Hey guys!! Okay so it's been a while since I've blogged but I've hit some inspiration recently. I found this 'October Blogging Prompts' that looks super cool, and actually gives me something to write about! I'm going to do as much of it as I can, and I'm also looking into getting a real, website-y blog. Stay tuned!

Here's the challenge:

How I Use My Planner + Supplies!

Goood morning/afternoon/evening to all of you lovely people. Tons of you have been requesting that I show you inside of my planner sooo, here ya go :-)

The planner that I use is the Day Designer brand, in a aqua blue moleskin cover. It is absolutely beautiful, due to its majestic color, smooth and clean feeling, and eye-catching gold detailing. (Can you tell I'm in love with this planner?)

I purchased this baby at Target for about $12 (maybe $15).

It is currently summer, so I do not have anything school-related written in this planner yet. I would normally write down my homework and assignments due, so I'll do an updated blogpost once the school year rolls around.

I love the monthly view on this planner because it makes me look like I have a very interesting life. I write down any events, appointments, or things that I need to do, with their times.

I use these little sticky flags to mark videos that I need to film and upload, and I put them on the days I will do so. I absolutely love this little trick because I can move around the videos if my plans change, or I can't film that specific video.

The one thing I do not like about this planner is that it does not change colors or themes in any way. It stays a consistent blue color throughout the whole year, and I honestly almost didn't buy it because of that. But, of course that's where washi tape comes in to save the day.

I use coordinating styles of washi tape to decorate the top of each page for a new month or week. I also like to use stickers to re-write the month name (because the goal here is cuteness, am I right?).

As for the weekly spreads, I like to once again use washi tape to decorate, but otherwise I basically use the boxes as a long, daily to-do list.

I used to have to-do lists scattered everywhere on my desk, but using a planner has completely eliminated them.

Currently I have a basic list of things I need to get done for each day, including: summer school work, going to the gym, errands, and meals. Of course if there are other things I need to do that day, I'll write em' down.

I recently have been pre-planning/decorating upcoming weeks, kinda with a theme in mind. For example, I had a candy/sweets theme for this week (which is pretty freaking adorable if I may add).

And of course you gotta have some supplies to do this all, so here are my weapons of choice:

Highlighter (for the important stuff)

BIC 4-in-one colored pen

BIC Atlantis medium point pen (black)

Sticky Flags

Sticky Notes

Sharpie Pens

Washi Tape

My washi tape stash (all were purchased from Target)

Labels

(first were from Target, middle 3 from IKEA, last from Target)

And stickers (all from coolpencilcase.com)

That's all I have for today! I hope I inspired you to organize your life with a planner because doesn't it look fun?! Have a wonderful day! xoxo reese regan

My Favorite Healthy Snacks!

We all love snacking. It's an uncontrollable force that can sometimes lead us to overdo it. Believe me, I've been there. But, since starting my little health/fitness journey I've compiled a list of my favorite healthy snacks, that will satisfy your cravings, but not tip the scale.

Savory:
△ mixed nuts
△ celery and peanut butter
△ air-popped kettle corn
△ hummus
△ sunflower seeds
△ guacamole
△ corn tortilla chips (for dipping)
△ turkey and cheese roll-ups
△ hard-boiled eggs
△ veggie straws (if I'm craving chips)
△ tomato + mozzarella + balsamic = yum
△ whole grain toast and peanut butter

Sweet and Savory:
△ cheese cubes and grapes
△ trail mix with unsalted nuts and berries (none of that chocolate and m&m stuff!)
△ banana or apples with peanut butter
△ banana sliced in half, spread with peanut butter, and topped with nuts

Sweet:
△ almost every fruit you can think of
△ (but my favs are) apples, bananas, cuties, red grapes, nectarines, blueberries, watermelon, etc.
△ dark chocolate
△ "nice-cream" (blended up frozen bananas)
△ yogurt
△ baked apple pie cookies (yum!!!!)
△ lactose-free ice cream

I hope you guys got some ideas from my list, because there are tons to choose from. If you're starting a fitness journey as well, just know that it's okay to snack! Sometimes we need to help ourselves between meals, and that's totally fine. I wish you all the best of luck and a wonderful day! xoxo Reese

A Look At My Books

I'm a stationary hoarder. No doubt about it. Whenever I go into stores (especially Target), I just can't help myself but to want to buy all of the notebooks and journals there. They're all so pretty with different colors, fonts, pages, quotes, and covers. I constantly have a little pile of notebooks that just float around my room and follow me around, and I'm going to show you them.

