What's In My Nursing School Clinical Bag

Now that I am officially done with nursing school and cleaning out my clinical bag, I wanted to share what all I have kept in this bad boy for the last 2 years. During nursing school I used this bag for both clinical and work (I worked as a CNA and a nurse intern during school), but both roles required about the same supplies. I recommend a clinical bag that zips shut. Sometimes you don't have a good place to keep your things at clinical and it can be easy for your bag to get tipped over, so having a zipper will keep all your things contained! I have the crossbody tote  from ThirtyOne and have loved it! I also have a short video at the end of the blog post showing you a little more of what's inside my clinical bag :)

1. Pen Pouch - specifically a clear one. I found it so helpful to have a clear pen pouch, it saved me a lot of time from digging around looking for a specific pen. It is also helpful to have all of your writing utensils contained and not thrown all over your bag.
Bag mentioned in my video:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0732YKG96/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. Medication Bag - I am a preparer and I ALWAYS like to have basic medications with me such as Tylenol, ibuprofen, cold medicine, Tums. Again like my pens, I simply keep them in a bag just to keep them all contained.
Bag mentioned in my video:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S72HGLT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3. Folder - I found it helpful to have a folder in my bag to have extra clinical paperwork that I needed with me such as care plans, med sheets and any other references!

4. Stethoscope & Name Badge - These are pretty obvious. At my school we were required to have our own stethoscope at clinical and required to wear our name badge

5. Water & Snacks - Clincials at my school were anywhere from 4-12 hours depending on the course, so it was crucial to bring water and at least one snack.

6. Writing Utensils - I think this is another pretty obvious one. I liked to have lots of extra pens just in case. I also carried around a highlighter at clinical, it helped me keep track of my day better!

7. Clipboard - I loved using a folding clipboard during clinical! It was nice to be able to fold it up and slide it in my pocket to keep patient information safe. I'll leave a link below for the one I use.
https://www.amazon.com/WhiteCoat-Clipboard-Pink-Nursing-Edition/dp/B00GWSPT9Q/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=pink+folding+clipboard&qid=1576529578&sr=8-4


My video -->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkPSGALfSek&feature=youtu.be

Baby Shower Gift Basket

One of my best friends is having her first baby in January and I could not be more excited for her! Kayli was my #1 babysitter growing up, I spoke in her wedding, and she will be officiating mine and Austin's wedding in June! It is going to be so fun seeing her and her husband during this next phase of their life! We celebrated over the last couple weekends with a friends baby shower and I was lucky enough to be invited to her family shower as well.

I wanted to make this little post about the gift that my mom and I put together for her. We both really enjoy putting together gift baskets/bags for people, so it was a no brainer that we would put some sort of basket for Kayli as well! My mom actually made Kayli a gift basket when she went away to college and I made her a wedding day emergency kit!

While I was looking at Kayli's baby registry, I got the idea to put together a little shower caddy with all the bath goodies that little babe might need. I chose a lot of the items directly from her registry but also added some other things.

These were some really cute items on her registry! She asked for the waterfall bath rinser, and while shopping for that, I found this cute little duck that tells you if the water is too hot. 

Above and below are some specific items that Kayli had on her registry. The lavender soap & lotion smell soooo good!

I couldn't help myself with the little hooded towel and washcloths. 

I thought this plastic caddy was perfect for those who don't have a lot of storage space in their bathroom - all the baby's stuff can just be kept in the caddy and stored wherever! I love this gift idea because just like my wedding day emergency kit post, the items in the basket/bag can be changed to fit anyone! I think it would also be fun to put together a little diaper changing caddy or a postpartum care bag for the mama. 

Meal Prep Steak Bowls

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite lunch prep meals! Like many I loveee Chipotle but let's be honest...their portions are huge! And it can get a little pricey eating it all of the time, so I decided to create a little something that I can make from home! These are so easy and filling to take to school or work. 

To make these bowls, I start with marinating my steak for at least a couple of hours. The amount of steak depends on how many bowls I make and how much steak I put in each container. I typically put about 3oz of steak in each bowl!

