How To Stay Awake After School (+My After-School Schedule)

A couple of days ago one of my best friends posted a picture on Instagram with a caption on how she was so tired when she got home from school and needed tips on staying awake after school hours. I couldn't really help her then, but after doing a bit of research and some thinking I came up with a few tips and tricks on how to stay awake after school. Also, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share my after-school schedule with those of you who were wondering!

I guess I'll just write out my after-school schedule first, and then share the tips, just to avoid any further confusion :)

15:30-17: 45 -> School ends at 3:30 for me, and I usually stay at school 'till 5:45 because of Drama or any other activities that I'm doing after school. If I'm feeling down and really tired I'll grab a latté and some fruit as an after-school snack to keep the energy flowin'.

17:45-18:30 -> During this period of time I am usually driving home from school (the traffic is unbearable!). While driving home I usually check my e-mail (from my phone), Facebook, and Instagram. This helps me just get done with all of that, so I don't have to waste time on social networking at home.

18:30-18:45 -> Right when I get home I change into some yoga shorts/yoga pants and a VS PINK sweatshirt (they are so warm!). I have to wear a school uniform while in school, so I love changing back into some comfy clothes in the evening. I'm all about comfort, so I find that wearing comfy warm clothes helps me study. Next, I take everything I need out of my school bag (usually that's my MacBookPro along with the charger, my planner, and the notebooks/textbooks that I needed home that night) and set everything up on my desk (or bed :P).

18:45-22:00 -> This is when I study/do homework. Now, I've developed a special "method" that helps me do homework/study. I work for 15 minutes, and then give myself a 5-minute break every 15 minutes. During that 5-minute break I usually watch some YouTube, have a potty break, stretch, and get myself comfortable. I find that this method helps me concentrate more, but also gives me some free time, so I don't just do my homework while watching YouTube or listening to music (like I used to).

22:00-22:20 -> I workout every other day after school, and I don't really want to go to bed all smelly and dirty (ew). So I take a shower or a relaxing bath before bed every other evening. Plus, shaving and washing my hair before bed saves me tons of time in the shower the next morning! I still shower in the morning everyday (don't worry), though!

22:20-23:00 -> I try to read before bed every night, but by ten PM I'm usually pretty exhausted (I wake up at 5 AM every morning), but I still try. Lately, I've been under a ton of stress and haven't really read anything except school books for the past week, but I'm definitely catching up on my reading this weekend (I finished "Matched" and started reading "The Great Gatsby" - LOVE IT!).

Now on to the actual tips.

My number one tip would be do not - by any means - eat chocolate while studying. It will make you very hyper at first, which isn't helpful when you're trying to concentrate, but then you will crash. Crash and fall miserably. And you won't be able to do anything except sleep for the rest of the evening. Not good.

Another helpful tip is to have a nice, nutritious snack before studying - no carbs, no sugar... Just some fruit and nuts, or some greek yogurt... Just keep it healthy! And don't forget to keep yourself hydrated = drink plenty of water!

Also, when you get home - don't just feel bad for yourself and watch TV - actually start studying right away! That way, the little amount of energy that you have from the day will be targeted towards studying, not towards TV or computer. Oh, and if it helps you to take a nap - go ahead and do it! - just be sure to make it short and sweet (40 minutes max.!). I never take naps after school, because whenever I do I just end up snoozing the alarm 'till forever and sleeping until the next morning -.-

Anyways, hope you girls enjoyed! Much love!

xoxo,
Liz

September 2012 Favorites

Happy Saturday everyone! I've had such a wonderful week (and a wonderful September) and I'm in a really good mood right now! Maybe it's because I over-drank coffee...or because I have Saturday drama practice in an hour... Anyways, this month was a great one! It went by pretty fast - I was always in a hurry and over-stressed about homework, but I ended up loving it. I finally developed a studying/homework-doing system that works so well for me (maybe I'll make a post on it later?) and I've just been loving school and life lately ;)

I don't think I have that many favorites this month, but I'll still share them with ya'll ;) I guess I'll start with random favorites first, and then just move on to beauty favorites!

