How to Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

Hey guys! So today I didn't have any creative ideas for a DIY post.. and I can't stand seeing people with packed lunches with plastic sandwich bags, saran wrap, disposable water bottles, etc, etc... so I thought why not give you guys some tips on how to avoid packing a wasteful lunch!

1. Use containers! I use containers for everything in my lunch. Sure it takes up a lot of room.. but it's better than using lots of plastic bags. I use containers for salads, salad dressing, snacks, everything. It helps if you buy plastic containers of different sizes and styles. For example I have a container with a separate compartment inside of it for dip so if you bring veggies and dip you can just use one container.
2. Bring a reusable water bottle full of whatever you want to drink for the day. This is great because you have a drink for the whole day not just for your lunch. Bring two reusable water bottles if you drink a lot and don't like to drink from the water fountains. You can also bring a thermos or travel mug if you want to have coffee or tea to go in the morning.
3. Bring your own cutlery from home instead of using disposable cutlery.
4. Get a lunch bag. If you get a large enough lunch bag then you don't have to worry about taking up too much space with your containers and you can also just throw cutlery into the bag without worrying about grabbing another container because you know that the bag is clean.
5. Eat less packaged food - it's better for you and the environment. For example; instead of bringing packaged cheese for a snack cut up some cheese and put it in a container. Fruit and veggies are also great snacks to bring because they're easy to pack, quick to eat and really good for you!

That's all that I have for you guys this week so hopefully you enjoyed it and it helped you out. I realize that this wasn't exactly an exciting post; but reducing waste and working to create a healthier planet is something that I am very passionate about so I hope that you didn't mind this slight detour from my regular style of posts. 

You can follow me on twitter @04_emilyy and it would also be awesome if you could share my blog on any social media that you use! :-) See you next week!

DIY: Rad Muscle Shirt

Hey guys! So today I am going to show you how to turn an old t-shirt into a muscle shirt with a beanie that says 'Rad' on it! Let's get started :-)

Materials

• Old Shirt
• Fabric Scissors
• Cardboard
• Fabric Paint (black and white)
• Paint Brushes
• Paper Clips
• Permanent Marker

Step 1:
Begin by cutting the collar off of your shirt by following the seam. Be careful because the seam is usually lower in the front than the back and you want that to stay the same. You will have to cut the front and the back seam of separately; like so.

Step 2:

The next thing that you will do is cut the sleeves off of your shirt. Cut it roughly 1-2 inches from the seam and then 1-2 inches below the seam. After you have the first sleeve cut off; fold the shirt over and use the first cut sleeve as a guide for the second so that they are the same size. 

Step 3:

In this step you will be creating the outline of your beanie. I did this by drawing it on paper, cutting it out and then tracing it onto the shirt with a permanent marker. Then I began to draw the words 'Rad' in a way that looks like the words are melting. I did this by starting the letters normal and then shaking the marker to create the melting effect.

Step 4:

The next step is to paint the shirt. Begin by filling the shirt in with black fabric paint; leaving the inside of 'Rad' without any paint. Once the black paint has dried you can fill that in using a fine paint brush with white. After you have finished painting you're done! :-)

I hope you guys liked this post!! It would be awesome if you could share it on any social media that you use :-) And leave comments giving me suggestions for future posts or anything really!

Follow me on Twitter: @04_emilyy

Check out the YouTube videos my friend and I make: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCkNo-ibJHy_UWtR63GpY9w

Back to School Series: Organization TIps

Hey guys! Sorry this is late, I haven't been home much lately because I've been really busy and I just realized that the scheduled post didn't work! So here's the last back to school series post!!!!

So organization is a key part of success in school... and today I'm going to give you some tips on how to stay organized! Let's get started!

1. Having a Clean Locker
Having a clean locker really helps to keep you organized. Having a portable shelf in the bottom of your locker helps because it gives you more space to keep things. Also having a magnetic whiteboard/bulletin board (half and half) helps because you can write down any homework and assignments that you have as well as pin up any notes that you need to remember onto the bulletin board.

2. Keeping Separate Binders for Each Class
This also really helps - although it's a bit of an inconvenience carrying around it does help when you're doing homework and studying for tests and exams. It also helps so that you don't lose notes or assignments.

3. Keep a Schedule
Keeping a schedule even if it's very flexible helps to keep you on track with handing in assignments on time and remembering due dates. This also helps a lot if you play sports or have other extracurricular activities that take up a lot of your time.

Well that's it guys! I hope you enjoyed the last post in the back to school series. Sorry that it was late but I hope that you enjoyed it and that it will help you! Don't forget to follow me on twitter @04_emilyy and share my blog on any social media that you use please :-)=

5 Healthy Snacks

Hey guys! So today I decided that I would share 5 super easy snacks with you guys to go with the 21 days of no junk food challenge that I posted last week.

1. Grapefruit
Grapefruit is a great snack. All you have to do is cut it in half and sprinkle some sugar on the top. You will just use your spoon to scoop the fruit out of the 'grapefruit bowl'. You can eat one half or the whole thing depending on how hungry you are.

2. Veggies and Dip
Veggies and dip are such an easy, healthy and tasty snack. Cut up any of your favourite veggies and add some dip if you would like. My favourite is cutting up cucumber and carrots into sticks and a small drop of ranch dressing.

3. Apple and Peanut Butter
If you put some peanut butter in a bowl and heat it up in the microwave for 35 seconds it is great to drizzle over apple slices. It looks good, tastes good and it's also a fairly filling snack.

4. Green Smoothie
There are tons of different types of green smoothies that you can make but this is one of my favourites. You add some green tea, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 banana and a small spoonful of peanut butter to the blender. Mix this up and then your smoothie is done! I recommend tasting it and then seeing if you need to add anything else before you pour it into a glass.

