5 Ways To Start Your Year Off Right!

Nothing says "new year, new me" like some change. It doesn't have to be huge, dramatic changes, small ones can be just as effective. And let's face it, some of the changes we really want to make we probably won't stick to. Baby steps and subtle changes are key.

#1- Give Your Nails A Fresh Coat

I like to do a fresh, clean, neutral colour at the end of the year and into the beginning of the new year. This year I did white. White is a very positive colour, and is associated with goodness, innocence and purity. Perfect for a new start.

#2- Treat Yo' Self

Do something for you, something that will boost your confidence. 

• Buy a new outfit, new shoes or new jewellery [it doesn't have to be brand new or a top brand; thrift stores, discount racks or cheap stores work too]
• Get a perfume or spray you really enjoy
• Get a manicure/pedicure, even if you do it yourself!
• Change your appearance [sounds bad, I know] : get a haircut, a new piercing, whatever you desire to start the year fresh
• Change out your makeup for new stuff, or just add to your collection 

#3- Change Your Bedding And PJs

The feeling of curling up in bed with clean sheets and PJs should say it all.

#4- Move Furniture

Switch up your bedroom, or living room, or whatever room you please. Get rid of some things as you move things around, clear up some space and make room for new memories.

#5- Spend Time With Family and Friends

Most places are closed new years day, so instead of staying home in bed, go out for a walk or go skating with people you care about. If it's too cold or you're too lazy [which I believe is most of us to be quite honest], gather at someone's house for a fun day full of movies, games, laughter and happiness.

Have a great year, don't let the little things get you down, stay positive and don't give up- on anything.

xoxo - Gouu

Long Time No Post.

WOW! So, it's been like foreveeer since I've posted- sorry 'bout that. I ended up having two [technically three] jobs at once and had quite literally no time to do anything since I was too exhausted when I did have free time.

But that's almost over, and with the new year starting I'm making a resolution to try harder to post more frequently [at least once a week hopefully].

Have a happy new year, and stay safe.

xoxo - Gouu

Ways To Get Rid Of Halloween Candy Quicker!

To be honest, I love Halloween candy but after Halloween quickly comes Christmas and with Christmas is more chocolate and sweets. This year I planned to eat as much of my Halloween candy as quickly as I could [because, yes, as much as I don't want to admit it, I do have candy left from 2 years ago. Talk about ICK], but so far that hasn't worked very well. So I started thinking of easy ways I could get rid of some of it without feeling guilty of just sitting around stuffing my face with chocolate.

WAY #1- Melt The Chocolate!

Uhm, hellooo, FONDUE! Honestly, I don't even understand how I didn't think of this sooner. It's pretty quick, easy and tastes SOOOOO good. There are a few different ways you can do this.

1. All you need to do is melt the chocolate, and dip your fruit in it.

2. Make chocolate covered fruit. You can either chop the fruit into slices or leave it whole or in chunks, melt the chocolate, cover the fruit in it and stick it in the fridge to harden. You can also use candies to garnish the top and add a bit of sweetness. SO YUM.

NOTE: It's A LOT easier if you melt the chocolate on the stove and not the microwave, not to mention the microwave doesn't really melt it properly because you can only stir it in between heatings. ALSO, try to stick to chocolates that are fairly similar and plain [without nuts, nugget, or candy inside- caramel and peanut butter are fine]. The mix of all kinds of chocolates can make the fondue taste weird and not very good.

WAY #2- Add Some Crunch To Your Food!

This may sound weird, but bear with me. Have you ever heard of spaghetti tacos? What about chips on hot dogs or hamburgers? If you haven't, you should. It's actually better than it might sound, I've only done this with regular/plain chips, but that doesn't mean you can't use other chips. All you have to do is crush or break up your chips and mix them in to your food for a little extra crunch. There are so many things you can add them to; spaghetti, chilli, hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, etc.

Be adventurous!

WAY #3- Leave Them Out!

