6 Travel Tips to Ensure a Fun Vacation This Summer

Guys, I just got back from Georgia and oh my gosh I have tons of travel pictures to share this week on the blog! If you'd like a sneak peek then you can follow me on Instagram @savannahbby_14 or just wait until later, but following me on Instagram would be awesome... ;) I have bunches of travel tips to share with you in case you'll be traveling before the summer ends (lets face it it's basically over) or when the holiday season comes, which is very soon.

1. Don't wear tennis shoes on the plane! Don't wear shoes that you have to tie, for that matter. You're going to have to take them off in airport security, and they're very uncomfortable if you're going to be sitting in one spot for a while. Personally, I wear ballet flats because I can walk in them, they're comfortable and they slip off. But as I write this, sitting in a crowded airport, I see almost every person in sneakers...

2. I always roll up my clothes before I pack them because it makes them fit 100 times better, and I'm the type of person that likes to pack as much as possible, no matter how long the trip is. Just fold them over an extra time, and you're all set! My suitcase is incredibly full.

3. Bring a sleep mask. Unless you have a late flight and your plane is completely dark, stray light can make it harder for you to fall asleep, and I LOVE falling asleep on planes. Sleeping 30,000 feet in the air just makes you feel so well rested. Also, it can help you to get into your normal sleeping routine when you're wearing a mask (if you usually wear one when you sleep) which will make you fall asleep easier.

4. If you're flying United, then a huge (money and time saving) tip is to download the free United app. It can notify you of delays, gate changes, and the best part is that if you use the in-flight free wifi, then it offers hundreds of free movies and TV shows to watch during your flight in case you don't want to pay for personal wifi or pay to download your own movies and TV shows. This is a lifesaver if you have a long, boring flight!

5. Don't put too much in your carryon that you're gonna be stuffing under the seat in front of you on the plane, because lets just say I made a mistake of bringing a million books on the plane with me... although it wasn't really a mistake because I read every single one of them. But on the way back, if you're done with any of your books, then stuff a couple in your suitcase and you're good to go.

Funny story, when we got to the Atlanta Airport we were in a hurry to get out of there because of how crowded and huge it can be, so the rest of my family wasn't exactly happy when my huge luggage all got stuck in the revolving door, which stopped the whole thing and wouldn't start again. We had to squeeze through a tiny crack to finally escape... Never again!

xo Savannah

10 Macbook Tips + Tricks

In case you didn't already know, I recently (as in almost two months ago haha) switched over from a PC to a Mac, and after using a Mac I really feel like it's so relieving to have stress-free browsing and stuff like that, without worrying about my computer crashing or suddenly updating to Windows 10 (it happened to both my dad and my grandpa, Windows needs to chill). But if you're a first time Mac user, there might not be a lot that you know... Luckily, I've discovered a few tricks up Mac OS X's sleeve!

1. Did you know that you can use EMOJIS with only the click of a few keys?! Just press Control, Command and Space Bar and a little menu will pop up featuring all of your favorite emojis. Sadly, not on Blogger, though...

2. There's a certain feature that seems to be extremely popular and funny between my friends and I, and though it's a fairly obvious one, we laugh our heads off every time. The photo booth has tons of funny filters that you can play with with your friends, and I swear, it'll be a night well-spent.

3. Ever have to do some quick math but don't want to spend the time opening safari and Googling the problem? Use Spotlight search (Command + Space) and enter the problem, and it will automatically show the answer as you type.

4. I have to delet files every time I'm done with a blog post and don't need the photos anymore, and dragging them to the trash is quite the workout for your fingers. Avoid that problem altogether by simply clicking on the file and pressing Command + Delete! This is a lifesaver, not even kidding.

5. The absolute easiest way in the entire world to alternate between apps is by swiping left and right on the trackpad with three fingers. I don't even notice that I'm doing it, and this way, you don't have to do it via the dock.

6. It was a bit of a shock to me when I first listened to music on my Mac and the lowest setting was so loud! To adjust the volume in quartered increments, press Shift + Option +Vol Up/Down. It's so convenient, I don't know why it's not mentioned in the little pamphlet they give you! It also works for your brightness.

