Hey everyone! I've been nominated for a second time for a Liebster Award by Farrah from Fairyburger! Thank you Farrah for nominating me! If you want to read my post on my first nomination for a Liebster Award click here!

Farrah's 10 Questions

1. What's your favorite comfort food?
My favorite comfort food is definitely chocolate. I will eat just about any type of chocolate except white chocolate. For some reason I feel as if it's fake chocolate and just doesn't taste as good to me as dark chocolate does which is my all time favorite! If I'm at the store and going to by chocolate, I always end up going with the Dark chocolate raspberry filled chocolate made by either Ghirardelli or Lindt!
2. What's a recipe you've come across recently that you'd love to try/make?
So I've been on Pinterest for like the past 20 minutes deciding which recipe to choose for this one. I'm obsessed with anything flavored pumpkin and am obsessed with chocolate. So I decided to go with pumpkin brownies! They look incredible and I'd love to make them! However, I'll have to change up some of the ingredients to accommodate the fact that I have to eat gluten-free.
3. What's a super irrational fear that you have?
Hmm this is a tough one. I think I'll go with seeing birds. I have absolutely no reason to be afraid of birds. I've never been attacked by one and I've never seen one attack someone. I'm not afraid of like one or two birds though; just big flocks of them. Every day when I walk home from class at 5pm there is this huge flock of birds (about 100) that flies over my head. I literally hyperventilate when I see them and can't look up.
4. If you could win an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do?
The place that I would go to would be Fiji. This past summer I volunteered at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. I love everything under the sea and would kill to go scuba diving in their coral reefs. I would also love to go to Nadi in Fiji to see all of the handcrafted objects at their markets. Touring Nukubaluvu Village would also be amazing because I would be able to participate in a sevu-sevu (gift) ceremony and dance with grass-skirts. As you could tell, I've done a good amount of research in the past haha.
5. What accomplishment from 2014 are you most proud of so far?
My biggest accomplishment that I did this past year would probably be asked to be a mentor for freshman at University of Indiana. It is such a great honor to be considered for this and to be able to help others in whatever they need help in. Freshman year could be a stressful situation especially if you're not used to being away from your friends or family. The transition from high school to college is intense and being able to help lessen that is a great thing to be asked to do.
6. What's your favorite way to treat/pamper yourself?
My favorite way to treat or pamper myself would probably be getting a massage. I know that's so cliché but it's true. I don't get one often but after each semester is over, I treat myself with a massage. Finals week and the semester as a whole is so incredibly stressful and being able to finally relax without having to worry about homework or exams is a great feeling!
7. What was your favorite childhood book?
When I was younger my favorite books were The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I loved the adventures that they had and what they overcame. I literally was obsessed but I haven't read them since I was a lot younger.
8. Favorite movie that you've seen this year?
I definitely have to go with Mockingjay. I'm OBSESSED with The Hunger Games and have read the trilogy like a hundred times. I loved how the plot of this movie wasn't about the games like the first two movies. I won't say anymore about the plot in case no one has seen it yet! I also have to say that Liam Hemsworth is beautiful in this movie! However, I'm super pissed that I have to wait another whole year for the second part to come out.
9. What are 3 of your favorite posts from your archives?
I have only been blogging since August and am soo grateful on how well my blog is doing! My 3 favorite posts would have to be my Helpful Study Tips, my 25 Before 25, and my Reverse Bucket List posts! Be sure to check them out if you have tim!
10. What are you most looking forward to in the coming year?
I'm for sure most looking forward to my birthday this year! On February 26th I, finally, turn 21! Most of my best friends are already 21 and I can't wait to finally be able to go out with them! Also my boyfriend is going to be 24 in April and I'm excited to be able to go out with him and his friends!

