Have a Stylish Semester!

I know I'm a bit late on this, but there's no reason you can't pick up a few of these cute things to perk up your classes! Doing this post made me wish I was going back to school this semester! Oh yeah, I'm taking this semester off, by the way :)

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Everything you need to make your note taking and studying more fun! The stickers are a perfect (and cute) way to organize your agenda so you never miss an assignment again! Cute paper clips also make finding your study material easy. The notebook shown is made by May Books, and it is completely customizable! You can choose your own pattern, add a monogram, and choose what you want the notebook to be (agenda, calendar, meal planner, graph paper, lined paper, etc.)! Even though I'm not going back to school this semester I might order one of these for myself for blog ideas and such. I'm thinking about doing a giveaway of one too, but I'm not sure yet.

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Last school year, I ate out pretty much every day. That was awful on my wallet and quite unhealthy too, since anywhere I had time to go to was fast food. I did bring my own cups quite often, though. Some places will give you a discount on your drink if you use your own cup, or even give it to you for free! Also, the snack bags from Itzy Ritzy are very adorable and eco friendly! No more wasting sandwich bags!

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This is probably my favorite category, because I have been obsessed with buying accessories for my iPad lately. I just bought a Lilly Pulitzer iPad sleeve (not the one shown, sadly), and I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail. I recently found out about Graceship from another blog (don't remember which one, sorry!!) and I have been DYING for one of their laptop bags! They are seriously cute enough to use as an everyday purse. Maybe for my birthday in a few months, though.

Hopefully there was something for everyone in there, even if you aren't going to be in classes this fall. What stylish accessories have you picked up for school/work lately?

Favorite Fall Trend: Graphic Sweaters

Maybe it's just the kid in me, but I love some graphic sweaters. They are easy to throw on and wear with anything, but they can also be a statement piece! It's the perfect fall trend for school or whatever you have going on this semester. They're awesome for layering if you're sitting in a cold classroom or transitioning into the cooler fall weather.

This shark sweatshirt from Green Hill is what I'm after at the moment. It's a cute, affordable graphic sweatshirt. It's black and simple enough so that I can wear it with anything, but also pretty bold with the huge red and white shark jaw on it. And sharks are my favorite animal ever, so even better!

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click image for product info

Are you going to be rocking any graphic sweaters this fall? What is your favorite fall trend?

Coola Rose Essence Tinted Mineral Sunscreen Review

I know many of you are familiar with Hautelook.com. If you aren't, it's a website you sign up for and they have sales that last for a few days and you can generally get good deals on clothes that would otherwise cost a fortune. I saw one day that they were having a Coola sale. And if you aren't familiar with Coola, they are company who makes organic sun care products. They can be quite expensive, so I jumped on this sale as soon as I saw it. 

I ended up getting the Coola Face Rose Essence Mineral Sunscreen. This particular sunscreen has a tint and is SPF 20. Here's what the product claims to do:

My thoughts: The first thing I love about it is that it is chemical free and is certified organic. The less chemicals the better! The tint is quite light, so darker skinned people should be warned before trying this out since it only comes in one shade :(. It blended very easily and it did not leave my face sticky or dry, it had a nice natural finish to it. I like to wear this if I want to even my skin tone and protect my face for a day at the beach. The wear time was good, I still had a decent amount on my face even after laying out and sweating at the beach. If you go in the water, that might be a different story. I use this from time to time when I don't feel like wearing a full face of makeup or in between products. The bottle claims to be light enough to wear under makeup, but I wasn't too fond of that feeling. I tried it but it felt like my skin couldn't breathe with so much product.

The only real issue I had with this product was the scent. I'm not too fond of floral scents and it stuck on my face for hours, and when I applied powder over it, it smelled slightly metallic.

Overall I was impressed! Organic products have a tendency to disappoint me but this one definitely did not.

Best for: Light sun protection when out in the sun. A light tint and light sun protection for everyday use. Lighter skinned people. Evening out skin tone for daily use or in between products. People who are looking for a good organic/chemical free sunscreen or light tint.

Would I recommend it?: Yes, as long as a slight floral scent does not bother you. And the shade thing might be a problem for a lot of people, since the tint is so light and it only comes in one shade.

