4 Purchases to Save For in Your Twenties

I am by no means a financial wizard. I have been struggling for years to build up a savings account that satisifed me, and trying to control my spending habits.

Over the past months, I've gotten a lot better and I'm really proud of myself. I went a little crazy with spending last week but I've gotten back on track.

I don't have a good relationship with money and I've made that clear, but I do think that there are things that you should invest in/save for. What am I saving my money for? I'm saving for life... for an emergency, for an apartment, for an adult life.

I do think that there are important things we should all be saving for as we enter our twenties. It's definitely something to think of if you're entering your senior year of college. I wish I would've known this back then...

1. Luggage: I did not have a decent suitcase when I graduated college and shared with my mom. It wasn't until I started traveling for work that I knew I needed something serious. I needed a real, regular size suitcase that suited my personality but was also professional. I saved up a bit and bought this suitcase from Target. I also highly recommend these because they're everywhere and have a really good reputation.

2. Good Pillows: I HATE nothing more than waking up in the morning with a stiff neck. I am very particular about the pillows I sleep on and it drives me nuts when they're not just perfect (I sound very divalicious, don't I?) My pillows have to be soft but not so soft that there is no support and the last thing I want is a hard pillow. Good pillows are everything.

3. Investment Handbag: It's no surprise that I'd find a way to work a handbag onto this list because they are my everything. I have a lot of mid range handbags (Kate Spade, Tory Burch...) but I fully believe in saving up for a handbag that will last you your entire life, such as Louis Vuitton Speedy (which I got for my 16th birthday and it's still incredible). Having a tote like a Prada Galleria, or even a Louis Vuitton Neverfull, to me, is a good investment because it's a sturdy work tote that will be your go-to for job interviews, events, work days, etc. If you love handbags and are looking for something durable, I recommend saving up for something you love!

4. An apartment: I still live at home and I'm 100% ok with it. I don't feel financially responsible enough yet, and it's just me and my mom (my sister just moved out for her senior year of college) so I'm content here, but I have gotten the inkling recently, as more and more of my friends move out on their own, that I need to get serious. I highly recommend to start saving (starting with that graduation money) for your first apartment as soon as you get out of school. This would guarantee that you're ready to leave at a moment's notice, with a nice little safety net.

Learn from my mistakes and start saving now! 
xoxo
B

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