DIY and Lifestyle

                                            Hey readers, yep it's me. Did I disappear off this platform for almost a year? Yes, I did. About November of last year was the time I just stopped posting. November and December of 2019 were very tough months for me and I didn't have the time or energy to put effort into making a good post. January of 2020 I finally started getting my life back together. 2019 had done a number on me and felt like the worst year of my life. I had so much hope that 2020 would be my year. And for a while, it truly was, at least for the first three months. My skin was getting better, I was in great shape from basketball season, I was having fun with friends, and everything seemed to start to fit in its right place. Then COVID affected everything. March went from good to very bad in a matter of one weekend. Obviously, I have no right to complain because the...

Hey readers! Sorry, it has been a while, but I'm back for at least a bit. A lot has happened in the last two months, nothing dramatic but things to keep me busy from blogging. Okay, so I wanted to go back in time to August 20th of this year. I published a post called "Coffee Addiction?". I wanted to make a follow-up post on how I'm doing and what have I changed in my life. On October first I decided I had enough of feeling weak. What does that mean you ask? It means I quit coffee.  It sounds like it must've been VERY hard for me. But I've gone through this before so I knew just what to expect. I had a headache every day for about a week, which was painful, but I knew it was coming so I was mentally prepared for it. I decided to replace my morning coffee with two full glasses of water, and I've been doing that to this day.  Coffee seems like so much more than just a hot beverage. It's a sense of familiarity and almost like a friend. But I...

Hey readers! Welcome back! I do have another back to school post for you all as promised. I used to make tons of DIY projects back in the day but I haven't in a very long time. So please bear with me as I try to get back into the DIY world. But since I share a lot of things on here anyways I decided to show you guys this notebook that I redid. It's totally DIY-able and I'm going to tell you guys exactly how I did it.  I'm a big fan of easy DIYs and fast ones too. I tend to get a little impatient when it comes to painting though. So that was my first mistake in this process lol. I decided to scroll through Pinterest to find some inspiration before I started. I kind mixed from the ideas I saw and just kind of made up my own.  I started with the painting (ugh) and I went for a pink and green. I had envisioned it a little different in my head but it's okay.  While this was supposed to be drying I looked up some quotes that might motivate me in the school year...

Hey readers! As the new school year for me is approaching rapidly, I had the sudden realization that I should probably start getting ready for it. It's coming whether I like it or not so the other day I went back to school shopping for some school supplies and I thought I'd do a quick haul on here. Okay, so for my classes this year I didn't need too many supplies so I only got what I needed. A quick tip is to do the same because it's super helpful to take into account what notebooks and pens you're going to need before you go shopping, that way you don't have lots of extra supplies lying around never being used. Now for my haul :) First thing I got was notebooks. I got three of the same kind just because this is what they had and I really liked the way the notebook was made. I am probably going to DIY a few of these just to change the look for each of my subjects. I'll possibly be making a post on that soon.  Second back to school item I boug...

Hey readers! Welcome back, okay so this post is basically all about coffee and so if you don't like coffee (which would be crazy) you can still read along because I'm sure we've all dealt with some sort of addiction before.  As many coffee drinkers, I'm slightly obsessed with coffee. I personally would not call myself an addict but my friends definitely think I am.  So I was thinking about it a lot and I made a deal with them that I would not drink it for about a month. I was going strong for about two weeks, and I'm thinking "oh this is easy". But then something dramatic happened in my life and what did I grab for first? Coffee. It was basically my coping mechanism and it just made me feel warm and a sense of home and safe. And so I just kept drinking it. I currently still drink it, I only drink about 1-2 cups a day. So I'm still in a safe zone, don't worry about me. I'm not over caffeinating.   But one thing I don't like ...

