Campus Book Rentals {Sponsored Post}

{this post is sponsored by CampusBookRentals.com. I have been compensated, but all opinions are my own.}

As a college student getting ready for her final semester, I know how expensive textbooks can be. The past five semesters, I would buy my books from the college bookstore and then sell them back at the end of the semester. Most of my books cost around $75-100 each, and I would only get about 20% of that back afterwards! Because I knew that I would be returning the books at the end of the semester anyway, I tried to save some money by buying my books used.

But this semester, I will be renting my books from CampusBookRentals.com. Instead of having to drive an hour to the bookstore, stand in line, and have to carry my heavy books out to my car, I'm going to save my time and sanity by ordering my books online and having them delivered to my mailbox! Not only that, but I will be saving 40-90% by using Campus Book Rentals. That's exciting! More money to spend on other fun things!

Some other perks of using Campus Book Rentals include: free shipping both ways, flexible rental periods, highlighting and note-taking in the books, and they donate money to a great cause called Operation Smile!

Here is a quick video on how Campus Book Rentals works:



Campus Book Rentals also has a new program out, one that I wish I would have known about a few semesters ago!

Their new program, RentBack, allows you {the awesome college student who wants to save some more money} to rent out the textbooks that you bought to other college students. RentBack makes 2-4 times the amount of money back on your books than when you sell your books back to the college bookstore.

Here is a video that talks a little bit more about RentBack:



I will be saving some money this semester by using College Book Rentals, and I hope you will too!

time never stops

if I could turn back time {and do something over}

hmm. I have quite a few embarrassing moments that I would go back and change if I could. or maybe one of those times that I said something stupid/something I shouldn't have said.

but I guess if I had to pick just one time that I could go back for, it would be the night that I got to see one of my favorite musicians in concert.

I guess for this post we'll refer to that musician as "the man" because I don't really feel like getting into details 100% in this post, partly for privacy reasons and partly because I'm still kind of mad about it.

anyway.

I really enjoyed myself that night. I was so giddy on the way to the show. it was an intimate house concert, with at maximum fifty people. the whole front row was reserved for me and my friends (:

what would I change about that night? well, I wouldn't have brought one of my friends with me. she just didn't enjoy it; the music wasn't really something that she was into, and the man was using some pretty vulgar language that she didn't like, and of course she made some not so nice comments about it later. so that change would be for her sake and mine.

I would have taken more pictures. I only have four pictures from that night, and none of them are that great.

I would have also gotten a picture of myself with the man, and a picture of myself with the man and our other dear musician friend who was there that night.

that would have made me so happy.

especially since I haven't seen him since that night, over two years ago.

okay, I'm done.

thanks for reading my ramblings.

xoxo.

{everyone else has some really good posts, so click above and go read them!}

five favorites

linking up with Hallie via Grace

1. Black Coal Raven Crows by Geri X

I just really love this song.

2. today's clouds.

Memorial Drive, thank you for never failing to provide me with a beautiful view.

3. 136 Restaurant & Wine Bar

via

so this is where I ate lunch today. I had the chicken avocado club, and it was delicious but messy. like, it literally did not close, so it was really annoying to try to eat. everything kept falling out of it. the fries were really good, too. I {kind of} wish I would have tried their cake as well. they had red velvet and chocolate with a mocha buttercream today. the staff seemed pretty on top of things, and the atmosphere was nice too. I think it looks really pretty in there, and I love Stephanie Trenchard's paintings on the walls.

4. Melissa {No. 2 Pencil} came out with a new cookie in a cup recipe - Snickerdoodle. I just love those recipes of hers; they are perfect when you want a cookie but don't feel like baking a whole batch of cookies. and they're even better with a scoop of ice cream on top, in case you were wondering.

5. Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas

this current read is making me want cupcakes and cookies and macarons and hot chocolate and a trip to the beautiful French city. on a semi-related note, I have never had a macaron.

xoxo.

if I could be anything in the world...

this prompt was very difficult for me to have something to write about! I wasn't sure how I wanted to answer this one...

for the past six years, I have worked at the Y with 4-6 year olds. I teach a tumbling class, I used to teach swimming lessons, and I am a camp counselor. I absolutely love that age, because they are so creative and they say the funniest things!

this morning, as I was at the Y getting things ready for camp this week, I was in child care typing up our camp newsletter. my supervisor was sitting next to me feeding one of the many babies whose parents were working out or teaching classes. right after she finished feeding little Elise, another baby started crying, and she needed to go help one of the little boys. so she handed me Elise. as I looked into her beautiful blue eyes, I realized that {someday}, I want to be a mom.

xoxo.