5. Yogurt Parfait
This is another good snack - all that you do is take a glass and make layers of yogurt and granola and then tops it off with some fruit and/or berries and voila; a super healthy snack or even breakfast!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and this gave you some good ideas for healthy snacks! Don't forget to check back Friday for my last post in the back to school series! It would also be awesome if you could share my blog on any social media that you use. You can follow me on twitter as well if you would like! @04_emilyy

Back to School Series: Morning Tips

Hey guys! Today I decided that I would do a post that would probably be very useful... tips on how to get out of bed once your alarm goes off.

How to wake up on time
To be able to easily wake up in the morning you need to start off with a good night sleep. You'll want to get as much sleep as you can; ideally around eight hours of sleep. To have a good sleep it's always good to relax for at least half an hour before you fall asleep. A good way to relax before you go to sleep is to lie in bed with a glass of milk or some decaffenated tea while reading a book.

To wake up early you're more than likely going to have an alarm set. A good idea if you use your phone/iPod as an alarm clock is to set the alarm as a song that you like and won't mind getting woken up by. I also always set a positive message for the alarm that makes me want to start my day.

If you're one of those people that hits the snooze butto repeatedly (me) then you'll want to follow these steps:

• Leave your alarm clock out of reach so you have to get out of bed. 
• Stretch once you stand up and force yourself to smile. It sounds dumb but it will make you feel a bit more prepared to face the day. 
• Make your bed so that you won't be tempted to crawl back in. 
• Wash your face with cold water and drink a glass of cold water. 
• If you're having a really hard time getting out of bed try rubbing your cheeks and maybe even giving them a few light taps to get the blood flowing. 

Hopefully this will help you guys get up bright and early for school! Don't forget to come back Wednesday for more DIY posts. :-)

21 Days of NO Junk Food Challenge

Hey guys! Unfortunately I don't have a DIY post for you this week, I have a shirt made that is ready to be put into a blog post buuut.. it's for a friends birthday present and I don't want her to see the blog post before I get a chance to give her the shirt. I was expecting to have given it to her before Wednesday but I didn't get a chance so I was left scrambling - then I thought, why not do a post on the 21 days of no junk food challenge?!

The rules of the 21 days of no junk food challenge are simple. You can't eat any of the foods listed in the above picture for 21 days. This is a great way to begin eating healthy. In the beginning of this challenge it is really hard not to eat any of these foods and it will take a lot of will power. But trust me, it gets easier! Near the end of the 21 days you will rarely crave junk food. So this is a great way to begin cutting junk food out of your diet or limiting your junk food intake.

Some people reading this may not have any interest in doing this challenge. Although some people may want to try it out to eat healthier, lose weight or maybe even just to challenge themselves. This is a great way to work on your fitness because you will (most likely) be getting more nutrients from your food than you regularly do - causing you to experience and increased amount of energy to fuel your workouts.

I have done this challenge once before and I am going to do it again starting today so if anyone wants to start it with me feel free to leave a comment letting me know! You can also follow me on twitter and talk to me there about your experiences with this challenge. :-) I answer all of my dm's and @ messages on there, so feel free to hit me up about anything!

I'm sorry that today's post wasn't too great, but hopefully it will inspire you to lead a healthier life and begin to challenge yourself and eat clean daily. :-) Don't forget to come back Friday for the third post in my 'Back to School Series'!!!

P.S. I made a new YouTube video with my friend and you can check it out here :-). See ya Friday!!!

Back to School Series: First Week of School Outfits

Hey guys! So I decided that since some people are starting school during August and some are starting school during September, my second post in the back to school series would be on back to school clothes.

The perfect time to make a new style change is at the beginning of a new school year, everyone is dressing up and you want your outfits to make a bang! So why not make that style change you've been thinking about now!? Ok, so I put together five outfits for back to school that I'll be showing you. Let's get to it then, shall we?

This is the first outfit I put together. It's super simple and casual but it's also very cute and comfortable. You can tie the flannel shirt around your waist and wear it if it gets cold. If it is really cool outside, you could also change the shorts for some jeans. I think that this outfit would be super cute with either combat boots or converse shoes as well as some simple accessories. This is a great outfit to wear anytime in the first week of school because although it is very casual - it looks great. Which is exactly what you are going for!

This is the second outfit that I put together and I have to say.. it just might be my favourite! This outfit is very simple but the fun patterns and the rips in the jeans make it interesting. The cardigan is perfect for this time of year because you can easily put it on or take it off depending on the temperature and the outfit looks just as good with or without it. If it is very hot outside you can also substitute the skinny jeans for a pair of shorts. I found this backpack and couldn't believe how perfectly it went with this outfit - but a nice neutral backpack would go just as well. 

This is the third outfit I put together and I think it's the girliest out of all five, but it is still pretty casual.  I paired the lace tank top with some high waisted shorts so that you wouldn't be showing any skin since most schools don't allow that. I also paired it with some simple accessories and cute shoes to dress it up a little bit. I chose the leather backpack because it's neutral and I think that it looks really good with the lace and faded jeans.

These are the fourth and fifth outfits that I created. They were both very similar so I figured that I would keep them in the same picture. These are both crop tops with high waisted shorts. The galaxy shirt with high waisted shorts and keds is very casual and cute which I love. I think that the second outfit is a bit girlier which is great if that is your style.  I think that both of these would be great back to school outfits because you will be comfortable throughout the day since you will probably be walking around quite a bit getting your books, filling your locker, finding your classes, etc. 

That's all of the outfits I have for you guys but I hope you liked them, and I hope that they gave you some inspiration for your back to school outfits. If you're reading this, leave a comment saying when you go back to school and whether any of these outfits inspired your back to school clothes. :-)

Don't forget to come back on Wednesday for a regular post! :-) 

DIY: Bohemian Headband

Hey guys! Today I decided that I would show you how to make a super cute and easy to make bohemian style headband. Let's get started!!!

