Update + New Blogging Schedule

This month has been one of the best out of this whole year! I have been really focusing on time management and working towards my goals for the summer, and I have been doing pretty well so far! One of my main goals for the summer was to blog more, and I think I accomplished that! I have never blogged so much in my entire life! And I hope I can keep it this way! :)

Speaking of my blog, I will be having a new blogging schedule! I will be having posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sometimes this may not happen, but currently I am trying to pre-blog posts so I don't have to be taking a random leave of absence.

Hop you guys don't mind!

Liebster Award

I am so honored that I was chosen by Laura from Plain Insane & Insanely Plain! ( BTW I love her blogs name! ) I have hear about this award and I was so excited to receive it! It was so much fun to answer these questions and to think about the facts!

11 Facts about Me:

1. I have ALWAYS loved school supplies.  Even in 1st grade.

2. I have been dancing for 12 years.

3. My birthday's on Valentines Day.

4. I want to become a doctor when I grow up!

5. My 2 favorite stores of all time are H&M and J Crew.

6. Im obsessed with the Caramel Flan Frapachino at Starbucks.

7. My 2 Favorite shows on Netflix are Gossip Girl and Scrubs.

8. I am half Haitian and half Mexican.

9. I have been to Haiti 3 times and plan to make my 4th trip next year!

10.  I hate lettuce.

11. I live in Los Angeles

And now onto answering Laura's questions:

1. Why did you start your blog?

I started blogging to help me expand my writing skills ( because I suck at writing essays) and incorporating my love of fashion with it!

2.  You are going to brunch with your favorite celebrity - what do you wear?

 This is a tough one. I would definitely wear  a black scalloped skirt from J Crew with a white button up with a jeweled collar. Simple yet with a cute spin.

3. What is your favorite thing to read on other blogs?

I love reading the different outfit of the days! they give me so much inspiration for my outfits and sometimes even my blog posts!

4. What is your biggest pet peeve and on the contrary, what is the best quality you think a person can/should posses?

My biggest pet peeve is probably some one not being able to complete something after telling you countless times that they would. As for the best quality, I think it would be kindness! People who are kind are always the people that you can trust!

5. Do you like anything that most other people dislike? If so, what?

To be honest, I really don't like Ice Tea and regular tea. Everyone else that I know loves it, but I just can seem to like it! 

6. Who is the most influential person in your life?

My parents. Both my mom and dad are one of the strongest and most inspirational people I know. They have always been there for me and I know that they can always encourage me to do my best at the things that I enjoy.

7.What is your favorite twitter account?

My favorite twitter account by far would have to be @jcrewaddicts.

8.What color nail polish do you have on, if any?

OPI "My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours!"

9. What singular word would you use to describe yourself?

Organized. I am probably the most organized 15 year old you will ever meet.

10. What is your go-to food for a snack?

Pretzels Filled with Peanut Butter and Strawberries! Yum!

11. Where do you see your blog in 5 years?

Hopefully have my blog expanded and blogging in college! And of course getting to know more bloggers in the community!

I nominate :

Neidelyn from Get Up & Dress Up

Shannon from PrepAvenue

Megan from Bowtiful

Jen from Confession of a Prepster

Catherine and Julianna from Preppy By the Sea

kTm from Pick your beau

Ally from The Pearls and Peonies

Caroline at Peachy Keen

 Rach from Seashells + Sparkles

Elizabeth at The Journey Creating Me

Salli at Style by Salli

Here are my 11 Question for the Nominated:

1. If you had to wear one thing from your closet for the rest of your life, What would it be?

2. What is your all time favorite TV Show?

3. What's your opinion on Snail Mail?

4. What do you like to do in your free time?

5. What do you want to be when you grow up or what do you do as your job?

6. If you could shop at one store for the rest of your life, What would it be?

7. What is your favorite flower?

8. Why did you start blogging?

9. What is your food dish?

10. New York or Los Angeles?

11. What is your favorite pattern?

Hope you enjoy!

Current Lilly Favorites

I have been adoring the new Lilly clothes! If only I could buy all of the items! Plus the new patters are perfection! My favorite so far is Hot Spot. I love how fun and happy it is!

Here are my favorites!

What are some of your favorites?

1st Day of Sophomore Year OOTD

Today was the day! I am officially a Sophomore! One more year and I am officially a upperclassman!  But while I m sill a sophomore, here is the outfit I sported for today!