Once the steak has had time to marinate, I cook it on the stove top with a tiny bit of oil. The marinade I use is from Trader Joe's and it is the Chili Lime seasoning blend and it is SO GOOD. While I'm cooking the steak I add a little more of the seasoning blend.

While the steak is cooking I get my veggies cut. I always do red onion and some sort of bell pepper. I slice them up nice and thin and cook them with a little oil! I also add a little bit of the seasoning blend to the veggies because I'm obsessed. 

Once everything is cooked up I add it all to my container with some Monterey Jack cheese. I meal prep lunches for Austin every Sunday and make cilantro lime rice so I like to add that to my bowls. I'll link the recipe I use for the rice here: https://www.serenabakessimplyfromscratch.com/2015/08/cilantro-lime-rice.html

So that's my take on my DIY steak chipotle bowls! Side note: I usually do add a lime wedge to squeeze over the whole bowl after I reheat it but today I unfortunately forgot to pick up a lime. Hope you enjoy!

Mac 'n' Pea Pasta Salad

Today I wanted to share my favorite pasta salad recipe! I don't remember where I found the original recipe but I have tweaked it several times to make it my own and I think I've finally found the right combination of ingredients. This is my go-to pasta - I make it for work potlucks, family cookouts, as a dinner side...honestly whenever! It doesn't have a lot of ingredients and is pretty customizable! Hope you all enjoy :)

 

What you're going to need for this pasta salad is:

2 C of Elbow Noodles, dry

2 T Milk

1/4 C Mayo

1/4 C Sour Cream 

1/2 C Diced Bell Pepper (any color)

1/2 C Diced Red Onion

1/2 C Frozen Green Peas

1/2 Block of Cheddar Cheese, cubed small

Salt & Pepper to taste 

First, cook the pasta according to box directions and drain. After the noodles are drained, keep them in the strainer and rinse with cold water until all noodles are cool. 

While the noodles are cooking, get your veggies and cheese chopped up! 

Mix up the milk, sour cream and mayo in a separate small bowl until well combined. 

Once the noodles are cool, the veggies are chopped and the dressing is mixed - its time to throw it all in a big bowl! 

Make sure to mix everything up really well & store in the fridge!

I usually make it the morning of or the night before I am going to be serving it. Sometimes it does dry up a little overnight - I just add a splash of milk and mix it in. The great part about this pasta salad is that you can alter the amount of ingredients to make it your own! Depending on who I'm making it for I sometimes add more noodles to make the salad less creamy. Or if you like it more creamy I would only do 1 1/2 C of pasta. 

Bridesmaid Proposals

Whooohooo I finally asked all of my bridesmaids! I wanted to share my bridesmaid proposals mainly because I had a hard time finding beach related ideas on Pinterest. I am having a beach wedding, so I wanted my proposals to be beach themed, I also didn't want them to be something super common. I asked my matron of honor over Christmas break because I don't see her very often - I quickly learned that it is hard to beach buckets either in store or online. No one had them. I ended up just getting this simple bucket from Hobby Lobby. I asked the rest of my bridesmaids in May and was able to find actual beach buckets! I also got these buckets from Hobby Lobby. In all of the buckets I put a sunscreen, a sunscreen lip balm, a flamingo coozie, a White Claw & a treat. For my matron of honor bucket I made a cute beach sugar cookie and was planning on making those for my other buckets as well but kind of ran out of time so I ended up doing peach rings (they're my fave and cute/bright). I also made different "card" for each bucket! I'm really happy with how these turned out and I think my bridesmaids liked them too :) 

Top 10 Amazon Buys

Hi everyone! I really wanted to start blogging more consistently this year and was hoping to get this up in February but here I am a few days late...in my defense I had an exam on Friday so that was my top priority last week! Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite items that I've ordered from Amazon. Like everyone else, Austin and I order something from Amazon about once a week! It's so convenient and they have just about everything. Here are my top 10 purchases:

