New tablet!

Hello all,
I've spent the best part of today marvelling at my most recent purchase - a Microsoft Surface 2 tablet! I got it mainly for going to university in September, but I'm so excited about some of the features on it (including the insanely cool painting app haha). The camera quality on the front and main camera is a lot better than on any other device I've used in the past so I'm really looking forward to taking some good pictures for this blog!

Of course I had to test out the camera, so took a couple of pictures of an outfit... I cut out my face because I'm actually wearing no makeup other than the lipstick for the pictures, and I thought it'd be best to save you from that disturbing sight haha!

 

Everything seems to look better on a semi-good camera, yay! Anyway, if you like this outfit you can hype it on my Lookbook here or vote for it on Chictopia here ! I hope you're  having a brilliant day,       

Iona x

Manicure With A Twist

Hello, 

as I'm currently on my Summer holiday I have a lot of time to spare, so in turn have spent a lot more time testing out nail art than I usually would! The design that this post is about was surprisingly really, really simple to do and only requires a relatively steady hand. 

This works best with fairly long nails for the 'french tips' aspect of it. You'll need a pale pink coloured nail varnish and one other colour (it was an obvious choice for me...had to be mint...). If you have a nail art pen this works best as with a normal sized brush, the tips could get fiddly. 

I used a Model's Own Nail Art Pen.

Method

1. File nails down to a square shape 
2. Paint nails a pale pink and leave to dry (may require two coats, depending on how opaque you want it to look)!
3. Using the thin brush section of a nail art pen, carefully go over the naturally white nail tips 
4. Use a clear top coat to ensure they don't chip too soon!

Once you've mastered the method you could try this with any colour combination - I might try it again soon but swap the French pink for a brighter colour!  

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend, 

                                                             Iona x

Super Simple Breakfast Smoothie

Hello!
I'm really excited to share with you my first food-related blog post.
Recently I've been trying to stay as committed to healthy eating as I possibly can. Obviously, it's never going to be easy but it definitely does improve my overall mood when I do it right! At the same time though, I'm being careful not to get angry at myself when I go off track - I've had far too much experience with doing that in the past and it only leads to very negative places!

I do think it's very important to find a balance between eating well, and knowing when it's okay to eat pizza and cake. Life is too short to get too hung up about it!

That all said, I started off my day in a healthy and incredibly tasty manner with a breakfast smoothie.

You should probably know before I go any further...I'm not really one for using measurements when making smoothies. I kind of just chuck everything in and hope for the best! As of yet, it has never led to any disasters so I think it's okay, haha.



I made enough for a couple of small glasses (or one large one really), using:

• 1 small kiwi
• 6 wedges of fresh pineapple
• Handful of cherries (5/6)
• 150ml sweetened soya milk 

I used soya milk purely because I don't drink dairy milk, (though it would work just as well with any kind of milk) but because it's sweetened, it does give the smoothie a lovely sweet taste.  

There's not really a method to it...basically if you have a blender, put it in and blend it until it's smooth, haha!
Just to make it a little more interesting, after pouring it into my cup I added:

• Handful of sunflower seeds
• Handful of dried cranberries

This is relatively low-calorie (slightly higher if using dairy milk), so could accompany toast/cereal or whatever else you may enjoy for breakfast...it also makes a great healthy snack at any time of the day!

Please let me know what you think of this post or this recipe if you decide to try it! It would be much appreciated to get some feedback as this is not something I'm used to writing about, so I'd like to know if there's any point continuing!

Thanks for reading, 

                              Iona x

IMPORTANT/EXCITING NOTICE

Hello all,
as you may have noticed, I have come to neglect my fashion blog over the past few months (...maybe even years...). To be 100% honest, my interests have changed a lot since I first decided to create a blog way back in 2011, so I think now it's time that I altered my blog to cater to my current lifestyle!

I'm really excited to begin regularly blogging again, however my focus will be less upon just fashion and more upon my life in general which may include such things as: fitness, nail art, recipes, just little rants and rambles and of course still some outfit posts!

