How is it already August?!? This summer seriously flew by. I’m not ready to go back to school and start classes again. It feels like summer literally just started! I’ve been nannying in Southampton all summer, and will head back home in about a week. I’ll have the long weekend at home to recharge and pack, then move back into school a couple days later. August is kind of a weird month because it’s half summer, half school, and it’s filled with a big change of routines and settling into the school environment again. I honestly haven’t been super motivated or inspired, like I usually am at the start of a new month. Writing these goals helped me get a little more inspired, and I hope it’s a good month ahead!
Category Archives: Favorites
current amazon wishlist
I don’t know why, but I’ve been in such a shopping mood recently. I haven’t even bought very much, but I feel like I’ve been browsing a lot on different websites and looking at people’s Amazon storefronts to see their faves. Amazon is one of my favorite places to find sunglasses or jewelry for good prices, and recently I’ve been seeing cute clothes on there as well. I love hearing about other people’s current favorite products and wishlists, so today I’ve compiled twenty products on my Amazon wishlist that I’ve been eying recently!
my top 15 summer/beach read recommendations!
There’s no better time to read than during the summer- to lay out by the pool, cozy up under the shade, or have your toes in the sand while reading a good book. I love reading in the summer too because I have a lot more time, since I don’t have school. I’ve been fairly consistent with reading during the school year, but I haven’t had as much time as I’d hoped, and I would feel guilty for reading instead of doing homework. My reading taste is pretty all over the place, but when I think summer reads, I think of thrillers, books set at the beach, or rom coms. A lot of these I’ve recommended in other book posts before, but some are new, that I haven’t talked about yet! Here are my top fifteen recommendations for your next summer read!
summer 2022 plans
I finished my last exam this past Tuesday, and I am officially done with my junior year of college and on summer break! It feels crazy that I’m about to be a senior; I feel like college has flown by way faster than high school ever did. I was talking with a friend the other day about how this is technically our “last summer”, before we graduate and (hopefully) have jobs we’ll be working at over the summers. Which is kind of sad to think about, that there won’t be any more summer breaks like we’re used to during the school year. I’m super excited for this summer though, and to have a complete break from school. I had such a busy and stressful past semester that I’m so glad to not be worrying about grades or exams or projects anymore. I actually have a really exciting summer ahead, and today’s post is all about my plans and goals for the next few months!
april favorites
How crazy is it that it’s already May? This year is flying by, and April was a blur. I only have a few more days left of my junior year of college, with just two more exams. I’ve had a good semester, but it’s been very busy and stressful, so I’m so ready for summer break. I want to do a whole post dedicated to my summer goals and plans, but I’m so excited to soak up all the free time from classes and do all my favorite things back at home over the next few weeks. I will be home in Oxford for the rest of May, but starting in June, I’ll be moving to New York to nanny for the summer! I’m so excited, and I think it’s going to be such a fun experience. Be on the lookout for that post coming soon, but today I wanted to share some of my favorite products, activities, and food from April!
february favorites
Happy March! Wow, I am so ready for a new month, a fresh start. I feel like March always inspires me and brings the promises of spring and warmer weather. February flew by, and it was a bit of an up and down month for me. I feel like I’ve finally gotten into a routine with classes and work and other commitments, but I haven’t made time to prioritize my health, time for myself, or time with God. I’m going to try to stick to new habits and be more disciplined to prioritize my time better this month, instead of getting to the end of the day worn out and overwhelmed. And warmer weather always makes such a big difference in my mood and energy levels too! Today I’m sharing some of my top favorites from the past month, enjoy!
sunday reset: how I plan for the week ahead
I know I’m not alone in saying that Sundays are my big prep and reset day for the week ahead. Even if I’ve had the craziest weekend, taking some time on a Sunday night to plan out my week and get organized is a nonnegotiable for me. I’m a big planner and to-do list type of person, and writing everything out helps me to visualize how busy my upcoming week is about to be. I’ve kind of bounced around with a few different planning methods, whether it’s digital or with a paper planner, and I’ve found a mix of both that keeps me on top of things. Today I’m sharing all about how I use Sundays to plan my week ahead!