Materials:

• Wool
• Scissors
• Safety Pin (optional, but helpful)

Step 1:
To begin you will first have to pick out your wool. You will need twelve pieces of wool in total. For my headband I used three pieces of red wool, three pieces of white wool, three pieces of black wool and three pieces of multicoloured wool. You will also want these pieces of wool to be fairly long because they will become smaller once you are done braiding them, and they will become smaller again after one of the final steps.

Step 2:
Now you will begin braiding your wool; this will leave you with four strands of braided wool. I braided mine by the colours (three red together, three white together, etc..) but you can mix and match so that you have more than one colour in each braid if you prefer. Also try to keep all four braids roughly the same length; still leaving them fairly long because they will shrink once more in one of the final steps.

To braid the wool you will first knot the three strands together, you can then put a safety pin through the knot if you are using one and pin it to your pant leg (carefully!) so that the wool stays in one place while you are braiding. If you aren't using a safety pin, you will need to find some way to anchor your wool such as a book on the end of the knot or holding the wool between your knees.

Finish the braid by putting a knot in the bottom. Cut off any unused wool, leaving 1-2 inches to be used in the final steps.

Step 3:

Now you should have four separate strands of braided wool. You will tie two of the strands together on each end using the bits of unbraided wool. 

Step 4:

Now that you have two strands of braided wool you will tie them together at one end.Once more using the bits of unbraided wool. For this part, only tie the strands of wool together at one end. It should now look like this:

Step 5:

For this part it helps if you imagine the wool as two separate locks of hair. Now you will be doing a 'rope braid' on the wool. To do this you will take each piece of wool in one hand and turn each piece clockwise. After you have turned the pieces clockwise you will then cross the two pieces just as you would cross the pieces in a regular braid. 

Once you have braided the whole length of the wool put a knot in the end. 

Step 6:
Wrap this around your head and tie a knot in the end so that the headband is comfortable and voila; you're done!!! Now all you have to do is find an outfit that goes with your cute new headband. :-)

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this post. Feel free to leave a comment about it or with a suggestion for a future blog post. It would also be awesome if you guys could share my blog on any social media that you use as it really helps spread the word. Thanks :-)

P.S. Don't forget to come back Friday for the second post in my back to school series!!!

Follow me on twitter  for updates on my blog :-)

Back To School Series

Hey guys! Throughout the month of August I am going to be putting a post up on back to school things such as outfits, organization, etc. I will be posting these every Friday and I'll still be posting regularly every Wednesday. :-) The first post of this series is the back to school advice for freshman post that I put up last Wednesday. So keep an eye out for the back to school posts on Fridays as well as regular DIY posts on Wednesdays! :-)

Back to School Advice for Freshman

Hey guys! So my vegetarian lunch ideas post was supposed to be for this week, but I somehow accidentally posted it last week and didn't realize until just now.. gah... I was hoping to post my high school advice sometime closer to the end of August but I don't have anything else to post this week because of my screw up. Luckily some people do start school in August so it's not at a terrible time.  

First of all I just want to say some things. I'm not going to try and sugar coat it, but starting high school is terrifying. There are so many changes and new things going on it's so easy to become overwhelmed. But I promise that high school will be great, and if you follow this advice then hopefully you'll have an easier time transitioning from elementary/middle school to high school! :-)

1. Make friends before your first day of school
This may seem hard but if your school has opportunities for you to visit and get a tour (which it probably does) you should definitely take that opportunity! Not only will you get an idea of the layout of the school, but you will most likely run into some of your future classmates and seeing people that you know in your classes or in the hallways will make the beginning of you high school career much easier and not quite as stressful.

2. Ask older students for advice
If you have friends or siblings in higher grades than you, don't be afraid to ask them for advice. They will be able to help you find your classes if you're having a hard time. They'll also be able to give you advice on what clubs or extracurricular activities would be good for you.

3. Take your schoolwork seriously
Ok, I honestly cannot stress this one enough. Although freshman grades usually don't mean much on college/university applications they do help you to get a routine made up for studying and doing homework. Now I'm not saying that you have to spend eight hours a day doing school work, but just get your homework done on time (no, not by pulling an all-nighter. Put some real effort into it!) and study for tests, it will pay off in the long run and you'll feel great about keeping on top of your workload.

4. Join Clubs
This may not seem like a lot of fun to you right now but joining sports teams or other school clubs is an awesome way to make new friends. It's also a great thing to put on resumes and college applications. And by joining a club, you're also helping to make your school a better place where students are able to be involved in many types of activities!

5. Find a Balance
When you first start high school it's likely that you'll be getting more homework than you used to get in elementary or middle school so you need to learn how to balance everything going on in your life. Creating a schedule that you can follow weekly will really help you to be able to have time to do everything you want to do such as homework, sports/other extracurricular activities, hanging out with friends and maybe even working if you have a job. Although it may seem hard at first, finding a balance will really help to make your school life easier and less stressful.

6. Appearance
In high school it is likely that you will feel a lot of pressure to dress and act a certain way and my advice on how to handle that is to ignore it. Honestly, if you feel pressured to do your hair a way you don't like it, or wear clothes you don't feel comfortable in, etc ignore that pressure and just don't do it. Although you do want to keep up your personal hygiene: put on deodorant, wash your hair, brush your teeth; you don't want to be the smelly kid. But don't let the pressure of looking a certain way change who you are. As long as you dress how you want and maintain good personal hygiene, you really can't let peer pressure get to you. Just do you! There is absolutely nothing wrong with showing up to school in a dress if everyone else is wearing sweats, or showing up in sweats if everyone else is wearing dresses. As long as you're comfortable and happy, that's all that matters!

