Category: Coffee Break

Coffee Break, Uncategorized

A Beautiful Mess, a Kelly Moore Bag

India

AAAAHHHHHHHH two of my favorite things to stare at on the computer came together.

Kelly Moore, check out that post here, and A Beautiful Mess, which is a wonderful blog of DIY and Recipes and photography tips. These two made a bag that explores function, business, and style in the world of photography. This bag is on the larger side, and sometimes I can’t get it to lie where I want it to on my body.

It is a beautiful briefcase style that holds everything that you need it to hold in terms of gear, and more. It can also be used as a diaper bag or anything else you want because the inside sleeve for your camera comes out as it does on the B-Hobo bag. Here are some pictures of how I use it.

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It also comes with a diaper changing mat, and a container that can hold a large lens or a water bottle. It also comes in fun colors like Kelly Green and Walnut. I chose the Walnut color because I already have a Mustard Kelly Moore bag, and I wanted something that could possibly be used for school as well.  I can put basically the same amount of stuff in this bag as I can can the B-Hobo bag, with probably just a little extra room and a little more free space.

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Also my iPad mini fits in the front pocket, and my surface tablet fits in the back pocket. I like having my surface instead of my macbook sometimes just because it is lighter, and I can still upload pictures on to it. With a nifty SD card reader I got from BestBuy I don’t need to know where the cords are.

This bag is close to $200, but it is a large and sturdy bag that comes with some extra things in it. I think it is just a little too wide, as I said earlier it doesn’t sit on me right, but I could just be weird.

It also comes with two straps, a matching strap, and the striped strap that matches the inside of the bag. I hope these pictures help! I’m going to try and get a picture of me with the bag, so you can see where it lays. Until next time,

Keep Turning the Pages

 

90s Born Reader

 

Coffee Break, Uncategorized

#MedicLife

India

Yes, I’m a paramedic.

Yes, I’m 22.

Yes, I’m female.

Yes, I have a bachelors degree in Emergency Medicine.

imageBecoming a paramedic is one of the best things that have happened to me. At first I thought I wanted to be in Athletic Training. I absolutely love the field, and I love sports, but that wasn’t in the cards for me. I stumbled into the EMS field after taking an EMT class at the University of Pittsburgh. From there I learned more about the Emergency Medicine program Pitt has through the Center for Emergency Medicine from one of my favorite teachers. I decided that I need to apply because it couldn’t hurt. At Pitt people say that the EM major is for people who can’t cut it as a bio or chemistry major, and they’re right. I can’t be a bio or chemistry major, but I didn’t want to be. When I graduated, I wanted to leave with a skill that I could get a job in. I also knew that if I wanted to pursue other healthcare options, I needed something that taught me how to deal with patients.

So, joining the EM program was what I decided. Through a whirlwind of Junior year classes, crying, and still trying to be a typical college student I made it through paramedic school, and passed the National Registry. For all of you nursing students out there paramedic school and nursing school are no where near the same thing even at a great program like at the University of Pittsburgh.

Being a “baby Medic” as I like to say has shown me a lot. I’ve learned it’s rare to be this young and a paramedic, even though I graduated with a whole class of them, and I’ve also learned it’s possible to look decent and be a medic. One of the hardest things I had to get used to becoming a paramedic, was not the long hours, the weekend shifts, the overnights, and the no holidays, it was realizing I was back to being in a uniform.

For all of my schooling before college I was in a uniform, and I loved them, and then in college I got to dress however I wanted to. Through that time I got to learn my personal style, my makeup likes, and my shoe likes. Being a paramedic I don’t get to wear nice clothes, and make my hair all pretty. I do try not to look like a slob though, put on a touch of makeup, and try to control the mane that is my natural hair. This is only the beginning on what I want to talk about being a new medic because when I was trying to figure out what to do when I was starting and pressing google wasn’t working, I at least had a lot of friends to help. So this one though frivolous was something that I needed to remember. Make yourself look decent, even in uniform. Until next time,

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90s Born Reader

Coffee Break, Uncategorized

EBags Packing Cube Review

India

*Everything that is in here is my opinion and I was not paid for any of it!*

When preparing for my cruise and trip to Rome I kept stumbling on these weird bags that help you to pack and keep you organized. Now that combines two things that I love to have and do, bags and organizing. So, I had to check them out. I watched countless youtube movies and moved from website to website, and read a whole bunch of reviews. When it came down to it they were inexpensive and came in pretty colors. I decided to try the set of 3 carrying size slim packing cubes, and 3 small ones. After getting the package it surprised me how small they were, realizing that I have never seen a comparison picture. But… I already loved them and was picturing them in my suitcase, which of course they match. I decided I loved them so much, and I had not gotten my best friend a graduation present (terrible friend), so I decided to get her a set of the 3-slim packing cubes (all the same size). I got hers in one of her favorite colors of canary, and decided that I needed another set of the 3-slim packing cubes.

