Sunday Funday: August 31/14

Image Credit: Peter Lovstrom via Flickr

Hi there! It's pretty crazy to me how today is the last day of August. Where the hell has this year gone? It's just really insane to me and I'm sure a ton of you can relate to that. There's still a lot left to do in the next four months and I'm really hoping to be able to accomplish all of those things.

This past week was my last week of summer and it's definitely a bittersweet moment. On one hand, I'm really excited and a slightly nervous about going back to school, but on the other, I really wish I could have just one more week of summer vacation. But in all honesty, I'm sure that even with that extra week, I wouldn't have been satisfied anyway and you really just want what you don't have and when you do have it, you don't quite appreciate it that much.

Style Generis Has Been Included AGAIN in IFB's Links à la Mode!

Hi there! I'm happy to share with you that I've been included in IFB's Links à la Mode again this week. This happened a bit earlier in the month as well, so I'm really happy that it's happened again.

Keep reading for some great fashion brain food before we all have to dive back into school and the work that comes along with it!

Back to School: Supplies and School + Organisation Tips!

Hi there! A few weeks ago, a reader asked me to write about school and organisation tips, so that's what I'm here to share with you all today along with what school supplies I'm using this year. I always get really excited to see what other people use to stay organised and succeed in school (or life in general) so I hope that you'll enjoy this post as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I've done something similar last year, so if you'd like to check that out, you can do so right here.

While I believe that it's never too late to change your ways, it's also a really good idea to start off on the right foot so you don't have to go through the trouble of picking yourself back up and sorting through the mess of a whole you've dug yourself to get yourself together.

What I'm about to share with you is just a list of things that I've found to help me throughout my freshman year of high school, so just they might not be totally applicable to you, but I hope that you'll be able to get something out of this post to get you excited and organised this upcoming school year.

Now let's get started.

Back to School: 15 School Bags Under $75

Image Credit: Fatimeh Nadimi via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! When you're going back to school, you kind of need to have a bag to lug all your stuff around with you and while you most likely reuse your bags from year to year, maybe this year will be a good time to treat yourself. Of course, some of us don't have a boatload of money to spend on a new bag, so I picked out 15 bags all under $75, so let's get into it!

The Dilemma of Sporting the Half-Tuck

Image Credit: justbloomed from WeHeartIt

Hi there! Ever since I started doing the half-tuck starting sometime around grade 7, so that was in 2011, I’ve always had quite a few constant fears running through my head whenever I decide to go for that look. My mom has always been one to advocate neatness and cleanliness before anything, so I’m sure you can imagine what I’ve always thought she’d say.

Anyway, today, I thought I'd share with you my paranoia whenever I sport this look.

How to: Recreate All 10 Outfits in Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off"

Hi there! I'm sure all you know by now that I'm a ginormous Taylor Swift fan, so naturally, I was sitting in front of my laptop screen like all the other Swifties around the world on Monday watching her livestream where she released the lead single to her latest album 1989 called "Shake it Off." Surprisingly enough, she also released the music video as well which has been wildly discussed and dissected online which you can watch right below if you haven't already.

I figured that since she had on a total of about ten outfits in the video, it'd be fun to recreate all the outfits, but of course, a bit more toned down so it might be a bit more wearable, especially with back to school just around the corner.

DIY: Carpe Diem Desk Chair

Hi there! A little while ago, I shared with you my new and improved workspace, featuring this snazzy desk chair that I'm really, really proud of. It was originally just a plain black chair with nothing really special, so I spiced it up a bit to make it look a bit better in my room.

It's funny because I'm so happy with this chair and it's probably one of my favourite things right now, but everyone else in my family absolutely hated it and they were actually kind of mad that I'd done something to the chair, aha. Anyway, now let's get into the DIY!

Sunday Funday: August 24/14

Image Credit: Major Clanger via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! First off, I just wanted to apologise for being MIA for the majority of this past week. I had a lot planned for you guys, but things just came up and the 24 hours in a day didn’t feel like enough to do everything that I had to do. I really want to make this daily blogging schedule work, so I’ll try my hardest to do that for you because it’s something that’s really important to me.

