How To Kill It In Spring Semester

I feel as if I'm the only person who isn't looking forward to going back to school -- I wish break could last longer, but today is my last day. However, this month-long break has left me feeling super refreshed + ready to kill it this semester with these tips + tricks.

+ wake up early

Although sleeping in is really nice and 8 AMs are always dreaded, wake up early even when you don't have an early class. I've found that waking up early has actually motivated me to get more work done; if I spend more time sleeping or laying in bed, I find it that much harder to actually get myself to do things.

+ make a new to-do list each morning

I make a weekly to-do list outlining assignments I need to do and exams I need to study for. However, I started to also make daily to-do lists near the end of fall semester. Having a daily to-do list allows you to see just how much you need to get done in one day. Crossing off completed tasks brings a huge feeling of relief, and you'll be able to gauge your time when you know what you need to do. This Kate Spade notebook is perfect for jotting down your tasks!

+ utilize free time

Whenever you have free time, use it to do schoolwork. This could involve studying flash cards, taking notes, reading an article, and more. Although 30 minutes in between classes may not seem like a significant amount of time, you would be surprised by how many flash cards you could study in that time. Using a spare 15 or 30 minutes here or there definitely adds up in the long run. And doing homework in your free time during the week could potentially leave you extra time on weekends to go out or relax.

+ plan ahead

One thing that worked really well for me during fall semester was planning ahead. As I mentioned before, I made weekly to-do lists. However, I would have to-do lists for the next three or four weeks at a time. This would allow me to get an idea of when I would have really busy weeks, and then I used those to-do lists to get ahead on work so that I wasn't slammed all at once. Lilly Pulitzer agendas are perfect for planning ahead!

+ find your study habits

Did you develop study habits that worked really well for you last semester? Carry those over into spring semester. Did your study habits not work out too well for you last semester? Search through Pinterest for efficient study tips. Find whatever works best for you and stick with it; this will guarantee you academic success.

How do you plan on making this next semester successful?

Favorite Blogging Resources

After planning out my blogging goals for 2016, I have become obsessed with finding helpful resources to keep the blogging motivation flowing. I plan on printing out my favorite ones to keep in a folder because I prefer to have physical copies of everything, but for now, I've selected some to share with all of you!

+ four productivity tips for a successful day

+ how to create an editorial calendar

+ write a killer "about me" page

+ prevent yourself from running out of blog post ideas

+ five apps to boost blogging productivity

+ connect beyond the blog through tweet chats

+ schedule blog posts like a boss

Feeling inspired to blog as well? Jot down your ideas + posts in these notebooks + planners!

Winter Beauty Necessities

Even though I know I should be taking excellent care of my skin year-round, I probably take the best care of it in the winter (oops!). My skin gets dry easily, so I always focus on making sure I use the best products to keep it smooth and refreshed.

+ Foot scrub for dry, cracked feet.

+ Face masks for dry skin.

+ Body lotion for dry skin when walking outside.

+ Chapstick for cracked lips.

+ Water for keeping skin nourished.

What do you use to take care of your skin in the winter?

Life Update (Continued)

For those of you who saw last Sunday's post and my tweets, you'll know that my beautiful mom has recently been diagnosed with brain cancer. She had her surgery on Monday morning, and we were so thrilled with the outcome. My mom was in the operating room for about ten hours, but the majority of the tumor was successfully removed! The rest will be taken care of with chemo and radiation, which will start within the next couple of weeks.

I would just like to thank you all for your prayers + support. All of the tweets, comments, and messages seriously meant so much to me; it was definitely a good reminder of why I love to blog! I mentioned in my last post that I may be taking a blogging break. I have decided that I may not be taking a break necessarily, but I don't think I will have seven posts go up each week like I was hoping to. Posts will go up randomly until I feel as if it's okay to get back into a normal blogging schedule.

I hope you've all had a great week! XO

Life Update

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not too personal on the blog. There are some things that I feel are relevant to share, and there are some that I feel don't need to be shared. But I feel this is important to share with all of you.

Unfortunately, my mom hasn't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks. We all thought it was fatigue because she was completely wiped out; she was picking up extra shifts at the hospital she works at, planning two Christmas parties, and endless Christmas shopping. The only problems she had were her fatigue and speech -- she knew what she wanted to say, but it always came out as something completely different. This got worse on New Year's Day. We had her do nothing but relax the next three days, but nothing changed. She went to the doctors on Tuesday, and she was told it was a neurological problem and that she would need to get an MRI. She got the MRI, and it was discovered that my mom has a brain tumor. My mom has been in a hospital in Boston since Wednesday night, and she will be having surgery tomorrow morning. Chemo and radiation will be happening in the next couple of weeks.

Taking all of this news in was devastating -- as it would be for anyone else. It has been extremely difficult to adjust, but things have gotten better. My older sister actually had cancer almost ten years ago when she was just 15 -- so if one Mason can beat cancer, so can another! It has definitely helped that all of our family and friends have been so loving and supporting.

