Weekly Wrap Up: Week 28

I'm writing this after a three day, yet busy work week, and as I watch The Fault in Our Stars. This was one of the best books I've ever read, because John Green is a genius, and it was a book that made me sob so hard my eyes swelled up.

It was also a movie that I thought did a good job at staying true to the message and feel of the book because it made me cry just as hard.

It brought something out in me and I just finished writing this post that I published on the HuffPost platform . I was just moved by the movie and started thinking (in the shower of course) what other love stories there are that have notable lines and really inspire something.

It's not wonderful, it's not the best piece I've ever written, but it kind of flowed out of me so I hope you'll read it :)

Anyways... next week I'm headed to QVC for another work trip so I'm going to try my best to write next week's posts before the weekend ends!

I did a lot of shopping over the past week and I'm starting to get all my packages. I already filmed an unboxing which will be up on my Youtube channel soon (hopefully this weekend) and I'll sprinkle in some more products in a post or v-log, whichever comes first!

For now, here's what I loved this week:

• I found this article about shopping and bipolar disorder extremely interesting
• The Solar Eclipse is Monday... here's what your eclipse horoscope
• How to XO Group went from media to tech
• I'll never give up coffee but these alternatives sound tasty
• Fashion essentials for the lazy girl -- this.is.me
• What you need in your kitchen according to a Parisian 
• I LOVED seeing Rockaway Beach on Vogue.com

Here's what you missed on Royally Pink:

• Pitch Perfect: Freelance Writing Class Review
• Book Review Wednesday: The Royal We
• POPSUGAR August 2017 
• Royal Travels: Boston

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo

B

Pitch Perfect: Freelance Writing Class Review

Ever since I was little, I loved writing. I used to pretend I was a reporter for my local newspaper. I wanted to be Lindsay Lohan in "Get A Clue". I loved to write in my diary and create stories in my head.

As I got older, I realized that I could actually make a career out of writing. When I was a Junior in high school, I got a near perfect score on my English Regents and was placed into Advanced English -- the first time I was ever put into an Advanced class. My Junior year English teacher was very proud of me and talked to me about pursuing a career with some sort of writing.

Before I decided to major in Journalism, I wanted to major in Psychology but with the help of my favorite English teacher (Mrs. I) and my favorite History teacher, (Ms. McNiff) I decided to head to college with dreams of Journalism in my head.

I wrote everything I could in college from newspaper stories to random articles published on random websites to writing internships and then finally to this blog. While I don't have a traditional career in writing and made my way into the social media world, writing is still in my heart.

I write here, for you, every week. I write for Elite Daily, The Huffington Post, and Out of Office NY. I write for my work blog, which was created specifically for me. I write books (well, two books that I have in my head). I just need to write.

My mentor, my friend, Elana, is an incredible writer and has been published in so many incredible places. She gave me my internship at Levo League (now just Levo) and gave me my first job out of college. She's been a cheerleader of mine from the beginning and I of hers.

*I just did an interview with Elana for 1000 Dreams Fund so check out more of her story! She has also a blog where she offers up some incredible career advice! 

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That's why when the queen of freelance writing (as I have dubbed her) reached out to me and told me that she was creating a writing course to teach people with writing dreams how to get published, whether it's a big time name or a smaller outlet, I nearly screamed.

The course is called "Pitch Perfect: How to Get Your Writing Published in Top Publications" and takes you through the steps on how to perfectly pitch yourself to any publication you want, and be successful at it.

I immediately started the course and flew through it (I am a fast reader, fast learner, and I took notes). It's not a difficult course and is filled with a lot of great information. It was information that I didn't find anywhere else.

Elana has so much to teach and I think it's really unique, unlike any advice I've read about trying to get published.

I think what makes this different from other courses/webinars/advice is that if you know Elana, you know she is determined and incredibly smart, but down to earth. She's a realist and understands that people work differently, but I think this course can apply to everyone's strengths.