My Questions For My Nominees

1. What would you think your spirit animal is?

2. If you could pick a decade to live in, what would it be and why?

3. What is the best trip you've ever been on?

4. What is your favorite quote that inspires you?

5. If you could meet anyone famous, who would it be and why?

6. What super power would you want to have?

7. What is the meaning behind your blog name?

8. What do you like to do besides blogging?

9. Are you a morning or night person?

10. What piece of advice would you give to other bloggers?

I'm nominating my fellow Lifestyle 1 tribe members!

Madison from The Wetherills Say I Do

Rebecca from Rebecca Chapman

Daniela from Lifestyle with Danny

Samantha from Second Chance Mom

Corinne from The Feminist Feline (but you were also nominated by Farrah as well!)
Jen from Escape & Inspire

Can't wait to read your responses ladies!!

xo

Olivia

My Favorite Apps

I just got my iPhone 6 this past week as an early holiday present from my amazing mom. Like everyone who has any type of smart phone... I'm obsessed!! I for sure am on my phone waay more than I should and I'll for sure have to go on a electronic detox over winter break (can't be away from my computer during finals). I have a good amount of apps and I'm going to share some of my favorite ones!

Reminder/Notes

The reminder app is literally my best friend along with the notes app (they kind of go hand in hand together). I use my notes app for anything possible: funny things I find/read, quotes, make grocery lists and anything else that I need! My reminder app is perfect for specific lists. I have multiple tabs going 24/7 for school work, shopping and blog ideas. It's even better because you can set notifications to remind you (hence the name of the app) to do something! It's perfect for those coffee deprived days when you seem to forget everything! I also love being able to check something off my lists! They also come with iPhones soo it's FREE!

Starbucks

This has become my righthand man the past few weeks. It's great being able to not worry about digging for your wallet when trying to get coffee. Most of the time my phone is on me so it makes it easy to pay on the go! I also love the fact that every 12 orders (with the gold card) you get a free drink or treat! I spend soo much money at Starbucks so it is a great thing to be able to get something back! Even if it's just a drink every once in awhile! It's also a free app!

Sleep Cycle

Sleep cycle is a great tool to help with determining what factors affect your sleeping periods. All you have to do is set the time that you want to wake up and place your phone face down on your bed in a spot that the "test" button approves! The point of this is to sense your movements while sleeping to determine when you're awake, sleeping, or in a deep sleep. It also slowly wakes you up at the optimal time during your lightest sleep cycle. This is to make sure that you get a better quality sleep! You can also make notes if you drank coffee/tea, had a stressful day, exercised, etc to see if those factors change the quality of your sleep! Unfortunately this app isn't free but it's only $0.99! I seriously swear by it! I now, usually, get the best sleep!

Instagram

This one is probably important to most of you guys as well. I love being able to post pictures about different things in my life that are important to me. It's an awesome little glimpse into my life! I also love reading feedback as well! It's also great to follow my friends, blogger friends, famous people, and other awesome accounts that I come across! It definitely brightens my day when I see pictures of cute puppies or beautiful places around the world! Such a great social media app!

Pacer

 This app is basically how it sounds... it counts how many steps you take each day! It's crazy how many steps you take to actually get somewhere. Seems like an obscure amount when you see the number on your phone from a 5 minute walk! It's great to help get you moving and you can set goals for how many steps you take in a day to determining how many steps and calories you should take/burn to achieve your weight goals (if you desire)! I think of it as a fun, competitive game to try and walk more steps each day!

There are soo many amazing apps out there! What are some of your favorites?!

xo
Olivia

December Monthly Goals

I can't believe that November is over already! It went by soo quickly. Now that December is rolling in, that means that it's time for the holidays! I celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas with both my family and my boyfriend's. However, this also means that it's time for my finals to finish up my semester... YUCK! Like always, here are my monthly goals!

November Goals

Unplug for 2 hours a day I can successfully say I've done this one!!

Continue to take more scenic pictures Now that I have my new iPhone 6 I take more pictures!

Make a dish for Thanksgiving Made an amazing squash casserole that I'll be posting the recipe soon!

