August 31, 2018

My 25th Birthday Wishlist

Hey guys,

So my birthday is in about 2 months and I am so excited and kind of annoyed at the same time. I'm not really the biggest fan of turning 25! I'm starting to feel kind of old and I don't really like that. I also don't really know what I want to do for my birthday so that's a little frustrating as well. I keep going back and forth between ideas and I can't come to a final decision. 

Anyways, I'm sure I will come up with something! So here's a list of things that I've had my eye on lately! This list is mostly to help some of the people I love who might have a hard time trying to find something for me for my birthday! Apparently I'm really hard to shop for!

Stephanie Kamp Blog: My 25th Birthday Wishlist




The beauty products are all things that I've never tried before but they all come from some of my favorite brands and I love trying new products made by them because they work so well! Also, I know that the converse shoes seem kind of late to the trend but the reason why is because the two that I already have, I've had probably since middle school and they don't really fit anymore and they also are really dirty and I feel like it's time for a new pair!

As a disclaimer, obviously I don't expect all or any of these items, like I said earlier they are just ideas for the certain people that might be shopping for me recently and might need some ideas! 

 I hope you guys enjoyed this post even though I didn't really say much! By the way today is my first official day at my new job! Yesterday was my first day but it was actually just orientation! I will hopefully be doing a blog post on my job in about a month or two once I get more comfortable! So keep an eye out on that! 

Thanks for stopping by!
XO, Steph

August 29, 2018

Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018

Hey guys,

So I recently went to the Taylor Swift Stadium Tour in Miami! It was the most amazing show ever! I absolutely love Taylor Swift and I have been such a big fan since the beginning. I have only been to two of her stadium tours but both of them were absolutely amazing! I wish I could have gone to all of her other tours. The other tour I went to was 1989 and that one was absolutely wonderful too!

So just to let you know, either don't bring a purse or make sure you have a see through purse or just like a wallet! My sister and I brought purses that were a good size but my mom's was too big and we had to put it back in the car! In my opinion they did a terrible job of letting people know about this rule because they had to send so many people back to their cars. They also had a coatcheck area for those that did not have cars or feel safe to leave it in their car.

I am not going to say what songs were sung or what she said! I also didn't really want to post too many pictures that gave away a lot of her surprises but I did include one! My sister actually went to the Tampa show and the Miami show and she didn't reveal any info about the show to me so that way I would be extra surprised!

 I was unable to make it to the Tampa show for a complicated reason but the Miami show was amazing and we actually liked it a lot better. It was held at the Hard Rock stadium and the stadium is so much better than the Raymond James stadium. We all kind of agreed that for the next tours we will be going to the Miami show! 

Anyways here's some of the photos that I took during the show!
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
Stephanie Kamp Blog: Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Miami 2018
The worst part of the show was when it ended but all good things must come to an end! It was such an amazing show and if you went, I hope you had an amazing time! If you haven't gone and are still deciding if you should go then I highly recommend it! Taylor really knows how to put on a show! Her costume changes are amazing and she's so fast it's crazy! Also her dancers, backup singers, and band are so talented! She always has the craziest stage design and she loves to make sure that she visits all parts of the stadium because she is so dedicated to making her fans happy since they are the reason why she is where she is in life!

Thanks for stopping by!
XO, Steph

August 27, 2018

Why I Chose Not to Move to New York City

Why I Chose Not to Move to New York City
Hey guys,

So today's post is going to be kind of personal and it took me a long time to actually write this post. One of the reasons I wanted to write it is because it's been almost 2 years since my sister and I thought about moving to New York. Also, since I recently took a trip to New York I thought it would be fun to finally finish writing this post and actually post it! I absolutely love the city of New York! It is one of my favorite places to visit, I never get bored and I just absolutely love the atmosphere! It's so fast paced, high-tech, and people from all over the world live there. It's such a unique experience and if you've never been, it's number one on my places to visit list. This city is amazing and theres a reason it's been featured in so many movies and TV shows! 

Anyways, one of the main reasons I chose not to move there is because it's my favorite place to vacation. If moved there then I would be living there and I would have to pick new favorite place to vacation which probably would have to be Florida since that's where I'm from and all of my family lives here. But honestly, I couldn't pick Florida as a new favorite place to vacation because I don't actually like Florida enough to want to vacation here all of the time. The only reason I would be coming back was for my family and I don't necessarily consider that an actual vacation then. I wouldn't be exploring anywhere new I would probably just be seeing all of my family that lives whenever I came down.

