With the purse, my mom also gifted me the Coach Halftone Floral wristlet. It contains anything I need for on the go. So just the essential cards, my school badge, and most importantly.... CHAPSTICK. And also very obviously, my phone and car keys!

Welcome to Day 4 of my Back to School week here on my blog! I go back and forth with handwritten and typed notes. Whether I'm at a coffee shop or at school, I have to bring a pencil case full of pens, pencils, and other essentials. If you'd like to see what I keep in my pencil case, keep on reading!

These are my favorite gel ink pens. There's a great variety in colors but most importantly, they dry immediately. If anything makes me angry, it's when I work so hard on a big outline for class then accidentally graze my hand over the paper and some of the ink smears. RUINED. What I love about the G2 Pilot pens is that they dry almost immediately (on printer paper, that is). There's literally a color for everything and makes color coordinating notes super easy. Although black is my staple, I love the multipack I got from Costco. It came with 20 pens (2 sets of 10 colors) for only $13 last year. They don't currently sell it, but here's to hoping they bring it back for back-to-school shopping!
Update: Walmart sells the single 10 pack for $10!

This is self-explanatory. I prefer mechanical to wooden pencils because I don't like to deal with messy pencil sharpeners. I don't have a favorite brand of mechanical pencils either. I use pencils to draw and to sketch titles before I go over it with a brush pen or gel ink pen. I'm also not picky about brands, just whatever is the cheapest.

I like color coordinating my notes as well as lettering so I always bring one or two Tombow brush pens with me, depending on the subject. They provide really nice, vibrant headers for my notes. Each Tombow pen has two sides -- a brush side and thin marker side, so it's really versatile for your needs. The best price I've come across for these brush pens are on Amazon, here. If I don't happen to bring any Tombow brush markers then I'll bring along just a black sharpie pen.

What's a studygram without mildliners? I have my own opinions on the mildliners hype but I bought into it so I always bring a few to my study sessions. I don't use them in the same notes as my G2 pens because that would probably be too much color. I use these for my printed notes. Sometimes I have class powerpoints or self-made outlines so after I print them, these mildliners are great for highlighting important info. Make sure to buy them on Amazon! The 3 pack is the cheapest price you will get them from anywhere on the internet.

I like to draw diagrams or pictures to help me study. I keep a mini sized ruler for when I write/draw on printer paper. Printer paper is my fave for notes because it doesn't restrict how or where I take notes. The ruler is handy for making straight lines for titles or for drawing. I've had this clear one FOREVER (note: I had a printer label I made for it while in middle school but have since peeled it off), and I love it because I can see the notes behind it so I can be precise where I make my lines.

Super simple, yummy, under 15 min, and low calorie. That's really all you need to know haha. 

1. Fry egg to how you like it. Set aside for later
2. While egg is frying, heat cauliflower rice according to package instructions. I use a 1/3 of Trader Joe's cauliflower rice package.
3. Mix rice with cut pineapple chunks, 3-4 drops of sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sriracha, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, chopped green onions, ground black pepper to taste. (I usually eyeball it so I'm sorry if my measurements are off >.<)
4. With the same pan you used for the fried egg, fry your mixed cauliflower rice for 3 min on medium, or until most of the water has evaporated.
5. Place fried rice in bowl, top with fried egg, green onions, and more sriracha if you like.

2. Korean Marinated Chicken and Red Cabbage

When you're craving pizza, but don't want to feel guilty, naan pizza is the way to go. Way less grease, and plenty of options to make it healthy! 

Ingredients: Basics are Naan bread, alfredo or tomato pasta sauce, and mozzarella cheese. The toppings ares up to you! I like to add any mix of pepperoni, spinach, garlic powder, pineapples, ricotta, ham.

How to make:

1. Heat oven to bake at 325degrees.
2. Add your choice of sauce to naan.
3. Sprinkle all of the cheeses you want. I like A LOT. 
4. I placed my spinach next, then pepperoni, and sprinkle of garlic powder.
5. Place on oven rack for 5-10 min, or until the naan crisps.

College is for instant ramen. Med school is for sophisticated instant ramen. I have been obsessed with these noodles and the little twist I put by adding a few different ingredients. The Shin Ramyun is savory and a little spicy. This is also a very large serving of ramen with all of the added ingredients, so I usually make one package for my boyfriend and I to share, so trust me when I say it is plenty for two people.

Ingredients: Shin ramyun (red package), boiled eggs, enoki mushrooms, green onion, and white american cheese.

How to make:

1. Boil water in a pot according to package. 
2. While the water is boiling, slice the green onions lengthwise.
3. Wash and slice root off of the enoki mushrooms.
4. Boil eggs if needed.
5. Place noodles and enoki in boiling water, along with the included seasoning packets.
6. After 3-5 min, remove pot from stove.
7. Add egg, cheese, and spring onion!
8. Make sure to mix the cheese in and the broth will become very creamy.

5. Baked Parmesan Salmon

I am Vietnamese, and I personally only drink coffee with milk or condensed milk at home so I'm used to drinking strong and creamy tasting coffee. When I'm out, I love getting this Vietnamese iced coffee from Starbucks -- it's cheaper than getting it from your local Vietnamese restaurant or coffee shop too! (For whatever reason they don't charge you for getting milk because technically it's a latte so don't let them charge you $5!)

