{Happy Wednesday}

So, I've been SUPER busy lately with a whole bunch of tests and things so I thought I would just post this poem. It's not my greatest and maybe its pretty bad, but I would love feed back and response. Thanks!

They told me, in the fifth grade, that “growing up” was a sign of maturity. I have boys on my bus to prove them wrong. But growing up isn’t all its advertised to be. Like every other kid I’ve dreamed of this world, and now I want to travel back in time. I used to read poems like this and I didn’t understand (and sometimes I still don’t), but I slightly get it now. I used to think I could only cry when a B was my biggest problem, but now, that’s the least of my worries. When someone loves you and you don’t love them back or you love them, but they love someone else-its my new reality, its my real life now. Its not as fun to be considered “grown up”. Now, I grow apart from my friends because we’re not the people we used to be, people change. History cannot repeat itself. I try to end my poems with resolution in revelation, but I can’t, not this time.

{Motivation Monday Quote}

Last week I was completely off kilter with the schedule, so I just decided to take a break. This week I highly encourage you guys to take a break for yourselves. I know that for me, school is just starting to become a confusing melee and its starting to get stressful. I can't believe that my class has already had a standardized test! Anyway, take a break, take some time for yourself. Its absolutely not a bad thing to just chill for a little bit. And in response to that:

"All that I know is I'm breathing, all we can do is keep breathing."-Ingrid Michaelson

I don't know about you, but I love Ingrid Michaelson and I'll try not to quote song lyrics too often but I felt like this line was perfect. Have a great week lovelies!

{Motivation Tuesday Quote}

You guys, I am so sorry I didn't post yesterday! I don't have a whole lot to say other than that, but I hope you had a happy Monday and a good rest of the week!

"The most wasted of all days are the ones without laughter." -E.E. Cummings

{My Top 7 Uses for Coconut Oil}

Coconut oil has so many uses from your body to your hair and more, I know I use it all the time. I also have many uses for it and it was pretty hard to narrow it down to just seven, but here goes:

Top 7 Uses For Coconut Oil

1. Oatmeal- If you've never tried putting coconut oil in your oatmeal, I swear it will change your life! I don't know if it's the added fat or the flavor, but a 1/4 teaspoon greatly changes the flavor.

2. Conditioner- I can't say that this works better than my Pantene, but it works. Sometimes I don't use it as much as a conditioner, but a scalp treatment.

3. Vegan Butter Substitute- This is probably the most obvious one, but if you put your oil in the fridge for a bit to harden, it works just like butter.

4. Coffee- I recently started replacing milk/creamer in my coffee with coconut oil and popping it in the blender for a bit and it is AMAZING! Be careful because a little bit goes a long way.

5. Oil Pulling- Okay, I did this for a little while and I loved it. The only problem was that I didn't always have 20 minutes every morning to swish my mouth with oil.

6. Shaving Cream- I like to mix a little shaving cream with coconut oil to create the only shaving cream that leaves my legs soft with out having to put lotion on afterwards.

{Cinnamon Apple Chips}

I feel like we all go through it: you can't decide what to put in your lunch. PB&J is just not good enough and I, for some reason, can't stand sandwiches. Nonetheless, these apple chips are so good and a perfect alternative to cookies or anything sweet to put in your lunch this fall.

Not only are they wonderful, they are so pretty! They are healthy and overall just super yummy and they're great for fall. So, here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Apple Chips

1. Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Take your favorite kind of apple (preferably one that's crunchier like honey crisp) and wash it and then use a knife to cut off the bottom of the apple.

2. Use a mandolin on a 3mm setting and mandolin away! If you get to the seeds, just remove them with a knife and keep going (you'll see a pretty star pattern).

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the apple slices on them. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar (you can also use Stevia or normal sugar-or no sugar at all).

4. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, flip each apple slice and bake for another 20-30 minutes.

That's it! They are so easy and super good. I hope you try this out and it will get you out of the lunch rut. Be sure to watch them after you flip them (I burned my first batch), so be careful with that. Do you guys like recipe posts? I really like doing them so I might do more of them soon! Have a good rest of the week!

They're so pretty!

