The Simple Life

No Nicole, no Paris. This post is quite literally about living simply.

 I feel as though this new outlook has come at an interesting time; my first year of college. So while most are getting crazy without rules and restrictions, I sit here writing about how I have adapted to this newfound lifestyle.

To be honest, I'm not really a party girl. I would rather sit at home curled up in a cozy blanket watching a movie. I thought that college would awaken me to this new life of staying out late and maybe having a couple drinks here and there, but it was quite the opposite experience. Since coming to college, I've realized that this is me. Call me a buzzkill, but I like who I am. In this stage of transitioning into adulthood, social pressure is probably at its peak. And although sometimes I feel like people are judging me for not going out and getting a little too drunk, I'm am beginning to feel okay with that.

I guess that I am in an introspective stage in my life. A stage in which I'm analyzing what is truly valuable to me and how I can become a better person. Because of this new outlook on life, I'm in the process of a life "cleanse" if you will. I've decided to organize and simplify some aspects of my life. So here are some ways that I am doing so:

Let's start with the first thing: YouTube. I used to subscribe to way too many people that it was taking time out of more important things. I've refreshed my YouTube subscriptions to those that genuinely make me feel good and more inspired to do amazing things.

One of my favorites recently have been Ingrid Nilsen. I've kind of noticed she's been on the same path and that might have inspired me to follow in her footsteps. Her recent videos are so well filmed and edited.  One of my recent favorite videos is her Living with Less: Closet Organization video. I just totally agree completely with everything she says. My perfect closet is not one that is filled with clothes but a couple of items that go with everything and can be worn over an over again.

Also, I've come to realize that I don't care about brands as much as I used to. When I was in middle school I remember this girl that said I dressed very preppy because I always wore Abercrombie. That was my thing in 7th grade. I only shopped at Abercrombie and if my tee said 'Abercrombie' or had a moose on it, it was even better. Right now I'm at a stage where my only goal when clothing shopping is quality and versatilely. Will it last? Will it go with other things that I already have? When I buy things now it is no longer buying things to just buy or thinking that I will eventually wear it. I do research on items and save them to a list.

Now onto my next favorite YouTuber: Steve Booker. His travel videos are awesome and you can see how much effort he puts into each and every video. I love his videos because they make me want to travel so badly. They make me feel like I shouldn't spend my money on materialistic items but experiences that make me a more cultured being.

And lastly, I want to mention Mimi Ikonn. You can probably notice a common trend here: well edited videos. When videos are nicely produced they make be feel better: why? I have no idea, but they do. Mimi does both travel videos and fashion videos; and I love them both. Her travel videos are like a secret guide to the in's and out's of different cities. And her fashion videos are very simple, short, and super helpful. There are some tips that I have integrated into my own life.

Now onto the second way I am simplifying my life: Emails. Way back when, I started signing up for all the promotional emails to my favorite sites or stores. Cut to a couple of weeks ago; I had eight thousand pieces of unread mail and boy was that intimidating. I've had the same thing on my to-do list for over a year: sort through them. But I've come to realize that if I don't look at them now as I receive them, I'm probably not going to look at them in the future. So I have decided to unsubscribe most of them. There are a couple that I am still subscribed to but I feel somewhat refreshed. Having unread mail is like feeling like you haven't completed your goal. By cutting back on the emails, I don't have the constant reminder that I have unread mail.

And the last way is just daily household chores. I've noticed that when your environment is organized and clean, you feel more ready to conquer the day. Little things like making the bed already make me feel like I am more prepared for the day. I like to call Sunday's my "refresh days"; it's the first day of the week and I want to start off with a clean slate. I'll wake up early on Sundays, do the laundry, take out the trash, wash the dishes, sort through the previous week's miscellaneous papers, and write a to-do list for the current week. Not only does this make me feel more prepared but it also make me a more productive person.

-----

Whew! I don't know if you made it all the way to the end (especially with no image), but I just wanted to give you guys a little update on what's happening in my life and this transitional stage. Tell me below if you can relate & if there are any YouTuber that you think I should check out!

The Windy City

This post is long overdue, but hey, better late than never right?

Let's travel all the way back to October 2014. My family and I took a day trip to Chicago to have high tea in the city. We booked a reservation at The Lobby in one of Chicago's finest hotels: The Peninsula. 

Our reservation wasn't until 2:30 so we wandered around the city. Living in the suburbs about 30-45 minutes away, I should have visited the city more times, when I had the chance. Now living in a small college town, miles away from another city, I appreciate the close proximity to vast bustling city that is Chicago.

Arriving in The Lobby, we were greeted with palatial ceilings and bright lights that shone through the massive windows. Taking our seats, the faint sound of a small orchestra from the balcony filled the air all setting the mood of a fancy and wealthy lifestyle.

After a couple minutes of looking at the menu, we ordered our teas. My family is very adventurous when it comes to trying new foods and cuisines and we all ordered a different tea so we could try a little of everything. I have to say, I don't know much about tea nor am I a tea fanatic. It's not that I don't like tea, it's just that I never find myself going out of my way to prepare it. I am much more of a 'grab a water bottle and go' person. Having no idea which tea to order, I asked the waiter his recommendation. It's been a couple of months and I don't exactly remember which tea I ordered but I believe it had vanilla in it. Sipping our teas for the first time, we all came to a consensus; this wasn't the ordinary tea you make at home from tea bags, these teas had depth and substance. I won't say that I am a high tea converter, especially because I don't think my wallet can afford me to be, but it was a nice break from my usual water.

Now, the food. As a self-proclaimed foodie, this is the part I look forward to at every meal. One thing that I think needs mentioning is the fact that as someone with a nut allergy, they were very accommodating. Simply mentioning my nut allergy, they took out an entire 3-tier server for me while my sister and my parent shared another (They had more on their server than I had on mine). There was definitely some highlight and some not so much as far as the food. Most of the desserts were delicious but some of the more savory items were just not for me. But one of the savory dishes was shockingly tasty: the scones. I've always had the premise that scones are hard and tasteless, but these scones shattered that notion. The scones were warm, soft on the inside, and had such a unique and pleasant taste. If they sold just their scones, I would most definitely buy them.

Having small portions, you would think that they would not be sufficient, but boy would you be wrong. There was a couple of things that we, as a family of four, could not finish, including my dad with the never-ending appetite. We decided to head home afterwards and even at dinner time we were still stuffed. A simple Saturday in the Windy City.

New Blog?

Hello!

I've been absent from this blog for quite some time and you might have noticed some changes around here. First of all is the layout; I've been working on this layout for quite some time and I've finally decided to put it live. Everything is pretty self-explanatory from the tabs to the clickable social media buttons in the upper right.

Another thing you might have noticed is the lack of my previous posts. No, your computer is not  glitching out. I've actually transferred blog. If you look at the URL, nothing has changed but my old blog is under the URL of hellokarkat2.blogspot.com. That blog's layout is different as well. I came across some difficulties both in the front end and back end and therefore have decided to start fresh.

Feel free to read my past posts on hellokarkat2.blogspot.com, but if you are looking for new content, don't go anywhere! Everything will be right here.