Saturday, December 27, 2014

Anniversaries and Returns

Our one-day anniversary has just came a few minutes ago and I am already madly in love. Whoops.

My new HP Stream 13 computer and I have plans to go all the way--to college together, and to school and newspaper meetings. 

I can't imagine a world without her--incredible speed and stunning graphics.

I can hardly go ten minutes without dreaming of her--cute tile display and gradient island keyboard.

We were made for each other and shall be happy together always. (In about two years, I imagine, I will be looking backing on this post on the same computer and humorlessly laughing, as I now have nothing but loathing for the snail-speed computer with defunct programs and an overstimulating display. Hopefully not, but that is the saga with every computer ever always.)

Besides by love for Theodora, I have deciding to continue blogging, albeit sporadically. I don't have much else to say on that. Sorry.

Expect a post on podcasts, maybe one about Maureen Dowd, maybe one on sweet potato chili.

oooo (hugs)

|||||| twitter ||||||| insta ||||||| tumblr ||||||| free puppies |||||| bloglovin |||||


Thursday, March 13, 2014

How I Study

I work hard at school.

(To put it super simply)


And although I can try and ignore it all I want, studying is a major part of working hard.


This is how I study. I know it probably isn't applicable for everyone, either because you aren't in school anymore or because this just doesn't work for you, but I also know that I couldn't do it any other way and some of you must be in the same boat.


I love a good study guide/master notes set and because most teachers won't hand those out, I like to make them for myself using all the notes I've acquired into a color coded Microsoft Word document in Calibri 11-point font, because everyone knows that is the superior font and color coding is for cool kids. I will type these up a couple nights before a test or quiz and go over them again and again until I feel like I've got it. After the unit is over, I'll file away all the study guides and take them out again when midterms or finals rolls around. With vocabulary words, however, (English or foreign language) I will create a set of flashcards and review those in the nights leading up to as well as breakfast/lunch before the test. In a similar way, I'll file them all away for exams.


I always plan out my study breaks so I don't risk spending too much time during them. Set a point (either a time or certain extent of information) when you want to stop reading/reviewing and take a break. Figure out what you'll be doing in that break (eating, watching the television) and set a realistic time when you will need to stop. Set an alarm so you'll be aware that your time is up, it will make you less likely to "forget" to look at the time.


I try to make a to-do list of all the things I have to cover, and order them so I get all the hard stuff done towards the beginning with small sections of the easier stuff. It prevents that "Wait, it's ten o'clock and oh shoot I have to take a shower and clean my room and do all the math problems and study for that quiz that I forgot was tomorrow" moment that I have experienced too many times.


Even though I have yet to consistently do this, even paced studying is best. Even reviewing the notes you did in every class for 10 minutes a day is beneficial.


When I have some test that involves me knowing sequential things (usually history) I like to tape a string of yarn up in my room from one corner to the other and make index cards for all the things I need to memorize. I will put the title/name of the event (if it has one) on the front as well as the date it occurred, and add a back with facts. It helps visualize all the events in order and makes you research them a bit more.


While writing this I realized that I have a ton more tips so one day (maybe soon) I'll make a part two. I have a bonus post coming Saturday, so follow me to see it, and there will be another one next Thursday.


stay wonderful!

stay, wonderful.


|||||| twitter ||||||| insta ||||||| tumblr ||||||| free puppies |||||| bloglovin |||||

Thursday, March 6, 2014

February Favorites

It's that time of the month again.

Favorites time.


February Favorites Time.


FFT.


Man I sound cool.


Here's the roundup:




Starting from top, going clockwise.


Diigo- I'm a high school gal who has got a whole bunch of researching and writing to do as well as quite a bit of nonmandatory internet surfing. However, balancing all these sites and statistics and what have you is quite the task. Or rather, it would be if I didn't have diigo. Diigo is a sort of a site where you can highlight and bookmark and tag webpages and keep them all organized--online. No way, right? You can highlight webpages! Whhhut. All you do is pop on over to diigo.com, make an account and then drag a little buttton to your toolbar. It's free. It's helpful. It's perfect.






Boots from Celebrity Pink for Macy's- I'm a little late to this trend but whatever. These boots go with everything and are just fun and wonderful and comfortable. They also feature a little heel (about an inch and a half) that mini girls like me really value. They have little pins where you can fold the top over and press it down, but the inside pattern is pretty ehhh so eeehhhh I don't really do it ever. I wear these boots all the time as they are not too slippery on the bottoms and nice for the ice that plagues every side walk in New Jersey at the current moment. I need summer again.



