DIY: the hipster PDA

Dear craydians,

Did I ever tell you I'm a bit ADD and also a bit OCD, and that it's kind of a crappy combination? Well I think I've found a solution to this problem: I got myself a hipster PDA.

Why? Because first of all, I get really anctious when having my phone/ laptop around all time. I mean, the interwebs! (Can't even count the times I've gotten lost there, while I should be doing more important stuff. ) I think this is a solution because I already tried buying a notebook, or an agenda, to write everything down. But my pages only keep filling, and nothing really gets done. But mostly because this semester I've got way more to do as I'd actually want to, and I need a way to get myself through.


So the Hipster PDA, it seemed such a great and simple idea I had to try it. Basically it's just a stack of cards. No cover, no back. On the front page you write your to do list for the current day. The second card holds your "long term" to do's, and on the back I made a small monthly calendar. Every day you make your to do list, and at the end of the day you should be able to get rid of the card!

I feel better already.


DIY :

The ingredients for a hPDA

Foldback clips will keep your paper together better as regular
paperclips.  I got mine at Flying Tiger for 1 euro.

Optional: 

- An elastic to attatch you pen to the PDA
- colored paper in the same size of your cards to organise different sections

All you do is stack the cards as pictured, add your binder clip to one of the corner aaaaand, you're done. My cards are just blanc a6 (14.8x 10.5cm) postcards, I used these because they won't wrinkle as much when I put the pda in my bag.

If you want you pen to be attatched to the hPDA all the time you can wrap an elastic around it. You can also use colored paper to divide the hPDA in different sections.


How it worked out for me

Having my to do list around in a simple an visible way clears my mind so I can spend the time working on the list instead of wondering wat I had to do.

Being able to get rid of your card really works, this way the tasks you've completed are crossed off and removed. Time for a new slate.

For my chaotic mind: this is a great solution.


Love, M

Rainy Inspirations

It’s been raining for a good solid 8 hours now, I think… At least as long as I’ve been up and a little before that. This is typically the kind of day I would normally love when I’m at my parents, but unfortunately, today, I’m not. I’m home alone in Leiden, my housemates have both gone out to work or otherwise and left me to defend our fortress. My plans of studying are slowly evaporating because of the inspiration I always get when it’s this rainy.

Rain is traditionally a phenomenon that makes things grow. In my case it makes my hopes grow. I dream of going places, think about that one time I put on a hoodie (I was about 16 I guess), turned up my mp3-player and just started walking in the woods near my house in Ede. Without realizing, I had been out for about 3 hours and saw the most amazing things. I didn’t run into any people which made the walk all the more calming. I came back soaked all the way through but with some kind of new found “zen”-thingy that I hadn’t had in a long time. You can see why thinking back to that time always gets me in a good mood.

Having the house to myself gives me more freedom to do whatever I want. I’ve already taken a bath in the middle of the day, played my music very loudly in the living room, made a whole pot of tea just for myself and started reading about 10 different things (study material, the newspaper, several blogs, etc) before I realized that I had all these thoughts in my head that kept me from really reading what was there. I ranted to the other Craydians about what my afternoon’s been like up until the point where I confessed to actually listening to a Taylor Swift song (She’s my guilty pleasure and I’m not gonna apologize!) and they stopped responding. I think they’re in shock.

Not many of you may know that I’m a huge fan of making lists of things I want to see, read, hear, watch, places I want to go or basically anything I want to do. The rain got me thinking about all the places where I would someday like to travel, so here goes!

• New Orleans, because of the amazing stories and great pictures I somehow always run into in the internet.
• Charleston. I’ve been once with my dad in 2006 but I’d really like to go again and have more time to see everything I missed out on the first time.
• Chicago
• San Francisco. For some reason I never felt that drawn to LA, but San Francisco does sound amazing. Maybe it’s the one too many Charmed episodes I watched.
• New York, of course.
• Prague
• Vienna, though I’m going there this February with my mom!
• Budapest
• Paris, because you can never go to Paris enough
• Indonesia, but maybe in 10 years or so.
• New Zealand and maybe even Australia
• Scandinavia, though they would hate me for generalizing like this.

