Brother Orange

 I found this unbelievable article the other day on Buzzfeed. Once I read it, and fell in love with it, I wanted to share it some how. I was just going to simply tweet about it, but it deserves so much more than that. The story of these two beautiful human beings deserves to be shared a million times and then some.

Go grab a cup of coffee, take 10 minutes, and read this touching story about fate and friendship. It's a long article, but it's worth every second. It's a true testimony to how phenomenal technology is and how it connects us to people all over the globe. You have to read the whole story, it's CRAZY! 

Go read the article here!Let me know what you think.

Etsy Shop: PlannerAddict25

Hi everyone! I know it's been awhile since I posted last, but trust me it was worth the wait! I have been lucky enough to be able to collaborate with a super sweet girl named, Rachel! She has her very own Etsy shop filled with tons of adorable stationery items. If you're like me and you love decorating, stickering, and organizing your planner, you have to check out Rachel's shop!

Meet Rachel

//Born and raised in Sycamore, IL

//Currently live in Wausau, WI - moved here for a job out of college
//Went to University of Illinois (Bachelors in science in chemical engineering)
//Obsessed with all things planning
//Love crafting in general
//Adore animals, especially dogs
//addicted to Starbucks - especially their refreshers (Rachel, I'm totally with you! #veryberryrefresher)
//I love any pastel color especial blues, greens, teals, and pinks
//I feel at home in the kitchen - love love love cooking and baking

Look at all the fun things Rachel makes in her shop! The birthday themed stickers will be perfect for remembering peoples birthdays, and of course I had to decorate my birthday! (My 18th birthday is next week, mark your calendars!;) 

I'll be using the fruit and veggie stickers as little reminders to keep eating healthy.

How stinkin' cute are those gold bow stickers? They may just be my favorite stickers of all. And when you buy them in the PlannerAddict25 shop, you get 15 bows for $2! You can't beat that.

What's that gold rectangle thing? It's a dashboard! No, not the kind in your car, a planner dashboard! It's the must have item you never thought you needed in your planner. It's a laminated piece of paper that has coil clips so you can pop it right into your planner and easily pull it out to move it from week to week. It's perfect for writing to-do lists, special notes, packing lists, or upcoming appointments. You really can do just about anything with the dashboard, you could even get artistic and use it to draw on! The possibilities are endless. If you want a dashboard but the gold foil one isn't your thing, that's fine! There are tons of dashboards to choose from in the PlannerAddict25 shop.

One of my favorite things about the dashboard is that when you use a dry erase marker, the ink dries so you can shut your planner without having to worry about smearing your writing! When you're ready to take the writing off, just wipe over the dashboard with a paper towel and it looks brand new.

I'm so excited to make my planner look all cute with the PlannerAddict25 items!! 

I've already made a wishlist of items I need from the PlannerAddict25 shop.

My favorites: one // two // three // four // five

Isn't Rachel just the coolest? She's even offering 10% off to all ATNC readers! When you go to check out, type in ALLTHINGS10 to receive the discount!
Follow Rachel's Instagram for stationery inspo, special coupons, and offers!

Design Love Planner Review

I am so excited to tell you guys about this planner! 

This is the one I chose to be my official planner for 2015.

I went through a bit of a planner roller coaster this year, first I bought the Lilly Pulitzer agenda, then I bought the Kate Spade agenda, and then I finally found my planner sole mate! 

It's crazy how much my taste changes, but I'm so glad I finally found the perfect planner for me!
Let's be honest, picking a planner is a big deal. It's the item you're going to be using every day for an entire year,  you'll take it along with you everywhere, and it will either make or break your organization goals. So because of all of those reasons, it's so important to chose the one that's right for you.