{Motivation Monday Quote}

Hey guys! I don't have a whole lot to say today, but I did find something very exciting and interesting over the weekend: I have readers in Germany and France! So, if you are one of those people, thanks for reading (even if you hate it…)! Its just super exciting to me that I have readers all over the world, not just in the U.S. Okay, now onto the quote:

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."-Roald Dahl

Stay positive. I've been trying to avoid saying that the past couple weeks, but its so hard. Roald Dahl is right, if you stay positive with good thought you just seem more radiant. So have a good week!

{For The Love of Artichokes!}

Recently my family ate artichokes for the first time and they turned out AMAZING! They were so good and would be perfect as an appetizer (or we just ate them for dinner). Not only are they delicious, they are also so beautiful and I got a couple really good shots of them. But first, here's the easy recipe! It will be the easiest guest impressing food you will ever make!

Steamed Artichokes:

1. Start by rinsing the artichokes and then cutting off all the pointy end with kitchen shears.

2. Chop off just the very top leaves with a knife and then remove the stem, leaving a 1" stump.

3. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Place in a steam basket in a pot of boiling water for about 20-35 minutes or until it's easy to pull off a petal.

5. Remove with tongs and serve warm with aioli or brush with butter.

These are so good and have such great color:

I even infused the butter with some basil and it was perfect!

These pictures look so much better since I started using my dad's olympus instead of my FujiFilm

The "choke" of the artichoke is gorgeous!

This is a great recipe to use this weekend and they are so good! There's also a way to roast them if you look that up and I'm sure that gives them great flavor. Happy Friday!

{My New Found Love: the Tee Shirt Dress}

So recently I have fallen in love with large tee shirts that you wear as a dress… This new tee shirt dress trend going on right now is so amazing. There are literally so many ways to style it and its so comfortable and versatile.

My favorite way to wear it is with a pair of old Converse/Vans/Keds. It gives such a simple laid back look and I wear that to school, on the weekends, to dance, really anywhere that I could wear jeans. I also like to top it off with a flannel or denim button down. If you do want to dress that up a little, just add a cute necklace and its perfect. Another way, since fall is here, is to wear it with a cute jacket or sweater, some knee high socks, and boots.

The best thing, though, is that you can also dress it up. I like wearing it to church sometimes with some oxfords, a nice sweater, and a pretty leather bag. You can also wear some nice flats and a sweater.

I am clearly very excited about this trend and I hope to see it going around more. The dresses can get pretty pricey in stores but it is so easy to make one yourself. I just took some of my dad's old tee shirts (because I'm super short) and added some extra fabric to the bottom so it wasn't too short. The greatest part about making your own is that you can make it out of any fabric and re-use some old closet basics.

I hope you guys liked this first fashion based post! If I get enough trafficking after this post I might start doing more fashion things. Of course, I will still be doing a Monday Quote every week. So I hope you guys have a good rest of the week!

{Motivation Monday Quote}

Happy Fall! So, I wanted to start off the week by telling you guys how much it means that you read my blog. I was a little worried at first, and I started off slow on page views but that number is really increasing. I am so thankful that I have the resources and time to run this blog and its also so fun for me.

So this week, I was thinking of one of my favorite teachers. She is a long time friend of mine since 6th grade and I love her to death. Since I was thinking of this, I always used to send her fun, motivational notes every once in a while. It was just a fun way for me to make someone's day.

So now for this week's quote:

"Stay focused and extra sparkly."

So just as I said stay sparkly and have a good week!

P.S.: I've started using my dad's Olympus camera and the photos are so much better quality. I will definitely start adding more pictures to my posts, I promise!

{Send a Package}

I don't know about you, but I love receiving mail and I know a whole lot of people who love it too. Sometimes a care package is the perfect way to make someone's day and it shows just how much you care. Remember, it's not what you put in it that matters, it's the thought that you put into it. Doing something nice for someone else always makes me so happy and puts me in a really good mood.

Step 1:
Start to collect different things. You absolutely don't have to buy everything, you don't have to buy anything if you don't want to. Create things, collect herbs and flowers, anything that reminds you of that person.

Step 2:
Package everything individually with pretty ribbons, tiny boxes, tissue paper, and pouches. Making everything individual is like lots of tiny surprises for who ever will be receiving. It also shows how much time you put into the package for them.