Ideas anyone?

xoxo Ko

DIY: Autumn essential

What's more comfortable during your morning class than a hot cup of coffee? Right, not much. Maby some tea or hot chocolate. The thing is, being a student and all, I don't really have an endless amount of money to buy coffee every day. And usually I'm late anyway so I don't have time to get in line at the coffee corner.

To fix that problem I've been searching the internet for a cool travel mug. At thinkgeek.com I found some awesome dr. Who mugs. But they were actually a bit above budget, since I had to pay quite a lot for shipping. And for that money I could buy myself a semester worth of coffee.

Today I found a super simple travel mug for only €2.95 and decided to transform it into a TARDIS mug myself! Check the entire process below!

 

First of all: your supply list

 - A travel mug

- One ruler

- Black felt tip markers

- An old atlas 

- Tardis blue paper

- Some white paper

- Scotch tape

- Scissors

- Something to cover the table with

 

The mug I got today had a really boring cappuchino background. So I took apart the mug, removed the old decoration and put aside the black parts.

 After that I took a page of the atlas and wrapped it around the transparent part of the mug. I marked the bottom of the paper and cut out half a circle. This allows the paper to fit in the mug at the bottom.

I put the background insider the mug the way I wanted it and marked the top (see the black line) and cut off the paper that didn't fit inside the mug. After that I put it back in and used tape to secure it on the inside.

 Tardis time! I decided I wanted a really simple tardis on this mug. The shape was cut out of thin blue paper and I used a ruler to get perfectly straight lines. I didn't measure all the windows because I didn't want it to become too static.

 

The tardis needs some windows too, and a flyer on the outside. To glue it on I used spray glue, but you can use anything you like. 

Glue your tardis to the background and put it inside the transparent part of the mug. Re-assemble the mug and you're ready to go!

Have fun with your mug! I would love to see if anyone tried this diy!

Love,
M


Find me at instagram and check out my other blog aboutthebluesky if you want to see or read more!

make up madness: kissable lips

Don't all girls just love to have the most kissable lips of all? Preferably in a color/tone/shine that lasts, because no one really has time to run to the bathroom for a touch up every hour or so. And if you're wearing lipstick, having lip shaped staines on every cup you touch are not the result you were going for.

For me, finding a good lip product is a quest I've been on for years. And over that time I've tried, thrown out, used, loved and hated a stash of products that is almost resembeling a mountain by now.
Last week I went through said mountain and decided to get rid of every product that I hadn't touched in a year, the mountain went down to a small hill and I am left with my favorites.

Today I will show you, my all time favorite lip products for all effects:

1. Lipgloss - MAX lipgloss €0.50
The basic, for every occasion lip gloss. My favorite brand is not only budget, it's super super cheap. It doesn't have the sticky feel most lipglosses have, and it fades really subtile. That way you're not left with a strange red circle around your mouth when you're to busy to toch up. I've got about seven colors but these are my favorites!

2. Emphasize your own beauty - Maybelline Color Sensational Popsticks (crystal pink)
This lipstick is somewhere in between a lip stain and a lip balm. Super comfortable to wear and it  gives a natural and subtle result. This lipstick emphasizes your natural lipcolor and feels really soft. It's a perfect finish to a natural make up look or a day at the beach.

3. Bold color - ELF studio matte lip pencil (rich red; €4.00)
This lip pencil can be used as a liner, or a lipstick. It gives a bright, matte, red color to your lips. And it's a color that lasts! Usually I wear it just as it is, but when I want to glam up even more I add some lipgloss to the middle part of my lips.

4. Perfect Pink -HEMA Pure shine lipstick (Dark Coral; €2.50)
Simple lipstick in a pink that is not super bold but definately there! It's comfortable to wear, feels almost like a lip balm, and lasts for hours! 

