Life, etc.

[lifeetc]

How To Make An Iced Caramel Macchiato At Home

The iced caramel macchiato is an iconic Starbucks drink. But at $5.25 USD a pop for a grande size (pre-tax), it’s not a financially feasible everyday go-to. Luckily, making it at home is pretty easy!

To start, you’ll need to brew 2 shots of espresso. (You can try using the equivalent amount of strongly brewed coffee, but speaking as someone who has tried that method, I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe—it just doesn’t taste the same.) There are a few ways to do this, but my favorite method is to use my Nespresso machine, because it’s quick, easy, and I don’t have to measure! If you go this route, remember to get the espresso roast, not the blonde espresso roast. While you can make a caramel macchiato with the blonde espresso, it won’t taste like the caramel macchiato you get at Starbucks. The blonde espresso adds in some extra sweetness, which I personally wouldn’t recommend (but you do you).

If you don’t want your ice to melt, you’ll need to cool the espresso off before adding it to your glass. You can let it sit for a while, but I like to put it in the refrigerator for a faster cooldown. 

While your espresso is cooling, fill up a glass with ice, stopping just before the rim. (You can add as much or as little ice as you’d like, but I suggest stopping about two fingers’ width below the rim.) Next, add two tablespoons of vanilla syrup to your glass. Measure out ¾ cup milk and add that into your glass as well. Now it’s time to take your espresso from where it’s cooling and pour it in. Finally, drizzle caramel syrup on top. (I find a cross-hatching technique works best.) For an extra caramel-y flavor, drizzle some caramel around the inside of your glass before adding in the milk.

And there you have it! An easy-to-make caramel macchiato copycat. Happy sipping! 

[lifeetc]

How to Save Your TikTok Videos Without Watermarks

Have you ever recorded a video in TikTok only to realize that the timer wasn’t set for a long enough duration? If you want to use the clip in a longer video, you have to save the video to your phone, which adds the TikTok watermark to your recording. However, there is a simple way to save TikTok videos to your iPhone without the watermark.

First, publish your video privately. (This way, nobody will see your video before it’s finished.) Then save the video as a live photo, go to the live photo in your camera roll, and scroll down to the “save as video” option. This will convert the live photo into a video with no watermark, but also with no sound.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to add the sound back in!

Go back to the privately uploaded video and choose “save video.” This will save the original video to your phone with the sound, but your video will have a watermark. Next, open up your video editor of choice (Splice is a good free option), create a new project, and upload both the video without sound and the video with sound. Overlay the two so the video without sound (and without the watermark) is on top, while the video with sound (and with the watermark) is on the bottom. Since both are the same content, the sound will sync up—you just need to make sure the two videos are aligned at the beginning.

Now you have a video with no watermark, but with sound included.

[lifeetc]

Modern vs. Contemporary: What's the Difference?

HGTV has introduced us to a plethora of design styles, from modern farmhouse to eclectic boho. However, it can be difficult to differentiate between them. After all, some of the styles sound so similar. For example, what’s the difference between modern and contemporary? Aren’t they the same thing?

Let’s find out.

Modern

The main difference between modern design and contemporary design is that modern design refers to a specific time period, while contemporary design does not.

Modern design refers to a stylistic period that occurred during the early to mid-20th century. This period coincides with the modern art movement, which was heavily influenced by Scandinavian and Bauhaus design. The goal of both the interior design and the art movements was to focus on simplicity and functionality.

Some common elements of modern interior design include exposed structural elements, clean lines, minimalism, monochromatic color palettes, neutral color palettes, and exposed natural materials (i.e., unpainted wood, uncovered metal, etc.).

(Here is an example of modern interior design as found in The Sims 4. Note the clean lines, neutral tones, and exposed natural materials, such as the wooden wall paneling. Also note that these elements are categorized as “modern” within the game, so if you have an issue with the use of a particular item, take it up with the game’s design team. 😉)

Contemporary

Unlike the modern style, contemporary interior design does not refer to a specific time period. Rather, contemporary style refers to the popular style of the moment. As a result, contemporary style is ever evolving.

The current contemporary style borrows heavily from modern design, which is part of the reason the two styles are often confused. Like modern design, contemporary design currently emphasizes clean lines and neutral color palettes. However, whereas modern interior design leans towards darker neutrals, contemporary interior design leans towards lighter neutrals. (A perfect example of contemporary color? Every HGTV client’s insistence on a white kitchen.) Two major differences between modern and contemporary styles are bold colors and geometric patterns. While modern design only relies on neutrals, contemporary design utilizes bold colors as a way to accent the neutrals. For example, in a kitchen with all white cabinets, an aquamarine backsplash tile might be used as a pop of color against the neutral background. Additionally, while modern design relies on clean lines and sharp edges, contemporary design is a bit more playful with geometry, incorporating geometric patterns into wallpaper, floor tile, and accent decor.

(Here is an example of contemporary interior design as found in The Sims 4. Note the use of lighter neutrals, non-neutral accent colors, and geometric patterns.)

While contemporary and modern styles feel incredibly similar now, that is subject to change at any moment. The easiest way to remember the difference between the two styles is to remember that modern design is static and contemporary design is fluid. It’s entirely possible that in 20 years contemporary design will have no trace of modern influence. Who knows? With contemporary design, the future possibilities are limitless. (But don't count out modern design--it has its own sense of timelessness.)

[lifeetc]

The Easiest Way to Start Organizing

Organizing can seem incredibly daunting. When there’s so much stuff to go through and get rid of, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But still, you want to be more organized. So how to you start?

Simple: start digitally. Digital organizing doesn’t involve hours of digging through boxes and creating more of a mess—in fact, digital organizing can easily be done in one sitting.

Although all of your digital spaces could probably use a bit of a clean-up, let’s start with the digital space you probably use the most: your phone.

Organizing your phone only requires three steps:

Delete

Look at all of the apps on your phone. How many of them do you actually use? We’ve all downloaded at least one app only to never actually use it. It’s time to get rid of those.

When swiping through your phone, look at each app icon individually and ask yourself, “Do I need this?” If the answer is no, delete it.

It can be hard to let things go, but remember, if you ever need to get one of those apps back, everything is saved to the cloud. (That’s why it’s so much easier to get rid digital items than it is to get rid of tangible ones.)

Create Folders

If you have an iPhone, press down on an app icon and hold until a list of options appears, then press “Edit Home Screen.” All of the apps on your phone will start shaking. To create folders, hold and drag an app icon and place it over another icon. This will create a folder. You can add additional apps to a folder by holding and dragging an app icon into the newly created folder.

Your iPhone will recommend folder names based on the apps you try to combine, but you can change the name of a folder at any time.

If you have an Android device, the process is slightly different. First, press “menu,” and then press “add.” Next, press “new folder.” A folder will appear on your home screen. You can move it by pressing and holding it to drag it to a new location on your screen. To add apps to the folder, simply hold the icon of the app you’d like to add and then drag it into the folder.

In both cases, continue making folders until all of your apps are in a folder.  

Use

That’s it! Now you’ll be able to quickly find the app you’re looking for in a matter of seconds. No more swiping through screens trying to remember where an app is.

Organization is a great way to feel less stressed. Although organizing your phone may seem like a small step, it’s one step closer to feeling a little more relaxed.