• 2 espresso shots on ice in a Grande cup
• 3 pumps of white mocha syrup
• splash of milk (highly recommend but optional)

Cost: $2.55

This grande size of the Vietnamese iced coffee has two shots of espresso which has 150mg of caffeine (according to Starbucks' nutrition values), not including any sugar high you'll probably get from the added syrup haha. This amount of caffeine is approximately equivalent to a grande iced coffee but tastes so much better in my opinion. 

• Mix well and let the ice melt a little! Vietnamese iced coffee is meant to taste strong but letting the ice melt a little will balance the flavor out.
• When I'm out, I actually order 3 shots of espresso, 4 pumps of white mocha, splash of milk, in a Venti cup. It's only 80 cents more for one more shot of espresso, but for the sake of keeping it under $3 I shared the grande sized version!
• No need for splenda or to add sugar either. The white mocha syrup adds just the right amount of sweetness that tastes the same as condensed milk used with traditional Vietnamese coffee.

To get the biggest bang for your buck is to order any of Starbucks' brewed/iced coffees or teas. If you have a Starbucks gold card refills are free if you stay in the store. If you don't have gold, refills are only 50 cents. Therefore, if you know you're going to stay in the Starbucks for hours on end and need to be constantly fueled, I'd recommend ordering a grande or venti iced coffee (with milk if you prefer it). 

• Venti iced coffee
• 2% milk (optional)

Cost: $2.95 plus free refills

The venti iced coffee without milk has 235 mg of caffeine. The venti iced coffee with milk has 170mg of caffeine. If you're going to get refills, you'll be constantly caffeinated during your study sesh with this iced coffee. 

• I recommend ordering a grande if you know you'll want to order something different so that you don't have to finish such a large drink first. The grande is 30 cents cheaper and you will still get free refills.
• MAJOR TIP: Before you leave, get a refill of only iced coffee with no ice! You can save it and customize to drink later at home or at some point over the next few days even!

This is a medium roast coffee with a HIGH caffeine content. I'm not much of a hot coffee drinker but once in a while, if it's cold outside or if I'm desperate I'll order a hot coffee for the high caffeine content. *Drink this at your own risk. I am very sensitive to caffeine and can only sip this coffee over the day and save it over the course of a few days. (I normally share the ^^above suggested drinks)

• Grande Pike Place coffee
• With 2% milk (optional)

Cost: $2.25 plus free refills

Okay in all seriousness, this Pike Place coffee has one of the highest caffeine contents out of all of the drinks Starbucks carries. In just a grande, it contains 310mg of caffeine. If you order a venti, you are subjecting yourself to 410mg of caffeine! If you need it, you need it, so go on and conquer your responsibilities!

• I (obviously) get mine with milk to make the taste less bitter and watery, and to dilute the amount of coffee I'd be getting.
• Don't forget your refill before you leave!

Ever fuss with textbooks, trying to keep them open on a page you're trying to read or copy notes from? I discovered this hack by accident trying to find a "book stand." I realized book stands online looked exactly like frame stands or "wire easels" which are considerably less expensive and work just as well. I bought this frame stand from Hobby Lobby for a few dollars and it keeps my big med school textbooks (paperback and hard cover) open with no problems. There are smaller, lightweight ones at the Dollar Store for $1 and will work well with smaller textbooks.

Drawer Organizers

I just bought the Alex drawer from IKEA to use under my desk, and while I do love it for storing all of my office supplies, they are very deep drawers. Because they are deep and roomy, cheap organizers are the way to go. My advice is to buy baskets from the dollar store. They usually come in a pack of two and are small enough to store in the drawers for added organization. IKEA also sells thin plastic organizers meant for kitchenware but they also work perfect for the office.

Study Apps

I get very very distracted all the time. It takes me a long time to start something I sat down to do. However, once I do it, I do it at the speed of lightning. Kidding, but I work very fast -- it's one of my talents. The Be Focused and Self-Control are my favorite apps to use while I study. The Be Focused app is based on the Pomodoro technique which times your tasks for 25 minutes. For every 25 min of work you earn a break. The app keeps you in check with an alarm. The automated timer forces you to keep going until it rings after 25 min, and rings once again after 5 min to let you know to stop. Perfect for someone like me, who will continue to break even after 5 min because "I'm not ready." Self-Control is an app that also keeps distracted minds in check. You set up a white or black list to prevent you from accessing specific sites or restricting all sites except a select few from your list. Don't forget Notability! It's my favorite note taking app for in class lectures. Easy to use and has all of the features I need.

Weekly To Do List vs Calendar

I love having a large calendar and class schedule posted somewhere in my room. I'm very forgetful so I constantly need to look at what's going on the whole month, so that I can plan my day/week accordingly. With that said, I also make my own weekly to do list. Since our whole block is scheduled out ahead of time I can plan daily to-do's one week at a time. I like doing this because not only can I see what's going on the whole month, but I can also focus on just the next 7 days. It helps me not feel anxious about all of the things I have to do but also makes me feel secure that I've carefully planned what I need to do this week so that I'll be prepared for next week. I got these handy weekly calendars from Target! for less than $3!


I hope you enjoyed Day 1 of my Back to School series for 2017! I hope to do similar posts in the future and definitely stay tuned for the rest of the week!