Cheap Summer Hang Outs and DIY

As a college student on summer break money is scarce and has to be spent wisely. I want to spend time with my friends and make memories. Unfortunately most of the time those wanted memories require money. I hope I'm not the only one struggling with this love hate relationship with summer. I've realize that summer memories don't have to be expensive. They can be just as fun as an expensive day out. Most of these ideas may require purchases of a few cheap items and maybe gas money. But, these ideas can be brought to life no matter where you live. All you need is a group of friends who are willing to think a little outside of the box. Let the Summer thrills begin!

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

One of the best ways to enjoy warm summer nights is by having a movie night with your friends, outside. :)

The outdoor movie set up doesn't need to be this fancy, but it goes to show that as long as you have a projector and something to project the movie off of (i.e. board, sheet, side of the house, etc.) you can get as creative as you want with the set up; lay down some quilts, pillows, snacks, chairs, whatever you want. Enjoy a night at home, under the stars with great company without having to spend a lot of money.






If you want to get away from the city lights and put special attention towards nature and the company of your friends give this summer nighttime idea a whirl.

Stargazing in a bed of blankets and pillows. Once you find a place with a clear view of the sky, load up the truck with blankets and pillows. Watch the sunset and the stars make their appearance in the night sky. Bring some snacks and portable speakers and you've got yourself a beautiful night under the stars with your friends. If you don't have a big enough truck bed, or a truck, to have all of your close friends fit, you can still lay blankets on the ground and enjoy the night. If you don't want to do this with your friends this can also be a creative date night with that special someone. ;)











The previous activities may take a little planning but what if you're with your friends already and don't feel like gathering all the items and putting in the effort of getting everything together. Well, there's an activity that can be done without any planning. You can just do it.

Spontaneous Photography!! If you know of any nice areas near by, go! You don't necessarily need an expensive camera. A phone camera would do just fine. Phones nowadays have really nice cameras and most people have phones. Go out and get creative with your friends and make memories. If you want you can even plan a photography session with your friends. Just ask everyone to dress nice or where a certain color scheme and have fun scouting out your backdrop.

These are some of my favorite inexpensive summer ideas. What are some of your favorites that you have done/would like to do?

Music to Capture the Seasonal Feeling: Christmas Session

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you all are enjoying the holiday. I probably should have uploaded this yesterday, but here are some songs that I like to listen to on Christmas. These songs are new, old, and everywhere in between. I love listening to them, they definitely gets me into the holiday spirit. I hope you all enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

Toni Braxton- "The Christmas Song"

Boyz II Men- "Let It Snow"

Justin Beiber- "Christmas Eve"

Whitney Houston- "One wish for Christmas"

Chris Brown- "This Christmas"

Monica- "Grown Up Christmas List"

Jackson 5- "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

Jaime Foxx- "Christmas List"

Mariah Carey- "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

Music to Capture the Seasonal Feeling: Winter Session

Hey everyone! So in my last "Music to Capture the Seasonal Feeling" post I focused on music that would capture the Autumn feel. Well, now it's time to create our own Winter Wonderland. When I think of Winter I think of cuddling up in a warm blank or with a significant other. Winter is definitely a season for love. And Christmas and the giving spirit of course. Here are some of the songs that I've been listening to and enjoying during this bundle up season. For me, these songs aren't too energetic and not too slow to where they bore me, They're perfect. :) Enjoy!

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

"Blue Electric Roses"- Travis Garland
I recently came across Travis Garland on YouTube and apparently he's been an active artist for awhile. This song is amazing! I've had this song on constant rotation on my iPod for awhile. He's a really good artist and this song is perfect for that cool winter feel.











"Wrap Me Up"- Jhene Aiko
I decided to explore Jhene Aiko's music after noticing her appearances on Drake's most recent album 'Nothing Was the Same'. This song has been out for a few years I think, but I have a feeling that when it was first released it was released around Christmas time. Since a line in her songs says, "Every December you'd make sure you're here...". It's a great song to cuddle to, haha.












