Reset & Refresh~ Prepping for a new semester!

So, I’m no expert in school prepping or being well organized. Probably, far from it. Three semesters in, I do feel slightly better prepared in what works for me! So, I would like to share how I jump into a new semester, resetting myself so that I come at any new chapter in my life feeling like I am prepared for a good time and in a way that reduces my stress and distractions.

I like to set aside some time if possible, minimum 2 days, to knock off any tasks that I’ve put aside (probably due to procrastination) and to prepare everything for what lies ahead.

I’ll make a list of what then needs to be done: 

The first tasks I like to tackle are the most daunting ones on my list. For me, those were cleaning out my old room, getting rid of the old furniture, and organizing my junk trunk.

Following those tasks, I then focus on cleaning everything! I love that step because cleaning helps calm me down and releases my stress. I deep clean everything and everything! Then I move on to doing all my laundry and making my drawers neat and tidy. (If I notice clothing or items I have had no use for or that don’t bring me any joy then I can also use this time to compile items for donation.)

I feel it’s especially important to have nice clean bedsheets, as it just feels so great waking up in a clean bed on the start of a new journey!

The feeling of having everything in its place and nothing to worry about really helps to feel like I have nothing holding me back, and clears my head so I can focus on what is most important, in my life that would be school.

On a more specific note, since I use my iPad for my schooling, I accumulate many files and use up a lot of my storage. I like to go though all my digital files and emails to clean out any clutter sitting in there! It may be a bit underrated but my future self always is thankful for this step when I don’t need to stress about running out of storage space!

Then, before classes start, the day before, I like to charge all my devices that require charging and replace any batteries that I fear might be running low on power. It helps to relinquish any anxiety that may sit within me that I could be left unprepared for any situation that might pop up in the following days.

During the time I reset, I like to build an outline for the routine I want to have, or strengthen/improve my current daily routine. So, during the few days prior I like to try waking up and sleeping at the times I want to have ingrained in my schedule. It takes a couple weeks for a habit to fully solidify so I like visualizing and concentrating as much as I can on the routine to try retaining as much of it as possible down the road. 

In regards to my routine, I’ve been consistently waking up at 5 am, making my bed and exercising well before 8 am, so I feel like I hav e a good head start on the routine I want to have come the start of my semester. So, It will be a test on my consistency and trusting the plans I laid out for myself.

Knowing that I have everything planned out, eases any apprehension or excuses that I may create for myself and refocuses my energy to be spent on what I deem as important!

I don’t think I get any extreme anxiety, but I know I am a ‘type A’ personality~ so if things don’t go perfectly I tend to get overly self deprecating. Planning things out and making sure that I create the best chance for myself to work to my full potential helps me wake up on the morning school starts feeling great and hopefulness that the coming months will work out just fine!

If anyone reading this post needs help with a jump start or might need any aid in releasing a bit of apprehension when starting something new, maybe this exercise might be just the thing to help guide the way! 

Please feel free to use the above outlines I created for your own use! 

School starts for me in a few days. I completed my reset a bit early, but I can still fine tune my routine!

I’m going to try up keeping my blogposts during this semester! So, there might be some more growing pains, but hopefully I can pursue this and grow a bit more as this year progresses!

<3CarisseIris

Hello Summer, Hello New Car!

Perfectly timed for summer, my old/ first car decided to give out on me so I finally got the chance to car hunt and find my perfect new ride. Once finding my new baby, I figured it was finally time to have a bit of fun and decorate it. My car has always been the transportation of choice when it comes to road trips and heading out with friends so I happily justified the pink takeover of my vehicle.

Starting from the front, the first item I bought to keep my hands from burning on the steering wheel was a pink steering wheel cover, which has a pliable leather feel and adds texture for my grip. I also have a faux sheepskin seat cover so that I don’t burn my legs on my seat and so that my bare legs don’t stick to the chair, since I only seem to wear miniskirts. 

The main, and most striking decor in my car is my pink car seat covers from SeeMeHappy on Amazon. They were quite kind and double checked for me that they would fit my car, and answered any questions I had regarding them. The installation was a bit tricky, but with some maneuvering and selective tucking, they fit my car perfectly and look so sweet in my ride. The car seats also come with ribbon pillows and neck rests (my friends seem to adore the neck rests and say it makes car seats much more comfortable). The front seat covers also have convenient pockets in front which I tend to store my phone and keys. 

In my backseat I decided to add in some throw pillows, since two of my friends tend to fall asleep in the backseat whenever we go on trips, but when I have more than one passenger in the back, I can easily store them in the trunk or bring them into the house.

In the back, I also have tsurikawa, or train handles. When I used to be more involved and obsessed with gyaru, I saw one photo with some girls with similar ones dangling from their vehicles years ago and knew I wanted a set in my car one day. I bought mine of eBay. Googling the origin, it seems that having these on one’s vehicle represents rebellion, since people would steal them off trains and show them off on their bikes or cars. 

In the back of my car, I also store a few extra amenities and extra gadgets. 

Behind the drivers seat, I have two bag holders, one for me and a passenger if they would like to use it. It makes keeping my bag in place and within reach quite convenient. 

My car does have cup holders for the back seat, but the process to open it is a bit annoying and it takes up space, so I decided to install a simple cup holder that attaches to the back air port for easier accessibility. 

Some of the additional items I have stored in the back is an emergency light and knife, which my mum gifted me and a low profile anti-theft device that has an additional feature that can break open a car window in an emergency. 