5. Lip stain -Catrice color infusions (rosewood avenue)
A lip stain is like watercolor for your lips. It colors your lips in a subtle and almost transparant way. Results are different for everyone. But this one works for me. A big plus: it's long lasting, even when having dinner/drinks. Another plus, it's like a big felt tip marker so you can apply it exactly where you want it.

6. Lip balm -Labello
And last but not least: just an average colorless lip balm. Because honestly, boys don't like lipstick. It makes you feel kissable, but they won't want to. They fear pink and red marks all over their face.. at least my guy does. What boys do love, soft lips. And this is my all time favorite weapon! Labello lip balm.


The moment we've all been waiting for: this is how they all look when I wear them (and the internet premiere of my new hair color!)

Am I the only one with this endless quest for the perfet lip product? Probably not.. hopefully this little article helped you a bit in your own quest.

Love,
M.

(this article was also published on my personal blog)

Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé, or Chocolat III

This morning I started reading Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé, the sequel of The Lollipop Shoes, which was the sequel of Chocolat, the wonderful novel by Joanne Harris that first caught my attention with Johnny Depp's deep brown eyes. Just as the previous 2 novels, the 'voice' of Vianne Rocher immediately trapped me in her world. All of a sudden I'm not in my tiny room in the Netherlands, but I find myself in a small (fictional) town called Lansquenet in Southern France.

Even though I'm only about 50 pages in, this book is one I would recommend any romantic soul. The whole feel of this book is so cute that I simply can't put it down anymore - only for making more tea. I wish I had a better word for this than 'cute' or 'romantic'. I'm sure there is, but as of now I'm in weekend-mode so don't you give me that look ;)

A few weeks ago I wrote about my Summer Bore, and how I planned on curing that bore with books and friends. I wish I had started reading this book before instead of right at the end of summer. It makes me want to put up a hammock and eat lots of fruit while lying in it listening to birds...

So here's my shout out to you: get this book, settle down with a nice big mug of tea and don't leave your chair for at least another hour. Relaxation guaranteed.

Lots of love,
- KoKo
doesn't KoKo sound better than MP?

Oh, and if the book doesn't have the warm story I'm expecting, I'll be the first to tell you just how wrong I was.

Shopping In My Own Closet

Shopping, buying new stuff, clothes, shoes, make-up, decoration, kitchen utensils. Things you really want at that moment. But never actually need, or use a lot. Things I buy because, well, reasons?

Until this month, the month after my summer vacation, the month that will not be finished by the end of my money. Unfortunately, this month has quite some fancy occasions that require some awesome dresses. Dresses that I can't buy, because of my lack of budget for it. Dresses that I won't need, because I have so many already. 

And it was this realisation that made me feel quite uncomfortable. You see, I've got so many clothes, and own a closet full of shoes. And still I think it's necessary to buy more. Even though I haven't worn most of these. At least, not for more than half a day. 

When I packed my bags for two weeks of travel, you could hardly see a gap between the stacks of clothes in my closet. 

So why did I want a new dress for the glamorous birthday party? In spring I bought a super glamorous dress, one that I've never worn. Because I didn't like it? No, because I've not yet found the right occasion. And now that occasion has come, I still don't want to wear it.

I've bought blazers, that I've been wearing only once before they disappeared in the back of my closet. Shirts that have only seen the living room and the supermarket. Skirts that have only been to the pub once. How much money did I spend on these pieces?

Money that I would've otherwise spend on different wardrobe pieces. Because somehow, I enjoy it. When all I do is waste my money, and feed the pollution, the consuming nature of today's society. Exactly what I dislike. And still, I surrender.

While, honestly, I don't want to.

So since this month is a time where I don't have the money to fill my wardrobe with useless pieces. I think this is the best time to finally wear the forgotten items. To not waste money on other pieces that'll end up in the back of my closet. To go to the party, wearing last spring's dress. And wear it with pride. Probably without anyone taking notice. 

This is the time to get creative and find new outfits, without spending another euro for one whole month.