"Christmas Eve"- Justin Bieber
This song is like a year or two old, but I still listen to it. It's so cute! I love this song a lot. I'm not going to lie, I listen to this song year around. It's a great song for any couple, young or old. It's just a cute song, I love it, it's perfect for the holiday season.

"Kiss Me"- Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is an amazing artist. I think I've said that before in my last music post. This song is one of my all time favorites by him. The lyrics make me think of staying inside the house by the fire with a significant other while it's raining or snowing outside. I listen to this song all the time.

"Furthest Thing/ Hold On We're Going Home"- Ginette Claudette
Ginette Claudette is an up and coming artist that I came across on YouTube. She has an album already out called "Everything's Coming Up Roses". It's a really nice album. Ginette recently did her own rendition of two of Drake's songs "Furthest Thing" and "Hold On We're Going Home". It's one of my covers. It has a really nice r&b feel that I love oh so much.

"Woman's Worth"- Maxwell
This song is pretty old, but it's still so beautiful. This guy's voice is amazing and he still has his phenomenal voice today. "Woman's Worth" is one of many songs of his Now album, which in my opinion is one of his best albums ever. To be honest I don't have a clear understanding of what the song is about. I think I know, but regardless, if someone dedicated this song to me I would be flattered.

"Latch" (Acoustic Version)- Sam Smith
I think this song has been out for awhile, but I never knew what it was called. I found this song from watching a choreography done by Julie Zhan on YouTube. Her choreo to this song is one of my favorite choreo videos ever. I highly recommend you to go and check it! Click on the link, It's so romantic. The feels are definitely real from watching this. This song alone is super romantic. Can this be my wedding song when I get married? Lol, just kidding, it's too soon for me to be thinking out that kind of stuff. :)
















What songs do you all love listening to during the Winter season?

Stressing Over Finals

For some people finals are over or just about over, but for me I start finals next week. I feel pretty good about my finals this semester, but I'm still a little stressed. Since it's my first experience with college finals I want to create a healthy habit when it comes to approaching finals. Here are some tips on how to ease a little bit of the stress of finals. These stress relieving tips can be used for other things than just finals. It can be used to help ease the stress of work, relationships, personal life, and financial stress. You can even modify and personalize these tips to make them fun or more suitable for you. Make your routine unique! I hope you all enjoy. :)

Your Truly,

Carla Renee

xoxo

Stress Relieving Tips:

Listen to Music

Listening to your favorite artists will instantly relax your mind and body. Take a few minutes out of your day to sit back and clear your mind. Don't think of the things you have to do, just enjoy the moment for what it is. Music that is great for relieving stress is nature sounds. As cliche as it may seem, it's really helpful. Stop what you're doing, turn on some tunes, and enjoy the moment.

Talk to a Friend

Human to human communication is important, specially if it's communicating with a good friend of yours. You don't have to spend a whole day with that person. It can be a trip to a coffee shop or a 25 minute phone call. Talking to a friend eases stress because that person will either get your mind off of that stress or will tell you they're going through the same thing. If that's the case you won't feel alone and knowing that you're not alone will help you cope with stress a little bit easier. Laughing and chatting with a friend is always a good time and a fun stress reliever. It's something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Eat Right

When we have so many things to do during the day we tend to grab the quickest and closest thing to us and sometimes the quickest and closest things to us aren't the healthiest. If we're studying for long hours we'll grab chips or a bag of candy. Anything that's easy to take with us and easy to eat. That's not always the best thing to do. Instead, grab some fruit and water. Fruit are known to help reduce stress. Eating right makes you feel more alert and it's healthy for you. It's basically a win win situation.

Be Mindful

Meditating and things like Yoga, Pilates and tai chi are great for long term stress relief. Try taking a class or just sit and meditate in a quiet room for 10 minutes. I personally like meditating. After 10 minutes of clearing my mind and deep breathing I feel a lot better and like my mind had organized itself. Making me feel less stressed out.

