If you saw my last post, you would know that I wrote about the agonizing process of selecting what to purchase with an Amazon gift card and some tips to ease that process along. I decided to write that post because I’m finally trying to use the Amazon gift card I got for Christmas and ended up with an influx of purchase options thanks to Pinterest packing guides and this product exchange between Matilda and What Kate Finds! Today I thought I’d continue the Amazon “hype” on Playjill and share some Amazon products that I’ve been eyeing recently as well as explaining why I will or will not be purchasing them.

1. YMING Women T-Shirt Dress in sky blue- first and foremost, I am interested in buying this dress because my friends and I are dressing up as the Waitress trio (Becky, Dawn, and Jenna) next Halloween and we’re looking for some affordable pieces so we can DIY our costumes. I sadly won’t be purchasing this dress for now because I’m going to keep searching for a more affordable dress option since I have quite a few months to do so.
2. L’Oreal Lumi Glotion- I learned about this product during Matilda and Kate’s product exchange and I knew I had to look into it. I’m looking forward to purchasing this product in person though, not on Amazon for a few reasons: first of all, I need to test my shade because I don’t want to look orange and second, Amazon Tip#1 says if you can buy it in the store like I can with this glotion, then do it.
3. Packing Cubes- this spring I’ll be hopping on a plane to Italy and I know packing is going to be super stressful. When I watched packing videos on YouTube and read articles about how to pack your suitcase efficiently they all had one thing in common: packing cubes. I first learned about packing cubes from YouTuber Ingrid Nilsen when I stumbled across a few of her packing videos a couple of years ago. I thought the idea of using packing cubes was brilliant and scrambled to find the ones she used in the video on Amazon. Sadly, one cube would set you back thirty dollars and I was not about that, so I put the idea of using packing cubes to rest until now. I decided that since it’s been a few years since I looked at packing cubes, the industry (is there even a packing cube industry?) might have grown and become more affordable, and I was not disappointed. I found a ton of great packing cube sets for under 10 dollars which is basically unheard of, so since these are a sister steal, the reviews are favorable, and I can’t find them in a store, I’ll definitely be sister splurging on these! (Also the color/pattern options are so sister superb that I can’t decide which color to get!).
4. Sun Bum Hair Lightener- during the summer, my hair gets a little lighter and develops some golden-blonde highlights which I love, but for the past two summers, my hair hasn’t been getting as light *sad face*. I refuse to dye my hair or put chemicals in it, and using lemon juice doesn’t work well for me so you’d assume I’d be a lost cause at that point, but wait! Last weekend I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and started watching a ton of random videos from smallish YouTubers when I happened upon Emma MacDonald’s “What’s in my beach bag” video and saw her gorgeous highlights which she gets from using the Sun Bum Hair Lightener spray. I looked it up on Amazon and loved how it had a short, simple, and all-natural ingredient list that wouldn’t damage my hair. I may be purchasing this on Amazon because it is slightly cheaper than buying it in-store, but if I find that I need to remove an item from my Amazon cart, I’ll just buy it in-store instead (Tip #1 hehe).
5. Small Tassel Wallet- I saw this product on Amazon when I was trying to find gifts for my friend’s birthday and I knew that while I wouldn’t be getting it for her, I’d definitely be back! Now I’m in need of an affordable and compact wallet to travel with and this one definitely fits the bill. It looks like the perfect size to hold euros as well as cards and coins. Also, the color range makes it so hard to choose which one I will be purchasing on Amazon (I’m leaning towards light blue, gray, or pink! Let me know which color you would get in the comments!).
   

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   I’ll be posting a part II to this wishlist so keep your eye out for another smashing post in a few days time (that was really medieval wordage). Make sure to let me know in the comments what yout think of my wishlist, and comment your favorite Amazon products below!

-Jill

I feel like everyone has gone through the process of being gifted an Amazon gift card but not knowing what to buy with it and then once you finally find something to buy with it you realize that the one thing you actually wanted is too expensive for the amount you have on your gift card so you’re back to square one again. That was a great run-on sentence if I do say so myself. Seriously though, I don’t think you’ve lived until that agonizing experience has happened to you. Personally, it happens to me every Christmas, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The process of finding what to purchase with one’s gift card is hard at times, but luckily, I have some tips and tricks to share with you all.

