Fall Essentials: Boots

Chelsea Boot / Sperry Duck Boot / Karen Scott Riding Boots /

Celena Perforated Booties / Unisa Tereza Riding Boots /

Jamila Zip Booties

I love boots, especially at fall time. Right now I'm loving booties, I just got a pair, but I want another one! I also want a pair of duck boots and riding boots. You can never have too many boots, right?!?  This collection of boots are all my favorites and perfect for fall!

What are your favorite boots to wear for fall?

Links I Love: Fall Edition

1. Happy Fall everyone! It still feels like summer where I live, the past week was all 80 degree weather!

2. One of my favorite things about fall has to be the food. These apple cider doughnuts look so good!

3. These Hunter Boots are perfect for fall.

4. School has been so crazy lately with all of the tests, here are 5 ways to ace your next test.

5. Cross country is in full swing right now, and I'm currently reading Mind Gym by Gary Mack to help strengthen my mind for running.

6. I'm definitely going to try these pumpkin recipes this fall!

7. This is the ultimate fall bucket list!


Thanks for reading! What are most looking forward to this fall?

5 Ways To Ace Your Next Test

Tests! Tests! Tests! Oh how I hate tests! I swear I've never had a week without a test. In my first week of school this year, I already had a test! I'm not the type of person who doesn't have to study or do anything to ace a test! I have to do a list of things each time before I take a test, so here are my 5 Ways To Ace Your Next Test.

1. Take Notes

Taking notes in class is crucial for me,to pass a test! I'm not a visual learner, so taking notes help me learn and memorize everything we learn in class (if you are a visual learner, watch videos on YouTube about the information you are learning in class.) I usually write all my notes in bullet points, but I recommend writing it however it will help you remember what you are learning.

2. Study

Studying probably one of the most obvious ways to ace your next text. To study I usually go over the textbook (if I have one) and my notes I wrote in class. As I reread my notes I like to underline and circle in my notes with a colored pen. I will usually underline vocab words and circle the main ideas. Doing all of this with a colored pen helps me memorize the material and point out the main ideas I have to know.

3. Don't Procrastinate

You can't procrastinate studying for a test! If you know on Monday that you have a test on Friday, start studying Monday. It's is better to study small amounts over the week then cramming it all in on Thursday.

4. Sleep

For me 8 hours of sleep is needed before a day of the test. If I don't get enough sleep I will be so tired for the test, and will not be able to perform to my true ability. Usually I study till I feel tired the day before a test. If I study while I'm tired, I usually don't remember what I studied the next day. Your best bet is to study early then go to bed early. 

5. Breakfast

Breakfast is so crucial the day of your test. It will give you all the energy you need during. On the day of the test, I usually eat eggs with toast or cereal with yogurt. Either of these meals will give you the energy you need to pass your test.

Thanks for reading! What do you do to ace your test?

Summer Favorites

 I can't believe summer is coming to an end! It seemed so short, but I'm ready for fall. I've decided to start a new series where I will share my favorites with you after each season. So here are some of my favorites from this summer:

 Favorite Book: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Favorite Movie: The 5th Wave (yea I know, I saw this movie really late)

Favorite Shoes: Adidas Superstars

Favorite Songs: "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots, "I'm Not Famous" by AJR,

"Capsize" by Frenship, "White Flag" by Joseph (and much much more!)

Favorite Dinner: Greek Chicken Gyros

Favorite Dessert: Buckeye Brownies

Favorite Pool Essential: Pineapple Pool Float

Favorite Summer Drink: Blueberry Lemonade

Favorite Keychain: Lilly Inspired Keychain


What are your summer favorites?

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day everyone!!! I can't believe summer is almost done. I start my first day of school tomorrow! I'm excited to go back, but at the same time I don't want summer to end! This summer was so much fun: I started my blog with this first blog post, I turned 16 and got my license, and I got to travel all around Michigan! I hope you have had as fun of a summer as me! Happy Labor Day, again!

US Cities Travel Bucket List

 I want to travel everywhere, so I decided to make a US Cities Travel Bucket List to help me achieve this goal! I will most likely be making other travel bucket lists for other countries, but I decided to start of with my home country first! These are just some of the cities I want to go to, I will definitely be adding more!