If you haven't noticed, I've already changed my blog title to Mint, Minimalism & Me , and my URL to http://mintminimalismandme.blogspot.co.uk/ (quite a mouthful, haha)! I'm still working on changing other elements of the layout etc, so please bear with me in this period of transition!

I'm looking forward to keeping you all updated on what is going in my life and I really hope you will enjoy the new direction that my blog will be taking!

Have a wonderful day,
                                        Iona x

Ten things that I have learnt in 2013

1. Stop stressing over school. Work no harder than you feel comfortable with and keep it in perspective - it’s really not that important.

2. Take every opportunity to be outside when it’s sunny if you live in a place where it rarely is.

3. Don’t build the foundations of happiness on another person. Don’t let them become the reason for recovery. Set down te roots on your own so you can learn to be content that way instead of pinning it all on someone else. It’s not fair on you or on them and will inevitably end in regression back to a not-so-good place.

4. Everything is temporary. Anger and frustration and sadness and pain will eventually pass, don’t make rash decisions when in such a state.

5. Try to respect yourself. Even if you feel worthless, don’t take actions in an attempt to prove it. It will only make your situation worse.

6. Don’t take everything people say at face value. Whether it’s intentional or not, people play mind games and being open to understanding them is a step towards protecting yourself from being drawn into them.

7. Question everything but don’t make unfair judgments. Question your own thought mechanisms too.

8. Try not to let the negativity of those around you become your own. Separate yourself from unnecessary negative energy where possible, and hold sacred the things that inspire positivity within you.

9. Trust what your body is telling you - it's usually right.

10. Remember that you’re entitled to your own opinions and thoughts and feelings. They’re as valid as anybody else’s and just as valuable.

Happy (almost) New Year everybody. :-)

Friday Night Fashion Confession

I cried when Lee Alexander McQueen died.

I cried a lot.

I still find it slightly puzzling why I was so affected by it. Maybe it was because I'd only just become fully accustomed with his brilliance and then... suddenly it was no more? Maybe it was the connection to the situation on a human level? Irrespective of what a person has achieved in their life, the fact that they have extinguished it by their own hand will always be something that deeply saddens me. Or, maybe, it was because I feared that the sheer genius of his pioneering designs would be forever lost?

I'm not entirely sure why it moved me so much and, to be honest, why it still moves me. And I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to share this right now either! I don't know, as silly as it sounds I am so overwhelmingly happy that Sarah Burton has been able to carry on his legacy with such seamless beauty. It seems to me almost as though he lives through the designs. That sounds a little odd, I don't know. But hey it's my thought for the day.

Have a great weekend x

Life is a funny thing.

I have to admit, it feels rather alien being back on this blog! But... I thought that maybe it was time to resurrect it, so we'll see how it goes. I feel like I've outgrown the layout of this blog, however, so I may try and play around with it soon to find something more 'me'.

I'm not entirely sure where I was going with the title of this post but it seems to sum up the past few months fairly well. I must admit, I have been struggling a lot with my priorities and with the direction that my life is headed at the moment which is all rather scary but - aren't we all?! I don't know, at this (very young) age we're all on the precipice of something new and unknown and we can either choose to embrace the opportunity or retreat to our comfort zone and pretend it isn't happening. 

I tend to do the latter. 

I'm still trying to work out how to turn this mentality around but (I don't mean to sound pessimistic but I'm unsure how else to word this) the realisation that everything is essentially meaningless is something that I have found really comforting. This could be seen as a destructive thing, but somehow it really helps me to understand that getting so bogged down by the minutiae of life is not necessary or helpful - in the slightest! I suppose I just need to learn to take a step back and recognise that it's okay to be struggling. And it's okay to be unsure of what the future holds. And it's okay to not follow every convention. What's not okay is letting these things consume you. 

Ah I don't really know where I'm going with this and I could probably rant for ages attempting to make my thoughts clear but I'll leave it at that for now! I hope everybody is having a lovely day, whatever you're doing...even if, like me, you're currently procrastinating - haha! 

Au revoir x