Tag: simple living

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Currently

Currently #19

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! If I had to describe this month in one word it would be rain. We had so much rain, when we finally got our first day of sunshine, I couldn’t be happier. I’m all for a rainy day here or there but not for a month of summer. But the good news is we have had plenty of sunny days since then. Here’s a look into my life this past month.

What I’m up to: I’ve been doing a lot of indoor activities and seeing lots of family and friends. I saw family over the Fourth of July which was great. I also went to my high school reunion with some friends that I’m still close with. I also saw some college friends too. It was a busy month, but I was so happy to do so many things and see so many people. I also took on a new role at work, it’s been fun to learn new things!

Behind the scene at work

What I’m wearing: I got some new work dresses from Amazon. I can’t wait to show you them soon in. post in a few weeks! For days off, I have been wearing lots of shorts and tee shirt sets and of course a few easy throw on dresses. Here’s my past posts on summer looks and vacation looks.

One of my Amazon purchases!

What I’m reading: I finished The Bookstore on the Beach. It was definitely a fun and summer read. It was a lot deeper than I thought, there was a lot of challenging issues that were tackled. I really liked how there was a lot about the relationships between mothers and their daughters. Speaking of women, our book club book for this month was called The Secret Lives of the First Ladies. It was a fun historical read. The writing was very modern and light. It almost felt as if you were having conversations with them. I learned a lot about the wives of the men who helped run our country. It also was interesting to see how much these women endured through their lives. I’m currently reading One Summer in Paris, I just started but it’s already looking to be a great read. 

What I’m Watching: Before you ask, yes, I am still watching Offspring, butttttt I’m on the final season! So hopefully this is the last time you read about it. But in all seriousness, it’s been a wonderful show. I’m so glad it was recommended to me. It’s a great show all about family dynamics and all the things they go through. It’s been a perfect show to watch in the spring and summer. Season 2 of Lupin was so good! I loved the ending. It felt like the first episode. It’s a must watch if you haven’t seen it yet. I also am catching up on Virgin River. It’s such a cute and classic Hallmark-y show on Netflix. It’s been such a light summer show. Definitely recommend if you are looking for a summer show. 

What I’m Loving: I’ve been loving the simple things. With all the rain these past few weeks, I’ve loved taking time to read more, curl up and light a candle or watch movies or tv shows. But when the rain breaks, I love getting out for a walk or just sitting outside. Plus, nothing says summer like some fresh flowers or an ice cream cone! Taking summer adventures have been fun too!

Heading to the Botanical Gardens in Cleveland has been a fun summer adventure
Another shot of the botanical gardens

What Inspires Me: I’m inspired by all the green after the rain. Everything looks so much more alive after a storm. I’ve also been inspired by supporting more local spots for meals and treats. It’s been so nice to see the community out and about more this summer and enjoying food at home!

Enjoying a summer brunch outside

What I accomplished: I’ve loved being able to see so many friends and family this past month. That has been a huge accomplishment. I’ve also gotten adjusted to my new routine and schedule which has made life much easier. 

Goals Accomplished from Last Month I got to celebrate the Fourth of July after work with family and friends. From yummy food, to fireworks, and seeing people. It was one of my favorite days of the year. I’m also getting lots of things done on my summer to do list.

Fireworks on the Fourth
My little pup getting in the Independence Day spirit!

Goals for the New Month: Enjoy the last month of summer! Luckily, I don’t have to go back to school but my siblings will. It’s been so nice to have another summer home with them. I can’t wait for more time outside and in the sun and continuing to see family and friends

A tasty meal outside supporting a local spot is my idea of a perfect time!

That’s a look into my life this month. What things have you been doing this past month. Let me know!

Categories
Fabulous living

Thoughts During A Pandemic

 These past few months have been filled with so many unknowns, but in any situation, I always look for the silver linings, so even when the world stopped and got turned upside down, I still wanted to find the good in it. I’ve learned a lot about myself during these past few weeks and months. 

One of the things that have really helped me every day is to simply put things in perspective and maintain a grateful and positive attitude through it all, yes, days were hard and challenging, but taking it one day at a time, helped me so much. Another things that has helped me as been journaling, not just daily but also a separate journal about life and working through a pandemic, I remember what I’m feeling every day, but years from now, will I? Keeping all my notes and feelings in one spot hase been so helpful too!

I was lucky enough to work through the pandemic, although days were filled with uncertainty, I was so fortunate to still be able to work. Another thing I was super grateful for was the fact I was with my family the entire time, I got bonus time with my parents and siblings as they worked and learned from home. I was able to see them before and after work, have quality time to be together that I may not have gotten in the past. Another positive in a dark situation. 

What really stands out to me during the pandemic, was the importance of truly slowing down. During college, especially during my senior year, I felt spread too thin and overwhelmed with commitments, I have gotten into a much better routine since working but this pandemic, truly showed me that you don’t have to have a full schedule every single day and this is something I want to adapt in my life more this summer. Yes, more things are reopening and we are entering into a new normal but I want to still continue with slower days when I can. At the beginning of this year, I read, When Less Becomes More by Emily Ley, you can read the review here. One of the biggest takeaways from the book was living a slower and more meaningful life and the joy and beauty in the simple things. I have truly found the beauty in the simple things and the importance of taking it slow. I have also learned to not take things for granted, like just going into a store to browse, you can’t do that anymore. I also found you don’t have to be busy all the time or doing things all the time to be happy and enjoy life. 