Overall, I just had a really, really crazy and busy week. Basically I’ve just been doing a whole ton of house cleaning and getting rid of all the junk that has accumulated over the nine years that I’ve been living at my house. It’s always been something that has been at the back of my mind for the longest time, but we just never got around to really doing it and I’m so, so glad that I finally took that leap and just cleaned like a mad woman.

Back to School: 10 Agendas Under $30 + Ninj & Ninj 10% Coupon Code!

Image Credit: Silvia Sala via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! Since school is just around the corner, back to school being an event that occurs sooner or later depending on where you are, I figured that I should probably touch on organisation, and since I've already done that post last year, I decided that I'd talk about agendas. Yes, agendas. They're my favourite tool to use to stay organised and I've definitely noticed a big difference in my productivity and overall happiness when I do use my agenda. When I don't and only write down long to-do lists of what I need to do in a day, it's just not as effective as having a tool with dates, calendars, etc. to aid you in your day.

For me, while I'm generally always really excited about school one of the key things to get you motivated to stay organised and motivated about school is pretty supplies and pretty agendas are really helpful in that department. Agendas are so important to use, especially if you're in school, so I rounded up ten of the prettiest agendas I could find, all under $30. Let's hop into things!

Oh my Goodness, I'm Fifteen: 15 Before 16

Image Credit: GiveawayBoy via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! Uhm, uhm, how is it that I’m fifteen now? I kind of can’t believe that I’m turning fifteen today. I feel like that number is such a big step from a measly fourteen and I feel like the time I have left in high school is already too short and it’s kind of (really) scary. But like everything else, I’ll learn to deal with it.

Yes, I know that I turned 15 like last week, but I wasn't able to post this on the day of unfortunately due to my blog being down, but here it is anyway. I figured that I wasn't going to write a huge post and not post it, so yeah. :)

This past year was definitely a big year for me because I’ve grown so much and I’ve become so much more comfortable with who I am. I’ve always known that I’m that fashion freak (and proud of it!) and I’ve always had my priorities and values straight. But if there’s one thing about the whole fashion fiasco that bothered me the most, it was that surprised look that would flash across everyone’s faces whenever I shared with them my plans for the future that used to make me so uncomfortable on so many levels and self-conscious.

After a while, I got used to it and just stopped caring, so that was one step that started a bit before I turned fourteen and was completed pretty early on this year, actually, so I’m pretty proud of that.

I’m also really proud of how I got my lazy non-athletic butt to the gym. I’ve always been the girl who absolutely sucked at gym class and I can’t quite believe that I’ve now gotten into the habit of going pretty regularly to the gym. I’ve also started eating so much healthier and feel so much better now. I’m so much happier now than I was before and I’m so, so happy about it.

I know that I’ve kind of neglected Style Generis this year with school and everything, but it’s been one of the highlights of my year. Blogging makes me extremely happy and it’s a goal of mine this year to invest more time in it.

God, there are just so many great things that have happened this year that I think would be more appropriate to recount in the post at the end of 2014, so I’ll end the reminiscing here. However, I was on A Beautiful Mess the other day and saw Elsie’s 28 Before 29 birthday list where she wrote down a list of 28 things to do before her 29^th birthday and I thought it was such a cool idea, so I decided to do the same thing this year.

Sunday Funday: August 17/14

Image Credit: 84thand3rd via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! Oh my goodness, it's been a crazy, crazy week. With all the blog mayhem, I'm so glad to be back. I've really missed you guys and I'm not going to lie, I was distancing myself from all things blogging-related because I was slightly depressed about the suspense I was in concerning my own blog. Thankfully, all of that's been resolved now (thank God) and we're back up and running!

And that makes me really, very happy.

Now that that's out of the way, how about I enlighten you on what I've been up to this past week? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

Back to School: Freshman Advice

Image Credit: Gioia Dean Toniis via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! The other day, I asked my friend for ideas on what posts to write for my back to school series and an advice post was included on that list. Since I’m only going to be a sophomore (by the way, isn’t that word so pretty?), I didn’t think it’d be appropriate to title this a general high school advice post because I’ve only been through one year of school. While I’ve only survived through one year of high school, I’ve still learned a lot and to any upcoming freshmen, I hope that this will help you out before you start this new and exciting chapter of your life.

