Posts

August 2018 Bullet Journal Set-Up

Hello there!! Towards the end of July I decided that I wanted to pick up my bullet journal again- I’ve been slacking off a bit these past few months! May, June and July were hectic for me, and, ironically, probably the times when I would’ve needed my journal most due to final exams and setting goals for the summer.

However, by not completing layouts for those months, I now have waaaaayyyy more pages to use up before the end of the year, so I was able to switch up my layouts pretty significantly to include some exciting new stuff! Throughout this post, I’ll be doing a sort of “before and after” thing, comparing my past layouts and my sweet new ones. Here’s a peek into my August bullet journal set-up;))

My theme for this month is watermelon, because in my opinion, there’s nothing that says summer like a big, juicy watermelon. Well, reading your book on the beach while eating a banana creamsicle also screams summer pretty loud, but I wasn’t sure how to make that into a bullet journal theme, so I just went with watermelon. On my title page I drew some slices of watermelon, as well as a watermelony quote, and, of course, I wrote August on the opposing page. Some green washi tape accents it all. I like this set-up better than my previous one page set-up because I have more room for drawing, quotes, and literally anything else that I want to include, which is great. This is the before and after:

Before:

After:

The next two pages I used for something new; a monthly log! This is basically just a monthly calendar. I had something like this on my title page in previous set-ups, but this bigger calendar allows me to plan my month in more detail because I have much more room. I made a bit of a mistake here by starting the calendar on a Wednesday, because I didn’t draw the squares out properly😬. Later I realized that I could’ve fixed it by drawing more squares in the bottom row, but oh well. Life goes on. I included another watermelon drawing and quote on these pages as well.

Before:

After:

Next, I decided to move my mood and habit trackers from my weekly spread into my monthly spread, so that they each have their own pages. Now I’m able to get way more creative with these trackers!! Down below, you can see that my mood tracker consists of 31 little watermelon slices that I’ll colour in according to the legend at the bottom of the page. I kept my habit tracker just about the same though, while staying with the watermelon theme.

Before:

After:

My last two pages before my weekly spread are my blog schedule and gratitude log. Here, I’ll write down post ideas and stuff like that, but if this doesn’t apply to you, you can always turn it into a schedule for any kind of goal you’ve set for the month or a challenge that you’re taking part in. The next page is reserved for my gratitude log, books that I want to read in August (see my Summer TBR List), and any goals that I have for this month. You can see the before and after below:

Before:

After:

And finally we get to my weekly spread!! With the removal of my gratitude log, goals, mood and habit trackers, I had more space to play around with. So I added a mini calendar, and a space for a weekly reflection, while keeping room for a word and quote of the week from my past spreads. On the other page, I split my daily planner thingy into three sections: To-do, Events, and Today in One Word, which should be fun.

Before:

After:

Whew! That was a lot of writing! But I think it covers everything about my new and improved set-up. Remember to do what works for you in your journal, and feel free to experiment to find your favourite layouts. Thanks for checking out my post!!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;))

Summer TBR List

I know that it’s a little late to be writing this, but seeing as I haven’t done a book post in a while I thought I’d go through with it. I was in a bit of a book drought the past few weeks,  mostly because I had no idea what to read. It embarrasses me to say that I thought  I had read all of the good books out there. Then I had to slap myself out of that stupid frame of mind and go to the library, where I ended up finding a page turner. There’s a very important lesson to be learned here: No matter how many books you read, there is always an another one waiting for you to open it. Looking back, I can’t believe how arrogant I was to think I had read all of the good books. Wow. Anyways, back to my TBR list. A friend of mine recently recommended some good books to me, so I’m going to check those out, along with some others that have been on my TBR list for way too long. Here they are.

  1. Six of Crows

This the is the page turner that I was talking about. I’m currently about halfway through it right now, and it’s pretty good. It follows the story of six teenagers who have to rescue a prisoner from  the most secure court in the world. With tons of action and suspense, I definitely recommend adding it to your Summer reading list.

2. Crooked Kingdom

Because Crooked Kingdom is the sequel to Six of Crows, I’m not too sure what it’s about, but I thought that I might as well give it a try. If it’s anything like the first book, I’ll probably enjoy it.

3. Three Dark Crowns

I’m really excited about this one! I love anything to do with royalty, really. This book centres around triplets who, when they turn sixteen, basically have a fight to the death. The survivor is named queen. Does that sound awesome or what?

4. One of Us is Lying

A friend of mine recommended this one to me. I’ve read the back of it in the bookstore, and it seems pretty intense. Five high-school students go into detention, and only four come out alive. The rest of the story is based on finding the killer. I love these kind of books because they keep you on your toes, and really suck you in while you’re trying to find out whodunnit.

5. The Hate U Give

I’ve been meaning to read this for such a long time! It’s won multiple awards and has excellent reviews. When Starr carter’s friend Khalil is shot by a police man, it isn’t long before the story becomes a national headline. Everyone wants to know what happened that night, and Starr is the only one who knows. Sounds good, right?

6. Turtles All the Way Down

This sounds like a promising read. Aza and her best friend Daisy are trying to solve the mystery of billionaire Russell Pickett, and a hundred-thousand dollar reward is at stake.

 

That’s all I have for know- I’ll definitely update you guys if there’s anything else I’ve decided to read. See you later- got to go order these books on Amazon!!

