Uses For A Lilly Pouch


I bought this pouch from the Lilly Pulitzer #AfterPartySale and it was definitely one of my favorite purchases! The pouch is actually rather large, and I've found so many different ways to use it. A large pouch is a great investment, and the possibilities of what you can do with it are endless.

p e n c i l  c a s e
The pouch is big enough to fit almost any office supplies you may need -- sticky notes, pens, highlighters, notecards, etc. It makes keeping all of the necessities in one place that much easier!

s n a c k  s t a s h
If you like to carry snacks around with you, this pouch is great for that. It can fit a bag of chips, granola bars, nuts, candy, gum, etc. I actually currently use my pouch as a combination of the first two -- it holds my school supplies, but it also holds a couple of power bars for when I'm feeling hungry between classes!

p u r s e
Going out somewhere that you need to bring your money and phone but don't need a huge purse to do that? Use this! I went down the Cape a lot this summer, and I was able to fit money, my phone, a couple snacks, and chapstick into this pouch.

t o i l e t r i e s  h o l d e r
Staying overnight somewhere? Use this pouch to organize your toiletries. It can easily fit makeup, deodorant, a toothbrush, hair elastics, and more.

How would you use a large pouch?

Favorite Planners

Being the type-A and office supplies lover that I am, I can't help but fall in love with multiple planners. I'm a firm believer in the fact that you can never be too organized in your life -- which is why I have a personal planner and blog planner.

Urban Girl has the cutest planners to choose from, and I love that there are so many different options. Check out my personal favorites!

one // two // three // four // five

Which one is your favorite?

Friday Favorites

Hey gals! This week has been super hectic -- between still trying to adjust to college life and working every day this week except for Wednesday, I'm beyond ready for the weekend. Hope you all had a fabulous week and here's to an even better weekend! XO

+ college life vs. adult life

+ how to prepare for a job interview

+ Today & To Do giveaway

+ five twenty-something social media influencers to follow

+ the life behind a kind-of non-traditional college student

+ entrepreneur series sign up

+ how to tackle the school year like a straight-A student

+ everything you need to build a better to-do list & get sh*t done

Tory Burch York Buckle Tote

For about a year, I've been wanting a more "mature" bag. I love my navy Longchamp and use it all the time, but I don't feel as if it is the best bag to use for fancier occasions. It's perfect for when I'm lugging a couple of notebooks and my laptop to the library, but definitely not for when I have a special occasion to go to.

I've been dreaming of a Tory Burch bag or Louis Vuitton bag (really dreaming of that one), but it has been really hard for me to save aside large amounts of money like that when I have car insurance, school books, and other things to buy. I've been obsessed with camel-colored bags (one of the trends for fall this year!), and I couldn't help but desperately want one -- which even caused me to look at Tory's website multiple times. #SorryNotSorry

About two weeks ago, I took my boyfriend's two sisters shopping at one of the more upscale malls in Massachusetts for their 15th and 12th birthdays. The mall has a Tory Burch signature store, and I instantly had to go in there to see in person the York Buckle Tote in Luggage that I have been eyeing for weeks. And I fell in love with it all over again. I literally stood in the store for twenty minutes, staring at the bag, trying to decide if I should buy it or not. I finally came to the conclusion that I should wait on buying the bag -- with college starting in just a week from that time, I thought that it would be better to save my money at the time for what I really needed.


As I was walking around the mall, I could not stop thinking about the bag. It was ridiculous! All I could think about was the multiple outfits I could wear with it + the multiple occasions I could wear it to. And then I decided that yes, I need to get that bag!

As I was walking back to the store, I got a text back from my boyfriend after telling him how much I loved the bag -- which he knew previously from me constantly looking at the site. His response? "Buy the bag and I'll pay you back for it as your anniversary present." (Our four year anniversary is later this month -- crazy, I know!) So can we just establish the fact that I have the best boyfriend EVER???

I couldn't decide if I wanted the large York Buckle Tote or the small York Buckle tote, but I ended up getting the small one. I loved both sizes, but the reason why I wanted a new bag in the first place is because sometimes my Longchamp is just too big. My new bag is the perfect size!

I'm beyond thankful for Tyler and my new bag! It can actually fit a decent amount -- I brought it to school on Friday because I only had one class, and I was able to fit my laptop, notebook, folder, book, water bottle, and a couple of snacks. So excited to use this bag more once fall comes around!

What bag have you been lusting over recently?

How To Create Your Own Business Cards

One of the most important things that bloggers should always have with them is business cards. You never know when you're going to run into someone who would need your blogging info -- a brand, another blogger, etc. Verbally saying your information can be helpful but time-consuming, and handing over a card with all of your important information is ten times easier.


