spring music playlist

ALOHA! :D

Because I'm weird and I didn't find anything new I loved during September apart from music, this post will be replacing the usual monthly favourites post... sorry! :(

But if you're really desperate to learn about favourites, why not check out our last couple of months here and here? ;D

Plugging aside, I've been listening to a really random bunch of songs lately, so I'd thought I'd share them with y'all!

You can head to the end to listen to a Spotify playlist of them all if you have an account. :) If you don't know, Spotify is a free and legal music streaming service, and I use it occasionally when I'm really bored to discover new music ^_^

1. Let It All Go - Birdy

Birdy is possibly my favourite musical artist <3

2. First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes

3. Stitches - Shawn Mendes

OBSESSED WITH THIS SONG!

4. 21 Guns - Green Day

I'm pretty sure I discovered this song after it being it mentioned in a story I was reading xD

5. Colors - Halsey

ALSO OBSESSED WITH THIS ONE- ONE OF THE FEW SONGS I CAN STAND LISTENING TO ON REPLAY... normally I can't stand listening to the same thing over and over again T_T

6. We Built This City - Glee Cast [cover]

Yep, I must stick a few Glee songs in here >: ) Even if you've never watched anything from the TV show, I would recommend listening to some of the covers! Some are good, some are questionable, some are hilarious if you watch with the videos :D

7. Check Yes Juliet - We The Kings

ANOTHER OBSESSION!

8. White Daisy Passing - Rocky Votolato

9. Come Sail Away - Glee Cast [cover]

10. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Robert Holmes

Discovered this while watching Guardians of the Galaxy and it's hilarious ^_^

11. The Last Day on Earth - Kate Miller-Heidke

This was in the Aussie TV show Dance Academy that I used to really love... the memories :')

12. Too Much Time Together - San Cisco

I find San Cisco songs extremely annoying but catchy at the same time T_T

13. All Out of Love - Glee Cast [cover]

Just a feel good song for me :)

14. Shots (Broiler Remix) - Imagine Dragons, Broiler

Normally I'm not a huge fan on remixes, but last week I was forced to listen to a million of them so they're growing on me... The original of this one is great too :D

15. Night Sky - CHVRCHES

16. She Doesn't Get It - The Format

17. Like I'm Gonna Lose You - Us the Duo [cover]

I listened to this one this morning, and fell in love <3 The other time I think someone tried to insult me by telling me that I like covers, and it's so true xD

18. Legally Blonde - Legally Blonde the Musical

OK I'M LISTENING TO THIS AS I TYPE THIS AND I'M CRYING URGH.

Basically I love this musical (you can watch the whole thing here!) and the other day I watched it for the millionth time and of course I'm obsessing over the songs hehe. I suppose unlike Glee, you kind of need to watch the actual thing for the songs to have much significance to you >_>

19. So Much Better - Legally Blonde the Musical

See above ;D

Bye the way, I have NO IDEA what my music taste would be labelled as... basically I like pop, indie, sometimes rock, acoustic, musical theatre... so a fruit salad of a lot :D

Let me know what music you've been loving lately! ^_^

Stay fabulous!

Lena xx

learning to crochet! | crochet creations

Hello!

I've decided to make use of the numerous hours I usually spend procrastinating and not doing anything by learning a new skill - crochet!

Crocheting does take time and patience, as most patterns require you to do the same thing over and over again numerous times. But patience is a virtue, and in the end you will be left with an amazing creation, hand-crafted by the one and only, you!

All you will need to start off is some wool, and a crochet needle. The crochet needle size I use the most is the 3mm hook, but I usually have different sizes lying around as well.

WOOOOOOL!

2.5mm to 5mm crochet hooks!

I started learning basic crochet stitches via YouTube videos and blog posts, and the very first thing I had crocheted is this little heart. It is extremely simple, and no former experience is required to crochet it. I followed this simple tutorial. Of course, if you would like me to make a blog post with pictures showing you the steps, feel free to ask!