 Here's my current desk setup and if you want to see it in more detail, click here.

 On the far left of my desk you can see my little stack of books, also pictured nicely above. I have my (DIY) planner, my youtube video ideas notebook, a small moleskin journal, and a tiny book of sticky notes.

Starting with my planner, I'm currently just using a small drawing notebook from ACMoore. My other planner ended at June, and I needed something to hold me over before I purchase the InkWell Press Planner in September.

I set up my monthly view just by using a gold metallic marker and drawing a grid. The weeks start with Monday instead of Sunday, because I like to keep the weekend days together on the far right. I decorated the top with some floral washi tape, and a cute arrow-shaped sticker to mark the month.

I fill it in by using mulit-colored Sharpie pens that all serve a different purpose (school = blue, youtube = pink, etc.). I also like to use some little sticky note flags to mark what videos I want to film and when, plus I can move the flags around if I change my mind. Overall, I'm pretty simple when it comes to planning.

I like to set goals for each month and you can read some of mine for July. July has kinda been my "reset" month, because for the last half of June I basically had no sense of direction for my life.

As for day-to-day planning, I like to have a huge block of space for each day. On the right side I like to make tiny boxes for all of my meals, what workout I did for the day, and tracking my water. For planning my day out, I either sit the night before or the morning of that day and just write a giant to-do list. I also right little reminders of mental things I need to do.

My next friend I've got is my YouTube video planning/ideas notebook. I was actually successful in making use of this notebook, and I always keep in nearby. On the front I just used another little flag sticker to make it look complete.

(origami heart page tab can be made here)

Inside, I obviously have a list of overall video concepts, but I also dedicate whole pages to a singular video. This book makes sure my videos come out exactly how I picture them in my head, and it contains all of my crazy ideas.

The final two books I have are my thoughts journal, and that sticky note pad I mentioned before. My thoughts journal does exactly as it says, holds my thoughts. It's just filled with ideas and concepts and arguments and all of the things I wish to say aloud, but I have no one to talk to about. I have a buzzing mind and a big imagination, so I need something to filter everything into.

That tiny book of stickies is so useful when it comes to planning, and just making little notes to myself. It was free from some seminar so that's also pretty great.

And of course when it comes to writing or planning or drawing or creating, you need some supplies. Here are my absolute favorites:

△ Fine-Tip Sharpie Pens

△ BIC Mark-it Fine Point Metallic Markers

△ BIC 4-in-one Colored Pen

△ Washi Tape

△ Sticky Notes

I hope you guys enjoyed a little look into my life :-)
As always, xoxo Reese.

My Braces Experience

So I've been getting a lot of questions from people who want to know about my braces experience because they're either getting them on soon, or just wondering because I now have them off.
I got my braces I believe in November of 2014 and I just had them taken off on June 17, 2015.
My teeth had no real issues beforehand, they were just a little bit crooked because I used to suck my thumb and I had a terrible sledding accident where my two front teeth were knocked out by my neighbor's head (fun right?).
Getting my braces on was totally painless, only a bit awkward. You initially have no idea what to do with yourself because now you have these spiky metal things in your mouth. But, you quickly adjust to feeling and you actually forget that they're there.
So of course the ortho is going to give you this giant list of things that you cant eat (and you wonder how you're even going to survive), but you can honestly just ignore it. Yes, don't just dive into eating gum and corn on the cob, but as long as you're careful with your braces then they will be fine.
I did not have any rubber bands put in my mouth because I didn't need them, so I'm sorry if you have questions about them. What did happen was I had to get on new wires that were tighter and thicker than the ones before, and the first few days that you wear them, they make your teeth so sore. That was honestly the worst part of my braces overall, so you have nothing to worry about.
Basic Braces Care:
All I did was brush my teeth per usual, day and night. As for flossing, its pretty much impossible to get that little string around your braces, so you can just use braces picks, or a water pick. A water pick is this machine that shoots out this line of water so you can flush out things that are stuck between your teeth. (Be care though because my brother almost shot his eye out.) If your wires poke the back of your mouth or cheeks, you can ask the ortho to cut them down for you, or take little pieces of wax (that the ortho should provide) and cover up the wire with them.
Overall, getting your braces on should not be frightening or worrisome. Almost everyone has/had braces and just think about how great you'll look once they're off!!
Good luck, Reese Regan <3