A lot of bloggers get theirs professionally done by their blog designers. I almost did that, but I decided to try to make my own in order to save myself a decent amount of money. And honestly? I'm thrilled with how my cards came out! The process to designing and printing your own business cards is beyond easy.

b u y  b l a n k  b u s i n e s s  c a r d s
Head to your local office supplies store and pick up a package of blank business cards. I prefer to use Avery blank white business cards because Avery has a website where you can actually design and print your business cards from there. The blank business cards are no more than $5 for 100 cards!

d e s i g n  t h e  c a r d s
Go to Avery's website, create an account, find the right template according to the number listed on your business cards package, and start designing! You can either design directly on the template or design on a program and upload it as a picture. I prefer to design my business cards in Paintbrush and then upload them because it is much easier. Share your contact information that you think would be most important -- your email address, phone number, and two or three of your most popular social media channels.


p r i n t
Now it's time to print the cards! You can either pay a little extra for Avery to print your cards for you, or you can print them yourself. I choose to print them myself because it's super easy to do with my printer, and I have my business cards immediately. This method is perfect for me because I am very last-minute at printing business cards about 15 minutes before I need to leave for a blog event!

How do you create your blog's business cards?

YES, White After Labor Day

I'm always hearing that gals "shouldn't wear white before Memorial Day Weekend or after Labor Day." But I think that yes, you SHOULD wear white after labor day! In Massachusetts, it's going to continue to have temperatures in the 90s through the week after Labor Day. So break out the white shorts, ladies!

And once it starts to cool down, I'm still going to wear my white pants from Old Navy to go with the tunic I got from the Lilly Pulitzer #AfterPartySale because I love that outfit and it's just too hot to wear right now. I'll admit that in the winter I don't always like the look of white pants -- but only in certain situations. If you can totally rock the white pants look in the cold weather, do it, girl! If you've got it, flaunt it.

I'm basically just rambling about how I hate society shames girls for wearing white before or after its "specified date." If you can pull it off and like how you look, do it! Don't let the "traditional way" prevent you from wearing what you love.

Anybody else with me on this?!

Labor Day Sales

I love Labor Day because a lot of my favorite stores have amazing deals! It's the perfect time to stock up on summer clothes + accessories for next year or prepare for the fall. Check out these fabulous sales taking place this weekend!

Friday Favorites

I've had a lovely first week of college classes as an official college freshman! I'm lucky to go to a school with such a beautiful and small campus -- it makes finding my buildings and classes so much easier. I (luckily) haven't been given that much homework, but I've been working away at night to create some fabulous blog content for when I do get slammed. Here's my favorite links from the past week + here's to an amazing three-day weekend! XO

+ why the guy who is "imperfect on paper" is actually perfect for you

How To Get the Most Out of Tweet Chats

Participating in tweet chats is always fun and helpful, but in order to get the most out of your tweet chat experience, there is a series of steps to follow all the way from before the tweet chat starts to after the tweet chat ends.


M A K E  N O T E  O F  D A T E  +  T I M E
Whenever you find out about a tweet chat, write the date, time, and hashtag in your planner! I always record them in my blogging planner. Most tweet chats occur on the same day and time each week so you may not need to always write those ones down, but some tweet chats happen every two weeks, once a month, or one time only. I personally write down every single tweet chat I want to participate in, even if they are weekly, in case I forget about them due to having a busy week. It also helps me from getting them mixed up since I participate in at least three each week!

I N T E R A C T  W I T H  O T H E R S
The most important thing to do in a tweet chat is interact! Introduce yourself once the tweet chat starts and say your name, blog/business, and where you're from. Contribute to the conversation as much as you can -- whether it be saying hello to someone else, asking a question, or answering the questions that are asked. Don't forget to use the tweet chat hashtag or else your tweets won't be seen! If you really connect with someone or like the insight they have to say in the chat, follow them. Chances are they will follow you back!

F A V O R I T E  I M P O R T A N T  I N F O R M A T I O N
If you see a tweet that you find really helpful and you want to make note of it, favorite it! Retweeting may be helpful, but if you tweet a lot (like me!), scrolling through your tweets to find what you need may take forever. Favoriting allows you to easily look back after the chat to use that information.

U S E  A  N O T E B O O K
This one goes along with favoriting tweets, but if you prefer to write important information down instead of favoriting, do so in a notebook. I favorite the tweets because the majority of times I'm participating in tweet chats are when I'm on my phone in bed (#SorryNotSorry), so I don't really have a notebook handy. But I do like to go through the tweets I favorited the next day and write down what I learned in my business notebook! Do whatever works for you.