Batiste Dry Shampoo- I'd heard about dry shampoo for a long time and my gross teenage hair yearned for it, but I'd never actually gotten my hands on it till last month. And I love it. Whether it's because I'm too busy or because I'm trying to stretch out times between washes for healthier hair, I don't always have freshly washed hair and this stuff it great for it. A few spritzes and a good brush through and my hair feels and smells all voiiila fresh and clean. I often make the mistake, however, of holding it quite close to my head and producing a big white circle that is hard to remove. Besides my own errors, I have no complaints and am thoroughly enjoying adding dry shampoo to my best friend beauty products list.



Honey I'm Strong Shampoo- If this favorites list was listed in order from most to least favorite, this would be at the top because I FREAKIN LOVE THIS STUFF. I got a Lush Patchouli Shampoo Bar for Christmas and because I know their stuff expires I switched to it immediately and ditched my old shampoo, this stuff, for two whole months. About a week ago I switched back to this and it was like my hair let out a carol of the Hallelujah Chorus because oh my goodness gracious this stuff makes you hair so soft and glorious feeling. The Lush stuff, I think, is good for a hair cleanse because it leaves your hair squeaky clean, but when comparing the two in "adding softness", the patchouli bar is in the bottom of a ditch and the Honey I'm Strong stuff is in the Stratosphere. (Okay now I'm getting carried away. But the Honey I'm Strong stuff is QUALITY.) Side note: it took about two washes to build up maximum softness but there is a definite difference after just one.





Essie We're in it Together Nail Polish- I don't have much to say about this other than the color is so cute and girly and perfect for spring. As with other Essies, you'll need two coats along with a top topcoat to make it stay for a medium time. The price ain't great but it could be worse ($8) and you can usually find them for cheaper ($5ish) at TJ Maxx, so check there out before paying the full price.



Bigelow Green Tea with Mango- I was never a really big tea girl before this stuff. But it is great. If you like mango or tea, try it cause you'll probably love it. It is pretty naturally sweet, but I add one pinch of sugar anyway. I'll often bring it in a thermos to school and people around me will go "mmm it smells nice in here, what is that?" It's the tea. It says caffeinated, but it's green tea, so the level is very low and I don't really notice any sort of a difference, although it's definitely not a nighttime tea.



I don't know what inspired the strangeness that inhibits this photo. 



Gilligan and Malley PJs (at target)- as I write this I am snuggled up in these. There isn't much to say other than they're cute (I would choose them for sleepover pajamas) and so comfortable, and have a nice pull waist so every size fits a lot of different shapes. Other than that, they have complete coverage on your legs so they are great for winter but I know they will transition well into spring (maybe summer) and then fall. They came with a nice top too (not the one in the photo, that's by Poof!) but the bottoms are the standouts.



I can't believe I'm sticking with the Thursday thing. They'll be a high school related one coming next week so follow me to see it, and possibly a midweek bonus post. stay tuned. <3


stay wonderful.
stay, wonderful!

|||||| twitter ||||||| insta ||||||| tumblr ||||||| free puppies |||||| bloglovin |||||

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Brownie Mix Cookies

The person that invented the brownie mix is my hero. No lie.

I'll explain.

I'm in a lot of clubs. And because our school is rather poor, most clubs don't get enough funding to make ends meet.

And the best economic strategy for most high schools is to appeal to student's sweet teeth through bakesales.

Lots and lots of bakesales.

But in addition to these clubs I've got homework and friends and just generally school, which doesn't leave me a whole bunch of time to bake.

So I use a good old brownie mix.

fast, delicious, and easily sell-able, brownies are awesome.

But almost every kid in the club has the same idea, so I try to mix my repertoire by using recipes like this one.



You will need:
1. A Brownie Mix, I used the Betty Crocker family size ((((((((
2. One third a cup of oil
3. Two tbsp water
4. One Egg

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit

stir until combined, and roll into little balls on a greased cookie sheet and


Bake for 8-10 minutes or until little cracks form almost all over the top, and leave on the tray until almost completely cooled so they can cook a little longer.

voila! a five minute bakesale recipe that's yummy and unique. Perfect.


I don't take selfies often, but when I do they're always with cookies.

aah I'm so excited that I'm sticking to this routine. Next week might be a monthly favorites or it might be a studying piece. We'll see ;)

stay wonderful.
stay, wonderful.

|||||| twitter ||||||| insta ||||||| tumblr ||||||| free puppies |||||| bloglovin |||||

Friday, February 21, 2014

Friday OOTD

Oh man okay so today is Friday and I always save my cutest outfits for Fridays just cause it's Friday. friday friday friday.

Anyway this will just be a little bonus short post, they'll be a big one this Thursday. 


