#edited by daniel

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Staying Zen

Sometimes it’s easy to lose focus and find yourself feeling confused, bewildered, trapped, or all of the above. Life is chaotic, and it can throw curve-balls that you never saw coming. But what’s important is to remember that while things may seem tough, you are always tougher. Here are some tips to help you keep your cool in those moments of frustration and desperation.

1. Unplug for a day (or more)

In a largely digital world like today’s, technology may be a barrier more than a helper in everyday life. The constant pressure of keeping up with social media and the world outside can put us under stress and take up more energy and effort than necessary. Simply turning off your phone and computer for a day and dedicating that time to yourself can be more relaxing than you’d expect. You might even find yourself reluctant to return to the virtual world!

2. Take up a meditative ritual

This does not have to be meditation per se, any activity will do as long as it calms you down. Things like cooking, baking, reading, gardening, yoga, or even walking can do wonders to relax you.

3. Keep a journal

Writing down the things that are overwhelming you at the moment can really help with clearing your mind. The idea is to jot down everything that is taking up space in your mind by moving them to paper. Once you’ve finished, you may find yourself considerably relieved and able to focus again.

4. Take mindful breaks

If you’re feeling suffocated under a huge workload or feel like you’re not making any progress in whatever you’re doing, taking breaks will help free and relax your mind so you can continue doing your work. Some people find that they work better with short frequent breaks while others are more productive with longer, more spread out breaks. Find out which one works for you and start incorporating them in your schedule. 

The sheer amount of information in the world can sometimes overwhelm us and send us into a tight space. Constantly practicing mindfulness through these 4 tips will hopefully help you declutter your mind and stay zen amidst the chaos of the outside world. 

Written by Chiara / Edited by Daniel / Photography by anotherfeather

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Making the Right Choice

With every new day comes new decisions to make, am I right? Whether it’s choosing new schools, new courses, new people or even just to get up and start being productive, they all need some decision making. Here are a few tips to help you decide!

Find Out More

Choosing right requires sufficient information on the matter. Don’t hastily make choices based on what you’ve heard or seen from others. There is no guarantee that what they’ve experienced will be the same for you. Try searching on the internet for some help. Learning about your interest is one thing, but rushing your research won’t do any good. Give yourself enough time to source out even the tiniest details. 

(A little side note to anyone applying to new schools: if you’ve been given information by school representatives, be sure to do a background check. They may paint the picture you want to see, but they’re just doing what they’re supposed to do, sell the school.)

What’s Best For You?

Usually, our decisions are based on what we like or want. However, some of these choices may bring more pain than gain. To avoid this, we need to change our mindset or point of view on things. Although it may take a while, widening our perspective helps us mature in thought. A little trick I’ve learned is to think of what my parents would say. Though it may sound cliche, it actually helps a lot. Trying to stop a bad habit? Don’t end things cold turkey; start one step at a time. Things take time. In a bad relationship? Break it off because even if it hurts, it won’t be as bad as remaining in it; be it friends, boyfriends or girlfriends.

Weigh the Pros and Cons

When you’re stuck in between two choices, making a pros and cons list can be a good tie-breaker. If you haven’t tried it before, it’s actually a good way to find out what you really want before the final decision is made. List it down the good and the bad, be honest with yourself, and pick what fits your criteria.

Look At The Bigger Picture

Take into consideration the long term plan of making your decision. Try and picture yourself in a few years time. Will you be happy and satisfied or exhausted and drowning in regret?

These are the few tips I found helpful in my recent decision makings. Hope it helps, and all the best everyone!

Article by Dorothea | Edited by Daniel | Photograph by Dorothea

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The Summer Activity Guide

Staying at home during summer can get really boring. You sit in your room and wait until school starts again, not because of all the work but because of a regular schedule and having something to do. If that’s how you feel right now, continue reading. Here are a few suggestions to make your summer the best one yet. Even when you’re at home!

Go to an open air concert – Go to as many as possible because it’s the most amazing thing ever!

Drive around with your friends to no specific destination – It might just become the best road trip ever! It’s so much fun and you can even discover other beautiful places near your area.

Do things you normally don’t have time for – This doesn’t sound very exciting but now that you’re away from all the stress of school, try spending a day reading your favorite book, learning how to paint or even visiting your grandma. Take time for yourself, you’ll see how relaxing and good it feels.

