Apps I Love

Last year, I posted a tour of my iPhone. Now, I'm back with a great list of apps I can't live without, and why!

The MyPlate app helps me stay healthy and lets me note the food I eat, asking me to track my meals everyday. Doing so allows me to learn a lot about how to eat well and also lets me keep track of my progress over time. You don't just have to track your calories (which is what I do); you can see change in weight, BMI, and more! I recommend this app to any college student trying to stay on track while navigating living and shopping for groceries alone!

Looking to travel over break, but don't know how to find the best deals? Downloading Hopper helped me find the cheapest airplane tickets, the cheapest days to fly, and more. You can tell the app where you want to go and set up a notification: you'll know as soon as ticket prices to your dream destination fall, or when they'll be back in your budget.

Navigating around your college campus without a car can be tough, and walking outside of the university grounds can sometimes get super sketchy. Uber is the app I trust to take my friends and I to places we can't reach by foot! The drivers are always so nice and friendly, and my friends and I feel safe when traveling home from a place far away. Depending on the type of Uber, your ride can be very cheap. To take a small car, like a Camry, to your destination, Uber provides a pricing sample (below) on their website:

Recently, I've become a huge fan of Urbanspoon. Because I just moved to Charlotte, finding cool places to eat is really hard. With the Urbanspoon app, you can sort restaurants by type of food, price, location, and more. Every time I find a place to eat with Urbanspoon, where I go ends up added to my list of favorites: for those in Charlotte, NC, I recently went to Paco's Tacos and Tequila, a crazy good place about 20 minutes away from UNCC campus. It's a little pricey, but definitely worth it.

Finally, Pacer is a new app I discovered this week that serves as a pedometer! Today, I've walked a total of 2 miles, 4511 steps, and I've burned 130 calories - and I only had one class to go to. Imagine the numbers on days when I have 4 classes back to back! The app makes me feel a little better when I miss a day of working out too :) We can be friends on Pacer, too! Find me by searching my ID: V5990311

Friday Favorites #4

My new favorite show. Ya'll, Kimmy Schmidt makes me laugh until I cry. The show is just so weird and awkward. And I might've watched 5 episodes in a row before going to bed last night. If you're from North Carolina, or near the area anytime soon, consider visiting one of these hidden gems. Speaking of North Carolina, last night, at 3am, my apartment building's fire alarm went off. Roomie and I walked and stood outside in the cold and rain until the fire department came to make everything be quiet. This made me search for some tips on how to go to sleep faster and how to sleep better. I followed Tip #18 - if you wake up in the middle of the night, grab a boring book and read for about 20 minutes. The next morning, I found some super cool productivity apps you should try and listened to Ellie Goulding singing Take Me to Church .

3 Secrets to Getting Sh*t Done

As a college student, I feel pressure to perfectly balance my schoolwork with my social life. On some days this seems nearly impossible. I either have to bury myself in schoolwork for a majority of the day and miss talking to my mom on the phone or grabbing lunch with my boyfriend, or pull an all-nighter since I hung out with friends. On some days, there seems to be no in-between. But there IS. I present to you 3 of my secrets to getting some serious sh*t done:

1. PLAN: That word is terrifying, I know. But even those who claim to live by the seat of their pants need to have some sort of schedule or organizational method in place to keep track of what's going on. Personally, I use a planner I got at Walmart and carry it with me everywhere (although I am dreaming of buying the Emily Ley planner for next semester). First, at the beginning of every week, I sit down and write out what's going on with school (assignment due dates, tests, etc) and next jot down already scheduled dates with my boyfriend, lunch with friends, and other social stuff. Based on what I have to do that week and the heaviness of the schedule, I designate a certain time everyday to study. By planning a study hour everyday, you might find that organizing your week becomes a breeze. When friends ask to hang out, you know when you're free and you know what your schedule can handle. For example, on Mondays and Wednesdays, I only have class from 2-3:15, so I might study from 10-12 or have a lazy morning and get to work around 4. On the contrary, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I am in class from 11-4:45, so I study on those nights from 7-9, starting a little late so I can have some time to watch TV, talk on the phone, or grab a quick dinner with friends before I have to buckle down. My study hours during the week do not budge. Becoming consistent with your plan and sticking to it makes you feel good and organized in the long run! On the weekends, I am a bit more flexible. I might move around when I do homework depending on what's on the agenda for the day.

