Back to School: School Supply Swap Link-Up

Hey y'all,

I am so excited to see what everyone got in their packages from my Back to School Swap! I want to thank all of you who participated and all of you that although were a little late in signing up, but wanted to support my first hosting of a swap! So let's get down to business. I was partnered up with Rebecca of Life in the Prep Lane and here is what she got me:

All of my presents and the adorable Vera Bradley Card.

An explosion of pens that write in different colored ink and a few highlighters

Post-It Labels, pencils, and a new to-do list pad 

A lengthy to-do list pad with to do now on one side and to do later on the other.
A small journal that I am still deciding what to write in it.

 Thank you so much Rebecca!
Here is a quick glimpse at one of her gifts since she loves Chevron:

A new tumbler!

Now if you participated please leave your link below so everyone can see the great gifts you received! 


Peace and Blessings,
jDl

Back to School Swap!

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Hey y'all,


I participated in a lot of fun swaps this summer and you can check out what I received here and here. This wonderful experience of creating a gift package as well as meeting new blog friends was very positive and inspired me to create my own "back to school" swap. I personally love school and office supplies and this time of year always brings a smile to my face. Even though I am no longer a student as some of your out in the blogosphere are with me(or those teachers out there), cute office supplies and stationery are always needed so feel free to sign up.

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So onto the logistics of everything:


1. Leave a comment on THIS blog post with your name (last names not required), email address, year in school (you can write postgrad or office if you are no longer in college or high school), and your favorite thing about back to school time (or your favorite school supply).


2. Price Range: $10-20(without shipping). I know that there are a lot of school supplies you can find on a small budget especially with sales but this allows you to look at places like Lifeguard Press, Vera Bradley, Sweet Tea Paperie, etc. for some other items as well as Target/Walmart/Staples/Drugstore purchases. 


3. I will leave up entry until 11:59EST on July 31st so that I can send out the matches on the 1st of August. Packages should be mailed by the 15th of August. More information will come when I send out the matches. 


4. Feel free to mention this and encourage others to join because who hates a fun gift of post-its, pens, and other school goodies?

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I hope you decide to join! I think this will be a great opportunity to build friendships on Blogger and help someone have the perfect first day of school (or workday) with a lovely gift.


Peace and Blessings,
jDl

Erin Condren Life Planner (or how I organize my life after college.)

THE VLOG IS FINALLY WORKING!

Hey y'all,

So on Friday right before work a wonderful package came to my door. It was my Erin Condren Life Planner. Here are a few pictures and my first ever vlog(if it ever works) which compares my Lilly Pulitzer planner with my new E.C. Life Planner (excuse me looking crazy/wearing my UNC hoodie and my lazy eye. I decided to film Sunday after working from 4am-1:30pm so I was ready for a nap before dinner.) I am also linking up with Meredith of The Tichenor Family blog for her Life Planner Link-Up.

Well let's get started.

The beautiful box as delivered by FedEx

Upon opening.

IT'S HERE!

The really cute (EXTRA) stickers with my name on them!

My Life Planner. It has my full name on it so for safety I covered up my last name.
 It is the Taffy design with my own colorway of pink and navy.

This week!

The notes section is where I put the ruler provided.

The extra goodies.

Vlog

(excuse my rambling)

Also, yesterday right before I posted my Liebster Blog Award, SHF of The Chronicles of S nominated me as well, so instead of doing even more facts, I am going to answer her questions.

1) If you could live in any city, which one would you choose? 

A big city in the South most likely. Think Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Charleston, etc.

2) What is your wardrobe staple?

A perfect fitting  pair of jeans.

3) If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?

Hmmm. Probably all of my sorority sisters since I miss them terribly especially my Big whom I haven't seen since October!

4) Blackberry, iPhone, or Android?

I would love an iPhone but I currently have a non-smart phone after my last one got lost in the library during Finals in December. Less than a year until I get to upgrade!

5) What is your favourite unofficial holiday (e.g.: Ice Cream Day)?

Besides my Birthday and half-birthday, I would probably go with the date my sorority was founded since I think Phi Beta Chi has truly shaped who I am and influenced a large number of my friends and experiences over the last 4 years.

6) Which magazine(s) do you read every month?

I currently don't have any magazine subscriptions. I however do love on rare occasions to glance through Glamour, Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmo, Southern Living, and a few more.

7) Where is your favourite vacation spot?

I love the beach. I especially love small non-commercialized beaches like Topsail, NC and the Outerbanks. Small and quiet is the way to go for me.

8) What is (or was) the most interesting class you've taken?

I loved a lot of my classes at UNC (minus calculus and chemistry) so I will write down a few I loved. Introduction to Museum Studies, History of the Medieval Church, Art History of the Illuminated Manuscript, Victorian Literature and Contemporary Issues, 19th Century British Fiction, Medieval Art in Western Europe, Gender and Imperialism, and many more.

9) Which of your birthday parties has been your favourite?  What was the theme?

I loved my 18th Birthday. We went mini-golfing and it was perfect weather considering my birthday is in January. I actually have never really hated any birthday except for ones that fall on Superbowl Sunday. 

