May 19, 2017

Semester Favorites

the 12 finds that I'm loving for spring are the amazon echo dot, apple watch series 2, clarisonic mia fit, iStudiez app, starbucks mocha frappuccinos, peaceful piano playlist on spotify, quit toothbrush, kindle paperwhite, grocery list pad, spin class, swell water bottles, and daily planning pads | brazenandbrunette.com

Hello again lovelies! This past semester has felt like it was only 3 weeks long and honestly I'm shocked at how fast it flew by. Now I'm 2/3 of a lawyer and tbh that scares me a little because that means the Bar and real world are right around the corner but I still feel like I just got to law school! I already know that my 3L year is going to go by even faster, but I can't even imagine how that is possible 😱 Anyways, this post is just me reflecting on this semester and sharing with y'all some things that I discovered along the way! Note: This post contains affiliate links. You can read my disclosure by clicking here.


Amazon Echo


I got my Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas even though I didn't ask for it but man did my Mom do good! At first I didn't really know what to do with it but the longer I've had it, the more uses I find for it. Now instead of snoozing my alarm, I have Alexa read me my "flash briefing" which I set up to read my daily The Skimm while I start to wake up. And I'm starting to get smart plugs that work with it so that I can turn on/off my lights while I'm in bed! Plus, it's really great to have in the bathroom while you're showering because you can just tell it to adjust the volume or change songs without having to open your eyes and risk getting soap in them.


Apple Watch


Ok so technically I got my first Apple Watch around this time last year but stupid me thought it would be okay to jump off the top of a boat while wearing it this summer and now my first watch is currently swimming with the fishes (I suggest getting one of the woven straps before you do something like that). But I finally got another one because I can't live without my Apple Watch. Again it was like my echo where at first I didn't know what do do with it but I definitely found uses for it. The "breathe" and "stand" reminders are super nice to have during long study breaks. Oh and when you're wearing your watch, it will sign in on your laptop automatically for you! 

My favorite apps that I have added to my compilations are Dark Sky and iStudiez. Dark Sky is great because it tells you the temp but even better alerts you about when it's about to rain which is super helpful to know right before you leave your house so you can grab an umbrella or right before you leave the library because you know to wait it out a bit (because it even tells you how long it'll be raining for!). iStudiez has changed my life so it gets it's own section in this post below.


Clarisonic 


Unfortunately the stress of law school makes my face break out like I'm 14 again so the Clarisonic Mia Fit was at the top of my Christmas list. I've wanted this for awhile because every fashion/beauty blogger I follow always goes on about it and after a few months of use I totally agree with them. I keep mine in the shower and use it daily and it has helped wonders. I personally recommend the Mia Fit over the Mia 2 because it's a lot lighter and more compact and great for taking home with you over Christmas/Spring break, but the Mia 2 is cheaper so keep that in mind.


iStudiez App


A friend of mine showed me this app at the beginning of the semester and I'm so grateful he did. You can go in and add your class schedule and assignments and then it's super helpful. If a professor gets behind on a reading, you can go to that assignment and choose "due next class" and it will automatically bump it from your daily to-do. You can also add school holidays and it will mute all of the notifications for that time. Another great feature is that it keeps a running tab of how many assignments you have completed/have left in each class and how many hours you have completed/left in each class, which is just cool to know. I use this app so much that now I pretty much just use my planner for day-to-day or special events planning and this app just for my assignments.

After you add the Mac app's widget to your Mac notifications bar, when you click on the top right of your laptop it will give you a list of your assignments for the day and a real-time schedule of your classes so you know what you have left to do for the day and how much time is left in your class.

I also added the app's widget as a compilation on my Apple Watch and love love love it! It gives me a 5 minute warning to leave the library and get to class, tells me which class to go to and the room number (super helpful at the beginning of the year), and during class gives me a minute and second countdown for how much time is left in class (which is great if you are dreading getting called on or are starving need to know how much longer until freedom). Another feature that I like is that in between classes it has a countdown of my Free Time so for example in between two classes I would know that I have exactly 15 minutes and 30 seconds left to finish my reading for the next class.


the 12 finds that I'm loving for spring are the amazon echo dot, apple watch series 2, clarisonic mia fit, iStudiez app, starbucks mocha frappuccinos, peaceful piano playlist on spotify, quit toothbrush, kindle paperwhite, grocery list pad, spin class, swell water bottles, and daily planning pads | brazenandbrunette.com



Mocha Frappuccinos


Before this semester I hated coffee, and tbh I'm still not a fan of it, but I have discovered that I love Starbucks Mocha FrappuccinoI actually don't like chocolate milk so for the longest time I refused to try these, but after a friend forced me to I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it so much.These basically taste like someone took hot chocolate and blended it with ice. Seriously, no coffee taste at all! Since I'm now a morning person (more on that below), these have become a part of my mid-morning routine. 