Step 3:
Write a sweet note. A nice long one is great, but a little pick me up is the best. A note is really what makes your package special.

Step 4:
Decorate your box and send it off!

I hope this gives you guys a fun idea for this weekend it you're planning on staying in. Care packages aren't just fun to receive but also so much fun for me to make for my favorite people. This is also a great thing to use for small birthday presents, camp care packages, and mother's day presents. Happy Weekend!

{How I Organize My Agenda}

Happy Wednesday Everyone! So, I know right about now is when my schedule gets really busy and hectic and all that good stuff, so keeping track of it is really important. I have a very specific way that I like to organize my planner/agenda. Lucky for you, you can get really pretty ones and that definitely helps to motivate you to use it. My specific planner this year is from Sakroots.

In about 6th grade, I found my love for agendas. It was a really easy way to organize my life and have it all at my finger tips. It really helps once group projects start and other extra activities and meetings are so you can schedule accordingly and have all dates right there.

Just a quick mock up of what it looks like

The main things I use to organize my agenda are colored pens and sticky notes. So probably the most general thing in my agenda is the month by month calendar. I use different colors for different things: red-school projects and dates, lavender-extracurricualr activities, pink-social things, purple-birthdays, blue-blog schedule. This is definitely the most organized thing and what I use the most for reference for important dates and meetings.

Next, on the day by day (where they have like 9-10 lines for each day of the week), I keep this super organized every day. I don't necessarily use color coding (I do use color though) it is speckled with sticky notes on each day. On the actual lines is where I write my assignments, homework, and reminders for the next day, and then on the sticky note I write my timed out schedule for the day (after school) and I stick that on the next day. Then the next day, I just stick it over top of the day it was meant for.

That's really it to my agenda, its not super exciting to you, but it gets me really excited. My way might not be efficient for you, but check out some other blogs and youtube videos and kind of pick out pieces here and there to make your own system. Have a good week!

{Motivation Monday Quote}

Happy Monday! Ya, not really. Monday's are always a drag for me with late rehearsals and lots of homework and a whole week to look foreword too, right? I hope you guys are excited because I actually have some good posts planned for this week!

There isn't a whole lot for me to say today, so I guess I'll jump right into the quote:

"If today is the worst day of your life then you know tomorrow will be better."

Have a good week, lovelies!

{My Top 5 Back Pack Essentials}

I am definitely a "back pack girl". If I'm on a trip, or on a plane, and obviously to school, I have a back pack. Back packs are just so versatile when you're not trying to be fancy. These top five essentials are for both school and travel, but I always have them with me (in my book bag).

1. Paper and pen. Okay, so this is technically two things, but so important. I actually keep a sketch book/journal so that I can take notes, journal, or draw.

2. Mints or gum. This one is fairly obvious, but I chew a lot of gum. Also, when I'm hungry and have nothing to eat I can chew gum or eat a mint.

3. A pair of socks. Whether for gym class, or soggy shoes, or a cold day, socks are just good to have.

4. A granola bar. I am constantly known as the girl who is always hungry, so I like to keep some sort of un-perishable snack in my bag.

5. Sticky Notes. Sticky notes are just great for leaving notes, reminders and what not. Another thing that's just good to have.

I hope this was helpful. I'm sorry I haven't been posting the greatest things lately, but I promise I will be taking lots of pictures this weekend to have some good articles next week! Have a good weekend!

{All About Journaling}

I LOVE stationary and sticky notes and pens (and a whole lot more)! I also love writing, so when those two things got together, and made a baby (a baby I thought I should meet) called journaling, I was amazed.

I have been a pretty dedicated "journaler" since about sixth grade. I'm not a diary person at all, I don't confide any secrets in my journals and I don't keep any secret dreams in it. On the contrary, I do write a lot of poetry in it as well as opinionated writings, quotes, and creative thoughts. I also like to keep blog post ideas in it so I never run out.