10) If you could guest star on any TV show, which one would you choose?

THE CHEW! I would love to be on What Not to Wear or Say Yes to the Dress but not as a guest star. If you have never seen The Chew go to Hulu and watch an episode. Basically it is a cooking show every afternoon at 1pm et. on ABC with hillarious personalities like Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, Daphene Oz, Mario Batali, and Michael Symon. I mean, yesterday's episode was about State Fair food and they had a butter cow. Come on.

11) What & where is your favourite building (e.g.: the Getty Museum in LA)?

This is really hard after living in Europe since there are many gorgeous buildings and churches. I would probably go with the Louvre in Paris, France. I love the mix of contemporary glass features and the original architecture of the time it served as a royal residence. 

As always if you have any questions or concerns email me or write a comment!

Everything in it's place...Bookshelf

Hey y'all,

As promised here are a few pictures of my reorganized bookshelves. This week I was finally able to move my small bookshelf from my college apartment to my room at my parent's house. My entire family is filled with readers and everyone has at least one bookshelf in their room but my bookshelf had gotten crowded with books from my English classes along with my teen/childhood books. The addition of more bookshelf space was the perfect decision and a great way to spend an afternoon on my day off this week. As a book lover I figured I would share this little corner of my room.

Before

 AFTER....

 Much more organized.

The Whole Bookshelf.

Top 2 Shelves: Chick Lit.

Shelf 3: Paranormal Romance/Series
Shelf 4: Romance Novels and Behind Those Other Random Series/Trilogies

Bottom Shelf: Year Books, Random Teen Series/Teen Novels, etc.
I had to take the cookbooks off the shelf but that's ok since they belong with my kitchen items anyway.

THE OTHER SHELF aka. Classics/English Class/"Smart" Books

Organized by Publisher, then alphabetical by Author. Also, the lamb is Phi Beta Chi's symbol so that is why some of my  lambs are by my letters.

The Bottom Shelf=Anthology, Shakespeare and all of my Jane Austen books and spin-offs.

Now that you have peeked into a corner of my room I am off to enjoy the rest of the day poolside since according to Weather.com it is 105 with a heat index of 110!!!!!

Stay cool and let me know what you are reading!

Peace and Blessings,
jDl

Write it Out:Planners

Hey y'all,

I am obsessed with organization and one of my favorite parts of organization is organizing my life whether a to-do list or my color-coded planner.

Now last year I used a Lilly Pulitzer large agenda that I loved but I feel like my life after graduation does not follow the same large spaces with lines fr class assignments. Upon gaining a "job" I expect my planner to be more for social events:lunches, trips, etc. so I feel as if I would be wasting the space of a Lilly planner. If I was continuing my education in grad school this would be my first choice again since it is such a fun and colorful agenda.You can find this year's designs here or here

Last Year's Model

So here are some options for next years model.

Gallery Leather.
sCe of Summer Wind had a bad customer service experience she wrote here about Gallery Leather planners. I like the idea of the  Leather Family Planner with days blocked out by hours but I feel that this might feel constricting after a while. I however do like the professional look to the planner and the option to customize it with your name or monogram.

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Graphic Image. and Moleskine make similar planners.

Erin Condren.
Currently the front-runner of my search to find a planner. Erin Condern life planners are sectioned off in day, midday, and evening for each day. While that has never made sense for my life before I like the freedom it allows. I also love the goals and to-do list section of every week. It's a great way to stay on track as well as the updated features this one is looking great. I feel that the ability to personalize it as well as the colorful aspiring quotes are appropriate for my transition to the "real world" while also having a dash of my personality too. What I am currently thinking is the life planner in taffy with navy and a shade of pink stripes with my name on it. Thoughts? Have you had a life planner? pro/cons?

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Any other suggestions of planners I should check out?

Peace and Blessings,
jDl

Clearing Up Some Desk Space...

 Hey y'all,

One of my many things to do yesterday was to clean and work on cover letters for jobs. I was happy to say I did both. By starting my day with a to-do list I was so productive and felt like I had a goal (plus who doesn't love the joy of crossing things off as you go?). But before I got to my cover letters I needed to find a space to work. The desk in my room had been commandeered by my parent's "family" computer though both of them only use it to print things now that my Mom has her own laptop. But furthermore, my high school study space was no longer. So I took over the table randomly stored in my room for the current time period. After cleaning it off I am proud to say I created a clean usable space to work at over the summer while I complete cover letters and resumes. The clean space helped my productivity so much. Now on to tackle the rest of my room. Oh boy.

Yay, for work space!

I had to add the new frame I got for graduation as well as my post-it obsession.

Without my laptop.

My retail job doesn't require a lot of work at home so while I wouldn't mind a different space like those below, I am lucky to have a designated work space now so here's to hoping for some interviews and job possibilities! I will have to lust over these offices spaces for now....

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While I would love for a different space like those on Pinterest. I am content for now working in this clean space. Can you work in a dis-organized space? What is your essential desk supply?

Peace and Blessings,
jDl