September Goal Reveiw

September Goal Review

I think this month I did pretty good with my goals. 
 
My goals for September were:

1.        No shop September
I did not shop for clothing, accessories or craft supplies all month. That did not mean that I did not window shop!

2.        Organization
My Organization could have been a little better. I think I organized my work desk the best making working more effective and more productive. Everywhere else though, its still an organized mess. I will continue to work on this next month. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day so my organization will take some time.

3.        Balance
Balancing work and life was pretty successful. I have been much more relaxed lately and making time for myself whether its reading for a half hour on lunch or spending time at night just reading. Work gets crazy sometimes and I let it effect me at home-Which is not good. Making small changes to my routine, has really helped me balance life and work and everything else. Even when I am practicing yoga, I feel more balanced literally. With the Autumn Equinox on Wednesday, everything was equal that day- light and dark. I like to think of it as it’s a new change and time for a fresh start.

My last, unofficial goal was to take a photo a day. I think I was pretty successful; I was always on the lookout for something interesting to snap a photo of. Here is what I saw in September:

Check out my October Goals coming up in a few days!

Planning out my life

Erin Condren Review

Over the summer, while sitting in the hospital to pass the time, I debated whether I needed to get a planner. For the first half of the year, I did not use a planner, just a little calendar and a notebook. It was working fine, but I missed having a planner. I like keeping everything together. I read reviews on Pinterest, blogs and anything else that reviewed different planners. I narrowed my choices down to Lilly Pulitizer, Day Designer, Erin Condren, Kate Spade, and Simplified Planner.

I made of list of what I definitely needed and what I could pass on in a planner. .
My ‘must have lists’ included:
(+) monthly Calendar
(+) weekly view (horizontal)
(+) space to write notes in both calendar views
(+) aesthetically pretty

What I could pass on included:
(-) Meal Planner (I don’t cook, duh!)
(-) Vertical layout (I get confused too easily)
(-) No writing space

I loved all the choices but when it came down to actually choosing, I chose ERIN CONDREN. She had the most options, the prettiest colors and even though it was expensive, I was able to get the rest of this year (July to December and Plus ALL of next year).

I was so excited when I finally received the pretty box with my new personalized planner in it.

 

The box itself was so pretty, i couldn't wait to see what my planner really looked like.

 

The cover turned out great, I decided to choose my own colors and I was a bit nervous to see if the colors were going to match! (They don’t give you a proof of your personalization) I ended up loving my choices and the saying on the front is something that I love!








I love the goal planner section in the front, I haven’t used  yet but I think I will start placing my monthly goals in each box (one for each month). There are inspirational quotes scattered within the planner; I enjoy these so so much!
I added my important dates into each calendar and also using the perpetual calendar, I found in the back of the planner too! The back of the planner had stickers, a pocket to hold loose paper and a clear zip case to hold little things. All these extras make the planner even more special and I had no idea that they were there- What a nice surprise!

I got my calendar at the very end of August, so I felt a little bad to waste those two months; I decided to use those to extra pages to create. I was very nervous to watercolor on those pages but they turned out to be some of my favorites.
 

I use the monthly overview to plan my month out and in the notes section, I put my monthly goals. Every time I look my monthly view, I can always look at my goals.

My weekly view is used to record my outfits, what, if any, moments that stood out and how I have been feeling each day.

Overall, I really like this planner. I want to start to use it more now I am more comfortable with it. (you know there is an adjustment period with new planners)

Check out Erin Condren for all her fun products.
 

((I did not receive any commission or the planner from the company, I really love this planner and I wanted to share with everyone how excited I was about it. All my thoughts and photos in the post are my own.))

I like big (books) and I cannot lie...

BLOGTEMBER  Whats on my List to Read and books I’ve read this month

I wanted to get back into reading again this month- with my hiatus over the summer. I wanted to jump back into my list (yes, I have a list of books that I want to read) and yet  nothing looked even remotely interesting. I decided to wander through the new section in my library. 
 

For the Right Reasons by Sean Lowe caught my eye. I knew he was the bachelor but I never watched the show. The book was cute. It talked about Sean’s life before the bachelorette; his life when he was on the bachelorette (lots of behind the scenes information ); then how he met is wife, Catherine. I enjoyed this book because it was an easy read, it kept my attention and the adorable vintage photographs in the center of the book were great. Being neither a football fan nor a bachelor(ette) fan, this book was great.

I had some more troubles finding my next book. I decided to look into my bookshelf (aka the back of the closet) and found some old favorites:

Say hello to my old favorites

 

I decided to start with Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. I read this book years ago when it first came out in 2001 (YIKES!!)) and fell in love with it because the author is actually a New Jersey Local (living in the next town over!!) I got to meet Ms. McCafferty a bunch of times over the years and followed this series until the last book (Perfect Fifths). The book takes place in fictious Pineville and all of the destinations she mentions in the book are actual places in New Jersey. I really enjoyed this book when I was 14 and now re-reading this series at 27 is different but still the same. 
 

I also finished Second Helpings- Megan McCafferty as well.  This was the second book in the Megan Mccafferty series. This book picks up with the main character Jessica Darling starting her senior year in high school. All your favorite characters are back for more adventures.

Because I'm so excited to see what happens next,  I jumped right into Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty. I finished it last night and it was just as good as I remember. Marcus Flutie and Jessica Darling's relationship is complicated as ever and it. Can't wait to dive into Fourth Comings!

Those are the FOUR books I read this month. I am a very happy that i read so many books this month!I am so glad to be back on this reading train.