WHAT I LOVE

The layout of the planner // I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough! I absolutely love that this planner has the traditional monthly view, a unique weekly view, and a to-do list section for each day of the year. 
The daily to-do lists // I'm a person who is constantly writing to-do lists. I love the feeling of getting things done and checking things off as I go! So having a to-do list section is life changing!
The ribbon bookmarks // They're adorable and super handy for quickly flipping to pages.
The gold foil details // The perfect planner not only has to be functional, but it also has to look pretty!
The spiral bounding // This makes it so much easier to write in because you can flip the pages easily and fold the planner in half! I hate having to keep a planner flat and hold down the pages while I'm trying to write.
The thick paper // This planner is made with thick quality paper, not the cheap flimsy stuff! It's perfect because pens (specifically marker pens) don't bleed through the pages.
The stripes // I have an obsession with stripes, I think that's pretty clear by now.
The monthly art prints // Each month in the planner has a cute print which you can either leave in or tear out!
The pockets // There's not one but two pockets for sticking all your necessities in! This is huge for me.
The user guide // In the beginning of the planner there's a note from the designer, an introduction, and instructions on how to best utilize the Design Love Co. planner! I found this to be super helpful and a nice added touch.
The monthly goals & budget pages // I have yet to see this in a planner, until now. It's yet another way to stay organized, and plan out your spending each month.

WHAT I DON'T LOVE

The gold foil issues // I've only been using the planner for a month, and the gold foil is already coming off. I'm super bummed about this because I love the gold accents throughout the planner.

The overall size // Although I love that I can stick this planner in my purse, I don't love that there isn't always enough room for writing everything down. I would love for Design Love Co. to offer a bigger size for the 2016 planner.

The limited quantity // It seems like they either didn't make enough of these planners, or had overwhelming success selling them, because they sold out super quickly. You can find the odd one on eBay or another secondary seller but for the most part these babies are hard to find. Design Love Co. did say they'd have more planners available in the coming months, but I'm sure it'll be a very limited quantity.

Overall, I love love love this planner! It caters to my to-do list obsession, helps me stay organized, and looks super cute!

Tell me about your 2015 planner!

These pictures are not mine, they were borrowed from the Design Love Co. 

Fall Must-See TV Shows

Can we talk about how amazing the lineup for fall tv is this year?!

I cannot wait to see how all of these series play out!

I'm going to explain what each of them are about and why you should run to your tv right now and turn them on!

1. How To Get Away With Murder // This show is from the same director who brought us Scandal and Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rimes, so right off the bat you know it's probably going to be a phenomenal show. The series is about a Law Professor named Professor Keating (Viola Davis) who picks 4 students from her College Law class to come work with her at her firm. From the first day of class, all the students are fighting (in some cases to the death) to be picked for on of those 4 spots and the students get to the point where they will do just about anything to get to the top. This show is a MUST SEE! It's my favorite show at the moment.
2. Red Band Society // This show is a very close second favorite to HTGAWM. The series takes place in a children's hospital, so you think it'd be morbid and depressing but it's just the opposite. The show isn't sad at all, it's very modern, light, (mostly) happy, and is a true testimony to how important friendships are and how you'll make them in the most unlikely situations. The children in the show all have different life threatening illnesses but they all band together in the Red Band Society in order to overcome they're medical conditions. I would definitely gives this series a shot! I'm sure you'll fall in love with the show and the kids just like I have. 
3. Scandal // Oh boy oh boy, this show (and Olivia's outfits) never cease to amaze me. It's definitely my second favorite right now in Shondaland. Anyway, if you haven't already seen Scandal (seriously, where have you been?) it's a political thriller starring Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and focuses on her company, Olivia Pope & Associates, who help people in times of crisis. She also is apart of the White House staff and aids the President of the United States in more ways than one. If you're considering watching Scandal (well, duh) than definitely start from the beginning, you'll be so confused if you just jump into season 3 right away. 
4. Grey's Anatomy // I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm finally bored with Grey's. I got half way through this past weeks new episode and finally had to stop because I was so bored. Don't get me wrong, this is coming from a die hard Grey's fan. Which is why it's still making my must-see list! I will never stop watching that show until they cancel it all together, which I have a feeling with be in the near future. Anyway, Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama TV show. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns and residents as they gradually become doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. Everyone should watch Grey's at least once in their life, it's a TV classic in my opinion.
5. Bad Judge // First of all the main actress Kate Walsh is freaking amazing! If you haven't seen her in Private Practice (again, what is wrong with you?) go watch it! Her new series is about one of LA's toughest and most respected criminal court judges. She's may be one of the best around, but she also has a reputation of being a bit of a wild child and running an unorthodox court room. If not anything else, I think this series will be hysterical!

