Pleasant Palette

Aesthetic Mental Health Calendar with Daily Activities Monthly

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And that wraps it up!

Thank you for viewing all activities of #PleasantPalette and we hope to see your own entries for them.

You may review each activity posted in this page and the themes alloted for each day in the calendar attached above.

Remember to love yourself, treat yourself!

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Suit-up Sunday

Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes. —Diana Vreeland

"Don't be into trends. Don't make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live." —Gianni Versace

"Style is something each of us already has, all we need to do is find it." —Diane von Furstenberg

"Fashions fade, style is eternal." —Yves Saint Laurent

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Unwind Wednesday

WEEK 1: Watch various kpop dance video compilations.

Feel good about yourself by watching satisfying synchronized dance practice videos by different kpop groups!

WEEK 2: Hiho Kids

HiHo Kids is a YouTube channel that features videos of kids learning new things, trying out diverse food, doing stuff for the first time, meeting new people, playing games from around the world and sharing their own unique thoughts. Hiho Kids has a lot of cute content that will surely capture your heart and make your day. Hiho Kids Youtube Channel

WEEK 3: Tasty/Cookat/Food Videos

Watching food videos are the most satisfying way to start your day!

WEEK 4: ASMR

ASMR refers to the subjective "low-grade euphoria" phenomenon described by "a mixture of pleasant emotions and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the scalp." This is activated most often by particular auditory or visual stimulation, though less frequently by deliberate regulation of focus.

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Food Festa (Saturyay!) Part 4

"Today, me will live in the moment. Unless it's unpleasant, in which case me will eat a cookie."

Cookie Monster

There is no comfort food better than warm cookies! Pleasant Palette presents to you the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! It is amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookie that turns out perfectly every single time! 

DID YOU KNOW?

Author Marian Keyes found that baking helped her enormously during a recent bout of depression, and gave rise to her book, Saved by the Cake. When she baked a cake for a friend's birthday, she found that they enjoyed it. “So much that I baked another,” she says in her book. “And another. I couldn't stop baking... baking may not be for you... and I also need to tell you that baking hasn't 'cured' me. But it gets me through.

Easy to Bake: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt  

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup chocolate chips 

How to Bake?

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with a whisk until well combined.

Beat in eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Then, mix it in with the wet ingredients until the batter becomes smooth and slightly doughy. 

Fold in the Chocolate chips and once done, pop the batter into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

20 minutes after the batter has been stored, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Once 30 minutes is up, take out the batter and roll it into medium-sized balls. Place it in the baking pan and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.

After you take out the cookies from the oven, let them sit on the baking pan for 2 minutes before removing to the cooling rack. 

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Food Festa (Saturyay!) Part 3

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience."

James Beard

Here’s a video tutorial of baking muffins!

Cinnamon yum!

For the Dough:

1 cup warm milk (about 115 degrees F)

2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast* (I like Red Star Platinum Baking Yeast)

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup salted butter** (Melted, but make sure it isn't super hot. Just barely melted, or even softened, is fine.)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the Filling:

1/2 cup salted butter (almost melted)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 cup heavy cream*** (for pouring over the risen rolls)

For the Frosting:

6 ounces cream cheese (softened)

1/3 cup salted butter (softened)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tablespoon maple extract (or vanilla)

Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.

Add the eggs, butter, salt and sugar.

Add in 4 cups (save the other 1/2 cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.

Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.

Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That's ok! Don't be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 1/2 cups, but start with 4 cups.

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.

Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl.

Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.

Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30 minutes for the dough to rise. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your cinnamon rolls will be airy.

While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside.

Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.

Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 24×15" rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)

Use a rubber spatula to smooth the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle.

Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style.

Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased 9×13 baking pan.****

Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. Don’t make it hot…you just don’t want it cold. It should be warm to the touch.

Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through

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Food Festa (Saturyay!) Part 2

You know what you deserve? Desserts! Try this easy graham balls recipe with just two ingredients under 10 minutes. We all get stressed sometimes and a little dessert will help you make your day and feel better in no time. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have discovered that eating or drinking sweets may reduce stress. There is a stress-related hormone called glucocorticoid which can be linked to gaining weight, and desserts seems to decrease the production of that hormone. 

Easy to Cook: 2 Ingredients Graham Balls

Ingredients

Graham Crackers (crushed)

Condensed milk

Large Bowl

HOW TO PREPARE?

Combine crushed graham with condensed milk. Mix well. 

Form into 1 tbsp balls and coat with preferred topping. 

Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.

Coat with candy sprinkles, crushed cookies and cream, milo powder or nuts.

Do you always cram your breakfast because of early online classes? We got you! With overnight oats, you can eat it wherever you are in the house. It can also last for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. 

Easy to Cook:  Overnight Oats

Ingredients

Quaker oats

Fresh Milk/ Almond Milk

Chia Seeds

Banana

Blueberry

Cocoa nibs

Pumpkin seeds

HOW TO PREPARE?

Add Quaker Oats to your container of choice, pour in milk, and sprinkle in chia seeds and mix a bit

Add in the  pumpkin seeds, cocoa nibs, and fruits on top.

Place in the fridge and enjoy in the morning or a few hours later. Let sleep for at least 8 hours in a refrigerator 40° F or colder. Best to eat within 24 hours.

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Food Festa (Saturyay!) Part 1

A savory snack is always the right choice! From the simple Grilled Cheese Sandwich to the fancy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings, these snacks will surely fill your belly with all the different flavor profiles that you can ever imagine. Just by flicking the stove on and a few times allotted to prepare the food you and your family can enjoy these delights on a whim.

Easy to Cook: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings 

Ingredients

Chicken wings (cut into drumettes and wingettes)

For the breading

All-purpose flour

Salt

Ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Garlic powder

For the sauce

Garlic

Butter

For the garnish

Parmesan Cheese (grated)

HOW TO COOK:

Season the chicken wings with salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and ground black pepper.

Mix well and massage the seasonings onto the chicken.

Then, season the flour using the same seasonings used for the chicken.

Give it a nice stir.

Slowly add the chicken into the flour mixture and evenly coat the chicken with it.

At the same time, heat the pan and add a little bit of oil.

With the frying, fry it depending on the size of the wings and make sure to cook it evenly.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a pan and add the minced garlic.

After cooking, place the chicken on a wire rack to release some of the oil.

Add the sauce to the chicken and combine well.

Finish by topping it off with more parmesan cheese.

Easy to Cook: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients

Soft bread

Cheese

Butter

Flying saucer

HOW TO COOK?

Prepare the ingredients and flying saucer.

Get two slices of soft bread, then spread butter evenly over the slice of bread. Afterward, spread cheese over the butter (or as much as you like, really).

Put the two slices of bread together. The sides with the spread should stick together.

Place the sandwich bread in the flying saucer. Close the machine securely and then heat.

After 5 minutes, remove the bread from the flying saucer and serve.

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Flex-It Friday

Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.

You cannot always control what goes on outside, but you can always control what goes inside. Always find peace within yourself, maintain that peace, and make peace as you traverse in your everyday life.

When everything feels so overwhelming and you just cannot handle the buildup of pressure, remember to relax and breathe.

The body achieves what the mind believes.

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Take it Easy Thursday

SHORT STORY - Jewel and Sophia

On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning, this story is an extraordinary love story of sorts which narrates a guy who came to pass by his 100% perfect girl on a fine April morning in Japan’s Harujuku neighborhood. Throughout the story the guy recounts the ideas that came up in his mind while walking through the narrow side street. The story was narrated in first person point-of-view wherein most of the inner thoughts of the guy was allowed to be understood by the reader and get inside his mind. While walking, he thought of several scenarios on how to approach the woman and engage her in a conversation. All throughout the story the guy’s is in conflict with himself because he did not know what he would do to approach the girl, but the idea only comes to him by the time she's lost in a crowd. The story abruptly cuts off soon after that, with nothing gained and seemingly everything lost.