C O N N E C T  A F T E R
If you find that you really connected with someone in the chat and really liked what they had to say, send them an email after the chat! Do it the same day of the chat or the day after -- sending an email later than that can cause you or the person to forget what exactly was discussed in the chat. Sending a follow-up email afterwards allows you to network and build connections with like-minded people that could later turn into friendships, partnerships, and more. I've been reaching out to tons of people I've "met" through tweet chats with similar goals and careers as me for advice -- and it has really paid off! Say who you are, mention how nice it was connecting with them in the chat, and ask them about their life/career. Doing so does wonders!

C R E A T E  S P R E A D S H E E T  O F  C O N N E C T I O N S
After sending the emails out, keep track of who you reach out to! I use a Google spreadsheet where I record the name of the person, their website, their email, their career, their Twitter handle, and any notes (such as what tweet chat you "met" them in). This will help you later on when you're looking for a graphic designer, social media manager, or digital content strategist -- you can use the people you know! It will not only help you but other people as well -- if a friend needs a reference, you can easily provide them with one.


How do you get the most out of tweet chats?

Books I've Read This Summer


I can't believe I read sixteen books this summer! I love reading, so I was so happy I got to read that much in just three months. I'm hoping to continue reading throughout the school year. Check out the books I read to add to your "to-read" list!

+ Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

+ Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

+ Paper Towns by John Green

+ The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti

+ The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

+ Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

+ Summer in the City by Elizabeth Chandler

+ The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson

+ The Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz

+ The Bridesmaid by Hailey Abbott

+ Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything by E. Lockhart

+ The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart

+ The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them by E. Lockhart

+ The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

+ If We Kiss by Rachel Vail

+ Skinny-Dipping by Melissa de la Cruz

What books did you read this summer?

Want to see what books I read during this year? Follow me on Goodreads!

Freshman Year Goals


It's so weird to think that today is my freshman year of college when it seems like I was just entering high school yesterday! It's going to be a huge change, so I'm very nervous and very excited at the same time -- but I know that whatever happens, I'll be okay.

I like to come up with goals to accomplish each school year, and this year's goals were definitely different to come up with.

b a l a n c e  e v e r y t h i n g
I totally have a ton of things to balance this upcoming year -- social life, homework, work, blogging, + sleep. But I'm determined to balance it all! I don't want to focus on school and work so much that I'm losing out on having fun, blogging, and sleeping. But I also don't want to focus on going out, blogging, and sleeping so much that I end up with poor grades and almost no money. It'll be a lot of trial and error to come up with a consistent schedule that works for me, but I'm determined to make it all work.

d o  n o t  s t r e s s
I haven't stressed much about school since my sophomore year of high school. But since I am going to be in a completely different school environment, I'm worried that I will start to stress over the huge change. My goal is to just take deep breaths and RELAX! Whatever happens, happens. Don't get worked up over the little things if you're trying your best.

 j o i n  a  c l u b
One of the things that has me looking forward to college is all of the club options. I would love to join my school's marketing association and any other club involving business. And if it involves social media, that's even better! Clubs look great on resumes, and they're an easy way to gain experience in your major.

s t a r t  f r e e l a n c i n g
After connecting with so many fabulous bloggers + entrepreneurs in tweet chats, I've been inspired to start freelancing. I really want to get into social media consulting + social media management. I know that I need to get into my school routine and do a lot of research before this can even happen, but I'm so excited! I can't wait to get started towards my dream career.

c o n t i n u e  r e a d i n g
I love how much I get to read in the summer, and it definitely makes me realize how much I miss out on when I can't read during the school year. College schedules are so much more flexible and open than high school schedules, so I'm hoping to get in more reading time and read every day. Whether I have to get up half an hour earlier than usual to read in the morning or not go on social media half an hour before bedtime to read at night, then I will make those commitments!

g e t  g o o d  g r a d e s
This one is obvious, but I really want to get good grades! I'm taking all core classes, besides Business 101, so I should (hopefully!) have a fairly easy semester. I can't wait to look through my school Pinterest board for study tips because I have been pinning them like crazy lately!

h a v e  f r e e  S u n d a y s
I'm a firm believer in the fact that a Sunday well spent brings a week of content. Sundays are really important for regrouping from the busy week that just passed and preparing for the new week that's about to happen. I would really love to have "free" Sundays. I work each Sunday morning from 5 AM-11 AM, but my goal is to have absolutely nothing to do after work. I will use whatever free time I have during the week and bust my butt to do homework just so I can have a whole day to relax -- preferably to read, blog, watch Netflix, and enjoy the upcoming football Sundays!

What are your goals for this upcoming school year?