Learn more about things that interest you – Take an photography class or research about the most random things on the internet. You can expand your knowledge in every way.

Grab your bags and let’s go hiking – This healthy, exciting activity is best spent with your friends since and you can stop wherever and whenever you want. Definitely a fun memory!

Take pictures of everything – Beauty can be found everywhere and photographs can capture every mood and memory. So whether it’s one of you and your friends having the time of your lives, your tanned legs by the pool or the beautiful view at your neighborhood in the morning, take pictures of everything!

Go to an exotic restaurant and try out everything – Maybe you find your new favorite restaurant or discover the most delicious food.

Try to find your perfect workout – Blast some upbeat music and make your workout more enjoyable. And after a few weeks it’ll pay off, so you’ll enjoy your summer even more while showing off your great body.

Watch the sunset – No matter if you watch it with your friends to start off a fun party night or with your crush (so romantic). Simply enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the nature!

Try out everything you ever wanted to do because now you finally have the time! If you have more suggestions for fun summer activities, feel free to share them with everyone here.

Article by Anna | Edited by Daniel | Photograph by Jess Hannah

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Time For A Garden Party!

It’s summer, the perfect time for long nights and parties with friends. So what’s better than throwing a garden party? But before you invite your friends, be sure to organize a few things. Follow the guide below and you will throw the best garden party your friends have ever been to!

Food & Drinks: There are two kinds of garden parties; ones held in the afternoon and the other during the evening. When having a garden party during the afternoon, sweet snacks like pastries or cakes are a great choice. If you are planing to invite your friends in the evening, savory dishes and finger food can be served since not many people want to eat sweets in the evening. Another great idea is to have a barbecue with some salads on the side. For the drinks, you can serve homemade cocktails! With or without alcohol, they are always loved by the guests.

Decoration: Even if garden parties take place outside, some decorations are still necessary to set a cheery, welcoming mood. Choose a bright, summery color scheme and decorate the table in these colors. You can use some flowers or matching napkins. But remember that you shouldn’t overdo it since the nature should be the focus.

Lighting: The perfect lighting is important since no one wants to sit in the dark at night. Candles and lanterns are great because they spread some light but don’t dazzle. To provide an enchanting scenery, try placing lanterns all over the garden and even hang some on the trees.

Music: Playing music in the background creates a comfortable atmosphere and fills possible breaks in between talks. Pick music that is positive and fun! Preferably, avoid music that only consists of heavy dance beats since this can be distracting and does not suit a nice sit-down party. If you extend your garden party to the evening, you can change the genre and play more upbeat dance tracks, so you and your friends can dance the night away in your garden.

Clothes: Last but definitely not least, be sure to wear the right kind of clothing. Dresses, whether long or short, are a great option. But remember that you shouldn’t look too formal. A dress with a cute twist or light jewelry is perfect. Bright colors are also more appropriate because it’s summer time and your party is all about fun. Show that with your clothing style!

Article by Anna | Edited by Daniel | Photograph by Leigh Savage

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How to Improve Your Blogging Experience

Two years ago on April Fools’, the Tumblr staff tricked us with a fake ‘Tumblr Premium’ ad on the dashboard sidebar and loads of users (including myself) believed it was real and clicked to sign up. We spent the rest of April Fools with silly top hats above our blog icons. ‘Tumblr Premium’ amazed us -it was truly unreal! Turns out, literally unreal. Just a prank from the Tumblr staff!

I’ve tested 5 different Tumblr extensions to see if a ‘Tumblr Premium’ could ever be an achievable reality and not just a dream. Find out what your Tumblr is (or isn’t) missing out on.

1. Archive Poster Great extension for queuing, reblogging or drafting multiple posts off a blog in just a few clicks. You can also add tags or comments on these posts (e.g. #wardrobeGOALS). I love using Archive Poster for filling up my queue for when I’m on holiday. Archive Poster is fantastic - 10/10 would definitely recommend!

2. xkit It’s like Archive Poster, but for individual posts on your dashboard. It’s really useful if you want to save time when reblogging posts on your dash. xkit and Archive Poster would really make a great couple, like Romeo and Juliet, but for all your quick-posting needs!

3. Tumblr skins Oh the thought of customizing my Tumblr dashboard was so exciting!! I transformed my dash baby pink! Although it did look very cute at first, the colour didn’t really suit any of the images and was too bright and demanding! Initially, this extension looks amazing, but after trying some of the 'skins’, most of them just look rather shabby or unattractive. In the end, nothing really beats the classic Tumblr dashboard theme! Ha!

