Wednesday, November 14, 2012

It's that time of year again...

Or not, depends where you are from. But here in New Zealand, it's external exams time!! :\ /dies

Clearly, I am making this post as a form of procrastination from studying for my exams and ironically, this post is going to be about, "how to study for exams" and all that nonsense.

Hopefully, this will get me motivated to actually study, I might for once take my own advice... I think a step-by-step guide should be good.

Right, shall we begin?

Step One: Finding a good work space.
This step is probably the most important!! Hence it being the first step. The best space is one where you won't be distracted, have sufficient light (preferably natural) and fresh air. A desk is also very helpful, studying on your floor or your bed is definitely not the way to do it, especially on your bed since then your brain will think that the bed is for studying and you won't be able to sleep D:::: my desk is in my bedroom which is away from the living room and the evil kitchen!! I like to keep my desk clear and only have on it the resources I will be needing such as: notes, workbooks, dictionary, stationary, water bottle and if needed laptop (although I suggest not since that is a massive distraction!). My desk faces a window which gives tonnes of natural light and fresh air so thumbs up!! Also having pretty & cute stationary doesn't hurt either, in fact, I find it makes me more motivated ^___^

Step Two: Self-Control.
This means two things, obviously having the self-control to not be distracted and to stay focused and the app, SelfControl. If you have a Mac, I highly recommend downloading this app. Basically, you blacklist a bunch of websites (the ones that distract you the most) and set a timer. Once you click start, you cannot visit these websites until the timer runs down to zero, restarting your computer doesn't even work to stop it, it's evil!!! But it works. You can download it here

Step Three: Stay well fed and hydrated.
This is also very important!! You have to keep your brain powered with food and plenty of water. And by food, I don't mean study food like chocolate and candy, I mean proper brain power food, which apparently is fish, so sushi for the win!! But if you don't like fish, there are plenty other brain power food out there, just Google for a list ;D and always, ALWAYS have a drink bottle filled with fresh water in your study space, and make sure it's water, don't be naughty and have energy drinks, they won't help at all!! If you want a change from water, a nice herbal tea works also (:

Step Four: Actually studying.
The best way to study is to know what kind of learner you are, are you a kinesthetic learner? An auditory learner? Or a visual learner? Or a combination of any of them! Since I'm very lazy, once again, I suggest you Google these to find their definitions, you could probably even take an online test!! After that there will be many different ways of approaching your study, for instance, if you are a auditory learner, you could record yourself reading out your notes and listen to that 24/7 (well not 24/7 but you get the idea). Or if you are a visual learner highlight all the important notes, colour coded and everything, perhaps draw graphs and little pictures, anything to help you memorise. And if you are a kinesthetic learning, that's me! ^___^ you will prefer a more hands-on approach, I find re-writing all my notes helps me remember them all and practicing examples from text books!!

Step Five: Get lots of sleep!
Sleep is important! Stop trying to pull all nighters to get all the work done. Take your time, take breaks (well deserved breaks) and get at least 8 - 10 hours of sleep a night so your brain is functioning properly the next day!

Step Six: Take care of yourself.
This can mean lots of things and can come under getting lots of sleep and eating and drinking well, but also don't forget to shower, that can be really gross if you don't u.u and take care of your hair and face. I find it quite relaxing to wear a facial mask or hair mask while studying, it's like killing two birds with one stone (please don't do that, birds are precious) and you will still look fabulous even after spending all your time sitting inside hitting the books!

I hope that this has helped prepare anyone for the tough times ahead hehe or people will reference this and come back to it when their exams approach.

Until next time,
cya ;D

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Visionary Minds, Mirum, EgoValve and Foot In The Door.

It's a music post!! (☞゚∀゚)☞

So, on the 28th of September, which was last Friday, (yes I know, it's now Sunday, I'm slack) I went to a gig in which a friend of mine, in the band Mirum, was playing. I had never actually been to a local gig before O.O I've been to plenty of concerts but I have never been to a gig of a local, not-popular, band. IT WAS AMAZING!! The gig took place at Zebedees, which is sort of a youth 'social spot' supporting Christchurch's metal, underground, alternative scene. I must admit, the crowd that night was t.i.n.y. about 40 people max, but we still managed to tear the place up! So, onwards.

Visionary Minds were first up, they were the only 'metal' band that night, their setlist included several covers, Slayer, Pandora, Metallica etc, and a few originals. I must admit, I wasn't a big fan of this band, they had potential, but it didn't tickle my fancy, especially as I really don't like Slayer... nevertheless, they were a talented bunch and had persistance, so thumbs up to them!