{What I'm Wearing }

Top:Target

Shorts: J Crew

Shoes: Converse

Necklace: Forever 21

Reflection of the Summer

This summer has been one of the best! I was able to fly to the other side of the country to do a engineering program at Perdue, I was able to get back into blogging and to be able to control my time with blogging, go to my favorite art museum with some of my favorite people,

Perdue University:

So of you may know, but I went to Perdue University in Indiana for a Engineering program! I am so lucky to be able to have gone! It was a great experience and I was able to meet so many people! I actually wouldn't mind going back! The only thing that I dint like about Indiana was the weather. Then again I'm used to west coast weather. But I think that if I was there longer, I would have gotten used to it.

Volunteering:

This summer I am so fortunate to be able to work at two aquariums this year! Both were a lot of fun! One of the aquariums, I had done the program last year. So I was already familiar to that program, which was giving tours to school groups. The second aquarium is definitely much bigger that the first one. Yet, It was a lot more different than the first one. For this program we had to work at different stations throughout the aquarium. This  meant me working from the Sting Ray pool, all the way to talking about Abalones! But one special thing that I was able to do was to have a special Animal Encounter at the second Aquarium! We were fortunate enough to feed the Sea Otters their lunch! They are absolutely the most adorable creatures in the world! This was definitely one of the highlights of my summer!

Blogging:

As most of you can tell, but I have been definitely more active on my blog! And I am so happy I am! Before I was so wrapped up in school and such that I had no time! But now that I am able create a better schedule for blogging, it has become a life savor! But I have definitely have had some fun times taking blogposts! 

Arctic Monkeys Concert:

Besides the Sea Otter encounter, I am so Happy that another one of my favorite things that happend this year was probably the best thing ever! I am madly in LOVE with the Arctic Monkeys! And Alex Turner is probably the hottest person in the world! :) I adore them and I am so lucky and fortunate that I got to go and sing along to my favorite songs!

LACMA:

This was probably another highlight of my summer! This actually was my second time going to the LACMA since I was in the 2nd grade! I loved it then, and I still love it now! I have always had a passion for art, and this place has such a nice modern atmosphere! Plus I was able to capture some really cool shots!

Getting closer to God:

Another amazing thing that I was able to experience was to become closer to god. I now go to a new church where they have a youth group! This youth group is probably the most looking forward to thing of the week! I just love how we go in depth detail about the bible and actually talking and discussing the scriptures!

Here are some of my favorites:

What was your favorite part of the summer?

Baking: M&M Bars

Lately I have been in a really big baking mood, and I have been trying out different recipes! The other day I tryed a M&M Cookie Bar!  Sound delish! Lol, Instead mine came out as a M&M Cookie Pie because I used the wrong pan! But if I say so myself, It was AMAZING! 

Want to try it out?

Heres the recipe!

Ingredients

 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of baking soda

12 tbsp melted butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tsps of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of divided M&M's

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
3. Grab a medium bow and mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set it aside.
4. Grab a large bowl and mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and the white sugar.
5. Add and Stir in the large egg and egg yolk.
6. Add and Stir in the Vanilla Extract.
7. Combine the medium bowl ingredients with the large bowl. Make sure to stir until the flour is incorporated. Try not to over stir.
8. Add in one cup of M&M's.
9. Add the dough into the greased baking pan.
10. Press in the remaining M&M's lightly on top.
11. Bake in the over for 25-30 minutes.
12. When done baking, remove pan and make sure it is completely cool util cutting.
13. Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite recipes?

Back 2 School: Goal Setting + My goals for the New School year

One of my essentials for my back to school is to write my new school year goals! This helps me focus on what I want to accomplish for the year and how to! So here are my tips on how to set good goals for your new school year!

1. Think of realistic goals

This is one of the hardest parts. I always reflect on how I did last year, and then I try and bump up the expectations. For example: If last year my goal was to get all A's and B's, I would push my self to get mostly A's.  Don't push yourself to far! 

2.Write it down

This may seem stupid, but for me once it's on paper it feels more official! Anything thing that I do is hang it somewhere that I can see it everyday to help inspire me!

3. Think of how to accomplish 

Think of different ways for each goal or just for that one goal!

4. Big Picture

Always think of the main goal of your goal. Is it to make you be proud of yourself or is it to get a reward! You should always should be able to look forward to something in the end!

Here are my goals for this upcoming school year!

What are your goals?