Here is my US Cities Travel Bucket List:

Alabama

Birmingham, Orange Beach, Fairhope, Montgomery

Alaska

Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Gustavus

Arizona
Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Marble Canyon

Arkansas
Little Rock, Hot Springs

California
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Anaheim, Palm Springs,
Leggett, Laguna Beach, Sacramento, San Diego, Big Sur

Colorado
Denver, Aspen, Vail, Colorado Springs

Connecticut
New Haven, East Haddam, Hartford, New London, Ridgefield

Delaware
Dover, Lewes, Bethany Beach

Florida
Key West, Sanibel Island, Delray Beach, Destin, Mount Dora

Georgia
Savannah, Atlanta, Cumberland Island

Hawaii
Honolulu, Kailua, Maui, Lanai

Idaho
Boise, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Sandpoint, Twin Falls

 Illinois 
Rockford

Indiana
Indianapolis

Iowa
Des Moines

Kansas
Wichita

Kentucky
Louisville, Cave City

 Louisiana 
New Orleans

Maine

Portland, Bar Harbor, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit, Camden,

York, Old Orchard Beach, Boothbay Harbor, Rockport, Castine,

Damariscotta, Stonington

Maryland
St. Michaels, Ocean City, Baltimore, Annapolis

Massachusetts
Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Provincetown,
Plymouth, Salem

Michigan
Midland, Port Huron

Minnesota
Biwabik, Grand Marais, Winona, Minneapolis

Mississippi
Ocean Springs, Jackson

Missouri
St. Louis, Kansas City

Montana
Bozeman, Whitefish, West Yellowstone

Nebraska
Valentine

Nevada
Tahoe, Las Vegas, Rhyolite Ghost Town

New Hampshire
Concord, Franconia, Meredith

New Jersey
Atlantic City, Cape May, Princeton, Ocean City

New Mexico
Santa Fe, Albuquerque

New York
New York City, Long Island, Buffalo, Albany, Montauk

North Carolina
Charlotte, Outer Banks, Lake Lure

North Dakota
Minot, Medora

Ohio
Columbus, Toledo

Oklahoma
Tulsa

Oregon
Portland, Seaside, Lincoln City, Bend, Newport


Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, Hershey

Rhode Island
Providence, Newport, Block Island, Jamestown, Bristol

South Carolina
Charleston

South Dakota
Keystone, Spearfish

Tennessee
Nashville, Memphis

Texas
Houston, Dallas, San Antonio

Utah
Salt Lake City, Moab, Park City

Vermont
Chester, Grafton, Montpelier, Stowe

Virginia
Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Charlottesville

Washington
Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Whidbey Island

West Virginia
Charleston

Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dells, Lake Geneva

Wyoming
Pinedale, Jackson, Cody



What cities would you add to your bucket list?

Cute Inexpensive School Supplies

I don't know about you, but I just don't get the point of spending $30 dollars on a planner! You have to get a new one every year, so I would rather spend my money elsewhere. Don't get me wrong those planners are really cute, but just to expensive! For this post I decided find cute, but inexpensive, school supplies.

Pencil Case ($4.99) | Blue Spiral Notebook ($10) | Gold Pens ($3.99) | Scissors ($8.99) |

Binder (sale $3.49) | Cactus Planner (sale $6.38) | Pencils ($12) | Pencil Sharpener ($1.95) |

Pink Planner ($10.99)

Thanks for reading!

A Quick Guide to South Haven, MI

Last weekend I went to South Haven, MI. I've been there a couple times for cross country meets, but I've never walked around town. South Haven has this really cool beachy vibe to it that I love! If you are ever in Michigan I would definitely recommend going to South Haven.

What To Do

Beach & Lighthouse

One of the best things to do in South Haven is go to the beach! They have seven public beaches or access cites for you to choose from. South Haven's lighthouse is located on the South Beach. It's a great place to watch the sunset after a day at the beach!

Bike

In South Haven there is a 34-mile bike trail called the Kal-Haven Trail. It connects Kalamazoo and South Haven together. On the bike trail you pass rivers, farms, and woods. It's an easy trail that anyone can do!

