Hey y'all!

Surprise! Here is a little extra something for all of you heading to school in Hawaii this year! This is an exciting time for many of you, and while you are undoubtedly going crazy with the thought of "Well what do I need?" or even the classic, "How am I getting my things over there?" I'm here to help. Without further ado, here is your Back to School Supplies List: Hawaii Edition.

First, you need to understand that it is hot in Hawaii and that the dorms don't have air conditioning. Seriously, your dorm room will not have AC. This means you're going to want to invest in a quality fan for your new space. I've seen everything from clip on fans to tower fans on top of desks. The number of fans you purchase are also going to depend on where you face, for instance my room faced Mauka (the mountain) and got a lot of wind, so I only had one fan for myself and my roommate had one fan, too. Funny thing is that the two of us actually slept with our fans on our beds! The other way you might be positioned is facing Makai (the ocean), and while your view is going to be incredible you're going to need three times the amount of fans because you're not going to get any wind. Here are three of my personal favorites:

Fan One: Holmes Lil' Blizzard Fan (I have this one)

Fan Two: 37 In. Tower Fan 

Fan Three: Vornado Compact Fan

Next, you live on an island now, which means you're going to need at least one beach towel (I recommend two to three). I've used various ones in the past, from ABC Store to Billabong, but they're just not as good as my newest: the Active Towel. Oftentimes towels bought from stores such as the aforementioned are too thick and take hours to dry. And trust me, when I'm driving from one side of the island to the other a damp, soggy towel is not what I want sitting in my car. However, I've found that the Active Towel dries extremely fast and does not retain water (or sand!). It is lightweight, durable, and gets more absorbent with every wash. This means that when whether you're taking TheBus to your destination or your roommates' car, you can trust that your towel won't stay wet and heavy during the trip. Plus, how convenient is it that Turkish towels are also easily compact? If you're a student who plans on going to the beach often, investing in a towel that you can roll up and won't take up a lot of space in your whole bag is a must. Also, for all of you marine biology students, the Active Towel is eco-friendly! Below is a link to buy your own Active Towel and, if you use the code STUDENTS18 for 18% off of non-sale items. Trust me, a quality towel is a must for the islands. 

Towel One: Aegean Cotton (My personal favorite and the one I'm sporting below!)

Towel Two: Cape Cod Cotton

Towel Three: Stonewash Turkish Cotton

Third, you're going to quickly realize that everyone and their mother owns one of those tin water bottles with the little man on them. If you don't already have one, you should really look into buying a hydroflask. Yeti's are comparable, but the go-to for many students at UH are the classic hydro. With no AC in the dorms and horrible humidity every day, investing in a water bottle that is going to keep your water cold all day is a must. Here are three that I personally like:

Hydro One: Wide Mouth with Straw (I have in white)

Hydro Two: Wide Mouth No Straw

Hydro Three: Standard Mouth No Straw

Last, and arguably the most obvious necessity for Hawaii life, is sunscreen. Seriously, sunscreen. I'm speaking from experience here, but sunscreen goes far beyond what you would slather on at the beach. You need sunscreen every day, and especially on your face. I can't tell you how frequently I started getting new freckles and red spots by not wearing sunscreen, and now I apply it every day to my face. Outside of class, where you can also get sun exposure! you're going to need sunscreen for the beach or for the numerous hikes you could do. Some classes, like Oceanography, also require you go out and do field work, so this isn't me suggesting something crazy but rather something you may need for a class you take! In my experience, I turn very red and will get a horrible burn if I use anything higher than 12 SPF (I'm not kidding) and I can't use spray-on sunscreen. While everyone prefers something different, here are three of my personal sunscreen favorites. Also, stock up before you leave the mainland because sunscreen prices are much higher on the islands!

Sunscreen Type One: FaceShop Natural Sun SPF 40 PA+++

Sunscreen Type Two: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 55 (for your face!)

Sunscreen Type Three: Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch SPF 15 

And that's it! Do you feel prepared yet? I hope you are as excited as I am to go back to the islands, even though I have a few more months. Best of luck to you this school year and, as always, leave me a comment if you're heading off and whether or not you'll use any of these products!

Hey everyone,

Ahh, my last post in my Back to School series! I hope you have enjoyed this process and have learned a little something from this series. In our last piece I'm going to compare the differences between your first dorm versus your first apartment. 

Size: Your first dorm is going to be small. Everyone says it, and you better believe it. Looking back, I can't believe how I lived in such a small place with a roommate. Naturally, the things you buy can make your dorm feel cramped, but rest assured that the space in your first apartment will help spread out all of your belongings. While I'm not making any promises, your first apartment will be bigger but not necessarily nicer. Big difference there. My apartment was rather large but the furnishings were old and pretty dated. To help this, my roommates threw sheets over the couches and put tapestries over what they could. They also took advantage of a lot of the dead space on the walls and even put up a movie projector! 