Back 2 School: 5 Best School App's

Technology is becoming a really big thing as schools now! We are able to create presentations and even take notes on our computers and I Pads! At my school we are able to even use our I Pad to read our school books on it! Over time I have gathered some really useful apps that have really helped me these past few months, and I just thought it would be great to share them!

#1 Self Control

You may have heard me talk about this app before in my Finals Tips post back in January, But this is one of my must haves for school! What this app allows you to does to help restrict you from websites that you get distracted on for a amount of time from your computer. I have to restrict myself from a lot of sites such as J Crew and Amazon! :) This has really come in handy during finals!

Go to the link bellow to get the app!

http://selfcontrolapp.com/

#2 Study Blue

This is a wonderful study app. It's very similar to Quizlet, but much better! This app allows you to make flashcards and study them using games and tests! But what I really like is how you can join classes! This is a life and time savor!  So as a example, I wanted to join my AP European Class and I was actually lucky enough that they have flashcards already made to help prepare you for the test! Plus you can add friends and they can share their flashcards with you!  You must download this free app if you like to study via flashcards!

#3 AP Exam App's 

This upcoming year I am taking my first AP ( AP European History to be exact) , and I am terrified. I have heard from a number amount of people that have taken the class that I have or in general to use study apps. Since their ins't one specific app for AP's from college board, I found a lot from the companies that create the Study Guide books such as Barron's, Princeton Review, and the 5 Steps to get a 5. I'm starting to go on them and to review my summer homework on them, and they have really helped me! Currently I have been using the "5 Steps to a 5" app!

#4 Edupath SAT and ACT

Edupath is the perfect way to help study for the SAT's and ACT's! It helps you create your dream school goal ( Mine Columbia and Vanderbilt ) and then it shows you how far you are from reaching Columbia's average admitted SAT or ACT Score! And since I forget things a lot, It also lets you have reminders to help you study daily!

#5 Cliff's Notes

If you read a lot of books for school and get tested for them, this is the perfect way to study! Cliff's Notes allows you to summarize the book, show you a character list and descriptions, and quiz you on it! Plus since it's on your I Pad or I Phone, it is perfect for studying on the go!

What are some of your favorite app's?

Back 2 School: Study + Time Management Tips

Along with the rest of the sections of my Back to School series, this is one of the most important one out of all of them. And that is being able to utilize your studying skills and time management. TO be honest, I have always struggled with study skills. But for me I just needed to find what fit me best!

So here are my tips of Studying and Time Management!

Time Management:

To-Do List:

This is one of my secrets. I use a to-do list daily! If you you saw my school supplies essentials blog post, you would have read about my to-do list book, and how I love to use it for school! I even use it on the weekends! During the weekends I love making list of stuff related to school and even things that are completely not related to school!

TIP: Add in somethings to your list that you already do! This will help you cross off things more easily off of your list, and help motivate you to do more!

Prioritize:

One of the biggest problems I have with time management is prioritizing! For me, school goes first and then family and friends. Usually during a school day after I write my daily school to-do list, I usually make another list labeled with numbers and then I write down the stuff I have to do first down (Most important ) to the last ( Usually something that I can skip since it's last ). 

Agenda:

Yes. I know, I know. You guys have heard it so many times before. But I cannot stress how much you MUST use your agenda for school! I personally have a Erin Condren planner. I absolutely love it! It literally has my life in my book!

If you would like to see my planner organization, please let me know! :)

Studying:

Music:

I personally am a Kinesthetic Learner which means that I like to work/study both hands on and visually! One of the things that I love doing while studying is listening to classical music! I use Spotify on my computer for the background music. A really good app that I love to use is Songza! This app gives you the time of day and then what you are currently doing! And then it create different playlists! 

APP's:

I Love using App's for studying! I personally like using either Quizlet and / or StudyBlue.com! Both of these app's help with creating online flashcards! The only difference is that StudyBlue.com allows you to join a class! This is such a timesaver because usually you can find your class, and they already have their flashcards done! All you have to do is study!

Audiobooks:

Like I said, I am a Kinesthetic Learner. When I read, I either like to read out loud  and follow along, or  having a audio book read it to you! This will definitely be beneficially to fellow learners and most likely auditory learners! 

Cornell Notes:

I started taking Cornell notes back in seventh grade because it was mandatory for my social studies teacher's class. Since then I have been using this method! It is super beneficial! I love how on the left column, you are able to write questions about the notes, and then you write your notes on the right side. And last but not least you write your summery on the bottom! This is perfect for studying for tests!

What are some study tips do you use?