I’ve always been a fan of Tommy Ton’s street style section in GQ so I was very intrigued when I found the website Campus Sartorialist which posts photos of  style savvy college students from campuses the nation. I like that this blog is devoted strictly to capturing the styles of students, especially when sweatpants and college t-shirts are seem to be the norm on almost every campus.

Check it out!

I actually stumbled across this next blog while I was cruising Campus Sartorialist and checked to see if there were any Kansas posts.  Sure enough, they have a representative at the University of Kansas who runs her own blog called Style on the Hill, a blog documenting fashion and style trends in Lawrence Kansas.

While I’m a diehard Wildcat, I find it exciting that there are other people blogging about some of the same type of regional trends, even if they are Jayhawks!

Check out Style on the Hill to peep the latest looks in Lawrence!

Happy viewings!

While I frequent my local thrift store weekly, quality items only pop up every so often. I stumbled upon these Magnanni loafers and was instantly drawn to them for their amazing diamond stiched caiman toe-caps!

While they are a little worn, they will work perfectly for a night out on the town when I don’t want to scuff up a nicer pair of shoes.  I’m looking forward to rocking these bad boys in the near future!

But let’s get back to the important stuff…. K-State football. Last time you heard about K-State football from was months before the season had even started.  But the season is almost over and it’s been an amazing senior year watching this football team which could arguably be the best team Snyder has ever coached.

Let’s recap this  a bit shall we?

- K-State entered the season ranked 21, slowly worked their way to number 1, and eventually fell to number 6 with a regular season record of 11-1.

- Collin Klein was a Hiesman Candidate, won the Johnny Unitas  Golden Arm Award, and was named Big 12 offensive player of the year, among many other awards.

- Arthur Brown was named Big 12 defensive player of the year.

- Coach Bill Snyder wins the Big 12 coach of the year award.

-  K-State wins it’s second Big 12 title!

- K-State earns a BCS bowl bid to play in the Fiesta Bowl against the Oregon Ducks on January  03, 2013.

However, I think that the highlight of this years football season was being on the field for Senior Night as a reporter for KKSU -TV Channel 8, K-State’s student produced live newscast.  As a senior myself, I teared up knowing that I’ve spent the last 5 years on K-States campus and it will all be coming to an end soon.  Watching Arthur Brown tear up on the field with his family was an amazing sight to see and I feel privileged, much like Brown does, to have attended this institution.

Also, the assignment I was working on for KKSU-TV was to get a different perspective on K-State’s Senior day. I interviewed students in the stands, members of the K-State Marching band, and several K-State cheerleaders and dance team members. It was amazing to hear how much each student I interviewed has cherished their time at K-State.  Below is some of the exclusive video footage I shot on senior night!

Life is good when you spend your summer days on the lake with rod and reel in tow!

I often times pictured myself and my friends as the characters of the 90′s movie 8 Seconds about bullrider Lane Frost. We used to haul ass up and down our back country roads kicking up dust and raising hell.  Some of the best memories I have come from behind the wheel of a Chevy El Camino.

I attended my first wedding of the summer this past weekend and it was a truly beautiful event.  The wedding was for a good friend of mine and fellow fraternity brother who I shared a room with for a year. I also had the pleasure of being a member of the fraternity’s executive cabinet the year that he was president and named K-State Fraternity President of the year.  His wedding was beautiful and reminded me about the sacred bond between man and wife and I wish them many years to come!

The picture above was taken during the wedding reception while all our fraternity brothers in attendance serenaded the bride with a few of the fraternity songs reserved for the marriage of a brother.  It was an honor to get down on one knee and serenade the lovely bride, I truly felt like a gentleman.

Best of luck to my two friends and their new marriage, may they have many great years together!

The National Panthems $118

It’s never to early or to late to start thinking about how you can stand out at your 4th of July block party and these pants, The National Panthems, by Bonobos are a must have for any patriot!  Snag a pair of these pants to show your fellow citizens that these colors don’t run away from fun!

Also, check out the rest of Bonobos limited edition 4th of July products here!

Today is the kickoff of Country Stampede, the four day, outdoor country music festival held in Manhattan Kansas. With more than 150,000 people in attendance it makes for one hell of a weekend where Busch Light is the beer of choice and cut-off jean shorts aer almost mandatory dress code.

With headlining artists including, Zach Brown Band, Toby Keith, The Band Perry, and others it’s bound to be a good time!

It’s not to late to purchase tickets!

Buffalo Jackson is a brand that I’ve been following for the last year or so and I’m always impressed with the passion they have for their products. Unlike most of the other “preppy” brands out there boasting about their newest line of pastel polos, Buffalo Jackson caters to rugged gentleman who enjoys quality clothing with an outdoorsman slant.

The folks over at Buffalo Jackson just released a picture of their bison leather boat shoe prototype which looks pretty sweet. I love the color combination and will be picking up a pair for myself when they are released.

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The Salty Rim, located in the heart of Aggieville.

Living as a student and working as a bartender in Aggieville, a college bar district right across the street from Kansas State University, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and definitely the ugly of the booze induced three block radius that us students simply call  the ‘Ville’.  Thankfully I’m employed as a bartender at one of the classier and more upscale establishments in Aggieville. However, I’ve noticed that many of my late night student customers are simply unaware of ways to act and tip in a bar. Here are a couple tips and observations from my side of the bar that will help you have a better night in Aggieville.

1. Every Drink Gets a Tip- Order one beer? Tip one dollar. It’s as simple as that. Bartenders, much like strippers, are basically working for dollar bills.

2. Simple Is Less, Difficult Is More- Every beer, or well whiskey and coke, gets one dollar. Simple tips for simple drinks. However, if you’re ordering multiple drinks that involve some degree of difficulty such as a Long Island Iced Tea, frozen Pomegranate Margarita, and a couple of shots don’t be suprised when the bartender shoots you a dirty look when you only leave them $2. The more difficult the drink the bigger the tip.

3. Tip Big On Your First Drink- If you leave $5 for your bartender on a one dollar drink, you’re more likely to get better service because the bartender knows that YOU know how to tip. They will pass up the guy who rarely tips that has been waiting for 10 minutes trying to get a drink for their better tippers. It’s as simple as that, the better your tip, the better your service.

4. Drinks on the house ALWAYS get a tip- This is my number one pet peeve as a bartender, people who don’t tip when I buy their drink for them. Anytime you receive a free drink at a bar, always tip your bartender at least the price of the drink.  Anytime a classmate or person I know comes into have a drink I’ll always try to buy their first round and nothing is more irritating when you put your money back into your wallet after learning that I’m buying. A lot of the times your bartender is putting your drink on their own house tab at employee cost which means that when you don’t tip, your bartenders are spending their own money with nothing in return. If you don’t tip on a free drink, I garuntee that the bartender makes a mental note to NEVER buy your drink again.

5. Bartenders Are Your Friends, Not Your Servant- When waiting for a drink at the bar, have your order and cash ready, and simply wait to make eye contact with your bartender. You will likely get skipped if you’re leaning over the bar hollering “Hey Buddy, I need a drink down here!” Secondly don’t ever try and get any special favors from your bartender with the line “Come on man, I’ll leave you a big tip!” because your interpretation of a big tip is probably way different than your bartenders interpretation.  Your extra $2 isn’t worth the time of the bartender when he can focus on the two ladies drinking margaritas at the end of the bar who always leave him a crisp 20 in the tip jar.

Follow these simple rules and you’ll find yourself making friends with your local bartenders.