7. To view all of your apps at once, swipe up with four fingers. It makes managing easier and it's one of the quicker short cuts, without the use of any keys.

8. The last thing you do before you go to bed should be pressing "Update". It's not much of a trick, but it's sure hell of a tip. I always seem to be pressing "Ask me in an hour" that ends up going on repeat and my computer never gets updated... So do it before you go to sleep.

9. Hate those articles where you don't know what any of the words mean? I can't relate, but if this is your problem, then hold your cursor over any word and press Command + Control + D and a little dictionary will pop up. YOU'RE WELCOME.

10. Empty your trash every day! It's so irritating when your Mac has to load when it empties the trash. To empty your trash, in case you really didn't know, click on the little trashcan on your dock and click "Empty" in the upper righthand corner right below the search box.

These tips and tricks will turn you into a real Macbook Pro! (AKA my computer (;)

xo Savannah

7 Ways to Charge Your iPhone Faster

The part that I love most about having an iPhone is that it will stay charged all week, and it doesn't end up dying on long road trips, so I usually don't end up carrying my charger with me everywhere (which is super convenient). But sometimes, you just really need it to charge a bit faster for something- maybe you have a day of travel ahead and would like to have it fully charged, but it's only at 50%! Luckily, you have an hour to get ready- how can you make it charge faster?

1. First, turn on airplane mode. It's gonna save battery because you won't get any notifications or text messages or anything that would use up any of your precious battery life.

2. Now, do the most obvious thing that not everyone knows about; turn on low power mode. This is super easy to do: just go into Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode ON. Battery is in the third little section, in between Touch ID & Passcode and Privacy. Turning on Low Power Mode temporarily reduces the amount of power that is used, which turns off mail fetch, background app refresh, automatic downloads, etc. It also turns your little battery in the corner from green to light orange.

3. Close all of your apps for pete's sake! What do you even think is using all of the battery life?! In case you didn't know this, the most obvious feature on the iPhone, close all of your apps completely by double clicking the Home button, which will show everything that is currently open.

4. Now turn on night shift, a really cool feature that can temporarily disable the blue light your phone is emitting. It gives your screen a bit of a yellowy tint, which is normal. Fun fact: it's been proven that most cases of insomnia are caused by the blue light your device is emitting, because your body thinks it resembles a blue sky, which means daytime, which means don't go to sleep. Turning this off will help your battery life significantly, because ever since I started turning it on when I go to bed, my phone stays charged way longer! You can turn on night shift by pulling up the tool bar on the bottom of your screen and tapping the little icon at the very bottom center that has a moon on it.

5. Turn your brightness all the way down. It doesn't use a whole lot of power, but enough that your iPhone will charge faster if you turn it down. This can be done either in the Settings or in the bottom toolbar.

6. Now plug your phone into a different charger, like one you would use for your iPad. If you don't have one, then this step is optional, but it will guarantee to charge your phone 30% faster than a regular iPhone charger, so I always do this when I want my phone to charge as fast as possible.

7. Finally, turn your phone over. This prevents the screen from lighting up because the it senses that the phone is turned over and face-down (screen down haha), so your screen won't light up every time you get a pesky notification.

I hope this helped you out, and that now your phone can be at 100% as you please! I hate it when my phone gets below 60%, it just bugs the heck out of me and I have to plug it in :(

xo Savannah

How to Take Better Instagram Photos

Instagram is by far one of my top favorite social medias- it's appealing to the eye, interesting, people are actually active, its used by celebrities and I actually have a decent amount of followers. You can go follow me @savannahbby_14, I have a pretty good looking theme right now.... I actually went back and deleted photos because they didn't match my theme #instaqueenproblems hahahhahahhaha.

1. Lighting

Lighting is everything. No harsh lighting, nah, this has to be soft and indirect. Direct lighting will cast dark, weird shadows and won't make it look good. The best places are by windows and under soft lamps, but nothing too direct, like sunlight or really bright lamps.

