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February 2019 Bullet Journal Set-Up (With January Monthly Recap)

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Hi again! After much careful consideration, I was able to come up with a fun bullet journal theme for February. I wanted to do something a little different than roses or hearts, but still related to Valentine’s day. So this month my theme is Hot Air Balloons! I think that hot air balloons are pretty romantic so it fits in with the whole love thing. They’re easy to draw but you can have a ton of fun with different patterns. My January monthly recap is also featured in this post, and it looks a little different from the ones I did last year due to the fact that I have more space, so I’m pretty excited about that too. Let’s get into my spreads!

Here we have my January Recap/Memories/Reflection. I wanted space to really reflect at the end of the month about what’s going on in my life, and also somewhere to paste any cool pictures of events that went on. The monthly recap section is similar to last year’s, but I added some things like workout progress and a space to write down which books I read, because I didn’t add it in at the beginning of my journal. Looking back, I might need to expand that in the future because I read, like, a lot of books. So yeah, I guess I’ll see how that goes and I might tweak it a bit in February.

Here’s my title page;) I love the way it turned out because it’s so bright and airy and feminine, which is cute for February. In addition to drawing a few hot air balloons, I also included some simple clouds and birds to fill the empty space. The colours that I used are a light pink marker and my light blue zebra mildliner. My quote for the month is “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”, which fits the hot air balloon theme and reminds me that this month I want to be more adventurous.

This is my calendar layout- I apologize for all of the blacked-out events. I always forget to take a picture of my spreads before I write in them! Anyways, I continued the clouds, birds and balloons in this spread, but in the background so that it looks like the calendar is floating in the sky. I also gave myself a bigger space to write my goals and plan blog posts, because I almost ran out of space last month.

These are my trackers for the month. I kept my habit tracker the same, because I find it quick to draw and it works pretty well for me. I switched up my mood tracker a bit though; every day I’ll colour in a portion of the balloon according to the legend on the side. Light pink means I was really happy and dark blue means I had an off day. I tried to make these two spreads cohesive and look like they’re in the same sky, and I think it worked well.

Here’s my gratitude log, which also didn’t change much from last month. On the opposite side, however, I made space for a Workout Tracker and Brain Dump. It’ll be nice to keep track of the weight that I’m squatting, pressing and curling, and also which days that I did cardio. As for the brain dump, last month felt like I needed to write random things down, so I decided to try it. I might move to a full page next month if I need more room.

And lastly my first weekly spread. Because I have the space I decided to only do two days in this spread so that I can start on a Sunday the following week. On the right is a quote page that says, “Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up.” from Leonardo Da Vinci.

That’s all for February! I’ll keep my Instagram, mydayisbooked_24, updated throughout the month with new weekly spreads. See you next week!:)))

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked

February Reading List (No Fantasy)

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Hello! I got a bunch of Chapters gift cards over Christmas, which means that It’s time for me to replenish my stock of reading material. Today I’ll share three books that I’m either currently reading or want to read in February. I’m trying to branch out my book selections a little bit- I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy, which I love, but I feel like I need something different. This list isn’t numbered because I want to read these books in no particular order. I hope that this post gives you some good book ideas!

They Both Die At The End

I’m currently reading this book and I have to say that it’s pretty good so far. It’s about two teenage boys that get a call saying they’re going to die by the end of the day. They don’t know when or how its going to happen, only that it will. Through an app they meet up with each other and basically go out to make the most of their “End Day”. The story is well written and jumps between different perspectives, which makes it more interesting, and is also a bit emotional because these boys have to say their last goodbyes. But above all, I love it because of it’s message- live everyday like it’s your last.

On The Come Up

This is Angie Thomas’s second novel. Her first, The Hate U Give, was a great read and I suggest that you check it out if you haven’t already. Anyways, On The Come Up is about a girl whose father was an amazing rapper, and she wants to become just like him. However, her family is going through some tough times, and now she needs to make it big in order to help them out. I’d like to read this book because I loved The Hate U Give, and it sounds like an inspiring story. Plus, it’s not fantasy!

Two Can Keep A Secret

This is another book from an author whose first book I’ve read. One Of Us Is Lying is a mystery from Karen M. McManus. Two Can Keep A Secret is about a girl named Ellery who goes to live with her grandmother in Echo Ridge, and a boy named Malcolm whose brother was the prime suspect in a murder in Echo Ridge. Then new threats come up, a girl disappears, and the two teens have to find out what happened. I’ve been sucked into the world of mystery novels after reading One Of Us Is Lying and Paper Towns, so I’m excited to read this!

So yeah! That’s what I’ll be reading this month;) If I get through those and start another book, I’ll let you guys know what that book is. Happy Reading!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;)))))

Spicy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

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Hey peoples! As you may have noticed, I created an instagram account last week, and I’m loving it because it’s very picture-focused. There’s also a great community of healthy-eaters on there, which means there are tons of awesome recipes for me to discover! Anyways, you can follow me on instagram at mydayisbooked_24. I post bullet journal spreads and mini-recipes that you won’t find on my blog.

Back to the topic of today’s post: Spicy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup! This is a creamy, Thai-inspired soup that is easy to make and full of flavour. The sweetness of the carrot and sweet potatoes pairs with all of the spices in it. The way that I made it was pretty spicy, but you can add more or less spice, according to your taste. You’ll also need a blender to make the soup smooth, but you don’t need a fancy one. I used a twenty dollar one, and it worked just fine. Plus, you can totally freeze this in a ziploc and reheat it for a quick meal. Here’s the recipe!