What shows are you looking forward to this fall?

6 Products I Swear By

My mom and I both love makeup and beauty products. So over the past few years we've definitely gone through our fair share of both. I've found some products I've loved and some I didn't love so much. Here are a few of the products I use ever single day. I couldn't live without them!

1. elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer: I used to use the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and don't get me wrong I loved the product, but then I read this post and I decided to try out the elf primer. I am so glad I did! I now use it every single day. Not only does it work great but it only costs 1 DOLLAR! You can't beat that. Now, any time I'm at Target I'm always sure to pick up some of this primer.

2. Vaseline Lip Therapy:  For some reason, I always seem to have chapped lips because I never remember to put on chap stick throughout the day. So I've now stuck a Vaseline lip therapy (which is the cutest little thing I've ever seen) in my makeup bag, and while I'm (as my mom always says) "putting my face on" every morning, I always swipe some of the Vaseline across my lips and it really keeps them moisturized all day long!

3. Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder: I cannot say enough good things about this powder!! I just recommended it to my Aunt and now she's hooked too. I have oily skin, and once I apply the powder it really does give my skin a matte looking effect. It's cheap (only $3.50!), comes in 4 different shades, and does its job! I always buy the transparent shade and it gives my skin an over all even and shine free look. You can apply this powder with either your favorite brush or a powder puff. I prefer the puff because I think it applies the makeup more evenly. This compact doesn't come with either, so make sure you buy some puffs or a brush if you plan on getting this powder.

4. elf Lash & Brow Clear Mascara: I have naturally curly eyebrows, which are annoying to say the least. I wake up to crazy looking eyebrows every morning, with hairs sticking out every which way. As you can imagine I need something to tame them, and this clear brow mascara does just the trick! It gets my eyebrows in order and it keeps them in place all day, I couldn't ask for anything more!

5. Anastasia Eyebrow Powder Duo: This is my secret for great looking eyebrows! I've used this every single day for the past 2 years and I love it! I feel naked if I walk out of the house without it on. I bought my first (and only) Anastasia eyebrow powder duo at least 2 years ago and its lasted me all this time! So even though it is a little pricey, just know that it is so worth it and it will last for a long time!

6. Olay Complete Moisturizer: This face cream is great, its super gentle and it doesn't irritate my skin or occasional blemishes. I really believe in using a daily moisturizer, not only is it great for your skin, it also protects you from the sun (it has SPF 15!) and keeps the wrinkles away! I used to put on this face cream everyday in the morning and at night, but I found that it made my face a lot oilier through out the day. Now, I only use it at night and it's just the right amount a moisturizer to get me through the day.

What are the products you swear by?

Weekly Wows

1// Brighton Brilliance Post Earrings: A couple weekends ago my step mom took a short trip to Georgia, and she came back bearing gifts! She got me these beautiful and classic studs, that I can wear with practically anything. I absolutely adore love them! The hearts on the sides are the sweetest touch. I usually wear CZ studs 24/7, but I'm going to have to remember to take these off everyday before bed so they will last for years to come!

2// Chandelier by Sia: How creepy and amazing is the dancer in this video?! She's 11, how crazy is that! Anyway, this song is my jam. I've been listening to it on repeat for the past few days; I just can't get enough of it. I've also been trying really hard to sing the song just like Sia, but according to my little brother (who screams at me to stop every time) I guess I'm not doing such a great job.  Also, every time I listen to it, I can't help but think how much Sia sounds like Rihanna (like seriously they could be twin singing sisters or something). But hey, Rihanna's a pretty cool twin singing sister to have if you ask me! 