As scary as high school may seem, it's really not that bad. As long as you try your hardest in your classes and step out of your comfort zone to meet new friends and try new things, you should have a great high school experience! :-)

As always, it would be great if you could share my blog on any social media that you use. :-) If you follow my twitter (https://twitter.com/04_emilyy) I'm sorry about the mix up saying that there is a new post when there wasn't... but there is now! :-)

DIY: Tribal Print Shorts

Hey guys! So as I'm sure you all know, you can literally find tribal print clothing anywhere. So I decided that I would revamp a pair of old shorts that I never wear and turn them into a super cute pair of tribal print shorts! Let's get started :-)

Materials:

• Bleach (optional)
• Scissors
• Permanent Marker
• Fabric or Acrylic Paint

Step 1:
If you have chosen to bleach your shorts, read this; if not skip to step two. When I was bleaching my shorts I wanted to do an ombre type of bleach but ran out of bleach before I had a chance to begin that. So if you just want to simply bleach the whole short like I did submerge the shorts in some diluted bleach for about 10 minutes. If you want to do an ombre bleached short, submerge the shorts in diluted bleach for about 5 minutes and then take them out, leaving only the bottom of the shorts in for (roughly) another 5 minutes. Now rinse and wash the shorts using laundry detergent. Once your shorts have dried, you can move onto step two.

Step 2:
Using your scissors put two horizontal cuts on the side opposite to the one that you will be putting the tribal print design on.

Step 3:
Begin putting the outline of the tribal print design onto your shorts using a permanent marker. Be careful when doing this because you don't want to mess up and end up with permanent marker in places that you don't want it to be (speaking from experience here haha).

Step 4:

This part takes lots of time and patience. Now you have to fill in the outline you created with paint. I recommend using a fairly thin brush so that it is easier to paint inside the lines. Really the only advice that I can give you about this part is to not get frustrated and take your time. This is what my shorts looked like once I finished painting them. Unfortunately I had some permanent marker still showing once I was done, so I am going to be trying to get that out! 

That's it! I hope you guys enjoyed this post and if you could it would be great if you could share my blog on any social media that you use as it would help me out a lot, thanks! :-)

Vegetarian Lunch Ideas

Hey guys! So today I decided that I would share with you some of my favourite vegetarian lunches. Lots of which can easily be a vegan lunch for any vegans reading :-)

Sandwiches
Ok so I love, love, loooveee vegetable sandwiches and here are some of my favourites.

Tomato and Cucumber Sandwich:
This is super simple and really good. All that you do is put some butter on bread with some lettuce or spinach, tomato and cucumber and a piece of cheese. And this can easily be a vegan sandwich without the butter and cheese; or you could use soy cheese if you would like!

Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich:
So simple, so obvious and so good. I love having a peanut butter and jam sandwich every once in a while but they are especially good if I am in a rush in the morning and don't have time to make anything fancy.

Tomato and Cheese Sandwich:
This is another really easy sandwich all you have to do is put a slice of tomato and cheese onto some buttered bread and, bam! There's your sandwich.

Salads
Garden Salad:
This is so good and so simple; you can literally make a garden salad with any veggies that you have in your fridge. I love to use a mixture of spinach and lettuce with cucumbers, carrots and peppers. And if you want to add some protein you can top it off with some boiled eggs or nuts like almonds or cashews.

Pasta Salad:
I usually just use spiral noodles and top them off with some carrots, peppers and salad dressing.

So there are some super easy to make vegetarian lunches, I hope you enjoyed this post! And it would be awesome if you could share it on any social media that you use, thanks! :-)

DIY: Frozen Yogurt Treats

Hey guys! So since I didn't post last week (cringe) I decided that I would do two posts this week! One today and one on Wednesday. I wasn't sure what to do my first post of the week on and then while I was making some frozen yogurt treats I realized that would be a great idea for a post! So I'm going to be showing you how to make frozen yogurt dots and frozen yogurt bark. Let's get started! :-)

I used a 650g container of yogurt and that was enough to make both of these!

Frozen Yogurt Dots
Ingredients/Materials:

• Yogurt
• Plastic Bag 
• Cookie Sheet

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the process of making these because I didn't even think of making it into a blog post until they were already made.. but luckily it's very easy to explain!

Step 1:
Take your plastic bag (your going to need to use a sandwich bag) and make a small diagonal cut on one of the corners. You are going to use this bag like a baker would to ice a cake. Then fill the bag with 2-3 spoonfuls of yogurt. I used strawberry banana yogurt and let me tell you; it is delicious.

Step 2:
Begin putting drops of yogurt onto the cookie sheet simply by squeezing the bag. Once the cookie sheet is full of yogurt dots put the cookie sheet into the freezer and leave it there for as long as you like. My yogurt dots were frozen after a half hour but you can leave them in there for as long as you like. :-) This is what they look like once they come out of the freezer.

Finished Product

Frozen Yogurt Bark
Ingredients/Materials:

• Yogurt
• Almonds
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Parchment Paper
• Cake Pan

Step 1:
Line your pan with parchment paper so that it will be easy for you to cut the bark and remove it once it is frozen without wrecking your pan.