In this short story by Haruki Murakami, the readers are delved into a realm which shows themes of love, loneliness, and loss. People tend to spend most of their time to indulge in alternate realities and fantasies that are mostly inside their heads. This somehow shows that, one way or another, he or she is lonely and that they desire to have someone in their lives. Hence, this story moves us into contemplation and self-reflection. We wouldn't achieve greater things in life if we don't work upon it. Just like what happened to the guy, he missed the opportunity to approach the girl because he hesitated. Often times, an opportunity will only be available once, that's why, as much as possible, we must always be eager to explore new things for ourselves and remember that the only hindrance to achieving great things in life is your fear.

POEMS - Ericka Joy

Nobody watched me before, now I am watched.   

The tulips turn to me, and the window behind me

Where once a day the light slowly widens and slowly thins,   

And I see myself, flat, ridiculous, a cut-paper shadow   

Between the eye of the sun and the eyes of the tulips,   

And I have no face, I have wanted to efface myself.   

The vivid tulips eat my oxygen.

Tulips by Sylvia Path

On March 18, 1961, Sylvia Plath shared to the world her poem, “Tulips”. It is a poem that is very close to her heart as it was inspired by the bouquet of Tulips she received when she was recovering from an appendectomy in the hospital. The poem is in a first person’s view with the theme of a terminally ill woman who wants to detach herself from the explosive world. The four white walls of the hospital and the staff serves as her comfort as she desires peace and as she physically surrenders herself to the doctors. Her longing for permanent escape from the world vanished when she saw the red tulips which gave her new hope to face the world. 

SPOKEN WORD POETRY - Jean Patrice

“My hands were not made to heal

every heart they rest themselves upon,

or to fill that vacuum inside every man,

one that nothing,

nothing,

nothing in this world will ever

make

whole.”

Hands by Sofia Paderes is a piece for everyone who's ever convinced themselves that they were put on this earth to save someone. The piece transitioned from being in a painful state of trying so hard to help people into breaking away and surrendering from that painful experience.

NOVEL - Rachel

NOVEL - Eana 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” 

– Dr. Seuss

The last installment of the Firebird series by Claudia Gray is an absolute masterpiece! It is definitely a must read! The book can be read as a stand alone but if you want, you can go check out the whole firebird series! Here is a link where you can download them:

A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1)

Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird #2)

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Tues-a-Film Day

WEEK 1: Spirited Away

Jewel and Sophia decided to watch Spirited Away for the first week of August. Here’s what they thought of the movie!

1. Identify at least three characteristics of Chihiro that changed after her experience in the Spirit Realm.

She learned to be courageous, forgiving, and not to succumb to greed. An example of her courage was when she had to get to the ladder to the window and the only way to get there was across the pipe, she decided to run across to get to the ladder, even though she could have died. In terms of being forgiving, it can be evidently seen when she let No Face accompany her on her trip, even after he tried to kill her. Lastly, on not succumbing to greed, she didn't accept the gold being offered by No Face. 

2. Describe Chihiro and Haku’s connection. Do you also have a “Haku” in your life?

Considering that Haku was also once like Chihiro, they had a special bond since they both had the same experience. Haku was very willing to guide Chihiro in escaping the Spirit Realm. I believe I have a Haku in my life and that is my family. They always support me in every step that I take and ensure that I make the right decision for myself.

3. What is the lesson we can attain from the movie?

Help others on their purposeful journey to the destination. When you help people around you with your generosity and tenacity, people feel the gratitude to help you back even if you don’t ask for it. Additionally, as Jim Morrison stated, “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”

WEEK 2: The Notebook

Sky summarized The Notebook as the film based on a 1996 novel set in the 1940s captures the relationship of the same couple in two different times, when they were young and when they grew old. The beautiful movie sets how even the most endearing of obstacles could not stop people who are in love to separate.