Love,

-M

Behind the Cray Cray: M

For today: everything you do or do not want to know about me, M, one of the craydians. I'm a 22 year old student who is simply incapable of doing nothing for the day. I'm in love with thrift shops, DIY projects, cooking, reading, movies, photo's, music and most of all: people.

How ever difficult I find people sometimes, I don't like to be alone. Going out for a drink, hanging out at the beach, watching movies, having dinner or drinking tea. Call me anytime.

Together with my boyfriend I live in an awesome apartment in The Hague. I enjoy being in the house, and making it in to our home. I have a deep fascination for fashion and (interior)design and the best way to feed this fascination is at the thrift shop. There I find basics, or accesories for everywhere in my life. My kitchen cabinets are filled with vintage tin storage cans, my wardrobe with thrift shop treasures and my living room with fun accessories.

Shopping is someting I preferably do alone. I buy way too much of anything and sometimes think I can wear something different every day of the year without repeating one single look.

When I'm not busy around the house or with friends I'm studying. Currently a second year student in Commercial economics, and a graduated graphic designer. When I finally finish school I hope to be in advertising or marketing, but I recently discovered event planning, so who knows where I'll end up in a few years.

If I write I've got the music blasting through my speakers at full volume. Currently I'm obsessed with the album bad blood by Bastille. But last week it was Macklemore, and before Michael Bublé. I listen to pretty much anything but R'n'B. And when I dance to good music, that's love.

I mostly write about fashion, interior, DIY's, make-up and cooking. Besides here at craydians I've claimed some other corners of the internet at aboutthebluesky, (personal blog) twitter and instagram.

Love,

- M

The Glory in Defiance: An Analysis of The Success of Lana del Rey

Last week,  I was sitting on the bus, travelling to see my love again. We had been having some difficulties, especially in communicating our wishes and desires, causing us to clash. I was very anxious about what seeing him again was going to be like, yet full of desire to hold him again. So, in my bittersweet mood, I plugged in my earbuds and started listening to Lana Del Rey.

Her music was strengthening my state of mind and I felt that typical rush of excitement you get when you really feel music. At the same time, I remembered some of the commentaries I read about her songs, so I started to listen more carefully. During my inspection, I realized her music was certainly characterized by overly dramatic vocals and slightly cliché and pretentious lyrics that reminded me of the poems I wrote when I was 15. Yet, for some reason, the combination of it all was appealing to me.

I am not the only one who feels this way. One could view her as part of YouTube/Vevo royalty, with her Instagramesque videoclip Born To Die nearing 115 million views as we speak. Keeping in mind that she has landed several modeling jobs for industry leading magazines like Vogue, she has clearly become something of a celebrity. Why does this woman and her music, speak so vividly to the imagination of the public eye?

Lana Del Rey operates in a period of time in which extremely dramatic performing by pop stars is appreciated when done right. Think about the likes of Lady Gaga and her numerous copycats. However, Lana  doesn’t have to put on a dress of meat in order to put the drama back into pop culture. She makes nostalgically reminiscing and embracing the pains of puberty and the gloriousness of being deviant relevant again for a larger public through sound, vision and personality.

Born To Die was released in a time of societal pandemonium caused by the current global economic climate. Large economic restructuring doesn’t only influence the contents of our wallets, but also influences our mental and physical experiences of everyday life. Her music embraces its violence, its aggression and its all pervasiveness. By drawing  on familiar pains of having loved and being lost and combining them with the modern hurtful societal experiences of the recession, her music speaks appealing volumes.

Through singing about wanting to live on the road, being wild and free, and her pussy tasting like Pepsi Cola she uses explicit but poetically veiled erotica resembling the older vampire literature of Anne Rice. By  drawing on icons like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Jim Morrison, she uses symbols of stereotypical American (pop) cultural heritage to create recognition and authority. The dichotomies that she builds (like Gods and Monsters) aren’t at all clever but are so obvious one wouldn’t think of them. By artistically and agentively transforming these pop symbols by rearranging them, by putting them in new but familiar contexts, she spins a web of authenticity.