Boat Tour

Since South Haven is right on Lake Michigan, there are plenty of boat tours that take you out on the lake. It's a great way to learn about the city while having a lot of fun!

Where to Eat

There are so many places to eat in South Haven. For lunch we decided to eat at Brix Corner Oven. Right when you walk you see the bright colors and what looks like a gas station! The restaurant was actually a gas station before being converted over! We decided to eat outside because it was such a nice day. Brix Corner Oven is known for their wood-fired flatbread pizza. I had the barbeque pizza and kale salad which were both so good! I would definitely recommend Brix Corner Oven if you are ever in town.   

Where to Shop

If you are looking for a place to shop I would definitely recommend heading down to Phoenix Street. The whole street is lined with cute beach stores that I could shop in for hours! 

Links I Love

1. The Olympics start today! I'm so excited, I have been waiting for this day all summer!

2. My family and I recently went to a farm, and picked a lot of peaches (18lb so be exact)! With all these peaches I will try and make a peach pie, peach salsa, and peach lemonade. Hopefully I don't get tired of peaches!

3. I have one more month till school starts. I'm looking for a new backpack this year, so I've rounded up a few of my favorites. 

4. I really want these shoes for school!

5. If you are a big Harry Potter fan like me, you probably already got the new book! I got it the day it came out, and it was everything I hoped for plus more! 

6. I want to go to Norway so bad!

7. My birthday was last week, and one of my gifts was a Fitbit Alta! I got the turquoise band, but I really want the blush pink one too! 

8. I'm going to South Haven with my family on Sunday! I can't wait!

Thanks for reading! What are you doing this weekend?

Back To School Essentials: Backpacks

For me my backpack is my number one school essential. I have a ton of heavy textbooks I carry around, so I need a durable bag that won't break on me! The problem is I don't have very good luck with backpacks, so I'm looking for a new one again. My last backpack was a Nike backpack, it was the best one I ever had. It had enough room to carry all of the textbooks I had plus more. It lasted me two years before the zippers started ripping off. I would definitely blame me not the bag for it ripping. I just had too many things in my bag that it finally broke. I decided to make a list of backpacks that I think can handle all of my stuff! I will be getting one of these backpacks and putting them up to the test!

Nike | Under Armour | Jansport | North Face | Adidas | Herschel

What backpack would you pick?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I can't believe how fast summer is going by! I have a little over a month before I have to go back to school. Ugh! I don't even want to think about it. On a brighter note, my birthday was last Monday! I'm finally 16! In this post I will actually be showing you some of my favorite birthday gifts. So without further ado, here are my Friday Favorites of this week!

1. Fitbit Alta + Pura Vida Bracelet

2. Camelbak Water Bottle

3. Agent 18 Phone Case

4. Black Backpack 

4. Pineapple Beach Bag

(similar)

5. Monogram Keychain

Birthday Recap

I'm finally 16! I can't believe it! My 16th birthday is a birthday I will never forget.

One of my birthday presents was concert tickets to see Twenty One Pilots with my best friend. Our parents surprised us with the tickets in the beginning of June for the concert which was in the middle of the month. Both of our birthdays are in July, so the tickets and concert were an early birthday present. It was the best concert ever!

On my actual birthday I got my driver's license! I was so nervous I was going to fail at the parking, but somehow I passed with only hitting one cone! At least it was a cone and not a car! After I got my license we went to the beach. I expected the water to be freezing, but it was really warm. My sister and I stayed in the water forever!

The rest of my birthday consisted of a nacho bar, cake and ice cream, and presents! You will definitely see some of my gifts in upcoming blog posts.  

Thanks for reading!

5 Ways To Stay Active This Summer

Not all of us have time to go to the gym, so I've rounded up 5 ways to stay active without going to the gym. All of these activities can be done at your house or around town.

Run

Go for a run! Running is a great cardio workout, helps relieve stress, improves your health, and much more! Since I run cross country for my high school, I run all the time. I usually run 6 out of 7 days. It's always good to take a day off to rest your body. If you are new to running, start off walking then start running towards the end of your walk. Keep up with this routine everyday, and make your walking time shorter and running time longer.