Drink Tea

Tea is a really soothing drink whether it is served hot or cold. To relieve stress, hot tea is the way to go. Tea has less than half the amount of caffeine and has healthy antioxidants. There are also different types of teas that are great for healing. Whether it is digestion, immunity, or to aid in alertness and relieving stress. I love tea, it's one of my favorite drinks and whenever I drink it I never feel stressed.

Sleep Tight

It's recommended to get at least 8-9hrs of sleep a night but honestly I haven't gotten that much sleep since I've started college. Turning your room into the perfect sleeping sanctuary will help you feel rejuvenated in the morning. To do this make sure that you try to avoid doing homework in your bed. If you accustom yourself to doing work on your bed whenever you get in bed you're gonna feel as if you need to be doing something and you won't feel as relaxed. Before it's time for you to go to sleep neatly pull back your covers so that your bed looks more appealing and more like it's welcoming you to go to sleep. If your bed is tempting you to go to sleep when you get into bed you'll feel more at ease and fall asleep. And lastly, turn off all of the lights and have the room temperature to your liking. A dark room will help you fall asleep because you can't see in the dark so you can't look around. All of these steps will turn your room into a sleep sanctuary and will help you feel rejuvenated for the next day, no matter how many hours of sleep you may get. 

Music to Capture the Seasonal Feeling

So, I don't know about you guys but Autumn has definitely set in out here in San Francisco. It's gotten cold and people are in coats and boots and wrapped up in scarves. What I like to do, specially in cold weather, is have music matching the cold weather. I feel like I'm having one of those cliche movie moments when I'm walking alone bundled up in warm clothes with my hands in my coat pockets and I have relaxing music in my headphones. Maybe that's just the hopeless romantic in me, lol. But, anyways, here are the artists and songs that I recommend for those cold Autumn days. :)

Tori Kelly's "Foreword" EP

Tori Kelly released "Foreword" on October 22, 2013. Her voice is amazing and she's an amazing live performer. I love every song on this EP. My personal favorites that are constantly on repeat are "Dear No One" and "Paper Hearts". Besides her newly released EP she has many videos on her YouTube channel of her doing covers of songs with other talented artists. I suggest you guys check her out. She's amazing and her music is just right for those cold days out or even for those days when you're inside staying out of the cold.











Jesse Barrera "From the Ground Up"

This album was released earlier this year, in March to be exact. I just recently bought this album on iTunes and I'm kind of sad I didn't buy it sooner. This album is so unique and the lyrics are so relatable. I've been a fan of Jesse Barrera for years now. He also has another album that he released a few years ago called "Love in Technicolor" which I will mention right after this album. A couple of songs great for the weather off of this album would definitely be "Promises" featuring AJ Rafael who is also an amazing artist, "Stars", "Wasted", and "Saved" featuring Melissa Polinar, who is another amazing artist. Definitely an album worth looking in to.









Jesse Barrera "Love in Technicolor"

This album was released in 2010 and I still have it on regular rotation on my iPod. I would tell you guys which songs are great for this weather, but I would just be listing off the whole album. Every single song on this album is amazing. Jesse Barrera's sound is definitely one of a kind. If you want to capture the mood of a cold Autumn day/afternoon, just play this album. I love it.














Ed Sheeran "+" (Deluxe Edition)

Ed Sheeran is an artist I came across about a year or two ago. I love him. For those of you that are familiar with him and his music you know exactly why it would be absurd of me to not mention him as one of the artists to listen to to capture the essence of Autumn. He's so talented and it's incredible how a majority of his songs can hit home, for me anyways. If you have not heard of Ed Sheeran I really hope you look into his music. Ed Sheeran's music is one of those things that everyone should have the chance to experience.










These are the artists that I have chosen for the season. There are so many artists and songs that I listen to. It was really hard picking artists, but these are the ones that I have been listening to the most lately. I might do another music post as a continuation. Or, actually, I might continue to do weekly or biweekly music posts. So look out for that. Also, if you have any artist or song suggestions for me, write them in the comments and I will gladly look them up and maybe even put them in my future music posts. I hope you guys enjoy these artists as much as I do. :)



yours truly,

-Carla Renee 
xoxo