I don't know about you, but at my house most of the candy is in a bag or container and out of sight, so we pretty much end up forgetting about it. This way is by far the EASIEST. Just put your candy in a bowl on the table- anywhere! If you have a lot of candy, use multiple bowls and spread it around the house.

You won't forget it's there, and if you open some of the smaller candies [M&Ms, Skittles, Rockets, etc.] They make for great picking snacks.

Enjoy and make room for the holiday treats coming up!

xoxo -Gouu

Remembrance Day Nails!

So I've been kind of lost as to what to post since we're at the end of fall but I still feel as though it's a bit too early to start winter posts, so with Remembrance Day in a few days and my nails being unpainted, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. [not literally because 1.that's mean 2.I'm not that skilled].

These nails may seem a bit hard, but they really aren't, you just need some time, patience and fairly steady hands.

What You Need:

•  2 toothpicks
• nail polishes- red, black and whatever colour you would like the back to be, I used a pale purple with white on top [top coat and base coat are optional]

STEP #1-

Paint your nails whatever colour you want, light/pale colours are best so that the poppies stand out more. I did a thin layer of purple [Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant in 'Lav-Endure'] followed by a thin layer of French tip white. This gave my nails a more grey/white/purple combo colour which I think looks REALLY nice.

STEP #2-

Using the larger end of one of your toothpicks dip it in the red nail polish and make a small diagonal line, and another small diagonal line going across it [pretty much an 'X' shape, but with the thickness of the nail polish they look like poppies]. I made four small poppies at the base of 4 of my nails with a few red dots to fill some gaps, but feel free to use the top of the nail or the entire nail.

On my 5th finger [my ring finger] I did one larger poppy on the top left corner of my nail- totally optional. Honestly, looking at them now I probably would have kept all the nails the same and done one or the other or just switched it and done the small poppies at the top of my ring finger INSTEAD of the bottom. But it still does look VERY cute.

STEP #3-

Probably the EASIEST step [aside from the base colour], with your other toothpick, or the same one, use the smaller end to dip into your black nail polish and add little black dots inside your poppies as a final touch. 

Annnd FINISHED! Enjoy.

Lest We Forget. <3

xoxo-Gouu

How To Bake Pumpkin Seeds!

This is SUPER DUPER easy and SUPER DUPER yummy. I like to leave these in a bowl on the kitchen table for quick snacking.

You [obviously] need to keep the seeds after you carve your pumpkins. I leave mine on the counter overnight so they can dry a bit, but you don't necessarily have to do that [it will just mean a bit longer time needs to be spent in the oven baking].

Spread them on a baking sheet, but not too many, you don't want them overlapping, and bake at around 400 degrees for about 5 minutes or until they are brown. And you are DONE!

[sorry for the blurriness of the first photo, but this is what they should look like before/after]

Try not to eat them all at once. ;)

xoxo-Gouu

2 Quick & Easy Fall Hairstyles!

During the fall I never really know what to do with my hair because it's chilly, so I like it down but it also gets pretty windy so I want to keep the hair out of my face. These are two really cute, easy and quick hairstyles. The first one is for the windier days and the second is for the not-so-windy days.

#1- BRAIDED 'PULL BACK'

So, for this first hairstyle all you need to do is grab a section of hair from one side of your face, divide it in two and just braid!

Repeat on the other side, then pull both pieces around to the back of your head and simply bobby pin in place. DONE!

#2- RIBBON BOW HEADBAND

This one is literally SO EASY. Just split your hair so there is some on each side of your face and in the back, grab a ribbon or a piece of fabric and thread it under the section of hair in the back, pull to the top [or side] of your head and tie a bow. 

Easy and adorable. :)

-Gouu

Welcome!

So, let me start off by saying hi. Hi.

Now that that's done,... I really don't know what I was planning to say now. Awkward. Uhm, I'm planning to post about just about everything. From clothes, hair and makeup to food and DIYs and moreeeeeeee.

-Gouu