Back to School: Desk Essentials

It’s that time of year again- back t0 school! I actually don’t hate this time of year and I especially love the adorable stationary/desk items that come into stores. If any of you are college students like me than you are heading back to college and getting ready to start classes within the next week or so. I recently just moved back into my apartment and set up my desk (pictured above) and I thought I would share my top essentials.

Planner: Planners are a must in my mind. I got my adorable planner from Bloom Daily Planner and it keeps my life together throughout the semester. I also got a gold monogram sticker from Etsy to personalize it a bit.

Journal: Journals are great to have around for any random thoughts that come up or for something specific. For me, my journal is all of my grad school notes. It keeps all of my important information together and easy to find.

Motivational Signs: I love the cute wooden signs with sayings that keep me going while I’m working. T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods all sell these types of signs. The two on my desk say “never, never, NEVER give up” and “behind every successful student is a substantial amount of coffee.” I also have other inspirational signs around my room. I find it helps in moments of stress to see something that puts a smile on my face.

Highlighers: Highlighters or even colored pens are my favorite. I typically color code my notes and planner so my highlighters go everywhere with me. I also use them while doing textbook reading for class. It is probably the most basic but essential back to school item.

Sticky Notes and Page Flags: These are my absolute favorite to buy. Target dollar section the absolute best items. I have list type paper pads, sticky notes, and page flags all with adorable patterns. I use them for typical things like shopping lists, to do lists, reminders, ect. I also have the basic post it page flags in various colors that match my highlights to use in my planner. I am thinking about doing a post explaining how I organize and color code my planner.

Let me know if you would like to see any other school/college related posts now that summer is over and I’m getting back into the swing of things to finish out my final year of college!

Summer Book Series Must Read

 

I recently came across this book by Noelle August at Barnes and Noble. The cover along with the summary seemed very interesting and since it was only $4.98  I decided to get it. I had no idea that Boomerang was apart of a 3 book series until I fell in love and the book ended before I wanted it to. It wasn’t that it had a bad ending, rather, it was more of the fact that I was enjoying it so much. I went on to search the author Noelle August and found two more books that followed this one. It’s safe to say that in about 3 weeks time I had completed one of my favorite series. As a college girl, I find it sometimes difficult to find books I can sort of relate too. Many times books are focused on either high school aged characters or adults in their 30’s and 40’s. Boomerang along with the other books Rebound and Bounce have main characters who are all in their 20’s. Each of the three books are fantastic and perfect to take with you to the beach this summer. Keep on reading to see a mini summary/review on each of the books!

Book #1: Boomerang 

This is the first book in the series and probably my favorite out of the three. It is about a boy and girl, Ethan and Mia, who are in their 20’s and starting an internship with the company Boomerang. Boomerang is an online hookup site that was developed by a young businessman Adam who is only 22 years old. The book goes on to tell the story of Mia and Ethan, their internship, and their strong attraction to one another. This book is hot and spicy all throughout! It is definitely one of those books you can’t stop reading.

Book #2: Rebound

Rebound is sort of a continuation of Boomerang but different. It contains the same characters, however, this book focuses on Adam and his new love connection who also happens to be the ex girlfriend of a friend. The story involves the constant battle between business and pleasure. It also talks about the battle of moving on from the love of your life. Another hot and spicy book that gets a little deeper.

Book #3: Bounce 

The last book of the Boomerang series is Bounce. The story focuses on Mia’s best friend Skyler and Adam’s younger brother Grey. Bounce is a little more serious containing family problems and the inner struggle of figuring out your life as a young adult. However, a new adventure for Sky and a mistake done by Grey brings these two together. They have an instant connection but will they be good enough for each other?

 

 

By the end of this series I felt so satisfied. None of my questions were left unanswered after seeing how the whole group develops throughout each of the books. Each of these books are unique in their own way with the continuing theme of love and attraction. I would rate them all 5/5 stars. They are quick, easy reads that I recommend to any girl in their 20’s who loves to read. My next book is Modern Lovers by Emma Straub!

Bare Minerals and Buxom Haul

Back again with another haul! Going into any makeup store is way too dangerous for me, especially the Bare Minerals Outlet store. I purchased a few new goodies last week that I am very excited about. Some products are new to try and others are favorites of mine. Below is an image of everything that I got along with all the items linked.

I have been dying to try the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue for the longest time and I finally went ahead and bought it. I only tried it once and so far I love it and think it’s perfect for summer days or even those lazy days we all have.

Next, I got the Bare Minerals Blemish Ready Foundation to try out. This product has many natural ingredients incorporated to help acne prone skin. The employee at the store who helped me find a shade also says it works great over the complexion rescue. Since I have never used a powder foundation before I also got the suggested Seamless Buffing Brush to go with it. Bare Minerals is a great brand with having brushes that work the best with each of their products. I have never had any issues when using the suggested method, however, my fabulous beauty blender has also never failed me.

Next I got a Bare Minerals Lip Sheer in a light pink color. I have the red shade and really love it. It just adds a little bit of color which I love on those lazy days. Unfortunately, these lip sheers are only available at the outlet stores. However, I believe the Lip Oil Balms are the newer version of it. The color I got that is swatched below is called Pink Pulse.

Next, I picked up 2 Buxom Cosmetic items from the Bare Minerals outlet store. I picked up another Lip Tarnish; I absolutely love these along with their lip sticks. I got the Lip Tarnish in the shade Wardrobe Malfunction. I also got a Buxom mascara which I have never tried before. It was really interesting that you pick your color mascara and then you pick the type of brush you want such as length, volume, ect. I got the strong and long wand with black. Buxom Cosmetics is available at both Sephora and Ulta. They don’t have these specific products but they do have Buxom mascara in both waterproof and regular along with the Full-On Lip Sticks that I absolutely love so be sure to check out both of those.

Well that is everything I got for now! I am definitely thinking of stopping at the store to pick up a few more Bare Minerals items that I couldn’t get at the outlet store. I absolutely love the brand and their products are really great. Comment down below your favorite items from Bare Minerals and/or Buxom Cosmetics 🙂

Jessie James Decker Lip Kit

Oh My Goodness… Jessie James Decker finally came out with her own lip kit! I am obsessed with Jessie James I think her and her family are just the cutest. I have been obsessing over the nude lipstick look that she always rocks and have been on the search for the past month to find one like it. I am so happy that now I have the same one and let me tell you it is absolutely gorgeous.

Jessie James Decker teamed up with Alexa Persico Cosmetics to create a limited edition lip kit for $45. The kit includes a nude lip liner along with a long wearing pink/nude lipstick. The packaging is absolutely adorable. It is a little box with a mirror which says pucker up gorgeous and has a note from JJD. The shipping from this company was so crazy fast. I would’ve gotten it less than a week from the order date had I not been away.

The lipstick and lipliner are full sized products and are swatched on right. The darker color is the lipliner while the lighter is the lipstick. The dark outline helps to make your lips look a little fuller. I got a couple hours of wear with this lipstick before reapplying so it really is worth the $45 in my opinion, especially if you are a huge Jessie James fan like myself.

Alexa Persico Cosmetics is a brand I never heard about until this lip kit. It is only available online but there are products for the eyes, lips, and face available ranging from $13.99- $20. There are also a few bundles available for higher prices around $60. So far I am a huge fan of the lip products I’ve received and will definitely be thinking about making another purchase from this company.