night to spend a couple days organizing and getting ready for the engagement party.

And let me tell you, it was fantastic! We danced all night, celebrated and diedddd when he got down on one knee in front of all of her family and friends to finally put the ring on her finger. I think she blacked out because she couldn't believe it was happening - me either. I was on the verge of tears haha!

The hardest part about being a Maid of Honor (or Maid of Dishonor, as she sometimes calls me) from afar is not being able to be there with her for all the decisions. I had to help choose engagement invitations and thank you cards over the phone, we discussed the bridal retinue over group message, and we started planning bits and details of her bridal shower over speaker phone while my other sister and I road tripped. So when I headed home for the engagement party, I wanted to show her that I supported her and was still thinking about her and her journey even though I was thousands of miles away and dealing with school amongst other things. So, I decided to make her an engagement basket and I can't tell you how easy it was.

I started with a simple basket - you can pick them up almost everywhere, but I've found some cheaper options at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Joanne's and Michael's. It's entirely up to you what you want to throw in there, but I'll give you a few ideas and show what I threw in mine. 

I knew I wanted to include some of our favorite wedding-themed movies in the engagement basket, so adding Bridesmaids was a no-brainer because it's one of our favorite comedies and it's perfectly wedding themed (and hysterical!). Growing up, we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding at the movies as a family, and laughed at how similar they were to our own Lebanese family, and we always joke and quote the movie on a regular basis. So I knew I needed to include it in the basket as well.. 

It wouldn't be an engagement basket without wedding planning books, obviously. When I met Carley Roney last summer, I was so inspired by her story and what she does at the XO Group, so when I was searching for planning books and found some of the knot's books, I knew I needed to include them. I picked the ultimate wedding planner, and the book of wedding lists because I figured they covered everything that you really needed when it came to planning a wedding, and I was so right! Between the two, everything and more are covered and discussed. 

And what engagement basket would be complete without a fun way to show off your new status. I saw this feyoncé sweater online and knew my diva of a sister would love it, and she 100% does - I mean, how could you not?!

Topped with a picture frame with a photo of her and her fiancé, the basket was complete and well-received. Can we just say best Maid of Dishonor EVER?! Now go forth and make one of your own for all of your engaged friends.. the season is coming!