Blog Layout 2014, whew!

I have to say after countless hours, nights and months editing and tweaking, I am finally satisfied with the result of my new blog layout (seen below)!! I'm hoping it will make my old and new readers feel more welcomed when they enter my blog. I just feel that it is more of an open concept now with my own personal touch :)

In case anyone is wondering, I started from the Simple Template provided by Blogger and worked on it all on my own from there. I love the font I chose for the blogpost title because it looks more effortless (I love handwriting by the way). I love that I incorporated the colour blue more because not only is it one of my fave colours, it reminds me of the lakeshore + matches my eye colour! It has more of a nautical feel to it. I also figured out how to make my 'About Me' profile picture round  from searching this blog HERE !!! It was REALLY helpful! Honestly, I thought I had to get a professional graphic designer to achieve this look (I even asked a couple of friends) but I can tell you  if you just look around and use your own creativity the blog will look and feel much better to YOU (and that's what matters the most)! I feel inspired and encouraged to write now that I am pleased with my layout. The only thing I want to approve is the little 'About Me' blurb...I want to make it short & sweet but so far it's been difficult to come up with something that possesses all my qualities AND what this blog will be all about...

If anyone has any ideas for my 'About Me' description, please let me know! I would really appreciate any thoughts on that. 

Updated layout 2014 

I was having problems being able to write in my blog again because I was not satisfied with my previous layout. I thought if I don't like going to my OWN blog, no one else will go to it either. I knew I needed a change. Down below is my old layout and although when I look at it now it doesn't look too bad I just feel it  needed a bit more airiness with better coordination :) It's amazing how something as simple as a new blog layout could create such motivation and inspiration to write again.

Old layout

Please feel free to ask how I achieved certain elements on my new blog layout in the comment section. I would love to hear all your thoughts and inquiries. Whew, now this feels like one great sigh of relief!

Thanks for reading!

Fishtail on the First Try

I love the fishtail braid because it looks so intricate and effortless. Unfortunately, for the longest time my attempted fishtail braids looked more like a bird's nest braid hahaha... until recently when I found out a very easy and helpful tip that I learned from a Youtuber, LoeyLane. I've linked her YT video below! I couldn't believe that this one quick, and SIMPLE (like really simple it blew my mind) trick only involves the use of of ONE hair tye. When I tried her tip, I was able to get the perfect fishtail braid on the first try! Now I can really say that the fishtail braid is very easy to do and ONLY looks complicated!!! In the end, you get a beautiful but effortless hair style :) On the same day that I tried Loey's tip, I did a no makeup to full makeup look because I was just so happy that I actually pulled it off. It's great for days when you're having a bad hair day, or if you just want your hair out of the way! Please check out LoeyLane's "7 Quick and Easy Hairstyles for School" video on YouTube HERE to know how I pulled the fishtail braid on my first try! <3

Ps. I thanked Loey through Twitter and she actually responded (and retweeted my image!!). She seems to be a really sweet girl and I recommend everyone to subscribe to her for tips and tricks on beauty, fashion & style :) 

Thanks for reading!

Saying Goodbye

This is a over due post...sorry.

I've been putting blogging off to the side everyday pretty much since my last post. It's always in the back of my mind. I usually think of great topics and say to myself, "hmmm that's a good idea to write in my blog..." and then I never have the courage to actually write it! Well, here is an attempt to help me get back into the swing of things. This post is going to be dedicated to the topic of "friendship + saying goodbye."

I titled this post "Saying Goodbye" because I recently thought of all the friends I lost after high school. High school really is a different world. When you're in high school, you live in a world (more like a bubble) that makes you believe friendships will be long lasting until you're all old and grey! Yay! I remember I would walk around the block everyday after school with my best friend, and we would talk about such things as being at one another's weddings, spending every girl's night together, growing old, etc. Reality is, I am now 24 yrs old and my high school bestie and I are not in any contact whatsoever! It is sad to lose friends, but I have learned to say goodbye to the past and move on. Why should I be hung up over losing friends? If they really were my true friend, soulmate, best friend FOR LIFE, whatever you want to define it; they would still be part of my life right? Right. In fact, I found myself caring more about what she did after our friendship ended such as if she succeeded through school, her love life and more - all through social media. I bet she does not or did not do the same for me. It just caused more stress in my life from all the regret I was feeling.

*By the way, just in case you think this post is an angst post against an ex-friend - it really isn't. I  have no hard feelings towards this certain individual, and I don't waste my time looking up her life through social media anymore. She was part of a significant time in my life and I hope that maybe she feels the same way about me too...and if not, well that is cool too. We did have a fall out and had made amends, but life gets in the way I guess.

Losing friends is something we need to let go. We can't always be hung up on the "could have beens" of friendships. People change after high school. We all become part of the bigger picture, and sometimes those friends you had just don't fit within the lines of your masterpiece. Besides, what is the point of having so many friends? We're always told that quality is better than quantity. Well, I would say I may have a few close/best friends but they provide me quality friendships. As it is, I find it is difficult (maybe it's just me) to handle the amount of 'friends' I have on Facebook! Most of them are actually high school friends that I don't know on a personal level anymore but I get to see (through social networking) how they have grown since the time I knew them. I keep it simple with the close knit group of friends I have made throughout the years after high school. So far, they have all grown with me personally and we have kept very lovely friendships. I feel as though high school friendships can be a little superficial. It is like you were 'trying' out friends, going through them, and made to believe you needed to settle with them. Were we just friends for the sake having friends to uphold a good social status during high school?

From my personal experience, friendships after high school are so much more serious and long lasting (*no worries, I still have a couple of close friendships that stemmed from high school btw!!). But if you want to continue having friends just  for quantitative reasons then that's cool too. However, just know that it becomes a bit lonely when you don't have true friends to share and trust with all your secrets and are also able to handle all your crazy personal attributes :)

I want to leave off with this image that I retweeted on Twitter about ex-bestfriends:

Thanks for reading!

I'll have more fun and interesting posts very soon :)