College Relationships Part 3: TEXTING

So many relationships these days are so focused around technology. It seems like flirting happens via text more than in person. With Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and other dating apps, it can feel like all relationships start between your two thumbs. Even relationships that start in person become social media relationships after a while.

I asked three of my guy friends from Wake Forest to answer some questions about dating and texting in college to help me in my third installment of College Relationships.

Who texts first?

Guy #1- “Not one girl has ever texted me first, so I text first. If a girl texts first that would be cool. I’d probably like her more if she did, because I like a girl that takes initiative. If a girl gives you her number a guy should text first. Guys are sometimes afraid to text because they don’t want to sound pushy. But, if a girl texts first then I have the go ahead.”

Guy #2- “Guys text first. Girls shouldn’t text first. Guys should be the ones initiating.”

Guy #3- “I agree. Guys text first. It would be nice but rare. We text first because there is a stigma that guys have to text first.”

How long does it take you to respond between texts?

Guy #1- “I respond whenever I have the chance. I am not one of those guys to play games.”

Guy #2- “I don’t respond right away. I respond 5-6 minutes between texts, if you respond right away it makes you seem thirsty, but it also depends on the circumstance and situation.”

Guy #3- “Depends on what you’re doing, how drunk you are, how cool you are trying to be.”

What happens if a guy texts you to come to a party? What does it mean?

Guy #1- “It implies he wants to hang out with you in a non-one-on-one, less intimate setting, it takes the edge off of things. Parties are where hookups happen so it could also mean he wants to hook up. Unless he’s your friend, but then again guys and girls cannot be friends. There is a 99% chance if he texts you to come to a party, he’s into you.”

Guy #2- “If a guy texts a girl to come to a party, the girl is getting hit on, and he wants to get with her. I rarely ask a girl to come to a party to just hang out. If I initiate and text her, 75% of the time, the night will end in something more.”

Guy #3- “It means I want to hook up with her. But I do also ask friends to go to parties.”

How to tell if it is a “booty call” text? What does it look like?

Guy #1- “‘You up?’ It’s usually a text later at night. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘What are you up to?’ ‘Do you want to hang out?’”

Guy #2- “I always text ‘yoooooo.’ If I’m texting someone late at night, they can tell what my intentions are.”

Guy #3- “’Yo, where u at?’ Or ‘Hey’ late at night.”

How can you tell he is interested over text?

Guy #1- “When I’m texting someone I’m not interested in; I’m just texting for communication purposes. It’s very basic. But if I’m into her, I ask questions about her and try to get to know her, ‘Hi, how are you? With an emoji.’ But don’t take my advice, I’m a horrible texter.”

Guy #2- “I text her a lot, and I am quick with response times. I will tell her I like her in person. But over text, I make the conversation more about her than me, and I try to sound like a nice guy.”

Guy #3- “I send her funny memes via text. If I like you, I will send you memes. I try to make the girl laugh as much as possible.” 

What to do if he leaves you unread?

Guy #1- “Believe it or not I leave girls unread because sometimes I don’t know what to say back and I don’t know how to reply. Girls shouldn’t panic, it’s not an end-all-be-all of the relationship or flirtation. Some guys play the game of leaving a girl unread, but he could just be busy.”

Guy #2- “I will leave her unread even if I want the conversation to continue just to see if she double texts. If she does, then she’s the girl for me.”

Guy #3- “If the conversation ended, I leave her unread or if she says ‘ha okay,’ because I don’t know how to respond to that.”

How do you feel about emojis?

Guy #1- “I appreciate emojis, they show your engaged, and into the conversation. ‘Lol’ with a smiley face is always better than just ‘lol.’”

Guy #2- “I never use emojis. Only sometimes with my mom.”

Guy #3- “No emojis for me.”

Click here to read Part 1 and Part 2 of College Relationships.

J.Crew Factory bow tank | J.Crew Factory blue wrap skirt | J.Crew pearl hoop earrings | Jack Rogers pink and gold sandals

The Best Restaurants on Long Island

Let’s talk about food. Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day, so I thought I would share with you a list of my favorite restaurants on Long Island and pretend that I am a tourist!

La Bottega-Roslyn

The best salads, paninis, and pizza.

Super casual restaurant.

Great for lunch or dinner!

Kyma-Roslyn

A place where you go to be seen.

Really great Greek food, huge portions.

I recommend just getting appetizers and splitting them.

Lively bar.

