Posting to Instagram in a Few Easy Steps

It's absolutely no secret that I love taking pictures and posting them to Instagram. The pictures I post range greatly from my lunch to my travels.

I love trying new apps and filters to enhance my Instagram photos, and through experimenting with these apps and editing, I think I've come up with my own step-by-step method to how I take a picture from my camera roll to my Instagram feed. Plus, it's actually pretty quick, and will take you under ten or even five minutes.

To show you how I post photos to Instagram and what process I use to edit, I'm going to use the snap I took today of my lunch from Panda Express.

1. Take your picture.

I highly, highly recommend that you take your photo using your basic camera app, not the camera that's built into Instagram. This way, you have more control over the composition of your photo, the focus will be much sharper and clearer, and you can decide whether to crop it or not. Remember, you can crop it as much as you like - you're not limited to the square format (more on this in a second).

2. Add a filter and/or crop.

This is where the fun begins. After I take a picture, I open it in an editing app. Depending on the app I use, I'm able to crop the photo or resize it to fit the square format (which leaves the white bars on either side of the photo that you see in a lot of Instagram snaps), correct the colors/exposure/contrast, and add a snazzy filter, all without exiting the app. If I like the filter in one app, but can only crop it to landscape or portrait format in another, I'll just use the two apps separately, and I'll save the photo in my camera roll between apps so I don't lose my work.

Apps I use for filters: Afterlight (a one-stop shop), VSCO cam, Litely

Apps I use to crop portrait or landscape-style: Whitagram

3. Add a sticker, a border, or any other decoration.

Decoration usually just involves a border for my regular photos, but sometimes, I'll add a cute phrase or sticker to add interest. Whether you add decorations or not, the choice is up to you. Have fun and get creative!

Apps I use to decorate: A Beautiful Mess, Little Moments, LINE Camera

4. Post away! :)

Once you're satisfied with your creation, just upload it to Instagram, add a caption/emojis/hashtags, and you're set!

Mini Candles in Mini Mason Jars!

I told y'all about my discovery of Mason Jar Candles from Bath & Body Works a while ago. Then, when I was at the mall running an errand, B&BW just happened to be nearby, and out of curiosity (and having heard about the new Vanilla Chai scent), I wanted to check out their candles.

I soon discovered that miniature versions of said mason jar candles existed. They fit right into the palm of my hand. How cute are these?!

I found a couple scents to try, and I thought I'd share them with you. :)

Blackberry Bramble Tea

The art of tea is perfected in sweet, fragrant blackberries combined with a hint of sugar and spice.

This smells just like blackberry cobbler and I absolutely love it. :) It's not too terribly strong, either, so it's nice to have burning while you're working on tasks or having people over. This comes in the regular mason jar and 3-wick sizes online, but I saw this in the mini sizes in-store, so you may be able to find this smaller one easier in person.

Vanilla Chai

Savor the fragrance of authentic, high-quality Madagascar vanilla bean blended with cinnamon, chai spices and foamy cream for the best chai ever.

I haven't gotten the chance to burn this one yet, but it smells just like you would expect a chai tea would - spicy and sweet. I love drinking chai lattes anyway (I'll sometimes get them with raspberry or vanilla at Starbucks), so I have a feeling this will be a great scent to transition into the coming Fall season. This one comes in the mini size online, as well as in the regular, 3-wick, and wallflower plug in.

Would you try any of these scents? What candle scents do you prefer?

Thoughts on Pages #05: Attachments

photo credit

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is a novel that has been on my radar as of late. I wanted to check out her work, so I browsed Goodreads to see what her work was like. I came across this novel - the story of a IT worker who is supposed to police emails at the cusp of Y2K - and it had scores of good reviews and praise, but the synopses I saw were pretty obscure. So, I picked this up on my Kindle app and read the story for myself.

Y'all, the four and five-star reviews were well-deserved. This is such a sweet story.

