What's Making Me Happy This Week + August Background

Holy smokes. It's already the last day of July! I blinked and the month disappeared.

A new month means a new calendar background. Download August's below:

Right-click to save the image. Resize as needed for your device! 

On to what's making me happy this week...

Updated my 101 List | Check out the list and my progress. Lots of things in the works as I'm gearing up for classes to start again. I've got just under 2 years to get everything done!

SEQ | If you're a member of Starbucks rewards, you're familiar with the free apps available each week. I usually disregard them - I'm always out of storage anyways! This week, however, the puzzle game sounded interesting and I figured I would give it a shot. I'm obsessed. I blew threw the first three 'worlds' the day I downloaded it. The simple, clean interface with challenging puzzles makes this so much fun. Download from iTunes (or check your Starbucks app if you're a rewards member!).

This Week's Reading List:

Want to Buy A Vineyard in France? Here's How Much it Costs | A girl can dream.
The Introvert's Guide to Working in an Office | All very important strategies to keep productive.
10 Successful Women Share Their Morning Routines | Thinking about adding a cup of green tea to my morning.

I'll be back next week with the start of back-to-school posts. (Yes, it's that time again already!)

Happy August!

A Day in the Life

Anyone else super curious about how others spend their days? These types of posts are some of my favorites to read - they're a peek into how someone prioritizes and just how productive they mange to be in a day. For me, the bulk of my productivity happens while I'm at work. When I get home, I'll trudge through some homework, but mostly end up lost somewhere in the internet getting distracted.

Most of my days are pretty different. Work is the consistent thing this summer, but beyond that anything is up for change. Some mornings I decide I need to sleep in, some I get up and do some sun salutations. If I'm feeling productive after work, I'll get more homework done and stay up late. If I'm tired, it's early to bed.

Here's a snapshot of what I did today:


6:45 am - Alarm number 1 goes off. I decide I'm not ready to be awake.

7:00 am - Alarm number 2 goes off - I'm awake. Check phone notifications and social media.

7:20 am - I decide I probably need to get out of bed. So I get up and shower.

7:45 am - Finish getting ready for the day.

8:00 am - Make breakfast: English muffin with avocado. I pack fruit to take into the office.

8:15 am - Grab my stuff and run out the door. I'm feeling late, per usual.

8:30 am - Show up at work. First things first, get a cup of coffee.

8:30-1pm - Work. Today's projects include researching marketing stratgies, writing a communication plan and drafting LinkedIn posts.

1:00 pm - Break for lunch. It's a staff lunch today with barbeque.

1:45 pm - Back to work.

4:00 pm - Decide I've stopped actually accomplishing anything. It's time to head out of the office.

4:10 pm - Stop at Target. I need new work shoes. (I bought new shoes, Mom!)

4:35 pm - Arrive home. Turn the kettle on to make a pot of iced tea and decide what I'm having for dinner. It takes me a while, cause it's just too darn hot to cook.

5:00 pm - Make dinner. Quinoa salad with beans, corn and avocado. Yum.

6:00 pm - Eat dinner. Watch an episode of Psych while I eat.

6:45 pm - Decide I need to be productive. Work on blog posts and homework.

9:45 pm - Off to bed. Good night moon!

What's Making Me Happy This Week

It's been a weird week. I can't believe it's already Friday! I was blessed with a short work week, a field trip and a day working from home. Which meant cupcakes and snuggles with my cats - always a win in my book!

On to what's making me happy...

I've been working crazy hours this summer and I've had lots of projects in motion at once. One thing that's kept my brain on track without letting me feel like I was going stir crazy? Spotify's Deep Focus playlist. I saved it on offline mode, so I've always got access to it, for writing propsals or blog posts.

Take a listen below:

What's Making Me Happy This Week

When I walked into the office on Tuesday, the first words out of my boss's mouth were: we're going to need more coffee. That pretty much sums up my week. Since it's been especially long, I've been putting extra focus on little things in life to make me happy!

Because, tacos. 

The Skimm | If you aren't getting your daily dose of news from the Skimm yet, why? I love the fun voice and simplification of concepts. It's the perfect start to your day. Sign up here.

World Emoji Day | Today is World Emoji Day! Need I say more? Any excuse for some extra emojis in my life, is a good one by me. If you're like me and are confused as to what on earth some of those emojis are supposed to represent - check out emojipedia.

Two Dots | I will be the first to admit I spend far too much time playing this game. It's so addicting! It's the perfect quick break that keeps your brain going. New levels today are making me very happy. Download from iTunes.

#NSale | Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale has opened to everyone and there are some awesome deals. I'm shopping with my eyes this year, but I've pulled some of my favorites below:

What's Making Me Happy This Week

Well, I can't believe it's Friday. As in, it's been a crazy long work week and I'm surprised we made it to Friday. Coming back from a three day weekend can be rough and this week certainly had it's pressures. I'm looking forward to a low-key weekend at home, with lots and lots of sleep.

Now, on to what's making me happy this week:

Haircut | I decided it was time for a change & went short! I'm still getting used to my new 'do but I love how easy it is and how little styling it requires. Also, it's much lighter for summer! Downside: I now need to update all of my social media photos...

Planning | This week has been a bit of a creative one for my brain, which means lots of post ideas. I'm hoping I have some time this weekend to get writing and generate some fresh new content.

Learning | I've always wanted to learn french. I took spanish in high school out of geographical necessity but french has always been in the back of my mind. We're working with a french company at work and it's piqued my interest again. I'm using Duolingo to help teach myself!

What's making you happy this week?

July Backgrounds

Coming back from a holiday weekend, it's about time to finally come to terms with the fact that it's already July. Can you believe 2015 is more than half-way over? To kick off July on the right foot, it seems appropriate to have a cute, calendar background for your phone and desktop!

I had the greatest of intentions of creating a super cute background for July, and then hit a complete creative rut. Instead, I've rounded up some of my favorite options from the web! If a calendar isn't your thing, I've even found some graphic backgrounds too.

ONE | From Redstamp - calendar & non-calendar options

TWO | From Paperleaf - a different kind of calendar

THREE | From Sarah Hearts - calendar & non-calendar options

FOUR | From May Designs - calendar & non-calendar options

FIVE | From Gina Alyse - I couldn't resist a watercolor option

Which background is your favorite?

What's Making Me Happy This Week

The last three weeks have flown by. Isn't it funny how time can be super fast or super slow sometimes? With juggling lots of projects at work, a midterm plus class work, to a family vacation and then transitioning back to work with a holiday weekend, I've been kept on my toes!

Instagram |  A couple of weeks ago, I read an article about why you should be following Reese Witherspoon on Instagram @reesewitherspoon (which I cannot find for the life of me! If you saw the article too, please send it my way!). I don't follow many celebrities on Instagram but Reese is an absolute charmer and her photos are beautiful - definitely worth checking out!

Lake House | Two weekends ago, one of my cousins got married (congrats S&J!) and the family decided to turn the week afterwards into a family reunion. We rented a beautiful house on one of the Finger Lakes in New York. It used to be a hotel, among other things and we fit 17 people in for the week! It was a fabulous relaxing vacation filled with lots of family bonding.


Staying Connected | As I've gotten older, I've realized how hard it can be to stay in touch with friends. It's easy to get caught up in life and forget to send a text or call a friend to catch up on life. The past couple of weeks have included phone calls with some of my besties that have made my entire day!

What's been making you happy of late? I'll be back next week with a July calendar download. Until then, enjoy your holiday weekend & Happy 4th of July!