February Reflection

One thing I'm going to start doing the last day of every month is a reflection on the month. This is to see how I've grown (physically and mentally! hehe) and discuss the highlights of the month, especially if I happened to accomplish any goals.

I have gone to the gym. | Yes, I'll admit that this month was the first time I've ever worked out a gym! I love going to the gym, and I hope to go there more often.

I have eaten healthier food. | Usually, I eat a lot of junk food with a little bit of healthy food. However, I have really worked on eating healthier and realizing which foods are bad for me to eat.

I got assigned my classes for junior year. | Two weeks ago, I sat down with my guidance counselor and figured out my classes for next year. I'll be taking two AP classes, and the rest will be Honors-leveled classes. The AP classes will be difficult, but I'm willing to push myself.

My blog has grown. | This one is the most exciting to me! I have finally gotten more traffic to my blog. This month was the first time ever that someone has commented on my blog, and this month was the first time ever that I have become friends with people in the blogging world! I love all of the friendships that I have formed with other bloggers, and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of them.

I have been inducted into the Spanish Honor Society. | My Spanish teacher, whom I absolutely adore, told me that I have been inducted into the Spanish Honor Society at my school! I don't know the details because she told me before letters got sent out, but I do know that I was admitted because of my grade.

I read six books over February vacation. | I always look forward to the month of February just because of the week I get off of school. I have been super stressed lately, and all I was looking forward to was a week off filled with relaxation and reading - and that's exactly what I got! I read six books in that one week, which really helped me to relax and become happier.
I have become more comfortable with driving. | When I turned 16 in January, I got my permit. However, driving tended to scare me. I was always really nervous whenever I drove. This month, I was able to get more comfortable with driving and gain more confidence in myself.
I found out I was eligible for National Honor Society. | I don't know much about this yet! I had to write an essay for admission that's due tomorrow. All I know that National Honor Society is in charge of the Toy Drive at my school in December, tutors kids, etc.

What are some ways that you have grown this month or some accomplishments you've had this month?

Winter Beauty Essentials

There are certain necessities a girl needs during the winter season. With that being said, I thought I would do a post on winter beauty essentials to help survive the long, cold winter!

Burt's Bees Chapstick | One of the gifts my boyfriend bought me for Valentine's Day was Burt's Bees Chapstick. I love it! My lips tend to dry out a lot in the winter, so this chapstick really helps to nourish my lips.

Bath & Body Works Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Bubble Bath Soak | About a month ago, I posted about the Stress Relief products I got for my birthday from my boyfriend. I absolutely love them. With holidays and midterms going on in the winter, this bubble bath soak is perfect to help you de-stress and relax.

St. Ives Oatmeal & Shea Butter Lotion | Along with my lips drying out in the winter, my hands dry out as well. St. Ives Oatmeal & Shea Butter Lotion not only smells amazing, but it works really well too!

Alterna Winter RX Anti-Static Spray | One of the very few things I hate about winter is how static my hair gets. Seriously. Alterna Winter RX Anti-Static Spray eliminates all static in your hair with just a simple spray!

Note: This post is a collaboration with Elizabeth's blog! Check out her blog to see the post that collaborates with this one!

What are your winter beauty essentials?

Track Shorts ("Norts")

I love love love Nike track shorts, also known as "Norts." They're so comfortable. I practically live in them during soccer season because those are the shorts that I wear to practice. I also live in them during the summer because they're great to throw over a bathing suit, and they're waterproof!

This is one of the pairs of Norts I own. I actually wore that outfit to the gym yesterday... Working out in Norts is a definite! I'm thinking about investing in more pairs to wear while working out and during track this spring.

So, do you wear Norts?

Fitness Motivation

When soccer season ended in early November, my exercising really slacked. I didn't do a winter sport at my school this year, so I exercised very little this winter. I'm not proud of it at all. I'm not trying to lose weight because I am happy with my weight, but I just love staying fit and healthy. I don't have a treadmill at my house, and I love running, but I can't run for a long time outside because I have really bad asthma.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to exercise more. Unfortunately, I haven't really been following that resolution. I've been slacking off. I plan on finding fitness motivation to really get me exercising and back into shape. Thank God for Pinterest because I've found some great exercises that I plan on doing!