You can easily turn these into ornaments by tying the leftover string to make a loop.

With the knowledge of a few basic stitches, you will be able to make countless things, including this cute little pal.

Kawaii octopus ^_^

Let me know if you would like some tutorials in the comments below.

Have fun and don't procrastinate!

~ Judy x

OOTD // weekend wanderings

Holey macaroni, a fashion post?! Now that's new! :D

My face looked so derpy in this shot, hence the scrible heh

Yesterday I went adventuring with a friend (who you'll see below) around the Darling Harbour, Sydney, area, and we pretty much just wandered around aimlessly...

Apologies if this post is really weird and random.

I blame this piece of spicy fried chicken from Hot Star. Yes I accidentally wrote 'friend chicken'. No, it is most certainly not my friend- I thought I'd yolo and get it even though I'm not the most spice-tolerant human being in the world, and as a result I have a really sore throat T_T So yeah, I'm not feeling it today ._.

Here's some English Breakfast soft serve from Aqua S that I thought I might chuck in here. For any Sydney siders who haven't heard of this trendy place, they're a soft serve ice cream shop with cool flavours that they switch out every fortnight, but their staple is the beautifully aqua sea salt ice cream... mmm so good :D

I blame the wind on why my top looks so chubby :P

OOTD:

Fedora // gifted (thanks Hannah banana! :D) 

Top // Target

Pants // hand-me-down (thanks Auntie haha)

Platform boots // Rubi

Most of the time I don't like hats, mainly because of their tendency to block my vision when they slip down my forehead, but lately I've been really liking the look of some :D

Here's a shot from the week before of the lovely ladies still in the process of painting, and one of them asked me to take photos for them so I kind of spammed her phone xD

Being the most socially awkward poop in the universe, taking photos in public was a challenge ^^;

Me: Go sit on that white thing and look deep and stare into the distance.

It really annoys me how this shot isn't really straight- should have taken it at a better angle urgh.

Friend's OOTD:

Jean jacket // "some random Asian thing" - quote from her

Top // Minkpink

Skirt // Miss Shop

Sneakers // somewhere that I'll have to ask her later for.

These painted cubes are the most gorgeous things ever though (and make pretty awesome photo backgrounds :D )

Lately I've been really enjoying vintagey kind of filters.

This photo involved waiting forever for them to actually start the carousel, trial and error with the settings on my camera and playing around on Photoshop for the rustic, matte kind of filter.

Gelato is always a yes! The left one is strawberry bubblegum, and the right (mine) is caramelised fig ♡ 

Our kawaii nails, mine's meant to be Totoro themed but I don't have a grey polish, hence why they're blue and white...

And a peaceful sunset shot as I was walking home to end this post :)

How have y'all been lately? In the half an hour it took me to write this post, I'm actually feeling a lot less sick than how I started :)

Stay fabulous everyone, and stay away from super spicy foods D:

Lena xx

august favourites

♡ HELLO FELLOW READERS! ♡

These favourites posts are probably my favourite to write, hence why I'm so exciittteeeddd! So here's a very orange post to brighten your day!

0.5mm, 0.35mm and a 0.38mm tip!

LOOK HOW CUTE THIS IS!

/ Pens /
So I have this thing with skinny pens, well that's what I call them. I know that I'm probably wasting my money buying these (they were 3 for $5 on special) but I just love how thin the tip of the pen is! Plus, I write neater with these pens... so is it worth the sacrifice of my $5 note? Maybe.

/ Brushes /
I got these brushes for my birthday last year. They're synthetic hair brushes, so these particular brushes  are  better suited for acrylic or oil so I am still on the hunt for good watercolour brushes!

Random selection of documentaries and movies ^_^

/ Netflix /

So I recently found out that I had Netflix, but I haven't been excessively using the site (although maybe I should take the opportunity to do so...) I have started to watch a documentary series called Planet Earth - many of you have probably heard or seen it before - and it's amazingly beautiful! I highly suggest it if you're into documentaries or just breathtaking scenes. I might make a post on good movie picks, so stay tuned!