Storyline

Meet Lincoln, a man who has just been hired at The Courier to monitor the emails of their employees. Along with blocking profanity, he has to make sure that the newspaper's employees aren't abusing their computer privileges by sending non-work-related emails. So, he's supposed to delete the correspondence between copywriters and best friends Beth and Jennifer. That is, until he reads it...and discovers that he is falling for Beth through her words and personality on the screen, despite never having seen her.

And that's all the synopsis you're going to get! ;)

Characters

The main protagonists - Lincoln, Beth, and Jennifer - are very well-written and I was really able to invest in what they were doing and how they grew and changed in the story. Lincoln really impressed me by the story's end; without being too spoiler-y, he changes the most, but it's all for the better.

I will say that the story's plot is mainly driven by the emails between Beth and Jennifer. Their exchanges were my favorite part of the story by far.

The side/supporting characters were written well too, but I didn't feel as invested in them because they would pop in and out of the story intermittently.

Setting

The story takes place in Nebraska in 1999, just before the new millennium. I was born in the 90's, so it was cool reading about the years before cell phones and before social media grew to the prevalence it has in society now. Other than that, setting really doesn't have a prominent part of the story. It's mostly character-driven, and it works.

My Thoughts

I will say that the less you know going into reading this book, the better. I enjoyed the suspense of wondering how Lincoln was going to handle certain situations thrown at him, and how the story was going to turn out in the end. In spite of how long it was, the 89 chapters were fairly short and I was able to read the story fairly quickly due to the pacing. There were times when it was slower going, but once a few small plot twists occurred and the plot got moving again, I loved it.

Therefore, I give Attachments five emails out of five. The emails between Beth and Jennifer along with the final chapters of the book really sealed the deal of this being one of my favorite romances I've read in a long time. If you like sweet, fluffy reads with substance and believable and lovable protagonists, I highly recommend it.

And that was Attachments! Would you check this book out?

Got any recommendations for me? To see what I'm reading now/what's in my "to-read" pile, please check out my Goodreads.

The Disney Tag

I'm a Disney fan. I always have been since I was a little girl (with the shiny VHS tapes and all), and I have a feeling that I always will be. Whenever I think of Disney movies, the Disney parks, or anything else along those lines, I just get really excited, simply because of how positive and happy Disney things are in general. 

I'd been wanting to do another tag post, and I discovered the Disney Tag awhile back via Youtube. I decided that it would be fun to incorporate it into my blog, because, hey, who doesn't love nostalgia and a little bit of Disney magic? :)

Disneyland Paris castle image credit

Without further ado, let's get to it!

A scene in any Disney movie you wish you could experience.

The scene in Beauty and the Beast where the Beast gives Belle the library. I always loved this as a kid, but as I got older, I appreciated it so much more. Think about it: the castle library was something that Belle couldn't have imagined having access to before she even got to the castle. Because the Beast was falling in love with her, he wanted to actually give her something meaningful instead of "chocolates...[or] promises you don't intend to keep" like Cogsworth suggested.

An unforgettable experience/moment you've had at the parks.

I would have to say experiencing Test Track and Soarin' with my family at Walt Disney World's Epcot for the first time. That, and the Kaki Gori snow cone stand and the gift shop at the Japan pavilion. And Dole Pineapple Whips, which I still want to try to make at home.

What non-Disney song(s) reminds you/brings back memories of Disney and/or the parks? 

These are tecnhically non-Disney, but I found an album of Disney songs remixed by popular DJs. I liked both these remixes and the entire TRON: Legacy soundtrack scored by Daft Punk.

When was the first time you went to a Disney park?

Goodness gracious...probably when I was five? I definitely remember going for my 7th birthday, but that wasn't my first visit.

If you could choose any Disney character to be your best friend, who would you choose? 

Belle from Beauty and the Beast. How cool would it be to talk books with her?

Who are your favorite Disney princesses?