Swim
We all swim in the summer, so why not make it a workout? When you're at a pool do a couple of laps. If you're at the beach swim to a sandbar or somewhere else close by. Just doing these little things while swimming will give you a good workout!

Bike
Take a bike ride around your town or neighborhood. You can go with a group of friends or with your family to make the bike ride more fun. You don't have to bike like a professional to get a good workout in, just bike at a medium pace for more than a mile.

Play Sports
You don't have to be apart of a team to play sports. All you have to do is get together with a group of friends and organize a game of basketball or another sport you like to play. Playing sports are a great way to stay active while having fun!

Pokemon GO
Yes, I did put an game app as a way to stay active this summer! I recently started playing it with my friends and let me tell you, it's a workout! We walked all around the park looking for Pokemon for hours! I never thought I would walk that much playing a game on my phone. Don't worry if you have no idea what Pokemon is because when I started I knew nothing about it and still know nothing about it, but I still have so much fun doing it! I would definitely recommend playing this game to stay active this summer.

Links I Love

1. I really want a new water bottle, but I can't decide between this one or this one.

2. I get my license soon, and I really want this Vera Bradley Zip Id Card Case to put on my lanyard.

3. I love stock pictures for my blog, and free stock pictures are so much better!

4. I am defiantly going to try this nutella ice cream recipe!

5. Rompers are my favorite! I really want this one that Daily Dose of Charm wrote a post on.  

6. Cherry season is here in Michigan! I made a pie following this awesome recipe!

7. I also made a really good blueberry and strawberry spinach salad.

8. I recently made a Pinterest account for this blog, so come and check it out!

Blueberry and Strawberry Spinach Salad

Nothing beats a fresh salad on summer's day. I've just recently started liking fruit in my salad. Before the idea of fruit in my salad sounded disgusting! I just didn't like the idea of strawberries with lettuce or blueberries with dressing. Once I tried a salad with fruit, I realized how wrong I was! Fruit just makes the salad 10x better and fresher, so today I will be showing you my Blueberry and Strawberry Spinach Salad.

For this salad you will need strawberries, blueberries, pecans, spinach, and dressing of choice. I used a strawberry vinaigrette, but any other dressing would taste good.

I first added spinach to a big salad bowl. Then I added the strawberries, blueberries, and pecans. All of the strawberries were cut into slices because a whole strawberry is to big to put in the salad. Mix everything together, and add the dressing. Then your all done! Enjoy! 

                                                             

Week Recap: Vacation + 4th of July!

This past week was our annual trip up north (northern Michigan). Every year we stay in the same resort, and have so much fun! Our trip consisted of biking, swimming, shopping , fireworks, and so much more!

The first day we went on a 10 mile bike ride around the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The bike trail was so beautiful! It was fairly easy other then a couple of big hills. My legs hurt so bad going up those hills! After the really long bike ride, we decided to go shopping. We went shopping at a cute beach town called Glen Arbor. Glen Arbor has a ton of cute little beach stores, and a Cherry Republic store!

For those who don't know, Cherry Republic is a store/restaurant/winery that sells all things cherry! You can buy cherry pop, cherry candy, cherry jam, etc. What's really cool about the Cherry Republic is that you can only find it in Michigan. All of their products and design of their stores center around the theme of northern Michigan(lakes, farms, woods, etc.)

My favorite part of going to the Cherry Republic is trying all of their samples. They always have a whole bunch of food out to sample, you could have a whole meal there! I also love their soda pop.  My favorite one is the Cherry Root Beer. They have so many choices to choose from!

On our trip we also went to Traverse City. The Cherry Festival was actually going on while we were there, so we walked around that for a little bit. After the festival we walked around all of the cute shops.

                           

                                                   

 For lunch we went to eat at some food trucks. The Little Fleet is a bar with food trucks right in front of it. They are all parked in this outdoor area right in front of the open bar. There were about eight different food trucks to choose from. I got a pork taco from the truck Roaming Harvest (it was delicious), but all the other truck's foods looked equally as good. I would defiantly recommend going there if you are ever in Traverse City!

For the rest of the trip we stayed at our resort. We biked, swam, played tennis, watched fireworks, played golf, and relaxed. It was so much fun! I can't wait to go next year!