It's Here!

Drum roll, please...
Finally...
The much-anticipated...
Planner post!!

2013 Flexi Navy Engagement Calendar by Punctuate for B&N

  Well, maybe not that anticipated for some of you...but I know at least one person that wanted to know. I'm obnoxiously particular when it comes to planners, but I also don't like buying the same one every year, so more often than not, I'll spend weeks checking this store and that and etsy every year for a new planner that's up to par and won't ruin my budget. I think about every other year I end up going with just clean, black leather...but I can't help it! I am a huge sucker for simple and chic. On this planner, I particularly love that it doesn't have hour slots for each day and is big enough so I can divide each day into school and non-school events. What are your planner particulars?

Also, I just entered the world of the smartphone (Windows Phone), sooo if anyone has any good planning/task-management apps to recommend, PLEASE DO!

Break!

There's just nothing in the world like the majesty of an Arizona sunset. I miss driving into these so much when I'm not home. The reds and oranges and pinks blending with our rare clouds and silhouetted mountains stops my heart every time I drive down this open road. I'm convinced that nowhere else compares. Anyway, I am home for the holidays, eagerly anticipating the visit of my aunt, uncle and two little cousins (and cleaning accordingly), excited to be in temperate weather through this cold month, and looking forward to seeing old friends in the city that will always be home. Hope you all are doing something fun for the holidays!

Tequila Sunrise Tips

Tried my hand at gradient nails, and I'm pretty pleased with them!
With just a little splash of sunshine,
And a drop of red grenadine,
I think they look like little Tequila Sunrises.
A rather cheery sight for finals week, no?   Here is the tutorial I used. Be sure to heed the protips!

#SixSeasonsAndAMovie

Hello! This is still not a planner post! As finals are getting closer, so is my relationship with television. This happens every semester/quarter like clockwork and I find myself watching 2-3 episodes a day of either new shows or old favorites or both. How I've managed to pass any of my exams for the last 5 years is completely beyond me.

One of my favorite shows, probably of all time, is Community. It's a tongue-in-cheek comedy about 7 friends at a community college. My favorite thing about it is how much it plays with different film and tv cliches and how clever the humor is. Not to mention, Troy and Abed are capital-A Adorable. If you're a fan, you might have heard that the season 4 premiere was pushed back from October 19th to February 7th and that NBC has moved the show to the doomed Friday night slot, because apparently NBC hates when people really like their shows. Anyway, point being, get on this! Trust me, you won't regret it! Cool cool cool.

Wikipedia

I bought a new planner, and at a suggestion from Aki, I was all ready to do a post on it, but then I went on Wikipedia for an I-should-be-studying-right-now-but-it-is-imperative-that-I-immediately-learn-everything-there-is-to-learn-about-the-Costco-corporation break, and noticed the Wikimedia foundation plea to donate.

For those of you, who've been around for a while, you know that I am extremely invested in volunteering and "giving back" in my community, and have posted about why I think it's important before. I don't know about you guys, but I use Wikipedia literally every day. It's a resource that has been absolutely invaluable to me all through school and college and I know that some of the things I like most about it are that it's free and devoid of annoying ads. I'm always wary about what my donation is going to, because I don't have a lot of spending room in my budget, but Wikipedia's all about transparency and you can see their finances and goals and everything on the foundation website. Maybe it seems silly, but I love Wikipedia and I want to see it free as long as possible, so I donated the little that I could.

So you know, read up on the organization, click on the picture and donate if the spirit moves you!