Favorite iPhone Apps of the Moment

I'm always looking for new apps on my phone! Below are my top 5 of the moment on my iPhone. When I downloaded them they were all free so hopefully they still are for you! I highly recommend them all. Leave a comment and let me know what your favorites are right now!

1. Whole Foods Recipe App: if you like to cook healthy recipes I highly recommend this app. My favorite part about it is the search menu. Not only can you search for high fiber or high protein meals, but all the calories and nutrition are included with each recipe. There's also options for gluten free and vegetarian meals! Everything I've tried so far has been delicious!

2. Shopping List: I'm really picky when it comes to shopping list apps because I find myself not using them if they aren't designed right. My favorite part about this one is that you can assign colors to the items on your list, so all produce items will be grouped together and you're not searching through your list for like items when you're shopping! I also love that there's preloaded items so you only have to type a few letters and click so it's very fast and convenient.

3. Wanelo: As a lover of fashion and shopping I love having Wanelo on my phone now. It's like Pinterest because it lets you browse the clothing, jewelry and home goods that people post but the key here is that there is always a link to buy the item. I hate when you find something cute on Pinterest and then it's a dead end and you can't buy the item. Even if you're on a tight budget it's still a great app to browse for style inspiration or gift ideas for someone.

4. TV Guide: I don't have a guide for cable on the TV in my room so I love this app! My favorite part is being able to set a reminder on it so if I find something I want to watch later on I'll get a simple notification on my phone and I won't miss it!


5. MyFitnessPal: if you're looking for a calorie counter, look no further! This is the best one I've found out there that's free and it has so many great features. It has a massive database of foods and you can even input a recipe if you've made something. You put your weight in and how much you'd like to weigh and it tells you how many calories to eat per day. You can also input exercise and water consumption which is awesome. Even if you don't want to lose weight it's great to use as a food diary if you need to keep track of what you eat for health reasons, which is what I use it for and I love it!

If you try these apps out let me know what you think and don't forget to share your favorites.

Have a great Monday,

Andrea

How To: Organize the Top of a Dresser

I recently moved home and moved into a room that is much smaller than what I was used to my last year of college. Therefore, I rely heavily on being organized in order to not have to get rid of everything I own. Living in a small space means that it's a lot harder to keep your items out of sight so it's important that they are organized so that you still feel like your room is still peaceful. For the past two months I've been slowly organizing the top of my dresser and I've finally reached a point that I'm happy with so I thought I'd share it with you in case you need some ideas to do your own! For me the items on my dresser are things I use every day.

Here is an overview of what you see.

 Starting with the left side, this is a jar that I used to keep just bobby pins and hair ties in. I'm a huge believer that you need a specific spot for these items or else they are guaranteed to just disappear. I decided that I wanted my makeup brushes out and accessible so that when I wash them they can dry, so I decided this jar could be used for this purpose too! The bobby pins and hair ties still hang out at the bottom. The jar was a gift from when I graduated high school and it came with a red lid, but a mason jar could do the exact same job.

 This black velvet jewelry holder was a steal! I found it on amazon for only $6. Here is the link to it (Although I noticed it went up a few dollars after I got it). I used to keep my necklaces and bracelets in a hanging pocket closet jewelry holder but I decided I wanted to take out my most worn bracelets and display them since a lot of them are really pretty. This is what I ended up with and I love it so far. If you have a larger dresser top space and more bracelets Amazon has a lot of 2 and 3 tiered holders as well. The only negative I've found is that the velvet collects dust easily so if you don't dust a lot like I do, this may not be the best option for you.

I used to keep all of these items just placed on a decorative plate on my dresser but I really wasn't happy with how it looked. I was searching through the office section of Target one morning for a notebook, but came across this paper tray organizer and I got the best idea. If I placed it on my dresser I could hold a lot of important things. It's just a simple cardboard tray and it was only $4.99! I love how it's shallow so it doesn't feel huge on my dresser yet it keeps everything contained. In the back I keep a Michael Kors watch in the box. Then all of my body sprays and perfumes, a few mini hand sanitizers, a nail polish in whatever my nails are painted, as well as a top coat, two of my most worn pairs of sunglasses, a box of lip products (better shown below), and a container of bobby pins. 