Finish the Ellen Degeneres book along with another book

Remember to make my bed every morning Didn't exactly do it every day... oops!

Get back on my blogging schedule Minus the break for Thanksgiving

Cross something off my 25 before 25 list

December Goals

Take a cute holiday pic with Ky

Figure out what to get Ky for the holidays

Finish the Ellen Degeneres book (I'm almost done!)

Get 20 more followers on bloglovin'

Don't procrastinate for my finals

Have someone guest post on my blog

Excited it being the beginning of December and for the holidays!

xo

Olivia

Holiday Music Playlist

Hey guys! I know it's been awhile since I posted last. I decided to take a little vacation break while I was home from school for Thanksgiving! I had a great week and I hope everyone did as well! Since Thanksgiving is over it now means that the holiday season is in full throttle! Here are some holiday music to help you get in the holiday mood!!

- It' Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Michael Bublé
- This Christmas by Chris Brown
- Winter Wonderland by Jason Mraz
- White Christmas by Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby (such a classic and a great movie!)
- Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley
- The First Noel by Frank Sinatra
- Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town by Bruce Springsteen
- Frosty The Snowman by The Ronettes
- Baby! It's Christmas by Jessie James Decker (LOVE)

I know some of my readers are Jewish like me! I know the list isn't as long but here are some songs to help get in the Hanukkah spirit!
- The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler
- Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah by Glee Cast
- Hanukkah Blessings by Barenaked Ladies (weird name but good)
- I Have A Little Dreidel by Barenaked Ladies
- The Hanukkah Waltz by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Have a great Monday Everyone!

xo
Olivia

Music Monday-Covers Playlist

Not only are the original songs amazing but so are their covers! There are soo many beautifully talented people in the world and I have to show you guys some of my favorite covers of some of my favorite songs! To make it even better, I've provided the links for each of these songs so you can find them easier!! Enjoy!

- Wake Me Up by Madilyn Bailey (Originally by Avicii)

- Leave the Night On by Megan and Liz (Originally by Sam Hunt)

- Chandelier by Alex G and Max Schneider (Originally by Sia)

- Cool Kids by The Gardiner Sisters (Originally by Echosmith)

- Landslide by The Dixie Chicks (Originally by Fleetwood Mac)

- Jolene by Miley Cyrus (Originally by Dolly Parton)

- Torn by Hannah Trigwell and Alex Goot (Originally by Natalie Imbruglia)

- Try by Max & Kurt Schneider (Originally by Colbie Caillat)

- Rather Be by George Twins (Originally by Clean Bandit)

- Who You Are by Anna Clendening (Originally by Jessie J)

- Fix You by Austin Percario and Kurt Schneider (Originally by Coldplay)

Such amazing songs! Can't even decide which would be my favorite cover! Love them all!

Have a great Monday!

xo

Olivia

November Blog Challenge- Day 16-22

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope you all had a great week! I've had a pretty stressful week finishing up homework assignments before I left for Chicago for Thanksgiving break! Soo excited to see all of my friends, family, and Ky!

Day 16- Proudest Moment
Hmm this is a tough one. I think my proudest moment was being nominated to become captain on my dance team my senior year of high school. Dancing has been a huge part of my life and I was lucky enough to become a leader for my team! On top of that, we also won state that year!!

Day 17- Meaning Behind My Blog Name
The meaning behind my blog name is fairly simple. I'm in college and I wanted to share my experiences from college and my life with people who can relate either in college, about to be in college, or was in college. Being able to help with writing is really important to me!

Day 18- My Collections
There are a few things that I collect. I'm big on collecting shot glasses. For some reason everywhere I went I would buy a shot glass to remember it! I have soo many now. Since people know that I collect shot glasses, I have gotten some from family, friends, and Ky from places that they've gone as well! I also collect books and hope to have a huge library in my future house!!

