Monday Mask Night (Part 2)

The only thing better than masks on Mondays is the organization that comes with it. My life is a hot mess, don't get me wrong. Emphasis partly on hot, but mostly on mess. That's why I love Monday Mask Night. Before I cover my face in nutrient-filled cream, I grab out my trusty planning essentials and get my life somewhat in order. If you wish your life to be as clear as your skin, read on for my trusty tips on how to stay on top of your week.

How to Organize Your Life: The Ginger Way

Needed Materials: Everything pictured below. Don't worry, I'll break it down for you because what's the fun in only taking one picture? 

1. Pens. Colored ones, to be specific. What good organizer ever survived without colored pens? No one, that's who. 

 

2. Regular pen, because colored pens will get you far, but I've found they pretty much suck for anything longer than 5 words.

3. Journal. Yours, not mine. I mean, you could have mine, but you'd find it incredibly boring and it only has 4 pages left so it'd be pretty worthless. Anywho  this is where your pen comes in handy. Writing is easier when you have a utensil to do it. I've found that journaling -- about anything from your daily activities to your thoughts on the hot boy next door -- is both therapeutic and fabulous for TBT mems. 

4. Goals book. This one isn't actually necessary unless you're an over-planner like yours truly, but it adds to the fun. Ignore the kitchy title; my mom bought it for me and therefore I shall love it. Every week, I write down my goals. They can be big or small, mundane or exotic. Writing your goals on paper makes you accountable and if you add a box next to each one, you're going to have way too much time checking each goal to miss one. My goals usually include things such as "make bed every morning" and "put pants on before noon every day". I know my life is harder than most, but you can make easier goals and work up to my level. 

5. Planner. This is more necessary than the journal and the goals book. You'll need both the regular pen and colored pens for this. I'll go into how I plan with my planner later, because that's a post of its own. For now, just haphazardly write words in the spaces and hopefully it'll turn out alright. 

Now throw on your best stay-at-home-mom outfit. You're halfway there already. Get your organizational necessities and start writing. And remember, after this, you get to put on your face mask 🎉

My personal OOTN (Outfit of the Night..get it?) is Lucy leggings, a Pink (the brand, not the color) waffle tee, and a sports bra for extra comfort. It doubled as my yoga outfit, because Nike Training Club's dynamic yoga was my WOTD (workout of the day...ha). 

PS notice that I worked out today? Meaning I'm still on my work out plan. Shameless plug, whoops. 

Happy Organizing! 

Monday Mask Night

Okay okay this is literally (in the non-ironic sense) my favorite day of the week:

Monday Mask Night 

It's my ultimate relaxation day. I pass the marking of time by my Monday Mask Nights. Monday Mask Night is everything needed in life. It all starts with a face mask (obvi). My current one was chosen by college budgets and my love of bourgeouis names so this was the natural choice. Check out Target for this "Dead Sea Mud Mask". 

My first love, however, is Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque. I conveniently found it in my mom's cabinet when I was like, 10 years old. Amazon sells it, because what does Amazon not sell? Plus, it's still cheap which means its poor college student approved.

Next, throw on your biggest tee shirt and comfiest leggings and bask in mask glory. I do it while watching Netflix (live love Gilmore Girls) but you do you. 

Pro Tip

DO NOT take selfies with the mask on, because 

1. Masks are for relaxing, not for picture taking. 

2. If you smile with the mask on, the mask will crack and you WILL look like an 80 year old grandma that fake tanned her entire life. Don't try it. Trust me. 

Fitness for the Work-Out Adverse

Just Call Me Healthy 

Currently eating my super delicious granola, yogurt, and blueberry trio. It's my go-to breakfast when I need something quick and/or on the lighter side. The yogurt is there, I promise. Check top rightish corner of the bowl. See? Healthy. 100%. No questions about it. 

Theme of the Day

My theme of the day is athletic superstar/beach bum (AKA a three-mile run meets an afternoon on the boat). This, along with my supercute workout outfits, inspired me to blog about the importance of fitness in your life.This chick knows what's up:

How to be an Athletic Superstar (like me)

I've spent my entire summer watching Netflix and sitting on a boat, which is fabulous, don't get me wrong, but I started seeing the effects, if you know what I mean. I decided that the best way to remedy this was to get in killer shape before heading back to school in the fall. The added bonus? I can say I work out, and that makes me someone that's athletic. So, here's my foolproof plan to working out if, like me, you're workout adverse and completely lost when it comes to getting fit. 

Step One: Download the Nike Training Club App 

This is seriously the best thing ever. I'm pretty much the laziest person out there, so without someone (or thing) telling me exactly how to work out, I'd never do it. The app is free, and comes with a variety of individual workouts, or you can...

Step Two: Create a Workout Plan

Hello, beginner mode. I chose "Get Lean" solely because it uses the least amount of equipment. Beginner mode is three workouts a week, plus two runs. This sounds like torture, I know. But one of the workouts is 15 minutes of yoga, and every girl knows that yoga is great for relaxation and artsy pics.

Also, the runs are shortish (3 miles usually) and in total, the plan takes up about 2 1/2 hours a week. That's only like, 4 episodes of Gossip Girl, and considering I watch about 10 episodes a night, I'm not having trouble fitting the workouts in. 

Step 3: Tell someone (everyone) you've started a workout plan

This is the most crucial step, people. You start telling the world you're going to begin a work out plan, and you can't back out without looking like a total NAF. Tell your closest friends, the boy you're into (he'll love it), your parents, your coworkers, the dog next door, anyone you can think of. Sure, it'll make you annoying, but you'll never be as annoying as a vegan crossfitter, so don't worry about it. I'm telling the entire internet, so now I'm chained to my plan. 