{everyone else has some really good posts, so click above and go read them!}

a first

I used a blender for the first time on Saturday. {I made "ice cream" with a banana and some cocoa and vanilla extract; I don't think it turned out that great, as the banana wasn't ripe enough.}

On Monday, I made a smoothie for the first time.

I threw some sliced strawberries in the blender with some raspberries and pitted cherries, honey vanilla Greek yogurt, ice cubes, and a splash of water.

I also boiled some baby red potatoes and scrambled some eggs (:

Dinner is served: scrambled eggs with boiled baby reds and a fruit smoothie! (:

xoxo.


linking up for WIAW!

if I were to win the lottery...

quick funny story. so when you turn eighteen, I guess it seems like a big deal to go out and buy a lottery ticket. I realized as I was brainstorming for this post that I have never purchased a lottery ticket. haha.

this is going to be in list form, because I don't have the brains for paragraph style right now (:

here are some things that I would consider doing if I won the lottery:

-buy a house
-travel - there are so many places that I want to visit
-shopping spree! (:
-Kickstarter funding
-Sevenly
-donating to the artist fund to help the people who have helped me

xoxo.

{everyone else has some really good posts, so click above and go read them!}

July Spending Freeze {biggest weakness}

{I decided to combine this with From Mrs. to Mama's 52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose, since this week's topic is "my biggest weakness."}

My biggest weakness is definitely spending money on unnecessary things. At this point in my life, I have the luxury of not really having to spend money on things like rent and bills, since I live with my parents. I'm very lucky. They have always said that as long as I am going to school {which I pay for} and have a job, I can still live here.

I shouldn't even call it a spending freeze, because I'm not saying that I'm not going to spend any money. I will only be buying necessities (like food and car repairs, etc.). This means no trips to Target to wander around and spend $50 on random things.

That last sentence is a true story. Last July, I was finishing my final exam for one of my self-paced computer classes, and I told myself that when I finished, I could go to Target. I ended up spending a little more than $50 on two v-neck tees, two tank tops, two picture frames, a box of cake mix, a packet of frosting add-in stuff, a pack of Lip Smackers, a bottle of clear nail polish, and a box of nail stickers. I went in for one item, the clear nail polish, and I left with all of that. The sad thing is that I didn't even really care that I had just spent that money. Yes, I do still wear the clothes and use the frames, and a lot {if not all} of those items were on sale or clearance, but I really didn't need them.

One of the major expenses that I have to pay this month is for some rust removal on Luna. I also have to pay car registration towards the end of the month, and my car insurance comes due in early August.

Why am I doing this?  I guess there are two reasons. One is to prove that I can, in fact, go a month without buying unnecessary things. I tried it last month, but totally failed about three quarters of the way through. The second reason is that I want to put away some money so that early next year, I can take a few days off and go on a mini-vacation!

Once the month is over, I think it would be a smart idea for me to sit down and actually budget how I plan on spending my money.

How's it going? Well, we're one week in, and the only money that I've spent is on Luna's rust removal! Thanks, Mom, for picking up some things that I could have totally paid for at the grocery store.

Just because I currently have a "disposable income" (according to my mom), doesn't mean that I have to dispose of it.

Here's to hoping that the rest of the month goes well!

via

xoxo.

{everyone else has some really good posts, so click above and go read them!}

God Bless America

a few days before July 4th, I still didn't know what I was going to do for the holiday, since I had the day off. we usually go up north for the parades, and sometimes we have been in them. I ended up going up to Egg Harbor with my mom for lunch at Casey's BBQ, and then we watched the parade in Egg Harbor. after the parade, we drove up to Ephraim for ice cream at Wilson's!

