Links I love

photo via

Whew. Going to school by day and homework by night has me missing out on all my daily internet perusing. But, I made time this weekend to catch up a little, and here are a few links I love from this week.

How cute is this hair style? I wish my hair was a little longer so I could wear it on the daily! This is what I've told myself this week at my new school because this gold foil print is the perfect reminder. We all know I'm crazy about all things gold and I love the simple font. Wouldn't it look cute in an ornate frame. Check out more designs by Michelle Hopper she's super talented! I'm so happy that at my new school I'm allowed to a carry water bottle and we have the coolest drink refilling stations! This lightweight Sigg Water Bottle is perfect because when it's full of water, I have plenty to drink, and when it's not full, it's easy to carry. I love all the colors & my mom likes that it's dishwasher safe, BPA free, and recyclable. Ban.do has bee killing it lately. I want everything. This fabulous keychain is a the top of my "must have" list right now. I'm always on the hunt for the latest and greatest of nail polish colors, and I think navy and grey are the "it colors" for fall.  I'm currently rocking the grey so I'm already on trend ;) Now that school's back in session I have to stay super organized. This cute planner will solve all my issues... I can just feel it.

Let me know your favorite links from this past week in the comments below! xox Chloe

New Kid

Wow. I’m officially a senior in high school. Like seriously, how the heck did that happen? I literally still feel like I’m a second grader roaming the halls at my elementary school looking up at the “big kids” wondering what it feels like to rule the school. But guess what? I’m now one of those “big kid” and while I most definitely don’t rule the school, I do happen to like my new school. A lot. If you’ve been following PopCosmo for a while now, you might know that my high school years have been a little out of the ordinary. In short, I’m a five year high schooler that has attended three different schools. One teeny tiny private school, one online school, and now a huge public school. It has been awesome to see the differences in the teaching styles and the students, but I have to say, I think this latest school — the huge public school — is my favorite high school of all three. I just started yesterday but the people are super friendly (they talk to me haha), the teachers really know their stuff, and I have all the freedom I could want (aka I can leave for lunch and leave at the end of the day early because I don't have a last period class). However, I am a new kid so of course it’s going to take me a few weeks to adjust and really get to know the people in my classes, but I have to say, so far I love it. I was VERY excited about going back to “real school” from online school, but I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous. I was going to be a new kid senior year. I thought people wouldn’t really care to get to know me because they already had their friends, posses, and cliques. But I was open to talking to anyone and I think that really helped. I was thinking about writing a post on how to be a new kid, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in reading... I have plenty of experience and plenty to write about. Anyway, I just thought I’d pop in and give y’all a little update. Sorry for the lack of posts around here lately, I’ve been busy adjusting to being a senior at a new school!

xox Chloe

Free Binder Covers

Well, I promised that there would be new free binder covers out soon, and I’ve kept the promise by following up with more cute binder covers. I decided to keep it preppy with the color combos + stripes, because I think a lot of you will really like them… I know I love ‘em. We truly think that cute school supplies can make an entire school year more bearable, so we've got you covered when it comes to amping up the cuteness factor of those ugly and plain binders. Click the links below to download a black canvas so that you can enter your own class names in the circle! But. they work for anything -- in fact, my mom is even using them around the house for things like take-out menus  and papers for me and my brother. Hope you like this new design as much as the first set. Free binder covers for the win!

Also, if you use them be sure to post a picture on Twitter or Instagram and tag us @popcosmo and we will totes love you forever and ever. ;)

back to school and office supply binder cover templates

DIY binder covers

free downloadable binder insert | takeout menus

DIY binder covers for school and home

DOWNLOAD pink+teal DOWNLOAD blue+greenDOWNLOAD navy+pink

xox Chloe

Homemade Hibiscus Pomegranate Granola

Onli Homemade Granola

As you might have noticed, we’ve been posting a lot of recipes lately! I don’t know if it’s just that we have a better kitchen in our new house in Denver, or if I’ve just been enjoying making my own food over going out. Whatever it is, I’m loving it. Onli Beverages was nice enough to send me a few drinks to try out and I decided to get creative with it. With my cousin Aly visiting, we made Onli flavored granola. Seriously? Yes, and this homemade granola is beyond delicious.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of oats 1 cup puffed rice 1/4 cup sliced almonds (or other nuts) 6-8 ounces of Onli Hibiscus Pomegranate Aronia 1 egg white 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons honey (add more for sweeter granola) 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the oats, puffed rice, and almonds in a bowl. Mix everything else in another bowl. Then combine the two bowls into one. Stir it all until the liquid is absorbed. (You might need to add more oats or puffed rice to help) Lay all the granola on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Put your granola in the oven for 15 minutes, then stir and put it back in for another 15 minutes. (If you want it to be super crunchy, then you can put it in for longer).

Homemade Granola Ingredients

Homemade Granola

Homemade Granola | PopCosmo

Granola Recipe

granola

how to make granola | PopCosmo

This should make a batch for about three people so feel free to double or triple the recipe. We ate ours over yogurt and we've learned that we need to keep a constant supply on hand. Onli has a ton of flavors so we definitely want to experiment with the rest of them! If you try this recipe out be sure to tag us (@popcosmo) and @ONLIbeverages in the picture! We might be biased, but we think it's the best homemade granola you'll ever eat!

xox, Chloe

My trip to The Broadmoor

This past weekend my family and I went for a nice weekend trip to The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, which is basically Colorado's answer to Sea Island (at least that's what it felt like to me). It was so fun to get away for a short little trip that was loaded with fun. The first night that we got there we just chilled in the hotel and then went for a fancy dinner. I didn’t get a picture of my meal but I got chilled avocado soup that was amazing and then quinoa with feta. It was too good to wait to take a picture of, so I just ate it! Then we went back to the hotel and crashed because it was late & we were all so sleepy.