Step 2:
 Pour some yogurt onto the bottom of the pan and spread it evenly across. Only put enough yogurt down to cover the parchment paper. Next add some diced strawberries and grapes to the yogurt as well as whole almonds. Add enough so that it is spread somewhat evenly across the yogurt like this:

Then add some more yogurt to the top to cover all of the fruit and almonds. Add more fruit and almonds and then one more layer of yogurt. It should now look like this:

Step 3:

Put this in the freezer for about an hour and a half if you want it to be frozen very well. You can also leave it in the freezer for longer if you prefer. Then cut it however big you would like and enjoy!!! :-)

I hope you guys enjoy this post and the yummy yogurt treats. These are really great for days that you have a sweet tooth but don't want to eat junk food since they are so sweet but they're also great for you! I really like to have these as a post-workout snack as well because it helps cool you down but you also get some protein! So stay tuned for a post coming to you Wednesday and if you could share this on any social media that you use that would be great, thanks! :-)

Favourites: Bands and YouTubers

Hey guys! I'm so, so, so sorry that I haven't posted in weeks. I've been really busy. But I promise that I will try my hardest to post every week from now on. Anyway, I figured that today I would just talk about some of my favourite YouTubers and bands. Maybe we'll have some of the same, or maybe this will give you some people to check out! :-)

YouTubers:

• Veeoneeye (Jason). He is hilarious and his life seems so cool. I'd love to travel with him one day. https://www.youtube.com/user/VeeOneEye
• Omgitsharrisonwebb (Harrison Webb). Ok let's be real here, he's amazing. He's attractive, funny and he makes awesome videos. What more could you ask for, right?! 
• https://www.youtube.com/user/OmgHarrisonWebb
• Sam Pepper. His prank videos are the funniest things ever. I especially love his public interviews. they never fail to make me laugh. https://www.youtube.com/user/OFFICIALsampepper
• SDK so this is a collab channel that I'm obsessed with. All of the guys are hilarious and they all make awesome videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/SDK
• FouseyTUBE (Yousef) his videos are uh-mazing. His public pranks are hilarious, but he also does social experiment videos which are very moving. https://www.youtube.com/user/fouseyTUBE
• Pointlessblog (Alfie Deyes). He is just downright hilarious, his videos are always good to watch when you're having a hard time finding videos that suit your mood. https://www.youtube.com/user/PointlessBlog
• Marcusbutlertv (Marcus Butler). Again, another hilarious dude. His videos never fail to make me laugh. https://www.youtube.com/user/MarcusButlerTV
• Thatcherjoe (Joe Sugg). I love the YouTuber whispers and innuendo bingo videos, they're so hilarious and he seems like he would be an awesome person to meet. https://www.youtube.com/user/ThatcherJoe
• Zoella (Zoe Sugg) she's very funny and I love how she makes a variety of videos. I also love her clothing style so I very much enjoy her haul and other lifestlye type videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390
• JacksGap (Jack and Finn Harries) these two boys are so inspirational. I love all of the things that they have done and are still doing to try and make a change in the world. But along with those videos, they also have videos that are pure entertainment. They have the perfect balance of different types of videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/JacksGap

Bands: 

5 Seconds of Summer

• 5 Seconds of Summer. Ok, how can you not love them?! They're soo cute, funny and extremely talented. I mean is it even possible to dislike this band?! Don't Stop - Music Video
• All Time Low. They're music is so, so, soooo good! And I love their personalities; they would be so awesome to see live. A Love Like War - Music Video
• Marianas Trench. I have loved them since their very first album, they're so talented and just awesome dudes. I saw them live last year and the concert was mind blowingly awesome. Desperate Measures - Music Video
• The Vamps. So I've just recently started listening to them and wow. They're very talented, and their songs are so relatable. Can We Dance - Music Video
• The Who. Ok so they're an old band but they're just so good! I've been listening to them since I was just a little kid and I've always loved them. Baba O'Riley
• Creedence Clearwater Revival. Another old band and again, I've been listening to them for a long time. Bad Moon Rising
• Blink-182. All of their music is honestly just so good it's crazy. First Date - Music Video
• Bowling For Soup. I love their pop-punk sound, I honestly cannot get enough of them!1985 - Music Video

So now you guys know some of my favourite bands and YouTubers! I could definitely keep going on both lists but they would end up being way too long for anyone to read. If you guys haven't heard of or listened to/watched any of the bands or YouTubers I have listed I definitely recommend checking out the links that I put in the blog because I'm sure you'll enjoy it! If you have any YouTubers or bands that you like that aren't listed, leave them in the comments and I'll check them out! Also it would be awesome if you guys could share my blog on any social media that you use so that more people can find out about it! :-) 

Again, I'm so, so, so sorry about my lack of posts lately but like I said before, I'm going to try my hardest to continue posting weekly, so stay tuned!!! :-)  

Disclaimer: All of the pictures in this post are taken from google.

How To: Have a Good Workout

Hey guys! Today I'm going to tell you how I avoid those days of coming home from the gym and feeling as if you've accomplished absolutely nothing.

I'm sorry I haven't posted any DIY's for a few weeks but trust me. They're coming! I've been really busy lately so unfortunately I haven't had time to do anything very crafty. But hopefully this post will help some people start to enjoy working out. Let's get started! :)

Motivation: 
So I know getting motivated to go for a workout is half the battle. So I'll tell you some tricks that I use on days that I'm feeling particularly unmotivated.

Make a really good pre-workout snack! If I make myself a snack that has lots of protein like celery with peanut butter or some almonds I find that it makes me more motivated. Since I just ate something full of protein to fuel my workout I can't use the "I'm too tired" or "I don't have enough energy" excuse.

Make a new playlist! Making a new workout playlist full of up-beat songs always gets me excited to go and workout. Add any type of music you want. As long as it  gets you motivated to go and listen to it for at least an hour; it did it's job!

Put you workout clothes on! On days that I'm feeling extremely unmotivated as soon as I get the idea of going to the gym in my head I go and put on my workout clothes before my brain has a chance to figure out what's happening. I know this sounds silly but it really works. If you're already dressed you really can't make up any more excuses to stay at home.

Benefits of working out! :)

Planning:
Once you've made your way down to the gym having a pre-planned workout is crucial in coming home feeling accomplished. But don't worry, the plans can be flexible! My plans are basically just a rough outline for me to follow when I get to the gym.