JFK No, not the airport - the MAN. In my elective class I had to research about someone, and I don't know why, but I picked John Kennedy. And now I'm obsessed. I'm actually more interested in politics now (I never got them -.-) and I'm really into all that jazz now! Woop woop for new random person favorites!

tumblr Now, I did a post on my favorite tumblrs earlier, which mentioned some of my favorites and ones I've just been obsessed with. I haven't had much time on my hands this month, but when I did - I went on tumblr. I get so much inspiration there, and I just feel better and much happier when I'm on tumblr! LOVELOVELOVE

Gossip Girl Season 6 airs on the 9th (I think) of October and I can't wait!!! So I've been satisfying my Gossip Girl cravings by re-watching all of the seasons (in order). Believe it or not, this was actually one of my 8th Grade resolutions...obsessed, I know. I feel that I've learned all of Blair's lines (obsessssssssssssssed) and remembered all of Serena's outfits in my head... So yeah, I'm pretty pumped.

Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in "Lively" I usually wear very little or no makeup at all (except mascara) on my eyes during school, so I like to spice it up with my lip color. One of my Fall/Winter favorites for that is MAC's "Love Alert" Dazzleglass - but that's a different story. I actually got this little lip pencil in a gift thingie from Sephora around last spring break and I've never really used it that much. But this month I've been loving it. If you love bright, fuschia pink lip colors - go get you some Tarte!

Benefit BrowZings Kit in "Light" This little baby was a lifesaver on those super busy Monday mornings when I slept through my alarm and didn't wear any makeup...except this. As I've mentioned many, many times before - I think that brows are a focal point on anyone's face (especially if you wear glasses, like I do), so at least grooming them everyday is a must.

Penny Loafers I got mine on the last week of August and have been wearing them in school almost everyday since! They are so comfy (and not to mention very preppy) - I love them! Oh, mine are from the brand Paraboot, just in case you were wondering ;)

Pree Brulée This online store is amazing. Just amazing. No other words for it. I am in love with their earrings and necklaces (not a fan of the rings, though). A great variety of prices is offered, but all of the pieces are great quality and very fashionable and trendy! Go check them out!

And there you have it - my September Favorites!

P.S. MY BIRTHDAY IS IN 7 DAYS WHO'S EXCITED I AMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

cute, adorable, tiny little creature (a.k.a. puppy) from here

Quick Tips: Showering

HOLLER! I've missed you guys! I skipped my Sunday blog post (whoops, I forgot :P), so I'll tryyyyyyy to make up by this fun ten tips post! Now, I know the title looks a bit weird...but that's exactly what I'm going to talk about today (or rather, tonight) - showering. There's actually more to it than it seems. Shall we?

1) Exfoliate. THEN shave. Now, some of you may already know this, some may not - nevertheless - exfoliate before you shave! I usually exfoliate my skin every other day with Lush's "Buffy" exfoliating bar (you don't want to exfoliate every day) and then shave. The exfoliator gets rid of all of the dead skin cells so you can shave easier and get every single hair SHAVED OFF. haha >.<

2) Cold>Hot I, personally, love hot showers. LOVE. But, I try not to make the water too hot because 1) I don't want to burn myself 2) the hot water actually dries out your skin - not good!, and 3) the colder the water - the better it is for your hair (hot water opens the cells and leads to breakage! also not good). Just don't shower in freezing cold water, loves ;)

3) Shampoo wet, condition dry. I don't think many people have heard of this, but once you have - it all starts making so much sense! You get your hair wet so you can shampoo it better, right? Well, for the conditioner to work as good as possible your hair needs to be just slightly damp - not wet. Get into the habit of ringing your hair out before you condition - you will see results!

4) Plan ahead. Ya'll cannot even imagine how much this helps. Let me start off this this way - you wake up, take a shower, get dressed, do your makeup, eat, and leave, right? Right. You've planned out your outfit for the day in your head before falling asleep, but you wake up and the weather is totally different! What to do? Plan in the shower. I now do this whenever I shower (even though I wear a school uniform :P) - it saves so. much. time.