4. Queue+ Queue+ allows blogs to queue over the maximum 300 Tumblr queue limit, so you can save as many posts as you like, and then just sit back and relax! This way you’ll have more time to engage with your followers or casually scroll your dash without having to always madly find posts to stay active. My favourite thing about this extension is that it shuffles posts, so I can reblog lots of different styled posts from different blogs and still keep my own blogstyle consistent!

5. SCM Music Player

Much simpler to use than a billy music player, all you have to do is paste in the link of various songs off YouTube and bam! your followers can now scroll your blog with the sound of hardcore rapping or some smooth jazz - whatever suits your blog’s aesthetic! You can choose from over a 1000 different music player themes to find the one that suits your blog the most, and you can also edit the playlist to play automatically or on shuffle.

Archive Poster and Queue+ are definitely the most useful and necessary extensions on Tumblr as they can help maximize your queue, keep you active and help you gain more followers! xkit and SCM Music Player are also great to use, if you want to ‘upgrade’ your tumblr even further! Tumblr Skins are perfect for customizing the look of your dashboard, although it’s sad to say I didn’t enjoy using it.

All of these extensions are free to use, so why not give them a try and see what you like? Are there any other helpful extensions you can suggest? We would love to hear your feedback!

Written by Katy / Image by @grownalchemist / Edited by Daniel

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Live It Up! - Summer 2015 Fashion Trends

With every season, new trends conquer the fashion world. Summer is around the corner, so here are a few trends which shouldn’t be overlooked in the upcoming months. Try them out and have fun!

Khaki

You’re probably thinking, “please not again” to the camouflage trend you’ve seen some years ago but thankfully, this time it’s totally different. Say goodbye to linking khaki with camouflage! Jumpsuits, jackets, dresses - everything comes in military green and sets a vibe of confidence and coolness. You can either go with suede khaki pieces, try a sexy military silhouette or rock the out-of-Africa look. The olive green shade is versatile and can turn out completely different depending on the styling.

White on White

We’ve seen this look for already some time on Tumblr and Instagram but now designers and brands are finally embracing it. The head-to-toe white outfit won’t go unrecognized this summer. At this point, it isn’t about the rules of when you can wear all-white, it’s more about how you wear it. The new styling tricks include mixing textures, layering multiple pieces and teaming various shades.

Sheer Black

Black is the go-to color for effortless chic. No matter if it’s a little black dress or a nice flowing blouse, black can be worn in any way and will always look good. Now, black is becoming even more sexy - with sheer elements. The see-through inserts almost always come in black. Sheer black is sultry, sexy and confident, but also very light and great for warm summer days and nights. From tops to dresses, everything can be worn with the sheer fabric which partly reveals and partly conceals what lies beneath. Cut-outs and mesh are also a great addition to take it to another level.

The New Bohemian

Embracing this look isn’t bounded by rules. Whether it’s denim on denim or tops with macramé details - wear what’s comfortable, what’s fun and what feels good, because that’s the essence of the style. Loose-flowing dresses and floral prints are returning to the streets and bring the festival vibes along with it. Thanks to crochets, flares and fringes, the seventies will experience a revival. To make the bohemian chic evening appropriate combine it with silk and chiffon and you’ll receive the most effortless looking outfit without sacrificing comfort and elegance.

Pastel Romanitics

Almost every girl dreams of these long, light and free flowing dresses and now it’s finally time to wear them whenever you want to. Flowy fabrics, loose-fitting silhouettes and muted pastel shades are the keys to perfecting the romantic look. The feminine trend will have its return this summer and colors like powder pink, beige and blush will be all over the place. Chiffon and other light fabrics go very well with the dreamy vibe. With natural make up, a light pink lip and strappy sandals, the outfit is completed.

Article by Anna | Edited by Daniel | Photograph by Kaitlyn Ham

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Skin Foods

A healthy diet no longer just keeps you fit or helps you beat diseases but it also significantly improves the quality of your skin. Dermatologists are now affirming that what you eat can affect your hormone balance, cause acne, and create or lessen inflammation. Want to maintain your skin’s youth and glow? Here are a few foods that will help with that.

1. Dark Berries Berries are full of skin clearing antioxidants and fibres which are great for staving off hunger pangs and regulating insulin production.

