|
Happy Sunday! Thanksgiving is coming up this week, and I wanted to share a few things I am grateful for, and a few things that I think need a little more appreciation. I hope that this post brightens your day :) Around this time of year, the question "what are you grateful for?" pops up a lot. And there a lot of things to be thankful for in this world, but sometimes it can be hard to express it all in a simple sentence or two. Today I wanted to list some of the things I am thankful for, as just a little fun post to spread some happiness and inspiration. 1. My healthy & happy family 2. My healthy & happy friends 3. Spending Thanksgiving with my family and friends 4. Fall (and how beautiful it is) 5. My education 6. Music 7. The opportunity to travel 8. Cooking, baking, and eating 9. Christmas time !! 10. Sweaters, scarves, and blankets 11. A loving community 12. Black Friday (and Cyber Monday!) 13. Sunny, rainy, and snowy days 14. Books 15. This blog :) Now is great to be thankful for things, and even better to acknowledge them, but how can you really show your thanks? Around this time of year, I love to express the things I am thankful for by doing little things. Remind your family and friends how much you love them. Help out your community. Thank your teachers for their hard work. Smile more at grocers, cashiers, etc. In my opinion, that is what thanksgiving is all about. I hope that you enjoyed this week's post! I wanted to try something different that I haven't really done in a while. I also wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading my blogs, visiting a page or two, or just checking it out every once and a while. It really means the world to me :) I hope that you have an amazing week, and that you get the chance to spend thanksgiving with the people you love.
xx Hanna
0 Comments
As we begin to reach the middle of August, it turns into Back-to-school time everywhere. This year I decided to head out early to get school supplies so that I got the best picks. Today I will be sharing with you the necessities for going back to middle or high school.  Planner My favorite thing to purchase when I look for school supplies is a planner, because I love how each one is unique. My favorite tend to be the inspirational ones with cute sayings, (last year I got my planner from Bloom, whose planner was so cute and filled with motivational quotes) but this year I chose a more practical and cheaper option. Five Star tends to make great quality products, and this planner has helpful information, a place to keep your school schedule, and is very sturdy. Last year I found that even though my planner was cute, it wasn't make out of the sturdiest material, and fell apart in my backpack by the end of the year. This one has a covered binding to prevent any tears, Writing Tools The next item necessity for school is writing tools, which I tend to be very picky about. I must have a black, blue, and red pen with me at all times, because I like to use different colors to correct and edit papers. I also have a mechanical pencil with me, specifically the kind shown above, because they seem to be the only ones I never lose. Another writing tool that I use all the time is highlighters, and the more colors the better, because I love color-coding. Notes and Flashcards For my desk at home, I always keep a stack of flashcards, Post-it notes, and small bookmark stickers. I use flashcards to study for most tests that involve memorization, including language, vocab, history facts, etc. The Post-it notes and bookmarks are for when I am reading a book in school. I am that person who marks up all the pages and writes small notes to stick inside, because it helps for tests and essays later. Notebooks I use notebooks for every class, and depending how the teacher works, I often chose between a spiraled notebook or a composition notebook. My recommendation is to choose the spiraled notebook for the teacher who makes you hand in notes, fill out many worksheets, and other activities that require you to take out pages. Otherwise, choose a composition notebook for a class in which you only take notes, and keep them for yourself. I find that composition notebooks are a lot easier in this case because everything stays together and is neat, making it easier to go back and re-read notes, without accidentally ripping out a page. Folders, Paper, and Textbooks I tend to purchase these items at the beginning of the school year, in case you have a teacher who requires you to use/have these. The folder is helpful for organizing old papers at home, especially things that you will need for midterms/finals. Loose leaf paper is very helpful for homework that you know will be turned in, or for notes that you don't want in a notebook. Having a few book covers around make it a lot easier at the start of the year when you have to cover textbooks, because you can just slip these on, without worrying about making one yourself. Math Tools Depending on what type of math class you are entering, you might need different tools, but most classes require a calculator. I found this cute 10 piece math set at Target, and I think it is great to slip in a backpack for math, because it is quite small, and has any tool you could possibly need for math. Binder and Pencil Case Last but not least, you will likely need a pencil case to hold all of your writing tools, and a binder to hold notebooks, paper, worksheets, and other things for class. I tend to pick binders on the cheaper side. but last year I found that the one nice-quality binder I had was the only one that survived the whole year, so I decided to buy a new one that'll hopefully last 2+ years. That is the end of my Back-to-School Essentials post, if there was anything I didn't cover, or something that you find essential for school, please comment it below! I hope that this post made it easier to go school supplies shopping, because I know it can be stressful when trying to make sure you have everything you need. Although most of the supplies in this post is in the original packaging, I tend to decorate all of my supplies once I have my school schedule. If you would like to see a how-to post on school supplies, let me know! Have a fantastic week!