Journaling is obviously something very personal and its something that you usually enjoy and love or you completely hate it. Many people also keep "a journal" as the form of a blog (I don't, I just blog for fun). Journaling doesn't always have to be a stereotypical "Dear Diary" thing. It can be so much more and its so different for everybody. One of my friends writes a lot of short stories and another writes jokes and all sorts of things, where as I keep it as a form of expression. A journal for expression isn't for everybody, sometimes a journal is just a good way to reflect on the day and take in what happened and count your blessings.

Journaling is something I really love and something you could really love too. For all I know you could hate it, but don't knock it till ya try it! Happy Wednesday Everyone!

{Motivation Monday Quote}

So like every other Monday, today is a quote. I like to do quotes on Mondays because they're an overall great way to start the week. I really like to look up, pin, and write down (for my quote jar) a new quote every day that relates to anything that happened that day. It's just good motivation to keep going and keep trying.

I think we all just have those days where we haven't done anything productive and we're just tired. I know I say this every week, but a positive attitude will help things move a little faster. But sometimes it's just too hard to always be positive, so give yourself a break every once in a while because you probably deserve it.

Hope you guys have a great week!

"Stop the glorification of busy."

{Why I Love Goal Setting and Why You Should Too}

Goal setting is something I've only started recently, but it has helped so much. For me, its all a mental thing (I cannot keep a long term goal). If you are like me, then a weekly goal is the way to go. To start, a list:

5 Reasons Why You Should Set Goals

1.Gives you something to work towards

2.Increases your personal ambition

3.Increases your productivity and efficiency

4.You feel proud when you finish

5.You'll get to the end so you can feel proud

Okay, so my last reason there wasn't so great, but goals give you something to work towards and you sometimes end up way beyond where you thought you would. I find that setting a yearly goal never works for me. Maybe it works for you, but I don't know anyone who actually keeps their resolution for an entire year. Because I set weekly goals, it gives me a certain time limit that isn't so far down the road. It helps me to work quicker and more efficiently. Also with short term goals, you can list a whole bunch of little things (that all add up) and at the end of the day, feel more accomplished for checking all the tasks off your list. With the feeling of accomplishment comes the feeling of confidence to get more things done. I always feel super pumped whenever I get a whole bunch of tasks finished and I know I can finish many more.

A little off topic, but in school, recording your scores in each class can help you feel more organized in your ambition. It can help you reach the grades you want to.

I do hope that this has helped you. Even if you're not super keen on goal setting, try to set a goal for a day. Make a whole list of every single little thing you have to do. When you finish the list it feels like you can take on the world! So ya, set goals and feel accomplished, that is my saying of the day. Happy Friday, have a great weekend!

{5 Ways to Make Your Hectic Morning Smoother}

Whether you are a student or if you have a job, you most likely have to wake up early, get where you're going, and still not look like a train wreck. So here are my top five tips for a smoother (but still hectic) morning:

5 Ways to Transform Your Morning

1. Set out your outfit and whatever make up products you're going to use, the night before. This helps so much because you can just get out of bed and everything is there.

2. As hard as it is, try to rise early everyday. This gets your internal clock on a regulated schedule making getting up early much easier later on.

3. Put all shoes, bags, lunches etc. near the door, already packed, so you don't end up forgetting something.

4. Make a checklist every night for the next day to stay on track with your schedule and be productive.

5. Make the day count. Try and put yourself in a productive and positive mind set every morning. Its just a great way to start the day. 

Most of those are just easy habits to incorporate into your daily night routine. Try and accomplish as much as you can before bed to insure an easy morning without any forgotten tasks.

{Motivation Monday Quote}

First of all, Happy Labor Day! It is so exciting to have a small break (after only the first week of school…whew) and have a quick breather. Lucky for me, my friend and I are spending our long weekend out at the lake! I have brought my camera, so I hope I can get a few good, peaceful, scenic pictures…

I've decided that from now on, every Monday I will be posting one of my favorite quotes (most likely from my Pinterest) that I think is motivating. Taking a break and a breather is a great way to keep your mind sharp when studying and quotes are definitely one of the main ways I like to do that. They give me a couple minutes to think about something that doesn't always correlate to school, but possibly my every day life. I also like to keep a "Quote Jar" filled with quotes that I like when I want to take a break (and not get too distracted pinning things...).

I hope you guys have a great week and only you can decide whether you will or not.