Of course, even if you aren’t a freshman, there are still little bits and bobs that pertain to anyone going into high school, so don’t discount (check definition) this post even if you aren’t a wide-eyed fourteen year old, most likely freaking out about the scary halls of high school – they really aren’t that scary, trust me.

Basically, in this relatively long post, I’ll be telling you about my personal freshman experience and sharing what I learned. Let’s get into this!

New Layout and New Blog Features + Free Green Social Media Buttons!

Hi there! This has been a long time coming, but I finally made over my little nook of the internet and I'm really proud, okay. Lots of hard work was put into this new layout and I really hope that you guys like it as much as I do!

The most exciting change for me is that this little blog's URL is no longer stylegeneris.BLOGSPOT.com... it's www.stylegeneris.com!!! I finally got around to getting my own domain/URL, so there's that. It took way longer than I thought it would, but it's here now, so let's celebrate that, yeah?

Sunday Funday: August 10/14

Image Credit: Alejandro Hernandez via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! I actually don't really even know what I'm doing right now, or at least what I did last week because time just flew by. I usually have things planned out to a T and this past week, what I felt to be my first week of summer, was just so all over the place. I was tired all the time, napped too often, something that I didn't ever consider doing during the school year, and didn't get much done. I barely worked out and didn't eat that well either, making me feel sluggish and just gross.

Basically, I had a "bad" week. 

Now, I don't want to say that I had a "bad" week because my week could be considered great and amazing compared to someone else who's a lot less fortunate than I am, and I don't want to seem snobbish or whatever. But my point is, I've learned from last week and am trying to make this following week 20 million times better. It'd better be because my birthday's coming up and I sure as hell am not letting myself even begin to think negative thoughts on my birthday.

Bedroom Makeover: Workspace Unveiling

Hi there! First off, I just wanted to say oh. my. god. I just reached 50 followers on Bloglovin which made me really, really happy, so a huge thank you to all of you follow me on that platform! It's such a big milestone for me and I would go on about how excited I am, but that's not that you came to read, aha.

Anyway, after working on it all week or maybe even longer, I don't quite remember to be honest, I finished making over my workspace! I'm so happy with how it turned out with all the gold details and the colour that is somewhat coordinated. It's a pretty big step up (in my eyes, at least) from my old desk and I can't wait to start spending more time here.

In short, I'm just really, really excited about this. Since there's not much left to say, let's hop into all the lovely new changes I made.

Style Generis Included in IFB's Links à la Mode!

Hi there! So I came home today after a pretty lackluster day to be completely honest to find that I'd been featured in this week's Links à La Mode! If you don't already know, it's this weekly roundup that IFB, a great and incredibly informational blog that gives the best blogging advice, where readers can submit their links and have the opportunity to be chosen to be included in that week's roundup. It's a great opportunity for fashion bloggers because you get exposure on 19 other blogs which can help you find new bloggers and earn you new readers.

On a side note, shout out to one of my good friends because today's her birthday! I hope it's a lovely one because you deserve it.

Keep reading to see this week's roundup and my back to school post that was included!

Thursday's Lovely Links: August 7th

Hi there! "Thursday's Lovely Links" is a new column I'm starting that is essentially a bi-weekly roundup. Every two weeks on a Thursday, this type of post will come around where I'll be sharing my favourite posts from the past two weeks and you can tell me a few of yours in the comments. This way, we can help each other discover new blogs and it'll just be really fun. At least I think so.

This week, I picked a nice collection of posts that lead into back to school, but also help you make the most out of the last few weeks of summer. Speaking of which, how is it already the last month of such a lovely time of the year? 2014 has just gone by so quickly.

Back to School: What to Wear Your First Week

Image Credit: Gioia De Antoniis

Hi there! Today is the day that the back to school posts begin and what better way to start than with the classic first day outfits post? I figured that since there are so many of those out there already, including the one I did last year, I decided to switch it up a bit this year and write about what to wear that whole first week. If you're looking to make a lasting impression, wearing your best outfit on the first day just won't be enough - you'll have to keep it up for a good while. Not that that's really a problem anyway, especially with all the inspiration you'll get after reading this post.

Would You Ever: Get a Bob?

