My Fearless Office Assistant

I can't wait to share what's happening in the office... thanks in part to my wonderful assistant.

Stay tuned...

2015 Planner... More Free Printables

Hey peeps... I'm back to share more free printables with you from my planner.

I'm still using my Arc Planner from Staples, which I bought in 2013. I just love this planner, it has held up amazingly. Seriously, Mr. UC will confirm that I do not treat my stuff very gingerly. If I purchase an item, I expect it to be able to hold up to the impending beating that I'll inevitably put it through and let me tell you this planner has done just that.

There is one thing I changed on the planner for next year. I found that the 1" discs that come with the planner are just a little too dainty for me. (The picture below shows the original discs.)

I needed something more substantial, something with a little more girth to it. So I changed out the 1" discs for the 1.5" expansion discs, to contain all the papers that I need to include, which is going to be a lot since this is now my desk planner.

Now let's take a look at some of the printables... shall we?

Inside the planner, I have the front divided into five sections (Budget, Blog, Fitness, Meal Plan, and Notes) and behind the sections I have the my 2015 Weekly Planner.

In the Budget sections I have a monthly calendar page where I write bill name and amount due on the corresponding date. On the back of each Monthly Calendar page, I have a Notes page where I breakdown the budget for our "cash envelope" system.

 The nice part about this calendar is, its a perfect match with my 2015 Weekly Planner and you can use it for anything. Also, if you print just the odd pages you will get just a 12 page monthly calendar.

{click here to download)

After those two pages I have my Monthly Budget Page.

{click here to download}

And finally I have my Checkbook Register. I have a page printed for each of our bank accounts and each bank account is labeled with different color washi tape.

{click here to download}

If you would like further detail on how I set up our budget and our bill payment system just let me know. I'm happy to share what works for us.

The last section that I have is my notes sections. I am a list maker and I tend to write down random thoughts, whether its about an idea for the blog or some project that I want to work on, I am always jotting down my thoughts. So I created a notes page and filled this section with a plethora of these pages. Oh annnnd it's also available in 5.5" x 8.5".

{click here to download 8.5 x 11}

{click here to download 5.5 x 8.5}

Its my hope that you are about to put these items to use in your life just as I have.

Till next time...




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Wanna Know A Little More About Me?

Happy Monday to you. I hope that you had a wondeful weekend. My weekend was a relaxing, really didn't get out to much. Oh wait, what am I talking about, we did make a quick trip to IKEA for another Billy bookcase since I am in full organization mode in the office. I'll be sharing that progress with you guys shortly. 

Since this weekend was a lazy one for me, I took that time to update some parts of the blog and have a mini photoshoot. While most of the shots were pretty tamed, I had to get one that shows my goofy side.

Once the shoot was done and pics edited I updated my profile picture and if you click on my picture you will be taken to my "about me" page.

I did take the time to update that page as well. So if you would like to learn just a tab bit more about me and see the men in my life, click on my picture to the right. One more thing, if you are wondering how to pronounce my name, its "eye-eee-shuh" just like its spelled I-e-sha.

Till next time...

Beauty Review | Tarte Cosmetics

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

If there is one brand that has had heaps of hype this year it’s Tarte Cosmetics and I’m not going to lie when I say I was firmly perched on that bandwagon.

I’ve been itching to get my hands on some of their products and now they’ve launched a select amount in the UK it seemed the perfect time to share them with you lovely lot. 

Tarte were lovely enough to send me a nice little parcel, but the products I’m most excited to try (and that are available for us here in the UK, too) are…

Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush

It’s been one of their most talked about products and from simply opening the packaging I can see why. With highly pigmented shades, packaging to match the colour that’s inside (good thinking, guys!) and a beautifully sized compact mirror they’ve already got me sold. 

Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara
With a cheeky hint from the title, this mascara promises to provide four lash benefits – curling, lengthening, volumising and conditioning. It’s safe to say that it’s going to be the one to reach for on an evening out, when you want to achieve a dramatic, dark eye. It’s also Dermatologist proven to increase volume in the lashes, which is a bit swishy if you ask me. 

Amazonian Clay Volumizing Brow & Hair Powder
Available in a variety of shades, halleluiah! Not only is this little beauty packing a punch with some gorgeous packaging it, like the mascara, gives volumised, fuller brows – perfect for those Cara Delevingne inspired looks. 

Lastly, the Amazonian Butter Lipstick
Containing ingredients such as vitamin A and emollient butters (like cocoa butter) they’re super hydrating, ultra moisturising lipsticks with bold, pigmented application. They have a trio pack available on QVC at the moment that includes Coral Blossom - a golden coral shade, Tulip - a soft rose shade and Creamy Rose. 