Below is a close up of the lipstick holder I have. I'm not huge on lip products so this is really all that I have but I like having them out on display. The little box is a decorative one that one of my best friends gave me shot glasses from Barcelona in. It was so cute I didn't have the heart to throw it out so here it is being reused! It holds my lip items perfectly! (As you can see I'm a sucker for Revlon Lip Butters and Tarte LipSurgence products)

 Lastly, I'm a huge candle person so I always have one burning in my room and some backups. The one on top is a small soy one from Target but the one on the bottom is a Bath and Body Works one. The little tray in front is an old candle jar lid from Target and I use it for all of my rings and most worn earrings. The little clay jar with the sun held some earrings from Mexico that a friend gave me and I use it now for my most commonly worn studs.

So that's how I organize the top of my dresser. Feel free to leave a comment with how you organize yours! I hope you found some helpful tips that you can use in your room. 

Have a great day :)

-Andrea

I'm back!!

I've really missed LALAland recently and I've decided it's time to start getting serious again about posting. I love being able to share my ideas and tips with all the readers so it's time to start back up! If you have any suggestions about content you would like to see please let me know, otherwise I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new post :)

-Andrea

The Maxi

A good friend of mine asked me to make her some outfits using maxi skirts so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and make a post for LALAland as well! Since maxi skirts are my summer savior I was excited to plan two different pairings. The Maxi is my absolute favorite piece in my closet for two reasons. First and most important, they make you look like you're trying when the simple fact is you couldn't be more comfortable. I get the most compliments when I'm in a maxi skirt because they make you look put together. Secondly, they definitely make you look taller since they make your bottom half look so much longer. While I'm not really lacking inches at 5'6'' I will always gratefully accept a compliment about looking tall. As you can see below, my go-to summer colors are coral and mint green so I've incorporated both into the outfits below, however use the color palette that looks best with your skin tone. I own both a black maxi and a black and white striped maxi just like below and I can honestly say I wear both frequently. They are also a great way to showcase some of your fun summer accessories, such as statement necklaces and bright sandals. So if you haven't already, go out and purchase a maxi skirt. It's time to start looking good and feeling comfortable!

The Maxi by fontan13 

 

Study Sunday: Finals Week Edition

Happy Finals Week!

I know the words happy and finals should never be used in the same sentence but I wish you the best of luck as you walk the trails of energy drinks, research papers, junk food, power naps, multiple choice questions, and more. Here is another Study Sunday playlist to ease the pain. If you're looking for previous 8 tracks playlists click the 8 tracks tag and it'll take you to the others that I've made.

Good luck! Show those number 2 pencils and scantrons what you're made of!

-Andrea

LALAlinks

Happy Friday everyone! This week was a struggle to get through for me so I'm definitely in need of some rest this weekend. I finally have a monitor for my laptop to connect to so I can post more! Here's some interesting things I came across this week :)

• The really cool new pinterest-esque website Wanelo that shows you where to buy the pretty things you come across. No more dead ends when you find that perfect mint purse and are dying to know where it's from. 
• The song "Somebody That I Used to Know" is everywhere and I came across this really cool cover on YouTube. I love how five of them are playing the same guitar.
• Just Read it. You'll thank me after.
• My sister Marina's new food blog, New Food Journey! She's had to make a recent Gluten-Free change in her diet and she's documenting the whole process. She used to have a successful mommy blog so I have no doubt that this one will be as good or even better! We'd both appreciate it if you'd check it out and follow her.
• Sick of boring nails? Find some inspiration in Glamour's 5 OMG Nail Ideas Anyone Can Do.

I hope you have a fun, yet relaxing weekend!
Stay LALAlovely,

Andrea

Comfort Zone (pt. 2)

When it comes to the comfort zone of my makeup bag you will always find 3 important things. Boi-Ing concealer from Benefit Cosmetics certainly makes me feel comfortable because it covers everything up so well. I'll also never go without a tinted chap stick. Lastly is any champagne colored cream shadow. Whether I'm running to class in a hurry or doing a darker eye look for a night out, my routine always starts with a neutral cream shadow. What are your must haves in your beauty routine?

Also, my laptop had an unfortunate run in with my coffee thermos last week and sadly the thermos won. So my apologies if the posts are scattered until I can get that fixed. The poor thing has a dead screen that won't light up (much like my brain after this long week). Hooray for the weekend! I hope yours is great :)

-Andrea