The next reason is because it is just way too expensive to live there. It's also way to expensive to really do anything as well! I've watched a lot of those videos on facebook about people living in their tiny loft apartment in New York and how they barely get by with their rent and the amount of money they make but they still choose to live their because why not? It's an amazing city! But I just don't think I could imagine paying so much money for rent and other expense to live either with 3-4 other roommates with no space or just my sister and I in a studio with no space and with two dogs. Because yes my sister and I have a dog each and we definitely would not leave either of them behind.

Speaking of no space, I just don't think I could handle how tiny and confined everything is there. I've pretty much always lived in a house with a yard except for 1 semester when I lived in a dorm! I've had dogs and other various animals throughout my life too and a backyard for them to play in! I don't think I could handle having to take my dog out for a walk 2-3 times a day and making them stay on a leash every time we went. My dog enjoys being able to run around the backyard sometimes and just sit down in the sun and relax. I've also pretty much always had my own room and when I moved out of my parents house I've always had an extra room that my sister and I typically use as an office! I think if I had moved to NYC that I might have suffered from some sort of depression over this because I kind of am claustrophobic so I think I would have handled it well.

I also did not want to move there because I know for a fact that I would severely miss my family. The one semester that I lived in my dorm, I absolutely hated it so I drove home every single weekend just so I didn't have to be there. Thankfully I went to a school that was only about 2 and a half hours away so the drive was super easy and went by pretty quick! I currently live like 5 minutes from my parent's house and they are constantly coming over here to our house or we are going over to their house. We also pretty much spend every weekend doing something with them unless one of us is out of town. I also go on a lot of vacations with my family so I would miss being able to just take weekend trips to Disney with them. Granted I was planning on moving there with my sister so I think that would have helped a little but I still think I would have been depressed about not being able to go to dinner with my parent's whenever I wanted.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! For now I think I will stick with just vacationing in NYC! I look forward to that trip pretty much every year now and I hope it's something we're able to keep doing every year!

Keep checking back for more posts even Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO, Steph

August 24, 2018

Things I've Learned Working in Retail

Stephanie Kamp Blog: Things I've Learned Working in Retail
Hey guys,

So now that I am officially out of the retail world I decided to write this post about some of the things that I have learned. I have to admit that I may have done some of these things in the past but definitely not too many of them! Also, this is kind of supposed to be a funny post so I really hope you guys enjoy it and don't take anything too personally! 

1. People don't know how to listen

It's crazy how many people live in their own little world and barely pay attention to other people. We would always have to greet our customers whenever they walked through the front door and most of the time my customer's thought I was asking them how they were doing when all I was saying was welcome in! It's also funny when customers walk up to you at the register and you ask them a couple questions and they completely ignore you or they'll ask you the same thing you just asked them. With my store we had a rewards program where we needed to ask for the email or phone number and so a lot of the times, I would ask that and then 2 seconds later they would be like can I give you the phone number. It was was really frustrating but it definitely taught me to be very patient and to make sure that the customer was fully ready to listen before I asked them any questions.

2. People think that you will do anything for them

You know how you go to the some stores and they're like right on top off you and constantly asking you questions, making sure you don't need anything, well those type of places work off of commission usually. The store I worked for did not, so all we typically did was greet them when they walked in and then we would tell them our name and let them know that we were here for them if they needed anything. If we happened to be walking the aisles would also make sure to check on all of our customers in section. There were a couple times where people would basically want me to become their slave which didn't usually work for my position because I was usually the main cashier so if I got stuck with a customer that would mean someone else would have to ring and that usually ended up being a manager who technically aren't supposed to ring. It's really funny

3. People don't respect people in the service industry

One of our biggest pet peeves is when you come up to the register and you are on your phone! Like seriously people, get off of the phone and buy what you need to buy. Also, it is so extremely rude to be talking to another person when you are dealing with another person. It's like when your kid keeps interrupting you and you can't stand that. Yeah, that's how we feel as retail associates! Also, there is absolutely no need to give us attitude! We're human just like you and everyone else in this world, just because we can't always give you what you want doesn't mean you can treat us like crap!