3// Associated Press (AP) App: Maybe it's just me, but I like knowing what's going on in the world. When I took US History this past school year, it amazed me (in a bad way) how much I didn't know about my country. But I made up for lost time, and did well in the class. What also influenced me to keep up with the news was my teacher, she is so passionate about history and a huge believer in watching the news and reading the newspaper everyday. Not only have I taken to reading the newspaper most mornings, but I also have downloaded a few apps to keep me up to date of what's going on in the world. I have New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and AP News downloaded on my phone. AP is my favorite, because of the way the app is organized. I also love that it alerts me of breaking news so I never miss anything! The app is available on iPhone and Android devices! 

4// Sam and Libby for Target: I'm finding more and more that practically the only sandals I wear are my Jack Rogers, and I love them, but I'm bored with them! I want more variety in my sandal choices, so I'm on the hunt for some new ones. These Sam and Libby sandals are at the top of my list! I've been dying for a brown pair of sandals and these ones look perfect and I don't have anything like them in my closet already! Don't even get me started about the silver and white pair, I love love love them.

5// Google Drive: Now that I have a Google Chrome laptop (which I plan on doing a review on soon!) I've started using the Google Drive because that's what all the things on my laptop get saved too automatically. Well this week I found out there's a Google Drive app, which has been so fantastic for getting the photos from my laptop to my phone without me having to email them to myself a bazillion times. Basically it's like Dropbox (I think?!) but I've never used that either so I can't say for sure. All you do is drag files and pictures onto the Google drive website or app and then those items show up when you log into your Google drive account from anywhere or any device! How awesome is that? * This post was inspired by The College Prepster blog

The Perfect Grad Gift

Yes guys, it's that time of year again. Graduation time!! Unfortunately I'm not one of the ones graduating this year; I have 1 more year to go :( . A couple weeks ago my mom stumbled across a shop called Lisa Lovely Designs, and boy I'm sure glad she did. The shop is filled with cute preppy items and tons and tons of monograms! It seems like the time of year that everyone, is scrambling to find the perfect present. Some people want to get a present on the cheap, they want it to be creative, personal, practical, cute, and something the grad will love. Well, this present has all of those things!

Isn't the packaging just the cutest?! The owner of the shop did the packaging all herself. One of the grads we know is going to UCF in the fall, so she matched the ribbon accordingly, and when my mom gave the grad his gift the ribbon was the very first thing he noticed. It was such a personal touch that really tied the whole present together. 

What's inside the gift bags?

These adorable monogrammed laundry bags! They each have a drawstring tying off the top of the bag and there's also a shoulder strap so it's easier to carry from your dorm to the laundromat. An added bonus as well is the size of the laundry bags. They're huge. Just to fill them for this picture I had to stick 3 blankets in each! So there's plenty of room in them to hold all of your dirty laundry. Every college student (and basically every other person in the world) needs to do their laundry. So this is a great present for practically anyone and it's one that works for either a girl or a boy. You can adjust the color of the bag and the style of the monogram to not make it either more feminine or more masculine.

To make the present complete we included laundry detergent and quarters for their first load! 

Let's just be real here, the monograms are the cutest part!

I already told my mom I want one of these laundry bags for when I go off to college next year!

card // chevron laundry bag // canvas laundry bag // online shop 

Do you know someone going off to college this year?

What other great gifts have you given to a grad?

Sell & Swap Clothes on Vinted

               
So a few weeks ago I did a huge clean out of my closet. I kept trying to figure out ways I could sell my clothes. I've tried Ebay and people seriously only bid on .99 cent items, and when it costs more to ship the item than your actual profit you might as well not waste your time posting it in the first place. I also tried Poshmark and I liked it but the flat shipping rate was was $8, which was absurd, especially if you bought something like a 2 oz necklace. So after all the disappointment and still 2 garbage bags overflowing with clothes, I finally found Vinted and I haven't looked back since. Just to give you an idea of my surprising success with the app, since I've been selling on Vinted I've sold more items in one month than I did on Ebay and Poshmark combined in one year. I love how easy it is to post, sell and swap items! Oh and transferring the money you made from sales straight into your bank account couldn't be easier. Now you want to be apart of the fun too right? Download the app asap and start posting your unwanted clothes! You'll be amazed at how easy it is to post and sell items in a jiffy.