I got this cute little overall skirt thing from TJ Maxx (Happening in the Present) for 16.99 and it's quite comfy and stylish, although not tremendously flattering for a super slim gal.  The shirt underneath is also from TJ Maxx (Poof!) and cost $7.99. It's the basic kind of a thing that every girl should have. The scarf is from (ooops my bad I forget where it's from). Because it's winter and winter means cold, I wore black leggings from target (Mossimo) underneath but when the summer months roll around I think I'll be wearing this with a brightly colored shirt and patterned tights. Also due to the cold/snow/rain, I wore my owl rain boots which are falling apart and look ratchet so I did not include. Any kind of shoe (minus sneakers, I think) would look alright with this type of an outfit.


alright as aforementioned stay tuned for thursday! I'm excited for it. However, I think there may be a bonus post before then so get excited for that. okay enough talking now have a great day <3


stay wonderful.
stay, wonderful. 

|||||| twitter ||||||| insta ||||||| tumblr ||||||| free puppies |||||| bloglovin |||||


Thursday, February 20, 2014

Soap and Glory Body Buttercreams and Wash Review

Hey there!

I'm basically addicted to YouTube. Lazy Saturdays? Youtube. Need to relax after school? Youtube. Study break? Youtube. Most of the people I follow on twitter/instagram are from? Youtube.

I watch so much, I don't think I could even pick a favorite genre of youtube video. I definitely do, however, love me a good beauty/lifestyle video. And many of these videos feature Soap and Glory products, which, at least from the way they are described on the aforementioned videos, sounded amazing.

As an American, though, they are quite hard to come by as they are only sold online, and very rarely in Sephora. However, one day, right around Christmas time, I decided I really really wanted to try them and asked for a product or two and when Christmas day rolled around, I got this delushious shmelling shtuff.




I really quite enjoy them, they are reviewed as follows:

Smoothie Star Lightly Whipped Body Buttercream-



 This smell is a bit acquired. I love it, because it smells just like what it says it will: Pistachio, Vanilla, Almond. (mmmmmm good) But both my sister and mother wrinkled their noses and my sister added that it smelled like diapers and babies. No matter what she says, I think the smell is super relaxing and perfect for after nighttime showers. Beyond the smell, the consistency is quite nice. It's definitely thicker than a lotion, but quite a bit thinner than a butter. It also doesn't make you feel greasy and absorbs super fast. It's lovely on freshly shaven legs, or anywhere where you need some intense moisture (elbows, for example).

Sugar Crush Body Buttercream- 






Although the two are supposed to be the same consistency, this one definitely seems thicker and denser to me. (this is about to get gross) the texture reminds me a bit more of soft shortening/crisco and not lotion. Still, the rules for nongreasiness and absorption time still hold, as it performs nicely in both categories. The biggest difference is the smell, which everyone seems to love. It's called sweet lime, and it smells like just that. While the other one is calming, this is invigorating, awakening, refreshing. It's nice early in the morning for a pick me up.

Sugar Crush Body Wash-



I am a sucker for scent duos- spray/lotion, hand sanitizer/lotion, soap/spray. I think these two however: (the body wash and the body buttercream) are quite nice alone as well. The scent holds true in this wash, but it doesn't linger as well as the lotion. It is quite frothy though (although not the frothiest, I've seen better, particularly in the Bath and Body Works lines).

Notes on Soap and Glory as an ethical company:
They are clear about their policy, which includes not testing on animals and retailing through companies that do not support animal testing. However, they can't be sure that all the raw materials they use are cruelty free. That's a lot better than some companies, so buy and be happy.


Alright then! Thus marks my second Thursday post (aaahhhh so exciting). My next one will be a monthly favorites so stay tuned or stalk me if you can't wait til then (links below) and have a lovely week! 


PS I have an idea for a middle of the week bonus post (or two?!?!) this week so prepare yourself. Maybe.


Stay wonderful <3
Stay, wonderful.
|||||| twitter ||||||| insta ||||||| tumblr ||||||| free puppies |||||| bloglovin |||||

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Blogging Literature

hey there, gals and bois.

I changed my blogging day from Saturday to Thursday because I changed my name to Thursdazed (lol jokes get it). Anyway, here's a Saturday post just for funsies and because the link at the bottom is updating my blog for bloglovin. (#followmeplz).

Anyway, I decided just to scare up some fun reading things that you could check out so I didn't have to make a post that just said hey here's a link please follow me okay thnx bye.

Here's some worthwhile things to read/check out:


1. www.youtube.com/shaytards



If you haven't heard of the Shaytards, you clearly have not been watching a lot of youtubers lately, because they are all over, with good reason. They've made a video of their lives everyday for the last 5 years, and they are cute and funny and wonderful. Reading what I've just written over, I'm not doing them justice in the least. The quality of their videos far exceeds the quality of my writing.
2. http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/



I feel like this post is full of mainstream stuff.
The small things blog is this cute little blog that this cute little woman called Kate writes. It's informative and the photos of her newborn, David, are enough to make anyone's heart melt.
3. www.picmonkey.com



Okay so this isn't something that you can read or watch, but I've found this super helpful for editting blog photos. It's free, straightforward, and I don't know. A little bit wonderful
4. Mark McMorris



This blog post, which was supposed to be modeled after The Small Things Blog's "Sunday Reads", took a turn for the unexpected and hot. Seriously though, this guy is a Canadian snowboarder that made it to Sochi, but broke a rib, causing him to fail in preliminary rounds. He is quite the cutie.