Spicy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Total Time: 75 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 large carrots cut into small pieces

  • 2 sweet potatoes, diced into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbs olive or avocado oil
  • 1/2 tbs dried Basil
  • 1/2 tbs dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tbs Cumin
  • 1/2 tbs Curry Powder
  • 1/2 tbs Chile Powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne (or more or less to taste)
  • 4 cups organic chicken or veggie broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • Lime wedges and roasted chickpeas (for optional garnish)

Directions:

  1. Cook the onions over medium heat with the oil in a large pot. Once they are translucent (5-7 minutes) add in the minced garlic and all of the spices and cook for about two more minutes.
  2. Next, add the broth, carrots and sweet potatoes into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and then simmer until the carrots and sweet potatoes are soft, about 40 minutes or so.
  3. Once the vegetables are done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let the soup cool down a little bit. Then, using a ladle, scoop the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. You probably won’t be able to blend all of the soup at once, so transferring the smooth soup into a different pot than the unblended soup might be a good idea, so that you don’t miss any chunks of veggies.
  4. When the soup is smooth, mix in the coconut milk, and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and roasted chickpeas;)

How simple is that? I hope you enjoy making and eating this recipe! See you next week;)

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked

5 Things I Want To Do More of In The New Year

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‘Sup everyone? I bet that you guys have many New Years resolutions, and hopefully you’ve stuck to them for the first week of 2019. In this post I wanted to outline some things I’ve started doing recently that I really enjoy and want to make a part of my routine in the new year. I haven’t numbered them because I want to do them all in equal amounts. In my Bullet Journal, the word I chose to define this year is ‘discover’. In 2019, I want to start discovering myself, as well as new ideas and adventures. These five things will help me to do just that. I hope that they inspire you to do the same!

Going On Walks

I recently got a puppy, so I was forced to go on more walks per week than I’ve gone on in the past year. But slowly, they grew on me. Walks are great because they allow you to relax and think about what’s going on in your life, or just think about nothing at all and be mindful of the things around you. Going for a walk is a great way to clear your mind while getting some fresh air. For all of the above reasons, I’d definitely like to go on more walks in 2019. I think my dog will thank me for it;)

Planning Ahead

Even though I started bullet journaling last year, I didn’t feel like I was very good at planning ahead. This is because my future log was super tiny. This year, I have way more room to write down future events and actually know what’s going on in my life! Even if you don’t have a bullet journal, I recommend getting a planner or even putting things into your phone so that you can keep track of events coming up. This will prevent you from forgetting important dates, and help you to feel on top of things!

Listening To Podcasts

I discovered podcasts a little while ago, and I absolutely love them! Unlike YouTube videos, you can listen to a podcast while doing something else, which is a bonus. I’m currently into Philosophize This!, a podcast about philosophers throughout history and their ideas, which I highly recommend, but there are hundreds of podcasts about everything from science to business to current events. I like to listen to Philosophize This! while on walks, and sometimes even in school if I have time.

Watching The News And Reading Non-Fiction

In the New Year, I’d like to keep up with what’s going on in the world. I’ve started watching the news in the morning, and it’s great because it gives me insight into things that are happening in my community, as well as in other countries. Although, I like to check out a couple different channels because I know that there can be certain biases when it comes to media, and want to get the most accurate information possible. As for reading more non-fiction, I subscribed to National Geographic right after Christmas. I read a lot of novels, and while they’re entertaining and sometimes contain good lessons, I want to broaden my horizons a little bit. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I want to discover new things this year, and watching the news and reading some non-fiction will help me to learn some cool stuff:)

Bake

I absolutely love to bake. I got a new mixer for Christmas, and plan on making croissants this week. I’ll let you guys know how they turn out;) But what I really wanted to get across here is that you should make time to do the things you love. To find yourself, you have to find what you enjoy doing and do those things. So, in 2019, take the time to slow down and do the things you love with the people you love❤️

That’s all for this post! I hope you guys found it interesting and will try some of the things I mentioned this year;) See you next week!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked🎉

January 2019 Bullet Journal Set-up

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It’s 2019 tomorrow! Time to get ahead on planning and goal setting for the new year! My theme for January- stars and constellations- is one that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I was really excited to set up this first month because I have so much room- 20 pages! This means no more cramped weekly spreads and much more experimentation;)

I searched up some constellations that are in our sky right now, and included those on my title page along with some stars. On the opposite page I have a quote and yet more stars. You’re going to see a lot of stars in this post! I used three different yellow markers here, as well as my black brush pen and fineliners.

Like I said, I went a little crazy with the stars! My monthly layout is one thing I kept the same as last year. However, I added a small blog post planner on the side. I think that my calligraphy has really improved from last year, and so you’ll see me do a lot more of it in 2019.

Next, I have my mood and habit trackers, which I could use two pages for! While my habit tracker is a simple grid, I tried something different with my mood tracker. Each day I’ll draw a star hanging from a string, and the longer the star, the happier I was that day.

Here’s my gratitude log. I have a whole page for it! There’s also a quote page that leads into my first weekly spread.

My first weekly spread is simple but pretty. I drew more stars and constellations, as well as writing out a quote and word of the week. I have a to-do section in there as well. I plan to use some black paper in my next few spreads, because my silver gel pen really stands out on it.

There you go! Hopefully you found some good ideas in this post;) You may have noticed that I haven’t done any book spreads yet. Well, I plan to use two pages at the end of each month for a monthly review, so I’ll include something bookish in there;) Have a Happy New Year!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;)