Hey readers! As much as I don't want Summer to end, it does anyway and I have to accept it. Summer is one of my favorite seasons, it's a feeling of freedom and confidence. School can feel like a letdown and a stress magnet but it is also a process of learning and journey that you have to experience to know your full potential. Today I wanted to take a moment to reflect and re-envision my view of school and make some goals for the upcoming school year. This year I'll be a junior in high school, and I hear it is the toughest. Although I'm slightly nervous, I'm excited for the upcoming challenges that I'm going to face (or trying to convince myself of that lol). I wanted to share some of my goals with you all and hopefully, you can do the same thing and we can look back at our lists together! :) With that said, let's take a look. Confidence.  Whether that is with challenges or meeting new people, I struggle with confidence being myself. I would...

Hey readers! So funny story, I just finished making this post about half an hour ago and then I accidentally deleted the whole thing...yay me. I was super frustrated but then I thought, I guess I'll just have to make this post better than before! :) As I promised in the last post, I'm going to be showing you my gluten-free Banana  Pancake recipe. The great thing about this recipe is, it is not only very healthy for you but it also tastes good too. I hate it when I find amazingly healthy recipes and it doesn't taste up to par. So in this recipe, we aren't sacrificing flavor for health, we are combining the two. Alright, let's get straight to the point of this post, the recipe. Ingredients: 1 banana (mashed)-the riper the better 2 eggs  1 cup milk (your choice to substitute what you like) 1 tsp vanilla  3/4 cup gram (chickpea flour) -or add flour until the consistency of your desire. 1/2 salt 1/4 tsp baking soda or 1 tsp baking powder (if you ...

Hey readers! I'm back with a new post. I was trying to come up with some ideas of what you all might want to see. So lately, I've had a lot of time on my hands to bake, cook, and try out new recipes. I wanted to share some of those recipes with you and where they come from. Also, I just wanted to throw it out there that I've been trying new diets for my skin and digestive system. During the beginning of June, I was off of dairy for a long time. Then in July, I went off of caffeine. These weren't necessarily helping me a ton (they did a little bit), so I decided to implement small amounts of those foods in my diet because I still wanted to enjoy them but also receive health benefits.  Currently, in the past two weeks, I've been trying a gluten-free diet. My mom is gluten intolerant so she suggested I try it out to see how I  feel. I've been sticking to it pretty well and I don't necessarily see a huge difference in my skin. But I do feel as if I ha...

Hey readers! Welcome back :) Today I'm going to be giving you some ideas of things to do this Summer.  I personally love summertime because it usually clears my schedule up a bit. But sometimes when that happens, I'm at a loss of what to do with my time.  So that's why I'm here to help you out a bit with a list of things you can do this Summer 2019.  I have tried each and every one  of these things already so this is 100% approved by me. :) Go on a Road Trip ! I've already done this, this summer already. My family and I drove out of the city to a beach house with a pool and spent a week there. I would highly recommend road tripping with family, friends, or even by yourself. Go to the beach (or lake). Depending on where you live in the world (because I have a wide variety of people from different countries that read this blog), I think it's important to go to a body of water this summer. It could be a beach, a lake, a pond, or even a pool if...

Hey Readers! Today I thought I'd be fun if I did a Summer Morning Routine. Since school stopped for the summer, my mornings have been completely different. I have a lot more time to myself in the morning and it's actually really nice and relaxing. I've also done some research about healthy habits to incorporate into your routine. I've added a few to my routine in the morning so that I can start my day off right. Okay, let's get into it. I usually wake up pretty early for a summer day and I'm not sure why. So around 7 am I get out of bed. I don't use an alarm I just wake up naturally with the light coming in from the windows. I go straight to the bathroom and wash my face. I also keep a water bottle in my room so I can start drinking that to start my hydration for the day.  Then I'll go downstairs and make myself some coffee. (And yes in the first picture my coffee looks SUPER light like I'm only drinking milk. But I'm prett...

Hey readers! :) Happy Friday! It is officially a new year, 2019! So sorry that I haven't posted in a couple weeks and this is the first time this year posting. Last time you heard from me, I was saying goodbye to 2018. I decided to take a couple weeks off of blogging so that I could start back into the school year and stay focused on some things before returning to posting. I can't say that I will be posting as much as I did in December but I'm going to try. It is so much easier to get posts up when I am on break. I would love to hear about how your year is going so far, so let me know in the comments! Alright, for my year so far it has been a lot. And I'm not going to go into detail about some things because they are pretty personal. But I started up school again and my basketball season started up again. If you didn't know, I play 3 different sports, soccer, volleyball, and basketball. But right now it is basketball season. Overall 2019 has been going good...