Tip #1: if you can buy it in a store for virtually the same price, then buy it in the store. That way, if you have to narrow down the items in your cart at some point, that item can be the first to go because you know you can buy it in person.

Tip #2: know what you’re buying and READ THE REVIEWS! I do this whenever I’m shopping online, but it is seriously important to read all the product details, faqs, and reviews. One day when you go to purchase a curling iron on Amazon but find out from the reviews that it’s burned many people’s hair off, you’ll thank me.

Tip #3: ask yourself if the product matches the price. What I mean by that is if you’re buying a reusable travel laundry bag and it is $9.99, is it really worth it? Especially when you can get a whole set of travel laundry bags or packing cubes and travel laundry bags for the same price.

Tip #4: be an educated buyer. For example, if you go to buy some Glossier balm dot com on Amazon and are confused as to why this lip balm is forty dollars, go to the official Glossier website and price check those balms before you buy them on Amazon. This obviously goes for anything you’re thinking of buying- that’s just an experience I recently had.

Tip #5: this one goes kinda hand-in-hand with #3, but always look to see if you can get the same product of equal quality for less through another seller. Amazon even has a great feature that automatically does that, you just have to click on it!

I hope these tips helped you break the vicious cycle of Amazon gift card buying stress (that was the worst wording I could’ve ever possibly written and the grammar is also nonexistent, sorry ’bout that!), and I’d love to hear if you’ve also encountered the same issue or if you have more tips to share in the comments below!

-Jill

I am quite the book hoarder/lover, and trips to Barnes & Nobles are like mini vacations for me. With that being said, I don’t get to read for pleasure during the school year for the most part, so I tend to stock up on reading material during the year with the intention to read them during Christmas break and summer vacation. I get more reading done during the summer because the break is longer, and I get to read at the beach almost every day which is a nice motivator. As I was skimming the interwebs for airplane reads, I realized that I have a big stack of books in my room that I’ve picked up throughout the past year but didn’t get a chance to read during Christmas or the summer, and I thought to myself “this could make a snazzy blog post,” so, enjoy!

~Frat Girl by Kiley Roache- the cover and sheer size of this book caught my eye, but I also found the storyline très interesting and I can’t wait to read it.

~Hamilton and Peggy by L.M. Elliott- I love everything Hamilton-related (the man and the musical) so I was really excited to see a new book featuring A. Ham and Peggy! (I just learned that this is a trilogy so buckle your seatbelts ’cause we’re heading to B&N).

~Love & War by Melissa De La Cruz- I know, another Hamilton book, shocker. Seriously though, when I saw that this was a sequel to Alex & Eliza, I was very excited because I really needed a continuation, especially after that cliffhanger-that-wasn’t-really-a-cliffhanger-but-I’m-just-overdramatic. (I just learned that this is a trilogy so buckle your seatbelts because we are going to Barnes & Nobles right now).

~Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan- yes, I am super late to the CRA partay (that probably isn’t a used acronym but it rhymes!), but I keep seeing this book in Target and it’s always on sale which I’m taking as a sign that I should buy it and read it and then watch the movie (I know you’re silently yelling at me right now because this movie was so hyped up but I’m sorry I’m not trendy enough!!!!!!!) and then read the rest of the trilogy.

~When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger- when I saw this novel in my local bookstore I knew I had to read it sometime because the title is just so funny considering almost every single mom in the area wears nothing but Lululemon and Vineyard Vines (nothing wrong with that though, considering I’d probably follow their lead on that too if I didn’t wear a uniform to school and if I had the ~flow~ for those brands on the daily).

~How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, et Sophie Mas- wasn’t my translation of “and” in that so Parisian? Anyways, dahling (that’s totally something Parisians say) I love French culture, fashion, and language (when I’m not being graded on it!) and this book seems like the perfect beach read to help me get one step closer to becoming the epitome of une fille Parisienne (I used my four years of taking French to come up with that one!).