Gatsby’s Landing-Roslyn

Really great Italian food, with fresh pasta.

A beautiful restaurant.

Villa Milano-Manhasset

The best cheese pizza you will ever taste.

Manhasset Bagels-Manhasset

The thickest, chewiest, most delicious bagels you will ever have on Long Island.

The Wharf Ice Cream-Port Washington

The creamiest and most delicious homemade ice cream around.

And it is right on the water, so have your ice cream with a view!

Harbor Q-Port Washington

Better barbeque then down south.

Tender meat that falls off the bone.

Huge portions and great barbeque sauce.

KPacho-New Hyde Park
Really delicious Mexican food in a fun and trendy atmosphere.

Huge bar.

Delicious guacamole.

Cotton candy delivered at the end of every meal.

J.Crew Factory square neck pom-pom blouse | ASOS white and black polka dot shorts | J.Crew multicolor earrings | Jack Rogers white sandals

Marco Island Beach Vacation Featuring my NEW ASOS Shorts

I just had the most relaxing and enjoyable vacation.

It has been two years since I went down to my summer house in Marco Island, Florida. After Hurricane Irma in 2017 took a direct hit on Southwest Florida, the tiny white sand beached Island was destroyed.

The apartment that I spent years playing cards and playing with puzzles and with toys was in need of a major overhaul after the front door to the balcony had flown off with the 185mph winds from the hurricane.

For the past two years my parents had flown down many times to meet with the contractors, take apart the unit and then rebuild it.

Two years later and it is finally done, and my little house is back to being my second home.

I always feel so at peace when I am down there. Life is so relaxed, so quiet and stress free. Time slows and you are forced to wear casual clothes, wear your hair natural and sit in a bathing suit all day. Life down there on the small island is so different from life up on the big island of Manhattan or Long Island.

I had the best vacation with my family. I did not study (even though I lugged my LSAT book all the way down with me). I answered emails and worked on some blog collaborations. I chatted with friends. But mostly, I sat on the beach in a bikini with my family catching up on Vogue and Cosmopolitan.

Zara white off the shoulder crop top ON SALE | ASOS light blue high waisted shorts | Tory Burch double pearl studs | Rocksbox Melinda Maria Isla ring | Jack Rogers white sandals

Before I flew down, I knew I was going to be wearing shorts for the week. I went through my closet and was not amused by my choices. I stepped back from my closet, sat down at my desk, and realized that my shorts did not excite me anymore because they were tight, uncomfortable and not flattering. I have come to realize that a lot of my clothes are ill fitting, as I discuss more in this blog post.

I figured out that I will not wear clothes that are uncomfortable or not flattering because they sit in my closet. My J.Crew 3-inch chino shorts that I wore all throughout high school and three years of college are no longer my go-to summer staples.

They are super preppy and cute, don’t get me wrong, but being a really tall person, they cut my legs off at a weird spot. They stop right at my inner thigh, a place where I carry my weight.

They are also tight around my butt and are super uncomfortable to sit down in.

I realized the only shorts I do wear in my closet are high waisted and flowy and look more like a skirt than anything else.

J.Crew navy blouse | ASOS orange linen shorts ON SALE | Rocksbox Tess+Tricia seashell earrings | Jack Rogers white sandals

So, after a quick browse on Zara and ASOS, I found the most flattering and comfortable high waisted flowy shorts.

They all make my waist look tiny and flow out, giving me that hour glass look every woman desires.

They make my legs look über long and lean.

The shorts are a bit retro but I kind of love that. They are classic and still preppy, just way more flattering than my chinos.

I am selling my chinos (some literally have only been worn 2x over on my Poshmark account @tallandpreppy). Just because they are not the shorts for me anymore, does not mean they will not be a great addition to your wardrobe. :)

Tall and Preppy Four-Year Anniversary: Letter to my Younger Self

Dear Elizabeth, 

When you started Tall and Preppy, you were going into your senior year of high school. It was a scary yet exciting time. You loved high school and were afraid to leave the comfort of your routine and the house you had lived in for the past 17-years, but you were excited for a change. You will be happy to know that you met some of your best friends in high school and the good friends will continue to be in your life for a very long time after you leave home and move to North Carolina. You are so excited to go to college, but you are so nervous for the next chapter in your life. You will soon find out that college is so much better than high school and you will have the best years of your life!

Four years later, you will later find yourself in the same situation that you were in when you started your blog, going into your senior year of school and graduating. Both times are scary yet exciting.