She couldn’t have reached her popularity through creating music that fits within the current sociocultural climate alone. She had to have a persona for her to seem sincere , a persona that corresponds with the message of her music.  She has been living that self representation quite successfully, I think, always behaving like a character of a postmodern novel. Often, her photoshoots invoke the same feeling as her texts do. Her beauty is fashionable, nearing the average of a certain standard of white, thin, pale beauty, while simultaneously diverting from it through emphasizing her larger than normal lips. Lana Del Rey’s performance is consistent  inside and outside of music; always working within the accepted frames of reference but making it her own by always giving a slight twist.

How genuine her beautiful deviousness really is, remains to be argued,  if needs  to be emphasized constantly. Of course it is all part of a (commercially driven) performance, but doesn’t the fact she so deeply feels the need to do this make her especially and genuinely broken?

I could go on with this attempt at an analysis for a while; exploring her obvious daddy issues that shine through her lyrics and ask the question whether this all isn’t the product of the pretty damn powerful music industry, but a blog might not be the right forum for such an essay. I’ll leave attempts at producing such writings for my upcoming year as a graduate student. Oh, and by the way, for those who wonder; luckily, being reunited with my love wasn’t at all bittersweet. I even forgot my earbuds on my way home.

Love,

J

Microwave lava cakes

Microwave lava cakes, is that even possible? Yes it is! And it solves a lot of problems in my kitchen.
Like all other girls on the planet, I love chocolat. In all it's shapes/styles and flavors. But my favorite still remains: lava cake. With cherries, ice cream, or just as it is.

Eventhough I'm a good cook, I can't bake a cake to save my life. Really, I can't. So when I read the recipe for microwave lava cakes, I was way too curious not to try it. But I wrote it down and kind of forgot about it. Until today!! Read, and get completely addicted to these five minute lava cakes!

They are so easy to make, and a great way to treat your guests to a nice surprise when they come over. Most of the ingredients will probably be already in your kitchen somewhere, so let's get started:

Five minute lava cakes

Ingredients:

4 tb self rising flour
2 tb sugar
2 tb coco powder
1 egg
3 tb of milk
3 tb butter/ oil
1 tb chocolate chips

1 large mug










How to make it

1: Mix the flour, coco powder and sugar

2: Add the egg and mix again

3: Add the milk and butter and mix until it's all smooth

4: Put the chocolate chips in

I used regular chocolate, and put them somewhere in the middle of the mixture

5: Put in the microwave for about 3 minutes (900w). Depending on your microwave you can put the cake in a bit longer/shorter. It should be fluffy and firm when you get it out.

Garnish with cherry's /ice cream /whipped cream or anything to your liking and enjoy!!! You can serve the cake in the cups you used to make it, or put it on a platter. Anyway, It's gonna be delicious!


Love,
-M


(found the original recipe here)

TV Cray: On Cooking Shows and Modern Television

A few years ago a new trend came to the world of TV. Someone with a lot of business sense suggested the idea that every show should have the same format. That is how today we watch not just one talent hunt, but several. Examples include The Voice, The Voice Kids, The X-factor, Whatever Country’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance and several editions of Masterchef in any country with each time a group from a different age. Masterchef Kids and the Voice Kids are two of the reasons I don’t really watch television anymore.

In a world so fascinated with food all the time it is becoming more and more annoying when you’re not that hungry yet but it is dinnertime in the eyes of the world. There is no escaping cooking shows anymore. Where are the shows like Life & Cooking that had just a small element on cooking and focused on the rest of life? When did it become interesting to watch 9-year-olds cook some ridiculously fancy meal that nobody wants to eat anyway? Is it supposed to be cute?