I'm really excited to give this brand a whirl!
 
What do you think?

Do you have any Tarte items on your Christmas wishlist?

Toodlepip!
xx 

Motivational Monday || Fight or Flight

Aloha Sprinkerinos,

Merry Monday to you! Not only a new Monday but a new month. Merry Month to you? Heh heh. 

Today's Motivational Monday will be a little different to the usual, it's a really personal tale of triumph but hopefully one you can take elements from and incorporate them into your own life. 

A couple of weeks back I wrote THIS post about comfort zones and feeling super unsettled in new places. I was blown away by your responses to that and amazed at how many of your feel the same way. For the longest time I have not vocalised my feelings about new places because I felt a bit silly or like if I didn't think or talk about them then they wouldn't be real and I could quietly overcome them. 

I am slowly realising that by being more open, I can accept it more and will find ways to deal with it better. The most crucial thing to me is that this doesn't get worse. I'm not looking for miracles, I would just like to be able to go on trips without feeling anything more than a standard amount of fear, as opposed to an irrational amount. I'd like to not say, 'Will you though? Will you actually? Will you definitely?' to someone when they say, 'You go down and get in the taxi, I'll be there in 5 minutes'. That actually did happen this weekend. Grr. 

So, last weekend I jetted off to New Jersey to attend the Playlist Live Tri-State conference. We stayed in a Hilton which was great because I stay in those a lot and felt really secure and familiar there and Dean was in the room across the hall so I felt nice about that. 

Usually when I travel for these work things, a big group of my friends go as well as either my Manager or Producer. With those people I feel somewhat cocooned in a safety net but this time I only flew out with Jack and Dean and felt a little vulnerable. Don't get me wrong, they are the greatest. Jack is one of my absolute best friends and Dean is someone who after this weekend I feel truly bonded with but none the less, I was nervous and on edge. 

The flight was great, lots of lols and a tiny bit of sleep (after an initial cry at the airport because I just anticipated all the worst things) but by the time we were at Newark, I was feeling the fear. I don't know what it is. I just detest being in environments where I can't seem to latch onto anything familiar. I kind of need that anchor. Even silly things like if I see a Starbucks makes me feel good because I know where I am with that, I know what it is and what's inside and how it will be and so can relax. 

We arrived at the hotel late so there really wasn't an evening and everything began the next day. 

We headed into New York City with some of Jack's American friends (who were so lovely- big cuddles to Amber and Dom) and I immediately didn't feel great. I've been to New York once before and I think because I was with Matt and we only did little outings for just a couple of hours at a time it was a lot less heavy. 

Everything was like an attack on my senses. We had to walk fast, dodge people, keep up convo, be freezing, smell weird street food stuff, look everywhere, everything was loud, etc etc. It was a LOT. We ate and then went to Times Square and at this point I knew I was really struggling. Whilst everyone was having a great time I tried to remind myself that it's just 'big London' and that it was all mind over matter. 

Eventually matter won over mind and I felt way too hot, I couldn't catch my breath, I wanted to jump in a taxi and zoom away but instead I darted into a bar and threw up (in the loos, not just over the drinks dispensers haha). Not good. 

That was the point I wanted to throw the towel in and grab a cab back to the hotel. I was a teary mess and felt like the city was this big bad force that was going to swallow me up and I was drowning. 

After a big glass of ice water and very soothing words from Jack (who was just perfection about the entire thing), I decided to stay. 

Long story short, I had one of the best afternoons I've had in years. I have a lot of good afternoons so this is really saying something. We went ice skating, had hot chocolates (well, I watched the gang have hot chocolates for fear of being ill again), looked in shop windows and laughed and chatted and oh me oh my it was so magical. 

If I hadn't have forced myself to do it (or Jack hadn't have helped me I should say), I wouldn't have had that. It was scary and horrible and I cried and wanted to hide away but I stayed in the situation and (ungracefully) triumphed. I'm glad about that. 

When the innate 'flight or fight' instinct kicks in, my body always opts for 'flight' and to run to safety. This weekend (lots of other things have led me to this conclusion but there are too many to write about) I found myself taking the 'fight' option on numerous occasions and I'm really pleased. 

If you do have the chance to make that choice, try 'fight'. Right now, it doesn't feel as good as 'flight' but I know if I keep doing it, it will. 

I'm going to keep being vocal about this issue and keep updating you on progress (or set backs) because it feels healing and that's nice. 

Let me know in the comments if you have ever felt this way or if you have any similar stories. 

Thank you for always being such loves on this blog, it is never un-noticed and always appreciated. 

Toodlepip!

xx