Next up were Mirum, (my friend is the bassist), AND THEY WERE AWESOME!! I would class them as grunge/punk rock and it was sick! Only three members, but they were all bloody amazing at their instruments!! They did a cover of my favourite The Kinks song, Sunny Afternoon, and they did a great job of it! Along with some other covers, Nirvana being one of them, and quite a few originals. I am going to forever be their non-whorey groupie!! I can safely say, I'm following all their gigs from now on, along with....

~drum roll please~

EGOVALVE WERE BEYOND AMAZINGLY AMAZING HOLY SHIT BALLS THEY WERE WICKED!!! I think I might be in love!! They play a mixture of psychedelic, funk, blues and whatever else they want to play. THEIR BASSIST PLAYED A 6 STRING!!! Mega jealous!! Their stage presence was amaaaazzzing!!! They jumped up and down, ran into the crowd, sat on the ground, even lay on the stage and boy could they play!! I can't even single out who I thought was the best, they could all play their instruments fan-tucking-tastically!!! Just like with Mirum, I will never miss a gig!!

Last act for the night, Foot In The Door, I must admit, by this time I was so exhausted and can't exactly remember what kind of songs they played, what I do know, is that they were also very, very, very good. They to had great stage presence, but unfortunately I was just so knackered to be paying full attention u.u BUT NEXT TIME, I am keen for a next time. Definitely!!!

Sorry that there are no photos, I didn't want to take my camera since I wanted to go and mosh my heart out, which is exactly what I did. BUT, you should all go and check out their Facebook pages which I will link below....

Visionary Minds
Mirum
EgoValve
Foot In The Door

Monday, September 10, 2012

Spring Fashion 2012 + thoughts

I have been browsing through the Spring fashion for this year and have some thoughts, both good and bad, about some of the trends we have going on. So let's dive on in.

Firstly, peplum dresses, skirts, shirts, jackets, EVERYTHING PEPLUM!


At first, I was not sold on the idea, I didn't have anything against peplum style, but I saw it more as a sophisticated, entrepreneur kind of item and as soon as I saw it in the shops, I thought oh dear, that is just not going to work on some girls, especially with some weird colour schemes but I must admit it is growing on me. On the right body shape and paired with great footwear it can really look amazing. Simple yet sophisticated.

Colour blocking.


LOVE LOVE LOVE COLOUR BLOCKING! Always have, always will. I think it is an absolute great trend for Spring, especially transitioning into summer. I love how bold and risky it is and most people can really pull it off, and it doesn't just have to be in your clothing, a lot of people have used daring, contrasting colours in their make-up too!

Bold prints and large floral.


I have a friends who's mom is amazing! She loves bold prints, bright colours and anything crazy. The difference between here and people who are wearing this because it's a trend, is that she is incredibly tall, skinny and confident. I don't mean to be harsh, but I think these very bold prints look best on very long, skinny legs and on short people do not, it also shortens them even further. If you have the confidence to do it, go for it! But if it's just because of the trend, perhaps think about your body type first.

Pastel ankle length jeans.


A mon avis, these frustrate me greatly. The colours are great, really feminine and complement spring well. But, the length just makes me shiver. Firstly, if you are short, you look even shorter in them, especially if you are pairing them with flat converse, which is the look I see frequently and secondly that small amount of flesh in between the cuff and the top of the sock just looks so cold, exposed and strange. Must admit, I'm not a fan.

Orange and mint green tones. (separately)


I love these colours and think they are both perfect for Spring. The mint green is fresh and feminine and the orange is so bold and warm at the same time, they are both lovely and are once again perfect of the transition from Spring to Summer.

I hope you enjoyed this Southern-Hemisphere based post and I hope my opinions weren't offensive to anyone (sorry if they were, it's nothing personal). I hope everyone enjoys their Spring and the trends with it. As long as you are having fun, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Spring Wishlist

Spring is upon us!! Well for us southern hemisphere folk, all you in the northern hemisphere, I hope you had a great summer n.n

Today, I am going to share with you my fashion wishlist for Spring, well some of it anyway, you can check out my general wishlist right here


These Raquel High Heel in Mango from Witchery! I love the colour and the style but unfortunately with my dodgy feet they could potentially be too high, don't judge! I suppose I will find out soon.


This Sweetheart Lace Dress in Neon Peach from Glassons. I love the lace detail and I'm a bit of a sucker for short sleeves on dresses at the moment. The colour is also adorable :3

Next,

I'm hoping to make this dress, probably in the green. It is very girly and I love the peter pan collar and the all the bows and frills.