Where can I buy it?: 
Coolasuncare.com

Tiffany Time

I realized that even though my blog name is "Breakfast at Gracey's", I haven't done very many posts regarding Breakfast at Tiffany's or Tiffany's at all for that matter. So in honor of the movie and Tiffany's, here is some Tiffany & Co. inspiration!

photo taken by me :) 

"What I found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there" -Holly Golightly in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's

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click image for product details

photo taken by me :)

The pendant above is what my lovely boyfriend got me for our anniversary. 2 years! :) I couldn't be happier, he's the best! I still have to get a chain for it--right now I'm using one from another necklace I have. I have yet to take it off (except to take a picture of it); it's pretty safe to say that this is my favorite necklace. 

This post was originally going to be my thoughts on the movie vs. the book Breakfast at Tiffany's. However, I've seen the movie a million times and read the book once, so I think I'm going to read the book another time or two so that I can really give a good opinion on both. That and it's been a while since I read the book and I'm a bit foggy on the details. 

That's it for now! I'm still looking for a good photo editing software for my Macbook so if anyone has suggestions, please let me know! Right now I'm using Gimp and I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet. 

Well I Feel Silly

I just now figured out how to upload pictures from my camera to my Macbook Pro. Which means....I can do the reviews I have stacked up :D Yay!

I need to edit and take a few more pictures before the first one goes up, but it will be soon! I hate myself for saying sorry for being slack so often.

The good news is, I'm taking fall semester off so I will have all the time in the world to catch up on my blogging and reading all of your wonderful blogs. I know I said that at the beginning of the summer and failed at it, so feel free to harass me if I start slacking. In fact, I encourage it.

In the mean time you should follow me on Tumblr because I've been spending way more time on there than I'd like to admit. Make sure you leave me your Tumblr as well! I'm always looking for new blogs to follow.

Oh, and one other question--for you bloggers out there, what photo editing software do you use? I had Paint Shop Pro on my old computer but I'm unsure if I want to purchase that again or go with Paint Shop Pro. Or something totally different. Let me know please! :)

Graduation!

I'm finally back! I had to put my blog on the back burner these past few months. Physics class pretty much killed me and I almost didn't graduate because of it! Luckily I was able to pull through, but school did pretty much take up my life for a while there.

I'm just glad I graduated! We went to dinner at a japanese restaurant downtown before graduation. My cousin just happened to be in town working on the week of my graduation so luckily he was able to come.



That's one of my best friends! I love him to death. I was not fond of him at all freshman year (he gives off a weird vibe and tends to be strange if you don't know him). But by second semester of sophomore year we were best friends!



Mrs. Gunther! She is the secretary at our school and is incredibly awesome! We would sit and chill in her office with her if we had a free period and didn't really know where to go. One of my other best friends and I would always do very last minute homework in her office :P



I also made my first ever Lilly Pulitzer purchase! This was at one of my friend's graduation parties (I'm wearing the dark blue dress). I used to really hate Lilly Pulitzer but I went in with them and tried some things on and I was impressed! Not something I could buy frequently though, it can be pretty expensive!



With my graduation money I was finally able to buy a Macbook Pro! I love it so much, I don't think I'll ever own a PC again!

That's pretty much it for now, I'm going apartment searching this weekend with my future roommate so hopefully that goes well!

And now that it's summer I will be posting more soon! Love you all!

Tea Review: Acerola Fruit Tea

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to drink more healthy teas. I've had 2 experiences so far.

First, I tried a green tea latte from Starbucks. Since it's Starbucks, I can't be sure how healthy that is for you, especially since it was a latte also and not just green tea. And it tasted horrible. It was green and it tasted like grass and milk to me. I do not recommend.

I have an extremely scratchy throat right now and I thought some hot tea would feel nice. Then I remembered I had a few packs left over from Eco Emi samples. I decided to try one, specifically the Acerola Fruit tea.

First of all, I don't have any fancy tea making supplies so I had no idea how to make it since it was a loose tea (it came with little bags but I have no idea where they went). So I improvised but it worked out just fine. Once it was done brewing, it was a dark red-purple color and I could tell it smelled like fruit. I did have to sweeten it a tiny bit, but not much. I could see myself drinking this on a regular basis and not having to force myself to drink it. It has kind of a sweet and sour flavor. My fruit allergy also did not act up while drinking it.

Now, let's get down to what's in it:

"Tart hibiscus joined by the cherry-like Acerola fruit. This sweet sour flavor is enhanced by candied pineapple and papaya pieces"

It definitely has a noticeable cherry like flavor, and the candied pineapple and papaya pieces gave it its slight sweetness. I also had never heard of the Acerola fruit, so I did some research.

