How To Successfully Travel Internationally

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Traveling to different countries is high on our priorities list! Last summer Sakura traveled to Japan (where half of her family is from) and last year Karen traveled to Paris and London. Karen loved it so much that she went back to Paris again this year (see our "A Girl's Guide To Paris" post). With all of our travels, we have collected a lot of information to help us make our travels easier. We want to share with you our tips/advice as you make your plans to travel abroad. Find our tips/advice below with direct links to many important things we think you should get. Leave a comment in the comments section below with any other tips you have for successfully traveling internationally.

• Print your boarding pass and receipts.
• Wear comfortable clothing, especially socks.
• Always double look-double look your home prior to leaving to make sure you didn't leave anything behind, double check your taxi as you exit it, double check the security tray at the airport.
• Guard your passport with your life! Have a special passport holder (here is a super cute passport holder from Target)
• Wear glasses if you are a contacts wearer (it's likely you will fall asleep and it's no fun waking up with sticky eyes).
• Carry on a toothbrush, hand sanitizer, and makeup wipes.
• Weigh your bags before you leave the house (click here for an awesome, cheap luggage weight)
• Download Viber and/or WhatsApp so you can make calls for free whenever you have Wifi.
• However, we recommend paying for a temporary Hotspot via your phone provider because not everywhere has Wifi and it can be difficult to navigate a different country without an internet connection at the drop of a dime.
• Bring a portable charger. When you're exploring, you don't want your phone to die!
• Exchange your currency in your city airport to avoid the other country's fees.
• Download iTranslate & Currency Converter app. For traveling to Europe, use the Euro to Dollar app.
• Buy ear plugs!
• Get locks for your suitcase. In some airports they open up your luggage if they can.
• Buy European Adapter plugs (for those traveling to Europe). American plugs will not work in their outlets.
• Lastly, if you're going to bring your own hair blow dryer be sure to use a voltage converter (different than an outlet adapter). While not all hotels or hostels have the type of hair blow dryer you would prefer, using your own could cause an explosion or fire.

Safe travels!

5 Cute & Easy Ways to Gift Wrap this Holiday

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We still cannot believe that all of the upcoming December holidays are around the corner! That means it is time to brush up on our gift wrapping skills. Gift wrapping doesn't have to be limited to pretty pre designed wrapping paper like the ones you find at the Dollar Tree, Target, or Walmart. Get creative this year using things around your home like cardboard boxes, feathers, tulle, ribbon, scrapbook paper, and the list goes on! Paper Source and Michael's are our absolute favorite places to shop for unique paper and craft items. Above we have chosen some of our favorite gift wrapping looks. Try them out and show us your best gift wrapping looks by hashtagging #TSSGiftWrapping.

Now, get to wrapping those gifts!

P.s. If you REALLY can't wrap if you're life depended on it, many malls and department stores offer complimentary or with donation gift wrapping.

Bath & Body Works Scents For the Holidays

1. Sparkling Icicles. 2. Tis The Season. 3. Vanilla Snowflake. 4. Hot Buttered Rum. 5. Marshmallow Fireside.

This weekend while everyone was Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping, we were at our homes decorating for the holidays! It's so much fun getting our homes into the holiday spirit with bright lights and pretty Christmas/holiday accents. But, we knew we were missing one more touch: holiday scents! Of course, Bath & Body Works is always our one-stop shop for amazing scents, especially for the holidays so we stocked up (they have killer deals!). Looking for the perfect scents to fill your place with more holiday cheer? Shop our favorite Bath & Body Works holiday scents above! Co Founder Karen's personal favorite that is permeating throughout her house is the Marshmallow Fireside. Imagine toasted marshmallows, vanilla, and smoldering wood scents mixed together...to die for!

Which scent is your favorite from their collection? Share with us in the comments below!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe

If you're like us, then you probably stuffed yourself to the brim this Thanksgiving leaving no room for thirds or fourths (be honest, you went for seconds!). Well, there is no point in throwing away your leftovers so we stumbled across an awesome Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe from one of our favorite food blogs, Hot Dog It's a Food Blog. It's called the Cheddar Mashed Potato Waffle Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich and well, our mouths are watering just typing that. Get the recipe below and try making it yourself. It's pretty simple! Thanks for letting us share, HDFB!

Cheddar Mashed Potato Waffle Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwiches
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup freshly grated white cheddar
• your Thanksgiving leftovers, reheated if needed

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes and milk until smooth. Add in the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well in between additions. Fold in the chopped herbs.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and add into the mashed potato mixture. Mix well until combined. Fold in the cheeses and mix well once more.