You will fall in love with your university even though you were a bit skeptical at first.

You have never liked change, but it comes easier to you over time.

You will mature in more ways than you can describe.

You will learn to not get involved in drama.

You will learn to be nice to everyone, even if you do not like them.

You will figure out your passions, your strengths and your weaknesses a little more each day.

You will learn that college is way different than high school and it is okay to not be a complete overachiever and take 17 hours of credits your first semester.

You will meet some amazing people in college.

You will see that being social is fun and going outside your comfort zone is important!

You will see that it is okay to eat breakfast and lunch alone!

You are going to have so much fun meeting new people and experiencing new ideas! Embrace it all and enjoy it!

You will see that rejection sucks and always will, but you will believe a little more every day that everything happens for a reason.

You will learn that there are more good people in the world than bad.

You will learn that you have to be flexible but there is nothing wrong about having a plan whether that be in life or while on a trip.

You will quickly realize that you are going to have to kiss a lot of toads to find your prince.

You will fall in love with France and Europe even more than you already did.

You will become braver every day.

Cliché- but remember to learn from your mistakes and analyze how to not do the same ones again in the future.

You are going to find a workout or workouts that you love, and you are going to stick to them.

You will also learn that life is too short to not eat dessert, pasta and bread. And you are just as beautiful as you were before you ate all the carbs and sweets, as well as after.

You do not always have to say yes to everything but remember to have a little fun every day.

You will learn to not be afraid of people who will make fun of you and laugh at you. Be confident and do not care about what people think! It sounds impossible, but I promise it gets easier over time.

Finally, make sure you call you parents and grandparents and the rest of your family.

Do not give up on your dreams whatever they are.

Continue to be true to yourself.

Listen to your heart and your head.

You are going to turn out to be a wonderful, successful and strong woman.

Life is not always easy or fair but every mistake or disappointment that happens in your life will only make you stronger.

You got this!

Love,

E

J.Crew Factory lavender blouse | American Eagle white high waisted jeggings ON SALE | Bauble Bar white statement earrings | Rocksbox Isla ring in rainbow

Empower Your Job Search and Your Adult Life

 

Anyone else sacred about being an adult?

*Adult= Pay a mortgage, and/or don’t live at home with your parents and/or have a 9-5 job.

ME!

Or if you are an adult, are you struggling to create your personal brand and are you looking for a new job?

I just took the BEST online course to help solve all of our problems.

MillenniAlli is a fellow blogger and fellow Long Islander that helped me craft my resume, gave me interview tips and gave me lots of downloadable resources.

This 15-hour online video course also taught me:

·      How to look for a job with a job search outline

·      To look at my personality by taking a personality assessment and figure out what kind of job I would like to have in the future

·      How to identify my hard and soft skills

·     How to create a purpose statement: the what, how and why

·     How to update my resume with examples

·      How to make business cards

·      The importance of a personal website

·     How to create/update my LinkedIn profile

·      How to track job applications

·     How to write a cover letter with examples

·      How to craft a narrative for interviews

·     How to negotiate salaries

·     How to figure out what to wear to an interview

J.Crew Essential T-shirt | Banana Republic Factory snakeskin printed skirt | Rocksbox Ava Rose Savannah Hoop earrings in gold | Vince Camuto nude studded sandals | Tory Burch pink satchel

My sister’s office is very causal, so this is the outfit I wore to work the other day.

I am wearing a t-shirt, but I still looked pulled together and professional with this adorable snakeskin skirt from Banana Republic Factory.

These skills are valuable for young college grads, young professionals and working adults who want to change their job and need a little help.

I completely transformed my resume and cover letter writing skills with the help from Alli.

Even though I am not applying to jobs at the moment, I still need a strong resume to apply to law schools.

I feel much more confident in my interview skills as well.

Alli's course was fun and made me want to work on my resume and LinkedIn page.

She also has great downloadable templates and forms that I found really useful.

I would highly recommend checking out Alli and her course to teach you how to be the best job candidate and young professional.

:)

The Ultimate "Any Destination" Packing List

I asked on my Instagram stories during T&P Thursday’s two weeks ago, as I was packing for the Hamptons, if you wanted to see my amazing packing list that I use for EVERY single trip I have ever gone on!

I made this list years ago when I was packing to go down to my summer house in Florida, and it works for every trip, any destination (even living abroad), regardless of the climate.

So here it is!

P.S. If you want an Ultimate College Packing List click HERE!