1. Apple Watch Screen Protector
Austin and I both have Apple Watches and wear them everyday! He works in a shop and I work at a  hospital so without these screen protectors I'm sure our screens would be so scratched and dinged up by now! I like these because they're cheap, come in a set of two and don't make my watch too bulky!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WPCSHK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. Traveling Pill case
Whenever I travel somewhere I always forget my melatonin. I found this small travel pill case that works perfectly! I keep melatonin, headache medication, tylenol and B12 vitamins (hangover life saver) in it and just leave it in my travel toiletry bag. So nice to not be tossing and turning on trips anymore!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F9P545V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

3. Tinkle Face Shavers
I learned about these from Stefany Banda (https://www.stefanybanda.com/) and they are one of my favorite new skin care tools! They're basically little face razors that take off all that peach fuzz and dead skin. I've been using them about once a week for a couple of months now and I'm obsessed! They leave my face sooo smooth!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014HNOXZS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

4. Stainless Steel Straws
I don't leave home without my Yeti cup (sometimes I head out with two of them) and having a straw is a game changer. This is a pack of 4 with a little cleaner stick and they fit in both the large and small Yeti!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019YJT918/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


5. Zen Bamboo Duvet Cover
For our house I knew I wanted plain colored duvet covers for both the master and the guest room. I originally just bought one of these covers for our guest room but thought it was so soft that I ordered one for our room too! We've even had a couple of friends stay in our guest room and ask where we got it from!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZMZ80H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


6. Bluetooth Headphones
If you're not a super picky person with headphones (personally I'm just fine with the ones that came with my iPhone) these are awesome. They stay in your ears, stay charged for a long time and are so easy to connect to your phone. My sister, my dad and I all have them!

 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G8JO5F2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

7. Self tanner
I'm a long time self tanner user - I've used about every kind and this one is one of my favorites. It looks very natural, not orange at all and lasts a solid week! It also doesn't have a bad scent like most of them do!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2PB3BW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

8. Spa Headband
I've had one of these for as long as I can remember but this one from Amazon is my newest, softest one! I love to use it when I shower or when I am just washing my face at the sink to keep my hair dry and out of my face! Unfortunately the exact one that I have is sold out and I couldn't find one similar that had as great of reviews, so I'm still going to link the one that I have - keep your eyes open and hopefully it'll come back!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C2EFS9O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1



9. Soft Cooler
Austin and I got this for Christmas and it is the best. It's small but large enough to bring drinks and an appetizer over to a friends house!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FNYVH9H/?coliid=IJ3S4HXAVVJ2J&colid=1UMXUFIBR1KFA&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

10. Laundry Mesh Bags
These are a must have if you do your own laundry. They're perfect for shirts and bras that you don't want to just throw right in with the rest of your laundry. I've had the same bags for about two years and they're still in perfect shape.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KAIJJKS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ham & Rice Casserole

Happy cold day! Here in Northern Illinois we got dumped on with several inches of snow Sunday night, yesterday we had windchill temperatures in the -50s and today we're still close to -30 with windchill. I've had more days off from school this week than I've actually been at school. I wanted to share one of mine and Austin's favorite comfort dishes. It's definitely not the healthiest but it is SO good. I remember my mom making this growing up but I would never try it (for those of you who don't know - I was an EXTREMELY picky eater) but she gave me the recipe a few months ago and now we make it about twice a month. Its a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

The measurements I'm sharing are for a two person serving (8x8 dish) but could easily be doubled to feed more - that's how my mom always made it! 

What you're going to need for this recipe includes: 

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 can cream of celery soup 

1/2 can of green beans (drained)

1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan 

1 T minced onion

1/2 T mustard 

Diced ham (personal preference on amount)

pepper to taste 

Side note: I use the Trader Joe's frozen brown rice (1 package) instead of making my own - it's just easier and quicker for weeknights! You can definitely just cook your own brown rice.

Melt together the soup & heavy cream. Heat until just about boiling.

Add in the cheese, onion, pepper and mustard. 