2022 goals + intentions
Happy 2022! It’s weird, because I usually get really excited and build myself up for the coming of a new year. I have all these big changes I want to make and start thinking about how the old “chapter” of the year before is closing. I honestly didn’t really feel that for 2022 though. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, haha, but I feel like it hasn’t really hit me that 2021 is over and a new year is upon us. I definitely have some goals for the year ahead and some changes that I want to make in my life, but it doesn’t feel like this extreme, looming pressure to become a whole new me or do a complete 180. The week after Christmas was spent working, doing my online class, and spending time with family. Then January 2, I went to Passion Conference for three days, which was such a great experience. It feels like I’ve only just now had time to sit down and reflect and create the routines that I want to adopt for the new year, almost a week into 2022, haha. Today I wanted to reflect a bit on 2021 and go into some of my goals for this year!
my favorite ways to work out
I’ve pretty much always been active, ever since I was a girl. I started playing soccer when I was three years old, and ran cross country/track and played soccer all through high school. I loved running so much, and being on the cross country team was definitely one of my favorite parts of my high school years. When I graduated and went to college, I definitely missed the discipline and motivation that came from being on a team. I went from having practice at least once a day, if not twice, to having no coach tell me when or how to work out. I definitely still love movement though, so it’s been fun to challenge myself and set my own goals when it comes to getting exercise. I’ve tried lots of different workouts and different types of classes, but I definitely have a few favorites!
september goals + august recap
I think August was probably the fastest month of the year… but then again, I feel like I say that about every single month. I had a pretty good month in August! Half of it was filled with rest and soaking up my last couple of weeks of summer, then the last half I moved back to college and was immediately busy with school, organizations, and hanging out with my roommates. While I’m definitely not over the fact that summer is officially over and there’s no more “free time” to just chill and not have any priorities, I’m looking forward to throwing myself into the college routine, and of course, fall! We had two days of “cooler” weather this weekend, and even though it was only 70 degrees, it made me so excited for autumn. But here we are back in the 90s by lunch, so we’ll see if it actually gets cooler anytime soon.
the love list vol. 1
Hi guys, happy Monday! Sorry for no blog post the past few weeks, I’ve been super busy moving back into school and I just started classes last Wednesday. If you didn’t know, I’m a junior at MSU with a major in PR and a minor in Marketing. So far, I really like my classes and I’m really interested in everything we’re learning! I’m taking 18 hours this year so I’ll definitely be busy, but I’m excited for getting deeper into my major and taking classes I actually enjoying. Anyway, today’s post is a new series I want to start, called the Love List. It’s basically a big favorites roundup, with everything I’ve currently been loving. I feel like it’s a fun way to do a mini life update while also sharing recommendations!
august themes + intentions
Hi!!! It’s been a minute. I’ve had such a busy summer and had so many fun things going on, but I’ve definitely neglected my blog for the past few months. I finished with my sophomore year of college at the end of April, then went on a little beach trip with my family and worked for a couple of weeks in May. Then, in the middle of May, I started my summer job at a local camp, which was a new experience for me! It was really hard at first but I ended up loving it. I was a counselor for a range of ages throughout the summer, but my favorite were the 16/17 year old girls. Then, last week, my sister and I went on a mission trip with our church to El Ocote, Honduras! I’ve been twice already, but I haven’t been in three years, and it was so cool to go back and see the people of the village again. Now that we’re back home, I have less than two weeks before I move back to college, and I’m starting to get back into a routine and productive mindset.
march goals + intentions
You guys, I’m so happy that it’s March! I definitely wouldn’t call March one of my favorite months by any means, but it is a glimmer of hope after a long, cold winter. I absolutely hate the cold and the gloom of the winter, and it really gets me down sometimes. March to me is a transition month into warmer weather, springtime, sunshine, and new growth, so I’m very excited! I don’t know if this happens to other people, but I feel like I get so motivated at the beginning of January, then get overwhelmed with stresses of school and the gloomy weather and kind of fall off track. I always love a start of a new month to set new goals and new intentions, but especially when it’s also about to be the start of a new season! Last week it was suchhhhh good weather. It got up to 80 degrees on Sunday, and it makes me so excited for it to be warm full time. I’ve been brainstorming new creative ideas, trying to start new habits and hold myself to them, and stay focused with my health goals. I just really want to use this month to work on myself and get in a good routine with my life!
my recent iced coffee recipe
A year ago today, I never would have thought of writing this post. I used to never drink coffee, I hated the taste and never grew up drinking it. While I still am not obsessed with it, I’ve gotten more into coffee over the past few months and have been experimenting with different combos! I only drink it a couple times a week, if I’m especially tired or have a busy day ahead. I’m not huge on the taste, and definitely couldn’t drink it black, but I’m making progress at least, haha. Back in Christmas break, I was drinking it with a sugar free vanilla creamer and one of those sugar free vanilla syrups. It was definitely delicious, but it masked the coffee taste completely and just had a bunch of fake sweeteners and additives. I’ve slowly been trying to wean myself off of the different syrups and flavorings and try more natural ingredients. I find that my stomach feels much better and I’m actually starting to get used to the taste!