Taking it one day at a time and realizing that sometimes, the simple things in life are better.

What have your learned about yourself through the pandemic? How has your outlook on life changed?

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Fun Ways to Organize

How I am Staying on top of my Schedule

Hey hey friends! Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had an enjoyable and fun Labor Day weekend. Although, I was at school, I did have a fun weekend with friends, and it was a great way to say goodbye to summer. Although, school started back last week for me, I’m still trying to find a good routine. Last week was all about getting adjusted to a new schedule, classes, work time and organizing all the appointments. This week is weird since we had off yesterday and tonight I’m going to a concert with friends. I’m trying my best to soak up every moment at school this semester.

I know I’m late to the game, but I am finally on the band wagon with using the calendar on my phone and laptop….I know I know, it’s a long time coming. Before I get started on how and why I am using this system now, I want to give a little bit of background on how I stay organized. 

A few years back, I did a post about staying organized with school. You can read about it here.

Let me break it down for how I stay on top of things, I have a feeling this may change once I graduate from college, but for now this is what works. 

  1. Big Desk Calendar
My desk calendar

I love to see everything laid out in front of my on my desk. I have everything color coded. Certain colors for classes, Green for school things (tutoring, dinners, meetings), Blue for Work (staff meetings, when things are due), Red for when I work, and then purple for anything else that comes up. I like seeing the month as a whole and this helps me plan better when I have new things to put on the calendar. I got this planner from the Simplified Collection by Emily Ley at Target. I put everything on this calendar- it’s basically my master one-school, work, home, family, friends. It all goes here. 

  • Small Planner

This comes in great for assignments and school work. I got this planner from Staples with the At a Glance collaboration with Simplified by Emily Ley (do you see a pattern here?!- You better believe I am getting the 2020 Simplified Planner when they Launch tomorrow!)

This has the week layout. Every day is split in two columns (The My Day and To Do). In the My Day is where I put any meetings, events, test dates or things to remember. In the To Do is where I list all my homework assignments.

What my weekly spread looks like

This is the first year that I used the monthly calendar too. Although, I love my desk calendar I was scheduling things without looking. I only write the important things in the month section like tutoring, meetings, scheduled events just so I have a reference. This planner is mostly used for school things-homework, exams, meetings for school and work things for school. 

The month of September as a whole in the month section of calendar
  • iCalendar 

This past summer, I started to use the calendar app on my phone and laptop to keep track of work things and events happening with family and friends. Since I wasn’t in school I wasn’t using a planner and since I spent most every day on my laptop it made sense to have my calendar in front of me, now I am loving it. It’s so easy to use and I LOVE how you can sync your phone and laptop calendars to be the same. I am also able to customize when I put things on the calendar and color coordinate them too. Also, the best part, by using iCalendar it keeps all my blog posts in order and I can schedule things better too.

For this calendar its divided by four topics: school (blue), blog (purple), personal (yellow) and important (red).

My four categories of what I put on the calendar

For school I only put important meetings, appointment and work commitments( no homework, no tests, no when my classes are), for blog I put down what posts are being published when, personal is activities and things with friends and family, and important are basically when the big things are due like credit card statements. This calendar is the big picture stuff, I refer to this when I am planning an event or meeting to see if I have conflicts and I always have it with me, unlike my desk calendar and planner which aren’t always on me. 

The whole month at a glance

Is it necessary to have all of these? Probably not, but it’s what works best for me. I am a super organized person, so I like to do all this and keep myself on top of everything. I am thinking once I graduate about ditching the desk calendar and just keeping a planner and using the calendar on my phone. Thoughts from any recent graduates about what works best for you? After I graduate, I want to focus on simplifying my life more and I know once I am done with school a lot of these activities will be done too, so for now I am enjoying my life with my three color coordinated calendars!

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

Categories
Fashion

Look of the Day #42

Happy March!

Spring Vibes here on out!

Although, it may not be acting like Spring yet, I’m going to start transitioning my clothes from winter to spring. This is always the hardest part of the year, its cold in the mornings but warm in the afternoon. Its always so hard to plan ahead.  This outfit I have planned for today is perfect for chillier temperatures by giving off Spring vibes.

I love to layer my clothes and this outfit is no exception. Changing it up, I am going to start from the top and work my way down. I am a fan of GAP and their shirts. I am a sucker for long sleeves and stripes, so when I saw this on sale, I had to get it. This preppy pink is my favorite shade of pink and I love how it contrast against the gray.

I wore this thin blue vest from Francesca’s Boutique, this has been a staple in my wardrobe this year. I have mixed and matched it with so many outfits. The vest is versatile, so you can dress it up or down. For example, I dressed it down with jeggings today. The blue vest matches my blue jeggings excellent. I got these jeggings from Target. I try to stick with jeans but sometimes you have those long days where jeggings are necessary.

I wore my favorite shoe boots to top off the outfit. I wore simple gold jewelry to dress up my outfit. I typically wear a pair of gold studs and my birthstone necklace unless I have something else picked out. My go-to hair style is a simple high pony tail. It’s up and out of my face which is how I work best.

That’s a look into my closet for today. What are you most looking forward to for Spring?