WEEK 3: In Time

I don’t have time. I don’t have time to worry about how it happened. It is what it is. We’re genetically engineered to stop aging at twenty-five. The trouble is, we live only one more year unless we can get more time. Time is now the currency. We earn it and spend it. The rich can live forever and the rest of us? I just want to wake up with more time on my hand than hours in the day.

Will Salas

Sci-fi action thriller written and directed by Andrew Niccol. The story is set in the future where time is money and you stop aging at 25, but there’s a catch, you’re genetically-engineered to live only one more year unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich earn decades at a time, becoming essentially immortal, while the rest beg, borrow, or steal enough hours to make it through the day. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is a poor man who rarely has more than a day’s worth of life on his time clock. When he saves Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer) from time thieves, Will receives the gift of a century. However, such a large transaction attracts the attention of the authorities, and when Will is falsely accused of murder, he must go on the run, taking the daughter, Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), of an incredibly wealthy man with him.

For a change, I tried something I have never done before...Watch a tagalog movie. To my surprise, I really liked it. Maybe because I can understand the problems and pressure o what it’s like to be an OFW in another country. Hello, Love Goodbye is not your ordinary love story which is why I fell inlove with it. The ending that the movie took was in my opinion the best outcome.

WEEK 4: The Half of It

It’s Ellie Chu’s turn for TUES-A-FILM-DAY!

The good thing about being different in a town like this is that no one expects you to be like them.

Ellie Chu

This movie is definitely a must-watch! It will help you open your eyes more to love and teach you things you didn’t know about yourself. It is a one of a kind movie that you will relate to more than you thought you would have.

DID YOU KNOW?

Human beings are story-telling animals. Learning and knowledge have been passed down for thousands of years through stories. Stories are the way we understand and make sense of the world. A good story engages a person’s curiosity, emotions, and imagination. Movies are stories that can help us see the world differently and from a different perspective. It can also help you make sense of real-life, encourage emotional release, and allow your brain to unplug and re-energize.

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Monday Memos

It’s the start of the week again. It’s good to reflect on things about life to keep us motivated in starting and pushing through the week. Here’s some questions you may also ask yourself when you join Pleasant Palette’s Monday Memos.

For the first week, we ask ourselves should humans be completely free to do as they wish? Or do we always need a limit for it?

Every now and then, we must remember to find time to meditate and think about the things we don't usually ask ourselves or perhaps anything we're curious about. To answer the question, I firmly stand with the idea of democracy, sovereignty, and independence; on the other hand, I also believe there must be a limit for this (such as rules and regulations). These rules are proposed mainly for the people's welfare which also serve as norms that discipline people into becoming morally-upright individuals. However, we must also bear in mind that the rules must safeguard our well-being and must never be intended to deprive us of our own rights.

Zhin Jewel Ganituen

Although humans have free will to do whatever they want, there should still be set limitations on our freedom. I am a firm believer that everyone can do whatever they want to do in life so long as they are not stepping on others. An excellent example of why we are not free to do whatever we wish is the laws placed upon us. We may want to execute something that will benefit us personally but affect others badly. Rules and regulations prevent these situations from happening. An excellent example of this would have been wanting to get something for yourself, but it turns out that someone else owns that object. It is widely accepted and morally correct that we cannot claim something that is not ours as ours just because we want to.

Sophia Isabel Cauilan

For the second week, we asked what is your philosophy in life about love?

Love is not just the tingling emotion that you feel when you say "I love you" to your boyfriend or when you hug your pets after a long day. Love is a very strong emotion that almost everyone cannot explain and get a hold of. Once you are in love, you can become thoughtless, selfish, and lost but at the same time it also has a power that can make you more mature, responsible, warm and affectionate.

Ericka Joy Tovera

On to the third week, JP explains why do humans seek validation? 

