August 2020 Reflection: Ramblings and Recommendations

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to my blog. This post is basically just going to be me talking about how my month went (in the ‘ramblings’ part) and all the things that I have been loving this month (in the ‘recommendations’ part). This is actually my second monthly reflection- I did one last month so, if you’re interested, click here. I’m trying to make these posts really relaxed and casual so, if you like the more chatty posts, this post is for you. Enjoy!

Ramblings

So, this was the last month of summer and I’m not too sure how I feel about it. I’m starting school online this Tuesday and, honestly, I feel prepared enough. This summer was a weird one for obvious reasons so I, as well as all of my friends, didn’t feel as if we had one. Usually there is a definitive break between the school years because of the summer holidays but we didn’t really have that this year. It just feels like one year is blending into another. But, I’ve had plenty of time to get my things together for back to school, so that’s a blessing. You could see in my work with me post from last week that I’m desperately trying to write all my notes up so that I don’t have to catch up on too much work next year. 

I also had the bright idea of rearranging my room. I haven’t bought a lot of things- I’ve just moved things around and cleaned things up. I organised my bookshelf (and got rid of a lot of my childhood books). I don’t actually own a lot of paper books as I mostly read books on my e-reader or just online. This means that I have a lot of shelf space left over and am looking for ornaments to put on them. I also sorted out my bangles rack: the bangles that were on them before are ones that I wore when I was about 2. So, I swapped them out for ones that fit me (and have fit me since I was 10 haha). I also sorted out my clothes and gave a bunch of things to charity. I haven’t completely finished yet (I’m getting fairy lights and posters) but, for now, I’m happy with how things look. 

Lockdown rules relaxed even more this month and I was able to safely see some of my friends more often. I didn’t realise how much I missed the human, face-to-face interaction. I guess I’m not as much of an introvert as I thought I was. Anyway, next month school starts again so I have no idea if I’m going to be able to balance my blog, social life and schoolwork. I think September will be about me finding a routine for online school as my days are longer this year than they were last year when I was learning online and this year is quite an important one for me. I also don’t know how long we’re going to be online so there’s a lot of uncertainty. Most of my content will probably be quite student-related and, if I miss a post, please bear with me. 

Recommendations

In this next section I’m going to be talking about all the books, apps, clothes and products I’ve been using and loving this month.

VSCO

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I really want to start taking more pictures to look back on when I’m older. I feel like I will be more motivated to do so if I have access to a bunch of gorgeous filters, and this is exactly what VSCO has. This app has both a free-version and a premium-version (which has more filters): I have the free-version and these filters are enough for me. 

Notion

Notion is basically an all-in-one digital workspace and it is very very versatile. I personally use it for planning rather than writing notes (as I prefer writing notes on paper) and this works perfectly. I have a section for:

• The books I want to read as well as the movies and TV shows I want to watch

• Everything school-related: my syllabus, timetable, grade-tracker, past paper questions etc.

• My blog and all the posts I have scheduled

• My weekly plan which I edit at the end of every week

• My daily to-do list 

  
  

  
  

I downloaded Notion a little while ago but I couldn’t seem to get the hang of it as it is quite complicated. However, I needed an organisation system for this term, so I decided to give it another shot and I’m so glad I did. All it takes to understand it is watching some YouTube videos and seeing what other people are doing. It’s available as a website and also as an app, and it syncs perfectly across all your devices. 

Adapt

This app is aimed at GCSE and A-Level students: you pick the courses you’re studying and the exam board, and they list the topics from your syllabus. You can then write down how comfortable you feel with each topic and when your exam is, and they’ll recommend 5 topics a day to study. It’s great for planning purposes but I don’t follow the recommendations all the time. But I think, when I’ve covered all the subjects, I might do.

7 minute workout women 

One of the habits that I’m really glad I picked up during lockdown is working out regularly. However, I was scared that when school starts, I won’t have enough time to get a long workout in or I’ll be too tired. However, after hearing lots of people rave about it, I found this app on the App Store and it’s honestly a dream.