It was difficult to tell what the sizes were like on the website, so I put a picture here. The slim cubes were about the width of a macbook pro, and the small cubes were the size of a hardback book.
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When it was finally time for me to pack I could already see how I was going to divide up all of the clothes I was packing. For my trip I was taking 2 suitcases; a medium sized checked bag and a carry on. I then decided to use the small and slim packing cubes, which were both blue, in my checked bag, and my green odd shaped bags in my carry on. Now I read many a packing list, and I am not a light packer, but I did my best to cut down on the amount of clothes I was bringing and leave out the “just in case” category. I saw my sleeveless shirts and dresses in one, my underwear and swim suites in another, shorts and workout clothes in another, and it was all coming together.

Placing them in my suitcase after they were all packed up was like magic. They took up no room in my suitcase, especially with the amount of clothes I was packing, and I even had an extra, small cube, which I tossed in just in case I bought anything interesting.

Taking them along with me was the best decision I have ever made when it comes to traveling, and I will be using them religiously. Being able to unpack my suitcase just by taking the bags out of my suitcase and tossing them in the drawers was amazing. Definitely get them, they’re affordable and worth it!! Until next time,

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90s Born Reader

Coffee Break, travel

Kelly Moore B-Hobo Bag

India

Though I am not an avid photographer, I love the idea of photography. I have always loved cameras and everything that comes with them. As you already know I love bags as well. So, of course I went into a major search to find the perfect camera bag!

Through spending hours online during class, or procrastinating on homework I found nothing. Until I was doing a school event and was talking to a woman who pulled out her camera from this beautiful bag that she said was actually a camera bag. I asked her where she got it it from and she said “Kelly Moore!”. That is where the obsession began. I of course then had to spend countless hours on the computer trying to find out more about this Kelly Moore. I watched YouTube videos, read reviews, combed her website, and decided that this was the right camera bag for me. She has so many different types to fit all occasions and all needs, and they are beautifully designed to look like your typical day bag with the protection of your expensive camera.
Now the bags are expensive so I needed one to fit into my jobless college girl budget. I decided on the B-Hobo bag that is one of the least expensive of the bunch. This one is shaped like a large purse and has a comfortable shoulder strap. After consulting through a mass email with family I decided to go with mustard, and treated myself to a late birthday/early graduation present.
Below you’ll see some pictures, I took these the night before vacation so they’re kind of rushed, of how I fill it up, and what I can carry in it!
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The bag is capable of standing up on its own
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Under the flap of the bag there are two pockets that I slip my extra memory cards and my phone into. There are also side pockets that iPhone can fit into.
Lastly there is a back pocket that I can put my iPad mini or notebook into
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The inside of the bag has padding that is able to protect you camera. I’m able to fit my DSLR in here with lens attached as well as my fixed 50mm lens.
The dividers are adjustable so that you can shape them however you want.
Also the inside of the bag comes out so you can just use it as a purse!
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Here are all of the things I’m able to fit into my bag minus my DSLR. Here you see:
1. Surface Tablet 2
2. iPad mini
3. Evernote notebook
4. 50mm fixed lens
5. fisheye lens
6. Case f extra memory cards
7. Grid-It Organizer (Actually I’m not sure if this fits in there it just might still be on the table)
8. My point and shoot Nikon
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 Here’s me and my bag at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey!
You can see that it lies just like a normal purse and is pretty inconspicuous as a camera bag.
It worked wonderfully for my adventure this summer!!
Bookish, Coffee Break

Summer Reading

India

Do you remember when you were in school and you had to do summer reading? When the school assigned you certain books that had to be read during the summer, and when you go back to school you were going to be quizzed, tested, or forced to write a paper on? I remember hating every moment of it and I’m actually a reader and always have been. I never particularly liked the books they chose, and if you read them too early in the summer you would forget everything by the time school started so you had to wait until the last minute to read them. I don’t know all of this could be a foreign concept to you, as I was told some people didn’t have to do this. I think my school finally caught on how horrible summer reading is when they allowed us to pick our books from a list so it at least made is seem like we had some say in the matter… But we didn’t.

Like I already said I’m a reader, so all they were doing was actually adding more books to the amount that I was going to read. I’m not going to say that it was a totally wasted experience because it did make me read some books that I never would have picked for myself. Books like Call of the Mall (I’m pretty sure that the staff thought we would like this book because it was about the mall, and made us have a field trip to the mall during the summer, but it was one of the worst books I’ve ever read, sorry Paco Underhill), Founding Brothers, Scarlet Letter (I probably would have gotten to that after Easy A came out lol), and others including books about the Savannah in Africa.

As usual I always have a ton of books that I want to read during the middle of the summer. For a student who is out of school and is doing nothing right now, I’ve done a horrible job of actually completing books. I have too many books that I’m reading at one time and the problem is none of them are fast paced, but they’re all really good. I’m on a plane to Seattle right now with my mother and I’m trying to read lion by Gregory Maguire, but like his other books it moves really slowly, but you appreciate the story at the end. I’m actually reading that book as a hardback book, which is becoming such a weird thing! Don’t worry I also brought my kindle with me as well and on that I’m reading Steve Jobs, which is such an amazing story about a man of whose products I support and own wholeheartedly. I bought two new books for this trip, another Steve Berry book, and a book from a new series that I haven’t read before, so I’m excited to read both of those. Until next time,

Keep Turning the Pages

90s Born Reader