Sundays In Bed

Anybody else need an extra dose of caffeine this morning?

It seems like this weekend flew by. I've been fighting this brutal cold for about a week now and yesterday I finally just took a day to rest. Unfortunately, that resulted in a lot of catching up on TV shows and not so much work... So while I'm swamped today, I've still got the things that caught my eye this week!

Insta-Lately

I know, I know. Another cop-out post. But unfortunately, life is busy and I'm trying. This weekend really flew by and Monday kind of hit me like a bus. Tomorrow I promise you a good post! I PINKY SWEAR. OKAY?!

In the meantime, check out what I've been up to on Instagram!

If you follow along with me, I'll love you forever!

Have a great Tuesday!

xoxo

While you're following me on Instagram, maybe click over to Facebook and Twitter too?

When It Rains, You Lose Your Starbucks

Today I woke up to birds chirping and my pup snuggled up against me. My window was slightly open and I had spent all night sleeping to the calm sound of the rain. I love the rain--when I'm inside and I can observe the kind of peace that comes along with it. Put me outside in it, and I absolutely hate it.

For example, today I woke up at 8 for a 9:30am work meeting. Ate some breakfast, got ready, went to my meeting. When I went into work for my meeting, it was relatively nice out. Come outside after my meeting, it's drizzling. Came back home to make a quick lunch and drag myself to class. 

While I was making my salad, I kept contemplating whether or not I wanted to take my last freebie for this class I have today. Yesterday was super busy, today's schedule was pretty busy, and I only have two weeks left of school. So I decided to suck it up and be productive.

Worst decision I made today.

I got my stuff together, grabbed my umbrella and a very poorly made raincoat (regretfully a decent raincoat is not an item that I own... dumb I know), and set out to Starbucks. When I left Starbucks with my tall skinny latte in hand, I started to think, "Good choice Em, great job. Proud of you for actually going to class." And then I got to school. The drizzling rain had turned to straight out rain and conveniently enough, my campus is on top of a hill-- prone to extreme wind which makes already bad weather seem downright terrible. Suck it up Em. You're going to thank yourself later on. Really, you are... I promise.

 Not. So I opened my umbrella, grabbed my bag and Starbucks, and started walking to class. I didn't even make it halfway to class before my umbrella was completely inside out thanks to the unbelievable wind. But I couldn't set my Starbucks down because it too would blow away. I put my latte between my knees, tried to tame my umbrella, and before I knew it my latte was on the ground and my umbrella had essentially lost the battle against the wind.

I gave up on today right there.

It wasn't even 11am and I was 110% done with today. So now, I'm at home, writing blog posts and drinking a homemade cup of coffee (ugh), listening to the patter of the rain against my windows. Some things are better left observed than experienced I suppose, rain being among them. I don't know how fun dancing in the rain is, but I have a pretty good feeling I'd strongly dislike it. And in other news, I'm starting to think some place sunny and warm is where I'm destined to be post-college. The struggle is real my friends, but hey, at least I made a valiant effort to drag my butt to school.

Long story short, rainy days are for staying indoors.

p.s. You can bet I'll be investing in a rain coat sooner rather than later.

1/2/3

xoxo

Sundays in Bed

Happy Sunday everyone! Last week completely caught me off guard, it was a little crazy busy. I made it through though, thank God. You know those weeks where you don't think you have a lot to do and then all of a sudden it's like everything school-wise/internship-wise/life-wise just sneaks up on you? They aren't necessarily my favorite, but hey, they happen, right?

And to think, only 23 more days of classes now (yes, including weekends)! I'm so pleased I could cry. But it's not like I'm counting down until summer or anything... it's just hard to believe it's so close! And with only one final, once April 30th hits I'm pretty much home free.

Sit Back with a Cup o' Joe

1. I read this at work the other night, and ask my co-worker, but I was laughing so hard I was crying. As someone who likes to run, I can relate to this post so much. It reminded me I need to start running again.... Whoops.

2. Buzzfeed was killing it this week. How Jennifer Lawrence are you? Because apparently we'd be best friends.

3. If you haven't seen this yet, it's hysterical. Props to these four year olds. 

4. One of my most popular posts ever. I'm so proud of this one, and thank you so much for the support. If you missed it, check it out here!

5. Currently craving, the most comfortable underwear out there. #gocommando

6. I'm a Disney head. How Disney are you? Again, Buzzfeed was killing it this week!

7. Have you seen this commercial from Evian? Perfection.

8. How men would react to sexist remarks. This woman is a genius. Not to mention you get quite a few laughs!

9. The students at the high school I graduated from made a lip sync to Pharrell's "Happy" for our principal. He was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and we all wish him the best with his treatment and recovery!

Enjoy your Sunday everybody!