The Acerola fruit contains very large amounts of vitamin C, so it's good for the immune system (and my current cold). It promotes anti-aging effects by reducing the influence of free-radicals, and promotes collagen production for beautiful skin. It is also said that they can fight the symptoms of colds, flu, herpes, allergies, cancer, liver disorders, and many other sicknesses.

Do I recommend this tea?: Yes! I didn't have to force myself to drink it, and it's definitely made my throat feel better. The benefits of the Acerola fruit also sound very promising.

Where to buy it: As far as I know the only place that sells the specific tea I drank is Tea Gschwendner. I'm sure other tea companies have similar versions using the Acerola fruit though!

Have you ever tried this tea, or anything else using the Acerola fruit? Leave me a tea recommendation below so I can review some more if you want!

Accepted!

Just thought I'd get on and do a quick update post before work. I got accepted to LIM! I am so excited, LIM has always been my first choice for college. The only issue is the tuition, so hopefully I'll be able to get enough scholarships/financial aid so I can go.

Yay!

Do You Drink Healthy Teas?

I'd love to drink less soda and more water/green tea/what have you. I'm sure you've all heard the benefits of green tea, so I probably don't need to go into that. But here's a brief summary:

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As I've mentioned before, I used to be a subscriber to Eco Emi. Used to. I'm working a lot less now than I was in the summer because it is our slow season, but I plan to re-subscribe when I start getting more hours in. Either that or buy a gym membership, I haven't decided which yet.

Anyway, there are 2 things I can almost always expect in every box: lip balm and a tea of some sort. A healthy tea at that since it is Eco Emi.

I live in the south, so I grew up on sweet tea, VERY sweet tea. I've tried a few of the teas, I don't remember specifically which ones, and I could not drink them. I remember one was chamomile. I tried so hard to like it but I couldn't finish it.

I'm trying to get into drinking healthy herbal teas because I have pretty bad anxiety, and my mom does not think it's a good idea for me to go on medication, and some teas have been found to help with stress and anxiety.

Basically I'm curious to know: Do any of your drink "healthy" teas? As in, teas with actual health benefits? Can you stand to drink green tea? Do you sweeten them? Are they an acquired taste? Or is it a mind over matter thing? I need to know I'm not the only one here. I'm used to my super sweetened tea and that nastiness just isn't cutting it for me at the moment.

Mmmm...Donuts

I've always loved doughnuts (donuts?), but for some reason lately I've been obsessing over them. I discovered a doughnut shop downtown that makes THE best donuts I've ever had in my life.

If you're ever in Charleston, stop by Glazed downtown. They only make about 7 of whatever donuts they are selling that day, and when they sell out they close the shop. They're pricey, but so unbelievably worth it. They make weird flavors like maple bacon and lemon pistachio. My favorites are the raspberry glazed, raspberry Nutella, and berry cobbler.

Anyway, hopefully this will inspire you to treat yourself to something yummy today. You deserve it :)

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^Definitely going to do this. Instead of a wedding cake, have donuts! All of those are from Glazed :)

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^seems easy enough, right?

I hope you enjoyed this and sorry if it made you crave a donut! What's your favorite donut flavor? Where is your favorite place to get donuts?

Inspired by: Eeyore!

I'm back! I'm so sorry I started slacking on my blog, just like I suspected I would. I finally finished all of my college applications, so that's out of the way at least. Hopefully I'll be back on a regular posting schedule now that things are slowing down a bit.

But for now, a new "inspired by" post, inspired by Eeyore! :)

It's kind of hard not to think gloomy and grey when you hear "Eeyore". But he actually has a nice soft color scheme going on. He even has a cute pink bow on his tail. This outfit would be pretty perfect for a rainy day, or even a not rainy day! In order to keep the outfit from looking depressing, I added some soft colors and of course the sparkly Toms! :) And of course, the cute "fantasy" necklace from Disney Couture!

This outfit is a little darker for night time, but also has some soft accents like the first outfit. There are also some little Eeyore details, like the bow on the shoes and the teardrop necklace. That Dior eyeshadow palette also screams Eeyore colors to me.

Well that's it for this inspired by post. I think I'm going to do a lot on Disney characters because they are really fun and tend to have awesome color schemes and details to work with. I'm also going to try my hardest to not be a slacker (in my blogging life and school life) and get some more posts up more frequently! I'm so sorry it's taken me this long! Oh and I'm still going to do that Breakfast at Tiffany's book/movie comparison!

What is your favorite Disney character or Disney movie?