2. Uniform photos

For a photo to go on Instagram, it has to be square. But you do not want to crop that landscape photo because oh my good lord it is perfect and looks like a professional took it when you actually took it on your iPhone. There's a simple fix- Whitagram. It automatically adds a white frame to make your photo a square, and it looks super nice, so when all of the photos in your profile have it, your theme will be on point.

3. The right editing

It's not hard to turn something bland and boring into a cute photo worthy of all of your social medias. a couple of tweaks will create the ultimate glow-up; all you need to do is increase the saturation, a little more fade, adjust the contrast, more brightness, etc. There are bunches of YouTube videos and Pinterest tutorials to help you ultimately achieve this, which brings me to my next tip....

4. The VSCO trick

This one is awesome, and when I heard about it on YouTube I was just amazed. All you need for this is the VSCO Cam app and Pinterest. Basically, just go on Pinterest and search "vsco" and a bunch of pictures will pop up, and they're basically templates for your Instagram theme! Just follow what it says on VSCO and all of your pictures will look uniform and beautiful.

5. Landscape it

Did you know that landscape photos are more appealing to the eye? Think about it. This doesn't mean you should only post landscapes and quit the profile shot, no no no no no, I'm just saying that those are more appealing to the eye and people are more likely to like it and tag their friends.

OTHER TIPS //

-Think of a cute caption. Witty ones that include puns always get good feedback, or go for something more deep- and if you can't think of anything, just add a couple of emojis!

-Don't forget the hashtags! This makes it more likely for people to find your photo when they're searching for a certain tag.

-This one's a big one; tell them to tag their friends! If they do, more people end up seeing and liking your photo, and then they'll tag people, and so on! So many people will end up seeing your photo.

If you follow these, it's a full proof plan to get more followers who like your content and enjoy what you post. Just remember to post frequently and don't ever spam your followers (too much)!

xo Savannah

The Ultimate List of SEO Tips

Whenever you search for something on Google, the magic Google wizard has to dig through a bunch of websites to find the best one for you, and that's what pops up on the first page. This is called SEO! SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it's really important for your blog because only 8.5% of people click over to the second page of Google (I feel like it's actually less than that), so that's why bloggers are so obsessed with perfecting the art of SEO. Today, I bring you the ultimate list of SEO tips. (you know it's special because it's italicized!)


-First of all, everyone thinks that a couple of small fixes is a quick solution for your website's lack of traffic. This is not the case- it's a constant long-term strategy that you need to work on for a long time, hence the word 'long-term'. So, yeah, hop off the lazy scale! (fun fact: all bloggers are kind of lazy, we're just normal people sitting on the couch in our PJs writing about whatever we please)

-Title your posts properly. They need to contain proper keywords in the right order to attract traffic- here's an example:

good title: 15 Makeup Bag Essentials for the Summer
bad title: Don't spend summer without this in your bag

Oh yeah, and capitalize things correctly- it makes it stand out a little more!

-This might just be one of the most important ones- add alt text to your blog photos. Here's how~

   -If you're on Blogger, click on the image so that the little blue toolbar pops up.
   -Now click on 'Properties'.
   -Two little places to type should pop up, one labeled 'title text' and the other 'alt text'.
   -Now edit the alt text so that it contains keywords that correspond to your blog post. In my         case, these are: blogging, seo tips, seo, blog, rainonametalroofblog

-Make sure your posts are super reader-friendly, and link back to other articles in your blog for maximum traffic. Every time I see links to other places on someone's blog, I click them into a new tab and end up reading for hours because they were smart enough to link me to other places on their site! Remember, you're writing for your readers, NOT Google. Content is more important than SEO, always.


-DO NOT overstuff your post with keywords. If there's one thing that annoys the little Googlebots, it's keywords. They will mark it as spam and you'll get a completely negative rating, which means your pageviews will drop and bye-bye loyal readers (obviously not so loyal I guess seeing as they're leaving??)