I also don't really eat very healthy. I don't overeat. I just don't eat as healthy as I should be. So I'm really going to focus on eating healthier when I can (because I'll admit that there are some situations where you just can't eat anything healthy!) to help reach my goal.

I'm going to give myself some motivation that I'm also going to share with all of you in case there are some of you who need inspiration as well! It's going to become my little mantra.

You are stronger than this. Go and exercise. Put aside your homework and do something for yourself - exercise. All of this hard work is going to suck, but it's going to pay off. You can do this.

What do you do to exercise? How do you get yourself motivated?

Latest Obsession: Lilly Pulitzer Prints

I've been a huge fan of Lilly Pulitzer for a while now, but I've recently become obsessed with her prints. They're so colorful and cheery. These prints even remind me of summer, which is a great thing to look forward to while being surrounded by freezing temperatures and snow!

Aren't these just so cute?!

Which Lilly Pulitzer print is your favorite?

(P.S. I set the bottom left one as my lock screen! And check out my Lilly Pulitzer wallpaper made using the top left one to help remind you that summer isn't too far away!)

Organization 101: My Planner

One of my many obsessions is planners. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with them - I just am! I just love the feeling of being organized, and planners are a great way to stay organized. So I thought I would share my planner with all of you!

I happened to buy my planner over the summer at Christmas Tree Shoppe for $1. Whether you have a Lilly Pulitzer planner or a cheap planner like mine, you're still getting the job done! You can't really see the writing in the picture on the right, so I'll just tell you guys what is written.

Blogging schedule | This is super handy. Writing what I'm going to blog about each day helps me to never have writer's block!

Assignment due dates | Having the due dates of my assignments written down helps me to plan in advance when I should get the assignments done. I'm the complete opposite of a procrastinator, so I always get my assignments done right away!

Quiz/Test dates | I love seeing what days I have to take quizzes or tests because then I can budget my time and see how much time I need to study for them - especially if I need to take more than one quiz or test on the same day!

Library book due dates | I'm forever checking books out from the library, so keeping track of the due dates while having a busy schedule prevents me from getting fines!

What does your planner/schedule look like, and what are the tactics that you use? I'm always looking for new ways to stay organized!

Boston

Since I've been on school vacation this whole week, my mom took the day off from work yesterday to do something with my sister and me. We ended up driving into Boston for the day! I had a lot of fun, so I thought I would share what I did with you guys.

This is what I wore!

Sweater | H&M

Shirt | Gilly Hicks

Jeans | Hollister

Bracelets | Alex & Ani and Pandora

Flats | Aldo

My mom treated me to Dunkin Donuts where I got my favorite iced coffee, French vanilla extra extra.

I tried on so many things at American Eagle, but I only ended up getting this one shirt from there!

When we were on our way to lunch, we saw a protest that was going on about creating more jobs for teenagers.

We finished off the day by having lunch in the Quincy Market, from where I got this amazing chicken Milanese panini!

Have you done anything fun lately? 

My Desk Space

The majority of the time I'm at my house is spent at my desk. Whether I'm doing homework, reading, or blogging, I'm just always there! So I thought I would share it with you guys. Just to warn you, my desk is a tad bit messy... I'm in need of a bigger one!

Lotion | I seriously always need lotion, especially since it's now winter with freezing temperatures. It's easy to just be able to grab my lotion and apply it to my hands while I'm studying!

Current book I'm reading | My book is always right by my side just in case I finish doing homework and have extra time to do something for myself!

Laptop | My laptop is basically my lifesaver. It's so handy for blogging, school assignments, listening to Pandora, etc. Even though it's pretty old, I still love it!

Planner | My planner is my second lifesaver. It has everything from when my school assignments are due, test dates, when my library books are due, my blogging schedule, etc.!