Peaceful Piano Playlist


I love listening to classical piano music while I study but sometimes that music can get ominous or have a tempo that's way to fast and it distracts me. So I was very happy to find this premade playlist on Spotify that has peaceful piano (duh) music. It's great to have on in the background while I'm reading or typing up outlines. Oh and it's almost 7 hours long!!




Quip Toothbrush


If you've been on Facebook then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I actually caved and got a Quip toothbrush and it sounds ridiculous to pay almost $50 for a toothbrush but I'm really liking mine. The reason why I decided to get it was because one of my best friends is in dental hygiene school so now I'm more cautious about my teeth. 

Although the ads are all about it looking sleek and whatnot, the real reason why I got it is because you can sign up to have them automatically send you a new toothbrush head every 3 months and I really needed that since I'm terrible at remembering to replacing my toothbrush. Also, it vibrates instead of spinning so it feels a lot nicer since I have sensitive teeth. What's funny is right after I ordered mine, a friend from my Trial Procedure class also got one and now we talk about our toothbrushes in class!


Reading Before Bed


This semester I full on adopted stereotypical suburban mom lifestyle and with that is reading in bed right before I go to sleep. One bad trait that I inherited from my mom is my insomnia so when she told me that this helped I decided to give it a try. I recently upgraded from my Kindle App on my iPad to a Kindle and now I go to bed just a little earlier and read about a chapter before sleep. This has really helped my insomnia by getting my body and brain in the sleep mode faster. Since my Kindle is so lightweight, I can lay down and hold it with one hand and then when I'm done reading I just tell my echo to turn the lights off (I'm so lazy now lol) and can fall asleep pretty fast. Btw, if you also have trouble falling asleep then check out my Sleep Better, Be Happier post!

I've linked my Pinterest board below with books that are on my reading list if you're looking for a suggestion and I'm thinking about doing a book review this summer so if you're interested, check back for that! Also, I'm considering trying Kindle Unlimited so if any of y'all have tried it, please let me know your thoughts on it.




Shopping Pad


I didn't think I'd need a Grocery List Pad because making a grocery list isn't that hard, but this makes things just a little bit easier and I really appreciate that. As soon as I run out of something, all I have to do is make one little mark on the list and that's it! It sounds silly, but it's easier than actually writing about "milk" week after week and so I love it. 

It also speeds things up when I'm actually at the store because it groups all of the food together so it saves me from having to backtrack all over the store because I forgot something. I just make a diagonal dash in the box when I run out of something and then at the store I make another diagonal dash to make an X and then I can easily keep up with what's still on my list and what's already in my basket. 

Another reason I love it is for those glorious occasions when my parents take pity on me and take me grocery shopping. Every other time they've surprised me with this I've always just been like uhh idk what I need but last time I basically just had them get one of everything on the list!

Spin Class

See I warned y'all that I'm slowly turning into a suburban mom! My little Jordin (you may remember her from the Law School Binder guest post) has been a positive influence on me this semester and helped me learn that I love spin class. I've started going 5 days a week, usually at the Sunrise Spin class which is at 6:30, and I love it. 

Having a class to wake up to really has helped keep me on a regular waking up schedule this semester, which as I'm sure you know from personal experience can be harder and harder throughout the semester, so I'm grateful for that. Not only that, but I've noticed that I actually am more awake by the time I get to school because I've already been up and moving for a few hours and didn't just roll out of bed so my brain is "on" already. Best of all, it's something in my daily schedule that isn't reading! 

Swell bottles 


I've always been a big fan of Tervis tumblers (I bring one to class every day), but after I accidentally spilled some water in my purse, I decided that having some water bottles that are leak proof would be a good investment. So I finally jumped on the S'well bottle bandwagon (a little late) and love them. Whether I throw one in my purse or gym bag, I know I can trust that I won't find a puddle 10 minutes later. And because they're metal, I love that no matter how many times I drop these, they don't crack like plastic ones. Oh and they're adorable!! My only tip to a first time Swell owner is be careful taking these into a sauna or laying out with you by the pool because the metal will get hot and although your water or "pool drink" will still be cold, you might burn your hand.

To-do List Pad

On Saturdays and Sundays I like to have big review days to go over my notes and review for my classes. I always like to have a to-do list so that I can get organized and then check off what I get done as I go. Whatever I don't get done, I just add to the next study day's to do list. I used to print off this to-do list for every one of these study days, but that was going through ink and paper fast so I just got this Daily Planning Pad. It's especially helpful on those nice days because I have an obvious end goal that I'm working to so it definitely motivates me to get done already.

4 comments:

  1. I love spin class! I usually go to evening classes, but I did attend one morning class. I would have liked it if the instructor wasn't so drab and insisted on using classical music all class long.

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    1. Ew I would hate that! My favorite part is the music so I love when the instructor gets in to it with Jr High throwbacks!

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  2. My favorite thing is to enjoy electronic shop online to discover latest tech gadgets because i am electronic student and the future is of the Drones.

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