Hey readers! As you know, there are only a few days left of 2018... Maybe you are writing out your resolutions for the new year, or maybe you're gonna wing it and hope for the best, or maybe you're scared of a new chapter might be starting in your book. Wherever you are at with that, maybe you've got it right or wrong. I'm not so sure anymore. I always used to put everything in life into little boxes and try to keep my life as controlled and organized as possible. But now, as I get older, I am starting to see everything a bit differently than before. Why does everything have to be perfectly controlled by me? If something doesn't go how I think it will or something is different, should I really have a mental break down because I can't fix it? In this past year, I have grown up a bit. I've gone through some tough stuff. I have learned who I can trust and who is not a true friend. I have learned to accept the circumstances which I can not change. I have...

Hey readers! If you've been reading my posts for a while then you'll know that I have mentioned that I was going out of the city to a beach house with my family. I just got back from that vacation and I thought I would write about it for you guys so that you can kind of come along with me and my experiences. We left on Monday morning, packed up the car and drove. When we got there we each picked out our rooms in the house and went straight to the pool to relax. We also brought my dog, Daisy, with us. Every night I would run down to the ocean and see the sun set. It was amazing to see all the beautiful pastel colors shine through the sky and reflect off the calm sea. One morning, I woke up at 6 am, put on some pants and sweatshirt, then ran up to the roof of my beach house to lay down and look at the stars. I saw beautiful bright stars and the moon was as bright as ever. At about 6:30, I ran back inside and slide back into my warm bed and fell asleep. You may be thinking, 6:3...

Hey readers! As you know from my last post, it is becoming the winter season! And of course I completely forgot to write a post like this for the fall season but here is one for winter!! Most of you are probably about to finish school and work for vacation in a couple weeks or days, and you are going to have a lot of free time on your hands. And sometimes we don't know what to do with that time and we get a little bored. So, I'm here today to kind of act as your guide for all things winter and give you some ideas of what you can do. All of these are things I have 100% done before, because why would I recommend something when I haven't tested it to make sure that it is good for you guys. If you would like to add to my list, if I've missed some major time spenders, then let me know some more of your ideas in the comment section below. Alright, let's get right into it! :) 1. Ice Skating ! I have been ice skating a couple times during the winter season, and if you...

Hey you guys! It's Autumn! I'm so excited. And yes I know I'm a little late to the fall obsessed trend. You all are probably all ready for winter already!  Also when I think of fall I think of soccer season. :) And as you know I'm soccer-obsessed, because it is basically my favorite sport. Another thing that excites me about fall/autumn is the cooler air. Where I live, a warm climate, our "fall"  is not freezing weather. But it does get a little chilly.  Oh and candles! I love lighting candles and playing my favorite music on my phone. Also, one thing I've been doing recently is listening to podcasts.  Podcasts help me calm down and let my mind think while I might be doing other things like washing dishes or doing some needed chores around my home. My favorite podcast right now is " Pretty Basic" by Alisha Marie and Remi Cruz. I would highly recommend listening to their podcasts. You can listen to podcasts on Itunes, Apple Podc...

Hey! So this summer has been really amazing for me. I love the beach, the hot summer air, the friends and family time, the cookouts, exploring, going on vacation somewhere special, and the list goes on. So Summer is basically my favorite season of the year. And in a couple weeks, I will have to go back to school and Summer will be over for me. And if I'm being honest, I am not looking forward to starting school again. I wish Summer could last forever but it can't and life goes on, so I guess I just have to accept it.  Sorry got kind of caught up in a rant there, anyways, this post is going to be some pictures of my summer vacation. So let's just get into it :) I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know what you think, by leaving me a comment below. Have a great rest of your summer break!  Thanks for reading! :) -BloggerGirl (also photos were edited by VSCO)