Vera Bradley Wristlet | This wristlet contains all of my money, gift cards, etc. I like to keep it on my desk in case I go somewhere that's planned spur-of-the-moment that I'll need money for. Keeping it on my desk will help it to be easy to grab, and I won't waste time looking through purses for it!

Hand Sanitizer | I didn't know how much I needed hand sanitizer until I put it on my desk. It's a great thing to have nearby!

Computer/Printer | I prefer to use my laptop more than my computer because I can take my laptop with my anywhere. However, there are occasionally times that I'll need my computer, like when I need to use Microsoft Office 2010 or when I need to print something out.

Book Wishlist | I have my book wishlist with me no matter where I go because I never know when I'll find books to write down! And I never know when I'll decide to order more books from the library.

Scrap paper & Pen | I'm forever making lists and writing down little reminders for myself, so it's always handy for me to have these two things around.

Baby Lips Chapstick | My lips are always chapped, so it's great that I have my chapstick around to apply whenever I need it. It's even better that it's Baby Lips!

Stapler/Paper Clips | Having a stapler and paper clips near me is excellent because I'm always putting things together to make them more organized.

What are some things that you keep on your desk?

Latest Obsession: Pearls

My latest obsessions turns out to be pearls. I don't know what got me so interested in them, but all I know is I want to get my hands on every piece of pearl jewelry imaginable.

Pearl bracelet | The pearl bracelet shown above is super cute. It will go well with basically anything, and it adds a nice touch to any outfit.

Pearl studs | I love pearl studs. They can seriously go with anything. Pearl studs add a classy touch to a normal, everyday outfit.

Pearl necklace | In my opinion, pearl necklaces are really only meant for classy, dressy occasions. If you're going somewhere fancy, throw on a pearl necklace! They're simple, but they make outfits pop.

Do you wear pearls? If so, what do you wear them with?

Organization 101: Keeping Track of a Book Wishlist

I absolutely love to read, and I go through books like lightning. In order for me to never run out of books to read, I keep a list of all the books I want to read so when I finish one book, I can just go right on to another. The list I have that keeps track of the books I want to read is pretty organized, so I thought I would share my list with you guys!

Yes, it's called "The Maroon Notebook"... I made up that name when I was younger! Anyway, inside of this little notebook is numerous pages filled with book titles, just like the page above. Once I finish a book, I cross out the book in the notebook. The bracket shown above with the last four books on that page indicate that those books are a series. That way I won't read the books in a series out of order!

I'm very OCD about this list - I only like to read the books in order! Don't ask me why because I'm not quite sure... :-) I carry this notebook with me everywhere because I never know when I'll need to write down a book!

I've thought a lot of times about digitalizing my list, but I've decided not to. You can't just whip out a computer whenever you need to, right?! Also, what if my list somehow gets deleted? Then it's lost forever, and I won't know what to read!

I get the ideas of what to read from Goodreads, friends, blogs, etc. I don't buy my books because I read them so fast. I'll go into a bookstore and write down every book in there that I want to read, but I won't write them. I get all of my books from the library, which is why I love libraries so much!

So, do you like to read? How do you keep track of the books you like to read?

Writing Project

Over the past year, I realized that I took my happiness for granted for the majority of my life. I'm almost always happy and smiling, except for when I have my anxiety breakdowns. I learned how important it is to always look at the positive side of things because if you focus on the bad parts, it'll cause you to not enjoy the good things in life.

That's why I've been working on a writing project in which I'll help people who think negatively and want to think more positively. I want to help people become optimistic and promote positivism. However, I don't want to do this unless a lot of people want me to help them with this. I can't decide if I want to send individual emails out to people, or if I should just make a general blog post on every Monday.

If you think I should do this and would like to possibly advice, please comment or email me at ash.mas19@gmail.com !

Must-Have Winter Accessory: Sweaters

I don't know why, but whenever I went shopping this winter, I bought at least one sweater. Seriously. My drawers are full of sweaters. I just randomly developed a huge attraction towards sweaters, and I was just amazed by every single one in each store I shop at.

