These first few steps are optional but just letting you know exactly what I did! Skip to step 3 for the basics.

If you were wondering how to make the mason jar pencil cup, it's super easy! I just gave the inside of the mason jar two layers of acrylic paint, then spray painted the silver lids with rose gold spray paint. Let them dry overnight, and voila! Now you have a super cute pencil cup!

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!