The best part about working out is the outfit, so throw on that lulu top and start sweating. 

 

How to Dress for the 4th Without Wearing Red

The 4th of July is the prime boating day in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, so it's fitting that I'm currently blogging from my boat:

Anyway, this morning I frantically searched for a quality patriotic outfit to match my patriotic spirit (I mean, who actually plans their outfits in advance?) As I perused my navy and white attire, I became worried that without red, the world would mistake me for a traitor to our country. I own approximately 0 items of red clothing, because red hair + red shirts is a little too much spice for my life.

Don't panic, I found a nice array of outfits that are both spirited and adorbs. My hair's red, so I'm automatically covered on that in anything I wear, but even for you unfortunates without rusty locks, these outfits are sure to impress on Independence Day. 

First: boating outfit. I went for classic white and paired a blue bikini top underneath. A blue and white polka dotted headband completes the look! 

Top: Aerie

Shorts: forever21 

It doesn't scream red-white-and blue, but it's only to cover up when we grab (virgin) piña coladas at the walk-up bars, so I'm not that worried. 

Next: My mid-afternoon outfit for work. Gotta pull all the stops so the customers know how much I love our country. The bra top really makes it, plus there are red stripes, which is just enough to add color without making me look like a wall of fire.

 Top: dry goods

Shorts: forever21

Bra Top: Aerie

Finally, a late night outfit for watching fireworks on the water. A long sleeve to combat the lake breeze is a must. I stuck with the same shorts all day to make changing easier, because the boat's changing room isn't up for that challenge.

 Top: Polo Ralph Lauren

Shorts: forever21 

All of these outfits are designed for a day on the boat, so if you're heading somewhere fancier, I'd check out a blog of someone motivated enough to have structured plans. Personally, I think a relaxing day on the water is the perfect way to enjoy my freedom.

It's not quite noon, so if you haven't started your day, make sure you put on your preppiest red/white/blue and make a toast to 'Merica at some point. 

Sorry England, but we are the champions of the world. 

Crocs vs. Birks: A Tale of Two Shoes

Everyone loves to hate crocs (me included), but let's face it: they're both comfortable and convenient and a lot more people than will admit it have had a pair in their closet at one point in their lives.

However, the new shoes on the scene are the coveted Birkenstocks. I'll admit, I don't currently own a pair due partly to my laziness but mostly because they're all backordered, which means I'd probably get mine just in time to break out my bean boots. 

I've decided to make a nifty pro/con list detailing the best (and worst) qualities of the classic Croc and the Arizona two-strap Birkenstock, so slip on your favorite pair of summer sandals and get ready to online shop for one (or both) of these lovely shoes after reading. 

First Things First: An Introduction

Confessions of a College Girl With Too Much Time On Her Hands 

I never thought I’d be the blogging type. And then I found myself outside by my very-suburban pool, scrolling through tumblr, drinking coffee (yes I know it’s 85 degrees) out of my monogrammed mug and journaling about my morning (see above for very artsy visual) and I realized that I am pretty much the world’s most ideal blogger: a college girl with way too much time on her hands that enjoys making everyday life into a melodramatic saga. I narrate my life in my head on a daily basis, so why not do it for the world?

First Things First: An Introduction

My name is Emily, I hail from the lovely, lake-filled land of Minnesota, and, being on summer vacation from college, I have endless hours to contemplate my life’s worth. I’m a self-diagnosed hypochondriac and I love pugs, button downs, Ralph Lauren, Caribou Coffee, and hair bows. My favorite activities include anything a soccer mom would love, reading, pretending I’m artsy, and making (and subsequentially eating) food.

Blogging Requisite #1: OOTD 

Today’s OOTD features my trusty Vera Bradley lanyard, because who says only the freshmen can look this cool? Plus I ran about 500 errands and you can’t beat your neck when looking for a place to store something without losing it 5 minutes later

Also featured: my parent’s bed,  because it turns out their mirror is both superior in size and lighting to mine.

Theme of the Day

Today, I chose the hipster life.

Most days, I pick a “theme of the day” to describe my activities and general outlook on my future. Today, it’s hipster. But in the poser “basic white girl tries to be a hipster” cliché way that only a true suburban girl can pull off.

I started out at local coffee shop (Okay, it was Caribou Coffee), bought an iced coffee, and sat on my laptop for three hours, basking in free wifi glory, without buying another item.

Then, feeling especially studious, I drove over to my local bookstore (does Barnes & Noble count as local?) bought myself a leather-bound journal and splurged on my brand-new, leather-bound planner for next year. Because you’re all dying to see them, I’ve included a picture above, although if we’re being honest with each other – which I hope we are – the journal is really my old journal that happens to be the same as the one I just bought, only older and written in. Hence the need for a new journal.

Anywho, my day continued when I returned home and made myself lunch.

           Side note: this lunch is gourment deliciousness. PB and Strawberry 

           quesadilla (pronounced kās – a – dill – a) with cinnamon greek yogurt 

          dipping sauce. Picture included, because for you to experience my life the 

           way I know you want to, you need to see this masterpiece.

At this point, feeling ready to take on the world,  I brought said lunch outside and decided to start this blog. If blogging isn’t the perfect way to complete my hipster day, I don’t know what is. Everyone lift your handcrafted mug and say “cheers” to sharing in my future successes, failures, and general day-to-day oddities.