How to Plan! First I decide what part of my body I want to work that day i.e. is it a leg day, ab day, arm day, etc. Once you have that decided choose some workouts that are challenging and enjoyable.

If you don't know any exercises you want to do google some! When I plan the exercises that I will be doing I usually have an amount that I have to do i.e. 4 sets of 25 reps. But I allow myself to add more. Choose an amount of reps that will give you a good workout but not so many that you hurt yourself. Don't forget to throw in some cardio either. I find a great way to get in cardio is by either running for a half hour before my workout or after. I've heard many people say they like to run after they've  finished working out; but I prefer to use running as a warm-up and do it before.

Don't forget to stretch before and after you workout. If you don't; you'll probably regret it the next day. And that's it! Easy, huh?

I hope some people found this post helpful! :) If you can share my blog on any social media that you use that would be amazing! And don't forget to comment if you have any suggestions for future posts - they don't have to be DIY's. As you can see, I post about basically anything. :)

P.S. I'm hoping to have a really cool upcycled shorts post next week so stay tuned ;)


*All of the pictures on today's post are from google*

By the way guys, my friend and I made a YouTube channel that we're going to post videos on every Sunday. Here's our introduction video if you want to watch it!!! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unriXTxyYGI

How to: Have the Best Summer Ever!

Hey guys! So I decided that since summer is fast approaching (well it's already here..) why not do a summer bucket list!? I'm going to show you my summer bucket list and hopefully you guys will be inspired to use this or to create your own! Let's do this!!!

1. Step out of my comfort zone!

2. Put blankets and pillows in a truck bed and sleep in it. (I know this is all over the internet but seriously - how cool would it be?!)

3. Start a YouTube channel with my friend.

4. Upload awesome prank videos like pegging, trolleying and public disturbances.

6. Do public interviews and upload it to YouTube

5. Go for a midnight swim with my friends

6. Go for a swim at sunset

7. Do something adventurous! Go zip lining, bungee jumping, skydiving. Something crazy!

8. Have a spontaneous road trip with my friends

9. Sleep under the stars

10. Meet new people

11. Go to a concert




12. Go on a 'penny date'

13. Continue updating my blog

14. Stay up all night

15. Have a sleepover on the beach

16. Make the most of my free time

17. Save money for future adventures

18. Exercise regularly

19. Learn a new language

20. Help someone in need

21. Inspire someone 

22. Have lots of bonfires

23. Have water gun/ water balloon wars

24. Learn how to water ski

25. Take up photography again

26. Smile lots; laugh often

27. Make lots of new DIY's

28. Make this a summer to remember!


Well guys; that's it for this week. I know this post was different from my normal posts but I'm really busy this week and figured that a summer bucket list would awesome since I was already creating one. I really hope you enjoyed this and I hope that it inspires you to get out of your comfort zone; off your but and into the world to do something crazy!!! Who cares if people judge you. You have one life and you need to live it. So go out, have fun and live it up. (But still be smart and don't get yourself into trouble) haha.

If you liked this post please share it on any social media you use as it would be wonderful if more people found my blog :-). Don't forget to comment if you have any suggestions for future posts!

I'm gonna sign off with a quote today since it's one of my absolute favourites (it's even hanging in my bedroom) and it completely suits this week's topic.

"Peace out, enjoy life and live the adventure." - Louis Cole. (This is his youtube channel)

DIY: Knotted Fringe Tank Top

Hey guys! So today I'm going to show you how to make a tank top with knotted fringe (I guess that's what we'll call it) at the waist. This shirt took about 20-30 minutes but it's totally worth it! So let's get started :-)

Materials:

• Chalk
• Old Shirt
• Fabric Scissors

Step 1:
To being you will put the shirt on and mark where your waist is using chalk. I drew this line all around my body so that I could use it when cutting the fringe. After you have that line marked cut off the collar of the shirt following the seam.

Step 2:
Now we're going to cut the fringe. To do this you can mark horizontal lines about 1/4 - 1/2 an inch down. These will be where you cut to create the fringe.

Once the lines are marked just cut upwards. You could do the front and back at the same time or do them separately. I did mine separately and once I had the front done I flipped the fringe up (onto the stomach area of the shirt) so that it wouldn't get in the way while I cut the back fringe.

Step 3:
This is where things get a little tricky; so please bear with me.

Begin with your shirt laying flat with the back fringes flipped up so that they are out of the way. Pick up the fringe closest to the edge of the shirt (fringe 1) and then take the fringe beside it (fringe 2) it and tie fringe 2 over and under fringe 1. (So cross fringe 2 over top of fringe one and then tie the knot under). Next pick up piece that is closest to fringe 2 on the opposite side and tie it over and under the fringe 1 and 2 combination. Continue tying each fringe over and under across the whole shirt . Once the front is done flip the shirt over and repeat the same steps on the back. Once you have finished the knots it should look like this:

Sorry I had to use my phone so the quality is terrible :-(

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I have another project that I've been working on and I'm pretty excited for it. Hopefully it looks as good finished as it does in my head. If you enjoyed this post it would be great if you could share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media that you use! Don't forget to comment if you have any suggestions for future posts and I will see you next Wednesday!!! :-)

DIY: Easy Off The Shoulder Heart T-Shirt

Hey guys! So today I'm going to show you how to make an off the shoulder t-shirt with a heart cut into the back. It's definitely time to make up for the lack of clothing posts lately and this only takes like 10-15 minutes. So let's get started :-)!!!

Sorry the after is so dark - I had to take the picture on my phone.