There are many articles on why we should stop seeking validation. Honestly, it’s okay to validate each other's lives just like many other things in life, we should strike a balance between validating ourselves and seeking approval from others. The praise one receives from others should enhance the self-esteem which is already good. Good self-esteem of our personal value, appreciating ourselves which is stable and enduring is a trait to be grown.

A good thing about validating our feelings is we can not only appreciate us for what we did but also for what we did not. You have the right to feel what you feel. Yet, when we catch us going down the path of blues, recognizing it at the right moment to uplift ourselves will help us understand our feelings and work it out. The most important bond we need to have is with ourselves to function well with others.

JP Sazon

For the last week of August, we can conclude the month by asking if is time only a concept made by humans? Is it something we restrict ourselves with?

Time, in my opinion, does not exist yet is still there. We use it to map out our past to the present and take our psychological, biological, and spiritual experiences of Time using calendars and timekeeping devices. There are many examples of ancient cultures that had completely different ways of understanding the passage of Time and keeping track. The Mayan civilization is an excellent example of this, where they used the cosmic view. 

There are probably other ways of understanding Time psychologically and existentially. Our culture happens to rely on the sun and the moon, and we are restricted to the things we place our awareness on. If our knowledge is only placed on the setting sun and the moons’ movement, then our perception is limited to those repetitive patterns in nature. As I mentioned, the ancient Mayan civilization had an awareness of the cosmos. Therefore, they were less limited than we are in terms of understanding their place in the universe.

Joshua Mallo

On another note, Eana answered the question Why do we love to love?

Ever since I was younger, I have always loved reading romance novels. It was just a genre that I genuinely enjoyed. To me, it was really interesting reading and imagining how the characters would fall in love and live happily ever after. It was a fairytale concept that I never really moved on from. As old as I am now, I still believe that that kind of love still exists. In this day and age, love is no longer much of a priority, a feeling, a bond but is considered as a business and necessity to most, probably. It kind of made me realize how different the world is compared to the world I loved to live in. In a way, this concept of love is something that I deeply love. 

To be honest, I have never really thought deeply about love before until I was in the middle of my teenage stage. Back then, I loved to imagine myself being in love and happy with my idols/crushes then, one direction, 5sos, the vamps, and the indomitable, Justin Bieber. I was a big fan of all of them and I just loved listening to their music and watching their videos. It gave me some sort of inspiration and motivation back then, to work harder and be as successful as them. So, why do we love to love? 

One, Love lessens our physical perception of pain and threat. Do you notice that whenever you’re going through something physically painful be it taking shots from the doctor when you’re holding the hands of someone you love, or when they’re comforting you, the pain that you feel doesn’t seem as bad? This has actually been already tested in the University of Virginia and it is in fact, true. Two, Feeling secure in a loving relationship makes us more open to the world. Love makes us feel whole and inspired, it makes us happier and more understanding. With these positive emotions that we get from love, it makes us more open and accepting of the world. Love makes us realize a lot of things about life and people. Being loved gives us encouragement and that small push that we need in order to share that love with others as well. Lastly, Love can help you better cope with painful emotions. Having to go through a really difficult time alone is really tough. You cannot vent and let all your emotions out, speak to someone, and ask for advice. When you feel loved, when you’re loved, when you love, you’ll feel more open to yourself and to others. In return, when you’re more open and accepting to your feelings, consequently, when facing an emotionally stressful situation, you’ll be able to handle it better.

It may not be as obvious to some, but indeed love is something that we need, it is one of our basic and fundamental needs. At times, we try to fight the desire to be comforted and be loved when we’re facing our toughest times. We ignore that innate feeling and bury it deep inside. Yes, love can be really intimidating, sometimes painful, other times amazing but let’s all agree that Love is definitely something that we love, consciously or unconsciously.

Eana Ranillo

It is important to know how to reflect on these things so that we may be able to assure ourselves that it is okay.

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Pleasant Palette Calendar: An Introduction

Pleasant Palette is an activity calendar that aims to cure your boredom during this pandemic by doing something new

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