Day 19- Difficult Time In My Life
I think one of the hardest times in my life was my freshman year of college. I loved that year too so that's a little confusing. While it was a great year at school, it was hard being away from home. It was my first year away and was such a change for me. It was also the same year that my dad and sister moved to Indiana. It was definitely a big change for me and a very difficult time to go through.

Day 20- Fave Foods
Oh I love this one! My favorite food is for sure sushi. I literally could eat sushi all day every day. Ky and I always get sushi when we're going somewhere for dinner. We always go to a place in Wrigleyville in Chicago called Oh Fusion that is "our place". It's amazing food and such a cute, little restaurant!

Day 21-Best Thing That Happened This Year
This one's easy! One of the best things that has happened this year is that I started blogging! I've always wanted to start blogging and finally created one in August! There were a lot of bumps in the road but now I'm finally getting the hang of everything! Such a great thing to keep steady during my days!

Day 22- Dream Job
My dream job has changed like a million times lol. When I was younger, I would say I wanted to be a teacher. When I got a little older (about high school time), I would say I wanted to be a surgeon. That one was crossed off the list when I realized I can't keep my hands steady. Now, I would say that my dream job would be to work for the government and help keep the public informed on health facts. Keeping people safe has always been important to me. The plus side to this is that I got to kind of combine my two previous dream jobs! Luckily, I'm very grateful to be able to say that I'm on my path to getting my dream job!

xo
Olivia

Helpful Study Tips

Finals are coming up and you know what that means... time to study. There are a lot of people who don't actually know how to study. Some people got by at other schools doing the bare minimum. However, that doesn't actually help them in the long run. Doing these helpful tips to study will for sure make a difference in your grade at the end of the semester!

Study Location

Picking a study location is soo important. A lot of people, like myself, get distracted easily. Studying at a place where a lot of people will be walking around and talking (like Starbucks) won't help you stay concentrated on the task that you need to be doing. I prefer going to the library. Find a floor that you feel comfortable in! I like to study in the stacks which is a floor with a ton of books that is completely silent. It's a great place to focus!

Music

A lot of people like to listen to music when studying. For some, it helps block out the noises around them but for some, it can make it staying focused worse. The reason for this is the type of music that you listen to. Listening to music with a lot of words are not what you should be listening to. This is because you end up paying attention to the lyrics unknowingly. The best music to listen to is classical music. I know, why would you want to listen to music with no words from people who lived a hundred years ago. The reason for this is that music helps stimulate your brain. When listening to classical music, it calms your mind down and helps you focus on what you're doing rather than the words you're listening to.

Draw Pictures

I know this one seems a little elementary. However, when you make pictures, graphs, or charts it helps you remember what you're studying. This is especially helpful for those who learn by seeing. For sciencey classes, drawing things out a bunch of times helps you visualize the material when you get to the exam. For me, I recently took an anatomy test. I drew out how the blood flows through your heart and body soo many times. When I got to the test, I was able to see the picture in my mind. You can also redraw it out on the exam to help remember!

Flash Cards

Flash cards are soo important! I know they seem like they're a pain to make but they seriously help. It's great creating piles of the ones you get wrong and right to be able to see which you got wrong. After making the piles after going through it once, pick up the pile of those that you got wrong and focus more on those (obviously reviewing the ones you got right as well). There is a great website that I like to use called quizlet that helps you make flash cards on the computer. The only problem with this is making sure you don't end up on Facebook or other social medias when you're studying.

Highlighters

After making a study guide like in my previous post, highlighters come in handy! Highlighting the main topics, vocabulary words, and other important facts helps you find the words easier. Having everything pop out in color makes studying easier. The important thing to remember is not to highlight everything. Only highlight the important information that you find necessary and then list the other facts underneath.

Don't Procrastinate

There are a lot of people that have a problem with procrastination. I actually believe that everyone does at some point in their lives. It is soo important not to fall into the habit of procrastinating before finals. I know a 2 hour binge on watching your favorite TV show on netflix seems more appealing than studying for your final exam but you'll thank yourself later when you get to finals week. Not stressing before finals are a key factor to getting better grades on your exams!