Sweaters are not only warm but cute, too. I usually throw them on with a pair of leggings and riding boots. Most of the sweaters I have are from Forever21 and H&M, but a couple of my sweaters are from Abercrombie and Hollister.

So, do you wear sweaters? What do you wear them with?

Black/White/Pink Combo

A combination of colors I really like is black, white, and pink/red. The black and white really make the pink or red pop. Last year, I redid my room so that it came out to be just like this combo. In the picture above, the black and white is actually my bedspread, and the hot pink is my wall.

These colors are cute, fun, and perfect for a teenage girl. The pink can take a little time to get used to because it's so bright, but I absolutely love having these colors as the theme colors in my room.

Book Club No. 1 - Size 12 Is Not Fat

The latest book I read (which I'm sad to say was a couple of weeks ago) was Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot. Size 12 Is Not Fat is about a woman, Heather Wells, who is twenty-eight-years-old and used to be a famous pop star. Heather gets a job at New York College that basically watches over a dorm building. However, a huge mystery happens, and Heather feels that she should be the one to solve it.

This book was kind of boring in the beginning. I was able to really get into it once I reached the middle, though. There are four books in this series (with a fifth book coming out in September 2013!), and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is the holiday that a girl absolutely loves or absolutely hates. If a girl has a valentine, then she can't wait for Valentine's Day to come. However, if a girl doesn't have a valentine, she dreads Valentine's Day and spends the day moping around and complaining about being single. I have a valentine this year, but even if I didn't, I still would love the holiday just as much.

To me, Valentine's Day isn't just about being in a relationship. It's about showing the people that are important to you, like your friends, family, etc., that you love them. You want to remind people that they actually are loved by you. Valentine's Day is more than being in a relationship.

Today, I showed the love I have for my friends by handing them cute little valentines that I printed out here. A lot of them smiled and seemed to like them. One of my friends even said that I was precious and that I made her day, which totally made me feel good! I gave my boyfriend his presents and a card I made him on Tuesday. Maybe next year you'll see pictures of the card... :)

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day! Make sure to let the people important to you know that you love them!

Last Minute Valentine's Day Gifts

Do you procrastinate until the last minute to get your girlfriend a present for Valentine's Day? The gifts shown above are great last-minute gifts to get for Valentine's Day!

1. Flowers. Every girl loves flowers. Seriously. They're so pretty and smell so good. Not to mention the fact that it's so cute to buy a girl flowers.
2. Chocolate. In my opinion, Valentine's Day is an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate. And I don't know any girl who doesn't like chocolate. So, why not get her chocolates in a heart box?!
3. Jewelry. Jewelry is cliche, but it's definitely a good go-to gift. Alex and Anis are popular among girls, and cheap as well, so they're a cute gift. And how about this "Love" Alex and Ani?! So perfect for Valentine's Day!
4. Gift cards. You can never go wrong with gift cards. Whether it's to Victoria's Secret or Starbucks, a girl could always use a gift card.
5. North Face rain jacket. I'm pretty sure I was the first girl ever in my school to get a North Face rain jacket in seventh grade, and ever since then, they've become so popular. They come in adorable colors and are great for rainy days or spring weather!
6. Gift basket. Gift baskets are so great because they're a variety of different things. In your gift basket, you could include candy, magazines, gift cards, a little stuffed animal, etc.

Virtual Candy Hearts Maker

With Valentine's Day in two days, everyone is adding the finishing touches to their valentines. I was making a valentine for my boyfriend yesterday when I came across a virtual candy heart generator. I had already started making the valentine, so I couldn't print out any virtual candy hearts for the card. I saved the website in my craft bin though so I can use it another time!

The virtual candy heart generator is so cool! All you have to do is type the message you want and then choose a color. Then you right-click and save the image. It's so easy! The hearts are adorable, too. I love that you can pick any color and write your own message.

Power-Outage Activities

My house lost power on Friday night at 11pm due to Snowstorm Nemo. We didn't get it back until last night at around 9! Luckily, my family has a generator, so we were able to have heat and some power. However, we didn't have wifi or cable, so I was stuck doing other things.

