It’s back to school season and I love to stock up on items for myself. Yes your heard right …for myself!! I know my kids have lots of fun picking out things for themselves but there is no harm in throwing a few extra comp books into the cart for myself too!! During this time of year most of these supplies are at such a great price that it’s the time to jump on it. In this post I will be sharing my finds at Walmart.

In recent years the pen + gear company has proven to be a very good brand! Their paper quality is top notch for the price that they offer it at. Now in years past the exceed brand offered very high quality bullet journals but at my Walmart there weren’t any this year.

I do have to mention that the half composition notebooks were all sold out at all three of the Walmarts that I have access to but you can order them online. I just chose to go to my local Staples and purchase a few and have them cut them down for me. The size is fantastic and less intimidating!

I’ve included some of my favorite highlighters not only for the color palette but because they are retractable. It’s such a handy feature when it comes to highlighters! The S gel Sharpie pens are a new favorite of mine. I love the permanent dark line that they leave. I’ve also added the Crayola supertips. During this time of year they are offered at a great price and in my personal opinion they should be in everyones personal arsenal of art supplies. They always come in handy.

Have fun shopping and let me know what you pick up!! Click on any of the images below for the direct links!!

It’s almost July and that means that #onebookjuly2021 is nearly here! This is I believe in it’s 9th year!! I can not believe that it has been this long!! It’s really when I first met Rho and Carie. I can not believe I have been doing Youtube for this long and that I have known these amazing women for this long! If you are curious about what the challenge is all about I will link you to the actual channel that has ALL of the playlists listed there! https://www.youtube.com/onebookjuly

Each year we focus on something new to keep the challenge exciting and it’s fun to brainstorm new ideas and take aways. I love when the community all comes together to put this forward! This year our focus is on habits and routines! Now when I first heard about this I of course had to do a deep dive into this! Meaning I had to better understand why do we even have habits and routines? What’s the point? Does it do us any good to have them tracked or to even do these things every day? I wanted to not only focus on the tracking but the why. If I don’ t know the ins and outs of something I have a very hard time following through or even having my heart in it. I need to know the why! That’s exactly what I will be bringing to the challenge this year!!

Something that I do however want to include and how I brainstormed things that I like to track or things that I do everyday is by mind mapping them. This you will see often as the challenge goes on. I find that this is an excellent way of visually showing the importance of many things in our lives but most importantly to organize my days and my thoughts. So as a teaser here is what I did!

In the above mind map I simply wrote in the center what I track. If you are not tracking simply write ‘what I think I should track’ or ‘I want to track’. For myself I have alot of pets and kids. Meaning I have a fair amount of dependents. My kids are still small so if I don’t keep track of appointments, and school they really can’t do it on their own. I also have some things that I want to track for myself. I have some hobbies as well as some places in my life that I want to improve on. I want to keep on top of my fitness and meals. You can see how quickly a mind map can develop. Now the best part about this is it’s just a start and it’s something that you can add and take away from! I love that!! Just like planning it NEEDS to work for YOU! This is something that needs to show up as a benefit in your life and not as a burden!

In the next mind map I am more focused on the routines. For this I started with what MUST happen every day. I have to feed my pets and my kids. They are all part of a daily routine. If I want my personal habits to improve or I want to allow for some fun activities that once again improve the quality of my life then I need to have them incorporated into my life!!

This upcoming month of July 2021 we will be doing a deep dive into trackers, habits and routines and figure out exactly what it is that we want!!

I hope you will join us!

Thank you for your support!!

xoxo

Vicky

These are uncertain times….

I was at Walmart yesterday and that was my first time leaving my house in nearly 3 weeks. It felt weird to drive my car, awkward to walk into a store and have security standing in the produce section as well as the entrances. Some people with masks and gloves. People very much aware of their surroundings and others just standing and conversing with one another.

On this trip I needed to make the most of it because I new I did not want to be coming out again anytime soon. I worked my way over to the personal care section and noticed that most of the press on nails were gone!! I nearly panicked because I thought I would stock up but I only had 3 to choose from This is when I realized that most people who were use to going to the salon are now needing to have their fill ins and are opting to just use press ons for the polished look!!

I have not been to a salon in years. Mostly because I don’t have the time but also since I met my husband he has shared the foot issues people have and usually the poor hygiene of these salons and well this was enough for me to stay away. P.S my husband is a podiatrist. So I have been giving myself a mani and pedi every two weeks for nearly the past 10 years. It’s easy and very satisfying and I love being able to do it on my own and not rely on someone else! A tip that I would like to share with you all is the more you do it the better you get at doing it! You also will learn all the tools you like and dislike! For myself my favorite top coat is the Out the door. I have tried them all including Seche Vite and this in my opinion is way better, more affordable and doesn’t become a goopy mess half way through the bottle. I also use Amalactin religiously on my hands and feet. This is something the cures cracks!! It seriously is like a miracle lotion! As for nail polish colors I’m not at all particular about the brand as much as I like the color. I also ALWAYS wear some sort of slipper around the house. I not only like the cozy feel but also it helps prevent those calluses and cracked feet!

I thought during these uncertain times I would share every thing that I like to use and the importance of still maintaining these good grooming habits. It helps you to feel good about yourself as well as continue with some normalcy! I know that I always feel so much better when my nails are nice and clean and neat!! Have you been doing your nails on your own?

Thanks!!

xoxox

Vicky

Everything that I like to use is linked down below!!

I Love a Good #plannerbag

I do believe in a great planner bag!! It’s one of my top criteria when I am choosing a new bag! It has to fit a planner!! I always need a notebook or something with me! I also nearly always carry my kindle with me since I look for any minute so I can sneak in some reading time! So of course when I am choosing a bag it needs to fit all these items as well as be a kid friendly bag. Now I have tried traditional diaper bags but most of the time I HATE them!! I hate that they have a childish pattern on them and I don’t like the colors and I just feel so yuck! It’s not me!! So I have basically chosen bags that can act as a diaper bag but don’t look like one. I also use lots and lots of pouches to keep my bags organized so that things don’t get lost! I always carry snacks for my kids and toys and books and hand sanitizer, basically everything but the kitchen sink!! So when on the hunt and then I find a great bag!! You better believe I’m sold when it’s 40% off!!

What do you think about my choices?!?

xoxo

Vicky

#PlannerFashion

I love to be dressed up cute and comfy!!

Nordstrom is having a 40% off sale and I thought I would start sharing some of my favorites! We are all eager to get out of the house, especially now and to do that I love to be dressed comfy but put together. It forces me to hold my head up high and feel good about myself. I don’t get up and go to work everyday and that initially made me very sad!! I loved getting up and getting dressed for work everyday. It gave me a purpose and it was something that I did for myself. It’s so important to not forget yourself!

What do you think about some of my favs?! These leggings by the way I have had from Zella for over 7 years and they still look brand new!!

xoxo

Vicky