Good luck studying for finals everyone!!

xo
Olivia

Why You Should Make The Switch To Tea

I know there are a ton of coffee lovers out there. And don't get me wrong, coffee is great but in terms of health benefits, tea will beat coffee every time. There are soo many different types of tea out there. I'm here to help you pick out which tea is best for you and provide as many health benefits as I could! Who wouldn't want to do something as simple as drink a few cups of tea to make themselves healthy?!

Coffee

Coffee tastes soo good especially when you add milk and sugar. However, there are many different things that coffee does to your body that might not want you to drink it as much. For one, it can discolor your teeth. I don't know about you, but I want nice white, shiny teeth (Cue in Chip Skylark from The Fairly Odd Parents)! Coffee also has a bigger depressing effect. This means that it reduces your energy levels very quickly as well as increases your stress hormones. Who would want to be stressed??

Tea

On an overall tea level, it has a ton of antioxidants. This is good for your blood, reducing your cholesterol levels, and improving your blood flow. Tea actually helps reduce bad breath! It also hydrates your body considering it is basically flavored water! However, to achieve the best results from tea, you can't add a lot of sugar or milk to it. Different types of tea has different health benefits too!

Green Tea

This is perfect for your overall health. It is a great effective cancer fighter and helps lower your risk for ovarian and breast cancer ladies! It also can help prevent the onset or slow down the progression of dementia. If you have a cold or the flu, green tea is what you should grab!

Black Tea

This tea is great for your breath. It's known stopping plaque buildup on your teeth and may help prevent diabetes. It also is great to help lower your risk for ovarian cancer.

Passionflower Tea

If you're battling anxiety, this tea is for you. It is known to help those who experience a lot of circular thinking or obsessive thoughts. It is best if you drink before bedtime to help calm your mind since a lot of people have a lot of thoughts in their heads preventing them for falling asleep.

White Tea

White tea is perfect for aging. This helps fight signs of aging like wrinkles! Forget Botox and try drinking white tea! It also helps prevent new fat sells from forming when trying to lose weight.

Ginger Tea

If you're like me, I get a lot of headaches and migraines. This tea helps with headaches because it is an anti-inflammatory agent. This helps block prostaglandins which causes a slight swelling in the brain, hence headaches. It actually reduces inflammation in the same amount of time as an aspirin would work. For those of you who don't like taking medicine and stick to things all natural, drink ginger tea!

Valerian Root Tea

This tea goes along with the passionflower tea. The passionflower tea helps calm your mind before going to bed. If that doesn't work, valerian root tea is a natural sedative that can help reduce the amount of time it takes for you to fall asleep. I know some people freak when they see the word "sedative". This tea is all natural and is a safer alternative to habit-forming sleep aids.

Tea helps soo much with different areas of your body. There are soo many different types of tea and this is just a few of them. Each helps different things and each have different flavors. Some people also like to mix some together so try different things out to see what you like!

xo
Olivia

Music Monday-Country Playlist

Country music is probably one of my favorite genres of music. I love everything from Johnny Cash to Dierks Bentley. While were on the topic of country music.. the CMA's were on TV last week and wow was there a lot of amazing talent! Gotta love some Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood humor! Speaking of the CMA's why did Ariana Grande perform with Little Big Town?? They're both amazing performers, don't get me wrong. I just don't understand why singing Bang Bang would be performed at a COUNTRY award show! However, it was a great performance! So here's a playlist of a little old school country and a little newer country music! 

