Tag: finals week

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Fabulous living

Book Review: Just Jessie and Rediscover Catholicism

Hi All! 

Happy Tuesday! It is finals week for me, thankfully my finals aren’t too strenuous, I am looking forward to easing my way out of the semester. With summer right around the corner, one of the things I’m looking forward to is reading a lot. I have always loved to read but being in college doesn’t always give me the time to read for fun. Don’t get me wrong, I read a lot for my classes, for example, in one of my classes, I was reading a novel a week. I was definitely getting in my 30 minutes of reading a day. However, I didn’t have a lot of time to read for fun. I was able to complete two books for fun through the Spring semester.  Although, I wish it was more I was happy to get in a little bit of fun reading.

Such a fun book

I first read Jessie James Decker’s book, Just Jessie.I have always been a fan of Jessie James Decker. I loved following her show on E, listening to her new albums, and following her sweet family on social media. In her book she opens up about growing up, dreaming of becoming a singer, her career in music, meeting her husband, starting a family, creating her fashion line, but above all being herself. It was such a fun and light read, especially when I needed a break from reading textbook material all day. I read a few chapters every night so it took me a few weeks to read it, but you could finish it in a few sittings. I love when artists, actors, or influential people, write books and open up about how they got to where they are today. I find it inspiring and it encourages me pursue my own dreams. If you are a fan of Jessie James Decker I would highly recommend reading her book. She also just released a new song, Roots and Wings, which is beautiful. You can listen to it here. 

Grade: A-

Another great read

I also read Matthew Kelly’s book, Rediscover Catholicismover Lent.  It was another eye-opening book that made me reevaluate my faith and my relationship with God. This is the third book I have read by Matthew Kelly, I have also read Perfectly Yourselfand The Greatest Lie in the History of Christianity. Although, I liked the other books more than this one, I enjoyed digging deeper into my faith. The books really breaks down the Catholic faith, from The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality, living the authentic life, and how we should live our lives as Catholics. I read a little bit every night and I took me the whole duration of Lent to read it, it could definitely be read in a few sittings, but I wanted to reflect on what I was reading. After reading it, I wanted to challenge myself to make my faith more a priority and be more intentional with my relationship with God. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone struggling with their faith or looking to deepen their faith. 

Grade: B-

If you are looking for new books to read I hope this gave you some insights on different books to try. Now, with summer rapdily approaching, I need your help picking out some new books that I should read this summer. What are your current favorites?! I need all the suggestions. Leave them in the comments below! Have a fantastic week!

Categories
Fabulous living

Christmas Prepping and Gift Giving Tips

Hello! Hello!

Happy Tuesday! It is finally December, bring on the shopping, gift giving, cookie baking, and decorations. I am so ready for Christmas but first I have to make it through finals. The next few weeks will be busy with classes, papers, meetings, and wrapping up the semester. Stay tuned for my semester recap and best of 2018 in the next coming weeks.

For today I’m sharing my tips for when it comes to buying gifts, staying organized and being on budget. Here are my three tips for making it through the holiday season as stress free as can be.

  • Make a list (and check it twice 😉 )

Whenever I start my holiday shopping I always make a list of who I need to buy for, whether it is family, friends, gift exchanges etc. if I don’t write it don’t I wont remember it. I always keep a running list in the notes section of my phone so I always have it with me. I write down who I need to buy for and what I am buying/bought, the status of it and where I bought it, I do this to keep track of everything. Since I am still in school for most of December this helps me keep track of everything no matter where I am at. With that being said, I always set a budget for myself and try as hard as I can to stay on budget.

Just to preface, this is a FAKE Christmas gift list. None of these gifts are real, I just made this up to show you how I set up my gift list-who to by for, what I am buying, where it’s from, and the status of it.

  • Shop when it works best for you

I always love going in the stores to browse and get all my gifts but with school being super busy I have done a majority of my shopping online. Amazon has been my best friend this Christmas season. I have really utilized the Shopping list in Amazon. I have been able to put things that I like or am interested in in my list throughout the whole year and have it in one spot. For example, I was on Amazon in October and saw something that was a perfect gift for someone, I put it in my shopping list and ended up buying it a few weeks ago. The shopping list is private so only you can see it and no one else can see what you are buying. Since I have done so much online shopping something else that has helped me is sending gifts that I am buying to school or home. For gifts that I am buying for my friends I send it to school. For gifts for family, I ship them to my home. This way I’m not bringing things back and forth and all the gifts are in the right place.

Once again, another fake look at my shopping list, this is actually my list of things I want. Haha. But it shows the things you can add and when you added them. Super helpful!

  • Take Advantage of Sales

I am a sale lover and I have utilized sales so much this year. I did a lot of my buying depending on what sales were going on. I always try to keep my eyes open for discount codes, flash sales, and cyber Monday sales in order to stay on budget and keep my costs low.

I did a lot of shopping with sales from Cyber Monday. I always love a good sale

Whew, that was a lot. Overall, my tips are: Make a list, set a budget, take advantage of sales, and stay organized. What are your favorite tips or tricks to staying organized for shopping for the holidays? I would love any insight you have! Have a great week and wish me luck on a last week of classes before finals!