5) RAISE UP YOUR VOICES AND SING! Sorry for the caps, haha, but I just had to :P Almost everyone I know does this, so this might serve as more of a reminder than a tip, but SING. Sing in the shower. I don't care if you're awful at it or amazing - just do it. Let it all out, girl ;)

xoxo,
Liz

HILARIOUS picture is from here

Fall 2012 Playlist

First of all, I am so sorry about not posting for a week! I went on a school trip to Altai, and let me just say - it was beutiful! I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to go there again in my life, so I was trying to soak up and enjoy every single moment (+ the internet was way too slow to blog). I might just be doing a fun lil' post with a bunch of pictures from the trip ;)

Now that I'm done with the excuses (guilt face) I can move on to the actual point of this post - my fall 2012 playlist. Now, it isn't that big, I'll still be adding more songs, but for now this is what I have!

• "Long Live" by Taylor Swift
• "She Is Love" by Blaqstarr
• "I Found Out" by The Pigeon Detectives
• "Pretty Girl Rock" by Keri Hilson
• "Want U Back" by Cher Lloyd
• "Super Bass" by Drew Tabor
• "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift
• "Tip Toes" by Jayme Dee
• "Pound the Alarm" by Nicki Minaj
• "Innocent" by Taylor Swift
• "California (Tchad Blake Mix)" by Phantom Planet
• "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line
• "Turn Up the Love (feat. Cover Drive)" by Far East Movement
• "Radio" by Lana Del Rey
• "Young, Wild & Free (feat. Bruno Mars)" by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
• "Concrete Wall" by Zee Avi
• "Live While We're Young" by One Direction
• "Some Nights" by Fun.
• "Come Fly With Me" by Frank Sinatra
• "Try" by P!nk
• "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood
• "Bound To You" by Christina Aguilera
• "Don't Wake Me Up" by Chris Brown
• "Gangnam Style" by Psy (sorry I'm not sorry)

Oh, I really like Taylor Swift, in case you haven't noticed yet ;)

Yep, so I hope you enjoyed looking through my favorite fall songs for this year (I will be adding more, so you might want to check in every other week or so :P)

LOVE YA'LL

xoxo,
Liz

pic from someone's tumblr

Current Obsessions: tumblrs/Blogs

 

Why hello there little sicky children. I am, in fact, sick. Along with the rest of my school. There's been some kind of virus going on and I really want to kill it right now. Really badly. Just to let you know how miserable I am: I woke up at 6 AM to go to school, got ready, went to school, came to school, got a cup of tea, talked with my friends...and left school right before first block. Such a rebel, Liz, such a rebel. Anyways, I got home, took a nap, had some lunch, and am now giving myself some free time.

Since I've obviously been sitting at home all day I've been studying (such a good girl) and, of course, spending 99.9% of my free time on tumblr. And today I am going to share some of my favorite tumblrs and blogs with you guys! Most of them are extremly preppy, but whatever.

Woop woop! Oh, by the way, these are in no particular order!