• Belle
• Ariel
• Elsa
• Anna
• Cinderella

Name a scene/moment in any Disney movie that never fails to make you cry.

The movie Saving Mr. Banks. I can't exactly say which moment because it's slightly complicated to explain without spoilers, but let's just say it involved a really great conversation between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers, and recurring appearance of Mickey Mouse (if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about).

What is the first Disney movie you remember seeing?

Surprisingly enough, I think it was Beauty and the Beast.

What is your favorite Disney movie?

Beauty and the Beast and Frozen. Hands-down.

Who is your favorite Disney villain?

A tie between Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

What is your least favorite Disney movie?

Pinocchio. The scenes where Pinocchio joins the bad kids scared me really badly as a kid (where it gets all surreal and stuff). It probably wouldn't scare me so much as an adult, but I haven't watched it since.

What is your favorite Disney song?

"Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid, and then "Let it Go", "For the First Time in Forever", and "Love is an Open Door" from Frozen. Oh, and "So This is Love" from Cinderella.

What Disney Character(s) has your personality or has your dream personality?

It's a combination of Belle and Anna for sure. I love books, but I consider myself a romantic and an optimist.

If you had to get stuck on any ride in any Disney park for more than 30 minutes, what would you want it to be?
I would say Peter Pan's Flight. If I'm going to be stuck on a ride, I may as well be stuck in a flying pirate ship over a London skyline. :)

How To Organize Your Agenda (Postgrad Edition)

Fun fact about me #8943: I love agendas. There's something so fun about picking up a planner and organizing my daily life. And, because organization can be daunting, I put a lot of effort into making sure it's tailored to my needs and also fits my personality.

Because school is starting (and probably already started) for a lot of people, and because I'm a postgrad (and so are a lot of people my age), I wanted to show you how I organize my agenda and how I'm tailoring it to my current needs.

Agenda Organization Supplies by savannahinwonderland featuring lilly pulitzer home accessories

You will need:

• An agenda 
• Colored pens
• Colored highlighters
• Optional: fun little things (stickers, Washi tape, glitter gel pens...whatever strikes your fancy)

So, my little secret to organizing my agenda is color-coding everything. Whatever I write down has its own corresponding color. 

When I first get my agenda, I'll find the notes section and write "Color Key" at the top of the first page. Then, I'll put down each color (usually by drawing a heart in that color) and write out what each color stands for.

Here is an example color key:

• Red - Appointments (Having appointments in a strong color makes them stand out)
• Orange - Social Events (Lunch with friends, family dinners...anything fun and not work or school-related)
• Green - Travel (Got a vacation lined up? Pencil it in in advance so you don't accidentally schedule on top of it)
• Blue - Deadlines (I use this for my magazine articles. You can also use red for deadlines, but keeping work deadlines in a separate color can help balance out the overall look of your agenda. Trust me, you don't want an all-red schedule when you're looking at your week)
• Purple - Birthdays (I used to use purple for general school days, but writing out physical birthdays can help you remember them before they sneak up on you)
• Pink - Anything else (I used pink for the social club I was involved in back in college, but I'll likely use pink for blog or work things in the future.)
• Brown - Anything else (See pink)
• [Side note: Feel free to add or subtract any colors you want. Get creative and have fun with it! :)]

When I was in school, I wrote down homework assignments in one color, but then wrote down exams in the same color in glitter gel pen so they stood out. That's really the key here: keeping things separate so you can see them easily (and not forget them, of course).

When you complete a task, just highlight it in its corresponding color. Easy as that. :)

Then, this is where your fun stuff comes in. You can use Washi tape to block out dates in your monthly calendar by sticking a strip over a week or weekend. You can use glitter pens to narrow down items, or you can color-code code all of your events in glitter if you want. You can use stickers or even scrapbooking supplies as reminders on specific dates or to decorate the agenda itself. It's all up to you.

And that, dear reader, is how I organize my agenda. :) How do you organize yours? Did any of these tips help?