When you download this app, you can pick what your goals are and what fitness level you’re at. Then, based on this, they will generate a different 7 minute workout every day for you based on your needs. Before you start the workout, you’re able to see how to do the exercises which is very helpful as I’m not exactly a fitness guru! They also offer a bunch of other free workouts and stretches (including yoga!)- all of which are between 7 and 15 minutes long. You can pay for workout programs as well if you like- but I don’t feel the need to do so.

They have their own music in the background but you are able to turn it off and listen to your own playlist- which is what I do. I find this especially useful as music is pretty much the only thing that motivates me to workout haha. 

American Eagle Flared Jeans

I have basically lived in skinny jeans and jeggings ever since I was little, so I figured it was time for a change. They hug your thighs and come out wide at the bottom and they look really cute. These jeans are from American Eagle and they’re high rise and are slightly cropped (they come up to my ankles). I was looking for them in a long because I’m quite tall (5’7) but they were out of stock and only had the regular. However, they fit me perfectly so the long ones would probably have been too long.

American Eagle Bootcut Jeans

These jeans are also tight around your thighs and flare out at the bottom, but they flare out less. They’re a lot darker than the flared jeans and, as you can see, the button is a copper colour which I think is really pretty. 

American Eagle Mom Jeans

I actually wasn’t looking for mom jeans but they were such a pretty colour that I couldn’t resist. The shade is in between my flare jeans and bootcut jeans and I love the style so much.

American Eagle Twist Front T-Shirt

While I was in American Eagle, I saw this top and had to buy it. It is twisted at the front, so it is quite short so I sized up (because I personally don’t feel comfortable showing my midriff) and it is longer than it would have been. I love the colour and I feel like it compliments my skin tone quite well.

FRIENDS t-shirt

My friend got this top for me as a late birthday present and I love it. We’re both huge FRIENDS fans so it’s quite fitting. It fits quite baggy but, as it’s a size small, I’m assuming it’s supposed to. This also makes it perfect for casual wear.

Pencil case

My friend also got me this pencil case and I’m honestly obsessed with it. I needed a new one as my old one is losing its colour and this is perfect. It’s smaller than what I’m used to but that’s a good thing because, otherwise, I’ll be stuffing all sorts of pointless stuff into it haha. It also has pockets which I love- whenever I’m looking for a bag, I always make sure it has plenty of pockets as I’m an organisation-junkie. 

Bedside table

In my wishlist, I mentioned that I wanted a bedside table, and I managed to get one second hand. As I said before, I’m rearranging my bedroom and this is the perfect addition. I haven’t quite decided what I want in my drawers and on the table itself, but in the little cubby hole, I’ve put medicine and pills so that if I need it, it’s easy for me to access it.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

This book was recommended to me by one of my friends and I fell in love with it. It’s about a teenage girl called Anna who was conceived in order to donate blood to her older sister who was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 2. Now, Anna has had enough and is demanding medical emancipation. The story is told from the point of view of all the members of the family (including the rebellious older brother, Jesse) and is a truly touching and heartfelt book.

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

This book is, as somebody else put it, ‘a love story without romance’. It’s about a teenage girl who is struggling with her past and how her new friends (one of which is the narrator) help her through her trauma. I am a huge fan of romance, so I was quite sceptical when people said that the book is solely about friendship. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found that, sometimes, friendships can be just as loving and intricate as romantic relationships are.

So, that was my month wrapped up in a post! It was my last month of summer and the next 10 months are probably going to be very school-related so I’m mentally preparing myself for that haha. Let me know how your month went in the comments and, if you have any questions about any of my recs, let me know them as well.

Thank you so much for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it! Please subscribe by pressing the button at the top of your page and, if you have a blog, leave the link in the comments so that I can check it out. See you next Saturday!

Stay safe,

Alisha xx