I actually kept busy while having no power because I thought of many different things, so I thought I'd share my list with all of you in case you guys get stuck with nothing to do while the power is out!

1. Read. This is a great time to get into a new book. Everything is peaceful and quiet in the house without having any power, so there will be no distractions to stop you from reading
2. Work out. If you have any gym equipment, you might not be able to use it if it's powered by electricity. So, you could do simple exercises that don't involve equipment, such as yoga, stretching, etc. If the weather isn't bad, you could maybe even go running.
3. Clean. My neighbor said to me the other day that when the power is out, she notices everything that needs to be cleaned. So why not clean? For me, cleaning makes time pass by very quickly, which is a good thing because the days always seem to go by slowly when the power is out. Also, cleaning takes out a lot of energy for me and calms me down.
4. Play board games. People tend not to have the patience and interest for board games when it's just a normal day because board games can take a while. Power outages are the perfect time to play board games because they're so time-consuming and everyone is together, so it's more fun to play board games with a lot of people.
5. Go outside. If the weather isn't bad, go outside! I went outside on Saturday afternoon to kill some time and get some fresh air. It was actually nice to be outside because everything looked so pretty covered in snow.
6. Journal. When the power goes out, it's typically because of a major event. So, why not journal about the major event so you remember it for the rest of your life? This was the biggest blizzard since the blizzard of '78, so it was obviously a very important event in a lifetime.
7. Catch up on homework. I know most kids don't like doing this, but if you have the time, you might as well get it done. I didn't do as much homework as I would've liked to do, but I still got my homework done. You can even get ahead on your homework so you don't have to worry about anything when you're busy.
8. Spend time with neighbors. If you don't have power, the chances that your neighbors don't have power either is very high. So why not hang out with them? I spent all day Friday and all day Saturday at my neighbor's house, and I actually had a lot of fun even though they didn't have power. It's more fun to spend time doing nothing with someone than it is to do nothing by yourself.

Non-Procrastination Inspiration

Before high school, I used to be the biggest procrastinator ever. I used to be so lazy and wait to do things until the last minute. Being the perfectionist I am, my last-minute projects would still come out very good, but it caused a whole bunch of stress. Once I entered high school, I just stopped procrastinating. I don't even know what hit me; I just suddenly stopped.

Now I do homework, work on projects, and study for tests right as I get assigned them. My work ethic went from poor to incredible, and I'm really happy that I stopped procrastinating. So, I thought I would share the tips I used to stop procrastinating!

1. Have an agenda. Keeping track of your assignments makes it a lot easier to get everything done right away. One main reason for procrastination is forgetting about assignments, so with an agenda, you won't forget. (Side note: Stay organized in fashion with this cute Lilly Pulitzer planner!)
2. Get away from distractions. With so much technology in this world, it's easy to get distracted. Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest can make you forget how much time has passed. Texting is a huge distraction as well. That's when you have to push your laptop to the side (unless needed for homework) and turn your phone off so you can really focus. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it. Going to a place that has very few distractions while doing homework is a great way to get away from distractions. The library is a great place for this, which is why they're so important!
3. Do things right when they are assigned. This one is super important. Don't wait until the last minute! Doing assignments right away will relieve so much stress, give you time to do stuff for yourself, and get a good night's sleep.
4. Make time for each assignment. Create a schedule with certain time spots for each assignment. That way you won't spend too much time on one assignment and very little time on another. Also, you'll then be able to leave time for yourself as well.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Prayer

Attending a Catholic private high school for the past two years has helped me to realize the importance of prayer. Prayer is so powerful, especially when done with a group of people like what happens at the beginning of every class. Whenever you're stressed, sad, helpless, etc., just pray. Praying works wonders. I try to make sure to pray before taking a test for good luck or when I'm stressed so I can relax and calm down.

I don't pray as often as I'd like to, but that's because I tend to forget to pray. It's bad. I'm going to try to pray more because God has blessed me with so many wonderful things and people in my life. Wish me luck on my spiritual journey!