Don't forget to check out my items for sale!

I'd love to swap clothes with you! Sign up on Vinted and follow me @shopaholic18

Kidz Can Design Personalized Jewelry

For Christmas my parents bought me a gift certificate to use at this website called Kidz Can Design. You can send in your artwork and they will make it into a timeless sterling silver pendent. It's a neat way to turn one of you or your kids favorite piece of art into a treasure that will last forever! 

Instead of sending in a piece of my artwork, I had an idea to get my mom, dad, step mom, and step dad to all write "I love you" on a piece of paper. I thought it would make such a beautiful one of a kind piece. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. The I love you's turned out so clear and identical to the original signatures on the paper. It will forever be one of the most treasured pieces of jewelry I own.

Chain Necklace

I could not be happier with my purchase! Thanks so much Kidz Can Design! 

A Christmas Movie

I watch a lot of movies, there's just something I love about them. It almost like a 2 hour escape that makes you forget about all the craziness going on. 

Today, while wrapping presents and decorating the tree, we turned on the Hallmark Channel to watch what we thought would be a sappy and cheesy Christmas movie, like 99% of all the Hallmark movies. But I was happily proven wrong when the movie "Christmas in Conway" started playing, it's apart of that 1% of Hallmark movies that actually aren't cheesy. I haven't done any posts on movies before because I'm not a movie critic and If someone wanted to read a movie review they would just Google it or ask Siri what she thought about the movie. But there was just something about this movie that was so special! My mom and I could not stop tearing up through out the whole thing. It is by farrrrr one of the best Christmas movie I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. What was refreshing about it was that It wasn't cheesy and all Christmasy, and about some dumb romance story where 2 people fall in love while frolicking in the snow. It was real, and sad, and so sweet! I would watch it any time of the year! And my girl Mandy Moore is in it {whose characters name is Natalie;}!

Go watch it on the Hallmark channel and let me know what you think!

What is your favorite Christmas movie? 

Thank You Notes

As you can tell from the Snail Mail Collective Post, I'm an old fashioned girl. In the sense that I I love to receive and send letters. Now a days with email and texting, people rarely send hand written thank you notes. It seems like an almost prehistoric action, to actually take the time to find a card, write a message, place a stamp on it, and toss it in your mailbox. A lot of time the thought of 'why can't I just send them a quick thank you text and be done with it?' Well here's why, it's so much more meaningful to receive a handwritten thank you card in the mail than to receive a meaningless two-worded text. When someone takes the time to go out and buy a gift for you, the least you can do is take 10 minutes {yes, that's all the time it takes!} to write a meaningful thank you note, that will probably make the recipients day, maybe even week! And as a bonus, they will probably be more likely to buy you gifts in the future.

With the gift giving season approaching, it's the perfect time to try out the art of sending a thank you note! If you're thinking, 'hmmm I want to try this whole sending thank you notes thing out but don't have any thank you cards and don't want to spend a bunch of money on them'. DON'T FRET! I am the queen of finding great deals aren't I? {The correct answer is yes} Which is why I'm going to share a secret with you... you see all the cute cards & perfectly matching envelopes in the picture above? Well, everyone one of them is from the dollar section at Target and only cost a buck each!! A set of 5-8 cards AND matching envelopes come in a pack FOR ONLY A BUCK! That's a steal. You can make someones day for only 4 quarters and show your total appreciation for what they did or gave you this holiday season. 

Are you old fashioned like me and love to send & receive letters? 

When The Office Depot Guy Saved The Day

Have A Laptop Or Computer? READ THIS.