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;)

 

 

 

 

 

3 Overnight Oatmeal Recipes to Try This Summer

Hi there! For me, summer is a great time to try new recipes and make a mental note to implement them in my routine for the rest of the year. So I thought that I would try out a few new overnight oatmeal recipes. Overnight Oatmeal is just what it sounds like- oatmeal made overnight by soaking the oats in milk. This means that it’s the perfect make-ahead option for busy mornings. If you have something against oatmeal, don’t worry. The texture of these oats is almost completely different than that of regular oatmeal, and there’s a lot more flavour. I used to have peanut butter banana overnight oatmeal for breakfast every morning- and honestly, I don’t know why I stopped. When something is this delicious and easy to make, how can you go wrong? Here are three of my favourite overnight oatmeal recipes.

  1. Peanut Butter Banana

Yes, PB and Banana strikes again! This is probably my favourite overnight oatmeal recipe of all time. However, if you’re not into the whole peanut butter thing, you can always use Homemade Almond Butter as a replacement, or just leave the nut butter out altogether. Anyway you make it, this recipe is a winner. Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of your choice
  • 1/2 a banana, mashed
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbs peanut (or any nut) butter, plus additional for garnish

Directions:

  1. Mash the Banana in a small bowl.
  2. Mix in the nut butter until combined.
  3. Stir in all of the other ingredients.
  4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  5. Uncover in the morning, top with additional nut butter, and enjoy!

2. Stone Fruit Crumble

A stone fruit is a fruit that has a pit in it, so cherries, peaches, nectarines and plums all count. I used plums in my oatmeal, but feel free to use any stone fruit you like.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of your choice
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 a stone fruit, sliced thinly

Directions:

  1. Mix all of the ingredients above in a small bowl except for the stone fruit until combined.
  2. Place the sliced stone fruit on top of the mixture.
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
  4. Remove the wrap in the morning and enjoy!

3. Double Chocolate

This is for all you chocolate lovers out there! Which I’m pretty sure is all of us. This recipe has chocolate in the actual oatmeal itself, and if you want you can top it with some chocolate chips for extra chocolateyness (which should be a word so I’m making it one).

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of your choice
  • 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 a banana, mashed
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Chocolate chips or nut butter for topping

Directions:

  1. Mash the banana in a small bowl.
  2. Mix in all of the other ingredients except for the garnish.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
  4. Uncover, top with your choice of garnish, and enjoy.

So there you go, three overnight oatmeal recipes to try this summer! Let me know what you think of the recipes in the comment space below or on Twitter @mydayisbooked. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked😄

Chickpea Nutella

Hello again! I’m back, and this time you only had to wait ten days in-between posts! I think that’s a new record. Seriously though, this “Nutella” is amazing. If you’re skeptical about the whole chickpea thing, don’t worry, I was too. But the end result was this delicious chocolatey spread that goes well with just about everything. There is an option to add some peanut butter, which I obviously did, but if you’re sick of all the peanut butter recipes on this site than feel free to take a break from it! Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of peanut butter. Before I give you the recipe, I want to commemorate shaneandsimple.com for coming up with it:)

Ingredients:

  • 1 15oz can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
  • 1/4 creamy natural peanut butter (optional)
  • 1 small ripe banana
  • 1/4 cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 tbsp water (or more; add until you reach your desired consistency)

 

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until desired consistency is reached. Add more water if needed.

 

And……………. wow, that’s pretty much it. I think that’s the simplest recipe ever! Enjoy this spread on toast, with fruit, or anything else that needs chocolate on it! (Which is pretty much everything.) Thank for checking out this recipe! I’ll definitely be posting more in the summer – this darn invention called “studying for final exams” is killing my free time! Enjoy this spread in the meantime!

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;))

 

 

 

PB Banana Creamsicles

Hi! I seriously can’t wait to share this recipe with you; I know I say this in every post, but these creamsicles are actually my favourite recipe of all time! They’re delicious, and made with some of my favourite things; you guessed it, bananas and peanut butter! I actually found this recipe on Pinterest, and would like to give a little shout-out to feedingyourbeauty.com for making my tastebuds super happy! These measurements make approximately 6-8 creamsicles, depending on how big your molds are. If you don’t have any molds, it’s all good! Freeze the creamsicle batter (do you call it batter?) as directed in my Very Berry Frozen Yogurt post. Without further ado, here’s the recipe for this creamy summer treat:

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium bananas, chopped and frozen
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup all natural peanut butter (salted and unsalted both work) plus more for swirling
  • 2 tbs milk of your choice
  • A big pinch of salt! (You won’t need extra salt if your peanut butter is salted)

Directions:

  1. Blend bananas, milk, vanilla, 1/3 cup peanut butter and salt (if using) in a high speed blender until smooth.
  2. Scoop the mixture out of the blender and fill each mold about halfway.
  3. Swirl in about 1tsp of peanut butter, and a little bit more salt if it isn’t salted for that delicious sweet and salty element.
  4. Fill the molds with the remaining banana mixture.
  5. Pop in the popsicle sticks and freeze for about 2-3 hours. MAKE SURE THEY ARE COMPLETELY FROZEN BEFORE YOU TRY AND REMOVE THEM FROM THD MOLDS. 😉
  6. Run warm water over the molds to release the creamsicles.
  7. Enjoy!

Have fun making and eating these scrumptious creamsicles! They’re the perfect cold treat on a hot day;)

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked😄