Nothing in the course is outlandish or undoable -- it's ALL doable.

As my first attempt after finishing this course, I pitched myself to Out of Office NY and got the contributing writer position! I've now written there a handful of times and I've been loving it.

If you are serious about writing and want to make a career out of it, whether as a professional or freelancer, I HIGHLY recommend this course. It has incredibly valuable information and is a great resource to reference whenever you need a motivational push.

ELANA IS OFFERING A FREE COURSE AT 3PM ET TODAY SO SIGN UP

Please let me know if you take the course -- I would love to chat about it and see what you thought :)

xoxo
B

Book Review Wednesday: The Royal We

I've been wanting to read this book for a while now...for years, actually. The Royal We was released in 2015 and kind of blew up.

Everyone was reading this book and at one point, it was even being written as a movie by Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman.

The title and cover alone were enough to grab my attention all those years ago and I finally got around to "listening" to this book. Who doesn't want to read a book called "The Royal We"? What girl with a blog called "Royally Pink" doesn't want to read that book?!

The Royal We is loosely (and I say that borderline sarcastically because it's SO TRUE) on Kate Middleton and Prince William's romance.

The novel follows Rebecca "Bex" Porter and Prince Nicholas' journey to the altar. We start out with Rebecca arriving at Oxford University in England and running, quite literally, into Prince Nicholas. They start off as very good friends, and eventually it turns into a budding romance.

The book follows them over eight years, through many trials and tribulations, and shows you all sorts of different perspectives on their relationship. It's very fun, flirty, romantic, and scandalous all at the same time and kept me on my toes. At times, it's also very heartbreaking and I found myself holding back hysterical tears on the subway.

I didn't think the book was predictable either, because a lot of unpredictable things happened, mostly toward the middle-end of the book.

Listening to the book was quite long -- 17 hours but it felt like a lot longer because the book was broken up into different parts.

I am clearly obsessed with all things royal and tried my very hardest to find bits of truth within the book and there were quite a lot.

For starters, Rebecca has a twin sister (Pippa Middleton is not a twin but close enough) and Prince Nicholas' brother is a wild, partying, women loving ginger named Freddie. There is also an issue with Prince Nicholas and Freddie's mother, Emma, who used to be hounded by the press.

As you read the book and if you know the history of William and Catherine, you'll definitely be able to tell some similiarities.

I 100% would recommend this book for anyone because it has romance, comedy, a bit of history, and some scandal. It's not overly corny and is definitely not boring. It's also a fun game to try to figure out what was taken from real life and what is truly fiction.

The Royal We is definitely one of my favorite books I've 'read' this year!

xoxo
B

POPSUGAR August 2017 Must Have Box + Anniversary Box

Since this blog's inception, I've been a huge lover of subscription boxes. From Birchbox to Ipsy to NatureBox, I've loved and tried a lot of the boxes on the market.

My favorite, by far, has always and probably will always be the PopSugar Must Have box. It costs $39.99 a month but comes with at least $100 worth of product inside... and it's all full size and lifestyle products, so you get a mixture of everything.

*I've reviewed so many Must Have boxes over the years.. check out some past reviews!

PopSugar Must Have is celebrating their 5th birthday with a stellar, spectular August box. They were kind enough (like they always are) to send me the box and ugh, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it.

First up is a mask I've been wanting to try since it came out but never pulled the trigger; the First Aid Beauty Bouncy Mask. This is an all in one mask that will just make your skin look and feel better and I can't wait to try it out.

Next up was my 2nd favorite thing in here... a gorgeous blush colored, leather bound notebook from Fringe Studio. The last thing I need is a new notebook but it's just so pretty!

In the past year since I started loving interior design, I've wanted a breakfast tray or similar item so when I saw this 'Cheers' lacquered tray from Pasatel, I nearly keeled over. My mom already stole it from me and put it on the living room coffee table.