It was one of my absolute goals to blog more, but I'm realizing now that it's best if I take a little blogging break for a while. My mom's health is my most important priority, and I want to help out in whatever way I can.

Many thanks to all of you for being so understanding. XO

Blogging Goals

Unfortunately, I put blogging on the back burner for my first semester of college. I was hoping to post consistently, but I totally underestimated how busy I would be with studying, working, and having a social life. Now that I have adjusted to college life, I'm determined to get a steady schedule created so I have time for everything important to me.

I shared that I would like to post consistently for 2016, I have created a list of blogging goals that I would like to accomplish by the end of the year and a survey for all of my readers to fill out about Lilly & Lemons. Here's to a year full of girl power + productivity!

U P D A T E  "A B O U T  M E"  P A G E

I updated my "about me" page before I started college, but I would like to update it again. I've seen some really creative layouts, and I would like to come up with my own. I would also like to get a new headshot for the page.

M A K E  A  N E W S L E T T E R

I've been dying to make a newsletter for my blog, but I've been struggling with what I would like the newsletter to have. I don't want it to have my daily posts because people can just go to my blog for that. If there is something you would like to see on my newsletter, feel free to let me know!

P O S T  C O N S I S T E N T LY

I'm happiest when I'm posting every day of the week. To be honest, it has been really hard to even post every once in a while during school. And while on break, I've definitely been uninspired and have hit writer's block. My goal is to come up with fresh post ideas and get back to posting seven days a week.

U T I L I Z E  M Y  B L O G G I N G  P L A N N E R

During the summer, I made a blogging planner that really helped me to come up with great content and jot down points that I wanted to include in each post. When I took a "blogging break," I stopped using my planner. The planner is what motivated me to keep blogging, so I want to get back to using that to keep my thoughts flowing and organized.

 L E A R N  G R A P H I C  D E S I G N  +  C O D I N G

I have always been interested in graphic design and would love to be able to learn how to do it myself! It's especially helpful that I'm a blogger, along with coding, and it would be beneficial to have when I'm a social media manager. I plan on learning through Codecademy, and I would like to purchase Photoshop and learn that through YouTube. If you know of any free helpful graphic design/coding courses, feel free to let me know!

P A R T I C I P A T E  I N  T W E E T  C H A T S  A G A I N

I participated in tons of tweet chats over the summer simply because I had a lot of free time. I loved how helpful they were because I met tons of fabulous ladies and learned a lot of beneficial things about social media and blogging. I had to stop participating in them once I got into the first semester because they all take place at night, and I was simply too tired. I'm hoping to start participating in them again so I can keep learning!

F I N D  F R E E  C O U R S E S  +  R E S O U R C E S

I'm always looking to further my knowledge about social media and blogging, and I especially love when the resources I find are free! I'm a huge fan of Helene's free webinars, but the only problem is that it's hard for me to actually watch the webinar live. I usually have to watch the replay, which is unfortunate because there is usually a tweet chat going on about the webinar while it's live. When I sign up for free webinars, I'm going to make sure to set aside time to watch them live so I can chat with other people watching it.

G E T  M O R E  S P O N S O R E D  P O S T S

I'm thankful for every opportunity I get to work with companies. I blog simply because I love it, but getting paid to blog is a plus because I could really use the extra money on the side. I'm going to keep my eyes open for any opportunity to earn some extra cash!

P O S T  I N  F A C E B O O K  G R O U P S

I'm a part of tons of blogging Facebook groups that I also put to the side. I love being a part of these groups because I not only get to advertise my blog posts but also get to find other blogs. Tons of helpful information is always posted that I get to use for myself. I want to post in these groups more in order to reach a bigger audience for my blog.

I may have gone a little overboard with my goals, but I'm super excited to start working on them. I can't wait to see what 2016 will bring for Lilly & Lemons!

What are your blogging goals?

Why I Didn't Shop the #AfterPartySale

Anybody who knows me knows how much I love Lilly Pulitzer ... hence the blog name! And I can never pass up a good sale, especially when it comes to Lilly, which is why I totally took advantage of the summer #AfterPartySale.

I was instantly excited when I saw that the winter #AfterPartySale started on my birthday, but after some thought, I decided not to shop it this year. I shopped it last year and honestly was not too thrilled with my purchases. I'm definitely an impulse buyer, which is what happened last year. I bought a dress, tunic, and two shirts that I absolutely loved when I saw them on the website. However, when the items came in, I didn't like how they looked on me at all ... so I didn't wear any of them. I had to sell them through Poshmark and ended up losing money.

I pretty much only wear Lilly in the summer but I'm not a huge fan of Lilly in the winter; I tend to stick to J. Crew. Their winter pieces don't seem to look too good on me, and I debated on buying some shorts and dresses for summer instead, but then realized it's too far away. I'm also hoping to save more money this year, and I knew that if I shopped the sale, my money would be gone in an instant. Oops.

I thought I would regret not shopping the sale, but honestly, I don't feel too left out! I feel much happier knowing that I'm not broke and that I have money for shopping when I go to NYC this weekend.

Did you shop the #AfterPartySale?