2. Walnuts Walnuts are packed with an omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid. Lack of this fat can cause eczema, which is associated with dry and scaly skin.

3. Tomatoes Tomatoes are very beneficial towards our complexion. It is rich with vitamin C, which help keep the skin firm by aiding collagen production. They also contain lycopene stimulates skin circulation and improves the skin’s natural SPF.

4. Water Water keeps your skin hydrated — making it appear more plump and less wrinkled. Drinking plenty of water also help your body flush out toxins. It is recommended to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, and to drink more after exercising.

5. Avocado Avocados are a great source of vitamin E, which boosts the skin’s vitality and luminosity. It also contains good amounts of vitamin C, which can be used to reduce skin inflammation. Avocado oil stimulates the production of collagen in the skin, which improves its tone and texture.

6. Eggs Eggs offer up a hefty dose of protein with less of fat (high fat diets age the skin). Especially the yolks, which are full of skin clearing minerals like selenium, zinc and protein, among others.

7. Green Tea Studies have shown that people who drink beverages containing green tea polyphenols have more elastic and smooth skin, and also get less sun damage when exposed to UV light. The brew’s catechins like EGCG (antioxidants) boost blood flow and oxygen to the skin, which delivers key nutrients to keep your complexion healthy.

8. Oysters Oysters are packed with skin clearing nutrients for relatively few calories. It is also the best source of dietary zinc, which plays an important role in the growth and function of skin cells and effective for acne sufferers.

9. Mackerel Mackerel is one of the best sources of vitamin B12. Lack of this can cause hyperpigmentation (dark spots) and vitiligo (white spots). Getting enough of this vitamin every day can help keep your skin glowing and even-toned.

Source: 1 | 2

Article by Vanessa / Edited by Daniel / Photography by Madelynn Furlong

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The 2015 Met Ball

Monday night fashion’s biggest event of the year took place in New York City, the Anna Wintour Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art shortly known as the Met Gala. We will recap the most glamorous, daring and original outfits worn by Hollywood’s A-listers. 

Every year, there’s another theme for the fashion exit which also serves as the guideline for the annual event. This year the Metropolitan Museum of Art honored Chinese high fashion by choosing the title “China: Through the Looking Glass.” It is expected that the celebrities embrace the theme and dress appropriately.

Anna Wintour always chairs the gala and Jennifer Lawrence had the honor to be one of the co-chairs, so it is worth to take a look at their dresses for the night. Wintour covered herself in a haute couture gown from Chanel while Lawrence appeared in Christian Dior Couture. Both looks are on point even though they did not embrace the theme. Emily Blunt did follow the theme and looked great in a light blue Prada dress with a Chinese flower pattern.

Most of the attendees did not take the theme too literally and simply dressed in red. Whether it’s scarlet, ruby, blood or chili red, every shade was spotted on the red carpet. Celebrities like Amal Clooney in Maison Margiela Couture, Karen Elson and Hellen Mirren in Dolce & Gabbana, Sienna Miller in Thakoon and Poppy Delevingne in Marchesa were all adorned in red.

What is a Met Gala without Sarah Jessica Parker’s headpieces? The actress wore (not surprising) a huge Philip Treacy headpiece to complete her H&M outfit. The best dressed male for the night was Justin Bieber, who put on a gold dragon embellished jacket by Balmain. The headpieces were a trend at this year’s Met Gala and Zendaya was one of the many celebrities who embraced them. She wore a cute dress by Faust Puglisi and you can tell that she is slowly making herself a name in the fashion industry. 

And then there was one who turned everyone speechless with her HUGE (and I really mean huge) train. Of course, it was no other than the fashion icon Rihanna. She appeared in a yellow-gold coat with fur applications by Chinese couturier Guo Pei. Together with a gold headpiece, she owned the red carpet. Rihanna is one of the few celebrities who really took this year’s Chinese-inspired theme to heart.

The title for the most daring outfit goes to Beyoncé. The singer showed some skin in a transparent Givenchy dress with colorful crystals. Kim Kardashian West came close, but went for a bit more fabric. She stunned in a Cher-inspired Roberto Cavalli gown. The last, but definitely not the least, daring outfit of the night is worn by the beautiful Jennifer Lopez. She wore Atelier Versace and fully embraced the theme with a dragon on her front.

Article by Anna | Edited by Daniel | Photographs by Vogue