The next morning we had to wake up super early because my mom planned a white water rafting trip for us. One thing you should know is that I’m not afraid of anything (really, I’ll try anything once) but the idea of white water rafting scared the heebeejeebees out of me. It honestly doesn't make any sense because I am a great swimmer (I was on a swim team the majority of my life) and I rowed crew for three years. But we had a blast with a fantastic guide! We got soaked, laughed, worked hard, paddled, went over boulders, and I conquered my fears. Yay!  Then we pigged out on pig at a BBQ place called Rudi’s (my Dad’s obsessed with it) and then felt enormously unfit as we toured the Olympic training center. I am inspired even more to get in shape.

Very, very early Sunday morning my parents woke my brother and I up for a surprise hot air balloon trip and lavish breakfast in a field, which was to be the highlight of the trip. About 5 minutes after we woke up we received a call that it had been cancelled due to bad weather which was a huge bummer. So we went back to sleep and spent Sunday just chilling, and enjoying an enjoying a sumptuous breakfast. On the way home, we convinced my Dad we needed to stop at some outlets, because what vacation is complete without a little shopping?

It was the perfect family weekend at The Broadmoor! Here are a few pictures to show you and not just tell you. There are quite a few so I hope you like ‘em!

What’s your favorite family trip that you've ever taken?

xox, Chloe

Behind the Gram

These Behind the Gram posts have been popping up lately, and I decided to jump on the train before it left the station. This post is quite embarrassing, but please know that if you laugh you're laughing WITH me and not AT me.

What it looks like: omg, just went shopping and have to show off my new fabulously perfect shirt.

What really happened: yeah, this shirt is fabulously perfect and I wanted to show it off, but when I was shopping at the store I picked up a size below my size and then bought it without trying it on. I then proceeded to ask the guy at the checkout if it was final sale (it was) when I was buying it and I still bought it without trying it one (why?! i never do that!). My mom continued shopping around the store and I started freaking out that I bought the wrong size. I then asked a different sales person if I could try on a dress so that I could actually try on this shirt. It was a size too small. But, I accidentally ripped off the tag when I was taking it off after trying it on. I then went back to the sales guy and told him that I “accidently picked up the wrong size and the tag fell off and I don’t know how that happened but can I exchange this shirt for a size bigger.” Long story short, this shirt was a nightmare to buy but well worth it because I got an Instagram out of it and it's fabulous and it was on super sale.

What it looks like: four professional models on the loose in nyc. everyone beware because we feel more fabulous than we look.

What really happened: I saw someone post an Instagram in Lincoln Center that was super cute so I wanted to recreate the picture. I made Frannie, Caroline, and Sammy hunt for this wall. We then found it and made a random lady take a few pictures of us. The first time she took the pictures they didn’t turn out well so I asked her to take them again. She seemed annoyed, but I really needed her to get the shot. Also, this random dude (it wasn’t Bill Cunnigham, but I’m convinced it was someone on that caliber of awesome) was taking our picture too?

What it looks like: hehe, just me being clever and messing around with my macaroons and the focus on my camera.

What really happened: The other interns and I went to Broadway Bites for lunch one day, I brought my lunch that day but still went because I wanted to bond with the other interns and get out of the office for half an hour. I was browsing around while the other girls were ordering their food and I found some macaroons. They were really expensive so I told the guy working the booth that “I’ll be back” so I could nicely leave without saying that his macaroons were too expensive for me. Then the other interns told me I should buy something so I went back to the macaroon guy and bought a macaroon. He remembered me and gave me one for free. I’m pretty he gave me a free one  because I looked good in my party pants because I had already gotten the FedEx guy to give me a reduced price on a package I had to ship earlier that day. I swear, THE PANTS ARE MAGIC. Also, I picked red and blue because America was playing in the World Cup that day and I wanted to seem festive.

What it looks like: chloe here, reporting live from trendyville. I just happened to stumble in this coffee shop with fancy tiled floors. Also, I’m part of the Birks train so I’m cool.

What really happened: I had planned my whole day in nyc around finding a this one super trendy ice cream place. It was a 25 minute subway + walk from my apartment and it was at least 100 degrees out but I really wanted fancy ice cream. I had the address pulled up on my phone but I couldn’t find it anywhere! I was so frustrated and so hot. But on the way to the ice cream shop I stumbled across Lafayette. I bought a coffee just so I could take a picture of my feet on their floor. As I was paying for my coffee I accidentally pulled out a tampon and a guy was at the register, but I was so hot and so annoyed I couldn’t find my ice cream place that I didn’t even care. Then I took like 89052431 pictures because I had to make sure it was in focus. I then got out of there super fast because it was an awkward fest.

What it looks like: Just casually showing off my new kicks.

What really happened: my mom can’t really take pictures that well so I made her be my model. she had to lay on the floor and kick her feet up so we could take a cute picture of these shoes. Her back hurt that day so she was mad that she had to lay on the floor for 10 minutes while I tried to take the perfect shot. Also, we hung a huge white piece of paper right in front of our door because that’s where the best light was. I’m pretty sure our neighbors and mailman thought we were insane.

Hope you like this post! If you want me to do a round two then let me know! xox Chloe