Okaaaaay. That post turned out way different than I thought it would.

Oh, and backstory/inside Shana's head time: The idea to call this post "Blogging Literature" popped into my head, which made my mind jump to AP Lit, which made my mind jump to AP Lang, which is what I'll be taking next year, and then I remembered I still have one period empty and I have no idea what to fill it with, and then I was like oooonoooo should I take AP Psych or is 4 APs too many APs and what if I can handle it and what if I give up an extracurricluar like cross country so that I can fit Psych because to be honest I really am interested in it and my sister says it isn't that hard but Olivia says you need to study a lot to make it happen and I just don't know if I'm driven enough to make it happen and then i realize that I need to whip myself into shape because last year I was driven to the nth degree and wow being only a freshman who's workload was extremely extremely light and easy what a waste that was, if only I could shift that to this year when everything is harder and there's cross country and the musical and chemistry and oh dear god I hate chem and then I realize that maybe I should try and be good at chem because if I do, in fact, decide to be a doctor then it must be important, but then I'm like maybe I just want to be a doctor because that's what they are in scrubs and that show is hilarious and then I'm like okay this is too much i need to stop.


Okay. I love you for reading that whole thing. Seriously.


ooooo(hugs)
I'll talk to you Thursday with an epic three product review. I'm extremely excited for it <3


stay wonderful.
stay, wonderful. follow me.


<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11784027/?claim=nt4vzgq7qhr">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Shower Lineup

From the beginning of your life til the end, you spend 182 days in the shower.

Danggurl. That's a lot of time.

Think about those 4368 hours. Would you like to spend those with ratchet products?


me neither. 

These are what I use. I find them extremely not ratchet.

(Note: I don't shower twice a day. Unless you're working in a mine or sweating buckets, showering that often is keeping you clean at the expense of the hydration of your skin and even the appearance/texture of your hair. (too much steam is not good). However, depending on my schedule, I either shower morning or night and these are the two routines)

Morning


1. Sugar Crush Body Wash from Soap and Glory 2. Fresh Fruit Scrub from Trader Joe's 3.Lush Patchouli Shampoo Bar 4. Lush American Cream Conditioner 5. Trader Joe's Mango Cream Shave Lotion 6. Sugar Crush Body Buttercream


Night


1. Australian Naturals Body Wash in Mixed Berry 2. Brown Sugar Scrub from Trader Joe's 3.Lush Patchouli Shampoo Bar 4. Lush American Dream Conditioner 5. Trader Joe's Mango Cream Shave Lotion  6. Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Body Buttercream.


In other news, I realize my blogging activity is spotty at best, so I've decided to start posting every Saturday. I promise. (And, I know it's a long way off, but I'm thinking about doing Blogust. Maybe.)


ooo (hugs)
Shana

Monday, January 20, 2014

DIY Days: Scrub and Lantern

Hey cutie pies!

How are y'all  doing this Monday night? I'm just as dandy as a dandelion, but dreading midterms :'(. High School quite often sucks.

Anyway, it was my friend Olivia's birthday yesterday and I made her a cute little present I thought I made share with you. Because glass jars are ecofriendly, trendy, and all around wonderful, I used those as the "theme".

Present #1~ DIY Sugar Scrub
This is an extremely simple and pleasant little scrub that I made in about 10 minutes with stuff I already had in my house.

You will need:
In a metal bowl, combine two tablespoons and .5 teaspoon olive oil, 1 cup sugar, and about 15 drops essential oil (don't let the title fool you, essential oil is not expensive. I picked this bottle up at the dollar store for 1.07 with tax)
Scoop it into a glass jar, voila. A cute, cheap, lil diy present. Bonus: very nice moisturizing quality, and sugar won't irritate skin. Yay ;)

Present #2~ DIY candle lantern (credz to cakery papery for idea)

Okay so I did a ditzy move and forgot to take a picture of this when it was all finished, but it looked basically like this:
Image credz to cakery papery




 Almost as simple as above but with a little more room for error.

You will need:


combine glue and a little water for makeshift modpodge

 Using a paintbrush, spread the glue-water over as much as you like. You can make designs or just paint all over. Either way is cute.

Once you are satisfied with the design, pour in some glitter. Screw on the cap and vigorously shake to get the glitter allllllll over. If there's some spots where you don't want glitter, just use a qtip to gently remove.


 Once dry, simply place a little tea light in the bottom and be entranced by this lovely little sparkly lantern.

 oooooooooooo (hugs)
shana <3