I have high hopes for my October books. They include:
 

Eleanor & Park- Rainbow Rowell

Before I fall- Lauren Oliver

Where She Went- Gayle Forman

Luckiest Girl Alive- Jessica Knoll

 Yes Please- Amy Poehler

The Royal We- Heather Cocks

 The Lovers Dictionary- David Levithan

The Santangeols- Jackie Collins

The Rosie Project- Graeme Simsion

Still Alice- Lisa Genova

The Interestings- Meg Wolitzer

Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty 
Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

I know there is no way possible to read all these book in a month, but I like options. Also the library might not have that one available.

Thanks for reading along!

 

Blogger Shoutout!

Thursday, Sept. 24: Shout out five of your favorite bloggers. Who are your regular reads?

I have a whole list of bloggers that I read each day but there are certainly ones I REALLY look forward to reading.

My Top Five Seven Bloggers are:

Carly @ The College Prepster 

Chelsea @  Anchors Aweigh

Annie @ Classic Annie 
Meg @  Everyday Meg

Brittany @ Life of Charmings 

Christina @ Carolina Charm
Bailey @  Brave Love

But truth be told, choosing my top favorite bloggers was really really hard! 
 
You all are wonderful and so inspiring! I love them all, and all for different reasons too some are mommy bloggers, fashion bloggers, everyday bloggers, creative bloggers and everything in between.  Each one always have something to inspire me by! Beautiful stories and beautiful photos.Each of the girls write from their hearts and let their love of life shine through! 

Check them out!

I got it from my MAMA!

Happy Birthday to my Mama. You have been my rock, my best friend, my stylist, my photographer, my personal cook and everything else in between. She is the best thing in my life (and daddy too!). 
Many wishes for the Happiest birthday! 

 

Favorite snapshots from the summer

Here is a roundup of some of my favorite photos from the last couple of months 

 View from the emergency room/// Get well Flowers

 

Silly selfie/// bike rides to the library

 

Dressing Room Selfies

 Penelope met her friends//// Fred and Ethel in the Yard

 

favorite view from the back bays

 

Fourth of July Selfie with my Parents

 

Such pretty flowers

Whats in my bag?

The lovely Bailey over at BraveLove  has been hosting Blog-tember all month and Tuesday’s prompt (what’s in your bag) caught my attention.

My bag always has band-aids, a notebook, random papers from the day and at least a half dozen bobby pins.

 

 How my bag looks when I cant find something.

 

 Whats actually in there.

 
My Favorite things in my bag are:

My Wallet 

 

There is a (funny) story behind this wallet. I was working at Victoria’s Secret back in the day and one of the customers took out her wallet and it was a beautiful Tiffany Green color and the perfect size. In awe of this perfect wallet, I asked her where she got it and to my surprise, she said it was from Tiffany's! Once I got home, I searched online to find it and to my disbelief, I actually found it! After telling mama about this wallet and my love for it, I went back on line to buy it and it was GONE! I was devastated. Mama somehow worked her magic and found the very last one on the East Coast. After a crazy semester at school, I came home to find a certain Tiffany green bag on my bed. Inside was the wallet I fell in love with. I still love it to this day. 

 

Prayer Cards and Rosary Beads

Its nice to always know that these items are close by. The rosary beads are from my grandmother and I cherish them a lot.

Business Cards

Even before my full time job, I had business cards. Who did I think I was going to give those to- I have no idea but it was helpful when I was taking classes and needed to give someone my email address. These are bright and colorful and I suddenly realized I need to order more of them. I found a cute cardholder that matches my wallet perfectly.

On the Go Makeup

Its no secret my everyday makeup routine is 5 minutes or less. Simple is the way I like to go with makeup. I always keep four products in my purse for just in case situations. Laura Mercier Tinted Mosturizer, Clinque Blush and Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets and Laura Mercier Lip Balm. I feel pull together with these 4 essentials.
 

What is a post about the contents of your bag without talking about the bag itself!?

My Current Bag Today

This is an old favorite I found, hidden in the back of my closet!

I’m pretty sure I found this at TJ Maxx a few years ago. I grabbed it instantly when I saw it because I knew it looked like the much higher price (and very coveted) Chanel Bag.

Source

I hope you enjoyed snooping around my bag as much as I did!

Currently

I don't know about you but September is flying by already!  Lots of fun things happening lately and I thought it might be a good time to Take Stock in my Life:

Making: a list of books to read this fall
Drinking: Pink Lemonade 
Reading: sloppy firsts by Megan Mccafferty
Wanting: for the leaves to change to colors
Looking: For a some fun fall adventure ideas
Playing:  "like a wrecking ball" by Eric Church for the 100th time
Wasting:  paint 
Wishing: for a fun morning at yoga tomorrow(615am!!!)
Enjoying: practicing yoga three times a week
Waiting: for mom's birthday next week
Liking:  the cool crisp mornings
Wondering:  about my next painting
Loving:  my new planner
Hoping: this week will go by quickly, as usual
Marveling: at the leaves falling 
Needing:  an extra day between Saturday and Sunday
Smelling: pumpkin everything (yuck!)
Wearing:  a mix between summer clothes and fall clothes
Noticing:  kindness can really make a difference
Knowing: that I have an impact as an Alumni of my college
Thinking: About October already
Bookmarking:  trying to fix my sound on my computer after updating to windows 10
Opening: my moonroof to feel the crisp air
Giggling: at the silly things that come out of my mouth
Feeling: good lately.

i hope everyone elses September is as awesome as ever.

Grandparents Day

Happy Grandparents day!

I thought I would commemorate this day with some of my favorite photos of my grandparents