Materials:

• Chalk
• Old Shirt
• Fabric Scissors 
• Cardboard
• Paper Clips

Step 1:
To begin cut the collar off of you shirt following the seam. After you've done that flip the shirt over and decide where you want the heart to be. After you've decided the placement slip the cardboard into the middle of the shirt and use your paper clips to keep it in place. Now that the cardboard is clipped in place draw the heart and the lines where you will cut onto the shirt like so:

Step 2:
Next you will cut across the lines that you drew in the heart. To do this use your scissors like a knife to start the cut (1) and once you have ripped the fabric cut across following the line (2). Do this for all of your lines and once they are all cut gently pull them to stretch the fabric (3) so that it won't look so rugged and so that it will roll in on itself to prevent tearing.

Step 3:
Now it's time to do the off the shoulder part. To do this first decide what shoulder you want the shirt to be off. Once you have that decided, cut straight down the shoulder of the shirt roughly 1-2 inches. (1) Then take this extra piece of fabric and cut down until you meet the collar of your shirt; (2) try to not cut it any deeper than it already is and then do the same thing on the back of the shirt.

That's it!! Now you're done, I hope you guys enjoyed the post! And by the way; this isn't my super cool shirt idea. That should be next week ;). By the way if you guys like my blog it would mean a lot if you could share it on any social media that you use so that more people can find my blog and hopefully read it. Don't forget to comment if you have any ideas for future posts! See you next Wednesday!!! :-)

DIY necessities

Hey guys! So I have a super cool idea for a shirt but no old shirts left to make it with. I'll be picking up more shirts this week though so you'll be seeing a cool up-cycled shirt post next Wednesday :-). I figured that instead of doing another cooking post I'd do a 'diy necessities' post so that you guys have access to a list of things that you need for most of the posts found here.

Things needed for most of my posts:

• Fabric paint
• Paint brushes (sponge and hair)
• Paper clips
• Cardboard
• Buckets (or laundry tubs)
• Fabric scissors
• Over sized t-shirts

This next list will be things that aren't necessarily important for my blog; but things that I find myself looking for whenever I want to try to do a diy that isn't something that I normally do.

Other necessities:

• String
• Wool
• Fabric glue
• Wood
• Acrylic paint
• Beads
• Dye for tie-dye
• Rubber bands
• Garbage bags
• Rubber gloves
• Lace fabric
• Wire
• Tissue paper

I'm sorry that this post was so boring but hopefully it will help anyone that is getting started off 'diy-ing'. If your new to the whole diy scene maybe you could even print this off and take it shopping with you. Don't worry, I have three super cool up-cycling posts that I'm planning on posting over the next few weeks and I can't wait!!!! If you have any suggestions for future posts don't forget to comment! :-)

DIY: Vegetarian Casserole

Hey guys! Today I figured that I would do a cooking post since 50% of the votes from last week's poll was for cooking/baking posts. What I am going to be making is a vegetarian casserole that I modified from this recipe. Lets get started!

Prep Time: 20 minutes Baking Time: 75-85 minutes Total Time: 95-105 minutes
(I know that's a lot of time but it's just soooo good!)

My casserole with cheese on part of it.
Did I mention it was delicious?!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups vegetable broth 
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 1 1/2 cups onion diced
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano 
• 4 cups cauliflower diced
• 4 cups broccoli diced
• 2 cups red pepper diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees celsius. Combine vegetable broth, rice, 1 cup of onion, soy sauce, butter, oregano and garlic powder in a 3 qt casserole dish. Put the dish in the oven and cover it; letting it bake for 65-70 minutes or until the rice is tender. 

Step 2:

While the rice base is cooking; cut the cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper and carrots. After the vegetables are cut put 3 tbsps of olive oil into a large frying pan and begin to saute the vegetables until they are tender.

Step 3:

Once the rice is tender spoon the vegetables on top of it. Cover the casserole dish and put it back in the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Now if you would like add cheese to your casserole. You can always just put cheese on some sports and leave some spots without cheese. Voila. You're done!!! Enjoy your casserole.

I hope you guys enjoyed the post and also the casserole! Don't forget to comment if you have any suggestions for future posts. If you like this blog please share it on any social media that you use as it helps me out a lot :-) 

How To: Morning Runs

Hey guys! This is an extra post. Isn't that exciting?! This post is going to be about morning runs just to help anyone who is interested in starting to run in the morning. Maybe it will even help people that are new to running and want to get started. First I'm going to talk about what to eat before a morning run. Lets get started :-)


Short Runs:
Long Runs:

• 4-6 strawberries

• 1/2 banana

• Milk

• Water

• Coconut oil

• Honey

P.S. I am not a professional whatsoever and everything in this post is based solely on my own experience.
I hope you guys enjoyed this and I also hope that it helped someone! Come back Wednesday to see this week's post and don't forget to comment if you have any suggestions for future posts.

For the purpose of this I consider a short run anything under 4 km. Before a short run I will usually eat a banana, half a granola bar and 1-2 glasses of water. I advise eating as soon as you wake up so that you will have some time to digest before heading out for your run. Don't be afraid to eat a bit more than that if you're still hungry! Just listen to your body when deciding how much to eat and you should be fine.
I also advise not considering anything over 4 km a 'short run' ff you only eat a banana and half of a granola bar and run over 4 km you may 'hit the wall' very quickly, and it's not a good idea to run on an empty stomach. 

For the purpose of this I consider a long run 5-6 km. Before one of these runs I usually have a strawberry banana smoothie (the recipe for that will be below), 1-3 glasses of water and depending on how hungry I am I might have half of a granola bar as well. I haven't ran anything over 6 km after having this smoothie and I wouldn't advise anyone to try it. I am usually starting to feel pretty hungry and tired at the 6 km mark compared to when I run 6 km after already eating throughout the day.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie:
Ingredients:

Add 4 strawberries to the blender with half of a banana. Then add 1-2 tsps (or to taste) of coconut oil and honey.

The base is milk and water. I don't have any measurements for this base because I just eyeball it. The milk to water ratio is probably about 3/4 milk to 1/4 water. I add the water to the base because I find that it makes the smoothie a bit easier and quicker to digest.

