July was a wild month. I don't think I've ever been busier at a job, although it was very fun. I worked at my school and with the long hours, it was much harder to take moments for myself, which made it even more important that I did. 

Self care was my focus for July and while these favorites might seem quite random, (because, well, they are), many of these things provided me moments of delight when I was tired or needed something for myself. So I consider them "self care" items, if that makes sense.

Here are six things that I loved in July, that made me smile during a tough month:

Brush Tipped Calligraphy Markers

I work as an Orientation Advisor (or OA for short) at my school and while I'm on break now, when I was working the days were long. To keep up our morale, my team would write each other affirmations. One of my co-workers did the most beautiful calligraphy, and she showed me all of her gorgeous brush pens.

I am now bound and determined to teach myself calligraphy, and I'm feeding my new pen obsession with these beautiful, metallic brush tipped markers from Ooly. (I found mine at Blick.) They are so opaque and very pretty for coloring, writing, or any of your crafting needs. 

Harry Potter Ravenclaw Pin

This favorite makes me so happy, and to help you understand why, I have to give you a bit of a backstory. Right before my family picked me up to move home for the rest of the summer, I went to Starbucks to pick up my chai fix. The barista making my drink had a Hufflepuff pin, and being two people obsessed with the series we had a whole conversation about it in line. (I felt a wee bit bad for the people behind me.) 

Long story short, the barista ended up giving me my own Ravenclaw pin so I could show my house pride! I love pins in general and it was such a lovely thing for a complete stranger to do -- it made my whole week. This Ravenclaw pin makes me smile every time I look at it and shows my house pride wherever I go!

Laptop Stickers

Laptop stickers are a huge thing at my school, and I've ben working on my collection since I got there. I finally feel like it's finished after I placed my latest order from RedBubble. 

My laptop stickers are a big mishmash - I've got one from my favorite coffee shop at home, one from my favorite ice cream shop at school, and tons that showcase my interests. My favorite ones from my most recent haul are Mental Health is Just as Important as Physical Health and the mock up of my favorite painting The Great Wave off Kanagawa. 

I'm running out of room, and I have a water bottle that's run out of room, so I'm going to have to figure out where to expand my sticker collection to. (Any suggestions?) 

Revisiting The Jurassic Park Films

After marathoning the Jurassic Park movies this month, I've come to the conclusion that I LOVE dinosaur movies. I love action movies and although I normally dislike jump scares, these ones are always exciting. Of course the original is the best, but the second and third aren't bad either despite sequels normally decreasing in quality. These movies deserve a shoutout and a place in your post-studying movie queue.

I have yet to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom but I liked the attempted raptor wrangling in the trailer so I'm excited to see it. 

Orangina! So much Orangina

My favorite soda ever is Orangina. I discovered it when I was in high school and my family went to Europe. If you've never tried it, it's essentially a carbonated orange juice. It's not super sweet like some sodas, but also tastes like real citrus. I drank so much of it in Europe and since then have only found in one time here in the US. (Do you guys have it where you live? If so, I'm jealous.)

This month, I found it at Trader Joes near my school and I must admit I did a dramatic gasp in the aisle, and then stocked right up. It's amazing and I highly recommend trying it if your local TJ's has them in stock. 

Decorating My Denim Jacket

Finally, I've been decorating my denim jacket for months and I'm finally happy with it. 

I bought a plain jacket from Forever 21 to start my patch collection on, but starting with a jacket that's already patched can give you a starting point to work with. I like this jacket, and I've found you can find amazing patches on Etsy, especially if you are looking for something specific. 

I get so many compliments on my jacket and wearing something I "made" myself is such a confidence boost. 

What were you loving in July?

Are laptop stickers a huge thing at your school, and have you hopped on the train? Are your favorites this month as random as mine? Let me know if you love pens, patches and pins as much as I do in the comments below!