2. UNPLUG: Everyone talks about putting their phones on Do Not Disturb or not looking at notifications for the duration of their study period, but I could not preach more about the importance of this secret. Do Not Disturb doesn't even do it for me. I have to completely turn my phone off when I'm over my head in assignments because using it is SO. TEMPTING! I recently read a book by Michael Harris called The End of Absence, where Harris explores the pros and cons of connectivity and even tries to unplug for a long spread of time. It's hard. Really hard. But distractions can (obviously) break your focus and result in you only putting in half of the effort towards an important assignment. Remind those around you about your study hours. Tell Mom not to call on _________ for a certain amount of time. Plus - its always a good feeling to turn on your phone and see what you missed :)

3. EAT: When I'm studying or doing homework, I have to snack. But that doesn't mean I'm finishing off a bag of candy or drinking some crazy energy drink. There are plenty of snacks functioning as "brain food" that nourish your brain and boost its power. Some examples are a bowl of fruit (blueberries are the best brain food), peanut butter spread on top of apple slices or a handful of nuts. Having food ready while you work will prevent you from having to break away.

Well, I hope these three secrets help you improve your study habits! I hope you get some serious sh*t done after planning, unplugging, and having a snack nearby.

Question: What do you do to focus on work? How do you plan and stay organized? ALSO: Do you have a planner that you love? Recommend it to me, please! I'm desperate for a new one, preferably weekly-view.

A Breakfast Smoothie in 5 minutes or less

During the week, I'm constantly waiting until the last minute to fix breakfast or a snack to-go. When I got the Black & Decker Fusion Blade Personal Blender, I decided to figure out how to make a quick and easy smoothie on my way out the door. I know what you're thinking: smoothies are easy! But this strawberry smoothie takes less than 5 minutes to make, and you don't need to measure anything.

To start, I break out the blender. I love this blender because you can easily take what you made to-go with no hassle, using the cup lids included in the box when you buy (there are 2 blending jars and 2 lids). The process is simple: just hit the power button to turn on and off. That's it! There aren't any crazy settings or buttons to choose from. I recommend the personal blender, whether it be Black and Decker or another brand, to any busy college student, due to its small size and reasonable price  -mine was only $30, but you can get some for cheaper...like $15! Next, this is where the no-measuring part comes in (or at least no measuring with cups and kitchen tools). I take a couple scoops of vanilla yogurt (I buy OIKOS and highly highly recommend) - I put in 4 regular sized-spoonfuls -  and put them into the blender jar. Add some OJ (the amount depends on how tangy you want the smoothie to taste. I put in about 2/3 cup), add some strawberries, frozen or not, and I'm done! When I went back later and measured how many strawberries I use, it came out to be about 2 cups. You don't need to take out your measuring cups, though. That's why I said this smoothie was super, super easy: just use your eye and your judgement! Besides, you can always stop the blending and taste to see if you need to add more of something (duh). I would recommend adding other fruits as well, such as kiwi, raspberries, part of a banana, grapes, blueberries...you get the idea! In the personal blender, it took about 3 minutes to blend. 3 MINUTES! You might think I'm weird for posting such a simple recipe on my blog (hello, it's just a smoothie), but I always found it super helpful and interesting when blogs I love post their everyday routine and included how they made it all work. This smoothie in the morning marks the start of my day!

I hope you'll consider adding this easy smoothie, or a variation with your favorite fruits, to your morning! Question: What do you usually make for breakfast on a busy day? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Friday Favorites #3

First, read a new blog I love. Next, watch the Erin Condren Planner Review from TheKelFix to help your search for the perfect planner. And about school: here's 4 Lies Debunked for College Freshmen - I am an example of #1 and some handy tips on staying organized, and 28 easy breakfast ideas. Finally, this. I've been so scared to share my blog and expand, and I'm so glad I took the leap with applying to the Her Campus Blogger Network to get started on this crazy adventure of building my blog up.

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