- I Cross My Heart by George Strait (mine and my dad's song)
- Break Up In A Small Town by Sam Hunt 
- Cowboy Take Me Away by the Dixie Chicks
- Automatic by Miranda Lambert (soo good live!)
- Stay by Sugarland
- Dirt by Florida Georgia Line
- Bartender by Lady Antebellum
- Something Bad by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood (AMAZING)
- I Hold On by Dierks Bentley
- Sunny and 75 by Joe Nichols
- We Were Us by Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert
- Small Town Throwdown by Brantley Gilbert (my obsession)
- That's How We Do Summertime by Chasin' Crazy (my summer song)

Such a great mix of amazing artists! What country songs do you like?!

Have a great Monday!!
xo
Olivia

November Blog Challenge- Day 12-14

I feel like to do this blog challenge I'm going to start doing a full week in one post every Friday. That way I can get back to writing other topics rather than just writing about what the blog challenge wants me to write for each day. With that being said... here's days 12-14!!

Day 12- Things That Make Your Day
I have a lot of things that make my day! Here are a few of my favorite ones that help me get through the tough, stressful days as well as the carefree ones!

- Getting a good morning text from Ky every morning
- My morning Starbucks runs
- Wearing leggings, boots, and oversized sweaters
- The beauty of fall
- Knowing that I have an amazing support system backing me up
- Listening to Fleetwood Mac all day long!
- Puppies!!

Ky's family dog Charlie Browne (their last name)

- Cuddling in my warm, comfy bed
- Having a nice glass of red wine after a long day

- Crossing things off of my to do lists (yes I have multiple haha)
- Reading a book next to the fireplace in the union at Indiana University
- Getting I love you texts from Ky
- Getting text messages from my little cousins from their mom's phone about how they miss me (cutest thing ever)

Day 13- If I Won The Lottery
If I won't the lottery there would be a few things that I would do. Have of the money I would use for myself. The other half I would give away to the OMNI Youth Services program. This is an organization that helps those who need to be put back on track and also helps give counseling as well as other various services. The rest of the money I would also split in half as well. One half I would put away in the bank for the future and the other half I would use for myself. Realistically, I would use that money to help pay off bills and my student loan. Unrealistically, I would go on a trip. I would probably either go to Greece or Fiji. I hear Fiji has an AMAZING coral reef and I'd love to visit that! If I went to Greece, I'd love to see all of the architecture and learn all of the history. I love looking at beautiful buildings and homes! I also love watching sunsets and would love to see the sunset in both of these amazing countries! Wow wouldn't it be amazing to win the lottery! How awesome would that be?!

Day 14- An Average Day
I think for this they want me to explain what an average day in my life is. Soo here it is.

I'm going to tell you how a typical Monday goes (since I'm writing this on Monday haha). I wake up around 7:36 to hop in the shower to wake myself up. After taking a nice, warm shower on a cold morning, I brush my teeth and decide whether I want to put my contacts in or not. After a few minutes on debating this, I usually end up putting them in. This usually means that I'm going to have a non-lazy day since to me, glasses=lazy. Then I go to my closet after checking what the weather will be for the day and usually decide with a pair of my favorite Lululemon leggings with an oversized sweater and boots. Next I put on the minimal make up that I wear on a daily basis (top eyeliner, mascara, and powder foundation). I grab my backpack and put in what I will need for the day (chemistry, anatomy, and my research class). My long walk to class always consists of listening to Fleetwood Mac and debating whether Starbucks is needed and usually it is! Now it's class time... 9:05-9:55 I have chemistry and 10:10-11:00 I have anatomy. After anatomy my friend Blum and I go to the union to get some food and to do some last minute homework or studying. From 1:00-2:15 I have my research class and then from 2:30-3:30ish I mentor a freshman from the club LEAD that I'm apart of. After my meeting I usually go home to do some homework or study and eat at some point. An episode of Private Practice is usually what I watch before I go to bed along with FINALLY being able to talk to Ky after his long day at work. Not too exciting of a day but I usually have something exciting that is randomly thrown out there!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!
xo
Olivia

#TBT My Trip To Door County

So I'm thinking on Thursdays that I will do a throwback thursday post. I think that'll be a lot of fun! So, here's the start of my new series #TBT!! Today I'm writing about my trip to Door County, Wisconsin. I have been going to Door County since I was born. I've gone almost every summer and have gone during the winter time a few times! Door County is such a beautiful place right on the peninsula in northern Wisconsin. My family usually stays in Ephraim but sometimes we stay in Fish Creek. These pictures are from two specific trips (only pictures I had on my computer). One of the times I went with my whole family (mom, dad, and Emma) and the other time I went only with my mom. Gotta love old pictures!