1. Prep Of The South Let me tell you, this girl is amazing. She used to have a YouTube channel, but then deleted it, which was a serious loss for me. Just kidding, but I really do miss her videos. Anyways, this is a super preppy tumblr (just a warning), it is extremely inspirational - check it out, you'll know what I mean! She is a definite idol for me (everything-wise!) - she has so many tips on studying, fashion, etc. CANNOT. GET. ENOUGH.
2. Vineyard VInes & Preppy Guys This is also one of my favorites for many reasons: a) just look at the cursor-mouse-thing-whatever b) look at the background and c) take a look at the pictures... Yeah, I know. Amazing. Oh, and it's also really preppy.
3. SeaBelle Sorry guys, but I'm a prepster now...and I just realized that all (except one) of these tumblrs are preppy... Sorry I'm not sorry :P Anyways, I just love this girlie - great pictures, great everything...yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
4. SarahBelle93 If you girls don't know this goregous chica from YouTube, you haven't lived. I absolutely adore her YouTube channel...and her tumblr makes me love her a bajillion times more. Yepppp
5. New England Born And Bred Great inspiration pictures. Just love them. Can't really add anything else :P
6. Sweeter Than Tea Gorgeous, gorgeous girl. Gorgeous, gorgeous tumblr. Cheers to spending 100% of your free time on this girlie's blog. Yeepee.
7. Prep Of The South Questions Now, this is the same girl's blog that I mentioned...Prep Of The South. The reason she made a Q&A tumblr is because she was recieving a ton of questions on her main tumblr, and when answering them, she crowded her followers' feeds on tumblr... All of that put together equals a big great Q&A tumblr, full of awesome advice and just fun-to-read things.
8. The College Prepster Now this girl (Carly) is awesome. Love love love her. She has a blog, which I will mention later on, and I've been reading it for a while. But I've only recently found out about her tumblr. It is amazing. She basically answers all of her questions on there, and also posts adorable outift of the days!
9. Cookies and Apple Juice This is not. A preppy. Tumblr. At all. It's actually another YouTube Beauty Guru's tumblr - Kayla Lashae (aka akaydoll on YouTube). Her style is, like, the opposite of preppy. Think...the Jenner sisters, Brandy Melville, and hipsters. Yep.
10. The College Prepster (the blog) I'm not going to talk much about this one, because I am a) getting really tired right now and b) yeah, I'm just tired. Basically, she posts a lot (a couple of times a day), and just has really fun and helpful advice ;)
11. The Prep Of The South (the blog) Not going to talk about this much, either, because I realized I rambled way to much about her before... Anyways, she doesn't post that often on her blog, but when she does - it is so worth the wait. Just go check 'er out ;)

woop woop I'm done and can now go to sleep without feeling unacomplished
xoxo,
Liz

picture from Vineyard Vines and Preppy Guys' tumblr

Ten Tips: De-Stress

I'm kind of on a blogging kick right now, so I figured, why not type up another post to make up for the Wednesday one that never happened? By the way, I totally have an excuse for that - my computer broke, so I couldn't really type on anything... It's still getting fixed, so I'm borrowing my friend's for now :P (thanks Dasek).

I have so much homework already, and school's only just started! But I'm really procrastinating now, but I decided that I'll have a homework/study day tomorrow, so whatever. And I know school and homework (plus your social life!) can get so incredibly stressful. So here I have put together some helpful tips that you might want to use on one of those stressful all-nighters you have to pull (due to studying, not to partying, hopefully :P)

1. De-clutter = De-stress I am kind of an organization freak, so everything is pretty much always clean and organized in my room, but there is always some area of my room that needs some work in that department. I just find that cleaning up when you are mad, sad, or stressed helps so much! And a clean room is always an added bonus. Also, when your room is clean and free of clutter it makes focusing on schoolwork much easier.

2. Keep Calm and Read a Book I am a total bookworm and I read all the time, especially when I'm stressed and need to get my mind off of something. Just take a 15 minute break and read a chapter of your favorite novel - it'll make you feel so much better!

3. Stress in Style For me personally, it is very hard to find those extra 40 minutes to do my nails or enjoy a nice face mask, especially on one of those busy school nights when all you can think about is how much homework you have. Just take a break, breathe, and pamper yourself by painting your nails or making a home-made face mask. *Gives you an excuse to re-paint your nails :P*

4. Hit the Gym Now, you don't have to even go to the gym for this one, just workout at home - it's so much more easy and fun! I love working out while re-watching my favorite episodes of Gossip Girl - makes it so much more fun! Working out is a wonderful way to relax, that also just happens to be very beneficial towards your health ;)

5. Couch Potato One of my absolute favorite ways to de-stress is watching a fun, girly movie. Some of my favorites are "High School Musical" (I'm not kidding), "Beauty and the Briefcase", "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging" (I'm also not kidding), and "Clueless". Oh, and "Mean Girls" of course.