One part of cooking, has caught my attention a little bit. Everyone knows the joy of making some kind of cake or pie, filling the house with lovely smells of freshly baked cookies and sharing the with your friends or family. I get that. What I don’t get is what the point is of making a TV-show about people baking pies. You can´t smell it, you can´t taste it, most parts about how it´s really made are skipped. You can´t get the recipe if you want to try it yourself. Then what is all the fuss about?

Reading over all my question another one comes to mind: what is the answer to all this? What else have we to fill the time on TV? Another re-run of Friends, Charmed, McLeod’s Daughters? By now we all know them by heart. I think it’s time we surrender to this trend because let’s admit: Say Yes to the Dress – Bridesmaids is just as fun as the regular series, and as long as they don’t start doing a Say Yes to the Dress – Kids edition, I’m fine with just switching channels whenever such a show comes on.

- MP

Sally Hanson Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Purple Potion

I love nail polish and I own over 40 different colors. I have pretty much every color. Except brown, I hate brown. I'm kind of an addict when it comes to buying new ones, every time I go to a store with a beauty or make-up department, I have to check out the nail polish.

I usually wear Rimmel or Essence. I love Rimmel because the quality is great and they have a lot of fashionable colors. I love Essence because they have so many different colors and their polish is really cheap.

My sister recommended Sally Hanson nail polish to me. When I saw the Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear polish on sale for €4, I decided to give it a try. I bought two colors: Purple Potion and Cherry Red. This week I tried on Purple Potion. In the picture it looks really blue, but it's actually purple with a blue shiny hue.

The brush is long and thin, which made it easy to be quite precise. I'm really clumsy when it comes to painting my nails, especially my right hand (I'm right handed), so I liked the thin brush. The polish is really thin, thinner than most of my nail polishes. This made it easy to spread the polish evenly on my nails, without leaving stripes. The only downside is the coverage, I had to use three coats instead of the usual two.

The polish took longer than usual to dry, perhaps because of the extra coat. I painted my nails Saturday and it only started chipping until the next Friday, which I think is really long. Usually my polish starts to chip after 3-5 days. I applied one top coat on Saturday and reapplying a top coat every (other) day might make it even longer lasting.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this polish. It takes longer to apply, but it also lasts longer than my usual polishes. I would recommend it to anyone with a bit of time on their hands.

4/5 stars, would wear again.

-R

Behind the Cray Cray: J

This will be a blog about me, J, one of the Craydians:  a 22-year-old ex-fattie who lives for experiencing passion. In my search for it, I write, bake, cook, work out mind and body, and share the produce of all this with friends and family.

One of the core elements of how I identify myself in daily life is through my studies. I am a cultural anthropologist by trade and heart and I have just finished an undergraduate program in it. I study  how society and the realm of the cultural works and changes. In my 4 years at the University of Amsterdam, I have focused on researching the workings of power,  processes of identification and the structuring and altering properties of language. This all might sound a bit complicated, but in its essence, it really isn’t. I might devote a blog to sort of explain cultural anthropology for dummies soonish.

I started off by saying that I am an ex-fattie. That might sound like a harsh self description, but it is the reality of my life. I used to be a ridiculously unhealthy 93 kg (or 205 pounds  or 14.6 stone) young girl of 1.69 metres (or 5.5 feet). At the age of 18, I decided to change my physical and mental habits and lost nearly 30 kilos (or nearly 66 pounds or 4.7 stone) through disciplining myself mentally and physically, forever changing my awareness of food. Maintenance is probably as hard as losing weight and after regaining some weight after my initial loss, I am more fit, healthier and slimmer than ever due to another new lifestyle change. As a result, I am almost overly obsessed with food, cooking, health and body image. This obsession structures many of my daily activities but I luckily enjoy it most of the time.