 Blend this together and taste it. Add more strawberries and/or banana if needed.  I usually wait 20-30 minutes after having this smoothie before beginning my run.

Warm-up:
For my warm-up I usually just do some walking lunges and then begin my run at a very light jog so that my muscles are warmed and loosened before I am running at my normal pace.

Cool-down:
For my cool down I usually do a light jog/walk combination outside for 1-2 minutes. After that I always do this yoga routine that is designed for runners and it is absolutely amazing!!!

Post-run Breakfast:
After I go for a run in the morning I usually come home and have eggs, toast and fruit with water.

 If I just go for a short run and I'm not too hungry I usually have 1-2 pieces of toast with 1 egg and then some fruit and maybe some yogurt.

If I go for a long run (or even a short run and I'm just hungry) I have 2 pieces of toast, 2 eggs, some fruit and maybe yogurt as well as water.

*Note: When you're running with not much in your stomach (and any other time for that matter) please remember to listen to your body! If you're starting to feel too tired or extremely hungry just turn around. A good run isn't worth pushing yourself harder than you should and possibly hurting yourself.*



P.S.S. If you enjoyed this post or any posts on my blog; sharing it on any social media websites that you use would really help me out a lot. :-)

DIY: Easy Vest!

Hey guys! Today I'm going to show you how to make a super easy no-sew vest from an old t-shirt! This vest only took me five minutes (if that) and it looks super cute!!! So let's get started :-)

Materials:

• Fabric scissors

• Over sized t-shirt

Step 1:

Start off by laying your shirt out flat on your work space. Cut the collar off of the t-shirt (following the front seam so the cut is the same depth in the front and back). Then cut the sleeves off also following the seams. Try to cut smoothly so that you do not have jagged cut marks. By now your shirt should look like this:

Step 2:

Next you are going to cut along the seam on the side of the shirt right up to the armpit. You want to cut it all the way up. You don't want it to be attached anywhere along the side anymore.

That's it!!! Now you just have to pick your shirt up sideways so that the holes from the collar and arms are one big hole in the back.

To wear this vest you just put both of your arms through the big hole in the back. This is what the finished product looks like.

See?! Super easy and cute!!! It's also a perfect vest for Summer time. I hope you enjoyed this post! Keep checking my blog throughout the week because there may be an extra post!!! Don't forget to leave a comment if you have any suggestions for future posts. :-)

DIY: 5 Seconds of Summer Shirt

Hey guys! So today I am going to show you how to make your own 5sos (5 seconds of summer) band tee! If you haven't heard of them... Well go listen to them because I promise that you won't regret it! Just because I am creating a tutorial to make your own band tee or merch, that doesn't mean that I don't think you should go buy some anyways to support them! You can find their merch here :-). You can also go to their youtube to listen to their music! Anyways, enough about the band. Let's start the shirt!

Materials

• Old shirt

• Scissors

• Fabric paint

• Paint brushes

• Cardboard

• Paper clips

• Sharpie

• Ruler

To begin, cut the sleeves off so that it is a tank top. Cut the first sleeve as thick (on the shoulders) as you want and as deep (on the sides) as you want. I just eyeballed this, but after you cut the first sleeve; fold it over to use as an outline for the other sleeve.
Step 2: 
Take a ruler and approximately find the middle of the shirt. Once you found the middle, mark it with your sharpie. 
Next measure how high you want the middle of the shirt to come up. After that is done, draw a diagonal line from that point down to the edge on each side of the shirt. Then follow this line with your scissors; cutting the front and back of the shirt.

This is before I painted it; it is only outline of the logo.

This is before I painted it; it is only the outline.

Front

Back

Step 1:
We're going to begin with cutting the t-shirt. It's very similar to my tie dye tank top two weeks ago. Except the hem of  the shirt will come up in the middle. 

Next we are going to cut the collar. This is very simple since the collar was left fairly high. Cut the collar that is sewn onto the shirt off, following the stitching. Next cut the front of the collar down on both side about 2-3 inches; letting the sides meet in the middle in a shape that resembles a triangle. Just leave the back of the collar as it is. 

Now we are going to cut the hem of the shirt. I completely forgot to take pictures for this part, so you're going to have to bear with me trying to explain how to do it through typing. To begin, cut the hem that is already sewn onto the shirt off and cut it to the desired length (keeping in mind that the shirt will come up in the middle). I cut mine up higher than the shirt was originally; because mine was extremely long on me.



Step 3:
This is the fun part! Now you get to put the logo onto your shirt.  I created the circle on paper so that I could trace it onto the shirt. I also practice drawing the logo itself on a scrap piece of paper before I drew on the shirt. Once I had the circle traced onto my shirt and practiced drawing the logo enough I drew the logo onto the shirt freehand with a sharpie.

Then I flipped the shirt over and drew "Hemmo 1996" on the back sort of like a jersey. This was also freehand with a sharpie.

Step 4:
Once you have the outline of your logo and Hemmo 1996 on your shirt, it's time to begin painting! Slide a piece of cardboard into the middle of your shirt and secure it with paper clips so that your shirt stays still while you're painting.

Then pour some black fabric paint (or whatever colour you prefer) onto some cardboard. Take a small paint brush and trace the words so that it will be easier to paint without making a mess. Once you did that you can use a bigger paint brush or the same one you used to trace the words and finish filling everything in.

This is the finished product:


Keep in mind that by posting this I am not encouraging you to not support 5 seconds of summer by buying their merch. This is just a fun project that you can do to create a shirt of your own.

I hope you enjoyed this post! :-) Don't forget to go and check out their youtube channel!!! :-) 

P.S. There is a poll that will be up until next Wednesday and if you vote you have a say in what kind of posts I make in the future! :-)