4. I have more power than the customer

I love when customers would come up to me and tell me that I could do something for them like they were the ones that worked for the company and not me. It's like first of no I can't do that mostly because thats not something we actually do but also because I don't want to get in trouble or lose my job because of it! Also, if you don't have a coupon and we just so happen to have one back behind the counter which is not always something that we have! Stores don't always have coupons going on every day of the year, they'd make no money if they did. But either way it's up to me if I want to give you that coupon because it's not always something we're allowed to do. So don't act like it's something we do all of the time! Also, if an associate tells you something, it's probably because it's a policy and just because you ask for a manager doesn't mean the manager is going to let you do it, the manager will probably tell you the exact same thing. We don't make stuff up just because!

5. The customer is not always right

Companies have policies and the associates have to follow them because otherwise they can get in serious trouble! Yes I know this saying has been around forever and customers always think that they are right but they truly are not! Our store always had policy that said we can't take back worn shoes and customers would always fit and be like well no one told me that and we would be like well did you ask what the return policy was? Also we don't technically have to tell you every time we buy a pair of shoes, it's still a policy that we are required to follow. Yes some stores have a more relaxed policy than others and that's completely up to each store but every associate is still required to follow those policies!

6. How to pay extreme attention to detail

I would say this is more store specific! I worked for a shoe store that pretty much only sold shoes and we had a policy where we had to take each shoe out of the box then check the size on each shoe and then make sure there was a left and right and that they matched the box they were being sold in. We would also send out shoes from our stores that customers had ordered online and we had to make sure that the shoes were in a really good condition before we sent them out to our customers because we didn't want to send out a shoe would a scratch or a scruff.

7. Customers lie to get what they want

I honestly, can't even tell you how many times I would have customers come up to me and tell me some ridiculous story just so they could get their money back on a pair of shoes they only wore once for an event. Prom and homecoming are honestly the worst times of year. People don't want to pay all this money for something they are only going to wear once! My advice is to either rent something for prom or get a shoe you can wear to every single one of your dances because honestly, you're probably going to have to take them off anyways!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and I'm sure that some of you could relate to some of these things. Working in retail really is an experience and I honestly think that everyone should have to do it at least once in their life.

I feel like there is so much more I could add to this but I think that I came up with a good list. I think that working in retail has taught me a lot. I try to not make a mess whenever I go shopping and if I do then I try to put something back because cleaning a messy store late at night really sucks when all you want to do is go home and see your family! I also try to make sure that I treat all of the workers with respect unless they aren't giving me respect. There have been several times where I've been shopping in a store and an associate just gives me attitude from the beginning so when it comes to a situation like that then I tend to not care if I give attitude back.

Anyways, I'm super happy to be out of retail but I definitely think I am going to miss that job and my discount! I may or may not get a part time retail job after like 6 or a year has gone by. I haven't fully made up my mind but I will definitely keep you guys posted! I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! I will be at Disney this weekend with my family as a last minute vacation before I join the real working world! 

Thanks for stopping by!

XO, Steph

August 22, 2018

New York Summer 2018 Day 5

Hey guys,

So today was our last day in NYC! It was a Monday and our first stop was Good Morning America! We had never done the show before but it is something that I think we're gonna try to do every time we go from now on! It was actually a lot of fun! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
Debby Ryan and Alyssa Milano were some of the stars that we on the show and it was pretty cool because they walked right by us and stood near us and said hi to us! So that was kind of exciting! Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
We got to take a picture Ginger Zee so that was fun! She's tanner than us and we live in Florida! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
We also got a free treat from the show! Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
So we realized that we hadn't taken a trip to Central Park the entire trip so we hopped in a cab and headed to the park! We found a mini waterfall and it was super cute! I love exploring this park because you find something new almost every time you go! It's definitely one of my favorite parts of the city and I love stopping by every time we go even if its only for a 10 minute walk! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
Before we went back to our hotel to grab our bags we decided to stop in the Hershey store and get a quick snack! It was absolutely delicious! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
So we totally almost were late to our flight! We thought we left with plenty of time but the highway ended up being so busy! We asked our cab driver if he thought we would make it in time and so he eventually started taking short cuts and back streets to make sure that we made it on time! We made sure to tip him very well! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 5
I hope you enjoyed this post! Until next time New York! It's also so hard to leave this city! 