I always come across whole outfits and separate pieces that I fall in love with at first sight and I add those to my wishlist which I linked just above, so feel free to check that out for a more up-to-date idea of what I'm liking ^____^

Happy Spring!!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Green Clean

So occasionally I can be a bit of a neat freak, omg what is my life I'm a teenager blogging about cleaning OTL. Anyway, as I am all pro-earth I use natural, eco-friendly cleaning methods and I am going to share these with you now.

General cleaning:
Clean natural leather upholstery with equal parts of boiled linseed oil, cooled and vinegar.
Use methylated spirits on a soft cloth to clean phones and computers using a q-tip for the hard the reach places.
Greasy marks on wallpaper can be removed by rubbing with a piece of bread.
Rub limescale on plug holes with a cut lemon.
De-scale the shower-head in a bowl of warm neat vinegar. U
Use white vinegar to de-scale the kettle.
Use lemon juice or vinegar to bleach stains out of marble.
Use soda bicarbonate and warm water to clean the insides of fridges and freezers.
Rub cigarette burns on carpet with the edge of a silver coin, random huh?
Sprinkle damp tea leaves on wood floors to help collect dust when sweeping or to keep the dust down when cleaning out the fireplace.
Rub vegetable oil into dried paint on your hands then wipe off.

To make it shine:
Clean chrome taps with flour.
Add vinegar to water in a spray bottle for cleaning windows and wipe clean with newspaper.
Use a spot of methylated spirits on cotton wool to shine up silver in a hurry.

What has my life come too? Blogging about cleaning, tsk tsk tsk, but who cares I'm interested in this and I hope it may help some people out there.
I shall post a more fashion/beauty inspired post next!


Friday, August 10, 2012

Meditation

I have been Buddhist now for 6 years and meditation has become quite a large part of my daily life. I find it has helped a lot with sleeping problems, stress from both too much work and just day to day life and has had an overall benefit on my general wellbeing. So today I am going to share with you the pros and cons of meditation and a basic how-to guide as many people don't understand how it actually works.

Basically, meditation is a practice in which you train or induce your mind into a mode a consciousness to realise a benefit, (wikipedia sounds so much smarter than me so I just pinched this) >.< Meditation has been around since the prehistoric age, early civilisations used it to communicate, or be at one with their God. Although it is primarily seen as a religious idea, it is used today to help relieve stress, help with insomnia and even tackle some mental illnesses. There are many benefits of meditation, but the most recognised would be relieving stress, as chronic stress has become a big issue from adolescents up. What many people do not know, is that when you are meditating your heart rate and breathing slow down, so technically you are getting fitter (just a little bit) :3. Your blood pressure regulates, you use oxygen more efficiently and you sweat less (yay! Less stinky sweat patches). You produce less cortisol (it's really bad for you, it's what you release when you are stressed), your mind ages slower and your immune system improves. No only do you clear you mind, but your creativity also improves (づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ. People who practice meditation regularly find it easier to give up life-threatening habits such as smoking, drinking and drugs. Pros: Meditation is free and always available. It is great for short-term stress relief and long-term health. You can feel the benefits in just one session.
There are no potential side effects.
No special equipment is required.

Cons:
It takes some practice and a lot of patience.
It may be difficult to understand how to do it at the beginning.

When I meditate I make sure I am in a quiet space, with no distractions and no way for anyone to bother me. I like to either sit on my knees or cross-legged (just be comfortable). I focus on just my breathing, but if this is difficult for you, you can focus on a slight 'oooommm' sound. I like to spend between 5 - 20 minutes meditating, sometimes even longer if I can. Once you have practiced regularly you will find it easier to do it for longer and eventually can block out any possible distractions from around you.

So I hope this post has inspired you to possibly give meditation a try. I love it and hope you do too.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Introductions...

Bonjour tout le monde.

I go by many names, Allie, Footsteps or Oli just to name a few, but presently I am most commonly known as Arisu.
I was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, by my French Mother and Croatian Father.

I am in my second to last year at high-school and am currently wishing to study a bachelor in musical arts when I finish. Music is my biggest passion, but not my only one. I am also interested incredibly by fashion, organisation, Japanese culture, vintage items and the environment, (reduce, reuse, recycle!).

Through this blog I will be sharing my favourite DIY projects, recipes, fashion, make-up, how-to's and any tips and tricks that may tickle my fancy. Please note that when it comes to recipes I am gluten, dairy and soy free so if you are any of those, or just prefer an organic, less processed meal, then they are definitely for you. I am an animal rights activist so any products used are cruelty free and generally good for the environment.

Take your time and I hope you enjoy your visit to my world of black cats and full moons...