I found some old pictures, so this is going to turn into a long post! (:

lunch at Casey's {the last two years, we've been the only people eating inside when we were there}

yum yum yum!

we each got a pulled pork sandwich, and we split the fries

me & my mom (:

Stanley Cup! {not sure if it was the actual one, or a replica though}

part of the UW marching band, and the reason I have no other pictures from the parade

WILSON'S!!!!!

regular flavors {oh how I wish this wasn't out of focus}

seasonal flavors. I changed my mind at least three times. haha.

love their shirts! also, all of the college kids who work here are amazing. totally on top of all of the craziness. they rock!

always a jelly bean on top! (:

Firecracker: strawberry ice cream with pop rocks

throwback starting now! (:

{2008} before the Baileys Harbor parade

I think this was the last year that we were in the parade, but I honestly can't remember. we probably did both parades, actually. my dad and I were on the Harley, while my mom followed on her moped. if we did another year or two of parades after this, it wasn't on the Harley. it was a pretty warm day {I mean, it was July}, and the parade was so slow, so the motorcycle kept overheating. if I remember correctly, we spent quite a lot of time just coasting. it was really annoying.

{also 2008}

later that evening, my parents and I met up with my grandpa & grandma, uncle, aunt, and two of our dear friends, and we rented a pontoon boat. we went for a ride and watched the fireworks on the water. right after we rented the boat, we ran into this bridge and broke something on the boat...oops.

{2009}

in 2009, we spent the night before the Fourth on Washington Island. my dad played {as in music - guitar to be precise} with some of his friends at Nelsen's Hall Bitter's Pub on the evening of the third. there is a bike parade that anyone and everyone is welcome to be a part of on Washington Island on Independence Day. we watched that and then crossed back over on the ferry {pictured above} to the "main island" to see the parade down in Egg Harbor.

{2012} parade view in Egg Harbor

ugh. we had the worst parade view last year. and it got only got worse towards the end of the parade when they had more family members join them.

{2012} Delaney helping my grandpa put the fish on.

later that evening, we had a fish boil out at my grandparents' house. my grandparents hosted my parents and me, uncle, aunt, baby cousin, and our friends Delaney & Liv.

{2012} if only I had waited another half second before pressing the shutter...

Liv got to throw the oil on for the boil over!

{2012} now this is my favorite kind of concert (:

after we all ate, Liv and Delaney "sang for their supper." they even did "Hotel California," per my grandpa's request. my baby cousin was so enthralled by Delaney; it was adorable.

{2012} once it got dark, I finally shot off the firework that I received for my 17th birthday {nearly two years later...}

pat mAcdonald & melaniejane gave me a "Bat Out of Hell" firework for my birthday in 2010, and I finally got around to using it nearly two years later.

{2012} Delaney and Liv both each did a set at Beach that night

Delaney and Liv were both playing at Beach that night, so while my mom went to the fireworks in town {which got rained out}, my dad and I went down to see them. it was the first time {aside from earlier at my grandparents' house} that I had seen Liv perform, and she was incredible! I have seen Delaney many, many times, but it was the first time that I had seen him perform in a venue with dancing space. well, for his last song, he did a waltz. if you have never seen him perform, one thing that you should know is that he is an incredible looper. Delaney set up his looping, and then he went around and started pairing people up for the waltz. it was a mini family reunion of my musician friends at the show that night, so Miss Meaghan got paired with our friend Jamey, Anna was paired with some guy I don't know, and my dad was paired with Ruby. after pairing off a few couples, Delaney came and got me. I had no idea what I was doing, but his advice was "one foot, and then the other." he was going to pair me with some random dude, but the guy didn't want to dance, so Delaney found pat for me and we waltzed. I love my crazily wonderful life.

xoxo.

June 2013 in Pictures

how is the year already half over?! there was so much going on this month that caused it to go by so fast! here are some pictures from this past month (:

I received my 2014 planner in the mail!

OPI's Can't Find My Czechbook + Maybelline ColorShow Pedal to the Metal

lilacs in my front yard

Max was like, "what are you doing?"

I'm in love with the two pairs of boots on the left.

more lobby flowers

Delaney Davidson

Steve Smith, Geri X, Wally Ingram, & Greg Roteik - Monument

Ruby James

Sister Bay

Sister Bay Marina

photo by Abi

photo by Abi - Door County Boat Launch

Door County Boat Launch

homework

I got a hair cut, and my lovely hairstylist also curled my hair a little (:

New Zealand's one and only Delaney Davidson

xoxo.