I'll be writing my last paper of the semester...

xoxo

7 Steps to Limiting Stress

With school now back in full swing until May, I find it so incredibly easy to fall off the bandwagon. I swear my stress level dictates my life most days. I'm either too stressed out about school to do anything or so overwhelmed by school that all I want to do is clean, clean, clean. Last year when I was living in a room the size of a shoe box (you think I'm kidding...), I found that if I didn't keep my room clean and my teeny tiny closet organized that my already chaotic life would feel all the more chaotic. Ugh.

So, nowadays, my room is mostly always kept nice and tidy. I have quite a few methods to keep it that way, seeing as time as of late seems to be extremely limited. I love Sundays because it means that I can get everything situated for the week and finally feel like I have a glimpse as to what's ahead.

Limiting stress during the school week has always been a challenge of mine. I'm easily overwhelmed and sometimes it just sends me into this shutdown mode where all I do is watch Netflix and avoid the loads of work piling up on my desk. (And by desk I mean laptop.) Making sure I'm organized at the start of the week has become an incredibly important part of my life.

Check out these tips!

1. Invest in a good planner.

How cute is this planner from May Designs?! Usually monograms are kind of where I draw the line (sorry all you monogram lovers...), but this agenda is just too cute. I've become so reliant on my Kate Spade agenda throughout the school year. I have the black striped one and it's seriously a lifesaver. Between that and my mobile calendar, there's a 99% chance I won't be missing anything important. And thank goodness for that!

2. Write it all down.

Going along with the whole agenda thing, I write everything I have going on in the week down. I'm an avid list-maker; to-do lists, I love you. I make checklists in my planner and jot down my workout too. It helps immensely when it comes to planning out your day!

                                                                                     

3. Coordinate.

It may be the anal side of me, but I have my closet color coordinated. I love how organized it looks and as silly as it sounds, it's inspired me to coordinate more things! My planner is color coordinated by class, so for each of my five classes what needs to be done is highlighted in a different color. I'm not exactly sure why, but it makes it so much easier to remember my assignments for each class. And plus, now when I'm shopping, I have a much better idea of what my closet looks like!

4.  Meditate.

Not many people are aware of this, but I actually take a few minutes to meditate every night. It helps to decompress after a long day. If you're thinking it's silly, no worries! I did too. As a matter of fact, I thought it was incredibly stupid for quite some time. But one night when I was having a hard time falling asleep, I gave it a try out of desperation. Now, going to bed without taking a little bit of time to breathe in, breathe out rarely happens. I legitimately have to be so exhausted that my mind shuts off on it's own and I just pass out. 

   5. Make health a priority.

Lately I've been finding more and more that to keep my stress levels under control I have to be taking good care of myself. I've got the healthy eating down pretty well now, thank goodness. And as for the exercising? I'm getting much better. Not only are the endorphins good for my mood, but by the time I hit the hay at night I'm SO ready to sink into my bed and sleep soundly. And if anything motivates a college student, it's getting to go to bed. 

6. Take a (Coffee) Break.

My best friends are lifesavers when I'm feeling stressed out. My best friends and coffee, that is. And when we're together, it's kind of a given that coffee will be involved. I am in no way shape or form a calm person, it feels like I'm constantly stressing about something. When there's an opportunity for me to get together with my friends for a quick break at Starbucks or even at the library, I take it. Nothing is better than a vent session with the people who know you best!

7. Call Mom.

When all else fails, call your mom. Or whoever was responsible for bringing you up and loving you throughout your awkward years. My mom knows me better than anyone, and I'm so thankful that I feel like I can go to her for anything. She'll let me be crazy and knows when to just give me a hug and let me cry. And Mom hugs really are the best. 

Have a great day ladies!

xoxo

Best Wishes!

I can't believe how fast yesterday blew by! This is going to be yet another quick post; crazy how I still feel like I have so much to do and the holidays are more or less considered over. 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday spent with family and friends, good food, and beautiful gifts! One of the kids I nanny told me that her favorite part of Christmas wasn't the presents, that it was spending time with her family... And she was correct (per usual).

Since our family is kind of all over, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are spent with the closest thing we have to family here-- our best friends. I've always enjoyed our holiday get togethers, they've made a world of difference in the celebration of my favorite holiday!

I spent a bit more time than usual this week on Instagram, so I thought it'd be fun to do a holiday round-up of pictures from this week!

The start of my gold Alex and Ani collection...

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

I made these for the holiday cookie baskets I gave to my friends this season! Definitely a recipe to try.

Relaxed and cozied up by the fire with a cup of tea!

My brother and I!

Girls night in with my best :)

And, for those of you who didn't already know it's 25% off sale items at Kate Spade! Now through January 5th with code DECEMBER25.

Yes, I'm well aware I have an obsession.

Happy Holidays!