Preheat your waffle maker and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook about 1/4-1/2 cup of batter at a time, depending on how big your waffle maker is, until nice and golden brown.

Place the reheated leftovers between two waffle slices and enjoy.

TSS Favorite Things {December Special Edition}

Tory Burch

TOPSHOP

Steve Madden

Smashbox

Victoria's Secret

Michael Kors

Category 5

Forever 21

We want to provide you with a holiday merchant list worth shopping from. Why? Because everything from our exclusive merchant list offers discounts for Cyber Monday. Throughout the year we have shared with you our Favorite Things and with the December holidays fast approaching, we want you to share in lots of savings. Above are a list of some our 'Favorite Things' merchants offering Cyber Monday sales that you should check out!

Got a merchant you love that has an amazing Cyber Monday sale? Share with us in the comments or hashtag #TSSCyberMonday via the merchant's Instagram.

Happy {Cyber Monday} Shopping!

6 Tips for Controlling Clutter

SpareFoot is an awesome site where they make finding storage units easier. For those of you in college, leaving for winter break means leaving your belongings behind. More often than not, your dorm usually requires you to move out and move back in after winter break. In that case, you can reserve storage online via SpareFoot. If you're not in college but you struggle with clutter below are six tips from SpareFoot for getting your clutter under control.

1. Define the Problem.

One way to determine the severity of your clutter problem: Use the free clutter and hoarding assessment tool from the Institute for Challenging Disorganization


2. Get Help.
Even on a small budget, you can hire a professional organizer to spend an hour or two assessing your clutter and creating a plan of action that you can carry out on your own.

Or you can benefit from the objective eye and accountability you get from enlisting a relative or friend to help.You can also set aside a chunk of a Saturday and swapping favors, such as help straightening up your friend’s garage in exchange for a hand with taming the closet in your master bedroom. This makes it harder to procrastinate.

3. Start Small.

Instead of organizing your entire kitchen, organize your silverware drawer.As you’re organizing, assign each type of item a home to make it easier to see what you have and to decide what to pitch. Go one drawer at a time and one cabinet at a time until you have a room done and you know what belongs there.


4. Avoid Stashing Stuff Indefinitely.
Your mother-in-law called to say she’s on her way over, so you quickly hide that stack of unopened mail. Sometimes you need to stash, it’s a fact of life.

But those tucked-away items can create a mountain of clutter. Stow stuff in a container you’ll need fairly soon—like your laundry basket—so you’ll be forced to sort through the items after your company leaves.

5. Make Decluttering Fun.
About 80 percent of people dread decluttering, and one in 10 hate it so much they’d rather get a tooth pulled. But don’t despair: You can make organizing fun. For example, you can clear out overstuffed closets by holding a family fashion show.


6. Set Up Systems to Keep Your Space Neat.
The key to staying organized is creating systems. For example, thinking about what a room is used for, deciding what items are needed for that purpose and categorizing them.

If you're sharing space with other people it’s also important to identify and assign maintenance tasks. Somebody’s got to take out the recycling and somebody’s got to buy laundry detergent and somebody’s got to straighten up the bathroom. People tend to think in terms of big tasks. But staying organized is really about those tiny, everyday maintenance tasks.

Once you vanquish your clutter, you should see improvements in your life. The whole purpose of getting organized is to be calmer, happier and have more time to do the things you enjoy.

#GivingTuesday

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So, have you heard about #GivingTuesday? Not to be confused with #ManCrushMonday, #WomenCrushWednesday, #ThrowbackThursday, or #FlashbackFriday. Tuesday has a special day of it's own on December 2nd and we're thinking it's worth participating.  #GivingTuesday isn't about buying anything - it's about giving back, celebrating generosity and supporting organizations that our community relies on. GivingTuesday.org is starting a movement post Black Friday and Cyber Monday to steer people away from the material and to focus on improving the world. As sorority women we thrive on philanthropy and also recognize that every sorority out there has a cause that they support. Why not consider doing more for that cause with your sorority sisters? How do you plan on giving back? Email us your plan at secret@thesororitysecrets.com for a possible feature. If you need help in your plan to 'give back' then consider utilizing Deposit A Gift. On their site, you can start a campaign to give back in any way you choose. Other sites you can consider include Change.org and ColorOfChange.org. Both sites expose issues in the community where you can offer help.

To learn more about #GivingTuesday go to GivingTuesday.org or watch the promotional video here.