Well, that concludes my TBR list (even though I have four more Hamilton books but I figured I’d save you from reading about my love of A.Ham). Please let me know what books are on your TBR list and I’d also love your suggestions on books I should read on an 8-hour flight- so far I’m thinking about reading How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are as well as When Life Gives You Lululemons but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

-Jill

Happy NYE everyone! You’re probably expecting me to make a super sappy and sentimental post but that’s just not how I roll. Also, I forget pretty much everything from this year except for the basics, but this year did fly by regardless of if I remember it or not. To recap 2018, I was in my first ever high school show (Into The Woods), I went to my local March For Our Lives with my bff’s,  I had some friendship turmoil and drama, I fixed that friendship turmoil and drama, I got a better physics teacher, I didn’t fail physics (yay me!!!!), I turned 15, I did my first ever annotated bibliography (that was a time), I wrote a poem for English which basically roasted everything about school, I finished out the school year in Lilly Pulitzer with some pretty snazzy grades and great friends, I did such a fun summer musical and was a part of the closest cast ever, I met new friends who encouraged and inspired me in the singing and acting departments, I realized my true passion in September, I learned how to really believe in myself, I had the best time in my Sophomore musical, I got some really amazing close friends at school, I learned how to really prepare for an audition, I learned what it’s like to know you did well at an audition, I learned how to manuveur my way around a sale, I learned how to admit my mistakes and apologize, I learned how to Instagram, I learned about my meyers-briggs personality type, I learned how to prepare for my future, I contemplated starting a blog (guess how that one worked out), I wrote a musical or two, I wrote more songs than my Google Drive shows, I saw so many fabulous musicals, I discovered some extraordinary movies and shows (Glee, I’m Sorry, Dumplin’, TATBILB, and Queer Eye to name a few), and overall, I learned a lot about myself and the world around me.

Anyways, since I’m spending my NYE watching Glee and probably eating a lot of Toll House cookies while looking forward to 2019, I thought I’d put together a list of NYE looks I love but will not be rocking from stores don’t shop at and can’t afford! Enjoy!

Cheers to a happy new year!

-Jill

Merry Christmas Eve! Today I’ll be doing something a little different for this post. Each country has vastly different holiday norms and traditions, which I find super interesting. For example, British people wouldn’t have just said “holiday” because the word holiday is a synonym for vacation, something Americans typically say. I have my own Christmas traditions just like everybody else, but I thought it would be nice to share some interesting traditions from across the globe.

1. The Giant Lantern Festival in the Philippines. Each year, the Saturday before Christmas Eve, 11 villages take part in the competition to create the most elaborate lanterns to showcase at the festival in San Fernando.
2. Krampus and St. Nicholas in Austria. During the first week of December, St. Nicholas’ evil sidekick, Krampus, scares children into the Christmas spirit. It’s taught that St. Nicholas rewards nice children, and Krampus captures the naughty ones to put in his sack. It’s a little emo, but so is half up my friend group.
3. KFC Christmas Feast in Japan. This is such a national tradition that people call in their orders months in advance to make sure there’s a bucket (or two) of fried goodness at the center of the table Christmas Day.
4. Día de las Velitas in Colombia. Little Candles’ Day kicks off the Christmas season in Colombia. They honor the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Mary by placing candles and paper lanterns in their yards, windows, and balconies.
5. Book Exchange in Iceland. On Christmas Eve, books are exchanged as presents, and the rest of the night is spent reading them so that they can discuss their books on Christmas Day. This tradition was brought about by Jólabókaflóðið, or the huge release of new books in Iceland from Septemeber to November.
6. Candy Canes from Germany. Candy canes are quite the Christmas staple these days, but did you know the idea came about by a choirmaster who wished there was a way to keep children quiet during the Nativity? He asked the town candy maker for some sugar sticks for the kids, but in order to justify giving them candy at church, the candy maker was asked to make it in the shape of a cane to represent the shepherds who visited the baby Jesus. Also, the white color signified the Jesus’ sinlessness. Eventually, the candy cane as we know it came about by a recipe published for straight peppermint candy sticks with red and white stripes was published in 1844, and the rest is history!
7. Christmas Tree from Germany. Germany is quite the tradition-maker, isn’t it? I read in my Who Was Queen Victoria? book that the popularity of the Christmas tree stemmed from Prince Albert’s German roots. When he married Queen Victoria in 1840, the British royals adopted his German Christmas tree tradition, causing widespread popularity by 1841.

Merry Christmas • Joyeux Noël •  Buon Natale • Good Yule • Feliz Navidad • Wesołych Świąt               メリークリスマス • Vrolijk Kerstfeest • Fröhliche Weihnachten

-Jill