That's really all I have to say, and I hope you found this interesting and fulfilling. SEO is easy as long as someone (me) simplifies the process for you. Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter, @britishbby01 and Instagram, @savannahbby_14. Leave a comment including what you think is the most important part of SEO!

xo Savannah

5 Cool iPhone Photography Tips for Spring 2016

I had the idea that from now on, every season (3 months or so) I'll post five photography tips for that time of year, because I used to write a lot about taking pictures & such but I've noticed that I don't do that as much anymore. Also, I noticed that after this post, we're only 17 posts away from the big 1000 posts! It's a small milestone compared to some bloggers who have 5000 or even 10,000, but it'll be big for us because I've only been blogging for less than two years, so I can't wait to plan an awesome 1000 posts surprise. But for now, today's post~

-When you're taking landscape pictures, use the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is where you use the subject as one third of the photo, and some blank space as the other two thirds. In this case, you would use the sky as two thirds of the photo. To access the grid (this is only on iPhone, sorry Android users), go into Settings > Camera & Photos > Turn the 'Grid' option on. This will drastically improve your photos, and you'll have fun trying to take pictures with the horizon lining up with the grid. 


-To give your photos a Tumblr-y vibe when editing them, simply turn up the brightness & fade a little bit. This is gonna make them look super boho and Tumblr, and they'll be reblogged thousands of times with a simple edit like this. If you want to know what I use to edit my Instagram photos, I use whitagram- it's my favorite editing app ever. 

-Shoot in the first hour of sunlight and the last- the lighting will be absolutely perfect and warm and golden, which is why they call this the "Golden Hour". Also, if you're going to be shooting a landmark of some sort that is particularly busy (like the Eiffel tower, for instance) then go in the first hour of sunlight in the morning. It probably won't be too busy, and you'll get an amazing shot of this gorgeous structure with the sun rising behind it. 

-Use the burst on your iPhone to get the ultimate picture of a subject in motion. It captures 10 frames per second, so if someone is jumping in the air for example, you can get a photo of them right at the perfect moment. To take a burst, hold down the camera button when you're taking a picture, then later pick out your favorite from the bunch. 

-When taking pictures of the sunset, consider placing your subject (if there is one) in front of the sun for a more dramatic photo. Doing this will result in a sunburst, where the rays of the sun are coming out behind them, and it will look super Tumblr. 

I hope you liked these photography tips for Spring 2016, but if taking pictures isn't your thing, then you can use Pexels for some stock photos you'll fall in love with. 

xo Savannah

Study Tips for Taking Better Notes This Semester

I don't know about you, but at the school I go to, we just got into a new semester- new classes, new homework. We're into the middle of the year now, so you're kind of used to everything, like taking notes during a video. We don't take notes during lectures or anything, just videos (which can be even harder sometimes). I've got a couple of tips for taking good notes, and then what to do with those notes (depending on the assignment). 

BEFORE~

-First, think about what you're going to be writing about and how much space it will take up. I HATE it when it's the middle of the video, and I run out of space on my paper, so I have to waste priceless seconds to get out a new sheet of paper, and then I miss something very important. So grab a couple of sheets of paper, and also use a pen instead of a pencil if you can, so that there's no worries about having to sharpen it if it breaks. (use a reliable pen!)

-Don't skip lines. Yes, it makes it look neat, but you're also wasting valuable space and this is pretty much why you're ending up using twice as much paper as you need. Fill the lines, save trees. 

-You know how right before a workout you do a bunch of stretches, to prepare? It's the same with taking notes. Your hands will surely get cramped up, so give them some mini stretches. 

-Give it a good title and the date, so that if someone asked what day you guys took notes, you can tell them. Plus, you probably have, like, a gazillion different notes in your locker so a title will help you out (don't just write "NOTES"). Do something like "Revolutionary War Vid Notes, Feb 11". 


AFTER~

-When you're all done and have multiple pages of notes all done and you're super proud of yourself, staple it. Don't just use a paperclip, their measly and weak, and will fall off and plus they'll just get lost or something. Staples are forever. 

-Put them someplace safe where you'll remember where they are, because the last thing you want to happen is to lose 5 pages of double sided notes which can't be replaced because you took the most notes out of the whole class. DON'T. LOSE. THEM. 

-Meet up with your friends afterwords, like on the weekend or something, for a study session. Compare notes and write down everything they have that you don't have. You can never have too much, and plus you could be helping someone else out. Discuss anything you don't understand. Study sessions can be super helpful, and you'll thank me afterwards. 