My residence is a room in a tiny cute little house in a small town. Although I might study in Amsterdam, I’m not much of  a city girl. I like the peace and quiet of living in a town, the fresh air and the abundance of nature in its vicinity. I actually feel like I truly need it in order to stay centered and focused. Living on my own gives me plenty opportunity to cook, as opposed to how it would be if I lived with my parents. As a result, I try multiple new recipes a week. I have three lovely roommates, who I love to surprise with baked goods from a new tried out recipe. For a bunch of students, are kitchen is quite spacious, although for me, it can never be too big. My most valued possessions in the kitchen are my food processor and my array of about 50 different herbs and spices. Now that I pretty much have all the ones I need, I am building a collection of quality knives, oils and vinegars.  If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments.

Passion is nothing without music. Not only do I listen hours of it a day, I also heavily associate memories and people with certain kinds of music, kind of building a soundtrack of my life. While I enjoy nearly all kinds of music in everyday life, like blues, jazz, rock, indie, folk, I also have a big heart for EDM (electronic dance music) when I go out. To me, the best kinds of electronic dance music are drum’n’bass (and related genres) and dubstep (especially the deeper, darker kind). There is nothing more thrilling, lust generating and exhilarating then the feeling of a sub bass in your belly.

I could go on writing about passion for pages, but I really shouldn’t. This blog has already become much longer than I intended.  I’ll leave the floor to the other craydians to spill the beans.

-J

The Summer Bore

Considering the lack of plans for my holiday I decided to inspire our lovely supposed readers with my solutions to the summer bore. This year I didn’t make any far away holiday plans so in order to still get the feeling of really doing something I planned some small things for myself.

Citytrip Maastricht

Instead of going on one far away trip, take little trips to far away cities within your country. Maasricht is a city in the south of the Netherlands, so far away from any civilization that we jokingly call Limburg, the province it’s in, Germany or a different country altogether. I have only been to Maastricht once before and that’s what started K and my little idea of our ‘holiday to Maastricht’. We were in the train for at least as long as we were actually in the city, but hey, it’s the getting out part that counts! Having an elaborate lunch, visiting a basilica and doing some shopping made me feel wholly refreshed.  

Take a Mind Trip

Read a book! Preferably one that has some traveling in it. I’m reading Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck at the moment. Steinbeck is traveling across the U.S. in a car/caravan mash-up with his dog Charley meeting all sorts of people and all sorts of different communities. So far, so good! Before this one I read Possession which was very interesting but kinda difficult to get through at times. Finishing this I felt like I also accomplished something intelligent which made these past few weeks feel less pointless.

Into the Wild

Go out, take a walk. My parents love to do this in the evenings. My mother likes to pretend to have an errand to run like posting a letter, just to have an excuse of getting out of the house on a nice summer evening. Because of the heat during the day, the temperature is actually quite nice in the evening. Taking a ride on a bike is not a bad idea either.

Hang out with friends

My last tip is the easiest to come up with. Do fun stuff with your friends. You don’t have to schedule an entire evening or afternoon of this, coming around for a simple cup of tea will do the trick sometimes. Unfortunately, not all of us have been able to enjoy the lovely weather due to deadlines and other which left me alone at home at times, being the only one with time on their hands for a change. Going over to my friend D’s house for a cup of tea, gave her a study break and me a tiny trip across E-city. I had a great time even if it lasted only for about an hour max. 

Take your friends to the cinema! Go out of your comfort zone and see something you normally wouldn’t. Go see some action-thriller-thing or a robot movie. I found it refreshing to be one of the two women in the whole room during World War Z and Pacific Rim. Besides, going to the movies feels like a glamorous evening out and if you dress like you’re going to meet someone new you just might… ;)

- MP

Boozy French Toast!

I know that the internet is rife with French toast recipes, heck even the craydians all have our own, all of which will undoubtedly pass the review some day. Today, however, we're going to go a bit off the beaten path  a bit when it comes to French toast and go back to the roots of the dish: booze. 

Because everything's better with booze. 

Making French toast is actually one of the easiest things you can possibly do in the kitchen and the end result is always amazing. Unless you burn it, then it's mainly charcoal. 

Side note: The Dutch word for French toast, 

wentelteefjes is derived from the action of flipping the bread halfway through the process. A direct translation of wentelteefjes would be: turning or flipping bitches ;). 