Before:

 After:

(I look like I aged 4 years)

Fitness Progess - 3 months

Yay!! So it's been a little over 3 months since I have joined the gym and I could not be happier or healthier. Here's a quick update of my progress:

June's abs are looking hella good!! I need to start including my legs in progress pictures because they have definitely improved a lot from the beginning, plus I know legs are a major focus for most people. Overall, my arms are super toned and awesome looking, and not the same-noodley-thickness the whole way down. My abs and core are better than ever, and totally ready for bikini season. And like I mentioned about my legs, although you can't see them, they have slimmed down and are slowly losing extra fat and starting to tone up. (*thighs and hips are usually the last place on a girl to lose weight)

I hope you all are inspired by this!! Keep pushing forward!!

How The Gym Has Made My Life Better

Hey everyone!! It's been a while since I've blogged, but I really wanted to just dedicate a blog post to how much the gym has improved my life.

I signed up for the gym I believe April 4, and now that it is a month later I feel like I can really talk about it.

First things first, I have definitely seen improvements in and on my body (because I know that's what you're all wondering). Here's a progress picture of my first month:

As you can see, I was fairly skinny and toned before in March, but in April there are major improvements in my abs (& my legs and arms that aren't really being shown). Now, I work very hard at the gym and go almost 5 times a week, so don't think you can just sign up too and see improvements as quickly.

Not only has the gym changed my physical health, but my diet too. It is so motivational to workout then go home and eat a salad, or eat a big fruit salad for breakfast. The gym has made me be cautious of what I eat, and I honestly find eating healthy really fun. It's refreshing to try new recipes that cater to your healthy diet (plus, cooking is just a favorite hobby of mine).

Going to the gym & eating healthy combined has made me such a happier person. I'm not as stressed, I don't feel sluggish, I stay fuller longer, I don't crave as much; my life has just improved ten-fold. Also, it has helped me become more accepting of myself due to the changes I am seeing and how happy they make me.

Now I'm going to answer some questions you all asked about my health/diet :-)
Q: What was your diet/lifestyle like before?
A: I actually was pretty healthy for a teenager, I didn't eat much processed foods because they kinda made me sick, and I already drank tons of water, but joining the gym has just been that extra little push to truly get me "healthy".

Q: How do you get motivated to workout?
A: Honestly a lot of the time I don't feel like working out due to homework and such, but just thinking how great I'll feel afterwards, and proud of myself for going and working hard, keeps me motivated.

Q: What is your gym routine like?
A: I haven't created a steady routine yet, but I start of with a warm-up of cardio for about 10-15 minutes, then I move on to the machines where I do probably 3 different machines per each body part (arms, legs, butt, & abs). On the machines I do 3 sets of 15 reps. Then I go to the back of my gym, where it's like a mat with all the weights, dumbells, and medicine balls, and I do lots of squats, lunges, crunches, and arm movements.

(I think I'll make a video on specific tips & tricks for starting a healthy lifestyle/going to the gym so when I do I'll link it here: ____________)

I hope this post is inspiring to some of you and/or answered some of your questions about my healthy lifestyle.
xoxo, reese regan

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you had a great day - here's how my day was:

 today's makeup: white eyeshadow on lids and browbone, nude pink in the crease, & chocolate brown on the outer corner. finished it off with a thin line of liquid eyeliner and mascara!

 today's hair: loose curls only on my top layer with a 1&1/2" curling iron.

today's outfit:

dress - american eagle

denim jacket - target

shoes - white converse

easter bunny was good to me :-)

went to brunch with the fam and stocked up on some creme puffs (i live for creme puffs)

Photoshoot

So today I was really super bored so I ended up dressing in my Easter outfit and having a little photoshoot... with myself. I love photoshoots because they're simple, fun, and great for days worth of instagram posts. Here's a few pics:

                               (^this picture is my personal favorite^)

New Blog!

okay so I really don't know how to work this thing quite yet but I'm figuring it out and really excited about it because I've wanted a blog for so dang long - let's do this!!