We like to do a lot of activities in Door County. We usually do some sort of water sport. We've gone tubing, parasailing, gone fishing, renting a boat, or riding jet skis. We also do some sort of art project. My family is VERY artsy (especially my mom) and do all sorts of crafts. There is this place called Hands On which is an art studio. They literally have every type of art you can think of! We've done ceramics, painting (canvas and ceramics), splatter paint, made ornaments, sculptures and more! 

We also usually will go horseback riding at this one specific stables (I forgot the name). It's hilarious because my dad HATES horseback riding and we went every year. His hatred for horseback riding happened when we were in the Wisconsin Dells horseback riding in the woods and every time a tree came up (soo every 5 seconds) the horse would smack him into the tree. Lets just say the horse wasn't a fan of my dad. It was pretty funny for the rest of us but he hated every moment of it.

Our nights were filled with eating amazing food especially a Fish Boil from The Old Post Office. It is an amazing restaurant that has a little preview showing them actually boiling the fish and telling many different stories about the area we're in and how they get the fish etc. Such an amazing experience with amazing people! After that we would go to Wilsons for ice cream. They're known for putting a jelly bean at the bottom of your cone! It was always fun guessing which color we would get! 

Wishing I could go back to Door County! Hopefully I can go again this coming summer! It's been a few years since I've been able to find time to go out there. It's the best because the cell service is awful so it's a great time to unplug for the time you're there!

Have a great Thursday everyone!
xo
Olivia

Reverse Bucket List

A while ago I came across someone who made a reverse bucket list (unfortunately I can't seem to find that exact post). A lot of people have a bucket list of what they want to do at some point in their lives and I do too! I also like the idea of having a reverse bucket list. It allows people to talk about what they have done in their lives. And who knows! Maybe someone might add one of these things on their own bucket lists! Here's my reverse bucket list!!

- Skydiving
- Zip-lining in Mexico
- Riding jet skis in Mexico
- Parachuting in Mexico and Door County, WI
- Winning a state championship in dance

- Making a blog
- Get paid to write for a different blog
- Visit Israel
- Ride a camel

- Swim in the Mediterranean Sea
- Go to the ballet
- Learn to wakeboard and snowboard
- Get into college (GO IU!!)

These are a few of my favorite things that I was able to cross of my bucket list! Some are more dare devilish that others but they are all amazingly fun! I hope I'm going to be able to cross off more items from my bucket list and add them to my reverse bucket list!

xo
Olivia

How To Create A Great Study Guide

Finals are coming up within the next month and I know a lot of you are stressing (including me). Something that I like to do around this time is to start making a study guide. I like to make my study guides this early because I won't have to stress when it comes to studying for finals. Here are some tips that I find helpful when making a study guide!

Outline

Creating an outline is essential to making a study guide. It helps you be able to visualize what you need to know for the exam quickly without having to look things up right away. It also helps you be able to organize the material in a way that you find helpful. I like to bold the key concepts and then list the terms under each concept without defining them right away. Defining them goes with the "real" study guide. This is just an overview of what needs to be learned and memorized.

Color Coding

This is soo important for when it comes to the actual study guide. For me, I like to take the key concepts and list the terms underneath it. However, this is where I actually write down the definitions and the extra material that will be needed for the test. Color coding is my favorite study tool. I use colored pens for everything. Key concepts are in one color and the key terms are in another. Sometimes under each concept I make each term a different color to help differentiate between all of them.