Latest Dress Obsession

Whenever I'm shopping, I basically have to be steered away from dresses because I just happen to fall in love with them. There's nothing wrong with that, except for the fact that I end up buying a dress and then never wear it because I don't really do things or go places that I would be able to wear a dress to. My hopes for the future though is as I get older, I'll be able to wear dresses more often. As for now, I just sit on my computer and look up adorable dresses, wishing that I'll one day be able to wear them. A girl can dream, right?

It was about a month ago when I came across this Lilly Pulitzer Cassie Dress in Shorely Blue a Little Leg. I mean, how cute is it?! The flamingos are adorable, and I love the colors. This dress is perfect to throw over a bathing suit when going to the beach or just going somewhere casual. The only drawback to me is the sleeves. I think they should be made either a little bit longer or just short sleeves. It's kind of awkward-looking how they just stop right at the elbow.

This dress is $98, which is understandably because it's Lilly Pulitzer. I have that kind of money to spend, but I don't know if I want to spend that much money on one dress if I can use that much money to get a couple of shirts or something. So I'm kind of in a tiff with myself. I already have $50 to Amazon because of the gift cards I got from CheckPoints and am planning to get more gift cards to there, so I tried looking for this dress on Amazon, but it wasn't there. *sighs* Maybe it'll magically show up there soon!

Digital Family Summit Blogging Conference

Over the past month or so, I have really gotten into blogging. It's become not only a hobby but an obsession as well. I love blogging and finding other blogs to read. One of my New Year's resolutions is to develop a better blog. Well, the perfect way to enhance my blog would be to go to the Digital Family Summit!

The Digital Family Summit is a blogging conference aimed towards teen and family bloggers. Being a teen, I feel like this blogging conference would be the perfect conference for me to attend because I feel like only young adults and adults attend the Alt Design Summit, so I would feel out of place there.

Unfortunately, my mom won't let me attend the Digital Family Summit :( The next conference is in Fall 2013, so I'm not sure if I'd want to go at that time anyways because of school. My mom won't let me go because she doesn't want me in Philadelphia alone, and I don't have any friends that blog. But the Digital Family Summit is a great opportunity, so if you're interested and able to go, I suggest that you attend it!

Lilly Pulitzer Wallpaper

I love quotes and Lilly Pulitzer prints, so I thought to myself, why not combine the two? And that's exactly what I did. I made this wallpaper almost a month ago to put on my corkboard collage, and I absolutely love it. This wallpaper can be used on your computer, or it can be resized to be the wallpaper on your iPhone, iPad, etc.

This Lilly Pulitzer quote is perfect for this time of year, too. With the temperatures being extremely frigid in Massachusetts, I need a little reminder that it's summer somewhere and summer is not too far away!

Peacoats

Besides riding boots and leggings being popular this winter, so are peacoats. I used to associate peacoats with formal attire. However, now peacoats are starting to turn into casual coats. They look super cute with leggings or jeans.

I typically wear peacoats with riding boots and jeans. I sometimes wear them with leggings, but not usually because I don't always like the whole "black on black" look. There are many different patterns and colors that peacoats can come in, but I prefer the traditional black.

Do you wear peacoats? If so, what do you wear them with?

Instagram

Along with having a Pinterest and a Twitter, I also have an Instagram. Instagram is a great photo-sharing website and app. You can upload pictures and change the filter on them. You can view other people's pictures by following other people.

I love Instagram because I used to upload all of my pictures to Facebook and view other people's pictures on Facebook, but I don't even have to do that anymore. I can just put my pictures on Instagram and look at other people's pictures.

So, do you have an Instagram? If so, what do you think of it?

Leggings

A popular piece of clothing among girls this winter is leggings. They're so comfy, and they look really cute with basically anything. They can go with a sweatshirt and Uggs or even riding boots with a cute, large sweater!

I wear leggings all the time. However, I really only like wearing just plain black leggings. The patterned ones are cute and all, but they don't go with everything. Also, they can look kind of obnoxious to me. With black leggings, I can wear any shirt with it. I usually wear riding boots with them as well!

So, do you wear leggings as pants? If so, what do you wear them with?