Image Credit: Vogue

Hi there! Ever since the weather started warming up a couple months ago, I noticed that a lot of the girls at my school just started chopping off their hair, a trend that was mirrored on my blog and Instagram feed. It seemed as if everyone was getting rid of their long, luscious locks and going for a fresher and short 'do. Heck, I two of my friends even went for the chop.

While I think hair trends are unconventional and inconvenient to follow, I did consider and am admittedly still considering chopping off some hair, too. There's just something about that tousled bob of messy waves that's so intriguing and that makes me really want to have that hair, preferably on a day or two lease as opposed to long-term.

DIY: Gold Flower Crown with Delicate Chain

Hi there! Today, I have for you another DIY and I'm really, really excited about this one. When two of my readers requested this certain DIY, I was a bit, okay very nervous at first because there are already so many of these DIYs out there and I wanted to make mine different because what's the point in showing you how to make something that twenty million other people have already? I also only had a very rough idea in my mind of what I wanted it to look like, something along the lines of a delicate crown with chains. I didn't really know what I'd use as the base of the crown, but I'm really, really glad this ended up working.

Hopefully, the two readers who requested this are still around, but thank you so much to Alice Grace and Allison for requesting this. It's definitely up there with the Hailee Steinfeld safety pin shirt, the Taylor Swift "22" shirt, and the wire infinity ring as one of my favourite DIYs I've ever done.

So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sunday Funday: August 3/14

Image Credit: Garrett Gill

Hi there! I just got to have my first full week of summer and it was absolutely phenomenal. So many exciting things happened and I’m just so stoked that it’s finally August.

August is probably my third favourite month of the year, only behind September and December. I might be a bit biased considering that it’s my birthday month, but it’s the month that I think is the true definition of summer and I can’t wait to live the next few weeks I have left to its fullest. There might not be that much time left, 29 days to be exact, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let that stop me. After all, isn’t life about making the best out of what you have, no matter how little?

Resolutions Diary: July 2014

Image Credit: Daniel Friesenecker

Hi there! I’m not going to lie, I’ve been feeling incredibly guilty the past few months when it comes to my New Year’s resolutions. I made them but I feel like I haven’t taken a big enough step to accomplish them – you could probably tell by how often I write this column. I guess that’s something that comes along with writing these resolutions. You sit down at the end of the year and basically write down everything that you didn’t like about what you did the year before and things that you want to change for the better.

When you’re doing any form of self-improvement, you’re constantly teetering on the edge of having an optimistic and motivated mindset and a negative one that plunges you into a never-ending sea of guilt and self-loathing, which is hardly the goal.

I think my problem has been that I’m trying to approach this too theoretically, or maybe that’s not the word I’m looking for. The way I’ve been looking at it for the past couple months is as a to-do list that I have to check off everyday, if that clarifies my meaning a bit. But now that I look back at the list of resolutions, I’ve been doing pretty well. Not fantastic by any means, but pretty good. Keep reading to find out how exactly I’m doing on each one of them!

August's Big Five & Exciting New Posting Schedule

Image Credit: Seth Rader via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! You have no idea how excited I am that it’s finally August which is my birthday month. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s my favourite month of the year because I love September and December way too much, but it’s definitely one of my favourites.

Before I jump into the “Big Five” part of today’s post, I should probably address the new posting schedule which is probably spiking your curiosity just a bit more. Basically, before I got really, really overwhelmed with everything that I had on my plate, I used to attempt to post everyday. Of course, there’d be days when I messed up, but I tended to post nearly everyday. Then, I decided that it just wasn’t working, so I switched to four times a week for a couple months.

This may be completely reckless of me, but I’m going to do it anyway and try my hardest to post every single day for you again. I loved posting everyday and it made me really proud and happy to get to do that, so I’m trying to bring it back again. I stayed up really late two nights ago just extensively planning my schedule out to make sure that I had plenty of ideas before jumping into this and I’m really excited to share it all with you.

I’m really, really hoping that I’ll be able to keep this up and that it’s going to work better this time. I think that with a full month to test-run this before school starts again, I’ll be able to pre-write a bunch of posts so I won’t go crazy when September rolls around.

Anyway, enough of that. Let’s get into what to get excited for this August!