Ingredients: 

4 slices of white bread (preferably a stale)

200 ml milk (a bit more than 3/4 cup)

1 medium egg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

2 tblsp of vanilla sugar

1-2 tblsp rum .  

+ butter for frying

Mix all your ingredients into a bowl and whisk until it's all incorporated. Melt a knob of butter in a pan on low heat. Dip your stale bread into your egg mixture until it's soaked through. I recommend letting it soak for about  5 to 6 seconds on each side. You want the bread to be soaked, but not so soaked that it falls apart. The staler the bread, the better it'll hold its shape at this stage.

Put the soaked slices into the pan and fry them on low to medium heat for about  3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Serve with some extra sugar sprinkled on top, or extra cinnamon, or butter, or berries. Really the possibilities are endless here. I prefer mine with some extra vanilla sugar ;).

 

Enjoy!

- D.

Glasses and Make Up: The Basics

My glasses, I love them! So easy and fun to wear. They suit every outfit (I've got them in dark red and beige) and complement my face.
The part I didn't use to like.. make-up. I felt as if the glasses made every eye look I tried dissapear of just fade. Truth is, they did. Glasses cover your eyes and make them appear more flat, and with less contrast. So I've been looking around for a while, and trying on different looks to regain the depth and contrast in my eyes. And I have found myself a favorite look that is a perfect base for every other look I'm going to try.
Check out the tutorial video below, or read my set of basic rules. 

The basic rules for beautifully combining make up and glasses:

• When you apply foundation, don't forget your bronzer (for some depth), blush (for highlights) and compact powder (to make it stay). Otherwise the foundation will even out your skin, but also flatten your face.
• Use a lash curler, this prevents your lashes from tapping on your glasses the entire day
• Use a light shimmery color on your lid (highlight)
• A white on the inner corners of your eyes (highlight)
•  Use a dark color in the crease of your eyelid (depth)
• Don't forget to groom your brows and color them. They are attention getters (usually they pop out just above your glasses) so take good care!
• Be easy on the eyeliner. Heavy liner just doesn't go well with glasses.

Keeping these basics in mind I vary the colors to create endless different looks. And really make my eyes stand out!

Have fun,

- M

Day of the mommies & Raspberry cake

Today was Mother’s day and I wanted to bake something special for my mom. I woke up extra early to squeeze some fresh orange juice and bake French toast for her and decided I also wanted to make a cake. It was too bad she woke up earlier than me, so I couldn’t give her breakfast in bed. But then again, I don’t normally get out of bed before lunchtime, so I was pretty proud of myself.

A nice rustique cake, no fuzz.

I came across this Cherry-Limeade Streusel Cake on the food blog Sprinkled with Flour (clicky!). A couple of weeks ago I first made this cake and I loved it.

This time around, I wanted to shake things up a bit and use raspberries and lemon instead. Yes, I am the adventurous type. I used frozen fruits, so I added about a heaped tablespoon of custard powder, so the liquids from the fruit wouldn’t soak my cake. Cherries and raspberries aren’t in season at the moment, but I would’ve used frozen fruit anyway, because I’m a poor student. I thought the lime glaze was a bit unnecessary (and I hate it when a recipe calls for half a lime), so I left it out. I'd recommend baking this in a loaf tin, instead of a brownie tin, which I originally tried. The loaf tin resulted in a much better cake and crumb.

- R

Blog birth

Today, craydians was born.

Craydians is the twisted and exquisite love child of a bunch of friends who  <3 all things brainy and beautiful. This will be the location for our idiosyncracies, obsessions, (brain) food (for thought) and your everyday collection of .gifs (which will obviously include cute animals). What to expect: constructed bashing of popular culture, ironic distancing and love for boy bands, recipes/fashions with schwung and casual anthropologies provided by yours truly.

We are not your average collection of cupcake soccer moms who idealise Martha fucking Steward, so expect the cray cray.

That's it for now, more to come soonish.

<3