"I want to think again of noble things, I want to be light and frolicsome, I want to be improbable, beautiful, and afraid of nothing as though I had wings."-Mary Oliver

{The Advantages of Color-Coding Your Notes}

I am definitely what they would call a "visual learner". I usually have to have things written out or organized with color or symbols to remember things. I am also a firm believer in color coding your notes.

High liters from Target

On one hand, my notes do look a bit like a child's coloring book, but make no mistake. During class, I will take notes as usual and adding color is the way I study. Not only does adding color all over the place make studying fun for me, but it doesn't feel like studying. Over time I've realized that you really benefit from studying the day's notes for 5-10 minutes every night. So as I'm adding all this color with high liters and pens and things of that nature, I'm also reading my notes fairly thoroughly.

Some review notes I took recently

Adding the color also really helps when studying for a longer quiz or test be cause it helps me focus on each line. I use col
or coding in a very organized way (in other words: not haphazardly coloring all over my notes). I specifically take notes in an outline format so that I can isolate an individual color to each line (i.e.: I, A, 1, i…and so on and so forth).

The most important thing is that you don't over do it. Adding too much color can be highly dizzying and make the actual important notes hard to read. Adding color is supposed to be fun, but also to help you become a more efficient and organized thinker. I am all for color everywhere, but not to the point where studying becomes inefficient or distracted.

When it comes to notes and school, color-coding is not for everyone. You need to find a specific way you like to take notes and stick with it. You need to go for something that is easily read and organized as well as being quick when teachers are fast with notes. But being efficient doesn't always have to be bland and straight forward. Anyone can use color on their notes, you just have to know the right way.

{5 Reasons I Love Spoken Word Poetry}

I originally learned about spoken word poetry in a TED Talk by Sarah Kay in 7th grade. As soon as I heard her legendary poem "B" (also known as "If I Should Have a Daughter") I was hooked on it. I always had (and still have) my quirky hobbies that not many of my friends understood and I would usually lose those hobbies in about a week. But spoken word is something that has miraculously stayed with me ever since. It was a way for me to express my feelings artistically without having to think a whole lot about it. Of course I had to think of all the semi-distant metaphors and similes that crowd my writing, but I didn't have to think poetically, I really just had to write. Sometimes the great thing about spoken word is that it's as easy to write as making a list. To this day, "B" by Sarah Kay is still by far my favorite spoken word poem and ever since then, I've loved listening and watching all sorts of spoken word poems and music. So here are 5 reasons why I love spoken word:

5 Reasons Why I Love Spoken Word

1. It's all in free verse and doesn't take a lot of thought

2. Really any speech can be a form of Spoken Word

3. It's an easy form of poetry to write when I don't know what to write

4. It could be a list if you really wanted it to

5. Someone's voice can really change the meaning of the poem they're reading

This post wasn't super original, but it will do. If you haven't tried spoken word, I definitely suggest that you try it. Spoken word is just a really easy way to express yourself without feeling too out there or uncomfortable with what you're writing (which I know other forms of poetry can do). 

This is obviously only my second post and I only have like 2 people reading it, but that's okay. I'm honestly really nervous about you two people judging all my writing. If anyone would like to leave suggestions for posts, please do so. I'm planning on posting about 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). 

{8 Up Lifting Ways to Push Through School}

As a student myself, I absolutely understand the success itself isn't the greatest school motivation for every day matters. I do, however, think that a few simple habits can keep you up lifted and can change your attitude. Sometimes all you need is a new objective and a new perspective to keep pushing through. 

{8 Up Lifting Ways to Push Through School}

1-Wake up with an open mind

2-Dress up, and put on a smile

3-Cheer up with a positive attitude

4-Stand up for something you believe in

5-Straighten up and be proud of who you are

6-Reach up for a new goal

7-Lift up the people around you and be a good friend

8-Look up to the Lord

Today, think of your own Up Lifting tips (leave them in the comments) and use them to get through a tough week. Most of all, trying to keep a positive attitude can make your week fly by. Lastly, I leave you with a quote:

"Hard days are the best because that's where champions are made. So if you push through the hard days, you can get through anything."-Gabby Douglas