-*OPTIONAL* If you have very messy handwriting (like me), then it's gonna be even messier when you're writing down a million things at once at the speed of light, so grab some fresh paper and rewrite everything if it's something that someone else will be reading later. 

These should help you out a lot, and if not, then just remember- only 5 more months until all of this is over :)

xo Savannah

15 blog Post Ideas for Lazy Days

Last week I posted about how to be productive on lazy days, and also how to get the most out of your morning, so by now you should really know how to turn a seemingly calm and lazy day into a beautifully productive day. One problem with lazy days is that you can't even think of anything to write because your brain is turned off and you don't want to be bothered with turning it back on, so I'm providing a couple of ideas because I'm just that nice :)

-Write a post on how you got started blogging. What platform did you use, what topics did you focus on, and why did you start blogging? Readers love a good backstory.


-Roundup a couple of helpful links, with a common theme. For example- morning routines, or blogging tips, or SEO tips, or just recipes. 

-Share a behind-the-scenes look at where you work, whether it's a studio or an office, or just your couch. Show rough drafts and things in the process, and how the posts come to be. I LOVED it when Rhett and Link's crew started doing this, but it works for bloggers, too. 

-Make a list of all the little things in life that make you happy. This sounds kind of silly, but it'll be meaningful to your readers, and it's just gonna put everyone in a good mood. 

-Share a favorite recipe. Everyone loves a good apple pie, or maybe some homemade ice cream, or just the secret to a good coleslaw. 

-Share a day-in-the-life post! These are super fun to read, and all you have to do is write down what you did all day and post it (include photos please). 

-Write about the pros and cons of your blogging platform. I can't wait to do one of these for blogger, I love it a lot, so this should be fun. LET THE GAMES BEGIN! 

-Share what you have on your phone. I always want to know what apps people have, because downloading new apps is one of my favorite hobbies... 

-A day in the life of you is great, but a day in the life of your pet is even better- especially if you're writing from the pet's point of view. I'm sorry but I can't remember who, but a blogger did this and it was wonderful, I loved it so much. I must find it again!

-Roundup and highlight the stuff you can't blog without (e.g. apps, coffee, Google Calendar, specific websites, random tools). 


-Write some tips about something you're an expert at, like knitting, cooking, exercise, writing, painting, etc. 

-WORKOUT ROUTINE!!! I loved Alisha Marie's and Eva's workout routines on YouTube, they were fun to watch and they motivated me to get out more. 

-Your favorite YouTubers, of course. You know that joy that floods your body whenever you discover a new channel that is amazing and you can't wait to binge watch them? Well, share the happiness :)

-Explain the meaning behind your blog/business name. Some of them are straightforward, but others have a deep and hidden meaning waiting to be shared. Even if you've written about it before, write a new one for your new readers. 

-Just have someone else guest post for Pete's sake. You deserve a day off, and that's what guest posts are for- people who need to stop writing for one day. 

So there you go, a couple of posts for the days that your brain is turned off <3 b="" nbsp="">

xo Savannah

7 Awesome Study Tips

Hey guys! It's that time of the year again, the time when all students brains spontaneously implode as an abundance of schoolwork threatens their lives, and they can't do one thing about it (such as scream bloody murder at the top of their lungs) because Christmas is coming and we have to behave no matter what because presents. You get me? Yeah? That's why I wrote this post, because I presumed that most people just don't even care about studying like they used to, three months ago at the beginning of school. I've got a couple of tips then~

1. Get enough sleep- just do it. If you don't get enough sleep you aren't going to be able to focus on the content that you're studying and all you'll be able to think about is sleeping and going to bed because you're so tired. You'll also be tired in class! Don't stay up later to review the content one more time, just go to bed so that you can focus the next day.

2. If you can't sleep before a big test or exams or whatever (NOT if you're sleeping fine, just if you can't sleep anyway) then go over the content you'll be taking a test on the next day. Read over your notes, that kind of stuff. You'll fall asleep because you're so bored and even dream about the stuff you just read, allowing for you to remember it better the next day. 