I also decided to switch out my car’s original floor mats for a fun matching set, I bought these cute marble and pink floor mats from Zazzle, and they come with front and back mats that seem to be universally sized.

I thought a peek into my trunk would be fun to include, so far I seem to take along spare umbrellas, gym gear and my gym bag, a spare shopping tote, and a ton of board games along with me. I’m pretty much prepared for any occasion and at any time.

I don’t have much in terms of outside decor on my car, but I did decide to put a subtle decal on my window. I bought a ‘second star to the right’ decal, inspired by Peter Pan from EverlyAfterStudio on Etsy. The decal is actually iridescent and appears pink, blue or yellow depending on the light and looks quite impressive on my car. 

The final accessory is a bit hidden, and it serves as a nod to the name that I chose for my car. My car is an ‘eco’ car, and conserves gas by turning off the engine whenever I sit on the break for longer than a few seconds. When I release the break the car seems to reluctantly wake up and turn on the engine before moving forward. Its actions made me keep referring to it as a cat being forced  to wake up and yet insisting to nap in odd and sometimes precarious spots. So, I lovingly chose the name Muta, from the Ghibli film, ‘The Cat Returns’. I found a perfect enamel pin from VectorPenguin on etsy that perfectly represented how I see my car and makes me happy to see it whenever I open my sun visor. 

I believe that was a fitting introduction to my new portable pink wonderland. (Also, as a way to share where I purchased the items I have.) 

I promise I’ll try to keep a regular update schedule, at least to the best of my abilities, haha!

<3CarisseIris

I'm Your Present~ Mermaid Bikini, Review

Yay, I'm finally back from vacation~~ So I'm back to blogging and finally reviewing things I bought!

For vacation, I really wanted a new cute bikini, so I came across this cute one from I'm Your Present, on etsy~

[bikini] [one in blue]

 The package came in exactly 3 weeks after I placed my order, just like was said in the etsy description. Which was just in time for me, because the three week mark was the Friday before I left! I was so glad that it came in during the allotted time period~

 The package came nicely wrapped with a few goodies!

 I ordered my bikini in a size Medium, my personal measurements are 36, 28, 35, currently and I'm 5'3"~ The bikini fit me perfectly during the trip and wear in chlorine and salt water did not wear down the sparkle or design or shrink the fit of the clothing after it dried! It was super durable and lasted my rigorous swimming in pool and in the surf<3
The fit is pretty modest in comparison to my usual beach attire, but it was very comfortable, the bottoms didn't ride up and sat perfectly at my natural waist, and the top was nicely fitted with no boob spillage.
The cut of the bottoms is extremely flattering for my shape [I'm a very true hour glass], which I enjoyed~ the top did make me look a bit boxy, but it was okay because the seashell print made me feel very girly!

 Detail close up of the bottoms.

 Detail close up of the top.

I am extremely satisfied with my purchase from I'm Your Present, the quality is superb and I am so proud to show off my new summer mermaid bikini. I feel truly unique and magical wearing it.

<3CarisseIris

2ne1 New Evolution concert~ Nokia

 So, my friends and I went to see 2ne1 at the Nokia in La on Friday!

 My chosen outfit consisted of:
Blackmilk cherry blossom dress
Nastygal mint moto jacket
Jeffery Campbell saddleback nightwalks
Louis Vuitton clutch
and DIY tattoo stockings~

 Close up of my tights<3 [I'll put up a how to entry this week, they're fairly easy and fun to make!]

Any who, fun story we all really needed to use the restroom after leaving the car but all the bathrooms were broken except the one inside the theater and I'm pretty sure the funniest part of the evening was before hand running around looking for a toilet~
Any ways we finally decided to settle into line to get into the venue.

To be honest, I'm kind of pissed that I didn't bring another camera lens to zoom in... I wanted to play it safe because multiple times I've been denied entry because of my camera lense because it extends too far and this time, they didn't even check out my camera...
ASDFGHJK...
Oh well.. I'm using my new 35mm standard lens so, I mean you basically see what we saw~ We were near the front tier of the lodge seating  and exact center so it wan't bad at all!

 Well, before starting they played a few music videos to set the mood and even played Psy's Gangnam Style and everyone stood up to dance the dace, which was really entertaining... [I might have joined in too...]

 Anyways, my makeup was very dark and CL inspired. [and I realize that I'm not a fan of very heavy makeup on myself thus the lack of selcas from that night...]

 My boring nails and new double ring~

 I also purchased and used one of those three pronged hair tongs that I've been seeing a lot of lately that make your hair into waves... My verdict is that I'm not that fond of it.. but we'll see if that changes...

 Oh, also beer was flipping expensive!

Now time for excessive pictures of the concert~~~ 'a go go go!'

 [Also, this lens flare is pretty epic]

 Mother flipping Will.i.am joined for the last song, and my friend and I started freaking out!
It was really cool!

Well, my take on the concert was that it was well executed and a great experience~
I had fun the whole time and I loved how loud they cranked the volume!
Also the crowd made the night even better, they were fun and hilarious and their joy was so dynamic!
I am a bigger fan of 2ne1 now and I can't wait to see what the future brings them, and to go to another concert of theirs when I get another chance~

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Here, have some after concert food porn:

Yum yum yum~
If you're ever in Down Town or Little Tokyo, I suggest going to Shin Sen Gumi for absolutely bombtastic ramen!

But that's it for now~
Please keep an eye out for a tattoo stockings tutorial and sponsored tattoo stockings review!

<3Carisse Iris