Living in a Pink Bubble~ School Supply Edition

The school year has finally started and I’m starting my third semester! I feel like I’ve finally gotten into the flow of things and feel comfortable enough to share my education staples. Of course, in typical ‘me’ fashion, I grew my collection to match my pastel lifestyle. I quite enjoy things that are visually appealing and yet still serve a valid function, deciding to invest in pieces I love makes studying a joy.

My main piece is a Samatha Vega, under Samatha Thavasa,  a4 tote bag. I struggled with backpacks the last 2 semesters and realized after ditching my backpack for my reusable canvas tote that sits in my car every other day, that I feel more comfortable carrying my school items in a tote bag. The standard ‘a4’ tote size (named such because it can fit a4 sized folios and binders within it) is perfect for my needs. Samantha Thavasa makes some beautiful a4 tote bags that also have wide bases which could comfortably hold as many school supplies as I needed. 

I also invested in a printer to save me the stress from my school’s computer lab, which is always packed! I bought a cute Bluetooth enabled pink printer, second hand, that syncs beautifully with my iPad and mobile device! (I know, I also have a pink Nintendo switch hiding out back there, but I’ll be devoting a full blog to that down the road!)

The cheaper books, if not available 2nd hand or for rental, tend to be available for purchase in loose leaf style. I lucked out this semester and needed to purchase 2 books that came with access codes to do my homework. So, I needed some sturdy binders to contain my text books. I found these cute binders by russel+hazel.

Now, onto the fun stuff! Folders, folios, and stationary!

For my classes this semester, I’m taking mathematics and science courses, so I need a notebook for working out my formulas. All my teachers recommended that keeping a ‘problem’ notebook would be advantageous in their courses so, I have 3, one for each class. Right now, I have an older Laduree notebook that I had laying around, that I use for math. For my other two courses, I use some basic bullet style notebooks which I find more convenient to write in. My math notebook is just more photogenic;; 

I also have an accordion style folder, that I’ve used every semester to keep all my loose leaf papers, hand outs, homework, scantrons, and anything of the like. I find the fan out style folders are so useful in keeping everything together and neatly filed! Also, mine is made of plastic so it’s quite durable. It’s hands down one of my most important items I keep on me and readily available. I bought mine [here]

A fun little fact is that my pencil case is actually a makeup brush holder! I bought this travel makeup brush organizer second hand since it’s an older piece from Liz Lisa’s retired line, Chambre a Coucher.  Shockingly it fits everything I need, keeps everything organized, and sits wonderfully flat which makes it fit nicely into my bag or on my desk.

As for my stationary supplies, I have three different collared highlighters, two 3 ink colored pens + ink refills, a mechanical pencil + lead refill (I should also have a #2 pencil, oops), two erasers that resemble macaroons from Laduree, and miscellaneous washi tape that I use in my planner or to bookmark pages. 

My most used items in my stationary station would be my Uni a-gel mechanical pencil, Uni Style + Fit multi chamber pen (which I actually have 4 of, 2 in my pencil holder, one in my planner, and one that I keep in my room~ I just adore them and how well they write!) I like to use the smallest pen refill size in them which would be the .28mm, and for my highlighter I like the Zebra midliner which is easily found locally and I can pick up a refill easily.

I also use my Ti-30 calculator for every class. It also came highly recommended by all my instructors as it works with log and sin functions as well as with exponents. It also don’t have memory storage, which is not allowed in any of my classes.

With me always, is my planner and my bkr water bottle. In my planner I write down everything; classes, what I need to do, upcoming assignments, due dates, etc. It contains my life and one of my other Style + Fit multi-ink pens. Without my planner, I think I would fall apart! 

My last big piece is my tech folio. I was lucky enough to come across this leather bound one on eBay [available here] It fits everything from my ‘problem’ notebooks, iPad Pro + keyboard case, and all my gadgets, neatly and securely.

Snugly in my folio I keep my Apple Pencil, my rose gold mophie powerstation, lightning port/usb/usb-c enabled flashdrive (which has been a lifesaver for PowerPoint presentations),  misc cables, and my student ID card.

I also replaced the zipper with a Samatha Thavasa x Disney’s Little Mermaid charm that I thought was too cute, and which gave my folio a little personal touch. 

My main tool for school is my iPad Pro + Apple Pencil. I write all my papers on it, take notes, access and turn in my homework from it, and get onto my school’s app on on small and portable device. 

The main apps I use are Canvas (which is where my teachers post the homework, lecture notes, and my grades), Word documents, PowerPoint, Quizlet (digital flash cards), Ginger (which is a proof reading app and how I was able to get the highest grade my english professor gave out last spring), and Notability (the note taking app that I rely on for everything).

I switched over to notability last semester, mainly because I had an intensive lecture class and needed to record what my professor was saying for review. At first glance notability looks like every other note taking app, but what won me over was the fact that I can also record audio while I write notes and it date/time stamps each recording. Also, it directly links with canvas and it’s pdf files and I can load up my professors’s lecture files straight into the app and write notes on top of the files. It just makes note taking so easy!

My last little bits in my bag are my personal items. I keep a reusable straw, tissues, a card holder, small wallet, SPF hand cream, the best Bluetooth headphones from TaoTronics (seriously), my phone [custom case from TheAmethyzt] , and my YSL tint-in-balm and a small vial of my Lolita Lempicka L perfume. 

I wanted to show off my cute pink glass boba straw from DrinkingStrawsGlass, and my protective casing from CashandDella. My city is making plastic straws unavailable so a good reusable straw is a necessity, especially for milk tea stops! I hate the taste of stainless steel, so glass was the best route for me and I love it!

Down the road I would love to be even more compact, but these are the items that work best for me! Maybe it’s good inspiration, or for a peek into how someone else lives their school life, maybe there’s something of interest that can inspire a modification to someone else’s school supply list? Regardless of the reason I hope that this entry was an enjoyable read!

<3CarisseIris