6. Veg Out Now, this one has to be my absolute favorite out of all. This relaxation method is achieved with three easy steps. Step one: grab your best pair of headphones/earphones. Step two: plug them into your computer/laptop and enter "www.*insert your favorite tumblr here*.tumblr.com" into the little search bar. Step three: forget about everyone, enjoy the music and the amazingness of tumblr.

7. Tea Time! Green tea helps relieve stress and anxiousness, along with many other great things it does for your body and health! Plus, who doesn't love a nice hot cup of tea on those chilly evenings?

8. Confessions of a Shopaholic Now, this one may not work so well for your wallet, but you'll definitely love the experience! Usually, when I feel down or I'm in a bad mood, I shop online! Now, I don't actually shop...more like add items to my basket and promise myself to get them another day. I strongly don't recommend to go actual shopping (like, to the store) when you're in a bad mood, because in the end - you'll just end up hating everyone and everything in the world because those jeans didn't fit.

9. Naps (not diamonds) Are a Girl's Best Friend We all know (and you can't hide it from me) that we never actually get the full 8-9 hours of sleep that we need. Agreed? Yes. Now that that's settled, I have a little confession to make. I probably only get 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I know, bad girl Liz. Oh well. At least I try :P Anyways, it is very important to catch up on your beauty sleep, so make sure to take a nap! I adore naps! Just set a timer for, let's say, 40 minutes, change into your favorite sweat suit and enjoy ;)

10. Cake Boss Now, I basically do this all the time anyways, but just in case you don't - this one is for you. Baking. Or cooking. Or whatever. I just find that baking your favorite cookies and them enjoying them after they're done helps de-stress so much! Yeah, not much more I can say about that.

Okieeeeeee, hope you guys enjoyed, and have a stress-free school week ;)

xoxo,
Liz

5 Minute Morning: September

We all have those mornings (at least once in a while) when you only have a couple of minutes to get ready and run out the door - whether it's for school, work, running errands, whatever! - we've definitely all been in this quite sticky situation.

In this post I put together a quite preppy and classic outfit that will only take you a couple of minutes to put together. It's pretty fall-oriented...I love it.

Anyways, I'll probably be doing this type of posts every month... So that should be fun, right? Ok, I'm going to stop wasting your precious time, and just get on to the post.

The first thing you want to start off with is a blouse. This forest green Tory Burch blouse... is heaven. Of course,  you don't have to have the Tory Burch one, but any blouse with a bit of a twist (on this one - the bow) will do. I recommend putting on the blouse first - that way it'll tuck in nicely into your jeggings. Black jeggings are a must for me, for any season. They are easy to just put on, super comfy, and fit nicely! What not to love? After the main part of your outfit (the clothes) is ready it is time for my favorite part ever. The equestrian Tory Burch boots. Now, I may have talked about these before, I can't quite remember, but it is only because I've been lusting over these $600 babies for quite a while... And I can't wait to splurge on them. Now, same goes for the boots as for the blouse - they don't have to be super duper expensive designer boots, they can be just some random cognac slouchy boots that you picked up from Target the other day. I, however, much prefer quality over quantity, so I'd much rather buy an expensive pair of boots that I'd wear 'till I'm 50, than buy a new pair each season because the old ones wear out too fast. 

Did that make any sense at all? I hope it did :/

Next comes your everyday tote. For me, that is my Longchamp Le Pliage in Large. It literally fits everything you'll ever need in it, and mine is usually already pre-packed for the day, so all I have to worry about is grabbing it and running out the door. Finally, and this is optional, slap on some mascara and touch up your brows - I find that brows are crucial for everyday, they frame your face and make you look so much more put-together!

This post was actually very fun to do, so you'll definitely be seeing these more often! Love ya

xoxo,

Liz

Update On My Majestic Life: Whole 30!