Some other fun items inside the box were a Shoptiques $25 gift card, some gorgeous long stemmed gold glitter candles from Meri Meri (which I will be using for my 25th birthday), Goodie Girl Chocolate Chunk Gluten Free Cookies (which I ate as soon as I opened the box) and an adorable Dogeared Friendship Bracelet.

This was a really great box, one of the best I've seen in a while and I'm happy that I was able to receive it and show it off to you all!

Must Have is really the only subscription box I think is worht it nowadays; the market is saturated with boxes but this has clearly stood the test of time and keeps getting better and better!

If you want to try out Must Have on your own, use the code PARTY for $10 off your first box -- trust me, you won't regret it!

xoxo
B

Royal Travels: Boston

I'm writing this from the comfort of my bedroom on Monday morning because I took the day off from work. As fun as my weekend was, it was exhausting. I drove to, from, and around Boston so it was a lot.

We arrived to Boston around 2:30 PM on Friday and took a little nap in the hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Suites in Cambridge and it was perfectly fine. It wasn't anything fancy or insanely nice but the room was big, clean, and cozy. The hotel staff was nice and courteous so to me, it was a nice stay.

Friday night, went to the Boston Burger Company for dinner in Cambridge. I've been wanting to go to this place for years because they have super aggressive burgers, and it was everything I imagined. I ordered the Killer Bee which was bacon, cheese, onion rings, and BBQ sauce -- it was insaely delicious.

Afterwards, we walked around Harvard Square, went to a few bookstores, walked around Harvard's campus and just enjoyed the nice night. I was asleep by 10:30 because I was exhausted from the drive and we had an early day on Saturday.

On Saturday, we started out in the Back Bay which I think was my favorite part of the entire trip. It seems like the heart of Boston and was everything I thought it would be; so many cute shops, restuarants, and cafes-- it was awesome.

For Brunch we went to The Beehive and it was adorable -- probably my favorite restuarant I went to on this trip. It had a very 1920s/New Orelans vibe with a jazz band and dim lighting. I got Short Rib Hash with egg whites and it was divine. Add a mimosa and a coffee and you've got the perfect brunch!

Afterwards, I wanted to go to Kate Spade (of course) and it was the cutest little shop. Newbury Street was filled wtih adrorable double decker stores and I was obsessed. I got to try on some bags I've been eyeing and picked up a new phone case.

After Kate Spade, we went into the Lilly Pulitzer store which was having an awesome sale and I picked up this shirt which I've been eyeing for a while. Shopping portion of the trip? Complete!

We walked around Back Bay more, went to the Public Garden Park (I think that was the name) and it was incredible. I've never been to Central Park (bad New Yorker, I know) but this was breathtaking. I was obsessed.

After this little excursion we headed over to the JFK Museum and Library and OMG, this was incredible. JFK and Jackie O are some of my favorite historical figures so seeing a museum dedicated to the 35th President and the First Lady that CHANGED First Ladies forever, was beyond words. I definitely think this is a must-do if you're in Boston because it's touristy without being over the top corny.

When we left the museum, we headed to the North End and grabbed a Lobster Roll (my first ever and it was SO GOOD). It was back to the hotel after this for a bit of R&R and then we headed to dinner at a very late 10 PM in South Boston at Lincoln's Tavern. I got Truffle Mac & Cheese and the vibe of the bar was pretty good and if I was in better shape (not tired and cranky) I would've really been into it. It was a super young crowd but still had a classy feel, definitely not a college bar. It was really nice.

Sunday morning we headed out early but not without breakfast at The Friendly Toast. We had tried to get into this resutarant in the Back Bay but realized there was one in Cambridge, a few minutes from our hotel and it was well worth it. The menu was super interesting, with lots of fun brunch items but I kept it simple with 1 Pancake (because it was the size of the plate) and a side of bacon.

We were on the road at 10 AM and the trip was over! It was so much fun to be in a different state and explore the city. I would 100% go back to Boston ASAP, I'd love to go in the Fall and maybe take a trip to Salem, we shall see!

xoxo
B