2018 Favorites: January

It's the end of January, can you believe it!?!? This year feels like it's going by so slow but it's already the end of the first month of the year so I guess we are moving through it at a steady pace. Anyway, I have been really loving a few "things" this month. Keep reading to see what they are.

My first favorite of the month and really my yearly favorite is this planner from ban.do. This planner not only keeps me organized but is so pretty and fun that I plan more than I probably should. The planner has stickers so you can spice it up and little activities to do each week. You can find other planners like this one here → https://www.bando.com/collections/planners

Cover

Each month has a fun page to start

Sticker Sheet

My second favorite is the love & beauty glitter gold nail polish. I really enjoy the subtlety of the gold but the shine of the glitter. This nail polish is also good on top of other nail colors for some 'pizzazz'.

The books I have been loving this month are an amazing read and ones that I highly recommend.

Get these books!

the sun and the flowers by rupi kaur is a journey of a book that anyone can relate to. There are five different sections: wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming. As you can tell by the titles of each section, the book starts out sad but becomes super empowering. I highly recommend this book as well as her other book milk & honey.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson is an amazing read! Like so amazing you should get a copy right now! This isn't your typical self-help book, it's raw, real and makes you rethink all those other self-help books you have been reading. Seriously, get this book.

On to a few songs I have been loving. Each song evokes a different emotion from feeling yourself to a little sultry to thinking about the person you love. I added the youtube links to these songs so you can give them a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsoLEjrDogU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNWfz5mn5G4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw9GXsWwv0E

My next favorite is the show grown-ish. If you have seen black-ish then you can only imagine how good grown-ish is. This show follows Zoey as she starts her first semester at university and all the things one is faced with during their first semester. Just give it a watch. You can catch the show Wednesdays at 8pm EST on Freeform or Thursday anytime on Hulu. If you are a Spotify premium member and in college, you can add Hulu to your account for free so there is no excuse for you not to watch grown-ish.

My last and final favorite of January is the app Duolingo. Duolingo is a free language learning app where you can learn many different languages. I am currently learning Spanish and it is so fun!  You can do a lesson a day or many lessons a day. You can join a language club and meet other people around the world who are also learning the same language as you. The best part of the app is that it's free! After Spanish, I plan on learning many many more languages. You can find the app in the AppStore or in the GooglePlay Store.

I hope you enjoyed my favorites of this month! Come back at the end of each month to see what I have been enjoying!

 I am selling a few of the items from my favorites on Depop and Poshmark check it out if you want. 😊
Depop link: https://www.depop.com/kristinedillon
Poshmark link: https://poshmark.com/closet/kristinedillon

Spain 2017: Valencia

Last year toward the end of  November I took a trip to Valencia, Spain for three days. It has become one of my favorite trips so far. My favorite part of the trip was the City of Arts and Sciences. Check out what I did below.

Day 1:

City of Arts and Sciences

L'Hemisfèric and El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofìa

L'Hemisfèric and EL Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe

Day 2:

Mercado Central

Interior of Mercado Central

Dome inside Mercado Central

Turia Gardens trail

L'Umbracle

L'Oceanogràfic

Day 3:

Bridge leading to the Bioparc

Museu de Belles Arts de València

Hope you enjoyed these pictures. I have been traveling a lot recently so the next few posts will probably be travel related. If anything maybe it gives you some inspiration on new places to explore.

Follow me on Instagram: kristinedillon or Snapchat: kristinedillon7

3 Ways to Make Quick Money

It is a new year and after the winter holidays, I am broke! Being a student at a university has its perks as well as its downsides. One of those perks is having a month-long winter break but, the downside is not many jobs are willing to hire for a month. So this is what I did to not stay broke during and after the holidays without a full-time job.

The first thing I did is to sell my unwanted items. We all have clothes or jewelry or electronics that we no longer love. As the old saying goes, "One mans junk is another man's treasure.". Thanks to the digital age we now live in this can be done super easily. I have been using apps such as Depop and Poshmark to sell my items and it is super simple. The following links explain how easy and some tips to have success when selling.
Depop: http://ciaraodoherty.com/my-top-tips-for-selling-on-depop/
Poshmark: https://poshmark.com/posh_guide

The second thing I did was tutor but, you can also petsit or babysit. Surprisingly, a lot of parents want their children to get ahead in school and are willing to pay for a tutor during winter break. Petsitting is another great way to earn a little extra cash. Many families like to go on vacation during the winter months, especially those living in the North. Most are not willing to take their pets nor are they willing to pay expensive prices for Pet Hotels, this becomes a perfect opportunity to use your love for animals at an advantage. Another great way to make money is by babysitting. Check out Care.com to see what families are looking for babysitters. If you love children this won't even feel like work.

The third and final way I made a quick buck is to do odd jobs here and there. Shovel some snow, clean out your parent's garage or basement. Do odd jobs that people hate doing. You might also hate it but you will love the money in return.

I hope these three tips on making a quick buck were useful. Comment other ways you can think of when it comes to making money. You can follow my Depop and Poshmark shop: @kristinedillon

Happy money making!

Italy 2017: Milan

Have you ever decided to take a weekend trip to another city? Well, that is exactly what happened at the last second in November. A friend and I took a weekend trip to Milan, Italy to visit a few friends. It was amazing!!! Besides the weather being mostly rainy we made the most out of it. Check out these pictures we took on our two-day adventure.

Day 1:

Milan Cathedral

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

L.O.V.E by Maurizio Cattelan

Sforza Castle

Entrance to the Sforza Castle

"Before we go looking for life on other planets, can we stop killing life on this one?"

Porta Sempione

That booty tho 😉

Bosco Verticale

A night out

Day 1 was super fun but exhausting. Get ready for the pictures from day 2.

Day 2:

Fondazione Prada

Fondazione Prada: Installation

rainy weather = crazy pictures

City Life by Zaha Hadid

Cimitero Monumentale di Milano

Cimitero Monumentale di Milano

Day 2 was so rainy but it was amazing! I wish we had more time to explore! I miss Milan and can't wait to plan my next trip back. I highly recommend visiting.

I have been posting a lot of my study abroad adventure in Italy so check out my Instagram for more pictures. Instagram: @kristinedillon

Hello 2018!!!

It's finally 2018!!! Happy New Year!

It is time for a fresh start and to make new goals for ourselves this year. Obviously, you can make goals anytime you want but there is something about January 1st that makes it easier to start. I have my list of goals below. Some of these goals I know I will achieve and some I can achieve with a little bit of planning.

1. My first goal and probably the one I am most excited for is to graduate from university with my Bachelor's degree in Architecture! It has been a long and fun five years but I think I am ready for the next chapter of my life. With graduating comes finding a job. So, my next goal is to find a job (in Architecture) that I will love and enjoy.

2.In 2017 I traveled quite a bit and want to continue traveling. One thing I wish I would have done was to learn another language. I spent an entire semester in Italy and barely learned the basics. I will be spending 2018 learning how to speak Spanish fluently. Wish me luck!

3. I have some major goals I have planned for 2019. I know already thinking about next year, but I have to because 2018 is the year of saving. I will be toning down what I spend my money on because big things are to come and money is a big factor of those big things. Stay tuned for what that 'big thing' is.

4. My last goal for 2018 is to read. I know it seems simple, but I have a hard time finding books I like and just reading. If you have any good books you recommend, leave them in the comments below.

Heres to 2018 🍻 may it be the year of growth and prosperity!