Author: DeAndreaAshanelle

Tips to Navigate Buying Christmas Gifts on Black Friday

Posted on by DeAndreaAshanelle

Black Friday is a highly coveted time of year and its coming in FAST (less than three weeks away to be exact).

Black Friday has easily become a part of  Thanksgiving holiday, and at least for my family, a time for bonding. Unfortunately, I won\'t be with my family since I am spending Thanksgiving holiday in Texas, but none the less Black Friday is on my list of things to tackle. Instead of sitting on the sidelines like I normally do, I actually plan to participate in Black Friday with my OWN money. There are so many stores I want to visit (virtually) and some potential Christmas presents I want to buy.

Naturally I am a planner and since I am on a budget, I have started to think about what I want to get during Black Friday and how much I need to save. In this post, we are going to tackle buying Christmas gifts for our loved ones.

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First Apartment Checklist for My Dallas Apartment

Posted on by DeAndreaAshanelle
DeAndrea sporting a peace sign

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and/or referral links in which I may receive a commission if you purchase through them (psst... it is at no extra cost to you)

On July, 7th , 2018, I moved into my very first apartment in DALLAS, TEXAS, ya’ll!!!!

I am so freakin’ excited to be here.

Cheers to new beginnings!!! *clink clink*

This move is great for me. Anyone interested in stepping outside of your comfort zone, try moving to a new area, I promise you will grow so much. This will be my very first time being solely independent of my parents and, honestly, it’s about time for me to put on my adult pants (even though I am shaking my boots). It’s now or never.

The final steps to prepare for this move have just come together. It took me and my roommates a minute (i.e a month) to secure the apartment that we wanted, but now we can let out a huge sigh of relief because the fear of being homeless is gone. Now that we have our apartment secured we can move on to the fun stuff like furnishing our apartment. We are in the process of coming up with a list of things that we need for our bedrooms and communal areas. I have included my apartment checklist below just to make sure I have the necessities and what I need to buy.

Italicized Items are things I already own.

Bedroom

Personal Care Items

  • Hair cap
  • Comb
  • Brush
  • Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
  • Spray bottle
  • Shampoo
  • Conditioner
  • Deep conditioner
  • Gel
  • Pads
  • Feminine products
  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Mouthwash
  • Face wash

Bathroom

Kitchen

  • Pots
  • Pans
  • Flat pan for oven
  • Cutting board
  • Oven mits
  • Utensils (Forks, Knives, and Spoons)
  • Silverware organizer
  • Plates
  • Bowls
  • Cups
  • Water bottle
  • Tubberware
  • Can Opener
  • Measuring cups
  • 4 Dish towels
  • Dish drying rack
  • Paper towel
  • Broom and dust pan
  • Swiffer
  • Dishwashing soap
  • Trashbags
  • Blender?
  • Brita filter
  • Waffle maker
  • Ziploc Bags
  •  Aluminum Foil

Apartment Miscellaneous

Air Freshener, Vacuum, Home Cleaning supplies, Gloves for cleaning, Flashlight, First Aid Kit, Tool Kit

<98706c>Starter Food

I suggest you buying basic ingredients for simple meals that you can have when you move in. That first day moving in is going to draining, so make sure you get a few basics and go back when you have more time to stock up.

Bread, Salt, Pepper, Fruit, Almond milk, Waffle mix, Cinnamon, Peanut butter, Jelly, Eggs, Ground Beef, Spaghetti

Now, I hope that I got everything right. I guess I will find out when I actually move in 🤷.

.

Once you get settled, go check out How to Find Free or Cheap Things to Do in Your City

6 Things To Do to Improve Your Spanish While Studying Abroad in Costa Rica

Posted on by DeAndreaAshanelle

When I decided I wanted to study abroad I knew that I wanted go a Spanish speaking country so I could learn Spanish. That’s ultimately how I ended up in Costa Rica. I mean and the price wasn’t too shabby. Like all students who decide to study abroad I did research about what the experience would be like and I discovered that just being in Costa Rica was not going to necessarily make me magically become fluent in the language.

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How to Relax After a Busy Day of “Colleging”

Posted on by DeAndreaAshanelle

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you purchase through them (psst...at no extra cost to you)

Hey girl.

How is it going? I hope all is well and that you’re out here killing it. This short February is passing by so, so fast.

As you know, Valentine’s day just passed. (sidenote: Let me know what you did in the comment box below.)

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