First of all, hi. Second of all, I know I just did one of these updates, like, on Wendesday, but this one isn't really an update on my life... More of an update on what I'll be doing... I mean... You'll see ;)

I follow a lot of "fitspiration" or "fitspo" accounts on my beloved Instagram and I get a ton (actually, probably all) of my inspiration for staying healthy, working out, and eating clean from there. Recently, everyone on those "fitspo" accounts has been talking about the Whole 30, which is basically like a diet plan (I'll go into all that jazz later) where you need to cut out certain things out of your diet - such as grains, dairy, and some sugars. At first I thought: NO. I was never. Ever. EVER going to do that Whole 30 thing. I love dairy. I drink tons of milk and eat tons of yogurt every single day. But then I just got sick of everyone talking about it and me just sitting there and thinking of a million excuses on why I can't do it.

When, in reality, I can. So I googled "whole 30" and the first thing that popped up was the actual "whole 30" website. It had all of the info that I ever needed and more, regarding the Whole 30 program. Basically, the program is something that you do for 30 days - very very clean eating. No sugar (of any kind - honey, gum...nothing). No grains (wheat, rye, oats, barley, corn, etc.). No legumes (beans of all kind, peas, peanut butter, soy, etc.). No dairy (this is the hard one for me...no milk of any kind, kefir, yogurt - even Greek - and no sour cream). No potatoes. No alcohol (well, it's not like I consume it otherwise). Yep. A lot of no-no's. Basically eating super super clean, all-natural things.

My diet is already pretty clean. Yes, I have a few cheats here and there, but I always eat healthy. This, however, is kind of extreme to me... I mean, cutting out milk for a month? It's gonna be tough. But I'm up for it and starting tomorrow ;)

Anyways, love you guys, and hope you enjoyed!

xoxo,
Liz

P.S. Dasek is a poopoo.

picture from here

August 2012 Favorites

I cannot believe it is already September. I know everyone says this, but August just flew by! Well, actually, it went pretty slow, but I'm still really excited for all the fall festivites and all that fun stuff.

I don't think I really have many favorites this month but whatever, I'll still want to write this post ;)

1. Working Out 110%, hands down my favorite thing this month was working out. August was the first month I made a fitness/workout calendar for myself and actually finished it! It was amazing. I'm kind of super super obsessed now...

2. Lilly Pulitzer 17 Month Agenda As many of you lovely ladies may know - I am obsessed with organizing. It's actually more of a habit than an obsession, but whatever. I got my agenda in July (I pre-ordered it from the website in May) and I have been oggling over it ever since! In the month of August I actually started using it and darn loving it! It is so adorable and girly (not to mention PREPPY) - I love it! Our school gives out their own planners, but I do not like them at. all. So whenever I pull this bad boy (or girl?) out in class everyone starts staring at me and I get asked where this baby is from every single time ;)

3. Instagram + Breakfast Instagram has always been my favorite, so I'm not even going to include it in my monthly favorites, because then I'd have to include it every month and that would get kind of boring ;) But. Instagramming while eating breakfast have been an absolute favorite for me this month! I was just chilling at home for the majority of August, so I just make a breakfast, and enjoy it while scrolling through my Instagram feed. On those days, though, when I have to wake up at 5:30 AM and I'm in a huge rush, I don't really have time to enjoy my breakfast, so I just scroll through while sitting in the car on the way to school.

4. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment I mentioned this in my "Back To School Beauty Essentials" blog post, so I won't talk about it that much... All I can say is that I love it! It is very moisturizing, lasts a long time, and makes my lips feel nice and smooth in minutes!

5. Abercrombie and Fitch "Wakely" Perfume Now we all know the A&F "Fierce" cologne and, of course, we all gave the male memebrs of our family this wonderful sexyness in a bottle for Christmas last year (or was that just me?). But no one ever talks about the perfumes from Abercrombie! And that makes me really sad, because they are amazing! This one I actually got from one of my best friends Anna (I know you're reading this koza ;)!) for my birthday last year and I've just been using it on those days when you just need to hop out the door with no makeup on and your hair in a pony just to get some groceries. It adds a put-together, girly touch, but it's not too strong or too obvious. Love. That. Stuff.

I am very sad to say that I think this is it. Wow, that was not that interesting, but that means that this month I am going to have a poop load of things that I'm loving! Gonna go sleep now ;)

xoxo,
Liz

pic from here ;)