xx Hanna First of all, I know it has been a while since my last favorites post, and I apologize to anyone who finds these posts their favorite ;) (see the pun?) Since it has been so long I found it very hard to pick only a few things to show you. Therefore these picks are the best of the best right now. I hope you find this post helpful, and maybe we share some of these favorites in common!  Scrunchies Scrunchies made their return almost a year ago, and I hadn't used them since I was a little kid. When I first re-discovered these, I was a little uncertain, but they have blown me away. If you tend to get very tangled hair when wearing normal hair ties, then these are a quick solution. They are easier to tie, come off smoothly (without taking my hair with it) and add a pop of color to a look. The ones I purchased were from Target, and I personally thought that they're a little too big to keep on your wrist all day, but look great in hair. Dessange Shampoo After running out of the last of my Natural Essences shampoo (which at the time I thought was great), I starting looking for a new shampoo to use. When I read the bottle and how it claimed it works "for oily roots and dry ends", I knew it was perfect. I have pretty thick hair, and the top tends to get weighed down and oily very quickly, leaving the bottom very brittle. After using this shampoo for around a week, my hair felt lighter, softer, and a lot less oily. I highly recommend this shampoo if you have a similar hair type to mine, because it works extremely well. Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes I have very sensitive eyes and face, so when I wear makeup and don't take it off properly, I will regret it the next day. I have previously used the eye makeup remover wipes, and they are very soothing and leave my eyes clean, but not irritated. The facial wipes work the exact same, but for your whole face. It is true when it says it has cucumber in it, the 3rd ingredient on the list is cucumber extract. The only issue is that they are a little on the pricey side if you wear a lot of makeup everyday, but if you wear it once in a while, then these are a great option. French Lavender Soap As you can tell by this very empty soap bottle, I absolutely loved using this Bath & Body Works foam soap. First off, I love the smell of lavender and thus any product that uses it. The foaming soap has been a favorite of mine forever, so when I saw this I knew it would be a long-lasting favorite. I have been using their French Lavender and Honey scents for a while, but this smells even better. Write Now Notebook This was given to me a few months ago by a family member, and the notebook itself is nothing special. I have recently found it very important to write down the things that happen in your life, whether a big event or a retelling of the day. Not only does it improve writing skills and make you feel good, but it is great to look back on later in life. Memories can fade over time, and if you want (or don't want) permanent record of something, it is important to write it down. There are my favorites from July! I know it may seem a bit late as we are already through a good bit of August, but this is the first Sunday of the month. I plan on bringing some back to school posts later this month, so let me know if you want to see anything specific. I hope that this post was helpful or inspiring to you, so comment down below if you want to try/have tried any of these favorites. Have a spectacular week!
xx Hanna With the warm weather and sunshine coming to a close, I thought to take one last picnic in the park and soak up some rays. I absolutely love making picnic foods and chilling outside in the fresh air. Today, I brought my camera along with me on my picnic to show you just how much fun it can be.  Step 1 to a successful picnic is finding the perfect spot. Thankfully there is a nearby park with a flat field which is perfect for a picnic. I ended up setting up under the shade of a tree, keeping me cool from the sun. The blanket shown is made out of a protective material that doesn't get wet if the grass is, and it folds up nicely.  The next thing you need is a wide variety of snacks and foods. On this particular trip I brought with me: - cotton candy grapes - oranges -apple -peppers - cucumber - hummus (plain and tomato basil) - cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches - turkey and arugula sandwiches - ham and cheese sandwiches - spicy dill chips - water These are just a few of many options you can bring with you on a picnic. Another personal favorite of mine is cheese and crackers. I also love bringing an refreshing drink such as ice tea or lemonade.  When going on a picnic, I always have a few essentials that I like to bring. I always bring the current novel I am reading, because there is nothing more relaxing than reading a good book outside. I also always bring some earbuds in case I want to listen to music, and some sunglasses. Other important things to have include sunscreen, bug spray, wet wipes, etc. It is also nice to bring a board game or some cards to play with friends.  Lastly, when I was out on the picnic, I forgot to bring dessert with me. The theme I went for the picnic was tea-party themed, with little tea sandwiches and snacks. For dessert, I decided to bake a lavender tea bread, which turned out absolutely delicious. If you want the recipe, you can check out the lovely blogger who made it here. It was moist, and very similar to a pound cake, but with the mild taste of lavender. I ate mine while drinking some earl grey tea, and it was the perfect way to end the afternoon. I hope you enjoyed this last summer post of 2016! I know summer ends in a few days, and I'm so excited and ready for the fall season to start. I can't wait to start posting about fall, so if there is anything you want to see this year on the blog, let me know in the comments, I hope that you have a happy week!
xx Hanna It's finally summer! In honor of the hot months and no school having finally arrived, I wanted to share with you some things that I wish to do this summer. I hope it gives you inspiration for your own summer activities. I always make a bucket list at the beginning of each summer, and attempt to do as many as possible. Here are a few examples, some of which are on my own bucket list this year. - bake - go camping - hike - bike ride - have a picnic in the park - shop till you drop - road trip - see a concert - hug a tree - go to the beach - mini golf - amusement park - water park - build a fort - watch a movie -binge watch tv - homemade meal - try something new - pool day - pj day - family game night - play a sport - learn a new language - watch the sunrise/sunset I hope this list gave you some ideas of activities to do this summer. They are fun to do with family, friends, or by yourself. Summer can sometimes get boring after you feel like you've done everything, which is why a bucket list is so fun. It makes sure there is always something new to do. Have a great week!
xx Hanna For me, breakfast has always been the most important meal of the day. Others find it unnecessary, and some think of it as just another meal. Whatever your opinion is on breakfast, sometimes it makes it hard to pick out what you want to eat in the morning, and might choose to ignore it entirely. For a breakfast block, the best solution is to plan ahead. Below, I put a weeks worth of my favorite breakfast options, sorted by how much time you have, and how much you enjoy breakfast. 1. The Breakfast Lover |