3. Try to have a study group with some friends, or just some really smart people you know, and you can learn this stuff and go over things every day for a couple of days/weeks, and then go over it once more the morning of. Doing it with some god friends will help you not get very stressed out, and you probably won't be afraid of asking them for extra help. 

4. Have study time scheduled into your days. If you make other plans, like watching a movie or going to a game or hanging out with friends, make sure you'll have enough time to study for a certain amount of time when you get home. You might not have to cancel plans altogether, but you will have to cut them short... One night out at the movies with friends isn't something you'll remember, but graduating college/high school is something you will remember. 

5. Turn off distractions! You might be one of those people who is studying online or using their laptop as they study, well, in this case, SOCIAL MEDIA IS EVILLLL. It's going to distract you and you won't get any work done. The same goes for your phone- turn off notifications and put it on the complete other side of the room (unless you're using it to study). Distractions are your worst enemy, let me tell you, just a few minutes on Twitter can turn into hours of not being productive. 

6. Take a couple of breaks here and there. Not long ones, just five minutes for every hour- for example, if you studied for four hours, a twenty minute break would be good. Or you can bump it up to ten minutes per hour, whatever you think feels right- but do take a break. You might think that studying for hours and hours without breaks is productive and good, but it's really not. It's bad for you. Take a break here and there, get something to eat, watch a couple of YouTube videos, relax.

7. Listen to soothing music as you work. Not loud, and not something you're going to stop working and sing along and dance to.... Just quit, relaxing music to soothe your mind and help you to not get so stressed out. 

I really hope these helped you out a lot because I know how stressful this time of year can be with the holidays and everything. Study hard, play hard!

xx Savannah

6 Photography Tips for Autumn + Winter 2015

Hey guys, still on break! I'm super excited for Thanksgiving, which is now only 3 days away, and I'm also really pumped because it's supposed to "snow" (you know, that weird cold white stuff that falls from the sky?) tonight, but I don't believe it'll even hit the ground because it hasn't actually snowed down here at this level in a few years.. so that's pretty sad. But on Sunday I got to go ice skating a couple of hours from here, and that was fun! I'm just hoping it'll snow in the mountains so that my family can go sledding. 

1. Not a lot of people know this, but Autumn and Winter are actually some of the best times of the year for photographers because it's usually cloudy without any actual direct light (at least where I live most of the time), which creates a really beautiful soft glow, allowing for amazing photos! See? 

2. Rain photography is actually really fun, because you can throw on a black and white filter and it'll look really gloomy and stuff, but you can also add in a pop of color in photoshop if you have something in the photo worthy of color (for example an umbrella- make the whole photo b&w, then go into photoshop and make it whatever color you like so that it stands out). 


3. Taking pictures of the water can be really cool, too! Reflections on a lake, river, ocean etc. can be turned around to your advantage, allowing for awesome photos of mountains or maybe sunsets reflecting- double the awesome. 

4. Christmas is the time for string lights, and string lights can be manipulated and made into awesome BOKEH PHOTOS! If you don't know what bokeh is (I don't even know how to pronounce it, haha), it's the shape of the lights in your photo that are out of focus. They can be just plain circles, or maybe hearts, or even stars- the possibilities are endless! Use the second photo as inspiration this holiday season and make something amazing. 

5. Use limited light to your advantage! When the sun sets, no matter where you are, it usually creates a really nice ombre effect, resulting in colorful photos. Maybe take a picture of the sky straight up, displaying all of the nice colors, with something in the center such as a bird or perhaps some tree tops? 

6. Last but definitely not least- sunglasses. No, you don't wear them while taking pictures... well, maybe you do. But that's not the point; you can make amazing ombre pictures with them by taking the photo through the lens of some ombre sunglasses that you are guaranteed to have on hand (and if you don't, pick up a cheap drug store pair, nothing fancy). I have yet to try this one out, but I'm super excited to!

Were these helpful to you in any way? I sure hope so, because these are custom to the Autumn & Winter seasons for the remainder of 2015 and beginning of 2016, and then I have a whole new set of photography trips planned out for Spring & Summer 2016. I can't wait!

xx Savannah