My computers been acting out the last few days, ever since I downloaded what was suppose to be a new font for me to use on the blog. Yea yea yea I know it's a big computer no-no to download things you're not really sure about. But I really wanted the super cute font!!! Mistake #1, when I downloaded the thing that was suppose to get me the font I wanted it downloaded some "downloads organizer", I didn't sign up for.

Mistake #2, going back to Google and downloading {what I thought was} the font I wanted but from a different website. And guess what happened. Another freakin' download organizer appeared. And still the new font was no where to be found.

Long story short, after 2 days of my computer acting weird I finally started to consider I had done something wrong {imagine that} and was starting to fear the worse, that my poor baby {aka my laptop} had a virus. So I researched places that could maybe help me out and as a bonus not cost me an arm and a leg to get my computer back to normal.

Surprisingly, Staples and Office Depot popped up as places that could help me out in this desperate time. So I called a couple locations to see how busy it was, how long it would take, the cost, etc. I concluded I needed a "PC Tune Up". Both Staples and Office Depot offer the tune ups, so then I just had to choose one...

My findings:
                                              

Time based on diagnosis: 1-5 DAYS {ha, that's a joke}                         1-3 HOURS
Cost: $10                                                                                                      FREE
Location: 15 - 20 min. away                                                                         10 min.

In case it isn't obvious enough, I picked office depot. Btw, who the heck is gonna give their laptop up for days and days? No one, is the correct answer. Come on Staples.
Anyway, I have to say I was SO happy with everything the Office Depot people did and I had an overall super experience. My hero, Ronnie {the tech guy} checked over my computer, and diagnosed it with having a minor bug, due to the stupid font things I downloaded. He said he would fix it no problem, but that he would have to run a program to clear it out which would take a couple hours. So I left him to it, and then came back a few hours later {after having him work on my computer for almost 3 hours} and my computer was magically fixed and back to its old self.
He told me he had cleared out unnecessary files I didn't need that were probably slowing down my computers performance a bit, he had also exterminated the bug {hahahah get it} in my computer, and had installed the office depot PC Support System that will now automatically clean out my computer {like he had to do} weekly so that all bugs and unneeded items are cleared out so that my computer can always be in tip-top shape.
Ronnie had made my day, I even felt the urge to hug him, but he seemed like kind of a shy dude so I didn't want to freak him out. If you've ever had your computer all of a sudden stop working correctly and you've gone into panic mode fearing your bundle of joy could be infected with a virus and that it can't be fixed, and then you have a nightmare that you'll lose all your pictures and documents and happy memories that are saved on your device and to top off the unbearable thought, you may end up having to spend hundreds of dollars in order to get a new computer that's virus free.

Your heart just sped up a little, didn't it?

Well the good news is, Office Depot is there to save the day if your computer starts acting up.
Which is the whole point of this very wordy post. To spread the word about Office Depots incredible tech team that can help you with any computer problem you may have!

 OH! and I almost forgot!! My whole excursion at Office Depot, with wonderful Ronnie working on my computer for hours {which ended up not being just a "tune up"} and installing the Office Depot PC Support Program, all turned out to be FREEEE! That's right, it didn't even cost me one dolla! and Ronnie wouldn't even take a tip! {or a hug for that matter!} BOOOYAHHH!

And along with fixing my computer, Ronnie also gave me a few helpful tips.

Tips From Ronnie:

1. Try not to ever use Internet Explorer. Use either Google Chrome or Firefox. Internet Explorer has been out a lot longer than the other 2 programs so it's more prone to having viruses and bugs that are dangerous for your computer.
2. You should clean out your computer every couple of weeks or at least once a month. A lot of unwanted junk/clutter can build up in your computer that will end up slowing it down, and no one likes a slow computer. You can clean it out yourself or visit your local Office Depot and have them install the "Office Depot PC Support Agent" where you can set it to automatically clean out your PC.
3. Always have an antivirus program on your computer. Mine expired about a month ago, so I'm up for renewal! Ronnie recommend the McAfee antivirus software.

I hope this post helped you and offered some valuable info on how to keep your computer healthy and virus free!