Thanks for stopping by!
XO, Steph

August 20, 2018

New York Summer 2018 Day 4

Hey guys,

So today was our last full day in New York. The last day is always the hardest and the saddest. We always try to make sure that we fit as much as we possibly can into our last full day because who knows when they next time we will be taking a trip to New York again. We did so much on this day and it was such a great day. I have to warn you now but this post is going to contain a lot of pictures compared to the other days! I hope you enjoy them and keep on reading to find out what we did!

So we started off our day by getting on a bus tour of the city. We did this the last time that we were in New York and honestly they're kind of great! This time it actually came free with our hotel because my mom bought this package that she didn't realize she bought so we took advantage of it and took the downtown bus tour and we used it as our transportation to get us down by the water closer to the ferry's so we could take one to Governor's Island.
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Once our bus dropped us off we had to walk a little bit to get to our ferry location. We were taking a ferry to and island just outside of the city called Governor's Island. This was the first time we had ever been and it was definitely something I would do again, I would probably just wait until it cooled down. I actually ended up getting sunburnt on this day probably because we spent so much time outside. 

Anyways the ferry ride to Governor's Island is super quick and it's a lot of fun. You can bring your bike or kids can bring their scooters. You can also rent bikes once you get to the island if you don't live in the city or near the city and don't have a bike with you. It seemed like there were a lot of things to do on the island, we happened to go on a day where we had a lot of stuff to get done but I'm pretty sure that you could the entire day there. The one thing that we did was a take a free tour of the fort that's on the island. It's technically called a castle but it's more of a fort. We 

Also, the ferry ride there is free on the weekends from 10-11:30 am. So we made sure to make it for the 10:30 am ferry! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
On the island we ate lunch at a for truck called Taco Vista! And one thing I have to say about New York tacos is that their tacos are definitely not the same as Florida tacos or tacos that I've had other places! I mean they're still good but they are not your regular taco, just warning you!
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
After lunch we walked about the island more and explored some different parts before we had to head back to the ferry! 
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Overall, the island was very pretty and I wish we could have had a day to explore the whole thing because I'm pretty sure we barely saw any of it but it was just to darn hot out to even think about spending more time there. If we ever go back in the fall when it's cooled off quite a bit then maybe we can spend a whole Saturday or Sunday there just exploring and see what else there is to do on the island!
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
After we left the island we headed back into the city to wait in line at the Tickets, Tickets, Tickets booth in Times Square again. This time we got tickets for Chicago! I actually didn't take any pictures of this show at all apparently, my bad! We had never seen Chicago and my mom and I didn't even really know what it was about but we thought it would be a good idea to go see a classic show that pretty much is always showing in New York.

I honestly can't remember what we did after we got our tickets, I kind of want to say that we went back to Macy's to finish up shopping before the show. Since we had gone the night before and we ended up closing down the store there were actually two more floors that we didn't even get to see so we wanted to make sure that we went back to check those out before our show! I'm super glad we did because I ended up finding quite a bit of new stuff for my new job! I'm super excited to wear all of the new clothes that I have purchased recently. I actually think that I'm going to do a haul post showing you everything that I purchased in New York and then maybe another one showing you all of the things I have purchased recently for my new job!

After we finished at Macy's we head back to our hotel to get ready for the show! I don't actually remember what we ended up doing for dinner that night but I'm sure we ate something! Anyways, Chicago was a good show! I really enjoyed the dancing and all of the singing. I honestly had no idea that it was about committing crimes or anything like that but either way it was still fun! I'm really obsessed with the movie Burlesque and it kind of remind me of the same theme minus the crimes! 

After the show was over we headed back to our hotel to go to bed because we had to be up kind of early the next day to do something, which will be discussed in my next blog post! But before we made it to our hotel we stopped at Junior's to get some cheesecake because our hotel was actually right across the street from it and they have this super cute to go section where you can buy some items and get them to go! We each got a piece of cheesecake when we really should have shared. I only ended up eating like half of mine because it was so rich and I just could handle all of it. However, it was absolutely delicious!
Stephanie Kamp Blog: New York Summer 2018 Day 4
Here's all of our shopping bags! We did a lot of shopping as you can see! We have this tradition where we take a picture of all of our bags because we always end up doing so much shopping! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Check back on Wednesday to read about our final day in NYC!

Thanks for stopping by!
XO, Steph