Leave Room For Other Notes

There are a lot of times where we either forget to write something down or learn something later on after making the study guide that we want to add in. Leaving extra room is very important for this. It makes it a lot easier to keep all of your notes in order without having to look around for a term when you need it.

Examples

Writing down examples when you're able to is a great study tool. Whether it's an example that helps you learn what you need to learn or whether it is an example that might be a question on your exam. Examples are great ways to learn your class's material. Having multiple examples increases your chances on getting a better grade on the exam!

Practice Questions

Practice questions are great to add at the end of the study guide to take you to the next level in studying. There are soo many ways a professor can ask a question on an exam. Having practice questions that will stimulate your brain are great ways to learn.

Memorize, Memorize, Memorize

Now that you're study guide is made... it's time to start learning the material. Going over your study guide once before the final isn't going to make the grade. Going over the material is going to be super important when studying. This is why I think it's best to make your final study guide a few weeks in advance. I know some of the material hasn't been covered yet but that's why we give extra space... to add more information in! Typing the study guide helps too! Studying what you've already learned now probably will bring you a step ahead of the other students. And who wouldn't want a better grade?! I know I do!

I hope this helps everyone! Good luck getting ready for finals in a month!

xo
Olivia

November Blog Challenge- Day 8-10

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! I spent my weekend at home in Chicago. Got too see Ky and my mom! Such a great weekend! Since I don't usually blog on the weekends, I'm going to do days 8-10 on this post!

Day 8- Worst Habits
Some of my habits are hard for me to figure out considering most habits are ones that you don't realize that you do. However, I'm going to list a few (of my many) habits that I do.
- Eat things in 2's. For some reason I will eat things in 2's. This is only for things like popcorn and candy. One for each side of my mouth. I know.. It's super weird
- I have a terrible habit of cracking my knuckles. And when I crack my knuckles it's a VERY loud noise. I'm trying soo hard to stop but it's super hard!
- Going along with the one above ^^^ I have to crack my back before I go to sleep. For some reason it helps me relax and not feel stiff. However, it's probably going to all backfire on me one day...

Day 9- Best Physical Feature
Hmm... This is a tough one. I'd say that my best physical feature is my legs. It's the one part of my body that I actually don't complain about. Gotta love having dancer's legs!

Day 10- Few of My Favorite Things
I love this one! This is such a fun thing to post about!
- My beautiful necklace that my boyfriend, Ky gave me for the holidays this past year

- Wine glasses with very tall stems (Scandal anyone??)
- The Ellen Degeneres Show (OBSESSED)
- Green tea
- My Audrey Hepburn stretch canvas

- Dark red and dark blue nail polish
- Anything blue
- Inspirational quotes
- The Shedd Aquarium (especially belugas)
- Leggings
- My shot glass collection (I get one everywhere I go!)

What are some things that you guys love??

xo
Olivia

November Blog Challenge- What's In My Bag

Hey guys! So I'm starting to participate in Farrah's November Blog Challenge! I loved reading about this and wanted to join her in all of the fun!
I know it's November 7th so I'm starting a little late. From now on I'm going to post the challenge for each day! Today is about what's in my bag. I don't usually carry a bag around with me. I typically just have either my black or dark red cross over purse. The only things that I keep with me is my phone, my wallet, a pack of gum, my keys, a pen (just in case I need to write something down), and my favorite Sephora lipstick.

Since I go to college at Indiana University, I usually have my backpack with me. In that I keep whatever binder I need for each class, my little bag of pens and pencils (every color pen because I color code everything), my Lily Pulitzer planner, my amazing camelbak water bottle that has a built in straw filter (I'm literally obsessed with this), and my wallet with my school ID. I know I'm a little boring when it comes to what I keep in my bags. I feel like when I get out of college I'll actually have a bigger bag to keep basically everything in it (like my mom)!

My question to you guys is... What do you keep in your bags?

xo
Olivia