Look: Decorating your dorm is fun but can cause some challenges. Do you and your roommate want to match or do you want your side of the room to contrast their side? These are important things to think about when planning your room. For my first roommate we had similar taste, so our room looked really cohesive! My second roommate ended up having a different style and our room ended up a little less put together. When it comes to your apartment, however, you might have a double room (what I had) or a single room. A double room mimics the dorm style but is a little bit bigger, and there is typically another bedroom in the apartment for another double. A single could range from one room to four rooms. 

Where: Where you live, if you're lucky, can be of your choosing. During my freshmen year I picked to live in the honors dorms instead of a regular floor. To be honest, I'm not sure if I would do that again because of the overall feel of that floor (very quiet, unsociable, etc). However, I know that Manoa offers other floors from: culture, LGBTQ+, major (environment, oceanography, etc), and hobby (hiking, outdoor). I will say that I was only aware of one of these options. Never had I met someone who lived on a "hiking" floor and I never met someone who lived on the Japanese culture floor. Take with that what you will. Apartments are also something you can pick, as you may not be tied to the on-campus location anymore. I opted for an on-campus apartment because of the convenience but going forward I plan to live off campus due to the price. Obviously the differences here are price, location, and quality of dorm. My school hasn't updated the apartments since they were  built in the 70s, and as such the quality is poor. Your school may be different, though! 

What have you learned living on campus? Let me know in the comments before and how you felt about moving to an apartment!

Hey everyone,
Where is the summer going? I can't believe its already July and soon will be August. As I look back on my two years I am reminded of where I was at two years ago: watching dozens of dorm hauls and trying to come up with the perfect list for my future room. Of course, going to school in Hawaii means that I can't buy anything beforehand, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was able to open more time reflecting on what I want versus what I need.  To help you out I have decided to compile my top five most used items that I highly recommend anyone, no matter the school, look into purchasing! 

Item One: A Quality Throw Blanket
Skip the accent pillow and opt for the versatile throw instead. As cute as those accent pillows are, in reality having a quality throw blanket that can work in both your bed and out in the quad is much more worth the money. This doesn't mean you need to go out and buy a blanket that is the staple piece of your room, but be smart about how you invest in it. For me, I went and search the children's section at target and went with a nice, soft blue blanket that I used in my freshmen room and the living room in my apartment for our movie nights. Shopping in the children's section saved me money and also left me with more of what I was looking for, simple colors that are meant for comfort and not style.  Here is what my room looked like with the blanket. At first it was hard to get used to, given the humidity, but after a while I got used to it. 

The set up of my freshmen room

Not exactly in love with throws like mine? Try something a little more unique, like the falsa on amazon-- perfect for laying in the lawn and in bed!
Item Two: Paper Organizers So often did I watch videos where the creator talked all about her cute notebooks and pencils but never once mentioned anything about storage. How crazy is that? If you're going to invest into quality  materials than it's only fair you spend as much time trying to find an organizer for all of the papers that you'll be getting back, because you will be getting papers back.  I've had my eye on a few metal containers, but something I was gifted before I went off to school was a set of file folders. I've never used file folders before, but I quickly found that I could designate one folder per class and bam! just like that I had a place for all of my graded papers. Once I graduate I'm going to continue using a file folder, only I plan on upgrading to a metal structure. Here is an example of the ones I was given: 

Source: Erin Condren 2018 Collection

And here is what I hope to have post grad: 

Source: WorldMarket

Item Three: A Versatile Planner
Planners are a college essential, if you ask me. I use my planner to keep track of my classes, my meals, my workouts, my pay-days at work, and goals for my blog. I personally recommend the Happy 365 planner, but I've heard great things about Day Designer and Erin Condren, as well! 



Item Four: A Drying Rack
This item saved my butt on multiple occasions! A folding drying rack is perfect on those laundry days where you forget to load your card with enough for both a wash and dry. Mine was given to me by my friend Shannon and somehow I never got around to giving it back (rest assured I offered!). This is definitely a must that you won't think to buy but will wish you did at least once your first year. 


Item Five: An Over-the-Door Hanger Set


If you get anything out of this post, consider this to be your must-have. I cannot tell you how nice it was coming home and getting my shoes, sandals, and more off of the floor. Having an over-the-door rack for shoes can also double as an accessory holder for your hair dryer, curler, and more. You can even store some of your shower necessities in here, too! Trust me, the more space you can use on the door and wall, the more room you will have to walk around.

Happy shopping! Let me know what you recommend for your dorm that you forgot the first time around (or wish you had gotten!). 

Until next time,