Add your rice, sauce, ham and green beans (almost forgot mine here) to the greased casserole dish and mix them all together. Sprinkle the french fried onions right on top and throw it in the oven! 

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees

2018 Recap

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Austin and I rang in the New Year at 10:30 last night and went to be early...most exciting 23 year olds that I know. But I have to admit, it feels pretty good not being hung over today and I'm kinda looking forward to getting my office organized. Every year I like to put a post together looking back on the year just for myself to be able to reflect on the year and to have a place that I can always go to, to look back on. This year though I noticed a lot of people using Instagram stories to do the same thing which I loved being able to look at everyone else's year in review and made me even more excited to do this post! I hope you enjoy reading all about my year because to me it sure was an exciting one!

JANUARY

In January this year I started nursing school which was super exciting! I started a two year BSN program meaning I was accepted after completing I want to say like 60 hours of gen eds (basically an associates) and will graduate after two years with a bachelors in nursing. For the most part - I love nursing school. Yeah it's hard but being around people all the time that get it and that share the same passion as you is so nice and so fun. 

FEBRUARY 

I feel like February is always kind of a dud month. It's always cold, snowy and there is nothing exciting going on. We celebrated our three year anniversary this month but didn't really do too much because of school (we usually go out of town or something). We also started remodeling our main bathroom. 

MARCH

March was a little bit more exciting! I passed my first eight weeks of school which meant that I got to participate in the White Coat Ceremony and move onto clinicals and direct patient care. This meant in March I also had my first days of nursing school clinicals which were on a medical surgical unit. At the end of March we celebrated Ella's (our niece) 3rd birthday! 

APRIL

Hmmm another uneventful month. Let's see I learned that the operating room is not for me and chopped off about 10 inches of my hair...that's about as exciting as it got. 

MAY

May wrapped up the first semester of nursing school! Whooohoo! Such a good feeling to have that under my belt. We finished up our bathroom renovation (https://baileycollette.blogspot.com/2018/05/bathroom-renovation.html) just in time for Hannah and John to come visit before the left for Asia for the summer! 

JUNE

This was another eventful month - now that school was done we had so much free time. I went to my first Cubs game, took a trip to Tennessee (Austin's first trip to the farm) for Father's Day and ended the month in Grand Rapids, Michigan! I made a short video while we were in Tennessee which I will link here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnkE85kov60)

JULY

July was such an exciting month! I took my first trip out to Colorado to visit Kit while she was working there for the summer. I loved it! I stayed at a hotel right on the lake and got to kayak and relax while Kit was working. Then when she wasn't working I hung out with her at the ranch! At the end of the month we took our family trip down to Florida. This year we decided to go to Ft. Myers instead of Panama City just for a change of scenery and AUSTIN AND I GOT ENGAGED!!!! Best trip to Florida by far. I made a video of our trip that I will go ahead and leave the link to (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZNhTGBkGc&t=24s) 

AUGUST

Back to school.

SEPTEMBER

This was a busy month of school of social stuff I feel like. In the beginning of the month I participated in the Alzheimer's Walk with my school which was a lot of fun and is a condition that is super close to my heart. Then at the end of the month my family participated in a bike bar crawl which is exactly what it sounds like..you ride your bicycle while bar hoping (tons of fun - didn't fall this year) all while raising money for hospice. 

OCTOBER

October was just a busy month of school - I feel like October is similar to February in a way, there is never really anything going on. We spent my birthday getting our engagement pictures done and then went shopping and out to dinner!

NOVEMBER

November was another busy month of school. Got hit with a blizzard (haven't really had much snow since), celebrated Thanksgiving..that was about it! I did get to see Ash over Thanksgiving break which is always a treat since we don't get to see each other very often! 

DECEMBER

I officially passed my first year of nursing school!! For a little bit this semester I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it but I did and that's all that matters. I've been enjoying my break and spending time with family. We even took a trip to Tennessee to visit my Grandpa.

I'm excited to see what 2019 brings! I'll be graduating nursing school and getting this wedding planned!