You can even write a cute message on the back of the package ^_^

/ Green Tea Kit Kat /

Otherwise known as Matcha Kit Kat, I have been waiting years to try this and the time had finally come. I have also read that there are two types of green tea kit kat, a more authentic matcha flavoured one and another sweeter one more commonly sold at airports in Japan for tourists. The kit kat that I have had the chance to try had a more authentic flavour - one could say that it is slightly bitter but I love the taste of matcha so yes, the hype is real. Amazing.

/ Matcha Pocky /
Following the green tea/matcha flavour trend, I recently picked up a packet of this Matcha flavoured Pocky. I don't really know if it's actual Pocky or a rip off of the brand, but it tasted amazing nonetheless.

// Music //
Paper Hearts - Tori Kelly
This song is so sweet ^_^
WILD - Troye Sivan

Like I'm Gonna Lose You - Meghan Trainor
Check Yes Juliet - We The Kings
(Thanks to Yelena who re-introduced the song to me ^_^)

Marvin Gaye - Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor

That brings an end to this month's favourites post!

Talk to you soon!

~ Judy x

recent reads || august

ALOHA :D

These past couple of months I've sped through quite a few books, so I'll try keep this short and sweet :)

Ruby Red / Sapphire Blue / Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier ★★★☆☆
I had already watched the first two movies in German before I read these books, and it was definitely easier to imagine what was going on in the books with those visuals already in my head. This series is about time travel with a bit of a fantasy element, as well as a touch of (a rather silly) romance. The characters are a little flat, but it was still entertaining.

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans ★★★☆☆
The usual Christmas romance story...

except am I the only person who thinks it's a tad bit weird/unrealistic for a random stranger to come up to you and propose to be a fake boyfriend?! A random strANGER. THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER. IT'S CREEPY. And OF COURSE this dude just happens to have an unlimited supply of money, which he uses on buying super expensive gifts for the girl who's A RANDOM STRANGER MIGHT I ADD.

Burn for Burn  / Fire with Fire / Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian ★★★★☆
This series is pretty good, and has quite a few plot twists which is always interesting. This series has romance and even an element of fantasy-paranormal in it (which I was completely not expecting!), and revolves around the theme of revenge. The biggest let down in the series was thE ENDING. OH MY GOODNESS DO NOT EVEN TOUCH THE EPILOGUE OF THE LAST BOOK... I HATED IT!!! D: But otherwise, you find yourself getting kind of attached to at least one of the main three characters.

The Selection / The Elite / The One by Kiera Cass ★★★☆☆
Basically The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. Enough said.

Although seriously, that basically sums this up! You have the social classes with the higher the number, the more poor you are, there is a competition for a bunch of women to fight for the throne beside a sparkly handsome prince, and of course, the decision to choose between your past lover or the new one (in the Hunger Games, that would be with Gale and Peeta. I was on Team Gale :P )

I found myself cringing and facepalming a lot in this series. I don't regret reading it, but I really don't see how it became so famous.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins ★★☆☆☆
Another story that resembles the kind of teen fiction you see on Wattpad. I'm not entirely sure why this book is so popular... I found it kind of boring to be honest D:

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Anne Aguirre ★★★★☆
I don't know why I liked this book so much, but I did. I found the main character pretty unique (well, as unique as it gets with these kind of YA contemporary chick lits). 

Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel ★★★☆☆
I hate lying- and this story was based off the main character's lies she tells, and eventually gets so wound up in them that... urgh. Reading about her lying all the time made me so uncomfortable... but this book was the opposite to one above, as I wasn't a massive fan of the actual story, but the ending was awesome. When you first read it, you go WHAT?! THAT'S IT??? but then you realise the story continues on in your mind, and the author has already made her point clear.

Remember that you can always add me as a friend on Goodreads here :D

What have you been reading lately? ^_^

Stay fabulous!

Lena xx